Because the Universe deemed it so

I tend to ignore the astrology stuff, the significance of your birth date and all the meaning it supposedly carries. But, if I sit down and look into it, it does appear to be awfully accurate about things.

L is an Aquarius. She is quiet and reserved, creatively follows the rules when/if she agrees with them, and likes to evaluate situations before jumping in and participating. She needs time alone to decompress. Yesterday, after a full day of Church, school tours, time at the grandparents and such, we found her in a room by herself quietly coloring on of those adult coloring books. She was fine she said, she just needed some quiet. She's FOUR. This isn't unusual for L, even when she was two we would find her kicked back on the couch leafing through a Highlight's magazine or reading something to one of our two dogs.

I'm not sure Pederson really enjoys her stories, but for a Shiba Inu, he tolerates both our girls with amazing patience.

L started school today. She is excited about the coming year. She actually told us summer was too long. This is the same kid that freaked out on the last day of school because she hadn't learn to read yet so she couldn't be done with school. L loves learning, she loves mastering new skills. Once she understands the basics, she will attack a new project, practicing, learning, questioning until she feels she has it down.

L quickly caught on to the "rules" of Eat or Starve. She doesn't always like them, but she's willing to play by them. She has tried more new foods in the past few weeks then she did in the last two years. I don't count 6 months to 12 months because, as good parents, we shoved a new food into her mouth every 3-4 days, because you must wait 3-4 days in case they have a reaction to something. Mostly we ruined cute onesies.

As L begins her second round of PreSchool I hope she can come out of her observant little shell a bit more. She possesses such an unique and quirky take on things; I love hearing the spin she puts on her day. We know its difficult for her to branch out and open up to other people. We've been pushing her, both in food and social settings to try new things. She's been wildly successful at the food side of things, hopefully it translates into the social side as well. L is well on her way to becoming the beautiful person she is destine to be, maybe her horoscope today says something about preschool, I need to check.

M is a Libra, that is for another day.

With style like this, how can you not want to know how her day went. Thank goodness for uniforms.

Ethical Reporting

I just signed up for Class Dojo. I'm not really sure how to use it yet, but M's teacher has been leaving little updates on it all week that I'm just now reviewing. I work off the assumption that any human that can willingly and even joyfully work with a room full two year olds is a good, honest, trustworthy person. Most of Miss A's updates seem right on "M sat on the toilet but didn't actually go to the bathroom," etc. This is 100% my experience with attempting to potty train M. She will ask to use the potty but has never actually used the potty. She does love flushing the toilet though, LOVES IT.

My question is this, Miss A said that everyone tried the pulled pork that was served for lunch on Thursday. M has tried pulled pork once only because we hid a piece under some watermelon. She instantly spit it out and refused to eat any more watermelon the entire day, just in case. Could Miss A be exaggerating? She reports M is eating, not with gusto, but she's trying her food. I'm assuming they would tell us if she wasn't eating, right? Are Miss A and Miss S so much better at this that M is eating pulled pork? I wonder how much it would cost us to find out their secret techniques, the price I'm willing to pay goes up a little each meal.

This is not from day care, but I'm pretty sure this is the face I made when I read she was trying all her food.

Wasted Energy

M didn't just survive her first day at day care, M thrived at her first day of non-family day care. I was relieved she was willing to leave and come home with us at the end of the day.

Uniform, check. Favorite stuffed animal, check. New tennis shoes, check.

We arrived almost on time to a building full of emotions; lots of first day jitters mixed with the returning kids and parents happily greeting friends and teachers. Luckily M is much more social and outgoing than I am. We walked into her room and greeted the assistant teacher, Miss S. M gave me a hug and kiss and one obligatory "Tay here wit me" before succumbing to the awesome new adventures calling her name. I talked to Miss S just long enough to know I needed to leave before my presence caused to M to think there was a reason to worry. I glanced over my shoulder, wrapped the reassurances we've received over the past few days around me, and left. No tears or scenes at all, she was a little rock star. I'm not a rock star but I managed to make it to my car before any tears started.

My husband and I met in the afternoon to pick her up. We walked into similar organized chaos that is the inevitable result of having 100+ kids 5 and younger in one building. M's teacher was standing in the door, holding a smiley M. Lucky for me, as soon as she saw us she exclaimed "Mommy, Mommy!" and wiggled out of her teacher's arms and into mine.  Its reassuring I can't be replaced in one day by amazing people with cool toys and a playground. We got a detailed rundown of the day. M had a great time, a few tears at nap time, but nothing major. She had a wonderful first day, supposedly ate some hamburger. Miracles do happen.

The car ride on the way home was an explosion of toddler story telling.

She excitedly jibber-jabbed the entire way home about her new adventures, mostly the playground. Today was her second day. My husband dropped her off. I received a text saying "M gave me a hug and a kiss and walked off to say hi to Miss A, like it was day 117 in school."

Everyone knew it would be a great first day. I'm glad I have some undeniable proof to remind me each morning until my jittery emotions calm down enough to read the notes left for them by my calm, rational brain.

