Warning: This post may be lengthy and detailed in hopes to answer questions any fellow Bendite might have concerning early admission to Kindergarten.

The cut off date for the Bend- La Pine school district is as follows:

A child is to be five years old on or before September 1 to enter kindergarten and six years old on or before
September 1 to enter the first grade, except that:
Parents of a child born between September 1 and September 30 may apply for an
early entry into school following the child's successful completion of assessment.
Students born after September 30 are not eligible for early entry consideration.

Ellie's birthday is Sept. 22nd. She misses the deadline by 21 days. Anyone who knows Ellie would agree that she is ready for Kindergarten. She has been attending preschool for 2 years and loves it. She loves to learn and is academically ahead of most children her age. I think that she is very mature (probably comes from being the oldest) and would do very will in Kindergarten.

So, how do you apply for early entry?

1. Contact the school office of the school that your child will be attending. Meet with the principle and discuss research and recommendation for early entry students (I skipped this stepped and only learned afterwards that this is the correct course of action).
2. Obtain a Packet from the office about early admission. (If the school doesn't have these you can call the Bend - La Pine School district office for one.)
3. Contact an approved evaluator to schedule an appt. to get your child tested.
4. The cost of the test is $275 made payable to the evaluator. They do the evaluations privately and on their own time. The tests are held on a Saturday or Sunday.
5. As part of the evaluation the counselor will go to your childs preschool to oberve her in a school setting. This happened the week of her test.
6. Parents will complete a 134 questionnaire regarding the child's behaviors. This will be scored by the district evaluators.
7. Day of testing you drop your child off at the School Administration building. The test is approx. an hour and a half.
8. You should get your results the next business day, once the secretary scores the test. The evaluator called me at home and went over the areas of the test with me. They will also send you a copy of the results.
9. Per the school district a child MUST perform at the 97th percentile or higher nationally in all areas of testing OR test at the 97th percentile or higher in the areas of Speech & Language and Social/Emotional IF all other areas tested are at the 93rd percentile or higher.
10. If the scores are acceptable you meet with the School Principle once again. He/She makes the final decision as to whether your child will be allowed early admission.

A note about the Evaluators:
I didn't know what I was doing when I started this process. I asked friends and heard stories from different people about having their child tested. I decided to just call the school district and ask for the evaluators names and numbers. There are two counselors who do the testing. I called both of them. The first, Mary, was pretty rude and told me that "the test is very difficult and only once in a blue moon does a child get in". She was eager to get me off the phone and told me that it was way to early to be calling about this and to call back in August. Then I called the second, Judy and had a really nice conversation with her. She explained the process thoroughly and said that the kids have a lot of fun at the evaluation. They just play games, build things, and talk. That made me feel a lot better about what I was going to subject my 4 year old daughter to. I set up an appt for the end of February. Some principles and the other counselor recommend waiting as long as possible to take the test for your child to "mature" but Judy assured me that she has been administering the test for 20 years and that a couple of months will make no difference. Either your child will pass or not and there is nothing you can do to prepare. She agreed that it was best to just know the results so we can plan. Anyone that lives in Bend understands that come February local preschools start filling up fast.

About the tests: The questionnaire the parent fills out is the BASC-2: Behavior Assessment System for Children. The test the evaluator administers is the KABC-II: Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition.

Test day: I was so nervous. I didn't tell Ellie this was a test that would decide whether she would be going to Kindergarten next year. I just told her that she was going to meet with a teacher that will play games with her and teach her about kindergarten. She was very excited to go. Judy was so nice and quickly made me and Ellie feel at ease. When I picked Ellie up she asked when she could go back and told me she had fun. :)

The Results: Ellie scored in the 99th percentile on almost all areas of the test. She scored in the 95 percentile in one area but everything else was high enough to get her considered for early admission. So now I just have to meet with the principle and go over the counselors recommendation and she is in. Yeah! And I already have a verbal confirmation from the principle that if the counselor recommends the child he will accept her. What a weight off my shoulders. I have seriously been stressing about this all year and it has been in the back of my mind for the past 3 years.

