Quick Post

Again, it's been a long time since my last post. Life continues to be crazy busy with school, Eric back to working temporarily and our various other things. As of yesterday I lost my second lab partner of the quarter because she was feeling so guilty about all the time away from her family she was spending. I can relate and am so anxious for this quarter to be over. I really love this class and all the things I am learning but it's amazing how much time it is requiring. My kids are telling me, in no uncertain terms, that I am not around enough. I was contemplating taking one more quarter but now don't know if I will unless it's a class that wouldn't require as much of a time commitment.
Eric has been working the past two weeks. He's on his way home as I type this (9:30 a.m.) because the owner didn't get some permit he needed. The boss is completely flaky but I keep telling myself I can't complain and I really can't. We are all so thankful that he is back to work and hope this is just a step in finding something more permanent. Going out of state is still a viable option and he continues to call companies anywhere but things still don't seem to be picking up in the economy so we're praying that changes soon.
The girls are doing great. Kennedy will start preschool next year and I just filled the paperwork out for that. I got my first taste of how difficult it will be to coordinate schedules with two kids. Preschool and Kindergarten start at the same time next year so I am going to put Kennedy in afternoon preschool so I'll have a 15 minute lapse in picking her up and then her sister. I spent two hours last night debating all of this and wondering what would work best. Afternoon will mean she is in with the 3, 4 and 5 year olds. I'm not sure how well that will work but I talked to a friend who informed me several other moms with 3 year olds will be in there as well so that is helpful. I can't believe preschool is around the corner for Kennedy, she is starting a whole year earlier than her sister did because of where their birthdays lie. If anybody is ready it's Kennedy though! Madison continues to love school and that makes me so happy. Everyday she asks if she gets to go that day.
I have also spent an incredible amount of time debating the options of private vs. public school. I spent several sleepless nights last week wondering what the best decision was and I came to a decision I feel really good about and decided on public school. I had a few lengthy email conversations with a teacher at Mountainview and I feel that public school will offer me several things that I don't think a lot of private schools offer such as exposing kids to kids of different socioeconomic backgrounds, diversity, etc. I feel very strongly that it is important kids are exposed to all different types of people in order to learn tolerance and acceptance of differences. Maybe some private schools have a wide range of ethnicity's and socioeconomic families but it's probably very few. I think private school offers a HUGE advantage in the aspect of class size. This was my biggest fear since I have a child who is slow to warm up. This was what was keeping me up all night but I felt really good about my conversations with this teacher and how open the school is to having parent participation. I will have to be very involved and so much will depend on the teacher and his/her connection with the students. Private school does not guarantee a great teacher any more than public school does so I was basing a lot of worry on something I have no control over at this point. Anyway, I feel really good about this and know a lot of very well adjusted, smart and well rounded students who go to public school. I think the key will be parent involvement and making sure she is getting what she needs and encouraging her to ask for it. I was also very active in school activities, particularly sports so I want her to have lots of opportunities to participate in team activities if she chooses. The more I think about things the more I am excited for her public school experience. I know a lot of people have negative feelings about public school and it makes me sad. If kids going to public school are getting horrible educations we are all doomed anyway, I just don't believe that.
Moving on....I've continued to ban all pork and beef from my diet as well as the kids'. I would love to go completely vegetarian but know that won't work. I've been watching far too many movies on food production and I can't go to the grocery store without thinking EVERYTHING is poison so I need to stop watching those kinds of movies for a while. I am trying to eliminate non-organic corn (it's in EVERYTHING) but it's impossible because it's in things that don't even say "corn". I am trying to buy things organically that have a large amounts of corn such as popcorn kernels and corn flakes for the kids. I am absolutely freaked out about the chemical implications on our bodies to these genetically modified food products (that aren't even actual food anymore). Maybe even more so than the nutritional aspect in my recent food bans and decisions is the environmental impact of the whole process.I have started making my own bread in the bread machine but the girls are not huge fans of it yet. We are trying to go vegetarian at least a few times a week and it hasn't been difficult, to my surprise. We have a long way to go to eat the way we should but we're making small steps.
My posts will probably be few and far between until the end of March when school ends. I'll try to sneak one in when I get a little bit of time.