Trials....randomness...

Last night, Nathaniel had his conferences. His Dad came up for them, too. I think that it was good that his Dad came for them. His teacher had good things to say. Nathaniel is a great reader and he doesn't really mispronounce words when she quizzes him. He excels in Math, too...his favorite subject. He is great at seeing the big picture of a math problem and knows the answer quickly. She said that most kids in the class go through the basic steps to get an answer, and they don't always see the big picture. He struggles with his spelling, and not just the spelling words, but his everyday writing of the basic words. Part of that is with homeschooling...I didn't get too crazy with him memorizing the words, and part of that is that is his struggling subject. I told Nathaniel that spelling is something he will have to put daily effort in. Another thing she mentioned is that he has come a long way socially, and developmentally. He really struggled in the beginning of the year. He isn't very organized (OK, not really at all) and he "forgets" to turn things in. He needs to learn to grab on to responsibility. It will come...some of that is his age. Any ideas of a fun game...or way to teach responsibility to our children? We have tried the list route...but he "forgets" that, too. We met with the music teacher, and she said Nathaniel is a good kid from a class that is chatty. Nathaniel gets the honor of playing the drum for the "Holiday" concert next month. On a side note, why can't schools call it a Christmas concert anymore...it is so sad that our world keeps squeezing God out of things. I wasn't impressed with Nathaniel's gym teacher. He didn't even really know who Nathaniel was. That made a statement in itself. All in all, Nathaniel is doing great. We will work together to get him memorizing words and spellings...
Today my kids are sick. Caleb woke up about 11 last night asking to have his diaper changed. Then he told Dad that he had a headache. Terry felt him, and sure enough he was hot. I checked his temp and it was 101.7. We gave him some Tylenol, and then put him back to bed with cuddling. He was up on and off all night, though. Maddie has a cough and it is getting worse. So, this afternoon, I will be having a dual appointment for them. Caleb was sick a few weeks ago, and he got a fever of 103! He had a runny nose then, too, but we just watched him closely. I hate when I get to the clinic and they say, "Well, it's just a virus...got home and wait it out." I guess it is better to be sure...but $25.00 per child~ per co-pay...that adds up! Then, if they need medicine, too? I wish I could grow a money tree, because it sure would help sometimes.
I hope the kids are better so we can do our Thanksgiving meal here. It will just be my parents, my brother (maybe), my niece and her boyfriend, and our family (minus Nathaniel since he went to his Dad's this year). It will still be fun. My brother and his girlfriend will come later afternoon for pie and ice cream.