Family Command Center

My finishing touch to my "nesting" phase was creating a Family Command Center!  I have spent about the last 4 months "nesting"!  Our entire house has been rearranged, organized and decluttered!  During the "construction phase" this house was a complete disaster and that is the biggest understatement of the year!  You can not imagine what a mess this place is when I decide to organize, but the final outcome is always worth it!

When we moved here things were never really "organized".  Most people wouldn't believe that I am actually a very organized person by nature, however, by the looks of my house you usually would never know it.  I would organize a few things, but with 6 kids things never seem to stay organized around here and with 6 kids it's been impossible to organize one room, let alone the entire house.  Many times, friends have called upon me to organize a playroom or kids room but I've never had the time to organize my entire house and to get my own things just the way I want them.  Another thing about me is if something isn't working for me, I am very quick to change it...so sometimes it's hard to keep up around here and usually my organization falls apart and our house is once again in utter chaos!  With a new baby on the way and my nesting instinct taking over, it was fairly simple to get the ambition I needed to completly change the way things are around here!  It was a very long and trying process, but after 4 LONG months of very hard work...I finally reached my goal!  I will post about our transformation...but first, the finishing touch to all the organization around here....

Our Family Command Center!

I couldn't have an organized house if our household wasn't going to be organized!  There are many reasons that led me to the idea of having a Family Communication Center.  With organizing the classroom, I lost my desk so we needed a centralized place to house things like our incoming/outgoing mail, important papers, things we often need (tape, scissors, pens, pencils, etc).  Also, with Hawk and Cardinal starting school, we needed a place to keep permission slips, lunch money, sports forms, etc.  Another thing that was a challenge around here is keeping up with the calendar!  I depend greatly on my PDA, but it isn't always where I thought I left it.  Appointments are hard to make without my calendar and I as our schedule got more hectic, we began missing appoinments because I would jot them down on a piece of paper and they would never make it to my calendar.  Another thing was that as the kids are getting older and wanting to do things with friends or getting involved more with extra curricular activities it was just so hard to keep everything straight!  Something had to make all of this easier!  I did a search for a Family Communication Center and found that many fellow bloggers had some sort of Communication Center or Command Center into place in their home.  Each one a bit different to fit the person's individual needs.  I went to work deciding what I needed our Center to include and here was my initial list!

•  A monthly calendar
• A place for important memo's/notes
• A daily schedule (so that all family member's knew what to expect on any given day)
• A household binder
• A bill organizer
• A place to organize things for each family member
• A place for incoming/outgoing mail
• A place for things that need to be filed, shredded, etc.
• A place for receipts, coupons, etc
• Our weekly menu
• Recipes

Here is our (nearly) completed Command Center which is located in our kitchen were it is easily accessible to everyone!

I say "nearly" completed because I have some work to do to complete our Household Binder and our Individual Folders and i also need to label my Bill Organizer.  As you can see, we have a whiteboard Monthly Calendar.  This way, I will easily have my calendar at hand and everyone in the family can see what we have going on at a quick glance.  There is a small space for notes and a to do list on the calendar, but we have a small individual whiteboard next to the calendar to write important notes.  The yellow and white striped schedule is our "Daily Schedule".  Each night, I will update this for the following day.  Again, this way everyone knows what to expect and what is expected of them (my kids thrive on routine and schedules)!  The lovely basket houses the important pieces of the rest of our command center!  Here's a quick glance of what's inside!

Starting in front there are multiple notepads and sticky notes.  There are two packs of "Thank You" notes, a current need as baby gifts are starting to arrive.  There is a "To Do" notepad and a "Shopping List" notepad.  Tucked on the left side is a stack of envelopes and a supply box (containing essentials such as pens, pencils, scissors, tape, stamps...basically, all the stuff you use most everyday, but can never find when you need it).  there is a working flashlight in the front right corner ;)  Next are file folders labeled...

Daily - This is where anything I need for the next day will go, this is a one stop pick up and go place.  If I have things to mail, things to return, shopping lists, directions, etc...everything I need (stamped mail, receipts, lists, directions, etc.) will be in this folder and I will just have to pick up the folder and go! 

New Mail - All incoming mail will be put in this folder and I will sort it nightly.  No more mail piling up on our catch all place on the dresser, no more lost bills, checks, important papers, things that should have been filed, etc.

