School Begins

Tomorrow is Lauren's first day of kindergarten. I actually can't decide if I should call it that or not. It's orientation, that I go with her, that only lasts an hour and a half. Is she supposed to take her new backpack? Should I take pictures? And then on Tuesday only half the class goes and so she doesn't go again until Thursday. Maybe I'll count it as the first day when she rides the bus for the first time. 

I'm am sad to see her go all day long. She really is a sweet little girl. I think that it is dumb that we spend all those years raising babies and toddlers through all the hard phases, and then just when they get to be good helpers and fun to talk to then, BAM! You have to send them away. I want to switch. I want to send my "trashcan dive-and-eat" baby to school for a few hours a day. Callum is really exhausting these days. He loves to open the DVD player and take out whatever movie the girls are watching. (That is so not the way to make friends with the sisters). On top of that he has started to take his first steps which has been really exciting. It seems like when the girls took their first steps they just kept on going and were from that point on "walkers," but Callum is a little different. He takes a couple of steps every few days or so. 

McKenna will start preschool next week. We are doing a preschool through the high school that is for special needs kids and Kenna will be a peer. There are three special needs kids and three peers. So its a pretty small class and they have four teachers. An occupational therapist, a speech therapist, and physical therapist and a teacher. Some of the people in our ward have done this program and said it was great because if there child struggled in any of those areas the therapists would help the peers too. This preschool is two days and a week and a major bonus is that it is free. I didn't find out if we could do it or not until last week so I had already organized a co-op preschool with some friends that will be once a week. 

What am going to do with all of that time? Three mornings a week with just Callum. I know I won't work-out, or clean. Perhaps watch tons of Netflix? Do lots of shopping? Ideas welcome. 

Jeff is realizing that he doesn't want to be an internal medicine doctor, and doesn't want to do the training necessary to be a cardiologist, so he is seriously thinking about switching his residency to anesthesiology. This pleases me VERY much. He has been really stressed out these last couple of months and the least happy I have ever seen him. But since he started thinking about switching it has eased his mind a little. 

I am having fun getting to know people and getting to experience Wisconsin. We went to the "Taste of Madison" last Saturday with some friends and had a good time tasting food from different restaurants in the area. Little Ceasers had a booth there. Really? And tonight we got together with a few other families for an "end of summer picnic" and it was fun. It started to rain a little but it passed quickly, and then the kids and the guys had a little baseball game. While they were playing Callum decided that playing in puddles was a most fabulous past time. And when he got thirsty? Why, he just drank the puddle water.  

I have been working on some projects. One that involves my new miter saw. I am really excited to be able to cut my own wood instead  of making Jeff do it. Pictures are sure to come when the project is finished. 

I guess that was a pretty good update on everyone. Should hold me over for a few months.