{Another} First Day of School

Last Wednesday, August 7, Jackson started school at Primrose Fort Collins.  His third school in 6 months.

I have to admit, while the consistency of transferring from one Primrose to another made it a little less scary, I was worried about him.  While it's hard to believe for those that know Jack, he's actually a pretty shy and timid kid at first.  It takes him a while to find his comfort zone when he doesn't have Drew or I to rely on.  I was bracing myself for tears (his and mine).

Just before we headed out the door I decided I needed to find him some sort of good luck charm.  Just a little token from home that he could keep in his pocket for the moments that he was feeling lonely or scared.  Of course, with no advanced planning and most of our belongings scattered about in boxes my options were slim to none.  That's when I happened to spot 2 yellow Livestrong bracelets at the bottom of my jewelry box.  I gave one to Jack and wore one myself. I explained to him that we had special matching bracelets on so that if either of us ever started missing one another we could just look down at our bracelet and know that we were thinking of each other.  He loved it.

When we got to school he was clinging to me pretty tight.  We went through the motions of finding his hook, hanging up his backpack and meeting his teachers and then it was time to go play.  He clung tighter.  I reminded him about his bracelet and then asked his teacher if we could draw pictures together for a few minutes before I left.  I was sketching a picture of Mickey Mouse (I can draw absolutely nothing...but I do a mean Mickey Mouse!) when another little boy came to sit by us.  I asked him his name and he replied, "Jackson".  Of course, my Jack's face just lit up and it totally broke the ice.  After drawing each Jackson a Mickey Mouse I asked them if they could try to draw one for me and I would pick them up after school when I returned.  They were all for it.  My Jack gave me a high five and a wave and off I went without even a whimper.

He had a great first day and told me that evening he only had to look at his bracelet one or two times.  He wanted to wear it again the next morning, but by day 3 the bracelet was old news and no longer necessary.

The other factor that turned out to be a huge stroke of lucky timing is that this Primrose is still in summer school mode, otherwise known as Camp Primrose.  All summer long the Pre-K and school aged kids have field trips every single day.  Most are educational and some are just purely fun.  Camp Primrose ends on August 16 so Jack's first week and a half included the last batch of field trips as they wrap up their summer fun.  In addition to getting to ride the bus (which he thinks is totally cool), he has gone rollerskating, to a ballet, splash park, inflatables gym, gymnastics center, miniature golfing and several picnics at a different park each day (if there's one thing that's plentiful here in the front range, it's parks)  Needless to say, getting him out the door in the morning is not hard with such fun activities on the agenda!

Monday morning they're back to the regular school year.  With a week and a half under his belt, I'm sure that transition will be totally painless.  Jack is thrilled because that means they get to wear uniforms again.

And so we've conquered yet another first day of school.  The next one will be Kindergarten.  But I'm not ready for that yet.

Jackson's Preschool Graduation

How did this happen?

This week was graduation for the kids at Jack's school.  Despite the fact that Jack's not really "graduating" to Kindergarten quite yet (his birthday is too late to start school next Fall) we decided to let him participate with his classmates anyway.  He was looking forward to the day and since he will be leaving Primrose in the next couple of months as we make our way North to Fort Collins it seemed harmless.

Little did I know it was going to be absolutely adorable and totally tear-inducing!

I'll let the pictures do the talking this time.

The program.  It was all quite official.  :)

Commencement address by Dr. Batterberry.  The owner of Primrose.

The handshake (2 pumps) followed by the fake diploma (because the kids just crinkle them up, ya know).

Photo op.

Jack's teacher, Miss Holly, addressing the class.  He adores her.

Blocking the sun.  It really does feel hotter and brighter up here at 6000 ft!

A wave.  He spotted me.

Nice graduation pose.

Silly graduation pose.

 

Me and my big boy.

More silliness.

The classroom centerpieces for the cake and punch reception.

The real diploma.

I'm not sure what I expected of this ceremony, but I do know that real caps and gowns ("It's not a dress!" as one of Jack's classmates shouted multiple times after the processional), pomp and circumstance and commencement addresses were not in my minds eye.  It was absolutely darling.  And I really did have to fight back tears.  Thank goodness for Cortney who was keeping my sense of humor alive as I text messaged her the play by play and kept the tears at bay.  I know every mother says it a million times, but holy cow does time fly. 

