I have great hopes for today.  First off, Lydia does not have any Nutcracker performances today, so that relieves me of taking her downtown.  She has really enjoyed it so far, and still wants to be a professional dancer, even though she has seen firsthand how difficult it can be.  She even looked up dance programs available at Belmont. 

She is preparing right now to redo her essay on the Giver.  We looked through a literature book and I found that she had misunderstood what I wanted.  She had looked up on writing a "book review", which is like what you would find in a newspaper or magazine.  What I wanted was more of a literatary critique.  So, hopefully she will manage a little better this time by loooking at the right section of her book.  It was probably my fault for not being specific enough the first time. sigh.  Although, I am still sick of Harry Potter  :)

On Friday I took the oldest 3 girls to see the Chronicles of Narnia.  We met a couple other hs familes there.  It was great fun, we had popcorn and the girls enjoyed the movie and other kids.  Since Lydia has read the books and is familiar with CS Lewis she knew the plot.  Syd and Shelby didn't know the story as well so when Aslan was killed by the White Witch it was totally silent in the theater and Syd says "Is he dead?" to which Lydia leans over and says to wait and see what happens to him.  As far as the movie goes, even though there are battles and death there is not any blood and gore.  And my favorite part was when the professor says to the bickering children "you are a family, perhaps its time you start acting like one".   If only my children could remember this too :)

Right now Syd is playing with her V-Smile game that grandma got her and Shelby for their birthday- practicing the alphabet.  Shelby is coloring.  Lydia is reowrking her literature.  While things haven't been perfect, they are much improved from Friday.

On Friday Sydney was having an awful day.  She has some sensory integration problems and emotional difficulties.  Usually I can manage her, but Friday was bad and she had everyone on eggshells and I was ready to take her to Daddy at work so he could deal with her for a couple hours!  I think all in all though it is her sleeping habits that are getting the best of her some days.  She sleeps very little and is always scared, but I've noticed that the less she sleeps the worse she is.  So, we are working on that through some more definitive bedtimes and enforcing a quiet time each afternoon. 

Through my own fault, we haven't done any more learning to read.  I think I got overwhlemed and just ave up.  

Thaxton came downstairs early this morning before evreyone else was up and unwrapped a couple gifts I had put under the tree.  John and I go ahead and put our gifts for each other out.  So, he knows he is getting a couple shirts and ties, but at least he didn't see the big gift (a wool and cashmere blend chocolate brown dress coat).  Thaxton opened one of my gifts too but John grabbed it and hid it before I saw it. 

Well, that is most of the excitement for the last few days.  I need to call and get Lydia signed up for some spring classes at the community center and hopefully through a co-op.  Then I need to figure out how to get Benji's sweater I knit him sewed together before he outgrows it.  My friend Andrea would like to start doing some sewing/knitting on the side with me for extra money.  She is pg with her 6th child and they could use the money so I am working on that too (at least I am in my mind- trying to figure out how to make it all work!)  Thanks to everyone for their encouraging thoughts and prayers, and to those of you who wrote such encouraging blogs lately.  It has very much helped my outlook on things and put some problems into perspective.   

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today we spent this morning cleaning.  part of it is that Christmas is coming and we are making room for new toys.  part of it is that the girls have made such a mess that it was driving me nuts.  to begin with, we made some new rules.   i don't know if it will work, but we are going to try it.  the rules thus far are:  1.  don't color on anything but paper, 2. only one outfit per day, 3. when you are done playing with a toy you must put it back.  4. i am only going to ask you to do something once.

rule 1 results from the twins coloring on their walls.  they did this when they were 2, and i waited until they were nearly 5 before i touched up the spots.  not a month later they did it again, so now I am out of paint and refuse to touch up again until they get past this problem.  if they color on anything but paper they will lose their crayons.  rule 2 is because i am sick of doing laundry.  i don't really have a plan on what to do if they do change but i will figure something out.  rule 3 is to try and get a handle on the mess, so if they don't do it they lose the toy.  rule 4 is to help with whining and obedience, so if they don't do it they get one swat.  i don't think i am being difficult, but i am going nuts with getting things done.   maybe this will get us more organized and then we can get more done.  at that , i better go and check on them because if they have started messing around i need to get them back on track.  wish me luck.

