Four Weeks In

She wanted to know what she would look like with glasses, so she drew them

Lainey just finished off her first four weeks of Kindergarten today. Everything seems to be going great! No adjustment issues and she enjoys her before and after school care programs. Getting any details on what happened during her day can be challenging. The information flow is very sporadic--some nights she can't stop talking, other nights we just get an eye roll and silence, and she gets very annoyed if she has to repeat herself. (Gee...what's that like, Lainey?) We get that right now she is super stimulated and it's a lot to take in, so we try not to push, but it's hard. We want to know! I've learned not to ask too many questions at pick-up, because then she won't tell Mark anything (you know, because she'd have to repeat herself, again!) But, sometimes he just has to lose, otherwise I miss the window of enthusiasm for the day and no one hears anything. It's a delicate dance and I'm still learning the steps...

We had Curriculum Night at the school this past week and got to check out her classroom and hear more about the overall International Baccalaureate (IB) program (sounds so fancy!). We also got a run down on all the standardized testing. Ugh! I mean I had some basic knowledge around the pain that No Child Left Behind has inflicted, but to get the real nitty gritty and know your kid has to go through it really bummed me out. But, on a positive note, they're not assigning homework in Kindergarten this year. Hurray, hurrah!

Mark and I snagged a one-on-one conference with her Spanish teacher, because no one else showed up to that time slot. So, even though you're not supposed to talk about your child's individual performance at this thing, we got an earful about how wonderful and enthusiastic Lainey is in the classroom. And so, I am now obligated to brag about how wonderful and enthusiastic she is in the classroom! The teacher asked if she'd had Spanish before, because she already knows quite a few of the basics. She did--when she was two! She's a smart one, that Lainey. I'm beyond happy that she gets a second language class starting in Kindergarten. Even if the primary year grades only have it twice a week, I think it's wonderful!

While Lainey's intro into real school seems to be smooth sailing, it's been an adjustment for me (hence the lack of posts--I'm busy and exhausted). Mark and I now juggle two drop-offs and pick-ups and I seem to have a face that just screams--"ask me to volunteer, ask me to volunteer!!!" Those PTA moms mean business! You can find me this Sunday volunteering at the Barnes & Noble Book Bash--it's one of the few volunteer events that don't take place during work hours, so I jumped on it. I narrowly dodged being the K-1 Girl Scout leader--I agreed, but then found out meetings are at 3:45pm. Not that I don't want to do it, but I already had to drop the bomb that I need to leave the office 30 minutes early every day to make the pick-up cut-offs at day care and the YMCA.

all of this chaos was kind of expected. New schedule, new people... What I didn't expect was the overdose of working mom guilt. I really never had it during the day care years...maybe once or twice when the kids had a sick day, but generally I was fine with my choices. But, at daycare, all of Lainey's friends had parents in the exact same boat as us, so there were no after school playdates or programs to miss out on. Most of Lainey's new friends get to go play on the playground right after school, while she's bused off to the Y. And there is a cooking class she wants to take, but it's over at 5pm; with my train schedule, I'd have to leave work at 3:30pm to get her in time. Whenever she wants to do something that doesn't fit with my work schedule she asks, "Mom, do you think maybe you could work a little faster, and then you could come home early?" Knife. In. My. Heart!!! Stab! Stab! Stab! The saving grace is she has two good friends that go to the Y with her, and I just signed her up to start taking gymnastics at the Y at the end of October. So, it's not like she's deprived, but, still...it stings.

Meanwhile over at day care, Nick is living it up! There has been absolutely no problem breaking away from big sister. Already we're seeing him learn so much in the pre-school room and his imagination is just awesome! I adore listening to him play by himself or make up stories and songs. Some days I wish I could just record everything he says. Behavior-wise, he's doing great most days at school, but is still landing on "red" every now and again. Hey, he's three! I'm not on my best behavior every day either. Really the worst news  is that he's starting to give up the nap--at school and at home. Too soon, I say (although I know a lot of parents envy that my kids still nap at all)! And he's been a real pain going to bed at night. Last night it took almost 90 minutes to get him down. The problem is he's super adorable when he creeps out of bed, so it's hard to be stern with him. Man, those hound dog eyes. They just melt me! So, amidst all the other changes, that is staying consistent--I'm still a sap for Nick.

