The Awkward Mom: Back to School Week!

So look, it's back to school time. Some parents are out there doing the happy dance. Me? I'm not one of them. If you follow the blog, you know how I feel about school: Overall, I'm not a fan. I think that in most cases, it kills creativity and original thought, and in all cases, it teaches you silly things like having to stand in line and ask someone else if you can have permission to use the bathroom. Not cool. So overall, Hubs and I do plan to homeschool, starting before 1st grade (or maybe even kindergarten). I mean, we've been kinda doing it already, like, since Stenni was born, and around us, that's really when all of the homeschool groups and activities start. But here's the thing: so far, she hasn't had too many opportunities for socialization with kids her own age. Adults? Yep. Older family members (like ages 5-10)? Oh you betcha! But outside of the gym babysitting room, she hadn't had too much interaction with the 2-4 year old set. And you know what? I think she kinda needs it. Also, I want her to have a little bit of her own thing going on when Cuatro gets here, because I think it'll be nice for her to be able to stick to a familiar routine somewhat.

But with that in mind, when we looked at preschools, we asked certain questions and avoided others. We looked at safety, security, background checks, teacher-to-student ratios, activities, facilities, play areas, and things like that. Curriculum? No, we avoided that. We do that stuff at home. I'm also glad that when we met the teacher, who has her degree in Early Childhood education and is working towards another one from my husband's alma mater, she was dressed casually and had a few facial piercings. You know, like mom and dad. I feel like if she had a really stuffy, buttoned-up school marm-ish type, that she'd be more uncomfortable. I just felt like it was a really cool place that I'd like to go to school, and it met all of our needs and wants. So off she went, and today was her first day. To be honest? It broke my heart a little bit, but I know that it's probably what's best for her, and she was pretty psyched. If you'd liketo know just how psyched, see below:

My little girl's "getting ready for school" face. Nice, huh?

Stenni and Papa in the front of the school. You can't see Mama, because she's holding the camera and choking back sobs. Just kidding. Kind of.

So, in honor of Stenni's first day, I'm kicking off The Awkward Mom's Back to School week. Check back during the week for tips, tricks, and suggestions to make your transition a little smoother than mine!

Tip #1: Organize everything the night before. I mean everything. Clothes for the kid, clothes for you, socks, shoes, underwear, the whole nine yards, and make sure that you try them on, too. While Stenni's outfit was perfect, I had a dress that fit me 2 weeks ago suddenly not fit (growing baby and all that), and it kind of torpedoed my whole morning. Ouch. Plan what you'll eat for breakfast. Pack the backpack. Make sure all forms are signed. Check the weather to see if anyone needs a sweater or coat. All of it, do it the night before. It will make everything run that much more smoothly in the morning, when you could be pressed for time anyway. Since Hubs usually goes to work about the time I wake up, I am used to packing lunch and setting up the coffee the night before, so all he has to do is hit the switch on the coffeemaker and grab a sandwich from the fridge, but planning for us too was kind of new! At any rate, build 15 extra minutes into your schedule so that you won't be 15 minutes late if anything arises!  

What are some tricks that help you get organized for back-to-school time? 

Make yourself useful and...prepare an emergency kit

 Those of you who know me well enough know that I'm a pretty big fan of The Walking Dead. I started reading the comic books when I was pregnant with my daughter, and pretty near went into shock when I found out that AMC was making a TV show some time later. The show is my Sunday night, meaning nothing else exists during Walking Dead season. I've always had a thing for zombies (I wish there was a less creepy way of saying that, but I can't think of one), as they are by nature terrifying, somewhat realistic, and completely unsettling to a girl who read too many horror novels as a kid and horror comics as a grown-up (and no, I didn't reverse that). They also constitute a "real" emergency, one for which it's good to have a plan, and maybe a plan B too.

