Wow

This new school year is in full swing. The kids are adjusting to their new routines. Andy is finding second grade is harder. He has a weekly packet due on Fridays. Naturally he procrastinated until last night when he cried for three hours about having to do it. It was my fault of course that I didn't make him do it sooner. See photo below of his moaning at doing school work.

So?

Apologies, Internets. I've been busy. I'm taking a graduate level class that is so far way above my head. It's a math class. I know, what was I thinking? It's a required course in the master's in public health program so if I decide to pursue a master's, I've got to take it. Plus, it related to my job so I'm actually leaning a lot and putting into context some things I've picked up along the way. I just hate having to take tests and quizzes again. After my sophomore year in college, I successfully managed to only take classes with papers so 20 years later, it's a challenge. Sigh.

I've also gone back to work full-time for the first time since Andy was born. Granted, 40+ hours a week from home isn't quite the same as a full-time job in an office where I have to give up 10 hours a week to a commute and actually getting out of my shorts, but still. More responsibility, more stress.

Plus, when that new People magazine comes in with Toddlers and Tiaras on the cover, I have to read it immediately. It's not like it's going to read itself, folks.

I also have a new blog that's distracting me - http://surisburnbook.tumblr.com/. Check it out. You will cry with laughter.

Homework

Andy's been in school three weeks. So far, he's had one evening's worth of homework, bringing in a box of "All About Me" objects for a show and tell type thing. As for me, I've had homework for his class probably every other night. Most recently, I had to produce a collage of photographs to help him come up with ideas when they're writing. Naturally, I have very few printed pictures anymore. Rather, they are all digital (I keep meaning to get prints, but there are so, so many, I really need to spend the time to weed through them and I just haven't done it).

Like a good student, I went to Kodak Gallery on Tuesday and placed my order for two collages. Cost: $6. Two day shipping so I was sure it would arrive in time for school on Monday: $10.99. This morning, I realized the package never came. F*ck. So I contact Kodak, "There's no tracking information in your file. It must have been lost." Great. Can't be customer service like that.

Now, I can't be the parent of the kid not turning in homework! How would that look? So at noon, I frantically went to CVS and wasn't able to just have my Kodak Gallery prints sent there. Which left Costco. Fortunately I had a couple dozen photographs in my online account there so I could quickly order two collages and have them ready in two hours. Phew! I am able to turn in my homework on time.

Andy thinks the idea of homework sounds fun and he can't wait until he gets to have some real homework. Me, well, not to much.

Settling in

Well, after three weeks, I feel like we're finally settling in. Sure, the house is still a wreck in many ways and there is furniture in places that I'm not sure I like still. BUT we're getting closer. Mark and Bjorn put a bunch of boxes in the attic and now the garage is more or less thinned out with stuff that should actually be in the garage. I still have a lot to do, like taking a good look at the yard and doing some wedding and grooming, but every day we get a little more settled in and are understanding the quirks of the place. I'm happy with it. I am also loving being so near my family. We've seen my parents and/or sister and nieces in various combinations and it's so great just to be able to do that so easily. I know the kids love it, too, especially seeing Megan and Emma. It's pretty adorable.

Meg has also been sleeping a little better and generally this weekend was less clingy. Course, I thought that last night as I went to bed, marveling that she finally went to bed by herself without someone in there rubbing her back. Then she went and screwed it up by waking up at 3 a.m. and having a little party in bed until 5 a.m. Bjorn and I were not happy with that development.

Mark starts community college today and I must say I'm impressed with him for getting his stuff together to get himself registered and figuring out the money to pay for it. I think he's in a good place to do well this semester.

Some things we still have to figure out, like finding a pediatrician, but we're on our way.

Kindergarten

Andy starts school next week. REAL school. I am psyched, and not just because I won't have to pay $200 a week in daycare. I am psyched for him to be going to a real school and starting to read and all the fun stuff that comes from elementary school. The whole thing seems a little surreal. I went by to register him and I swear it even smelled like an elementary school. Good thing I have good memories of elementary school. Middle school, well, not so much, but I really did love elementary school. When I wasn't crying and wailing about being forced to go, that is.

