JOY: noun - 'joi'
1) a. the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires
b. the expression or exhibition of such emotion
2) a state of happiness or felicity
3) a source or cause of delight
Saturday, May 28, 2011
at the beach
definition
JOY: noun - 'joi'
1) a. the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires
b. the expression or exhibition of such emotion
2) a state of happiness or felicity
3) a source or cause of delight
JOY: noun - 'joi'
1) a. the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires
b. the expression or exhibition of such emotion
2) a state of happiness or felicity
3) a source or cause of delight
you missed Mother's Day
I can still lift them both. 43 and 53 pounds.
The shot of Carl and me was from later that day.
The shot of Carl and me was from later that day.Friday, May 27, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
eye update... pediatric ophthalmologist
If you don't remember the frustration of Carl's last eye doctor visit (to a regular ophthalmologist... one in the practice I go went to... turns out they are not in our insurance plan. I got a whopper of a bill even though the receptionist admitted she told me that she had called my insurance and I had 100% coverage. grrrr) you can read that post here. Then, if you want to read the update posted soon after, that is here.
OK, we had our appt at 7:30am. I didn't want to be late so we arrived at 7:15. I had already filled out all the paperwork they sent to me so all I had to do was hand them that and we were signed in.
I also brought several handouts. Carl's speech therapist wrote us a nice note explaining a little history and that "Carl is able to name his colors with 100% accuracy. Carl's deficits with color identification are language based, not visually based. Carl does not suffer from color blindness. he does have a language delay affecting his ability to expressively name abstract items and occasionally, colors."
I also brought along a copy of the vision test from pre-school that was clearly stamped, "no problems noted". If you have not seen one of these photo vision tests, they take a photo of your child's eyes very close up. The photo has total red-eye... you know, the look you want to avoid in your everyday photos. But, in this test, having that totally red eye allows them to detect problems. One little girl in their class wears glasses, so her mom let me see her test without glasses. She had big yellow crescents in her eyes. Another little girl's test came back that she showed some far sightedness. Her eyes also displayed this same yellow crescent shape in each eye. Both Gretchen & Carl's had no yellow at all. So, they liked seeing that. And, without me saying anything about the fact that I sort of knew how to read the test - the nurse told me, "If there is an issue, you will see some form of discoloration in the eyes. Either a yellow spot or even a full cloudiness."
And, I brought along a copy of the prescription the other office gave me for his near sighted eyeglasses.
So, we were the first ones into the office, but not quite the first ones called back. It wasn't a long wait, but the office was filling up quickly. At 7:30 am. We first saw a nurse who took my papers and thanked me for bringing all of that in. She asked me basically why we were here and I explained the other appointment. She smiled and shook her head, "They don't see many children in that practice."
Then she started off with the color blindness test. There were many differences in her test. Yes, it was the same concept - dots on a page with a shape that would stand out to someone who could differentiate colors. But, her book was physically bigger. Each page had 2 shapes on it somewhere. Either a triangle, a circle or a square. And she gave Carl a make-up brush to "paint" the shapes he could see. Adding this activity to the test kept him focused and kept him from realizing he was answering a quiz. He rocked the test! She even asked him on a couple pages, "What colors do you see?" and he got them correct each time.
The next test was 3D vision. This one he kind of drifted off on. He got one answer right and he did explain to her than some animals were jumping out at him, but he wasn't staying focused with her line of questioning. She wasn't phased or frustrated at all. She wasn't terribly worried and we moved on. I wasn't overly worried either since that was the one test he did fine with at the other office. I knew he could see the 3D-ness.
He was excited for the next test because it involved another pair of glasses to wear. This pair was a John Lennon shape frame and one lens was red while the other one was green. She then had a flashlight with 4 dots showing... 2 red, 1 green and 1 white. Twice - from different distances in the room - he told her there were 4 dots showing. She explained to me that this test showed his eyes were working together. If they weren't, he wouldn't have been able to see both red and green dots and would have had a lower number for his answer. Cool!
Next, eye chart exam. She asked me, "Does he know all his letters?" and let him use the letters! No stencil pictures! Each line she showed him had 5 letters. She kept showing him progressively smaller lines and he was doing great. She was able to get him to cover one eye with a plastic tool even. He missed some... calling a D an O. Things like that. She told me he tested 20/40 and that was great!
