Shoe Tying

Daddy teaching Reece to tie his shoes.

I know! I know! Reece is 6 and should know how to do this by now.... you can blame us! We've been a little lazy about this big step in a child's life. The convenience of slip on shoes, helped enabled us to keep putting this off. This needed to come to an end, because his slip on shoes are completely worn out.

Honestly, I never even tried to teach him. This all stems back from when I tried all day to teach Riley how to tie his shoes in kindergarten. Failed. Jake came home and taught Riley in 5 minutes. So, to save me the headache, I assigned the task to Jake. Reece is doing it, and it didn't take long. Of course, it's lots and lots of practice that will keep his shoes tied all day long....

1st "Trophy"

Reece completed his first sport, and got his first medal.... which he calls "trophy."

He's pretty proud!

However, I'm not sure how big of a fan Reece is of basketball.

We were so sure he would just shine, naturally, in all activities.... he is so much more timid than we expected. I think his practices were so out of control, it greatly intimidated him. He was knocked over and run over more than I was my entire basketball career! He would dodge the ball, if it ever came close to him. All of his shorts had pockets in them, so guess where his hands were at most times. He liked to stand under the basketball goal, and never move. He played better defense, when his team had the ball.

It was comical, and sometimes frustrating to watch. I have to remind myself he is only 6... I didn't start until 4th grade and it eventually came to me. Living in McPherson, there is a lot of pressure to all athletes.... McPherson produces a lot of great ones. I just have to sit back and not put the weight of the world on my boy's shoulders, and if they find their knack, we will all be happy. We will give basketball another try, and go from there.

?????

Guess what?!

Riley is now on day 20 of his fever. And I'm already counting on it being here tomorrow too, so I'm just rounding it up to 3 weeks. BaZaAr is all I think!

We took Riley back to the doctor on Monday, because after his fever had stayed under 100.5 for a few days (what medical peeps consider a fever), it went back up to 101.3 last Sunday. The doctor had previously tested his blood count. To make sure his white blood cell levels were ok. Normal. So on Monday, the doctor tested for C-Protein (something that elevates when something is wrong in your body, or you feel pain) in his blood. Normal. At this point, the doctor just assumed there was a bacterial infection that could not be pin pointed, and put Riley on an antibiotic.

So the school has a rule. Fevers need to be under 99* for 24 hours without any medicine keeping it down (meaning Tylenol/Motrin). For the first time I broke this rule. A nurse friend told me the medical profession didn't consider a fever until it reaches 100.5*. I made my own compromise.... Riley's fever stayed under 100* and he had been on antibiotics. He was showing true signs of depression from staying home. He was having no other side effects. I sent him to school and he toughed out 3 days.

Yesterday, or day 4 of his 5 day antibiotic, he came home with a fever of 101.3*. Arg!! I called the nurse and she wanted him to get in again. I took him in, and this time they ran every lab test that they could. If you look at Riley on paper, he looks like a perfectly healthy boy. If you look at him in person, he has a pale face, with slightly flushed cheeks, and glazed over eyes. They took blood and urine samples. Ran it all. She did compare them to Monday's tests, and levels dropped a little, but still had everything in the normal range. The only thing we know he doesn't have is mono and leukemia.

What do we do now?

She did say that since this all started with Influenza B, we can cross our fingers that it is lingering. If this fever came about with no other symptom, she'd be very alarmed. She still thinks 20 days is pretty long to run a fever. The doctor's office is making us an appointment with an "infectious disease specialist" so they can run more specific tests. She said that most likely the soonest we'd be getting in would be a week or so. This will give us more time to see if the fever fixes itself, and we can cancel if it does so.

As of now, they say Riley isn't contagious, but he should follow the school rules and keep him home for now. (I may need to call and talk to the nurse about that rule... we'll see.)