And because I couldn't resist, here is a little video of the ceremony.

Happy graduation little man!

Jack's Wedding Day

This is an old story as it happened nearly two months ago, but it's too good not to have documented.

Jackson is smitten with a girl at school named Ruby.  They are great buddies and play together all the time.  Several months ago he told me that Ruby was growing her hair long like the princess in the movie Tangled (Disney's current version of Rapunzel) and once it was long they were going to get married.  A few days later he told me he was changing his name from Jackson to Bluejean.  Upon further questioning I figured out that he was referring to the "prince" in Tangled, whose name is actually Eugene.  (Eugene, Bluejean, same difference, right?)  Again, it was so that he and Ruby could get married.

Fast forward about a month.

While getting ready for school one morning Jack insisted that he get dressed up and wear a tie. 

"Ruby & I are getting married today!" he declared. 
"Wow!" I said.  "What will you do when you & Ruby get married?"
"We'll dance and then I'll spin her around."  he replied.

Because, duh, that's what happens in the Disney movies.  They dance and spin around!

On we went with the morning routine until it came time to brush his teeth.  Jack was fighting it and we were about to come to blows.

"Jackson," I said "You can't marry Ruby today if you don't brush your teeth.  That's gross!"
His eyes widened, he turned on his heels and marched into the bathroom.  "Oh, fine!" he said.

So for the first time (and I'm sure not the last), I used a girl at school to manipulate Jack.

After arriving at Princeton I told the story to his teacher, Alijah (the other girl at Princeton that he is smitten with) who was not a bit surprised.  According to her, the kids act like a little old married couple all the time.

A couple of hours later Alijah sent me the following pictures.

 

Turns out Ruby had dressed up too (it was her wedding day after all!).  And, by some weird coincidence, they totally matched.  Alijah took pictures of them and then they asked her if they could have a dance.  She obliged and their wedding dreams came true.

Ruby's mom and I exchanged e-mails and chuckled about it all day.

Since the big wedding day the two of them have continued their plotting.  We arrived at school one Friday in full superhero gear (it was "home toy day") only to find Ruby running around in her own cape and mask.  On "crazy hat day" during Dr. Seuss week the two of them arranged to wear their cowgirl and cowboy hats - hers pink with rhinestones and his brown.

They're adorable.  We'll sure miss Ruby when we finally head west to Colorado. 

Oh...and hopefully the next time Jack gets married he'll at least invite me to the wedding!

Princeton's Winter Program

We got to check another first off the list this year...Jackson's first winter program.  The kids at Princeton put on a little show for their parents followed by hot cocoa and cookies in the multi-purpose room.

A four-year-old Christmas Concert?  That's right up my alley!

Warning:  The video below is nearly 5 minutes long.  Unless you answer to the names Nana or Gram it could be a painful 5 minutes.  No hard feelings if you can't quite make it to the end!

 

The Boy Wants a Party

The party celebrating Jackson's first birthday, I'll admit, was mostly for me.  It doesn't take much for the event planner in me to be inspired to throw a party - and what better occasion than your first born child's first birthday.  Truth be told, I was planning that party in my mind long before the calendar required me to do so.

Then he turned two.  I couldn't bear to not throw a party, but going all out again seemed a little over the top.  Especially since the guest list was composed entirely of friends of ours, not Jack's.  So I took advantage of the fact that all three of our birthdays fall in a 10-day stretch of time and had a family celebration. 

We took his third year off from throwing a party and instead devoted the whole day to Jackson and his favorite character - Mickey Mouse.

Which brings us to four.

Actually, Jack's birthday is still nearly 3 months away.  It wasn't even on his radar yet.  But Fletcher, a classmate of Jack's, turns four this weekend.  And Fletcher is having a party.  At the Lawrence Gymnastics Academy.  And the whole class is invited.  They got their very own Cars 2 invitations.  And the envelope had their name on it!  And Jack is excited.

He's been to birthday parties for family and even a few friends before, but they were our friends, too.  Fletcher is his friend which, in Jack's mind, takes this thing to a whole other level.  Besides being super excited for the shindig on Saturday, it's like a light bulb went off in his head:

If Fletcher can have a birthday and bring special invitations to school and invite the whole class to a party just for him...then, holy moly maybe I can too!

