Almost Springtime Fun!

We had a great weekend and the weather was fabulous compared to the cold and dreariness we have been dealing with.  Saturday morning we went on a nature hike at Bowie to look for signs of Spring.  The kids loved it - we had a list of things to look for like budding trees or onion grass - and they got to check off when we found something.  We had a picnic in the park after that and it was a bit cold, but manageable.  Sunday was even prettier and we spent the day painting and making stepping stones in the backyard and then we rode our bikes to the park and spent a few hours there enjoying the sunshine.  While we were having "arts and crafts" time the kids were singing some songs - the Rainbow song made sense since we were painting rainbows.  The "Ho Ho Ho" at the end was a little out of place but was better than the "Santa Claus Came in one Big Sack" ditty that they sing all the time (they made it up and think it is the best song ever) and segued into when the rainbow was done!

In other news, one way or another the school debate will be over in a few weeks.  And when I say debate, it now truly is.  The school system decided to "test" children whose birthdays fall in the new cut-off date (the new date is August 31st and their birthday is September 2nd) to see if those who will be 5 in September are ready for school and decide on entrance for them based on the test results.  Now, though, Lance has decided that he would rather give them another year.  I understand where he is coming from, they are small and will probably continue to be and they may hit puberty later and will certainly drive later and enter college younger than most of their peers.  I see that side of it and agree, but that doesn't change that I truly think they are ready for school (not to mention the cost savings) and that I fear we will start them out on a dangerous path if they start Kindergarten when they are 6 and are repeating things they have been learning  for two years and then think school is boring.  The kindergarten readiness guidelines the schools put out there to help decide if testing is right for you, really opened my eyes that they have long since mastered all of the skills they are supposed to have when entering Kindergarten.  I was beginning to think that  since they are not truly reading yet (they are both doing great with sight words and really curious about how things are spelled and how they sound out but they aren't quite reading) another year might be OK, but the readiness guidelines talked more about shape, number and letter identification than the true reading skills that they are working on currently.  I also still have the concern that when they get in school if it is at 6 years old, they will decide that moving on to 1st grade is appropriate for only one of them - and we can't do that!  Either way, we have to register them next week and have them tested, or they are not eligible.  Ugh - I hate decisions like this!  Lance seems to think we will have more regrets if we put them in school young than if we leave them in the great program they are at now.  I think whichever way it works out will be fine, and while I am not as adamant that holding them back is the right decision I am also not completely certain that going ahead and enrolling them is the best one either!  I will say that juggling the school schedule and summer and intersessions will be more difficult and that is a real benefit of one more year in Pre-K - at least summer care, non-major holidays, and the time from 3:00 - 5:00 is taken care of!  I am kind of glad that by March 8th we will know one way or another and I can just accept whichever decision and move on!  

Snow? Will travel!

We were toying with the idea of going to Gatlinburg for this "holiday" weekend, but I am not officially off (inservice day that I am not a part of, though) and I am just now getting back in the swing of things after Katie's weeklong illness.  We decided not to go and the decision was made pretty easy since Lance is busy, we are trying to save money for our Disney trip this summer, and it would mean a chance to catch up on some errands and chores and not having to take a vacation day.  Well, that good decision was changed pretty quickly when they predicted just a 30% chance of snow for Gatlinburg on Friday.  We had been checking the weather all week and talking about how nice it would be to enjoy one last snow, but we were pretty confident that Spring would arrive with no more winter weather.  Friday the radar finally showed that snow might actually be in the area, and that although it wouldn't make it to Nashville it would be in Gatlinburg.  Lance and I were wishy washy on going all day and when we called our favorite chalet rental company and found that they had a cancellation, that we could rent for two nights only (to get back on Sunday which worked out best for everyone), that the fee was an affordable last-minute deal, and that the place available was high enough on the mountain that the elevation would increase snow chances, we changed our mind and ddecided to go. 

It turned out to be a great decision, despite the fact that I left all of my hastily prepared and packed clothes at home except my bathing suit, underwear and t-shirt that I threw in the kid's bag.  I did manage to get the kid's stuff and we didn't do anything "fancy" enough to require more than all that I had which was jeans, Lance's sweatshirt and my jacket.  We did have a fabulous time, though, even if it was low-key.  We got into town right when it started snowing and hung out at the chalet Friday night around a fire watching the snow and the kids had a blast with all of that and especially exploring the chalet.  On Saturday we went to breakfast, the National Park and Cades Cove Area (our original destination - Newfound Gap was closed due to ice and snow).  That afternoon/evening we went to a great dinner where all but Tyler enjoyed rainbow trout - Tyler really enjoyed the massive salad bar offerings, though.  We went back to the chalet for the evening and the highlight for the kid's was getting in the hot tub and them being big enough to touch the bottom. That was my highlight for the weekend too, I think.  Sitting in the hot tub with my family, enjoying great conversation and lots of laughs, in the snow! 

