Both my boys will be going to scout camp in a few weeks. it's only a day camp and I drop them off at 9 am and pick them up at 3 pm. Older Boy attended a few years ago, and loved it but the last few years we have been on vacation that week and unable to attend. Needless to say due to my being in my 8th month of pregnancy, we are NOT going on vacation this year (actually we already did because of our Disney trip in January so that will have to be enough for 2012).
Last time we attended I worked it one day and I was able to see how they handle food allergies. But since it's been a few years and new people are running it, I sent an email asking for clarification on policy. And got NO reply back. But I did get 2 email blasts telling us that there was a "meeting" for volunteers and new families on Wednesday evening (this email came on Tuesday so I'd like to thank them for the advanced notice ---- yes, I'm being sarcastic). In the e-mail it also mentioned that they were collecting egg cartons and that each child would need to bring something to add to the ingredients of a big batch of "trail mix" that they'll be making. UGH.
You know that trail mix is going to be all wheat and nuts. And since Little Man is allergic to eggs those cartons don't work either.
So I sent another email. Which also garnered no response.
So Wednesday, I cancelled the plans I had and traipsed my pregnant behind down to the meeting with a really bad attitude and flaming pregnancy hormones ready to verbally machete anyone that gave me a hard time about the food allergies (I also planned on asking for my money back and bagging the whole thing since I had no warm fuzzy with the situation at this point).
When I got there, I realized that the man in charge is just a really poor communicator. He seems like a nice man, but talking to him was really painful.
The man I really needed to talk to was the medical assistant that will be on staff every day. He's been a nurse and a paramedic for 20 years. He understands about food allergies... for the most part.
We went over what activities would involve food (the trail mix, the egg cartons and the cook out on the last day) and that my son would not participate in any of those. His group will not leave the camp area except for Wednesday for their hike, so my husband will take a vacation day that Wednesday and work the camp to make sure that when he's out of the range of the medical assistant someone is there with him who can handle an allergic reaction.
He will wear his epi pen and we'll send an extra one for the medical assistant.
And that's where things got a little dicey. The M.A. wanted my son to self inject should a reaction occur. REALLY?????? He's seven. Yes, he's used the "trainer" epi before but he is NOT capable of self injecting during an allergic reaction. If the reaction is severe enough, there are adults that can't self inject due to being incapacitated. Enter the pregnancy hormones at this point....
I had to dress the man down, and I kind of felt badly about it afterward but after I was done, he got it. Completely. There will be no self administering anything. I found it scary though that even medical staff sometimes don't get it.
He will also keep all the allergy lunches and snacks in his care. Each lunch will be sealed in it's own zip lock bag so no cross contamination will occur. And only the child whose lunch it is will be allowed to remove it from the plastic bag.
I realize that these are all volunteer run activities. If I wasn't pregnant I would have volunteered to work with the Little Man's group. I just find it hard to believe that in this day and age there is really no medical policy written for kids with food allergies or diabetes. There is a policy of sorts, it's just not something that you can "see". You have to hunt down the one guy that knows what it is and then pick it apart piece by piece to make sure that it fits your child's needs. Scary stuff.
So keep your fingers crossed that I've got it all covered. We'll also have to have a discussion with the Little Man about staying away from anything that has anything to do with food... just in case they miss something too.
I'm glad I went to the meeting and worked all this out ahead of time. And I'm glad that I didn't need my verbal machete and I only had to use the verbal "big stick".
Friday, June 29, 2012
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Oh What A Week!
I tried to stay inside much of the week. I did take the boys to swim team practice all week in the AM and Tuesday evenings meet, but I made sure to find shade or a table with an umbrella to hide under.
I had another ultra sound this week. Last time I went the baby was breech and backwards (this was at 29 weeks) so we couldn't see much and we only got pictures of his arm and the back of his head. They also noted that my amniotic fluid was a little "high". No one seemed too concerned about it but they needed to recheck it so they did this past week. Everything look good including the fluid level.
He's looking at you!
