The Big K

It's finally here...KINDERGARTEN!!! Oh my goodness! Seriously, where did the time go? Jaxon is on his way to elementary school where he'll show his school spirit as a Mustang, and I think he's 90% excited about it. Of course, there are a lot of unknowns. So, logically, Jax is a little nervous too. Can't say I blame him, really. I'm a little worried too! Although, I'm not sure why. Our school district is #1 in the state, and Jax's new school has always been awarded "A" status.

Luckily, last week's orientation session was exactly what we needed to help settle our nerves. Jax met his new teacher, Mrs. P, and she seems very nice and PATIENT! More than one parent stopped us in the hallway to tell us how lucky we were to have been assigned to Mrs. P's classroom. To quote one mom, "Mrs. P is the perfect combination of fun and learning." I guess that's a good thing, right? Honestly, I was already feeling at ease even before hearing Mrs. P's rave reviews from the other parents because I had already checked out Jax's future classmates, and they all seem like sharp kids. I'm not saying Jax is in the advanced class, but he clearly didn't fail the assessment last Spring either! Plus, after Anh's head count, we determined that there will only be 17 children in the class. Yay for small class sizes!

While I was feeling better after meeting Jax's teacher and seeing the classroom, Jax was rejoicing over the fact that he already knows two of the boys in his class. One is a buddy from preschool, and the second is a friend from golf camp. I have no idea why Jax, the social butterfly, is so worried about making friends, but he is, and seeing these two boys in his classroom put Jax immediately at ease.

Anh and I learned that the Kindergarten teachers have orchestrated a staggered start for the first week where only five children from each class will report each day Monday through Thursday, and then, the entire class will start the school year together this Friday. I assume this allows the teacher to spend more time with each individual student to welcome them and get to know their personalities. I love the idea, personally. Jaxon's first day will be Thursday, and one of his buddies will also be in the group of five. So, the two of them will enter this brave new world together. I trust they'll watch each other's backs.

Before making our way back to the car, we toured the big school bus that was parked in front of the school. Yet another first! While I'll likely take Jax to school on his first day, the plan is for him to ride the school bus every morning after since the bus stop is two doors down from our house. However, I will pick Jax up in the afternoon. At least, that's the plan. We'll see how everything plays out. I did hear some scary things about the wait involved for the parent pickup. Maybe the bus will prove to be the better option.

Getting back to that whole "Where did the time go?" line of thinking, wasn't I just sharing the news that this little guy was starting preschool at age 2? What happened? That little boy is all grown up and starting a new chapter of his life! Hold on to your hats, Folks! We're all in for a wild & crazy ride! This ain't preschool anymore!

Making an Entrance

If you've ever had the pleasure of being in his company, then you know the following statement to be true. Baylor is NOT a wallflower! The kid is not afraid to take center stage, and my friends, we discovered yesterday that the boy knows how to make an entrance! For the second time in one week, the boys and I made the trek up to the hospital to have lunch with Daddy/Anh. I can't tell you the last time (prior to this week) that I've been brave enough to bring the boys up to Anh's office. Generally, it just doesn't go well. The office is so busy now, and the boys just don't understand that patients like the idea of a relaxing, calm environment when they visit their physician. While the majority of Anh's patients enjoy meeting their doctor's children, I don't like the idea of taking away from their experience. So, the drama of visiting is likely all in my head, but I tend to avoid Anh's office during business hours none the less.

Well, we were in town running errands on Tuesday, and Anh invited us up during his lunch break. Of course, the boys were overjoyed to see their dad. Jax was slightly disappointed that we would have to eat like commoners (I kid!) in the cafeteria rather than joining Daddy in the physicians' lounge that features a ping pong table as entertainment. Jax truly believes that is the reward for becoming a doctor, ping pong! Ahhh, to be young and naive. Jax and Baylor ultimately were just happy to score a visit with their dad. So, I'm sure you can imagine that their enthusiasm was tenfold today when they learned they were going to once again visit Daddy at his office.

The quick visit once again turned into an invitation to stay for lunch. More joy for the boys. By the time we walked through the cafeteria doors, Baylor was running through the makeshift aisle between the arranged tables with his hands raised in the air cheering, "Yay! Woo hoo! Yay! Woo hoo!" I'm soooooo not kidding! Of course, EVERYONE turned to stare at my overly animated child. Anh and I watched as the expressions changed from confusion to a shared joy, and then amazingly enough, others began to cheer and clap in celebration with Baylor. You seriously couldn't help laughing at the spectacle! I've never seen two children more thrilled to have lunch with their dad. Jax is mature enough to keep his emotions in check, while Baylor hasn't learned self control and let his emotions take over.

