Feeling Recharged For Homeschooling!

Photo credit: Homeschool-Life.com

My blog has been slow since I have been working on many things including my children being in a public school online.  Once we got done spending our time in public school online to qualify the Empowerment Scholarship I think we all needed a break!  So we took a break and just relaxed for a bit.  Now that July is upon me, my thoughts are back to homeschooling, and what we are going to do this school year.  This year I was able to attend my local homeschool convention.  I must say, if you have never gone to one, GO!  I feel recharged and full of some good ideas to help my children!  What a great way to feel to start the next academic phase of my children's education!

I was able to attend several workshops at the Arizona Families for Home Education (AHFE) convention. There were some that I thought were a real stand out and I wanted to share with you some of the ideas I learned. One of the workshops I liked was Monica Irvine's discussion on scheduling.  Having multiples we live, and died, by the schedule from the time we brought the children home until they were five and I went back to work for awhile.  I have tried to make a schedule once or twice before but we did not stick to it.  This year, since I have the addition of ESA money, it is vitally important to make a schedule and stick with it.  A schedule will be the only way we can time manage our day with therapy and the schooling that needs to be completed.  The second, and truly most important thing I learned, is to make sure I schedule some fun time in with the children.  I often forget that the kids need some time to just have fun with me versus being the person always making them do the not so fun things in life (grooming, cleaning, and school).  I will be putting game/fun time with mom into our schedule this year so that will be my commitment to them!

The workshop by Heather Haupt discussed why movement helps the brain to form neural connections.  I have experience this first hand!  The way I got Margaret to learn spelling words was to make a cheer out of them.  Joseph likes to march to the letters or drum.  He LOVES drumming ALL OVER EVERYTHING!  LOL  So he taps out a beat on the table as the learns his words.  Now I know why this is an effective teaching technique for them and I need to work on incorporating more movement into their lessons.

Beth Mora gave a great presentation on how to develop an educational plan for children with ADHD, Dyslexia, and Dysgraphia.  Honestly though, her S.O.A.P. method is great for any child with a disability or not.  She explains we need to study our children.  We need to understand their quirks, when they learn best, how they learn best, their love language, and to put all the information into a notebook.  By doing this we can remind ourselves WHY we are homeschooling in those tough moments and HOW we can help our children best by using their love language.  She covered a lot more but her lecture notes can be delivered to your email box by simply clicking on her name.  I hyperlinked all the speakers to their website.

Overall, I really enjoyed the convention.  There was a lot of great moments, I got to meet a lot of great parents, and I am looking forward to the next convention in October for special needs and gifted students.  I am hoping I can get a speaking engagement there so I can discuss the Empowerment Scholarship, the law, how to advocate for your children with their doctors/therapists, how to interpret testing in IEPs or testing completed by neuropsychologists or psychologists for the homeschool environment, how to teach multiple disabled children at one time, and how to fit therapy and everything else into your day.  I know I would be happy to share what I have learned homeschooling my children since they have been old enough to sit up in a high chair.  I have learned a lot over the last ten years and would love to share!

On the way to homelessness?

I have been having fun tonight listening to the wind howl.  A storm is moving into Vegas tonight and with it the wind speed picks up.  There are gusts out there at LEAST 50 mph!  The wind chime is going crazy outside!  Careful, wind chime noise in video is LOUD!

John got paid so he gave me $700 to pay bills.  This is more than he has to give me so that is nice.  I have the following bills to take care of:

Photo Credit: thesite.org

• $400 electric
• $100 credit card (I had all ready missed one payment)
• $85 credit card (same with this one)
• $40 health club membership (haven't even been going at all since we split up)
• $50 cellphone (only phone I have)
• $100 gas (will last my 15 passenger van about 2 weeks if I don't really go out much)
• $100 food (that is two weeks worth for 4 people (me and the kids)
• Other bills that may come up are water, gas, internet. 

