As of tomorrow night, this blog will be private. I've been thinking about it a while and am no longer interested in sharing my thoughts with the whole world, even semi-anonymously.
If you would like me to add you to the private list of approved readers, I should hope you know how to find me and tell me so in a private way. (If you don't, quick! leave a comment with some way I can contact you.)
Sorry for the somewhat abrupt decision.
Wednesday, August 28
Yellow!
We knew it wouldn't take too long for little miss KT to move her clip from Green to Yellow at school. All you parents know what that means. Bless her heart. She's done exceptionally well these first 13 days of her Kindergarten career, even getting to go to the Treasure Box for good behavior on Monday. We have long known, though, that she is a little bit spunky and sometimes doesn't know when to tone the personality down and behave. And she has a giggled-about reputation at the old daycare for generally considering herself in-charge, in the classroom.
Actually, her offense wasn't what I imagined -- she was cited yesterday for "running down the slide." Unsafe, sure. A lesson I'm glad they want to teach her because she frequently runs down the hill on our driveway in her flip-flops and makes me cringe for her potential bloodied knees. All the same, not something for which I'm going to punish her further.
So yesterday I picked the kids up in carpool. As usual, AJ was All Words, telling me what his class is working on in, umm, science I think it was (sometimes I tune it out). KT patiently waited her turn and I asked her a few questions about whom she played with at recess, and how the SuperKid of the day was doing. She was quiet, the norm after these long Kindergarten days. Sometimes she still falls asleep in the car during our 20-minute drive home. (It's a shame traffic is so heavy at 3:30-4:00 on weekdays - we drive less than 7 miles through residential neighborhoods but we pass 2 different schools, and there's a hospital next door to our school, so I think shift-change and the other schools make it ugly.) I should have known something was up, though, when she hid her green folder from me, and told me to look at it after she went to bed. "Did you stay on green today?" I asked her, and she told me "Yes." *raised eyebrows* But we had dinner to attend to, and a Cub Scout meeting, and an evening walk for KT and me, and then bathtime and her new library book (Amelia Bedelia).
When I mentioned and had to sign the note that I found this morning, hidden in her folder, she left the kitchen table, embarrassed.
School, 1, KT, 0. Let's hope she gets it. I may have to address the outright lie at some point. Eek.
Big-Kid School, man. They really do learn things!
Actually, her offense wasn't what I imagined -- she was cited yesterday for "running down the slide." Unsafe, sure. A lesson I'm glad they want to teach her because she frequently runs down the hill on our driveway in her flip-flops and makes me cringe for her potential bloodied knees. All the same, not something for which I'm going to punish her further.
So yesterday I picked the kids up in carpool. As usual, AJ was All Words, telling me what his class is working on in, umm, science I think it was (sometimes I tune it out). KT patiently waited her turn and I asked her a few questions about whom she played with at recess, and how the SuperKid of the day was doing. She was quiet, the norm after these long Kindergarten days. Sometimes she still falls asleep in the car during our 20-minute drive home. (It's a shame traffic is so heavy at 3:30-4:00 on weekdays - we drive less than 7 miles through residential neighborhoods but we pass 2 different schools, and there's a hospital next door to our school, so I think shift-change and the other schools make it ugly.) I should have known something was up, though, when she hid her green folder from me, and told me to look at it after she went to bed. "Did you stay on green today?" I asked her, and she told me "Yes." *raised eyebrows* But we had dinner to attend to, and a Cub Scout meeting, and an evening walk for KT and me, and then bathtime and her new library book (Amelia Bedelia).
When I mentioned and had to sign the note that I found this morning, hidden in her folder, she left the kitchen table, embarrassed.
School, 1, KT, 0. Let's hope she gets it. I may have to address the outright lie at some point. Eek.
Big-Kid School, man. They really do learn things!