We all really liked spending time with dad.  Since he works on weekends we don't get as many outings with him as we like and this weekend gave us plenty of great dad time! 

 

 

Breakfast at the Applebarn this morning was delicious!  It was about a 30 minute wait and lunch was being served by the time we got there (with breakfast items on the menu still - Eastern time zone is hard to get used to), but the apple fritters themselves are enough to make the wait worth it!

 

Our visit to Cades Cove was very cold, but very fun even if our check engine light (ugh) did decide to come on and stay on right when we got to the Cades Cove scenic loop!

 

It really was a fantastic, short family getaway.  The area was super crowded and we felt a little guilty being there when it probably wasn't the most responsible thing to do, but that made us stay in a bit more and do less stuff which meant some really fun times just hanging out all together!  

Irrationally Sad

I am definitely sad and admittedly a little upset about some news we got tonight.  The kid's favorite teacher is pregnant and not going to be working anymore indefinitely.  They love her so much that they sometimes call me by her name when they excitedly tell me a story from school.  They came home today telling me all about how she had a 'baby in her belly" and I know they are going to miss her.  They will leave her, anyway, when they enter PK (if we don't put them into Metro PK or try to get them into Kindergarten) - but that was quite a few months away (even before maternity leave) and she really is an awesome teacher that will be missed terribly by my two! 

We are now pretty decided that we are going to give them another year before starting school.  They will be small, are likely to hit puberty on the later end of the spectrum, and will probably benefit from another year to develop socially.  They will likely be ahead of their peers in Kindergarten once they start when they are six, but that is probably better than being behind!  Plus, thankfully hubby is pretty busy right now which means that our flexibility is limited and the challenges of juggling a school schedule are a consideration.  There are a lot more holidays, vacation and summer days to deal with when they are in public school verses a full-time preschool.  We are actually going to try to do a Disney trip with my sister and her family this summer and planning that kind of made me aware than when they get in school there are a lot more restrictions.  We are looking at going in June and fingers crossed it all works out - I am so excited!  Hubby isn't as anticipatory - he is looking forward to Gatlinburg and our end of  Summer beach trip just as much, but I can't wait to be in Mickey Land! 

Katie is finally feeling better.  It was a full week before the fevers subsided and poor Katie felt miserable.  Now we are feeling the residual effects of her having a week of whining and getting what she wanted from acting pathetic - and trying to get her to talk "like a big girl" and to stop whining.  She was doing so good prior to this set-back so hopefully we can get back on track!  Behavior-wise the kids are still quite challenging.  Tyler is back to not being able to control his emotions very well and is having a lot more temper tantrums than he has in a while.  Katie is still whining a lot and is very sensitive.  They are still so funny and usually very, very fun to be around, but I can definitely see why "date nights" are recommended once a month - it is good to have a break from two boisterous, inquisitive, defiant, spunky four year olds on a regular basis :)!   My tennis season is starting up again this month, and I am excited to be back on the courts and it has even inspired me to give the kids their very first tennis lesson.  Stay tuned - when the weather gets a bit better I plan to take the kids to a tennis court with a basket of balls and maybe even with Katie outfitted in the super cute little girl's tennis outfits that I saw at Target and see how it goes!

Sickness Sucks!

Well, day two of the flu is in the books and for Katie, it wasn't a good one.  She was actually in pretty good spirits once the Tylenol took effect, but when she woke up in the morning and after a much needed nap, she felt awful.  She is just so hot to the touch that it is scary even though the thermometer (which hasn't functioned well for about a year but we always forget to replace it until they are sick) shows that the Tylenol/Advil is bringing the fever down.  She started out the morning at 103, medicine brings it down to about 100 and then when it wears off she is back into the 102/103 range.  She feels really miserable at about the time for another dose, but when her fever is controlled she thinks she is well and wants to play and "go somewhere."  She told me today that "this is a very boring day" and I told her to tell Tyler because he is super jealous that she gets to stay home.  I explained to her that we couldn't go anywhere because we didn't want to spread germs and she very wisely said "well, someone spread them to me :)." 