Gretchen was with us. This whole time, she did great sitting nicely or on some tests, standing next to Carl so she could see what was going on. Luckily, she didn't feed him any answers.
Then, the doctor came in and talked to us. He gave Carl another vision test with a tongue depressor. It had 3 or 4 lines of letter on it. A very tiny eye chart test. He was sort of covering one of Carl's eyes and moving this little eye chart around in front of him. Each time, Carl read all the letters perfectly. The doctor said he was trying to make Carl's eyes turn in like I had described and since he couldn't bring it out, that was a positive thing. The doctor even made his own eye turn in and asked if it was similar to this. yes! It was! And he asked me about when it happens. Turns out, this is most likely perfectly normal because it happens when he is tracking something. The doctor said if it happens when Carl is reading something and one eye just goes limp on it's own, that would be a vision problem. He said it will either... get better, stay the same or get worse. Ha Ha. If it does get worse, I am welcome to bring him back in.
The doctor had read Tracey's note before entering the room and he declared Carl not color blind based on the note and the test today! Big sigh!
Next they dilated his eyes. We returned to the waiting room for about 30 minutes to let the drops take effect. Oh - and this waiting room was filled with toys, books and a children's movie playing in TV.
When we got called back in, the doctor tested Carl's eyes for glasses. He did in fact find a prescription close to that of the other office and noted some astigmatism as well. But, since Carl tested at 20/40 ("he'd pass the NC driver's license test") and this prescription was so slight, the ophthalmologist recommended not filling the prescription. He said, "If glasses cost $5 a pair, I'd say go for it. But, they don't." He said since it was such a small change, Carl would most likely take his glasses off and lose them. He assured me that there was no physical harm in letting Carl go without glasses now. He even said his own daughter kept testing near sighted on the eye charts, but he held off until her teachers at school reported it being a problem.
He said to definitely come back if I feel the eye crossing is getting much worse because then we'd have somewhere to work from. But, as it stands now, he'll just see us back in 12 months for a re-check. The receptionist told me that if I need to change this appt for any reason, they are booking 5-6 months out, so call very early to do that. Whoa.
So - there's the update. This appointment went so much better than the last one! All the positive things I have heard about this specialist were correct. The office was very patient and thorough.
OK, we had our appt at 7:30am. I didn't want to be late so we arrived at 7:15. I had already filled out all the paperwork they sent to me so all I had to do was hand them that and we were signed in.
I also brought several handouts. Carl's speech therapist wrote us a nice note explaining a little history and that "Carl is able to name his colors with 100% accuracy. Carl's deficits with color identification are language based, not visually based. Carl does not suffer from color blindness. he does have a language delay affecting his ability to expressively name abstract items and occasionally, colors."
I also brought along a copy of the vision test from pre-school that was clearly stamped, "no problems noted". If you have not seen one of these photo vision tests, they take a photo of your child's eyes very close up. The photo has total red-eye... you know, the look you want to avoid in your everyday photos. But, in this test, having that totally red eye allows them to detect problems. One little girl in their class wears glasses, so her mom let me see her test without glasses. She had big yellow crescents in her eyes. Another little girl's test came back that she showed some far sightedness. Her eyes also displayed this same yellow crescent shape in each eye. Both Gretchen & Carl's had no yellow at all. So, they liked seeing that. And, without me saying anything about the fact that I sort of knew how to read the test - the nurse told me, "If there is an issue, you will see some form of discoloration in the eyes. Either a yellow spot or even a full cloudiness."
And, I brought along a copy of the prescription the other office gave me for his near sighted eyeglasses.
So, we were the first ones into the office, but not quite the first ones called back. It wasn't a long wait, but the office was filling up quickly. At 7:30 am. We first saw a nurse who took my papers and thanked me for bringing all of that in. She asked me basically why we were here and I explained the other appointment. She smiled and shook her head, "They don't see many children in that practice."
Then she started off with the color blindness test. There were many differences in her test. Yes, it was the same concept - dots on a page with a shape that would stand out to someone who could differentiate colors. But, her book was physically bigger. Each page had 2 shapes on it somewhere. Either a triangle, a circle or a square. And she gave Carl a make-up brush to "paint" the shapes he could see. Adding this activity to the test kept him focused and kept him from realizing he was answering a quiz. He rocked the test! She even asked him on a couple pages, "What colors do you see?" and he got them correct each time.