(A co-worker of mine had a daughter come down with a fever several years ago.... it hung on like this and she was also referred to an IDS. Turns out her body had started spiking to fight off things in her body, that weren't really there. She was put on steroids, and grew out of it eventually. Completely harmless, no matter how scary "Infection Disease" sounds.)

"Baby Wash"

On this beautiful day, we have no school, it's 70+ outside and Reece is healthy! Reece went to play with Savannah for a bit, and he just ran back inside to say, "Mom? Can I play with Jace? Savannah had to go to a Baby Wash."

I believe "SHOWER" is the word he was looking for... I laughed pretty good.
***
That being said, Riley is on day 12 of his fever. I'm still running a mild fever, but I'm functioning well. Hope this beautiful weather turns things around soon!

Conferences

Where to begin.... we had early morning conferences this morning, and I couldn't be happier.

I'll just start with Riley...

Mr. Kluesner still finds Riley a joy in class. He really wishes he could have had Riley 2 years in a row. (Riley's class is a 2nd/3rd grade class.) Since this isn't possible, he's hoping for Reece, who is 2 years away. Riley does wonderful in all areas. His strongest areas are Reading, Spelling, and Math. When asked, he says Math is his favorite.

Riley's Reading level is at "R", and his expectation is "O." I often wonder why Riley doesn't "love" to read, but it's not a subject he struggles in, so I can't fret too much.

On Spelling tests he has a 100% (class average is 72%), Skills tests is 100% too (class is 74%), Cloze test is 94% (class average is 84%). We work daily on Spelling, and it shows. Most often he has to be tested once, and if there is a mistake, that is enough to correct it. He gets "challenge" words that come from the 4th grade level, and occasionally they prove to be a challenge.

In Math, Riley does amazing. His test scores are at 96% (class average is 81%) They also use the Rubric system, 0-3, and Riley falls at 2.9 (class is at 2.1). Then he has his daily work, which is 98% (class is 88%). Obviously, he is understanding this level. Mr. K. said there are some topics that Riley and one other student pick up so easily after a couple lessons, that he moves them to work on the same lesson, but at a 4th grade level.

Riley is doing great in all other areas, just these were his top ones. In Social Studies, Riley will be writing a biography on Babe Ruth. They will put on a "Wax Museum", so Riley needs to find a costume, then other students will be walking up to him, pressing a pretend button, and Riley will come alive to read his biography.

Lastly, Riley is scored on his 8 Keys of Success. This time he was graded on "This Is It" (a.k.a. focusing), "Ownership" (taking responsibility), "Speak with Good Purpose" (Speak thoughtfully and respectfully), and "Failure Leads To Success" (Learning from failures.) Mr. K. says he never gives 5's, but with Riley, he really feels he shows all of these keys, and he lives by them in the class, so 5's all around is what he got.
***
Next we have, Reece.

Not sure how to report on a Kindergartner.... Mrs. Olander loves Reece. Thank goodness, because they loop, which means she gets the same kids for 1st grade.

Reece has mastered over 70 sight words, his reading level is at "C." Kindergarten expects level "B" by end of year. He was asked to count, and was stopped at 150 (goal is 50). He can write up to 100, and has corrected his "teens." (Goal is 20) He was the only child to identify the different coins and amounts. Reece is a strong Math student.

Reece received his strongest score in Art. He is very neat and exact with his work. No coloring outside the lines and very detailed.

Reece's Key's scores.... "Ownership" he got a 4, "Speak with Good Purpose" was a 3, "Failure Leads to Success" is a 4, and he didn't get a score yet on "Integrity", but she noted...

"Reece is an awesome kindergarten student. He is a good listener, makes good choices for his school behavior, and is a kind and thoughtful friend. He is a hard, careful worker and is very dependable!"

She was happy to report, that Reece suddenly stopped tattling. Not sure how or when, but it's not happening anymore. I'm very happy about this. He is growing up so fast!

I just love walking out of conferences, feeling like I have the best kids in the world! Thanks boys!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We don't do much for Valentine's Day around here.... it's a commercial holiday to us.

