zombie soccer mom
I've become a soccer mom, minus the mini-van, THANK GOODNESS! I know, roll your eyes.....but we think we are still cool. Because we are.
So when I'm saying "soccer mom", I am referring to my daily new schedule, manipulated entirely by my child's school. It's not a bad thing, just different. I have become a chauffeur, a good one, at that. Then, there is the sad realization that "it only just began", we still have 11 possible years of this. Great.
Did I mention, I really hate being in my car now?
I've been working nights for a while now, however, I am down to four consecutive days a week, starting Thursday night to Sunday night. Tony is still working every other week, so on the days that we both end up working, here's what our day looks like, for the curious ones of you.
Kohen got accepted to not just one, but two charter schools in the SLC area, obviously we declined one because it only offered half day kindergarten and it was a better fit for Kohen to be occupied by all day kindergarten, which we love. It was about choosing what we thought was best.
Kohen wears a uniform to school. Here is him in all his glory.
The first week he was a little mopey, but has since adjusted well to his schedule. Kohen's school does ability groups, which is such a plus, for everyone involved. He is reading on 3rd grade level - which is so fun! He is our little genius and we love it!
Speaking of the little genius, we recently received a very interesting e-mail from Kohen's teacher. I won't bore you with details, but the gist of it explained that because Kohen's cognitive abilities are so high, he gets extremely frustrated with little things like using the scissors, gluing, crafts and especially writing.
Kohen has always been a perfectionist and has had a hard time with transitions because he feels the need to finish what he is doing and when his plans are interrupted, it sets him off.
Basically, because reading, speaking and thinking critically comes so easy to him, he expects his motor skills to be at the same level and when they aren't, he get frustrated. Apparently, he's been throwing things and yelling in the classroom.
One of the biggest differences between public schools and charter schools is the fact that charter schools have more rules and also their own practices, one of which is to contact the parents when the child gets so many card moves, also known as "reminders" for what TO do, instead of what NOT to do. We really appreciated the fact that his teacher was able to see beyond Kohen's negative behavior and realize that he needs to be challenged and also functions better when given a specific set of expectations from adults. We came up with a specific plan for handling his behavior and giving him the opportunity to work at his own pace so that he can move up in groups, as soon as his cursive and number writing improves. We are hoping that if he moves up to the next math and reading group, it will hold his interest better.
Then, there is the other kid. Yes, the baby! He's all grown up and is attending his first year of pre school, along with swim lessons, which are next on the schedule 3 days a week.
Reesy absolutely LOVES pre school. He even kissed the teacher on the first day. That's adorbs. Pre school is the perfect amount of time, AND he gets to do gymnastics - which is all about flips, jumping and rolling around on the floor. Can we say perfect?
I am part-zombie, and I live on diet Coke. Sparingly, of course........
And, on Saturdays, Kohen really does play soccer, so here I am, the "soccer mom". Yay, me!
Here are some cute pictures of the team.
Despite the fact that Kohen has had a horrible attitude at almost every single game and spent most of the time ripping grass out of the ground, he sure does take cute pictures!
However, the two games that he did play, he was super cute, and we enjoyed watching him anyway.
Thank goodness for weekends and the in-laws who so kindly watch the boys while husband is at work, so that I can get some uninterrupted sleep.
Ah, sleep.
However, the good thing about all this is, Tony gets to be the soccer mom on his days off, while I enjoy the comfort of our bed, and I love him for it. He is the best thing that has happened to me. I will be saying that for the rest of eternity!
It's been a little harder to get fun activities in, especially with Kohen being gone every day and barely having enough time to do anything when he gets home. If you've lived in a larger area like Salt Lake, you pretty much don't go anywhere on Saturdays, unless you want to wait in long lines, drive with idiots and maneuver through large crowds of people.
Luckily, we were able to sneak in some fun on Labor Day. And, the boys got all the sugar they wanted!!!! MMMMM......
Life is crazy, but crazy is good! We'd rather be busy. In other good news, we are house hunting. Just hunting at the moment. I will update with good news just as soon as we get some.....We are very much looking forward to spending Christmas in our new place, wherever that may be. In the mean time, we will chauffeur our boys around, catch every minute of sleep that we can and enjoy their cute, grown up selves.
So when I'm saying "soccer mom", I am referring to my daily new schedule, manipulated entirely by my child's school. It's not a bad thing, just different. I have become a chauffeur, a good one, at that. Then, there is the sad realization that "it only just began", we still have 11 possible years of this. Great.
Did I mention, I really hate being in my car now?
I've been working nights for a while now, however, I am down to four consecutive days a week, starting Thursday night to Sunday night. Tony is still working every other week, so on the days that we both end up working, here's what our day looks like, for the curious ones of you.
- I leave for work at 10:15 at night, luckily the job offers random hours and depending on how nice and generous I am feeling, I may stay till 6 30 am, which happens most days.