The next test was 3D vision. This one he kind of drifted off on. He got one answer right and he did explain to her than some animals were jumping out at him, but he wasn't staying focused with her line of questioning. She wasn't phased or frustrated at all. She wasn't terribly worried and we moved on. I wasn't overly worried either since that was the one test he did fine with at the other office. I knew he could see the 3D-ness.
He was excited for the next test because it involved another pair of glasses to wear. This pair was a John Lennon shape frame and one lens was red while the other one was green. She then had a flashlight with 4 dots showing... 2 red, 1 green and 1 white. Twice - from different distances in the room - he told her there were 4 dots showing. She explained to me that this test showed his eyes were working together. If they weren't, he wouldn't have been able to see both red and green dots and would have had a lower number for his answer. Cool!
Next, eye chart exam. She asked me, "Does he know all his letters?" and let him use the letters! No stencil pictures! Each line she showed him had 5 letters. She kept showing him progressively smaller lines and he was doing great. She was able to get him to cover one eye with a plastic tool even. He missed some... calling a D an O. Things like that. She told me he tested 20/40 and that was great!
Gretchen was with us. This whole time, she did great sitting nicely or on some tests, standing next to Carl so she could see what was going on. Luckily, she didn't feed him any answers.
Then, the doctor came in and talked to us. He gave Carl another vision test with a tongue depressor. It had 3 or 4 lines of letter on it. A very tiny eye chart test. He was sort of covering one of Carl's eyes and moving this little eye chart around in front of him. Each time, Carl read all the letters perfectly. The doctor said he was trying to make Carl's eyes turn in like I had described and since he couldn't bring it out, that was a positive thing. The doctor even made his own eye turn in and asked if it was similar to this. yes! It was! And he asked me about when it happens. Turns out, this is most likely perfectly normal because it happens when he is tracking something. The doctor said if it happens when Carl is reading something and one eye just goes limp on it's own, that would be a vision problem. He said it will either... get better, stay the same or get worse. Ha Ha. If it does get worse, I am welcome to bring him back in.
The doctor had read Tracey's note before entering the room and he declared Carl not color blind based on the note and the test today! Big sigh!
Next they dilated his eyes. We returned to the waiting room for about 30 minutes to let the drops take effect. Oh - and this waiting room was filled with toys, books and a children's movie playing in TV.
When we got called back in, the doctor tested Carl's eyes for glasses. He did in fact find a prescription close to that of the other office and noted some astigmatism as well. But, since Carl tested at 20/40 ("he'd pass the NC driver's license test") and this prescription was so slight, the ophthalmologist recommended not filling the prescription. He said, "If glasses cost $5 a pair, I'd say go for it. But, they don't." He said since it was such a small change, Carl would most likely take his glasses off and lose them. He assured me that there was no physical harm in letting Carl go without glasses now. He even said his own daughter kept testing near sighted on the eye charts, but he held off until her teachers at school reported it being a problem.
He said to definitely come back if I feel the eye crossing is getting much worse because then we'd have somewhere to work from. But, as it stands now, he'll just see us back in 12 months for a re-check. The receptionist told me that if I need to change this appt for any reason, they are booking 5-6 months out, so call very early to do that. Whoa.
So - there's the update. This appointment went so much better than the last one! All the positive things I have heard about this specialist were correct. The office was very patient and thorough.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
sunscreen works
As long as you hit all the spots you need to cover. This was after our morning play date.
And these next two shots are from before the play date. I did not bring my camera to our beach play date. Too much sand and water. And, I knew I wasn't going to get to stay by the bag and watch it if I needed to set it down. 
I love Carl in his Ray Bans. Gretchen got broken and the optician never returned them to us. She is back to her $5 Disney ones from Walmart. I'm sure I am ruining her vision for the rest of her life with them, too.
And these next two shots are from before the play date. I did not bring my camera to our beach play date. Too much sand and water. And, I knew I wasn't going to get to stay by the bag and watch it if I needed to set it down. 
I love Carl in his Ray Bans. Gretchen got broken and the optician never returned them to us. She is back to her $5 Disney ones from Walmart. I'm sure I am ruining her vision for the rest of her life with them, too.
This beach play date has been in the works for a couple weeks now. But, no one predicted it would be 96* out this week! Usually, you feel a noticeable drop in temperature when you get down by the water, but not today. It was hot out there! Perfect beach weather.
