Carnival of Success

The lower grades (1st-3rd) at our charter school have a carnival at the end of each year. It is a reward for hard work and is the culmination of an account and money-based learning experience. About February, they start getting paid carnival bucks for turning in their homework on time, being good citizens, doing extra special things the teachers see them do, and so on. If they make bad choices or do not stay on task, they also may have to pay money back to the teacher. Each week, they add up their bucks, deposit them into their account, record their deposit into a bank book, and start earning again the next week. During the last week of school, they buy tickets for the carnival based on the amount of money they have in their account. It takes a certain number of tickets to just attend the carnival, and the other tickets can be used to purchase treats and play the games. It's a great learning experience for the kids and teaches them responsibility and the rewards of hard work. (Bryson did lots of extra mad minutes to get enough bucks!) They really do earn the privilege of participating in the carnival. It takes a huge amount of work on the teachers' part, the kids bring in donations to help pay for all the prizes and things, and many parent volunteers are also involved. Again, being lucky enough to be a stay-at-home mom, and having my high-schooler done for the year, afforded me the opportunity to help and be with my 3rd grader at his carnival again this year. We had to move everything into the school, as the weather didn't really cooperate very well. But, as you can see, we had a really fun time.

Getting a totally cool tattoo

The bouncy castle, slide, and playground all crammed together inside our tiny gym - so fun!

Bryson and I played the "Mr. C Relay" game.
(Mr. Cde Baca is our principal.)
We raced, and I beat the "pants" off him!

Hooray for these wonderful moments of motherhood!

Kindergarten and the Zoo

Not really much difference there....
Okay, Mrs. Turpin's class is a little better organized, and maybe a tad more exciting, but the animals are pretty much the same.

I went to the Pocatello Zoo with Joshua's kindergarten class yesterday. He's such a sweetie. He picked me to be his walking buddy, and I savored the moments we spent together. Our zoo isn't very big and doesn't have a lot of traditional zoo animals. But it's a nice walk, and stocked with animals that are mostly native to Idaho.

We cruised through the whole zoo in less than an hour. I think the kids were anxious to eat lunch together and play at the tree house and on the equipment at Ross Park.

The weather was kind of cool, threatening to rain the whole morning. We got lucky, though. The storm didn't come in until after lunch and almost time to go home.

I love that I have the opportunity to go on field trips and volunteer in my kids' classrooms. I am so grateful I can be a stay-at-home mom so I can do these things with them. It makes me smile to see Josh's face light up when I walk into his classroom, and he just beamed when he announced to his friends that "my mom's commin' with us!" I've decided that irresistible little smile is just one of my mommy pay-checks!

Hooray for Sarah!

Sarah's grades came in the mail today. She worked tirelessly the last few weeks of school to get everything caught up and all her past make-up work in. (With all the zeroes, she had some pretty poor grades for a while.) And guess what? All those hours of hard work and tears really paid off! She pulled out a 3.2 GPA this semester, with more than 30 absences. We're all so thrilled. I know she felt pretty crummy most of the time this year and with the emotional and spiritual struggles that followed the physical ones, I can't imagine the inner fortitude she must have gathered to do so well. (The Parent Push doesn't very often get those results, without the teenager caring quite a lot, too.) So, hooray for Sarah! We're so very proud of her!

Taking the Oath

This morning, Rachel stood with several of her fellow students, and took the "Oath of Office" for a student officer of The Academy at Roosevelt Center. She was elected Student Body Vice-President for the 2009-10 school year (her last and 8th grade year). She's ecstatic. This year's officers seem to be a pretty strong group of kids and their teacher adviser is really excited to see what they can accomplish next year. Ms. Phelps was Rachel's 6th grade teacher... loved and greatly respected by all. Great thing is, she feels the same way about my kid. It makes a mom pretty proud of her beautiful little girl!

Rachel receiving her official binder of procedures and duties

Taking the Oath

With the approval of his daughter, Steve has volunteered to be the parent adviser to the Student Council and work with Ms. Phelps and two other teachers to help these kids be successful leaders of their peers. I think he'll really enjoy it. He already made a hit with the kids at the school. He made "really cool" status when he high-fived all the kids on the way up to receive his adviser binder.

Rachel said her friends are really excited to work with him. It shouldn't make him much busier (he'll probably have early morning or lunch meetings), so I think he'll like being able to volunteer at the school and do something he enjoys. You never know, "Kiddie Politics & Government" might be his new calling in life!

Owl Pellet Dissection

A few weeks ago, Bryson ordered an "Owl Pellet Dissection Kit" from his Scholastic book order at school. He's been so anxious for it to arrive, he was all grins when he brought it home last Wednesday. So cute. The boy, not the pellet. It's a little gross and creepy, but the kid is so very cute. He ceremoniously opened the box, laid everything out on the table and we proceeded to read the instructions. We read all he ever needs to know about owl pellets and how to dissect them and identify the bones.

Do you know what an owl pellet is? Apparently, owls cannot digest the fur and bones of the cute little critters they eat, so it all collects into this nice little pellet that they cough up and drop to the ground. People actually go around collecting them, wrapping them in little foil packets and selling them to kids to meticulously tear apart. Can you say, "EWWWW!"? Well, my cute son that is so intrigued with the insides of critters, especially their bones, thought this was an incredible opportunity. So, we prepped the work area, and away he went!


(See, super cute kid, huh?) He carefully took this thing apart and now has a little container of semi-clean critter bones, complete with a mouse jaw bone a few other great treasures. It took him a couple of hours. He was so happy, it was like heaven for him! I might have to get online and order a few other semi-gross things to use for rewards this summer!