The downside of this will be now school is mandatory. Before, we could just blow off a week for vacation or skip a day because I was off and wanted to play. Now it will be harder, plus I'll need to set the example that school isn't optional, it's really important. It's also going to be different because unlike daycare where you can quit if you don't like it, public school isn't really like that. Plus, he'll have to be at school at an exact time every day. Punctuality isn't especially my strong suit.

Any tips on helping make the transition easier for all of us?

Fairfax County considering going back to half-day kindergarten

There is some controversy going on here in the Fairfax County. Due to budget a shortfall, they are considering going back to half-day kindergarten again as a way to save $13 million dollars. I am not so good with numbers, but for a school system with an annual budget of $2.2 billion (yes, that's billion with a B), $13 million doesn't seem like a lot. A lot of folks, myself included particularly with a kid expected to enter full day kindergarten in nine months, are encouraging the county to consider other options.

There is an interesting debate. My friends who stay home and whose kids go to preschool a couple of mornings a week, complain that full day kindergarten is too long and it's too hard on the kids. My friends who work think half-day kindergarten is a joke because by the time they get to school, get settled, do an activity and have a snack, it's time to go home -- in many ways a far less academic setting then our kids have been receiving at full-day daycare/preschool. Also, it's a pain in the neck for working parents because you don't find out until August before school starts in the first of September if you will have morning or afternoon kindergarten and you have to make arrangements.

If you support keeping full-day kindergarten, please sign the petition - http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Save-Full-Day-Kindergarten.

Snowpocalypse 2009, part 2

Today was day three of the worst winter storm in Washington ever TM. It's and really been remarkable. The plows hit the main road, Commonwealth, earlier in the day. By early afternoon, we saw our first plow on Pommeroy. It was just after dark that a plow hit our street. Bjorn and the kids dug out our driveway and the cars. Not that it matters. Turns out the federal government shut down for tomorrow.

That means both Bjorn and I should have our offices closed. The kids' schools will also likely be closed. Fairfax County even announced it's shutting down tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday and closing now for winter break. This is all pretty remarkable. The feds close like once every third year. I've never heard of Fairfax County closing for three days in a row in advance with no more precipitation expected. Even more remarkable, we've done a good job eating through the food in the house.

Now don't get me wrong, it's not like we're going to starve or anything crazy, but we've gone through the staples like spaghetti, bagels, cheese, bananas and frozen pizza. There is still macaroni and cheese and some frozen assorted chicken nuggets and fish sticks, but in general, we're working through the cupboard. I suppose that's what happens with four adults, including a college-aged boy, and two pre-schoolers in the house. I do hope to finally get out of the neighborhood tomorrow.

I have really, really loved the snow event and loved the family time, but after three straight days of making three meals a day plus snacks for six, doing dishes, sweeping the floor, digging with the snow shovel and wiping up melted snow off the kitchen floor, it would be nice for a change of scenery. Fortunately, the kids are at such an age where the little ones can play together a little. It's sure nice to be the only source of entertainment for them. Well, me and Noggin.

This is from yesterday afternoon at the height of the storm. Check out how bad the visibility is. Good thing all the airports were closed.

Remind me not to do this again

Andy's school had a field trip to Sesame Street Live at the Patriot Center. His teachers sent something home asking for the $10 for his ticket and offering that parents and other children could come along if they wanted to buy tickets as well. It was scheduled for a Friday so I ordered tickets for Andy, me and Meg. I offered to chaperon, but not really chaperon since I would have Meg with me.

Andy was sort of weird about the whole thing, mostly because he doesn't like Sesame Street. So while he liked the idea of going on the field trip, he really wasn't psyched about the show.

We showed up today and it was great. He was proud to show off his little sister and we hung out for an hour or so before leaving to catch the bus for the mile drive from his school to the venue. I followed along in my car since I was illegally parked. Andy wasn't thrilled about that, but he was fine once I met up with him.

Once we got to our seats, Andy started whining that he was hungry. The teachers made it really clear that they don't like the chaperons getting food for just one kid so I said no. He whined some more. He then proceeded to whine about being hungry or thirsty for the entire hour and a hour show (including 15 minute intermission). It was pretty miserable, probably for both of us. Afterwards, he was going to ride back with his class and I was going to leave. Then the real whining and crying started. His teachers (including the adorable college coeds that help out in during field trips) tried to distract him and console him, but he was mad. He wanted to leave with me, he wanted a hot dog, he wanted me to stay. I left and prompted called my older sister asking her to remind me never to do this again.