A lot of the classmates (and their younger siblings - older ones are still in school) showed up! J, K, M, C, K, A, L, E, S, A, B, G & C. The kids had so much fun playing in the waves and sand together. We stayed 3 hours!
I don't normally take them to the beach by myself. Even at 5 and a half years old, it wouldn't work for me to be there alone. Carl wants to play in the waves. A lot. Deep waves. Many times I had to fetch him from being out pretty far. It was low tide and the tide was coming back in while we were there. Initially, they could walk out very very very far and the water was only up to their mid-calves. But, as the waves came in and it got deeper, they continued to think they could play that far out. There were about 5 fearless girls along with Carl. I had not intended on getting wet, but it was a good thing I had my suit on. I didn't get to visit with the other mothers much, though. Bummer.
But, the nice thing was that there were other mothers there to keep an eye on Gretchen while I played in the waves with Carl and the girls. Several kids were making sand castles and picking up shells. That is what Gretchen loves to do.
So, you can see why being there alone doesn't work for me. I don't like leaving Gretchen up in the sand while I chase Carl in the waves. And, I certainly don't want to leave Carl as he heads straight out to meet the waves while talking to Gretchen up in the sea shell area.
But, they are both already asking me "When can we play in the ocean again?" It was hard to get them to leave. Luckily, the others all had parking passes expiring at that time, too. So it wasn't like I dragged my two off and left their buddies splashing happily. I wish they would change next week's play date to the beach again instead of Chuck E Cheese's. My kids have never been there. This is going to open a big ol can of worms, I'm sure.
A lot of the classmates (and their younger siblings - older ones are still in school) showed up! J, K, M, C, K, A, L, E, S, A, B, G & C. The kids had so much fun playing in the waves and sand together. We stayed 3 hours!
I don't normally take them to the beach by myself. Even at 5 and a half years old, it wouldn't work for me to be there alone. Carl wants to play in the waves. A lot. Deep waves. Many times I had to fetch him from being out pretty far. It was low tide and the tide was coming back in while we were there. Initially, they could walk out very very very far and the water was only up to their mid-calves. But, as the waves came in and it got deeper, they continued to think they could play that far out. There were about 5 fearless girls along with Carl. I had not intended on getting wet, but it was a good thing I had my suit on. I didn't get to visit with the other mothers much, though. Bummer.
But, the nice thing was that there were other mothers there to keep an eye on Gretchen while I played in the waves with Carl and the girls. Several kids were making sand castles and picking up shells. That is what Gretchen loves to do.
So, you can see why being there alone doesn't work for me. I don't like leaving Gretchen up in the sand while I chase Carl in the waves. And, I certainly don't want to leave Carl as he heads straight out to meet the waves while talking to Gretchen up in the sea shell area.
But, they are both already asking me "When can we play in the ocean again?" It was hard to get them to leave. Luckily, the others all had parking passes expiring at that time, too. So it wasn't like I dragged my two off and left their buddies splashing happily. I wish they would change next week's play date to the beach again instead of Chuck E Cheese's. My kids have never been there. This is going to open a big ol can of worms, I'm sure.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
pre-school graduates
Today was pre-school graduation. The twins have been at this same pre-school for 3 years now. Each May, the Pre-K classes and the Kindergarten class holds a ceremony for their graduates. All the other classes participate in singing songs and entertaining the families. Then, there is a short ceremony where the kids receive their diplomas from the Director. 
We were able to take some photos after.
Grandma arrived yesterday for a visit.
Now that pre-school has ended, I should probably be more sad than I am. I will miss going to this school a lot, but the kids are very ready for new challenges. We are looking forward to the next milestone.....
We were able to take some photos after.
Grandma arrived yesterday for a visit.Now that pre-school has ended, I should probably be more sad than I am. I will miss going to this school a lot, but the kids are very ready for new challenges. We are looking forward to the next milestone.....
Kindergarten - here we come!!!
O'Dark-Hundred
That is military time according to my brother in law for "very very early".
That's when I got up. 4:22 am. Shower, got picked up at 5:00 by a photography buddy and we got to the beach by 5:20 am for the sunrise photo shoot field trip. Official sunrise was 6:06am. It was also low tide. You want to coordinate the 2 down there because we have rock formations along the beach that are not visible when the tide is in. And they add a unique touch to the photos.
It was a little foggy out and the pre-dawn lighting wasn't as spectacular as it could have been. And, for some reason, my iso was cranked up to 3200 for about 50 shots before I noticed. So, that worked out OK. I didn't lose anything awesome due to the grain.
