Metro New Orleans DISers - check in!!! - 09/2009

[ilovejack02]

Lorie, I have a friend who is a 2nd teacher and she has told me several times that not all gifted children will excel at all subjects.

My brother in law is a math / physics double major , has his masters and working on his PHD. Works for Nasa now.

He made fabulous grades in related classes all his years in school. He is lucky if ever made a B in anything to do with English, just didnt get it.

You are a great mom, and you have a super smart little girl.

 

[Ms Marigny]

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement y'all.

Of course I was up all night thinking about this , and I am starting to wonder about those math scores.... she scored between 13 and 20th percentile in math and around 75th percentile in everything else- a pretty big gap. I know she knows her numbers and can count and all of that and has been doing so for awhile- in fact, she showed more interest in numbers than letters. So I was really surprised when she told me those math scores. I'm wondering if Sienna got tired of the testing by that point and decided not to cooperate, which is very much her normal behavior (I know this more than anyone, it is frustruating!) and would explain the dr's comment about her temperament and "only doing things when she wants to". Maybe she sensed Sienna wasn't fully cooperating... Anyway, I'm not having her retested or going to question the dr or anything, I'm just trying to make sense of it I guess. I really do question the reliability of testing a (then) 3 year old- how valid could that really be? The dr did say Sienna was very thoughtful and thought about and analyzed every answer giving a detailed explanation- just like mom!

Jamie- The artwork is awesome!

 

[Terry36]

Lorie - hugs to you girl...Please stop beating yourself up. You are a very good mom; we do the best we can with what we have. Hindsight is a pain in the butt. Sienna is a very sweet and intelligent little girl.

Jaimie - girl that is an awesome drawing. I can't wait to see the finished product.

My shoulder is hurting again like it usually does when I'm stressing. However I'm not... maybe I am subconsciously.

I can't wait to see WICKED tonight!!!!

 

[ilovejack02]

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement y'all.

Of course I was up all night thinking about this , and I am starting to wonder about those math scores.... she scored between 13 and 20th percentile in math and around 75th percentile in everything else- a pretty big gap. I know she knows her numbers and can count and all of that and has been doing so for awhile- in fact, she showed more interest in numbers than letters. So I was really surprised when she told me those math scores. I'm wondering if Sienna got tired of the testing by that point and decided not to cooperate, which is very much her normal behavior (I know this more than anyone, it is frustruating!) and would explain the dr's comment about her temperament and "only doing things when she wants to". Maybe she sensed Sienna wasn't fully cooperating... Anyway, I'm not having her retested or going to question the dr or anything, I'm just trying to make sense of it I guess. I really do question the reliability of testing a (then) 3 year old- how valid could that really be? The dr did say Sienna was very thoughtful and thought about and analyzed every answer giving a detailed explanation- just like mom!

Jamie- The artwork is awesome!

Lorie, If you can , try not stress, or make sense of it or even question the results. My school has told us over and over they do not test until 7 for gifted classes.

There is no way Jack could have been tested at 3 and had reliable results. He would answered exactly how he wanted to and when he wanted to lol. Of course this is me looking back , at the time, I would have thought it would have been ok to test him.

I didnt put Jack in a structured setting until 4 and it wasn't that structured LOL.. lots of play time.
Kindergarten was a half day private program and we were very happy with it.

We didn't do flash cards , or real school learning the years he was home with me. We read ALOT, we played alone at home and lots of playdate and watched tv, .. amazing the things he picked up from Sesame Street.

He makes straight A's now, and honestly I can't take the all credit for that, except for encouraging him and being involved at school and showing him the joy of reading.

Don't think you did anything wrong, you are doing it just right!

 

[zipuzee]

Bethany - I'm glad that you have a diagnosis finally. Now maybe you get the relief you need. I can see how you would get lost in that area. I've been to Ochsner's main campus a few times recently for tests and appointments, and I still have to think about the best ways to get there and back. And I've lived in the city my whole life. Enjoy your spring break!!

Please enlighten me. What does an alligator mating call sound like??

It's pretty hard to describe, but Julie did a good job, kind of a loud whooping, clucking, grunting noise.

We talked to Rie

I'm so happy and excited for you! I'm glad she seems to be doing well, and she will be home before you know it!!


