in out, in out....

But not shaking it all about!
So we are in week 2 of the new school and nursery routine. Seth is like a teeny fish in a huge lake full of mean old fish..he is a quivering little tremby lipped chap when we arrive in the playground and is truly overwhelmed by the hussle and charging around. We have sort of stumbled into a routine that almost suits the boys , although it leaves me with a whirling head and somewhat weeping heart. Picture the fantastic new nursery building at one end of the playground, all fenced in and a bit regal in it's newness...right at the opposite end of the playground is the building that houses the Seth meister for 6 hours of his day. So we all go into nursery and ooh and ahh at the activities set out for the day, Isaac hides behind me while the divine and endlessly patient Louise says good morning in her most excited and enthusiastic voice that gives away not a trace of the fact that she has to notice Isaac is ignoring her, she jollies him along into finding his name and pegging it onto the washing line with the ladybird pegs....hoorah! Isaac is in the triangle group, how exciting, it IS exciting and I'm pretty sure that behind that surly frown and down turned lip, Isaac can feel a bit of the thrill of it all.
Seth's turn, Isaac is brave as he can be while he watches us from the hallway, through the window while he chews on his coat peg , lots of overdone waving while we positively skip with enthusiasm across the playground to Seth's classroom with Miss K, who is at least 13.
It's a bit strange having Seth clinging on like a limpet, more touching that I can say is that little quivering lip and the gripping hands that make my already stretched jeans stretch to their very elastic capacity. He likes the classroom but it's the dump your bag and go out in the wild and vast playground that has him quaking in his size 11 clarks school shoes. Ahhhh, breakthrough this morning I thought as I espied the every cheery Harry and Alex running around like lunatics on a day out.." Harry! Can Seth join in?"
" Yep! we're playing bum smack, you have to chase until you catch and then smack their bum"
Lovely..a much awaited wicked grin on Seth's face and a slightly concerned frown on mine but off he went, unable, of course, to catch big old Harry and just as big Alex, who caught him and whacked his skinny bum rather too hard. Darn it.......whatever happened to "the farmer's in the dell"?!
All the while of course waving frantically to the coatpeg chewing Isaac......this all takes 20 minutes or so and by the time it is done I'm a bit of a frazzle without the dazzle. Throw Elijah into the mix on a day when H has some appointment or other and he is running like a rabbit let out of it's hutch and the thought that the farmer is coming any minute......all before 9 am too!
This afternoon, Isaac had to go straight to his new speech therapy class, 6 children, 2 therapists and , well......what can I say? I tried to hide my feelings that somehow the session was an insult to the intelligence of these little people who are by no means dim but don't speak very well, Isaac didn't hide it, at all, neither did the other little boy who was so like Isaac I would lay my weeks milk money on the fact that he has aspergers too. The same furrowed brow, same absolute look of disdain for any and every suggestion that standing up, sitting down, hands on knees and songs about clapping, held any kind of interest or use for a purposefilled life.
Isaac cheered up slightly at the colouring in games.....only slightly though and was disgusted enough to actually speak during it.
" Hm children, what do we wash ourselves in?" ( 2 little boys look without pausing at the picture of the bath but be darned if either one would point) 4 otther children point excitedly, at a rough picture of a bath tub....
"here's a blue crayon, would you like to colour the bath blue?"
( Isaac) "NO!"
" Oh , why Isaac?"
"Toz the barf is white"
" pardon?"
" Barfs are white, me no haff a blue barf, me haff white barf, me no tolour it blue" Looking sideways at me with a look that said so clearly " you have stuck me in a room full of complete imbeciles, what are you thinking woman?? will you GET ME OUT!"
( me, feeling this could turn into a big issue in seconds) " Isaac, what happens if you put blue bubbles in the water?"
"Oh yeah...water will doe blue, me tolour WATER in blue" and he did, just the part that would have the water in, lovely blue.

It seemed a very long hour....then it was time to go, hooray....oh it's the goodbye song..."Cameron, would you come out to the front?"
"bye bye Cameron, bye bye Cameron, bye bye Cameron we'll see you another time"
Then Gavin...next Amy...then " NOT ME! No sing at me! " My Isaac looked absolutely horrified at the very idea that he would be made to stand up and be sung to ( or 'at' actually) He sat on a chair with a look of iron will, not to be outsmarted, Beverly and Vanessa just sang and waved at him while he sat where he was until it was just too torturous for him and he flew across the room yelling " Oh me no like at wavin' song! Me hate 'at waving song, never sing it effer effer again at me"
What a day...not quite as Trace imagines is it?
This month we have 4 speech therapy appointments, 2 eye appointments, one hearing appointment,one appointment with the educational psychologist, several meetings with the special needs education co-ordinator and various general doctors appointments. that's just for the boys!
A pretty regular timetable in our lives, monday to friday certainly......who'd want to miss any of it? Not me, this is my job...my life, my career. I'm really very good at it, my rewards are priceless and eternal and it's all I ever wanted to do for as long as I can remember. Lucky, lucky me. I LOVE mondays.


OOOOOOOOOH! Just an added bit ...Jordan just came home from work and asked me to run him down to Mac. D's...said he wanted to meet up with Sophie and the friends she spends so much time with.....ugh....get dressed and off we go ( it's 10pm by the way) OH MY GOODNESS! When I was a teenager I would have sold my rights to irritate my only brother to have had the fun they have....they all meet up every evening ( yes, every evening and of course call each other 20 times in between) and I knew there were several of them ( all with bizarre names) well.....there had to be 15 or more cars there and at least 3-4 kids to each car. No yelling, no noise, just a huge group of 16-19 year olds just laughing and hanging out.
When I think of the things these kids could be getting up to it is refreshing to have seen with my own eyes that they are just kids and pretty good ones at that.
As for the cars..with petrol prices as they are ( I put £5 ($10) in my car this morning and it took me exactly 16 miles before the light came on, we're at $8 a gallon now!!) they don't drive anywhere, just sit in the carpark with the interior lights on, showing off until they all have to go home again!!
Even weary old me, almost in my dotage could feel the buzz just from the kids ... what it must be to be 16 / 18 and it's a pretty good feeling to know that Jordan is there keeping his eye on the girl child. Ahhhhhhh.