My Lazy Sunday

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Lucky me.  My children Robi and Drew slept in late this morning.  How refreshing it is to get an extra hour or two of sleep in the morning (a rarity I assure you).  Today, will be my lazy Sunday….NOT!  No sooner did my tribe awaken did the madness begin.  By the way, did I tell you that there is a 8 1/2 year age difference in my kids?  Yup.  So Robi (the oldest) thinks she’s the boss, and Drew (the baby)…he’s not having it.  

Responding to the screams from the kitchen as they fight over eating the bananas they think are too soft for human consumption.  I make it over to them just in time to witness a perfectly good banana getting tossed in the trash.  With a huge sigh, I send them packing as I decide what to make for breakfast AND what to do with these perfectly good yet overripe bananas.  

I turn to my favorite food channel for help and what do I see?!?!  One of my favorite chefs making  muffins with ripe bananas!  As I watch her make this simple recipe, I see that I have everything I need to make them.  What a relief.  I’ve got breakfast in the bag (for the kids at least…I happen to despise bananas)!

First comes love…then comes keeping your kids happy and fed with banana muffins!  Ta-dah!!!

 

Joy

 

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Grade School…Public or Private?

Today is the first day of school and although it’s not a milestone year (Robi is going into the 5th grade and Drew is only two), our house was buzzing this morning with excitement for all that this school year may have to offer.  Why?  Well, we are taking the leap from public school to private school.  No more FCAT; hello SAT. Goodbye classroom overcrowding, hello hands on instruction.  Uniforms?  Yes please.  Robi’s new school has only TWO, yes two fifth grade classes.  This is exactly what she needs and Chef Hubby and I are super excited for her. 

Drew on the other hand, he is starting at a new daycare which is right next to Robi’s school.  Actually they are on the same campus…super convenient!  Only one drawback…or two really.  They don’t allow pacifiers OR crocs shoes.  These are the two most important things in his little life.  Remember torture by pacifier?  Well, we are terrified…for the teacher that is! 

None the less we started this day with a bang and it just keeps getting better!  What a difference we’ve noticed already between the two types of school environments (I guess you really do get what you pay for).  All of the families were extremely friendly and cooperative.   I’ve never hugged so many strangers in my life (except for maybe on my wedding day!!!)  When it was time to enter the building, there were a few returning students standing in the hallway holding up signs with the names of  various new students on them.  Same as the airport, you know, the limo driver standing with a sign in his hand with the name of an arriving passenger?  It was just like that!  Robi met up with her welcome buddy and we (Robi, Chef Hubby and me) were escorted to the classroom.  I couldn’t believe how much everyone wanted to help and make sure that we matriculate into this new system with minimal difficulty.   And her teacher; talk about someone who has a passion for education.  Before today, we have received about three emails from him.  An introduction, a request for pictures and a lesson plan for week one.  All I can say is… WOW!  I think we have found a new school home and I only wish we had found it sooner! 

P.S.:  I can’t wait to hear about how the rest of day one went! 

Here’s to a great new school year!!

Joy

Torture by Pacifier

 

Okay…so my son Andrew just turned two years old this week and he is still VERY attached to his pacifier or “pappie” as he calls it.  He sleeps with one every night and he has to have one or more of them in his sight when he is playing throughout the day.  There are many times when he has one in his mouth and one in each hand.  He is obsessed!

In his two short years of life, we have purchased a multitude of pacifiers and luckily for us (depending on how you look at it), he doesn’t discriminate.  He’ll suck almost any pacifier we give him and as a result, at any given time we have about 5-10 pacifiers lying around the house.  I’m wondering though, if this is actually making the problem worse.  At least on the home front anyway.  Why do I say this?  Well, because he doesn’t ask for a pappie at daycare.  When either Chef Hubby or I take him to school in the morning, he goes into class and immediately hands his teacher the coveted personal treasure.  AND, we have been told that he only asks for it at nap time and when he wakes up from his nap, he immediately hands the pappie back to the teacher for safe keeping in his cubby until it’s time to go home.

Now, when I pick Drew up from daycare, it’s a completely different story.  As soon as he sees me, he says MOOOMMYYYYYY with a huge smile on his face and arms wide open ready for a huge hug.  He starts to run in my direction but then he remembers his pappie, stops, changes direction and makes a beeline for his cubby.    “Get it Mommy, Get it Pappie!” he screams at me.  So of course, I go to the cubby, get the pappie and hand it over.  Meanwhile, his teacher is looking at our exchange and smiling to herself.  I know exactly what she’s thinking.   Andrew and his pacifier are controlling mommy’s life!!!!!

Well, she’s right.  Andrew and his pacifier ARE controlling my life and I need help!  Somebody pleeeeease help.   If the pappie is out of Drew’s sight even for a moment, he demands that I, Robi (big sister) and/or daddy (Chef Hubby) stop what we are doing and look for it.  He literally tells us to “find it” and if we don’t, he throws a temper tantrum.  First comes love… then comes Torture by Pacifier.  We go through this every day all day.  And yet, he doesn’t do this at daycare.  I’m so confused. 

So the questions are many.  How do we wean Andrew off the pacifier?  Why does he only give our family a hard time and not the daycare?  Should we even worry about it? Are any of you going through the same thing?    

I’d love to hear thoughts and helpful ideas from all you parents out there.  I…we…our family… desperately want to live in a pappie free zone!!

Joy