His teachers told Bjorn in the afternoon that he recovered eventually and had a good day, but that it took him a while, longer than usual. I thought about it and I think Andy is one of those kids that is fine if his parents aren't there or are in the sidelines, but as soon as we're on the field, he freaks. It's like when I coached his soccer team. He was totally hanging on me and whining when I was on the field, but if I wasn't part of the action, he could forget about me and was fine.

In other news, they're calling for 16-20 inches of snow here today. That's extremely unusual for Washington and even more unusual for December. It might be a white Christmas after all.

Happy Thanksgiving

Andy's school celebrated Thanksgiving this week. They invited parents so Bjorn went. Andy was thrilled to show off his school and his daddy.

Edited to add his headband says Andy is "Chief Danger Ranger," in honor of one of his favorite DVDs.

Report card

Andy got a report card of sorts this week. It's an interesting preview of what's to come, that's for sure. The good news is he seems to be right with his peers in terms of language development, speech, interaction, socialization, math, motor skills, etc. He's even above average in his counting, being able to count solidly up to 41 was apparently impressive. Bjorn is thrilled about this part. It cracks me up to see his delight in his kids excelling at something, anything.

I was worried about the socialization part. He's new to this school, well, a few months now, and when I ask him about who he played with, he won't tell me much. But his teacher said he's got a core group of buddies -- Leonard mostly, followed by Elliot and sometimes Matthew. That was good to hear.

Things have been chaotic here otherwise. I was out of town for a week for work, which was both good and exhausting. I'm always glad when it's over as I don't have to do it again for a year, but I've been working toward this for at least six months so it's always nice to see the fruits of my labors.

Jennifer also moved in last weekend. Right now the house is still brimming with too much stuff so we're still sorting out what furniture to keep, what to put in the attic and what to get rid of all together. She's taking over the basement and it's been interesting to see all her stuff mixed with ours and trying to find the best way to give her privacy and space while keeping the TV and Wii station and access to the laundry room. Right now I am bumping into furniture in the wrong places still, but we're slowly getting it all situated. The bonus? She makes coffee every morning and occasionally folds laundry and does the dishes. I can get used to that.

Back to school night

I had my first back to school night for Andy last night. Well, it's not really my first. I certainly went to several for the big kids through their school years. Sure, it's just his preschool, but I figure this is an interesting preview of what is to come. I mostly like this kind of stuff, getting to talk to the teachers without kids hopping around. I also liked meeting the other parents. Well, except the ones that I wanted to smack.

I am always amazed at the disrespect some folks have for teachers. I am all for a dialogue. After all, these are the people that we entrust day in and day out to teach our kids and mediate their interactions with their peers. But I don't see a need to call the teachers out in front of everyone else and put them on a spot. It's like showboating or something, and I didn't like it. I figure if you have a concern, talk to the teacher privately, not in front of an audience.

Overall, it was a good meeting. The biggest bonus is Andy is really liking it.

School age kids

Have you guys noticed a trend to holding your kids back in school? I'm seeing a lot of it lately where parents of kids are holding them back rather than putting them into school. So if your kid turned 5 in June, rather than putting her in kindergarten where the cutoff is usually October 1, holding her back another year so she starts at age 6 instead. The theory is that kids will be more ready at that age and thus have a leg up intellectually, athletically and socially than kids a year older.

I am fortunate to have two kids born in January so I don't really have to make a decision. If I held Andy back a year, he'd be 6 1/2 starting kindergarten and likely 18 months older than some of his peers. That seems pretty funky. I could see if you had a kid on the edge, like a late August birthday. I could see if you talked to his or her teachers and agreed it made sense. So that kid would just be at most a year older than the youngest kids and just a few months older than many.

Socially there can be real difficulties with this. A 14-year-old seventh grader is in a totally different social ballpark than a 12-year-old in terms of dating, physical maturity. Sure, she might be a better lacrosse player, but she's starting to scout out boys when her friends are still watching Miley Cyrus. And intellectually, if I put my kid in a lower grade, what's to say he won't be bored with the lower grade work and lose interest in school altogether rather than being challenged to move forward?

