Wake Me Up When September/Swimming Ends

Today at swimming lessons, Cars cried non-stop to get out of the pool. Actually, he usually cries at every swim lesson but today it was especially bad. There were a lot of kids away today so I could not hide behind some of the other moms like I usually do so he kept an eye on me the whole time, calling out "Mom! I need to tell you something! I don't want swimmin' lessons!" over and over again. It was so pathetic. Then he continued crying the whole way home. Thankfully, there are just two more lessons for this session then we will break until March (and no doubt start the crying all over again then!).

Jax's first day of eating lunch in the classroom was a success. He was happy not to have to leave and said he noticed no pb/peanuts in class. Yeah.

The school nurse will not send a note home directly address peanuts in the classroom so we are composing our own to be handed out tomorrow night at curriculum night. She did tell me that the nursing supervisor and health supervisor were writing a note that will go home to families of children with life threatening allergies throughout the district. I wonder what it will say. Some legalese to tell us that they cannot guarantee the safety of our children, no doubt. If nothing else, I have helped the district face the issue. Even if the resolution is not to my liking.

Cars did well yesterday in his first full day (well full half day) of preschool. He looked so grown up walking in the class with his backpack on. Where did my baby go?!
~sniff~

Do I look slimmer? Lighter? More compact? I am writing my blahg tonight on my brand-spanking new laptop! It is great, although getting used to the keyboard will be a challenge since I have used a split keyboard for over 6 years and going back is tricky.

Tomorrow will be the first day that Jax gets to eat in his classroom. He is very excited about that. We are working on a letter to pass out to all parents on curriculum night since the school apparently will not do it for us. I will continue to push this issue though. But we cannot let it be put off much longer.

(ok, off to install MS Office and Skype).

Tomorrow, Jax has permission to carry his epi pen with him. I have it packed in a Safety Sack inside of a fanny pack placed in his backpack. We are still waiting for the nurse to update the Health Plan and send out a letter. Hopefully tomorrow will be the last day that Jax has to be taken out of the class at lunch.

I am so looking forward to this being settled. It has really been an emotionally grueling two weeks.

End of the Rainbow

We had crazy weather today and the result was this (click for bigger):


(ignore the dormant lawn - it will green up again once the rainy season starts next month)

So, you can see the Tate Olive house. The trim still needs to be painted off-white so it looks odd still all green. And the door is still deep blue. Oh, and no outdoor lights yet.

I love that the rainbow ends right at my house! :)

Green!

The house colour is done! The trim still needs to be done but rain is in the forecast for the next several days so it will probably be next weekend when the trim gets done. I am so excited about it!

Seems so strange to get so excited about a house colour, eh? Well, I think it is because it is something that finally seems to be going right these past couple of weeks. The whole peanuts at school is a complete joke. I have done nothing the past couple of days about it (calling and pushing for resolution) because, quite frankly, it is just easier to avoid it and continue to take Jax out at lunch. Stephen has been crazy busy with work and not nearly involved enough with it. I need his help at this point and more than just "tell them this" or "be sure to mention that" or, worst yet "Why didn't you tell them blah-dee-blah-dee". For frig sakes!

~Deep Breath~

Ok, so, now you can see partly why I haven't been talking about the peanut problem we are having at school. The other reason is partly due to the fact that we may have to contact either a lawyer or the office of civil rights to get this resolved (and that makes me sick to my stomach, seriously). And because blogger shows up on google searches, I am trying to keep a lot of the details off this blahg.

Anyway...

Cars starts his first day of preschool tomorrow. He just goes for an hour tomorrow then starts his Tues/Thurs mornings next week. I am so excited for him. He is such a big boy. My baby!

Good News

I received the official letter in the mail today in regards to my mammogram and it said "there is no indication of cancer". Much better than "almost certainly benign". :)

Painter finished the main colour on the house. It was threatening to rain today and was misting a little this morning but then the rain held off and he got it done. He probably will not get to the trim work until next week because it is supposed to rain for the next several days (my lawn needs it!). Stephen and I are going to fold all of his drop cloths and save myself 2+ hours of work that he would otherwise charge us. Stephen doesn't know it yet though. :) I think I will also have Stephen paint the door to save us even more money. These two things should save us some of the cost of the extra scraping that was needed to be done.

Now, off to finish making dinner and then watch the kids play their new video game: Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy.

The first coat of paint is up on part of the house and it looks great! I love the colour that I chose! The only problem at this point is that all of the windows are covered with plastic so it is very steamy in the house this evening. Oh, and there are tarps over the dryer vent (it vents to the roof) so I could not use the dryer today either. I must remind Painter to remove the tarp when he is done tomorrow evening so I can do laundry.