The bugs were insane! Ridiculously insane!
I got a couple shots I am happy with. No sunrise ones - just really cool moss covered rock ones. Well, maybe this one with the sun rising is OK.
But I really prefer the moss shots with the sun to my back.
That's when I got up. 4:22 am. Shower, got picked up at 5:00 by a photography buddy and we got to the beach by 5:20 am for the sunrise photo shoot field trip. Official sunrise was 6:06am. It was also low tide. You want to coordinate the 2 down there because we have rock formations along the beach that are not visible when the tide is in. And they add a unique touch to the photos.
It was a little foggy out and the pre-dawn lighting wasn't as spectacular as it could have been. And, for some reason, my iso was cranked up to 3200 for about 50 shots before I noticed. So, that worked out OK. I didn't lose anything awesome due to the grain.
The bugs were insane! Ridiculously insane!
I got a couple shots I am happy with. No sunrise ones - just really cool moss covered rock ones. Well, maybe this one with the sun rising is OK.
But I really prefer the moss shots with the sun to my back.After the sun rose, we walked a short birding trail and then headed out for breakfast at a local coffee shop. I was home before 10:00am.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
only 1 week later than last Saturday! (how's that for a vague title?)
Tonight she almost pulled out Tooth #2 at the same restaurant as last week's Tooth #1, but she insisted she didn't want to lose her tooth there again! So, 2 minutes back in the door back home and she was handing me the tooth!
There were 5 weeks between Carl losing his 1st and 2nd. 1 week for Gretchen! And no signs of any teeth coming in behind the fallen ones.
There were 5 weeks between Carl losing his 1st and 2nd. 1 week for Gretchen! And no signs of any teeth coming in behind the fallen ones.
Friday, May 20, 2011
the last day of pre-school
Today was the last day of pre-school. Since the graduation ceremony is this weekend, they had a mandatory dress rehearsal yesterday. This meant, even though it wasn't his scheduled day, Carl got to go. So did all of his friends who usually only attend on Tuesdays and Thursdays. After their rehearsal, they had a cook-out! No parents invited! Hot dogs, watermelon, potato chips! Ice cream! A pinata!
So, the moms were all gathering around 12:55 like we do for 1:00 pick-up. No kids. We could see them on the playground, but they weren't lining up. Then, one of the teachers came over and said the party was running over and we were welcome to join them. But, none of us did. Several of us had our cameras and were waiting to snap a picture as the class filed out for the very last time. So, for the very last time, we got to stand around and visit, too. We already have play dates planned, but you know how those go - it won't end up being all the kids there.
Since everyone was there, we decided this would be a nice time to give the teachers the gifts that they whole class made for them. We met in the park one afternoon and the kids painted hand prints onto an umbrella with fabric paint. Then, after washing their hands - they got to write their names on the umbrella with a marker! The finished umbrellas were adorable!
Photos from the day we made them:
The teachers loved them - and we had all the kids pile over to take a group photo. It is the only one from the year with all 14 kids in it. When they had their school photos done, they do a class photo, but not a group shot. They do one of those head shot composite things. Nice for older kids, not so much fun for pre-schoolers. I like piles of kids or babies. And I have experience getting 15 kids to at least look up, hopefully all somewhat smile. At the last camera club meeting, a photographer was mentioned who said that children's photography is very similar to wildlife photography. True. Often more like alligator wildlife, not cute fuzzy duckling wildlife.
The shot came out cute! I won't post it here because I did not ask the other parents for permission to put their child's face online. But, hell - I'll show you my kids...
This was earlier in the day. At drop-off. The last pre-school drop-off ever. I will admit, I am more excited about this than sad. I know it has some bittersweet qualities to it, but honestly, my kids are so ready for the next chapter in their lives. They are craving new challenges and I am very confident that kindergarten is going to present them with all the challenges they could ask for!
Why did I pick this location for a photo? (photo below) Well, because pre-school is in a day care that is in a church. Parents have been asked to park behind the church building for drop off because the other side is on street parking and not safe. Not all parents follow the rule, but most do. Now, on this back side of church, most of the spots are marked as handicapped spots, but the signs actually read "Sundays and Wednesdays only". And, we were all informed that the Wednesday portion is a night time prayer group. We were given permission to park in them every day for drop off and pick up. The closets spot's sign reads "loading/unloading" and that is the one they like to park in.
