Way to go, little man!!!

Wow, what a difference one person can make.

Just over a month ago, I took Ian to see Dr. Mead who handles his medications.  I expressed concerns about Ian's behavior at school and we discussed the possibility of making some changes in our routine and his dosage, etc.  Since previous attempts to do this were not successful (disastrous is a better term!), I wanted that to be the last course of action.  We left the appointment knowing we could make a change if we needed to, and that was somewhat comforting.

And then, something funny started happening at school.

Ian came home with GOOD REPORTS.  He was happy walking off the bus.  He still chewed his shirt, but not every day, and not as drastically as before.

There was new handwriting on the sheets too, with sweet little remarks.  "Ian had a good day in the school!"  "I have a great day today."  "Mom I had a wonderful day today."  And today, "YAYYYY!!

12/12 is pretty awesome!

To top it off, today is the first school day after the weekend when we lose an hour for daylight savings time.  Amazing!

So, who is the person who is making our lives so much better?  Well, for the sake of her privacy, I will call her Ms. S.  She started in January after another aide left.  She must be pretty awesome because it usually takes Ian a long time to warm up to someone new.

The only somewhat off day he has had since she started was a day when she was absent.

And he had a great day last week, even though the teacher was absent.

Also, have I mentioned that we've barely had a full week of school since 2014 began with all the snow days?

He even went on a field trip and HAD FUN.  The teacher sent me a text with a picture of Ian, happy as a clam, sitting next to Ms. S. at a restaurant eating pizza. (That made me start to cry!)

I gather from her last name and the way she writes that English is not her first language, and I love that.  I like that Ian is meeting someone from another culture.  Whatever it is that is making this work, I'm so happy that Ms. S. has come into our lives and I hope she stays with us for a long time to come!

Well, it's been awhile

Just a quick post to check in.

We are well into 2014, and Ian and I have both settled into our new school lives.

With my co-worker, Regan

I LOVE my job at Holladay.  And I'm not just saying that since one of my co-workers wants to follow this blog, ha ha!  Working again is so rewarding, and the money doesn't hurt either!  Besides, it's FUN to be out in the world again.  I guess I'm just not wired to be a stay-at-home mom.  That said, I don't regret those days at all, and I know I was lucky to have a chance to try it.






Ian is settling into 6th grade too.  I love his teacher; she has worked so very hard to get him adjusted.  The morning routine has worked out well for everyone, and I actually have about 30 minutes at home before the bus drops him off.  We are continuing with his music class and we tried a soccer program in the fall.  In January Bishop Gulick confirmed Ian in a small ceremony in the St. Giles' Gate room; it was amazing!  Everyone who was there commented on how special it was and how well Ian did.  So proud of him!

Ian with Rev. Thorpe and Bishop Gulick

Ian throwing snow at me!

The big news of the winter has been the weather.  We missed many days at school because of snow and ice.  We even had a few days that were delayed due to frigid temperatures.  The days are starting to get longer and we are definitely looking forward to Spring!