Snippits

Decided to, once again, take some time to change camera settings.  In the evening in the kids' room is best to test.  Just dark enough I have to either open the aperture or or up the ISO.  I did both and finally got some to come out.  Jaemin really is changing and loves to play school and other things.  Before kindergarten he was never much on pretend play.  The kids all had good parent teacher conferences.  Nothing startling, which is good.

Jaemin had mastered everything he should at this point and got a + on every behavior item.  Jaemin's teacher's going to try to get Jaemin some more help.  After having him, in class, for 3 months she says there's no way an IQ of 82 is correct.  I knew that, but nice to know someone agrees.  She said he's in the high reading class and can't help but think he needs language therapy and needs tested for auditory processing disorder, which can't be done until 7.  I'm all for this.  Some other A-parents have suggested ADD or ADHD, but I really don't think that's the issue.  I have an ADHD kid and Jaemin's processing speed has been tested and it's fast like Chelsi's, but only when he understands what you say.  I'm anxious to get to the next step for him because he's already blossomed so much.  He'll be amazing!

Chelsi is the same as always....super high reader as in off the charts.  Very high in math, but not the highest, still great.  Super polite, kind and respectful in school.  She'll be getting the politeness award this week.

Kaelin I was only able too talk to a teacher by phone.  She had the same concerns I did and that's that she's rushing through her math, so we've now approached her and I'm sure it will be fine.

Chase had all As and his homeroom Physics teacher had no concerns.

We didn't even set an appointment for Cole since he's in his senior year and we have no academic concerns.

We took the kids out to eat last night and they got to order anything they wanted.  Luckily, this little place is not too expensive.  The little kids even got milk shakes.  We really wanted to spend a little extra and reward the kids for their grades.  Cole's were the lowest at 3.6.  Pretty good for 5 kids in school.  Then, we got Cole's acceptance to the college of his choice.  It's a 2 year and he will go into become an electrician if all goes well.  All he has to do is send in his final transcripts at the end of the year.  YAY!  Such a huge step....one will hopefully go to college next fall.

On a good note

While I think Cole and Kaelin can definitely improve their grades if they each work a little hard (they're fully capable), they each ended up easily on the B honor roll with 3 high B's and the rest As for Cole and 2 very high Bs and the rest As for Kaelin.  Chelsi, of course, had all As.  We expect that fully if you have no learning disabilities in 3rd grade.  So, hopefully, she'll just keep that up.  She knows it's great, but she knows not to settle.  Chase....duh, duh, duh, duh, played football which requires 3-4 hours/day of practice, work outs and/or games and sometimes more.....had straight As!  That boy worked so hard.  He rarely got to hunt or fish, go out in the woods or carve his lures in the last 3 months because he was either working on football or had his nose in books.  I could not be more proud of his sacrifices this quarter and know that if he can keep this up, he will go SO far!

I told the 4 older kids, though, that one quarter of all As for all 4 would be superb!  Especially at their ages.

One of those days

UUUGGGHHHH!!!!