Profile
So I think I'm done with the ultra sounds at this point. As of Thursday I was 32 weeks, so only 8 more to go!
I went to that "baby stuff store" this week and threw down a wad of cash on a bunch of stuff we needed. I also picked up some things that were priced better at Target. There are still a few things that we need to get but so far so good. The furniture is coming the 1st week of July so I picked up some paint samples of colors that I think I like so Hubs can start painting. I just need for him to put the samples on the wall so I can see them. Maybe today or tomorrow.
I also had the Little Man's "friend" birthday party this week. His actual birthday isn't until July, but I thought that A. It would be cooler in June and B. Many of his friends go on vacation in July and it's hard to get a nice size group of kids available.
We had plenty of kids (10 wild boys) but the weather was 94 degrees F that day. And the party was at a sports complex. Outside. For 2 hours. They had a blast. I thought I was going to die.
They hit in the batting cages:
They played dodge ball:
He's looking a little "cooked", don't ya think?
Thank goodness I brought my 64 oz. water bottle with me ($8.00 end cap find at Wal-M*rt). I think it saved me from melting down.
But the boys had a good time. And in the end that's all that matters.
I found these cute cupcakes on Pinterest and that's what I made: cupcakes in "cups"
Mine didn't look quite as cute but they were easy to transport and easy to serve to the kids. We also had chips and ice cream (more like super soft serve due to the heat). I could have ordered pizza but since the Little Man is allergic to it I figured there's no point in serving food he's allergic to at his own party. The party was from 2-4 pm so it was in between lunch and dinner so I thought "treats" would be good enough. The kids seemed happy.It's cooled off now and I hope it stays this way for quite some time.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Happy Father's Day
To my husband:
And my father:
Happy Father's Day to all Dads, Daddies, Grandfathers, Step Fathers, God Fathers, Foster Dads and all those that are father figures. You are much needed in the lives of your children.
Even though the media and popular culture have tried to lessen the importance of the "father" in a child's life, it is not true. In fact, kids need their father more than ever. And many dad's today have taken on an even more hands on role than in years past. Dad's: You are your son's teacher on how to be a man. You are your daughters teacher for how she should treated by the men in her life.
Happy Father's Day!!
Friday, June 15, 2012
Summer Reading Gone Bad
We signed up for our library's summer reading program the other day and the boys are on a mission to out-read each other this year. Yes, that's a good thing. Reading is good. Unless you have an anxiety ridden child.
The boys were outside playing baseball and Older Boy wanted to try out his new bat. He coerced the Little Man to pitch to him so that he could try hitting. The Little Man was nervous about this because being older, Older Boy can hit. Hard. And the Little Man has been hit with the ball before.
As they are outside, I hear screaming. Blood curdling screaming. I go running out on to the deck and Older Boy is saying to me "I'm sorry, I'm sorry it was an accident" and the Little Man is just screaming. Then he screams "I'm going to die. I'm going to die". It seems that Older Boy ripped one of the Little Man's pitches and it hit him straight in the eye.
I got him in the house and he was just screaming. I got the ice pack and tried to assess if this warranted an ER visit. After about 45 minutes he calmed down. But still kept insisting that he needed to get checked because "some people die when they get hit with the baseball".
Now I've read sad and unfortunate stories of kids being killed when hit in the chest with a baseball but the Little Man wouldn't know about this because I don't watch the news around him. So where is this all coming from?
Right now the boys are obsessed with Dan Gutman books and have read almost all of them. Including Ray and Me.
Turns out Ray Chapman played for the Cleveland Indians in the 1920's and was hit in the head by a pitch from the Yankees and the injury was fatal. So THIS is where the fear of dying was coming from. And he was completely serious.
The Little Man was still saying he wanted to go the hospital even after he stopped crying, ate dinner and got ready to go to baseball practice (they are playing with water balloons tonight so we should not have any re-peat head injuries).
Who knew summer reading could be so traumatic? I monitor what they read but I would not have pulled this book from his reading list.
We've banned batting and baseball between the boys for the rest of the summer. Now I just need to find some happy, sunny books to add to their reading list.
