Ten on Tuesday

1. I have been very busy trying to put together an updated resume, not an easy task when you've been out of the workforce for over three years and the whole look of them has changed. I think I have gained more experience from what I've done the past five years (including the two years of taking care of my dad), than I have my entire professional life.

2. What makes it even harder is what to pursue!?! There are so many teacher lay-offs around here they've already planned for next year's! AND I just heard today on the news that they may base those layoffs on how well the teacher's students perform on standardized tests. Because you know, it just doesn't matter if half the class doesn't get it, it's time to move on because we have to stay on the "teach to the test" schedule. No thank you. ugh.

3. Speaking of ugh, poor Kailyn (5th grade) has had over two to three hours of homework A NIGHT since school started. After a week and a half of it, I scheduled a meeting with her teacher to "review" her IEP and make sure it was being followed, discuss K's performance in class, as well as to set up a team plan to help Kailyn be successful.

4. Aiden's literacy skills are taking off. He loves making the different sounds letters make. He's starting to put these sounds together to spell words - seriously. He knows how to spell cat, cow, mommy, Aiden, and dad and is identifying many written words in isolation (star, car, house, boy, girl, ball, love etc). I think he'll be reading before kindergarten. I write him a note on a napkin everyday for his school lunch and his teacher told me today that he read it to her! It said, "I love you Aiden! Love, Mommy" (out of memory, but still! ; )

5. Another thing Aiden loves to do lately is look at everyday objects and tell me what shape they resemble. For example, the other day he pointed at the fresh sunflowers in a vase and pointed out how the middle are circles or he'll pick up the cereal box and say "two rectangles" (front/back). He does this everywhere we go.  Out of nowhere I'll hear him say, "triangle" as he points to the roof of a house, or "mommy look, circle", as he points to the tires on someone's car. My future engineer.

6. This week we head back to Cleveland for another audiology appointment - this time we're going straight to the booth to see how he's hearing with his new maps, hopefully it will be short and sweet. Then on Saturday we start back up with AVT after taking the summer off due to all our travels.

7. I have received so many compliments this past couple weeks on Aiden's speech. His OT saw a difference within a week's time (both in speech and balance) and said, "He sounds so much clearer."  His speech therapist from school called to tell me, "I can't believe how far he's come over the summer! It's night and day!" I've even received a record number of compliments from complete strangers. LOVE IT!

8. For my birthday, my mom bought me this. Best.Birthday.Present.EVER. So far, I've read this and this and I can't wait to start this , although I'll need a good fiction one to go with it. Suggestions? AND, there's always a daily deal AND I found out you can SWAP books with other owners!!! Loving it.

9. This past weekend I had a cold that put me down and out like no other. I did something I rarely do, and I did it for two days straight - ABSOLUTELY NOTHING - and I'm proud of myself for it. (ok, I cleaned a bathroom and vacuumed downstairs the first day before I started doing NOTHING, but then I felt better about doing NOTHING ... don't say it, I already know).

10. It's eleven pm, the house is silent, and I'm off to beat my latest game addiction on my new iPad - my other best.birthday.present EVER from the loves of my life.