PTOs and Play-dates

It's a parenting rite of passage I guess, and I'm just getting thrown in and figuring this all out - or trying to at least.

For the last year and a half, I've willingly and regularly attended the PTO meetings at Trevor's school. I figure it's my job/duty as a parent (especially a SAHM), since it's at night during the week I don't usually have a conflict and since I'll have a kid at that school for the next 11 years (yikes!!) I should really get involved and find out what's going on around there.

His school has about 450 students, and at most I've seen 15 parents in that room, and 3 teachers. I don't understand. The 15 moms (I've seen a dad only once that I recall) are the same 15 moms that run all the events/fundraisers/programs that are needed/expected/desired by the remaining 400 families/teachers. And yet, half the people in the room don't fully know what the purpose/goal of the PTO is... and the rest of the 450 families surely don't. It's no wonder that fundraisers are only vaguely successful when most of the people being asked for money don't know what it's for. The apathy and lack of involvement/interest absolutely boggles me.

What I don't know is how to fix it, or even help it much. I'm guessing that sooner than later, I will be jumping into a bunch of those committees (not that I haven't done a few already) and I'll be on the PTO board sooner than I expected. If I want the best for my kids and their education, what other choice is there? But once I'm part of the board and the committees... then what? How does it change so that more people are aware and involved? Ugh....I think I just found my new full-time (not for profit) job. Oh wait, I already have one of those!!

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On the other topic (sorry, no logical or entertaining segue's here!), Trevor got invited to his first play-date at a classmates house. To this point, we haven't known many of the kids in his class very well, other than getting invited to their birthday parties (that topic is worthy of a whole seperate post!). I spend time each week in his classroom helping out, so I know many of the kids, but I don't know the parents. Before he started school last year, we hung out with a group of my friends and their kids where the mom's were all friends so we were all together always. So, this whole notion of "Hi, I've never met you but sure my kid can come to your house and play for 3 hours without me there and then you can drive him home is fine" is kinda weird for me.

But T came home with a note that E would like him to come play sometime soon. And he talks about E alot and they play soccer against each other and I know he wants to go play (and I don't want him to be left out of this part of childhood), so I called and talked to E's mom and after deciding that after school is already rushed, we agreed that T would go there and play on Saturday afternoon. Why there? Because they invited us, and because a classmate lives around the corner that they are both friends with. So Saturday came, and we called to say we'd be over soon.... except no one was home. All afternoon! Talk about sad Trevor. We left a message but didn't hear back til Monday. So aside from dealing with T's heartbreak over the lack of play-date, I still haven't fully done this whole "play-date" thing and am still over-anticipating it (in true me-style) until this Saturday. I'm not an over-bearing, worrywart, helicopter type parent by nature....but still, this is uncharted territory for me and him!

School Times Two

Finally, everyone is back to school around here.

Trevor started first grade 3.5 weeks ago, on August 17! Yes, mid-August is now back-to-school time. Personally, that feels way too early and way to HOT for school. Day 1 was no problem, it was also a half-day. He knew that there were 4 or 5 kids from kindergarten that would be in his first grade class. He was curious and excited to meet his teacher, see his friends, and meet his new classmates.
Trevor's first day, Blake and Izzy were waiting with him at the bus stop.

Trev was all smiles, with his hair spiked, the shirt he picked out ("Blame My Sister") and his skull sling!

The bus is coming, GROUP HUG everyone!!

Day 2 and onward, have been a struggle of varying degrees. Each morning he tells me he doesn't want to go to school. Some days it's a mention of it, other days it's a meltdown!!! His reasons vary from being bored by doing kindergarten level work (review), to missing his brother and sister, to it not being fair since I don't go to school (and get to spend all day with Izzy), to him not feeling good. He gets on the bus with tears in his eyes, nearly every day.

Inevitably, he gets home with a HUGE smile on his face and happy stories of friends and what happened that day in class. But as the evening goes on, he refuses to do homework, and starts to get upset again at the thought of going back to school.

Izzy is ALWAYS thrilled to see him. She cries when the bus leaves with him on it, and runs out to meet him when it drops him off!

On the plus side, he's doing amazing work....he's a pro at spelling (100% on all three spelling tests so far), he's great at math, and he's pretty good at reading! Now if only they would do something that would challenge him!!! ;)

Yesterday, Blake FINALLY started school. The fact that B didn't start til now did not help Trevor at all! So hopefully, things will get smoother from here!