The boys were outside playing baseball and Older Boy wanted to try out his new bat. He coerced the Little Man to pitch to him so that he could try hitting. The Little Man was nervous about this because being older, Older Boy can hit. Hard. And the Little Man has been hit with the ball before.
As they are outside, I hear screaming. Blood curdling screaming. I go running out on to the deck and Older Boy is saying to me "I'm sorry, I'm sorry it was an accident" and the Little Man is just screaming. Then he screams "I'm going to die. I'm going to die". It seems that Older Boy ripped one of the Little Man's pitches and it hit him straight in the eye.
I got him in the house and he was just screaming. I got the ice pack and tried to assess if this warranted an ER visit. After about 45 minutes he calmed down. But still kept insisting that he needed to get checked because "some people die when they get hit with the baseball".
Now I've read sad and unfortunate stories of kids being killed when hit in the chest with a baseball but the Little Man wouldn't know about this because I don't watch the news around him. So where is this all coming from?
Right now the boys are obsessed with Dan Gutman books and have read almost all of them. Including Ray and Me.
Turns out Ray Chapman played for the Cleveland Indians in the 1920's and was hit in the head by a pitch from the Yankees and the injury was fatal. So THIS is where the fear of dying was coming from. And he was completely serious.
The Little Man was still saying he wanted to go the hospital even after he stopped crying, ate dinner and got ready to go to baseball practice (they are playing with water balloons tonight so we should not have any re-peat head injuries).
Who knew summer reading could be so traumatic? I monitor what they read but I would not have pulled this book from his reading list.
We've banned batting and baseball between the boys for the rest of the summer. Now I just need to find some happy, sunny books to add to their reading list.
Thursday, June 14, 2012
A Pregnancy Rant
I've made it to 31 weeks today. And you've made it 31 weeks without my coming on here and making too many pregnancy complaints. You're probably wishing I made it to term without complaining but I'm sorry, your luck has run out.
I mentioned the other day that I have raging acid reflux. I do and it's hideous. I'm actually scared to eat because even water will trigger it.
Doctors say to take anti-acids and I do, but only one or two tablets per day and I'm afraid to take anymore due to articles stating that there is an increase of food allergies in children of mothers who took anti-acids during pregnancy. Is this true? Are these studies proven? I don't know and I'm not wanting to test it. In fact, I feel guilty taking the 2 tablets that I do, but it's gotten to the point where it's beyond uncomfortable and moved into debilitating. I ate handfuls at a time when pregnant with Older Boy (no food allergies there) and only took a few with the Little Man as I didn't have it that bad with him (multiple life threatening food allergies).
So in desperation I go the internet to find out what I can eat. Because I'm tired of plain rice and again, eating rice every day isn't a good rotation diet to try and prevent food allergies.
There is NO help on the internet. NOTHING. NADA. RIEN. Some articles will tell you which foods you should avoid: spicy food, tomatoes, caffeine, mint, citrus fruits, chocolate, fatty, greasy foods, alcohol (if you are pregnant and have not given up alcohol, you have bigger problems than reflux). They tell you to eat several small meals instead of big ones. Sleep sitting up (because that's comfortable when you are almost 8 months pregnant).
Oh then there's the ones that say drink mint tea (I thought I was supposed to be avoiding tea while pregnant and mint for the reflux??), eat the skin of grapefruit (I thought I was supposed to avoid citrus and who eats the skin?), etc.
There aren't any articles that tell you what you SHOULD eat unless you count the ambiguous "low fat protein and whole grains".
I have no answers at this point as to how to make this better but if I figure it out before this pregnancy ends, I'm writing a book and handing it out for FREE to anyone who is pregnant. It's sad that the only advice you can get or find is to avoid foods you can't or shouldn't eat anyway and to take anti-acids which may or may not increase food allergies.
Ok, end of rant. Resume normal activity. Nothing to see here...
I mentioned the other day that I have raging acid reflux. I do and it's hideous. I'm actually scared to eat because even water will trigger it.
