Just a cactus we passed on a walk...
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
A Mom's First Day of Preschool...
Today was Fin's first day of preschool and I woke up this morning with my stomach in a thousand knots. I know, I know, Fin is the most social and well adjusted child you know, but he's MY BABY and the thought of leaving him in a strange place with all new people made me want to cry.
We carried out our morning as usual, the chief difference being that I ironed Fin's clothes for the day (which I never do and probably will not do again for quite some time - especially considering the note they sent home about how they do NOT use washable paints, but I digress...) and we had some bacon biscuits and a banana for breakfast. Brooks stayed home late so that he could watch Dash while I took Fin to school. We arrived in true Maggie style - a half hour early. It was nice not to rush and we had a little time to sit and talk about the day ahead (mind your manners, be nice to the other children, respect your teacher...) With 9am approaching, we hung up Fin's backpack on his hook and waited for the doors to open. At 9am sharp, Miss Annette opened her door and Fin was the first child in - with a hug and some help placing his snack in his cubby. And he was off! I actually had to yell for one last kiss and a promise to pick him up later. After which I promptly raced to the car in hopes that I would get out of the schoolyard before my tears escaped the range of my sunglasses. Poor Brooks had to deal with the "OUR BABY IS AT SCH(sniffle)OOOOOL" phone call.
Snack!
I asked Miss Annette how he did, which I felt bad doing as clearly he was fine and I'm sure that was a question she had to answer a zillion times a day, and she said he was great. Great! So I, proud mama, took her preschooler to his favorite place - Johnny Rockets - as a reward. While we listened to Cheeseburger in Paradise on repeat (I KNOW they TOTALLY hate us there!), Fin informed me that he couldn't wait to go back to preschool. Only on Thursday he wants to take Dash with him. Now I have two days to figure out how to get Dash to sit still shoved in a cubby waiting for Show and Tell time. A mama can dream!
Happy Student at Johnny Rockets
We carried out our morning as usual, the chief difference being that I ironed Fin's clothes for the day (which I never do and probably will not do again for quite some time - especially considering the note they sent home about how they do NOT use washable paints, but I digress...) and we had some bacon biscuits and a banana for breakfast. Brooks stayed home late so that he could watch Dash while I took Fin to school. We arrived in true Maggie style - a half hour early. It was nice not to rush and we had a little time to sit and talk about the day ahead (mind your manners, be nice to the other children, respect your teacher...) With 9am approaching, we hung up Fin's backpack on his hook and waited for the doors to open. At 9am sharp, Miss Annette opened her door and Fin was the first child in - with a hug and some help placing his snack in his cubby. And he was off! I actually had to yell for one last kiss and a promise to pick him up later. After which I promptly raced to the car in hopes that I would get out of the schoolyard before my tears escaped the range of my sunglasses. Poor Brooks had to deal with the "OUR BABY IS AT SCH(sniffle)OOOOOL" phone call.
Snack!I came home, did some laundry and snapped up Dash. Then I did what every new preschool mama does. I went to Target. What makes me think that this is the chosen activity for those scant three one-less-child hours? Because I ran into two other moms from Fin's new class and spoke to a third who confessed to being there as well (Did you see their big back-to-school clearance? I mean really, does my preschooler need 5 notebooks for 50 cents? YES). I had been avoiding the Target trip for weeks just so everything would be "new" for this occassion when I needed the distraction. So Dash and I trudged around, list in hand (or mouth, depending on which one of us was holding it), and we talked about what Fin might be doing. Apparently Fin talks SO much I had sort of forgotten that, well, Dash doesnt. And people look at you like some kind of crazy person for having a deep discussion with your baby. (Huggies Baby Wash or Johnson & Johnson, Dash what do you think? Smell these for me...) I think I realized how much I missed Fin when I asked Dash if he needed to go potty when we left the store. Sigh.
Once Dash and I had loaded up the car with all of our exciting (diapers, wipes and notebooks) Target purchases, I realized it was still barely 11am. Did I mention that I had been feverishly checking my watch every few minutes to make sure I wasn't loosing track of time? One of my many nightmares last night involved me doing just that and arriving at the school to find Fin the last child there crying over a mother who had forgotten him. If that's not enought to get you to be on time, I don't know what is. With that fear in mind, I decided to just head straight to school. At that point Monika called me and reminded me that it was only a ten-minute drive. If you hit every red light. But I HAD to be the first Mommy there, so off we went. And then we waited...and waited...and waited. It should be noted that I had Dash in the Bjorn because in my post-first-day-of-preschool fantasy I would need both arms free to lift and hug the little boy who came running out so excited to see me...