Blake was ready, if not excited, to go back. We see quite a few of his school friends during the summer as their mom's are friends of mine. This year brings a new classroom, new teachers, and more days of school.

B willingly posed, with Izzy before we left. This is one of the RARE times that he didn't run the other way or hide when the camera came out!!! Since he had a backpack, she needed one too!We got to the room, and immediately Blake and Izzy were off playing with dinos. I had to wonder who was the kid going to school as Izzy seemed ready to stay and play, and could have cared less if I was there!!

One of the projects of the day was to find their name and make a beaded necklace to wear for the first week. Beads are one of Blake's favorite activities, he's quite the artistic child, so he was thrilled to do this.


Eventually, we left the dinosaurs, and Blake decided to work with the Lincoln Logs. He, of course, built the tallest house he could, with as many logs as he could find. As he finished, one of his teachers came over and asked if he was a Packer fan since the roof was green & gold. He claimed no, but I know he is!! Incidentally, that was his only interaction with any of his teachers. While he knows their names, he didn't want to talk to any of them yesterday! Tomorrow is his first regular day where I drop him off for 2.5 hours and come back later. We'll see how he does!!!

The last day of school

Yesterday was the last day of school....technically. But really, I'm not sure how it counted. They were there for an hour, and they were outside the whole time. I'm not sure why they bothered!!!

In fact, it was really bizarre in my opinion. Wednesday was supposed to be the last day, but we did have one snow day back in February. So they extended the year, by one hour??? On top of that, they sent home a note on Monday that the one hour of school would start at 8:30. The regular school day starts at 8:40. So the kids all had to be at the bus stop 10 minutes early. WHY???? Really, why couldn't they do their 1 hour from 8:40 to 9:40?? Why mess up the teachers, bus drivers, parents, kids, and who knows who else, for 10 minutes!!! I thought it might have something to do with the middle- and high-school kids since they use the same buses and drivers. But nope, they didn't even have school (even though I'm SURE they had the snow day just like the elementary!!!) So bizarre!

Anyway.... Trevor had a great time in Kindergarten. He came home with his final report card on Tuesday. It was full of "S" grades, for Satisfactory, in everything, which is the highest grade you can get in Kindergarten. He's learned to read, doing 1st grade math, writing sentences, and lots of other things.

He even managed to master tying his shoes in the last two weeks!! I had no idea that was something they were graded on and required to learn, and he hasn't had shoes with laces up til now. We got some a few weeks ago, and he mastered tying a bow in about 3 days!!! I was thrilled (and a little surprised), and have now decided to wait until the last minute to teach him things cause it was SOOOO much easier!!!

Trev and our neighbor at the bus stop. Trev's gonna be the only out there next year....=(

Mr T excited to go to school one last time!



During the last few weeks of school they've been studying the solar system. This was easily a HIGHLIGHT of the year for Trev, and he kept telling me lots of facts (and 'correcting' his teacher on things she didn't know!!). He came home last Friday in his Space Gear...his helmet, hand-painted t-shirt (I got to go in and help with this one!), and his Jr Astronaut badge!
And now he's a first grader!!! WOW!!

My Shy Boy

Today was Blake's last day of 3-year-old preschool. Instead of a regular day of school, they had a special program for the parents (and grandparents) to celebrate the end of the year.

The program was cute with a variety of songs. Of course, my shy child didn't do a lot of singing. In fact he only sang his two 'favorite' songs.... "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "3 Little Ducks". The rest of the time, he sat there, with a blank look on his face, or pulling his arms inside his t-shirt, or putting his fingers in his ears to block out the 'noise' of the other kids singing!!! Yup, that's my kid.

Oh, and while everyone else's kids were dressed up nice (some fancier than others), my son decided to wear a classic Aunt Kate shirt...she the pic's below!!

Ah well, he finished this year of preschool and he did a great job!! He's learned so much! He knows all his letters, he can spell and write his name on his own, he can cut well, and he learned all those nifty important classroom rules like raising your hand, taking turns, sharing, and being polite!! So, at least he got the important stuff figured out!!!

After the fact, he shyly gave his favorite teachers hugs before we left, but of course, refused to pose for pictures.
Eventually, later at home, I got him to pose for a quick picture wearing the paper hats they made for the occasion!