Tuesday, August 20
Mornings and afternoons and evenings
Right now, with KT and AJ at the same school, this is what it looks like:
Mornings: Easier
It might be due to my nighttime prep of the lunchboxes (see below), because I'm so far being very consistent about that. But the "morning rush" isn't so rushed anymore. This week I'm trying to get the kids to eat a better breakfast, so I'm giving them a daily "menu:" instead of offering everything I have in the pantry, they get to choose from two options. They had gotten into the habit of eating nearly the same thing every morning, and with AJ's trying to gain weight, I wasn't arguing -- if he wanted Sausage and Pancake on a stick every day, fine with me. But I do think I need to curb that a bit, and get some variety in there. Anyway, breakfast, then getting dressed -- and we're (KT) not fighting so much about the new uniform as we did about the old one, praise God -- and then vitamins, coffee, and out the door.
(Early days I still get up at 5:00 and get myself ready so I can get them breakfast and then leave by 6:15, to get to work 6:30. I've been good about going to bed at 10 so it hasn't been too painful!)
Of course I can say all this because we decided, now that they're at the same school, that DH would drop off and I would pick up, every day. So of course I think morning is easy! But I don't think he feels rushed, necessarily, except one Tuesday last week when he was. They get to school around 7:20, I'm guessing, and wait for morning carpool which starts 7:35. I actually think it's good time together with Daddy. Sometimes the kids bicker in the back seat but other times, they don't. They have their lap-desks in his car now and they either read or draw or pretend (I think).
Afternoons: Good so far
On M, W, F, I pick them up right around 4:45 from our school's aftercare program. I just love the aftercare teacher, and I can tell KT likes her, too. One bonus is that she has a classmate who is also in aftercare and they've become buddies. Yesterday before leaving, KT reached her arms to Cassie (we'll call her) and said, "Hugs!" So cute.
On T, Th, I race out of my office at 3:15, which is when carpool begins, and pray at every traffic light that I'll get there before it's over. So far, so good. This is the only part I hate about those afternoons -- that drive. Work hasn't been snippy about my early days so far this school-year, but I still have leftover angst about it. They allow me flextime but I know they don't really like it. Oh well, too bad. We go home, have a snack, change clothes, and most days go to AJ's jiu jitsu class.(KT's ballet is only on Friday nights/Saturday mornings so it isn't an afternoon factor.)
Evenings:Yep yep
Still having to help KT with her bath. When she starts taking a shower by herself, we will be golden. She's doing much better about bedtime. Kindergarten is tiring! The last few nights, we've read one story, then I turn the light off and sit with her for 1 song, and then she's okay with me leaving, as long as I say, "I'll see you in 5, if you don't fall asleep," and "Good Night, I love you, Sweet Dreams." AJ isn't back to his reading habit yet, but I think it will start up again soon. (I want him to want to read for 15-30 minutes in bed.) He'll have lots of books to read for school here, shortly.
Then I go downstairs and make lunches, watch a little TV, do laundry with DH.
It's working like a well-oiled machine, dear Diary. Please don't let me have just jinxed it by writing that. Watch, today I won't make it to carpool....
Mornings: Easier
It might be due to my nighttime prep of the lunchboxes (see below), because I'm so far being very consistent about that. But the "morning rush" isn't so rushed anymore. This week I'm trying to get the kids to eat a better breakfast, so I'm giving them a daily "menu:" instead of offering everything I have in the pantry, they get to choose from two options. They had gotten into the habit of eating nearly the same thing every morning, and with AJ's trying to gain weight, I wasn't arguing -- if he wanted Sausage and Pancake on a stick every day, fine with me. But I do think I need to curb that a bit, and get some variety in there. Anyway, breakfast, then getting dressed -- and we're (KT) not fighting so much about the new uniform as we did about the old one, praise God -- and then vitamins, coffee, and out the door.
(Early days I still get up at 5:00 and get myself ready so I can get them breakfast and then leave by 6:15, to get to work 6:30. I've been good about going to bed at 10 so it hasn't been too painful!)
