School Days x Three!

Since the boys started attending the Early Intervention Playgroup one day a week, Monday means that three kids go to school for the afternoon!  As I packed their backpacks last week, I thought about how that day was the first of many more days of sending three kids off to school.  It's amazing to think that they were just little babies, and now they are heading off to school.  It's daunting, too.  Did I prepare them the right way?  Did I teach them enough about manners, waiting your turn, or saying please?  Will they be scared?  Will they know how to ask for help when they need it?  Will they miss me (at least a little, I hope)?  As a teacher, I want to feel that they are happy at school and that they view school as a positive experience and a safe and fun place.  I want them to listen to their teachers, make friends, and be kind.  I want them to come home brimming with stories to tell me about their days, and I want all of this to happen in slow motion so that they don't grow up too soon. 

So far, the boys have done really well!  They like school and get excited to go. In fact, they ask to go every single day and get upset when Mairead gets to go but they don't.  When I pick them up, I get to see them sit for circle time and participate with the other kids.  And, let's be honest, the two hours to myself once a week are not bad either.  Strange and a little too quiet, but not bad!

Mairead is still happy to go to school.  Once in a while, there are a few protests in the morning but as soon as she sees the bus, she is excited and ready to go.  She loves taking the yellow bus home and tells me that she has fun at school.  She is so proud to show me drawings or projects she has done, and she even mentions a few little friends by name.  It's early in the year, I know, but already things are going SO much better than last year.  She has made such great progress and we hope that she just keeps amazing us!

The More We Get Together

You'll have to turn the volume up for this because she was very quiet, but this is Mairead singing, "The More We Get Together."  I was so happy and so proud when she sang it for me.  This is a child who, six months ago, could not tell me one thing that she did at school.  The other day, I asked her what she did at school and she told me "I do singing."  I asked, "Oh, did you sing "Skiddamarink?" She said, "Nope!", then got up and sang this entire song, complete with hand gestures.  She toned it down a bit when I turned on the camera, but she still did an amazing job.  These are the moments when I remember to look at how far she has come, and now how far she has yet to go.  So proud of this kid!

Soccer Begins and a perfect tee

This morning, Mairead had her first soccer game of the season.  She did SO much better at this game than she had in the past.  As in, she stayed at the field complex for the entire time without running away.  The first 30 minutes are for practice and the last 30 are for a game.  She LOVED the practice.  She waited her turn, dribbled the ball, shot on goal, and listened to her coach.  She was excited to play with the other kids and was having a great time.

Once the game started, though, she had a hard time.  The noise of all the parents cheering, the whistle, and the chaos of 20 four year olds kicking one ball was a little much.  She did sit on the sidelines with us and cheer on her team, though.  Her team is The Sharks so I told her she could yell, "Go Sharks!"  She shouted, "Go Sharks!  Go Dolphins!"  No idea where the dolphins came from, but she thought it was fun!

Her coach did a great job with the kids and made sure they all had fun with the game.

This kid, Calvin, is a superstar.  He is seriously amazing- incredible natural talent.  And, he is super cute, too.

Since I took Mairead's picture on the first day of school, she now expects me to take her picture every day before the bus comes.  I was happy to take this one since this t-shirt is pretty much perfect for her.  It says, "Everyone loves me just the way I am."  And it's true... we do!

First Day of School

Yesterday was a big day for Mairead- her first day of school!  She was excited to go and was all smiles while getting ready.  She is in the same class she was in last year, and even has the same teacher.  She loves Mrs. M, and we know that she is in good hands with her.  She practically ran to the car and was jumping up and down like a nut when Mrs. M came to the door.  It was so great to see her excited about school!  She had a lot of anxiety about going in last year, and that seems to be gone (knock on wood).  And, as a teacher, I love to see my kid excited about school!

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Now, I have to I brag about her for a minute. I feel like I haven't done it in a while! We were waiting outside for her teacher and she was running around with another little girl. They both started peeking through the glass doors and saw some older kids walk by. The little girl said, "Those are big graders" (so freaking cute). Mairead said, "Big graders? What's big graders?" I said, "those are older kids. They are 8." She said, "Oh, I am four." The little girl said, "Me, too!" Mairead said, "Me three!"