Also, if everyone starts to doing it, then folks of these borderline kids might need to wait another year. Then you end up with kids being 20 when they graduate high school.

I don't know. I want my kids to have the most advantages they can, but I'm not sure this is a good idea.

What do you think?

New school!

Andy started his new school at the George Mason preschool on Tuesday. So far, so good. I gave myself lots of time for a lengthy drop-off. I chatted with his teacher, who has a son who graduated with Mark. I talked to the administration people about his paperwork. I generally lingered. And after about a minute, he asked if he could play and didn't look back. His only complaint was that he wanted his big neon green microfiber plush blanket to have for nap time. I would let him have it, but it was on sale at Target sometime last spring for like $7.99 and it's at least a queen size. The thing would take up his whole cubbie even though his new one is twice the size of his old one.

As a reward though, I went to Target and got him a twin sized version of it. Sadly, it's in season and I paid like $25. Worth it, though. The only thing strange for me so far is it's more of preschool in that he's supposed to bring his own snacks for snack time as well as a list of school supplies. I certainly don't mind spending $20 on the supplies and snacks I just didn't realize it on the first day so he had to get a snack from the kitchen.

The only things bad for me were it really is about 7 minutes further away. Not bad, but in rush hour that can be significant. I also haven't really worked out my new routes yet.

It also sucks that after last week's sunburn debacle, I sent him off with a peeling face and back. Nothing like admitting in the beginning that I'm a shitty parent that, gasp, let my kid get sunburned. I can hear the judgements from the other parents already, "I would never let that happen to Susie." I don't care so much that I am not the perfect parent as much that I mind that they know already. Fortunately, a friend e-mailed me to say she had gotten her dates mixed up and he daughter started kindergarten a day late. It's nice to know we're all human.

I don't have any pictures to post of his big day. I thought about it and then didn't want to make it any more dramatic than usual fearing waterworks and whining. It's especially a bummer since I'm seeing all the adorable pictures my friends are posting from the first day of school and I WANT SOME (just like the Pigeon who wants to drive the bus, which Meg has made us read 200 times in the past week). I may have to stage some pictures. You won't tell, right?

Vacay

Before we could leave for the beach, Andy had his last day at Kindercare. Here he is with his teachers Mr. Jerrell and Ms. Clydie. I teared up a little, but he was fine.

Tor and Ryan on the boogie boards.

Nicole with her shadow Mia.

Trying to convince Meg this was fun. She didn't buy it.

Poor awkward port-wine sunburn.

Day two with the hat and shirt. That's Mia behind him. They did variations of this for five and six hours at a time. It was remarkable.

We did it! We took a vacation that wasn't to see family, go to a wedding or a graduation of some kind. Through a Theta friend, we got a great deal on a four bedroom house in Rehoboth, Delaware, about 3 1/2 hours away. After trying for months to pin down a date with friends, we finally just booked the house and were fortunately that folks could join us. Andy had the time of his life. Minus the seriously red sunburn (poor kid has my features, sadly) he had the best time. He played with Mia and Liam and loved the beach, just running into the surf and making piles of sand and water entertained him for like six hours at a stretch with no complaining. It was remarkable really.

Meggie Meg, however, was not so keen on the beach. In fact, with such a willing audience, she spent a lot of time whining. Her new trick is to get others to read her books, which is both adorable and annoying. She also loves to take us by the hand and take us to whatever it is she wants to do next, like go outside, eat sometime. It's not talking, but she's getting started on that. I imagine next year she'll be more interested. I think my friend would let us rent it again next spring (it's cheaper in the off season and right now we don't have to worry about school schedules). I also think next year she'll be entertained with the DVD for three hours. As it was, she was a pretty good whiner about the ride as well.

We loved seeing our friends with the bonus of them having friends in town. Bjorn's brother and his kids were there, too, so it was really nice and social while relaxing. I want to go back tomorrow. Well, except for the driving and sunburn parts. Poor Andy is so sunburned awkwardly on his face due to my poor sunblock application is looks like a bad port wine stain. For the second day, I made him wear an "aqua" shirt which in this case was just a microfiber shirt and a hat.