Of course I can say all this because we decided, now that they're at the same school, that DH would drop off and I would pick up, every day. So of course I think morning is easy! But I don't think he feels rushed, necessarily, except one Tuesday last week when he was. They get to school around 7:20, I'm guessing, and wait for morning carpool which starts 7:35. I actually think it's good time together with Daddy. Sometimes the kids bicker in the back seat but other times, they don't. They have their lap-desks in his car now and they either read or draw or pretend (I think).
Afternoons: Good so far
On M, W, F, I pick them up right around 4:45 from our school's aftercare program. I just love the aftercare teacher, and I can tell KT likes her, too. One bonus is that she has a classmate who is also in aftercare and they've become buddies. Yesterday before leaving, KT reached her arms to Cassie (we'll call her) and said, "Hugs!" So cute.
On T, Th, I race out of my office at 3:15, which is when carpool begins, and pray at every traffic light that I'll get there before it's over. So far, so good. This is the only part I hate about those afternoons -- that drive. Work hasn't been snippy about my early days so far this school-year, but I still have leftover angst about it. They allow me flextime but I know they don't really like it. Oh well, too bad. We go home, have a snack, change clothes, and most days go to AJ's jiu jitsu class.(KT's ballet is only on Friday nights/Saturday mornings so it isn't an afternoon factor.)
Evenings:Yep yep
Still having to help KT with her bath. When she starts taking a shower by herself, we will be golden. She's doing much better about bedtime. Kindergarten is tiring! The last few nights, we've read one story, then I turn the light off and sit with her for 1 song, and then she's okay with me leaving, as long as I say, "I'll see you in 5, if you don't fall asleep," and "Good Night, I love you, Sweet Dreams." AJ isn't back to his reading habit yet, but I think it will start up again soon. (I want him to want to read for 15-30 minutes in bed.) He'll have lots of books to read for school here, shortly.
Then I go downstairs and make lunches, watch a little TV, do laundry with DH.
It's working like a well-oiled machine, dear Diary. Please don't let me have just jinxed it by writing that. Watch, today I won't make it to carpool....
Monday, August 12
Good to go
I am happy to report that all the things are Good.
- KT had a great first half-day on Friday and she looked just adorable walking out to my car for pick-up, with sweet, protective big brother AJ telling her, "This way, K." Today's first REAL (full) day will, I hope, bring equal success and even more new friends and homework! :)
- First Ballet class at our new studio also went well Saturday. KT's already had more ballet instruction than I did, so I'm jealous.
- Our house is clean. Or, relatively. If I can motivate, tonight, to vacuum the downstairs, we'll be golden. It's so nice to have a husband who dusts, and a weekend with time to do those kinds of tasks.
- Our drop-off/pick-up schedule is new & improved, and seemed to work well this morning. I still have to start doing my 5:00 am wake-ups tomorrow. I say "have to;" it's my choice, of course, but it FEELS like have-to. Still, I'm looking forward to those 2 days/week of after-school time around our kitchen table, all three of us.
- Half of AJ's Summer Reading Project -- the craft half -- is done, and turned in. The 6-10 sentence book report is due Friday and I think he can handle it himself. Or, let me be more precise: He'd better be able to write a 6-sentence book report at this stage of the game! And by the way, I hate doing crafts with kids. I have sooooo little patience. It makes me feel like a jerk, and them like failures, I'm sure -- just a bad scene all the way around.
- I have a week's worth of yummy dinners planned, and a basket full of pre-portioned snacks for the 2 lunchboxes. It was so fun getting those all ready to go this weekend! I'm trying to give the kids identical lunches as much as I can -- do you do this? -- one kid can't get potato chips if the other one gets pretzel sticks. There would be mutiny. Of course they both have their main-dish preferences. KT likes bologna, AJ only tolerates it, and vice versa for Peanut Butter.
