Quite a Good Feeling

It's quite a good feeling to arrive home having worked out to a quiet house. Except these silly kids are getting up on their own earlier this year. I finally told them that if they were old enough to decide not to go to bed at a decent hour then they were old enough to get themselves out of bed. And so they are. Earlier. Teenagers are weird.

Today is one of my favorite kinds of days. I have nothing on my calendar today until a 9th grade football game until 5:00 when I get to watch 3 of my guys play.

So that means that I can focus on several work projects that need my attention and spend my day at the computer cleaning up that email, which always makes me feel better.

I figured an update might be good as I've been all obsessed with the book and not talked about the kids as much.

Kyle is teaching 6th grade this year at the same school where he taught 3rd grade last year. He is still dating Christy and we love her. We got to see them a couple times in August and it was great to have them around.

Rand is getting a few more hours at the grocery store deli and always feels better about himself when he is working more. He is always happy when I'm not around because then he can do nothing without getting reminded about what he is supposed to be doing.

Mike, we presume, is living in our town somewhere, though we don't hear from him often. I'm sure John's in contact with him.

John is on hold until tomorrow when he meets his new P.O. Hopefully then he will be able to get a job and go to school once that is ironed out. He has made a couple friends in town that at least seem employed and law abiding, which is a step up from some of the other kids he used to hang with. He isn't causing problems at home, though his consistent lying is annoying. I call him on it all the time, but it's an ingrained habit. I seriously wonder if he can even distinguish between the truth and a lie.

Jimmy is almost 18 if you can even believe that, and has started his junior year. He had an IEP meeting on Monday and everyone is very pleased with his maturation over the summer and how well his year has started. He is doing a supervised work program in the mornings and is at a grocery store bakery. They say he is doing great, which we knew he would. He is a good hard worker.

Salinda is doing well. I think she is feeling better (she's almost 6 months) and she seems to enjoy her school. She is getting up for school without being horribly crabby and even though she is not challenged at all academically, she is satisfied to be getting her credits and doing something with her time that improves her life (something she pretty much took a six month break from).

Ricardo is playing soccer this fall. He is the J.V. goalie, which causes me more stress than him. He's a very good goalie, but I know he misses being out on the field. He is working hard with his school work right now. Last night Bart sat down with Leon, Ricardo and Ivan and helped them with homework together. They loved it and as I have told them often, if they have parents check their work, their grades will go up. Funny how Tony is in the same grade and takes the same class but didn't have any homework last night. Things that make you go hmmmm.

Mercedes is still wonderful, though she often returns from school with that nasty eighth grade attitude that she picks up from her friends. She is definitely a great kid and seems to be trying hard to do well with her grades.

Ivan isn't really our kid (though we treat him like he is), but we could have guardianship if we wanted it. His mom offered to sign the paperwork, but I'm not sure it is necessary. He's doing great -- playing football and working hard on school because he now has someone to help him. It's funny too, how the other boys will follow his lead when he gets out his homework and comes to us for help, something they historically haven't done. He's just so grateful to have someone who CAN help with school work and who has time and is willing.

Tony is actually tolerable. He has formed quite a facebook addiction (I know, I know, like mother, like son) but his is centered in Farmville, which I haven't gotten involved in. We finally have something he loves which makes behavior modification a wonderful thing. For years he hasn't cared at all about anything, so getting him to cooperate with a threat of consequence meant nothing. He has gone 2 whole days without uttering a curse word because I told him he couldn't use the computer on days when he cusses. This, I would say, is probably a record in the last 5 years. The moments when he isn't being a complete rude jerk are actually becoming more frequent and it is nice to see him finally growing beyond the need to make me mad on a consistent basis.

Leon is ... well ... you know.... wonderful. Watching him and how he interacts with me is such a joy. It's like seeing a normal healthy parent/child relationship for the first time. He sits next to me at the table and he pays attention to my plate and cup, making sure he hands me things. He asks me if I need help when he sees me doing something that I am not excited about (like someone else's dishes). He lets me hug and kiss him often. He's just such a sweet kid. And have you seen how dashingly handsome he is? I guess I may have to post another picture of him. I seriously hope that when he is an adult he will travel around with me while I explain that we adopted him at 12 and how much joy he has brought to our lives.

Dominyk is back on meds, thanks be to God and the psychiatrist. He is still quite obsessive and hyper, but with the meds he is OK for most of the day. He has some behaviors that are still very waring -- OCD is a very difficult thing to parent -- but he holds it together for most of the day. It's just that he doesn't around me. But you guys get that.

Finally WIlson is just as cute as ever. So bright, so articulate, so funny. He is doing great in school and is going back to cub scouts tonight. It's amazingly fun being his mom. I just love to look at him.

So everyone is actually at a pretty good place at the moment.