Completely Off Subject

This has nothing to do with food or whether or not someone is eating it. This is about unbridled, unrelenting, unsubstantiated anxiety. M starts "school" tomorrow. We've been super blessed, in the truest sense of the word not in a #Blessed sort of way, to have a wonderful lady take care of our family's kids. Its been strictly cousins and siblings up to this point. Tomorrow M branches out. She is the youngest of the herd and the family day care has run its course. It is time for new things.

I don't really do new things. I enjoy adventures; adventures that are planned out, trained for, researched, practiced, etc. Scuba is a good example. I love to dive; I feel truly relaxed underwater. I got my initial certification then my advanced certification, I've been lucky enough to go on some incredible adventures, diving with bull sharks, giant grouper, octopus, barracuda, huge tarpon etc. But I know the risks, I feel confident in my ability and the ability of those I choose to dive with, to handle any crazy situation(s) that might arise. It might be a false confidence, but I'll take it.

This guy (or gal) swam with us for most of our 50 minute dive on the most incredible dive in Little Cayman. Check out the Grouper Moon Project, www.reef.org/groupermoonproject for some simply awesome info. We were able to witness the Nassau Grouper returning from their annual migration. AMAZING

There's no training, classes or instructional kits for choosing the place/people that take care of your kids. You make the choice based on other people's experiences, gut feelings and finances. I know I have confidence in our choice. I know this because I know other people that have chosen the same place; these are some of the most selective people I know, they have higher standards for things than I do. These folks have clean homes, they have socks that match, they have older well-adjusted, kind children etc. These are all things I strive for. I know this is the right choice.

I feel like the situation is out of control, because I am not in control. The things M will experience there are out of my control:  will she eat?, will she share?, will she be kind?, will other kids share?, will other kids be kind?, will the teacher notice if something is wrong? I can't control any of this. If I'm honest, I can't control it even if I'm there watching her, she and the other kids are their own little people, they make their own choices. But this feels different.

L is in preschool again this year. I had similar anxieties about her going to preschool last year, but not as pronounced. L was a year older when she stepped out of our little nest, her language skills were more developed, she was potty trained etc, but mostly, she is L. L has always been her father's daughter. Even when she was tiny I joked that she only let me hold her because she was hungry and she needed me for food. I was the wire monkey, my husband was the warm, soft cloth monkey (google Harry F Harlow's wire vs cloth monkey experiment if I've lost you). L has never really acted like she needs me. She is a wonderfully confident, shy, but determined little girl that will be a force of nature if she wants to be.

M is different. She is a snuggler through and through. She has crazy separation anxiety, she is a mommy's girl, she has needed me in a way that I've never been needed before. She loved, demanded and required to be held, she still does. This doesn't reach medically significant levels, there is nothing wrong with her, but it makes me worry about her in ways I've always felt confident in L. Plus, she still feels so little and, I'm 100% sure this is a large contributing factor, she's our youngest.

Today was Meet the Teacher day. M didn't want to leave. She's totally enamored with the classroom, the toys, the BOOKS, the rice table and the other kids. M discovered there's a playground just outside, she is in two year old heaven on earth. The teachers are amazing. M cried when we left because she wanted to stay and continue exploring. I KNOW we've made the right choice, I just with my heart and my head communicated a bit better.

Pinterest: Delusions vs Reality

At some point the Idealistic Mom portion of my brain felt like it would be a sound choice to turn to the internet for assistance in helping our girls broaden their eating horizons. Pinterest had come through in a number of Halloween costume pinches, why not for toddler approved recipes?

The helpful thoughts and suggestions found on Pinterest under the search "Picky Eaters, Kids" is a veritable heyday of the most outlandish and optimistic ideas for meals I've ever seen. Hint, if your kid will eat pizza made with a zucchini instead of crust, they aren't that picky. But, if you stick to it there are some really decent ideas.

The other night, after picking up the girls, we were headed home to start dinner. I was hungry and had found a Pinterest recipe that looked amazing, Cilantro Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa. (Just in case you need it:  http://www.joyfulhealthyeats.com/cilantro-lime-chicken-with-avocado-salsa). I knew this would be good, but I wasn't sure how it would go over with the kids. We tried avocado for L & M's first food, neither of them were impressed.

These kids have minds like steel traps. They remember everything (no pressure) so I figured the avocado part was an absolute no-go. L and M sat down to eat their meals: cilantro lime chicken, avocado salsa, quinoa, apple slices and milk. They both just stared at it then at us. They began with the apple then L tried the quinoa and declared the "rice" to be good. She sounded shocked. Then, against all odds, she asked if we had any chips because she "needs chips to eat my avocados, did you know I love those?" She had the "its so obvious, why wouldn't you know that" tone so we just handed over tortilla chips and she ate every last bite. We watched in muted awe so we wouldn't cause the universe to unravel. Luckily M really wanted chips so she agreed to eat a piece of chicken in exchange for a chip, she made it though an entire chicken breast that way. L wasn't a fan of the chicken though she excitedly told us she would prefer to take it for lunch tomorrow, um...okay? She will eat avocados and leftovers, this is fantastic.