Toys, Back Pain and Report Cards

Can I just tell you that my house looks as though a hurricane has blown through it? I speak from experience people! I've got half full boxes littering each room of the house, packed and taped boxes stack against a wall in what used to be our dining room and TOYS TOYS TOYS still scattered amongst it all. Today that all changes.
Yesterday was my last day of work and the kids' last day of school. Today I have to buckle down and fill as many boxes as possible and get them stacked in the dining room. This will include a majority of the toys, much to WiseGuy's chagrin. I'll be leaving some choice cars and trains out for him but the rest have GOT TO GO! This weekend we have to vacate our storage facility and we need somewhere to put all the stuff that we couldn't fit into our house (yeah, they were in storage for a REASON) and so that is my task for the next few days....to turn our itty bitty apartment into a storage facility....NO, I mean, to make room for all of our lovely things . Why must we vacate this weekend rather than just load everything directly into our moving van like normal people? Well, maybe because we aren't normal, HELLO! No, actually, because the billing cycle starts on the 26th of each month, so if we stay past the 26th we will have to pay for an entire month that we just won't be using and that's a waste of a valuable resource (AKA money!) Yes, I realize that I am sitting at the computer versus doing all of these things that I am typing about, but I am giving myself some time each morning to wake up and let my back stretch itself out. For those who don't know, I've had some major back issues as of late but that is slowly getting resolved with the help of a Cortisone shot to the rear, some anti-inflammatories and some real good pain meds. So, I'm giving myself until 9am to sit, check out some blogs, some email and some of my regular websites, let my pain meds kick in and psyche myself up for THE BIG PACK UP!
Send those good vibes and many prayers, my friends! The good Lord knows I'll need them!

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I wanted to add a little to this post and let everyone know how SUPER PROUD I am of my wee ones and their report cards!
I never worry about SmartyPants. The girl is gifted and amazes me all the time. Even before she was diagnosed with ADD she was getting A's and B's. Now that we know what was going on with her in school and have the right tools to deal with her ADD she gets straight A's every time. This entire year her report card has been loaded with A's....not a B on the paper! There have been several areas in the other subjects where she has been sort of lacking....you now the subject I mean...the ones where you get E for excellent, G for good, S for satisfactory and N for need improvement. She used to get N or S for her handwriting. Yesh folks, it was that bad. This year she spent the first three grading periods with a G and was VERY happy with that because it showed me she was trying. Well, for the very first time my girl got an E in handwriting! It shows me she is developing the discipline to slow down and take the time to write her answers neatly! She used to breeze through tests thinking that it meant she was smarter and better because she was done first. I've always told her that it doesn't matter if your answers are correct if no one can READ them. Seems she has taken this to heart and is taking her time to make her papers presentable and I am very proud of her for that! And of course she was promoted to the Fifth grade!
Now....as for WiseGuy....well...folks, I'm proud of his academic abilities, but his behavior leaves a lot to be desired. Here's the thing....he was actually 4 years old when he started school this year. He turned 5 a week after. He did meet the cut off date and had been in Pre K so we thought he was generally ready for school. But oh my goodness! Notes home from the teacher constantly were a reminder that he ws younger and let mature than his classmates. I will type out his report card below for all four grading periods and you'll see what I mean

Performance scale: S- Satisfactory N-Needs Improvement (that's all they get in Kindergarten)

Grading Period -----------1 2 3 4
Language Arts -----------S S S S
Mathematics -------------S S S S
Social Studies
----Participates by listening and following directions ---S S S S
Science/Health
----Participates by listening and following directions --N N N N
Phys Ed
----Listens and follows directions ----------------------S S N N
----Demonstrates Knowledge--------------------------S S S S
Music
----Listens and follows directions ---------------------S N N N
----Demonstrates Knowledge-------------------------S S S S
Art
----Listens and follows directions-------------------- N N N N
----Demonstrates Knowledge -----------------------S S S S

(Ok, so far can you see what I mean? He has the knowledge but he DOESN'T LISTEN!)

SCHOOL BEHAVIOR/PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
Takes pride in work ---------N N S- S-
Makes wise use of time------N N S- S
Listens attentively ----------N N S- S-
Follows directions -----------S S S S
Respects rights and property of others----S S S S
Works and plays cooperatively ------N S- S- N
Works Independantly
Respects Authority
Completes Class Assignments
Returns books, forms, etc. on time --All of the above S S S S

The rest of the report card just shows what skills he has and he has them all, which is great. But I worry. He really is a smart kid but he is ALL OVER THE PLACE. We are hoping he gains some maturity over the summer and maybe calms down a bit. I certainly wouldn't change my little man for anything, but I just want to be sure he gets the best education possible....and how can you soak up the knowledge when you are busy jumping off of chairs and making animal noises (both things he has been routinely guilty of throughout the year)

Regardless, I am very proud of both of my children. The both received several awards. SmartyPants got straight A honor roll, perfect attendance and the Math Drill award. WiseGuy received S honor roll and a Math Drill award.
YAY FOR MY BABIES!!!