And so the boy wants a party.

He drops hints all the time:

"I'm going to bring Buzz Lightyear invitations to all my friends."
"At my party..."
"My friends are going to come to my birfday."
"Mom, I think I want to have a Spidey party."

The tides have turned.  Not only does he actually have his own friends to invite to a party, but he also has a pretty strong opinion about the theme of this event.  And it looks like cartoon characters are where it's at.

So here I am, in mid-September, researching kid-friendly party venues in Lawrence and scouring pinterest for Buzz Lightyear and Spiderman inspiration. 

What choice do I have?  My boy wants a party!

Lucky for him, his event planner Mama is happy to deliver.

Teacher Appreciation

Last year, we celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week by treating Jackson's teachers to some homemade ice cream cone cupcakes.  This year, we went with what we do best around here...chocolate chip cookies!

Of course, I dressed them up a bit (thanks pinterest).

The supplies were minimal, just a sheet of scrapbook paper to run through the printer, some ribbon and a cute container.

Jackson helped me eat the batter whip up the cookie dough and I assembled the final product.

Voila!

"With you as my teacher, I'll be one smart cookie!"

Jackson loved delivering them to his teachers and office staff this morning.

Thank you teachers, both past and present, for all that you do. 

To Jack's teachers and the team at Princeton, we're pretty proud of our little guy.  Of course, we like to think good parenting is responsible for some of that; however, we know that a large part of his success and development is due to you.  We thank you and we appreciate you!

J-A-C-K-S-O-N

Upon picking Jack up from school Tuesday night, his teacher was really excited to share some news.  Miss Amy has been working with the kids on learning the letters of their name.  For the first time this week, everyone in class mastered the task!  In order for the kids to share their new skill with Mom & Dad, Amy laminated name cards for each of the kiddos to bring home and demonstrate what they had been practicing.

Here's Jackson reciting the letters in his name (you might have to crank up the volume, he's speaking pretty quietly).

He sure it turning into a big kid!

School Pictures

Taken October 4, 2011.  Age 2 years 10 mos.

Note:  Jack's normally uber-organized mother managed to schedule his haircut the day after school pictures.  Oops.

I do believe he has his Mama's dimples!  :)

And these, my friends, are the future leaders of our country.  I give you...Miss Amy's Two 1/2's Class.

Ruby, Jackson, Oliver, Kimorah, Raleigh, Fletcher, Dominick (missing Sarai)

Pink-Eyed Boy

It's never a good sign when Princeton comes up on my caller ID during the day.  School doesn't call just to tell you that your kid is being especially good today.  Or even the opposite, like maybe he was serving his 4th time-out by noon.  Nope.  School calls mean two things:  sick or injured.  And I'd be lying if I said my heart didn't race a little every time they call.

Yesterday's call came at 2:55 pm.

"Hi Heidi, it's Caitlyn at Princeton.  Jackson is showing signs of pink eye.  He's been complaining that his eye hurts and hasn't gotten off his mat since nap time.  I think someone should come and get him."

Whew.  Just pink eye.

So I packed up my laptop, headed to school and called Drew on the way.  We agreed that since it was likely pink eye, which requires prescription eye drops, a quick trip to the pediatrician was in order.  If I hurried, I'd make it to Kansas City by the time the walk-in hours ended at 5:00 pm and Jack wouldn't have to wait until the morning for some relief.

It's a bit inconvenient that our pediatrician is about 45 minutes away, but we love Pediatric Partners so much it is totally worth it.  Yesterday was no exception.  Even without an appointment we waited less than 5 minutes.  Pink eye was diagnosed almost immediately and along with the prescription we got a coupon making it FREE.  We were out of there in under 20 minutes.

Jack & I decided a special treat was in order and picked up our absolute favorite Imo's Pizza on the way home, which happens to be too conveniently close to the doctor's office to pass up.

Aside from the slight debacle at Walgreen's when it came time to pick up the eye drops, the entire process was quite painless.  (Walgreen's, by the way, sucks.  I've complained for the last time.  We're switching to CVS!)

As for Jackson, he feels totally fine.  He was a real trooper when it came to the eye drops and tolerates them even better than I would.  Drew demonstrated on himself with his own prescription first and since everything Drew does is cool in Jack's eyes, he didn't hesitate when his turn came.  "Just like you, Dad!" 

