Spoke Too Soon

Well, it seems that we don't have anyone to watch the kids.  I haven't heard back from any of the people interested.  I guess it could be what I am offering to pay, but it is really all we can do and seems fair to me.  I am telling them $15 an hour if two days (4 to 5 hours per week) or $100 for three days.  There is a local place that does have openings but they would have to ride a bus and it is $600 per month for three days ($800 for five) and care for in-service days, school breaks, snow days, etc. is extra!  I think I will hear back from the Vandy girl (she can't start until August 20th), but she is working at a summer camp and doesn't have access to email - fingers crossed.  Everyone else I have heard from want to keep the kids at their house and for now that isn't ideal, especially since we live literally a block from the school.  Oh well, at least I think Lance and I have something worked out just in case! 

No really big plans this weekend but Lance and I do get a night out (thanks Liz).  Lance is in a golf tournament and Saturday night they have a couples dinner, so that should be fun.  We also have plans for the kids to go visit my mom and dad at the end of the summer and we are excited to have some time to go out then too (and get some back to school shopping done without the kids in tow).  I always miss them like crazy, and it is so strange having a quiet house and no kid responsibilities, but it is also really fun to have time to go to a movie, or out to dinner and a reprieve from the nightly dinner, bath, bed routine! I think part of the reason I wish we got to go out more is just to avoid that on occasion, more than actually wanting to get out of the house :)!   I went by McDonald's on the way home today since I knew Lance wouldn't be home until late and it was already pushing 6:00 when we walked in the door and I know it isn't healthy, but it sure is easier than scrambling to fix something for the always starving these days kids.  That will be one good thing about having a couple of early days in the week once school starts - we'll be able to have a real dinner as a family rather than either trying to get them to hold off until a bit later or feeding them a separate meal early! 

The kids don't really seem to be learning many new skills lately at school.  They aren't much closer to reading but have all that they need to learn, I think.  They know all of their letters (lower and uppercase) and all of the sounds, and have quite a few site words and can sound out any word that follows the basic rules (i.e. - c-a-t).  So, I am not worried although I do wish that they were still getting some instruction at this point to prepare, but they are having fun and that is important too.  Tyler is absolutely obsessed with drawing right now - he is really pretty talented and puts lots of detail into his work - but he literally spends hours drawing dinosaurs and superheros and Toy Story characters, and really anything he can think of.  He then cuts them out and he and Katie play with them in elaborate pretend games - cheap entertainment really!  Katie is still all about wanting to play outside at any opportunity - which I think is great.  Our next purchases after school stuff will be "big" bikes that they really want instead of their "baby" trikes and twin beds.  Katie is sure to love riding a real bike and I would guess she will be the first to go without training wheels - but Tyler has really surprised me at the pool lately.  He let me try to teach him to tread water and float on his back without his floaties and he will put his face under.  Katie still loves jumping in, but is a little fearful without her floaties.  I haven't heard back from the Y about their swim lessons (what is it with so many people having no follow-through) and all of the other programs are either too expensive or too hard for us to get to everyday for two weeks, so I am not sure what we will do about swim lessons, but we still want someone other than us to teach them sometime in July.  I think they will be really receptive right now, and it will help for them not to have me to cling to when trying to learn how to stay afloat.  It is also good for them to see other younger children at the pool able to swim, because both of them are pretty competitive (shocker) and I think it is driving them to want to learn more.  No matter what it is still a floaties around water at all times summer, but they aren't too far off from really enjoying swimming, I think.  We are loving having the pool available to us this summer, and that is even the plan for tomorrow night if it doesn't rain - family fun night (without Lance unfortunately) and the pool is open until dark.  It wears the kids out, they enjoy making friends out there, and I can swim with them or read when they are in the little pool so fun for all!

Woohoo!

