What's Up?

I've been reading other blogs and commenting but just cannot get a second to write anything!  So here goes...

Michael

 *After that one rough spot during the first week of school, this past week (4 day week) of school went very smoothly for all of us.  It included a Back To School night for the parents.  His teacher is awesome and experienced and pretty much what I had hoped for.  I couldn't be happier with our school choice.

*Michael is clearly absorbing what is going on during class time.  He told me that he is learning COLLEGE words and then shared this little ditty about "Trace, Analyze, Infer, Evaluate, Formulate"- complete with brief descriptions and hand motions (e.g. Analyze- break it apart, Formulate- build and create).  It was like a finger play of critical thinking skills.

*We also have nightly homework to review letters, numbers, "popcorn words" (sight words) and a little exercise that is for reading prep.  More along the lines of what I would expect at the outset of Kindergarten (those college words took me by surprise).  Other things will be sent home along the way and there is some online work in math and reading as well.  Very well organized.

*One other "bragging" type thing- Michael knows the Pledge of Allegiance...I never taught him this so I can't take any credit for it.

I am just so relieved that he is enjoying it, seems eager to go to school and is learning!  To balance all this, I must confess that Michael is also a bit of a hot mess at home.  Very tired, whining, screaming at me.  As you know, his usual temperament is high maintenance...he has upped the ante.  I know it will get better as he adjusts to the full school day but Wow...he is in rare form.

Liam
*He is adjusting to the time away from Michael.  I think he just has a hard time with feeling jealous because he wants to ride the bus and do homework and see Michael's school.  He wants to be a part of it.  Luckily, Liam also enjoys being solo big brother to Chloe and is so much more patient with her than Michael is...it's great to see them have some bonding time of their own.

*Liam is getting the fact that while Chloe naps in the afternoon, he has me all to himself.  We've painted, played games, colored, worked on speech and really just enjoyed the time.  It is SO freakin' easy to do projects with just one kid...you know, with the boys being so close in age, I've never really gotten to do that.  It's fantastic!

*Liam visits preschool tomorrow and then starts his morning class on Wednesday.  I'm very, very excited for him!  When we started his countdown chart, there were 38 days until preschool...now we are down to 3...why does time pass so quickly?

Chloe
*Chloe is Chloe...trying to pee on the potty at every opportunity (whether she needs to or not), trying to dress the boys or change her own diaper, running the show, cracking skulls when necessary.  As she gains more words, she is very effective at giving orders and making demands.  Luckily, she is also pretty good at using "Peese" and "Kank-koo".

*We are going to do a "mommy and me" type of class at preschool and another class at the library. So that will give us two mornings per week to socialize plus any play dates we happen upon.

Me
*Oh yes, by the way, I have a new job!   Which is really a job I've done at a couple other agencies before so I just need to get my feet wet again.  It is part-time, a position called Mobile Therapy which is just like it sounds- I am a therapist/counselor who travels to the client. 

*I am anxious about scheduling but hopeful that I can work it all out.  It will be mostly evening hours and I am hopeful that I can even schedule on weekends if necessary.  It is my best bet for coordinating with Mike's rotating schedule while still being able to bring in money without paying out for daycare (or at least, keeping it to a minimum).

*I think I've had a pretty good adjustment to Kindergarten...I really do miss Michael but as we settle into the routine, I am making the most of our time before and after school.  It actually makes my day kind of easy by comparison.  Liam and Chloe are both very easy going kids...I don't even really have to raise my voice, no time-outs are necessary.  That part is quite lovely.  I'm trying to ease Michael's afternoon re-entry into the mix because once my job starts up in about 2 weeks, that part of the day is going to get crazy.

So there it is in a nutshell for now...I am sure when the job starts up, I will have my usual stress to process.  Until then, I'm going to enjoy our new normal :)