Books With No Pictures

That's what Claire calls chapter books. She cannot read at that level yet. But I read to her from them almost everyday.
I'm currently on the lookout for some good books. She loves the Magic Tree House series, so I can always go to one of those. She also loves Little House books but we've read most of them and I want to make it last. I love reading those books. And I love watching my girls pretend that they are Ma and Laura and Mary.
Soon I'll share some of the books that we've been reading, along with any comments my Kindergartner wants to make about them.

Days 11 and 12

I'm happy to say that we made it until payday with the groceries we had in the house. I spent $125.38 today and that includes some items that we definitely don't "need". Now I hope to make this food last until next payday (two weeks). I have $109.88 left in the budget and 18 days left.

I'm not too keen on having Claire ride the bus. She really, really wants to this and I do let her...sometimes. (when I'm sure that my friend's older daughter will be riding). The other day I was driving her to school and she said she met the school dog.

Her elementary school has a school dog that the counselor uses as part of her work. Evidently the dog is very therapeutic for some kids. Claire asked what she does and I tried as best I could to explain the job of a school counselor.

There was a moment of silence and then, "Mom, I think you need to go talk to a council-ate-or."

I tried to remain really neutral about this comment while all these thoughts went through my mind. My daughter thinks I'm depressed or upset. Maybe she thinks I yell too much. Maybe.... So I took a breath and asked, "Why do you think Mommy needs a counselor?"

"Because you're so stressed out about this bus thing."

Whew!

Off she goes

I was hoping for a smiling photo of my daughter standing on the steps of the bus on her first day of school. But, um, this is what I got.

C was a little excited. As the bus turned the corner onto our street, all three girls started shrieking and jumping up and down. Remember Fantasy Island? I had a little TV flashback as I heard the three of them screaming, "Da bus! Da bus!"

I barely snuck in a hug before the door opened and she ran onto the bus with a backward, "Bye Mom" and a big hello for the bus driver.

I know that I should be pleased that she's enthusiastic about school, that she's confident and doesn't need me to walk her to her room. As a Mom, I wanted to do this, but she declined and I respect that.

It's given me a refreshing insight into my life and my relationship with my two younger girls. It won't be so long before they're off on the bus. I'm going to relish this time at home with them. And I'm going to try to remember this the next time I think, "Oh why did I quit my job? They're driving me crazy..."

A Visit to Kindergarten

OtterDad and I took C to Kindergarten visitation. Actually we didn't "take" her. The bus picked the three of us up, along with several other Kindergarten families. We attended a parents meeting while C met her teacher and classmates.

At the parents meeting there was a surprisingly long question and answer period addressing lunch. Not reading or math or music or art. Lunch. I couldn't get over all the various lunch questions. You would have thought we were dropping our kids off just for a meal.

The assistant principal seemed very competent and very approachable, a combination that I'm glad of because I think I may be approaching her soon. The welcome letter from C's new teacher states that they will not have snack time. This is an all day K program. And we're talking about 4, 5, and 6 year old kids. Are you kidding me?

I know that I'm a newbie Mom as far as school is concerned. The last thing that I want is to have my first interaction with the school to be a complaint about snacks of all things. I really believe that she needs a snack. Her schedule is such that there are only a couple hours at school prior to lunch. So the entire afternoon and bus ride (where no food is allowed) will be snack free. I have decided to ask some other parents to see if I'm being unreasonable. And I'm going to do some research. I at least want to sound somewhat coherent when speaking about it. And right now all I have is, "I know she needs a snack."

I guess that if our greatest concern about the school is snack, that's not too bad. C's teacher is very experienced. I have spoken with several parents with older kids and they rave about her. Academically this school does quite well. And C already loves her and can't wait to go back for her first day.

It's just hard to believe that my baby is old enough to go to school!

Recycling

I'm a firm believer in recycling and reusing. I've tried to teach my girls the importance of this. At their ages (3,4, and 5), they understand more than I thought they might.

So in our family, we don't call clothes (or shoes or toys) hand me downs. Reusing clothes keeps them out of landfills. It also keeps money in your pockets.

There are a many ways to do this.

• Check out thrift shops. Really. You may be surprised at some of the finds there. And not just clothing. Some shops have better quality than others. Just step inside and check out a few in your community and see what you can find.
• Browse in consignment shops and second hand stores. The prices will be higher than a thrift shop and you're more likely to find brand name items. But you can get clothes at a significant discount over retail and many times the items look brand new.
• Stop at some yard sales. Some people do this all the time. I wait for community or neighborhood yard sales so I can hit a bunch of sales in a short period of time. This saves gas by avoiding driving all over and it saves time. I have gotten some great deals at yard sales. In fact I bought my daughter's soccer cleats at a yard sale this summer for $2. She's five and will play 8 soccer games and have 8 practices this year. I bought them from a Mom of another five year old who wore them "about fifteen times." Who wants to spend $20 or $30 (or more) for something that gets such little use?
• Let people know that you're open to hand me downs. I don't mean to go around and ask for things from every Mom at the playground. But you can certainly let your friends and family know that you appreciate them. I've had people say, "I hope you're not offended, but I wondered if you'd like..." Offended? I love hand me downs. I love to look at my girls in a beautiful outfit and think that their cousin wore that last year. I have a beautiful dress coat that was a hand me down gift from friends. Their daughter wore it, then all three of my girls and now their little cousin wears it. It always makes me smile.
• Freecycle. Been to www. freecycle.com ? You can often find children's clothing, furniture or other items at no cost. We happen to be near an Army base and it seems that when soldiers move around, some don't want to take much with them. There are always furniture, bikes and such looking for a home.
• Craig's List. I'm sure you've heard of this one. But if you haven't used it, go check it out.

I constantly get comments on how cutely dressed my girls are. I rarely buy anything retail for the kids. In fact, it's usually only if someone gives me a gift card for my birthday or Christmas (and then I'm usally checking out the clearance rack and buying for next year in bigger sizes). I have to admit that I find it much more challenging to find gently used adult clothing. But I'm working on it.

Of course, it's equally important to "share the love". I sort clothes into bags as my girls grow out of them. Some are for specific friends who share my love of recycled clothing. Others I drop off at a local thrift shop that supports the food pantry in our area. That way the clothes can bless another family.

It has begun

My blog, of course. This is my first post.

But what I really mean by "it" is the new year. I know it's not really New Year's Eve or anything. Not even Chinese New Year. Not R. But the school year is upon us. And since my oldest is heading off to kindergarten next week, (excuse me I need to get a tissue to wipe away my tears) it feels like the start of a new year.

I looked at the calendar today and saw soccer practice, dance registration, kindergarten visitation, and I knew. Summer is over. We'll try to get a little more out of it this week and we may even have some warm weather in September, but it's over. I can't believe how quickly it went by.

C announced that she's excited for school and she can't wait for dance and gymnastics and swimming. And I said "Whoa!" I know that some kids have after school activities every night of the week. But it's just too much. They need time to play and read and be with their families. We probably will sign her up for dance again this year. Her two younger sisters want to dance this year too. There's a cute preschool dance program that's 30 minutes once a week. But it's on a different night than C's class, so that will already be two nights with rushed meals. I think that's enough.

I find it really challenging to balance family time with activities outside the home. When I was young I didn't participate in any after school activities until I was in 7th grade. I really wish that I would have had the chance to pick an outside activity. So when C asked for dance the first time, I was all for it. But then she wanted swim lessons, gymnastics, soccer. I really want to encourage physical activities because of the health benefits and the opportunity to improve social skills. And it's hard to choose one activity when she's so young and hasn't had the chance to figure out what she's most interested in.

Soccer is nice because it's only a few weeks long. But dance is all year, as is gymnastics. I wish we lived near a facility that offered six or eight week classes. But as it is, we'll have to narrow it down. And soon. Because It Has Begun.