School Prep

We haven't been up to very much since we got home from vacation. We have a little less than two weeks until school starts, and I can't wait! At times I find it hard to believe that my "baby" boy is big enough to be starting real school, and if I think about it too much it makes me a little sad, but mostly I am excited. I am a big planner, so very few things make me happier than getting all his uniforms and supplies ready for Kindergarten. I was held back slightly by the road bump of us not being certain of where he would be attending school, but I did everything I could until we found out. He is zoned to attend Cato Elementary which is the elementary school for all the kids out here where we live. It is the same school that Alison attended for part of 5th and all of 6th grade, and it was ok then, but that was over twenty years ago. Since then, this whole area has taken a downturn (as many areas do over time), and we weren't excited about the kids that Nate would have been attending school with. I know, snobby, right? Oh well. Also, Alison teaches at the next elementary school down the road, which is in a better area, and has the added bonus of Nate's aunt being there to watch out for him, not to mention that Grant and Reagan will both be there with him. So last May we applied for a permit to send him there, and we have been patiently waiting all summer to hear if it was approved. Of course, the district won't approve anyone until they have a pretty clear idea of what the enrollment will be for the kids that are zoned to attend there, so we had to wait a while. Phil had been calling from time to time to check on the status of his paperwork, but got the same answer every time--that we would have to wait until the end of July at the earliest. When stores around here started selling uniforms and supplies, I started getting pretty antsy. I didn't want things to sell out and then us have a hard time finding what we needed for Nate when we finally did hear from the district. I went ahead and bought some of the things I knew he would need, like uniform pants and shorts, since all the schools wear the same colors of those. Finally the district office called us on July 31 to tell us that our permit had been approved and Nate would be a Sylvan Hills Bear! That weekend, Phil took the kids out and got his uniform shirts, and then I took him this past Monday to get all the supplies on his list. He should be all set to go for the first day. All he lacks is a haircut!

Other than that, we started the Monday after we got home from Minnesota with Amy's Potty Training Boot Camp. She hasn't worn a pull-up since Sunday July 26th. She had several accidents the first few days, including one all over the floor of Bedford Camera and Video when I went in to pick up vacation pictures. Fortunately, she likes taking a tour of every public bathroom we come across, so that is the only accident we have had in a store. She caught on pretty quickly though, and hasn't had a #1 accident in almost a week. Now, #2 is a different story. I can't quite call them accidents though, since she has yet to do #2 in the potty. I have had a new baby sitting on the towel bar over the commode in her bathroom all summer and every time we are in there I remind her that she can have that new baby as soon as she decides to poop in the potty. Hasn't worked. Candy was a good reward for #1, but hasn't worked for #2. She actually argues with me when we talk about pooping in the potty, scowling and shouting "I don't WANNA poop in the potty!!!!" So, I have resorted to taking away a baby every time she poops in her panties. It made her sad at first, but now she just says "Ok, bye-bye, baby" and waves to it as I put the baby in a closet. It may be that she has about a hundred babies and she knows it will be a while before she doesn't have anymore to play with. So, now I am at a loss. I think she could do it, but she knows that I want her to, so therefore, being two, she wants exactly the opposite of what I want. Reverse psychology, perhaps? It may be the next step. She will be starting back to daycare when Nate starts school, so maybe that will do it.

Enough potty talk.

Probably the reason I am most looking forward to school starting doesn't have so much to do with potty training, or Nate beginning Kindergarten, or us being supremely bored and tired of not having stuff to do, but mostly because when school starts, I will be finished working Weekend Option! I have this Friday and Saturday night, and next Friday and Saturday night, and that's it. After that, I will be a regular weeknight worker. I will still have to work 3 weekend nights of a four week schedule, but Sunday nights count toward that, which still leaves the whole weekend free. I have been working weekends for four and a half years, meaning Phil has been a single parent every weekend, trying to keep two kids occupied and quiet while I sleep in the next room. I have had to miss countless football games, weekend trips, barbecues, play dates, dinners out, and time with my family in general over the last four years. We thought after Amy was born I would be able to stop weekends, but the daycare cost put a stop to that plan. We can afford one child in daycare full time, but not two. This is another reason we wanted Nate to go to Alison's school--because on the days I am working, he can hang out at school with Grant and Reagan and ride home with Alison. Otherwise, I would have to pick him up at 2:30, and I know from experience that 8:00 to 2:00 is not enough sleep for me to go to work on. So, Amy will be in daycare and Nate will come home with the Bailey's after school a few days a week, and we can have regular weekends for family time. I can't wait! Several people have asked why I won't work day shift, but seriously? Are you kidding? They work their butts off on day shift for less money, doctors hanging out in the unit all day, physical therapy, speech therapy, dieticians, three meals, families in and out all day long. Forgive me for this, but HELL NO!!! I have fully accepted the fact that I am a night owl, and therefore much better suited to work nights. There are lots of people who are daytime people, but I am NOT one of them by a long shot. I have also become accustomed to the 18% night shift pay differential my hospital pays, and we would have a very difficult time staying afloat without it. So there.

So some big changes coming in our household. Should be interesting, to say the least. The kids and I are going to be in for a shock when we have to start getting up before 8:30, so we may need to ease into that next week. Bedtime should probably come before 10:00 every night too. I'll keep you posted on how all this works out after the 19th! Wish us luck!