Thursday, January 20, 2011

The Preschool Blues

I have gone to three preschool open houses this week. The first one was thoroughly mediocre and had me a little scared that it would be hard to find a good one. The people were all very nice, but they kind of did a hard sell for a cooperative preschool which just seems to be the wrong way to go, to me.

Then on Tuesday, I visited a wonderful preschool in Fairfax. I wanted to start going there myself. They had a huge room with different activities and the theme this week is dinosaurs, so there were dinosaurs everywhere. Very cool. The only problem? It's in Fairfax, and I don't really want to be here next year.

Today I went to visit another cooperative preschool in Silver Spring, around where we would like to buy a house. It was a mixed bag. The kids seemed to be having a great time, and the rooms and teachers seemed cool, but the parents... They were nice, but I have never felt so underdressed and overdressed at the same time before. I was wearing a cherry red sweater set, small gold earrings, and jeans. I also had a tan, plain purse and a black and white ginko print jacket. I felt I had adopted a fairly conservative look that would be at home in a place where I do have to apply to get in, but where I also might get tempra paint on me while there. I should also mention that I was wearing make-up, which is relevant because nobody seemed to even have as much as chapstick on. Also, their clothes were all various shades of mud. Now, I happen to like shades of mud and think they can even look chic, but these all looked shapeless and drab and severe. I felt very out of place, and when I was telling C about it, he said "You felt very Dallas, huh?" And he was right, I felt that they were looking at me and seeing Texas big hair, pageant make-up, and flash. I felt like I was wearing sequins, when I thought I was projecting pearls. And that is a feeling I don't think I have ever had before.

Admittedly, I don't know if all the moms are like that, but really, there was shockingly little make-up around, especially considering the women all seemed like they were in their late thirties or early forties. You need make-up in order to look decent when you start aging; if I don't wear make-up it looks like I just got out of bed, all day. Or that I just finished a not-so-short stay in the hospital. Believe me, mascara and lipstick are with me before I check to see if I have extra diapers. After all, I can always pick up extra diapers, or even borrow one if I have to, but I can't just pick up a new lipstick on the fly.

I have another preschool open house to go to next week, but we may have to wait another year until we're settled to snag a spot at someplace we want. In the meantime, he could really go anywhere, I know I'm a good mom, and he's getting what he needs at home, he just needs some extra socialization, especially some without me there, so most places will do the trick, if it comes to that.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Boring, Boring, Boring

I had been thinking to myself that I need to have more adult things to write about here, that I shouldn't be so focussed on Wiggle. Then I thought to myself, "hey, no one wants to read about whether I have a bladder infection." (I don't, BTW) How sad is that? The only thing I could think of off the top of my head that would qualify as adult content was a personal medical condition. I've got to get out of the house more. I need to do a little more reading and delve into some hobbies again. Otherwise, my life is becoming truly pathetic.

On that front, my family and I are reading A Midsummer Night's Dream together, which I am very excited about. Also, I am signing up for a charcoal and pastels class at one of the local rec centers. I have little-to-no artistic ability, but it should be a fun way to get out of the house for a few weeks.

I haven't been to the gym in a couple of weeks, which is upsetting, but I have some weird ankle pain, and I was trying to stay off of it, so it could heal. I'm going to make a doctor's appointment tomorrow, to try and get some physical therapy for it, so I can go back to the gym without making it worse.

Wiggle and I managed to have a very productive day, concerning both play and work. I got a little cleaning in, and we played with a bunch of different things without a lot of drama or aggression, which is wonderful. This evening I took him to the pool and we romped around until he got good and tuckered. It was a blast; the only reason we got out was that he was starting to shiver a lot, even in his wetsuit! (A wonderful freecycle acquisition)

My mom is coming out on Saturday, which is awesome for so many reasons, but I am especially excited because we are going to do some neighborhood scouting and house hunting. Fun!

The soccer star!
My husband, the sophisticate.
Enjoying a snack on the go.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Mini Me

Wiggle and I are currently embroiled in an epic battle for power and dominence, and I, of course, am losing heartily. I don't start the day thinking about campaigns and strategies, but there I am at noon screaming "Look at me when I'm talking to you!" and "if you don't pick up those toys, they are going AWAY!"
And there he is, unphased by the purple, throbbing vein in my forehead and the ever-higher pitch of my voice, grinning, Joker-style, while holding a crayon to the couch, ready to make his mark.

I am exagerating a little for effect jere, but it feels like high drama to me, and it's got to
stop. Today, while I was trying to take down the Christmas lights (don't judge me) from outside, he took the remaining Chrisas decorations from the neighbor's stoop and started smashing them on the ground with all of his might. I couldn't believe the look of abject joy he had on his face, as the plastic lawn stakes broke into smaller and smaller pieces.

When I was in second grade, there was this kid who lived down the street, Brad. Brad liked to throw rocks at the other kids on the block, and when I see Wiggle destroy things, a small part of me gets frightened that I am raising the next rock-thrower. Logically, I should not be worried by this- when some ofthe parents confronted Brad's parents about his behavior they expressed something like, "boys will be boys" or some such nonsense, and my horror at the thought of the same action in my kid means that the outcomes cannot be the same, but still, it is in a parent's nature to worry about these things.

Tomorrow, I'm spending some quality time at Barnes and Noble
in the parenting section. Also, I've got to find an indoor playground of some kind where he can run off some of this extra energy.

What can I say, it's been a rough week.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Post Holidays and New Year

We had a wonderful Christmas in Virginia with C's mom, aunt, and bro. Wiggle blissed out on trains and other various gifts. Santa brought an awesome digital camera and a book on trains (because he knew Wiggle was getting trains from his Aunt K and X-Man).
The big pile o' loot
Matching Monsters movies for Uncle B and Wiggle
Daddy's new coffee accessory
Perfume for me!
Taking pictures with his new camera
Mr. Serious
Uncle B getting some work in on Christmas morning
After Christmas, we drove to Dallas to see my family for New Year's. Thanks to some early morning help from both my mom and Uncle M, we have gotten to sleep in on more than a few days and finally get some much needed rest and relaxation.

We finally arrived home on Sunday evening. I miss all of our family terribly and wish we lived closer to them all.

I normally like to spend some time reflecting on the past year and making some resolutions for the new year, but I haven't had two minutes to think straight it seems in a little while. I am going to take some time this week though, and try to make some realistic goals for this year. I have a number of things I want to change and several new things I want to try, but I have a habit of shooting for the moon, when it might be better to aim for the ceiling.

Overall though, I think this year is going to be a good one!