A week in review

I was just looking through the most recent pictures on my camera and realized it has been quite a week of events – some worth mentioning, some not so much, but I’m going to mention them all anyway.  I mean, hey, the east coast has been through a hurricane and an earthquake within days of each other, so surely I can think of something worth talking about from around our house.

A week ago was my birthday.  It’s funny how the older you get, the less you care about your birthday and the less (at least for now) it is about you!  For my birthday I took the boys (and two of their friends and their mother (who is my friend!)) for cupcakes after we picked Thomas up from school. 

Then after dinner, Trey brought out the red velvet cake he got for me. 

I didn’t get a picture with the candles in.  Trey didn’t know where I kept the birthday candles, but found the “3,” “4,” and “2” candles from the boys’ previous corresponding birthdays and decided that would do the trick.  It was cute.  Probably for the best.  I’m not sure if I could have blown out 36 candles.  Though if I had tried, I would have reassured by the fact that a fire chief was with us.

That fire chief and his brother seemed to have a love for the icing part (as usual).  While I wasn’t looking, they were digging in for any part of the cake other than the cake. :)

So yeah, that was Monday and at that point Hurricane Irene was threatening our coast.  But by Tuesday it was looking like we were in the relative clear.  Whew.  Always love to dodge those bullets.

The next picture isn’t all that interesting, but a little cool.  On Thursday I finally got around to having the windshield on my car replaced…again.  I had a crack in the windshield that spread over the winter and finally had that replaced last month.  Within five days these little tiny bubbles started appearing at the top of the windshield and then they spread and looked like this.

The boys kept asking why there was ice and snowflakes on my windshield.  The guy who replaced it said he had never seen one do that so much.  So there you go.

After he left, Parker and I rushed off to the outlets for a little bit of shopping.  One item on the list was a raincoat for Parker.  Poor guy has had no raincoat for a long time.  I’ve been able to work it out, but then one night we had to go out in the rain and all of us had raingear except for Parker and I put him in a little jacket that was a size 18 months.  It was a bit ridiculous, to say the least.

We found this one and he just had to have it.  Luckily they had the size he needed – a 4T (quite a difference from 18M!).

And he got an umbrella (a fire fighter umbrella – because that matches).  Of course within 24 hours he and his brother had managed to break that.

We had the new rain gear just in time for the minor effects we got from Hurricane Irene on Friday.  It was enough to scare the officials into canceling their schools for the day, but it was a lot of nothing. 

Anyway, another issue lately has been Parker’s naps.  He figured out a month or so ago that he didn’t HAVE to take one and it’s been a bit of a battle ever since.  It has improved, but it has been a challenge.  I still make him go to his room for an hour of quiet time each day, but sometimes I spend at least half of that time yelling back and forth with him while he begs to come out and I tell him no.  Usually I’ll tell him he has to be quiet for “five more minutes” and when forced to get quiet, a certain something frequently happens.

When the silence continues for 10 minutes or so, I go investigate.  On Friday when I opened the door I couldn’t immediately find him.  When I peaked around his bed, I found him…

A closer look at the sweetness.  He’s in the corner opposite of his bedroom door.  Too funny.

So yes, that was on Friday while we were feeling the effects of Hurricane Irene.  On Saturday morning, this was an example of the extent of our damage. 

That was out our back door.  And there were tiny limbs scattered ALL across the backyard.  It’s annoying to have to clean up, but not a big deal at all.  I’ll be quite content if that’s the extent of any hurricane damage we experience for the next 10, 20, 30 years. 

On Saturday it was time to celebrate Trey’s 38th birthday.  The boys put on their favorite Notre Dame jerseys as an homage to their Daddy and we added party hats for fun.

Earlier in the day (on our way to the birthday party for one of his friends), Thomas and I stopped by Sugar bakery for some of their delicious cupcakes (it’s the same place we went on Monday for my birthday!)

Instead of 38 candles, we went for the 3 of us giving him 8 cupcakes, each with a candle.  The boys were happy to help.

Hooray for us!  Our birthday week has come to a close. 

Now I need to diet for the next month to make up for all the sweets I’ve had in the past week!

Now on to today.  Since the boys had an unexpected day off of school on Friday, it was tough to get back in the swing of things for school today.  Parker, who has only been for two days, was a little apprehensive.  After he screamed and wailed on Monday (last week) for drop off, he cried a little bit on Wednesday when I took him.  So this morning, he started his “I don’t want to go to school” as soon as he woke up.  Then I reminded him that he needed to show his friends and teachers his new shoes and immediately he was ready to run up the stairs (literally!) and get ready for school.  Silly boy.  He went from whining about it to actually saying “I love school!” in about one minute.

So he led me to his classroom and rushed in to give his teachers a hug.  I had to walk over to him and ask him to say “goodbye.” He did awesome!  When I came to pick him up his teacher said he did great all morning until it was time to line up for carpool and he started to get upset again.  I later learned I think he was upset because it wasn’t his turn to be the line leader.  Ha.

