Naptime Blog

My boys have officially been in nursery school for a month.  I must admit, they really  like it!  Last week, Louis and Anthony came home telling me all about Christopher Columbus and the ocean blue, the treasure, the queen, the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria!  They are learning their numbers and letters and the paintings, drawings and papers they come home with are all over my refrigerator and everywhere else I can hang them!

So why do we still have anxiety every Tuesday and Thursday morning?  Anthony seems to have a nervous stomach every morning before school.  He uses the bathroom multiple times and has even vomited a few times right before we leave for school.  Louis asks me a hundred times on Tuesday and Thursday mornings if we are going to school today and reminds me “I don’t live at school, right Mommy?” and asks if I promise to pick them up after school.

Walking into school, both boys are visibly apprehensive, but the reports I get each day are that by the time the teacher closes the door, the boys are already settled with their friends, playing with the toys and smiling away!  Plus, when I pick them up at 3pm, both boys are all excited to tell me about all the fun they had in school!

All in all, my boys really love school.  I just wish they’d stop giving me butterflies in my stomach when I drop them off!  They really know how to make me feel bad!

During the first week of school, kiddo asked me for a fourth-grade picture for his teacher. He told me that she was making a collage for the classroom and needed it. While looking at five or six different picture packages (one every year since pre-school), I found his pre-school pictures.

In it, kiddo was wearing a SpongeBob Squarepants sweatshirt, jeans and a huge smile. It was the sort of smile that a kid put so much effort into to get it just right for the camera. And anyone looking at it can’t help, but to break out in a big grin.

I remember that particular picture day as being rushed. I had been running late and forgot all about picture day, even though we had notice about it. I was just happy that his clothes matched. Then as soon as I arrived, I remembered. I didn’t even have time to stay to tame his curly hair (kiddo inherited my hair genes). I ran right back out to get to work on time.

That evening, I picked him up and one of the moms told me that she fixed his hair. I was so grateful to her and thanked her for it. She told me it wasn’t a problem and that she knew that things were challenging for me. Because of her hair magic, kiddo looked amazing in his pre-school picture.

At the time I found it, I really needed some inspiration. I needed to remember why I was working so hard and losing sleep because of all of the stress. Working full-time, dealing with custody and child support and dealing with a pre-teen – all of which have been wearing down my spirit as a mom.

So, I did what I haven’t done in ages (due to the confidential nature of my dayjob) – I put the picture in my wallet. I’ve been doing the “I’m so proud of kiddo – look at his picture” thing with my parenting friends – especially those who have toddlers now. I really got a kick of seeing their faces light up after looking at kiddo’s picture. And every time I feel sad over something, whether it’s work or kiddo & I just aren’t doing well, I pull out my wallet and focus on it. Pictures do really preserve a moment in time.

As Jennifer celebrates sending her twins off to pre-school, I look back on my son’s first day. It was a long time ago (seven years) and what I remember most is that he jumped right in.

By the time kiddo went to pre-school at 2 & a half, he was already used to being dropped off somewhere else for the day. I’ve never had the choice to stay home with him, so I relied heavily on baby-sitters and day care providers to help me take care of him.

Around this time, the child care provider (whom I absolutely adored) was reducing the number of kids she would be caring for and kiddo was not in that group of kids selected to stay on. I mentioned this to a co-worker who recommended the pre-school. She told me that it was about 10 minutes away from our office by train and that they have an early drop off/pick-up schedule. The clinching point was that this pre-school would charge me a weekly amount based on my income. I immediately signed kiddo up and we were ready to go. Except that kiddo still had some accidents. I was informed that he had to be fully potty trained when he started, but kiddo was able to catch up pretty quickly with the other kids as he stopped having accidents right away.

Kiddo (and I) fell in love with this pre-school. The staff was amazing and supportive especially when I had been working full-time and going to school full-time. They let me know right away if anything was wrong with kiddo and they really welcomed me with open arms. For three years, I shuttled kiddo to school, dropped him off and went back uptown to work. It was a constant struggle, but we made it work.

Kiddo graduated and we both never forgot that experience. He learned about Christmas, Hannukah and Kwanzaa. He learned how to use a computer and his class was the most diverse class I’ve ever seen with kids from all backgrounds. We loved this place and were sad to hear that it was closed down.

Pre-school is definitely the foundation for a great education and kiddo was lucky enough to be in this school. I found pictures of kiddo and I on a school trip recently and was instantly transported to that magical time.

For those of you who’ve not been through this yet, I hope you and your child have as wonderful an experience as we did.

Its getting harder & harder to pack a good, AFFORDABLE lunch for my kids. Did I mention that one is really picky? Juices boxes are usually packed with too much sugar and the easy quick snacks like granola bars & goldfish are not always the healthiest option. I read an interesting article that stated the following 5 items should be avoided when packing your child’s lunch:

1. Juice box
2. Lunchmeat
3. Goldfish crackers
4. Fruit snacks
5. Granola bars

While that list has those easy go to items, maybe not always the best nutritional choices. It can be very difficult to get those 5 servings of fruits and veggies in your diet each day. With the cost of groceries slowly climbing, many are turning to planting their own small gardens to help cut cost.

What goodies do you pack in your kiddos lunchbox?

Shanta

Mommy of 3 BOYS

Recently, I saw a very interesting bumper sticker. It said “Why is it that the US has money for War but not our Education System?’ I must admit, that got me thinking. I am an educator. We have not received a raise or step increase in over 4 years now. It’s really sad that our nation doesn’t feel what we do to prepare our young people for the future is not important enough to give more attention to. Aside from raises, faculty & staff, textbooks, computers, and a number of very valuable supplies have been decreased because of budget cuts. Class sizes are at an all time high. 