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I have gotten a little behind in a lot of things.  For starters let me say that something is up with Yahoo in that I can't reply to emails.  I can compose a new email, but not reply and that is a pain.

Lydia did really well with her school after the first day, and I told her I was so proud of her, etc. etc. Then the next day she did awful again.  She really doesn't even try!  She makes excuses and tries to do other "fun" stuff like watch TV, check her email, play on the computer, do art projects based on Harry Potter.  And thats another thing.  I am SO sick of Harry Potter.  For goodness sakes, read another book!  She's read each book at least 10 times and seen the movies.  Move on! I let her make her own blog and she even put the HP theme song on it.  Grrrr.

That leads me to something else too- she read the Giver last week and I wanted her to write about it for me.  I told her, cover the subject, characters, setting, plot, and give me her thoughts.  The2 pages she gave me read more like a promotion than a report!  If anyone has any ideas on how to get her to write a little more "academically" Iwould appreciate it.  She knows the story, but I can't really accept a report that has sentences like "This is one of the best books I've read.  Really, once you start to read it you won't be able to put it down!"   another grrrr.

Is it at this point that I can throw in the towel?  When things like this happen it totally makes me question whether or not this is a good thing, and whether I can effectively teach the others too.  yet another grrrr.

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At least that is what my oldest thinks.  When I left her to her own timetable, she never got anything done.  So I made a timetable for her (actually a "this is what you need to do today- by subject").  She still doesn't do it.  I am really getting to my wits end with her.  The schedule is very lax, I don't care what time she does it as long as it gets done, with the exception of helping with dinner.     It reminds me seriously of when she was  in public school and she could never get her homework turned in on time.  At the time, she said, and we believed her, that the work was too easy.  So when we started homeschooling we bought challenging books and followed a challenging curriculum.  I let her make decisions.  Obviously now I am rethinking that since I am ready to pull my hair out.   What I asked for today is as follows- perhaps someone can tell me if I am asking too much:

Lesson 51 in Math (and by her own fault she got behind by 6 lessons, so she is trying to catch up.  Every day for the last 3 days I asked her if she had done her math and she said she was working on it.  Today she cried because she was so far behind- whose fault is that!?!?!?  So really to do lesson 51 she has to catch up by doing 7 lessons today.  At last notice she was on lesson 48)

Test in Science- which she is doing while I sit here.

HomeEc (aka Chores) is do dishes (not done yet) and fold and put up 2 loads of laundry (also not done yet)

History- Read on Dr. Livingstone (not even started)

Literature- Begin reading The Giver (not even started,although she has all week to read the book with a report due on Friday)

Bible- read Revelations 1

Geography- Explore deserts or Africa and make notes for report due Friday.  Todays particular question  is "what is a desert?" (not even started)

Memory- this is ongoing, she works on memorizing a poem and presents as mu as possible to the family each Friday.  Her current poem is Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

I don't think this should take this long.  She has been "working" since 9am and it is neary 2pm and she doesn't have much to show for it.  DO I need to spend a week or 2 or 7 just having her sit next to me while she does the work? She is so flakey and she doesn't pay attention or concentrate on what she is doing.  She can't just sit and do the work- she gets up, goes to get a drink, etc etc. Basically any excuse to quit working.  And then if I get on her she starts saying she doesn't feel good.  You might think I am being hard, but I know she is full of it and faking, and I am about to go stark raving mad!  

On a happy note- the twins and I are doing Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy LEssons and they really enjoy it, are attentive, and are actually sad when we finish that lesson.

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I was thinking I would do a Jesse Tree with the kids this year.  Since I don't want to do a real tree, I am thinking I can make a large paper tree and just tape it to the wall.  Then the kids can make construction paper ornaments.  Now I am just trying to think of the best place to put it.  I have this problem a lot. I really want tohang up a world map (maybe 3 feet by 4 feet), but I can't figure out where to put it where the kids can see and interact with it yet the little ones will not rip it to shreds.  So anyway, the Advent tree is on schedule.  Today while I am out getting some last minute Thanksgiving items I am going to try to get some large paper.  I am thinking I may ask the nice meat guy at Kroger if he can spare some of their butcher paper so I can make a good size tree.  If anyone else is interested in the Jesse Tree and the Bible readings, crafts that can go along with it you can find info at this website I came across  http://www.cresourcei.org/jesse.html   It also has good info on some other Christian holidays, church colors, etc etc.  Well, I am off to take little B to the Dr. for his 1 year checkup- it will be interesting to see how much he weighs now.  Also, the rest of the kids are getting flu shots in the hope that we don't get sick this winter.  Then the store, then cleaning for Thanksgiving, then cooking, then... oh, my!   I am really going to have to buckle down today if I want toget everything done!  How unlike me!! 

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Since I have been getting things off my chest this morning, let me just add something on a general note. I think I am a pretty nice person.  I do things for people because I care, not because I am expected to.  I mean what I say and I am not going to sugar-coat it.  I have had a reputation (when I worked) of being a real pain.  I am demanding, and I don't allow people to slack off.  If I explain something to you 10 times and you still don't get it, maybe you should reconsider your position here.  Obviously, you can't do that with your kids, but I still make it clear to them that I want to see "effort" even if I don't see results yet.

Maybe it is the judgemental people I have encountered lately.  I read some other blogs about groups of women who wear dresses, no makeup, no jewelry, etc.  I think thats great if thats what you feel.  I wear pants, shorts, sleeveless shirts in summer, bathingsuits, makeup (every day), and I love to wear jewelry.  Hopefully though, some of you who are more understanding than others I have encountered lately, will see that we are in fact in the same place in our hearts.   I do sometimes have a glass of wine, the bad word occassionally comes out, I did go to college and party, for goodness sakes I even have a tatoo!  But does any of that make me a bad person?  Gosh no.  (At least I don't think so).  I think that is what I enjoy about the homeschool community (both online and real life). There are many different people, good people, with different ideas, yet we can all get along and respect each other- even be friends!  What a great thing to teach our children!

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Actually, I didnt learn them "from" her as much as I learned them "because" of her.  In the past few days I have done a lot of reading, introspection, and bouncing ideas off my ever patient husband.  (And in that I made several realizations about public school teachers- if you are or ever were one, please do not take offense.  I think you do a great job given your situation, and I admire your commitment but there are limits to what you can accomplish in that setting).  After all that- here is what I have found:

1.  I am more capable to teach my own children than anyone else.  I know their strengths and weaknesses, and I care more about their comprehension of the material than any public school teacher ever could.

2.  I know the "basics" of lots of different subjects.  I know more than probably 95% of the teachers in a public school.  I can give my children a reasonably informed introdution to material and guide them in finding out more if they want to. I don't have to "move on" because it is time. 

3.  I want my children to be passionate about learning, become life long learners, and to be the best they can  at whatever they choose. 

Now, I hope that none of you are offended by any of my revelations.  Having been in a "gifted" program in school, and having several children in similar programs, I have recently taken a new outlook on public education. My complaint was always that I was bored.  Same for my L.  People (and that is loosely defined here) have a tendency to make you feel bad for demanding that the needs of your "gifted" child are met.  Sort of like you are bragging about them.  A little bit of I am better than you.  So once and for all I will get this off my chest- we are NOT bragging.  Having a gifted child can be a real pain in the backside!  (Conversation at age 3- Me:  L, please put on your coat so we can go   L:  Mama, it's not a coat its a jacket)  All I am asking is that she be challenged just like every other kid in the class!  Knowledge is power.  I read this in a book lately and I think it is something I have been thinking but couldn't put into words as well as this:

     "If we allow ourselves to overlook the passionate learner in any of our children, if we focus only on their school problems or successes, we may succumb to the "medical model" wherein any deviation in a child's academic path is viewed as if it were some sort of condition or dysfuction, to be treated with a dose of this or that, gold stars or Ritalin.  Unless we keep the image of the child as a passionate learner before us, we may find ourselves equating a good report card or proficiency on some standerized test with a zest for learning."  (Robert Fried in The Passionate Learner)

So- what does that mean to me?  It means that the test scores, report cards, and "gifted" status mean nothing to me.  Of course I am proud of my kids being smart.  I want my children to "do well" in their studies.  But what I really want is for them to love to learn things, to make things connect to their lives, to have hobbies, convictions, and opinions, to grow up and be healthy happy adults that contribute to society.  In school children are so often stiffled by authority figures, or do the work to please a teacher but really have no interest in it, or are more concerned with friends and status than actually getting into what they are studying.  This is problem with public school that I don't need to recreate! 

When L was in public school I was told that "She must learn to do things she finds boring".  NO.  That is not true.  Everyone is this world finds something interesting that someone else does not.  Something can be repetitive but fun (like practicing the piano)- so why are we doing rote spelling word memorization?  It can require attention to detail (like puzzles or building with Legos)- so why are we giving back worksheets covered in red corrective ink?  When you connect what you are learning to the process of becoming more powerful as a person, you can't help but be passionate about it. 

That is my very long (but hopefully insightful) diatribe about learning vesus schooling.  I hope someone got something out of it, and if not at least I clarified some things for myself. 

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My SIL called last night to tell me about the wonders of the local school.  My nephew and my twins are set to start K at the same time.  She is very concerned about her sons educational experience, so much so that she spent nearly $10,000 per year for each of them to go to preschool.  Anyway, the local public school (which we could also attend) seems very nice, very upper class white, has immersion Spanish classes, wonderful Art and Music, and the principal just happens to be one of my husband's former teachers (who is also great).  Now, I don't think she was trying to push me into public school- she did ask me where the girls were going to go before she started telling me the merits of the school.  I guess the thing is, we took L out of public school because it wasn't working for her.  We made that clear and out family has accepted it.  What has never occured to them (I think) is that it is a "lifestyle" and that we may decide to homeschool all the children. 

That said, I have never really articulated that to anyone.  The whole idea of the school seems good.  I just makes me question my motives for homeschooling in the first place. For example, I would have to drive them to school each day.  So- do I really want the hassle of absoutely having to have them there by 8am each day?  Do I homeschool for my own convenience?  I took L out of school on the premise that she was bored and they weren't doing anything to provide an education for her.  Is that the real truth or did I just hate to see her getting poor grades when I knew she could do better?  Am I projecting my fear of failure onto them, or should I let them fail?  Am I a hovering mother?  Is that really so bad?  If the school has Spanish immersion (and obviously not being biingual I can't do that) can't I do something similar by just teaching Spanish?  Even if I can, would I really (and I mean really) do it?  It seems like other families have it down- their kids are really learning neat stuff.  Am I damaging my children by my own unorganized way of doing things?  Can they really learn to be successful without knowing about the life cycle of snails?  Am I teaching them (really) everything they need to know?  What if I cover it and they forget all about it - does it still count?  Bottom line- should we try public school and see hw it goes, or buck the system?  Having been there done that, shouldn't I already know how its going to turn out?  Would putting them in be selfish on my part (so I can have an identity other than mama)? So many questions, and so little time to figure it all out.  By the time you realize what you've done worked or didn't- it is too late.