"You are just unloading us, Mom?" "Yes, I am. Now, grab your lunch box."
So, it seemed like a good place for a last day of school photo. Our last unloading at pre-school.
age 5 1/2 years exactly:
So, the moms were all gathering around 12:55 like we do for 1:00 pick-up. No kids. We could see them on the playground, but they weren't lining up. Then, one of the teachers came over and said the party was running over and we were welcome to join them. But, none of us did. Several of us had our cameras and were waiting to snap a picture as the class filed out for the very last time. So, for the very last time, we got to stand around and visit, too. We already have play dates planned, but you know how those go - it won't end up being all the kids there.
Since everyone was there, we decided this would be a nice time to give the teachers the gifts that they whole class made for them. We met in the park one afternoon and the kids painted hand prints onto an umbrella with fabric paint. Then, after washing their hands - they got to write their names on the umbrella with a marker! The finished umbrellas were adorable!
Photos from the day we made them:
The teachers loved them - and we had all the kids pile over to take a group photo. It is the only one from the year with all 14 kids in it. When they had their school photos done, they do a class photo, but not a group shot. They do one of those head shot composite things. Nice for older kids, not so much fun for pre-schoolers. I like piles of kids or babies. And I have experience getting 15 kids to at least look up, hopefully all somewhat smile. At the last camera club meeting, a photographer was mentioned who said that children's photography is very similar to wildlife photography. True. Often more like alligator wildlife, not cute fuzzy duckling wildlife.The shot came out cute! I won't post it here because I did not ask the other parents for permission to put their child's face online. But, hell - I'll show you my kids...
This was earlier in the day. At drop-off. The last pre-school drop-off ever. I will admit, I am more excited about this than sad. I know it has some bittersweet qualities to it, but honestly, my kids are so ready for the next chapter in their lives. They are craving new challenges and I am very confident that kindergarten is going to present them with all the challenges they could ask for!
Why did I pick this location for a photo? (photo below) Well, because pre-school is in a day care that is in a church. Parents have been asked to park behind the church building for drop off because the other side is on street parking and not safe. Not all parents follow the rule, but most do. Now, on this back side of church, most of the spots are marked as handicapped spots, but the signs actually read "Sundays and Wednesdays only". And, we were all informed that the Wednesday portion is a night time prayer group. We were given permission to park in them every day for drop off and pick up. The closets spot's sign reads "loading/unloading" and that is the one they like to park in.
"You are just unloading us, Mom?" "Yes, I am. Now, grab your lunch box."
So, it seemed like a good place for a last day of school photo. Our last unloading at pre-school.
age 5 1/2 years exactly:
Thursday, May 19, 2011
interviewed the twins about their teachers
I do this every year for Teacher Appreciation Week and I thougth I'd share it today, since tomorrow is their final day of pre-school.
2010-2011 school year interviews with Carl & Gretchen May 2011
What is your favorite part of school?
Carl: I like computer time.
Gretchen: My favorite part of school is that I learn a lot. And do you know what I learn? I learned a long time ago that they don’t stick a new season or stick a new month in between.
What are some things you do at school?
Carl: There’s a computer that’s mine. I learn the months. January February March April May. Look whose birthday it is today! Those are the words.
Gretchen: Play. I learned to clean up the garbage. I can play at the playground and I can even listen at school. I can even choose what center I want to play in.
Can you tell me about your friends at school?
Carl: You know who is a boy like me? Keagen is a boy like me. Alexa and Kayleigh and Mackenzie sit at my lunch table.
Gretchen: My friends like to play together and they’re all best friends. My friends like to play with each friend even though they’re with other friends.
What are some things in your classroom?
Carl: Hmmm… Alex and Keagen are boys like me. There are teachers in my classroom. Know what’s their names? Miss Diane and Miss Kelsey. We see a school playground at school.
Gretchen: Lots of centers. There’s even lots of things like crayons and markers and home center things and even there are lots and lots and lots of centers.
What can you tell me about Miss Diane?
Carl: She plays some songs that we like.
Gretchen: Miss Diane has a loud voice. She always teaches us what to do and she even knows the rules. She usually plays and eats with us. That’s all I know about Miss Diane. One more thing I know about Miss Diane is that she loves the whole class.
What can you tell me about Miss Kelsey?
Carl: She zips my coat a lot.
