Thursday, September 30, 2010

Pictures from this week







Just Another Manic Monday

As I was preparing for what to write about in this weeks update, I started to wonder if I would really have something to write EVERY week.... I suppose only time will tell. This week there have definitely been some events to write about, some of which were not so good :(

It seems like Monday was the day that everything happened! Monday afternoon when Emilee got off the bus she was in tears. I asked her what happened and she told me that some girl on the bus punched her in her arm, hip and back!!! I immediately reported this to the bus driver, who made the girl come up to the front and apologize to Emilee. This girl (who we believe is a second grader) told the bus driver it was a "game." The bus driver told her there are no games that involve punching. Emilee came in the house and told us that she was sitting in her assigned seat (Kindergarteners have assigned seats) and that two other girls sat with her and wanted a 4th girl to sit with them. Emilee, a rule follower, told the girls that only 3 people are allowed in the seat. Now how exactly the girl came to start punching her, we aren't too sure about yet. Whether it was after the event or right then and there. But Emilee also said that it was one of the other girls who told her friend to punch Emilee but to only punch her on the body, not the face!!!!! As more of this has unfolded I find myself getting angrier and angrier.

Emilee is fine and that girl has not talked to her since but I still feel like the issue is unresolved. We called the school immediately and spoke directly to the principal. He said he would review the tapes from the bus and get back to us Tuesday. We heard nothing on Tuesday. I called Tuesday at 4:30pm and left a message that we were disappointed to have not heard anything and I got a call Wednesday morning from the school counselor. She said she would talk to the principal and that she was also going to talk to the girl involved and get back to me that day. My husband talked to the principal in the same day and he informed my husband that some how, some strange glitch just happened to occur on that day during that time with the bus videotapes, and therefore they cannot review the incident. The school counselor did not call me back Wednesday. Today, Kevin and I marched ourselves down to the school and wanted to talk to the principal, but he was in a meeting so we met with the school counselor. She said she didnt get to talk to the girl yesterday, but that she would do so today and let us know. Its 4:10pm and I have heard nothing.

I am not sure what to do at this point. I am more upset at this point about the lack of follow through and urgency from the school. I dont think this girl will harass Emilee again, it may very well be an isolated incident. But I would have expected better follow through from the school.

Now that same night, Monday night, Canon was up until almost 2am screaming. Come Tuesday morning the evidence of why was all over his ear lobe as his ear must have finally drained from an ear infection :( I took him to the doctor and we got a prescription for some ear drops. That is the absolute benefit of having tubes put in his ears a few months ago. Now that he has those, we dont have to do oral antibiotics and can just do ear drops. He's already doing much better :)

On a lighter note lol... Emilee's behavior at school is rewarded through a color system....green, yellow, orange and red. Normally I am anti this type of system, however the teacher allows the kids to "earn" the green color back if they turn their behavior around. I am definitely okay with that. For the month of September, Emilee ended the day on green EVERY DAY!!!!! She did come home on Tuesday with a yellow and her teacher, Ms. Davis, said she had a hard time listening that day. I sent Ms. Davis an email about the bus incident and how her brother had been up until 2am on Tuesday morning and that these things dont excuse Emilee's behavior, but just might help explain it. Ms. Davis put a green smiley face over Emilee's yellow one and wrote "I understand" :) When I read that, I almost cried. What an awesome teacher!!!!!

I apologize that this is such a lengthy post! Aside from Monday afternoon/evening, everything else has been pretty smooth. We are getting excited for our trip to Albuquerque to visit Nana and Papa next week!!! It is the last weekend for the Balloon Fiesta and so we are going to go enjoy that, as well as some amazing food, and of course red chili!!! Mmmmmmmm............ :)

Thursday, September 23, 2010

The Fun Stuff

So the previous blog served as the "facts" updates :) Who everyone is and what we're all doing. This one is to brag about all the cute and smart stuff my kids are doing. And my husband. Because he does cute, smart stuff too lol. I will break it down individually:

Emilee: She is brilliant. I mean, I know everyone thinks their kid is brilliant but Emilee really is. She is doing very well in school. In fact, what they are covering in these first few weeks of Kindergarten she has already learned in Pre-School. I dont think she is quite bored, but its basically a cake walk for her. Emilee's teacher, Ms. Davis, loves her! Ms. Davis sent a note home the other day saying our daughter is sweet and adorable and she LOVES having her in class :) Emilee is a fantastic big sister, she shoulders a lot of big sister responsibilities without EVER complaining about them. Now she does complain about having to clean up when she and her friends make a mess. Her exact words: "But mom, cleaning up is BORING!" Apparently she doesnt take after her dad and enjoy cleaning :) Emilee is sweet and helpful and a quick learner.

Canon: It seems he does something "new" developmentally, every day! Let me remind you that he is only 14 months. He says several words already. His words include: I did it, All Done, Elmo, Bus, Puppy, Mommy, Daddy, Sissy, Hungry, Yucky, On and Off. Yes, you read all of that correctly. He has started dancing, he is darn near close to walking and will take several steps on his own. He is obsessed with buttons....anything he can push that turns something on or off, opens/closes or makes noise. He LOVES to push buttons.

Kevin: Just kidding :) I wont make you read all about the cute, smart things he does. But I will say he is a fantastic dad. I feel grateful that my kids have such an awesome, hands-on, active, dad. Who also allows the kids to be kids and reminds me often that they will only be this age, doing these things for so long. I am grateful to him for encouraging me and supporting me in staying home. Because I am home full time, I dont miss any of this stuff and I get to excitedly share it with him and make the kids perform when he gets home every night :)

To sum up: The Napoleone Family Rocks :)

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Updated Pictures of the Kiddos :)











Time Flies When.....

We can all finish that statement in different ways right? Time flies when...we're having fun? When....we're raising two young children? When.... we're getting ready to celebrate being married for 7 years? Time flies when....we're doing all of the above? :) Well thats about what life is for the Napoleone Family.

Here are just a few "factual" updates that will serve as a starting point....Once these are established then the fun, new, life updates can begin!

We did have the baby, and he is a boy! Most of you already know this but again, just putting the "facts" out there. He was born on August 4, 2009 at 5:43am. He was due August 5th, 2009. Yes, he waited until one day before his due date. I (mama) delivered him naturally....no epidural, no drugs, nada. And it was an amazing experience. His name is Canon Joshua Patrick Napoleone. And as of today he is 13.5 months old. So the Napoleone Family now consists of Kevin, Stephanie, Emilee and Canon :) And thats it. Seriously. No more. Lol.

We moved from our home in Laveen to a home in Chandler, AZ about a month ago. The motivation was to get Emilee into a good school district because she started Kindergarten this year!! And she is in an excellent district (the best in the state) and at a great school with an awesome teacher, Ms. Davis. She is LOVING it. She has made lots of friends, including a couple of girls who live right next door to us!! Which has been awesome for her to have someone her own age to play with. She and Canon aren't quite at the age where they enjoy each other yet lol.

Kevin still works for the University of Phoenix and continues to do well. He is celebrating 6 years with UOPX this month! I (Stephanie) recently decided to become a full-time stay at home mom after 3 years with UOPX. I loved my job, would still love to do my job, but balancing working full-time with being a parent of two young children, a wife and still trying to find time for me, while keeping everyone happy and healthy was proving to be quite a challenge. So I have officially been at home for 2 weeks now and so far, LOVING it. I almost cant believe I waited this long. I get to walk Emilee to the bus, I get to watch Canon grow and develop and not miss a thing, and I get to spend more quality time with my husband, and myself lol!


So thats the facts! My goal, now that I am home, is to "manage" our home and do succeed at that! Wow, that feels kind of nice to say! :) Kevin might say that by manage I mean control... which he's kind of right about lol. I actually mopped the floors last Friday and for those of you who know Kevin and I, he usually does all of the cleaning. BY CHOICE just FYI!!! And yes, I know I am very lucky. So, needless to say, me mopping the floors was new! So I sent Kevin a text and said "Happy 7th Year Anniversary!! I mopped the floors!!" :)

I look forward to keeping you all updated!

Much love!