I have taken a lot of pictures lately. And Casey has, too. Some quite artistic. But I won't be sharing any in this post because I'm afraid to download them to this computer. I've actually used up all the space on the C drive. I've never had that happen before. I didn't even know it was possible. But apparently it is, and I've done it. So this week Jason is helping me transfer everything over to a better computer with more capacity, and then I'll be able to add some photos.
The Bus
Casey started riding the bus. He takes it two mornings a week from the elementary school where he has speech therapy to the preschool he attends. He loves it. They walk him from his class out to the waiting bus, strap him into his seat belt, and then deliver him to his preschool teachers. Jason followed him the first day and took pictures, so I can't wait to upload them when I have more computer memory. I'm just happy he's so happy about taking the bus.
Marcie's Sleeping
I have written about Marcie's sleep issues more times than I care to count. Maybe even as often as I was writing about her bowel movements back during Poop Watch 2006. And the good news is that we appear to have trained her.
I wrote before that the crying was whittling down. Well as of around the 24th (maybe even before that, actually), there were no more tears at bedtime. She puts herself right to sleep. When she asks me to lay down with her, I tell her no very gently and remind her that I love her. She rolls over, sucks on her blanket, and puts herself to sleep. Every once in a while, she does still wake up in the middle of the night crying. Sometimes she wants me. Sometimes she wants Jason. Usually we just need to rub her back and let her know we're still there. We tell her to put herself back to sleep, and she does. Last night I heard her cry once, and then it stopped immediately. So she's definitely getting the routine.
I'm sure it helps some that she's so busy at school all day and so tired by the time we get home. I know I'm in a better mood. I can't believe I didn't suck it up and sleep train her sooner! I mean a girl could get used to sleeping more than 3 or 4 continuous hours of sleep a night!
Marcie and her Preschool
I continue to be impressed with Marcie's preschool teachers. She loved going the first couple days, but then the honeymoon ended. The first morning she told me, "No school," I tried to get her to tell me why (yup, that's me, trying to have a rational conversation with a 22-month-old). She didn't like my approach and went to Jason. He reminded her of all the fun things she gets to do at school, and she stopped fussing.
For a few days, she whined and cried as we pulled into the school parking lot. One morning she cried so hard, I'm sure I made it worse by sitting with her on the playground until she calmed down. When I finally left, she was really unhappy. But her teacher told me she stopped crying less than five minutes later and didn't complain the rest of the day.
I know she's still adjusting. It's been less than two weeks, and they say it takes 4-6 weeks for a two-year-old to adjust to being away from home, regardless of the number of days each week they attend. But she is definitely learning new things. And Casey's preschool teachers take him to visit her some days during lunch or play time. He stops by and gives her a hug and a kiss and says hi. And they play together in the afternoons. So that's all good.
She sure does come home dirty, though. One day I made the mistake of just putting a barrette in her hair, no rubber bands. She wore a white shirt, khaki skirt, and white tights. When I arrived to pick her up at the end of the day, she had dirt smudges and a little bit of juice stained around her mouth. She'd spilled juice and I-don't-know-what-else on the once-white shirt; the tights were no longer a white, but a shade of beige from the sandbox I presume; and the backside of her skirt looked like she'd been rolling around on the ground (and she probably had). Plus, her bangs were hanging down, obscuring the top half of her eyes. She looked like one of those children they feature in the ads where they want you to sponsor a child in a developing country by giving food money each month-- except Marcie, of course, doesn't look like she needs to eat. I wish I'd had my camera that day! Suffice it to say she is now in rubber bands always, and we're moving away from white clothes (what was I thinking?!? Casey hated getting even the littlest bit dirty at Marcie's age, so I guess I just thought all kids were like that. . . what a dummy).
Swimming
Casey's entering his sixth week of swimming lessons, and he's been doing-- well, swimmingly. He's mastered any fear of dunking his face. He knows how to make giant scoops with his arms, and he even tries kicking simultaneously. He does it for as long as he can hold his breath, then he stands up, waves to me, and does it again. He's also been working on his elementary back stroke, which cracks me up because I can hear him doing the motions. They've taught the kids that they should make arms like a chicken, then an airplane, then shoot their harms down against their sides like a rocket. So I can hear Casey going "Bock! Bock! Zoooooom! Kerpow!" over and over again as he makes the motions. He can't quite do anything on his own yet, but he's made definite improvements!
Music
Marcie started music class this week. As part of the class, we get a book and a CD of the music. Which the kids both love. If Casey's Sports of all Sorts (soccer, baseball, and basketball) didn't conflict, I'd enroll him, too! Their favorite song is about a duck. But earlier today I heard Casey singing Mary Had a Little Lamb. Except instead of "little lamb" he was singing, "Mary had a little man, little man, little man . . . and everywhere that Mary went, Mary went, Mary went; everywhere that Mary went, the man was sure to go." It brings new meaning to the word stalker. Anyway, I have some great pictures a friend took of Marcie in music class, but alas, they will have to wait until I can download on the new computer.
The Car
I did get my car back. The repair place did a great job. But part of the bumper appears to be coming loose, so we'll be taking it back in this week. I'm hopeful it's a one-day fixer so that we don't have to worry about renting again. But really, who knows.
Oddly, my one of my sisters-in-law had her car broken into the week before last and another sister--in-law was hit by a crazy driver who decided to make a left turn right into the front of her beautiful car. She's uninjured but the car may be totalled. We all have the same insurance company, so they must think the S. family is quite a risk to have on the books these days!
The New Job
And last is that I start my new job tomorrow. I don't really know what to expect. I mean, I interned there last summer, so I kind of know what to expect. But I'm quite certain that it'll be different from the summer experience, too. Check in tomorrow, and I'll try to remember to post how things went. (I've been scattered in posting because I finally went to the doctor and it turns out that the pain in my neck is not psychosomatic; I have had a month-long-muscle spasm. I was prescribed a muscle relaxant, but I can't stay awake on the stuff, so I take it when I put the kids to bed, and then I'm out like a light within the hour. . .)
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