One of the best parts of the program was being given the "Memory Book" after the fact. The teachers put together a great book to summarize the year. It's a combination of projects he completed during the year, information the teachers gathered (what do you want to be when you grow up, what's your favorite toy, who's your best friend) and tons of photos the teachers took during the year. It's an absolutely AWESOME way to remember this year, all the things he learned, and all the kids that were part of his class!

The First Day

We woke up this morning to rain "bucketing down". It was just pouring, and sideways at times. But all that rain, didn't dampen Trevor's spirits for his first day of Kindergarten. It just dampened our shoes as we walked out to wait for the bus!

He was ready with his shoes, coat (for the rain), and backpack 10 minutes before the bus would be here. And after waiting in the house for 5 minutes, he was ready to go outside to wait! Even tho that meant we would be getting soaked.

The bus stop is across the street (since it's just Trevor and our neighbor's son getting on), and the across-the-street neighbor's took pity on us and let us stand in their garage waiting for the bus. THANK YOU!!! Still we had pretty wet feet and legs, but still lots of excitement. Eventually the bus came around the corner, and I walked down the driveway with the three boys-two getting on the bus (T and our neighbor) and Blake who HAD to go with us to the bus stop even tho it was pouring rain!

T about jumped on the bus before she had the doors open, and barely had time to turn around and give me a kiss goodbye! He sat with the neighbor, and waved and waved to me as they drove down the road.


3 hours and 20 minutes later (not that I'm counting y'all!), he was back. And thankfully, the weather was much better!

He came off the bus, happy as a clam, and talking excitedly about his homework (how long will he be excited about it!!!). Blake and Daddy were home and waiting for him. I think Blake was really missing him,as he clung to his side for the next hour of the day!

I eventually got some details out of him about their day, but not much (typical Trevor). What he did tell me: they sang the "5 little ducks" song that they sang last year at preschool, they learned where the bathroom's are, he sits at a table near the teacher's desk with 2 girls and another boy but he doesn't know their names, they had a snack and then got to play with toys!

Later in the afternoon, he did his homework, with no help!

Friday was day two, and he was just as excited! The weather was MUCH better, so I got some good shots of waiting for the bus and getting on!

F-R-E-E that spells free...

I think this has been two of the busiest weeks I can remember (which isn't saying much!) and it's not over yet. At some level I have no idea why it seems so busy, since looking at the calendar doesn't show much different from normal. The boys have been in school same as usual, and we've had some appointments here and there, but somehow I feel like there has been NO downtime, and therefore no blogging time! Maybe that's the effect of a third child!!

Two Saturday's ago, Trevor started t-ball. This year he's on the Red team, and is one of the oldest since the league is for 3 & 4 year olds (and he'll be 5 soon!). He's much more excited about it this year, knows what to do, and is having a good time (other than when he finds out we won't let him wear his Crocs during a game!). He's a good hitter, tries to catch the ball, knows how to run the bases, and has a great arm. He definitely can throw, but now we just need to teach him how to throw TO someone...vs throwing it as far as he possibly can (which doesn't make him popular with the coaches). So he's played 2 "games" already, and we've got 3 more to go! Blake chose not to play this year, although he could have, so he and I (and Izzy) hang out and watch the games. Not sure if he'll play next year, it doesn't seem to hold any excitement or interest for him. We'll see!

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This past Friday we went to Lambs Farm with a friend. It's a great local place with a farmyard full of animals, a train ride, a carousel, mini-golf etc. And it's cheap!!! The 3 kids (my two and their friend) had a great time enjoying everything and definitely making it worth paying for the day pass which allows unlimited turns on everything!! Trevor and A played mini-golf, but Blake said he didn't want to. He, however, followed them around the course, while I sat and fed Izzy. About 3 holes in, A's mom gave Blake her ball so he could play too. And my stubborn, bull-headed child, played his own version of mini-golf...

He walked to the far end of each hole (i.e. close to the hole) and threw the ball at the hole. If it didn't go in (which it NEVER did), he went around to where it landed, and rolled it towards the hole, repeating this process until it went it. Then he'd move on to the next hole and repeat the whole process. The entire time, he wanted NOTHING to do with a golf club!! Meanwhile, T & A continued to play 'proper' (at least in their minds) mini-golf and just worked around him if he was in the way! It was too funny!!!

