the first of march was amazing. temperatures rose to over 50 degrees, the snow had melted and i convinced ryan to grill for my parents. the wind could have carried us across town, yet we were not in any way about to give up on the warmth of the sunshine. the following day temps rose to over 70 and we were able to take the kids outside for a few hours. it was enjoyable to finally have ellie outdoors without fighting mosquitos and her hands putting leaves in her mouth.
and just when we thought spring was knocking on our door, it began to sleet the following monday. then the sleet turned to snow. 45 minutes north of us, 10-12 inches fell. i know we didn't endure the worst winter on record, but i grew to actually contemplate ryan's dream of moving to florida when the kids move out :)
nothing too exciting occurred during the next week and we were thankful, for we were preparing for warren's kindergarten registration/screening.
after dropping ellie off at our friend's home, we went to the public elementary school for our early morning meeting (for those of you curious, for now, warren will be attending public school). we saw a group of women standing around, sitting at tables and chatting when i informed them of our appointment. a woman pulled warren's file and handed him his name tag. it was a cute yellow school bus cut from construction paper - hanging from yarn to wear around his neck. in permanent marker it read "WAREN". i should have clued in there...
a woman asked warren to go with her and i assumed we were to follow. the other women stated we were to go into the gymnasium with the other parents and wait. i meekly protested and the women thought i was beginning to panic due to separation anxiety. oh, please. i'm not that foolish. i simply feared warren would fight, argue or say something inappropriate in front of a teacher! yet for the rest of our time there, these women cooed over me making sure 'mom was okay' and asking ryan if i was hanging in there. i don't believe i could have been more frustrated.
but i did.
we sat in the gym for over an hour filling out paperwork. forms about his health, forms about his mentality, forms about lead poisoning, forms about bicycle helmets and forms about transportation. i had to elaborate on what my son does well, what he needs work on, can he dress himself, can he feed himself, and yes, is he potty trained. i'm far from naive. i believe all children develop differently, but at 5 years old, some of the questions irked me. okay, i was starting to get pissed off.
and it only got worse.
after his meeting warren ran into the gym excited to see us. we asked about his tests and he said he did 'good'. he was more concerned about his goldfish and juice the teacher gave him than answering our questions. a short while later a woman came to get us for an exit interview...
there were 3 sections to warren's testing. the first section, regarding social skills, he scored a 97%. his failure, you may ask... he couldn't skip. guess i forgot how important that was to his education.
the second test revolved around concepts. on this, my son scored a 76%. again, you're asking yourself, why? well, he couldn't name his forehead or wrists and became distracted when asked to group same-sided objects. at this point i was not only disappointed, but becoming angry. my son KNOWS these things.
the last segment of this torture (to me) was language. warren scored an 88%. you see, most people cannot annunciate the "th" or "s" sounds until they are around the age of 8 years old (we found this out by reading the numerous pamphlets and forms we had to fill out during our stay). my son couldn't pronounce these sounds. AND he failed to tell the teacher his birth date. at that moment i was furious. i sat next to warren in front of this stranger who didn't have the courtesy to introduce herself (NONE of the people there did and that is truly rude) and asked him his birthday. he told me immediately.
i wanted to be embarrassed, but i honestly wasn't. he is only 5, right?
this woman began to tell us what warren did well...he could separate himself from an adult, kept his attention (hard to believe), understood directions (i guess from someone other than his parents), built towers with blocks, used scissors, copied shapes, wrote his name, named 27 colors within 30 sec., counted, positions, opposites, named objects and their use, letters and problem solving. for this, i was proud. i'm not that much of a hard-a$$.
as my smile covered my face from ear to ear, i learned warren had 20/20 vision, healthy teeth and FAILED his hearing test in both ears. my anger dissipated and anxiety set in. it could be 'fluid, a cold, anything non-serious' this stranger told us. but we need to have him see his doctor. my son's health is foremost in my mind - this is not an issue. we'll handle it.
then we get the kicker.
warren must have a physical exam by his doctor to enter kindergarten and even though they have tested my son for other physical aspects of his growing body... the state of missouri has decided that ALL children entering school must have an eye exam preformed by a licensed optician. we don't have optical insurance. most families do not. if this is a mandatory requirement to enter into the public school system, then why doesn't the state of missouri pay for it? this was simply the icing on the cake.
contrary to what my husband may say, i'm not that bitchy. but i was honestly ready for a shot of anything strong and vodka-like at 11 o'clock in the morning.
i have since recovered. my insurance does cover eye exams, my son can learn to skip and he has an appointment to see his new pediatrician tomorrow. i'm certain his hearing is fine and his motor skills advanced.
this has just been one of the numerous adventures we must live through as our children age. i can't wait... :)
now that i have finished my tangent, i took this photo today. i'm praying incessantly that this is a positive sign of things to come...
warren visited his pediatrician yesterday and passed his hearing test. she noticed fluid in his ears and once she checked his throat knew the culprit. the back of his throat was dark red and white dots had formed on his left tonsil. who knows how long he must have had a sore throat - yet didn't tell me until just that morning. ugh! antibiotics, decongestants and tylenol were prescribed/recommended and we return in two weeks for another hearing test. i was relieved and he was even more excited learning we were taking a trip to the city park.
i have come to admit that since i've started this blog i seldom send emails anymore. to kim and carla, i dearly apologize. i love your missives and have not forgotten you. i think once i post on here i run out of energy to type anything else. ha! i will try to be better about sending personal messages. just bear with me...
this recipe came from ryan's grandmother. it sounds odd, but it's delicious, great for all seasons and is vegetarian-friendly:
