Spirit Week & Midterms

This was one crazy week.  Spirit week and Exam week all rolled into one was a lot.  We started the week with Merry Monday - wear red and green.  Simple.  Easy.  We also enjoyed watching the Big Head Parade at school.  The 11th grade art students make giant heads.  Our favorites were the ones they did of the teachers.  (The one with the puffed out lips is the PE coach blowing a whistle.)  

Tuesday was Christmas t-shirt Tuesday.  Wednesday was Christmas pajamas.  Thursday was Theme day - each class had to decide on a theme together.  Caroline's class did candy canes, so I did that with mine as well thinking it would be easy.  But I was late to the stores and there were zero red and white striped shirts anywhere.  I pinned red ribbon to my white shirt and called it a day.  Caroline wore candy cane garland as a necklace.  I watched what the other classes did and next year we'll be snowmen - white shirt and a scarf.  So much easier.  Henry's class were reindeer and his teacher was Santa.  Henry was Vixen and he refused to wear a name tag like the rest of his class.  If someone asked him his name, he would pull a card out of his pocket and show them "Vixen" and then quickly put it back.  Josiah's class dressed as Christmas ornaments and decorations.  Josiah came as a tree.  We got the last Christmas tree sweatshirt at Target.  It was an XL, so Josiah will have it for years to come.  He loves it. 

With it being exam week, Caroline spent a lot of her afternoons and evenings studying.  By Wednesday evening, however, her brain was tired and she did not want to study anymore.  She said she wasn't going to do well on her Call of the Wild exam, but then brought home a 122/122 the following day.  

I saw Henry study more than usual as well, but Josiah, who has an extra study hall at school, got his studying done there.  From the grades they've gotten back, they all did very well.  Since these were cumulative tests, the boys' math teacher gave them smaller mini tests throughout the week to review the earlier material.  They were still graded and counted.  The boys were keeping track of their scores all week.  Then the big exam happened Thursday.  Both boys checked their email often Thursday afternoon and evening.  Finally their scores came in - Josiah got a 93 and Henry a 92.  That one point difference just about killed Henry.  

Henry brought home his painting from art class.  Over the course of the quarter, they painted head shots of their pets.  Henry's painting of Benson turned out really well.  He said he finished his painting early, so he painted a few landscapes as well.  

Josiah did paintings this week as well, but he is wrapping them up for Christmas gifts, so no photos.   He did hear back about the play auditions.  The cast list was released and Josiah got the part of Moody Spurgeon.  Josiah looked back at the character descriptions and saw that Moody was: awkward, unattractive, and critical.  Someone has to do it, so do it well. He has about 16 lines, so he should have no issue memorizing them before the performance in May.  

I survived the week before Christmas with a class of three-year-olds.  The last two days of the week I surrendered to the fact that we were not going to accomplish learning anything meaningful and we talked a lot about their Christmas decorations, the color of lights on their trees, how old their siblings were, and who likes dinosaurs.  The last day of school we just played games -- Pin the Bow on the Present was a hit.  We went three rounds before I made us move on.  

The last day of school, the upper school played games as well.  In between our Chapel service in the morning and the Singalong before lunch, they played games for points that went towards their houses.  Our kids said their house did not fair well.  When they played a Family Feud style game, one question was Name an occupation that starts with the letter J.  Their teammate yelled out gym teacher.  There were groans. 

Todd has been laying low and recuperating from his kidney stone surgery on Thursday.  The doctor broke up two stones, one of which was in the process of blocking the entrance to the ureter.  When the doctor called me after the surgery was complete, he said Todd must have been in some pain with its size and location.  Yep.  He can attest to that.  

The big news of the week was not just the end of school but the end of Caroline's medical appeals.  Woohoo.  Our insurance had denied 27 days of her inpatient treatment.  I've been fighting with them and sending in appeals for the past 15 months.  It was mentally exhausting and I can see why people give up.  Because the insurance said the decision to stay inpatient was subjective, we were allowed to request an external appeal - the last of the appeals.  In October, I sent in 300 pages of hospital records, highlighted, tabbed, and labeled, along with a five page letter detailing her treatment and every aspect of her care. The frustrating part was that every doctor that saw her indicated the necessity that she stay inpatient because of the infection's proximity to her central nervous system.  Our insurance was not having it.  The external appeal came back and they overturned our insurance's denial legally obligating them to pay. What was even more validating was their wording - they eloquently said she was not in there for convenience's sake, but stated this is a rare, extensive presentation with a very high risk of mortality and morbidity.  Her presentation and likelihood of decompensation were significant.  Finally.  It felt like they got it.  So that has been a huge sigh of relief (we were on the hook for 121k).  Now for them to process the claims...

Since we are now on Christmas break, we finally got the house decorated a bit more.  Lights were strung.

The tree was decorated.  Unpacking the ornaments was quite a different experience at the ages of 15, 13, & 11.  I did not know we would be doing it speed round style.  I couldn't unwrap the ornaments fast enough.  

Henry did the star.  

Josiah and Caroline spent some time decorating cookies.

And our trio of deer visited our backyard for a snack this evening. 

The biggest debate this coming week is what time to wake up on Christmas morning.  Josiah is pushing for 6:00 a.m.  Henry is pushing for 6:30, and Caroline wanted 7.  She appreciates sleep more than the boys.  

Christmas Parties & Preparations

On Monday, Caroline came home with her picture of Buck.  She won second place in her class and got to pick out a prize - she chose a green pen.  She said the first place winner did a really good job, but it was slightly unfair because while everyone else had to leave their pencil drawings in the classroom over the weekend, first place somehow brought her picture home and used watercolors.  

Early in the week the kids said they were starving for dinner.  That is key to the story.  It was a leftover sort of meal, which is never very exciting.  I wanted to use up the leftover cornbread that no one really liked because it came out incredibly bland.  I cooked the slices in a pan of butter.  But I did not keep the best eye on it, or it cooked quicker than I expected.  When I smelled the smoke, I flipped them over and they were definitely charred.  When I called the kids for dinner they all asked what was in the frying pan.  Blackened cornbread.  They all took a piece.  And they all ate it.  It's all in the name.  I actually thought it was pretty good.  

Henry has been working on a paper for his English class.  He said that at the beginning of the year, his teacher passed out a form for each student to fill out.  The students gave a self-assessment of their skills in grammar, writing, punctuation, etc.  Henry gave himself a lot of 3 out of 5s because he really did not know his skill level.  Now as the paper is due, he says his teacher should take that 3 out of 5 into consideration when she grades his paper and grade him higher because she's pleasantly surprised he wrote at a level higher than a 3.  His plan is to keep his self assessments in the middle of the road for all his school years.  Keeping those teachers pleasantly surprised for years to come.   

Mid-week, Josiah tried out for our school's spring play, Anne of Green Gables.  They had him read for the part of Matthew and he said it went well overall.  They called him back a second time and asked him to read as Rachel opposite another girl.  His teacher said she liked his Rachel voice.  If he was going to try-out, he was going all the way.  We're not sure when they'll announce the parts.  When Josiah signed up for the try-outs, he checked Minor Role, so hopefully he'll get something.  He wants to start small to see how it all works before going for a bigger role. 

Friday night, we drove to SWU for their Christmas party.  We almost left the younger two at home because they were less than enthusiastic to go.  They ended up coming and everyone enjoyed the buffet of hors d'oeuvres, especially the trays of cookies and the hot chocolate bar.  Santa and Mrs. Claus showed up.  Josiah wanted a picture for his friends, but it was hard to get a picture without a random kid on his lap.  As part of the evening, all the kids were given gifts.  The boys received envelopes with Amazon gift cards and Caroline got a karaoke machine.  She came home, plugged it in, and belted out Christmas tunes while the microphone changed her voice to a mouse voice.  It was like an Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas singalong. 

Caroline had a busy weekend.  She went ice skating with the church group in downtown Anderson.  It was a tiny little 'rink' - maybe 1/3 the size of a real ice rink, but she had fun and she didn't fall.  She grew an appreciation for figure skaters as her feet were killing her afterwards.  She went from there to her class Christmas party.  It was just the ladies from her class, and they decorated cookies and did a gift/sock exchange.

The kids have midterms this week.  They are not looking forward to their first midterms.  To relax himself before the week ahead, Josiah took paint to canvas after church today.  I see Bob Ross' influence.  

Then I commissioned him to help me with the Christmas party for my classroom.  I wanted a snowman cornhole with one big hole so the 3-year-olds could get the beanbag in the hole.  Josiah did not disappoint.   

Next week is both exam week and Spirit Week.  A little torture, a little fun.  Praying we make it through.  

Buck & Breakdowns

Henry missed his first day of school on Monday.  He had a fever the night before, so he couldn't go.  He did not like missing and said his teachers would expect him to come in Tuesday with all his Monday work completed.  I said they wouldn't.  He didn't believe me and borrowed Josiah's math book to get at least his math homework done.  

Caroline finished reading The Call of the Wild this week and after all the class discussions and answering of questions, they were tasked to draw what they imagined Buck looked like.  He was a St Bernard/Scotch Shepherd mix.  Caroline commissioned Josiah to draw his version of Buck to give her a guide when she drew him in class.  Caroline also asked that he draw the wolf that Buck runs off with at the end of the book. They are still working on their artwork in class, but her teacher noted that she was artistic like her brother.  (Josiah's work below)

I was observed by my boss this week - I get observed four times a year.  On Monday, we had a new friend join our class.  The first boy in a group of seven girls, so now we are eight.  It was a bit of a crazy start.  They had just gotten off of Thanksgiving break and had to get back into the routine again.  We had quite a number of potty accidents.  There were several emotional breakdowns.  I never know how the observations are going to go, but that day the Lord was with us.  My boss came in, sat down, and the kids acted so well it was amazing.  They have never been so calm during their station time, and they probably never will be again, but they were at just the right time!  

Josiah is quick to leave us selfies should we ever leave our phones unattended.  Caroline does, too, but she would not like me to share her images...

Two weeks until Christmas break.  The kids have said this week is the 'easy' week.  The following week is full of exams and midterms.  This week, Josiah is going to try out for the spring play, Anne of Green Gables.  He was even encouraged by his classmates to try out.  In his Ancient History class, they were reading part of Aescheylus aloud and Josiah said he broke into a British accent.  His teacher let him go with it because he was 'understandable.'  When another kid started talking in a British accent, the teacher interrupted immediately and said, No. You can't.  My kids love their British accents.  Caroline broke into a British accent during her drama class a few weeks ago, too.  

And so begins another week.

Carbsgiving

Caroline has been participating in the student ministry at our new church.  They meet on Sunday nights and every month they do a Destination Unknown trip.  You bring $5 and they'll bring you to an unknown place to eat.  This past month they went to Bojangles.  When I asked Caroline what she got, she said a 5-count meal.  What?  That's way more than $5.  Apparently you bring $5, but you can order anything under $12.  Not too shabby.  She's a fan.

For Thanksgiving week, they had a Progressive Dinner.  They gathered and drove to one house for an appetizer, a second house for the main course, and a third house for dessert.  She enjoyed it a lot. We're trying to get the boys involved, but Caroline isn't pushing too hard for them to join her.  

Josiah and I headed up to Staunton for the first week of Thanksgiving break.  The drive up seemed long.  I think we were tired from finishing up school.  I try to keep stops to a minimum since it is only a seven hour car trip.  However, when I asked Josiah what he wanted to eat, he chose a place that he never gets to go because his siblings always veto it.  Wendy's.  Wendy's, known for their speed and efficiency.  We stopped.  We waited.  We will never use Wendy's as a car-trip-stop again.  Josiah slowly enjoyed his burger for the rest of the car ride.  You better savor that buddy!

We got to visit with Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Claire.  Josiah got to walk Maggie, which is always high on the list of things to do.  

Josiah also wanted to do a mini photo shoot in the backyard.  I quickly learned why.  

Again, no weight is being put on the pergola.

The next day, we headed to the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum.  In his quest to visit all the presidential libraries, Josiah crossed off his second one.  A guided tour came with the price of admission, and when it was our time for the tour, it was just Josiah and me.  There was a lot about his early life and marriages, but less about his presidency.  It was a good tour.  We were able to browse the museum by ourselves.  Before we left, Josiah reminded me that they had a World War I exhibit downstairs.  We walked down the concrete stairwell and as soon as we entered the exhibit, we heard noises.  It sounded like old pipes and a furnace was turning on, which was completely believable given the old building.  Josiah heard the sounds and immediately turned around with a, Let's go!  I convinced him it was just the pipes and we walked further in.  Then we learned it was a WWI experience of trench warfare.  Not pipes.  Gunfire.  

Before the museum, my knowledge of Woodrow Wilson was driving across his bridge connecting Virginia with Maryland.  Josiah had more knowledge about his role in World War I, but he also knew that he was the president who kept sheep on the White House lawn (to save money during WWI).  His 'mascot' for the museum was Wooly the Sheep, which was also the souvenir Josiah bought. 

Josiah did not want to try the hibachi restaurant like his siblings.  He is not a fan of rice...or vegetables.  However, to still give him a fire-in-your-face experience, we let him light Grandma's candles both evenings.  

Josiah and I headed back to SC at the beginning of the week.  Then, mid-week, Todd took Henry and Caroline to see Grandad & Nana for Thanksgiving.  Josiah and I stayed behind to take care of Benson.  A few hours after they had left, Josiah had three friends over and they got to working on another film.  Josiahpool and No One, the Movie.  They had a lot of fun and they took over as videographers.  I just took the group shots at the end.  

Since it was just Josiah and me for Thanksgiving, Josiah was able to pick his favorite dishes.  Introducing, Carbsgiving.  He wanted mashed potatoes with gravy, crockpot mac and cheese, and rolls.  We skipped (forgot about) the rolls.  As his "fruit or vegetable" we opened a can of fruit cocktail that had been in our pantry for quite some time.  Josiah always said it looked good, so Happy Thanksgiving to him!  Benson got a hot dog.  

Henry and Caroline had a much more traditional Thanksgiving meal at Grandad and Nana's.  When I talked to Henry that evening he said everything was quite good.  Caroline reinvigorated her love of badminton, playing it every day.  Henry, unfortunately, caught a stomach bug, so he was down for the count.  It had been a year and a half since the kids had visited, so it was good to say hello again!  

Poor Henry had a high fever when he came home, but he seems to be on the mend today.  He was adamant about not missing school on Monday, but he may need another day to recuperate.  We're down to just three more weeks of school before our longer Christmas break.