Dex cried when I brought the kids home from school today because he wants the grey house back! Poor boy. He doesn't do well with change sometimes.

Peanut issue is still not settled. Jax is getting sick of eating lunch with Cars and I at the park.

A Whole Lot of Nothing

We did not do much this weekend. Just cleaned/reorganized. I went out looking for new lights for outside but of course I could not decide which ones to buy so I made a typical Pez decision and decided not to make a decision. I am good at that. I am torn between buying what I really, really want which is pricy vs being practical and thrifty. Or spending extra to get some that are energy efficient and will save us money in the long run. Hmmm...decisions, decisions...

Peanut-Free Post

I will not discuss peanuts or peanut-free classrooms or anything. I promise! I am so weary of it all ...

Cars is completely potty trained. Well, he still needs assistance getting out of his pants and putting them back on. He has had one 1 accident in the past 4 weeks. If he stays dry tonight, it will mark 14 days in a row and he gets to wear underwear to bed. He is very excited about that prospect.

The house painting is a disaster. Basically, the house was never primed when it was built - only painted. So when Painter scrapes the paint, it comes off in looooong strips right to the bare wood. So instead of scraping here and there, he is scraping all of the trim to the bare wood. And he isn't meaning (or wanting to!). So, this is adding co$t and time to the prep work. Bugger! BTW, he is a neighbour whom I completely trust. Plus, he had originally told me that he did not have time to paint the house but then figured out a way to squeeze it in. I think he is regretting that decision! Anyway, primer goes on tomorrow as long as it does not rain. Oh, and I did go with the Tate Olive with an off-white trim. The front door will probably be black. I haven't decided yet. We are going to replace the outside lights too and new numbers on the house. And a new door mat, of course. I will post pictures when it is all done.

3rd Day of School

Still no resolution on the peanut thing. I am waiting for the Head Nurse of Health Services for the school district to call me back. In the meantime, I have requested a letter from Jax's doctor authorizing him to carry his epi pen. It is just a formality because it is State Law allows him to do so. He is still *very* concerned and thinks that because kids can eat peanut butter in his class that he is the only one at school who cares about his safety. It really is heartbreaking.

Anyway, I did meet with the principal today and hopefully she will help move things along a little faster with the health plan. I am resolved to the fact that we will not get a "safe" classroom. Once this is settled, I will probably write about all the shit that has been happening. But not while it is unresolved and the blahg shows up in google searches.

One of the parents at the park where we meet the kids after-school joked that I get five t-shirts for Jax that say "Please do not kill me with your peanut butter sandwich" and they will get similar t-shirts for their kids that say "Please do not kill my friend with your peanut butter sandwich". Teeheehee If Stephen would agree, I would do it. Well, maybe 5 shirts is overkill but at least 1 that he can wear every now and then. Although, Jax is so stressed it really would not be a good idea.

And I can certainly tell he is stressed.

Today, while we were walking out from the school at lunch, we saw a big, fat caterpillar and Cars, Jax and I stopped to look at it. I suggested that perhaps we move it from the walkway back to the garden area. Jax said that I should just leave it. We walked away and then a mom, her toddler and her son passed us as they headed into the school. Jax turned around and stopped while I kept walking. Then I heard a little cry from him and he said "She stepped on it!" We ran back and sure enough, the caterpillar was oozing on one end where it had been smooshed. Jax got all teary saying, "It is all my fault! I told you not to move it!" I assured him that it was still alive and I picked up the fat, oozing thing and carried it over to the garden area. We proceeded to the park to eat lunch. Jax kept talking about how it was his fault that the caterpillar was squished and dead. Poor kid! I kept reassuring him but he was so upset.

And let me tell you, he really does not think a lot animals and creatures and their welfare, so this was extremely unusual.

When we returned, the caterpillar was gone. "See?! He was ok!" I reassured Jax. "He's crawled away!". Jax thought was certain that the body had rotted away already. I didn't tell him that I really believed that a bird had a nice, juicy lunch.

2nd Day of School

Peanut issue still not resolved. I have a call into the head nurse for the school district to find out exact wording of their policy. In the meantime, *8* classes in the school (all k and 1st grade) at "Peanut Free". I also am waiting to hear back from the principal with an explanation as to why these classes are Peanut Free when Jax's is not.

We have taken Jax out of school for the last two days at lunch. We will continue until next week or until the health plan is in place AND the principal has explained the policy to us.

