Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Goals 2.0

Being an Arizonan for the past 6 1/2 years now, I have grown accustomed to the constant, mood lifting sunshine that only the desert can provide.  If you have read my profile you know 2 things about me (among others). 1- I struggle to be positive, and 2- I promise to be real.  So here in Arizona we are on rainy day #3 and I am going to be real and tell you that the lack of sunshine has me in a gloomy funk.  So, my goal for the day, is to get myself out of this fog, get myself into a better mood, and accomplish some things today.  But the world isn't making it easy for me...
Do you remember the scene in the movie "Men In Black" where Will Smith enters the secret Men in Black headquarters for the first time?  He discovers this cosmic-ultra-bouncy-ball that bounces all over the building reeking havoc and destroying everything in its path when Will Smith touches it.  Do you remember this?  I am convinced that this cosmic-ultra-bouncy-ball was lodged inside my son's body today, causing him to thrash about the house uncontrollably in a way the made me believe that this was Olympic event that I hadn't trained for.  And of course extra time to deal with this cosmic-ultra-bouncy-ball was in short supply because the lack of Arizona sun made it difficult for poor old mom to get out of bed (staying up to watch Conan, had nothing do with, nothing at all).  I will have better day.  Coffee will be involved.

So, as I promised I will fill you in on our meeting with Karis' government people.  The government provides all of Karis' services (for now, as of next month we have to pay for part of it, we just don't know how much that will be, darn AZ budget deficit.)  So, they want us to set goals, and every 6 months evaluate her progress, set new goals, and change the course of her therapies if need be.  Understandably so, I don't want to waste precious days, anymore than they want to waste precious money.  Here's the run down of the meeting...
Some of her previous goals were:
To walk by the age of 18 months -goal met
To improve eating with a spoon (being fed with a spoon)-so that we no longer have to push her tongue down, and the food stays in - goal met
To learn new words- goal ongoing, she only learned one new word in the last 6 months *sigh*
To use her signs "more" and "milk" consistantly- goal met

Here are some of her new goals.

To master feeding herself with a spoon, and introduce, and master using a fork.
To learn new words, and new signs, and use them consistently.
To understand and obey simple commands, like "go get your milk."
To nod her head yes, and shake her head no.
To run.
(The last 2 are actually just our goals, they didn't make it into the report.)

Of course there are many more things that Karis will accomplish in the next 6 months, but these are the goals that relate to her current services.  And, I say that these are some because, honestly, I can't remember everything we discussed at the meeting, and I don't have a written report yet.  These are the goals that are most important to me.

So, internet land, what goals do you have for your kids, special needs or not.  I know for Keaton, I would like for him to pray on his own more, (without just repeating after us).  We are also working on getting  him to color neatly, and to take his time and do his work well, at home and at school.

Do share internet land....I'm off to make a pot of coffee.


Karis, 21 months

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tracy - Love the blog!!! Love the open realism!
As for the goals for my kids, my biggest goal is actually a goal of my own for one of my kids. I have 3 full time, one part time (Vince's daughter, who is also my daughter, and I hate the term step-daughter, so it's always awkward to discribe). Anyway, there's Elizabeth (age 6), Jake (age 5 for a couple more months), Eli (age 4), and Jonah (age 21 almost). My major goal this year, or battle so it seems, is getting Eli into kindergarden. His birthday is Sept. 15 and Illinois cut off date is Sept. 1. I have a cousin who managed to get her son in this year and his birthday was not until October. So, I know there is hope. However, to throw another consideration in there, I want him to go to the Christian school that Jake goes to. I'm afraid my option is going to come down to either getting him into the regular school system this year, or the private school next year, as they have a "no exception" policy.
Of course, there's always the never ending goals such as for them to learn how to get along and play together, what it means to be a brother, and how to treat each other and others. But also I have a goal this year of getting my kids into missions. I was hoping to turn spring break week into "week of evangelism" or "missions week." However, with three kids and a husband in school, there are three different spring break weeks, so haven't figured that one out yet. But I am hoping to plan monthly service projects, and am already falling behind as I have not yet planned January's.
I really do love the blog. There's nothing I enjoy more than to talk about my children!
- Jessica

Tracy McCain said...

Thanks for sharing Jessica! I love those ideas!!!

Anonymous said...

Those are very realistic goals for Karis. Lauren just said her first word a few months ago, and really, I'm probably the only one who knows what she's talking about.

She still doesn't shake her head yes or no - but we really don't care. She usually signs yes or no (or yells like a dinosaur.)

It sucks that you can't get a good consistent speech ther. for her. We aren't crazy about ours, but she seems to be helping.

Ok, this is really long.

see ya on FB!

Tracy McCain said...

I love long comments Beth, I want people to share! Thanks for your input, being always 4 months ahead of us in this, I appreciate your perspective. It's like you can see into the immediate future! Lolo is so smart, I don't know how you taught her so many signs, but I would love to know your secret.

Anonymous said...

Well, Tracy, I just have to say that reading this makes me miss you more. I wish that we were closer and that our kids could grow up together. My goals this year for my kids are to get Ainslee reading consistenly; to help Hallee manage her sensitivity and fears; and for Lexee to see her beauty and worth in light of the God who made her. I can't believe she's 10 already! I know those hard pre-teen years are right around the corner.