Today they apparently read “The Kissing Hand” and made little raccoon hats.  The class was mighty cute in their headgear coming out for carpool.  Here was Parker sporting his at home.

Then the boys begged to watch a little of the Batman movie (yes, the original Adam West flick from 1968), so I popped them some popcorn and let them watch it for a little while until it was time to do homework (for Thomas).  Of course they had to watch it in costume.

And that’s been a week in the life of us.  Whew!

Second time for Day One in the 3s

Today was Parker’s first day in his 3s class. He will be going three mornings a week. Even though he ended up LOVING his 2s class and looked forward to going and cried on the days Thomas was in school and he wasn’t, it’s been a bit harder to psyche him up for the 3s.

This summer he attended two 3-day (morning) weeks at his school for camp sessions. I don’t know why (well, I have my guesses but I won’t put that on the blog), but he HATED it. He cried most of the time he was there and begged not to go back. This was so very unlike Parker and the experience we had come to know with him and school. Part of it was that he didn’t have any familiar faces in his class, but he just hated it. The only day he remotely liked was the last day, and he went around the whole morning telling everyone he encountered that it was his last day.

When Thomas started school last week, the anxiety started to set in for Parker. He kept saying how he didn’t want to go to school and despite the fact that I kept reassuring him that he didn’t have to go last week (and that when he did return to school he’d have a wonderful teacher and lots of his friends with him), he still was not happy. SEVERAL nights over the past week, he has woken up in the middle of the night and cried out “I don’t want to go to school!” Last night was no exception.

So this morning was tough. Though I should say, he went to his school open house on Saturday and loved the classroom and the teachers and spent most of the day yesterday saying “YEAH SCHOOL! I love school! School is so much fun!” But this morning, he no longer shared these beliefs.

By the time it was time to head out the door, he was starting to let me know that he really didn’t want to go. He wasn’t crying, but he was pouting and not cooperating at all. I asked him to take a picture for me on the steps and this is what I got – “Smile bookbag!”

Where was Parker? Hiding in the garage, refusing to even touch his bookbag and nametag.

When we reached his school, the pouting quickly changed to anger and then a complete meltdown. You can’t tell so much here, but he’s bawling in this picture.

It was super hard to even get him out of the carseat because he fought me with every ounce of his 40 pounds. He cried the whole way inside and even though I pointed out his friends when he arrived at his classroom, he was undeterred in his tears. Quickly I realized I needed to go and the assistant teacher stepped in and offered to take him. I agreed that was best and she took him…but he quickly took a fistful of my hair in each hand. I had to pry each finger away, all the while he is screaming and crying in my ear. And just when I thought I got away, he reached out and latched on to another handful of hair. Note to self: put hair in a bun for next drop-off.

Less than three hours later I returned for pick-up. I was quickly assured by someone in the front office that he quickly calmed down and had a great day. When he came out he looked happy and calm. When he saw me, he was thrilled and jumped into my arms, but he assured me that he had a great day (even though “I cried just a little bit.”). His teacher told me he cried for about two minutes and then was perfectly happy the rest of the morning.

He even gladly agreed to pose for a picture as we were leaving. Silly boy.

When we got home, he graciously agreed to accompany his bookbag for a few “first day” photos on the steps.

“I’m a 3-year old in the 3s!”

Parker, I am glad your day improved and I hope you have a wonderful year in the 3s. I know you will have so much fun!

As for me, it’s a lot easier the second time around. Then again, I suppose if I let myself think more about the fact that this is the LAST time I will have a little boy in the 3s, it might make me a bit misty-eyed. My boys are growing up way too fast!

Let’s get physical!

My children have said a time or two that Nannie & Papa (my parents) should get more toys at their house.  Lately, it seems two of their most favorite things to do there are to play with a toy in a box and exercise.  Seriously.

My parents bought a toy for my Dad’s godson for Christmas.  For some reason it never made it to the child (yet!).  It remained wrapped until about a month ago when the boys and one of Parker’s friends managed to unwrap it and discover the large Transformer that was inside.  Now they like to play with it…still in the box.

With the sun in his hair, doesn’t he look like such an angel?  :-)

And now for the workout part, Parker is mastering the  Bowflex…

Thomas prefers the elliptical (or as he calls it, the “olymptical.”  He has kept going on this thing for ten minutes at a time.  Crazy.

After a little while, Parker requested “the bar.” 

After a strenuous (or something like that) workout, it was time to take a break and play some more with the toy still in the box.

Never a dull moment with these boys!

The big K

Yesterday (Tuesday) Thomas started kindergarten.  Sniff. Sniff.  Wasn’t it just yesterday he was coming home from the hospital…learning to crawl…then walk…then talk…starting preschool…and now time has flown by and he is officially a kindergartener. 

