Team Neurosis returns Pt. 1 (preschool)

I update sporadically with bits about Phoebe and Beckett and especially updated pictures, but Team Neurosis has been working overtime for the past few years and we haven’t really chronicled any of it. It might make us look like loons, but it’s who we are—and someone might benefit from the ridiculous amount of research we put into preschools, kindergartens, and home buying.

Clearly, we have finished all of those processes, but how did we get here…

It all started in the fall of 2007. We knew we had to begin considering preschools because registration happens any time between late November and early January the year before. We talked to our friends and read many online descriptions. We considered Montessori, but it seems that there are a lot of schools that claim to be Montessori, but are not really—so you have to be very discerning and know what you are looking for and realize that it is fairly expensive. We looked into the local neighborhood preschool, but some of our friend who went to the open house said that the teachers talked about wheeling out the television for t.v. time on certain days. Of course, I thought—if she’s going to watch T.V., she can do that at home. I want her to go to preschool to manipulate and play with things that I don’t necessarily have at home because I don’t have a school room full of children or a house with space for a large playroom full of simulated learning environments (that’s what preschools and children’s museums are for!) I also want her to go to preschool to continue to socialize with other children because she already spent two school years at day care where she had a daily routine and many friends and where she did many crafts and projects and spent hours doing free play. I wanted her to continue to have some of that two times a week for a couple of hours so that she wouldn’t lose those social skills and that enjoyment of spending time with friends and teachers outside of her house. I couldn’t wait to have the time at home with her, but I also knew that she would respond well to going to school two days a week because she was used to going five days already. I did not, however want any of those 2.5 hours spent watching T.V.—that seemed like worst idea any early childhood teacher could have considering the limited time they spend with the children. I also did not want them drilling letter memorization or doing worksheets. I wanted structured play time where most of the games also helped the children recognize important concepts. For Phoebe this would merely help her keep the things she knew in her head because she already knew her colors and her letters and many of her numbers. For Beckett, I imagine, preschool will play a larger role here since his language acquisition has been slower.

Happy Birthday, Grandpa

Today is Grandpa Shobe's birthday. As we were driving home from Target, Phoebe began this conversation:

Phoebe: Mommy, I’m sorry to say, but since it’s Grandpa’s birthday, no grown-ups are allowed

Me: Allowed where, Phoebe?

Phoebe: To go shopping with Grandpa for his birthday

Me: Who’s going shopping with him?

Phoebe: Me, Sydney, and Beckett

Me: So you’re going to take Grandpa shopping and buy him a present?

Phoebe: No, I’m not going to buy him anything. He can pick out whatever he wants.

Me: So you’re going to take Grandpa shopping and let him buy himself something for his birthday?

Phoebe: No, ok, he can pick out his present and me and Sydney will buy it for him. You have to give me some money, though.

Me: You have money, Phoebe.

Phoebe: I’m not going to use my money! I’m saving that for when I’m a grown up.

And while I'm at it, here are some Thanksgiving Parade pictures.

Don't Tread on Me

Phoebe has this funny thing she does--she made a snake out of one of Brett's old ties in preschool when she went to the children's farm. When she comes across this snake in her toy box, she stuffs it under Brett's pillow for him to discover when he goes to sleep. We never know when it happens until he goes to bed and indeed finds the snake. It's an unspoken game they play. I'll see if I can find a picture of said snake to include here.

The Graduate

My life whizzes past as my children grow. Phoebe graduated from preschool today. They did not do a big ceremony--which was wonderful because I don't think graduating preschool should be monumental--but they did a fabulous show and some cute songs. They put on an abridged preschool version of the Wizard of Oz. Phoebe was a witch. Before school this morning, she almost was not allowed to go because she told me "I am going to push Colleen into my chair, and I am going to stand up and be Dorothy. I can stand up whenever I want." Of course, we decided that being a witch was very important, and pushing other children is never the way to solve problems. Happily, she played her part without any complaints, and we had a great picnic outside with her class and families.


And as a preschool graduate, she has decided the direction of her life. As we drove home, Phoebe was looking at the houses that we passed and said, "I'm not going to get married when I grow up. I want to live in a house by myself. I can get a dog or a cat if I want to or some fish or chickens." I'm glad she knows she can depend on herself for happiness.

Moved

So, we moved, and I haven't done a good job of updating at all. I want to send out address cards and invite people over for dinners, etc., but apparently, I'm not doing too well there either. I will post a few pictures of the house. If you are reading this (anyone, anyone?) and are tired of waiting for a formal invitation, please feel free to come over. Our phone numbers are the same, so if you are not sure where you are going, call us. We like seeing people, we just feel bad inviting them to our mess and not preparing--if you don't mind unprepared mess, stop by :)

Here's what the place looks like, anyway:

Splashin' in the tub

I turned the water on and walked away while it warmed up. This is what I returned to about 30 seconds later. (I took the picture about a minute after he got in because I didn't think of it right away--and Phoebe insisted on getting in too.)

Here is Phoebe and Brett reading If I Were You by Richard Hamilton.

This was recorded in early November 2009.

Apple Picking/Pie

Every year since Phoebe was a few months old, we have gone apple picking and I have made apple pie. That means this was our fifth year of apple picking, and this year, I finally made a real, homemade apple pie entirely from scratch. I always make the filling but use store-bought crusts (I really like Jewel's frozen deep dish crust) But I didn't have a frozen crust in my freezer and I was ready to make pie today. I was about to pack the kids in the car to make an unnecessary trip to the grocery store for one item when I remembered that I had all the ingredients and could actually make my own crust rather than bundling everyone up and heading out for one thing--so I did--and it was delicious (which is not obvious from the picture, but I think it looks appetizing)

recent randoms

Our family trip to the Midnight Circus

Phoebe Marx

Beckett's first two teeth--the top two are in as well, so he has four teeth total and he is getting two molars up on top (which seems bizarre that he would get molars before the rest of his front teeth)

Phoebe and a friend as we walked to the Museum of Science and Industry from her house. The umbrellas belonged to the other family, but Phoebe was so excited to use it.

join our pile!

Pumpkins!

Grandpa Shobe carved the cat (Phoebe's choice), and Phoebe carved the other pumkin mostly herself while visiting Aunt Jennifer and her cousins with Grandma Serene. She picked out the face and carved the eyes and mouth on her own and got help with the mouth. The squirrels got to the pumkins while we were out trick-or-treating.

More Halloween 09

Beckett was quite the participant. He was excited about doing whatever Phoebe did, and he really liked the candy! It looks kind of sunny and pleasant, even, but it was actually pretty cold.

Halloween 09

Phoebe was a witch doctor for school because she really wanted to be that since just after last Halloween. She listened to the eep opp ork ahah (or however it's spelled) and got the idea. But she wore the care bear outfit for trick or treating and for her second school party because it was perfect for the cold weather. Beckett was a spider--also a toasty costume. On Halloween, Phoebe wanted to go trick-or-treating, but we couldn't go right away because she really wanted to be home to pass out candy and see all the kids in their costumes. She sat patiently at the door with candy in her hands waiting to give it out. Unfortunately, we don't get many trick-or-treaters on our block. I'm not sure why, but I was hopeful there would be more this year because of how eager she was to hand out the candy. She had a few customers, but not many. Finally, I dragged her away to collect candy of her own.

Fall 09

click on the pictures for clearer images