Today was the third day of school. We're all still just getting adjusted to our new life. It's not really THAT different. Well, maybe it is. For one thing, we are never all up at the same time in the morning. Usually, Mommy and Aron and Katelyn are already up by the time Daddy comes down, ready to leave for work. Now, we're all up...Daddy and Mommy helping get Aron ready for his day and Katelyn getting kind of lost in the shuffle. At least that is how it was today. We made the mistake of not having Aron do his homework last night. All the homework is is practicing writing his name on lined paper. I don't know if we were just too tired and forgot or what. So, the plan was to have him do it in the morning after breakfast. How long can it take to write your name a few times, right? Well, it doesn't take long...as long as you don't wake up late and nothing seems to be going right in the morning. To top it off, Aron had another attitude problem. See, Aron likes to write his name "A...r...o...N". The point of the homework is to not just be able to write their name, but to write it properly...capital first letter and then all the rest should be lowercase. Simple, right? NOT! For some reason, Aron didn't believe that a lowercase "n" was part of the alphabet. I know, I know. He was just being difficult. There was just no convincing him that he was wrong and Mommy was right. (I think this will be a theme for the next 13+ years!) Fine! Let the teacher tell him he's wrong! Then Mommy thought that she might be able to help him by guiding his hand holding the pencil. Wrong again! Suddenly his hand didn't work, and he didn't understand what "hold the pencil" meant. "Like this?", he asks as he holds his hand in an open position with the pencil balancing in between his thumb and index finger! Right, Aron...like THAT! A complete meltdown commenced (his, not Mommy's) and it was time for a time out. He wasn't going to have any of that though. The meltdown was more like a tornado...gathering power. Soon not only was Mommy in the middle of the meltdown, but Daddy too! Somehow (maybe it was mommy telling him in a firm voice that he couldn't act like that) we finally got things under control. There would be no homework done for the rest of the morning.
It's no wonder with waking up late and all the commotion of the morning, that Aron was late for school! :( Bummer, a perfect record shot on the THIRD day! Oh well. Do colleges look at Kindergarten attendance records? It's not a huge deal, but it is a pain in the butt! You have to go through the office and fill out THIS and show THAT and get a tardy slip and take him to his class. Poor Aron...I feel so bad. But I don't think anyone really cares in Kindergarten, right? I doubt all the kids turned around and looked at him and made him feel embarrassed...right? Oh...I'm just kidding! It still was not a good way to start your third day. But we learned a valuable lesson. Homework WILL be done the night before!
As for me, I just have not been able to get myself motivated to do anything...yet. Maybe I'm still adjusting to the idea that I have so much free time. Maybe it's that I REALLY don't wanna do dishes and laundry and clean! Yup, that's probably it. It doesn't help that Katelyn has been SO whiny lately. I think she is going for a world record for saying "mommy"! Seriously!!! "Mommy"..."Yes, Katelyn". "Mommy"..."what?". "Mommy"..."what do you want, Katelyn?" "Mommy"...UGH!!! She will NOT tell me what she wants. I ask her if she is hungry, thirsty, tired, needs a diaper change. Do her feet hurt (she has contact dermatitis on her feet...fun!), does her head hurt, does her tummy hurt, do her legs hurt? "MOMMY" The only time she isn't saying "Mommy", is when she says "thirsty" or "snack". She and Aron both LOVE their snacks! I try to give snacks at regular times, but Katelyn will try to wear you down!!! And after this morning, I caved! Sue me! :P Sometimes, you just want the whining to STOP!!! If it costs me an extra snacktime, so be it! I just wish she would eat during mealtimes. It's not like I give her HUGE snacks. She just prefers snacks over what she is given for meals. She won't eat meat...or vegatables...or fruit. All she will eat is bread...and snacks! And believe me, I have tried!!! She must be a CARBOHYDRATARIAN!!!
