Preschool

We did not start preschool for Solomon until he was 4 years old and he got to go to the most magical preschool ever- Opal Preschool. And now Cyrus will be going there next school year- Yay! And we are hoping to get Solomon into the Opal Charter elementary school which is done by lottery- the luck of the draw- and the lottery opens March 1st and ends March 31st and it takes about a month or so to get the results...

After Cyrus was helping me drop off and pick up Solomon to and from Opal Preschool last year starting Sept- by January Cyrus was asking to go to preschool too. I can understand why since it is such a magical place. Dan and I debated whether or not Cyrus should start preschool at 3 years of age [seems so young] and in the end Dan thought that schooling is great and I thought I could get things done. So Cyrus went to our local church for their afternoon preschool and well loves it. When Solomon switched from a full day kindergarten program to a morning only kindergarten program- we put him into the afternoon preschool [muti age program] and then a combination of things happened:
I was sick Thanksgiving break, Christmas break, and quite a few weekends as well that I began to miss my kids. Some of it had to be all the work dropping off and picking up and lunch in a hurry and I wasn't finding myself getting anything more done than when they are with me.
Dan is going to be gone for 4 months during the week and it was originally going to start January, February then beginning of March and now it is March 31st [so April] that he starts his training and being gone from home so much- which was a big reason for having them in preschool.
So I decided to take them out of preschool- Cyrus just had his parent/teacher talk about him and Cyrus has recovered quite magnificently from his early social troubles to a flourishing, sociable, great little boy that he is now. He has the skills you would want to see in a 3 year old. Solomon gets these great homework packets from school that we can review and I can expand in his knowledge when with me.
Also I have survived- actually I believe I thrived and the kids did too when Dan was deployed. It was completely weird and awkward the first time I went and got my haircut by myself! I had gotten a great system down of having my kids going with me everywhere when Dan was deployed that it is no big deal to have them come with me to my dental appointment- [although I will admit that the portable dvd player will come in handy]!
It got me thinking: "Why do we start our kids in preschool at age 3?" I do mean this question for those parents in similar situation like myself, where one parent one stays home... I do understand that our children have higher than ever expectations of performing when in Kindergarten and beyond. My children have learned to listen to other adults: in their recreational classes, babysitters, grandparents, neighbors, Sunday school teachers, and my favorite is the librarian! When the kids ask me a question like "Why is the sky blue?" [After reading my particular favorite Calvin & Hobbes story on this exact same question] We go to the library and the kids have the opportunity to learn how to learn- ask the question to the librarian and she can look it up on the computer and show them books that have the answer in them along with stories about the sky- how birds fly in the sky, what color does sky blue and yellow sun makes, etc- the learning never stops and to be a witness of a child learning- Wow! Not that I could be a teacher- kudos for those who do, but such a miracle to watch the world is unwrapped layer by layer through a child's inquisition.

Valentine's Day Party was their last day... I have loved spending time with my boys, having my days less hurried, and still doing what I need to get done which reminds me- the laundry needs to be changed over to the dryer...

At first the kids were sad to leave preschool which is fun and an opportunity to interact with their friends but they are looking forward to a recreational class, going to OMSI and the park more often. Baking cookies with mom anSitting together and playing knights in our castles- siege the moment!

What we eat

One of my struggles with living in the NW verses southern California is that Farmer Markets don't go year round like they do in California *sighs* so I have to rely on the grocery store for my produce during the winter months. So how do I maximize my dollar for the healthiest produce because buying all organic just isn't in this family's budget so after some research I found this list [provided by Greenthinkers: http://www.greenthinkers.org/blog/2006/06/organic_dirty_dozen.html]:

12 Most Contaminated also known as the Dirty Dozen- Buy These Organic
• Apples
• Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Cherries
• Imported Grapes
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Pears
• Potatoes
• Red Raspberries
• Spinach
• Strawberries

12 Least Contaminated
• Asparagus
• Avocados
• Bananas
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Corn (sweet)
• Kiwi
• Mangos
• Onions
• Papaya
• Pineapples
• Peas (sweet)

Valentine Day with city background

some sad news :(

Our dryer died... This is really horrible because I do a load of laundry a day... Good news- we are getting a tax refund... so we're looking into buying an energy saving dryer- any ideas/tips- let me know!