- Speaking of what we eat: I am doing an experiment. I'm trying to eat no tortilla chips for the month of August. Yesterday I had one. But just one. This morning the scale was 2 pounds down and I am choosing to believe the chips-fast has everything to do with it. Not that I could ever give them up completely, but maybe this will help me get over what I think is my addiction. Salsa, guac, queso -- I'm always all-in, can't stop, and that is probably no bueno.
- Updated to add: Forgot to mention my new ice cream maker makes an AMAZING Strawberry Ice Cream. It was my favorite as a child, and might be my favorite again! It helps that it uses whole milk and half and half and real sugar. Watch out.
- Lastly, I had a mammogram and ultrasound this morning after the gyn found something she could palpate 2 weeks ago. (Sorry Mom, to tell you this way... I didn't see the need to worry anyone unnecessarily. Very nearly didn't tell DH, but decided I'd better.) The report was fine (and I was surprised they gave me the results right then and there). Very likely nothing to worry about. I can choose to have it biopsied if I want the extra peace of mind. I'm not sure yet if I need that, or if I'd rather skip the hassle. Funniest part was, if any part of a mammogram is funny, a co-worker of mine walked into the waiting room about 10 minutes after I did. It was very good to see a friendly face and have a little levity in that waiting room. They make it seem like a spa in a lot of ways, but inside, even if you 'think positive,' you don't feel like a spa.
Tuesday, August 6
Just a small wish
KT Baby. BAY-BEE. She's still so little sometimes, in my mind.
I remember this same day in her brother's educational timeline, like it was yesterday (possibly because I re-read that post a lot). KT's was similar, today. We packed up the car this morning with all the heavy bags and books, shiny clean school supplies, sharpened Ticonderoga pencils. Naturally she has a bright pink, sparkly Barbie backpack. She heaved it over her shoulders like a pro. She wore one of her many princess CROWNS all the way there. (I suggested we take it off when we got there, and lo and behold, she complied.) She walked confidently down the sidewalk with AJ and me; we were laughing about a song she was singing to herself. She knows the building and walked right in, no hesitation.
And then of all the darndest things, my little social butterfly, who fears nothing and no one, clammed up. She was welcomed and greeted with huge smiles from the teachers, and she replied with quiet little one-word answers. Like her mother would have, at that age! Bless. her. heart. I have never -- wait, let me think... no, not really -- seen her act shy in her life. We unpacked her bags and packed her desk while she sat, taking it all in. She found her cubby, she looked around at the available toys and books, and I think she was pleased... but you know what? It's a whole new ballgame. I never would have guessed nervousness for this child, but there it was.
The other night, we were getting her ready for bed and she asked me, "Mommy, will I have a best-best friend at my new school, like Alyse (her BFF now)?" And, OH, how that got me right in the heart. I said, "Oh, YES, sweetheart, I know you're going to have a best friend at your new school. You're going to have lots of friends." That's a mother's only wish, really, isn't it? That she have one friend.
Well, and that she'll have everything. Everything.
P.S. I did cry, this morning at the daycare, dropping them off after Orientation, for the very last time. I knew I would (and you did, too).
I remember this same day in her brother's educational timeline, like it was yesterday (possibly because I re-read that post a lot). KT's was similar, today. We packed up the car this morning with all the heavy bags and books, shiny clean school supplies, sharpened Ticonderoga pencils. Naturally she has a bright pink, sparkly Barbie backpack. She heaved it over her shoulders like a pro. She wore one of her many princess CROWNS all the way there. (I suggested we take it off when we got there, and lo and behold, she complied.) She walked confidently down the sidewalk with AJ and me; we were laughing about a song she was singing to herself. She knows the building and walked right in, no hesitation.