I know, I have WAY exceeded the allowance I was given so what do I do?  I cannot continue to eat Ramen and popcorn for dinner.  WAY too much salt for me and not good for you in general.  Got to do food and gas.  So that is $200.  Got to pay at LEAST $200 to electric.  So that is $400.  Got to pay for phone!  MUST have a phone so that is another $50.  So that pays out $450 leaving me $250.  About to forget.  Got to get a case of diapers for Margaret and Joseph.  That is $40.  Plus I have two doctor appointments I need to go to.  That is $40.  So we are at $530.  Need a $70 copay to take Joseph to the pulmonologist.  I have the extra high co-pay because I had to miss the appointment last time because John forgot to give me the money before he left for work that day.  That makes $600.  There is an IEP meeting scheduled for Joseph and it would cost $100 for the advocate to be there.  I do NOT have the money for all of this!  I am not sure what I am going to do!  I think I will have to cancel the IEP and try to do one in Arizona when we get there.  I will have to see if I can find an advocate and how much they would cost.  I cannot be trusted to attend one of those meetings alone.  I am just too emotional and hot-headed.  I wind up saying things that I occasionally regret.  So I could easily spend all the money and still not even pay a lot of the bills I know about. Sigh!  This is why I am SO upside down on everything.  : (   

Photo Credit:  http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com    
Is this going to be us at the end of September?

I am in trouble!  Never, growing up in a middle class family, did I ever think my life would wind up like this.  I have been losing so much hair lately.  I am certain it is from stress.  What I am NOT stressed out about lately???  Moving?  How is it going to happen?  How am I going to afford to move my things?  What about getting a storage room for a bit (more money I forgot to add to my list of needs)?   How am I going to get my stuff to Arizona since I am the only adult driver and I cannot tow my van?  If I take my stuff where am I going to put it? What about money for gas to even drive there?  Am I going to truly wind up homeless?  If so where am I and the children going to go?  Can we live out of the van?  What about getting services for the children?  What about food?  What about child care?  I will not have money to pay anyone really until two weeks AFTER they have been watching my children. Since Joseph is medically fragile he cannot be in a daycare or school setting. So where does this leave me???  Plus James and Margaret cannot go to school because they would get sick and bring it home to Joseph.  This is why I have been home with them for the last several years.  This is by far the most balls-to-the-wall sort of thing I have ever done!  I have to make it to Arizona to take this job!.  If I have ANY hope of making my little family self-sufficient then I need, MUST HAVE, this job!  

The children have been driving me crazy because they are getting into everything.  I can't blame them really.  I have stuff pulled out all over the place.  They are fascinated by it.  Why shouldn't they be? James and Margaret were getting into all kinds of stuff, broke a couple of things and were not listening.  In the end I yelled at them and then broke down crying.  I cried in front of my children and the poor kids did not know how to handle it.  James was trying to be nice at that point and he gave me a hug and said he would not make a mess again.  That was SO sweet!  I shouldn't be crying in front of them.  It was just too much today. I am so worried.  When I talked to John about it he said not to worry that I would be able to figure something out.  Often, I would agree with him.  On the other hand I am getting really worried. 

I am still trying to pack things but it is hard with the children here and no one here to help me distract them.  After that my hand is the next big hurdle.  I have come to the conclusion it will never be right. The only good news from the carpal tunnel surgery is that my hand no longer falls asleep when I use it.  It hurts instead (sometimes very painfully) but in some ways that is better because I still have some kind of feeling in my hand.  Just makes packing difficult because I have a hard time moving boxes.  

I was having fun reminiscing over some old video clips of the children.  This is video of the kiddos when they were two.  Joseph is having fun and getting so tickled with what he is doing. He has SUCH a great laugh in this video!  You can also see James count (and sign) and Margaret sing her A, B, Cs .

Yard Sale!

