So another week of school is almost gone. Grace is doing very well. Everyday when they are a few minutes early, they do table work. We can drop them off between 11:45 and 12, but before 12 they have tablework. Already Grace tells me she does not like this. Ha! Already not wanting to do homework! But it’s usually a picture to color, and her name to trace. I love that the teacher does this, so Grace can start working on learning to write her name.

She’s also started teaching them about baby strokes, mommy strokes and daddy strokes when coloring and writing. They start their reading program tomorrow and I’m excited to see how that goes. The teacher is having us fill out a form with the names/authors of all the books we read. Of course, these days all we read is Harold and the Purple Crayon. Both girls love it.

Cate had her first drop-off day yesterday and it went surprisingly well, with no tears. I think I assumed there would be tons of anxiety (from both of us, not just her). But I steeled myself up early telling myself I would take a “okay, have fun. Be here to pick you up after” kind of approach. Very upbeat and short.  And that is exactly how our goodbye went. And when I came back after to pick her up, she was NOT the one crying. (By that I mean another girl was wailing as soon as she saw her mother). Cate was just full of stuff they had done and was very excited to show Grace her drawings and whatnot.

Cates’ class is very small but I really think that is a good thing. She’ll get more individual attention and get less overwhelmed by a big crowd.

Both girls are doing awesome all-around. Me? Not doing so well with the drive. And I have no idea how we’ll continue this spring, yet I really don’t want to keep up this schedule once the baby is born. However, one of the things we’ve been discussing in terms of Graces’ stress levels is keeping things the same as much as possible over the next year. That includes school. So most likely I’ll just suck it up and continue.

But, one thing I did do differently yesterday, as opposed to the other days, was drive Cate home during Graces’ school time.. so she could nap there. Otherwise I’d been driving around trying to get her to nap or running errands but then I end up having to sit in the car while she naps. Which is making me extremely tired. So yesterday I just drove home, realizing that if I was going to drive around to get her to sleep I might as well drive home and let her sleep there. She slept longer yesterday than she typically does in the car and I still made it back by 2:30 to pick Grace up (I have to pick her up between 2:30 and 2:45). Plus I had 1.5 hours to have lunch in peace and I could have napped if I wanted. Though between you and me, internet, 1.5 hour naps do nothing for me but make me want another 1.5 hours.

Anyhow, all in all, huge success. I can’t wait to see how things progress over the new few months of the girls being in school, making new friends, and learning new things!

So we had Cate’s first day yesterday. Grace started on Monday and loved it. Although she was nervous beforehand and actually decided she didn’t want to go, when we got there she was more than ready to say “bye bye!”

I’m glad Cates’ first day was a parent-attended class. She was very shy and nervous. She didn’t play with any other kids and she dragged my hand “Come on mommy!” everywhere. But she did pretty good with things like saying please and thank you, and whatnot.

There will be issues though, I know of. One is that the teacher has a piano. And Cate is weirdly into pianos. So much so that I bet she ends up taking lessons one day. Another is that this teacher has them line up when going to play and then back into the classroom and Cate just doesn’t get this concept. However, that is what school is for! I’m sure she’ll do great. I’m trying to explain in a non-scary way that next week she’ll have school again but mommy won’t get to stay.

She’s growing up so fast. She’s does things that Grace has still never done, like saying ‘I love you” without being prompted. Choosing things when there is a choice (with Grace I always had to choose for her, but with Cate it’s “um, this one”.. ). And she is much more apt to help clean up after hersef. Still with prodding.. but much more likely to help than Grace..

Anyway, so far good thing. We will see how next week goes with the drop off.

I keep intending to post more. But then a week or two goes by and I’m like.. wow.. there goes that intention.

So today, September 14th.. Grace started pre-k. She was in preschool awhile back, some of you may remember. But when I could no longer bring in enough money selling blood and plasma we had to pull her out (joke). And after we decided on our long-term goal, we realized that if we put $600 or so towards preschool every month (and yes, on average it can cost that much here. If it’s less than that, there is most likely a long waiting list), that this meant probably not having her in preschool at all until we achieved that, um, goal. When the goal got pushed back until next summer we knew something had to give.

So I went back to an original preschool I had scouted way back in the beginning, when Grace was Cates’ age. It’s a home-based preschool and it’s very affordable. But I really loved how the teacher interacted with the kids and her program. However, at about the time Grace started there we moved to Sunnyvale and it became just too far.

So we pulled her out. And said goodbye ridiculously cheap tuition and hello ridiculously expensive tuition (that was really equally far away after you figured in traffic).

I took a chance that she was still running the school and emailed her and Yeah! She was still running and Yeah! They had programs for both Grace and Cate and Yeah! They had room and Yeah! We could afford it!! When I met up with her to discuss the programs for Pre-k and for Cate.. I loved everything she had to say. She had references from parents who claimed their kiddos could read after pre-k with Mrs. D. People who had their younger kids in the program now because Mrs. D was so amazing. So I really wanted to do it. But there were downsides..