Gretchen: Miss Kelsey usually comes into centers with me and Keagen when we’re having a party. She sometimes takes care of the class. Miss Kelsey even sometimes eats with us. She even loves the whole class.
What does Miss Sheryl do at pre-school?
Carl: Miss Sheryl comes at our class a lot.
Gretchen: She works there. She even comes in the classroom sometimes and talks to people when they come in. Miss Sheryl even comes in the classroom and talks to us.
What is Miss Betty’s job at pre-school?
Carl: I took her picture one day.
Gretchen: I don’t know her job. She comes in the classroom and talks to us about like whatever she knows.
Carl’s interview about his therapists
What can you tell me about Andrea?
Carl: She comes on Mondays. She also sees me on Tuesdays. I play with her a lot. She plays the marshmallow game. Andrea gave us the putty. She did.
What can you tell me about Tracey?
Carl: She also comes on Tuesdays and Fridays. We play with her a lot. We play something in the classroom with Tracey but not with Andrea.
What can you tell me about Jen?
Carl: We didn’t play the Memory Game. We were busy making some cake. Then the clean up song was there.
(I had to save the best for last! Ashlie has been with Carl since he was 26 months old.)
What can you tell me about Ashlie?
Carl: I love her a lot.
2010-2011 school year interviews with Carl & Gretchen May 2011
What is your favorite part of school?
Carl: I like computer time.
Gretchen: My favorite part of school is that I learn a lot. And do you know what I learn? I learned a long time ago that they don’t stick a new season or stick a new month in between.
What are some things you do at school?
Carl: There’s a computer that’s mine. I learn the months. January February March April May. Look whose birthday it is today! Those are the words.
Gretchen: Play. I learned to clean up the garbage. I can play at the playground and I can even listen at school. I can even choose what center I want to play in.
Can you tell me about your friends at school?
Carl: You know who is a boy like me? Keagen is a boy like me. Alexa and Kayleigh and Mackenzie sit at my lunch table.
Gretchen: My friends like to play together and they’re all best friends. My friends like to play with each friend even though they’re with other friends.
What are some things in your classroom?
Carl: Hmmm… Alex and Keagen are boys like me. There are teachers in my classroom. Know what’s their names? Miss Diane and Miss Kelsey. We see a school playground at school.
Gretchen: Lots of centers. There’s even lots of things like crayons and markers and home center things and even there are lots and lots and lots of centers.
What can you tell me about Miss Diane?
Carl: She plays some songs that we like.
Gretchen: Miss Diane has a loud voice. She always teaches us what to do and she even knows the rules. She usually plays and eats with us. That’s all I know about Miss Diane. One more thing I know about Miss Diane is that she loves the whole class.
What can you tell me about Miss Kelsey?
Carl: She zips my coat a lot.
Gretchen: Miss Kelsey usually comes into centers with me and Keagen when we’re having a party. She sometimes takes care of the class. Miss Kelsey even sometimes eats with us. She even loves the whole class.
What does Miss Sheryl do at pre-school?
Carl: Miss Sheryl comes at our class a lot.
Gretchen: She works there. She even comes in the classroom sometimes and talks to people when they come in. Miss Sheryl even comes in the classroom and talks to us.
What is Miss Betty’s job at pre-school?
Carl: I took her picture one day.
Gretchen: I don’t know her job. She comes in the classroom and talks to us about like whatever she knows.
Carl’s interview about his therapists
What can you tell me about Andrea?
Carl: She comes on Mondays. She also sees me on Tuesdays. I play with her a lot. She plays the marshmallow game. Andrea gave us the putty. She did.
What can you tell me about Tracey?
Carl: She also comes on Tuesdays and Fridays. We play with her a lot. We play something in the classroom with Tracey but not with Andrea.
What can you tell me about Jen?
Carl: We didn’t play the Memory Game. We were busy making some cake. Then the clean up song was there.
(I had to save the best for last! Ashlie has been with Carl since he was 26 months old.)
What can you tell me about Ashlie?
Carl: I love her a lot.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
we still have to cut the hamburgers
This was last Saturday, May 14th. First shot taken at 11:30am. 
Second shot taken after dinner that evening. During the meal, she said, "Here Mom" and handed me the tooth. Turns out, she inadvertently pulled it out after she was completely set on not pulling it out herself! She just wanted to check how loose it was and ...pop... it came out. I got a clean little salad-dressing-on-the-side lidded cup from the waitress to bring it home safely.