I think I better get these kids an agent! I swear the boys could be our retirement fund!

Adventures in Potty Training (Round 2)

Somehow, we were successful with Jax. I remember it required bribing him with a shiny red bicycle because he was so darn stubborn! However, Anh and I accomplished the task. This time around I'm hopeful that we'll have success much earlier with Baylor. For one thing, he's got an example to follow. Baylor has been fascinated with shadowing Jax to the bathroom for months now which usually leads to Jax screaming, "Baylor, get out of here! Mom! Baylor won't leave me alone!" I can't say I blame Jax. All the kid wants is some privacy. I know the feeling, buddy! I've found myself in the same situation too many times wondering, "Why can't I have 30-60 seconds of privacy behind a closed door to take care of business?!" Oh yeah, because I'm a mom which means that I've sacrificed any and all "me" time for...oh...let's say...the next 16 years...if I'm lucky!

With Baylor, we've already seen some progress. For the last several weeks, we've been working with him, and he consistently uses the potty. In fact, this week, we upgraded Baylor to real undies during the day because he's had so much success. You just have to ask him every few hours, "Baylor, do you need to go potty?" He will almost always shake his head and tell you, "No." With some prompting, "Come on, buddy, let's just go try." Baylor will follow you to the bathroom and give it a shot. After every successful trip, Baylor will run out and announce to the entire house, "I TRY! I TRY!" For the record, you didn't just "try," Baylor. YOU DID IT!

So, Anh and I have been coasting along thinking potty training is so much easier the second time around. Well, over-confidence always leads to your demise! Today, we (I say "we" because it was a group failure.) had our first accident. When Baylor woke up with a dry diaper, Anh rushed him to the potty. Obviously, the first effort of the day was a success, and then, Anh encouraged Baylor to try to push after tinkling. Baylor immediately shook his head and said, "No phoo phoo." Okay. It was still a successful morning. I just made a mental note that I'd need to encourage him to try again in a bit. As a reward for a job well done, Baylor was sporting his favorite pair of undies featuring Lightening McQueen. Well, within minutes, the morning success had been wiped away by and was replaced with a smelly odor. Poor Lightening McQueen! Clearly, it was more like "Yes phoo phoo!" Those undies were trashed. I didn't choose cloth diapers before & I'm not about to start now!

A minor setback, but we're still ahead of the game in my book. Something tells me that this time around we won't be shopping for a bribe. We'll be on the hunt for a reward!

Homework

Since we purchased the Kindergarten school supplies, Jax has been asking to do homework each evening after dinner. I wonder how long he'll enjoy the idea of homework? I'm doubtful that the infatuation will last very long, probably until the start of school. That's how it works, right? You're excited about returning to school right up until it's actually time to do it. I guess one can always hope that Jax will be the overachieving type-A student that LOVES school assignments. However, something tells me he's more likely to be an overachiever that does well in class (especially P.E., music, and art), but looks forward to play time when the school bell rings at the end of the day!

For now, Jax practices writing his letters and numbers. This is simply a refresher because he's had them mastered for over a year. We make him practice writing practical things too like writing our address and emergency contact numbers. Jax also enjoys working on spelling, but the list of words that he studies are limited to Superhero names. I'm not sure how that will prove to be useful in life, but if the National Spelling Bee focuses on Superheroes this year, then Jax is set!

As of this week, Jax is also obsessed with learning to read. He has already memorized an impressive list of sight words, but we've moved on to phonics now that Jax is eager to learn the new skill. Actually, Jax is quite frustrated that he can't read already. I guess he had a self-imposed deadline to master the skill prior to Kindergarten. When Jax first showed interest in reading his own bedtime stories at the beginning of the summer, Anh & I immediately rushed out and bought a number of workbooks and games that promised assistance with phonics and reading. Well, the lessons fell by the wayside when we took off for our cruise, and frankly, I forgot all about the "home schooling" until Jax mentioned that he wanted to work on reading while shopping for the school supplies, and that is exactly why I will never seriously consider homeschooling my children. I am clearly not a dedicated teacher! I am easily distracted by "fun." Lessons in this household certainly wouldn't result in impressive SAT or ACT scores.

For now, I consider myself a substitute teacher of sorts. Anh & I are simply filling in while the real deal enjoys the last few days of summer vacation. Soon enough, Jax's teacher will have his/her perfectly decorated classroom invaded by a whirlwind of chaos. The teacher can look forward to answering the same questions a million times about the school year ahead, and I'm sure there will also be quite a few tears due to separation anxiety. Then, there's the kids. Oh, did you think I was talking about the kids before. No, I'm sure it's the parents that will be in teary-eyed question mode. The kids will certainly handle the transition much, much better!