Of course, his eye was matted shut and totally nasty this morning but Jack doesn't seem a bit phased by it.   In fact, we joked that he is probably going to think pink eye is pretty cool.  After all, he got to stay home from school (24-hours of antibiotics before going back since it's so contagious) and spend the entire day with Daddy.

Yeah.  A pink-eyed boy, but definitely not a sad or sick little boy.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go itch my eyes.

Underpants, Part II

I had every intention of taking a break from discussing Jack's unmentionables, but then he decided to wear underwear this morning.

While getting dressed for school, he insisted that he didn't need a pull up and wanted to wear underwear instead.  Not wanting to miss the opportunity, I encouraged him and we made a big deal out of how cool that would be.  We also discussed what that meant - no potties or poops in his pants because it would get on his clothes and his legs and it would be really icky.  He was on board.

As we were driving to school, he was anxious to tell his teachers that he was wearing underwear and show them the extras that we brought to put in his cubby.  I decided to take advantage of this new "big boy" attitude and told him that since he was big enough to wear underwear now, he probably didn't need to cry and be sad when Mommy dropped him off.  (Despite the fact that he loves his school, teachers and classmates he still has a rough time nearly every morning at drop off.  Until I'm out of sight and ear shot anyway - at which time he falls right into the routine.)  He pondered that for a moment and then assured me that he wouldn't cry.  I had my doubts.

We got to school, put his extra undies and shorts in his cubby and went over the importance of keeping his pants dry one more time.  Then he proudly told Ms. Chaunce (his new teacher) that he had underwear on.  He also explained to her that he wouldn't get them wet because that would be icky.  I was about to reply when Jack looked up at me and said, "Okay, Mom.  Go to work."

Never have I been so excited to hear my son tell me to get lost!  I blew him a kiss, Chaunce gave me a thumbs up and I scurried out of the room before he could change his mind.

No whining.  No tears.  No pleas to stay a little longer and play.  Just, "Go to work."

We'll see how he does in underwear all day.  And who knows if the drop off routine was just a fluke or if we've finally made it over the hump of teary-eyed mornings.  Only time will time.

But my little guy sure was a big boy today!

Independence

We have entered the "I do it myself" phase.

Putting on pull-ups
Getting dressed
Putting on shoes
Climbing into the car seat
Getting a glass of water
Rinsing dishes
Washing hands
Soaping up in the tub
Playing songs on the iPod
Starting/Stopping a movie
Feeding Ruby

You name it, he wants to do it.  Himself.

Which means we move a lot slower and clean up a lot more messes these days.

But how can I resist a face like this as he declares, "I can do it myself, Mommy"?

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In other behavioral news, the last few days have been much better since Jack's inaugural visit to the Principal's Office this week.  Still a few naughty moments, but nothing like the terror he unleashed on Monday.  Tuesday, we bribed him with a trip to the golf course in exchange for good behavior.  It worked.  Never mind toys or treats.  This kid's weakness is the Country Club.  There is nothing he loves to do more than hit balls and ride in the golf cart. 

On Monday he will move up from the Two's classroom to the Two and a Half's classroom.  If he's true to form, I expect a few rough days at first, but he is definitely ready (whether he knows it or not) for the change. 

Wish us luck!

The Trying Twos

Whew...what a morning.

Actually, it started last evening.  Turns out Jack had a rough day at school.  Whiny, lots of tears, complaints about all the loud noises and tugging on his ears.  When I got there just before 5:00 his teacher said he had just registered a temp of 101.9.  Crap.  Ear infection.

Yet, to my touch, he felt cool as a cucumber.  I took his temp as soon as we got home and it barely registered 98 degrees.  He acted perfectly normal all evening and slept straight through the night.  He certainly didn't act sick.

I have to admit I was annoyed.  This is the second time in just a few weeks that Jack has come home with reports of a fever.  School policy requires children to be fever free for 24 hours before returning to the classroom.  First, let me make it clear that I am a huge supporter of this policy.  I have no problem with keeping Jackson at home when he is sick or on the mend and I expect other parents to do the same.  The key being, when they are sick.  But since this was the second occurrence of a mystery fever that disappeared at home with no other symptoms of illness I was beginning to doubt the effectiveness of the thermometer they use in his classroom.