Is there a right way to load a dishwasher? I have spent 20 years loading and unloading various dishwashers and have decided there definitely is a right, most effective way to load a dishwasher. This "right" way maximizes the amount of dishes you can load, effectively cleans all dishes, and minimizes scratching, clanking, and breaking of glasses. I am convinced every wife has their "right" way depending on their dishwasher and type of dishes.

Enter husband. Always willing to help, thank you! But cannot load the dishwasher the right way. Many times I have unloaded a crammed dishwasher that he has loaded. Some dishes are not clean (bowls or plates stuck together), cups are upside down and filled with water, glasses are chipped or broken. Yes, these are the effects of the wrong way. There has been much reminding of the right way, sometimes gently, sometimes not. I try to explain the effects of his way but to no avail. All he hears is my way is right and your way is wrong.

Growing up I often questioned my mom about the way she did the dishes. Her response: when you are the mom you can do your dishes any way you want. Well, I am the mom and I want things pertaining to my the house done the best possible way. Is that too much to ask?

My Mom has a blog! Check it out at www.usssimon.blogspot.com. I helped her get it set up so hopefully she will start blogging.

Since I was homebound last week with sick kids and Ryan was out of town I decided to do some spring cleaning. I started with the kids rooms. They have so much stuff. I went through clothes, toys, books, everything. We had 3 huge bags and 2 bins full with stuff. This was a multi day project to go through everything and organize. I then got all the stuff downstairs where I needed to decide what to do with everything. I then had to separate all the stuff into piles. Goodwill, trash, give away, storage. I have 3 piles of stuff to give to friends and family and a huge bin to go to goodwill. Now it is all loaded in my garage or car to distribute. It feels so good to have it out of the house.

My kids are still sick. Ellie's runny nose turned into a deep cough and fever yesterday. It seems this sick is never going to end. Looks like I am stuck at home for another week. Now maybe I will get to my room and the storage closet. :)

Maxwell's One Year Doctor Appointment

The Good: Maxwell has 9 teeth. 8 front and one molar. The other 3 molars are very close behind. I never even noticed he had the one molar in. He is up to the 15% in the weight category. He was only at 10% at the 9 month appt. which was really low considering he was at 50% up until that point. I blame it on the soy milk he had drink for months 3-12.

The Bad: Maxwell has delayed developmental skills. He can't get into a sitting position on his own. He doesn't pull up to anything. He doesn't crawl. He doesn't say any words besides mama, He doesn't wave. Basically all he does is lay or sit and scoot on his bum. However, his fine motor skills seem to be fine and he is very social. I have to take him to early intervention for a thorough developmental evaluation which will be followed by sessions to help him learn to develop his gross motor skills.

The Ugly: Maxwell has had a cough and a runny nose for about 10 days now. I never take my kids to the doctor for colds because all they tell you is to suction the nose, use a humidifier, and drink plenty of liquids. Well it turns out that he has RSV and ear infections in both ears. Who knows how long this has been going on since it is the 3rd round for him this winter. I feel like such a bad mom. I take my son in for a "well baby" visit only to find out he has all these things wrong with him.

Caden has been even more sick than Maxwell so maybe thats why I haven't really thought Max was sick. Caden has also been sick for 10 days but he definitely has the flu. And now Ellie is starting to have all the signs of a cold. I am so over all this sick.

I have been trying to get Maxwell to drink out of a sippy cup for a couple of months now. He will drink but he won't hold it up to drink it and just throws it on the floor. Same with a bottle, he can hold and drink it laying down but he can't hold the bottle up when sitting. I finally found a straw cup that doesn't have the non-spill valve. After just one try he was drinking out of it all on his own. Its great. We are down to only 2 bottles a day and hopefully in the next couple of weeks I can get rid of them all. My neighbor also gave me a walker. After a week Max has learned to "walk" forward in it. Hopefully he will start crawling or walking on his own soon. He still hates being on all fours so I bet he never crawls and just goes straight to walking. One year olds are so fun. I love watching them learn new things each day.

