A Very Sincere Apology
It happened last Thursday. I was in the kitchen making lunch and the kids were in playing with their play kitchen in the living room. It sounded like everything was going well until I heard a loud, piercing cry from Buba, followed by silence as his lungs took in all the air around him in preparation for the next big cry.
I dropped everything, ran to Buba, and scooped him up in my arms. Tiny had a very, very guilty look on her face, and I rudely barked, “What did you do?” at her. She didn’t answer, but quickly ran to our time out spot and sat herself down.
After some shushing and rocking, Buba was able to calm down enough to tell me, “Tiny bite.” He pointed to his side, and sure enough, under his shirt there was a big welt where Tiny’s sharp little teeth had chomped down on him.
Once Buba had fully calmed down, I told Tiny she could come out of time out to apologize to him. She did so very nicely, but it was clear that Buba wanted nothing to do with her at that moment. When she reached out to hug him, Buba backed away. But Tiny really was very sorry, and I know for sure because of what happened next:
Tiny: (to Buba) Are you want a cowboot? (holding out a boot for him to take)
Buba: No.
Tiny: No? (runs off to get something else) Are you want a sticker? (holding out the sticker she got from the checker at Target that morning)
Buba: (checking out the sticker) Yeah.
Tiny: (sitting down beside Buba, holding his left hand with her left hand and rubbing his back with her right hand) I love you very, very much.
That seemed to do the trick. The two of them sat and read books together until it was time for lunch. Later, Tiny explained that Buba wasn’t letting her play in the play kitchen and that made her very angry. We talked about the fact that biting is never acceptable, and she seemed quite remorseful. And, fortunately, there has been no biting since then.
The Search Is On
About a week ago, Tiny and Buba hit the two and a half mark. They were not old enough to start preschool this year (most MA preschools require kids to be two years nine months old), so they’ll be starting school next fall instead. That means that I have to start looking at preschools now. It’s crazy to think that I’m calling places now to try to get spots for my kids for September of 2011, but that’s what several of these schools require.
I’ve actually thought quite a bit about the type of school that I’m looking for. I want a program where they can go two or three days the first year and then four days the next year. So, any place that requires five day a week attendance is out (sadly, I’ll have to exclude our town’s public preschool, which I’ve heard fantastic things about). I also really want a school that is just a preschool and not also a childcare facility. Unfortunately, cost is also a HUGE factor in my search. While the Montessori and Waldorf philosophies are quite appealing to me, the cost of sending two children to one of their local preschools is unbearable under our tight budget.
So, I’ve decided to look mostly at co-op preschools and nonreligious programs that meet in church buildings. These are the ones that seem to meet the criteria I’ve deemed most important. I have a fairly long list of these types of schools in our area but have narrowed the list down to my top four choices. Three of these schools have open houses and/or schedule parent visits and tours in the fall. One has an application deadline of October 1st, another is November 1st, and another is January 1st. The fourth school doesn’t schedule parent visits/tours until January. You can’t get an application until you visit the school, and I’m not sure when their applications are due.
I currently have two school visits scheduled within the next three weeks. Children are not allowed at either of these visits, so I’m also now in search of an occasional babysitter with daytime availability. Tiny and Buba have never been left with a sitter before, and I’m a bit nervous about how it will go. So, I’ve decided to try to find someone who is also interested in working as a mother’s helper and will attend gymnastics class with us as a way to get to know the kids with me still in the picture (not that the class is unmanageable on my own, but the extra set of hands will certainly be helpful). My hope is that this will keep the sitter/helper in our lives on a regular basis, and hopefully make it easier for the kids when I need to have them stay in her care while I shop for preschools. And I suppose, I secretly hope that the kids will love this person so much, that I’ll feel free to call on her when I’d like to spend a morning or two a month on my own.
So, the search is on for a good, affordable preschool and a caring, energetic daytime sitter. Wish me luck!
Gymnastics Class
Last Friday, Tiny and Buba went to their first gymnastics class (since the tryout class in early August). Tiny had been talking about gymnastics class for weeks, and had the biggest smile of her face when I went to get her out of her crib that morning. She knew the day had finally arrived.
As I was putting their socks and shoes on, I explained to Buba and Tiny that it was very important that they listen to the teacher and follow her instructions. I told them, “If the teacher says it’s time to jump on the trampoline, you can jump on the trampoline. But if the teacher says we need to sit and listen to instructions, then we’ll need to sit and listen. Okay? If I don’t have good listeners, we may not be able to go back to gymnastics class another day. Okay?” Of course, Tiny and Buba agreed to all of this, and soon we were out the door.
When I opened the van door to let Buba out, he gave me a nervous grin, but added, “I’m so excited!” (Something he’d heard Tiny say many times that morning.) We were running just a little late due to an accident on the highway, so I rushed to get the kids out of their car seats and into the gym. Tiny walked confidently into the waiting room and sat down to take off her shoes and socks. But Buba took one look at that room filled with parents and kids (maybe a dozen parents and even more kids, as our class has 4 sets of twins) and was immediately overwhelmed. He actually grabbed a hold of the door frame and refused to enter the waiting room, screaming, “No! No! Go? Go? Go home?” I had a feeling that might happen, but still felt so sad for him, knowing how he has a hard time with big groups (the tryout class we took had fewer kids and parents). One of the coaches (there are two since the class is so big) helped me get my kids into the big gym, and once Buba saw the low beam, he calmed down enough to start having some fun.