Lorie - YOU ARE NOT A BAD MOM!!!! Everyone else said it better than I could, but you are doing a great job. I will say this, As a mom to a 25 and 20 yo, I still wonder what I could have done differently or better. So you will always second guess yourself. That's part of the mom gene.

I also did poorly in math in school. And now I oversee billing at the law firm where I work.

Jamie - great job!!

 

[zipuzee]

Serena - have fun at Wicked tonight!!

 

[TigerKat]

We talked to Rie

I am so happy and teary eyed reading this!!!! The trip planned will be a great one for all.

So YAY! There is a REASON behind all this pain and now I know what it is! And I wasn't told to leave the state or that there was nothing I could do about it!

I'm so happy you have a diagnosis, now onto feeling better!

Hey y'all!

Well, Sienna is not gifted. She did very well in language, recognizing pictures, letters and words, but did not do very well in Math (just like Mom!). The dr does not think the math score reflects any learning disability but rather that she hasn't been exposed to math enough and that once she is exposed to it, she'll catch on quickly. She also recommended that Sienna be put in a structured group setting, like a preschool program, because of her temperament. She only wants to do things when she wants to do them, and she thinks a structured group setting would help tone this down. (But, hello, isn't that why we did this test- to get her into a preschool?!). Anyways, I feel like a failure as a parent, yada yada. For what it is worth, she did think Sienna tested very well for a child who has never been taught in a structured setting (doesn't make me feel much better though). So I'm back to freaking out about where we are going to send her to school. Sigh.

Oh Lorie I can't say anything that hasn't already been said very well by all the others but you ARE NOT a bad Mom. You are a wonderful, loving and caring Mom and you have a very sweet and smart little girl. No question about that!!!!

Here's how it turned out. I'm thinking of doing a background color, but I have to think about it a little more. I played around in paint a little, and I think a light yellow background will compliment it best, even though I don't particularly care for yellow.

That really came out great!!!!!

 

[portocall]

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement y'all.

Of course I was up all night thinking about this , and I am starting to wonder about those math scores.... she scored between 13 and 20th percentile in math and around 75th percentile in everything else- a pretty big gap. I know she knows her numbers and can count and all of that and has been doing so for awhile- in fact, she showed more interest in numbers than letters. So I was really surprised when she told me those math scores. I'm wondering if Sienna got tired of the testing by that point and decided not to cooperate, which is very much her normal behavior (I know this more than anyone, it is frustruating!) and would explain the dr's comment about her temperament and "only doing things when she wants to". Maybe she sensed Sienna wasn't fully cooperating... Anyway, I'm not having her retested or going to question the dr or anything, I'm just trying to make sense of it I guess. I really do question the reliability of testing a (then) 3 year old- how valid could that really be? The dr did say Sienna was very thoughtful and thought about and analyzed every answer giving a detailed explanation- just like mom!

Jamie- The artwork is awesome!

It is very possible that she had enough by that point. All the flashcards in the world would not have helped with that. I can totally get the second guessing yourself though. I hope that you are feeling better about it today.

Here's how it turned out. I'm thinking of doing a background color, but I have to think about it a little more. I played around in paint a little, and I think a light yellow background will compliment it best, even though I don't particularly care for yellow.

i upped the contrast a little so you can make everything out. the dog tail didn't translate well in the photo.

That is absolutely gorgeous!

Lorie, If you can , try not stress, or make sense of it or even question the results. My school has told us over and over they do not test until 7 for gifted classes.

There is no way Jack could have been tested at 3 and had reliable results. He would answered exactly how he wanted to and when he wanted to lol. Of course this is me looking back , at the time, I would have thought it would have been ok to test him.

I didnt put Jack in a structured setting until 4 and it wasn't that structured LOL.. lots of play time.
Kindergarten was a half day private program and we were very happy with it.

We didn't do flash cards , or real school learning the years he was home with me. We read ALOT, we played alone at home and lots of playdate and watched tv, .. amazing the things he picked up from Sesame Street.

He makes straight A's now, and honestly I can't take the all credit for that, except for encouraging him and being involved at school and showing him the joy of reading.

Don't think you did anything wrong, you are doing it just right!

