The Beauchamp FamilyYes, we really are this geeky…

Cassie gets at least 1 or 2 pride awards per year at school. She’s one of those really good kids in school so is always getting an award. It doesn’t make it any less special, but when Jamie gets something, it’s a cause for celebration as well. Jamie is definitely a more middle-of-the-road kid so they don’t seem to get recognized as often. Jamie struggles with that because Cassie comes home with a “gold star” every day and we are happy if he’s only lost a color two. He likes to talk, I totally get it. I have a similar problem. At any rate, I couldn’t be more proud of him. He really has been working SO hard this year, not only with his grades, but also to take more personal responsibility for himself and his behavior.

I, of course, took photos

I’m pretty lucky. My kids have always gotten along pretty well. They have their moments, but for the most part, they are really cool. This school year, we’ve put them in charge of getting their own breakfast (unless we offer to cook something – not usually!) and their own lunch. I was sitting here putting on my shoes when I heard them talking while making breakfast. It’s interesting how well they work together to get their cereal made. They choose one, Jamie gets down the bowls while Cassie finds the spoons. Then Cassie pours the cereal in and Jamie pours in the milk. Voila!

Now, if I could train them to put the milk and cereal back in the fridge/cabinet…

BUT it is really sweet how well they do together. It makes me proud to think that I actually had something to do with that, it was my superior parenting skills that have shaped my children into cooperative… oh heck… it was luck.

We were snugging Sunday morning, Cassie and I. She was being a sweet and giving me tons of kisses and hugs.I really love weekend mornings, the kids are relaxed and always ready with hugs and kisses. It’s also when I know they will talk to me more than just a mumble here and there. But usually it’s about getting as many hugs and kisses as I can out of them. I figure they are still young and sweet and eventually they won’t want to share the love (well, not with me anyway… eep!)

The conversation went like this:

Me: Will you always have kisses for me?
Cassie: Yes, always
Me: How about when you’re 10?
Cassie: Of course
Me: How about when you’re 13?
Cassie: Yes, Mom!
Me: How about when you’re 15?
Cassie: I can’t make no promises about that.

Sigh. Yeah. That’s what I thought.

I absolutely must brag on my children. They both got really really good grades!

Jamie got 2 As and 3 Bs. 2 of those Bs were 89s, so just one little point away from an A. Here’s how they broke down:
Reading – 86
Written Comp – 89
Social Studies – 89
Math – 92
Science – 93

He received “satisfactory” in PE and Art and an “excellent” in music. The only “bad” grade he got was a “needs improvement” in the citizenship department because he doesn’t work well in groups and he doesn’t always pay attention (welcome to my world, teacher lady!) It’s no surprise he doesn’t do well in groups. I get annoyed when I have to work in a group too. I’m just 35 years old and have learned to grit my teeth and deal with it. *laughing*

Cassie did very excellent as well. She doesn’t get actual grades, but I don’t think I’ve seen a B come home from that child. She’s super dedicated. Her report card was all 3s and 4s with a few 2s thrown in. The only 1 she got was in technology because they hadn’t done it yet. Yeah, the kid with her own blog and has a computer in her room. Cute.

At any rate… mommy brag over. I am quite proud though!

A couple of weeks ago Tom came home with a behavior slip. Jamie had apparently gotten written up school. He sent Jamie to his room and then nearly burst out laughing while trying to tell me what happened.

Apparently, he decided to play a joke on some of his friends. He told them that there was $500 hidden in the locked toilet paper supply cabinet in the 4th grade boy’s bathroom. This went on for a few days. I’m not sure if they planned it or if it just happened, but Jamie and 2 other boys ended up meeting at the same time in the bathroom where they proceeded to try to pry open the cabinet with the bathroom passes. Thankfully a teacher came by before they could do any damage to school property.

Ah, not so bad right? But he didn’t stop them and tell them it was a joke that went too far. He also lied to the teacher, insisting that he didn’t have anything to do with it. Tom said the principal was trying not to laugh either. What we are all, I think, trying to figure out is why $500? I mean, if you’re going to do it, go big, think $5000! So, for posterity’s sake, here is my son’s first write up from school. I’m so proud. Also are the apology letters he had to write as punishment.