But I found these fun Kansas Valentine's on Facebook, and there just happened to be 3, so this was my free Valentine's for my 3 Valentines.....( just wish I had some card stock at the time, they didn't stand up for me.) And how appropriate! Kansas plays Kansas State tonight. Rock Chalk!

This is my version of the ideal "heart shaped box of chocolate."

It took Jake a few years to catch on.... but I HATE boxed chocolates!! I love chocolate, but in boxed chocolate, there is usually only 1 piece that I like. So I got my boys (and me) some delicious Hershey's and Dove chocolates!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

(In case anyone is confused... I placed the chocolates as "Love Mom")

Happy 95th!

Today is my Grandmother Kline's 95th Birthday!

I have such wonderful memories of her while growing up.... most of them involve playing card games. She loved games. Skip Bo and Nerts being the games we played most often. When she still lived in Dodge City, she taught us to play shuffle board. What's so wonderful about her is, she has such a LARGE family, underneath her, and to this day (she needs a bit of help these days) she gets all of us a card in the mail for our birthdays and anniversaries. She always has little sweet notes in them, and for the kids, there is always a little money in them. She is such a special woman and we wish her a wonderful day with her family!

Sick and Sicker

Anyone have a plastic bubble we can borrow??

We need out of this house, and we need out now!

Unfortunately, one week later, the boys are still running low grade fevers. You would never think they were sick, the way they act. They have a ton of energy stored up in them, and they need to get it out.... but I'm scared to let them get too active because their little bodies need rest! I really want them to get back to school on Monday, so time is very limited for their fevers to make an exit, so I can obey the 24 hr rule.

This just in..... now I have a fever. Tartar Sauce!!!!

Art By Reece

Kindergarten~2010

16 inches

Looks a lot like this...

Happy February, everyone!!

We have used so many snow days this winter, that we were supposed to have a half day tomorrow, and no school on Friday. Nope! Full day, both days!! Boo!!

I say "boo" because both boys woke with 104 temps, and I really needed those guilt free days to get them better. Influenza B is not a 24 hr bug.... it may take a while....

Not So Healthy Kids

Even drinking lots of water didn't keep Reece and Riley healthy. (See previous post)

Reece started a fever sometime on Saturday. It's hovered around the 100* mark ever since. He has acted completely normal, except he hasn't been interested in eating.

Riley began a fever on Sunday. It also hovered around 100*. Riley was way more miserable. His cheeks were very Rosy, and he was more lethargic during this. Again, not much of an appetite.

On Monday, Reece seemed pretty good, I sent him to school and got the call an hour later to pick him up. Riley was on fire, so we kept him home. Riley always looked sick and Reece never did.

Monday night, things were looking up. We already knew we needed to keep both of them home due to the 24 hr rule, but it was looking like we were in the clear. I gave one last "just in case" dose of Motrin to Riley, and put them to bed.

This morning, Riley woke up with a temperature of 104.9*!!! Reece was about a 101*. I called the doctor and had to go in to see the Physician's Assistant. They both tested positive for Influenza B. The doctor thinks we caught it in time to get Tamiflu in their system. Whew! Either way.... this will be a process to get over. They have to be fever free for 24 hrs, without medicine to go back to school.

This morning I also got the call that gave us a snow day. Yay, for not feeling badly about missing school, and BOO that I had to get out and drive in this today. We were supposed to only get 4-6 inches by the end of today..... pretty sure we had that amount by early morning. One thing I can't get used to, here in McPherson, is how lousy the snow removal is. They rarely plow side streets. Long story short.... we made it to the doctor's office fine, had to drive slow, but fine. The snow looked like it had picked up dramatically while there. We had to go get the Rx, so I went to Dillon's because it was the closest to the office. I was so close to getting stuck! I really had to coax my car to finally move! Then it was home. I slid just a bit at every stop sign, and thankfully, I've learned to relax and not panic when that happens, but in my driveway, I was almost stuck again! I had to coax my car again, with the visual of me hitting the gas and slamming into my neighbors house... hehe! I really get paranoid in snow!!

