A Couple of Weeks Worth of Recap

I thought it had only been a week since my last post here, and I signed on today to realize it's been closer to 3! Amazing.

Jack, Thomas, and Peter are all sporting new haircuts, as of yesterday. David and I called it H-Day, since it's not unlike an assault trying to get them cornered, strapped in, and sheared. :). Jack and Peter did great, but Thomas was sobbing through pretty much the entire haircut. I'm trying something a little different, letting their hair grow a bit longer on top rather than buzzing it all the same length. With Peter, I just trimmed up his sides and left the top alone, but since the hair on top sticks straight up (and is very even), it totally looks like he has a flat top now :). It probably looks like I am trying to style it that way (with gel or whatnot), but I really have no control over it -- 5 minutes after his hair is washed, and POOF! up it goes!

Oooh, I've heard some interesting things lately that I wanted to share re: schooling. Jack isn't in preschool, and he'll start kindergarten next fall. Apparently this is pretty unusual for a 4-year old kid around here, because all the kids his age seemed to have disappeared now that summer is over. Kindergarten, from what I've heard, is taken pretty seriously these days. It's full day, and the kids have homework!! One Mom that I know actually said she was glad that her 5-year-old was being challenged this way. He even missed a day of kindergarten and had to make up the work that he missed (it sounded like a decent amount of work, too!). This Mom was glad that the teacher was being so rigorous. The whole time I'm thinking "These kids are only 5 years old! This is crazy!".

Since kindergarten is so "rigorous", many moms feel that they need to put their kids into preschool so they're not behind. Seriously! In casual conversation, other moms will ask me whether Jack is in preschool, and I usually tell them that I'm doing preschool work with him at home and that it's expensive anyway. This is one of the first times in my parenting career that I've felt like I'm choosing a very different path for my child from the mainstream, just because I'm not putting him into preschool. Oh well! I couldn't be happier with my decision, and I have total confidence that Jack will learn whatever he needs to learn before he enters kindergarten.

In other news, I had another run-in with the law today! After we finished grocery shopping, we pulled into the library parking lot and I left the car running with the air on and gave the boys a snack before story time began. Peter was hungry, too, so I climbed into the back of the van and nursed him. About 10 minutes later, a police car pulled up next to the van and a cop gets out and starts peering into my car windows (they're tinted). I actually found a CHP officer a week ago to sign off on my registration ticket(he was hanging out in the local sheriff station next to the library, so it was easy, thankfully), but I was worried that somehow I didn't do it right.

The cop came around to the sliding door, which I opened to see what the problem was. The officer said that someone had called to report that someone had left kids in my car unattended! Once the cop saw that I was with the kids and we were just having a snack in the car, he let us be.

At first, I was a little mad that someone had "reported" me, since whoever it was didn't take the time to look in the car and really check to see if the kids were alone, but then I realized that it's probably a good thing that someone cared enough to worry about possibly unattended kids in a car on a hot day.

Anyway, here are a few pictures we've taken recently:

This is a baby sling that Peter loves because he can face out. I love it because it frees up my hands and is easier on my back than holding him.

Peter, pre-haircut

Peter, post-haircut

Peter is starting to like tummy time! He actually laughs when we put him on his tummy, and his ribs are ticklish. :)