week ending sept 6, 2009

Week ending September 6, 2009: The kids and I survived their 1st full week of Kindergarten. In fact none of us even cried. Chloe told me that a couple kids in their class have cried during the week because they miss their moms, but Alex and Chloe have been ok. When she said that a girl had cried, I asked Chloe if she had given the girl a hug. Chloe said “There are rules, Mom. ‘Stay in your seat, no talking, no touching’.” She repeated it rapid-fire, like a mantra that they’d heard over and over. So far all the things that the kids have said about their teacher sound like good things. She seems to be encouraging and upbeat. One problem though is that she has trouble remembering Chloe’s name and calls her “Cleo” instead. Chloe let it slip that the teacher was joking and said she’d remember Chloe’s name if Chloe would remember to follow the rules. Oh? And what rule have you been breaking? Turns out it was the “no talking” rule. Go figure! Both kids really like gym class and they have been showing off their muscles to me. On the first day that the whole class came to school at the same time, Alex was happy to learn that one of his friends from preschool is in the class. It is harder to get Alex’s impression of school because he doesn’t volunteer to talk about it. One day I asked him “what was one good thing that happened today?” He said “I didn’t get kicked”. He wasn’t being sarcastic or displaying an early version of dry humor, he was really grateful that he didn’t get kicked that day because the day before someone kicked him. I guess it pays to be thankful for the little things!

The kids were pretty tired in the mornings and if I didn’t keep an eye on them I’d find them lying down on the rug instead of getting ready, but they cooperate as long as I am on top of them. One morning Alex seemed so tired he was almost like a zombie. I’d find him just staring at the wall, and then I’d say “put your shirt on” and he’d pull it over his head and stare at the wall again, and then I’d say “put your arms through the holes… now the other arm”. Fortunately I’m NOT trying to get myself ready at the same time, so I can just stand between the two of them and bark orders.

Which leads me to the question everyone seems to ask, “What do you DO all day while the kids are at school?”. As soon as the bus leaves, I jog for about 10 minutes (which is actually longer than my stamina right now and I have to walk part of it), then I do some more exercise at home, shower, do dishes and laundry, run errands, work toward catching up on housework, and I’ve been doing a lot of cooking. So far I’ve made soy sauce chicken, turkey pot pie, pumpkin pie, sausage rolls, and homemade bread.