Drew & I went back and forth about what to do.  Both of our intuitions told us he was not sick.  A doctor visit seemed completely unnecessary.  Yet, we didn't want to discount the reports from school.  We also considered that perhaps his lack of sleep lately could be related to fighting off an ear infection as opposed to just being a phase as we originally thought.  What tipped the scale was the fact that our family vacation is just around the corner.  We're going to be gone for several days and if there was any chance that an ear infection was firing up, I wanted to nip it in the bud now before we're away from home.

After sleeping on it, Drew & I woke up with the exact same conclusion.  Take him to the doctor.  If all checks out fine (which we knew it would) get a note from the doctor (good call on requesting the note, Drew) and then take the kid to school.

That's exactly what happened.

Jackson woke up, after sleeping the first full night in his own bed in weeks, perfectly happy.  He couldn't have been better behaved at the doctor office.  (Which, by the way, was our first visit to their new location.  Such an awesome practice.  It's now about 40 minutes away instead of 25, but totally worth it to me.)  We had a lovely morning, he got a clean bill of health, we requested the all clear note and went on our merry way.

The closer I got to Lawrence, the more aggravated I was getting with his school.  Twice now he was sent home with a temperature when he didn't have a temperature.  This time resulting in 1 1/2 hours of drive time, a $25 doctor copay and 3 hours off work.  When I knew he was fine.  I called school, explained that he would not be staying home today, despite the 24 hour post-fever policy, and that I was armed with a doctor's note to prove it.  I wasn't very nice.

I realize now that sounds a little selfish, but in the moment I was pissed.

I backed off a bit when I dropped Jack off at school.  I'm not so good at the whole conflict thing.  I tend to prefer peace.  Particularly when it involves the people who care for my child 9 hours a day. 

After discussing it with the Director for a few minutes, we both agreed that his 2 year molars could be a likely culprit.  According to her, spiking but inconsistent temperatures are pretty normal with teething kids (though not a symptom Jack has experienced).  The doctor also indicated that there was some slight swelling where his final molars would eventually pop through.  So...whatever.

We proceeded to the classroom, Jackson requested a trip to the potty and I filled in his teachers. 

Then, despite a perfectly smooth morning, the meltdown occurred.

Seemingly out of nowhere he turned on the tears and absolutely freaked out at the prospect of me leaving.  His teachers did all the right things but he was inconsolable.  Much like yesterday, which is what led them to believe he wasn't feeling well. Suddenly, I felt really horrible for doubting them (and their thermometer).

I; however, recognized the cries.  These were not something is wrong cries.  These were manufactured cries.  Cries that mean he is seeking attention, pouting about something or simply being ornery.

I stayed at school for over 15 minutes trying to make things easier on Jack, his teachers and myself to no avail.  When I finally left he was still crying.  I felt terrible.  Terrible for his teachers who were left to deal with the tantrum (and whatever the rest of the day brings).  Terrible for Jack who was so clearly distraught and breaking my heart.  Terrible for being irritated with him for acting out like that.  Mostly, terrible for walking away.

Apparently, Jack has entered some sort of mommy's boy phase in the last 48 hours that is so not cool.  I can only hope that out of sight = out of mind and he settled down into a somewhat normal routine the rest of today.

I'm certain that he's not sick.  I'm certain that he's safe.  So that's the bright side.  But lord help me if this "phase" doesn't correct itself soon.  To date, Jackson's twos have not been terrible at all.  But on days like today, they are awfully trying!

Chime in fellow parents.  Did your kids ever have random spiking fevers that disappeared as quickly as they came while teething?  Were the 2 year molars a beast to cut through?  Was I wrong to be angry with the school about the whole temperature thing?  Is the clingy phase a pretty normal one at this age?  Fire away!

A Day in the Life

Pardon the interruption of this trip down Christmas memory lane as I share with you my morning.

It's 7:33 am.  Jackson & I are heading to school/work.  Drew had already warned me that one of the neighbor boys parked his car right behind the driveway so I was backing out more cautiously than usual.  Upon looking over my shoulder to avoid a collision with a parked car, Jackson caught my glance and said to me, "Mommy pretty".  I beamed.  It was perhaps the sweetest compliment I've ever received.  I thanked him, told him how nice that was and then called Drew to share my joy.  Perhaps this Monday morning wasn't going to be so bad!