The snow has finally melted and the street cleaners have cleaned all the dirt off the roads. My car was filthy so I took it to the car wash. Everyone else had the same idea. There was a huge line. The attentant told me they did 600 cars the day before. Finally it was my turn. I drive my car onto the rollers and put it in neutral. The car wash does the work and I just wait. Suddenly I realize the car in front of me is stopped and I am going to hit it. I honk my horn but it is too late. My car hits the Excursion in front of me. The attenant pulls the emergency stop lever and the car wash shuts down. The excursion had to drive out because its tires were too big for the rollers and the car wash couldn't push it through. Unfortunately their tow hitch smashed right into my grill and left a dent and pushed the grill back a couple inches. The manager told me to go to the auto body and get an estimate and they would take care of it. That was 6 days ago and I still haven't made it to the autobody. With the long weekend and sick kids it hasn't been top on my list. Such a hassel. Who would of thought you could get in an accident inside the car wash?

So today Caden had a chocolate heart after lunch. A couple minutes after he ate it he saw some on his hands and started freaking out and screaming there was poop on his hands. No Caden, that really is chocolate.

I always take the kids to McDonalds when Ryan is out of town. Tonight they opted for Wendy's because they wanted a frosty. I am always a little hesitant going to our Wendy's because their frys are usually soft and not salted enough. I do like their hamburgers and chicken much better than any other fast food though. Today I noticed a sign that Wendy's was voted #1 fast food hamburger for 2007. Cool, but I just wish they had better fries. I got home and discovered the fries were crisp and salty!!! Yum! Yum! Props to Wendy's for finally figuring out how to make a good fry! (I have always favored McDonalds fries but don't like their sandwiches). Wendy's is now my #1.

Now for the real power of a french fry. In my haste to calm starving children I put Maxwell in his high chair and give him a fry while I unpack everyone elses food. He loves fries! I heat him up some green beans and rice and sit down to feed him. He keeps his mouth closed and turns away. I try again. Same reaction. Then I offer him another fry and he opens wide. What have I done?? He wants the greasy salty fries and now won't eat his real food. I finally figured out that if I hold a fry in one hand and a spoonful of green beans in the other he will open his mouth. He kept looking at the fry and I kept shoving green beans in his mouth. Finally he caught on and ripped the fry out of my hand and started eating it. To finish the meal off I had to alternate between 4 spoonfuls of beans to one french fry. And you can only imagine how much he loved the couple of bites of Frosty for dessert!!!!

I am soo over changing poopy diapers especially when I know Caden can use the potty. Today he had an especially messy one and while I was on my 10th wipe he said, Mom I got something and he brings his hands to his mouth. Chocolate he says then puts his hands in his mouth. That's NOT chocolate I yell when I made the connection. It was too late. He then starts spitting and screaming. Ahhh. . the adventures of motherhood.

Ryan is in North Carolina and Florida on business for the week. Which means a week full of hotdogs, pancakes, and pizza. Also a week full of cranky kids. For some reason it makes a huge difference when Ryan is gone. Caden screamed going into Nursery today and again when I left. Usually he goes right in without looking back. It's small things the kids do that makes me realize how much they miss their daddy and how much it affects them when he is gone.

I hid the Cheerios on the top of the fridge! The kids were freaking out. Sometimes they like to wake up and help themselves to a cup of dry cereal. Because of some tantrums this morning I told them they couldn't get breakfast until after everyone was dressed. I jumped in the shower and by the time i got out every cupboard and drawer in the kitchen was open. Caden was crying because the cheerios were gone and he had looked everywhere. Eventually after everyone was dressed and calmed down I showed them that the Cheerios weren't lost or taken and they could still eat them.

I got an invitation to join facebook. I was updating my profile today and trying to figure it all out. Facebook is interesting and has some fun quizzes and features. And its nice to chat with old friend. However, I feel it is geared more toward the younger "text message" generation. I seriously feel old when I realize I am just not into the "new" technology. Oh well. I definitely like blogging more.

Caden has been playing during naptime and by 4 pm he is a terror. He was sooo tired and naughty tonight. I had to put him to bed at 630 after several meltdowns. Why can't he just enjoy his naps and then we can just all be happy.

We had a small party for Max on Friday. We invited the Frasers over for Pizza and Pie. We decided to have a chocolate banana cream pie instead of cake. To my dissappointment Maxwell didn't like it. He ended up celebrating with an applesauce cookie istead.

The first pics in the slideshow are from his actual birthday. I gave him his first cookie. He loved it! He was also more interested in the tissue paper his gifts were wrapped in than the presents. Caden helped him rip all the tissue paper to shreds.