Monday, 24 August 2009

  • Preschool

    Rowan started preschool today. I get the impression that this sort of thing makes some mothers cry, but I have no such feeling. Mostly, I'm feeling relieved that someone else is in charge of him for a few hours, and thrilled that they're teaching him things that I meant to be teaching him, but couldn't find the time. I imagine I might have this same feeling if I hired a housekeeper to come in once a week. And Rowan is thrilled too. All those PBS Kids shows really talk up preschool. Maybe it will be sad when he goes to kindergarten and is gone the entire day?

    I'm sure this is true for most parents, but particularly with the way we've chosen to parent our children--the co-sleeping and extended nursing--the transition from fully part of me to independent person has been (and continues to be) very gradual. Preschool is a bit of a leap for us. It's odd for me to know he's suddenly having formative experiences outside of my influence and out of my sight. From here on out, things will happen to Rowan that I never hear about. I suppose that's why a lot of people who practice attachment parenting also homeschool. Outside influence can be scary, and not what you had in mind for your child.

    In theory, I'd love to homeschool my kids. I have the education and ability to do so. It would probably be significantly cheaper than the private school I've chosen to sent them to, and there are things I would emphasize that they won't learn in school. But in practice, to put it bluntly, I don't have my shit together. My house is constantly trashed and I can't seem to stick to a routine for more than a few days at a time, although I'm masterful at creating routines. And I'm alone with these kids 18 or so hours nearly every day. (I'm counting the sleeping time, because most nights Matt is at work or sleeping upstairs, and I sleep with one kid pressed up against me on each side. The little one is usually nursing.) I spend another four hours at work, and I rarely get time alone. I'm not a martyr. My husband isn't a jerk. There just isn't any time in our tag-team parenting schedule for me to be alone. I need preschool, and my son deserves a teacher, at least a few hours a day, who has her shit together.

Tuesday, 11 August 2009

Thursday, 23 July 2009

  • Fantasy Jobs

    Our library has a tax issue on the ballot this fall that would enable us to go from one 10,000 square foot (sad, worn out, bursting at the seams) branch serving a community of 65,000 people to three branches, the largest of which would be 35,000 square feet. All of us are fantasizing about what our jobs will actually be like if this happens. I, in particular, am fantasizing about a job that is worthy of my expensive education and pays accordingly. But I can't decide if my fantasy should be Branch Manager or Young Adult Librarian. I suspect a branch manager would make a lot of money, and I do generally enjoy being in charge of things. But I have a total soft spot in my heart for teenagers, and we have so little for teens in the library right now. Plus, in my limited experience, it appears to be common for most of the library staff to be at least annoyed by teens, and more often than not downright afraid of them. There ought to be somebody looking out for them, and it might as well be me. I was helping a couple of kids today--found the books they wanted and made some recommendations based on what they liked, nothing out of the ordinary--and when I was locking up the door behind them, one of them, not realizing I was right behind him, said, "That was the coolest librarian, like, ever." It's not like the coolest astronaut or skydiver or something, but this is as cool as I can ever hope to be. So which fantasy job should I dream about: Branch Manager with the money and the prestige, or Young Adult Librarian with the cool factor and potential fun?

Friday, 27 February 2009

Thursday, 26 February 2009

  • Earlier this week, Rowan knocked over a lamp and shaattered the mercury-containing compact flourescent bulb. (Why I put such a bulb in a lamp that could be knocked over, I can't say.) I freaked out, worried we would all be killed, but dutifully followed the government's instructions for cleaning up. Aferwards, with the heat shut off in 40-degree weather and the living room windows wide open, I took the kids out of the house for several hours until it was time for me to go to work. Rowan and I had yet another discussion about poison and chemicals and why he needs to be careful. So today, speaking of poison, he took it upon himself to ingest a bit of hand sanitizer, and I made my first call ever to poison control. He's fine now, of course. They said to feed him a protein snack and watch, as he hadn't swallowed much.

    I've always been a fan of Snopes, but have found it especially useful this week for all those "Will this really kill my child like I read on the Internet one time?" questions. Here are their articles on CFLs and hand sanitizer, in case you're curious.

Wednesday, 25 February 2009

  • Living Situation

    So here's our big life change: we are (God help me) moving in with my parents. Evenings are just too hard when I'm at work, our house is just too small for the four of us, we need to knock out some debt, and every place we go, with the exception of my work, is closer to their house anyway. Including the school Rowan will attend in the fall and likely for the next ten years. We're paying rent, of course, and half of the utilities, but our living expenses will be essentially cut in half. This plan started to form in December, and I've had to do a bit of mourning (over giving up our house, over the loss of "just our family" time, and over what feels to me like a loss of independence, though Matt disagrees) before I came to accept it, but this is really what's best for us as well as my parents. They need to reduce their expenses and set aside A LOT more money for retirement, they need help caring for their house, and I think they're also rather lonely. At the end, we'll hopefully be free of credit card debt, my parents' house will be in a state such that they might sell it (to us, or to someone else), and we'll be ready to buy the house that will last us until our kids are adults. As for our current house, we're still debating whether to rent it out or sell it. The deadline on all of this is August, before Rowan starts school, but sooner would be better. We're making great progress on clearing out and redecorating my parents' basement, which we'll call the "garden view apartment." More on all this later. Must head to work.

Friday, 13 February 2009

  • Still Not Potty Trained

    I was changing Rowan's poopy, sat-in pull-up just now (I lead a glamorous life, I know) and said, "Doesn't it bother you to have this all over you?"

    He responded, "It would bother anyone. Except me."  Now he's running around the house in nothing but a pull-up with my gloves on his feet.

Wednesday, 21 January 2009

Friday, 16 January 2009

  • We Make Cute Kids

    DSCN2342

  • Sincerest apologies for the gap in coverage, so to speak. I haven't quite figured out my life as mother of two. House is a disaster and we have only the skeleton of a routine around here. Matt's still off work for one more week, but I've been back at my job for two weeks now. It's actually quite nice to have a small break from parenting. The library director hasn't filled my old position yet, so I've still been doing a lot of book processing, but I helped set up a wireless network for our laptop lab this week, which was new and interesting.

    Lily is smiling often now and is growing fine, but she's not so much different than she's always been. She has more stamina for screaming than she used to. Rowan is dealing with having a sibling well. He rarely shows any jealousy and is always saying, "Aww...she's so cute!" He is not the sort to want to help with diaper-changing, although I'm told he enjoys helping with bottles while I'm gone. For a long time, Matt and Rowan were sleeping together in the living room, alternating between couch and floor, while Lily and I were in the bed together. We have this co-sleeper for her, but we both seem to sleep better when she's right next to me. (I do have high hopes for the co-sleeper as a napping place though.) Now we've moved Rowan's little bed back into our room, and he's happy to start out the night there. He usually ends up in the bed with us before the end of the night, but this is definite progress and I expect he'll be sleeping in his own room before he graduates high school. Lily prefers to nap in arms (or sling), but I try to set her down for a nap every day or two. I wasn't able to do that with Rowan until he was six months old. Expectations with the second child are much lower, so even though we've been saying Lily is an easier baby than Rowan was, I think we're probably just better parents.

    We're considering some big changes in our living situation around here, but I'm not ready to discuss things until plans are a little more finalized.