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On the Izzy front, there have been interesting developments. A few days before my last post, as Izzy neared 4 weeks old, hubby and I realized she was still a little bit jaundiced. We wondered if it was a big deal since she was almost 4 weeks old, so we called the Dr's office. They basically weren't worried for a number of reasons: 1) it wasn't past her shoulders, 2) she's EBF (exclusively breast fed) and it sometimes takes up to 2 months to go away in EBF babies, and 3) since she was wetting/messing the standard number of diapers she's getting adequate nutrition so not to worry.

In the days after we talked to the Dr, the jaundice seemed to clear quite a bit. To be replaced by a rash all over her face and neck. No rash below the neck...interesting. Hubby also commented that she seemed to be very gassy, much more so than we remembered and it seemed to cause her quite a bit of pain. So off to the laptop I went, and spent lots of time researching various things. In the end I came to the conclusion that it was very likely that Izzy is sensitive to the dairy in my diet. And let me say here, that I LOVE dairy. In a single day I'll easily drink 2 large glasses of milk, eat at least 1 yogurt, and have about 3+ servings of cheese. And in the week prior to the rash, I had all that plus and ice cream sundae nearly every night!!

So as of last Sunday (8 days ago), I have had NO dairy. And suddenly Izzy seems to be much happier, and her rash is clearing up considerably. The rash got to the point that she was so dry and flaky that I thought touching her ear would cause it to break into a million tiny pieces... it was just SO dry. She had these red welts that started out looking like baby acne, but then became more like open sores. Lots of Aquaphor later, she's looking (and feeling, I think) much better. I'll try and find some photos to post of her a week ago, and her today but to hubby and I there is no denying how much better she looks. Add to that, the lack of gas (or at least considerably reduced amount!), and her improved personality (much less crying endlessly for "no reason"), and we think we've got it figured out. So now I just have to figure out how to get my calcium and protein without dairy, and wonder how long this diet adjustment needs to last!

But for all those who read this and wonder, why not just switch her to formula to avoid all these problems....the benefits of breast milk still outweigh that in my opinion, so it's worth the change in my diet. Of course, there's the financial side of things, i.e the fact that breast milk is FREE! And I've read there are many cases where formula doesn't solve the problem as many of them have milk proteins in them which is basically the same thing!!! So, no I'm not planning to stop nursing, thanks for asking!

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On the note of free, you know your child (Trevor in this case) watches too much television, when they learn how to spell from a commercial, and can recite it word for word!!! This is T's favorite...



Actually, aside from this word and commercial, he is doing TONS of spelling lately. Lots of three letter words (pop, car, cat, bus) and just enjoying spelling a lot. He'll use one of his alphabet toys to help him figure out what sounds a letter makes, and suddenly come up to me and spell something! Of course, this also means that when Hubby and I try to talk about giving the boys a "B-A-T-H" or putting them in the "T-U-B" he knows EXACTLY what we are saying! He's not really into reading at this point, but spelling is now way high on his list, second only to math!! It's exciting to see how excited he is about learning!!

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We've also had a few appointments at the elementary school for Trevor. In February they held a Kindergarten screening. Not surprising to me, the results came back that Trevor was pretty smart (i.e. ready for kindergarten in their words!), but that he had some speech issues. So we've been doing follow-up meetings about this. One meeting involved me giving the school my consent to test him (sure go ahead) which took about 30 minutes! Then I had to go back and give them a complete family history so they knew what they were dealing with. Needless to say, the history was pretty boring (no medical issues, no divorces, etc) and nothing that explains why he says "foon" instead of "spoon", he just does!! And last week, he had to go and spend an hour with the speech therapist for her to do "further evaluations". Next week, I get to go back for a final followup to see what type of "intervention" they recommend for him.

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Tomorrow Mam-gu comes to stay for 4 days! We're heading to the airport after school tomorrow to pick her up!

And this week is the boys last week of school! I finally told them that Miss Carol is closing the school and for a moment Blake thought that meant he would not have to go to school next year! Ooopsies! So now I'm hoping to get them to make good bye cards for all their teachers, and I have to find time to get teacher gifts before Thursday!! Aaaugh!

I may have found a feasible preschool for Blake for next year, and we found out Trevor will be in AM Kindergarten in the fall... so some issues are resolving themselves, while new ones appear regularly! Ah, life with 3 kids....

When it rains....

Given the weather in the last few weeks, with a title like that I could actually be talking about the weather. After all, the storms that blew through here last night were pretty loud and rough!