- Tony gets Kohen up for school at 6:30 and does the first part of getting him ready.
- I get home at 7:00 am, Tony leaves and I finish getting Kohen ready for school.
- I am back in my car and we are out of the house by 7:15 and he is dropped off around 7:35.
Kohen got accepted to not just one, but two charter schools in the SLC area, obviously we declined one because it only offered half day kindergarten and it was a better fit for Kohen to be occupied by all day kindergarten, which we love. It was about choosing what we thought was best.
Kohen wears a uniform to school. Here is him in all his glory.
The first week he was a little mopey, but has since adjusted well to his schedule. Kohen's school does ability groups, which is such a plus, for everyone involved. He is reading on 3rd grade level - which is so fun! He is our little genius and we love it!
Speaking of the little genius, we recently received a very interesting e-mail from Kohen's teacher. I won't bore you with details, but the gist of it explained that because Kohen's cognitive abilities are so high, he gets extremely frustrated with little things like using the scissors, gluing, crafts and especially writing.
Kohen has always been a perfectionist and has had a hard time with transitions because he feels the need to finish what he is doing and when his plans are interrupted, it sets him off.
Basically, because reading, speaking and thinking critically comes so easy to him, he expects his motor skills to be at the same level and when they aren't, he get frustrated. Apparently, he's been throwing things and yelling in the classroom.
One of the biggest differences between public schools and charter schools is the fact that charter schools have more rules and also their own practices, one of which is to contact the parents when the child gets so many card moves, also known as "reminders" for what TO do, instead of what NOT to do. We really appreciated the fact that his teacher was able to see beyond Kohen's negative behavior and realize that he needs to be challenged and also functions better when given a specific set of expectations from adults. We came up with a specific plan for handling his behavior and giving him the opportunity to work at his own pace so that he can move up in groups, as soon as his cursive and number writing improves. We are hoping that if he moves up to the next math and reading group, it will hold his interest better.
Then, there is the other kid. Yes, the baby! He's all grown up and is attending his first year of pre school, along with swim lessons, which are next on the schedule 3 days a week.
- On the days when Tony is working, after dropping Kohen off at school, we return to the house at 8:00 am.
- Reese and I have breakfast or watch some TV, we put on his swim suit at 8:45 and we're back in the car to go to swim.
- He loves swimming lessons and pays attention very well. His swim lessons last 40 minutes.
- Afterwards, I turn on some Netflix for the kid, set the new alarm system and finally get to catch some zzzzzzzzzz's. Until.....it's time for lunch. Lunch it is. Then, maybe catch some more zzzzzzzzzz's and up again, to the car, to pick up the big kid at either 3:10 pm, or 2:10 pm, depending on the day. Some days we return home at 4:00 pm - that's a long day for a 5 year old!
- We have our snack/homework time and the boys play together, while I catch some more zzzzzzzz's. At that point, grandpa is home, and everyone else slowly trickles in for dinner. Some days I might skip dinner till 9:30 pm, in the name of sleep because I have to report back to work at 11:00 pm.
- MWF are swim days for Reese, and Tue/Thurs are preschool days. We leave the house at 8:45, I return around 9:15, TRY to get some sleep, curse at my alarm clock at 11:00 am, and pick Reese up at 11:15, after which we make lunch. I try to sleep until 2 or 3 pm, when I have to pick up Kohen from school, which takes a total of 40 minutes, some days.
I am part-zombie, and I live on diet Coke. Sparingly, of course........
And, on Saturdays, Kohen really does play soccer, so here I am, the "soccer mom". Yay, me!
Here are some cute pictures of the team.
Despite the fact that Kohen has had a horrible attitude at almost every single game and spent most of the time ripping grass out of the ground, he sure does take cute pictures!
However, the two games that he did play, he was super cute, and we enjoyed watching him anyway.
Thank goodness for weekends and the in-laws who so kindly watch the boys while husband is at work, so that I can get some uninterrupted sleep.
Ah, sleep.
However, the good thing about all this is, Tony gets to be the soccer mom on his days off, while I enjoy the comfort of our bed, and I love him for it. He is the best thing that has happened to me. I will be saying that for the rest of eternity!
It's been a little harder to get fun activities in, especially with Kohen being gone every day and barely having enough time to do anything when he gets home. If you've lived in a larger area like Salt Lake, you pretty much don't go anywhere on Saturdays, unless you want to wait in long lines, drive with idiots and maneuver through large crowds of people.
Luckily, we were able to sneak in some fun on Labor Day. And, the boys got all the sugar they wanted!!!! MMMMM......
Life is crazy, but crazy is good! We'd rather be busy. In other good news, we are house hunting. Just hunting at the moment. I will update with good news just as soon as we get some.....We are very much looking forward to spending Christmas in our new place, wherever that may be. In the mean time, we will chauffeur our boys around, catch every minute of sleep that we can and enjoy their cute, grown up selves.