Oh my goodness...I have a 1st grader!

Seriously...I don't know where the time has gone. Just 6 short weeks ago my son turned 6, and has now wrapped up his first full week of 1st grade. The way our family calendar shapes up from late summer into early fall makes things seem like they're happening so fast. Tommy's birthday is at the end of July, and in our house it marks the beginning of the end. For 2 summers now, we've scheduled a family vacation for the 2nd week in August. This is great timing...kind of our last hurrah for the summer. Once we return, it's time to start thinking about going back to school.

2 years in a row, I have sent Tommy off to school before I've really had a chance to digest the idea that he is another year older. And, with my birthday coming up in a couple of weeks, I'm also thinking about how I'm another year older. (But that's another story altogether!) My mind has already strayed to thoughts of having to send BOTH kids to school next year. Trying to cast those thoughts aside for now...at least until spring.

Feeling Overwhelmed?

o·ver·whelm
tr.v. o·ver·whelmed, o·ver·whelm·ing, o·ver·whelms
1. To surge over and submerge; engulf.
2a. To defeat completely and decisively.
2b. To affect deeply in mind or emotion.
3. To present with an excessive amount.
4. To turn over; upset.

synonyms: overpowered, overcome, inundated, flooded, engulfed, swamped, Mommy.

Didn't you get the memo?

If you have any children in school, you know that school is a constant source of papers. From homework and crafts to notes from the teacher to Market Day order forms...there's ALWAYS something in my son's folder. Some evenings I get it all out and go through it. Other evenings, I'm lucky to even get the papers out of the folder. Take my being a working mother and combine it with my history of being a paper packrat, and you have yourself one big pile. Most nights, I am able to look through the papers and at least sort out which ones are important. If they're important, but not urgent, I hang them on the fridge.

Last Thursday was Parent-Teacher conference day at my son's school. Probably a week before that, there was a note sent home from the teacher about conferences. I quickly scanned the sheet, double checked that the date and time were what I thought they were supposed to be. I then added the note to the important (but not urgent) ones on the fridge. The day of the conference, when I went to pick the kids up from daycare, I ran into one of the other Kindergarten moms. She was headed in to pick up her daughter, but had her Kindergarten son with her. Being the nosey bug that I am, I asked her why he was with her and not at daycare. "Conferences" she says. "You actually took him with to the conference?" I asked. "Yes, we're supposed to." Oh phooey...how could I have missed this. Oh yes...the note...the one on the fridge that I didn't read. I quickly expressed my gratitude towards her for saving me from embarassment and hurried home to read the note. Sure enough, right there on the page..."This conference will involve student attendance and participation."

Perhaps I will actually have to start reading his notes from school if I want to avoid potential embarassment in the future.

Word World Build-A-Word

Do you have a preschooler at home?? Then I definitely recommend you check out Word World on PBS Kids!! It is an awesome new show. My son absolutely loves watching it, and I love the educational value! Check it out!

Where have you been???

Many of you may have been wondering where I've been. Things have been busy at home, and I haven't had much time for blogging.

The biggest chunk of my time has gone to my son. Our 4 yr old son had his tonsils and adenoids removed last Thursday. So, we spent our Labor Day weekend nursing him back to health. I'd say that he pulled through it very well, but we definitely had our ups and downs. He has been fairly low key, and his appetite comes and goes. The biggest challenge we've had is getting him to drink enough fluids. Today is his first day back at daycare...a little sad for me. Hopefully it goes well, because tomorrow is another big day for him. Tomorrow is the first day of preschool. Last week they had an open house, and he had a blast. So much so that when it came time to leave, he didn't want to go home.

It is a bit weird not having the kids around today. It has been a while since I've taken them to daycare on one of my days off...and after a long weekend with them, it sure is quiet around here. I mustn't spend too much time enjoying the peace and quiet though...there is much to do today. I need to finish cleaning up around the house. More importantly, I must finish getting things together for an appointment I have this afternoon. I'm headed over to check out the lovely little shop opening today in Lake Villa, called Artisans Ball. I actually heard about the shop through Etsy, as the owner is an Etsy seller. The shop features a number of indie artists, a list which will hopefully include myself soon too.

Over the coming weeks, I will do what I can to bring the blog back up to normal speed. It may take a while though because my husband has a couple of business trips, and I'll be a single mom for a while. Thanks so much for your patience!!

Joys of Motherhood: Reflection

As we approach Tommy's 4th birthday this month and the start of preschool in the fall, I have thought a lot about how much he has grown, particularly over the last year. For a while, I was worried that he was missing a few key things for preschool, but I'm starting to realize that I was wrong about that.

My 4 yr. old doesn't know the alphabet. Yes, he can sing the alphabet song over an over again (along with every song from his Veggie Tales CD and every TV show he watches), but when I would show him a letter and ask him what it was, he often told me that he didn't know. He has been able to spell his name (and recognize it when he sees it written) for several months now. After that, I thought things just stopped. Surprise! Mommy was wrong. The wheels are turning in that little head. The other night, he wanted to write in one of the birthday invitations (we had a few leftover). He got himself a marker and wrote T-O-M-M-Y. Then he looked up and asked "Mommy...what's my full name?" I proceeded to spell out our last name, one letter at a time. With each letter, he showed me in the air, how he was going to write it. There was only one letter that I had to help him out with. WOW! My little lefty can write!!

Is he ever going to use the potty? Tommy is a busybody. He doesn't want to stop playing to use the potty. And strangely, he didn't seem to mind wet pants. He has been able to go for quite some time now, but not willing. I read books, articles, etc on potty tips. I tried all sorts of reward systems. Those would only work for a couple of weeks and then he'd lose interest. Everyone said "It'll happen when he's ready." and "No one goes to college in diapers." That didn't help me. I was starting to feel embarassed that I had a nearly 4 your old who could not care less about the potty. Then it happened. I ran out of pull-ups. Oops! ;) He was faced with a decision...underwear, his sister's princess pull-ups, or go naked. (I have since been advised never to give my child the option of going naked.) Thankfully, he chose the underwear. It has been about 6 weeks now, and he is doing very well. Now, there's still some business that he won't do in the potty yet, but we have definitely taken a huge stride towards freedom from diapers!

My child doesn't play well with others. Despite having a sister to interact with daily and friends at daycare, I have been concerned about Tommy's social skills. On a recent trip to the zoo, he was in a play area with several other boys around his age. The boys were working together, trying to build a fort. Tommy didn't get this. He didn't seem to want to interact with the others, except for to tell them that he "...had it first. Give it back!" One of the mothers asked if he was an only child. At this point, I was terribly embarrassed to admit that he is not. This bugged me. The more I thought about it, the scientist in me developed a theory. He's been playing with the same group of friends for years now. They know his ways and they all have their way of dealing with him. Being in a home daycare, the turnover is not as high as in a daycare center. The influx of new kids on a fairly regular basis just isn't there. With this one, I did take matters into my own hands. On my day with the kids, we've been taking outings to crowded parks, beaches, spray parks, etc. (Really, this is good for all of us!) The first few trips were horrendous! He would throw fits in the park, cry, yell at other kids and tell them that they were bad because they weren't doing things his way. After a little coaching and many pep talks, Tommy is now doing really well. He scopes out the scene, finds some kids, asks if he can play with them, and even seems ok if they tell him no. Sooner or later, he finds a crowd to hang with and has a blast!

I am convinced. Tommy is ready for preschool!