I know it's been a while

I've not posted in a while. Honestly? It's only because I'm just treading water trying to keep myself going. Life has been so very busy for us. I know it usually is for everyone but I only have time to worry about this house. 

Next year Carly goes to High School. We've had to sign her up for classes and talk about the plan for the next 4 years. I've had a really difficult time grasping the fact that I am going to have a kid in high school. We've been going through all the last middle school events and every time I get a little more aware that she is growing up. She is fiercely independent and sometimes too smart for her own good, but thinking back she's always been this way. She is the type of teenager that is happy with reading, writing, drawing, and sometimes talking to her friends. I see her pulling away from me and it's so tough but I realize it's a part of growing up. She'll be a wonderful responsible and creative adult someday and will do great things.

Tanya has done a ton of growing up this year as well. Each one of my kids are so very different and Tanya happens to be developing her great personality. She is the kind of person I would have been friends with in school. I think that's why we are together most of the time, or she is just a Momma's girl (although she is still a huge Tomboy). I'll take it either way. She loves to cook, and help around the house, she is a very responsible, loving kid who loves to make people laugh and smile. She is definitely a people pleaser though so I've got to watch out for that. Not that it's a bad trait but it needs guidance so she is not taken advantage of.

I'm getting things set up for Eden to go to 2nd grade has been a process. It's never going to be as easy as it was with the other girls, because now there are meetings letters to write, I've got to request teaching styles and classrooms with specific behavior plans. 

We've had an IEP meeting recently in which we had to completely rewrite her plan because now she's in a Special Education setting most of her day instead of a mainstream classroom. We've also added in special education reading (to go along with the special education Math she's already in). I think it will be a good step to keep her on grade level work. We've found she can do grade appropriate work when it's changed to suit her learning style, on her terms, in a small classroom setting, and she has the appropriate support. Pretty simple equation right? I'm so glad she's got some great, creative and patient teachers. 

 It's been such a long process but her teachers, therapists and I wanted to make sure she was doing well with the changes before we went and officially changed her plan. As for the medication, we started her on in November, she has been taking it and we've seen behavioral improvement at home since (maybe) January. There have been less behavior problems at school and she's even completing work during the day. We have been to her behavioral specialist for check ups and she agrees that even though we haven't had a complete change in her behaviors they are substantially improved with the medication and we'll be keeping it going throughout the summer(apparently there was a choice, but I would like to be able to do things with her as well). 

There is a little bit of an update, I'll try to keep up this summer to see how things are going.