Didn't We Just Do This?

I feel like I just completed a thorough Spring cleaning, but for some reason my type-A and/or slightly obsessive-compulsive personality has me once again cleaning and organizing the house. During this round methodical organizing, I've primarily focused my attention on Baylor's room. As of this morning, all of the baby items have been packed up and are ready to be placed in their new home...the attic. While I did manage to part ways with more than half of the baby clothes (approximately 11 garbage bags that were crammed full and donated to Goodwill), I did hold on to two large storage tubs worth of fabric memories.

I also packed away the baby toys that do nothing now except decorate the floor. Jax and Baylor don't "play" with them. Yet, these toys are always cluttering the house. I figured if I delayed packing them away in the attic any longer, I might just snap and end up throwing them away, and since most of the gear is still in pristine condition that would really be a shame. I also wrapped all of the larger items like the exersaucer, jumper, bouncy seats, etc. in plastic and added them to the growing pile. Anh is gonna be thrilled when he gets home from the office and sees the mountainous pile of things that I've gathered for him to haul into the inferno I like to call the attic!

Last, but not least, I'm washing all of the baby bedding and packing it away in one final storage tub. I figure this will force me to go out and buy that "big boy bed" that I've been talking about for months. I already purchased the bedding and some new artwork for Baylor's room. I just need the bed and the transition from baby to boy will be complete, at least on the decorating front. We're still working on the potty training!

Back to School Insanity

Wow! So, it's August. When did that happen? I feel like we were living in fast-forward from Spring Break until now. In the past, I would have considered that a good thing because I'm not really a fan of Summer. However, this year, I have quite enjoyed the sweltering heat of Florida. I guess the key is to always be near a pool or beach. Funny that it took me three years to figure that out!

Once realizing that the start of Jaxon's Kindergarten year is approaching with lightening speed, it seemed only logical that we should start the back to school shopping. This will be the first year that we're responsible for school supplies, and both Jax and I were eager to tackle the list. That, however, requires me to venture into Target. In general, I tend to avoid shopping cart stores now. It used to be the opposite. Shopping carts made my life easier, but that's no longer the case. Now, both boys insist on walking. Jax is fine, but Baylor has deemed himself to be a"big boy" and no longer in need of the shopping cart seat which means the Target trip that used to take 30 minutes now lasts 3 hours!

While wandering the aisles, I know I must sound like a broken record to every other shopper in the vicinity because I find myself repeating phrases like, "Come back here!", "Don't touch that!", "Put that back!", "You better not!" and "Do you want timeout?" It's ridiculous really, but otherwise I will be that woman standing at the customer service counter asking that the store be placed on lockdown while I locate my two missing boys. Actually, Jax is very well behaved. I wouldn't lose him because he doesn't wander off. Baylor, on the other hand, doesn't seem to understand that he has a fairly good life with us and might want to make an effort to stick around.

Anyway, getting back to today's mission of school supplies, the boys and I made our way to the back corner of the store with our shopping cart. Along the way, items were leaping off the store shelves into our cart. This is quite common for us at Target. I go armed with a list, but once there, it occurs to me that I actually overlooked at least 1000 items that we simply NEED or life will come to a screeching halt. This almost always leads to a look of panic when the total is displayed at checkout, but somehow the scenario continues to repeat itself.

Again, getting back to the story...once in the school supply section, Jax and I quickly located all the boring stuff like boxes of tissue, paper towels, hand sanitizer, etc. Actually, I was thinking that it was awesome of the Target employees to round up all of these items from the various departments around the store and display them in one central location for us. That made my life a lot easier and saved me at least an hour of wandering and threatening Baylor.

After all the boring classroom necessities were in the cart, Jax and I turned our focus to the "fun" stuff like notebooks, folders, pencils, crayons, markers, scissors, storage cases, etc. Well, some of the fun was robbed from us when we realized that there were very specific instructions on which notebooks and folders he should buy. Wouldn't you know it, they wanted boring solid-colored covers, no Super Heroes or cartoon characters. What?! Where's the fun in that? At that point, I declared that we would simply have to buy a set of notebooks for both school and home. That seemed to bring the smile back to Jax's face. When he realized there were cool pencils and erasers to choose, Jax was even more thrilled.

Meanwhile, I guess to Baylor it appeared that I was in some sort of "free-for-all" shopping mode because when I turned around to examine the cart, I realized it was piled (and I do mean PILED) high with all sorts of CRAP! There were no less than 40 boxes of crayons, at least the same number of markers, and more pencils than I could even begin to count. There were more pencils in my cart than in the display, if that tells you anything. It seems I got a little too caught up in the character choices when I should have been focusing on what Baylor had decided was "essential."