To Mom- Anything that needs to go to me goes in this folder.  If the kids come home with permission slips that need to be signed, or if they need to be taken somewhere, etc.  This is a communication gap fixer!!! ;) no more, I told you I needed you to take me to the library, or I told you I needed you to sign that form!!!

To Be Filed - Self explanitory!  Anything that needs to be filed goes in here.  Once a week, I will file them.

Shred - Self explanitory!  Anything that needs to be shredded will go in this file.  Once a week, one of the kids will have the chore of shredding the contents of this folder.

Receipts - Yep, you guessed it...all receipts go in here!  No more lost receipts! :)  It seems simple enough to file them but how many receipts do you lose!  How hard can it be to sit them in a folder on the kitchen counter :/  hopefully, this will be an easy and convienent place to store them ;)

Behind all of our file folders are 3-pronged school folders.  Each family member has their own folder.  Each family member's folder has pocket sleeves to serve their needs.  Hawk and Cardinal have an envelope that serves as their "daily" folder so if they need lunch money, permission slips, etc...those things will go into their envelope so they can grab it and go in the morning.  Their pockets will include a pocket sleeve for chores, allowance (to be discussed), permission forms, etc.  Some kids will have a medical pocket and the baby will have a feeding/diapering schedule...etc.  We will take a closer look after these are completed ;)

Next is our Household Binder...will blog about it at at a later date once it is done.  It will contain our coupons, Monthly/weekly/daily calendars, weekly menu, etc.

Next is our recipe binder.

Lastly, is our bill organizer.  An accordian style folder to keep track of our paid bills :)

Now...let me tell you, not everyone is happy about our new command center and there is a lot of pessimism about it.  Now, I will say that I don't always stick to new systems long...but, it's been a very LONG time since I've been so organized...so, I'm very optimistic that this Command Center will be a blessing.  Now, had this been in place this morning...Cardinal would not have thought she forgot her permission slip for her summer gym class and Falcon would not have forgotten that he was suppossed to wear dressy attire to work today ;)

I'll keep you posted on how this works (or doesn't work) for us!

Our visit with Edward

We discovered Duckling had a hearing loss during her newborn screening at the hospital.

Finding out

Over the next few months she underwent multiple tests and her MRI showed unilateral LVAS and bilateral Mastoid Disease.  Basically, she had a moderate hearing loss and she would eventually lose her hearing in her right ear and the safety of her hearing in her left ear would be questionable.  At 5 months old she received her first hearing aid. 

5 months old, just after getting first hearing aid.  Yes, the date on this photo is wrong!

She wore this until she was 3 years old, at which time it was confirmed that her moderate hearing loss in her right ear had progressed to a profound loss (as we had suspected a year prior).  In September 2011, she was fitted with a Ponto, a bone conduction hearing aid.  Her Ponto has made a world of difference for her. 

At 4 years old she has come such a long way in her speech and language development though she does have concernable delays in her receptive language she is advanced in her expressive  language!  She is undergoing a second evaluation to see if she has an Auditory Processing Disorder as well.  She is otherwise a normal active 4 year old!

We were so blessed to have the opportunity to have "Edward" come and visit Duckling.  Edward is a Traveling Awareness Bear and he helps spread awareness for Duckling's disorder LVAS/EVAS! 

Edward arrived on June 4, 2012.  When he arrived he was greeted with the biggest hug one could give a teddy bear!  Duckling was so excited. 

We spent the first day getting to know Edward and reading about his journey so far.  He has already met some amazing families! 

On June 6, Duckling and Emu went to the hospital for follow up speech evaluations.  Edward was a big help!  Since we drive so far to get to the hospital, we spent the rest of the day at the Children's Museum.  Edward had a lot of fun!

The rest of the we didn't do anything spectacular, but Edward went wherever Duckling went.  Unfortunately, we didn't take our camera because we were just running errands and such.  We did make Edward a hearing aid clip to ensure that he will not lose his hearing aids while he is on his journey.  Duckling had so much fun picking out something she thought Edward would like.

Edward's visit was a bit longer than planned, as luck would have it, I became very sick.  What started out as a sore throat landed me in the ER a few days later with Bronchitis and an Asthma attack.  Still, more than a week later, I am STILL sick...but at least able to do a few things...like send Edward to the next patiently awaiting family! Edward was so nice to fix me some Chicken Noodle Soup and help Duckling take care of me and I'm thankful that Duckling and Edward became such good playmates!

