Getting back into the swing of things

It's been busy as usual around here. School is going well for Ted. We've gotten him there in time each day so far. There have been a couple mornings where I wasn't sure if we would make it in time. Soccer has started now too for Ted. He started practice last week and has his first game this Saturday. I wasn't sure if he would enjoy it as much as baseball but he's having fun again this season.

I found a home daycare for Harry and Nate and they've gone 2 weeks now. Harry loves that there's a dog there. He is obsessed with dogs and spends a good part of Ted's soccer practices petting and hugging a dog that is there. I've decided not to send Harry to preschool this year after all. It wasn't working with the work schedule. He's doing really well academically so I think he'll be fine. He counted to 100 the other day and didn't need much help from me and he's also able to rhyme words well. I'm going to work with him on handwriting on days I don't work. Hopefully we can do just a little each day and he'll be ready next year for it all.

Nate is still adjusting to daycare but is doing pretty well. He didn't nap at all the first week. This week, he fell asleep on the way and slept for about 45 minutes once he got there. That's an improvement. He slept in the afternoon after I picked them up also. He hasn't been himself this week--either a cold or teething or both--so it hasn't surprised me that he has cried a little bit when I left.

Work is going well. I'm having to relearn a few things that I hadn't done in 13 years. I can't believe it's been that long since graduating from college. I worked for 11 years in microbiology where I didn't have to draw blood, do any urinalysis, or cbc's. I drew blood yesterday for the first time in almost exactly 13 years. I got the vein fine but I was shaking like a leaf the whole time. I didn't want to be that nervous but I was. I think the girl I drew the blood from was a little anxious about having blood drawn so that didn't help. I've gotten it out of the way now though so I know I'm still capable and it's just a matter of doing it more. Luckily, a lot of the kids we'll see will probably have decent veins.

He's finally adding more foods to his diet

Ted actually ate 1/2 a cheeseburger for dinner tonight. I can't believe it. He was our pb&j 3 times a day kid. At least he was consistent on always liking that. Whenever we've tried to get him to try something new, he's always resisted. We've had to back off and let him do things in his own time. When school started last week, I gave him the option of eating the school lunch or bringing a lunch. I made his lunch the first day but he's wanted to eat hot lunch since then. They offer pb&j each day and I thought last year that's what he'd be eating every day if he bought lunch. He's eaten the hot dog, chicken patty, hamburger, and grilled cheese there, though. He's also been trying things at the salad bar there. He even tried dill pickles tonight when he saw that Nate was eating them and liking them. He said he liked it but didn't want any more. It's a start.

I hope this isn't just a short phase that means he's growing right now and he'll go back to being picky again soon. He's given me hope like this before although he usually keeps the new foods on his list of acceptable foods. I think I'll still cross my fingers, though.

Holy mail

As we were walking in to church today, Harry noticed a mailbox in the parking lot. He asked, "Is that God's mailbox?" Ted replied, "Close, I think it's Jesus's." We said, no and then Ted figured it out and asked if it was the church's mailbox.

Daddy's little helper

Harry was upstairs with Bob while he was getting ready for work this morning. Bob said let's go together and Harry asked him, "to work?" Bob told him it would be pretty boring for him. He said it wouldn't be long before he could help him out, though. Bob was talking about him telling Harry to get on the computer and check some things out. Harry responded, "but I can't even spell yet!"

1st day of school

Today was Ted's first day of school for the year. He had a good day. His favorite part was recess. It's going to be an adjustment for him because he isn't used to sitting most of the day. I think he'll be ok at school but then I have a feeling he'll be melting down in the evenings with us. We took his bike with us when picking him up and he rode home fine. He had more energy tonight than I was expecting. He fell apart at bedtime when he needed to get teeth brushed, though.

Summer is coming to an end

We only have one full week before Ted is back in school. I am trying to use the tickets the boys earned from the summer library program. Today we went to Pump It Up since that's what Harry chose for one of his prizes. We had a fun time. Nate really seemed to enjoy running around and climbing and sliding down the big slide. I took him down the big slide shortly after getting there and then he wanted to back down several more times. I had to carry him up there and go down with him so I got a bit of exercise. It was fun but it wore me out as much as the kids I think. Harry's favorite was the big slide and Ted's favorite was the obstacle course.

Next week, we'll have to head up to the Farm to use Harry's other prize. Ted chose mini golf and swimming or skating so those will need to be used on the weekend when Bob is around. I don't want to try doing those with all 3 boys by myself. Nate got a book for completing his first 5 hours of reading. I'm not sure if he'll get the next 5 hours done in time. I think Ted has read over 20 hours this summer that we've recorded. He likes to read in bed before going to sleep and we haven't counted that time very much. I've probably said this a bunch of times but I'm so amazed at how much his reading has improved over this summer. He only starting reading this past spring.

I got a job!

I found out today that I got the job I interviewed for last week. It's part-time and located at CSU in the health services department. It'll be 11-2 Monday-Wednesday so Ted will be in school during that time. Now I need to find childcare for Harry and Nate. It's going to be harder than I realized I think to find good care for a reasonable price so I am not paying money to work. What's complicating matters is Harry's preschool. He starts at 12:30 and I'd like to keep him at the same place. I really think he needs this extra year of preschool to get ready for Kindergarten next fall. I'm looking into all childcare options to find the best fit for us. I think I'll be able to rule out the major centers due to price. I'm only going to be working 3 hours but I'd be paying for 5 or 6 hours if I took them to a center. It would include food and preschool for Harry but it was still too high. Hopefully we can get this all worked out. It's definitely stressful but hopefully we can figure it all out soon. There is a drop in center that I can use as a back up so that eases my mind a little bit that I don't need to rush to make a decision.

Nate is still climbing a lot. I was getting dinner ready and the boys and I were eating tortilla chips and Doritos. I looked over and Nate was sitting in the middle of the table snacking on Doritos. He's so quiet and fast when it comes to climbing on things. Apparently, he likes the Doritos better than the plain tortilla chips. Ted and Harry prefer the regular tortilla chips.