Doctors say to take anti-acids and I do, but only one or two tablets per day and I'm afraid to take anymore due to articles stating that there is an increase of food allergies in children of mothers who took anti-acids during pregnancy. Is this true? Are these studies proven? I don't know and I'm not wanting to test it. In fact, I feel guilty taking the 2 tablets that I do, but it's gotten to the point where it's beyond uncomfortable and moved into debilitating. I ate handfuls at a time when pregnant with Older Boy (no food allergies there) and only took a few with the Little Man as I didn't have it that bad with him (multiple life threatening food allergies).
So in desperation I go the internet to find out what I can eat. Because I'm tired of plain rice and again, eating rice every day isn't a good rotation diet to try and prevent food allergies.
There is NO help on the internet. NOTHING. NADA. RIEN. Some articles will tell you which foods you should avoid: spicy food, tomatoes, caffeine, mint, citrus fruits, chocolate, fatty, greasy foods, alcohol (if you are pregnant and have not given up alcohol, you have bigger problems than reflux). They tell you to eat several small meals instead of big ones. Sleep sitting up (because that's comfortable when you are almost 8 months pregnant).
Oh then there's the ones that say drink mint tea (I thought I was supposed to be avoiding tea while pregnant and mint for the reflux??), eat the skin of grapefruit (I thought I was supposed to avoid citrus and who eats the skin?), etc.
There aren't any articles that tell you what you SHOULD eat unless you count the ambiguous "low fat protein and whole grains".
I have no answers at this point as to how to make this better but if I figure it out before this pregnancy ends, I'm writing a book and handing it out for FREE to anyone who is pregnant. It's sad that the only advice you can get or find is to avoid foods you can't or shouldn't eat anyway and to take anti-acids which may or may not increase food allergies.
Ok, end of rant. Resume normal activity. Nothing to see here...
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
So Yes, Summer Break Is Under Way
This is our first week of summer break. Friday was their last day of school. This is how it's going so far:
1. Swim team started Monday. They love swim team and it's every day for an hour in the AM. They have meets once a week starting next week through the end of July.
2. Due to swim team, we found out that everyone needs new swim suits (Older Boy can hand his down to the Little Man but then Older Boy will need all new ones).
3. Baseball is in full swing. That means one practice and one game per week per boy. They L.O.V. E. baseball and are in heaven at this point.
4. They've been going to bed too late due to activities. We've also been eating dinner too late because of activities. I try to feed them BEFORE their baseball events but they are also ravenous when they get back and they need to eat again.
5. We found out that the Little Man needs to eat very lightly late at night. How do I know this? He threw up on me this morning (and the carpet, and the entire bathroom that was just cleaned yesterday....) because he was having reflux from dinner last night and this mornings juice . He threw up AFTER he drank red grape juice this morning. It wasn't good.
6. The Hoover SteamVac and Thermax pre-treater works well at getting out red grape juice and vomit from carpeting.
7. Kitty Litter is good to keep around the house for gasoline spills. Who spilled the gas? One of the kids knocked over the weed eater today while trying to get their bikes out of the garage. They both say they didn't do it, but it had to be one of them. We don't have a cat hence no kitty litter. I'll be getting a small bag to keep handy in case we have future spills.
8. Menu planning is essential during these busy summer days. But only if you are actually home to do the cooking. There was NO WAY to cook what was on the menu for yesterday so today I'm cooking 2 meals. I have white chicken chili in the slow cooker and I'm in the process of making these stuffed cabbage for tomorrows dinner and I'll throw some in the freezer for when the baby comes and I don't have time to cook.
9. Speaking of the baby, I'll be 31 weeks tomorrow.
10. We haven't painted the nursery yet and in fact we haven't completely decided on a color. We want a "cafe au lait" type of neutral but we haven't found the right shade yet.
11. I have the worst reflux ever. It's so bad that I can literally hear it in my throat. But due to articles like this one I'm trying to not take anything for it. I won't take more than 2 Gaviscon tabs a day and I try not to take them every day.
12. Summer brings a TON more laundry. And the floors get really dirty daily from all of the in and out.
13. I feel like I'm just as busy as I am during the school year, but now it's in a laid back, summer time kind of way.
14. I need to get off the computer now and finish my stuffed cabbage.
15. Yes, I'm procrastinating... :)
1. Swim team started Monday. They love swim team and it's every day for an hour in the AM. They have meets once a week starting next week through the end of July.
2. Due to swim team, we found out that everyone needs new swim suits (Older Boy can hand his down to the Little Man but then Older Boy will need all new ones).
3. Baseball is in full swing. That means one practice and one game per week per boy. They L.O.V. E. baseball and are in heaven at this point.
4. They've been going to bed too late due to activities. We've also been eating dinner too late because of activities. I try to feed them BEFORE their baseball events but they are also ravenous when they get back and they need to eat again.
5. We found out that the Little Man needs to eat very lightly late at night. How do I know this? He threw up on me this morning (and the carpet, and the entire bathroom that was just cleaned yesterday....) because he was having reflux from dinner last night and this mornings juice . He threw up AFTER he drank red grape juice this morning. It wasn't good.
6. The Hoover SteamVac and Thermax pre-treater works well at getting out red grape juice and vomit from carpeting.
Hoover Steam Vac and white carpet
7. Kitty Litter is good to keep around the house for gasoline spills. Who spilled the gas? One of the kids knocked over the weed eater today while trying to get their bikes out of the garage. They both say they didn't do it, but it had to be one of them. We don't have a cat hence no kitty litter. I'll be getting a small bag to keep handy in case we have future spills.
8. Menu planning is essential during these busy summer days. But only if you are actually home to do the cooking. There was NO WAY to cook what was on the menu for yesterday so today I'm cooking 2 meals. I have white chicken chili in the slow cooker and I'm in the process of making these stuffed cabbage for tomorrows dinner and I'll throw some in the freezer for when the baby comes and I don't have time to cook.
9. Speaking of the baby, I'll be 31 weeks tomorrow.
10. We haven't painted the nursery yet and in fact we haven't completely decided on a color. We want a "cafe au lait" type of neutral but we haven't found the right shade yet.
11. I have the worst reflux ever. It's so bad that I can literally hear it in my throat. But due to articles like this one I'm trying to not take anything for it. I won't take more than 2 Gaviscon tabs a day and I try not to take them every day.
12. Summer brings a TON more laundry. And the floors get really dirty daily from all of the in and out.
13. I feel like I'm just as busy as I am during the school year, but now it's in a laid back, summer time kind of way.
14. I need to get off the computer now and finish my stuffed cabbage.
Tuesday, June 05, 2012
Sometimes Doing the Right Thing, Isn't The Easy Thing
I feel like I'm free now to update our current situation and how we've decided to handle the The Little Man's Allergic Reaction At School.
Since that reaction, the school has made an effort to improve their allergy policy. Is it perfect? No. But I'm not sure any school can offer perfection. But could it be better? Yes, much. I'm grateful that they put a better policy in place but better doesn't work for me. I need tried and true and I can't make my son and his health be the guinea pig. I'm willing to work with the school to do what we need to do to keep him safe, but I can't be the go to person. I can't be the one to train everyone. I can't be the only one to find all the holes and try to get them filled. I can't be the administrator of the food allergy policy. And I can't be at the school every day to make sure that they are following the plan. I'm a parent. I don't work for the school and I'm also not an expert in food allergies (only a mom who deals with it on a daily basis). I also don't think the plan should only be about my son. I think the plan should cover EVERY food allergy student to enter those school doors. And I do think that the plan should be school wide, not just for my sons classroom.
So although I'm grateful for what we've gained, I see things (lots of things) that aren't working too.
So with a heavy heart, my husband and I decided to move our boys to another school. It's still a Catholic school, but it appears to have a much better (8 page) food allergy policy in place, that everyone is trained on and continually trained on, and it's been in place for several years now.
