Julianna heads back to school, second semester

Juls moving back in.

Well, it's that time of the year again; leaves are falling, bright crisp mornings....and for Julianna it means going back to college!  Second semester in the Cutting Edge program at Edgewood College.  Juls had a busy and fun summer spending time between Utah, California and Wisconsin.  She got plenty of travel in with her dad including Washington DC!  After all that fun I was wondering if she'd be excited to return to school or not and it turns out she was more than ready.  

Julianna moved back into the same house she was in last semester.  This time she shares her room with a new student named Kathleen that she is already fast friends with.  I asked her how the first night went and she said that they just laid there staring at each other for the longest time.  Kathleen, like Juls, is the only girl in the family but with 4 brothers!  She's one up on Juls.  So sharing a room is new to both of them, it's going fine however.  Julianna also has her other roommate from last year, Hannah, in the house as well as a new live in peer mentor, Meetra.  The house is getting along great and the girls seem to be very happy.  Pictures of roommates in future post, keep forgetting to snap pictures : (

This semester Julianna is taking three CE core courses; Resource Seminar, Safety in the Community and Independent Living.  These are mandatory classes and then she can supplement with regular courses offered at Edgewood.  She is taking for audit; Drama in Education and Basics of Singing.  

The Drama class is designed to provide the student with basics of and appreciation of the use of drama as a tool for teaching and learning within education and social settings (taken from the course description).  I believe she will be working with young students as a part of this course.

The singing class offers basic instruction in the art and craft of singing and speaking.  It is designed to increase understanding of vocal function, vocal health and improve musical skills.  Her director thought this would be a good class for Julianna to help with future speaking gigs, not so much public singing : )

So far Juls likes her classes and is very busy.  When I asked her if she'd like to meet me on Monday this week (I am mentoring Brandon in ceramics again so am there Mon. and Wed. each wk) she responded with...."I don't want to hurt your feelings...but no"  hahaha!  Good thing I'm tough!  We ran into each other anyway as it turns out and she was very happy to see me, ha!

I will end with a funny story.....see if you can get a visual going.  

Last week quite a few of the CE students attended a evening show at the school that showcased a hypnotist.  He puts on a show each year evidently and it's really fun.  Well, there are three girls with Down Syndrome in the program including Julianna and they were all at the show.  One by one each of these girls dropped like a fly just watching the show from the audience (really, someone ought to conduct a study on hypnotism and DS).  The first one rolled right out of her seat onto the floor while Juls and Kathleen just slumped over sound asleep.  Juls was following the direction of the guy on stage who was getting the contestants to think their shoes were cell phones.....Juls was trying to make a call with her flip flop! Needless to say when they snapped out of it they were scared and confused. They all thought it was pretty funny the next day.  I was thinking maybe we ought to use a hypnotist to get Juls over her fear of thunder!!

Well, that's about it for the back to school news.  More as it comes in.

Girls Gone Wild!!...aka Spring Break!!

Aka, Julianna and I get to hang out together all week and play!!!

Juls is now 9 weeks into college and enjoying every minute still.  She was very happy not coming home for the weekends.  Turns out she enjoyed some real weekend college life heading to popular college bars with her roommate/mentor, Suzi.  They practiced smart partying by taking the bus and never returning home much past 2am   ; )   she is there to have a typical experience after all, so this is all good.  She even had to employ some refusal tactics after getting that "uh oh feeling"....good girl!!

Classes are coming along and Julianna has been doing research on Down Syndrome for her power point presentation in the Engaged Citizens class.  Yesterday, in fact, we were at a Cutting Edge open house and another woman (past CE student) asked Juls what kind of DS she had.  Juls immediately responded with "Trisomy 21", I was pretty impressed....new knowledge on the tip of her tongue.

