4th Grade Struggle

Oh how fourth grade is killing me!!!!

Small Fry is struggling so much with his fourth grade year.  Last year we had the teacher nazi and this year I really like his teacher but he is not making the grades I'm expecting.  He seems to be having a hard time grasping the concept of organization.  He hasn't been bringing papers home and has missed several assignments resulting in a zero. I have to go to his school every Thursday to pick him up so that we can actually walk back to his classroom and check his desk, making sure he didn't forget any papers or homework.  I write him a note every week telling him to wear his glasses in class.  His teacher says she hardly ever sees him wearing them.  I feel like I need to sit down next to his desk to watch him all day long.  Ugh. So frustrating!!!

His grades were what I would call middle of the road and his math grade was a D last nine weeks.  It breaks my heart that he knows it's not a grade that we want to see in our house.  I think in his mind, he really is trying and he might be, just not in a way that is resulting in good grades and turned in assignments.

You see, Small Fry is my laid-back, easy going kid.  He doesn't worry about anything.  He is the epitome of my father.  My father was a charismatic, easy going guy.  Never saw him mad a day in my life.  My sweet 9 year old is the same way.  I've always thought this "no worrying" gene was a blessing for Small Fry because  Tater Tot, the 12 year old, is a complete worrier like me.  He worries that he won't make an A on everything.  He puts a tremendous amount of pressure on himself and it shows, as he makes straight A's. 

I don't like to compare my kids because while they are two peas in a pod and best friends, they are complete opposites.  I want them to be individuals and grow into their own person, even if it means holding one of them down and making him do his homework. Ha!

I just can't figure out what to do about Small Fry.  Besides paying $500 to $700 a month on Sylvan Learning Center, I don't know many other options.  By the way, I only work part-time and that's almost more than I make in my little pt job.  Add to that the fact that I very rarely receive child support from the ex.  Not to air my laundry but it's life and what I have to deal with in making financial decisions.  Granted Mr. H and I would spend any amount of money to make sure the boys are successful in school, but my gosh, that's so expensive.  If I do go that route, it better work!

I'm going to spend the next week talking to the teacher, scanning the internet for solutions and racking my brain for ideas.  Help!

Great new chicken recipes

pic courtesy of What's For Dinner?


Grilled Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Breasts

Ingredients:
3 four oz. boneless skinlesss chicken breasts
3 T Kraft Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette Dressing

Directions:
Marinate chicken breasts in dressing for at least 30 minutes. 
Grill on medium high heat, about 5 minutes per side until chicken is done and juices run clear.

Grilled Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:
4 4 oz. boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 T Kraft Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette Dressing
1/2 cup Hunts Pasta Sauce Garlic & Herb
3 oz. Low Fat Mozzarella Cheese, shredded

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Preheat grill.
Marinate chicken in dressing for at least 30 minutes. Grill chicken 5 minutes per side. Transfer to baking dish.
Heat sauce in microwave until warm. Top each breast with 2 T sauce, followed by cheese equally divided. Bake the chicken for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Number of Servings: 4

Busy Fun Coach Filled Weekend

This past weekend, Tater Tot was scheduled to attend a soccer referree class on Friday night and all day Saturday.  Well, it snowed 3 inches here in Oklahoma, which means everything was cancelled, including the ref class.  I think he was super disappointed because he was really looking forward to the fun of ref'ing 4 and 5 year old little kids in soccer.  We're hoping they reschedule the class soon.

Instead of taking him to class as we had originally planned, we headed to the mall to buy the boys some jeans.  They are quickly outgrowing their other pairs and Abercrombie and Hollister were having some great sales.  Tater Tot is 12 years old and officially declared at the beginning of the year that those were the types of clothes he wanted to wear.  Ugh.  I've created a monster but really can't get mad because he comes by this naturally.  He's actually so much less spoiled than I was at his age.  I know, it's not something I'm proud of now that I'm married to a penny-pinching accountant.  Ha! 

Anyway, we found that the jeans were 30% off, which made them very reasonable.  I likey!

On Saturday, Mr. H had planned to go to a beautiful shopping area in Tulsa called Utica Square.  I love Utica Square because all of the higher end shops are there!  Mr. H loves Jos. A. Banks, the menswear store.  He is so  much like a routine-loving accountant that he looked on the internet and wrote down everything he wanted to buy on a big list.  It made me laugh at him, but I really love all of his accountant like ways.  It's so cute!

After Mr. H bought his clothes, he told me that we needed to walk over to the Coach store to get a purse.  I was thrilled!  I'm a typical mom and everytime I think of spending a ton of money on myself, I think of my boys and would rather spend it on them.  Well, I've wanted a Colette collection Coach purse for a very long time so I didn't feel guilty at all!  I love it and can't wait to carry it around!  It holds so much stuff...even my adorable pink breast cancer awareness daytimer!

I had them tie the scarf on the handle of my purse and it's so adorable!

The boys smelled this in the Coach shop and told me it smelled just like me so I bought a little purse perfume!

After Utica Square, we headed back to the same mall we were at on Friday night because we had our niece with us and she had a Hollister giftcard from Christmas.  We took her and helped her pick out some cute shirts.  I think she was thrilled to get some new clothes.  She's a beautiful girl and would look cute in a potato sack! 

Now I just have to deal with the Mommy guilt of having spent money on myself.  I'm completely lying when I say I felt no guilt....oh motherhood, how you kill me with the guilt!

~Swish~!

Tonight Small Fry had his basketball game against the Catoosa Indians and his team did terrific.

They all hustled and worked together to beat the Indians!

During the last minute of the game, Small Fry got the ball and took a chance, shooting it from the 3 point range....

AND HE SWISHED IT!!!

I screamed so loud he said he could hear me on the court! HA!

I just get excited and can't help it.  I told him he would understand when he had children playing sports.  It's a thrill like no other!

It was the best moment of the season so far!  We beat them 10 - 4!!! You have to love fourth grade basketball!