School Time!

School is finally back in session.  It has been a crazy, busy summer but now we're back on a normal schedule.  Kaden's in the 5th grade this year, who said he could grow up on me?  And Annabelle is in the 2nd.  When we got their teacher assignments 2 weeks ago I don't know who shouted for joy more, me or Annabelle.  See, Annabelle got the same teacher for 2nd grade that Kaden had and we LOVE her.  Back then Kaden had an IEP (individual education plan) and this teacher helped him to not only learn and flourish but by the end of the school year he no longer needed it.  She saw his potential and helped him to learn and overcome those challenges to the point there was no more need for the IEP.  Annabelle has had an IEP since pre-school.  She has a challenge with her speech, writing and reading.  Back in Kindergarten her teacher switched mid year and everything literally fell apart with her growth so we spent a lot of last school year fighting to fix and correct the mistakes made that last half of kindergarten.  At the same time her IEP last year changed 4 times because suddenly dear old mom wasn't so crazy about the insistence of helping her with reading.

I'm coming to find they don't teach the reading skills like when I was in school.  Annabelle can't sound out the words at all, or couldn't until we worked really hard on it over the summer.  Last year was an emotional roller coaster for her and I.  Between the constant IEP changes, getting progress reports that said she was improving to the last week of school getting a letter out of the blue that she should be held back it was not exactly a great year.  I actually fought to have her move to the 2nd grade because I knew what the problems were and this time I wasn't going to let the school get their way.  We worked hard all summer long on reviewing everything she learned and then even moved onto some 2nd grade work.

So getting word that she was going to have the same teacher who helped Kaden get off his own IEP was a huge relief and blessing to us all.  I know what to expect with this teacher, and the best part is she knows my kids already.  She called before school started to let me know how excited she was to be having Annabelle in her class and how much she still remembers Kaden talking about his sisters.  She loved having Kaden in her class so to be working with her again is truly a joy all around.  I know we've still got a hard road ahead with Annabelle, but having a teacher who I know truly will help her grow and succeed is a weight off my shoulders.  It may only be the first of the year, but we're already starting off on the right foot with 2 very happy kids.

Fall is in the air

This is my favorite time of the year, fall.  I love how the air turns crisp and the leaves change colors.  This is my time of year for baking all things yummy.  It begins my baking season and my family has a love/hate relationship with it.  They love the goodies I bake, but also hate the fact that there is constant baking that happens.  Along with this comes that I love my house to smell like fall.  Except I don't do candles or anything of that sort.  I used to get horrible headaches from candles and could never figure out why.  Until I started my journey in learning about essential oils.  As I've learned and researched my oils and oils in general out I've come to find that my body naturally hates synthetics.  Not a little, but a lot.  I don't wear perfume and can't be in the same room as someone who does or I get really sick.  The same goes for candles and the wickless cubes you can melt.  They are so full of synthetics that I can't be around them.

So how exactly do I enjoy the scents and smells of fall then?  My oils and my diffuser.  Because I know for myself that my oils do not have any synthetics or chemicals in them I feel very safe with using them daily.  But more than just that I can diffuse them daily with no reactions at all.  If anything the oils have helped my overall wellness increase just from diffusing them each day.  With fall starting to come this way it was time to start diffusing some fun fall combinations yesterday.  I just got a new oil last month called Light the Fire.  It's a blend and when I combined it with Orange oh my word, my house smelled like fall instantly.  Bam, new favorite combination to diffuse at this time of year.  I felt my body more relaxed than it normally is, especially when my kids were fighting and just very much at ease as I diffused this amazing combination.

Fall means so many things happen in our home, birthdays, holidays and just so many amazing things that life brings us.  Bring on fall, I'm ready.