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So Sydney went to the TSU speech clinic and they said she has a submucous left palete and bifid uvula.  She needs therapy and maybe corrective surgery.  As an aside I was told to not have her tonsils removed or it would make her nasal passage larger and make the speech problem worse.  So, yesterday we go to the ped. for a sore ear (which the SLP had said was a side effect of the large opening).  Luckily, no ear infection yet, and so we talked briefly about the SLP's thoughts.  Now, sh went to the SLP because the child pyschologist recommended it after spending 4 hours talking to her for testing (a whole other story).  This ped. says she doesn't think her speech is too bad and she doesn't need therapy, let alone surgery.  She called the SLP "overzealous".  So- what does the SLP have to gain by having Syd have surgery?  And the therapy at TSU is $65 a semester so the money issue is not driving her recommendation either (another thought of the Ped.).
On the flip side, T went to speech (at Easter Seals) and his SLP noticed a red spot on his tonsils for 2 weeks straight.  So we went to the dr. to have it checked.  Broken blood vessel was the result, and they mentioned his tonsils are larger than normal.  When I asked if that could affect speech, she said she had never heard of that.  Is it so far fetched to think that if a larger opening (tonsils removed) could adversely affect Syd's speech that a smaller opening (large tonsils) could also adversely affect T's speech?  I don't think so.  But at the ped's office I seem to be in the minority.  So it seems we have a case of SLP vs. Ped. and I am really not sure where to go with this.  They did give me a referral to a ENT for T, so when we get there I will ask his opinion.  But really, what if it is completely different?  Where does a person go to get the real answers?  ugh....

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So, L got behind on her math.  She is catching up nicely, after I explained that by date "x" she needed to be on lesson "y".  Part of my unschooling attitude I suppose.  That sounds a lot better than saying- gee, I am so unorganized and I can't keep up with what all of us need to be doing each day.

L went camping last weekend. That was interesting.  Her friend A had a birthday and chose camping as the party.  On Friday a group of homeschool friends were to arrive at A's house for the overnight camping.  Several came, and several left in the hours after it started getting dark.  In the end, L and A were the only campers.  They had fun though- cooking over a fire, looking at the algea in the stream and talking about the life cycle of snails.  On Saturday, the party was supposed to turn to the Girl Scout Troop which had been invited for Sat night.  L and A are the only homeschoolers in the group, and several said they couldn't make it as they were staying at their dads that weekend, but with 8 or so other girls it was expected to be a good turnout. Turns out, L and A were the only campers again. Bunch of sissies.  So they did some stuff out of the badge book, made suncatchers, played games and went back out to the stream.  I know she had fun, but it was sad that more people didn't show.  I guess the most irritating thing (and it wasn't even my party) is that not one parent RSVP'd.  How hard is it to make a simple phone call?  Sorry we can't make it would suffice.  Maybe its just me, but I always RSVP for an invitation, and I make my kids write (yes on paper) thank you cards for gifts and kind actions.  What ever happened to manners?

In other school news, I am really liking FIAR, and now someone has turned me on to Konos as well.  So I am comparing and contrasting to see what would fit the little people best.  I like the character education part of Konos, but shouldn't you be doing that with any curriculum?  Also, I heard about Ace Paces, but I haven't done any looking on that yet.  It sounds like I would need to be organized.  If you wonder if that is a bad thing, you can refer back to my first paragraph. 

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Had my computer not had a malfunction- you wouldn't believe the length of the post I just wrote.  So anyway- okay, okay, I know I intended to keep up regularly, but we have been very busy.  I will briefly recap what I can from the last couple weeks.

First, let me say I am in laundry he**.  I know we have 7 people in our house, but 2+ loads a day?!?!  So, when the timer goes off on the dryer and I have to return to my slave duties, you can forgive me, right?  It is sad that our kids think its normal to pick clean clothes off the pile on the couch every day.  However, I did learn from a friend of mine that it happens in other homes too.

Last week I had a nasty allergic reaction to some prescription cough medicine.  After a trip to the ER in the middle of the night and a lot of rest the next day I am feeling fine.  Who knew Tussin could do that to a person?  I did call my doctor so they could note it in my file.  And now when someone asks if I am allergic to any medicines I can answer resoundingly, "yes".

