Happy Labor Day!

Good News! The seller took the bid on the house and I'll be closing September 11th. Eery, I know but that's 30 days from when the bid was made. So, my house is filled with boxes and I'm all set to go. Once I move in, I'll take some pictures and post them. I'm really excited about this opportunity. Scared, yet excited and proud.

Mom and I drove to Louisiana this weekend and picked up Thomas so Molly and Eric could put the final touches on their house. They should be here by Friday. Mom took the week off to keep Thomas. She and Gene painted Molly's old room, put down an adorable rug and crib for Thomas. Now granted the kids been home for two nights, but guess where he's been sleeping? With my mom! She bought a nanny camara today and she says that once she has that set up she'll feel more comfortable letting him sleep in his room. I am so happy to have my family back together. Its only been 6 years but it seems like a decade.

Wish me luck, I'm applying to FSU for the Ed Leadership program. This will open doors for me in the administrative realm of the school system. Its funny b/c less than a year ago I could NOT see myself in that capacity. Now I think I'm ready to learn the ropes. I may not get an administrative position for a while but in the meantime , I can work on the degree.

My class is tough this year. Ironically, I'm not as stressed as I was this time last year, but its tough nontheless. My co-teacher and I have 7 little friends with severe needs. 3 are autistic, 3 have chromosome disorders, and one we're not sure what his diagnosis is but we know he needs one! (our guess is he was born addicted to drugs, but we don't have proof) The hardest thing about the job is getting them all to the bathroom safely and pottying them without one of them running away. We don't have a bathroom in our classroom and all but two of them are in diapers!

If any of you have any tips for dealing with autistic friends, please share. They have got to be the toughest kids out there to reach. I guess I'm having a hard time sorting out learned bad behaviors versus true autistic behaviors. As a result, I think I've been too hard on them.

As for my chromosome kids, they are the sweetest, most enthusiastic kids ever. I just can't keep their attention for very long. I need some good ideas on how to play with both groups. (Trish, Rebecca, Heather, Tammy???) That may sound dumb to some, but their play isn't typical and by the time I sit down to play, they're running off to another area. My thought is to do some sort of directed play (so not ECERS, I know) by putting them in Rifton chairs and playing one on one with them with toys on the Rifton tray. They'll still get their free play but I don't feel like I'm teaching them anything by letting them roam.

Well, I guess that's it for now. I need to go walk my dog!

Love, J