It's 7:53 am.  We've arrived at Princeton and it's a big day.  Day one in Jackson's new classroom.  He has officially moved up from Toddler II to the Two's.  We talked about joining the "big kids" today and that he is two now so he gets to be with the other two-year-olds (most of whom he already knows and has played with back when they were in the toddler room).  I had high hopes for an easy transition.  I should have known better. 

Poor Jackson knew something was up the minute we passed by his old classroom.  He instantly clung to my leg and cried for "my room".  Despite knowing (and loving) the teacher in the Two's room he wanted nothing to do with her this morning.  He kept saying "no big kids" and "my class" (referring to the toddlers, of course).  The cries of "Mommy, don't go" were nearly enough for me to sweep him up and drive back home.  With that not being an option, we forged through and said our goodbyes.  I imagine he recovered quickly, it's not like it's a totally new environment (that's what I'm telling myself anyway).  But it sure tugged on my heart strings as I drove to the office.

From beaming joy to guilt and sadness in exactly 20 minutes time.  Such is the roller coaster of life with a toddler!

School Pictures and a Thanksgiving Feast

We're still here!

Sorry for the hiatus.  It was just an unintended consequence of a busy life and a cold from hell.  A never-ending, super annoying, rendering me useless after 7 pm, up half the night coughing kind of cold.  Ugh. 

I am very much looking forward to a quiet Thanksgiving weekend with my boys.  Despite not entertaining any guests this year, I'll be cooking the usual spread.  We'll spend the rest of the weekend eating leftovers, watching football and prepping for Christmas.

Once December arrives (in just 7 days!) we hit the ground sprinting.  I have back-to-back business trips the first week, followed by our joint birthday party, all 3 of our actual birthdays and then Christmas.  I'm choosing not to think about the INSANE amount of work I have to do at the office between now and February.  That just hurts my head.

I'll do my best to keep you posted on what is sure to be a wild December.  For now, here's a peek at what Jack's been up to at Princeton.

His first official school pictures were taken in October.



What a big boy!

Toddler II - October 2010

And yesterday Drew & I joined his class for a Thanksgiving lunch.

Never a dull moment!

Don't Know

This evening when I picked Jackson up from school, Miss Keirra asked if he had shown me "Don't Know" yet.  Somewhere (I'm guessing at school because I don't think Drew or I do this at home), he learned how to shrug his shoulders and reply "don't know".  Both Keirra and I find it completely hilarious. 

I'll let Jack show you himself.

Stay tuned for more video later this week.  We've been working on facial expressions!

Art

One of the many things I love about Princeton is the curriculum (if there can be such a thing for not-quite-two-year-olds) that is offered.  Every week has a theme.  Along with that theme comes games, activities and  lessons.  And daily art projects.  Which means we now have piles, seriously piles, of Jackson's artwork in various locations around the house.  And I, along with many mothers before me, am faced with the dilemma of what to do with all the art.

It is impossible to display it all.  Besides, as much of an uber-organized and anti-clutter person as I am, covering every square inch of the refrigerator or tacking glue and glitter filled pieces of paper to the walls just isn't going to work for this mama.

Yet I want to display his work.  I am proud of it and I want him to be, too.  And how could I possibly bring myself to throw *gasp* in the trash my baby's masterful works of art?

So I did what I always do.  Turned to google.

My first find, was this frame from Lil'DaVinci.  It comes in 2 sizes and has space to store up to 50 pieces of art.  Not only can you display your child's latest masterpiece for all to see, but you can also store the previous pieces out of site.  Brilliant!

My second find is a bit less organized, but fun none the less.  Simply fashion a clothes line of sorts (either a purchased curtain rod as shown or something as simple as a string tied to hooks) and display away!

Last, I found this collage.  A little techy since it requires digital images of the art and some layout into one larger image, but very clean looking and quite cool if you ask me.

In the next couple of months I hope to transform a little section of our dog/mud/storage room into a playroom for Jack.  I have plans to incorporate some of the above items in the space, but for the time being I've turned to the digital age to help me de-clutter the piles of art.

