* School Trouble *

When my oldest daughter began public school this year, they sent home a note advising us about the school's attendance policy.  She would only be allowed 10 absences per school year.  Once she went past 10 absences, it would be necessary to meet with the Principal and devise a plan of action (sign a paper agreeing to provide a doctor's note for all future absences).  If we did not comply with said plan, then we would be sent to court to meet with the Truancy officer and further action could occur.

I was nervous about this policy from day one because my kids tend to get sick a lot, and we also like to travel a bit during the school year.  And what about appointments with the dentist and eye doctor?  It seemed a bit extreme to only be allotted 10 absences for 9 months of school, but we were determined to do our best.

Two weeks into the new school year B. came down with strep.  I took her to the doctor, and she started antibiotics.  Normally I would have sent her to school the next day.  However, since I reported that she had a fever and sore throat to the school (two symptoms of swine flu) she was not allowed to return until she had been symptom free for 24 hours.  I asked what they would do if I brought her to school the next day and was told that they would not allow her to go to class and would call me to come and get her.  So she missed another day of school.

A few weeks later we received a notice that she had failed her eye exam at school and was required to have a full eye exam at a doctor's office within two weeks.  I called and made the latest appointment possible, which still required me to pull her out of school 35 minutes early.  They counted that as a 1/4 day of absence.  Shortly after that she had a dentist appointment that required her to miss 1 hour of school, also counted as 1/4 day absence.

In October B. said that she didn't feel well one morning.  I checked her temperature and she was fine.  I said she really needed to go to school because we had a trip coming up and she couldn't afford to miss any more school.  When I picked her up at the end of the day her teacher said she hadn't been able to focus all day and spent the last hour of class laying down in the nurses office.  They never called me to say she wasn't feeling well.  When we arrived home I took her temperature and she had a 102 degree fever.  She spent the weekend in bed. I was unhappy that they didn't call me when clearly she was not well, but relieved that she wouldn't have another absence marked against her.

In November we went to Florida for a week.  We have always traveled in the Fall and Spring when it is less crowded, and less expensive.  We picked up her school work in advance and she finished everything before returning to school so she wouldn't be behind.  We were now at 7.5 absences with six months of school to go.

At the end of January our whole family was hit with the stomach flu.  B. went down first and I thought she'd only miss two days of school, one to be horribly sick, and one to recover after throwing up 10 times.  I picked up her school work and we got her caught up again.  Her teacher also reported that the classroom would be disinfected because there were so many of her students out sick that week.  I thought B. would return to school on Friday and she would have 9.5 absences.  However, she started throwing up again on Thursday night.  She couldn't go to school on Friday, and now she had 10.5 absences.  There was nothing to be done, and I waited with a bit of dread for the evil letter from the school.

The letter arrived yesterday and informed me that I needed to call and set up a meeting with the Principal to discuss our action plan for the rest of the school year for attendance.  I thought surely once I explained all of the absences, and agreed to get doctor's notes for future absences this school year that the issue would be resolved.

No such luck.

This morning I called and spoke to the community liaison about my daughter's absences.  I was told that not only did we have to come in for the meeting and agree to doctor's notes for the remainder of the school year, but that my daughter was also on probation for the next 365 days, the remainder of this year, and almost all of second grade.  If she had any absences during that time that were not accompanied by a doctor's note, we would then be sent to court to meet with the Truancy officer. 

I told the liaison I felt this policy was unreasonable and that it encouraged parents to send sick children to school.  She told me it was state law and that our school district took this law very seriously.  She said they liked to compare it to the child having a job.  If they had missed 10 days of work in a year, would they still be employed?  Would they be up for bonuses or promotions? 

