First Day of School (sort of)

I say first day of school "sort of" b/c today we went to Moira's preschool for orientation for 1 hour. I stayed with her the whole time. Also, she went to an in-home nursery school last year, so I guess technically that was her first day of school. She starts on her own next week. She is going to preschool right down the street, literally 2 blocks away, so it's super convenient. It's also known around town for having a very strong program. Moi missed the "official" preschool age deadline by 6 days, the cutoff is October 1st. I tried to get her in the regular program but they are strict with it. The program she is in is called a 2.5 year old program. I think it will work out well. I was initially a little worried b/c she would probably be the oldest and I didn't want her to regress in anything by being around younger kids a lot. However, meeting the other kids today, they all seemed about the same age. Many of them have December birthdays. They did call her "the little red headed angel" b/c she is already potty trained (the only one)! Of course watch, she'll have an accident of the first day. I think it will be a really nice program. It's structured, but also there is a lot of free play involved. I think that's really great for this age. She'll have 3 years of preschool so I am not overly concerned that they drill the ABC's into her head. This time is more about getting away from Mom, learning to trust other adults, and socializing. She is going Tuesday and Friday from 9-12, which is actually longer period of time than most kids go to regular preschool, so I am not complaining. Most of the kids in her class are just going one day, but they let me in 2 days a week. After the hour of orientation, Moi said she didn't want to leave. We were the last ones there, which was nice b/c I got to talk to the teachers a bit one on one. They said they think she'll be great and can already tell she'll be one of the leaders they'll look to for sitting well at the table, sitting at circle time, going to the potty, etc. I said we'll see! Hee hee. I also like that they seem flexible and don't seem to have unreasonable expectations for this age. One of the teachers was like "if they want to pretend to be bunnies one morning, that's what we'll do". Oh, and speaking of pretending, Moi got mad when I introduced her as Moira and told them "I am the Polar Express Girl!". I explained what she is into now and they seemed good to go with it. They were trying to figure out how to pronounce her name and one of the teachers said "don't worry about it, she'll be someone new every day", which is true. She did really well with sharing. She was purposefully trying to share, going up and handing all the other kids toys and saying "I'm sharing with you very nicely". There was one little girl, she seemed like maybe the youngest, and she is a third child, who was very grabby and not sharing well at all. Moira was just letting her have anything she wanted and not retaliating or getting upset about it. I was very happy with the experience today. I was stressed getting ready b/c there were loud thunderstorms that woke Chris and I up at 2:30 am, and I basically couldn't get back to sleep after that. I went back to bed at 5 am, so I got about an hour and 1/2 in, but then I needed to rush to shower as she was getting up. I usually like to be completely ready myself before she gets up if we have somewhere to go b/c once she gets up, it's all about her needs. Well, I wasn't ready, her backpack wasn't packed, etc. We had had such a rough day the day before, I didn't get anything ready at all for today. And the night before, she had refused to take a bath b/c of her hurt hand, and she had marker all over herself that I couldn't get off before we left. She also stamped up her legs and said "the boys and girls at school are going to say I look soooo pretty", so I couldn't very well work it off. The shirt she wanted to wear had a few stains on it, so I had to choose between having a happy kid or a polished looking kid, and I went with happy kid. I thought, well, at least I could look polished. So I put on a khacki maternity skirt and a black top, but realized when I was there I still had orange paint on my legs from painting the baby's room. Anyway, my point is, it was stressful getting out the door but I felt great after we left the school. Mainly probably b/c I am daydreaming about my 6 hours to myself during the week! Oh and each parent takes turns bringing the snack each week, so I am already daydreaming about what awesome snack I will bring that will be the hit of the class but not such a big hit or overdone to make all the other moms resent me. Ha ha.

Moi and I had a much better day today, although on textbook it should have been another rough day. She got up at 7:30, wouldn't nap ("it's not dark out, I don't go to bed when it's not dark") and had a busy day. But she was in a great mood all day long. Thank god b/c I am going on lack of sleep here. I tried to put her in her crib for a nap. I laid down and she was fussing around for about 20 minutes then started screaming at the top of her lungs. I went in there and she was out of the pants I had put her in and in a skirt. Now sure how that outfit change happened???? I did get a video monitor at big lots so I probably could have observed it happening, but I think I dozed off for about 2 minutes.

When Moi woke up this morning she said "I am the Polar Express Girl, you are the Polar Express Boy. The baby in your belly is a BOY!" Yesterday she declared it a girl though, so she is not overly reliable. Nobody in our immdiate family actually has a good feeling about what it is. I think that's b/c none of us truely care. When I was preg with her I convinced myself she was a boy b/c I wanted a girl and I didn't want to be disappointed. This time, we are all up for whichever!