A few weeks ago I found a black piece of fabric to use as a backdrop and took photos of all of the pieces of art Jackson has brought home to date.  I then threw away (guilt-free since I have a digital record of it) those that were torn or bent or especially messy or just not my favorite.  I chose a handful to save for future display and to keep forever as keepsakes.  You know, cuz moms do that.

Wanna see?

Farm Week #1



Farm Week #2



Outer Space Week

Colors Week, I believe

Kansas Week

Not sure what this one was, I just like it.

And there you have it.  My guilt-free method for balancing the desire to save everysinglething my son creates with my inherent need for organization.

 

How about you?  Any other ideas for storing, displaying or documenting your children's works of art?  Do tell!

Book Fair

We had another first at Princeton this week.  Our first Book Fair!

School was open from 6:30 - 8:00 pm for an Open House and Scholastic Book Fair.  After a birthday celebration for a friend at our favorite mexican restaurant in town, we headed back to school to shop, shop, shop!

I still remember how excited I was as an elementary student when the book orders from Scholastic would arrive.  I think I was just as excited this time around!

We bought 3 books to take home:

Duck at the Door

Duck Soup

Turkey Trouble

And 1 from Miss Kelly's wish list for the Toddler classroom:

The Spooky Wheels on the Bus

I'm already dreading the inevitable fundraisers that will accompany Jackson throughout all of his school years, but book fairs are one thing I will always be a sucker for!

The Best 45 Cents We've Ever Spent

It's All About Me week at Princeton.  To wrap up the week, the kids got to bring their favorite toy to school today to share with their friends at show-and-tell.

Despite my best efforts to not fall into the trap of  never-ending piles of plastic toys, Jackson has a pretty healthy supply to choose from.  His selection:

A 45 cent rubber ball I snagged off a clearance rack in an attempt to keep him occupied during a Target run.

It really is one of his favorite toys.

Go figure.

Princeton Progress

I hesitate to even put this in writing for fear it might jinx us, but I think we've finally turned the corner at Princeton.  Only about a month later than I expected.

Not surprisingly, the first few days after returning from vacation were tough.  Lots of tears at drop-off and even a couple of tear-filled pick-ups.  I was getting discouraged.  Not because we are unhappy with Princeton.  Quite the opposite, in fact.  But never in my wildest dreams did I expect the fear of strangers and mama's boy phase that Jackson was experiencing.  I'm still not sure which came first:  daycare transition causing clingy phase or clingy phase that just happened to manifest during daycare transition.  Either way, it was really wearing on me. 

Of course, it wasn't nearly as bad as the first few days when we would have to pry his arms from around my neck while he screamed my name.  But leaving a whimpering boy in the morning and picking up a tear-stained boy in the afternoon is hard on a momma. 

I talked with his teachers every day.  I think his pouting at drop-off was more for my benefit because as soon as I was out of sight he would jump right into whatever activity the kids were doing.  Throughout the day, he was playing well, eating well and taking good naps.  It wasn't until late afternoon, when other parents would start arriving for pick-ups that he would get upset and start asking for Drew & I.  He would also get upset if a shift change occurred and there was suddenly a teacher in the room he was not familiar with (hence the fear of strangers).  His teachers kept assuring me that for the majority of the day he was absolutely fine and that it would just take time. 

Of course, in my mind I knew all of this was true.  And I really didn't worry (much) about him during the day.  But boy was I anxious for this phase to pass.

Thursday he ran right into the classroom without a whimper.  I immediately texted Drew who replied "Hooray!"  When I arrived after work I snuck a peek into the classroom to find him playing happily.  No tears!  Miss Kelly (the lead teacher who is there from 7 am - 3 pm) left me a note saying he had a fantastic day and seemed to have finally gotten completely comfortable with her.  Miss Kaitlyn (an afternoon teacher who is normally there at pick-up) also told me it had been an awesome day.  I was thrilled.

Friday morning was also tearless.  Drew did the pick-up Friday afternoon but again, there were no tears and the report was that it had been another great day.

Heck, the next thing you know I'll probably be lamenting because he's more excited to go "to school" than he is to stay at home with us!  I'm a mother after all, there's always something I can find to concern myself with!

For now, I'm just going to be pleased that the worst is behind us and hope that I didn't just jinx the whole thing!