Well, nothing is set in stone but I think we may have found someone to watch the kids or are at least going in the right direction!  Yesterday I did everything I could think of to find someone whose schedule would allow for picking up the kids and keeping them for a couple of hours after school three days a week.  I had some responses of people who wanted them to ride the bus to their house since they were already keeping younger kids full time (not sure I am comfortable with that and Lance definitely isn't since he was never a bus rider), or some who didn't have transportation and wanted to know if there was a bus route nearby (there isn't and I think some days they would need to be picked up rather than walked home).  That question did remind me though that I would need to provide booster seats for whoever will be getting the kids - Lance will eventually need new ones anyway since he is still using the ones from when they were little!  I was getting a bit discouraged and even talked with my boss about needing to switch my hours for more days that I initially thought (without help I will do two days picking them up and Lance will try to do three and we'll see how it goes).  Finally, though, I heard from someone who I think is a good option.  I contacted my sorority at Vanderbilt and she passed it along to a Senior girl who is taking a light load this upcoming year and will be able to do it!  The only problem is that she will not be back in town until August 19th, and I will meet her then and cross my fingers that it is a good fit since it would be difficult to find someone else that late in the game.  We can do it for the first month and then it will be great to have a little help!  It is such a relief to feel like this might work out, and now I can finally start working on purchasing school supplies, uniforms, backpacks, etc. without feeling like it might be a waste!  I have been looking around at uniforms, especially for Katie since she really needs a smaller size, and it is crazy that all of the small sizes are sold out at most of the retailers - I guess that is why everyone advised to do it early.  They just don't sell a lot of girl clothes with collars in solids, I guess, and especially if you need toddler sizes!  I did find some at Lands End that are a bit pricier, but hopefully they will hold up through the year until we need to purchase long sleeves and pants - and hopefully they won't have a super huge growth spurt either!

Father's Day!

The kids did the same super cute card for Lance as they did for Mother's Day, and since we have trouble keeping up with the million pieces of paper they bring home I thought I would post their responses here!  When they were asked to say why their dad is funny Katie said because he tickles me, and Tyler said when he tells me jokes.  In response to "my dad thinks I am funny when" Katie said "when I tickle him" and Tyler said "when I tell jokes."  Katie said his favorite thing to do is work (? - probably because it seems that he is always there) and Tyler said more accurately "watch golf."  When asked what his job is Tyler said "to sell houses," and Katie similarly said "to get money for us to get to go places  :)."  They said he loves to eat tacos and hamburgers (Tyler) and Katie said casseroles (not so much, but he has gotten better about them).  Katie said he is really good at "moving stuff," and Tyler said "driving."  Katie said her dad loves it when she "wants to rub his back" (so true), and Tyler said when he hugs him (also very true).  When asked what their dad always says Tyler said "hi" and Katie said "chicken finger" - which is what he says when he wants them to smile for a picture.  They very sweetly said their favorite thing about  dad is:  he hugs me and he loves me and I love him (Katie), and I love him and when he tells me jokes (Tyler). 

We had a fun-filled, busy day today.  The kids were with So-So and Ray-Ray while I played tennis this morning, then we went to the pool with a friend of theirs from school, and then to a super fun, Superhero birthday party.  Katie was one of only two girls, but she loves playing pretend so it was a good time.  These are some of their current classmates, and unfortunately they may end up being back with them next year since we are on two wait lists for aftercare with very little hope of getting in to either program.  We just cannot have no back-up for picking them up at school at 3:00, or on school breaks, or snow days, etc. and may have to delay their Kindergarten start if we can't come up with a solution.  Most days we will probably be able to make it work with one of us able to get them, but since both of us work full-time there are certain to be days when we both have afternoon meetings, or will not be able to take a day off if school is out.  It is incredibly frustrating, and the wait lists indicate that others are in the same boat so hopefully there is a way to work it out that I haven't thought of yet!  If not, we just may up and move somewhere super affordable and I will home-school the monsters  :)!  

Pre-K!

Today the kids moved into the Pre-K class at school, and they were so very excited.  All weekend Katie kept being helpful and conciliatory saying - "I am a big girl now, I have to act like a Pre-K-er."  I took them to class this morning and they didn't even look back or say hi to anyone in their preschool class that we have to walk through to get to their new class in their haste to find out what table they were at in the new room and to make it be known that they are finally officially Pre-K kids!  This will be a challenge when school starts because I just know that they won't think two months is enough time in the coveted Pre-K class - but we'll just have to play up that even bigger kids get to go to Kindergarten!

Disney!