At exactly noon, the doors opened and children started streaming out single file. Some burst right into tears upon being reunited with their lost parents. And Dash and I waited. Fin was the LAST child out of his classroom and only then at the prodding of his teacher letting him know I was waiting. But my dissappointment was shortlived, as he immediately launched into showing me his artwork (a crayon drawing and a dot painting) and explaining it (there was a traced hand, a circle, an attempted "F"), thanking me for his treats in his lunchbox (which made me feel like I had really done something right), and then detailing the misdoings of a certain Sophie (who apparently pushed down Owen - Miss Annette told her that wasn't nice - and stole a drumstick from Fin - Miss Annette told her not to steal - and tried to take said lunchbox treats - Fin told her SHE wasn't nice!) Then he grabbed his baby brother by his little head, told him how much he missed him and gave him a big smooch. Ahhh, here's that verbose child I missed so much...
Fin's artwork
I asked Miss Annette how he did, which I felt bad doing as clearly he was fine and I'm sure that was a question she had to answer a zillion times a day, and she said he was great. Great! So I, proud mama, took her preschooler to his favorite place - Johnny Rockets - as a reward. While we listened to Cheeseburger in Paradise on repeat (I KNOW they TOTALLY hate us there!), Fin informed me that he couldn't wait to go back to preschool. Only on Thursday he wants to take Dash with him. Now I have two days to figure out how to get Dash to sit still shoved in a cubby waiting for Show and Tell time. A mama can dream!
Happy Student at Johnny Rockets
A Project...
So Aunt Jan asked me to clean up an old photo for her - and since I couldn't sleep anyway with the big first-day-of-school looming ahead of us, I decided to play around with it last night. I think it turned out pretty well!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
To Fin on his First Day of School!
My Dearest Fin,
I can't believe you will go to school this week! SCHOOL! MY BABY! Where has the time gone!
We had our orientation this week and you were able to see your classroom, your cubby and coat hook, and meet your teachers and some of the other children who will be in your class. You'll be in the 3 year old class at St. Stephens from 9-12 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Your teacher is Miss Annette and her assistant is Miss Shannon. They seem to be extremely kind as I suppose all preschool teachers must be. Your classroom is the blue room and it's so cute! They actually have a large space divided into three classrooms and after instruction time, they open it up so that you can play with the children in all three classes, not just your own. Speaking of your class, there are 13 children in it - 7 girls and 6 boys - and as I read over the list I wondered who you would choose to be your friends...I can't wait to see.
The school has a huge playground too with tons of stuff to do. As we looked around it, the teachers told us that they bring toys out too when you're having outside time. I'm worried that you're going to have so much fun that you may never want to come home! Our tour even included a peek at the bathroom facilities with their very special little potties. You were too excited to get out onto the playground, but I think you'll get a kick out of using a potty that is just your size. They have full time bathroom monitors too which made mommy feel better to know that there will always be someone nice nearby to help you if your pants get stuck. I'm so proud of your potty training efforts!
Mommy and Daddy got you a new backpack and lunchbox to take to school - since you so love construction equipment we went with that. You have the cutest brightly colored Crocodile Creek set with a dump truck on the front and all kinds of equipment dancing around the edges.
Well, I suppose I'll amend this note to let you know if you liked your first day! I was initially excited at the thought of getting a small break and perhaps a little alone time with Dash, but I hadn't realized how hard it would be to let you go or how much this forces me to face the fact that you're growing up so fast. I guess I'm trying to tell you not to be too surprised if my eyes get a little misty when I have to kiss you goodbye. I just love you that much.
All My Love,
Mom
I can't believe you will go to school this week! SCHOOL! MY BABY! Where has the time gone!