We decided to move him from his comfy, cozy preschool to the big, two-year old, fancy-schmancy public school.  I hope it was the right decision.  Right now he just looks so little in that big ol’ school.  And yesterday was the day he had dreaded all summer.  Thomas is not a fan of school yet – except the part where he gets to play.  But he got a new book bag, and he was impressed with his classroom (well, the play centers) in last week’s open house, so he was semi-ready to check out this whole “kindergarten thing.”

I think he was adjusting to the bookbag and that’s why he was pulling his shoulders up so strangely.  Mostly it was likely nerves!

In picking a bookbag, I let him select the one he wanted, but we both agreed it would be best to get a bag that would allow him to attach his lunch bag to his bookbag so they’d be easier to carry.  The funny thing is, his bookbag is very light (he never has much to put in there!), but his lunch bag (with three ice packs) is much heavier.  We’ll see how long he wants to keep it like this!

I should also note that we woke him up at 6:30 and we were getting in the car by 7:15.  On most mornings, Thomas would still be asleep at that time.  It’s going to be a tremendous challenge.  But we arrived at school on time and he was even willing to pose for a few pictures.

By the time we reached his classroom, he was ready to rush in, but I had to make him stop so I could snap another photo!

After he put his things in his cubby, it was time to find his place on the mat.  That’s his teacher (Ms. Churchill) in the white skirt.  He was quite pleased to see there was a cartoon playing on the Smartboard.  He didn’t even seem to mind that there was no sound.

I tried to get him to look at me, but of course he could not take his eyes off the screen!

Soon it was time for one last hug from his nervous Mommy (okay, maybe it was about three hugs!) and one last hug from his little brother.  Parker told him, “I hope you have a good day!”

Then Thomas said to me, “When are you going to leave?”  This was not said in a “Please don’t leave me!” way…it was more of a “Isn’t it time for you to get out of here already?!?!”

I’ll confess I got a little teary eyed walking him down the hall to his class and later as we left, but all in all, everyone did well.  The most challenging part of the day was his little brother.  He decided to wake up for the day at 4:45.  He was all out of sorts in the morning, and then so bored when Thomas was not around.  I begged him to take a nap after lunch and he insisted he was not tired.  I made him go to his room and tried to get him to stay in his bed and “rest,” but he kept getting out and playing in his room.  FINALLY, 30 minutes before it was time to go get Thomas, his room got really quiet.  When I went to check on him, this is what I found.

A little closer look of his sweet face.  And yes, this is about how Parker sleeps and how he has slept for most of his life…a thumb in the mouth and a hand in his hair.  :)

I took him, sleeping, to the car and he was pretty grumpy and sleepy the whole time we were waiting for Thomas to come out (which proved to be quite a bit of time – about 30 minutes!), but once he saw his big brother, he perked up quite a bit!  Thomas’ class was about the fourth (of five) to come out.

He was happy to see us there waiting for him (you may have to click on this picture to enlarge it and see it more clearly).

On the way home he didn’t have much to say about school.  He said it was fun, but he also said it was “BORING” and “really long” and the teachers just “talked a lot.”  He said the playground wasn’t that great and he didn’t get a turn to play in his favorite center (the kitchen center that has a cool little cash register).

Today it was very hard getting him to wake up at 6:30 (of course it wasn’t helped by the fact that he couldn’t fall asleep until 8:45 last night), and he again came home less than impressed with school.  He said he told the teacher several times that he was ready for it to be time for him to go home.  At dinner he got a little upset and told us he didn’t want to go every day and for so long. 

I have to admit, I’ve had a tinge of regret and am questioning our decision to send him to a full-day school.  I know he’ll probably be fine; I just want him to love school.  It’s a huge jump going from a 3-hour program that is four days a week, to seven hours of school for five days a week.  And of course, this is coming after a summer of doing whatever he wanted for all but two weeks (when he attended a camp at his previous school).

I know he will adjust…I know he CAN do it.  I know his previous teacher had all the faith in the world that this is where he needs to be, and she did warn me that it would take a little bit of time for him to adjust.  I just want him to be happy and I want him to enjoy learning and not dread each day. 

I just wish I could figure out how these past five years went by so very quickly.  Just yesterday we were meeting this little guy:

And now here he is….

Thomas, I hope and pray you will give it a chance.  Dr. Seuss said it best by the title of his book, “Oh, the Places You Will Go!”  Here are a few of my favorite lines…

“Congratulations! Today is your day!  You’re off to great places, you’re off and away! …

…”Wherever you go, you will top all the rest!  Except when you don’t, because sometimes you won’t.”

…“But will you succeed? Yes! You will! Indeed! (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed).  Kid! You’ll move mountains!”

… “Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!”

There is so much ahead of you, and learning all that you can now is the key to it all.  Thomas, you are reading a little now, but soon you will be reading more and a whole new world will open up before you!

I’ll give it a chance too.  I know Thomas is going to prove it was the right choice and he is exactly where he needs to be.