In other big news, Andy starts his new school tomorrow. He's starting at the George Mason University Preschool/Daycare. I really liked the program. It's slightly less convenient, but I liked it better and it's marginally cheaper. Score! And as if things weren't busy enough, I've decided to take a graduate school class at George Mason myself in health communications. One class in and I'm already a little daunted.

A first of many

Andy got in a fight at school last week. Actually, he got in two fights. My seemingly well behaved, good natured kid managed to clock two kids on the same day. It wasn't even with one of the so-called bad kids in his class (and every class even at this age has a kid who seems to always be in trouble for something so I could understand hitting that kid). Nope, these were two separate kids -- a boy and a girl.

The hit on Chelsea wasn't so bad apparently. They were playing and she took something so he bonked her with a plastic shovel. The other, the worse of the two, was his friend Evan. Apparently Evan "wasn't playing right" so Andy hit him. And actually made him bleed. Great.

Bjorn got the news from his teacher that afternoon. He's such a good kid normally she was embarrassed to have to tell him. When we talked to Andy about it, he was so matter of fact and not sorry at all. "He wasn't playing right." or "She hurt my feelings." Later I ran into Evan and his mom at the library and got to apologize for his behavior. She understood -- apparently Evan said he took Andy's toy and wouldn't give it back. But still. I am sure I'm going to be apologizing for my kids for the next 20 years ago. Then it will be time for them to apologize for me.

Parent/teacher conference

I had a parent/teacher conference at Andy's school this week. I know, sort of ridiculous as he's FOUR. It was the second one he's had there, I think, but the first with this new teacher in the class he's been in maybe six weeks or so. Generally he's doing well. He knows all his upper case letters and all but two of his lowercase letters as well as all his numbers. I could have told them that.

What I didn't know is that he's apparently quiet(ish) at school. I find this remarkable since he's soooo talkative at home. Since he broke up with his BFF/frenemy by moving up to the next class, it's taken him a little time to find his niche. Right now he's good friends with a little boy whose parents we know (score) and another little girl that the boy is friends with. I know them from birthday parties and they seem like nice kids so that's a plus. He also likes to tell me though, "I'm every body's friend." I love that. And I love that he seems to be progressing well.

I don't love right now is his pattern (like last night) of coming to my room at 5-ish claiming bad dream. I have been having a devil of a time sleeping lately. Either I have trouble falling asleep or else I wake up too early and can't go back to sleep so this early morning wake-up does not please me. This morning he came to our bed, insisted on getting in. Then between his wiggling and Bjorn's snoring, I finally left for Andy's bed for half an hour for some general peace and quiet. Needless to say I'm tired today. What is my obsession with sleep, theirs and mine? Seriously.

Tomorrow I'm getting the ducts cleaned in the house to hopefully alleviate some of Andy's allergies. Heaven knows when those were last cleaned. Certainly not by us.

Frenemies

Andy's best friend at school is Christopher. Lately, the two boys have turned into 12 year old girls with the way they fight. While they are BFF, apparently they fight constantly. Andy has been coming home with stories lately about Christopher throwing rocks, mulch, insert toy here. other he tells me that Christopher is not his friend or buddy anymore. I know, how dramatic.

We have talked to his teachers about it a few times and apparently the two go through periods throughout the day of loving each other until one shuns the other for a while. Things have been getting more intense lately for no apparent reason. I talked to Ms. Paris today about it and she agrees it seems to be escalating for no apparent reason. Since Andy is four and academically ready, the decision is to start transitioning him over to the next room.

Several kids in his class just moved up this week so the timing is probably right. I think he's ready and talking to some of the parents with kids in the next class, they like the teacher and the curriculum is a little more advanced, well, he is four so that means there is a little more emphasis on reading and writing. I have met the lead teacher and like her, my only concern is that she works an earlier shift, like 7 to 3, meaning she won't be there when I pick up. That means I've have to try harder to get information on how he's doing. Hrmph.

And in totally unrelated news, my mother is coming to visit for a long weekend tomorrow. YAY!

Letter

I did something nice this week. I wrote a letter to Andy's school telling them how great his teacher is. We really like her. In fact, there were a few weeks over the summer and fall where she was out of town and then working in the office. Those were not good weeks for us. Andy was out of sorts at drop off and never really seemed in sync. Once she returned, all that went away. She also seems to really care about him and is great about communicating with us.

