cRuSaDeS...

You know how I am ALWAYS doing something. My mind is FULL of ideas! LOL! I will see something interesting that is new & find CREATIVE ways to put it to good use. If it's something better & mostly EASIER why not share it?! I call those moments "MiSsIoNs". Well recently I was told that I am not just on a MiSsIoN I am on a CRUSADE! I love that! So here is to my MANY future...

cRuSaDeS...

MiSsIoNs...

It seems that I am ALWAYS on some sort of a mission. My latest quest to find answers regarding my daughter attending speech has given me my NEWEST mission, making things easier for new parents to the school system. I'll admit it, I am a newbie! I do not know the in's & out's of the Palm Beach County School System nor do I want EVERY detail. I just want answers and I want them to be easily explained to me. No rigamaroll just stick to the facts & I'll be happy I promise! I am a planner at heart & like having new things explained to me. However I do NOT like walking into CHAOS! That is exactly what trying to get my daughter registered for speech was, CHAOTIC! Departments were closed, children were displaced, information was not available and most of all no one knew what to tell this first time parent to the ESE program. I felt quite HOPELESS! Note to those making these decisions, make them in June NOT the day before school is to start. Nothing like having all of your teachers & administrators come back to work the same week that they have school registration. I'm sure I am not the only one seeing a problem with this! All this mom wanted to do was know where her daughter would be attending, what days she would have her speech class & of course who her teacher would be. I was given all kinds of information but nothing concrete and most of all helpful. I was sent back & forth between two different schools trying to get her registered. {Neither school had her listed as attending there} & then I was told busing would NOT be available the first week. {No one told me that in June} SO many things were NOT explained to me that I wonder if other parents have had this happen to them. Now you can see my new mission, to help other parents who might be in my shoes. I want to help organize their "system", to come up with a plan that will make life simpler for parents. I know this will NOT be an easy task & I will have an uphill battle but I am up for the task. This is just me & one of my many...


MiSsIoNs...

CONFUSION...

Over the past week I have been put through quite the ringer. What started out as a simple thing turned into a HUGE event that has thoroughly stressed me out! Who would have thought trying to get Camryn registered for speech would turn out SO awful! This process started back in April. After speaking to their pediatrician & another mommy friend I decided to get them evaluated for speech. Not that they did not speak, it's actually quite the contrary. They are little jabber jaw's! LOL! It was not until my niece told me how she LOVED how Cam stutters when she is exited did I even think there was a problem. I paid closer attention & noticed how they accentuated the wrong consonents & I had the hardest time figuring out what they were saying. I took all four in for evaluations & believe it or not Camryn was the only one walking out needing it. That day when we left that evaluation we were told her "speech school" would be Meadow Park Elementary. Being that they are all attending preschool now the speech school is determined by the address of her preschool. I googled Meadow Park & found that it received a good rating PLUS it is not that far from their preschool. Well that was what threw the wrench into the plans. That school is overcrowded which meant she would now be displaced to yet another school even further away! You see the closest school she was assigned lost their communications unit so now she was being displaced. YES, you heard me right they were now going to bus her FURTHER away! Now I had just gotten used to the idea of having my 3 1/2 year old riding a bus a mile down the road & now she was going to go where?! 8 miles away?! I was NOT a happy camper! I think I cried a lot that day! SO many emotions flooded my brain & whoever answered my calls that day received my wrath! I really need to apologize to those people! I am SO SO sorry! I finally spoke to nice woman who reassured me about a few things; the 11 day count & the bus situation. With the 11 day count they have to count the amount of students in the ESE programs over the first 11 days & if the #'s are too high they will need to add a unit. So there is a slight chance that the unit at her original school may get reopened & she can be sent back. {I HOPE & PRAY THIS HAPPENS!} Then in regards to the bus there would be an aide riding with her & she would never be left alone. I took a BIG risk & decided we would try it out. I have been preparing Cam over the past few days by telling her that she will get to ride a bus, having another teacher, meeting new friends. She seems excited. Fast forward to their "Open House" today. First off it was scheduled in the MIDDLE of the day, no real info about what was needed or what I was to do. I show up to their front office & no one seemed to know anything. I tell them my name & Cam's name & they still did not know what class Cam would be in. They tell me to walk down this LONG corridor & tell me to pass by these BIG windows & then you will see two classrooms. They were NOT there! I had another woman point in a direction towards the back of the school, again nothing was marked. This was a BIG school, people everywhere & nothing was marked! Needless to say I got lost. Luckily another teacher helped me find my way. {Note to those school officials, parents need correct information & maps would be appreciated!} You would think that it being in a public school they would have their "stuff" together but NO! It has been such a CRAZY process. To make things even crazier after I attended the Open House at the Royal Palm School & thought I had her all registered I just receive a call from Meadow Park, the first school, saying that she is now allowed back there! I have had enough of all this...

CONFUSION!...

in moderation...

They tell me moderation, oh have I learned this word the HARD way! Ever since I had my gallbladder removed last month my ENTIRE eating habits have had to be altered! I really hoped that when the Doctor said "You will eventually be able to eat EVERYTHING", that he really meant it! NOPE! I have found that even the littlest things effect me in the BIGGEST ways! Having belly aches & visiting bathrooms are an understatement! UGH! No more spicy stuff, fried foods or even a bowl of ice cream. Having to restructure your eating habits just plain sucks!! I now have to eat everything...

in moderation...

An ode to the Neti Pot...

Oh Neti Pot, Oh Neti Pot where have you gone?

I am sitting here sick & seriously it's NOT much fun!

I want to get better so please help this girl out!

DON'T take a vacation just when I am feeling down & out!

You need to know that I brag about you OFTEN & keep you #1 on my list

Yet you act like this "stranger" , like you're the one that's been dissed!

So Please tell me why are you NOT working just when I need you the most?

Come back to me now & end this frustration. I'm a woman on a mission & I need a VACATION!!!

An ode to the Neti Pot...

blackberry brandy...

I have been battling some MAJOR conjestion since aquiring this cold of mine. More so than usual. Sadly I have been prone to get sinuitus, sinus infections or worse yet laryngitus after illnesses like this. Basically life just sucks right now! It seems like yesterday when I was a teenager that my parents nextdoor neighbors the Salerno's gave me advice regarding this condition I get. You see hey were Italian, Sicilian to be exact & did not believe in medicines. My mom used to tell me that they never took a pill for anything! One summer while visiting them at their beach house on the Jersey shore they gave me some sage advice. Mrs Salerno told me to take a shot of blackberry brandy just before I laid down for bed. That brandy would eat at whatever was in my throat & I would be talking normal in no time. Let me tell you they were SO right! That blackberry brandy did the trick & I keep a bottle of it in our liquor cabinet just in case! I cannot say enough about...

blackberry brandy...