I hope Edward enjoyed his visit as much as we enjoyed having him.  If you know a child who suffers from any disease or disorder, there may be a Traveling Awareness Bear for them to host as well!  Be sure to check out the WEBSITE!

Announcing....

...a very good excuse for my absence from the blogging world! 

We are expecting a new little bird around here!  In the midst of all the other exciting things that we have had going on in our lives we are also anxiously awaiting the arrival of a new little one in our house.  It was quite a surprise, but a pleasant one at that! We found out just before Christmas, but things with my pregnancy didn't seem quite right, as I was actually feeling too good to have a viable pregnancy.  After my first trip to the doctor, it was strongly suspected that I was having twins and the first ultrasound had a questionable vanishing twin....so....still unsure what was going on, we opted to wait until we had solid answers on what this pregnancy was going to bring.  Many tests later...we decided to use Valentine's Day to tell the news.  Later we planned on having a gender reveal party, however, that plan was ruined by a very stubborn baby who hid behind an anterior placenta and a very anxious grandma who couldn't wait to hear if we were having a boy or a girl...or twins.  We had an emergency ultrasound to check on our little one after numerous nurses were unable to find a heartbeat at our 12 week check up...and found out the gender of our baby and yes, there was only one.

We made this gender reveal video

I started off this pregnancy feeling extremely well, but that was quickly followed by the normal misery of all day sickness.  With six kiddos to take care of and so many things happening in our life, I couldn't afford to be "sick" so, I graciously accepted the anti-nausea meds and for the most part, they did their job well and yes, they made me very tired (gotta take the good with the bad right?).  I also had problems with severe itching...odd, but true.  I itched everywhere...and I do mean EVERYWHERE!!!!  I scratched till I bled...EVERYWHERE.  This issue took me to the doctor on numerous occasions.  Never could my doctor find a medical reason for this major issue...no infection, no nothing...just itching.  I suffered with this (suffered seems like such an understatement) for 3 months!  Finally, my doctor prescribed medication for me and I have been fine ever since.  I fely very cheated because of my anterior placenta I couldn't feel movement from our little man until about week 20. 

Starting in my second trimester, I felt like a new person.  I normally love being pregnant (until month 7, when my little ones always drop and my SPD kicks in)...and finally, I had a taste of what loving being pregnant felt like.  This feeling was very short lived and lasted about 2 weeks before our little one decided to make my sciatic nerve his new resting place.  Luckily this problem comes and goes but it is quite excruciating when he's pressing on it.  I had one gall bladder attack but have been fine since that one miserable occurance.  I have always had problems with varicose veins when pregnant and this time is no different.  I do wear my compression stockings more this pregnancy to try and help with the swelling in my legs. 

Now, at the beginning of my third trimester, I can honestly say...all things considered....I feel pretty good.  I am constantly naseaus but, I no longer rely on my anti-nausea meds to get me through the day.  My sciatic nerve is killing me and my SPD has kicked in much earlier than usual this time.  Still...I try so hard not to complain.  I have been nesting for months and am in the final stages of having our entire house reorganized.  All the things we have for the baby are set up.  To some, it seems normal to prepare for him so early...for other's they question why we are setting things up so early.  Well, there are two reasons for that...one is anything we put in our damp basement gets ruined by mold/mildew...and two, I am at the point where just walking and stepping over things is difficult and honestly in another few weeks I am not going to be getting around easily at all.  Falcon's family is having a baby shower for us at the end of the month and our house will be done by then so that after the things from the shower are put away, there will be nothing else for us to do...except finish buying things we want/need.  It is really important to me to have some time to enjoy this summer with my kids...even if it means I'm sitting around a pool not moving all day.  Our lives are going to completely change this fall.  We will have a new baby and two of my kids will be going off to private schools not to mention the two of them will be teenagers who don't have much desire to spend any time with the family ;)  so, I just want to enjoy this "last" summer doing things together and I don't want to be too busy getting the house ready for all the new things we have in store for us.

I always have people asking about organizing things, so I will be posting pictures of all of our reorganization very soon! 

We Choose Virtues Review!