Finally, we are home with meds, and hopefully it kicks in fast! I've shoveled twice now, and we at least have 8+ inches right now. We need a snow blower, because our driveway is so long, it's very hard to clear off. I really only got the sidewalks and a fifth of our driveway done. My car might be stuck for a bit....

Healthy Reece

Mr. Reece has had a double whammy of health talk at school. He is so funny! He takes school super serious!

Not only does our school give the kiddos a healthy snack every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (it's a great variety:bananas, kiwi, strawberries, grapes, apples, carrots, green peppers w/ ranch, oranges etc...) they give the elementary kids a 4 week (one day a week) Nutrition class. A registered dietitian comes in, and talks to the kids about eating good foods and staying away from bad foods. Then she gives them a TON of new foods to try. Her only rule is to try everything. I've been lucky enough to be able to sit in on this with one of my classes I para in. I'm a smart girl, and I truly understand the importance of eating healthy, and I really desire to eat better than I do, but on a budget, it's often hard to pick all the right foods and not go for the cheaper "not so healthy" items... But I have enjoyed learning with the kids.

Reece has also had a dentist come talk to him about happy teeth. Once again....Reece takes this very seriously! I can't complain though.

Now that Reece has been taught about good health, he has a one track mind. Well... kind of. The only drink he really wants is water. I tell him that he really needs to drink some milk too, but he really wanted me to start packing him a water bottle for lunch, instead of him buying milk. Thankfully, I won that battle.

Aunt Jaime was here on Friday, and she was sipping on a Dr. Pepper. Reece says, "Aunt Jaime? When are you going to stop drinking pop? Pop is really bad because it has too much sugar in it!" (This is as he begged her for some Peanut M&M's, obviously he hasn't been taught about the sugar in those.)

Thanks Mr. Dentist!

Reece has written off pop! Let's see how long that lasts.... He has been complaining of an upset tummy this weekend, and we have a "Sprite Stash" for these times....Jake gets him a Sprite, and Reece was really unhappy about that! He didn't want it. NO POP!!

He has just been a funny kid these days.... He randomly asks me, "Do we have any fruits or vegetables for me to eat?" Wouldn't it be awesome if all of our kids did this all the time? And what would be better, is if they grew up like this FOREVER!

Reece still has some learning to do.... we went to Applebees to meet Aunt Jaime last night. Because Reece's tummy has been hurting, he told me he just wanted water, and no food. I convinced him to eating just 1 of my french fries. (I never eat many of mine.) He guzzled water, and actually ate most of my fries. Back to the water.... I asked him to slow down, because of our drive home. He looked at me, "Mom? Do you know how healthy my tummy wants to be? It wants to be VERY healthy, because I drink so much water!" (Again, he hasn't learned how unhealthy fries are.)

He's just too funny!! And a side note from Reece: If you do drink pop, use a straw! (This is followed by a visual with his hands of how a straw makes the sugar go down your throat)

100th Day

Reece had his 100th day of school today, so check out these awesome glasses!

Also, Reece said the most clever thing.... We were doing his homework just a minute ago, and we were doing his sight word list. I decided to switch to a new list, and it was his number words one through twenty, followed by his color words. He ran down the list with no problem, but when he read "twelve" he added, "it's NOT twoteen."

What a smart boy to recognize that twelve is different from the other teens.

I found "twoteen" to be a funny word.

At his last conference he was reversing his teen numbers. They all ended with the number 1. It makes sense if you think of the way we say it. We say the number teen in that order... he could write his number up to 100, but those darn teens threw him off. It's been fixed. He no longer does this. It's amazing how much kiddos learn in kindergarten these days!

Riley's Art

Just a few of Riley's masterpieces from school.

3rd Grade