DisneyLand is going to have to wait...

DH (Mike) and I decided earlier this year to save for DisneyLand for Monster.  Now, it's going to have to wait.  We've been put in touch with a company that provides PTSD service dogs and we're trying to get one for Mike.  We talked to his doctor today about it and his doctor thinks it's a great idea because Mike's PTSD is so bad.  Sooooo, the little bit that we had saved for DisneyLand is now in a fund for Mike's Service Dog, and we're trying to raise the money for just the down payment.  The total cost of the dog is estimated at $30K (no exact figure yet until we sign the contract with the down payment.)  So, I've set up a gofundme.com page.  And, we're going to try to raise the money for his dog.  In the coming days, I will also be posting my purses online to sell.  Anyone that knows me knows that my purse collection means a lot to me, and I will be selling all but a couple of them...like the one that has my name on it.  All of this money will go towards the fund for his dog.  

We can save next year to go to DisneyLand with Monster, and since he will be 5 instead of 4, it may be better.  Not to mention, I think DH was procrastinating on DisneyLand because of the crowds, and with a service dog, there's still the anxiety, but it might be less, and I know he was willing to face all that anxiety for Monster...DH would walk through fire for his son and so would I.  I've always believed that everything happens for a reason, and we just don't know those reasons.  We're given the trials that we have because God knows we can handle them, not because we think we can handle them. 

DH has also agreed that anyone that donates at least $10 can get a photo signed by both of us of either him and his new dog, or us as a family.  

Happy Birthday Monster and a GIVEAWAY!!!

Sunday was Monster's 4th birthday.  (Where has time gone?)  Instead of one party, we did a couple days of celebrations.  It started on Thursday.  We took Monster to one of our favorite stores for NEW BOOTS!!!

I LOVE walking into a store and seeing a wonderful display like this!!! There's a lot of hard work here!!

Now, on to the BOOTS section!

This is the lovely saleslady that helped us with finding the right size for him...and it was hard because he didn't want to hold still.

Here he is walking down the row to try on the boots.  He was more interested in all the trucks they had over there.

So, now Monster has a new pair of boots, and of course we can't get these off his feet either. 

We also went to the Houston Zoo with him, and he got a BIG BOY BED.  But that will be another post.  So...now for the giveaway!

Baskins has generously offered a pair of Justin Boots to one lucky reader! I'm so excited.   

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I HATE being made to feel like an idiot!!!

Yes, it took me a full day to calm down enough to actually post this.  

Am I happy with Hudson ISD right now? NOPE!

We had Monster's ARD last week, and I felt like I was in front of a firing range...I was totally blindsided by what they had to say and I believe it is because I threw a fit because THE SCHOOL withdrew him from school, after only missing THREE days!

Only one week prior to this ARD, the teacher had assured both DH and I that Monster would be in PPCD half a day and also Pre-K for half a day.  When we went to the ARD, he was suddenly so much better with his speech and behavior that he didn't need PPCD anymore.  DH and I both didn't know what to say at the ARD...we were both floored.  

Then, on Monday I called the Superintendent and was referred to Peggy F.  who is the Special Ed coordinator.  She agreed that it needed further investigation and asked if a meeting on Tuesday would be OK.  DH and I both agreed and we went to the meeting.  It started out with the Principal, his teacher, and Peggy F.  The principal started talking to us like we were idiots and that we needed everything explained to us.  I felt like he was one step away from using sock puppets with me.  Then...the speech therapist, some other lady that works with Special Ed ( I still have NO CLUE why she needed to be there) and another lady that I neither met nor saw before the ARD.  I think they realized that I was pissed because I shut up and accepted whatever they said...AGAIN.  

So, this meeting did NOT GO WELL and I don't know where else to turn, except to hire an attorney.

Am I happy with how well the school has performed with Monster? YES

Am I happy with his improvements? YES

Am I happy with the outcome of the ARD? HELL NO!!!

DH and I both believe that Monster still needs the same amount of speech therapy that he has been getting, but the school thinks differently.  Even compared to a friends daughter, whom the state of Michigan put in speech, Monster is talking nowhere near as well as her.  

So, I rolled over like an idiot and shut up because I don't know where to appeal to or who to appeal to and I certainly DO NOT want to talk to these people again.  I feel that Monster is smart enough to be in Pre-K and has been since he started school, but it's still very, very hard to understand what he is saying.  So, instead of hiring an attorney...I'm doing the next best thing...I'm posting this on the internet.  I'm hoping that someone forwards this to the State of Texas and they actually do something about this!!!

Possible FREE T-shirt

Ya'll know I'm ALL OVER T-shirts!! 

Especially FREE T-shirts! 

I LOVE this shirt and hope I'm one of the people randomly selected to get one!!

You can sign up for your (possible) t-shirt HERE!

This will also sign you up to be a Beta tester of THIT when it goes live.  From what I can tell, it's a new social networking innovation! I can't wait to see how it goes!!

P.S. This is the same as I posted on Money Saver Marci