Coming Back to Life

Our house has been struck by illness. Since Jan. 1, (happy new year) someone has been sick, mainly me. But as a good mom I forge ahead as best I can when I'm sick. We still do the activities. I still make the dinners. The laundry is kind of done. The house is marginally picked up. The kids are played with and read to.

But when illness strikes one of the monkeys, all hell breaks loose. There is a reason I was never a nurse. I am terrible with sick people. I get annoyed with the whining and the tears. I know it's because they are sick, but I still can't do the "nurse" routine for more than about 48 hours.

Last week Alex came home from school complaining of a tummyache. By that evening, it turned into a high fever. That was Thursday. Today, in case anyone is counting is Wednesday and that makes six days of high fever, whining, coughing, germs and general overall grossness in this house. Not to mention my impatience. But I think, if I might say it without it undoing the past six days, we're coming back to life in this house.

The kids are fighting again. My head is cleared from congestion and my cabin fever is waning a bit.

Please, God, let Anna stay healthy now.

What Can You Do in the Dark?

So after I was up again for a third night in a row with sick kid or newly potty trained one, I realized how much I have learned to do in the dark during the past four years. I have new admiration for my blind grandmother.

But I now know why I insist that things should go back in their places (even though I often don't do it). Because in the middle of the night, no matter what the situation is with your kids, rule #1 is DON'T TURN ON THE LIGHT! Why? Because you risk fully waking them up and having them up for a longer period than expected. You must be able to find things in the dark.

Last night when my daughter cried out in her sleep that she peed in bed, I was able to strip the bed, change her completely (panties on the right way and all) and make the bed back up in the dark. I remember back when the kids were little and they dirtied their diapers at night, I could completely change a stinky diaper and outfit totally, in the dark. I even learned to change bedsheets around a half-sleepy child, in the dark. I have been known to find extra blankets, socks, lovies, bottles, etc. in the dark as well.

This is why I am the one who gets up with the kids at night. My husband, God bless him, has been known to turn on lights to change diapers and look for lovies. Come to find out, he's not alone. Seems most of the husbands tend to do this. We women must be wired for night vision as well.

Journey to Preschool Admission: School B--Part 3

This week I made three phone calls and one school visit. I went to check out "School B." School B has been intriguing to me since we moved here in 2006. It's a private Montessori school. I know two people who currently have children in the school. One is very happy with it, the other is not. I thought I should go check it out.

School B exceeded all my expectations at first glance. Everything was new and pristine--not to mention crazy organized. I wish my house was that organized. They staff was so agreeable. In fact, almost a bit too much. I felt a little like I was in Stepford. Nothing can be THAT perfect. I took the tour with my youngest beside me who seemed to fit right in with their culture. I observed a few classrooms, however, the first seemed a bit chaotic. I have seen Montessori schools before so I knew what to expect. This class seemed out of control. Kids were everywhere and the teachers seemed to be nonexistent in the setting. I loved what the kids were working on though and the academics of it pleased me.

After talking to my friend about it later--the one who is not happy with it--I found out a few major things regarding both the teachers and the administration that didn't not please me. In addition, the price tag attached to it, was well beyond our budget.

I believe we'll pass on School B.

Indoor Play has Arrived

A friend posted about a new indoor play + cafe establishment opening near my house called At Play Cafe. When I went upstairs to tell my husband, I was actually so giddy my children were excited about it too. As you know, I have been waiting for something like this and to have it so close by is a bonus

The Journey to Preschool Admission: Schools--Part 2

To fully understand the preschool admission journey you must know the players in this game. Here is a list of the schools we have considered (none are mentioned by name as I'm not willing to be on their hit lists):

School C: Current school where both my kids are attending. Generally pleased with the school, but want to make sure Pre-K curriculum is appropriate for Alex. Anna loves to be just about everywhere so she's just along for the ride.

School B: Private, Montessori school. High tuition, mixed reputation.

School F: A school Alex attended last year.

School L: A school where both my kids have been on the waitlist for two years now. Like the school OK. Think their attitude about admission is a bit over the top.

School M: Private, Catholic School. Open house in a week.

School T: Private, church school with a good reputation. Tour of school next week.

School U: Private, church preschool with a good reputation. May decide to attend open house. We'll see.