I took Cars for swimming lessons. He hasn't been for lessons with her since last September. Anyway, he shouted the whole way there "I DON'T WANT TO GO TO SWIMMIN' LESSONS!" and he fought with me at poolside when I tried to take off his shirt. I had to hold him down to get the swim belt on him. All the while he is yelling that he doesn't want to go swimming. I handed him to the swim nazi and he swam well with her (all kids swim for her - they are afraid NOT to!) in the pool but all the while telling her that he did not want to be there.

Now, he is not afraid of the water. He was just trying to exercise some control. He did the same thing twice last week at Superclips when we tried to get his hair cut (I am afraid he won!) But, swimming lessons are not negotiable. Oh, and Ash cut his hair yesterday while I was having my mammogram so we are all happy about that. Three year olds are so fun and predictable, aren't they?! ~eye roll~

And congrats to Kross-Eyed Kitty on the purchase of her new home!

1st Day Of School

Jax and Dex went to school today. Peanut issue is far from resolved but we have some precautions in place. Jax will not eat lunch at school until everything is implemented. It has been a very emotional tumultuous few days.

Looks like we are getting our house painted this weekend, after all! Neighbour Painter is coming to power-wash the house tonight. I will buy the paint on Friday and he will start painting on Saturday. He told me I had to cut my Rhodies back. Normally I would say NO WAY because it is not the right time of year to trim them but I cut them at the beginning of July which was too late in the season at that point and they are not doing well. In fact, I think I may not be able to save them. I know they will not bloom next May now so if they do not bloom the following year, they will have to be ripped out.

I am all set for the mammogram this afternoon. I have on my pink bra and underwear plus my magenta t-shirt. GO PINK! And fingers crossed for no new calcification spots.

Edited at 1:50pm to add: Hurray! Mammogram films were good so I am back on a yearly schedule. Must have been my lucky pink underwear! ;)

Lucky Number 13

I guess this is a tradition now. Posting this photo every year. Anyway, thirteen long years. Wow!

Next month will mark the *20th* anniversary of our first date.

Today it is humid and icky. I am on the verge of a migraine. Blecch.

We are going to Ash's house for dinner tonight. Should be fun.

Our Neighbour, the House Painter, who was supposed to paint our house this summer, asked me how mad I would be if he did not get to it until the spring. I said as long as he paints the trim that was fixed by New Handyman, I did not have a problem although honestly I am very disappointed. Our house on the southwest side looks horrible (this is the side that the chimney with the bad trim is on). And that is the side that is on the corner so there is no house on that side helping to hide the peeling paint. Looks like I will not get my Tate Olive house until next May.

I won!

Squee!

Summer O'Fun 2006 Last Day of Summer

Well except there is Labo(u)r Day weekend but that doesn't really count.

Ok, so the peanut issue is not settled. It is too draining to talk about. Seriously. Needless to say, Jax will not be eating lunch in the classroom anytime soon. Stephen will take him out on Tuesday because I have a mammogram (which hopefully will result in another almost certainly benign result). I'll take him out after that until this is resolved. We may be fighting a losing battle but if so, we will do everything in our power to make it as safe as possible, which, at this point, it is not.

One more thing I will add though about the peanut issue is that the mom of a 2nd grader at the school with a peanut allergy called me today. I don't know her but she got my name from the mom of one of Jax's schoolmates. Anyway, she is reeling from the no peanut-free rooms in school this year. Last year, her son had the same teacher as Jax did in 1st and that teacher was EXCELLENT about keeping peanuts out of her classroom, sending home reminder notes, etc. Her son has had anaphylaxis several times and once was from an open jar of peanut butter (done in the allergist's office). I gave her some links to some great resources for 504 Plans (she is going to push for one now - she has a meeting with the principal and nurse on Tuesday) and I sent her a copy of the "draft" of Jax's Health Care Plan that they are going to put in place so she will know what to expect at her meeting.

Anyway, so I wasn't going to talk about peanuts and now I have... but I will stop now.

Today for the last day of Summer O'Fun 2006, we went to the beach with some friends. The day was very nice. The kids had so much fun and we topped it off with popsicles from the food stand at the beach (it is not opened on Tuesdays - the day we usually go).

Overall, I think we had a great summer. We did a lot. The weather was (mostly) good although it was cooler than usual. I hope we made some fabulous memories.

I met for nearly 2 hours with the school counselor, school psychologist and school nurse. They are not budging about having the classroom be peanut-free this year. They said they can "request" it and put up a sign ("No Peanuts Please" vs "Peanut-Free Classroom"). I have tentaively agreed to go with a Health Plan vs a 504 Plan to see how this works out. The school psychologist asked me to sign a form stating that we were all in agreement that Jax did not meet the eligibility requirements for a 504. I said I would sign no such thing because under WA State law, he does:

Does a student with a “life threatening health condition,” as defined by state law, automatically qualify as a disabled student under Section 504?
Yes. Because state law, SHB 2834, defines “life threatening health condition” as a
health condition that puts a student in danger of death during the school day if a
medication or treatment order and a nursing care plan are not in place, by definition, a student with a “life threatening health condition” has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, and qualifies as a disabled student under Section 504.

The nurse agreed that he did meet the requirement (anaphylaxis affects breating, one of the major life events covered under the 504). I have taken the position now that until it affects his school work, we will keep it as a Health Plan.

So, Stephen and I will review the Health Plan and we will discuss the peanuts in the class thing. We did not get much notice about the meeting this morning so he was not able to clear his calendar (mtgs re: shipping VISTA). I was mighty pissed off about it, btw.

The school nurse loved to say "He has to learn to live in the real world". No shit, Sherlock. That is one of the things that makes my blood boil. Jax does live the real world. Jax lives with the reality that PEANUTS and/or PEANUT BUTTER can KILL him. Or put him in a coma and leave him brain-damaged from lack of oxygen. How more friggin real can you get?!

Ok, time for me to calm down...we are off to meet the teachers now.

Taking Care of Business

Today is "Taking Care of Business" Day for Cars' school. I have to take in all of the forms such as emergency contact list, immunization records, his Epi Pen and authorization form from the allergist, etc. Oh, and I probably need to take in the school supplies (I still haven't found that Bingo Art kit!).

Cars' preschool is at our church however, because there is no school at our church, they made an agreement with a sister church (and school) to run the preschool. So, all payments, correspondence and, of course the "Taking Care of Business" Day takes place at the sister church. Yes, at the sister church which is 8 miles away (and off the Plateau, battling traffic away) versus our church which is 1.75 miles away (only three stop lights away). But first I must drive to the allergist's office which is in the opposite direction. Ok, quickly figuring it all out...a total of nearly 34 miles today. And not fun miles. It is 34 miles on city strees and in Seattle-area traffic, where Stephen's approximate 10 mile commute takes 35-45 minutes, it is a long drive.

Anyway, I am still waiting for the school psychologist to call me back. I was really hoping to have the 504 plan in place before the first day of school but of cousre this is not going to happen. We had better not have the same problems with peanuts in the classroom on the first day like we had last year. I do not want to pull Jax out of school everyday at lunch again like we did for the first week last year. That was stressful on all of us.

Eeek! I just had a phone call that a MOPS meeting scheduled for this morning has been moved to MY HOUSE! Gotta go!

Over the past few weeks I have heavily censored my blog. For a number of reasons but in part because someone I had mentioned in passing in an entry found my blog when he searched for himself on GOOGLE. Who knew that blogger was searchable? Or that my blog would come up in one of the first couple of pages of results? Anyway, it was never my intention that he would see or read it. I did apologize to him for having using his full name. And I appreciate his apology to me.

And then I started thinking that really I had been self-censoring for a while. Two of my three bothers (not a typo ;) read my blog. One found it when I had forwarded a site to him and there was a link to my blog on it. Darn, so no more talking about him or his family. ;)

So, I often look through my site meter to see what is being looked at on my blog. That is when I found out a lot of hits on a photo of my three boys in a pool. Strange that people in Malaysia, Europe, Australia and all over the USA just "happened" to find that picture. So, that is when I deleted most of the pictures of my kids off my blog.

Anyway, while checking out the site meter a few days ago, I saw that someone came to my blog via June 2005 archives then proceeded to read through most of my blog. Hmmm, I wonder what was so interesting about that month and who on earth did I know in Stouffville, Ontario? The only one I could think of was my Grade 5 teacher. So, I went to June 2005 and lo and behold, my Grade 5 class picture (I had forgotten I had posted it) with Mr. L (again, I have since edited out his name).

So, I started wondering what was on my blog that I would not want anyone to read. Mostly stuff about the outlaws so I went through and edited a few things out. Then I was cross with myself because I did not want to edit my blog. I deleted an old blog because I was doing the same damn thing when I had misgivings about having written about Crybaby.

No more. No more censoring. No more editing. I will own what I write. I will stand by it.

So, here it is. My blahg. Like it or lump it.