I have been "out of commission" for quite some time here in the blogging world, but for that, I do have a reasonable explanation (coming soon)...but first....my long awaited We Choose Virtues review!!!   This review comes VERY late and for that I do sincerely appologize!  I am currently unable to post any pictures, but rest assured I will return to add them when I am able.

I came across We Choose Virtues in what seemed to be an endless search for a virtues program.  It seems my children have a difficult time learning these important lessons in life, so I wanted a program to help teach them these important life skills.  I was very impressed with what We Choose Virtues had to offer.  The program seemed to offer so much and one thing I especially liked was that it could be used for a wide range of ages...a definate plus in our house!  I also liked the variety of the materials that the kit included.  It appeared to be a very well rounded program that would keep my children excited and engaged in learning the virtues. 

In January we were given the wonderful opportunity to review part of the We Choose Virtues Program.  We were sent some great materials to review.  The kids were so excited for our packages to arrive.  We received a very colorful 100 Days of Virtues Chart and butterfly stickers along with a set of 12 Faith Based Parenting Cards. 

I was a bit confused when I received our materials about exactly how to use the program, so the Teacher's Handbook would have been a beneficial addition to the materials I received, to further explain ideas on how to use the materials I had at hand.  While the Parenting Cards did have helpful tips and teachable moments...I just wasn't sure what the best way to teach the virtues would be.  Do we do one virtue a week, a different virtue each day, how often do they get a sticker...each time they get caught practicing a virtue on their own or after we do the lesson?  The description states that the lessons could be taught in 10 minutes a day and that they can...but, I think my kids would have gotten more of a benefit of the program if they had a bit more than a a few minutes of going through the "teachable moments" on the backs of each card explaining what the virtue is.  We had no added activities or games in which to "practice",  "learn" and master the virtues.  My kids are multi-sensory learners mostly because I am a multi-sensory teacher ;)  They need to see it, hear it, feel it.....or they aren't going to excel in learning it.  I think that is why I was so drawn to all that the program offered, the flashcards, the games, the coloring pages, the posters and the chart/stickers!   

I decided to break the program down and focus on one virtue each week.  The first day we would discuss the virtue, read The Kids of VirtueVille and go over the teachable moments.  This took about 10-20 minutes.  Each remaining day we would discuss the virtue we were working on.  I decided to give the kids a sticker each time they were "caught" using a virtue.    

The cards were colorful, with enticing characters that caught the attention and interest of my younger kids.  I really liked the "What to say after I'm sorry" section on each card.  My younger kids enjoyed the Kids of VirtuVille stories, but they were a bit juvenile for my older three kids...though, the older kids could add valuable discussion to the Why is that questions so it was a great way for them all to join in the lesson.  My older kids were quite uninterested and it was hard to get them to focus on the teachable moments activities without making my younger kids lose interest.  So, this proved a very challenging program to teach to children of widely varying ages.

I personally found the system that we were using very difficult for our family.  It seemed that I was constantly punishing my kids for not using the virtue correctly and very rarely getting the opportunity to reward them for using the vitrue correctly but it was useful in finding which virtues we need to work on the most.  Often we were able to revisit a past virtue to try and reinforce it even more than the week we had worked on it, such as when our Guinea Pig had a litter of pups (we were able to revisit the virtue of being Gentle) or when Emu broke his arm and my mom broke her hip we were able to revisit the virtue of being Kind. I then felt like maybe I wasn't teaching the virtues correctly (by taking one a week)...however, to learn one a day seemed quite overwhelming.  I just seemed to enter a whirlwind of confusion about how I should really be teaching them. 

The use of our poster was short-lived because of the way we were teaching the virtues, it kind of became a forgotten treasure.  The older kids were again, a bit too big for this feature and the younger kids just didn't "get" enough from the 10-20 minute lesson to remember to use their virtues throughout the day.  I tried my best to remember to encourage the virutue throughout the day, but again, it seemed they were always being caught NOT doing the virtue than they were caught in the act of being good. 

All in all, I think if I had more to incorporate into the program it will prove more successfull for us.  I do see the potential of the program and would recommend it only if used as the full kit rather than just a bit or piece of the curriculum that you have to figure out how to use on your own.  I do wish that I would have had more time to come up with my own games and activities to incorportate throughout the day and that I could have made it more interesting for my older kids. 