We had our orientation this week and you were able to see your classroom, your cubby and coat hook, and meet your teachers and some of the other children who will be in your class. You'll be in the 3 year old class at St. Stephens from 9-12 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Your teacher is Miss Annette and her assistant is Miss Shannon. They seem to be extremely kind as I suppose all preschool teachers must be. Your classroom is the blue room and it's so cute! They actually have a large space divided into three classrooms and after instruction time, they open it up so that you can play with the children in all three classes, not just your own. Speaking of your class, there are 13 children in it - 7 girls and 6 boys - and as I read over the list I wondered who you would choose to be your friends...I can't wait to see.
The school has a huge playground too with tons of stuff to do. As we looked around it, the teachers told us that they bring toys out too when you're having outside time. I'm worried that you're going to have so much fun that you may never want to come home! Our tour even included a peek at the bathroom facilities with their very special little potties. You were too excited to get out onto the playground, but I think you'll get a kick out of using a potty that is just your size. They have full time bathroom monitors too which made mommy feel better to know that there will always be someone nice nearby to help you if your pants get stuck. I'm so proud of your potty training efforts!
Mommy and Daddy got you a new backpack and lunchbox to take to school - since you so love construction equipment we went with that. You have the cutest brightly colored Crocodile Creek set with a dump truck on the front and all kinds of equipment dancing around the edges.
Well, I suppose I'll amend this note to let you know if you liked your first day! I was initially excited at the thought of getting a small break and perhaps a little alone time with Dash, but I hadn't realized how hard it would be to let you go or how much this forces me to face the fact that you're growing up so fast. I guess I'm trying to tell you not to be too surprised if my eyes get a little misty when I have to kiss you goodbye. I just love you that much.
All My Love,
Mom
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Life Without TV
Anyone who knows us knows that we have a ridiculously large TV in our bedroom - and that we did so LONG before buying a nicer TV for our family room. We'd all much prefer to sit in bed and watch a movie or a show. We're just those people.
So it was kind of a big deal when said large TV began to go kablooie. Through the past three months, Supreme Purchase* has strung us along, misdiagnosing the problem, ordering the wrong part, only being available to service the TV at naptime, etc. Just long enough for the dang thing to whurr out a final death knell right after the warranty expired. Since the problem started long before the warranty ran out, one would assume that the replacement clause would be honored. Or not. We're currently at war with them.
The point is that our main source of entertainment is gone.
It took me a few days to realize that I never even turn ON the downstairs TV. I'd rather the boys just play when we're down there. Our key viewing periods were when the boys first woke up, at nap time and at bath and bedtime. Now we talk in the morning. I won't lie, naptimes are tough, but that is also probably because Fin is starting to resist the whole process. And a few days ago I got out my binder of old CD's (does anyone buy those anymore?) and we started listening to music. I had no idea dancing to the Cure and Bon Jovi with my kids would be so much fun! Today we went down for a nap listening to Sarah McLachlan. It was fantastic. Fin gets to choose our listening pleasure (this afternoon was an old Concrete Blonde CD because it was a pretty color orange).
Woob looked at me funny when I suggested turning off the cable and suggested I wait to make that decision AFTER the new fall shows start. He's probably right. But for now I'll just enjoy dancing with my kids. You should try it sometime.
*Pseudonym used
So it was kind of a big deal when said large TV began to go kablooie. Through the past three months, Supreme Purchase* has strung us along, misdiagnosing the problem, ordering the wrong part, only being available to service the TV at naptime, etc. Just long enough for the dang thing to whurr out a final death knell right after the warranty expired. Since the problem started long before the warranty ran out, one would assume that the replacement clause would be honored. Or not. We're currently at war with them.
The point is that our main source of entertainment is gone.
It took me a few days to realize that I never even turn ON the downstairs TV. I'd rather the boys just play when we're down there. Our key viewing periods were when the boys first woke up, at nap time and at bath and bedtime. Now we talk in the morning. I won't lie, naptimes are tough, but that is also probably because Fin is starting to resist the whole process. And a few days ago I got out my binder of old CD's (does anyone buy those anymore?) and we started listening to music. I had no idea dancing to the Cure and Bon Jovi with my kids would be so much fun! Today we went down for a nap listening to Sarah McLachlan. It was fantastic. Fin gets to choose our listening pleasure (this afternoon was an old Concrete Blonde CD because it was a pretty color orange).
Woob looked at me funny when I suggested turning off the cable and suggested I wait to make that decision AFTER the new fall shows start. He's probably right. But for now I'll just enjoy dancing with my kids. You should try it sometime.
*Pseudonym used
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