Wonderful Day!

I had the most wonderful day today! I had to go into the school today to drop off some snacks for Boy B's Kindergarten class. I had picked up some graham crackers, a couple of jugs of apple juice and some dixie cups for the kids. I wasn't sure what "bringing snack" meant, but figured too much was better than not enough - and if there is extra, they just keep it for later use.

Anyhow, that was the main purpose of my visit. I go in, check in with the monitor, get my visitor badge and head towards Boy B's classroom. Before I get too far, I decide to quickly swing by Boy B's homeroom class to talk to his teacher about our homework dilemma. We are constantly getting homework sent home, Boy A does it, then we send it to school the next day, yet it somehow keeps coming home in his backpack. So, my concern was that the homework was not getting turned in. When I would ask Boy A about it, he would either say he did turn it in or else he forgot to turn it in. Both answers are usually given moments apart, so I felt that I should talk to his teacher about this.

I go in to talk to her and while she is not the teacher that I needed to talk to about this particular situation. This problem kept cropping up involving his math homework, but his homeroom teacher teaches his language arts, not his math or unit studies teacher.

We discuss his language arts progress and overall behaviors in the classroom and she reports to me that he is doing well and is showing improvement over his behavior from the beginning of the year, and we also discussed how the spelling tests are set up. She is getting her system established and she is doing well with it. So, report from Mrs. R went well!

Then I head over to talk to Mrs. Z about Boy A's math homework. I go in and introduce myself and tell her that I would like to talk to her about Boy A's math. She gets excited and says that she is so happy that I am there and then closes the door. We sit down and she says that she is so shocked over Boy A's test score. (inward grown on my part) She goes on to say that she was sure he was going to have problems with his test, since he had been absent last week and missed a lot of the instruction time and then the review and extra practice. She pulls out his test and shows me that he only missed two problems. She said that since he had been gone, she thought she would have to reteach him the material and she didn't. He felt confident that he could do the work and so she let him take the test, against her better judgment and he did extremely well. She said that he has a math mind.

I explained our issue with homework and how it comes back. She explained that her process was to have the kids lay their work out in the top corner, and she walks around the room and spot checks the homework to make sure that its complete and checks a couple of key problems. She doesn't actually sit down and grade each assignment. So, that is why Boy A often brings the homework back home. She said he has never not had his homework when he should have it.

What an encouraging visit I had with her. We talked at great length, actually taking up most of her hour-long plan period. It was wonderful! She said that I was easy to talk to (and I totally felt the same way about her) and that she really enjoyed our talk.

How wonderful to have those conversations with two of his teachers. I have to talk to a third teacher tomorrow yet and I'll let you know how that one goes.

I then went on to Boy B's classroom and dropped off the treats. The teacher, Ms. W, seemed to really appreciate the juice and cups as well. I'm going to try to remember to take treats in once a month at least.

Works For Me Wednesday

Well, I actually had not planned on doing a WFMW post, but there was something today that just worked out so well that I had to share it. I wanted to blog but Boy A also needs someone to keep him on task to finish his homework. We normally do homework at the table, but due to time constraints this evening, I wouldn't be able to sit with him at the table and be able to blog at the same time. So instead, Boy A is sitting here next to me while I type. For the most part, he is staying focused on his homework and I'm able to get some "me" time at the same time. I love to write/type and blog and it has become really important to me that I have the time to do this every day. So, that is my WFMW tip. If you need to have some time on the computer and your kid needs you as well for some intermittent help, then set him or her up next to you. We happen to have a large enough desk that works well for both of us to sit and work comfortably. If we didn't though, I could set him up with a clipboard and a chair next to me as well. Which is something we sometimes do in the van on those evenings where we are running from one sporting activity to another.

What A Wonderful Evening!

Well, I got most of the things accomplished on my list for today that I had hoped to accomplish. And a few things that I didn't have on my list that also got done too. For instance, I have been having issues getting my computer and my printer/scanner/copier to communicate with each other...well, actually getting the machine to communicate with the computer. The computer communicates with the machine just fine. Anyhow, I found out one way to bypass the communication problem. I still plan to fix it but for now, I have found a temporary solution to the problem until I have more time to spend working on it.

