Pool, anyone?

Football pool, that is. At the beginning of the football season, HL was interested in the teams and their standings. He would continuously check nfl.com throughout the day on Sundays and report any scores or big plays to his dad. When my sister heard of this she began generously paying HL's way so that he could participate in the weekly football pool at her office. Little did any of us know just what kind of monster this would create in my oldest... He really took it to heart and learned about the point spreads, collected all the scores each week, calculated the winners, and circled the appropriate squares on the grid. Amazingly, he has been correct in his calculations every week so far! And, since he first saw his Papa playing the pool, those two have started heckling each other every week over their picks. It's become quite the contest between those two! Then, around two weeks ago, he started making up his own imaginary pools, even creating players as well as asking family members to play. And last week, he took it even further and produced his very own pool of the actual games in the NFL. We found out where to get the point spreads through my sister and he wrote up a pick sheet: Daddy scanned that sheet and e-mailed it to several family members. HL collected each persons' picks and handwrote (again) the grid: We offered to type them, and told him he could type them in himself, but he refused. He would have it no other way than to handwrite everything! I know that some people frown on us allowing our 6 year old to participate in what some see as gambling, but I have seen only good things come of it. Every week, my son is practices math when he calculates winners by point spread, and creates and follows grids. He is also writing, learning about football, and figuring out that there is a lot of strategy involved in winning games. Gambler that he may labeled, I couldn't be more proud of him!!

L Family November BDays

Wordless Wednesday

Halloween!

Preschool

A picture of AW's preschool class this year.

Another surprise

Another recent surprise from AW: he is spelling short words, sounding out written words and showing a real interest in reading already! As proud and wonderful as this makes me feel, it also concretes the fact that my (current) baby is NOT a baby anymore. He is quickly growing into a big boy. All parents know how bittersweet this can be. Thank goodness there's baby reinforcements on the way! ;)

A-traveling we will go...

Back before school started, my parents asked us to join them on a trip to Glenwood Springs. A wonderful time was had by all! Here are the photos to prove it: Thank you, Grandma and Papa for the great trip!!

AW, the builder

My (current) youngest has recently surprised us with a liking and skill for building things. Give him a tube of Tinker Toys or a set of Legos, and he is happy for hours! Until just a couple weeks ago, he would just kinda stick them together randomly, but now he is copying pictures from the Tinker Toys book. He also creates unique, often symmetrical, spaceships of Legos. These spaceships usually contain a "mini-pod" within them that detaches for easy escape of its occupants. Here is his most recent lineup:

Healthcare

This is another post over which I have vacillated. It regards a subject that, initially, has been difficult for me to admit to others. Upon discussing it with hubby, however, I have decided that my hesitation stems only from my pride, and thus needs to be humbled.... With hubby still in college full-time, finances only continue to get tighter and tighter. Because of this, we have acquired state-sponsored health care for our children. AW is now on Medicaid, while HL is on CHP+ (because he is older). While needing to do this has bruised my pride, it has peaked my curiosity for knowledge; here is my opportunity to experience firsthand the welfare system which plays so prominently in America's politics and society today. In the beginning, the system was difficult to deal with, in that it took 60 days to procure coverage for my children. During that time, AW had an awful case of croop, and HL continues to struggle with his asthma. On a macro level, I completely understand their need to be thorough and to verify that we really are eligible for this benefit. However, on a micro level, it was scary to go without coverage- especially with respiratory issues! Since actually receiving our cards, though, we have had no issues; doctor's offices have treated us just the same as a family with individual coverage. I have seen no judgement or condescension whatsoever. In fact, we were both very happy with the Dr- he was knowledgable, amiable, and connected well with our son. It is not often your 6 year old is laughing with the Dr! I am utterly grateful for this benefit provided by our government, and definitely see the need for it. That said, I would like to see this program focus more on getting people back on their feet, not just handing out help. I believe that attending college full-time constitutes a justification for using the system, especially knowing that we will get off it as soon as he gets a job upon graduation. I have not seen any evidence of them wanting to assist people to be self-sufficient, which leaves me disappointed. I am a strong believer in the "Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime" adage.

Dear Mr. Obama

Brought tears to my eyes....