The kinds of emergencies that generally befall my family usually require staying indoors. Things like hurricanes, blizzards, torrential rainstorms, etc. don't require us to leave our home, since we are in a reasonably secure area. We live in what is technically a "valley" between two mountains, but are at a high enough elevation that flooding is certainly not a concern for us. If our house ever flooded, you could kiss all of NJ goodbye, because it would be under water. The same is not true of all of my neighbors...even a few houses down, they have seen more "50 year floods" in the past few years than I'd care to count, and many of these have caused significant damage. But despite our relative security, we are by no means safe from all disasters, and the house's proximity to a weapons testing area is a constant reminder that something scary and devastating could happen at any moment. 

For quite a while I've been tossing around the idea of making a family emergency kit, just in case. During Hurricane Sandy last year, my family was without power for almost 2 weeks. We though we were prepared, but we had no idea just how unprepared we were for a storm of that magnitude. We learned the hard way, but thankfully, we learned in time to keep ourselves safe, at least. 

Here are some resources to help you to make a basic emergency kit for you and your family:

• http://www.ready.gov/
• The NJ Office of Emergency Management
• 72hours.org

It is pretty much agreed that you'll need a first aid kit, a good supply of non-perishable food (things like peanut butter, granola/protein bars, dried fruits, crackers, etc. are good bets), water (rule of thumb is 1 gallon per person per day...I know because during Sandy, we ran out after a week), flashlights, a radio, extra batteries, cash, matches, a manual can-opener, and toilet paper and sanitation supplies. It's also good to have a complete change of clothes for everyone, bedding, and some activities to keep everyone busy. Some other things you might think to include are basic tools (in case you need to shut off gas or water service), a fire extinguisher, dry shampoo, hand sanitiser, baby wipes, multivitamins, a fire extinguisher, and (gasp!) disposable plates, cups, and silverware. You should have enough of all of these items to last the whole family for THREE WHOLE DAYS, and even longer if you expect the emergency to last longer. Remember to plan for everyone in your family, including pets, infants (formula, diapers, wipes), and the elderly. Include any medications you will need and food for special diets, as well as doctor and insurance company contact information and policy numbers.Think of the things your family uses every day, and plan accordingly. After almost two weeks without power after Sandy, I was SUPER glad to have a battery-powered portable DVD player. Was it strictly necessary? No, but it sure helped pass the time. So after you've covered the necessities, think, what would it be nice to have?

You can also purchase ready-made kits with all the extras at many websites, including the Red Cross Store online. Some are MUCH, MUCH more in-depth than others and include a lot of things that you might not need.  Again, tailor it to your family's needs, and the types of disasters that are likely to befall you and your family (like, we don't need flood-specific items, but we sure do have a lot of power outages, so...).

Here's to hoping you're better-prepared than I've been in the past, and to keeping you and your family safe!

Coming clean about organization: Stenni's room "before"

This is legit what my daughter's room looks like right now. I know, I know, it's awful! The other day the changing table/dresser combo that we had been using since she was born (which was second hand then) finally gave out and no amount of rigging and praying would fix it. So after I threw the offending drawer across the room, I started looking for new furniture. (Also, I suspect that even though she loves her crib, that little girl is going to outgrow it very, very soon, whether I like it or not, and she'll need a big girl bed.) Hubs and I found a ton of stuff I loved but everything was so expensive! While we could have easily gotten a whole little girl bedroom set for like $800 new, I wanted something space-saving so Stenni would have so much more room to do activities. We looked for one of those all-in-one loftbed over dresser combos and we found them and they are awesome, but guess what? I don't have a $2500.00 budget. It's closer to $2.50! But thanks to my enterprising hubby, who found a set almost exactly like what we wanted on craigslist, the new furniture will be here on Saturday and I'm so excited! It's not the best color (white) but I think we can work with it!

So this weekend will be spent re-doing Stenni's room. I will try to make separate areas for art/music, and a library and reading area, besides where she sleeps. Also, we are trying to use as much stuff that we already have as possible because...well because I can't buy everything brand new! And I will try to make it easy to organize with plenty of drawers, shelves, etc. since this room is always a mess despite my best efforts. When I set up the nursery almost 3 years ago now, I was not thinking about long-term storage solutions, and unfortunately it shows now!

Look out next week for a make-over reveal!