Perry & Ella Go To School!

I mentioned P&E going to school on the website and have gotten a lot of questions about it, so here are some answers: They are in a Parents Day Out (PDO) program at First Baptist Church of Harvester off of 94. It is every Tuesday and I drop them off at 9 AM and pick them up at 2:30 PM. We're calling it "school", but it's not a formal preschool program. Most preschools don't start until age 3 so P&E will not be old enough until August 2009 since you have to be 3 by August 1st. So we plan to do a year of PDO one day a week then move to 2 days a week next year, then they'll start preschool. They will be old for their class through school because they'll be some of the first kids turning 6 in their class. I guess that's good though since they were preemies.

We were enrolled in a Mother's Day Out (MDO) program with a new church out in Foristell (Calvary Christian Church), but 10 days before it was supposed to start, they called us to cancel it. Apparently they didn't meet some of the new building daycare codes. Silly things like not having an outdoor playground, etc. So after many phone calls and being put on the waitlist for several programs, I finally found this one. They started the week of August 27th, but we didn't get signed up unti the 29th, so P&E started a week later than most kids. Apparently the 2nd week is harder for some kids because they know what's going on and get upset when mom or dad leaves.

Dave went with me to drop them off the first day...so he could see where it was and to help me carry everything in (P&E had to bring "supplies" as well as their backpacks and lunches). We got them interested in some toys, spent some time talking with the teachers (Miss Anita and Miss Jamie), and then left. There were 2 kids there that were crying pretty bad so Perry and Ella were just staring at them. Dave and I kept peeking around the corner to see what they were doing and they were still just staring. I tell ya, it was weird to walk out of there knowing we were leaving our kiddos with strangers and wondering if they would even know who was who. What if Perry was called Ella all day long and vice versa??? Luckily Miss Jamie has teenage twin boys, so she is used to the twin thing :)

When I picked them up, all the kids were sitting on the ground, lined up against the wall. Ha! I couldn't believe P&E were just sitting there. Ella got up right away and ran over to hug me and then went over to Luca saying "baby" over and over again. Perry was still just sitting there like she was afraid to move. I'm thinking they had to tell her to sit there more than once :) She finally came over and hugged me and I picked her up and she was all smiley. I figured it had all gone okay, but when I asked the teachers, they made it sound like they had been a little upset in the beginning. They didn't say they cried and they made it sound like it was probably because of the cry-ers that they were sad. But of course P&E perked up when they went downstairs to the playground (inside, because it was hot that day). They love those slides! They eat lunch at 12 and then lay down for a nap at 12:30. The teachers said Perry laid down and went to sleep pretty well, but Ella was wandering around but she finally laid down and slept for a little bit. I'd love to be a fly on the wall there for lunch and naptime. They nap on little mats on the floor, all of the kids in one room together!

P&E didn't seem upset with me at all, but they kept saying "fishy" on the way home so I'm guessing they were hungry. I sent grapes, cheese, veggie chips, fig newtons, and fruit snacks with them for lunch (they don't warm anything up for them so we had to omit our usual chicken, meatballs, or fish). There were still 4 fig newtons and both fruit snacks left in their bags...so I guess they didn't eat much. I have a feeling that P&E probably eat better than most other toddlers their age, so they might be influenced a bit if the other kids aren't eating as much. Who knows. They also had little paintings that they did. Red was the color of the day so they painted with red. Of course their artwork is hanging on our fridge door :)

They went for their second time this week. I dropped them off by myself and it was pretty easy to get them involved with some toys and "sneak out", but there were more cry-ers this week. In the midst of all the cry-ers, Perry managed to walk out the door so I walked her back in. The mom of one of the cry-ers and I were talking in the hallway and the teachers finally shut the door so I felt it was okay to leave. I didn't realize my kids were escape artists.

At pick up they were lined up against the wall again. Ella immediately got up and ran right past me to Luca. I see who rates highly with her! Perry got up and came to me and was all smiley again. I can tell the girls are having a good time there. The teachers just went on and on with stories about P&E so I'm sure they're getting loved on and cared for. It probably doesn't hurt that they are twins, which makes them *special*. Not that they're not each special on their own, but you know what I mean ;)

They had some more arts and crafts...this week was a lesson about Jesus blessing the children. They rotate colors with religious lessons. It's nice that P&E are getting introduced to that. Our only issue at this point is the napping situation. They don't lay down until 12:30 and I have a feeling it's probably close to 1 by the time my 2 fall asleep and then they wake them up at 2 to change all their diapers and get them ready to go home...so it's not much of a nap at all. And P&E seemed super cranky/tired yesterday. I think I'll try to put them to bed when we get home next week and see what happens. Maybe they'll lay down for another hour or so? If not, I might start picking them up around 12:30, after lunch, and just bring them home for nap. We'll see. Hopefully it works out so they can stay the whole day.

Meanwhile, Luca is getting exhausted from all the one on one mommy attention! The first day we went to Chesterfield Mall and walked around until the stores opened. Did some shopping, came home for lunch and Luca took a short nap, and then headed out to pick up the girls. Yesterday we ran errands all over the place. And unfortunately Luca is in the convertible carseat now so I had to constantly take him out of his seat and put him back in. Poor guy. We went to Babies R Us first and then he fell asleep in the car for the 1 minute it took us to drive down to Lowes. I carried him in and he stayed asleep while we walked around and I put him back in the car to drive to Home Depot. He was still asleep when we got to Wal-Mart and we went to Bread Co for lunch. YES I BRAVED BREAD CO with my celiac disease. I had read on my message board that most of their salads and some soups are okay, so I double checked with the cashier and I was able to have their new orchard salad. Very good! Anyway, Luca fell asleep again on the way to go pick up the girls and again on the way home from getting them. Poor little sleeping guy :) When he turns 6 months, we will hopefully sign up for a swim class.

That's all for now! Thanks for reading!