Overdue Update

It's been a while. Sorry. Yesterday, I finally received the paperwork for BJ's 504 plan. This is so unbelievably great, as he is truly impacted on a day to day basis with issues that I believe to be totally "helpworthy." As I just checked today, he has received yet another F for a late paper that he had no idea he forgot to hand in. Having had the meeting with this teacher, I can't help but wonder why she is not starting to implement the accommodations that the 504 Plan would afford. I truly hope that getting the teachers on board will not be an issue. I am going to hope for the best.

Today was meant to be Zach's Birthday celebration. It will be moved to Sunday at noon due to poor weather today. Please, oh please, oh please let the weather be good on Sunday. Zach does not do well with unexpected changes. If Sunday needs to be cancelled, I will certainly fear the potential for a poor mood for the week, and that will affect everyone.

Little Nate had his preschool Halloween parade today. We made him a silver lego outfit. He was so unbelievably proud and cute. A little girl told us that she was Nate's girlfriend. What an adorable age. I could melt from the cuteness.

In other news, I am giving a lesson to a new student, a retired woman, this week. I certainly could use the extra money with all the sailing expenses, and now that Nate is in preschool, I am lucky to have more leeway in scheduling. I always look forward to new students, so this should be fun.

As of Monday I have lost a total of 15 pounds on the 17 Day Diet. I am pretty mad at myself for cheating today, but there is a section in the book that addresses this issue well. It asks something like, "If you find you have a flat tire, would you then slash the other three?" It then suggests you do you best to get back to the positive difference you were making in your life. I do feel like this diet has made a hugely positive impact. I hope I can continue to have success with it and lose more weight.

Like Pulling Teeth

This whole 504 Plan process has been like pulling teeth. It has been like BJ was on trial. He has been struggling probably since 5th grade, and when we finally arrive at the conclusion that he has legitimate processing issues and probable ADHD, the door was closed on the 504 Plan. After persistence, we had a meeting today with BJ's team, the school principal, and the guidance counselor. It went well. Now the principal will take it to the 504 committee and advocate for BJ. I think there is hope.

Speaking of teeth, Zach has horribly crowded teeth to the point that they hurt him. We had gotten an orthodontic evaluation that recommended pulling 4 of the baby teeth in order to make room for the crowding. At some point they also will have to pull some permanent teeth, but that will be further down the road. The night before the appointment, Zach managed to pull one of those scheduled teeth out. So the other three teeth were pulled on Tuesday. I had charged up his ipod and told him to listen to his music and close his eyes. Apparently he didn't quite take my advice. Rather, he kept his eyes wide open and watched everything. When he finally emerged, in a weird, numb-mouthed fog, he held out his hands to show me how big the shots were.

At least now he has semi-recovered. Hopefully, we won't have to do anything else like that for a while.

My car is at the shop, again. Please, oh please, oh please may it be a minor repair that is inexpensive.

Weight and a Meeting Scheduled

As of the one week mark, I have lost 8 pounds on the 17 Day Diet! I am happy with this, especially since I majorly cheated yesterday. I am back to the plan today and am feeling great!

We have a meeting scheduled with BJ's team on Wednesday morning. Hopefully, this will bring us a step closer to the goal of getting BJ the 504 plan that he deserves.

Still Waiting, But Distracted

I am still waiting to hear back from one of the district heads that has the power to help BJ with a 504 Plan. I just left another message. I am decent at persistence.

In the meantime, I have started a new diet. It is the 17 Day Diet, and so far I am only on day 2, but so far, so good. I admit that my major issue so far has been with consuming the 2 probiotics. Yesterday I was completely horrified by the taste of kefir milk, but today I have accepted low fat yogurt flavored with a no sugar jam as a viable option. My 2nd probiotic will be the live active cottage cheese. I am beyond excited about the possibility of shedding some of this padding that has rapidly made its way to my hips. I will post my weight loss on Monday next week, as that morning will mark a solid week on the diet, if all goes well.

The weather has been fabulous, so I have even gotten in 2 short walks this week.

Unfortunately, I am still catching up from this weekend's laundry, so I must cut this short.

Waiting

The silence is deafening. In between all the drop-offs, pick-ups, and after school activities, I am now waiting to hear from one of the heads of special services at the district level. I am crossing my fingers that BJ gets the 504 plan he deserves.

Last night was sailing. There was good wind and clear skies, so it was an ideal night for being out on the water. Sitting there in a gazebo overlooking the bay, I couldn't help but feel amazingly lucky. Yes, there are issues, but there are so many good things as well. We are very, very lucky!

This is our first regatta-free weekend in a while. I am thinking that we may take a surprise trip to a nearby theme park where we are pass-holders. All the hard work we have put into the start of this school year deserves a little celebration. :)

Seen Versus Unseen

Zach has mild Tourette Syndrome. No biggie. It is what it is. His teacher has noticed his tics, so now, in the eyes of the school, it is a confirmed and legitimate thing. Because he has Tourette, he has a 504 plan to accommodate his slow processing speed. His processing speed, by the way, falls into the 34th percentile.

On the flip side, BJ has no outward signs of a physical disability, but his processing speed is far slower, falling into the 16th percentile. In addition, BJ was evaluated as likely having inattentive ADHD. He is also thought to have an anxiety disorder stemming from difficulty of the ADHD/exceedingly slow processing speed. BJ was denied a 504 plan.

Of the 2 children, BJ is currently more in need of accommodations, yet he has been denied.

There is something terribly wrong with the system.

Recovery

The weekend was crazily busy, with a regatta, a playdate, a giant history project, and many other little things.

The regatta was a bust in that there was very little wind and then a storm. They did manage to get in one race in which Zach did great, and Gabe did not so great. Such is life. The next regatta will be in mid-October. Strangely, I'm already looking forward to it. BJ and Nate had fun since this race was at a yacht club where there was a big pool overlooking the water. All in all, it was a nice setting.

BJ has a huge history project due today. He begrudgingly worked on it and completed it this weekend since he had orchestra last night. It isn't his best work, but we think he accomplished everything on the rubric. At least, we hope he did.

I wrote a letter today asking for a reevaluation for BJ's 504 Plan. I included all the events in which we intervened to save BJ from difficulty at school. I am hoping that the letter is the start of something positive. We'll see.