We're getting close to paying ourselves back for Cole's heart surgery....like maybe a few more months.  I think that just got blown away from probability.  We went to the dentist, which we had put off for a few months because Cole had to wait.  You cannot go to the dentist within 6 months of a heart valve replacement.  Well, Chase has 2 cavities, Cole had 4 and Chelsi has  2 somethings we're not sure of.  The dentist defended the boys and said they were due to pits that were inherited (I'm pretty sure my mom says she has them) and they're hard to clean.  One of Chase's is a 12 year molar that decided to come in in the past year (yes, that's late) and he said the gum lies over it for awhile and traps stuff in there and the 12 years are extremely common and normal to have cavities.  Chelsi has something going on on her front teeth.  One of her front teeth and the tooth beside it.  There is nothing but a chip looking thing from the outside of each, but the xrays show something very different.  Basically, it looks like it's rotting from the inside to outside, so we would have never known.  He said whatever it is is very near the pulp and that's not good at all.  He said it could have been a birth anomaly even though it's her permanent teeth, poor prenatal care or she could have had an injury in the last year while they were erupting.  We don't remember anything like that I would think we would.  However, the side tooth was pretty crooked and has  been pushing on the front tooth, so he said there's a slight chance it pushed hard enough to damage it.  Regardless, he didn't feel comfortable treating her, so he said we had to take her to a pediatric dentist.  Chaching!  We have no dental insurance as we definitely cannot afford it and have always paid out of our pockets, but this is really going to hurt.  The boys' filling are not worrisome.  They'll be about $40 each and we'll be done.  Not pleasant, but doable.  Chelsi will most likely have a visit to this new guy and they usually charge double what our regular guy charges plus a visit to come back for whatever treatment they need to do.  I'm worried what that treatment will be.  He said they can't do a root canal because her roots are not fully formed yet.  Obviously, you don't want her to lose a permanent tooth at this age.  He's hoping it's just something this other guy is more versed in and is an easy treatment, but I'm worried for her.

Definitely not the most pleasant of dental visits we've ever had, but I guess we've gotten off easy over the years, so it's time to pay up.  I think between medical and dental we pay about $6500/year out of our pockets because we max out our HSA.  I'm also behind on paying ourselves back every year, so I guess in reality it's more than that.  I just don't really want to know.  3 years and over $18000 in medical bills.  I'm praying next year we get a break from medical and car expenses.

Great Field Trip

I've never done the kindergarten one before.  I ripped my jeans on baling wire, but Jaemin had a great time at the pumpkin farm and I didn't have to go back to work.  Boy was he tired at the football game tonight though.  9pm is the witching hour for Jaemin for sure!

Cheer!

I love Cheer Fair.  It's so fun to watch Chelsi go out there and shake it.  That girl has definitely got it.  They practice for one night, learn a few cheers and a dance routine.  She was a little worried because she said the routine was harder than in years past, but as soon as that music started to play she remembered.  It was obvious.  She's going to make a great cheerleader one day.  The only downside to last night was it was cold and drizzly.  But, we all survived...though you would have thought Jaemin was dying by the end.  He just wanted to see his friend L who had gone home.  Chase got in on the last few minutes of the Varsity game since they were killing them and while no plays came to his side, he did get a carry on offense.  I would have rathered him get a defensive tackle, but that's the way it goes.  The pictures are from my camera while videotaping, so they're not that clear.

Perfect night

For s'mores.  We did it the real way with Hersheys, marshmallows and the name brand graham crackers.  I think Camo wanted one.

Happy Birthdayssssss!

2 birthdays in two days.  Today was Jaemin's 6th and tomorrow is Chelsi's 9th.  With football in full swing and 3 games this week, it was tricky.....also 2 nights of practice and last nights went pretty late (over 3 hours).  So, I left work just a few minutes early and we were able to squeeze in the candles and cupcakes before Chase went to practice.  I wanted to get pictures, but they aren't good.  My camera isn't focusing right or something.  We sang twice.  Once for Jaemin to have his own and then for Chelsi to have her own.  Tonight, after the game we got McDonald's Happy Meals for them like we'd promised.  That's a treat here.  We generally do the dollar menu if we go, but they had to sit through football on their birthdays, so it was only fair to them.  Jaemin was so wild all night.  Obviously, the sugar in the treats he brought to school was way too much, plus he was just super happy it was his birthday.  The teacher working the gate even let the them in free since it was their birthdays.  Jaemin wore his birthday crown from school to the game and told everyone he was 6!  He really likes being 6, so I hope it's a good year for him.  Chelsi's just another year older I think.  She's loving the gifts, but other than that, just means she now has more chores.  :)  Poor girl.  My babies are getting older!  Tomorrow, we'll watch the Lego movie Jaemin got while the big boys are gone for football and I'm sure Cole will go out.  It will be a good mom and kiddo time.