What are we gonna' do?

Ya' know, that's a very good question.... I think we have a plan now, but it seems like an eternity waiting for the doctor to follow through.

We went to visit with Dr. McInturff, our pediatrician, a week or so ago about Bryson's diagnosis and the report from Dr. Christensen. As we talked about Bryson's needs, how he responds to our help and guidance, and what the immediate struggles we face right now with his Asperger's Syndrome are, we began to formulate a plan. First, we talked about the ADD, and that it is most likely a by-product of the AS. His doctor thought that we should hold off on medication, until we try some other things first (Yea... We really weren't comfortable with what to do about that one.) We brought up the possibility of changing his diet, thinking that maybe dyes and chemicals in processed foods may be causing some of those issues for him. His doctor agreed that the more natural and whole the foods are, the better they are for all of us, and said it wouldn't hurt to try that. But because he's already such a tiny, skinny kid, and a pretty picky eater, he cautioned us about taking away too many things he will eat. We decided that because we're so close to summer, and the ADD probably won't be so prevalent when he's not involved in school, he recommeded furter testing and some occupational therapy to help him learn how to deal with the AS issues first: the over-stimulating environmental experiences, texture sensitivity - like scratchy clothes, being able to focus enough to do things he doesn't want to - like reading, memorizing things like his address and phone number, and so on. He also recommended some counseling. When he mentioned this, I kind of chuckled and told him that I thought WE were the ones that needed counseling. Sometimes we feel like we're doing all we know how to do, and it's still not enough. We need to meet with someone who can help us take this stuff to the next level and figure out how to reach and help him when he's having an "AS Moment". He smiled, and told us that that's what he was thinking...that the counseling would have a family spin on it, so it would be able to help him, and at the same time, help us help him. He said he'd contact Dr. Christensen and get those referrals taken care of.

Ahhhh.... Well, it felt good to talk about our next steps, and start a plan in motion, but it was kind of frustrating at the same time. I don't feel like we're much farther than we were a month ago, but I know these things take time. I'd really like to get some serious help this summer so we can see some progress before school starts again. It's just so hard to wait. When it comes to my kids and helping them find success and happiness, I'm really not very patient. I might have to call the docotor tomorrow and see where we're at. And then, most likely, wait again!

Remembering Those We Love... Memorial Day 2009

We celebrated Memorial Day this year just like every year, on Saturday in Idaho Falls. My Grandpa Mangum is buried there, and so is Steve's nephew, Tanner.

Grandpa Mangum (my mom's dad) died just a couple of months before Bryson was born (August 1999). He was a sweet, gentle man who was suffering from Parkinsons' Disease. He fell, broke his pelvis, and died from heart failure in the hospital. (He had heart problems for as long as I can remember.) Things I remember about him are the back brace he wore that I could feel when he wrapped me in a huge bear hug, brushing and "fixing" his hair with barrettes and bows, "buzzing bees" and the way his face looked when he buzzed his lips, and how much he loved the grand kids. His greatest love, after his family was genealogy. One year for Christmas, he gave us each a big book with copies of all the work he had completed for my mom's line. After he passed away, I was at his house with my Mom, sister, and Grandma. We were looking through one of his many volumes of pedigree charts, and I found the perfect name for my son who was coming in just a couple of months (poor kid, his parents couldn't decide on a name until then). Someone, way back in my family line, had the last name of Bryson. It just clicked, and fit with the middle name of Lowell (Steve's family name). So, every time I think of Grandpa, I think of him and Bryson sitting up there together in heaven, plotting, guiding and helping me find the perfect name for him.

Nathan, Kyle & Macey (David's kids) and Joshua
Cute great-grand kids cleaning Grandpa's headstone

Grandpa's headstone and Memorial Day flowers

Grandpa's Military Marker
(He served in WWII in Iceland)

My mom and dad, (my brother) David's family, and my family spent time at Tautphaus Park together having a barbecue and celebrating Grandpa's life and my mom's birthday. We played catch, croquet, got a kite tangled in the tree, fell off the swings, and ate amazingly wonderful hamburgers and the most divine chocolate cake! We had a fun time together. After the barbecue, we stopped to look at the fountain in the park, and went to visit Tanner's grave.

Tanner Webster (Steve's sister's baby) passed away almost 17 years ago. He was 6 months old and suffocated when he got stuck between the crib and mattress. As you'd expect, Kathy and Richard had a really hard time when died. It shook the family up pretty hard. Right after we were married and lived in Rexburg, Steve and I used to go over to their house in Idaho Falls every Saturday. I spent the day with his sweet sister and her cute kids doing laundry and playing with baby Tanner while Steve was at work. He's the one that made me so baby hungry the first time. A few months after he died, I found out I was expecting our first baby. It must have been so hard for Kathy to be happy for me, though I never would have known it. She is such an amazing person.

Tanner's Headstone

At the cemetery Saturday, we talked about how Tanner died and how sad Kathy and Richard were when he went back to live with Heavenly Father. After a while, when we were ready to go, Bryson was just standing there, eyes glued to the headstone. I walked back over to him, put my arm around him, and asked if he was okay. The floodgates opened, and the tears streamed down his face. With a big hug, he told me, "Mom, it's just so sad..." We took a few more minutes than usual at the cemetery talking about Heavenly Father's great Plan of Happiness and how lucky Tanner was to be born, get his body and get to go right back home to his Heavenly Father. We talked about that even though it is really sad and hard for Kathy and Richard, they are okay now because they know that he's with Heavenly Father. They will get to be with him again someday, because of what Jesus did for us. It was a really special moment together.