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| Wearing our ORANGE Down Under! |
*First things, first! SF Giants! To quote one of my high school friends, "You can take the Bay away from the man (woman), but you can't take the Giants out of this fan!" I am so happy they won the World Series!
Well, we've been back "home" for a few weeks now. The adjustment was seamless or so it seemed. What helped was a few days after our return was Daylight Savings where we "sprang forward". It created a shorter sleep and bam! We were all adjusted! And unpacked too!
A Few of my Favorite Things
We brought home a lot. Eloise and Eden have clothes for the next 2 years! Here are 2 things that make me happy:
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| His & Hers (Mickey & Minnie Mouse) soap by Method |
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| The Golden Gate Bridge for our train table (the 2nd portion made it too big!) |
For MissE, I brought back a Fisher Price Little People Disney Song Palace. With the Little People Princesses, the Palace unlocks their songs and sings them. It was cute and perfect for her. It's also not available in Australia (like a large selection of toys) and if it was, would be ridiculously expensive. Unfortunately, MissE has not even been able to touch it. It is sitting in my closet, out of reach, waiting for when MissE can be rewarded for being a good girl. She might be 5 by the time this happens?
Changes
We had a week of lazing around, doing as we pleased until big changes happened. I went back to work! I got a contract for part-time work, Monday to Friday but school hours, for the company I was previously doing one day a fortnight for. This meant that Eloise and Eden would be going into pre-school and daycare. It took a bit of calling around to find one with a spot for them but we found one and couldn't be happier. It is local and a smaller centre than what Eloise had previously been in so both Eloise and Eden get more attention. Eden's other classmates are all around his age, so they toddle around together.
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3 year old goes to pre-school = happiness!
1 year old goes to daycare = tears! |
First Day Jitters
On their first day, Eloise was so excited! She got up and got dressed, more than ready to go to pre-school. (Ahem, I nearly kicked her out the door!) Within a few minutes, she was dressed as Cinderella in a knight's helmet, doctors coat and carrying a handbag (as Cinderella does) and had 2 of the other boys as her Prince Charming(s)! Eden took a bit more coaxing... he wanted to play but wasn't too sure about his new teachers. He still has a few tears at drop off and at pick up, it's a mix between a laugh and cry and at home, he is a koala, attached around my neck. But they say during the day, he has a great time exploring and playing. He eats well and sleeps too (which is a much better adjustment than Eloise had when she started at daycare).
I am very happy to be back at work. It actually makes me more organised? I also am really enjoying school hours and not having anyone in school yet! There is little traffic to and from work, and it also gives me an hour and a half to myself which I rarely had before.
MissE Says the Darndest Things: Pre-School Edition
Charlie
MissE's new teacher is British. She has a lovely accent that makes you immediately calm!
Me: Eloise, do you like your new teacher?
MissE: Yes. I like how she talks.
Me: You like her accent?
MissE: Yes, I wish I could talk like her but I talk like Eloise.
Baby Eloise
MissE: Mama! Today at school, there was a Baby Eloise!
Me: In Eden's room?
MissE: No, in the room next door. She came to play outside. She is so little and cute with teeny, tiny hands and feet
(showing me how small with her fingers)
Fish Fingers
Me: What did you have for lunch today?
MissE: Meatballs and noodles but I didn't like the noodles. But another boy liked the noodles and didn't like the meatballs!
Me: Oh, that's funny.
MissE: AND... another boy had FISH FINGERS!
(Giggling) Do FISH HAVE FINGERS???
Me: No, they are just called fish fingers because the sticks looks like fingers.
MissE: That's so silly. Fish fingers
(shaking her head, still giggling).
Throttling Three's Strike Again
Here's where I get very honest... and it's not pretty. When you first read this, you might of asked
'Why was she so desperate to go back to work?' Well, first the opportunity presented itself and second, MissE was making my life miserable. I had moments, where I just wanted to walk away, lock myself in the bathroom and cry. But you never let them see you cry! They'll know you're weak! All jokes aside, I just didn't know what to do with her behavior anymore. She would be so rude and yell at me all day to breaking point. Time outs weren't working. And getting myself so upset that I would scream back, made both of us more upset. I simply did not want to be in the same room as her anymore. I even Googled "I can't stand my kid" and since there was a predictive search, I know I am not alone. I just might be one of the few that will admit it.
My search found a lot of crap like "what you don't like in them is a reflection of yourself". Umm, I am not rude and yell at people constantly! But then I stumbled upon this
post from The Mentor Mom and it was exactly the insight I needed. I took away these 2 points:
- What buttons is your child pushing? I, like the author, was taking every defiance as a personal attack. I felt like she was doing what she was just to make me mad so I would respond defensively. Mentor Mom finished this with words from a therapist “You can’t take anything your kids do personally.”
- What do you need? Do you need a break? In order to nurture our kids, we must nurture ourselves. Call in some support from friends and family to give yourself a needed break whether it be for an hour or a day. You will be a much better parent for it! YES! I needed a break! After spending 5 weeks with Eloise in the US (minus daddy), I just needed a time out. While my parents were over and beyond helpful, disciplining was (and should be) my domain. I was always the "bad parent" because it was just me. Well, my break = going back to work.
So you see, going back to work is helping in more ways than one! Since Eloise has returned to pre-school, she is back to her old, good natured self: she's polite (says please and thank you's), listens and follows directions (most of the time), and doesn't talk back. I can tuck away the name and number for the exorcist.
Mr.E aka the Toilet Paper Bandit
Eden is 15 months! He's a little ham and cheese sandwich! He's so happy, often doing 'Happy Baby' (yoga). He also does a little shuffle (truffle shuffle) when he is very happy. He loves being chased around the house, going outside to ride his bikes or play in the sand or water plants or feed Sabi (he's no longer scared of her), and his big sister. On the mornings he wakes before Eloise (most), after being let out of his crib, he drags his blanket and knocks/ stands at Eloise's bedroom door, ready to play.
His vocabulary is increasing. He says "ide" meaning "outside" which where he wants to spend most of the day. He says "on" when he wants a toy or lights turned on. He is also good at communicating what he wants with very definite nods "yes" and shakes "no".
The Toilet Paper Bandit
We have started to close the door to our bathroom after finding TP in our laundry basket. We discovered a little bandit pulling TP and finding the best place to put it, our laundry basket!
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| He strikes again! |
Linus
Remember Linus from Charlie Brown, the little boy who carries his blanket around everywhere? Suddenly Eden is doing the same. He even has a friend at daycare who does it too. They both carry their blankets around everywhere, together. So, yes by the end of the day, it's disgusting. We have tried to hide it when he is not looking or replace it with something smaller and easier to wash but to him, it's just not the same. He's also named it "bobwah".
Spring has Sprung!
One a gorgeous Spring day, we hit Chinamen's Reserve for a picnic, sunshine and play in the sand.
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| Princess in her sand castle kingdom |
And finally, we spent a lovely warm Friday night checking out the Parramatta Lanes as part of the Crave International Food Festival. After paying $15 for a small pizza, we definitely miss the American food trucks!
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| One of the four "lanes" of music, art, food and drinks |
Until next time...