Lance is super busy at work right now, and I have a lot going on too so I am kind of stressing about responsibilities that are being neglected and worrying that this illness is never-ending, but Katie feels so bad that I know that we have no other option.  When they have had other sicknesses that have kept them home I have been more upset about missing work, but this is so awful that you can just tell that there is no way she should be at school or really even out of bed.  It is kind of funny because I had to answer a questionnaire for the 40 under 40 awards that talked about challenges and one of mine was a work/life balance and how grateful I am to be in non-profit work that doesn't have as demanding of a schedule or an expectation that you neglect home life for work.  Nothing sends that message home better than having a sick child and knowing that what she wants more than anything is just for you to be there to hold and comfort her. 

One "benefit" of not working today was that I got to attend a parent/teacher conference at their school.  The kids both got a great report and the teacher was very complimentary of the kids and how they are progressing.  She said that they are both just excelling academically and that they are good helpers, good friends and seem to really enjoy learning and new challenges.  She gave me their assessments and observation notebooks to look over and some of them were very funny.  Often when they were testing Tyler he would try to make the teacher laugh and the teacher's comments are hilarious when he would purposefully give the wrong answer and then delight in laughing and saying ha, ha just kidding - "I tricked you.!"  I was primarily interested in finding out how they are doing socially since I don't get to see them interact with other children as much, and the teachers note that Tyler continues to be the leader in almost every group and situation and that Katie is not as confident as they would like and that she plays with groups and is important to the group but never really takes the lead.  That is so strange to me, because  it always seemed like she had very innate leadership qualities, but makes sense since her confidence hasn't been really strong in the last year. 

Tyler told me today that he coughed a lot at school and he definitely has a stuffy/runny nose.  He doesn't have a fever, or at least didn't at bedtime.  I think he may have a cold, and really, really hope that it isn't his manifestation of the beginning of the flu!  It came on very suddenly for Katie and she was feverish well before the cough and congestion, so I still have my fingers crossed that Tyler has avoided it.  If not, I will need to figure out how to get more work done from home and Tamiflu (which I kind of regret not trying now since it seems like this illness will be quite lengthy) will be purchased!

Too much fun?

We had a busy weekend, and somewhere along the way picked up yucky flu germs :(.  So far (and fingers crossed that is stays that way since it is more dangerous for Tyler because he has/had asthma) Katie is the only one feeling bad.  We had a birthday party Saturday morning, Uncle Matthew and Ray-Ray came to visit Saturday afternoon and some friends came over Saturday evening who have a little girl the kids age.  They all had fun running around and playing and we had fun catching up with some good friends who we rarely get to see.  On Sunday we went to Bowie and played on the playground and fed the ducks (and slayed some dragons apparently) with a friend of theirs from preschool.  Sunday night we had a few people over for the Super Bowl and there was another couple of friends for the kids to play with.  We all had a great time - the kids entertaining each other which gave us some time to enjoy adult company.  All was well until Sunday night when Katie came into our room crying and burning up.  We gave her some medicine that didn't really touch the fever (102 down from 103 after medicine).  She slept fitfully in the bed with us and woke up still feeling awful.  I took Tyler to school and went to work to grab some things to work on from home and talked to a co-worker whose children had the flu last week and she said one of hers got tamiflu and one didn't and that the one with the medicine was much better.  So, I made an appointment at the doctor (wasn't going to since there isn't really anything they can do for a fever) to see if  we needed tamiflu and he said that she did seem to have the flu even though we got the shots for the whole family.  With all of the things going on this weekend I think we just encountered a lot of germs that we haven't been exposed to playing with kids from three different schools in town.  But, there were a few other children out today from their school (Tyler tells me the whole red table which is Katie's table was out) so she could  have gotten it last week, too.  Either way, she is feeling pretty miserable right now and I am hoping we can fight it quick. 

Our pediatrician (who is awesome) asked about the last time we gave Tyler albuterol and when I started thinking back it has been almost a year!  That is great news and I am hoping he is growing out of his breathing issues.  He asked because asthmatics are often given preventative tamiflu (that stuff is expensive, by the way) if they have needed treatment within the year.  We will definitely take him in at the first sign of a fever so we can get him started on the medicine if he comes down with it, but hopefully he can avoid it all!  I would really like to as well since I have pictures for that award I received, on Friday, but I am not holding my breath since all Katie wants to do is sit on my lap and sleep snuggled up with me.  She is so pitiful though, that I don't mind too much.