Update: Dan got me a dryer for Valentine's Day! We ended up with a cheapo one since our electric bill is very low and I didn't want to replace the washer since it was still working and Dan wanted to replace both- he likes matching sets...

Because they are cute!

Nothing cuter than Solomon doing his homework!

Dan after his last drill 2 weeks ago with Iggy! Isn't Iggy is adorable!!!

Cyrus playing in the sand box at OMSI. Don't worry he and Solomon both got haircuts shortly after this picture as you can see in the more pie post below...

February Book Pick

The book pick for February is Virgin's Lover [http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&EAN=9780743269261&itm=2] and before you go "Whoa that sounds like a girl, romantic book- Eeeewwww" let me tell you that I had to start at the beginning of this series by Philippa Gregory to read The Other Boleyn Girl - which was a popular read last year in the Book Club and will be a movie out in Febuary starring Natalie Portman and Scarlet Johansson. The Other Boleyn Girl is about King Henry the VIII- who is husband of many wives if you remember your history and this book starts at the beginning with the first wife. It is such a good book! Even though I know the story- it was an incredible adventure to read how it did happen- the author did amazing research here.
I just finished the Other Boleyn Girl and thankfully my dear friend, Maragret, had loaned me the book, Virgin's Lover, and now I will read that. I have also gotten the rest of the books in this series! So anyone else recommend this series? Want to read it with me?

More pie!

I have really been enjoying my adventures with making pies! I made a peach and blueberry pie with a pecan crumb topping [a little bit like a cobbler] that turned out delicious! It has fruit in it and only eaten after all their dinner is done :) I need to get my courage up to try the top crust! Email me if you are interested in the receipe! Very easy- just as they say, "Easy as Pie!"
Before the crust went on, it looked like this [Isn't it pretty!]:

Book Club

I have joined a book club [a nerd thing to do says Dan] through my mommy group, MOMS Club. January's book was Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. I was unable to make it to the meeting to discuss it- part of it was due to Monday's Snow Day. It was an interesting read about women in 19th century China- the parts about the feet binding was very interesting, the value of women in society- basically they need to bear sons, and the secret woman writing.... Check it out from the library or your second hand bookstore!

Catching up...

Well I haven't been very good about updating my blog for about 2 weeks now so here is everything that has been happening so you know why:
1. My darling husband has been sick for two weeks- seemed really well yesterday but part of that was that he had a great day at work: got to see a bank robbery [small one] and well saw the tape because they got there after it happened, played bad guy with an arm guard on to police dogs during some exercises- whew those dogs are tough, and on a particular sad note, a police officer died [on the side of the freeway when his car stopped working when he was making his way home] and his funeral was well attended today- Dan had met him last week. So if your car is on the side of the freeway- stay in the car- you are safer unless there is room to be 2 car widths away!
2. This weekend is drill weekend and one of Dan's buddies from his old unit that he was deployed with has transferred to Dan's current unit and stopped by so they could go in together. Dan really enjoys this guy's company so it is great news all around. We are having some cold and partly snowy weather up here so hopefully they stay warm and safe!

3. I had my first snow day on Monday- no school for both Solomon and Cyrus- out of the window went my daily to do list for Monday- I need to figure out what to have on hand for these snow days to keep the kids occupied while I do my to do list and other sad news was another snow/ice day on Wednesday but none on Tues, Thurs, and Friday and M, W, & F are my gym days *sighs* then to top it all off only like 3 inches of snow- not really enough to play in :( I want a good snow storm! If there is going to be no school then I want to sled down the hill, play in some snow- more than 5 inches and none of this stuff that melts when the day is half done- but boy it is sure pretty!
4. Cyrus started his baseball class on Thursdays!
5. Stress starting to build about next year- where and what time will my children be in school?! All the Open School nights are happening! I'll have updates and prayer requests in March about this issue.
6. Got a new health insurance and trying to figure out all that plus the rest of Dan's benefits and what we want...
7. Filed our taxes tonight! Whoo hoo!
8. I have been sick too [kids as well] and thankfully not as bad as I was sick before but still draining! The first week that Dan was really sick- he would come home after work and go to sleep so I was single mom for that week hence not posts on my blog :)
Alright I think we are all caught up!