Back to School

Year two of preschool has begun!

We had a bit of a rough start today. Just as Dave walked out the door to head to the airport for a two day business trip, and just as I started nursing Lauren, Mason woke up an hour early and was very upset after wetting the bed. I should have predicted this would happen since I changed his sheets yesterday. He only has accidents on fresh sheets. I'm tempted never to change his sheets again.

So I had to put the hungry, crying baby down to help Mason clean up and get the sheets in the laundry room. Then I tried to get Mason in the bath so he wouldn't smell like a potty on his first day of school, but he wouldn't have it. I had to settle for wiping him down with a wet cloth. Finally, I got everything done and was able to nurse Lauren.

After eating Mason's favorite pumpkin muffins we made yesterday for back-to-school breakfast, and a few pictures, we were off.

For the first two days of school, parents are to walk in with their child, so once we arrived, we all headed inside. Mason is definitely familiar with his school since it's at our church and he was in the 2-year-old room last year. We also visited the classroom during open house last week, so he had no problem this morning. We hung up his bookbag in his cubby, I let him work a puzzle with Lauren, and after a quick kiss for Mommy and sister, I left my 'baby' at school.

Last year, I made it back to the car and proceeded to blubber like a little girl. Since I was pregnant at the time, I blamed it on that. This year, no tears whatsoever. I'm excited about the fun Mason is going to have and all the one-on-one time I get to spend with Lauren.

Not long after I got home from dropping Mason off though, Lauren decided to take a morning nap. So much for one-on-one time with her. No matter - I enjoyed my first quiet morning since the last school year instead. Well, as quiet as it can be with wet bed sheets in the washing machine that is.

One Down, Fourteen to Go

Mason's last day of his first year of preschool was last week. It was funny to think back on how I cried after dropping him off for his first day, when I almost wanted to cry because it was his last day! He really liked school and learned a lot - mostly social skills which is exactly what we were hoping for. Selfishly, I will miss those two mornings a week. I had them to myself for the first few weeks. Then along came Lauren, and I was able to spend that time to just focus on her (or take a nap).

To commemorate the school year, his teachers came up with what I thought was a great idea: a personalized photo album with pictures of various events throughout the year. There are pictures of Mason at Halloween, Christmas, pancake and pajama day, Easter, and even his birthday. He also got a t-shirt with hand-painted bumblebees - one for each kid in the class labeled with their names - which says: We'll always 'bee' friends. Too cute.

Here's the first and last day pictures. You can tell a little bit about how much he's grown in 9 months...

Mason will be going back to the same preschool next year, but he'll move up to three days a week instead of just two. I suspect after a long summer break, I won't be crying when I drop him off on the first day.

A Hallmark Holiday

Valentine's Day is upon us. I know because yesterday I loaded up the kids for a quick trip to Super Target to buy those familiar little school-kid valentines for Mason's Valentine's Day party at school today. Mason wasn't really interested in the boxes of valentines, (he was more obsessed with a can candle on the next shelf) so being a frugal mom, I picked out the cheapest box I could find. Unfortunately, they don't make preschool class size boxes. I had to buy a box of 32 even though I only needed 9. I guess we'll be giving Disney Pixar movie valentines for the next couple of years.

This was the first time I've bought valentines since I was in grade school - 5th grade I think. I can remember making our big red envelopes out of construction paper, glue, and glitter which we taped to the edge of our desk to act as our valentine mail box. On party day, each of us passed out our little white envelopes containing the valentines we carefully and painstakingly selected for each person so as not to imply any sentiment that could be misconstrued causing much embarrassment. Of course the best valentines to give or receive were ones with candy attached. The ones I gave never had candy though - I guess my mom was a frugal mom too.

I have been known to give Dave a Valentines Day card a time or two during our dating years, but I seriously doubt he even remembers it. Neither one of us has ever made a big deal out of the holiday, and (I probably shouldn't admit this) that's okay with me. It's really just a Hallmark Holiday anyway, popularized by the greeting card, candy, and flower industry, right? How did we go from early Christian martyrs to celebrating love anyway? I'd much rather be surprised with candy and flowers on just a random day (hint, hint Dave).

Even so, I have nice memories of grade school Valentine's Day parties, so I will do my duty as a Mom and buy valentines (without candy) for my kids to pass out at their own schools from now on. I will even sit down and address them for my kids even if they are more interested in watching the Cars movie on TV instead. I want them to have their own fun memories of Valentine's Day parties like I do because I love them. And love it what it's all about.

Christmas Pictures

Here are a few images of the Roszak family Christmas so far. Last week, Mason participated in his preschool's Christmas program. His two-year-old class joined the three and four-year-olds in a couple of songs. He didn't sing much, but he did stand where he was supposed to the whole time which was more than I was expecting. He does sing at home, so I'm sure he was just a little shy in front of everyone. I thought the kids looked cute in the Santa handprint shirts they made at school.

Here's Mason in his snowman pajamas the day we put up our little Christmas tree. He loves sitting in that chair to "watch the Christmas tree".


Lauren loves the tree's lights.

First Day of Preschool

Well, I did it... I sent my first born off to his first day of school. (Play "First Day of School" by the Imagination Movers.)

Since Mason goes to the same school room during church on Sunday morning, I thought he'd run in there and not look back like he usually does, but he knew it was something different, so he was a little clingy at first. I showed him the colors on the wall and got him interested in his favorite truck, gave him a quick hug and a kiss and slipped out. I didn't hear him complain, so I guess he was fine.

I however was not. When I got back to the car, I just sat there for a minute thinking, "What do I do now?". I hadn't really thought about what I would do while he was at school. Sure, I figured I'd schedule my final prenatal appointments when he was in school, maybe I would do the grocery shopping, or go pick up a prescription, but what about today? I didn't need to do any of that. So I decided to go to Starbucks (something I rarely do) order a decaf coffee (something I never do) and just sit by myself and relax (something I can't remember doing since Mason was born). When I was on my way there, I started crying thinking about my baby growing up too fast. I wasn't expecting that at all. I'm not really the mushy type, so I'm going to blame that on the pregnancy hormones.

I go back to pick up Mason at noon today, and I think I'll treat us both to a Chick-fil-a lunch. We both deserve some french fries. Hopefully, he will love school.

Ready for Preschool?

I can't believe that I'm about to send my baby off to preschool next week. I hadn't planned for Mason to go this year originally, but with the new baby coming soon, it would be a good chance for him to have some fun interaction while I'm sure to be housebound for awhile. Plus, I think he's ready. He loves going in the nursery when we go to church (which is where his preschool will be) and seems to enjoy being around other kids. And he already knows things like letters, numbers, colors, shapes, etc.

Here's a little video of Mason singing his ABCs and 123s (up to about 23). It was taken back in July, so he was around 27 months old.

What I'm hoping for most is that he learns a little about sitting still, paying attention during something like story time, and playing independently.