And then of all the darndest things, my little social butterfly, who fears nothing and no one, clammed up. She was welcomed and greeted with huge smiles from the teachers, and she replied with quiet little one-word answers. Like her mother would have, at that age! Bless. her. heart. I have never -- wait, let me think... no, not really -- seen her act shy in her life. We unpacked her bags and packed her desk while she sat, taking it all in. She found her cubby, she looked around at the available toys and books, and I think she was pleased... but you know what? It's a whole new ballgame. I never would have guessed nervousness for this child, but there it was.
The other night, we were getting her ready for bed and she asked me, "Mommy, will I have a best-best friend at my new school, like Alyse (her BFF now)?" And, OH, how that got me right in the heart. I said, "Oh, YES, sweetheart, I know you're going to have a best friend at your new school. You're going to have lots of friends." That's a mother's only wish, really, isn't it? That she have one friend.
Well, and that she'll have everything. Everything.
P.S. I did cry, this morning at the daycare, dropping them off after Orientation, for the very last time. I knew I would (and you did, too).
Friday, August 2
Ice Cream Maker!
To celebrate National Ice Cream Month (who knew?) in July, I had a Cuisinart Ice Cream maker shipped to my doorstep direct from the Amazon. Or, amazon.com, however you'd prefer to say it. I think it's THE Amazon, anymore -- I doubt the next generation will realize that there exists a rainforest of the same name! It's not like they can go to their parents' bookshelf and look it up in the Encyclopedia now, is it?? (What's an encyclopedia?, I bet they'd ask.)
ANYWAY... I got an ice cream maker the other day. This is something I've been thinking I wanted for several months now. I like ice cream. My kids like ice cream. My husband likes it, too, and we all especially like making ice cream cones in the summertime. (I don't mean making the cones -- those come straight out of the box.) I could say that ice cream from the grocery store is getting expensive, because it is. But mostly, my desire to make my own is nostalgia at play.
For one of my birthdays (or was it Dad's birthday?), I remember Mom making homemade pink peppermint ice cream. When I can duplicate THAT recipe, this purchase will have paid for itself, but to start with, last night I made a dark chocolate for my very first try.
These days, you buy an automatic ice cream maker, countertop version. It's nothing like the wooden bucket that we plugged in on the back porch outside when I was little. There's no rock salt involved. (I made enough of a mess with the cocoa powder; I don't think I need the extra hassle of ice cubes and rock salt.) I used the recipe in the booklet that came with the machine.
After the recommended 35 minutes, it was more like a cool, unfinished pudding and I was worried. But I stuck it in the freezer as advised. This morning I had a little taste. It reminded me of the flavor of a Starbucks Mocha, actually, so I'm pretty excited to have a big bowl later this evening.
That's all. I made some ice cream. :) It made me happy.
ANYWAY... I got an ice cream maker the other day. This is something I've been thinking I wanted for several months now. I like ice cream. My kids like ice cream. My husband likes it, too, and we all especially like making ice cream cones in the summertime. (I don't mean making the cones -- those come straight out of the box.) I could say that ice cream from the grocery store is getting expensive, because it is. But mostly, my desire to make my own is nostalgia at play.
For one of my birthdays (or was it Dad's birthday?), I remember Mom making homemade pink peppermint ice cream. When I can duplicate THAT recipe, this purchase will have paid for itself, but to start with, last night I made a dark chocolate for my very first try.
These days, you buy an automatic ice cream maker, countertop version. It's nothing like the wooden bucket that we plugged in on the back porch outside when I was little. There's no rock salt involved. (I made enough of a mess with the cocoa powder; I don't think I need the extra hassle of ice cubes and rock salt.) I used the recipe in the booklet that came with the machine.
After the recommended 35 minutes, it was more like a cool, unfinished pudding and I was worried. But I stuck it in the freezer as advised. This morning I had a little taste. It reminded me of the flavor of a Starbucks Mocha, actually, so I'm pretty excited to have a big bowl later this evening.
That's all. I made some ice cream. :) It made me happy.
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