School's Out For Summer...Sorta!

Paprika's preschool class ended last week, and it was a whirlwind of activity. The parent's night out dinner, the afternoon potluck, and a bunch of other events escaping my mind at the moment. All I know is, we were busy. And now there is a bit of a lull.

But I know this is the calm before the storm! Mr. Mustard went back to work on Monday working on a TV show (Top Gear). So, it's just me and the girls.

I thought we were going to have a laid back summer...but then I started signing Paprika up for things and before I knew it, we have more to do this summer than ever.

Paprika has piano class for two more weeks. Then she's starting daily swim lessons for nine weeks. I probably should have tried one week first, but those lessons fill up fast, and darn it, I want her to really learn to swim! She is also doing a summer session at her current preschool, which will be fun for her.

And, then she has her weekly occupational therapy session with a pediatric feeding specialist here at our house. Progress with that has been going soooo slowly - but today the OT made some changes to her treatment plan, which I think will be awesome, ultimately. In the meantime, they are going to be hard changes for Paprika to swallow (no pun intended!)...and will likely take a lot of work (on my part!) to implement.

We are still figuring out what school she'll be attending next year. She is on the waiting list at a private school near us...with very little hope of getting in (we applied too late). She has a spot at her current preschool for next year if she wants it (basically, a repeat of this year). We love her preschool, but wonder if it will give her everything she needs. She can do the Developmental Kindergarten program that she was accepted into...but it's going to be almost all boys (about 17 boys and 3 girls in the class). Or, she can just do regular Kindergarten, which probably isn't the best idea either. And then there's even the thought of homeschooling or hiring a private tutor...but that seems overwhelming to me, especially with Pavenzia's upcoming delivery. We have options but none of them seem quite right. What to do?

Decisions, decisions. I know we have two months to decide what to do for the Fall...but time really does fly. So, we'd better figure it out sooner rather than later. Who knew this whole kindergarten decision process would be so tough?

This And That!

I am having a hard time believing that two weeks from today, this little girl will be two years old! I would like to say that I've planned her party...but that couldn't be further from the truth! That is definitely the next thing on my to-do list!



Since Mr. Mustard is home now on hiatus, we have been busier than ever. I am so exhausted most days, I just want to stay home with the girls and let them play in the backyard. Mr. Mustard wants to go-go-go hither and yon. So, it's a little bit of a push/pull between us, and I think that's good. He gets us out doing stuff, and I let us stay home and rest sometimes, too! ;-)



We've been out to dinner a few times with the girls and to the park almost every day to feed the ducks and play on the playground. We've had lots of playdates with Paprika's friends, and lots of end-of-the year activities with Paprika's preschool. Not to mention, trips to the library, to the pet store (remind me to tell you about our goldfish saga)...oh yes, and Disneyland! On top of that, Paprika has piano lessons (we switched her to a less rowdy piano class and that's going well), as well as her weekly Occupational Therapy.

So, if we don't make the time to decompress, it just doesn't happen! Some days I am so busy, I almost forget I'm pregnant. ;-)



Speaking of that, I got the results back from my AFP test on Friday. Everything looks great. Yay!

I scheduled my ultrasound with the perinatologist for two weeks from now. I'll be 19 weeks, so it's a good time for them to really take a look at everything and see if the baby is growing normally (hopefully so).

We are having a bit of a hard time finding childcare for Paprika and Ginger that day- the appointment is at 1:30 on a Thursday- a time nearly impossible for us to find a sitter. So, I think I might be going to that appointment by myself. Our perinatologist's office specifically does not allow children under the age of 12, so even if we wanted Paprika and Ginger to come, we couldn't have them there.

Mr. Mustard hasn't been able to come to any of my doctor's appointments thus far this pregnancy (he's been home watching the girls)- and this appointment is probably the most important. So...I am just a little sad he won't be there. Hopefully everything will be fine at the appointment because it would really be awful to get bad news without him by my side. Usually if you're going to get bad news, it's at this appointment with the perinatologist.

I will get over him not being there. I just need to put on my big girl panties about it!



On Friday, I visited the elementary school Paprika will go to next year and sat in on a class. I had specifically asked to see the Developmental Kindergarten (DK) and the regular Kindergarten classes, but when I showed up they said I was only allowed to see the DK. I was particularly annoyed because it had taken four phonecalls to the principal to even get the appointment to come in for the observation, and the school admin staff was pretty darn rude to me when I showed up to the school.

Anyhoo- I was just a little bit disappointed in the whole school visit. Besides being near the beach, the biggest reason we moved to this area was because our school district is known for being phenomenal. Our district was ranked #6 in the nation last year, and so we felt like the astronomical housing prices were worth it because we wouldn't have to worry about private school.

Well, now I am just not sold on the school system. Paprika will probably be fine... it's just that when a child has some special needs, you want to know that the school will be able to handle them. And right now, I am not feeling very confident about that!



So, that's what's happening here. Busy, busy, busy. I am going to enjoy these last two weeks of my baby being ONE year old! Do you think I could freeze time if I tried?

One Size Doesn't Fit All!

I have been so worried about Paprika since she started Pre-K a few weeks ago. Our happy, outgoing little girl has always loved school, all of a sudden she wanted nothing to do with it!

She didn't want to participate in the activities (just wanted to go off and read by herself in a corner). She would cry before school and after school. She didn't want us to leave her. She yawned at school and would put her head down on the table. She didn't want to make friends with the other kids and would constantly ask if we could just go home.

It was really stressing me out. My mind started reeling and wondering what was wrong...and goodness knows, my mind can jump to some very dramatic places! I wondered if she would ever be able to function in a traditional school setting. As I said, sometimes I can really over-react! ;-)

Well, after really thinking about it, and knowing Paprika after spending every day for the past four years with her, I figured out what the problem is.