Ten minutes later, after sorting out what I actually intended to purchase as opposed to what Baylor thought we needed, we were back to focusing on the school list. Jax and I had managed to locate every single item except plastic pronged folders in red, blue, green, and yellow. Surely, the folders were somewhere. I was just overlooking them. After wandering the aisles 4 more times carefully scanning the contents of the shelves all while threatening Baylor to "shape up," I still couldn't find the folders. By this point, I was absolutely at the end of my rope. Nap time had come and gone, and Baylor was letting me know it. I was certain that at any moment I might just begin screaming. I accepted defeat and told Jax that we would just have to find the folders another day. He didn't care. Jax doesn't dread the idea of visiting another shopping cart store the way I do.

As I raced to the checkout lanes, determined to exit the store before Baylor or I had another tantrum, it occurred to me that the Target employees might be testing me. I detoured from the direct route to checkout and scanned the regular office supply aisle where I discovered cases of plastic pronged folders! Those silly Target employees! What a mean trick to play on parents! I couldn't help smiling as I knew the discovery meant I had indeed succeeded in one-stop shopping which no doubt would save the shred of sanity that I have left. Then, my joy crumbled to despair when I realized there were no red folders. Where are the *%#@& red folders?!?! Of all the *%#@& luck! Then, in the very, very back (I think someone hid it actually) I found 1 RED plastic pronged folder. "DONE!" I actually shouted that in the aisle. By that point, I'm sure security cameras were pointed on me, the crazy woman, in the office supply aisle.

The discovery of that red folder returned me to calm-cool-collected Shannon. Let's hope I can maintain that composure as we shop for shoes, a backpack, and a lunch box tomorrow. Surely, those 3 items can't be that hard to find, right?

Back to Back

We are making the most of our final days of summer, and what better way to do than booking back to back weekend getaways. Singer Island off of Palm Beach County was destination #2. This was our second trip to the area, and once again, we stayed at "our" condo. It's not really ours. Hence, the quotation marks, but we like to pretend. We love it so much, we plan to visit it yearly. Well, at least until we discover something better. Another bonus to not owning. We can be fickle. Just like last year, we spent tons of time of the balcony, but who could resist such amazing views and ocean breezes? Certainly not me! However, Kelly and I did have to pull ourselves away for a very important date. We were headed out for a night on the town with Anne who had also driven down for the weekend. "What was on the agenda?" you might ask. Well...seeing Dave Matthews Band! Woo hoo! I can't think of a better Girls' Night Out!Mother Nature gave us a little preshow scare when she opened the skies and sent torrential rain crashing down on us, but thankfully, by the time the opening band took to the stage, Mother Nature had tired of her games. The clouds cleared, and from that point on, the night was amazing.Back at the homestead, Baylor was running the show. What else is new, right? The boys spent the evening on the beach. Just a little warm-up for the weekend ahead.Day 2 was centered around the pools. Jax couldn't wait to hit the waterslide! Baylor was not quite as enthusiastic. In fact, he loudly protested during the first climb to the top. Luckily, no lasting emotional scars were created. It was refreshing in a way to see that our little daredevil isn't entirely fearless. Sometimes I wonder!That particular morning, Jax was the adrenaline junkie that we couldn't pry away from the slide. At first, he wanted someone to wait at the bottom of the slide to catch him, but Jax quickly realized that his swimming skills have drastically improved over the past 12 months. He's fine on his own now. Well, with a little adult supervision, of course.The only downside to the day was that the boys had some issues sharing the coveted blue swim goggles. I always used to wonder why parents buy 2 of the exact same items especially if the item is offered in a variety of colors. That little life mystery has been cleared up for me!All in all, it really was a great way to spend the day together. Sometimes it's best when you're doing nothing at all.Day 3, we made it down to the beach again. There really is no better way to start the day. Smiles were abundant that morning. Adding to the fun was the fact that the water was so calm. This allowed us to better explore the coral reefs located just off shore. The boys were armed with their fishing nets, but the fish somehow outsmarted us. I wasn't too disappointed. Truth be told, I didn't really want to find myself in the position to explain to the boys why we couldn't keep the sea creature as a pet.Jax had another mission to focus on anyway, finding a huge sea shell. He couldn't be outdone by Aunt Kelly's find earlier in the week, a huge conch shell. Jax isn't competitive at all, is he?Unfortunately, we didn't find anything in the massive category, but the beach was littered with small shells which came in quite handy when it was time to decorate our sand castle. The boys don't understand the idea that "less is more." I had to help them reconstruct the towers several times after they collapsed under the weight of the shells that adorned them.It's okay though. Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder, and I LOVED the final product!