I plan to reintroduce this program to my kids in the fall as I think at that time it will work out better for the younger kids I will have at home through the day and I am very excited about what I feel this program can do for my family.  Next year, Cardinal and Hawk will be attending private schools and I think that with some time to better prepare to use the program, it will serve us better.  What will I do differently?  Well, for starters...I hope to get the teacher's guide.  I work better having things laid out for me as in our busy household, I do not have the time to do a lot of planning myself.  I would also like to get the coloring book and utilize the freebies that are available.  I would like to find games, activities to go with each virtue whether it be through the flashcards the program offers or things I can come across on my own...again...time is an issue :(  and as a reward or motivator I think individual charts would be better for our family rather than one chart for everyone, though I do intend to incorporate the group chart as well. 

I am grateful for the opportunity to review the products that were sent to us and I do feel that this is a wonderful program.  I've done a lot of research and this program is the best fit for our family, but I just need to make it a bit more multi-sensory to better meet the needs of our family.  I had hoped that my older kids could help teach these virtues to my younger kids and sadly enough, I feel it would be better to have my younger kids learn and work on the concept and have them be the ones to "teach" the older kids.  The younger kids are more apt to say something along the lines of "please stop annoying me" as oppossed to my older kids being more apt to say "shut up you brat".  My older kids really should have learned these virtues earlier as now I have the challenge of myself being more in a position to say to them "that's not nice or that's rude" as opposed to getting the opportunity to say something like "that was really thoughtful of you".  So backwards as it may sound...I think instilling these lessons in my younger kids without the older two around would be more successful in our house!

Whew...what a week!

What a difference a week makes!

Oddly enough, Emu was a new man after his fall down the stairs.  He practically did cartwheels into his peditricians office that Monday morning.  Needless to say, he checked out fine and she was ok with him waiting until Thursday to get in with the surgeon.  On Thursday May 11, we went to get his cast.  Normally they will only immobilize an elbow for a maximum of 3 weeks because the elbow gets really stiff and anytime after that you loose too much use of it.  Well, poor Emu had already spent a week in a temporary cast before even getting his cast.  The good news is it looks like he will not be needing surgery!  His break actually isn't too bad and his bone is expected to heal fine.  He will be in his new cast for 3 weeks (taking his total immobilized time up to 4 weeks).  The bad news is he does have an unusual amount of swelling and fluid in his elbow joint.  This too "should" repair itself, however, because of the severity of it, it will take a bit longer to heal than the bone is going to take.  He will have to remain immobilized until all of the fluid is gone.  They expect that this will take another few weeks.  The plan is to get his cast removed in 3 weeks, then do x-rays to see where we stand.  They expect that he will then have to go back into another temporary cast for a while.  They expect that he will regain use of his elbow quickly even though he will be immobilized for so long.  He has not complained about any itching under his cast and he doesn't seem annoyed with it, but he is still suffering some discomfort and pain.  It doesn't help that he falls so much :/

We had gret plans for Mother's Day.  I was so excited to get to spend the day with my family and some clos friends.  Our plans took a dramatic change though, when my mother fell and had to have emergency surgery!  After much stress and many prayers...at the end of the day, I was counting my blessings!

On Wednesday, Duckling went for a second opinion as we were certain that her speech evaluation at our local hospital was not accurate.  She scored more advanced than a normal hearing child and for a hearing impaired child who has always had one delay or another, it didn't seem right that she would be above her normal hearing peers.  Her second opinion proved that she was indeed more advanced in language development than we could have ever dreamed her to be.  This does up our concern that Emu's original evaluation was also correct...which puts him completely at the other end of the spectrum.  We are awaiting his second evaluation.

  

I will add pictures of Emu getting his cast later...right now I can't find the cord for my camera to transfer pictures!  I'm so behind in my blogging and hope to get caught up soon!

Check back soon for my review of We Chose Virtues, my mother's injury and some other exciting news!

Boys will be boys!

Wow!  Has it really been nearly two months since I've blogged here!  My how time flies!  Well, in my defense, I have been quite busy and a bit "under the weather"!  But...I'm feeling better now and things are calming down a bit....well...maybe "calming" down is not a good term to use around here.

As you know, in our house there is NEVER a dull moment and this past weekend has proven no different!  On Friday, Emu found himself in a very unfortunate position.  In his dream to become an all star basketball player, he made an attempt (with the help of a few siblings and a friend) to "slam dunk" a ball.  This stunt went very bad and he ended up with a souvineer. 

