A Big Day!

Today was an emotional day, and not the pregnant hormonally emotional kind of day either. Even though I am sure that added to my already fragile state of mind as I took my first born to his 1st day of preschool today.

Yep, my baby had his first day of school today! Seriously I do not understand how I can have a kid old enough to be in school. I have been trying to get him into a preschool for months now and we were put on waiting lists because of all the spots being filled. Just when I thought that Timothy wasn't going to be going to actual preschool, and instead I was going to have to teach him at home we got a call about an opening.

It was the neighboring school districts preschool program, and they had an afternoon spot open. I jumped all over it. And today was the day. Timothy was super excited, wearing his backpack all day yesterday and asking when he was going to see his teacher Mrs. Heather. He spent all morning much the same way, backpack on ready for school.

The parents were able to walk all the kids down to their classroom where they found their cubby and put their backpacks up. Then they found their folder on the table and worked on writing their names and making shapes until all the kids showed up. Then they put their folders away, and it was time to say goodbye so they could start their day.

I teared up, but kept everything down until I made it to the van. Timothy was awesome though, no tears and he followed all the teacher's instructions. Mason spent the whole afternoon asking about where Timothy was and stating that Timothy was at school with the teacher. I think he was a little sad and missed his best buddy. Thankfully he still had Taylor or else I think he would have had a harder time with Timothy being gone.

After a couple hours we went to pick him up. I arrived a few minutes early and sat by the door with some other parents and caught the kids dancing. Even Timothy was dancing! I was so glad to see him participating with the class and having a good time. On the way home, I asked him several times what he did at school and each time got the "nothing" response! He said he had a lot of fun and wanted to go back tomorrow.

After we were home for about an hour Timothy remembered he had something in his backpack. A note from his teacher with a piece of candy!

So it's official I have a preschooler. My sweet boy is now a big guy! But he will always be my baby, my first baby!!

Another Prince or Princess?

Last Tuesday, I went in for my 20 week checkup and THE ultrasound. My guess was another boy, I had that feeling from the beginning. Everything about this pregnant reminded me of Timothy's pregnancy. Tim was thinking girl. Really I didn't have a preference. I have both boy and a girl so I would have been thrilled with either.

During the ultrasound the tech did the all the usual measurements they do around this time. She measured the head, belly, femur bone, looked for all the vital organs, checked the heartbeat. Everything looked good except there were a few things she couldn't really see or get a good picture of.

She was never able to get a good picture of the heart or things like the lips. WTF?! She said that she is sure everything is fine that it could be I am a little more overweight this time around so it's harder to get clear pictures. I mean I'm sure my little angel has lips, but It made me a little nervous to know that there were things they couldn't see. I have never had any problems with ultrasounds.

She decided to schedule me for another ultrasound in 4 weeks, and said that by then the baby will be even bigger and they should be able to see everything. But at the very end she asked if we wanted to know the sex, and of course we did! I have no patience to wait.

And then she wrote it out for us. We will be welcoming a new baby......

GIRL!

I was shocked! I was really thinking another little boy. Tim of course had to brag that he has been able to guess all 4 of the kids correctly. Nonetheless though we are ecstatic, and I cannot wait for Taylor to have a sister. I could not think of a better way to complete our family. 2 boys and 2 girl. Perfect!

Now comes the hard part, picking a name!

Alyssa's 2nd Birthday!

Last Sunday our good friends Chris and Angie's little girl Alyssa turned 2. She had a birthday party at CiCi's Pizza! There was food, games, presents, and of course cake. Mason was so excited to see his girlfriend, he loves Alyssa so much!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALYSSA!

Grant's Farm

Last week my mom and I took the kids to Grant's Farm, the first trip of the year! It is like a small version of the Zoo with special history ties to St. Louis. We spent all morning playing, and I think the kids had a great time! Just wanted to share some pictures from our day.

Playgroups.....Good or Bad?

I became a stay at home mom when my first son Timothy was a year and a half old. Going from working full time to spending my days at home with my son was sorta a shock to me. Working full time I had plenty of time to socialize with adults, I was able to get out of the house everyday. Once I was staying home full time I lost all of that.

Not only was I needing to get that adult socialization, my son was now not getting that interaction with other kids like he was getting on a daily basis. I was a young new mother, I was 19 when Timothy was born. I needed to find support and help from other moms, so I turned to playgroups.

That first playgroup was crucial for us, and it was the best playgroup! The support, advice, and friendships I gained from that playgroup were priceless. And ever since that first playgroup I have struggled to find one that I liked as much. I went through several more playgroups that didn't work out for one reason or another. When my second son was born I found a playgroup that I enjoyed and eventually I became the organizer of that playgroup. It was the only other playgroup that I enjoyed as much as that first one.

I was sad to see that group go, but thankful that I made some friendships in that group of ladies that would last well after the group was gone.

I have went through a handful of other playgroups since the group I organized and have had no such luck at finding one that lasted. Finally about a month ago I found a group that seemed like it was going to work. They were all moms from around where I lived, they had several play dates scheduled a week, and looked like a great group. I went to my first play date with the group last week and had the worst experience I have ever had.

Of all the playgroups I have been in I have never had a really bad experience, they usually just didn't work out for a reason such as location or not having many play dates. But this group didn't lack any of that, they lacked common courtesy. We met at a park by our house for a morning play date. I was the second mom to arrive and had a short conversation with the mom that was already at the park. We said hello and made small talk. Then I went the rest of the morning without ANYONE saying a word to me. The only other mom was the assistant organizer and she merely said hello. The organizer of the group never approached me once. Everyone seemed to already know one another, so I was surprised she never introduced herself or me to the group.

So I was already feeling like a fish out of water. It felt like being a new kid in school and trying to fit in when there are already cliques formed. After that it was just one incident after another. First a little boy ran up and pushed Mason down and jumped on him. Then that same little boy sprayed my kids with water after I asked him once not to get them wet. But that's not all, then that little boy decided to take my $800 camera and hide it on the playground equipment. The only reason I found my camera was because another little boy told me where it was.

The thing I couldn't figure out was this little boy was terrorizing everyone, kids and adults. And no one seemed to be doing anything about it. Like that was just who he was and they let him do it. Well I had enough, and left the park pretty upset. I later received an email that I had been removed from the group because the other moms were complaining about me yelling (which I never did except when I left after my camera was taken).

Who knows if I will ever find another playgroup like that first one or the one I ran. But for now I am done looking. What ever happened to mother's supporting one another, a group of woman who are apart of a group for friendships and advice.

I am curious what your take on playgroups are especially if your a mom. Are you apart of a playgroup or mom's group? Do you think playgroups are more good or just problems? If your not apart of a playgroup, how do you get that advice, support, and socialization with other moms?