I told her that I disagreed with the law and asked her to give me the name or section of law so I could review it and try to get it changed.  She could not tell me this information.  I told her that when our daughter attended a private school for kindergarten she had more than 10 absences and we were not punished like this.  She said that the law applied to all children ages 6-17 and perhaps my daughter had not been age 6 for the entire school year.  I informed her that my daughter was 6 the day she began kindergarten.  She reminded me that they had sent a letter home at the beginning of the school year, and suggested that I speak with the Truancy officer so they could explain the policy to me.  I told her once again that my problem wasn't that I didn't understand the policy, it was that I was I disagreed with it.  I said they should have some discretion, there should be an exception to the rule.  She staunchly replied that the law was the law and once you reached 10 absences there was nothing they could do.  Under duress I agreed to the meeting and hung up the phone.

At this point I was livid.  I called Russell and he said he would look up the law and get back to me.  Did I mention I adore having a lawyer for a husband?  I then called my mom to rant, and started planning to move to a farm and home school my child. 

Russell called back to say that he had found the law and that it stated that children ages 6-17 were required to attend 968 school hours per year.  This translates to 137.2 days of school, if you have a 7 hour school day.  I then got out the district calendar for the school year and counted 172 scheduled days of school planned for this year.  By just following the law, my child could miss more than 30 days of school per school year.  Obviously the district policy is different.  The law also states that there are exceptions to the minimum attendance requirements in two cases.  First, if a student has an illness that caused the absences.  Second, if the Principal decides to excuse an absence.  We were ready to go to the meeting on Monday and let those people have it.

Russell also spoke to a private school here in town and was told that they allowed 20 absences per school year before they met with parents.  Let's just say I think my kids will be attending a different school this Fall.

After all the stress and mayhem of the day, the phone rang about an hour before school got out.  It was the liaison calling to say that she had looked into our daughter's attendance records and it appeared that the absences she had because of swine flu symptoms should not be counted against her.  She therefore only has 8.5 absences.  And not only that, even if she ended up with 11 absences this school year, there would be no need for a meeting, or for her to be put on probation.  I do not know what happened to change her tune so drastically, but I was more than happy to graciously accept her offer.

I know that there are other parents out there dealing with this same problem and I would be happy to help any of you fight the school.

* Giveaway *

 

There is a great giveaway going on over at All Scrapbook Steals (my other blog).  You have until Feb 10th to enter.  Click here to sign up and good luck.

* Groupon *

A couple of months ago I joined a great money saving site called Groupon.  Every day they e-mail you with that day's deal.  You can get huge discounts on local services.  Most deals are for 50%-70% off at spas, restaurants, and clubs.  Last year they had family memberships to the Botanical Gardens for only $40, that's half price.

In December I purchased a package of lazer hair removal treatments at a spa for 60% off the normal price.  You pay Groupon up front and then print your receipt to take to the business.  The first time I used my printed receipt, the spa knew exactly what I'd purchased and everything was smooth sailing.

It's a great way to try out new services at a heavily discounted price.  Groupon is available in Denver, and most major cities.  If you use my link to sign up and purchase something I get a $10 referral fee.  Click here to get started.

* Cupcake Pedestals *

In February Rosanna will start selling these lovely cupcake pedestals.   Let's just say I know what I'll be asking for this Valentine's Day.

* Road I.D. *

After Russell had a seizure in Florida, his E.R. doctor was disturbed to find out that he doesn't wear a medical i.d. bracelet.  Besides having a brain tumor that causes seizures, he also has mild hemophilia (he occasionally has bleeding issues following surgery).  For five years we have ignored the fact that he could have a seizure when not in the presence of someone who knows his medical history.

As soon as we arrived home from our trip we looked into getting him a medical bracelet.  I wanted to find something that he would actually wear and not hate.  I also wanted a bracelet that offered more info than "has seizures and hemophilia."

Amazingly, I was blog-hopping a few days after our return and came across a post from life at 123 house about Road I.D.  These bracelets were originally intended for active sportsmen: runners, bikers, skiiers, people who might be out training and become injured.

They offer a wide variety of colors and materials for your road i.d.  Most importantly though, they are personalized with an emergency contact person.  They also have a number to call, and a website, where emergency responders can get a complete medical history for the injured person.  This includes things like: doctor info, insurance info, and what medications a person is currently taking, which for Russell is a long list and constantly changing.