We had a wonderful, fabulous, awesome, fantastic time at Disney.  The trip didn't start out great - we stopped in Ocala Friday night and pricelined a hotel that ended up being only a king size bed available (had hoped for two queens or doubles).  While trying to get to sleep I noticed that Katie was scratching her head a lot in her sleep.  The following morning we woke super early to try to get to the Magic Kingdom by opening and Tyler and Lance went down to get some breakfast.  I, for some reason, decided to check Katie's head to try to figure out why she was scratching so much and found...lice!  Beyond the ick factor being off the charts, I also hated that our morning was about to be spent shampooing, etc. rather than traveling to the parks.  We spent a couple of hours trying to get Katie's hair in visiting with cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles shape, and didn't arrive at the parks until 11:00 or so (Eastern time).  Once there, though, we had so much fun that the lice issue was a forgotten hassle (until the multiple re-checks throughout the week). 

On Saturday we went to Magic Kingdom before meeting up with Grandma and B-Bo (featuring a delicious seafood feast), and checking-in to the house we shared with my sister and her family.  On Saturday we really made a dent in Fantasyland and hit up Splash Mountain which proved to be an enduring favorite for everyone.  The kids were blown away by the spectacle of Disney and really had a great first day and we were pleasantly surprised to discover that the kids were indeed 40" which opened up a lot more ride options. 

Dumbo was a big hit, and Lance and I really liked the waiting area that was a play area for the kids, in the air-conditioning, with a pager for when your turn comes up to enjoy the ride. 

Day 2 was spent with all of us at the waterpark.  My mom and B-Bob went with us and it was so great to get to enjoy some of the slides and true waterpark rides while the kids were in their capable, and very fun for the kids care.  My sister and her husband and Lance and I went to a wonderful dinner without children that night and then went to Downtown Disney for a bit.  It was great to spend time with them, AND to have a night out!  

Day 3 meant Hollywood Studios in the morning and Epcot late afternoon and evening.  Their favorite at Hollywood Studios was probably the Disney Junior Live on Stage show, but they really liked a lot of the things there including Star Tours, "meeting" Lightning McQueen, the Muppets show, and even The Great Movie Ride despite it being a bit "scary."  

Epcot that evening was great too - Nemo was on the schedule in addition to a brief tour of the countries.  

On Tuesday we went to Animal Kingdom and as expected it was Tyler's favorite.  The safari was a stand-out and our little daredevils absolutely loved the river rapids ride.  Dinosaur was kind of scary, but the kids mostly liked it.  Tyler was a bit disappointed that we didn't see "every" animal in the guidebook - but ultimately was just super happy that he finally got to see a rhino, hippo, and gorilla. 

On Wednesday we were back to Magic Kingdom and we had a really wonderful day.  We rode the Buzz Lightyear ride early, and lots in between our last ride - Big Thunder Mountain railroad.  It started pouring (and we didn't yet have ponchos although we broke down and got some on Thursday), and we called it a day and went to dinner with Brandon and Lori and fam and had a lot of fun.  The kids loved the teacups, their first ever roller coaster, and were amazed at the parade.  

 On Thursday we had plans to go to Epcot early and Hollywood Studios late, but it was truly tropical storm weather and way beyond the afternoon showers we expected so we just made it to Epcot.  We did see lots of characters (so fun for the kids), rode all of our favorite ride of the whole trip (Soarin'), and had a great lunch in "France."

We finished up in Downtown Disney (with one of the best cookies I have ever eaten from Ghirardelli)  and then ended the vacation swimming with family.  Already when we were home for less than an hour the kids were saying they missed their cousins, and wanted to go back to "Grandma's World" as it was dubbed because we were in Florida! 

The trip was just awesome - and the kids were exceptionally well-behaved.  Disney is a lot of walking, and pure exhaustion for everyone, but especially little ones.  They had minimal meltdowns and really were troopers not complaining about traipsing across the parks, waiting in lines, or even (much) about the super lengthy car rides there and back.  The things they talk about enjoying the most are surprising - the clown show, going to Chuy's with everyone (a restaurant we have here), running barefoot in Epcot because we couldn't keep flip flops on with all the rain, and some rides that we didn't think would have as big of an impact, but I am not surprised at all that ice cream breaks are often mentioned as one of the best things about Disney!