But I'm not talking about the weather... Usually, life around here is pretty quiet, predictable, and generally uneventful (or as much as it can be with 3 young kids!). And I'm quite content with the quiet life we lead. Last week, the drama started to unfold, with the announcement of the closing of Blake's preschool for next fall. That was more than enough drama for me, as now I have a new task of finding a preschool that I like and that fits in with the rest of our life.

But yesterday, more drama... I have a new boss. Or more specifically, my boss is no longer with the company. The reasons, while not really important here, are totally bogus. Why is a new boss drama? To be honest, I've been debating returning to my job for a while. In fact, for most of my pregnancy, I debated if I would return to my job. Don't get me wrong, I really like my job, and LOVE my boss. I work for Market Day, and love that profits from the food I sell, go back to the school to help education. I also love the products, and find it easy to sell something I love. And, I work from home, doing a lot of the work when it fits in to my schedule, and that lets me be a mom during the day, and do my work after the kids go to sleep.

So why debate returning to work? Lots of reasons, like how young Izzy is (I didn't work until Trevor was 5 months, and Blake was 9 months), and how hectic life with 3 kids is going to be, and how irregular my work schedule is (some days I'm gone for 2 hours, others for 6...that's hard to plan around for a nursing newborn!). I've been watching want-ads for ages now, to find another job that would work for me... which is a tough bill. After all, with the flexibility of my current job (i.e. doing lots of work after the kids are in bed, and not paying a sitter) it's hard to beat my current "hourly" pay rate. Add to that the awesome-ness of my boss, who will do pretty much anything for me or any of the others who work for her, and it's a little hard to find a "better" job. But now the boss is gone.... my motivation to go back after maternity leave is GONE! I have no motivation to work now....

Oh yeah, money. I guess that should factor into the return to work equation. Especially since, if I go back in June, then in late June, July & August, I get to claim "under-employment". Claimed through the unemployment department, but for a "lack of work" (since most of my work is in schools, lots of it disappears for the summer). So I get paid from unemployment the difference between what I usually make during the school year, minus whatever actual earnings I've made during the summer. It's a VERY sweet deal....getting paid when you're not working! So, I was planning to go back the first week of June. Now I'm seriously re-thinking that.

Then today, the third "drama" event unfolded. Hubby's car (formerly my car) that is 9 years old, has been leaking some kind of fluid for a while. When he drove home earlier this week, he told me something smelled like it was burning.... great! So we took it to get looked at today, and it needs some major transmission work that will cost at least $1500... maybe more, depending on what they find out. The car is only worth $2-3 thousand anyway, how much do I really want to spend on it? And it will be there for at least 3 days! Joy, happy, fun. We just bought a new car...we really can't afford 2 new cars at once (and I really don't like buying used cars!).

So that's the drama as of late. It seems bad news always comes in three's. So I hope we're done for a while around here. I guess some of the drama has be "solved". I really should keep my job, at least through the summer and until I find a new one, so that I can earn some money towards fixing the old car or buying a new one!

Who Moved My Preschool?

The end of this month, marks the end of Trevor's time in preschool. In August, he'll start Kindergarten at the local elementary school. While this transition is one I'm not really ready for (seriously, my 'baby' is ready for the school bus and kindergarten!!!), it is one that I have known is coming. We've been planning for it and talking about it, because Trevor is a planner... he needs to know about change WELL in advance.

In January, Blake started attending the same preschool. Since he turned 3 at the end of December, I felt it would be good for him to start school while he and Trevor could be there together. For 6 months they would both be there, and a large part of me thought that would help Blake transition into going to school. After all, for 1.5 years he's walked into that building 2 or 3 times a week to drop T off, and he knows the teachers and place. So, for the last 5 months they've both been going to school there... and they've both been loving it and thriving and having a grand time.

Because it's a Montessori school, they spend part of the school day together in the same classroom, and part of it in separate classrooms. Part of the Montessori philosophy is putting mixed-age children together so they can learn from each other, and this is one of the things I really enjoy about Montessori schools. I also love that the activities they do while at school are referred to as 'work' - to give them the value and importance that our daily jobs are given (rather than 'play' which isn't always given the meaningful status it should have for a child); and I love that the materials they work with are quality materials, and not a duplicate of all the plastic crappy toys we have at home (not that you can't learn with plastic toys, but it's nice to have something different).