So tomorrow I will drag out as much as I can out of my house and try to sell everything I can part with.  I cannot afford to move it to Arizona and I am not even certain I will be able to afford to move it to a storage room here.  Since I am still having problems with my right hand from the carpal tunnel surgery it is difficult to do a lot of lifting or much of anything else that involves a lot of use of my hand.  The scar from the surgery still looks bad, is red and inflamed and there is a lot of scar tissue under the scar making the incision painful.  I will do the best I can though tomorrow.  I have a TON of kids clothes I can sell plus a lot of household miscellaneous furniture.  I am hoping to raise at least $100.  That would be great! 

On the positive front I did get a call from UCLA and get a UCLA patient number for Joseph.  I was told the doctor will review Joseph's medical records and decide if he is going to take his case or not.  The doctor's office has until September 7th to get back with me and set an appointment.  Otherwise they will be hearing from me EVERYDAY until they get back with me.  I need to get this muscle biopsy done BEFORE we move. 

I still have no idea HOW I am going to make the move and hold over in Arizona until I can start my job AND get a paycheck.  I am trying hard not to panic over it.  I spoke to my father about my financial concerns today and mentioned that I was facing a $400 electrical bill and I had NO idea how to pay it.  I also need to move and I was not sure where that money was going to come from and I have little to no food in the house and not a lot of gas in the car.  Then I told him I was told by the doctor who did my hand surgery that he wanted me to go to physical therapy twice a week to help increase the strength in my hand, help with the scar pain, stretching the skin, and try to break up the scar tissue BUT I could not afford it since it would cost me a $20 co-pay each time I went and there is NO way I can justify spending $120 a month on the therapy when I need to spend a $20 co-pay to see my family doctor so I can get a refill of an important maintenance medication for me (which will cost $10 to get filled).  At the end of the conversation my sister called so I was told he had to talk to her but he said, "Yep. you have a lot of logistics to figure out for your move."  So I take this as he is not going to help financially. Not to mention my birthday is on the 4th and there was no mention of giving me money for my birthday (hoping that will still happen).  In the meantime I NEED this yard sale to have money to live.  I have $40 to my name right now that I can spend.  Other than that there is NO more money until September 10th.  I have half a roll of toilet paper in my house, not a lot of food and not much in the way of prospects.  I was luck enough to sell Joseph's crib today so I was able to order pizza when James asked for it today.  He never asks for things like that so it was nice when I could say OK and place an order with Papa Johns. 

On the other hand I have felt horrible when Margaret has been asking me for Hello Kitty stuff.  I know she, somehow, got a Hello Kitty doll.  She LOVES it!  So I thought I would look for some bedding stuff for her because I would like to upgrade her to a twin bed.  She saw me internet "window" shopping and asked when I was going to get her Kitty.  You have NO idea how this tore me up because, being autistic, she does not directly ask for things very often and when she does I try really hard to get it for her. 

The other day I was in Target and I saw a Hello Kitty twin comforter for $35.  It was adorable!  I wanted it SO bad for her but I knew I did not have the money.  I COMPLETELY understand why some people steal when it comes to giving things to their children.  To have your child look at you wanting something so desperately and knowing you cannot get it for them.  Yet the item in question is close at hand in the local store.  It is just a matter of taking it.  I understand the desire, I really do, but it is poor impulse control to steal and take it.  I left the store misty eyed knowing the comforter she wanted was so close but SO far out of my reach.  I am hoping I will be able to get it for her birthday in December.   Some days are SO hard at the moment.  I just have to remember that I can, no I HAVE, to make it until the end of November.  By Thanksgiving I truly will have something to be grateful for since I will have a job and be earning money. 

Medial Frustration and Life in Transition

For the past 6 months I have fought with my insurance company to get a medical authorization to get Joseph a fresh muscle biopsy done to test for mitochondrial disease.  Once I FINALLY got the medical insurance to approve the biopsy I have spent the last month trying to get the doctor's office to call me to set up an appointment.  In the last month I have called them AT LEAST 10 times and I have gotten only 3 calls back.  Today was the FIRST time someone called me AND I was able to get the phone.  Keep in mind I have left two messages a day for the last three days.  I even called the insurance case manager to complain that my calls were not being returned.