Can I just point out what happened here? 1- she did NOT freak out about going to school. 2- she asked a logical question as a follow up to something another child said. 3- she had a (sort of) back and forth conversation with another child her own age. Halle-freakin-lujah! I can't even tell you how huge this is.

THEN- I go to pick her up and we ran into a friend of mine, whom Mairead has never met. The friend said, "Hi Mairead. How was school?" Mairead looked up at her and said, "Good." Cue me falling over in disbelief. I was so proud and happy. These are little things and may not seem important since other kids do this every day, but to me? These are little miracles all happening at one time.

THEN- my dad comes home from work and asks what she did at school. SHE TOLD HIM. She told him 3-4 things that she did at school. This has NEVER happened before.

She just had a banner day today. She was so "on." There are some days that I feel so disconnected from her, like we are on two different planes (the spatial ones, not the ones that fly), but today, she was really "there," you know? It was awesome.  Here's hoping I see more of the kid I saw today, especially since she starts taking the bus tomorrow!

She has been doing other great things, too.  She is always trying to help me around the house, saying, "I can help you!" about whatever it is I am doing.  She has been talking so much more, and it seems easier for her, too.  Today, she came downstairs and said, "I peed, then I washed my hands and dry them.  Then, I brush my teeth and have the cup and spit it out!"  It's great to see her gaining independence, and to hear her tell me about what she can do!

I hope that the rest of the school year goes as well as her first two days did!

Salem Willows

On Monday, Dave stayed home to clean up after Hurricane Irene while my mom, the kids and I headed to Salem Willows to meet up with Katie and Lily.  My dad works near the park and my parents used to take us there when we were little.  We would visit my dad's office and then hang out at the park to play arcade games and go on the kiddie rides.  Now, my dad's four grandchildren enjoyed those same games and rides and then visited Grampy at the courthouse.

The boys loved the games where they could throw things.  This one had real basketballs and you could keep shooting over and over, as long as you had lots of quarters.  Jack was insisting on "more quarters?  More quarters, Mommy?"

The rides included the flying horses, some cars, and these boats.  These are cell phone pictures so I apologize for the quality.  Katie and I both ended up with dead camera batteries that day!  Mairead loved taking her brothers for a little boat ride!

While we were waiting for our lunch, Jack was exploring and came running, yelling, "I found Bob the Builder!  I found it!"  He was SO excited about his discovery and he was so proud to go in the truck.  He kept that serious expression throughout all the rides, though.  On one ride, the cars had very loud and very annoying horns.  The kids behind Jack and Ben pressed them incessantly so Jack kept turning around with a very stern, "Stop that.  Stop that now!"

The kids are getting better about holding hands while we are out.  It sometimes involves Mairead dragging a boy by the arm, but they are getting the idea.

The grandchildren, from oldest to youngest!

A warning- if you see my children playing skee ball, stand at least 15 feet away.  They loved it, but their aim is not so great, so skee balls were flying and rolling everywhere!  They had a great time, though.  Little known fact- my mom is a skee ball all star... they will have to take some lessons!

This is a picture of which Mairead was VERY proud, so she asked me to take a picture of it.  Not bad, right?

And now for something that makes me a little sad.  I took Mairead for a 'back to school haircut' the other day.  This is the 'before.'  It was so long that it was always snarly, it took forever to shampoo, and it always looked messy.

This is the 'after.'  Not a great picture of her, but you get the idea.  I am SO sad about it and totally regret my decision to cut it so short.  I thought it would look neater and be more manageable, but I just don't think it looks like 'her,' you know?  Her hair grows quickly so I hope it is long again soon... I miss those long locks and want them back!

