So Professional

Noel and Tommy 2011

Noel and her cousin will forever have a special bond. Tommy was born on Noel's second birthday. She doesn't remember ever having a birthday that she didn't share. He has always shared a birthday. 

This morning, while getting ready for school, the phone rang. I heard a cute little voice on the other line. The conversation with this adorable boys went something like this:

Tommy: Um...Noel...this is Thomas.

Me: Did you want to talk to Noel?

Tommy: Yes. This is Thomas.

Me: Happy birthday!

Tommy: Thank you. 

Gotta love a kid that uses the name that is only said when he is in trouble on the phone.

Making Up for the Missing Parent

Once again, I found myself trying to comfort my daughter because her dad isn't doing what she expected. This seems to be the theme with my kids this year. Even though my husband and I do everything we can to make birthdays special, plan fun things for the weekends we have them, and fill in when their dad isn't there for them, it doesn't change the fact that the kids are disappointed when their dad doesn't deliver what they expect.
Last year, he was rude and obnoxious about wanting Noel for half of her birthday even though it was on Thanksgiving and it was my turn to have the kids for Thanksgiving. I eventually gave in and let him take her out for breakfast or lunch (I don't remember which). Yesterday, my sweet girl came to me in tears after school and told me that she wasn't going to be able to see her dad on her birthday. I hadn't even thought about it. I figured he would maybe want to do something the next day at least since he has been so partial to her since we split. I called him to get the whole story. He said that he would maybe call her that day. I ended up putting Noel on the phone because I am tired of giving them his bad news/making up for his decisions this year. She cried as she talked to him, but basically go the same answer she had received Tuesday. I once again had to comfort by child because of his selfishness.
Now, I feel compelled to make tomorrow everything she has dreamed it would be. I need to make cookies for her to bring to her class, finish her baptism dress, make sure we have all the fixings for the dinner she wants me to make,go to her class party, and make her favorite cake (I think she may be the only one that REALLY likes it). On top of that, I have to make sure I do everything within the restricted budget that we have been living on since her dad stopped paying child support. (I don't mean that as we are poor. We just have a smaller budget than I would like.) It's a good thing that she understands that the two parents that she lives with will do what they can to make her day special.

I Will Catch Up

My plan today is to catch up on my posts. I have the next few days off of work. I am working on making a dress for Noel for her baptism, so I won't have a lot of time. I will definitely post information about her baptism and pictures of her pretty dress.

Parent/Teacher Conference

I started this post a little over a month ago:

This week I went to parent/teacher conferences for two kids before school. (The other kid told me that his school was having conferences the morning of and I work nights, so I couldn't arrange to go.) The first one was on Tuesday with my daughter's teacher. She is in second grade.  I got mixed reviews from her teacher. It seems she is doing great in math. She was able to answer some questions on the assessment that she "wasn't supposed to know yet." That was quite exciting to hear! Then came the rough to hear news. She is behind in reading. She is testing a grade level behind. I had to ask questions about how to help her. My boys have always been so advanced in reading that the teachers were in awe. Reading just came natural to them. I asked her teacher what I could do. She gave me some suggestions. As far as what they are doing at school to help her...she will be starting a new program next week that will last 10 weeks and has been known to help, and she has been working with a teacher that helps kids who are behind in reading for a few weeks. She, then, told me her other concern. Noel is a bit too social in class. She talks to and plays with her friends when she should be learning. We explained to my sweet little girl that if she would pay attention more in class, it may help. She paid extra attention in class for the rest of the week. When I called the kids' dad to let him know what the teacher said, he said he will talk to his mom and get some suggestions. For now, I am going to set aside time for reading with just her in the morning (I found out when she is reading by herself at night she is just looking at the pictures.)
The next day, I had conference with Sean's teacher. It was quite a different experience. He reads at a very advanced reading level (she didn't tell me the grade level), and is in an advanced math program. She, for some reason, wasn't as positive as I would have though. She pointed out that he tested as "advanced" on his math and reading TCAP tests. Then, she stressed that he tested as, "only proficient (at grade level)" in writing. (I though that was pretty dang good considering she had said that as a school they were a bit behind in writing.) Her main concern was the same I have heard since Sean was in kindergarten, he isn't very social and will not work in a group unless he is forced to. I, again, called the kids' dad to let him know what the teacher had said. He was pleased and not surprised at what she had said about his personality or test scores pointing out that Sean's aversion to working with a group is a lot like mine (social situations are hard sometimes).

UPDATE: Noel is now checking out grade level books at school, and reading them out loud very well. The changes that were made at home and at school have helped her a lot. I can't believe how quickly she is improving!