When I got to speak from someone in the neurology department at UCLA I was told they did not have my son's records.  YOU'VE GOT TO BE FREAKING KIDDING ME!!!  So the guys goes on the explain I need to talk to the registration department.  I said, "why was that not in the message so I could check up on things instead of losing time?"  His response, "I don't know but I could put in a request to get the message changed to add that information."  UGH!!!  SHOOT ME!!!

So if you do not have a patient ID with the UCLA then do yourself a favor and contact the registration department (phone - 800-825-2631, fax - 310-301-5391) since they are in charge of everything anyways.  So I had to called Joseph's referring doctor again, the geneticist, and asking her office to fax over the information again.  A week ago she had faxed it over while I was on the phone and now here I was asking her to fax over the information again.  I explained how I had been trying to make this appointment for the last month and I was getting frustrated over the bureaucracy of the UCLA system.  The nurse at the geneticist's office was kind and she said she would fax it over and then call to make sure UCLA registration had what they needed.  I told her that was VERY nice and THANK YOU!

I was able to make a few calls to Arizona today.  I was able to talk to an advocacy group for disabled children.  I was able to get some good information and I am sure I will get some more.  I found out about a great homeless shelter program called UMOM.  I may have to take advantage of one of their programs until I can get my first paycheck from my new job.  Otherwise I will only have $1700 to $2100 to support all of us for the month.  Plus, once I start my job I will not get any pay right away.  The first paycheck will be at least two weeks after I start and I have to find someone to watch the children for me and I will have to pay them in advance (at least partially).  Just need to determine how I am going to pay to for everything.  By taking advantage of one of UMOM's programs for a bit it will help me to get us on our feet.

On a possible positive note I remembered that Good Night Pediatrics is located out of Phoenix.  Yea!!!  I cannot recommend the office in Henderson, NV enough.  They are GREAT and MUCH faster than an emergency room.  With the office hours from 5pm to 5am I can take care of emergencies during the night with ease.  That is a HUGE relief to me since Joseph has a TERRIBLE tendency to have some sort of respiratory emergency on the weekend or during the night.

I have a lot of friends on Facebook and they are some super great people with super great information that I like to share on my blog.  One post was taking about Gluten Sensitivity and Magnesium Deficiency by Dr. Osborne.  It is a great article explaining how this can occur.   Someone also found an idea off of Pinterest that is a great idea to get yogurt into children.  You can make your own yogurt dots. 

Bon Bons and Birthdays!

Money is not a problem until you don't have any ~ 

This is a quote by me....lol.  Having money is great but when you do not have enough of it life becomes tough.  I have a $400 electric bill that I have to pay.  I am going to make rent for September.  It made my landlord happy since I did not pay her for July and August because I just did not have the money. Currently everything is still on but no telling how long that will last.   I have asked several people for help financially but no luck so far. It sucks being poor.

 On a positive front I have been offered a job to work for the State of Arizona. Yea!!!  This is a great job for me.  There are logistical problems like paying for a sitter to watch my children, moving to Arizona in the first place, where will we live?  I do not start my job until the middle to end of October so I am actually thinking about living in a homeless shelter for a month or two.  I have to get money in first before I can pay anything out.  I don't know what I am going to do but that is another problem what will have to wait until tomorrow.  If I think about everything now then I will just get scared about this fantastic opportunity. 

I may be going to Arizona in the beginning of October because I need to get down there a bit early to scout things out and see what aid I can get for the children and myself.  For the first month or two we will be down there we will be DIRT poor.  Once I get going in my job and get a paycheck coming in then most things should straighten themselves out.  If anyone knows about disability services and such in Arizona please let me know!

In the meantime I will try to enjoy my bon bons because I have a lot to celebrate.  My birthday is coming up soon, right after the Labor Day weekend, so I am hoping to have a good time in Las Vegas before I have to leave my beloved city.  I am hoping I will learn to love Arizona as much as I have loved Vegas.