I personally didn't see the "fall" but I knew I had a very hurt little boy on my hands.  The problem with Emu is that he becomes non-verbal when something is wrong or different...so, it took about 30 minutes of examining him from head to toe to figure out what was hurting.  I finally narrowed it down to his right arm...and then I saw "it"! 

His bone was protruding out enough that you could see it was broken or maybe dislocated.  He didn't have a scratch on him, which didn't make sense and we weren't getting the "true" story of what happened but were just told by a few "bystanders" that he ran and fell and got the wind knocked out of him.  The pain he was experiencing was excruciating and after 45 minutes from his fall, I was off to take him to the ER.

The parking lot was full, but still, we were taken care of very promptly.  When you sign in to the ER you are immediately given a quick evaluation by a Registered Nurse.  Usually, you then sit in the waiting room (while more urgent patients are seen ahead of you). Then you are taken to triage and returned to the waiting room yet again before finally being taken to a room.  This time was much different.  We signed in and after his quick once over we were immediately taken to triage.  Instead of returning to the waiting room, we were taken back to a room.  Within 5-10 minutes we were taken for X-ray.  As they were looking over the pictures before dismissing us from the room, I overheard them talking about a splint and then they decided they needed more pictures.  Then, we were returned to our room.  Within just a few minutes, a nurse came in and said that she heard we were back from x-ray and that they needed to get ice on his arm.  So, she propped his arm and gave him ice.

Soon, the doctor came in.  Before telling us the news, she really pushed for an answer as to what happened.  I was unable to truly say what happened and Emu wasn't saying a word to anyone.  We were repeatedly questioned by countless people and I began to feel uncomfortable with what they must have been thinking.  When the doctor told Emu they had to know what happened, I begged Emu to tell the truth and that no one was going to get in trouble but that we really needed to know how he got hurt.  FINALLY, he looked at Hawk (who had been acting very suspicious) and said "Hawk knows, he can tell you".  Hawk finally fessed up to what really happened.  He tilted the Portable Basketball Hoop down so that Emu could "slam dunk" the ball.  Emu grabbed ahold of the rim just as all the kids who were out there jumped on the base.  All of the weight on the base caused the hoop to return to an upright position...with Emu holding on to the trim.  He fell off and the rest is history.

The doctor informed us that his arm was indeed broken.  She said that they had done things backward and already had an orthopedic surgeon look at his x-rays.  The surgeon wanted him put in a splint and to be seen in the office on Monday.  The doctor was very brief about his injury but spoke for what seemed like an eternity about Emu being developmentally and language delayed.  It was what seemed more like some weird counceling session about my child whom was not "normal".  I just smiled and nodded hoping she would soon be done with her lecturing and giving of her opinion but I must say it was quite annoying.  He got his splint and a prescription for Motrin and we headed home.

On Saturday, Emu was quite uncomfortable and was suffering a great deal of pain.  We were pretty faithful about putting ice on to control the pain and swelling.   20 minutes on and 20 minutes off.  We even took a cooler and his icing supplies to Hawks soccer game.  I later spoke with the ER nurse about his immense pain and she said it was ok to give him Tylenol with codeine that he had from a prior prescription.  Yet, an hour and a half later, he was still experiencing a great deal of pain.  Coming from a kid who was evaluated at a year old to see if he had a pain disorder where he feels no pain, it was quite concerning that his pain was not relieved by such a narcotic.  I spoke with the nurse at our insurance company and she advised that he needed to return to the ER if we couldn't be told otherwise by the ER nurse.  Upon speaking with the ER nurse a second time, she said he did indeed need to go back immediately.  She said that they would be waiting for us.

As promised, they were expecting us and they were quite ready.  They had called in an Orthopedic Surgeon to look at him.  Right away, they determined that the splint that he has was a terrible splint and that was causing most of his problems.  I was concerned that they were possibly missing an injury so he was evaluated for a fractured shoulder.  All seemed well, but yet, they could not understand his intense pain.  The surgeon decided that he could still not be put in a full cast, but ordered a half cast to be put on him.  So, he was half casted and we were instructed to call the office Monday morning.