Another thing that got done (though I cannot take credit for it in the least): Hubby rearranged some items in our garage so that we can actually park a vehicle in there. Our 2 1/2 car garage, which is also extra-deep, can now fit one car in. YAY! There is just so much STUFF out there to be dealt with that it is completely overwhelming to me. That will be a large (very large) ongoing tackle for the future. Most of it could probably just be thrown away but I keep hanging on to some of it because...I need to go through it. I just need the time and the energy (best if they are present together) to do it. Also, I need trash cans available to do it. When I do go to tackle this monster mess, I plan to go into it with a mindset of pitching most of it and only keeping out the things that are really important or worth something. Maybe I'll make a few trips to a donation center as well. I'm past the point now, I think, of holding on to something for a future garage sale. It was supposed to happens sometime this summer and it never did. No reason to keep it around until next year in the hopes that it may sell. Besides, we have cold winters here and I'd much rather have the space for the vehicles!

I went to the Mary Kay party tonight with my friend, Server G. It was so much fun! And my face feels AWESOME! I hardly ever wear make-up and honestly, do little more than wash my face in the shower. But I do love MK products and I have for a long time. I just forgot how much until tonight. And somehow, in the process of it all, I signed up to be a consultant. It will be fun! I'm not outgoing by any means. I know it may seem otherwise because I frequently have really long posts, but this is my comfort zone. At a monitor, by myself, with no one watching me. A spot where I can make mistakes, erase them and you never know. A place where I can be in the middle of something, decide that I don't feel like working on it anymore at that exact moment and then save it, leave it and come back to it later. For some reason, you can't do those things in real life. So, we shall see! However, if anyone is in need of MK products or anything, let me know! I can help you out! :) (Okay, slight plug, but I had to. It's my blog. I can do that, right?)

To top the night off, when I got home from the party (an hour or so later than expected) Hubby had the kids in bed asleep. It was wonderful! Yay! Thanks again so much, Honey!

I have a semi-busy day tomorrow. I have a lot of research to do before Boy C's 2 year check-up on October 7. There is so much information that I'm working on digesting and trying to figure out at the moment. But I plan to go in to his appointment with a list of things to talk and ask about and to have as much information on hand as I can. I have three weeks to get as much as I can done on the research front. But that will be another blog post entirely.

So, without further ado, I bid you good evening. I'm going to bed (at a closer to reasonable time tonight - I have tonight off after all.)

Tackle It Tuesday

I am determined that today will be much better planned and followed through with. Yesterday was a horribly planned day. Well, actually, it was well planned. The plan just was not followed. So today, hopefully, we can change that. And just for the record, by "we" I mean "I" because yesterday's plan deviations were all me.

Yesterday's lessons learned, and it is on to today.

• Boy A needs to correct his homework


• Boy B needs to finish his homework
  (Side note: Didn't get it done so went in and talked to his teacher. She hadn't expected it to all be done yet, so I marked it off. He worked on some of it.)

I need to:

• clean the living room


• bring blocks and other small kid toys up from the playroom


• find out if our dry erase board is also magnetic(It is!)


• get ready for Boy C's teacher and coordinator to come over

After teaching, then I need to:

• take the Littles (this is Girlie and Boy C) to Grandma M's house, so she can watch them


• go pay a couple of bills (including that garbage bill, ugh!)


• come home, make sure I look presentable and go in to a company for a job interview


• come back home, pick up the house a bit


• NAP (as I work nights, I need to sleep some during the day)


• wake up, get kids from Grandma M and come home Well, this one I delegated, but it still got done. That counts right?


• make dinner, get kids going on homework Also delegated, but still it is done.


• attend a Mary Kay party held by my friend, Server G


• come home, get kids ready for bed Hubby got the kids to bed while I was at the Mary Kay party. How awesome is that? Thanks Sweetie!


• spend some quality time with Hubby


• go to work

There are a few things on my list that I can pass off to Hubby (and likely will, just for sanity and time reasons) but overall, I think that plan should work and work well.

But for now, I must get started on some of the pre-teaching stuff.

Link up with other moms doing "Tackle It Tuesday" by clicking on the picture above.

Unorganized and humbled

Okay, so this is the part where I have to admit just how unorganized I have become over this past period of sickness. I hate to admit it, but I must.

Today, on our agenda for after Boy A got home from school was homework, swim lessons, picnic at the park, get football attire from Grandma M's house (she took him to his last game two weeks ago and his stuff was still over there), go to Boy A's football game. Right? Yeah, maybe not so much. This is where the unorganized part comes in.

I was running errands when Boy A got home from school. When I got back, I asked Hubby if he had found Boy A's swim trunks. He forgot to look for them. So, it is half an hour before swim lessons and we're looking frantically for the trunks. Not anywhere to be found. We decide that he will miss lessons today. Boy B isn't feeling the greatest anyhow, so...sure.

We all leave to go run an errand that is CLEAR across town, to pay our garbage bill, so that, you know, garbage will be picked up tomorrow. It's kind of an important thing. I was sure they were open until 4:30. Nope, 3:30. Yi! So we had just driven all the way across town for nothing.

Since we were on that side of town, we decided to stop by to say hi to Grandma S (my mom), and see if she would want to keep the Littles (Girlie and Boy C) while we took Boy A to his game. She most happily agreed and the kids were excited to be there as well. Boy B decided he wanted to go there as well, so we let him.

So then, it was Hubby, Boy A and I. It was nice. We decided to do something special that we don't do often, so we took him out to dinner before the game. We ate at one of our favorite family restaurants, RR.

The selling point was that a friend of ours (who became a friend after we met him at RR) was likely working. He didn't answer his phone when I called, so it was a fairly safe guess. He was likely to be working or maybe playing basketball... So, we go in and he's working! Boy A was ecstatic!

This friend of ours, Server J, happens to be someone that Boy A looks up to and admires. Why? We haven't the slightest clue. But Server J is wonderful with kids, and our kids in particular. Boy A even tried to convince him to leave work and come watch his football game, because he could just work tomorrow instead (Server J's day off). :) It's cute.

So, we ate dinner and then Hubby and Boy A played a couple of arcade games. After all, what restaurant trip (that has an arcade) is complete without wasting playing a game or two?

Then off to Grandma M's to get football attire. We get there, get Boy A changed and head to the field. It was at this point that I realize I don't know which field Boy A is playing on. So I call Coach J. He says we are on Field 1.

We arrive and then I realize we don't know which of the numerous fields is Field 1. Hubby points out the first field we see. I say, "that can't be it, let's drive down there." So, Hubby obliges me and we drive down there. I see a sign that says Fields 1-4, and am just about to say how I knew that first field wasn't it, when Hubby drives by the sign again and reads, "Baseball fields 1-4" Okay. So, I have no clue where we actually need to be and I admit that to Hubby and ask him to call the Coach. I don't want to look as highly unorganized as I actually am, you know? So, he obliges me again and calls.

His end of the conversation:
"Hey J, we thought we knew where Field 1 was, but we don't have the field map with us. Which one is it?
"Oh really? Sure, sure I know that one."
Sideways glance at me to make sure I'm listening.
"Okay, the first field when we enter the park? Okay, we'll head back up that way."

No comment to Coach J about how he thought that was the correct field, nor that his wife was sure that it was not the right field, nor that he went with my plan just to appease me. Just a simple, "Okay, we'll head back up that way."

Hmmm. It made me think. If the situation were reversed, I'm sure I would have said that I thought that was the correct field. I may have even said that Hubby thought it was not the right field but that we had gone with his directions instead. But Hubby didn't do that to me. Hmmm. Seems to me that I learned a quick little lesson there by example. And it showed me where I wasn't right. (And I do so enjoy being right, if you cannot tell by my eagerness to point that out to Hubby when we had arrived at the Baseball Field 1 parking lot.)

So, we drive back to Field 1. We get out and Boy A hustles over to the field, ahead of us (since we are now not only unorganized, but also...late) and he joins his team. Hubby and I leisurely stroll through the grass, holding hands and talking on the way over. He actually still wanted to hold my hand, after I'd been so not nice.

We sit down and watch our boy and enjoy our time (relatively) alone. Our team won, which was nice because every team we're up against this year is "better" than ours. It's just the way our team was divisionalized.

And one of the great parts? We got Boy A's football photo and team composite photo back. We had gotten the smallest package available, with the addition of a button (the package came with one, but this way, we could both wear one) and a key chain, which Hubby claimed for himself. I had been concerned about not getting a bigger package, but when I saw the picture, I was so glad that we had chosen a smaller, inexpensive package.

The photo itself was okay, but I guess I'm just a photo snob used to the photos that Hubby's cousin takes, especially for the price we paid. In the end though, its worth it to us to have the team photo and buttons and key chain. I'm just glad that I didn't plan on giving any football photos out. Maybe if (and this is a BIG if) Boy A plays a different league of football, that will be different, but at this level and on this league, we won't be.

We leave and stop by the store to pick up a photo frame (which itself was $3.00, yet somehow we walked out of the store spending $40.00?) and then went to get the Youngers (Boys B and C, along with Girlie) from Grandma S. By the time we get home, it's an hour and a half past bedtime and the kids fall into bed pretty quickly.

Then I realize...Boy A never got his homework corrected and Boy B did very little of his because I wanted to go to a place that was closed to pay a bill and said we could come back to it later. Hmmm.

Oh...and by the way, the swim trunks? They were in the van, ready to go.

Homeschooling Day 1

Okay, first off..let me just state that my kids go to public school. However, Boy B has been absent from school almost as much as he has been there. Today, he woke up with a cough (that reason alone will get him sent home from school) and a sore throat again. Seriously. His ear feels fine, by the way. Go figure, right?

So, anyhow, today we are homeschooling.

Boy B and Girlie started off the day with some Starfall activities. They did the "ABC's Let's get ready to read" online activities for the letters Aa and Bb. Then I decided that we would do a more planned out lesson for those, so then I downloaded the Aa worksheet packet from the Starfall site as well.

I printed off an A worksheet for Girlie and printed her off an apple coloring page as well.

I think we will do something with apples today. Maybe make something with apples? Apple pie or apple bread as I am in a baking mood today. And maybe read some books that strongly emphasize the letter A. I'll have to check on the Internet to see what I can find because this wasn't exactly a planned activity.

I'll have to come back and let you know what we did. It's a "wing it" kind of day.

Menu Plan Monday

Hmm...plan for a menu this week. Let's see what I can do.

Well, today (Monday) I have to fit our dinner between swim lessons (which end at 4:45) and a football game (which we have to be there at 6:15). Both of which are on the same side of town, which happens to be across town from where we live. So...

Monday: picnic in the park
Tuesday: burritos
Wednesday: homemade pizza
Thursday: Cheese Lover's Chicken A recipe that I want to try out, served with asparagus, I think.
Friday: Quinoa and Black Beans It can be served as a main dish or a side and I haven't decided which way I want to do it yet. I just know that I want to make it. Probably will be a main dish with a side salad.
Saturday: Kid's choice!
Sunday: roasted turkey breast, mashed potatoes and a side salad.

That seems like a good plan for the week for our family!

Soccer

Well, we had our soccer game today. Boy B spent much of his field time on his back. He thought it was fun to slide and also to kick and fall. His coach didn't scold him the way that I thought he should have. And parents are not supposed to call out instructions to the kids. They want the kids to listen to the coach on the field. I plan to talk to his coach tomorrow about coming down a bit harder on him.

Hubby missed coaching the game today, as he wasn't feeling well. So C coached instead. C is a great coach and the kids like him. I acted as Assistant Coach and kept track of which kids had been subbed in and out and who was next, etc. I think I gave them all fairly equal play time. Our team lost (not that we keep score, because we don't at this age group) but we did lose. Kids had fun and are learning the game, so that's the most important thing. Also Coach C does not follow the suggested practice plan. Maybe it's because he has played soccer for so many years that he just knows drills and stuff and just chooses them himself.

I had a to do list today and I don't think I got hardly anything accomplished off of it. I'll have to go back and see what I did or did not get done. Okay, I looked. Yeah, I didn't get much at all done. But what I did get done was good. And I had a great day!

After the soccer game, Boy A, Boy B and I went to their Great Grandma's house. We spent some time talking with GGJ and I invited her to any of Boy B's soccer games (since I had a schedule with me) and also to any of Boy A's flag football games. I told her I would send her a copy of his schedule in an email and I took care of that when I got home.

I am a bit worried about GGJ. Her hip is bothering her. I'm not sure what to do or say about it, but it does concern me. A lot. GGJ is in her 70's and very active, but these last few years, she's had to slow down a bit. My concern right now is her hip. Generally speaking, when older people break a hip, it is discovered after a fall. And the popular saying is "so and so fell and broke their hip" when in actuality, the broken hip is what caused the fall in the first place. One of the first signs of a broken hip, though, is pain in the hip region, which can be present for quite a while before a fall happens and the break is discovered. It all seems very backward in a way, but at the same time, it also makes a lot of sense. I think I may talk to GGJ privately in the near future to let her know my concern. She had company over when we popped in on her and I didn't want to bring that up while she had another person there.

We didn't end up getting home until after bedtime (roughly an hour later than we were expected to be home) so the boys grabbed slices of pizza leftover from dinner, ate them and headed off to bed. And guess what? They are back to school tomorrow!!! YAY!!!

Soccer!!!

Today is our second day of soccer for the season. Boy B seems to be in fine soccer mode, after our recent bout with sickness. He's been fever-free since early Friday morning, he's in good spirits and not contagious. It's TIME TO PLAY!

Okay, so this is the part where I admit that, since I was sick this whole last week, I failed our team. I am the main contact person (secretary, if you will) and I have been out of contact with everyone. I was supposed to get schedules and new rosters to the families. I was supposed to have a sheet ready for this one mom who wanted to know what she can do to practice with her son between our practices and games, I was supposed to have this child over to play and practice with Boy B, but our house was sick, so all of that failed.

This morning, I am going to have Hubby call all of the kids' families, letting them know our game time and get an exact head count for who will be there. I will be printing out the sheet for the mom to give to her at the practice and game. I will be going shopping for healthy snack for the kids for after the game. I will also be cleaning out the van to make sure we have room in there for our stroller (for Boy C) and our camp chairs (for Boy A, Girlie and myself) and our cooler with our water bottles and snacks. So much work for one hour, you know? Ah well, it's worth it. And Boy B is so excited that his Daddy and C are his coaches. Just warms a momma's heart, ya know?

And then tomorrow, we get to repeat the procedure for Boy A's football practice, but before that, we also have swim lessons for Boy A and B (though, I think we'll have Boy B's ear checked out first to see if he can swim) and Child Watch for Girlie and Boy C.

Let's get ready for.....sooooooocccccccceeeeeeerrrrrrrr!

So much to do....

Well, as you all know, we were sick this past week. So, today I am hoping to get a lot of work done around the house. We implemented a new chore system yesterday for the kids. I'm hoping it will work, but even with that system, I still have a lot of work to do myself.

My to do list for today:
-have Hubby call the soccer families
-find and make sure Hubby's coaching shirt is clean
-find Boy B's soccer cleats
-pick up Boy A's football shirt from Grandma M's house
-find Boy A's football cleats
-buy Boy A a mouthpiece for football? (Coach sent an email suggesting these for the team. It's flag football, but there is a lot of contact and one kid last week on another team and another game chipped a tooth playing the game)
-find my old html codes for prettier blogging
-buy treats for soccer players

Then housework:
-clean living room (top to bottom)
-clean up the kitchen (good enough)
-clean family room (top to bottom)
-clean out the van (top to bottom)
-do laundry (ideally at least four loads completely done)
-have kids clean playroom (good enough)
-have kids clean their room (top to bottom)
-have kids clean their bathroom (top to bottom)

I think that pretty much covers it. I wish I had a working camera so that I could show before and after pictures, but I don't have one right now. Maybe I'll borrow my mom's camera so I can post pictures of my projects. I'll have to ask her.

Sick, sick, sick

It seems like it has been so long since we have not had a sick child in the house, but really, its only been two weeks. Two weeks today, actually. Finally we are all on the mend!

Boy B (who is 5) got sick two weeks ago today with a bad cough, fever and just acted lethargic. Wouldn't eat, wouldn't drink, wouldn't move. He was miserable (adorable but miserable). His first soccer practice/game of the season was the next day and I knew he wasn't up to playing, but thought maybe he'd want to go along just to watch and at least meet the other kids on the team.

His response? "No, I don't want to. What if I cough on them and I get them sick?" This was said in a raspy, froggy-sounding voice. My heart just melted.

