Post by supertrooper1 on Aug 30, 2018 9:24:59 GMT -5
Our work unit "bid" went as good as it could have for me. My coworker on the afternoon shift wouldn't leave, but 3 out of the 4 people in my office are good, along with a good supervisor, so I'm hoping for a good next 2 years.
Our hot water heater only needed a small part replaced, so no big bill yet. But it's aging and I'm expecting it to go out completely in the next couple of years.
DS starts kindergarten on Tuesday. He's excited. We met with the teacher yesterday for a quick one on one orientation. Three other kids from his preschool class are in his class.
I haven't received my test score yet from the sister agency test. I'm anxiously awaiting that score because I think I bombed the math part but the other parts went well. I've applied for 3 other interagency jobs, but they're still moving at government speed.
I am up to about $200 in the lice fiasco. Got shampoo, gel, spray, comb. I think I burned my scalp off with my hairddryer and flatiron, not a recommendation, but it couldn't hurt. I don't know that I have been affected, but am treating everyone.
Dh has been cooperative. I am still mad and his attitude is a bigger issue, but I'm too tired to deal with him. He brought some candy home as a peace offering, so in his mind I'm sure he is great.
Volleyball teams easily won all 4 games this week, so that is exciting.
Our governor just signed into law that hearing aids are mandated coverage by insurance companies for children! This is amazing! DS's hearing aids were 5K, 2.5K in appointments and 2.5K in hearing aids. Yes I could have gone to a shop and gotten them cheaper, but they typically do not specialize in children. I had to buy our insurance off the market because DH was between jobs at that time. It was $950 a month for 1 adult and 2 kids off the market, for 3 months, and I had to find the one insurance company that covered hearing aids that had a low enough deductible to make it worth it. They were an HMO and had the absolute worst customer service in the history or all call centers. They read off a script for every single question. They made my doctor office spend 3 hours on the phone with them to fill out the referral form for DS to see the ENT. Once we got there, they still did not want us to see the ENT, but somehow the provider got it through. I was on the phone with them yelling do your job and they hung up on me (rightfully due to the screaming), but had they and the doctor office done the paperwork correctly then I wouldn't have had to yell. In additional I had to call each office after every transaction to follow up and make sure everything was done which was extremely difficult due to the script reading- each phone call was at least 30 minutes due to that. After the hearing aids were completed the ENT wanted me to see her, but I couldn't get another approval to see the ENT, and I didn't want to make myself have a stroke, so I had to schedule the appointment for when we had regular insurance again. Once we had regular insurance again (through DH's new job) then I had to not go to the hearing aid appointment because they were too expensive (new insurance didn't cover it). She asked why I didn't come for a follow up, and I said I couldn't afford it. DH and I make good money, so what about the people that don't? And we couldn't afford it.
I eventually got DS into the audiologist that the school provided and he took over hearing aid related stuff for free, but what about the times the school wouldn't cover it? And they wouldn't get us hearing aids, only help with them after we had them.
They required me to switch pediatricians because the pedi had to refer DS. That was the only good thing we got out of it because the new pedi is 5 minutes away and fairly good/ practical. I don't agree with him on everything, but find me a doctor that I would, but he is more up to speed on my kids now that he has gotten to know them better and have that history.
2 weeks of kindergarten down in the books and she still claims to really not like before care. She doesn't love aftercare, but it doesn't seem to bother her as much - at least she doesn't complain about it as much.
We're not sure if it's just the start of the day, the fact that before care doesn't segregate based on age (kinder goes separately afterschool, in the morning she's lumped with k-5), or the fact that morning assembly is a big party and other kids have their parents there. (Seriously.. do your schools do this? I don't understand the point of lining up 700 kids on the playground, playing music, etc. and then a flag salute. It seems unnecessary to me.)
So I guess we continue on with what we're doing for a few more weeks and hope she adapts, and if not, we'll eventually pull her out of before care and just figure out a way to make it work.
Post by justcheckingin73 on Aug 30, 2018 10:30:56 GMT -5
What a mess, waverly! But I’m so glad it’s been mandated.
rere, I dealt with lice when DD was in 1st or 2nd grade and of course it was during winter when the kids all pile their coats on to each other before/after recess.
My update is based on yesterday’s open letter. My coworker was let go and they will be backfilling with a slightly different role - events + extra - though I’m not sure what the extra is at this point. So, for the foreseeable future I will also be doing Int’l event planning. I’m so nervous I‘m going to miss something.