I totally agree with Jen. We didn't do any of that stuff when Fletcher was young. He did go into a structured Pre-K but only because of Hurricane Katrina, and I still regret that we had to do that. Sienna will get enough of all of that soon enough.



So, Spencer is becoming something else. I am really going bonkers with this kid lately. I know a lot of it is because he is the youngest, with older brothers and it just isn't as easy to shield him from the stuff I don't want him to see/hear/say. But...

He wanted Spaghettio's last weekend. So I noticed he had eaten enough garbage for the day and suggested a banana. Darn it if that kid didn't slam the can back into the panty and said "well screw you" and tried to huff off. Part of me wanted to the other part wanted to So, I had a talk with my oldest, and evidently he has been being bullied at school and acting out against Spencer, saying things he knows are wrong out of my earshot. We took care of the bully problem and now Logan is back to normal... but Spencer... well, he thinks it is quite okay to be a sulky preteen boy at age 5! So not okay. I need him to be my little boy for my sanity.

Then today he gave me a list of all the things he wants for his 16th birthday. I sure hope he means his sixth birthday, which isn't until December.... maybe I will save the list so I can save myself some money when 16 rolls around. I am sure the toys of today will be a lot cheaper.

Then they picked today to really shake things up at school but I won't hear anything about whether or not I have a job and what it will be until after Spring Break. Then we are told to have a nice and relaxing break... as if I can relax NOW???? Too bad it isn't raining, I hate having the blah's on beautiful days...

 

[TigerKat]

Cara - I'm so sorry you'll be hanging on over the break waiting for the news. I'll keep you in my prayers. As for the boys, my friend, I don't know how you can manage three of them. I had my hands full with just one. Hoping your "little one" becomes your baby again, it's got to be impossible to shield them from the big brother "stuff".

 

[lori1043]

Cara- thank for the advice! makes sense. I am just being impatient and want them now. BTW- I think we have a snake- we've seen him regularly and he greeted Paul at the door today- scared the you know what out of him! Ashton named him Ernie a while back so it looks to be sticking. I am not quite comfy with the new "pet" yet, but he's not a roach, so I am happy. I'll be praying about your job.

We are heading to the Poly tonight for Dole Whips and fireworks. Paul needs a break- he's been working LONG days this week. I have barely seen him.

Lori

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Jamie - You are very talented and I love how that came out! And the way you created it was so thoughtful!

Then they picked today to really shake things up at school but I won't hear anything about whether or not I have a job and what it will be until after Spring Break. Then we are told to have a nice and relaxing break... as if I can relax NOW???? Too bad it isn't raining, I hate having the blah's on beautiful days...

UGH. What. A. Day! My day started off with my friend saying goodbye (she's moving to Virginia) and that was just the start of a day that was emotionally draining. It ended with a series of about 5 phone calls to straighten out insurance issues. They are acting up right on cue. It is supposedly straightened out, but my CT scan is on Thursday now instead of Monday.

 

[TigerKat]

We are heading to the Poly tonight for Dole Whips and fireworks. Paul needs a break- he's been working LONG days this week. I have barely seen him.

Have a great night, you both deserve it!

 

[ilovejack02]

Cara , I would guess everyone has the same issue with the youngest acting like the older boys.

My stepson, has a brother 5 yrs younger, he was so much more advanced than Brad was at every stage and I know it was because he hung out with the older boys.

Tough to keep them babies with the older ones around .

Ill be saying prayers for you and job situation.

 

[rie'smom]

Here's how it turned out. I'm thinking of doing a background color, but I have to think about it a little more. I played around in paint a little, and I think a light yellow background will compliment it best, even though I don't particularly care for yellow.

i upped the contrast a little so you can make everything out. the dog tail didn't translate well in the photo.

Love it!!! Light yellow would be a great background color!.

My shoulder is hurting again like it usually does when I'm stressing. However I'm not... maybe I am subconsciously.

I can't wait to see WICKED tonight!!!!

Hope your shoulder gets to feeling better. How was Wicked?

I am so happy and teary eyed reading this!!!! The trip planned will be a great one for all.

Thanks, Honey Bunny!!! Of course, we're not sure of the date yet, so I won't cancel the scheduled trip 'til the last minute.