Well, now we've got a new transition to prepare for. Blake will not be back at the Montessori preschool, because she's closing the school. I found this out this morning when dropping Trevor off at school. To say I'm upset is only the tip of the iceberg. There are all of 4 teachers at this school, and I've come to know each of them pretty well and really like and trust them (the latter of which can be hard for me, as a former teacher!).

So, now I must begin the quest for a new preschool. Ugh... it was hard enough the first time around, and I think this time will be harder. First of all, there are few preschools in our area, and the majority of those I know of, are parochial schools. Not our thing around this house...sorry! When I searched 2 years ago for a school, I was interested in trying to find a Montessori school, but I also looked at other schools. Given the last 2 years , I REALLY want to find another Montessori as I think it has done phenomenal things for T (and B could really REALLY benefit from it...possibly more than T has). But there are only 2 or 3 others that are close enough that I can consider, and given that it's May (and registration started in March for most schools) will I find one with any openings? And, oh yeah, it has to fit in with the rest of the family's schedule which next year involves Trevor riding the bus to 1/2 day kindergarten, but I don't know (and don't find out until August) if he's in AM or PM kindergarten to know what his bus schedule is! So how do I plan around that?!?!?

And so my choice of schools for Blake may come down to, what is close enough, has openings, and doesn't conflict with Trevor's bus schedule for Kindergarten. I guess choosing based on staff longevity, teaching philosophy, and my comfort with the school/staff will have to come 2nd to all that "important stuff"!! Oh, and at some point I have to tell Blake that he won't be going back to see Miss Carol in the fall... I wonder how he'll deal with this transition? He's not exactly a predictable child, so I won't try to guess!!

I'll always eat lunch with you Mommy!

My baby (1 of them) just keeps growing up!

Ages ago, say November, Trevor's teacher's suggested that it might be good for him to stay 1 (or more) days a week for lunch and into the early afternoon. Not because there are any problems, but just to let him expand his horizon's a little more. To help him get more comfortable being away for longer, to let him experience the different activities they do in the afternoon, to let him interact with the kindergarten kids that come in the afternoon rather than always sticking with his 1 or 2 best buddies (who are a year younger than him), etc.

When I mentioned this idea, in passing, to Trev....to say that he was not in favor of it, would be an understatement. The kid hates change (at least initially!). He was STRONGLY opposed to it for a LONG time. In fact, up until a few weeks ago, he would randomly remind me that he is NOT staying at school for lunch ANY time soon (as in, not even next year in Kindergarten! - good thing we have 1/2 day K here!).

So, Tuesday I picked him up from school. I don't even remember how the conversation started, but all of a sudden, he was talking about lunch at school and saying that he wanted to stay for lunch sometime. So, casually (oh, so casually!), I said, "Well you can stay tomorrow for lunch if you want." Bang, done, sold! He was SO excited!!! All afternoon and evening, that's all he talked about. He woke up early on Wednesday, because "We hafta make my lunch Mommy!". He was raring to go! We even got to school early!

And so, he stayed. He ate lunch there (peanut butter sandwich, brownie, and chocolate milk). Then they went outside, and he did lots of work that he doesn't usually get to do. He was slightly concerned, to make sure that I picked him up on time (at 2 pm). After all, Tom and Jerry starts at 2 pm, and he knows it, and he told his teachers!! And so, just like that, another milestone is reached. So, he'll be staying at school every Wednesday for lunch and into the afternoon. It works well as Blake is not there that day anyway, it doesn't conflict with my work schedule (no transportation issues), and Blake and I get some good time together to do things (which is rare!).

The icing on the cake was the work that he brought home. Sometimes, he brings home pictures and drawings and random art projects that he has made. Other times he brings home pages with writing or counting practice that he has done. No matter what it is, becuase it's a Montessori school, I know it is the work that he chose to do that day, nothing that he was 'forced' to do, or that everyone did. I like knowing that. On Wednesday, after being at school for 5 hours, he came home with Math papers. On 4 seperate sheets of paper, he completed all his math facts for numbers 1 through 4. So he added 1 + each number (0-9); 2 + each number; 3 + each number; and 4 + each number. And he got ALL the facts right (with the small issue of writing 12 and 13 backwards as 21 and 31). And, if you ask him any of these facts (what's 3+6?), he'll find something to count (legos, dinosaurs, fingers) and tell you. This kid, knows and LIKES his math!!!

And I worried he was shy....