I really worry for my children and their children. As educators we are doing the best we can for the students each day, but we are doing it with very limited supplies. Often time teachers are having to provide school supplies for our classroom & our students we serve. We are all being hit hard by the economy.

I often wonder if the priorities of the nation are in the wrong places!?!

Shanta

Mommy of 3 BOYS

I have had butterflies in my stomach for days. I remember when my daughter first started school. How she cried that first time I dropped her off – it broke my heart! Not only that, but she continued to cry every time I brought her to school until Christmas! It was comforting to know that within minutes of me leaving, Juliana was fine and happy the rest of the day. But I had no idea how Louis and Anthony would react today.

This morning, the two of them were so excited! They woke up extra early, and when I asked why, they said “We want to go to school!” School didn’t start until 12:30! They asked when we were leaving all morning, and when we finally got in the car they were so excited (although my stomach was in knots)!

I took some pictures before we left, and then the tears started. My tears! I could not believe my boys were starting school! It was only last week that I found out I was expecting two babies at once! It was only yesterday that I held them both for the first time! And now, they are BIG boys!

When we pulled up in front of the school, Anthony started getting doubts. He told my husband and I that he didn’t want to go inside and wanted to stay out here with us. We managed to talk to him and he was fine. When the teacher opened the door, Louis walked right in! He hung his schoolbag in one of the cubbies and went right over to the toys. Anthony was a little more reluctant, but he found some toys he wanted to check out and joined. Paul and I kissed them both and left. I could not believe how easy that was!

The first day of school was quite a short one. I had an hour to pick up some lunch and head back to pick up the boys. I anxiously waited for them to be dismissed, but as soon as I saw their faces, I knew something had happened. Turns out, Louis was playing with Mr. Potato Head, and (he likes this JUST SO) when there were no teeth, he started to cry. His crying turned to his twin crying, and the two of them got all upset. They started crying for me, and the teacher tried everything she could to get them to smile again. When Anthony saw me, his lip quivered as he said “Mommy, I missed you!”

I promised the boys that I would return to come and get them EVERY time they were at school. They have pretty much ALWAYS been with me, and other than being with close family or friends for a few hours here and there, I guess knowing I left them scared the twins.

Jennifer, wife and mom of FOUR

www.mommyslinks.com

The boys will go back on Thursday, and I hope their fears subside. I know they will have such a great year, and I am sure the little crying spell that started over Mr. Potato Head’s teeth will be something they laugh about one day (we already are!)

By the way, I ran to Toys R Us this afternoon and picked up two sets of Mr. Potato Head pieces that they will bring to school on Thursday, so now, Mr. Potato Head will have teeth!

It’s OFFICIAL, my oldest son is a 6^th grader L. I swear it feels like he just got here. I was a nervous wreck at his school open house. Not that guy, he walked around with all the confidence in the world. He has 6 teachers, he switches classes, has new friends from the other schools & the little young ladies and really after him.

He has turned into such the helper around the house with his brothers, I have seen so much growth in him over this past summer.

I thought I was ready for this transiton, and even though there are 2 younger siblings in the house he is still “”My Baby”.

~Shanta

Mommy o 3 BOYS

One of the not-so-joyful moments of a new school year is school shopping. While I can recall the Staples commercial showing a dad riding a shopping cart with the kids walking behind him all depressed (you can probably You Tube it), I can also recall the song “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” I think the commercial is funny. But, not as funny now because of all of the money I’ve been spending to get kiddo ready.

Every June, kiddo comes home with an ever-growing list of school supplies needed for the 2011 – 2012 school year. Some staple items never change – paper, notebooks, crayons, pencils, etc. But, new for us are: index cards, post-its, a protractor and wipes. Now I know that some of this stuff is necessary for class work, but does he really need new crayons if he has hundreds (literally) here at home? Does he really need new folders if the ones from last year are still good? I don’t think so.

Before we left this morning to start the wonderful shopping expedition, we went over everything kiddo brought home in June. I was able to cross several items off the list (thank goodness) and saved myself a few dollars. I say that because I still bought kiddo his uniform (slacks, short-sleeve shirts, socks, undershirts and long-sleeve shirts) and shoes/sneakers. Sigh. So even though I saved a few bucks, I still managed to spend about $200 getting him ready for the 5^th grade. Parents, what have you recycled from the last school year? Do you believe in recycling school items? Why or why not?

In a few short weeks, my twin boys will be starting pre-school.  I remember when my daughter started pre-school, she attended the same school as they will be in.  Juliana is a March baby and the twins are July babies.  So she was slightly older than they will be when she started in September of 2005.  But I am a little worried.  I remember my daughter being much more mature than they are at the start of school.

Juliana did cry the first few weeks of pre-school, and it broke my heart every time I drove away.  The teacher told me that within two minutes she was fine, which helped me go on with my day.  Other than that, Juliana was very mature and listened intently to her teachers.  She got along very well with her classmates and showed great interest in everything she learned.   My boys on the other hand, seem to have a great lack of attention span.  One of the twins has a better span than the other, but even he worries me for the start of school.

I have been talking to them about school.  They know they will make new friends, learn new things and play with new toys.  They also know that I will bring them and pick them up.  They will have each other, although that can be a blessing or a scary thought (as they tend to fight with each other at times).  I guess for the first few weeks, I will sit outside in the car for the 2 1/2 hours of school, two days a week they will be there.  Hopefully, they enjoy it as much as their older sister did.

I am also worried about how the baby will fare when all of his siblings are in school and he isn’t.  While I am looking forward to having a few hours a week with him alone, and I am hoping he enjoys it, too, he may feel left out that he doesn’t get to go yet.  Regardless, we will deal with all the kids day by day, and I will share the triumphs and tribulations (both theirs and MINE!) with you along the way!

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