Now though, I'm going through the which resort should I choose if we can't go with the scheduled trip. OY! The nice thing is on May 1st, the Swan/Dolphin are starting the pay one night, get the next night 50% off and Rie does love the Dolphin, so that's a thought. It's also in the Epcot area which she loves.

Maybe we'll just wing it because she'll probably finish , if not in time for the April trip, then w/in the first 2 weeks in May which are slow and there's availability at all of the resorts. We can hop on a plane and she can decide while we're in the air. Since we're AP holders, we can book discounted rooms through June 3rd.

Can you tell I'm ?

So, Spencer is becoming something else. I am really going bonkers with this kid lately. I know a lot of it is because he is the youngest, with older brothers and it just isn't as easy to shield him from the stuff I don't want him to see/hear/say. But...

He wanted Spaghettio's last weekend. So I noticed he had eaten enough garbage for the day and suggested a banana. Darn it if that kid didn't slam the can back into the panty and said "well screw you" and tried to huff off. Part of me wanted to the other part wanted to So, I had a talk with my oldest, and evidently he has been being bullied at school and acting out against Spencer, saying things he knows are wrong out of my earshot. We took care of the bully problem and now Logan is back to normal... but Spencer... well, he thinks it is quite okay to be a sulky preteen boy at age 5! So not okay. I need him to be my little boy for my sanity.

Then today he gave me a list of all the things he wants for his 16th birthday. I sure hope he means his sixth birthday, which isn't until December.... maybe I will save the list so I can save myself some money when 16 rolls around. I am sure the toys of today will be a lot cheaper.

Then they picked today to really shake things up at school but I won't hear anything about whether or not I have a job and what it will be until after Spring Break. Then we are told to have a nice and relaxing break... as if I can relax NOW???? Too bad it isn't raining, I hate having the blah's on beautiful days...

Your post brought back memories of my youngest brother. Once we were in the car and my mom was driving and out of nowhere, he dropped the "F" bomb. Mom shot daggers at me with her eyes. Thank goodness when she asked who taught him the new word, he immediately said my brother! I had never ever said the f word but because I babysat for him while she worked, she jumped to the conclusion that he had heard it from me.

Jamie - You are very talented and I love how that came out! And the way you created it was so thoughtful!



UGH. What. A. Day! My day started off with my friend saying goodbye (she's moving to Virginia) and that was just the start of a day that was emotionally draining. It ended with a series of about 5 phone calls to straighten out insurance issues. They are acting up right on cue. It is supposedly straightened out, but my CT scan is on Thursday now instead of Monday.

Cara- thank for the advice! makes sense. I am just being impatient and want them now. BTW- I think we have a snake- we've seen him regularly and he greeted Paul at the door today- scared the you know what out of him! Ashton named him Ernie a while back so it looks to be sticking. I am not quite comfy with the new "pet" yet, but he's not a roach, so I am happy. I'll be praying about your job.

We are heading to the Poly tonight for Dole Whips and fireworks. Paul needs a break- he's been working LONG days this week. I have barely seen him.

Lori

Have a great night, you both deserve it!

 

[shovan]

Hey y'all,'

Sorry I haven't been keeping up, both Bob & I have been sick all week.

Julie, I'm very happy for you & your girl! It must feel wonderful to know that the school was the right choice.

Lorie, I'm sorry the testing didn't work out. I agree she probably got tired or bored with the long testing period. Please don't let this question your parenting skills. Sienna & Erik are quite blessed to have 2 such devoted parents! I'm praying that the right school for Sienna will come to light very soon. About the structured setting recommendation: Angelina was in a Montessori school from 2 through kindg. The school had thru grade 3, but her kindergarten teacher strongly recommended that she get into a structured setting. She said that Angelina had trouble recognizing "gray areas". So we then moved her to a regular school program. ( Although she had that idiot witch of a teacher for 1st grade that was upset that she couldn't make my child cry.) Anyway after that she was fine in the structured program. BTW she tested extremely high after her kingergarten year even in Math, but struggled with Math all through school. So the test really mean very little especially at Sienna's age.

Bethany, I had surgery for deviated septum in '94. I was getting sinus infection every other month. It did help, unfortunately I still have allergies that lead to infections, but it is much better than before the surgery.

Cara, I really sorry about the job & Spencer acting up. Prayers that some time off with him will work that out.

Jamie, You are an artist! That is awesome!

