Bad Blogger Alert

Yes, that would be me. It would appear that nothing interesting has happened in our lives since I haven't posted anything in 3 weeks. But quite the opposite is true actually.

Football season here is in full swing. Which means late dinners, late bed times, lots of football practices and games, and a missing husband. Which makes me a single mom for a few months. I must say, that I can't even begin to imagine being a single mom. I only have to deal with it for a few months a year and in that time, I about lose my mind....and grow somewhere in the area of 86 new grey hairs. Multiply that by the number of years and Matt has been a coach and we have had Caitlyn and I am looking at a rapidly developing white head. But none the less, Matt is doing well in his conference and if he manages to win this game on Friday, then he is looking at taking second place in his conference. Which is fabulous for him as he has had 2 really rough seasons.

My new job is wonderful. And completely time consuming. I have worked harder at this job in the 2 months I have been there than I have ever worked at any other job I've had. Which I guess means that I care about it and really want to put the time in. But it is exhausting as well. And the parents...well let's just say that they may be the reason that I become an alcoholic. They are quite needy, and demanding. They love their children, but at times I feel as though they feel they are "owed" something. Or I am just being rotten and crabby. Either way, the job was becoming consuming enough that it has prompted Matt and I to hire a cleaning lady. Which has put me in a better mood most days. There really is nothing better than coming home and your house is spotless. NOTHING. AT. ALL.

Caitlyn is doing amazing in first grade. I absolutely love her teacher. We had back to school night last week. The teacher is quite demanding, as is the first grade curriculum. That in an of itself seems so weird to me. But first grade is certainly not what it was when I was there. Granted that was many moons ago, but still, they are requiring so much more of kids these days that I am amazed that any of them fall within the bulk of the bell curve anymore.

A few weeks ago, Caitlyn had to stay after school to complete Dibels testing. Basically a reading test to see where they are and how they are progressing throughout the year. I was a little pissed that it was going to be after school, for a couple of reasons. First, how is it possible that this isn't something that can be done during school hours. Second, you expect these kids to perform well on a test after a full day of school. Last, it was over 80 degrees out the day they were doing it; how many kids want to hang out at school on a day like that when they could be out playing?? But I kept my mouth shut since none of the other parents seemed bothered by it. And again, I know to pick and choose my battles when it comes to school.

I received Caitlyn's scores today in her progress report (yes they send out mid term reports in first grade). I have to say, I couldn't have been more proud of my little lady. Here are her scores:

Letter Naming Fluency
Goal: 37 letters/minute
Score: 55 letters/minute
Benchmark: Established

Phonemic Segmentation Fluency
Goal: 35 phonemes/minute
Score: 38 phonemes/minute
Benchmark: Low Risk

Nonsense Word Fluency
Goal: 24 sounds/minute
Score: 37 sounds/minute
Benchmark: Low Risk

So overall, she has exceeded the standard benchmark. In the area of phonemic segmentation, she has already established the benchmark for January. I couldn't believe it when I was reading this. I mean, I know the kid can read, and I know that she is making incredible progress with reading ever single day. It is obvious as we are out in the community and she is reading words that are not sight words. But I never expected her to have already exceeded the benchmarks. And exceed them in 2 areas by so much.

It really makes me wonder at times how she has managed to escape the typical outcome of a 25 weeker. And as I have said before, the doctors have always questioned that gestation and put her about a week earlier. If that is in fact the case, it is even more wondrous to me that she is doing as well as she is. I have no explanation for it whatsoever. She is the kid that completely skews the research in the area of developmental outcomes of preemies. She is the reason that putting gestational limits on resuscitation seem so wrong to me. And again, it makes me think of the things those doctors told me in those very grim and dark first few weeks. And months for that matter.

Off my soapbox now.....off to look into gifted programs for my genius :P (yeah right!)