Homeschooling thru a charter school

I have wanted to homeschool Tayler for a couple of years now. She gets left behind put pushed to the next grade at the same time. I have begged the school for an IEP or a 504 plan but they refused stating they did not have the extra staff to spend extra time with her on math and that I should be doing math with her at home. Little did they know until me and Tayler went to a conference with her teacher and principal that not only was I sitting with her and helping her with ALL her homework but I was also devoting at least 2 hours a day just to flashcards and math games to help her. They could not believe that after working a full time job I was coming home and spending all that time with her. Tayler does have some learning disabilities due to the NF1, but she can learn the age appropriate stuff as long as someone is willing to go the extra mile with her and help her more. They finally agreed to have the teacher do some extra help with her in the mornings and to cut her literature circle time in half to give the teacher time to help her then too. I felt like this was great that she was finally getting help she needed, but at the same time she was losing out on her group discussions about the book they were reading. I looked into homeschooling and charter schools. Because we live in NY state charter schools, which are online schools, are not acceptable but private charter schools are. The private charter schools were more expensive than the private schools in the area! Homeschooling really wasn't an option as I worked full time during the day and my husband works full time on overnights. When we found out we were moving to SC I decided to look up charter schools again. I found one through connectionsacademy.com and was amazed when watching the video for the school! I immediately started getting the necessary paperwork in and explaining our situation to them. They have been extrememly helpful and I already have her course listings, which include built in math tutoring and an extra life skills class. Tayler needs OT, PT and neurocognitive testing once we move. With the charter school it is still very regimented in that she can not miss more than 10 days or she will be kicked out of the school, but when we have our appointments as long as she has an internet connection she can attend school. This was a big thing for me she doesn't have to miss school anymore. And because SC accredits the school it is free, we have to supply the laptop, webcam and headset so she can see and talk to her teacher as well as hear them and the internet. But for the amount of help she is going to get this is a small price to pay! I will keep you updated as the school year progresses but I hope this is a dream come true for her!

Any success stories?

As I am sitting here with my cup of coffee at 9:15pm, I am applying to a lot of jobs via CareerBuilder and Monster. As many of you know who have read this we are on the verge of moving and have been staying with my mom and stepdad who have been awesome this whole month. My dilemma is I would rather work from home. I have worked in a medical office as a nurse for the past 2 1/2 almost 3 years but I really don't want to work outside of the home anymore. I have missed so much of my kids lives as they have been growing up. Tayler is 10 and has pointed out that I have always worked since she was born. She would rather me be back in school and home then working so that when she needs me I'm there. I would also be more available for all her doctor appointment and what she considers her life crises. I would also be there for Eathan who is 3 and 100% boy. He does not stop from the time he wakes up until I make him go to bed, the only problem with that it I'm exhausted after working all day and don't always want to play Power Rangers with him or run around the yard and I want that part of my life, I want him to have those memories as well as my daughter. Doug fully supports me in this endeavor as he would like to see me go back to school as well. Our problem is actually finding a company that will let me work from home. I don't want to work for one of those companies that you have to buy into and then are commissioned based or something like that. I want a legitimate job with a legitimate company. I am not saying that these companies are not legitimate, but I can not afford to hand out money to start working. My question to anyone who is reading this is: Do you have any advice, tips, success stories from what you have done or what someone you know has done? Any and all advice/comments are welcome and will be taken into consideration.

So this wasn't healthy but it was delicious!

I love to cook and since we have been staying at my mom and stepdads I got the oppurtunity to cook a recipe I found on Pinterest. This recipe is definitely not healthy in the least bit but it was so good! I've tried a lot of things on Pinterest and some work and some others didn't this one was an EPIC WIN!!! I am proud to say that everyone loved it and I will probably be making it again for them before we leave. It was easy to make and the directions were precise and clear cut, I did not have any questions about what I was supposed to do which set my mind at ease. I tend to get a little antsy and nervous when trying new things but this was great! Here is my picture of how it turned out: So now that I have completely fallen off track, starting tomorrow I will be starting all over again!

Am I wrong?

Does it make me a bad person that when we move I would rather not go to work? I have been working since I was 14 with literally maybe a 1 1/2 years off total due to an accident that broke my back and took my life 4 times and the births of my children. I have missed all the firsts with my daughter who is my oldest. She has NF1 so all firsts with her were extra special as it took her so much longer and she had to put so much more effort into doing everything and still does. I have almost missed all the firsts with my son, I was pregnant with him when I was in LPN school, graduated 7 weeks after having him and went to work a week after graduation and have not stopped since. I don't want to work anymore, I want to be able to enjoy my kids and my husband. I want to be the mom that has fresh baked goodies on a daily basis and dinners aren't just thrown together but are thought out and healthy. If something happens to my kids I don't want to worry about losing my job if I have to leave work. Growing up my mom was the stay at home mom and until I had kids I did not realize how lucky she was. As the teenager she was always there and I thought it was pain because I couldn't get anything past her. Now I realize how much I want that. I would give up anything to be able to stay at home with my kids once we move. I am willing to work from home because I wouldn't have to give up a whole lot with my kids and I would stop missing out on everything and having to schedule my daughters doctors appointments around my work schedule so that I don't have to take a lot of time off. I want to be a SAHM/WAHM. Now the big question is how am I going to accomplish this?

