And We Had To See A Plantation

Our last day of vacation my family gave in to Mom and we did something girly, we went to a plantation. I picked this one out of the stack of brochures the front desk handed us on check in simply because it's been continuously functioning since the 1600s. I think that's fairly interesting. Plus - they shot part of North and South there and I'm old enough to have watched that mini-series with great enthusiasm back in the day.

A row of live oaks this spectacular needed a southern belle seated at it's entrance, so I grabbed the first one I could find. Seriously, no one should enter this lane other than horse drawn carriage, it's just spectacular.

We learned a lot while  we were there, such as this was the only two story gin house ever built, and that this plantation actually built very nice slave cabins - out of brick, however let's don't forget that they are still slave cabins so "nice slave cabins" is the worst sort of oxymoron. Also the owner had a brick making factory so it's not like he was OUT anything but building from brick. I appreciated that our guide made a firm point of telling the visitors that these all originally had dirt floors and these wooden floors and steps were built for tourists - I think it's valuable for people to understand things like that. 

The house has changed hand many times over the years, and this is like the third or fourth actual house on the property. I'd really like to SEE the others, I wish there were paintings or photos of any of them.

The gardens out front were pretty but I wasn't wowed by them. There were some really nice roses however, and now I'm wishing I didn't hate gardening so much because I'd love to have a nicer flower bed out front. I know exactly what I want but man, ugh, outside? Digging? I don't know if I'm that tough. Probably not.

Interesting Charleston fact I learned on our carriage tour, Charlestonians do not have a southern accent. I realized when our guide said it (Our guide was David Crosby I swear just ask my husband) that I hadn't HEARD a southern accent the whole time I was there. Apparently Charlestonians have more of the east coast accent like you'd hear up north. 

It was a beautiful and lazy southern day, therefore a perfect day to visit a plantation in my opinion. There was a lot of good history lessons being taught, we were lucky who to have tour guides and docents who weren't afraid of telling ugly historical truths which I totally respect and want. 

It's a good bargain too as EVERYTHING in the place is included so you don't have to pay for this and that and the other thing. The house, which I was MOST looking forward to, was sort of the most disappointing. It's a modern house, built in 1936, and the interior walls were taken from the OLD house so it's supposed to be an homage. The current family furnished it with period pieces from the 17th and 18th centuries but it's a mish mash. Also our docent said the library walls were aubergine and they were indigo so I subtract fifty points from her docent score. Maybe they were aubergine ONCE UPON A TIME.

I found a post card but the walls have clearly been painted since these photos were taken.

But just for my own ego, THIS IS AUBERGINE:

THIS IS INDIGO:

THE WALLS WERE INDIGO BLUE BECAUSE IT USED TO BE AN INDIGO PLANTATION! BAD DOCENT BAD BAD BAD. This is a guess by the way. But it makes more sense than saying that those walls were aubergine.

Even if the paint job was recent (and sloppy).

Ok but I really liked the place. The house tour was, meh, lovely. Here are three rooms, don't take any photos because some BS about it being a private residence still (a private residence you make me pay to come inside and you don't actually live in? Ok got it.)

It was quite gorgeous but kind of a let down especially since NOTHING was original in the house. But the rest of the place? It was really amazing and gorgeous.

Delicious ice cream was a perfect part of our day.

We didn't get to see everything because there were some dogs there, and we're still dealing with massive DOG FEAR and as we were about to drive home we just decided it wasn't worth it. We visited two of the slave cabins (each one had a lesson about slave life) and missed the Gullah performance which was a bummer. But all in all, it was a great stop.

Many hours, one storm and one Cracker Barrel dinner later we fell into bed about 1230 am, glad to have gone but so happy to be home. I slept like the dead, happily in my own bed and refused to wake at 7 am when Miles informed me it was "Time to get up now."

It was a great vacation.

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And We Had To See A Plantation

Our last day of vacation my family gave in to Mom and we did something girly, we went to a plantation. I picked this one out of the stack of brochures the front desk handed us on check in simply because it's been continuously functioning since the 1600s. I think that's fairly interesting. Plus - they shot part of North and South there and I'm old enough to have watched that mini-series with great enthusiasm back in the day.

A row of live oaks this spectacular needed a southern belle seated at it's entrance, so I grabbed the first one I could find. Seriously, no one should enter this lane other than horse drawn carriage, it's just spectacular.