So, we're off and running! Stay tuned for more updates as we settle into our new "norm." I just keep the coffee brewing!

This is how I feel some days...
(These self-portraits were to be inspired by a mural of similar, stick figure drawings
 with wacky expressions. This was Elaine's take on that.)

Our 5-year-old Teenager

School seems to be going great for Lainey. We get basically no information out of her in the evenings, but she's happy at pick-up and doesn't complain about going, so I assume all is going well.

One thing she has learned rather quickly over the past two weeks is a smart mouth. Now, I'm not saying she didn't already have a head start in the sarcasm department (I am her mother, after all), but she has really ramped it up. A few conversations had in the past week:

Nick: Lainey, will you get me a piece of paper?

L: Get it yourself. I'm not your maid.

Mark: Lainey, if you don't stop you have to get off the swings.

L: Like I care.

Me: Well, why didn't you sit with her at lunch?

L: She didn't interest me today.

Me: Do you want to do soccer?

L: No

Me: Why not?

L: It involves running. 

(Again, she really is my daughter. I'd also like to clarify that she does really love to run and is not a five-year-old couch potato.)

When I put in Monsters University, I got this reaction from her: (screaming) "I know why you put this on. It's because you HATE ME!!!" Then she ran to her room and slammed the door. When I had no reaction, because a) I was elbow deep in dish water and b) WTF?, she ran back downstairs and repeated herself, adding a double "you HATE me" for emphasis. I never really got to the bottom of that one, but we did establish that even though I had the audacity to turn on a Pixar movie that she used to love, I do, in fact, still love her very much. 

Finally, she has officially starting saying, "OMG," along with her favorite new phrase, "for real, Mom."

Looks like it's going to be a loooong 13 years ahead of us!

Class of 2029

She's ready!

Today was the big day--Lainey headed off for her first day of kindergarten! Mark and I were able to take off work to walk our girl to school.  All went smoothly with no tears by anyone! Lainey is lucky to have three friends in her class, so she was excited to see them and could have cared less as Mark and I walked out the door. I was happy, because even though our initial introduction to the school has been rather disorganized, things seemed to flow together just fine with minimal confusion. 

Looking up to big sister

Ready to take on the school!

Although Lainey will be attending after-school care at the YMCA, the original plan for today was to pick her up at school and skip the Y. But, because she has to be transported by bus to the program, I thought it better to give it a whirl today when I was just five minutes away in case anything went wrong in the chaos of the first day. But, my fears were unfounded, as everything went smoothly. When I went to pick-up Lainey at 4:30pm, she actually started crying, because "she didn't even get to play much and they were just getting ready for snack!" Oops. Guess, I really didn't have anything to worry about. To make it up to her, I took her and Nick for pre-dinner ice cream (and then the girl had the nerve to ask for a treat after dinner and when I said "no" she threw a fit, because I had "promised her" a treat for the first day. I was not amused.)

Meanwhile, over at Care-A-Lot, Nick did just fine without his big sis. So, again, I worried for nothing. I'm excited to see how he evolves this next year with a little more independence and a structure learning program.

Well, we're off an running...let's see what this next chapter brings!

First day ice cream

Tennis and Beyond

We were very lucky to be included in an incredible weekend in Wisconsin to celebrate our friend Jamie's 40th birthday. Our large crew descended on "Tennis and Beyond," a huge farmhouse situated on a beautiful, secluded two acres of land, for three days of fun and laughs.

I was little nervous going into the weekend, because we were a force of 15 adults and nine kids, ages one to seven. That's  A LOT of people! But, the house really did have an immense amount of room and the grounds allowed us to pretty much let the kids roam free. Everyone pitched in to set-up and clean-up meals, and the kids got along very well, so it ended up being one of the most relaxing weekends I've had in quite awhile. 

I think pictures tell the best story of the fun from the weekend, so scroll on and on below to see all the magic. It really was memorable and I'm so thankful we were able to be a part of it. Thank you so much to Jamie and Nicole, who made it all happen!

The house

The grounds

The crew

The kids

Nick's happiest moment...holding his frog