Week 1 - This was our second week of school and second week of watching Mea. She is 19 months now and hangs out with us 2 afternoons a week. All went well with both school and Mea. Mea acclimated and, despite some good-bye-mommy sadness, had fun with us and seems to enjoy just running around and playing here. June loves school: his teacher, his classmates, the work. The only thing that is different and harder is the bus and the bus stop!! The bus ride is about 25-35 minutes and June had been coming off the bus grumpy and feeling car sick. Waiting for the bus had proven stressful too... Josh and Eliz would run around and I was constantly "No Josh" this and "Stay here, Elizabeth" that. I would come home from the bus stop with a grump of a June and completely stressed from corralling Josh and Elizabeth. Over this week and the next I tried various methods: kids in strollers, kids walking, kids with bubbles to distract, one kid in the Beco carrier and so on and so forth. My blood boiled regardless of circumstance. But it's small in the big scheme of things. So...
Week 2 - The Sunday before this week, June got a fever. I kept him home Monday... fever free all day. I sent him Tuesday and he came home at 4:00 with a 102* fever. I kept him home Wednesday, no fever all day. He went Thursday and Friday, no problem. It ended up being a good week though. A fever was the only symptom and he was a happy camper, so it was just a little bit of extra time with June. :) We did extra crafts and the others got more time with him too. Not a bad thing.
Week 3 - Beach week. This week was spent at OC, NJ and was quite relaxing. I already blogged it here if you want more details. We went home Thursday night and, um, tried to get June off to school on the bus Friday morning. He dug in his heels and wouldn't get on the bus. Jim drove him to school and, while June did go into the school, he was less than happy about it. He told me after school that Mrs. B walked with him in the morning and talked to him. She seems like such a sweet teacher and I'm glad she helped him out when he needed it. He has been hit with a massive wave of "I miss mommy." I will miss this when he's big and can do whatever without me.
Week 4 - Change. The transition at home feels complete. Josh and Elizabeth pal around amazingly well (most of the time). They play outside and play school and dress-up and are good buddies. They relied on June for much of their guidance in play through the Summer, but they mix well now without him. The day goes fairly easy. I instituted Elizabeth nap-time again. I just can't go all day with Josh and Eliz, and quite frankly, she needs it! So I lay her down and she has to stay still and I will sit outside her door. I sit there for a few minutes while she nods off. I tend to get a solid 2 hours from her. Sweet!!! YAY for returning naps!
June, however is a different story. I armed him with a family photo to tuck inside his desk (per his teacher's recommendation) and he has taken to wearing my necklace. Whatever works. We switched to driving him to and from school also because A. His ride is so so long and B. He needs the little bit of extra support that driving him provides. June is an ice cube and if pushed, freezes. If allowed to melt, thrives. So our routine changed to getting all the kids in the car at 8:35 and driving to school and loading in again at 3:20 to pick him up.
Honestly, I don't mind this switch because:
1. It means a much happier June. He is happy about school and loves school and has no ill will towards school. He bounds in the car at 3:30 happy as a clam.
2. No car sickness.
3. No bus stop antics. I loved the bus stop because I got to catch up with a few neighborhood friends. This year, with older and busier and nuttier kids, it was nothing but stressful and in a situation like that I feel like I am on showcase. I'm the lady with "all" the kids and I feel like it's a snippet of my life with 4 littles. It's not. It's too restrictive... my kids need to be kids!! It's keeping them off someone else's property, off some else's tree, yet out of the street too. The stroller is too boring, my Beco carrier "hurts" them... the list goes on. It's too limiting for them and it's stressful for me. I can easily plop them in the car, drive to school, pick up June in the car line, and drive home without any stress. The only downside is that Emily's nap gets cut short. She usually only gets and hour or 2 in the afternoon and it's not enough. She's not a happy camper stretching from 3:15-6:30. Buuuut, everything else is working so for now, her nap is shorter in the afternoon. Poor fourth.
Everything else is going well. The weather was pretty gorgeous this month! We did lots of park jaunts and enjoyed the fresh air while we could. Not a bad month at all. In October we have Josh birthday planning, pumpkin patch visiting, and Halloween events. Josh is turning 5 in exactly a month, say what?!, and Emily will be 10 months in 2 days. Time just keeps ticking!!
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