Every Friday Julianna and I get to spend the day running errands, playing, gym workouts etc.  But last Friday was the beginning of Spring Break for Edgewood so she got to pack up all her dirty clothes and come home for the week.  We had a nice dinner planned around the fire (the weather hadn't changed yet) to celebrate her homecoming.  Juls was very excited to show us all the work she'd been doing in school and proceeded to read to us all the research she'd been working on.  It was a side of Julianna I'd never seen before and one that made me feel so excited for her new endeavors and future in college.  I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product.

We took a day trip to Milwaukee just for fun since Juls and I had never been there.  It's a very cool city.  We ran right into a week early St. Patrick's Day parade and Juls had her first ever green beer!

On Saturday this last week Juls had a shift at Old Navy so we dropped her off and took our first bike ride around Lake Monona, it was wonderful.  She had stated that she really just wanted to get back to her house that day even though the roomies would still be gone and she didn't have school until Monday.   So we had her pack up and after her work and our ride she shopped for food and off we went to her house.  To Juls surprise and delightment, her roommate Hannah was there already.  They were practically jumping up and down!  As Neal and I drove off we remarked that Juls seemed like she couldn't get us outta there fast enough!  I never heard from her again until I ran into her on Monday morning at the open house on campus.  Typical!

The interviews are wrapping up for the prospective students in the fall.  Now comes the hard part of choosing amongst these 25 amazing applicants.  Housing is a bit of a problem.  There are only 10 beds for 20 students that will be there in the fall.  Some of the students do live at home or possibly in their own apartments but most, understandably, want to be a part of the campus living.  I have no idea where Julianna will be as far as living is concerned for next year.  She loves the house she's in but would very much like to be in a dorm too.  We are looking over classes for next semester and still need to meet to put that all together.

The weather has turned into a beautiful early spring here.  Everything is greening up and people are outside enjoying the sun. Edgewood College is right on Lake Wingra.  It is gorgeous!!  Julianna and I took a little walk around part of the lake last week.  What lucky students to be situated in such a lovely setting.

More as it comes in.....as they say in the newsroom!

Juls? Juls?! You there??

Yup, that's about it now....Juls is off doing her thing and she rarely thinks of her poor little mother ; )
Luckily, I'm thrilled that she's off and running and acting like the typical college kid.  We connect every day either by talking or text.  Her cell service is really bad at the house so many times we'll catch up just while she's walking home at night.  She had a tiny bout of home sickness last week after our return from Utah.  She had a little tear and Jyana's shoulder to cry on and all was well.....still not wanting to come home for the weekend so how homesick can she be?  One day last week when I knew I'd be at the school helping Brandon in ceramics I mentioned to her that maybe I'd see her.  Her reply (which she said twice) was "I can't promise anything"!

Last weekend we had Julianna come home on Saturday because we had some guests coming into town that wanted to see her.  This picture is Juls enjoying "real food" her words exactly.  I'm glad she misses it, it's a good sign.  It turns out that most of her meals are bought on campus.  She is making pretty good choices and staying really fit with all of her visits to the fitness center and constant running around.

Our guests that spent Sunday night here were Deb Evans and her daughter Eliza from the Ashland area.  Deb is the reason that Julianna is at Edgewood College today.  When we knew we were moving here my friend Ann Marie mentioned that Deb (an acquaintance of ours) had been researching colleges that have programs for students with intellectual disabilities. Ann Marie thought she'd mentioned one in Madison and sure enough she had.  Long story short, Juls is here and attending school. Eliza had an interview this past Monday for next fall at Edgewood.  We enjoyed getting to know them and wish Eliza all the best in her college search, Juls would sure love to see Eliza in the Cutting Edge program with her.

Julianna has been enjoying her classes still and on Wednesdays her Engaged Citizen class goes to a local "old folks home" to visit.  Last week she was teaching and playing Skip bo (spite and malice to us old timers), which is no easy job.  She's been mentioning this one guy "OJ" that has wonderful collections that he's very proud to show off.  She's loving going there to visit and I'm sure is really good company for them.