We also found out that they will start demoing our kitchen and floors next Tuesday! I’m not sure what it will all look like when it’s done but we rented a POD so we could put all of our stuff in there and make it as easy as possible but this weekend will be spent doing that. But - I’m so glad it’s finally starting. I’ve been waiting for a new kitchen and new floors for many years.
DD doesn’t have a tear in her shoulder according to the MRI. It’s more inflamed than he’s ever seen it so she can’t even do PT and he called in stronger meds, which are out of stock locally so I have to drive 30 minutes. Of course the meds my mom needs are also out of stock and 30 minutes the opposite direction.
I feel like DD is in a black hole with big picture treatment options. She may have EDS but a diagnosis doesn’t do anything because handling is the same regardless. Her autonomic stuff is what it is, like the enzyme deficiency and no starch. But allll of these are typically comorbidities and not the primary condition so in the back of my head I think we haven’t found the main issue yet. And we aren’t doing anything to find it. She sees her pain management doctor October 23rd because that was his first available. I need to call back and escalate again I think because we have never waited that long!
If I could just get her into the Mayo Clinic (whose research into kids like her say that what the doctors are saying here is common and not enough) .... I am wondering what would happen if I called our Mayo Clinic hotline and asked them what to do...Probably take her to the ER (that is the advice I get from them 90% of the time).
First week back is going okay. I am exhausted though. Downside of nursing is that I have to get up with DD in the middle of night. She is a good baby but I am up at 4 every day and I am not used to that.
We fired our house cleaners a few weeks ago. Met with a new one today. Hopefully she works out.
TWERK: no response from frenemy’s mom. It’s official- we are done.
DD has been asking disturbing questions since her play date. Is Santa real? How do my abs look? Friend has abs with lines - where are mine? So I need to monitor this closely.
DDOT: I heard from a former coworker who is now out on her own consulting, but in a different area of marketing. She has basically asked me to do a huge chunk of consulting work for her for free. Like, if I charged a company for this, it’s like $100k worth of work. If I hired a company to do it for me when I was working, it would have cost me $500k. So she is planning to get my stuff for free, flip it, call it her own, and charge her client. And I haven’t heard from her in 2 years. Um... no?
I finished painting the dinning room and it looks great. I have the second coat just behind the fridge left to do on the kitchen and hope to start on the cabinet doors this afternoon. The whole thing looks so different going from mint green dining room and lavender kitchen to a mermaid tail in the kitchen (think green lagoon) and a hint of gray in the dining area. Cabinets are just getting a nice fresh coat of white with new black hinges and I'm trying to Pinterest my knobs to avoid having to buy new ones.
DD is loving horse camp this week. Not super hungry and not full out exhausted when I pick her up but she is sleeping 13-14 hours at night. 7:30 bedtime and not getting up until 9ish. Camp doesn't start till 10.
Biggest news is her school went with TWO 2nd grade classes. They made the choice 2 hours before meet the teacher but the 41 kids in one class got the veto. Sad part is K now only has 1 class of 30 kids but gets 2 full time assistants. 5th grade is one class also with 40 kids. I'm still tempted to send my letter to the school district complaining about class sizes even though it doesn't affect DD this year.
justcheckingin73, waverly, every day. School starts at 8:55 and kids can arrive on the playground at 8:30 and morning assembly starts at 8:50. It's not long, but I just don't get it.
My coworker says they do the same thing at her kid's school too.
I mean when I worked at one daycare I vaguely remember a morning meeting like 5 minutes to great the kids. I don't remember now if it was every day, but the parents did NOT stay for it.
Post by mustardseed2007 on Aug 30, 2018 16:01:42 GMT -5
k3am , School starts at DS' new school at 8:20 and before 8:15 they go into a big hall that has at least 1st-5th graders. I'm not sure if the younger kids go in there also or not but it's loud and boisterous in there.
Assemblies at our school are once per month from 8:30 to 9 and I just got our first email about them it, which says parents we welcome to attend. At this first one they are inducting kids into the National Jr Honors Society so I guess if my kid was one of those then I would go....not sure why I would otherwise though.
DS is still liking his school. His teacher emailed me back and said he's between a B and C reader and his phonics are level 3, which is average. Funny. I never understood quite what the montessori teacher was saying and I'm still not quite sure what this teacher is saying either. Ha. He has his first spelling test on Friday but he's been doing well with writing the words. Thank God for his tutor.
I am coming to the conclusion that part of DS' problem is that there are only 4 boys total in his 10 kid class and he's not into at least 2 of them b/c they are loud and boisterous and DS is quiet. He's been telling me about playing with some of the girls and older kids. I'm good with that as long as he's making connections.
New saga is that my mom needs a new heart valve. The procedure was scheduled for Sept. 10 but my dad called and canceled it b/c Sept 10 is a monday and there's too much traffic on mondays. I'm furious and my sister is furious and we are taking over b/c he obviously sucks. And I'm terrified of my mom having this surgery b/c last time she had a "simple over night hospital stay procedure" she almost died. With all her health issues, she's a very very tricky patient. Ugh.
justcheckingin73, waverly, every day. School starts at 8:55 and kids can arrive on the playground at 8:30 and morning assembly starts at 8:50. It's not long, but I just don't get it.
My coworker says they do the same thing at her kid's school too.
I forgot to mention, started one of my new classes for the year. 31 Freshman girls which is 6 more than I am supposed to have for the program. They seemed sweet so far. Sometimes you can tell if it's going to be a challenge the first day.
k3am it’s strange that we’re in the same state - a bunch of things are so different about our kids’ schools. Like the fact that our before and aftercare are under $300 a month. Dd’s School starts at 8 am (we can get there at 7:45 am) so you do have a lot of parents dropping off, since that’s still a reasonable time to leave for work. But you have to head for the school/playground exits by a few minutes before the bell or you get locked in for security reasons and have to go out through the office. There’s definitely no partying with parents everyday.
Post by librarychica on Aug 30, 2018 17:20:45 GMT -5
I did my first school volunteer task and it went fine. I separated and paper clipped homework handouts for an hour and she gave me a whole week to do it. Nbd.
I am struggling at work but not with work. I am trying to train a new guy to be more effective at our job. This week was very frustrating. He doesn’t pay much attention to detail but I also wonder if I explaining it poorly. Plus he is so cocky. So very very cocky. My boss expects me to take over her role in the not-far future and so I know I have to learn to let go and delegate but, ugh.
DD1 continues to pass her bug tests. I am decreasing the obsessive lice combing to every third day. She is settling better into public school that I expected after the hellish week one. I’m proud and relieved.
I have no idea how the school of district is getting away with these high teacher student ratios. I did k-12 in this district and parents used to freak when a class was 28. I feel really sorry for the teachers.
k3am no way would I be going to daily assembly just to chill with my kid. I think you need to have a heart to heart with your DD and explain why you need to go to work and what that gives your family and that you have no problems taking time off to do stuff at school but you would rather save it for field trips, in class parties, etc. And not waste your limited off time on morning assembly. Fyi my DD loves hanging with the big kids and gets cranky when she has to be kept with her age group.
mustardseed2007- maybe you know this already so forgive me if you do.
Is he in K? Our district sounds like your school in that they use the A-Z reading levels. I think our K teacher wanted them at a D at the end of the year, so B and C sound great. For more info just google A-Z reading levels, and they have a website. They did not give us phonics levels so I’m no help with that.
If possible can you go to the surgery consultation for your mom then you can tell them about her being a tricky patient. My other advice is go to the very best doctor and hospital. I think ours was rated #1 in the state for DS’s heart surgery and it showed. They did daily x rays right while he was in bed. They had a separate pain management team that made rounds. It was great to have several doctors rounding throughout the day/ different groups rather than just once a day especially because things can change in several hours.
I have no idea how the school of district is getting away with these high teacher student ratios. I did k-12 in this district and parents used to freak when a class was 28. I feel really sorry for the teachers.
k3am no way would I be going to daily assembly just to chill with my kid. I think you need to have a heart to heart with your DD and explain why you need to go to work and what that gives your family and that you have no problems taking time off to do stuff at school but you would rather save it for field trips, in class parties, etc. And not waste your limited off time on morning assembly. Fyi my DD loves hanging with the big kids and gets cranky when she has to be kept with her age group.
We definitely had a heart to hear about it. I mean it may have been along the lines of “if mommy doesn’t work, we cant afford this house and we’ll have to live with Nana and Pop Pop. And you’ll have to share a room with DS. And do you WANT mommy to be a raging alcoholic?!?” (Her response was... I don’t think so???)
