Ramblings

I haven't had the time I wanted to post on a daily basis but I am making time now....
Jeff is doing so much better after his episode last Friday. Although the girl that broke his heart occasionally talks to him he is involving his time to allow other friendships grow. Tomorrow he will going to another friends house after school and then they will be going to the mall to see Spiderman 3. Whew!!!! I was so anticipating another struggle with him.

Chris and I had to attend a C.A.R.E meeting (this is a intervention counsel that evaluates children who are at risk of learning disabilities) at Katie's school on Wednesday to discuss Katie's placement in first grade next year and what evaluations need to be addressed the first weeks of school in the fall. I know I have not mentioned this before but Katie had to repeat kindergarten because she suffers from a hearing impairment. Katie had to have tubes placed in her ears in March of 2005 because fluid kept building up behind her eardrums. She also had to have her tonsils and adenoids removed. It's not fun hearing your daughter breathing half way across the house when she slept. She inhaled so deeply with each breath I thought her chest would cave in. It's called sleep apnea. It was a warning sign that something was wrong with her air way passage. After several attempts pleading with her pediatrician I finally got a referral to an Ears, nose and throat specialist. I hate HMO's by the way.
I was so happy when he looked at me after evaluating her hearing scores and spent 30 minutes looking into her throat and ears and said "Mom, we need to discuss getting those tonsils and adenoids removed and she definitely needs tubes inserted in her ear drums. Surgery will be scheduled for Friday" She had 50% hearing lost in both ears. I can't even imagine how she heard things. I don't know how she even learned to talk. She started kindergarten on schedule but boy did she have the hardest time. Retaining letters was a nightmare, not to mention pronouncing the sounds that the letters make. However she scored off the charts in math. They held her back because of her hearing issues which at first Chris was not happy about. Although this year she improved greatly she still scored low on tests that were given every quarter. It's not that she doesn't know or understand the things that she is tested on it's that she freezes and then becomes unsure of herself. Let's face it some people do not test well. So... I am not quite sure what to expect next year. Katie is reading and she is retaining what she is learning much better. However, Katie's attention span is very short and it's not because she doesn't have one it's because she gets bored way too easily and if she is being taught something she has no interest in forget it. She is too much like her father in that respect. I just don't know how to guide her in her learning. Anyone have any suggestions?