I have been having fun at "my" ceramics class with Brandon.  He is doing very well and loves producing the art pieces.  He told me on Monday he would like to be a "Mexican artist" : )   He also mentioned that his art is for display purposes, for everyone to enjoy.  I love his attitude!  I have become quite envious of the students in the class making all these beautiful things and frustrated now that I am not "producing" art.  I may be having to take the dang class myself next semester!

College life continues...

Things are going very well for Juls, even better than expected!  Last weekend she was home with us and enjoyed every minute. 

restocking the kitchen for week 2

After the first day or so at home she was letting down so much and getting soooo comfortable that we thought we'd better pack her right up and get her back to school before she changes her mind and wants to stay home for good.  Alas, she went back happily (see above photo) and started another week.  On Monday she said to me that she thought it would be a good idea to stay at school the next weekend because of the Friday night Winter Frost Ball and the Super Bowl party on Sunday.  I agreed that it was a great idea....knowing I'd miss her but what a fantastic (and fast) step she's taking towards independence, and it's only week two.

Juls and her roommate, Hannah

Classes went well this week and Julianna enjoyed everything on her schedule.  Besides classes she was at the gym, library, study time, lunch and dinner dates and going off campus on the city bus with a partner.  When I asked her what she liked best of all her answer was walking around the campus because "if feels like I'm at college". 

The Winter Frost Ball was on tap for Friday night.  Juls roommate/mentor, Suzi, had volunteered to have some other CE girls over to do hair and make-up and she was going to put on a dinner!  What a ambitious woman Suzi is, she pulled it all off beautifully, including getting everyone to the shuttle on time to head to the dance. 

 

Vavavoom!!  Everyone looked fantastic!

When we got to the house to take a few pictures it had been almost a week since Neal had seen Julianna.  He noticed a change in Juls in the way of confidence and just plain brightness.  She is already a different person....2 weeks of being independent and spreading her wings really shows!  

Neal and I bought tickets so we could go into the dance for a little while.  It was a blast seeing Juls run around with all these new found classmates and friends.  She was in her glory!  And we got to know some of the professors that Julianna has a little better.

Julianna and Jyana!!!  The cutes little pair you've ever seen!!

This next week I get to start my new volunteer position at Edgewood.  I was asked by Dedra, the director, how I liked ceramics.  She needs an aid to accompany one of the CE students to his ceramics class twice a week.  I am so excited to start "my" college course of ceramics, I can hardly stand it.  I hope I get to make something too.  I will also be one of the parents on the interviews for prospective students for the fall semester.  That is going to be interesting and fun too.

Fried cheese curds? Don't mind if I do!

Saturday, week one is almost complete.  I sit in Starbucks killing time while Julianna is working her first shift at Old Navy here is Madison.  Soon we'll have the "Badger Bus" set to get her to and from work and I won't have to drive her in.  Julianna doesn't have classes on Friday so yesterday I picked her up and brought her home for the weekend.  As happy as Juls was at school and living on her own this past week she was very, very happy to get home.  Her own bed, mom and Neals good cooking, hugs and kisses...all the comforts.
Most of you know how hard Julianna has worked to get and keep her weight down and stay in really good shape.  She goes to the gym 6 days a week, works with a trainer a couple times a month, watches very carefully what she eats, etc.  The success may have some to do with the fact that I have been driving this fitness train for the last couple of years. As you can imagine, Juls going off to school and making all of her own decisions regarding food and exercise have left me feeling a little nervous.  I would hate to see her with the "freshman 15"!  The director of the program knows that fitness is an important part of Julianna's life and has worked times into her sched. for her to go to the school fitness center.  This is great and has been working out well.  Julianna has food to make her own meals with if she chooses not to eat the cafe food.  Well, one day Julianna reported her lovely dinner with one of her classmates; a grilled chicken sandwich with a side of fried cheese curds.  Juls is really good at steering clear of french fries so this was a good choice....right?  I laughed so hard and told her it was a good thing she tried them and hopefully enjoyed them but next time the french fries would be the better choice!  Nothing like fried cheese, a Wisconsin staple.
The classes this week started slowly, that's good.  Juls had fun meeting all kinds of new kids. She likes her teachers very much.  When I asked about what happened in the classes she was "not really sure", one of her favorite answers.  In her independent living class they planned a super bowl party, this she did remember......good girl, it's the important things that count!  I, for one, think it is very important to learn how to throw a good party in order to get on well in life!
Next week I will attend a monthly parent meeting.  Hopefully I will be able to get involved with the Cutting Edge program in some volunteer capacity.  I am already on the housing board and have met a few parents.  On Friday we will go to dinner with everyone from the program including parents while the students are attending the Winter Frost Ball.  Pictures on that to be posted for sure!
All in all, this week has been amazing for all of us.  I survived, a good thing, and Julianna thrived!  And, cheese curds and all, at the gym yesterday afternoon Julianna weighed in 2 lbs down!!  Take that freshman 15!!