Forgive my posting in multiple headings today, but there are also some school and speech things I'd like to relay and if I don't post under the right topic I may never find them again later.  Besides, if my internet quits on me again I want to save myself from endless retyping.  Meantime, let me also mention that I find this whole "blog" thing very interesting, as I am attempting to fiugre out how it works and how to change my page.  There are some of you with really neat pages- how does that happen?!?!?

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Well I have been doing some reading, and I am trying to see if the Five in a Row would work for us for children 2 & 3.  Since they will be 5 next month and technically starting school next fall I am trying to find something to do with them.  I lucked out on the oldest since she did a few years of public school and came home knowing how to read, write, etc, etc.  The rest I will actually have to do that myself.  I have heard good things about FIAR, and it seems like it would be easy to use with more than one kid and various abilities.  It also seems like I could do it cheaply- since I am thinking I can get the books we need at the library. Then do all I need are the guide books?  Sometimes the smaller children scare me- I'd hate to mess them up.  I am not a very creative person, so having something to tell me what to do to make the book multidisciplinary would be nice.  Ebay has some good deals but I'd love to see the books for real before I spend the money.

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I am glad it is finally Friday.   Yesterday I didn't have time to do anything except run errands and children to places they needed to go.  On Thursdays3 of the kids go to MDO, so after I dropped them off I had to take the oldest to her art class at the community center.  After I got her delivered, I needed to go renew my tags because they expired last week.  I went and ran the car through emissions testing- it passed but the line took 45 minutes.  Then I drove to the nearest clerks office to renew, but it was closed due to a tanker truck that had turned over next to the parking lot and the hazmat team was there.  The police station and clerks office were closed- indefinitely.  The nice policeman at the entrance told me the next nearest place to go, at which time we had a conversation about my expired plates.  He said something along the lines of "you just admitted to a police officer that you have expired tags" at which point I told him "I have been to marta and I am sitting in front of the clerks office trying to get tags so I know you won't give me a ticket".  We had a good laugh and before I left to go downtown for tags I told him he'd better not tell any of his friends that my car was headed that way with expired tags either!  I finally got the tags renewed.  Then I had to go back and pick up child #1 from art.  We had lunch and then we went on to a meeting for child #5 with TEIS.  He qualifies, but then I had to run over and pick up #4, then on to MDO to pick up #'s 2, 3, and 5.  Then home where we actually read some books and watched a few videos from the library.  We got a really cheesy one on the 50 states and their capitals.  A friend of #1 said it was pretty bad but we got it anyway.  Something to watch that can make them miserable in the car.  Today has been relatively quiet, with the exception of some fighting between #'s 2 & 3.  Thankfully, their Mimi called and wants to take thm along with #4 to spend the night tonight- so at least the end is in sight.  Child #1 is supposed to have a friend over to spend the night, so she has retreated to her room to do some Math and Science so she won't have to do anything later.  Today we have to pick up #4 from his special school a little early to get to Easter Seals for his OT and Speech, but after that I think my day will calm down a little.  I probably shouldn't have said that since I surely just jinxed myself, but one can hope for a little ray of sunshine. 

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Okay- after I sent my last post I was looking over my stuff and noticed there was a comment after yesterday's post!  Can you believe a comment already?!  What is more amazing is that it is from someone I don't even know.  A very nice homeschool kid who has a great blog of his own commented on mine- that just made my day.   After reading through some of his recent work (which is all really good) I am reenergized to get some things done.  If this kid can be so nice, maybe there is hope for the 3 screaming banchees upstairs.  (My first commentor likes Roy Rogers, which makes a nice transition for banchees I think). 

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Well, today I am trying to get the house picked up.  It has been slow going.  There have been lots of fights/whining/arguing/complaining/etc and no one seems to be getting anything done.  I would love to get the whole house picked up, but that seems to be impossible today.  RIght now the girls are on a "timed pick up" and I can hear them arguing about who has done more. 