Russell chose their most expensive model, the Wrist I.D. Elite for 29.99.  Shipping is only $1.49, and we received his bracelet just 5 days after placing our order.  It gives me great peace of mind that Russell is wearing this when he is out running on his own, or when he travels on his own.  Now, if something happened to him, there is a quick and easy way to identify him, contact me, and find out about his medical history.

* Not the Way I Planned to Spend my Day *

As some of you may know, Russell had a grand mal seizure while we were on our trip to Florida last month.  After we got back, his doctor changed some of his medications and we all went on our merry way.  Almost two weeks ago Russell had a couple of small seizures, followed by migraine headaches.  His doctor added a new seizure medication and scheduled an MRI for the end of December.

Yesterday he woke up with a headache.  Then he had another small seizure, followed by another migraine.  He took some heavy duty pain killers, and two hours later they were still not helping with the pain.  At this point I had been frantically calling his doctor's office, trying to find out if I should bring him in so that we could get an MRI.  The only other time that he had a headache that medication wouldn't help with was when the tumor had grown very quickly and there was swelling in his brain.

When I was finally able to relay what was going on to Russell's doctor, he said to bring him down to the ER at Swedish Medical Center immediately, and they would get him in for an MRI.  I called my friend Aubony (who is a Saint by the way) and asked if she could take our two youngest children for the day.  She agreed, and I quickly packed a bag for them and threw everyone in the car.  By the time we arrived at the ER, it had been almost 5 hours since Russell took his pain pills, and he was finally starting to get some relief.

Over the years I have spent way too much time in ERs, mostly for myself, occasionally for Russell, and once for our oldest daughter.  I don't understand why it is standard procedure to share your medical history with at least 5 people before they can do anything for you.  It all started with the triage nurse, followed by the blood tech guy who put in the IV (he was actually very nice), next came our nurse, and lastly, after more than an hour, the doctor and his assistant Igor.  After all that fun, we had to wait almost three more hours before they could get Russell in for his MRI.  Gratefully, Wade, who works for Dr. Arenson, came by to check on us.  He is the non-denominational chaplain and he is just wonderful.  He talked to us, and prayed with us, and took our minds off of all they scary ideas that were floating around.

I waited on pins and needles while they did the scan, which takes about 30 minutes.  Once Russell was finished I was finally able to go and get some food for us.  It was 2:30 and they hadn't let Russell eat before the MRI for some absurd reason.  We ate sandwiches, and made phone calls, while we waited for Dr. Arenson to appear and tell us the results.

The MRI showed that the tumor is stable and unchanged.  We don't have an explanation for all the recent seizure activity, other than problems with his medications.  Dr. Arenson chose to increase his seizure medications again, and hopefully that will resolve the issue.  We are grateful for our own Christmas miracle.  So much of living in cancer land is about waiting for everything to go terribly wrong.  We were happy that this time a seizure, was just a seizure.

Also, a huge thanks to Aubony and Rachel who took our kids very last minute and kept them happy and entertained.  We are very blessed to be surrounded by amazing people.

*Pomegranate Inc.*

Six years ago we purchased a square dining table from Pottery Barn.  I picked this table because you can add two leaves and expand it to seat 12.  I imagined hosting lots of fancy dinners where everyone could sit at the same table.

Most of the time the table remains a 60"x60" inch square which seats 8.  Ever since we bought the table I have been trying to find tablecloths to fit it.  Even Pottery Barn, who makes the table, has never sold tablecloths to fit this table.  I have been content to use runners to add a little color and pattern to our dining experience, but I still hoped to one day find tablecloths that would fit.

You can imagine my delight when I happened upon Pomegranate Inc., which not only sells tablecloths that are 78"x78", but offers them at a very reasonable price, $54.00.  On top of that, they have a coupon code good until Jan. 5th for an additional 30% off everything they sell.  Use code: luckybreaks6 at checkout.  Happy Shopping.