A) The pre-k program is afternoon. from 12 to 2:30. Cate is still napping. which wouldn’t be a big deal but

B) it’s too far away to come home and have enough time for Cate to take a nap and get back in time to pick Grace up on time.

So I hemmed and hawed and sat on the fence for a LOONG time. Finally, a few weeks ago I wrote her and asked if she still had the spots because I was ready to commit. For real this time. like with a check and everything. Luckily she understood, and luckily she still had spots.

So Grace started today and Cate starts on Wednesday. Graces’ is 3 days a week, Cates’ just once a week, on Wednesdays. I’m really excited, because already the parents I’ve met, some are second-time parents with the pre-k and all just raved about it. Saying She didn’t know how Mrs. D did it, but she got her older daughter to read.

In any case, as hard as the schedule will be (and I’m honestly not sure at all how it will be accomplished once the baby is born) I’m excited. It’s just for the year because next year, Grace will be in kindergarten and we’ll hopefully have achieved our “goal”. But it makes me feel good knowing that I’m not going to have Grace wasting away here at home all year while mommy is just too tired to do much. We haven’t even been reading as much *blush*…

And of course, having the 9 other giggly girls in class is a bonus. I think Grace is more excited about that than anything else. She has been bouncing around too much for me to take good pictures.. so I don’t have much to show. Plus she wouldn’t let me get her dressed up anyway. Maybe Cate will let me dress her up a bit on Wednesday.

Oh! And Grace starts soccer on Wednesday. She’ll have soccer practice on Wed. afternoons and “games” on Saturday morning ( I use that term loosely because I can’t imagine how organized they can get at 3/4/5 years old but maybe they’ll surprise me). I’m really excited about that. More than Grace I think. She is going to be with 3 of her very best friends too, which is great because that means I’ll get some time with their mommies, who are some of my best friends. Since the kids are in different schools and different schedules now, the promise of time every week with my wonderful friends is an awesome thing!

So we settled in and are continuing to get unpacked… Lots of “projects” for Chris.. slowly getting done since he’s also busy at work and at work (haha, both jobs). I had a birthday, and am now 31. But thats cool. I don’t feel like it so I suppose that’s all that matters.

My birthday gift is coming up in two weekends. I’m getting to go stay in a beach house, donated by a friend.. by myself! I have never been there but Chris and the girls have. I’m apparently going to have a great weekend. I still need to make an appointment for a pedicure and a facial while I’m there but I’ve been lazy since my phone doesn’t seem to work that well from here. But I am going to take a couple books, and a beach chair.. and a hat. I’m really looking forward to it. That is coming up on the 18th, in Capitola (which is very near Santa Cruz).

So I’m just shy of 11 weeks pregnant. So far I’m just really really tired. And still having morning sickness. Though that at least does seem to be going away slightly.

They’ve already scheduled me for the ‘big’ anatomy ultrasound on October 27th. Kaiser is definitely efficient, if nothing else. I’m really unhappy for the most part with our health care. I know it’s cheaper and the care is still very good care. But I’m really tired of seeing a different doctor every time because my main doctor is in and out of the office constantly.  And the lack of communication is terrible. They signed me up for the new moms orientation, despite the fact that this is my 3rd child. When I brought this up, they said “no, it’s mandatory”. Okay fine, so I go. Waste more than 2 hours (that Chris had to stay home from work for) only to have the lady running it tell me “Oh I have another class you could have come to, for experienced moms that is just for paperwork.”

Nice. I miss my old OB/Gyn. The worst thing, for me.. is that I now have a great chance of having to have a man deliver this baby. I am VERY uncomfortable with male doctors. Call me old-fashioned, call me sexist, whatever. I don’t care. It doesn’t change my opinion. And for me, the worst thing will be NOT knowing ahead of time. Going into labor, getting to the hospital and hearing “Hi! I’m Dr. Man and I’m going to deliver your baby!”  I am greatly hoping to be induced again, mostly so that I can make plans to have a grandma here to help with the girls while we’re at the hospital. I don’t know much about how Kaiser does it but I’m also hoping we can time it so MY doctor (you know, the one I haven’t even met yet) can be the one to deliver. Or at least one of the other million doctors I’ve already met.

When we switched to Kaiser, we weren’t planning on having anymore kids. At least not here in California. So everyone I know who’s delivered in Kaiser has had great experiences apparently. So maybe it’s just too early to tell. But having one doctor very mistakenly write down (and subsequently believe) that I was between 4 and 5 weeks at my first ultrasound (even though she TOLD me between 5 and 6 weeks) and then having another ultrasound only 5 days later and measuring at 6weeks, 5 days with another doctor.. then BACK to the original space cadet doctor. When I TOLD her that the previous ultrasound, more than two weeks before, showed an embryo measuring 6weeks and 5 days she said “so we should see you measuring at about 7 weeks.”. huh?

Then of course, she didn’t seem surprised at all by the fact that I was measuring 9weeks 2 days.

Very frustrating.

Oh well.

So otherwise not much going on. The girls still have a whole week before they start school but Grace did get invited to a tea party to get all the kids together to meet before the actual start of school. Grace is SO excited! I am too. I know this is going to be a good year for her!