The 2013 School Plan

Yep.  School started.  Last month.  We had major shifts in plans because....well...that just seems to be what happens when I make a pretty little plan.  It all goes gunny-bag IRL.

Natalie is now in a Christian school 4 days a week (LOVING it).  Janelle and Riley are both taking several classes outside of mom and doing great.  Yay for us!!

I'm pining a bit for those years of snuggling on the couch in a giant pile reading books together and using our lunch bits as math manipulatives.  Algebra 2 and Chemistry are NOT lending themselves to chip piles and cheese bits. We all have to grow up sometime I guess.

Whatever. Frankly, I wasn't very good at that fun part of school anyway, although I admit to still being really proud that I once let Riley dissect a rattlesnake at the backdoor of our house and called it a day.

Anywho....We're now into October and are working our way into a rhythm.  Some days it's AWESOME and others...more like that nauseous feeling you get on the high seas.


Our calendar looks like a rainbow threw up on it.  I thought all those different colors for each kidlet were going to look so bright and happy. HA!  At least I can tell everyone "Find your color to see what's up for you today."  :)

Charlotte even gets in on the mess school plan as she has several therapy appointments per week.  Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy...and possibly a dr. appointment in there somewhere.

It's great fun.

My crockpot is my best friend as is my washing machine and frankly, my love of routine and lack of clutter.  If I didn't have that - you wouldn't be able to find my floor or want to use our bathrooms.


Everyone is freaking out a bit over how tight our schedules are running this year.  I figure if we're totally hard core for a few months, when we add in a new baby in December (MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!) and everything comes to a screeching halt, it will all even out.  :)  Documentaries will become our best school friend.

Ahhhh....life schooling.  What a party.

She's almost two.

Oh. my. word.

Where did the last two years go????  Oh, that's right.  They were poured into our children, a new-to-us house and property, schooling, activities, jobs, and a little thing called Down Syndrome thrown in.

Honestly, most days Down Syndrome is sooooo back burner I barely notice it.  Charlotte Joy is just Charlotte Joy.  The littlest sister.  The super snuggly baby-careening-toward-toddlerhood.  The one who makes everyone smile and breathe a little deeper.  The one who wakes us up and doesn't get a snarly response but instead gets invited to join them under their warm covers before mom gets all serious about getting out of bed in the morning.    The one who has figured out how to dig into backpacks, purses, boxes, laundry baskets and takes something somewhat clean and contained to what looks like a bomb went off all over the floor.

She fits just perfectly into the zoo.  She's found her place.  Her niche.  I shouldn't have expected less.

Here are some highlights in a brief rundown:

These days she's scooting/hopping everywhere like a frog.  It's hilarious and she's super fast.  Correcting her crawl is a problem for me as I'm not as fast, but it would be good if she'd use that right side more for actually four point crawling, so I chase.  We'll see what she does, although I'm more into celebrating the fact that she's figured a way out to get to her daddy as fast as she can the second he walks in the door, or to try and run away from her big sister chasing her.  

Charlotte isn't really saying words but is starting to make some great sounds and signs tons.  We can ask her what she wants and she's able to sign to us the very thing she wants.  She does a great job of communicating and is always watching to see what your eyes, hands, and mouths are doing so one of these days, I bet she's going to literally TAKE OFF in words.

Her health in general is very good, THANK the LORD.  We are a little more careful if we know people are sick because she is more prone to catch things and recovering takes her longer.  Winter may find us more holed up but that's okay.  Her heart repair has worked out beautifully and we don't need to see her cardiologist for another two years.  She does see specialists for various things but, for the most part, those are just routine checks to keep tabs on issues that *could* develop down the road.  Eyes, ears, GI...the like.



So for the most part we're just enjoying the Charlotte-ness of her and not worrying about the extras.  I hope you do too.

More to come later. I promise.