A Week of Firsts
Wow! What a week it has been!
On Sunday, I had a kickoff picnic for my youth orchestra kids. It ended up going really well. In typical hostess fashion I stressed out a little bit over a) whether anyone would show up and b) if they would have a good time. It turned out that we had decent attendance and it seemed like the kids enjoyed it. N even got to participate in our "mummy" game (the kids were kind enough to wrap her up in toilet paper too, after they finished their own race wrapping up each other):
On Tuesday, N had her first day of preschool. I was slightly worried about how well she would separate from me. We had met her teachers once, but she ended up having to miss orientation last week because she was sick-- so she hadn't met any of the other kids yet. But my worry was all for nothing. On the first day she walked right into that classroom and found her cubby immediately (the animal picture on her cubby matched the name tag her teachers had sent her in the mail), put away her backpack, and sat down to color with her friends, all without a backward glance. She immediately started chatting it up with the other kids and teachers. When I came over to give her a hug goodbye, she did have a brief moment of "I don't want you to leave," but as soon as I reminded her that she was going to have a lot of fun, and said that I would be back soon to pick her up, she said, "Okay. Bye!"
Here are some pictures from the first morning:
I am just thrilled with our choice of preschool. Her teachers are kind, upbeat, and experienced. They fill each day with so many fun activities. When N sat down for supper the night after her first day, she proceeded to talk a blue streak about everything she had done at school. At one point, she said to me, "School was a really great time, Mama. A really, really great time."
It struck me as I was driving home from dropping her off that first morning how grown up she is and how this is absolutely the perfect thing for her to be doing right now. I think she's just pretty pumped, as most kids are, about being a "big girl" and going to "school". Not only that, but L and I get some one-on-one time, which she and I have never had (although she consistently spends part of preschool time walking around the house calling N's name, looking for her sister). Especially with Baby 3 on the way, it's wonderful for me to know that N's needs for socialization, stimulation, and interaction are being met, because it's pretty near impossible for me right now to completely meet those needs at home. Anyway, I just can't say enough about how great this has been working out for us.
For Mama, this was the first full week of youth orchestra, teaching, and keeping up my cleaning schedule (I call it my "mommy schedule" because it's not just cleaning). I've also moved my daily run to the early morning (5:20 AM) so that I can be back before M leaves for work. The mommy schedule means that I don't have time during the rest of the day to exercise, and plus at this point in my pregnancy it's best if I don't have to push over 50 pounds of kid in the double jogger while I run.
I love my mommy schedule!! Can I just ramble about it for a minute? For me, it's the best way to make sure that all the cleaning tasks, laundry, food preparation, errands, and other household chores get done every week. For the first time, I feel like I'm doing my job as homemaker pretty well. It has also made our morning routine more efficient (mostly because I now lay out clothes for everyone the night before), so it's no problem to have everybody fed, dressed, washed up and out the door by 8 AM. This is essential on preschool mornings, but on other mornings too, just so we can get our day started. I no longer waste time trying to decide what the most pressing errand or task is, because everything is mapped out for me on the mommy schedule, so I know it's all going to get done, and I know ahead of time what I'm supposed to do that day. I have tried other weekly "schedules" in the past and failed. I'm not sure what the difference is this time, other than the fact that I'm allowing myself some flexibility to switch things around or occasionally skip a week on a certain task without guilt. Again, since I know I can just get back on the schedule next week, I don't worry that things won't get done. It's also keeping me more organized with work-- teaching and youth orchestra-- because I have time each week set aside for lesson prep, rehearsal planning, emails, phone calls, etc. Blogging is on the schedule, but only after all of my work tasks are done... and I'm really trying to hold myself to that... so you may not hear from me as much this year. And if you do, you might want to comment and ask me if I'm sticking to my schedule!! ;-}
Anyway, this may seem dumb to all you efficient mothers out there who already have a schedule established, or it may seem excessive to all of you who are organized enough to get everything done without a schedule. But for me, it's working great, and it's a huge relief to have found something that seems to be keeping me organized for the first time in my life. I'm hoping my motivation to stick to it will last. It does wear me out, you know, getting up at 5 AM and keeping myself busy with tasks all day-- M will attest to the fact that my eyes shut promptly at 9 PM and will not be pried open, even more so than usual. But it's a good tired. I have lots of good, motivating feelings about my productivity that keep me going during the day when my energy is low.
Okay. Ranting terminated.
I guess that's all for now! Oh-- well, I'll close this post with some pictures that I took of the girls in their Halloween sweaters from Grandma this morning. The lighting wasn't great, but it was an appropriately crisp, sweater-ish fall morning... and we had Grandpa's nice camera on loan... so we took advantage!!
