But Keep the Old

Today was Day 2 at Woodmen Hills Preschool. This time I made sure I had a stroller to keep Keegen restrained and I had to lure Bode into the building with a TJ's cereal bar. We got in and he did the same song and dance (ur, cry and whine) about NOT going to school and this and that. So I parked Keegen in the classroom and picked Bode up and carried him in AGAIN. We were about 15 minutes late since the boys slept in after their wild times at Angela's (sleeping in for us is about 7:30). So class was already in full swing and heading for circle time. He wouldn't join in and we sat in the back of the class. I was happy with the way the teachers dealt with us, still introducing him and me even though we weren't in the circle and simply stating the "Bode's not ready yet." I stuck around until there was a natural break and saw that the teachers were motioning for me to leave. I gave him a kiss, told him to have fun and that I'd pick him up when it was time and left. Miss Elaine was talking to him as I left (and as he cried) but I could tell he wasn't that upset. Certainly not as upset as last week.

Keegen and I had a lovely time shopping at Safeway and then I attempted to get the house back into some order but it's really impossible with K. He's so completely into everything. "Busy" I think would be a PC term for it.

Pickup at preschool went great. Bode was more smiley when he saw me (still tried to hide his smile but more of it spilled out). Both teachers cooed about what a great day he had. Told me he still hung out in the back of the class but was paying close attention to everything they were doing (typical!) and that he eventually joined in. He was excited to tell me that he got to play with Zeke on the playground, so that was cool. I didn't get much more out of him than that, but he seemed happy. Hopefully it will continue to get easier. We will miss two weeks of school soon for our vacation, but I hope he can get back into a groove fast after that.

This afternoon, Sarah, my friend from BYU's college of nursing, stopped by for a visit with her 3 kids. She's been in town (in Boulder) for a family wedding and was able to swing by. It was great to see her. She's just so easy to be around. Nice to chat, the kids seemed to have a good time. I'm crossing my fingers that they'll move back to Colorado sometime in the not-to-distant future!

A Taste of San Diego

Doug has had his nose to the grindstone for I-don't-know-how-long planning/organizing an "all-hands" (team-building/business ed conference) for work. Many long hours. Lots and lots going on. They decided to do it in San Diego, so, lucky me, I got to go to San Diego with him for 36 hours. I just got home. And it was great. Why only 36 hours? Well, I've never left the kids overnight before and it seemed like all I could do and ask of a friend who watched them (I'm sure she would have been willing to take them for a longer amount of time, so it was just me). Anyway. The trip. What a breath of fresh air it was.

We dropped the boys off at Angela's Saturday around 8AM and caught our flight out of the Springs airport. Nice and convenient. It was a direct flight, just 2 hours. The flight was great even though Doug and I didn't get to sit by each other. We both had single seats and he was directly behind me (it was two seats on one side, one seat on the other). I popped in my earplugs, perused my People and Entertainment Weekly magazines, sipped a Coke and enjoyed a mini-sandwich that was provided (shocking! I know).

We landed in San Diego and walked out into the lovely ocean breeze. I said something to Doug about the ocean feeling like home. He responded that the ocean feels like vacation to him. Maybe I need a house on the ocean?? Aaaah. Wouldn't that be the life.

We checked into our ridiculous bilevel suite that Doug got for the week (I guess the company got a couple of these suites as part of the deal for booking the conference with them and his boss told Doug to take one) and were greeted by a tray of chocolate dipped strawberries and a bottle of sparkling cider (we're celebrating our 10th anniversary next weekend and the woman who helped Doug coordinate things at the hotel caught wind of that). There was a living and dining area downstairs and a large bedroom and huge bathroom with a ginormous jetted tub upstairs. I realized some people live in that sort of luxury all the time. Can they possibly appreciate it as much as we did?

We grabbed some divine pad thai at a restaurant across the street from the hotel and headed over to Coronado Island, just 10 minutes over the bay. Cute little island. Some fun shops. Beautiful water, lots of weddings going on. We had dinner at a little pizza joint out on the patio and followed that up with some ice cream that nearly rivaled Maggie Moo's (almost).

Back at the hotel we chilled, read our books and fell asleep, no kidding, by 9PM. Bliss.

We awoke to heinous rap music on the clock radio alarm at 6AM, left by the previous tenant I assume. But I managed to fall back asleep until 8:30 while Doug did some work downstairs. How long has it been since I slept til 8:30? I can't even remember.

We got some breakfast and just sort of puttered around. I'd have to be at the airport by 1:30, so there wasn't a lot of time to really do something. So, what to do? We headed to Trader Joe's! I stocked up on some chicken nuggets for the boys (their insulated bags are awesome) and some much needed cereal bars and candies. Doug commented to me while we were shopping, "This place just makes you happy, doesn't it?" as I pushed my cart through the store with a dreamy, satisified smile. Indeed.

We grabbed some lunch and then off we went to the airport. My flight home was smooth, lovely to have time to myself to read a good book! I got home to the boys in time to put them to bed. They were cute and happy to see me. Happy. They were so well-cared for by Angela. She is such a gem. Bode told me a few times that he missed us while we were gone. We read a few stories, sang a few songs and they both passed out immediately. I'm sure they've been going hard the past two days.

I felt like I was gone longer than a few hours. I'm surprisingly refreshed by this quick trip and hope to use it as the positive momentum I need.

Preschool Questionnaire

I was given this questionnaire to fill out from Bode's preschool. I was looking at it at work and said to a coworker, "OK. I guess I really don't know my child very well" as I read her the questions. But I think I've managed to give a quick glimpse of him.

What are your child's strengths? very verbal, likes to be helpful, physically adept

What are your child's needs? time to get comfortable, patience, gentle nudges to try

What are your child's special interests? books, "building trucks" (i.e. diggers, dumpers; etc.)