Well, pick-up at school was fun today. You see, it's summer time in Colorado, which means afternoon thunderstorms. And this afternoon, just in time to pick up Aron, a thunderstorm rolled in. It was just sprinkling when we first got there. But as we waiting for what seems like forever, the rain got worse...and worse...and worse. Why do the Kindergarten parents have to stand out in the rain? The procedure for picking up your Kindergartner is as follows: the kids line up against the playground wall, the teacher looks for the parents in the crowd outside the gate, and once she spots the parent, she gives a high five to the appropriate child. They are not allowed to leave until they get a high five. Now, it's important to note that ALL the other kids in school can be picked up in the "kiss and drop" lane in front of the school. The kids run out to their car where the parents are sitting warm and cozy inside, the kids jump in the car and off they go! While I understand the safety reasons behind NOT letting the Kindergartners just run out to awaiting cars, I just REALLY wish they had a better procedure in place for rainy days other than letting us stand out in the rain. Apparently, they thought they needed one too, because one of the teachers FINALLY came out and told us to go in the front to pick up the kids. So off we all went, soaking wet! All the kids had been gathered in the main hallway of the school. Keep in mind, this is NOT a very big school. So, with four Kindergarten classes and the parents of all those students all gathered in that tiny space...it was kinda chaotic. LUCKILY, Aron's teacher saw me right away (I don't know how, I was WAY in the back) and ushered Aron over to me right away! Phew! No more waiting. Let's get outta here! Let me tell ya...if you haven't walked in a downpour with one kid on your hip while trying to hold an umbrella in the other, trying to cover all three of you at the same time...you don't know what you are missing! :) Then try to get the keys out of your pocket to unlock the car, and strap a two year old in her carseat while the other kid tries to hop over the raging flood between the curb and the car! Oh, what a fun time was had by all! Next time...well, truthfully, I don't know what we can do differently next time. Putting Katelyn in a stroller would require me to be in the rain even longer while I try to fold it and put it in the trunk. We'll manage. It's not like it rains EVERY afternoon. Besides, it's just rain. I think we'll live! :)
So, Aron decided last night that he wanted to buy his lunch in the cafeteria. I think maybe he sees the other kids buying their lunch and wanted to, too. We had looked up the menu on the computer and made sure that what they were serving was something he wanted. Macaroni and cheese...his "favorite". (Everything seems to be his "favorite" lately!) Now, the lunch procedure is a little different than when I went to school. The kids have "accounts" for their lunch. You need to put money into their account and then they "pay" for it by entering a 5-digit code on a keypad. (Yeah, the Kindergartners have to do this too!) Well, we hadn't set up an account for Aron yet since we hadn't planned on him buying lunch this week. So, we consulted the student handbook to confirm that he could pay for his lunch without the account. It didn't seem like it was gonna be a problem. The handbook says they can pay on a daily basis. So, this morning I stuck $2 in Aron's shirt pocket and told him that they would be giving him change back. No problem...right? Well....on the way home from school, I asked him how lunch went and he proceeded to tell me that I was right, they gave him money back. Great! NOT! Apparently, they gave him his $2 back! Now, trying to get a straight story from a 5 year old is not quite that easy. There was no note telling me what went wrong. He got his lunch. He didn't have a stamp on his hand to indicate that he owes money to his lunch account. The teacher didn't say anything to me when I picked him up. So, WHAT happened? Why did they give his money BACK? Do they not take cash? What did I do wrong? Poor Aron. His mommy is just not figuring this out!!! I'll have to e-mail the teacher and see if she knows. Hm. This whole school thing can be so confusing! :)
We went straight home today. No stops at the grocery store or doctor (thank goodness!) I think it's important to get into a better routine for the afternoon. Trying to ward off tantrums and fighting and whining. You know, normal Willis kid stuff. Now, trying to get Aron to understand the reason for Mommy's madness...that's another story. It may take him a little longer to adjust to the new routine. But, I am going to be a stickler now. The kids can have a snack when they get home and Aron can watch one show. BUT it has to be a show Katelyn can enjoy too! Apparently, they watch Word Girl at school, so Aron always wants to watch that when we get home. But, then Katelyn is whining about wanting to watch Mickey Mouse. So, while they have their snack, they have to share the TV. Then it's quiet time while Mommy gets dinner ready. After dinner, it's homework time and reading time. Once his homework is done, Aron is free to watch Word Girl or whatever else he wants to watch until bathtime and then bedtime. That routine seemed to work out well for us today. Now, the important thing is for Mommy to stick to it. It will be hard at first...lots of whining and crying ahead, I'm sure...but in the long run, it will be a good thing!
Well, three days down, thousands more to go!!! Don't worry. My posts won't be THIS long for every one of those thousand plus days! :) Can you imagine???
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