This is the outfit she wore to the 'Meet the Teacher' open house at her preschool.  She had already met the teacher since is the same one from last year.  Pre-K is for four year olds and for 3 year olds on IEPs, so Mairead will be joined by a whole new group of 4 year olds this year.  She was nervous about going in, but was SO happy to see Mrs. M.  She ran to her and jumped up and down.  She was able to show me all the important parts of the classroom and spent some time playing and coloring.  I am nervous about the school year and about how everything will go for her.  We still don't have the IEP that she really needs, so we will have to keep fighting for that.  And, I know there will be a lot of challenges for Mairead, even though she will be in a familiar classroom.  She has a lot of anxiety about going to school and transitions are tough for her.  And this year, she will be taking the bus to and from school, which will probably be a source of stress at the beginning.  I am home, of course, and could drive her, but I just don't think it's fair to the boys to have to load them up and have them sit there while I take her, and then I would have to wake them from their naps to go pick her up.  I have to do what is best for all of the kids, not just for one, and the bus seems the best option.  Hopefully, it will work out well for her.

The boys will be going to 'school' soon, too!  We were lucky enough to find them spots in a child-only playgroup at the Anne Sullivan Early Intervention Center where Mairead went and from whom all three kids received EI services.  The boys will be the 'community children' who provide typical models for the other kids in the group.  I am anxious about that, too, since the group meets from 1-3 and that is naptime for us.  My guys are serious nappers and need one every day, so I hope they are not too cranky in that time period.  I want them to have a good experience!

What this means for me is that on Mondays from 1-3 pm, I am totally on my own.  No kids.  For two hours.  Whatever shall I do with my time???

Cute story about Jack--The other day, Mairead threw a ball and it hit Jack on his bum. He said, 'Mommy, my tail hurts.' Then he told me when I tried to leave the room, "Don't leave me, Mommy. I not a big boy yet."

I am trying to teach the boys how to respond to "How old are you?". So far, I can get Jack to say, "I two," but then Ben jumps in with, "I three!"

I hope that everyone is doing well with back to school- so many of you are teachers and/or parents.  It's an exciting time for us, but a stressful time, too!  This year is especially stressful since Dave does not yet have a job offer.  We have a few things going that have our hopes up, so maybe we will have good news soon.  Please keep sending us those good thoughts and prayers!

A little late, but Happy Birthday, Rachael!

The kids called their cousin, Rachael, to wish her a happy birthday last weekend (on the day we all experienced a rare New England hurricane!) but they are pretty quiet on the phone, so here are some video birthday wishes!  Hope you had a great day, Rachael, and we hope to celebrate with you soon!

Just Four Fun

For a little while last weekend we found out what it is like to have four kids under five.  Katie and Steve took a trip to Niagra Falls so Lily stayed with us for a few days.  It was definitely interesting to watch the dynamic amongst a new four year old, two two year olds, and a 20 month old.  Mostly, the kids got along great, especially at the playground!

There were a few 'disagreements' over toys, especially since Jack and Ben can be very possessive of their toys, and since Lily is a toddler sized hoarder.  At one point, Ben told me that Lily "need to go to time out," and then later told her to "go away, Lily!"  But then as soon as Lily left, Ben was the one asking where she was, and "go see Lily?"  Mairead loves having Lily around and lately has really been trying to fulfill her job as big sister.  She always wants to help me with the boys and tries to corral them when they run off.  This may or may not involve an arm around their necks, but she tries.  She is also really into helping with housework.  She loves it if I give her a sponge and let her clean.  The other day, in fact, my mother asked her if she wanted to go in the yard and she replied, "I can't go in the yard.  I have to clean."  Well, ok then!

Today, we watched as Hurricane Irene moved through the area with heavy rain and winds.  Luckily, the storm was not too bad around here and there was minimal damage.  We never lost power and everyone is safe.  The kids even handled a whole day inside much better than I expected!

While the kids were napping today, I was able to work on sorting and tagging items to be sold at the tag sale organized by my Mothers of Multiples group.  According to Facebook, lots of other MoMs were doing the same thing-- there will be tons of stuff to buy!  If you want to check it out, the event is on Saturday, September 24th from 10-1.  You can visit this link for more details.  Definitely worth a look... and a 'like' on Facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/groups/nvmomfriends/#!/BestEverythingKidsSale