Week one, day 4

I thought I would set this blog up so that I could kill many birds with one stone, ie: fewer emails.
The build up for this first week of college for Julianna has been fraught with so many emotions that I for one am exhausted.  Julianna, being the one to actually go and experience it all seems to be taking it all in stride.
So, let's see....recap of the week:
We moved Juls into her darling house on Saturday, she was thrilled and not seeming nervous or apprehensive at all.  She loved setting up her room and getting the food put away.  She insisted on getting fresh flowers for the house (that's my girl!)  Julianna has two roommates, one Cutting Edge (CE) student, Hannah, and a peer mentor, Suzi.  They all have their own bedrooms and share a bath and a half.  Julianna may not realize how luxurious this set up is.  Next year she may be in the dorms with one or two roomies to a small room and this will all seem dreamy to her.  The walk to school is about 2 blks, not bad unless it's a blizzard.  We're working on walking back in the dark by herself...seems dicey to me but I'm being assured that it's very safe.
Day one of school Julianna had one class at 1:30 called Engaged Citizens, more on that later.  But what the director does is give Juls a print out of a sched. on Mondays and basically fills her days with other things as well as the assigned class.  So at 8:30 am she was at the schools fitness center working out.  Later she had a mentor mixer, to match up with other mentors, and then a planned lunch date with other cutting edge students, study time etc.
About the class "Engaged Citizens"; this is a regular college course there that Juls is auditing.  The college has a masters program in special ed. so this class is made up of reg. students and some CE students.  The classes are very small and this particular professor is one of the two founders of CE.  The class will look at different disabilities and then groups will do research on one disability (in Juls case, Down Sybdrome) and eventually present a power point presentation to the class.  I think this is such an awesome opportunity for Julianna!  Really, how much she knows about DS herself is pretty limited.  Perfect for going out in the world as an advocate for herself and others.
The separation anxiety for the week has been very, very high!  Oh, for me....not Juls!!  Juls is in absolute heaven!!  I have not been able to stop thinking about Julianna for a second.  I am so proud, I worry, I miss her......I just can not believe that she is off at college and living in a house with other students.  It is unbelievably great, all of it!!  We have talked and texted a few times each day, I know it'll be less and less as time goes on (it's for me, not her).  The program director seems very comfortable and confident and college like.  They are not keeping me posted on the goings on at all and I don't want to be a pest so I'm just hanging back and letting things happen.  This is a good time to realize "no news is good news".
There are many stories and cute things that have happened that I'll fill in as I write in future blogs.  One that I just have to pass on is from the very first day.  Julianna called me after her first day and told me that she was assigned a book to read,  (uh oh, reading not a strong point). I reminded her of the practice reading we'd been doing the last couple of weeks and how all she needs to do is take it very slowly.  Read a paragraph, think about it, read it again if she needs to.  About a half an hour later Julianna texted me and said she'd been talking with Brandy.  Brandy had told Juls that she was also going to buy the book and they'd read it "together" remotely.  That Brandy!  She is the most wonderful friend/person ever and I'm positive a one of the best new special ed. teachers to hit the schools!  What a dear thing to do.
It has taken a village to raise Julianna and that village is now growing, at the college level.
More to come....