Of course, this is the third tooth that has been lost between the two of them yet the Tooth Fairy has never made an appearance in our home. Carl's first one (6 months ago already)- he swallowed and I never found. Carl's second one (about 5 weeks after he lost his first one) he lost on the drive to NY for Christmas and we forgot it in NY. Now, Gretchen has lost her first tooth and is really planning exactly how she is going to handle the Tooth Fairy.
First, she didn't want to place it under her pillow because she is afraid the Tooth Fairy will wake her up. I told her that she should bring her camera to bed with her because when I was little, the Tooth Fairy never woke me up and I don't know what she looks like. Nope. She didn't like that idea. She informed me that some of her friends at school have little bags that they hang on their bedroom doors with the tooth inside. I don't want to do that, but she really does.
Next, she decided that she didn't want to give up the tooth. Again, I had a good solution for her... let's write a nice note to the Tooth Fairy and ask her if maybe she would give the tooth to Mommy to put in a special box to keep. I have a friend with twin girls who lives up in NY and get this - she flushed the first lost tooth! Her words, "Everything told me to get rid of the evidence."
So, she is still mulling the note idea over. She did say "I want to do it on a Sunday night and since Sunday has already passed, let's wait until next week."
Procrastinating Tooth Hoarder!!!!
And she no longer has a hurting, loose tooth, yet she is still convincing us that she wants her hamburgers cut up into bite sized pieces because it is best for her.
Manipulative Procrastinating Tooth Hoarder!
Second shot taken after dinner that evening. During the meal, she said, "Here Mom" and handed me the tooth. Turns out, she inadvertently pulled it out after she was completely set on not pulling it out herself! She just wanted to check how loose it was and ...pop... it came out. I got a clean little salad-dressing-on-the-side lidded cup from the waitress to bring it home safely.
Of course, this is the third tooth that has been lost between the two of them yet the Tooth Fairy has never made an appearance in our home. Carl's first one (6 months ago already)- he swallowed and I never found. Carl's second one (about 5 weeks after he lost his first one) he lost on the drive to NY for Christmas and we forgot it in NY. Now, Gretchen has lost her first tooth and is really planning exactly how she is going to handle the Tooth Fairy.First, she didn't want to place it under her pillow because she is afraid the Tooth Fairy will wake her up. I told her that she should bring her camera to bed with her because when I was little, the Tooth Fairy never woke me up and I don't know what she looks like. Nope. She didn't like that idea. She informed me that some of her friends at school have little bags that they hang on their bedroom doors with the tooth inside. I don't want to do that, but she really does.
Next, she decided that she didn't want to give up the tooth. Again, I had a good solution for her... let's write a nice note to the Tooth Fairy and ask her if maybe she would give the tooth to Mommy to put in a special box to keep. I have a friend with twin girls who lives up in NY and get this - she flushed the first lost tooth! Her words, "Everything told me to get rid of the evidence."
So, she is still mulling the note idea over. She did say "I want to do it on a Sunday night and since Sunday has already passed, let's wait until next week."
Procrastinating Tooth Hoarder!!!!
And she no longer has a hurting, loose tooth, yet she is still convincing us that she wants her hamburgers cut up into bite sized pieces because it is best for her.
Manipulative Procrastinating Tooth Hoarder!
__________________________________________________
Well, I had no idea how easy it was going to be to walk away from this blog. But, I originally established it for myself - if you recall, you weren't invited in for months - and I am falling way behind in my own journaling by not posting. So, I better jump back in. I plan to be more careful about what I share, but for now, I'll try to fill you in one some things you missed.Thursday, May 5, 2011
these are banned at our house
These Crayola Washable Colored Bubbles will not be allowed in my home. Or my backyard.
If they are given to my kids, I do not have any problem being the bad guy and throwing them out. So, don't buy them for the twins.
If you need to read reviews.... 108 people on Amazon gave them 1 star out of 5. A friend of mine had her mother in law give them to her twin boys. They did not come out of the shirts. They did not wash off the boys.
If they are given to my kids, I do not have any problem being the bad guy and throwing them out. So, don't buy them for the twins.
If you need to read reviews.... 108 people on Amazon gave them 1 star out of 5. A friend of mine had her mother in law give them to her twin boys. They did not come out of the shirts. They did not wash off the boys.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
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