Sunday, he woke up miserable in pain.  After a dose of pain med, ice and elevation, he began feeling better.  Later that day, he was complaining once again.  He could also not keep his balance and fell numerous times.  Being right handed, he instinctively always caught himself with his right arm...OUCH!!!  That night, he was hurting a fair amount.  I went downstairs to get his pain medicine and a few minutes later I heard a "thump...thump thump.....bump bump bump thump"  I looked over and there was Emu head first with his arms stretched out in front of him at the bottom of the stairs.  Of course he was in a great deal of pain.  I gave him his medicine and propped and iced his arm.  A few hours later he woke up in pain.  I propped his arm and he fell fast asleep in my arms where he slept the rest of the night.  

Monday morning, I called to get him an appointment with the Orthopedic surgeon.  They insisted they couldn't get him in until Thursday.  So, I called the Pediatrician and got him and appointment there.  They wanted him to come right away, so, I woke him up and off we went.  Once he was up I quickly noticed that he seemed to be more himself.  By the time we got to the Pediatrician's office he had resumed to his normal activity level.  Of course I would not have been concerned had I given myself the opportunity to observe him before wisking him off to the dr. and of course she had no concerns.  She actually complimented me on the fact that she's surprised that we don't have more injuries like this in our house and how lucky we were that this was our first injury of this kind, lol!

So, at least he is happy and in a controllable amount of pain.  We anxiously await for his appointment on Thursday to get more x-rays and to get his full cast.  It really stinks that he has lost his summer.  He was getting ready to do swimming lessons and he was going to play baseball this summer.  But...boys will be boys...I guess there's always next year!

And...in case your wondering....No, Hawk did not get in trouble for lying and no he did not get in trouble for doing something I constantly yell at him for doing.  I promised Emu if he told the doctor the truth that no one would get in trouble, so I couldn't go back on my word (though trust me, it killed me) and anyways, I knew how guilty and horrible Hawk feels and really I think that is plenty punishment.  When we are at fault for something we feel a great amount of guilt and we punish ourselves.  I think Hawk learned a lesson...and I hope the other kids learned a lesson as well.

Eagle's new curriculum arrived!!!

In an effort to always do what is truly best for my children, I have made the decision to make a curriculum change this late in the year.  While I have always loved the k12 curriculum, it was just no longer working for Eagle.  He struggled with it last year and we kept trucking along...this year has been really hard for him.  He has either been too bored by a subject, not challenged enough or too rushed to learn a concept.  The curriculum which we have always used is very fast paced and I just don't see him retaining enough of the material to make me happy.  I thought about struggling through the rest of this year, then making a switch next year, but in all fairness I felt that by doing that, he would almost be losing this year. 

As you may know, I have become an extreme Calvert lover, since using Calvert for the first time with Macaw this year.  I have seen such an amazing difference with this curriculum and we have had so much fun with it!  I've watched Macaw succeed in a way I know would not have been possible with the other curriculum we have always used.  Immediately, I wanted to use this curriculum for Eagle, but at the time it was not a feasable option for us.

Finally faced with the opportunity to get the Calvert I so badly wanted, I've decided to make the switch!  This decision did not take much thought, but I did make the decision with some level of hesitance.  Calvert would not allow him to start at the second semester as we originally thought and getting the paperwork and school records in order proved as quite a challenge!  I also later learned that Calvert is very heavy with writing composition (something that Eagle is not very strong in, although this is one of the things I felt he was lacking in our current curriculum).  I was warned that starting in 4th grade (next year for him), all students in Calvert have to take a 4th grade placement test and many students start 4th grade at the 3rd grade Calvert level.  Even students who just completed Calvert 3 have to repeat that year in the curriculum if they do not pass the 4th grade placement test.  This doesn't cause them to be "held back" a year, as they still progress by grade.  That was the decision maker for me!  I felt that if he was going to be starting next year with Calvert 3 anyways, then it would definately be more beneficial for him to start with Calvert 3 now while he is still in 3rd grade.  My hope is that this will enable him the skills that he needs to progress to Calvert 4 next year.  Even though he is starting this late in the year, with careful planning and lots of hard work, he could still progress right on schedule!  He does have an entire year to complete the Curriculum, though we plan to be finished by the end of August and even if we don't progress as planned, he will still advance to 4th grade when we do complete it (even if by some chance he doesn't pass the 4th grade placement test for Calvert). 

We were so excited when his materials arrived and just by browsing over all his new things I am so confident that I've made the right choice!  I can't wait to get started! 

Our materials finally arrive!

All organized and ready to go!