Monday, October 22, 2012

.....divine timing.....

....several days with the stomach bug this week forced us to slow down and take some time to rest....granted, the schedule hasn't actually been that packed, but living in a temporary residence 15 minutes from our future home has us in the car quite a bit......so to skip out on school, as well as the driving; plus the after school activities for a few days and instead fill them with pedialyte, applesauce, toast, coloring, crafts, trucks, puzzles and movies was a nice change.......and we all enjoyed the restful together time....a forced day of rest, if you will.....


....topped off with ice cream to celebrate going 24 hours without throwing up all over Momma.....


.....our favorite movie at the moment spawned our Halloween inspiration back in September.....even Brody is quoting the line, "Are you a good witch or a bad witch?"......not really, but we say it so much in this house that it may be his first phrase.....



....I began a parenting course at our new church and one of the first things we discussed was play........allowing our children to really be kids, giving them opportunities to explore with their imaginations, not being so quick to stifle creativity.......so our forced day of rest came at a time when the reminder of these essential lessons in parenting have been fresh on my mind.....

....I, too, wasn't feeling so hot.....so I pushed the chores aside and boy, did we play.....

.....and since I don't know how to french braid or have the patience to learn, we practiced other ways to take the traditional braid to a new level.....

.....Momma's working her creativity too.....


.....both braids were ratted messes within 15 minutes, so we'll keep trying....

.....we are also still trying to get Callie excited about her new school......I have learned after almost 5 years of parenting my children that some things in the life of a Momma are expected and some things completely blind sight us and leave us eyes wide open.....

.....we learn and understand each of our children uniquely.......we know how they tick, what makes them sad, how they like to enter a room, what their responses will be to certain kinds of strangers.....how they will greet a relative they haven't seen for a while, what condiments they will choose to dress their hotdogs, and whether they prefer a shower or a bath.....

.....after all of that knowing and anticipating; they will also throw the occasional curve ball......the more demure child will bust out dancing in a public place when they hear a song they like.....the typical rule follower will throw out a phrase using a word like stupid, hate or boring that stuns you because you don't use those words in your home, a typical non-reader will spend a quiet 20 minutes alone reading a new book from the library......and in our case, our gregarious, brave and fearless Callie does not want to go to school.....

....I won't get into the nitty gritty details, but the separation has been heart breaking.....I have had separation phases before with all three of my babes, but this phase takes the cake......last year, my 2 year old would barely hug me as she was running to circle time.....this year, she is sobbing and begging me to stay; while also telling me she would rather go back to NYC.....

.....change.....sometimes it gets the best of us......

.....although once she is there and settled, she loves it.....her teachers are angels for contributing to a class blog that allows me to use their pictures.....






....after 5 weeks, a lot of discussion with other Mommas, testing out different strategies on approaching the school days, cutting out at least 10 different pictures of my face in the shape of a heart, creating big girl behavior sticker charts, and fervently praying about this situation; she went to school on Friday without any tears......yes, there was a trembling lip; but there was not any sobbing, wailing, throwing herself down on the floor, tripping over chairs as she runs towards the door or bawling while barely making out words that break my heart.....

.....oh yes, I said I would avoid the details....

....she did it....although there will probably be other off days, this is a step in the right direction.....and she was rewarded with a Daddy date at a new confectionary shop in Old Greenwich.....seeing this picture of genuine Callie-ness came close to making the 5 weeks of angst for both of us well worth it.....


.....and now I need to focus some attention on the one who has seamlessly transitioned to a new school with all new friends.....Elsie, usually a bit more cautious and a creature of routine, has not only jumped right in to her new Pre K class after the first day, but she is also relishing in drop off birthday parties and comes home with weekly invites for play dates from new friends.....she thoughtfully writes notes to friends in her class, always sure to not leave anyone out.....she engages with her teachers, participates confidently in class discussions and rarely says good bye to me after I get her cubby organized in the morning.....I turn the corner to her classroom to say goodbye and see that she is already fully engaged in social exchanges, so I back off not to interrupt.....her timing of full blown independence couldn't have been better because Callie has needed a lot of my time during this transition.....the timing has been perfect.....

.....and when I say fully independent, that also means I stop myself after seeing her outfit that she's created and instead of saying the first thing that comes to mind, I tell her that her outfit for school is absolutely adorable.........


....our children stump us sometimes.....it is the unexpectedness that keeps us sharp.....we tend to look deeper, think harder, pray louder and listen more intently after we have been stumped.....sometimes these are our chances to learn lessons that may have been in front of us for a while, but we had to take a moment to really see.....


.....must rest up for another day of play......