Goodness Gracious!!!

Pistol, and LongRifle had their monthly visit from RedHead's mom who is their public health nurse. She's the one that comes to assess their overall health, checks their weight and height and listens to their heart and lungs. Well, at her last visit they both weighed in at 22.14 lbs---funny how they're always within 1/2 lb of each other, today Pistol weighed in at 26.5 and LongRifle weighed 27.0 lbs!!! Holy Moly they've done a lot of gaining weight this last month. Pistol measured 32 1/2 inches and LongRifle measure 32 3/4 inches in height.

I had a great talk w/ RedHead's mom as well. I always like to bounce my thoughts, ideas and concerns off of her as I think she and I have similar values---it's nice to know that someone understands your concerns and your viewpoint and she always has some great advice for me. Anyway, the more I think about the experience during the group that they've been attending, the more concerns I have about adding another to the mix once they turn 2. I know J. has her reasons for wanting them to attend 2 groups but I really feel that Da'Gorgeouses do not respond so well to all of the excess stimuli. Don't get me wrong, I am happy to have them continue with the group they are currently in, although RedHead's mom agreed that I need to voice my concerns regarding the transitioning between activities and the overall structure of the program. 17 month to 2 1/2 year old do not respond so well to the mixed messages being sent between adults...yes we're going outside put your shoes on, no we're not take them off, yes we are after all go ahead and put them back on---lack of prior communication was evident. That's a lot of chaos right there for any toddler, let alone those that are used to a basic routine. I think what I'll tell her when she comes for her visit tomorrow is that it would be better for them to stick with a simple routine at first, especially while the kids are still getting used to the newness of it all. Indoor obstacle, snack time, circle time (which helps them wind down and lets them know it's time to get ready to go home). Indoor obstacle, snack time and going outside (maybe/maybe not/then yes) does not let them prepare themselves to go home. RedHead's mom suggested they might stick to a routine and if necessary introduce ONE new thing/small thing at a time. I noticed that Pistol has been a little different since yesterday---maybe some of that is connected to group, then again, maybe there's something else going on. You might think it's strange of me to connect the two, but I know Da'Gorgeouses really well, and I know some thing has bothered her. They are the experts at their job, but I'm top expert on Da'Gorgeouses (as if there could ever be such a thing). I readily admit that they did not come with an instruction manual, so it's all been OJT, and being the one with the most time served accrued, well...then that earns me the title of Resident Expert on said Gorgeouses.

The other thing that concerns me is Grammy having to get Da'Gorgeouses ready, take them, and watch over them TWICE a week once I go back to work this fall, that's a lot of work. She's already expressed concern regarding how the staff is not closely supervising all of the children (I told you she can be a little more cautious than MamáChanga). It didn't help that during our visit this week one of the little boys (that doesn't belong in the group but is the sibling of one of the other children) slid down the slide and kicked LongRifle in the back. J. did try to stop him before he slid down (she was at the top of the slide helping all of the children slide down) but he was just too fast for her. Grammy was very worried that he might have bruised LongRifle's spine and made sure to check her once we arrived back home, and once again before we put her down to sleep (she was okay btw). I still can't figure out where his mother was, she wasn't interacting with her child that belonged in the group and she wasn't watching over her other son either. Part of the program objective is to teach the parents how to interact with their child and to give them ways to improve skills that they may be deficient in. (See, this is exactly why I had trouble attending the MOMS CLUB...the teacher expectations always come out---LOL!! At least I recognize it in myself). So I have a lot of concerns to bring up to J. tomorrow and I need to do it as Da'Gorgouses IFSP is up for review in May. **Sigh** Now that I've written a book, I'm off to bed.

**Thanks GrdnGirl, I really do appreciate your listening skills, your ability to read between the lines, and your knowledgable feedback**