Is it perfect? No. And I'll still have to tweak things for my son. But I don't have to write and implement the policy by myself. And from what I've seen, I shouldn't have to police it every day. I have a food allergy family that came before us and a school willing to work diligently with that family to thank for having these guidelines already in place.
Finding a private school that had a solid food allergy policy in place was a very difficult thing. We called all the Catholic schools in our area and only one was able to fax us their policy and explain it to us over the phone. Luckily, it's a school that we looked at and toured several months prior to the incident.
Older Boys class has a total of 7 boys this year out of 23 students. And two of those boys are leaving next year (they are transferring to private prep school in our area). That leaves 5 boys in the class. At first we were less than happy with the number of boys in the class. We called this local school to take a tour and to see what they have to offer and what their class sizes are. We really liked this school. We really like the school we are at. 4 weeks later we found out that we are expecting... in August....right before the new school year. We decided that the class size alone wasn't worth the upheaval during this time and we accepted the fact that there were few boys. Our son has friends from other schools in the area and from his sports teams and that would have to be enough for now. But after the allergic reaction, we went into crisis mode and contacted this school again to do extensive research on how they handle food allergies.
We liked what we saw. We liked what we heard. You never really know until you get there, but we prayed hard on this and feel that we are making the best decision for both boys.
Otherwise, I think homeschooling would be the best option and I'm really not sure I can handle that with a new baby, especially since I've never home-schooled before.
We didn't find out until last Friday that they had room for both boys. The Little Man's grade had several openings, but Older Boys class had one possible opening and they had been waiting for someone to confirm if they were coming back or not. So we went in to our current school today to give them the news that the boys weren't returning. It was really hard and I had to force myself not to cry. The principal was sad. The Little Man's current teacher cried. It was so hard, but I think we did the right thing.
The other hard part is telling the parents of the remaining boys in Older Boys class. We are all concerned about the lack of boys in the class and because there are so few boys, our families are pretty close. I know these families aren't happy that our son is leaving. And we aren't happy about letting them down. But they realize the reason that we are leaving them and it isn't to be hurtful to them or the school (at least they are saying they do and I really hope that is the case).
I really pray that we are making the right decision. We really want the boys to have a Catholic education but we also need to make sure that the Little Man is safe. That is paramount to anything else. Our local public school is a good school but it would not be the first choice for my boys for reasons other than education. BUT they could keep the Little Man safe. And we could implement a 504 plan through the public school. After calling around to several sources, that is just not an option at the private schools in our area. And that was a definite negative to the private school education to me. But the school that we are moving to appears to have most things covered. And they are open and willing to do whatever the Little Man needs. I've already met with them to discuss their current plan and our current needs and will do that again before the school year starts.
In case you're wondering why this Catholic school has a plan in place and the other ones don't, it's because the diocese doesn't require our Catholic schools to address this issue (they say that they are a system of schools, not a school system and each school is responsible for their own policies). The new school did that on their own to keep the allergic student (who happens to be in the Little Man's class) safe. They realize that the need is increasing and they were open to addressing it. It's a lot of work and responsibility to put it all in writing, train everyone, and be responsible for it all. Not everyone is willing (or able) to do that yet.
So this is where we are at on the last week of school. It's bittersweet and scary and exciting all at the same time. No one likes change. And NO ONE in this house likes change. So we are all a little stressed out right now (post about stress, food allergies and the Little Man coming soon). So please keep us in your prayers that we've made the right choice and that this will be the right school to keep our son safe.
Since that reaction, the school has made an effort to improve their allergy policy. Is it perfect? No. But I'm not sure any school can offer perfection. But could it be better? Yes, much. I'm grateful that they put a better policy in place but better doesn't work for me. I need tried and true and I can't make my son and his health be the guinea pig. I'm willing to work with the school to do what we need to do to keep him safe, but I can't be the go to person. I can't be the one to train everyone. I can't be the only one to find all the holes and try to get them filled. I can't be the administrator of the food allergy policy. And I can't be at the school every day to make sure that they are following the plan. I'm a parent. I don't work for the school and I'm also not an expert in food allergies (only a mom who deals with it on a daily basis). I also don't think the plan should only be about my son. I think the plan should cover EVERY food allergy student to enter those school doors. And I do think that the plan should be school wide, not just for my sons classroom.
