Mommy Confession: I hate reading Dr. Seuss out loud

Posted by Michelle on Sep 8, 2011 in Life, Parenting | 1 comment

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss

I’m sure this will be a highly unpopular opinion but I hate reading Dr. Seuss out loud.

This has nothing to do with the subject matter of the books themselves. I think every Dr. Seuss book have great, solid messagse for children. I just hate reading the damn things out loud.

While I know reading to your kids is Super Important ™ and I do read to TLE daily, I’m the first to admit that I’m not the best person at reading aloud. But reading aloud has always been difficult for me, even when I was in school. I stumble over words, put words where there aren’t any. TLE is pretty observant and easily memorizes her books so she knows when/if I’ve added or forgotten words and will often point it out. (Oddly enough, I’m a decent public speaker but that’s because I refer to bullet points rather than read prepared speeches.)

I can read most children’s books aloud fairly decently but Dr. Seuss is a particular challenge due to the meter, alliteration and nonsense words he uses. The alliteration in particular really trips me up because I just can’t seem to wrap my tongue around the damned words sometimes.

I’ve considered getting a Nook or an iPad so I can get some interactive books for TLE. The expense makes me hesitate as does the idea that I’m not the one reading to TLE. I can soldier on reading Dr. Seuss books since that’s what makes TLE happiest. I just wish my tongue and brain would cooperate while reading them.

Dealing with lemons

Posted by Michelle on Aug 30, 2011 in Parenting | 1 comment

TLE and "Doctor Rice Ball"

As I posted a few months back, The Little Empress was accepted into a scholarship program for a high quality preschool. She’s been going for several months now and last week, we got a phone call that we were not expecting. Due to budget cuts, the scholarship program has been reworked and our family is among dozens that finds ourselves without preschool for our little ones.

I could write volumes about how unfair all of this is, not just for the kids who no longer qualify and their families but for the preschools who worked with the scholarship program as well. Some of the preschools in the program depend heavily on the scholarship program to ensure enrollment; now this means that some preschools may have to cut their staff. The domino affect is horrible.

Unless something happens in the eleventh hour (doubtful) TLE’s last day of her current school will be September 9th. Originally, they were going to only approve enrollment until August 31st but they decided to be nice because they originally gave the parents and schools less than a week’s warning.

I won’t lie: when I heard the news, I cried. And then, I became angry. And then the anger faded away and I’m left with figuring out how to make the best of the situation. We’re exploring our options which range from asking our parents for help to keep her in her current school on a modified schedule to exploring alternatives like co-op preschools and homeschooling. Right now we’re hoping to keep her in her current school until she was 4 years old since we planned to do pre-k at home. It took her longer to adjust than we had expected and forcing her to adapt to another school right now just doesn’t feel right.

While the situation sucks for the most part, there is a silver lining.  TLE’s been in school five days a week since she was 2 years old on a schedule that’s closer to a kindergartner’s than a preschooler’s and we haven’t had a lot of opportunity for our own adventures. We’ve maybe only a handful of playdates with friends since she started school at 2 years old. The library used to be a weekly thing while now it’s more like a monthly outing. I’ve hesitated to put her in extra classes to keep from overscheduling her.

While I still hope to somehow maintain at least 2 days a week in preschool to help maintain her social skill building, it will be nice to find time to have our own adventures with more home learning opportunities, even if we don’t “formally” homeschool. So while unexpected, this may still be a good opportunity for our family overall.

I

3 Going on 13

Posted by Michelle on Jul 27, 2011 in Family, Parenting | 1 comment

There’s been a lot of transition going round these parts. In May, The Little Empress started attending a second preschool, learned how to use the potty in just a little over a week and weaned herself shortly thereafter. For the next month or so, she was doing great. Only one accident in the first two weeks of becoming potty trained!

Then her speech therapy school ended and she left some of her favorite playmates. And this month, she transitioned from the “young preschooler” (non-potty trained room, most of kids under 3 years old) to the “big preschool” (everyone is 3 to 4 with some young 5 year olds.)

Suddenly, she didn’t want to go to school anymore. She has become very insistent on Mommy or Daddy’s help for everything. Luckily her potty training hasn’t slipped but she’s been very insistent and clingy.  She doesn’t want to try anything new and is far more easily frustrated with simple tasks that she doesn’t grasp immediately.

“I can’t” has become her battle cry and it worries me. I’m hoping that it is just a silly three year old thing and she’ll pick herself up and return to the independent little thing she used to be. Ugh.

Moment to myself

Posted by Michelle on Apr 18, 2011 in Life | 0 comments

Odd. It seems that during the course of the day, I’m screaming inside to find a moment or two to myself. From the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep, there’s something to do: taking care of TLE, doing chores, running from here and there, etc. As most moms know, it is just the Mommy’s Life.

Yet moments like the one I’m in right now make me wish to be busy. Because when I’m busy, I don’t get the opportunity to think about the other things in my life that I don’t have time to get to.

Transitioning

Posted by Michelle on Mar 28, 2011 in Parenting | 0 comments

Too cool for school

A year ago, I found myself wringing my hands over the idea of her being away for so long and now, I’m finding myself at a loss for how to keep her busy now that we’ve got our mornings back.

I’d planned some at home activities for us to do but as it so happens, plans are great but the reality is that sometimes, things just don’t go according to plan. Going from a kindergarten-like schedule (8:30AM to 1:00PM) to being home all day is proving to be quite a transition for both The Little Empress and myself.

This past week or so has been an exercise in patience for the both of us. We’re still trying to find our rhythm for the days. Last week really felt like an extended vacation. I realized too late that I was probably overloading TLE with too many transitions between to start homeschooling and potty training. Not good. In hindsight, I’m not sure why I’m in such a hurry; we just need to take it one day at a time.

Complicating matters is the fact that the weather has been absolutely sh*tty this past week. Luckily, the sun is supposed to come out soon so hopefully we’ll have some park days or playing in the back yard. I promised TLE we’d play in the dirt and plant some flowers (she loves to water plants!) so hopefully the weather will cooperate.

TLE  misses her classmates and even asked me in the car the other day if we can go meet some new friends. (My heart broke so much for her!) I’m doing my best to get together with other moms and kids to try to set up some playdates. Luckily, I do have some mom friends with kids that we can play with but for the most part, the organized moms groups in this area don’t meet often enough or have meetups when we can go to.

One thing I am excited about is being able to be a part of the a homeschooling group. TLE seems to like interacting with older kids a lot and loves talking though not everyone is able to easily understand her. Hopefully being part of the homeschooling group will give her the opportunity to learn and talk with older kids.

Three years ago…

Posted by Michelle on Mar 20, 2011 in Parenting | 2 comments

Three years ago, I gave birth to my perfect little baby girl.

THEN: The Newborn Empress

Today, that little baby has grown up and totally personifies her online nickname of The Little Empress.

NOW: The Little Empress

This last year especially she’s grown and matured so much. Last year, she could only babble. Now she plays games, can count to ten, tells us stories. But best of all, comes up to us and says, “I love you” with the biggest smile on her face.

I am so blessed to have been given the opportunity to stay home with her to watch her grow every day.  The last three years have been a non-stop roller coaster ride, full of ups and downs, exhilaration and fear. The next year promises to be more of the same. And I can’t wait!

Happy Birthday, my Little Empress. Mommy loves you more than words can every say!

Prayers for Japan

Posted by Michelle on Mar 11, 2011 in Life |

My thought and prayers are with the Japanese people as they continue to weather earthquakes and tsunamis. May God help you through this time.