SCHOOL, LIFE, ETC. - An Update.

I've been meaning to write an actual blog post for a while now - so we'll see if I can manage to remember everything that I've been meaning to write about! Please forgive uh - everything. Spelling, grammar, sentence structure - everything. I'm going on a less-than-ideal amount of sleep (not that I'm complaining! He's totally worth it!), and whatever coffee is left in my system. I'm at about four cups per day at this point.......well, four 12 to 16 ounce "cups."

Kindergarten is going really well. I'm very happy with our decision to send BB to this particular Christian school. The staff is very warm, loving, and helpful which is really fantastic. BB is a "late bird" which means that his school day goes from 10am-1:30pm. I pack him a lunch everyday in his (yes, I too jumped onto this particular bandwagon!) personalized Lands End lunch box. The exception is "pizza day" when he likes to get the hot lunch. I just send him with a snack for recess time on those days. Apparently, almost his whole class gets hot lunch on pizza day which is fun. Anyway, there are 12 kids in the Early Bird class, and 11 kids in the Late Bird class. They overlap for an hour or so everyday. They have their teacher plus an aide everyday. The really cool part, is that they have free on site (like......30 paces from the classroom) "daycare" (that word makes me cringe, but that's what they call it) from 8am until 1:30pm. The daycare room is where the kids are dropped off in the morning. We sign them in, and then the daycare lady (who BB loves almost as much as his teacher!) walks the late birds to class. We pick them up in the same manner - the teacher walks them over to the daycare room, signs them in, and then we sign them out. It's nice to know that I could in theory bring BB to school as early as 8am if I wanted to! He really likes the free time to play outside and/or inside with his school friends in a less structured manner, so I usually drop him off at 9:30am.

I was really impressed with our Kindergarten teacher at Back to School night. Right off the bat, she gave us her home phone number and told us to always feel free to call her with questions and concerns. So basically - "She had me at Hello." The room is really warm and comfortable - a science center, a math center, art center, etc. I like that there aren't desks or tables that the children sit in for the day. Rather, there are tables at the centers, or "stations" and the kids move from once center to the other - coming together for circle time. Sort of like preschool, but with more academic basics - reading, math, etc. They use the "Zoo-Phonics" reading program, and BB is doing really well with it. They children have PE on Tuesdays, Music on Thursdays, a special Art program on Fridays, and Chapel on Wednesdays. The kids only have homework once a week, and it is usually an "engaging" activity. Something that we have to do with BB which is actually really great. It gives me a reason to sit down with him, just the two of us, and do something fun together. I try to do that anyway.....but you know, it isn't all that easy. Especially now! I really love this school. I was concerned that perhaps it wasn't going to be academic enough ("academic" - another word that makes me cringe) but they didn't get the National Blue Ribbon Award of Excellence for nothing, right? So I have faith. It's great to be able to drop him off and feel really good about where he is.

LB has only been to preschool twice, and so far he seems to be doing fine. I asked one of the teachers if he was being nicer to them than he was to us and she said "Oh yeah, he's been great - they don't pull stuff here - they suck it up." We both had a good laugh....she has witnessed some of LB's finer moments over the last two years, so she knows what she is in for. LB is as wonderful as he is maddening. Sure he has a temper and is stubborn as hell, but he also has a great sense of humor, is very enthusiastic, and will run up with hugs at the ready. Totally different than his big brother who mostly keeps the peace, but isn't all that friendly or outgoing until he really knows someone.

I have a feeling I'm really going to enjoy Tuesdays and Thursdays. From about 10am until 1pm, I'll only have the baby. So....totally....wonderful. I'm looking forward to not only doing errands that are easier without the big boys in tow, but to just laying on the floor with my baby and playing with him! Little honey baby...I'm so excited to be able to have him all to myself without the big boys pulling me away. And lets be honest. Maybe I can put him in the bouncy seat and scrap! Or read a magazine! Or watch The View! Lovely.

As I eluded to in an earlier paragraph, LB has been an absolute nightmare. Mouthy as all get out (don't know where he gets it) and just BAD in general. The great thing though, is that he LOVES the baby. He is super sweet with him. Kisses him, is really gentle with him, always asks about him, smiles at him.....so that's great. Don't get me wrong, I don't trust him any further than I can throw him - but he doesn't seem to be jealous of the baby. BB is really sweet and protective over the baby as well, but isn't as interested as LB is. "He's sort of boring Mommy..." Over the last few days, the baby has been more alert for longer periods of time, and since then - BB has begun to show more interest which is nice.

The baby will be 4 weeks old tomorrow, and has gained just about a pound since birth. He's been to our pediatrician about 3 times already, because I've been paranoid about jaundice. It's mostly gone - his chest and extremities are clear - but his face remains just a tad yellow. It's gotten much better than it was when he was about a week old, but it worries me a little that it isn't completely resolved. Our Dr. swears that he isn't concerned, and I love and trust our doctor - so I'm just going with it at this point.

In completely unrelated news, we're doing an upgrade on our kitchen, and all of our new stainless appliances were delivered and installed today. We're officially done with BISQUE. YES! We already ordered our new counter top, now we just have to have it installed...which won't be for two weeks after the measure.....which is scheduled for two weeks from now. We had grand plans to knock out a wall, get new cabinets, etc. but we decided that we were just going to do an "upgrade" rather than a remodel since this isn't THE house. This is our starter house....so anything we do is basically for someone else. It's going to be a lot better than it is now and I'll certainly enjoy it while we're here - but no bells or whistles.

Speaking of enjoying it, I've never before been excited about an appliance, but when I saw this double oven, 5 burner range at the Home Depot show room - I just knew I had to have it. I cooked dinner on it tonight, and it's as fabulous as I thought it would be. It's going to be great for the holidays....that's for sure. Damn turkeys.....a necessary evil.