We learned a lot while  we were there, such as this was the only two story gin house ever built, and that this plantation actually built very nice slave cabins - out of brick, however let's don't forget that they are still slave cabins so "nice slave cabins" is the worst sort of oxymoron. Also the owner had a brick making factory so it's not like he was OUT anything but building from brick. I appreciated that our guide made a firm point of telling the visitors that these all originally had dirt floors and these wooden floors and steps were built for tourists - I think it's valuable for people to understand things like that. 

The house has changed hand many times over the years, and this is like the third or fourth actual house on the property. I'd really like to SEE the others, I wish there were paintings or photos of any of them.

The gardens out front were pretty but I wasn't wowed by them. There were some really nice roses however, and now I'm wishing I didn't hate gardening so much because I'd love to have a nicer flower bed out front. I know exactly what I want but man, ugh, outside? Digging? I don't know if I'm that tough. Probably not.

Interesting Charleston fact I learned on our carriage tour, Charlestonians do not have a southern accent. I realized when our guide said it (Our guide was David Crosby I swear just ask my husband) that I hadn't HEARD a southern accent the whole time I was there. Apparently Charlestonians have more of the east coast accent like you'd hear up north. 

It was a beautiful and lazy southern day, therefore a perfect day to visit a plantation in my opinion. There was a lot of good history lessons being taught, we were lucky who to have tour guides and docents who weren't afraid of telling ugly historical truths which I totally respect and want. 

It's a good bargain too as EVERYTHING in the place is included so you don't have to pay for this and that and the other thing. The house, which I was MOST looking forward to, was sort of the most disappointing. It's a modern house, built in 1936, and the interior walls were taken from the OLD house so it's supposed to be an homage. The current family furnished it with period pieces from the 17th and 18th centuries but it's a mish mash. Also our docent said the library walls were aubergine and they were indigo so I subtract fifty points from her docent score. Maybe they were aubergine ONCE UPON A TIME.

I found a post card but the walls have clearly been painted since these photos were taken.

But just for my own ego, THIS IS AUBERGINE:

THIS IS INDIGO:

THE WALLS WERE INDIGO BLUE BECAUSE IT USED TO BE AN INDIGO PLANTATION! BAD DOCENT BAD BAD BAD. This is a guess by the way. But it makes more sense than saying that those walls were aubergine.

Even if the paint job was recent (and sloppy).

Ok but I really liked the place. The house tour was, meh, lovely. Here are three rooms, don't take any photos because some BS about it being a private residence still (a private residence you make me pay to come inside and you don't actually live in? Ok got it.)

It was quite gorgeous but kind of a let down especially since NOTHING was original in the house. But the rest of the place? It was really amazing and gorgeous.

Delicious ice cream was a perfect part of our day.

We didn't get to see everything because there were some dogs there, and we're still dealing with massive DOG FEAR and as we were about to drive home we just decided it wasn't worth it. We visited two of the slave cabins (each one had a lesson about slave life) and missed the Gullah performance which was a bummer. But all in all, it was a great stop.

Many hours, one storm and one Cracker Barrel dinner later we fell into bed about 1230 am, glad to have gone but so happy to be home. I slept like the dead, happily in my own bed and refused to wake at 7 am when Miles informed me it was "Time to get up now."

It was a great vacation.

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Because I'm THAT Mom

The first problem with parent teacher conferences in my world is that I come from a family of teachers. This immediately has an upside and a downside. The upside is that I totally respect you and that what you do isn't easy. The downside is, I know you aren't a deity and are just as fallible as the next person.
This means I generally talk to you like you're any person I might meet, instead of like some figurehead of an institution like PUBLIC EDUCATION.

I went to the oldest boy's parent teacher conference, where the youngsters who are teaching him beamed at me with radiant faces and went on and on and on about how smart he is. Yeah I know he's smart. He makes me nuts. I also gave him good DNA. So you know, we're clear. They didn't have much constructive FEEDBACK though, I had to keep asking "So what do we need to work on?" and FINALLY they got around to the fact that the boy would rather read NONFICTION or "Star Wars" books than to read any other genre.

To remedy this, they are doing this little book club deal, where they assign a book and then the group has to read it and do discussions. To challenge them, they are making them read books outside their comfort zone. I GET this concept. We all had to read THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA, and THE RED BADGE OR COURAGE or whatever hell they put you through at your school. I think THE CRUCIBLE is standard in most  American Schools (in my class, we did a great Tituba voice and liked to quote the Crucible in everyday conversation cuz that shit was HILARIOUS).

For my son's little reading group, all male, they are having them read, Sarah, Plain and Tall.

It's at this point that the information in my first paragraph comes in to play.

I burst out laughing, "But that book SUCKS."

Yeah. i'm THAT Mom.