Time for change

I decided that with everything that has been going in my life it was time to make some changes. I have been trying to quit smoking for the past month and until recently was doing exceptinally well, then life happened and I fell off the bandwagon. I decided that I would make at least two changes this week. I want to be healthy for not just myself but my kids and husband as well, I need to be around for as long as possible ( who else will torture my husband the way I can? :) ). So I decided that one change I am starting this week is eating healthier. I am the biggest junk food addict you will probably ever meet, but today I took this to work instead for lunch:

This salad was incredibly delicious! Who knew that spinach leaves, mushrooms, tomato and cheese with a light garlic vinagarette would be so great! The other change I am going to make this week is too start NOT smoking again. This was an incredibly bad habit that I started when my daughter was 6 months old and the one thing in my life that I regret starting. Before then I was anti smoking and couldn't even stand the smell of the cigarettes. So here's to hoping that I can get back on track again! I will keep you posted with my progress whether I am doing good or not. I figure the more people that know my plans the more people I have to motivate me!

July Blog Hop!

This is my first ever blog hop and I'm hoping for the best experience I could possibly have. I have just joined Bloggy Moms and so far I love everything about it!

New Cookie try out

I am always trying new things. Today I decided to try a new healthy recipe that I found on allrecipes.com for banana oat cookies. My mom had some bananas that she needed to use up before they went bad and these turned out pretty dang good! I've been trying to be healthier for my kids and myself, unfortunately it's easier said than done, but with these cookies they were a hit with everyone! I suggest anyone looking for a delicious recipe should try this one out! The picture below does not do them justice as good as they taste.

You never realize

You never truly realize anything until it is either gone or you do not do it anymore. I knew I was a strong person, I've been through quite a bit in my 30 years; however, I did not realize I was this strong until we lost our house and moved in with my mom and stepdad for the next 6 weeks. I missed 3 days of work in the process of packing and putting all our stuff in storage and going to my moms house but we did it. And in a couple of weeks we will be starting a whole new life in a new state and this time we have vowed it will be better. I'm going to ask my mom to make a budget for us to strictly follow as my husband has a movie fetish and while I have a hard time buying things for myself I do love books way more than I should and then we also have the kids that neither of us can completely say no too.

I also took having my mom 30 minutes away for granted. Now that we are staying with her and Kevin and know that we are on limited time we are both trying to work and spend as much time together as possible. We don't know when exactly we will see each other again. I'm hoping it will be Christmas, but I don't know.

There is a saying that someone once told me," If you couldn't get through it God would not have brought you to it". After all our recent struggles I've come to firmly believe this. He would not put me and my husband through all of this if we could not have made it through it and come out better and stronger in the end.

I have learned that I still learn new things about myself on a daily basis. I have come out of this not unscathed. I have learned that I can be stronger than I thought I was, that the overwhelming love I have for my husband, kids and family can get stronger each day and that no matter what we will prevail and come out of it. You do need more than love but that is a great part of it. I have fallen more in love with my husband after all this started, which may sound odd considering all the details I have shared but he truly is a great man who put me and the kids best interests first and rather than get another apartment where we are decided the best option for us was to start a new life in the South.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Images from Google

Happy 4th!

I am going to keep this quick. Happy 4th of July and while we are out celebrating lets not forget the soldiers, past, present and future who have made this possible.

Learning all over...

In the past few weeks I have been missing. I'm not sure anyone in the blog world noticed but during this period of missing time I have been having to learn all over again. I've had to learn how to cope with the loss of our house, having to resign from my position at my office and breaking the news to them that I would be leaving at the end of the month, coping with giving our dog to the shelter as were unable to take her with us. We are now living with my mom and stepdad who have been great through all of this, offering not only a place for my family to stay, but an ear to listen to me rant, a budget plan to follow and so much more. These past few weeks have enforced what has always been important to me: my family; that no matter how much we may fight when it's most important and needed your family is always there for you and that sometimes you're friends are really needed. These are some quotes that have helped me the past couple of weeks and I'm hoping that they might help someone else as well. Life is messy and sometimes no matter how much you plan it out speed bumps and mountains get in the way. If we came out of this clean it means we didn't live just went by thinking we were. (Images are from Google).