I got the idea from the Ask Amy column. I'm a little ashamed to admit I read Ask Amy, but I usually start with the Washington Post by reading Page 3 of the Style section for the gossip. Then I go to the very awesome Carolyn Hax and then if there's time or I have the page open when shoving baby food into a person, I may read Amy. Anyway, there was a recent thread about giving teachers gifts for the holidays. A teacher wrote in to say the gifts are nice, but what they love are letters to the administration about their skills as well as homemade stuff made from the kids.

It was nice to write the letter. Better yet, by submitting it, I turned Ms. Paris in for an award with the school and she's going to get recognized. I sent the copy to the director and printed out a copy to give to her in person. I gave it to her at the end of the day and she told me the next day that she almost cried. How sweet is that? And yes, I am a little proud of myself. The whole experience was so great though that I am on the hunt for other great people that I can say nice things about.

Report Card

I had my first official parent-teacher conference last week. I'll admit I was excited about the idea of sitting down with Andy's teacher to discuss, naturally, how perfect, smart and wonderful he is. The report was about what I expected, he does a lot of things at school that he doesn't do at home, like help with chores and that type of stuff. In general, he's probably a little above average in his letters and sounds, but much more clearly above average in his numbers and even has some basic math skills down.

He is a good kid at school and plays nicely with the other children in his class. We talked briefly about this one little boy that seems to scare Andy a bit (the dreaded Aiden, who will most likely be his best friend next month). She's aware that the other kid is a little overzealous, but says Andy is generally quite good about telling another kid to leave him alone if he's bothered (I wish I could say the same for myself). I got a copy of the report -- a six page, small-type tome with check marks beside all the various factors indicating his mastery.

Some areas for him to work on are writing and coloring, using objects to explore (i.e. tools, shovels, binoculars, that type of stuff) and using charts. I asked what kinds of charts nearly four-year-olds are expected to do (Powerpoint? Excel?), but basically that means kids about that age want to start recording milestones and other stuff in chart form. It's funny, since the meeting, I have been making a point to offer him more opportunities to draw and use tools for examining stuff. He is definitely making strides in his ability to color and even write his name. I have also noticed him asking me to make a chart for this or that so tonight we're going to make a "no-crybaby" chart to record the times that he doesn't cry and whine about certain things. If only the chart would truly make the crybaby behavior stop.

In the meantime, I'm home with Meg who has a sort throat, diarrhea and a fever. Bjorn took her to the doctor this morning and the good news is she doesn't have an ear infection. No word yet on if the sore throat is strep.

P.S. It's gotten cold here, so cold it even produced light flurries today. You know what that means? That's right! Cute babies in hats!

Summer colds

We have had a bad run of summer colds this summer and I'm starting to get paranoid about fall and winter. If summer is supposed to be a time of good health, the latest batch of colds does not bode well for us. Andy started with a cold on Friday (sadly, I noticed it during the very cool Steve Songs concert at Wolf Trap). It didn't help that we had a weird schedule all weekend and stayed out and up too late Friday and Saturday. Meg has been flirting with a cough herself and each little cough fills me with dread for fear it will lead to more of the nastiness of last month where she couldn't cough without coughing up her dinner. Blech. Knock wood, cross your fingers, cross your legs -- whatever you like to cross, that these kids finally get back to a healthy place.

Oh, and they can start sleeping again, too, please. Pretty please! With this bout of not sleeping, I have been too tired to stay up and watch much of the Olympics. And I love the Olympics, even if I can't stand Bob Costas.

Meanwhile, Meg is now on solid foods and seems quite taken with them. She's at the cute stage where I can still cram pears and sweet potatoes into her mouth and she hasn't quite gotten coordinated enough to spit them out on purpose and/or grab the spoon and flail it around the room. It's coming, I'm sure. Not to be left out, Andy has taken to Dinobites. Yes, chicken nuggets in the shape of dinosaurs are better than regular chicken nuggets. He even contends that they're not chicken. He doesn't think they're dinosaurs either, "That would be silly, Mommy!" I never did figure out what he thinks they are though.

Today was Monday, which means it was Moonbounce Monday at Andy's school, which is close to being heaven for a 3 1/2 year old. It's a nice way to start the week since he's usually very excited to go. I wonder how it's going to be come September when Monday is just Monday again.