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Because I'm THAT Mom

The first problem with parent teacher conferences in my world is that I come from a family of teachers. This immediately has an upside and a downside. The upside is that I totally respect you and that what you do isn't easy. The downside is, I know you aren't a deity and are just as fallible as the next person.
This means I generally talk to you like you're any person I might meet, instead of like some figurehead of an institution like PUBLIC EDUCATION.

I went to the oldest boy's parent teacher conference, where the youngsters who are teaching him beamed at me with radiant faces and went on and on and on about how smart he is. Yeah I know he's smart. He makes me nuts. I also gave him good DNA. So you know, we're clear. They didn't have much constructive FEEDBACK though, I had to keep asking "So what do we need to work on?" and FINALLY they got around to the fact that the boy would rather read NONFICTION or "Star Wars" books than to read any other genre.

To remedy this, they are doing this little book club deal, where they assign a book and then the group has to read it and do discussions. To challenge them, they are making them read books outside their comfort zone. I GET this concept. We all had to read THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA, and THE RED BADGE OR COURAGE or whatever hell they put you through at your school. I think THE CRUCIBLE is standard in most  American Schools (in my class, we did a great Tituba voice and liked to quote the Crucible in everyday conversation cuz that shit was HILARIOUS).

For my son's little reading group, all male, they are having them read, Sarah, Plain and Tall.

It's at this point that the information in my first paragraph comes in to play.

I burst out laughing, "But that book SUCKS."

Yeah. i'm THAT Mom.

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IEPs for Everyone

Apparently there haven't been enough IEPs in my house. If you don't know, the IEP is the magic document that the school system uses to allocate special services to children. So, if your have Special Needs children, like we do, you learn the IEP process in and out.

It's fairly tedious yet important. It gets my kids therapy and the things they need to help them progress.

So my oldest boy has this speech impediment.

I stood on my head at the school during Kindergarten and First Grade, getting him "speech therapy lite". A "little" speech therapy. Everyone felt that it was something he was going to grow out of.

I went to meetings. I pushed. And for some reason, they just didn't think he needed more help.

Now he's in 2nd Grade and there is a new Speech Language Pathologist at his school.

I got a call. She says "The Boy needs aggressive speech therapy, if he continues like this he's going to talk this way when he's 39."

FINALLY. In the process of talking to her I realize though - he's got to go on an IEP.

Sigh. So now my GIFTED Child and my SPECIAL ED children all have IEPs. I am totally getting my tax money's worth out of the damned school system I SWEAR I AM.

He has what they call LOW TONE - which refers to the strength of the muscles he uses to talk. Low strength. It's why he struggles to pronounce words his brother who is autistic says crystal clear.

So I went to the IEP meeting for HIM today, and watched the therapists head blow off when I told her I already HAD two IEPs for the twins and they were autistic. I love the question "how do you do it?" lol. Lady, we just do. We just do.

Anyway, I was frustrated because I guess I don't like the IDEA of the IEP for my big boy yet I want nothing but what will help him.

I am an IEP road warrior.

IEPs for Everyone

Apparently there haven't been enough IEPs in my house. If you don't know, the IEP is the magic document that the school system uses to allocate special services to children. So, if your have Special Needs children, like we do, you learn the IEP process in and out.

It's fairly tedious yet important. It gets my kids therapy and the things they need to help them progress.

So my oldest boy has this speech impediment.

I stood on my head at the school during Kindergarten and First Grade, getting him "speech therapy lite". A "little" speech therapy. Everyone felt that it was something he was going to grow out of.

I went to meetings. I pushed. And for some reason, they just didn't think he needed more help.

Now he's in 2nd Grade and there is a new Speech Language Pathologist at his school.

I got a call. She says "The Boy needs aggressive speech therapy, if he continues like this he's going to talk this way when he's 39."

FINALLY. In the process of talking to her I realize though - he's got to go on an IEP.

Sigh. So now my GIFTED Child and my SPECIAL ED children all have IEPs. I am totally getting my tax money's worth out of the damned school system I SWEAR I AM.

He has what they call LOW TONE - which refers to the strength of the muscles he uses to talk. Low strength. It's why he struggles to pronounce words his brother who is autistic says crystal clear.

So I went to the IEP meeting for HIM today, and watched the therapists head blow off when I told her I already HAD two IEPs for the twins and they were autistic. I love the question "how do you do it?" lol. Lady, we just do. We just do.

Anyway, I was frustrated because I guess I don't like the IDEA of the IEP for my big boy yet I want nothing but what will help him.

I am an IEP road warrior.