The first 10 minutes or so, the kids were allowed to just wander from station to station- trying out each one and getting used to the gym’s set-up. Then we all met together in a circle to get directions from the coaches and to do some warm-up stretching. Next, we were broken up into two groups, and each went with a coach to be guided through the different stations around the gym. Tiny loved the trampoline and jumping into the pit of foam bricks. Buba’s favorite station seemed to be the parallel bar. He’d hold on for just a few seconds and then go crashing down to the mat below with a huge smile on his face. At the end of the class, we all came together again in a circle to say good-bye.
Tiny was a model student the entire time. She listened extremely well, and waited patiently for her turns on the different pieces of equipment. Buba did a pretty good job, but had a harder time sitting and listening to directions and was much clingier than Tiny. He had a pretty significant meltdown in the last five minutes of our hour long class, but then got himself together again so he could go and get stamps on his hands (something they do at the end of each class).
Overall, I think we had a great experience. Tiny is already looking forward to going back this Friday, and I know she’s going to love trying whatever the coaches throw her way. Buba will probably take a little longer to get used to everything, but I know he’ll get there, and I think he’ll really benefit from another experience of having to take directions from a non-parent adult. Can’t wait to see how things go this Friday!
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Tiny’s conversation with T last Friday evening:
T: So, how was gymnastics class?
Tiny: Good! I was so excited! I listened to the teacher!
T: That’s great!
Tiny: But Buba not listen to the teacher. He not go back to gymnastics class. (shaking her head side to side in a disappointed way)
Unfortunately for Buba, he can’t get away with much whenever Tiny is around. But, for the record, I think he did a great job about 90% of the time, and he’ll definitely be going back to gymnastics class on Friday. 
Our First Muffin Tin Lunch
I first read about Muffin Tin Lunches over at Intrepid Murmurings (you can see one here) and then eventually wandered over to Muffin Tin Mom and poked around there a little bit. As soon as I saw my first muffin tin meal, I knew that Tiny and Buba would love to be served their food in this way. They’re pretty good eaters, but even they appreciate when I take the time to mix up our normal routines a bit.
But, sadly, it took me months to put this idea into action at our house. First, I couldn’t find the muffin tins. Everywhere I went, it seemed they only had the six sectioned pans in jumbo muffin size. Perhaps that’s what others are using, but they just seemed way to big for my little guys. Then, back in July, I finally found the pans I’d been looking for, but summer was just too busy, and I quickly forgot all about them after I washed and put them away.
I don’t know what made me think of it today, but it suddenly came to mind that I had those pans just sitting in the cabinet. And today seemed to be just as good a day as any to try them out for the first time.
milk, shredded cheddar, sliced black olives
berry blue Jello, sour cream (for dipping), cheese quesadilla
Maybe not the greatest lunch in terms of covering all the nutritious food groups on the pyramid (do they still use a pyramid these days?), but it was a big hit with both Tiny and Buba. By the time I thought to take pictures of them eating, they had already devoured the quesadilla and olives.
Both of them pretty much finished their entire lunch (not all the sour cream) and had seconds of the quesadilla and olives. In hind sight, it probably would have been better to replace the shredded cheese with a fruit or vegetable, but I threw this all together at the last minute and think I did pretty well for my first time.
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Thanks so much for all the Birthday wishes for T. He loved all of his gifts, and was especially pleased with the picture frame and photo for his desk. Buba and Tiny managed to keep all of the birthday secrets to themselves (although I did have to cut off Tiny one night at dinner as she almost spilled the beans about the Sesame Street tee), and I was quite impressed!
Can You Keep a Secret?
Tomorrow is T’s birthday. His 40th. I wanted to do something special to celebrate. Something more than just dinner at a restaurant. But T was not up for anything exciting. Given that his birthday always falls right at the beginning of a new school year, he likes to keep things low-key. He’d much rather relax at home. Fine.
But since T was not going to go along with my ideas of a somewhat larger birthday celebration, I decided that yes, there will be presents this birthday. For the last few years, T and I have skipped presents for each other on birthdays and holidays. Money has been tight, and honestly, there usually isn’t much that we want or need. That is still the case this time around, however, I decided that a few simple gifts couldn’t hurt.
But what to buy for a guy who really doesn’t have many wants or needs? I asked Tiny and Buba what they wanted to get Daddy for his birthday, and they both shouted, “Meatballs!”- their response to almost every question these days (and not as funny as it was the first time). However, they did approve of a Sesame Street t-shirt that they saw in the Men’s department at Kohl’s, and I’m sure T will find it funny and will enjoy wearing in on weekends. Next, we picked up a new pair of shorts pajamas since T’s were completely worn out this summer (holes all over the place, and yet he still continues to wear them). I think he’ll like the style and with it being the end of summer, we got a very nice discount.
My final idea was to get a photo take nof me with the kids to frame for his desk at work. He’s always saying that he needs a photo at school to share with his students and colleagues when they ask about his family, so off to Sears we went. Tiny and Buba were so well behaved and cooperative (it was almost scary), and the photographer did a fantastic job. I’d still love to hire a professional photographer someday to do both portrait and candid photos of our family. But, for now, this will do.
Now, I just have to hope that Tiny and Buba can keep all these secrets to themselves until tomorrow. I tried explaining to them what it means to keep a secret and how surprised and happy Daddy will be when he sees everything we’ve done to wish him a happy birthday. So, all morning they were telling everyone we saw while we were out and about, “It’s a secret! Don’t tell Daddy!”