Today was Trevor's kindergarten screening. Basically, it's kindergarten registration, with a few basic skills tasks for the kids to do, so the teachers have some clue of what they will be dealing with come next fall. I mentioned to Trevor that we would be going and doing this, but didn't make too big of a deal of it, so that he wouldn't either. This morning I reminded him that it was today, and I got the response I expected.... "I'm not gonna do it", "I don't wanna", "I'm just gonna lie on the floor and act like a pancake".

None the less, it went fabulously, and he was a star. We walked in, and he said hi to the ladies. One of them asked to help him take off his coat, to which he polietly replied, "I can do it myself" and did. He then cooperated with her as she asked him to put on a name tag and took his photo. I had paperwork to give them, and more to complete, and he went off with one of the K teachers to start his tasks.

It was a large room, and they had it set up so that there were seperate little cubicles where the teachers worked with the kids. The parents were technically in the same room, but we couldn't see them, the kids couldn't see us, and we could only hear snippets of the conversation. Needless to say, I heard enough!

Trev was showing off his skills (i.e. being crazy) just walking back to the first cubicle. He wouldn't walk properly, but had to show her how he could walk on the sides of his feet instead! Whatever!! I didn't hear much of what happened in that cube, but then he moved on to the next area. The teacher (one of the 2 actual K teachers from the school) came out of the cube and we chatted for a moment. Apparently, T had told her all about his sister, but failed to mention Blake!! He also told her that he doesn't like the name we have planned for the baby, and listed out his preferences instead!!!

In the second cubicle, I could hear him counting (at times) and he got to at least 23 (although I'm sure he missed 13 and 20- he always does). But I heard the teacher sounding relatively impressed! He also had to do some building and sorting of blocks which he later told me was "pretty easy". I also overheard him telling her, how Grandma was about to go visit Jackpot in Vegas and help him move to his new house. Apparently, there are no secrets here!!!

Then he went back to the 3rd cubicle. I think this was the school's speech therapist doing her evaluation. I'll definetly be curious to see what she has to say. I didn't hear much of this conversation either, but I heard her trying to get him to say "spoon" more clearly - he usually says "foon", and other tough words. Of course, he had to give her some personal information (wouldn't want her to feel left out). I heard him telling her about playing the Wii with Daddy, and how they play Star Wars, and that he likes to kill Daddy a lot when they play!! Great... now what do they think of my parenting skills!!! Oh well...

The whole thing took maybe 20 minutes. He came flying through it from my perspective. I was worried that he might not be willing to go back with them, or that he wouldn't do some of the tasks, but apparently... not my kid!! Not a shy bone in his body it would seem! They said I'd get some results/information mailed to me in the next few weeks, but at the moment, we're one step closer to Kindergarten this fall! Wow... I can't believe we've come that far already!!!

2 Big Boys Live here!

Tuesday brought a momentus occasion to our household. Blake started preschool! And in true Blake style, his first day was nothing like Trevor's first day!!

For a few weeks, I've been reminding Blake that after his birthday, he would be starting school with Trevor. Trevor is in the Blue Room and Blake will be in the Red Room. So they'll be at the same place, but with different kids and teachers.

Monday night, Blake went to bed excited, thinking about getting up and going to school. Tuesday morning, they were both up and raring to go. T has missed school friends, as it's been 2 weeks since he's been there, and B was just plain excited.

We got to school, walked in the door, and B dropped his coat and was off! I got him back enough to hang up his coat, but that was it!! He knows the school kids routine so well, just from seeing it when we drop T off. He walked over to the cabinet, picked out an activity, took it to the rug and started working on it (exactly what he's supposed to do!). That was it... he was at school, didn't need me, and was ready to go! Trev hung up his coat, came back to the Red Room (where all the kids start out in the morning), and sat down to work with Blake.

I spent a moment watching them, and talking with the teachers. Trevor took a brief moment to run over and give me a hug and kiss goodbye. But not Blake! He was done with me, didn't need me, wasn't worried about me leaving, and was happy as a clam. He's SO different than his brother sometimes!

I spent the next 2.5 hours, having coffee and chatting with my girlfriends!! Yay me!

When I came back to pick them up, they both were happy to see me, both had a great day, and both were excited for to come back!

The only downside to Blake starting school, he doesn't understand why today only Trevor goes to school! He was more upset about dropping T off this morning and leaving to come home with me, and T was upset that B wasn't staying. But that's how it goes....2 days a week for 3-year-olds, and 3 days a week for 4-year-olds!!