So although I'm grateful for what we've gained, I see things (lots of things) that aren't working too.
So with a heavy heart, my husband and I decided to move our boys to another school. It's still a Catholic school, but it appears to have a much better (8 page) food allergy policy in place, that everyone is trained on and continually trained on, and it's been in place for several years now.
Is it perfect? No. And I'll still have to tweak things for my son. But I don't have to write and implement the policy by myself. And from what I've seen, I shouldn't have to police it every day. I have a food allergy family that came before us and a school willing to work diligently with that family to thank for having these guidelines already in place.
Finding a private school that had a solid food allergy policy in place was a very difficult thing. We called all the Catholic schools in our area and only one was able to fax us their policy and explain it to us over the phone. Luckily, it's a school that we looked at and toured several months prior to the incident.
Older Boys class has a total of 7 boys this year out of 23 students. And two of those boys are leaving next year (they are transferring to private prep school in our area). That leaves 5 boys in the class. At first we were less than happy with the number of boys in the class. We called this local school to take a tour and to see what they have to offer and what their class sizes are. We really liked this school. We really like the school we are at. 4 weeks later we found out that we are expecting... in August....right before the new school year. We decided that the class size alone wasn't worth the upheaval during this time and we accepted the fact that there were few boys. Our son has friends from other schools in the area and from his sports teams and that would have to be enough for now. But after the allergic reaction, we went into crisis mode and contacted this school again to do extensive research on how they handle food allergies.
We liked what we saw. We liked what we heard. You never really know until you get there, but we prayed hard on this and feel that we are making the best decision for both boys.
Otherwise, I think homeschooling would be the best option and I'm really not sure I can handle that with a new baby, especially since I've never home-schooled before.
We didn't find out until last Friday that they had room for both boys. The Little Man's grade had several openings, but Older Boys class had one possible opening and they had been waiting for someone to confirm if they were coming back or not. So we went in to our current school today to give them the news that the boys weren't returning. It was really hard and I had to force myself not to cry. The principal was sad. The Little Man's current teacher cried. It was so hard, but I think we did the right thing.
The other hard part is telling the parents of the remaining boys in Older Boys class. We are all concerned about the lack of boys in the class and because there are so few boys, our families are pretty close. I know these families aren't happy that our son is leaving. And we aren't happy about letting them down. But they realize the reason that we are leaving them and it isn't to be hurtful to them or the school (at least they are saying they do and I really hope that is the case).
I really pray that we are making the right decision. We really want the boys to have a Catholic education but we also need to make sure that the Little Man is safe. That is paramount to anything else. Our local public school is a good school but it would not be the first choice for my boys for reasons other than education. BUT they could keep the Little Man safe. And we could implement a 504 plan through the public school. After calling around to several sources, that is just not an option at the private schools in our area. And that was a definite negative to the private school education to me. But the school that we are moving to appears to have most things covered. And they are open and willing to do whatever the Little Man needs. I've already met with them to discuss their current plan and our current needs and will do that again before the school year starts.
In case you're wondering why this Catholic school has a plan in place and the other ones don't, it's because the diocese doesn't require our Catholic schools to address this issue (they say that they are a system of schools, not a school system and each school is responsible for their own policies). The new school did that on their own to keep the allergic student (who happens to be in the Little Man's class) safe. They realize that the need is increasing and they were open to addressing it. It's a lot of work and responsibility to put it all in writing, train everyone, and be responsible for it all. Not everyone is willing (or able) to do that yet.
So this is where we are at on the last week of school. It's bittersweet and scary and exciting all at the same time. No one likes change. And NO ONE in this house likes change. So we are all a little stressed out right now (post about stress, food allergies and the Little Man coming soon). So please keep us in your prayers that we've made the right choice and that this will be the right school to keep our son safe.
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