Fun, Fun, Fun

Soccer, Cheerleading and Renaissance Festival, oh my! What a fun weekend we had. The weather was beautiful and we just had great family fun.

First, Saturday was sports day. Anna had a soccer game and pictures early on Saturday. It was really cold, so Jason took her while I stayed with the other kids. She played a good game, really strong on offense. She usually likes to play defense so it was great to have her break out a little.

Next, Sydney had her game. She cheers with the YMCA at their flag football games. This was her first game and she seemed to have fun. We noticed she was kind of quiet, but she still had a good time. We'll see how the rest of the season goes.

Today, Jason and I took the kids to the Texas Renaissance Festival. This has become an annual event for us and we all have a good time. This weekend, we enjoyed the Pirate theme along with the great weather. The kids got to ride ponies, giant swings, and other rides. We ate good food, listened to great music, watched jousting, and enjoyed several shows. Our favorite show is the Mud Show. Sydney actually hates this one, so Jason took her and Hayden off to play while Anna and I watched it.

We were really proud of the girls. They both decided they wanted to try the bungee ride. Bungee cords are attached to harnesses they wear and they get to fly in the air. Sydney even did a back flip!

Hayden loved riding the ponies the most. Our day ended when little man got stung by a bee. He was in a lot of pain, but is doing better now. Thankfully I had some Benadryl on me. The folks at First Aid where helpful too. With the exception of the bee incident, we had a beautiful weekend. I love this time of year and really enjoy spending it with my family.

It's Fall!

Well, it is officially fall here in The Woodlands. Both girls were cold enough last night to sleep under their covers and all 3 kids wore jeans for the first time here since April. It's wonderful!

I've been super busy this past week. Our fall fundraiser ended yesterday. I, along with 10-15 volunteers, spent hours processing orders. We do most of our PTO business online to stay within compliance with the state, but this is one event we have to process checks and cash. It takes a lot of hours to do that. Our goal was $30,000 in sales. At the end of the day Friday, we were sitting around $40,000. I'd be surprised if we didn't get another thousand or 2 before the end of next week with all the stragglers. Not to bad for my first time doing fundraising. My chairperson has done a great job handling this project and its been a pleasure working with her and the other volunteers.

The kids have been busy too. Anna is in soccer again this season. She had her first game last weekend. Her team lost, but they played well. The other team has played together for several seasons. We were rained out today. Sydney opted to try cheer leading instead of soccer. She's been having fun learning the cheers with one of her best friends. The parents have had a few issues with the YMCA, but hopefully we will get those worked out by next week. I don't want to pull her out since she is having so much fun, but if some safety issues aren't corrected soon, then I may not have a choice. Her 2 coaches are doing a great job, but their supervisors aren't and as a result unsafe situations are occurring for the girls.

Hayden missed 3 days of school last week due to an ear infection. He kept getting a fever but always responded to Motrin. I knew it wasn't the flu but still had to take him in. The pediatricians office was full of sick kids. The nurse practitioner was so excited to write a prescription for an antibiotic. It was only the 3rd one in 2 days. The evening we took him in, his eardrum burst and all the fluid was draining. That's why he didn't go to school; it was just one more orifice for little germs to get into his body. Hayden can't get the flu shot because he is allergic to eggs. He's had it the last 2 years, but since he had a documented reaction to eggs, he can't get the shot now. We hope he'll outgrow this in a few years and then can get protected.

Yesterday, when I was going thru Sydney's school folder, I was so excited to see the initial paperwork for Sydney's dyslexia testing. Her reading level is in the bottom range of normal, but her fluency is very low. As a result, she'll get tutoring at school for that and she will be tested for learning disabilities. I've found that there are several types of dyslexia and I know Syd has some variation of it. For example, she tries to read "almost" as "mlast". She does this quite often. She also has the classic symptoms of reversing numbers and letters when she writes and reads. We've known she had dyslexia since before she started Kindergarten and now we are finally moving forward.

To end, here is a picture of my sweethearts from yesterday morning. They are all wearing their spirit wear for school. So cute! Also, these are the before and after pictures of our powder room. It's been done now for a couple of weeks, but I just haven't loaded any pictures.

Anna's Teacher Needs Help

Please vote for Anna's teacher! He's trying to win a grant for the 4th grade students. Go to http://www.weareteachers.com/web/512963/ise and look for Clinton Dulworth. Voting ends October 12. Thanks!!

Fundraiser time!

Okay, I'm going to be shameless and use this post to plug our fall fundraiser. As the PTO vice-president of fundraising, I do need to do my best to get sales in. This year, we are partnering with Sally Foster. They have a great reputation for the quality of their products and our teachers are so excited to be using them again. Galatas Elementary will get 50% back from purchases which is a great deal!