On Sunday, I had a kickoff picnic for my youth orchestra kids. It ended up going really well. In typical hostess fashion I stressed out a little bit over a) whether anyone would show up and b) if they would have a good time. It turned out that we had decent attendance and it seemed like the kids enjoyed it. N even got to participate in our "mummy" game (the kids were kind enough to wrap her up in toilet paper too, after they finished their own race wrapping up each other):
On Tuesday, N had her first day of preschool. I was slightly worried about how well she would separate from me. We had met her teachers once, but she ended up having to miss orientation last week because she was sick-- so she hadn't met any of the other kids yet. But my worry was all for nothing. On the first day she walked right into that classroom and found her cubby immediately (the animal picture on her cubby matched the name tag her teachers had sent her in the mail), put away her backpack, and sat down to color with her friends, all without a backward glance. She immediately started chatting it up with the other kids and teachers. When I came over to give her a hug goodbye, she did have a brief moment of "I don't want you to leave," but as soon as I reminded her that she was going to have a lot of fun, and said that I would be back soon to pick her up, she said, "Okay. Bye!"
Here are some pictures from the first morning:
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| Ready to go! Sister gave her the inspection... and would have come along, I think! |
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| At the last minute N decided that she didn't want to wear her hair in "Princess Leia buns" like she had requested at home (see picture above). So we took them out. Whatever makes her feel comfortable on her first day, right? |
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| Found my cubby! Super exciting. |
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| Meeting new friends |
I am just thrilled with our choice of preschool. Her teachers are kind, upbeat, and experienced. They fill each day with so many fun activities. When N sat down for supper the night after her first day, she proceeded to talk a blue streak about everything she had done at school. At one point, she said to me, "School was a really great time, Mama. A really, really great time."
It struck me as I was driving home from dropping her off that first morning how grown up she is and how this is absolutely the perfect thing for her to be doing right now. I think she's just pretty pumped, as most kids are, about being a "big girl" and going to "school". Not only that, but L and I get some one-on-one time, which she and I have never had (although she consistently spends part of preschool time walking around the house calling N's name, looking for her sister). Especially with Baby 3 on the way, it's wonderful for me to know that N's needs for socialization, stimulation, and interaction are being met, because it's pretty near impossible for me right now to completely meet those needs at home. Anyway, I just can't say enough about how great this has been working out for us.
For Mama, this was the first full week of youth orchestra, teaching, and keeping up my cleaning schedule (I call it my "mommy schedule" because it's not just cleaning). I've also moved my daily run to the early morning (5:20 AM) so that I can be back before M leaves for work. The mommy schedule means that I don't have time during the rest of the day to exercise, and plus at this point in my pregnancy it's best if I don't have to push over 50 pounds of kid in the double jogger while I run.
I love my mommy schedule!! Can I just ramble about it for a minute? For me, it's the best way to make sure that all the cleaning tasks, laundry, food preparation, errands, and other household chores get done every week. For the first time, I feel like I'm doing my job as homemaker pretty well. It has also made our morning routine more efficient (mostly because I now lay out clothes for everyone the night before), so it's no problem to have everybody fed, dressed, washed up and out the door by 8 AM. This is essential on preschool mornings, but on other mornings too, just so we can get our day started. I no longer waste time trying to decide what the most pressing errand or task is, because everything is mapped out for me on the mommy schedule, so I know it's all going to get done, and I know ahead of time what I'm supposed to do that day. I have tried other weekly "schedules" in the past and failed. I'm not sure what the difference is this time, other than the fact that I'm allowing myself some flexibility to switch things around or occasionally skip a week on a certain task without guilt. Again, since I know I can just get back on the schedule next week, I don't worry that things won't get done. It's also keeping me more organized with work-- teaching and youth orchestra-- because I have time each week set aside for lesson prep, rehearsal planning, emails, phone calls, etc. Blogging is on the schedule, but only after all of my work tasks are done... and I'm really trying to hold myself to that... so you may not hear from me as much this year. And if you do, you might want to comment and ask me if I'm sticking to my schedule!! ;-}
Anyway, this may seem dumb to all you efficient mothers out there who already have a schedule established, or it may seem excessive to all of you who are organized enough to get everything done without a schedule. But for me, it's working great, and it's a huge relief to have found something that seems to be keeping me organized for the first time in my life. I'm hoping my motivation to stick to it will last. It does wear me out, you know, getting up at 5 AM and keeping myself busy with tasks all day-- M will attest to the fact that my eyes shut promptly at 9 PM and will not be pried open, even more so than usual. But it's a good tired. I have lots of good, motivating feelings about my productivity that keep me going during the day when my energy is low.
Okay. Ranting terminated.
I guess that's all for now! Oh-- well, I'll close this post with some pictures that I took of the girls in their Halloween sweaters from Grandma this morning. The lighting wasn't great, but it was an appropriately crisp, sweater-ish fall morning... and we had Grandpa's nice camera on loan... so we took advantage!!
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