What are some of your child's favorite things to do? trucks, trains, dig in dirt/sandbox, OUTSIDE play!

What are some things your child does not like? not particularly into crafts (as hard as I try!)

What are your child's favorite books? Mr. Seahorse, My Truck is Stuck, Frog & Toad series, Mouse Tales series

What type of special activities do you like to do with your child? playdough, storytime, swim, zoo, ice cream dates

What motivates your child? making something a challenge--"race" or "game" seems to help but for the most part he'll do something when he's good and ready!

What rewards work best for your child? hmmmmm...certainly loves sweets! An "atta-boy." For the most part he doesn't really respond to do something for the sake of a reward

What do you hope your child will gain from this school year? increased social skills; I'd like to see him come out of his shell; participate more willingly in group activities; have fun

School Daze

Today was Bode's first day of preschool. Yup. August 8th and school is underway. It was actually supposed to start on the 6th but MOLD was discovered at multiple schools in the area (mold in CO??). So that had to be remediated and tested and all that caused a delay. So anyway, we live in a school district that is considered year-round. The kids will get a 2-week fall break in October, which i think is pretty cool. 2-weeks at Christmas, 2-week Spring Break and then done Memorial Day. It's a bit strange to me since I'm used to school starting after Labor Day, but I think it has its perks.

Anywho, Bode was pretty excited about going to school. Well, at least somewhat enthusiastic. He was happy about his Thomas backpack and the fact that I packed a snack in there just in case. He was cool about it all, until, we walked in the door of the school. Then, there was no way he was going into class. Lots of "I don't want to go to school"s and much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Luckily I was able to pawn Keegen off on my friend, Angela, who had just dropped Zeke off at the preschool class next door. I picked Bode up and carried him into the classroom, plopped down with him at a table and tried to engage him in different things that were on the tables. We found his nametag and his peg on the wall for his backpack. There were probably 12 kids there and 4 teachers (one teacher and 3 aides?). So I eventually told him I had to go, reminded him that when he went to school last year that I left and came back to get him when it was time. He cried and told me not to go, hugged my leg and all that. Miss Debbie came to him and took him as I left. I thought she was a bit gruff--i would have preferred the warmer-fuzzier teacher who was nearby, but what to do.

I headed home with Keegen who was surprisingly desperate for a morning nap (he really only takes a PM one these days). I was more than happy to oblige as it gave me about 2 hours to myself and I finally got the last of my flowers in the ground out back and cleaned up the kitchen(again...). Nice.

I went to pick him up and spied him through the window sitting in circle time. He wasn't doing the knee-pat motions they were doing, but just the fact that he was sitting in the circle was huge. They were going around asking each kid something they did during the summer. And then I heard his name called and he actually ANSWERED. What he said I couldn't hear (for all I know he told them to bug-off), but just the fact that he responded as opposed to silence is a big deal. Per his teachers he cried for awhile but eventually stopped and participated and did especially well after time on the playground (no shock there).

In his oh so cool way he was happy to see me. He told me what he had for snack and that he had cried for awhile and that he got to play outside in the sandbox. He had his backpack on and was ready to roll. We went and waited outside Zeke's door since we were going to KFC for a little lunch celebration. After lunch we headed to the park to burn off some energy. The kids had a blast.

All in all it was a good first day. I think we'll have more difficult drop-offs for awhile, but I think he's come a long way. My friend Kristen reminded me that he did well last year and thinks he'll get in a groove faster having that brief school experience tucked away. And I hope she's right!

The Big 3-4

Doug celebrated a fairly low-key birthday today. Since I had to work until 7:30 PM we feted him this morning with blueberry pancakes with real maple syrup (thank you Trader Joe) and Cool Whip. We followed that up with a couple cards and gifties (the boys got him a Rubik's Cube! HA!). And then we pigged out on dark chocolate birthday cake. It's just the recipe from the back of the Hershey's cocoa but I make the frosting extra-dark. Ummmm hmmmm. We were a bit sugar-zinged, but it was well worth it! Happy Birthday, Babaloo!

Muddy Buddy

This kid can't get enough of WATER and MUD. He was instantly attracted to this small section of the yard that isn't draining well after the torrential downpour we got last night. What fun he had!

Afterwards, he was stripped of his shirt and diaper on the patio (so white-trash of me, i know...). And into the sink he went for what the Bells affectionately refer to as a "bottom-wash." I think he would have been happy to stay in there all day, too.

The wind is howling again and the rains are slamming into our windows. So there should be more fun in the making tomorrow morning!

Let's Get this Party Started

Doug celebrates a birthday on Tuesday. That being the case we started celebrating tonight with a night out just the two of us. We headed to Outback Steakhouse to spend our $45 gift card, received after our last visit there when the trainee-waitress spilled two Cokes on Doug and my dad. We have enough leftovers for at least two more meals and we enjoyed a leisurely meal just the two of us, so that was money well spent...

After dinner we went to see The Bourne Ultimatum. Except once we got there all the shows (showing on 3 screens) were sold out, which was just as well because I can't stand an overcrowded movie and there was already a long line of people waiting to be seated for the show over an hour away. We opted to see Harry Potter at the IMAX. It ended up being a fullhouse in there too, but it was surprisingly comfortable. Also, we were happily surprised, as we were handed funny glasses, that it was an IMAX 3D. What fun! The last 3D movie I saw was Jaws 3D (gosh! Does that date me??). What a FUN experience it was! Great movie, great effects.

We walked out to a beautiful, cool, post-rainy night. Grabbed some essentials from the Wild Oats next door and headed home to a quiet house and the sitter sleeping on the couch. Perfect.