Tom and I, even a few weeks later, are still giggling about this. You just never know what kids are going to do, I suppose. Luckily, there was no damage done. While contrite, I could tell he was pretty proud of himself for pulling off the joke for so long. Yeah, he is definitely our son.

So tonight at dinner I explained to Jamie and Cassie that I was going to start looking for a job outside of teaching. The teacher market is pretty flooded right now and there is basically no hiring going on until next summer. While sitting on my computer tonight Cassie comes into my office and we have a little conversation:

Cassie: “Why don’t you wanna be a teacher any more?”

So I explained that it wasn’t that I didn’t want to, there just weren’t any jobs.

Cassie:”You just gotta stick with it, Daddy. You’re a good teacher. It may take a while, but you’ll get hired.”

Then she added,”Acourse, it could take YEARS! You just gotta stick with it.”

From the mouths of babes….I really do want to teach more than anything. You can bet I’ll be flinging resumes again next summer.

Jamie told us a joke today at dinner and I thought it was funny enough to share…

The phone went green green. I pinked it up and said yellow.

*giggle*

The Tooth Fairy has been busy in our house, there are teeth falling out all over the place. It’s kinda crazy, actually. I posted about the trick the tooth fairy pulled earlier, they both lost their teeth on the same day and she brought them each half of $10 bill. Apparently, Jamie hatched a plan…

They’ve both had loose teeth for a while again. Cassie is, of course, babying hers and refusing to help it along at all. This morning Jamie’s tooth was so loose and it was poking him, so he pulled it out. No problem, no more tooth.

He just came in here and was asking me about the Tooth Fairy (he knows, yes) and then ran off demanding that Cassie pull her tooth too. Apparently he thinks the old broad is going to cough up another $5 each. *laughing* If he succeeds, she might just have to… hmmm…

He asked Cassie thought and she ran away screaming “No!!!” so I doubt he’ll get his wish.

He came in and told me what happened and then said, “Geez, mom, you’d think she’s going to keep it forever and give it a name already!” I cracked up. My little boy is getting my sarcastic sense of humor alright. LOL

Maybe the old fairy lady should leave him a $20 for spite. *laughing*

Cassie let me take a video of her playing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star last week. She’s getting pretty good at it. She’s gotten better even in the past week, speeding it up a little and letting her fingers move faster on the strings. I’m pretty impressed seeing as she’s only been at it for a few months. (be warned, she’s a little squeaky in places, this is not the symphony folks!)

Maybe Jamie will let me post him playing clarinet soon too.

So, Saturday night both the kids lost teeth. Cassie lost that top one that had been loose since April (not kidding) and Jamie lost his first molar. I did end up pulling Cassie’s for her. She has really weird teeth, they don’t seem to dissolve all the way and they start poking her and she starts complaining and I can’t take it anymore so I reach up and tug it just a little and it pops out. So there’s no real “pulling” going on there – I just need relief from the constant whining. I seriously cannot take it.

So, I yanked her tooth out. After many tears beforehand, I yanked it out and she didn’t even know it was out. Of course.

I had promised we would have a sleepover on the living room floor and watch Tooth Fairy, the movie. So that’s what we did. We laughed and giggled in all the right places, etc etc.

I started to fall asleep when Jamie comes over and tells me “hey mom, my tooth is getting looser”. I told him that was great and it’d probably come out next week. Next thing I know, I’m awakened by “Mom! It’s out! My tooth is out!”. He had worried it until it came out.

It’s funny he’s a lot like me when I was a kid. If I had a loose tooth, I’d play with that thing until it came out. Not Cassie, she protects and babies her loose teeth until they are hanging on by a thread. He had quite a bit of blood (on his face, on his shirt – where he had wiped his fingers) so we got him cleaned up and all set.

So, all that was left was for the tooth fairy to come… which, of course, meant that Tom and I had to come up with some evil thing to do to our children (yeah, that’s not a college fund people, that’s a therapy fund)… here’s the morning after…

So yeah, they were disappointed more than thinking she was silly. It’s still kinda funny though