Aside from that, last night I went to a spa party at my dear friend Barrett's house.  (Who by the way looked great). The party was lots of fun and I will be having my own party in December, hopefully with good turnout.  The lady who did the party was lots of fun and very sweet.  She had lots of information on skin care- who knew you needed to exfoliate regularly?  She also said I need to wear moisturizer with SPF every day.  I know I should, but somehow has been down on my priority list.  Really I am lucky to get dressed every day and not look like I just rolled out of bed.  But, it was a bit of a wake up and if I don't want to look ancient in a few years I should probably start doing something (and taking offmy makeup at night).

Last night while I was gone John put together the home gym that he ordered.  It is up in the playroom.  The idea is that while one of us is on the treadmill the other can do the gym and then we swap.  Both of us gained some weight when we had the kids so eating right and a little workout would be good for us.   Another part of taking care of myself that is way down on my list. 

Today is a busy day for me, dance classes are this afternoon so beginning around 2pm I start running and don't get home until 5pm.  I should probably put something in the crockpot as I know I never feel like cooking when I get home, but I haven't done it yet.  I also need to get Lydia started on some work, but I haven't gotten there yet, partly because everyone is still doing their picking up.  ugh.

For some odd reason, I also decided to do a consignment sale next week- as if I didn't already have enough to do.  I feel like I have to sell stuff because I just can't bring myself to give it away when it is worth something.   Deep down I think I hate the sales but its something I think I have to do.  A complusion of sorts I guess.  So I also have a bunch of toys I culled last week that need to be cleaned and tagged before Sunday. 

Today makes me wish I had little elf that could go around and do all the things that need to be done that I procrastinate doing. 

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Okay, I was messing around and saw this cute survey that tells you which sci-fi character you are most like.  Now, when I was small and Star Wars was big I always liked Lke Skywalker- maybe this explains why....

Boldly striving to overcome the darkness both in this world and within yourself, you are righteously devoted to forging your own destiny.

It's your choice, but I warn you not to underestimate my powers.

Luke is a character in the Star Wars universe. For more information, see his character entry at the Star Wars Databank.

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Since many of you know my family is innundated with speech problems, I will simplify them individually here.

First we have Thaxton, who is now 2.5 years old.  Poor guy didn't talk at all until he was just over 2.  He talks now, but is hard to understand.  Technically, he has articulation problems.  For now he goes to Easter Seals and First Steps, but once he turns three and has to exit TEIS we will be finding other means of therapy.

Just a couple weeks ago we took the twins for speech evals upon the suggestion of Sydney's other Doctor.  As it turns out- both Sydney and Shelby also need some intensive speech therapy.  They both have a submucous cleft palete, which means their nasal passage cannot completely close making it difficult or impossible to correctly make certain sounds.  Shelby's is mild and can be corrected with 6 months or so of speech therapy.  Sydney's is moderate and if it isn't corrected in 6 months of therapy we will have to surgically correct it.  That will surely be further discussed here. 

The baby, Benji, is only 1, but he is't getting along with sounds yet either so I am sure he will be the next in line for evaluations.  So far, Lydia is my only one with normal speech but that doesn't mean she is without her difficulties 

So- speech therapy will  be a big part of our lives for some time.  I will keep updating on each child as we learn something new or they learn something new.

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Well, since so many of my other friends and family have a blog, I decided I may as well catch up with the times.  I resisted the idea since I figured it would take that much more time out of my already busy day.  However, in retrospect I think it may be easier to tell the story once rather than have to repeat it for every one who asks. 

Aside from that, most of my friends think my life is funny- or at least I must have a sense of humor about it because that is how things come across.  I hope they enjoying the reading.

Beyond all that, I do have a practical application in mind as well.  I have a really awful time keeping up with a journal and I need to keep track of what all my little people have read, done, accomplished, etc.  Hopefully this will provide that way.  I have looked over some friends sites and they are just beautiful- and include lots of info on the school stuff and field trips they've been on.  Hopefully I will be able to do that.  If I get behind on my blog, will someone please send me a scathing email to get back to it!?!?

Thanks for reading so far- I hope I'll provide plenty of interesting, or if not at least entertaining, things to read and ideas to try. 

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