Fallen Off the Face of the Earth- One Mothers Journey...

If I had a novel written about me this year, that would be its title.

The first year I started my blog, I had people tell me, "If you make it through the first year, you've made it through half the battle." I made it through the first year fine. This second year was difficult.

As you all know, I'm a mom, and so is Marissa. Sometimes life just has a way of happening.. sometimes it has a way of just exploding.. sometimes it just keeps on ticking. If you've read 4BabyAndMom for any length of time, you know that my world revolves around my kids. You may also recall that it's been a very difficult experience with my son in school. Last school year was hell. I spent the entire year fighting tooth and nail against the administrators, teachers, and most of the faculty and staff. My son was bullied, ended up in fist fights, learned how to be extremely disrespectful, and for the longest time, I did not see the light at the end of the tunnel.

The good news is- it's over. No, I did not decide to homeschool (sorry to disappoint all of you who recommended it), but we did switch Alex to a school that will be able to meet his needs completely.  Finally, after I submitted in an official letter to the school and district (other written requests I was told was not "official") Alex was given a full psychoeducational assessment. The end result said that he's got Asperger's Syndrome. Finally- we had a diagnosis, we had something to grab a hold of, something besides the standard "gifted" crutch they had used to explain away all of the signs and symptoms we suspected.

The school my son is in now seems wonderful, like an answer to our prayers. I'm hoping and praying now that it just continues the way it's going, and keeps getting better. He's in a Gifted/ASD setting now, and I'm sure you all will have to endure with me a little bit as the bumpy road we've been on smooths out again completely. My son, who "hates to color and write", completed his first project this week, (a dodecahedron), and colored, drew and wrote on all twelve panels! Not only did he complete it and enjoy it, but he completed it early!

My little lady, Miss Abbigaile, has started kindergarten. She's in a different school than Alex, but she seems to love it. It was semi-traumatic for me, because of the experience that my son had with that school, but through many coffee counseling sessions with my dearest and best friends, I came to realize that she is a different child, and that she will do well, and her experience will be much different than my sons. For that I am grateful, because this week, I've watched her get more excited about school with each day that passes.

It's been four very long years fighting with our school district, and although I'm still cautiously optimistic about this school year, the fact is that I am still optimistic about it. I cannot wait to see how the children learn and grow as the year progresses, and I cannot wait to jump back into the swing of things here.

Oh, and an update on Marissa- she graduated from the community college in May this year, and just started her first semester in USF. She's going to make an amazing teacher. Her two squirts have kept her very busy over the summer. Her oldest started MIDDLE SCHOOL this week, and she's been dealing with it much better than we all anticipated. She still plans on writing articles and reviews to help me when life gets crazy, but if it wasn't for her constant compassion and empathy, and her faith in you- our readers, I cannot say if 4BabyAndMom would have made it through the summer.

She took the time to remind me why I started this blog, why I love what I do, and why I love building the professional relationships and friendships with my sponsors and my readers.

So that's basically it- in a nutshell. Why I'm in this nutshell, well, that's another story entirely. BUT- keep hanging on, I have some fun things planned for this upcoming holiday season, I have some great reviews that should be posted this week, and I have some great giveaways in store too.

I hope you all had a fabulous summer, and wish you and the kiddos the best back-to-school season ever! Oh, and just cause they're cute- here's a pic of my kiddos on their first day of school, 2011: