Thursday, May 28, 2009

Macy's 5 yr check up....

and a student doctor comes in first. He examines Macy, asks her some standard questions - can you skip, do you know your colors, can you draw a person, etc. Macy answers him and does well. He asked me if we've talked to her about strangers. I told him that yes, we have the Stranger Danger video but it's been a while and we probably need to go over it again. So he finishes, says our doctor will be right in and leaves.

Macy and I are talking and I start asking her about strangers. I ask her "Do you know what to do if someone comes up to you and says Come with me little girl, I have some candy for you." I ask her "what would you say?" She looks up at me and promptly says "Thank you." I burst out laughing (probably not a good response, but it completely caught me off guard) and then she shrugs and says "sure?" Like - ok, I have no idea what you want me to say! Hmmm, think it's time to watch the Stranger Danger video again??

On another note - the check-up went great. Great vision, hearing - 90% for height and 90% for weight.

Oh and she got two shots. So, before the appt she asked if she would be getting shots. I said I don't know, we'll have to ask the doctor. So, after the student doctor leaves and says the doctor will be in to see you in a moment - Macy says to me "she is going to bring in shots." I told her that the doctor doesn't give the shots, the nurse did. Ok - then our doctor comes in, checks her out then says "the nurse will be in to see you in a moment." Macy looks at me and says "now SHE is bringing in shots." So I told her yes, the nurse is going to give her two shots. I said "do you want to know what I told Jack to make shots better?" When Jack was little I remember telling him that when the nurse gets the needle out to take a deep breath and when she puts the needle in you to start blowing out REAL hard. It worked for him. He, to this day, is not afraid of shots now. He says it really works to blow big breaths out during the shot. So Macy likes this and is prepared. The nurse comes in and asks Macy to sit in my lap. I remind her to take a deep breath. She does. Then the nurse gives the shot in her arm - Macy starts blowing and blowing and she's not crying. YAY! The nurse is done with the first shot and Macy says "that hurt a little bit" So the nurse grabs her other arm for the second shot. Macy asks the nurse to give her a second but the nurse just sticks the shot in her and Macy LOOSES IT! Screaming, crying, kicking, you name it! I felt so bad for her, she did so well for the first shot. I know why they hurry through them but it was upsetting since Macy asked her to just give her one second. When we got to the car Macy said she hated all nurses and when she's a doctor she is going to give EVERYONE a shot! :lol: I told her I'm sorry that nurse didn't wait and explained she was just trying to get it done quickly. Macy said "I was just trying to catch my breath and wanted her to wait one second!!" :shock:

And while I'm giving updates - today was Elle's Kindergarten graduation! :( I can't believe it - one is graduating Kinder and I have one going into Kinder. It seems like just yesterday I was walking Jack into Kinder. It goes by so fast! I'll post pics later - right now Macy is begging me for lunch!! :P

Thursday, April 16, 2009

504 Meeting with the school....

Today we had a meeting at Jack's school to discuss putting a 504 plan in place. The meeting went very well I think. It was the principal (she is never in our meetings, it's usually the vp whom I don't particularly care for but am learning to deal with - but the VP wasn't there this time for some reason) the counselor (she is wonderful!) and Jack's teacher (also wonderful!) So we meet, discuss some issues. The teacher started implementing a plan of having only one math problem viewable at a time (she covers the rest of the problems up) and she has seen tremendous improvement with this already! She gave Jack the first part of a test before our last meeting and he scored a 36 on it - out of 100! Then she gave the second part of the same test after we had our meeting and she covered up the problems so he could only see one problem at a time and he scored a 75 - again, out of 100! HUGE improvement! He brought his report card home yesterday and it's all A's with one B and that B is in his advanced math class. If he was in regular math, he would be straight A's - so to see him score 36 on a test, well, something's just not right.

Anyway, the plan we came up with for Jack is this.

They will cover his work so that only one problem is showing at a time on the paper. He gets too overwhelmed/distracted with all the problems on the page and he rushes so hopefully this will help - which she has been doing for the past week or so anyway and she is seeing a big improvement.

He will get "movement time" to get up and move around after 30-45 minutes of sitting. Which she said she pretty much does already with Jack and that in 2nd grade, they aren't really ever sitting that long anyway, but it will help him when he gets into older grades and they expect them to sit still longer.

And they are going to offer him a piece of velcro that he can put on the inside of his desk or underneath - anywhere that he thinks is best - and he can "fidget" with it while he's sitting there. Something to help with sensory issues - I've never seen any sensory issues with him but he does have a hard time staying still and likes to fidget, so hopefully this will help him. This was the principal's idea - she said she used to do that for some of her students when she was a teacher. The reason that it's velcro under his desk is that she said that she didn't want Jack to feel embarrassed by having something like that and that as kids get older they worry about what their peers think and she doesn't want him singled out. This will just be something for him that no one needs to know about but might help him to have something to do with his hands.

All in all - I liked it. I think the school is doing an excellent job in trying to work what's best for Jack. This is all extra stuff that they have to do and I like that they are willing to go the extra mile for him.

We will meet annually for the 504 to make necessary adjustments - or anytime they or we feel the need. We will meet sometime mid-year next year to discuss if everything is working and getting ready for the state standardized testing to make sure Jack is on track. They really impressed upon having this done before he got to 3rd grade and the testing starts. Even though he is an A-B student and very bright - they are worried about his testing. He rushes through and doesn't pay enough attention. I'm hoping this 504 will help him with that.

He already is doing so much better with his math, and the teacher and counselor both said that his attitude is so much more upbeat - even though he's a happy kid anyway, they said he appears more confident this past week. He even comes home telling me that he's doing so well in math - he is clearly proud. And that makes me happy. He's so sweet, funny and SO SMART - I don't want his confidence shaken because of this.

So - that was our meeting. I will keep you all posted on the results over time. Thanks for your support!

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Roller Skating!

Ok - I know, I don't blog for a while and then BAM - I blog several times in one night. Well, that's the only way I get to these days! And truthfully, I'm so exhausted tonight and would like to go watch tv and then crash - but I really wanted to share this. So - here goes! :))

We took the kids skating this weekend. Jack had a classmate's birthday party at the skating rink, so Don and I took the girls too and we all skated. Elle and I went skating back in January with her girl scout troop, so this wasn't her first time. Jack had been skating before but it's been a LONG time! And this was Macy's first time on skates.

Jack tried out the inline skates - it was a little difficult at first but Jack is very talented when it comes to anything like this so we knew he would get it quickly. He did! By the end of the night he was jumping up in the air on those things! I would have broken every bone in my body had I tried what he was doing.

Here's Jack on his skates. I don't have many pictures of him because he was off with his friends most of the night.

Photobucket

Elle did good on her skates too! Especially given the fact that I had to HOLD her up the ENTIRE time we went skating a few short months ago. She was like Bambi on ice last time! She didn't need me at all this time! Elle always has her own way of doing things though, and skating didn't prove to be any different. She doesn't really "skate" she just kind of RUNS on wheels. I don't think the wheels ever turned, she just ran around the rink on her skates. Again, I don't know how she does it and again, I would probably break every bone in my body if I tried to run in skates! Elle has gotten the skating bug though - she wants to go EVERY DAY!! She loved it and has requested a skating party for her 6th birthday! We already have it planned! Here are a few pics of my little Bambi on ice...

This pic is a little blurry but I still love it. Notice how she is "flapping" her arms?
Photobucket

"running" on skates...
Photobucket

She was watching the races and I called her name.
Photobucket

And then there was Macy. It was her first time but like Jack, she takes to stuff like this pretty quickly. Although she is much more cautious than either her big brother or sister and does NOT like to fall down! I mean, who does, but it really makes Macy mad to fall! Elle falls a million times and just gets right back up - it really ticks Macy off to fall so she tries very hard NOT to fall. She did a great job. She held my hand at first but was quick to figure it out and she just went around and around the rink (staying close to the railing, of course) at least a hundred times! She loves skating too! Here are a few pics of Macy's first time skating...

WHOA!!
Photobucket

Slow and proud...
Photobucket

This is what Macy looks like when she almost falls - you should see the face she makes when she DOES fall.
Photobucket

YAY - she's skating!!!
Photobucket

A rare pic of us all together! Well, almost all of us - Don had to take the picture!
Photobucket

Here is Don - with his phone, of course! ;-)
Photobucket

All in all it was a great night! Skating really takes a lot out of you and we were all worn out by the time we left the rink. But I think we'll be going back very soon! If you are like me and Don and haven't skated in 20+ years, you should try it! It's a lot of fun and it's great exercise! Oh - and your kids will sleep SO HARD that night! :)

Baseball Season is here!!!

I love baseball season! I think it has a lot to do with Spring time - I've always loved Spring! The sun it out (mostly!) and the days are longer (I also love daylight savings time!) The winter blues fade and everything is new again. What's not to love?

Then when you have kids, it's even better! I love going to my kids games - any sports really, but there is something really special to me about baseball! Maybe it's because that's the sport I played as a kid. Maybe because my brother has played all his life so we've spent a lot of time watching him. Maybe it's just because it's a GREAT sport! Whatever the reason - I'm happy that Jack loves playing baseball.

Today was our third game - and it was a nail-biter of a game but I am happy to say that we are still UNDEFEATED!!! Yep, we're 3-0! The kids made a heck of a comeback tonight - after being down 5-13 we came back and WON at 16-14!
W-H-A-T A G-A-M-E!!!!

It was awesome!!! Here are some pics from our season so far. Hope you all are enjoying the wonderful weather!!

SWING!
Photobucket

RUN!
Photobucket

A TRIPLE - YAY!!!
Photobucket

GOING HOME!!!
Photobucket

My handsome boy!
Photobucket

Photobucket

And of course, I can't leave out my girls! They make great cheerleaders!!
Photobucket

Macy and her thumb.
Photobucket

Sunday, March 29, 2009

"I had SO much fun last night Daddy!" from Elle....

So sweet! Elle came home on cloud nine last night! She had such a great time! She woke up this morning and told Don - "I had SO much fun last night Daddy!" Awww, so sweet!

Don said they went to dinner and had a very nice time. He gave her a special card (she was so proud and showed it to me when they got home, it had a picture of a Lion on the front and said "I Love You" and on the inside it said "and I'm not lion." Such a sweet card he found for her. He said he wanted it to be simple so she could read it herself. Awww...so thoughtful. Anyway, Don said when he gave it to her at dinner, Elle said "Oh Daddy, you shouldn't have!" LOL! That is hilarious to me!

At the dance he said there were 400 dads - and it was crowded! They stood in line for an HOUR for their pic to be taken! So they didn't get to spend much time dancing - he said he learned what he'll do different next year. They will get their EARLY. But they still had a great time! Elle saw all of her little friends there. OH - and Elle said to me "momma, I was the ONLY girl there not in a dress!" - she wore a skirt. UGH. I told her that she was special then. I saw some of the pictures - some of the girls were wearing the same kind of style of dress that I told her she couldn't get. Some were made up like it was prom. And some were wearing the "heel high shoes" (that's what Elle calls High Heels and she wants them SOOOOO badly! I tell her she can have them when she's an adult (or at least a teen!) Ugh - no offense if you let your child wear those shoes with a little heel - I just don't care for them and Elle LOVES them!

But all in all it was a nice evening out for them and I'm glad they had a great time.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Daddy/Daughter Dance

Tonight Elle and Don are on a date. Elle is in the Daisies (part of Girl Scouts) and tonight is the daddy/daughter dance. Elle and I went shopping today to get her a new dress. I got a little taste of the teen years shopping with Elle - and it wasn't pretty! Elle wants dresses that I just couldn't get. Either they were too casual (for tonight) or too....hmmm....hoochie? YIKES! Why do they make hoochie dresses in a size 5-6? And that's 5-6 in a child's size, meaning 5-6 YEARS OLD! UGH!

Anyway, we finally found the perfect outfit at Gymboree. I saw this beautiful pink skirt and after talking Elle into it - we bought it. Plus, with this skirt, she can get a lot of use out of it rather than a big fancy dress. Oh and the best part? It was on sale and I didn't even know until we checked out! Love saving money when you don't even realize you're going to be saving money!

She looks BEAUTIFUL! Well, ok - she IS beautiful! But tonight she shined! We did her nails, her hair, put fancy lotion on - I bought her a silver heart locket necklace and gave it to her right before she left. And she got a new purse and some new lip gloss to go in her new purse. She is all set.

They left and were going to a nice dinner before heading to the dance. (UPDATE - Don just called and said they had a very nice dinner and are heading to the dance right now.)

So here are some pictures of Elle before she left. My little girl is growing up.

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Photobucket

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

OH MY GOSH! We just had a massive hail storm!!!

FREAKY! I've been in hail storms before but NONE have been this massive!! First of all the hail was HUGE - 2 inches plus in diameter! But more than that - it came down in a FURY! It looked like a snow storm - but it wasn't snowing! We were out there in our warm weather clothes and just watching it come down like crazy!

Here is a picture of the massive balls of hail! Even the pics don't do justice though!

Photobucket