I picked her up from aftercare today and it was glorious. She was having a great time with the other kids and my heart was happy. And one of the boys in her class lives a few houses down (just found out!) so she went to the park with him (and his family) and I got some very much needed downtime to just veg with DS.
Regardless, there’s hope, at least for aftercare. FX for the before care. I think she’ll come around eventually.
Post by librarychica on Aug 31, 2018 6:49:58 GMT -5
k3am, we got DD1 a fancy adult-style coloring book and some twistable colored pencils for morning care. She only uses them there and it gives her something to do. Her beforecare is pretty much just them sitting in the cafeteria or going to running club. She has this week started sometimes going to running club, but the coloring book really made her happier to go. It’s a little thing, but it helped.
Post by mustardseed2007 on Aug 31, 2018 9:13:15 GMT -5
waverly, he's in 1st. In talking to the old 1st grade teacher (who retired at the end of last year) it did sound like she was hoping students would come in at C/D after the summer slide. The fact that he's a B/C puts him behind but its a significant increase over where he was when he entered K and before he started tutoring where he didn't know his alphabet. So I'm pretty happy with him being a little behind b/c it could have been vastly worse.
k3am,no morning assemblies here and there is no way I would stay for one.
First week back from our family road trip vacation and it's been a long week to say the least. DH left for a work trip as soon as we got back and of course we've had tornados, two sick kids and a baby who no longer sleeps at night while he's out of the country and I'm trying to get back into work.
We met DD1's 1st grade teacher last night and she was lovely. She met with us on her own time because we missed open house and was so great about making accomodations for DD's food allergy. I could've kissed her! DD knows a couple kids in her class but none of her good friends are in there. They all seem to be in a different class together so I'm trying not to panic about how she'll handle it. They're trying something new this year where the kids can sit with whoever they want at lunch instead of with their class. That's good news for her but also concerns me with the drama it brings.
Post by librarychica on Aug 31, 2018 12:31:54 GMT -5
Oh I have a gossipy TWERK from long ago. Years ago I posted looking for working and handling lots of kids advice for my SIL who found herself accidentally pregnant with no. 4 after splitting and reuniting with her husband. Well she’s accidentally pregnant with no. 5 after splitting and reuniting with her husband, again.
I’m worried about her. She’s a wonderful person generally and I know she is stressed. I am skeptical about her definition of accident, though is it none of my business. Finally I am jealous as hell even though H and agreed not to have any more. I thought I was past this!
Post by sandandsea on Aug 31, 2018 13:01:31 GMT -5
k3am yes everyone lines up everyday with their kids on the playground. Kinders have to have an adult with them in the line. It gets better In 1st grade as they are allowed to drop off and not stay so only half the parents stay. It is a fun time to catch up with other parents and many go on to do SAHM stuff (gym/coffee/etc) together after drop off. However the bell rings, everyone parades to the classroom, then parents leave, kids get organized, they do the pledge and school starts.
k3am yes everyone lines up everyday with their kids on the playground. Kinders have to have an adult with them in the line. It gets better In 1st grade as they are allowed to drop off and not stay so only half the parents stay. It is a fun time to catch up with other parents and many go on to do SAHM stuff (gym/coffee/etc) together after drop off. However the bell rings, everyone parades to the classroom, then parents leave, kids get organized, they do the pledge and school starts.
This is basically what it is here. It just seems so isolating since (a) DH and I can't be there for it and end up feeling like I'm missing out on something (chatting, meeting other parents, etc that I know is going on) and (b) DH and I can't be there for it, so DD definitely feels like she's getting the short end of the stick.
k3am yes everyone lines up everyday with their kids on the playground. Kinders have to have an adult with them in the line. It gets better In 1st grade as they are allowed to drop off and not stay so only half the parents stay. It is a fun time to catch up with other parents and many go on to do SAHM stuff (gym/coffee/etc) together after drop off. However the bell rings, everyone parades to the classroom, then parents leave, kids get organized, they do the pledge and school starts.
This is basically what it is here. It just seems so isolating since (a) DH and I can't be there for it and end up feeling like I'm missing out on something (chatting, meeting other parents, etc that I know is going on) and (b) DH and I can't be there for it, so DD definitely feels like she's getting the short end of the stick.
I am so confused by this. Are Kindergartners not allowed on the bus?