First of all, her class had 22 four year old kids and one teacher. The class was loud, rambunctious, and felt disorganized. Chaotic!

Second, her class started at 9am, which for most kids her age would be fine. But Paprika wakes up at 9:30, so we were having to wake her up 90 minutes early. Since she doesn't take a nap, she was missing out on precious sleep. Even when we put her to bed earlier, she still wanted to linger in the morning. She takes a little while to wake up (sounds like someone else I know - me!).

Third, the classroom itself was very small and the whole school was dark and gated with chain link fences everywhere. It didn't have an "open" feeling - which I guess wouldn't have made a huge difference, but coupled with the other issues it was just the icing on the proverbial cake. I guess some would call it feng shui...it just did not feel welcoming.

The early morning start time, coupled with the loud classroom, and the number of kids- it was just too overwhelming for her. She was just shutting down in class. It was even overwhelming for me. I had been sending Mr. Mustard to school on our work days because I just really did not want to be there either. As I said, Chaotic!

Long story short, I found a new program for Paprika. It has a later start time, and there are only 8 kids in the class, including Paprika. 4 girls and 4 boys! The classroom is large and open. There is free access to a playground and sand box. I took her over there earlier today and it was like all of a sudden, I had a different child again.

I had my old Paprika back - the one who loved school, was outgoing, and made friends easily! Within 5 minutes, she had made three friends and was organizing everyone to build a city in the sandbox. She saw a little girl who was acting shy, and she made a point to go over and ask her if she wanted to play with the group!

It was like night and day. Ah-may-zing!

Mr. Mustard said, "That's well and good, but what happens when she goes to Kindergarten next year?"

Well, we have the option of doing afternoon kindergarten, which in our school district is much less desired by parents (due to child care issues)- so there are fewer kids and it's more relaxed. Plus, the late start time would help a lot.

Then at First Grade, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. That's two years away, and a lot can change in two years!

I am just so glad that I listened to my instincts and to the needs of my child and realized why something was not working for her, and took the steps to address it!

I also understand many of the issues going on with Paprika because they are issues I have faced myself. I mean, I was the person in law school who had to wear earplugs to study in the library because it was too loud for me to concentrate! (And if you've ever been to a Law Library, you know it's so quiet that you can hear people turning the pages of their books). So, compared to me, her issues are pretty mild! Haha!

I just want Paprika to know that whatever she needs, we are there to help her. It is so important that she feels safe, comfortable, and happy in her learning environment, and if we have to go to the ends of the Earth to meet her needs, we will! But thankfully, it looks like a simple change of setting is all it took to do the trick! Yay!!!!

Autumn Changes!

This past week it has really started to feel like Fall. Paprika cannot stop talking about Halloween. Our neighborhood does a big thing for Halloween- every one really goes all out decorating their houses, there is a huge block party, and over a thousand kids come to trick or treat. Seriously.

Many of our neighbors have already decorated their houses. One of our neighbors usually starts decorating his house in June. Yes, June. This year, he waited til Labor Day! He has a storage unit devoted to his Halloween decorations. Now, that's dedication!

All the decorating going on the neighborhood has Paprika really excited about Halloween. All she can talk about is Halloween, trick-or-treating, and costumes. Every day, she says, "Is it Halloween yet? Can we go trick-or-treating tonight?" We've still got six weeks to go!

She's been practicing trick-or-treating in the backyard with the flowers:



And we've been doing Halloween-themed crafts during Ginger's naptime:



I've got to think of more Halloween crafts for us to do. I hadn't anticipated we'd start this early!



We let the last of the butterflies go last night. The girls had so much fun setting them free. We have seen quite a few butterflies flying around our yard this past week, so I think they are sticking around. It makes me smile!



We were able to let all of the butterflies go except for one. She has a broken wing, and so we're keeping her in our little net and feeding her. Even though she can't fly, she seems pretty happy in there.



In between crafting, chasing butterflies, and playing in the backyard, we've been meeting up for playdates with friends. Yesterday we went to the park with some of Paprika's friends.



Ginger loved the park as much as Paprika, and was having the time of her life! She rode down the slide by herself, had a great time in the swings, played in the sand, and last but not least...got pushed on the train by Paprika!



Today was Paprika's first morning at Pre-K. She did GREAT! Today is a big day for us all. DWTS premiers tonight. I am so excited to see all the work Mr. Mustard has put into the show. I am so proud of him, and I am really looking forward to seeing the show! :-)

First Day of Pre-K!

Today, Paprika had her first morning of Pre-K. I thought we had to be at school by 8:30, so I started waking her up at 8, with her breakfast and clothes already laid out for her. Big mistake! She did not want to wake up at all, and kept pulling the covers over her head. By the time she got out of bed, we were already running late!

The picture above was taken as she was eating breakfast. We were trying to get "first day of school" pics- but she was not in the mood and said, "No pictures please!" You can see she's a sleepy head. But she soon woke up and was really excited to go to school.

By the time we got her dressed and out the door, it was 8:45 and we were already 15 minutes late...or so I thought. Turns out we didn't have to be there til 9 today, so we showed up 10 mintues early! (The school is 5 minutes from our house).

Mr. Mustard has the day off today, so he stayed home with Ginger while I spent the whole time at school with Paprika. Hopefully the schedule will work out so that he can be home with Ginger one morning a week while I "work" at the school. That's the plan, anyway!



Today's class was small (4 kids)- it was just an "intro day"- next week it will be the whole class of 25 kids (there are 5 parents and 2 teachers in the class at all times, so it's a pretty good ratio). We will see how she likes it- and hopefully she will. If today's class was any indication, she is going to love it. :-)

We read stories, did two crafts, made homemade butter, sang songs, played outside, and had snack together! All by 11:30am! :-)