You take them both, and there you have...the facts of life, the facts of life! Okay, who remembers that show?! I was trying to figure out how to explain/title these last couple of weeks, and that was what immediately popped into my head! If you follow this blog at all, you'll know that I'm huge on honesty. And, while it's not easy to admit when things aren't going great, I always want this blog to be a portrait of truth. The past couple of weeks were a little rough. We started out February the same way we ended January--sick. That's never fun, but thankfully we were all able to shake it just in time for Tommy to start preschool on the 4th. Now, here's one of those times in life where a Mother kind of dreams up how everything is going to go. Tommy was SO EXCITED for school that he woke himself (and the rest of us) up early! And, as cute as it was to hear him talking about preschool and everything, it didn't hold a candle to how adorable he looked on his first day!
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| How adorable does he look carrying his Cars lunchbox, with his froggy backpack and sock-monkey beanie!! |
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| "Let's go Mom!!" |
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| All bundled up for his first day of preschool on Feb 4 |
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| He literally ran to the door he was so excited to leave! |
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| My big guy--sniff sniff <3 |
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| Ethan wasn't so sure this was all fair to him :) |
That was the "good"...now for the "bad". Let me just say, it wasn't the cheery pickup I had imagined after the first day of school! Now, let me just say, I know it was way harder on Tommy and his teachers for him to start in the middle of the year instead of in September like everyone else...that said...ROUGH! I kind of knew I was going to hear a few things especially about what is known as "activities of daily life"--putting his coat on and taking it off without assistance, same with pants, underwear, and shoes. It's just harder when you're actually told them for some reason--I felt like a crappy Mom. In fact, I was kind of sardonically toying around with the idea of writing a book called, "Momplex: The Complex All Mothers Get Naturally" or something like that! Let me tell you, you will never be more insecure in your life than you are as a parent. There is always something to second-guess, there's always someone doing it better than you (or at least portraying that on social media outlets), there's always something your kid needs to improve at. My friend posted a meme of a coffee mug just the other day that said "World's Okayest Mom"--boy can I relate!! In the end, I do know they feel very loved, and they know they're in a very stable home with parents who adore each other. That said, in the 10-15 minutes following Tommy's first preschool class, I was feeling pretty bad. They of course mentioned all of the things I listed above, but they also weren't a fan of some of Tommy's witty comebacks :) The home setting and the school setting are different places I think for good reason. At home, for example, we're not going to "force" Tommy to do a craft if he doesn't want to. At school, understandably, they are building routines and need to keep all of the kids on the same track so to speak. Enter Tommy's responses--my sweet, precious, quirky Tommy!! "No, I don't want to do that right now, maybe we'll do that later," or "No, it's not my turn, it's your turn", and the new favorite, in an effort to dodge doing a task he doesn't want to "Tommy is so sleepy right now--I need to take a little rest." So, I was promptly told that Tommy is not allowed to tell the teachers "No" anymore, and that we need to reinforce that at home...duh...obviously! A few other things were that he can't write his name yet (which isn't age appropriate anyway, so I'm not worried about that one), he still sucks his fingers, and he didn't sit criss-cross spaghetti sauce--WHEW!!
In the grand scheme of things, those items aren't that big of a deal, and they will easily be corrected with time. But, again, hearing all of that on the first day made for a very insecure Mommy. Thankfully I was able to go have some fun and vent a little with my fellow bridesmaids and groomslady at Becky and Steven's house for a little wedding planning. I have to say, I wasn't in a very jovial mood when I got there, but those ladies made me feel so much better--thanks to all of you for a wonderful and fun-filled night!!
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| Taryn, Becky, me, and Courtney letting loose! |
Tommy had really good therapy sessions on Wednesday, so that was definitely a positive moving forward in the week. Friday brought Day 2 of preschool. The lead teacher seemed to be really pleased with the strides Tommy had made in just a few short days, but there were definitely still plenty of things for us to be working on, so I was feeling a bit down again. Thank God for my friends! Laura came to have our first official sleepover since their move to Chapel Hill, and it could not have come at a better time! Tommy was so excited she was coming over that he said he wanted to make her a cake! We didn't have any cake mix, but we did have a box of brownies, which is far superior to cake in my opinion anyway! I made Laura's favorite dish, taco rice salad, and we spent the night eating and drinking and watching My Fair Lady! Davey was such a sweetheart and told Laura and I to take our bed so that we could sleep in, and he slept on the couch with the baby monitors in the living room--best husband ever!!
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| Brownies for Aunt LoLo!! |
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| Tommy thought it was hilarious that he got brownie batter on his face :) |
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| Bate, bate, chocolate :) |
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| The boys were thrilled that Uncle NoNo made a special guest appearance :) |
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| "Oh no--NoNo's getting me!!" |
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| Time to settle in with a snugglebug before bedtime <3 |
On Saturday we all headed back over to my parent's house to watch the UNC vs. Miami game and to have dinner together as a big family again :) After church on Sunday, we were thankful to be able to drop the boys off at Goggi's house so Davey and I could have a little down time together.
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| The 3 gingers and Tommyboy relaxing on Sunday night! |
And then we were back to Monday...aka Preschool, Day 3. The morning started off a good note--Tommy was in high spirits and in his usual joking mood!
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| Tommy's new "happy face"--he's all ready for school! |
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| Tommy's sad face--soon to be accompanied by a video because it's hilarious--"Boo hoo hooooo" ...always with his head tilted like that. He cracks me up!! |
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| An up close, and more crazy view of Tommy's happy face :) |
Finally--a good day at preschool--wooohoooo!! It wasn't perfect, but it was good. Most importantly, Tommy and his teachers seemed to all feel much more comfortable with each other--sigh of relief!! In one week, we were able to get Tommy to do most of the items on the original list--but, it wasn't a super fun week! He can now successfully put on/take off his underwear, pants, and his coat (although he does still need help putting the zipper in before he zips it up solo). He now goes pee-pee standing up with appropriate aim! He is certainly attempting to write his name, and he has the T and O down pretty well. He now compliantly sits "criss cross spaghetti sauce", and he has completed 2 art projects at school :)
On Wednesday, Tommy and I headed out pretty early to drop off Valentine's for his teachers and classmates for their party. Tommy doesn't go to school on Wednesdays because I still wanted him to be able to go to his speech and OT therapies, but we still wanted to participate! His school is totally nut-free, like cannot be produced in a factory where nuts might be even if the product doesn't contain nuts! So, it was kind of hard to find an appropriate valentine treat, but I finally found one! Thank God for Laura for creating the cute little toppers for me at the last second ;)
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| Aren't these adorable--thanks Lo!! |
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| A healthy, nut-free treat for Tommy's classmates :) |
Tommy gave each of his teachers and the Director of the school some flowers, and each child in his class got an applesauce Valentine. After that, we headed over to Pediatric Therapy Associates to see Mrs. Emily, Mrs. Kelly, and Ms. Ashley (Mrs. Kelly's intern). Tommy was so excited to give them their flowers, and they were all just so tickled with Tommy <3
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| Who wouldn't want to get flowers from this handsome guy?!?! |
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| My heart <3 |
After another good therapy session, we headed to Chick-fil-A to meet Leslie and the twins for a little play date before heading to the grocery store!
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| Through the plastic screen--Tommy was having an absolute blast!! |
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| Reagan and Tommy were practically inseparable in there--so cute! |
That night, my Mom came to pick them up for their weekly Wednesday night Grandma time, and Tommy presented Grandma with homemade Valentine's for her and Granddaddy. I forgot to take a picture, but I'm betting that she kept them, and I can grab one this weekend :) We haven't had a chance to see Goggi and Papa Bill, but here are their Valentine's from Tommy--SPOILER!!
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| Papa Bill's Valentine :) |
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| Goggi's Valentine from Tommy <3 |
I was fortunate enough to receive my very first homemade Valentine's from Tommy this year too--so cute, and I will treasure them always!!
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| Mommy <3 Tommy too!! |
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| Such a sweet little tile--maybe I can put it in our next house or something :) |
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| Tommy cut out the little red and pink pieces of the inside of the heart! |
Finally, here we are at least, Valentine's Day. My loving husband brought me a beautiful ECU colored bouquet of flowers, and I made him a giant heart shaped steak (paired with roasted asparagus and mixed new potatoes, not pictured!).
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| My beautiful flower arrangement <3 |
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| Hey, you can't beat a heart shaped ribeye that is the size of a dinner plate--sides had to be served on another plate! |
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| Davey was all for it!! |
So, Happy Valentine's Day to all! Maybe it's an appropriate ending for this post. It's definitely the good, and it's the one thing I'm sure I'm doing right--loving my husband and loving my boys <3