So, the kiddos stayed home with Grandma while Hubby and I went off to the game. Hubby is the head coach and Hubby's friend, C, is the assistant coach. It's kind of backwards, considering the fact that C is a huge soccer fan and LOVES to play and watch, and as it turns out, coach.

Then, that Monday, Boy B missed school, went to the doctor's office and we were told that he has para influenza. They did a quick strep test and a cultured test. Hubby and I thought it sounded like he had strep, but the quick strep came back negative.

We got a call the next day. The cultured strep test was positive, and where would we like the prescription called in to? So, we start antibiotics.

Wednesday, he still has a fever, Thursday morning it FINALLY breaks. Looking good to be back at school on Friday. I call his school and request his homework. Boy A brings it home with him after school.

Thursday night. Kitchen table. Two boys sitting down to do homework. Boy A, who is 8 and in 3rd grade with 2 pages of homework. Boy B, who is 5 and in kindergarten with 8 pages of homework (front AND back). Math problem: which child finishes first?

Answer: They finish at the same time.

It takes Boy A FOREVER to do his homework. He's a smart kid, he just does not like to sit down and focus on one subject long enough to finish a page of homework. Meanwhile, Boy B sits there, diligently and methodically, going through his homework one page at a time, stopping only to ask me to read him the directions. I don't understand this.

Actually, I think I do. We had discussed quite a while ago about homeschooling the kids. At the last minute, we enrolled Boy A in Kindergarten and he's been in public school since. His best year was first grade. His teacher was fabulous, she kept on him, it was wonderful! Kindergarten was good, but he slid back a lot in what he could do, second grade was horrible. Absolutely horrible. For him and for our family. It came out everywhere. Then we moved. That helped matters quite a bit, because we were in a different school.

This year, I don't know. I'm not even sure what to think just yet. Boy B does FABULOUS in school. I told Hubby years ago, when Boy A was about 5 and Boy B was almost 3, that I was pretty sure, based on their personalities at that time, that Boy A should definitely be homeschooled and that Boy B would probably do well in a regular classroom. Why do I not listen to myself? Honestly. I listen to others, doubt my own gut instinct and then my poor kiddo pays for it. And I pay for it, by having to sit next to him for an hour to make sure he gets his two pages done.

Hubby and I went shopping recently and we picked up a globe, which is not a huge deal for most people. But I have been wanting to have a globe in the house for, probably, four or five years now. I am so excited! I told Hubby that buying this globe only makes me want to homeschool Boy A even more. He said that he knew that. Maybe we can still do it.

Okay, so I started off with sickness...let's go back to that. So, last week, Boy B missed Monday through Thursday. He went back Friday. All was good. No school on Monday because of Labor Day (no sports that weekend either). Monday night, Boy B and now Boy A are BOTH running fevers. No school for either one of them the next day. And no school for Boy C because his teacher comes here to the house and we can't risk exposing her to the other boys because she visits a lot of families and some of the kids in those families have kids who are susceptible to sickness.

It's been crazy. This house of sickness. I'm so tired and exhausted. I got sick and ended up having to take a week off of work myself, this week. Thursday night, Boy B wakes up scream-crying. Take him in to get checked out because I know what it is. The doctor's diagnosis: "a rip-roaring ear infection" Hmmmmph. Can we not get ahead of this?

Okay, so here's my take on this. He had strep throat (caused by group A strep), used antibiotics which treats that (and also kills off good fighting cells too), thus making him more prone to the ear infection (caused by strep pneumo) for which we needed a different course of antibiotics. The question is...do I give him those and leave him vulnerable to yet another infection or do I forego them and just wait to see? We have done the wait and see approach with our kids before (oddly enough, it was after Boy A kept getting recurrent ear infections when he was younger that we kept treating him for) and our doctor is supportive of it. Most cases of ear infection clear up on their own in about the same amount of time it takes an antibiotic to work, but without the side effects of the antibiotic. At this point, I am taking the wait and see approach. I have the script ready to go if needed, but I'm hoping we won't need it. He's already missed almost half of his classes already this year. Poor kid may have to be homeschooled, just based on the fact that he's been too sick to be allowed in regular school. :) (Okay, so I'm not totally feeling that bad about it. I would love to homeschool him. But that's just between us.) :)