Time To Get Back To Reality

The weather has warmed up nicely today. We had some chilly days for the first of the week with the highs around 60....that IS chilly by Florida standards. Today is warm enough to go without a jacket, though, so I am taking the opportunity to open a few windows and let in some fresh air, and the kids are out enjoying it too. I love this time of year here in Florida! I think it is supposed to get chilly again for New Years Day, though.

The new year is fast approaching now. That means I have to start planning Sunday school lessons. At our church, we teach every other month, and starting January 3rd, it is my month. I have been trying to remind myself over and over that I need to plan. I am afraid that Sunday is going to get here, and I will not have done anything. Today, I decided to get started. I went by the church to pick up the supplies, only to find that December's teacher still has the stuff. I have called her and left a message for her to call me back, but nothing yet........oh, dear! Sunday is also Leah's birthday. She will be eight. It is so hard to try to come up with a birthday gift so close after Christmas.

I have been trying to get my mind in gear to get back to reality by starting to make notes on the 2010 calendar. We have really been goofing off since the girls got out of school, and it is about to catch up with us! Allison is supposed to know all the state capitals when she goes back to school on the 5th. We really need to get started on that again!!! We were studying before the break, but she has not looked at them since and has probably forgotten the ones she knew. Leah brought home a list of school supplies at the beginning of break that she needs to bring back to school on the 5th. I really need to get that done.

I want to get Rachel's room reorganized soon to include a study/work area. I am making it my New Year's resolution to work really hard with her on her speech this year. She is still struggling to talk, and you can just tell she has so much she wants to say. Right now, she communicates with one word requests. Many times I have a hard time understanding it. The teacher and I have started thinking about using an assisted technology device that would talk for her. I am not sure if that would be a good idea or not. Hopefully it would help her communicate better, but I am afraid it would decrease her desire to talk to us. If anybody out there has any good ideas, I am listening!!!! And thanks F for the suggestion about Signing Time videos. We have a few, but they are just words. Like you, I am not sure how we would have gotten by without them. I did not know they had videos with phrases. I will certainly look into that, because Rachel has loved the videos and watched them for years.

The girls and I are going to go over to Tampa tomorrow to visit with my sister. The 31st is her birthday so we are going for that, but we are also going to take care of her girls while she works all day Friday. Allison and Leah are looking forward to hanging out with the cousins for a second time in a week! Since my sister works at a zoo, we can get in free, so maybe we will do that for New Years Day......that is what we did last year, too. I think Mike is going to head up to Palm Coast to visit with his dad while the girls and I are at my sister's.