Cleaning Up Table Manners

This was cross posted to DC Metro Moms

My husband always says our kids (who are almost 4 and 2 ½) are animals at the table. He’s probably right. But when I look at them eating with other children, they are about middle of the road—not the worst and not the best. So slowly we have been trying to clean up their table manners because well, it's just good to have good table manners.

I know it can be done. I remember the first time I saw it in action at my son’s dagis (aka preschool) in Sweden. I walked in each day to pick him up, but one day I caught the end of lunch. Every child was sitting down to a hot meal (soup, salad and entrée) with a real plate, fork, spoon and knife and a plastic cup. They all sat nicely and were chatting by candlelight! This was when I knew that we Americans are really animals when it comes to eating. Eating on the run, eating standing up, eating while reading a book.

I have declared dinnertime the time of day to be civil—as best as we can. Now, I will be honest, my husband doesn’t make it home in time for dinner most nights. I make dinner, the three of us sit down and eat and he eats later. So it's hard to make this the time to sit as a family. But I feel it’s my role as “mom” to set the general tone of dinnertime where we all stop, turn off the DVDs, put away the toys and books and eat like human beings.

My son started very early knowing this was when we asked “how was your day?” After finally getting Alex and Anna to learn to use utensils at 2 and 1, respectively, we could at least pretend to be human. Alex would ask everyone “how is your day?” We’d respond appropriately and move on to other topics.

The latest issue was waiting until everyone was seated before we all chowed down. This was solved by my in laws visit last summer. Alex decided he loved the ‘saying grace’ aspect of the meal. While I have never been a ‘pray before meal’ kind of girl, I welcomed the opportunity to thank God for the food on our plate if it meant we’d all at least start the meal together. So Alex’s grace goes like this: “Thank you God for the food and thank mom for making it. Let us enjoy this food. Amen.” Hey, I can’t argue with that. The grace changes from time to time, but that is the general idea.

Ok, I can now check 'starting together' off our list. The next issue is the matter of scarfing down food at the speed of light. A girlfriend of mine mentioned setting a timer for 10 minutes. During that time she requires her two kids to sit at the table, eat and engage in some sort of conversation. Once the timer goes off, they are free to exit. I tried this. I was pleasantly surprised that my kids can actually spend more than 10 minutes at the table. Indeed, when the timer went off, my kids were still actually eating. Yay! Cross that off the list.

The next issue is getting up a million times during a meal. I have told them time and time again to sit down and eat. Don’t get up and play with a toy. Don’t get up and do this and that. Don’t get up and stand on your chair. The new rule in our house is if you get up from the table, then you’re done. No coming back for food on your plate later (unless it’s a potty break).

And of course, the most difficult table dispute is the “no thank you” bite. I absolutely insist that everything on the plate must be tried before anyone gets down from the table. While I would love for them to finish it all, if they at least try it, I'm OK with letting it go for now.

So our dinner ritual last night went something like this:

We sat down to eat--minus my husband who works late most nights. Alex initiated grace which was, as usual, “Thank you God for this food it looks very yummy. Thank you mommy for making it. Enjoy the food. Thank you God.”

We ate and enjoyed some conversation about the day. Everyone ate most of their food, including the salmon I made. It was more a “no thank you bite” for Alex, but Anna actually ate the whole thing. Who knew? They both finished up and carried their plates to the kitchen. Mommy sat enjoying her glass of wine with a smile. I wish daddy had been here to see this!

The Journey to Preschool Admission: Part 1

I thought I should share this ridiculous journey on selecting preschools for my two children (almost 4 and 2 1/2) so you can really understand how crazy this all is.

SET SCENE: Both kids are currently enrolled in preschool. It is a well-known school and pretty well-regarded as far as private preschools go. (We'll call it School C.) However, there have been a few things about the school that didn't thrill us to pieces. While I understand we can't have it all, my husband did want me to investigate other options. So here it is.

SITUATION: Enrollment for most schools is imminent. Yes, that's right deadlines for September enrollment are in February. Don't even get my started on that one. With School C, I have another 2 weeks to get in my application and fees. My chances of getting in are pretty good since my kids are given priority as returning students. There is even a good chance they will get in on the same days. That is a bonus right there.

However, I'm trying to look at my kids' learning styles and match it with the right school. More to come on the schools I visit . . .Stay tuned for the list of schools.