Lori, You can get a Dole Whip at the Poly???

I hope y'all have a good weekend girls. DH has the dreaded man cold now!

 

[lori1043]

Hey y'all,'

Sorry I haven't been keeping up, both Bob & I have been sick all week.

Julie, I'm very happy for you & your girl! It must feel wonderful to know that the school was the right choice.

Lorie, I'm sorry the testing didn't work out. I agree she probably got tired or bored with the long testing period. Please don't let this question your parenting skills. Sienna & Erik are quite blessed to have 2 such devoted parents! I'm praying that the right school for Sienna will come to light very soon. About the structured setting recommendation: Angelina was in a Montessori school from 2 through kindg. The school had thru grade 3, but her kindergarten teacher strongly recommended that she get into a structured setting. She said that Angelina had trouble recognizing "gray areas". So we then moved her to a regular school program. ( Although she had that idiot witch of a teacher for 1st grade that was upset that she couldn't make my child cry.) Anyway after that she was fine in the structured program. BTW she tested extremely high after her kingergarten year even in Math, but struggled with Math all through school. So the test really mean very little especially at Sienna's age.

Bethany, I had surgery for deviated septum in '94. I was getting sinus infection every other month. It did help, unfortunately I still have allergies that lead to infections, but it is much better than before the surgery.

Cara, I really sorry about the job & Spencer acting up. Prayers that some time off with him will work that out.

Jamie, You are an artist! That is awesome!

Lori, You can get a Dole Whip at the Poly???

I hope y'all have a good weekend girls. DH has the dreaded man cold now!

Yes, you can get Dole whip self serve at Captain Cooks- they give you a cup for one price and you fill it up yourself.

Lori

 

[Terry36]

Happy Saturday ladies....Looks like today will be beautiful.

Wicked was AWESOME.... Yes it stacked up to New York's play. Aly and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I had forgotten how funny Galinda and Melphaba were. It's definately a MUST see!!!

Cara - I don't know how you do it with 3 either. I hope this break helps everyone calm down. praying that your job is secure.

Sheryl I hope you guys feel better soon.

I sure wish I was off this week like most of the city. Aly only has Thursday through Monday off.

Jenny I hope you're enjoying the Easter event you're at this morning with your son. Boy I sure miss those days.

 

[FloraFauna]

Good morning Boy, it sure is pretty outside!!!

We are going to see Wicked today at 2pm I am very excited. We saw it in Los Angeles a few years back and loved it. Can't wait to see it again!

Today will be David's first time voting in an election. Today we have elections in Kenner. I can't believe my child is old enough to vote.

Ya'll have a great day!!

 

[TigerKat]

Sheryl - I've missed you! I hope you & Bob get well soon!

Mary - Hard to believe David is old enough to vote. Good luck to Mike today, it's turned into a pretty nasty battle.

Terry- I'm not off next week either.

Gotta run a ton of errands today...bbl...

Almost forgot, I'll be starting us up a new thread sometime this weekend!!!

 

[Ms Marigny]

Hey y'all!

I'm feeling much better about the test. It was the first time my child was really scrutinized by someone else- that was hard! I better get used to it though for when she starts school. Speaking of school, I'm touring a small preschool on Monday. It is MWF 9-2:30 and sounds like there is some structure, but lots of playtime. It is in a Presbyterian Church in Metairie, so not too far from home. I hope it works out. I have a couple of friends whose kids went there and liked it. It does mean the start of tuition though, so I better start budgeting for that.

Cara- I'd want to andtoo at what Spencer said! (probably more laugh though...). I guess it would be hard to keep him young with the big boys around. I'm sorry your spring break has been sullied with anxiety over future employment. I know its hard, but try to relax and enjoy your break anyway.

Julie- I hope you can work out a vacation with Rie! So far, it does seem like early May will be fairly slow- I've been able to change my ADRs around with little problem (except for Ohana- always booked up!) and add a resort day. I even added a Le Cellier lunch a couple of weeks ago, which I thought would be impossible!

Sheryl- My condolences on the man cold....

Serena- Glad Wicked lived up to your expectations! Sounds like you had a blast!

Lori- Sounds like a great night! As always, I'm jealous!!

Mary- He's old enough to vote?! Wow, time really has gone by....