In addition to the traditional prizes kids get for selling items, we are rewarding the top seller, the top selling class and having a drawing for those that sell 5 items of more. The drawing winner and top seller will have the choice of a Nintendo DSi or $150 gift card to Toys R Us. The top class gets a pizza party and the teacher gets $100 school supply voucher. For parents that don't want want items, but want their children to participate, we are putting together a wish list from our teachers.

So, if you'd like to help, click the link below and have fun shopping. Items should be received in time for Christmas. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to email me. Thanks so much for every one's support!

Use the seller number below after clicking on the link. You may need to change the seller.
https://www.sallyfoster.com/sally/credit/sellerGroupCredit.cmd

Last name between A and L, use Anna: 429546

Last name between M and Z, use Sydney: 429547

Just another weekend

The kids have finished their 3rd week of school and I think we are all doing well adjusting so far. All 3 kids love their teachers. Anna is really doing well in Mr. D's class. He's very much into technology and uses it when ever possible in class. This works well with Anna. Sydney still needs a nurturer and Mrs. B is just that person. She loves each child as her own and wants to see them grow in her class. Hayden has 3 teachers at 2 schools. He's already figured out he goes to Mrs. K's class when he gets to ride the bus. Mrs. J and Mrs. S have done a good job so far in his regular preschool. I really hope the rest of the school year continues like these last few weeks.


Jason and I have been watching Sydney since she was 4. We believe she has some type of learning disability. Our school district doesn't do formal testing until 2nd grade to allow for normal development. Well, she's in 2nd grade and her teacher does see reading fluency isn't where she should be. I'm waiting for her to finish benchmark testing before Sydney can move forward. Last week she complained about seeing double while reading. So, off to the pediatrician we went. After failing the vision screening, we visited our optometrist yesterday and ordered Syd's first pair of glasses. They are really cute, even if they are Sponge Bob frames. Syd tests slightly farsighted with astigmatism. She also has some muscle weakness which could be contributing to her poor reading. Her lenses will have special prisms which are supposed to help. A couple of weeks after getting her glasses, she'll go back to see how things are going. I hope this helps. Sydney still has a love of school and a desire to read. If she has strain on her eyes and continues to struggle, we can lose all that.


Jason complained that I haven't posted any pictures in awhile. So, here is the only one I've taken in a couple of weeks. I need to get the camera out. We were in Dallas last weekend and the kids enjoyed dinner outside with friend Rowan. This is Rowan's little brother, AJ. Can you say happy baby?

Hayden's Activation Day!

Hayden was finally activated this afternoon. It's been 6 weeks since his cochlear implant surgery. After school, we had lunch and he had a little quiet time. Actually, his time wasn't quiet, but at least I tried. At 2:00, we made our way downtown for his activation appointment. Thankfully, Hayden fell asleep on the drive in. I wanted him to be rested so that he might be easier to work with. Recently, his visits with his audiologist has been hit or miss. Sometimes he will be good during mappings, others he screams and fights.

Going into the mapping room, Hayden was pretty good. He did try to lock and unlock all the doors around so he didn't want to sit. After getting caught up with our team, we began the process. When it came time to have Hayden wear his new implant, oh boy, he was not going to have it. He screamed and fought every time I tried to put it on. Luckily, we got just enough time to see that everything was looking good. Dr. Ross had to guess at a low setting and seemed to be happy with the small response that Hayden gave him. Our job this week is to get Hayden used to wearing the implant so that on Friday, Dr. Ross can do a better adjustment with a true response from Hayden.

After we got home and had dinner, I tried to get Hayden to put on his ear. Initially, I tried bribery with a lollipop and then ice cream. He kept saying no, so into timeout he went. This worked last year with the first one, so I thought I'd try it again. Nope. He willingly walked himself to his timeout spot and sat down. After a few minutes, he got out. I was talking to the girls and turned around to see his implant was gone! I thought I lost it. I started to get really upset and angry, asking the girls to help me find it. Hayden realized I was getting angry and walked into the living room with a guilty smile on his face. He walks to one of his trains on the coffee table, then to another one on the floor by the couch. Inside of each is a part of the implant. The little stinker took his implant from behind my back, took it apart, then hid the 2 pieces in 2 different places. No one can tell me my child isn't smart.

Finally, I had to tell him if he wouldn't wear the implant it was time for bed and took his shoes off. This is what finally did it. He didn't want his shoes off or go to bed. So, I was able to get him to wear it. He spent the rest of the evening almost happily wearing his implant. He even asked me to put it back on when it fell off. Let's see if we have better luck tomorrow.

Trip Video

Here are some memories from our trip. I hope you enjoy it.