Open House

Last night was Open House at the boys school.

Background:
The boys daycare does Open House twice a year.  I went for the first time in April, and really enjoyed the opportunity to speak with the teachers, and find more out about what they do all day long.  A few weeks ago, we found out there was another open house coming up, and I suggested Brian go this time.  I could sense he wasn't really comfortable going by himself...just not a situation he wanted to be in alone.

Finding a babysitter:
Unfortunately, Brian and I don't get out a lot.  There are 2 reasons for this:
1)  Through the week, we leave them for about 10 hours a day, so we want to soak up every minute outside of that with them.
2)  Asking someone to watch twins is a big undertaking.  I never worry about the boys being taken care of, but I worry about the whole situation stressing the babysitter out! My parents have watched the boys a few times, and my brother and Scott have watched them once.  Each time we leave them, it's stressful.  The boys cry, and it can be hard to get them settled down. 

Knowing that Brian probably wouldn't go to Open House by himself, I started thinking about finding a baby sitter.  My parents live too far away to watch the boys on a random Wednesday night, so they were out.  I asked my brother if he would be available...and he was able to rearrange his schedule to help us out. 

We had a sitter.  Check.  Next, we had to prepare the boys to (hopefully) make it an easy transition.

Monday night at dinner, we asked the boys if they wanted Uncle and Scott to come over and watch a movie.  Lincoln was excited, but also said that Mommy and Daddy were going to watch the movie too!  When we explained to him that we were going to go talk to his teachers, Jackson emphatically said "I go see Miss Monica too.  No watch movie with Uncle!"

(Did I mention before how stressful it can be to leave?)

We let the subject go, and brought it up again the next night...that Uncle and Scott were coming over to watch a movie.  Lincoln was again excited, Jackson was skeptical.  We again let the subject go.

When we got home last night, we started talking about how we were going to all have dinner, and then take a bath before Uncle arrived.  We talked about how Uncle was coming to watch a movie, and told the boys if they ate their dinner and behaved, they could have a treat with Uncle - ice cream with chocolate syrup!  They both ate their bowl of White Chicken Chili (they LOVED it), and were even cooperative in the bath tub.  We were just finishing getting them dressed when Uncle arrived.

I was a little nervous as Scott wasn't with him. Scott handled the melt-down last time.  However, the boys brushed their teeth, and sat down on the couch to watch the movie.  As the movie was getting started, I reminded the boys that mommy and daddy were going to an appointment (we didn't mention school, knowing Jackson would want to go with us), and that they were going to stay with Uncle, watch a movie, and eat ice cream.  I assured them we would be home before they went to bed, and each of them gave me a hug and a kiss goodbye.  Then, they gave Brian a hug and a kiss as well, waved bye-bye, and watched the movie.  That was it.  We walked out of the house, and not a tear was shed!  We were so proud of the boys...and Uncle was relieved!

The actual open house:
We arrived at open house right on time.  We watched some video of the kids doing various activities (eating lunch, singing songs, playing outside, etc.) for the first 10 minutes or so, then we checked out the artwork and things on the walls in their classroom.  The director of the school was there, and she came over to talk to us.  I explained that Brian hadn't ever been to this part of the school, so she gave us a tour of all the classrooms, and shared with us the differences for each level.  She walked us through a typical day for the boys too - explaining circle time, the stations, outside play, meal times, and nap time.  It was a lot of information, but definitely helps a parent feel better about leaving their child at daycare.

Brian and I had some questions for her as well, based on things the boys have told us.

1)  Breakfast - we get the boys up at 6:00 each morning, put them on the potty, feed them breakfast, then get them dressed for the day.  About 2 weeks ago, Jackson made a comment about helping Miss Sally (the school cook) clean up breakfast.  He's a helper, so I didn't think anything of it.  However, then Lincoln made a comment one day about having breakfast with Miss Sally - "she gives me muffins"! 
I was a bit shocked and concerned.  How much ARE my boys eating each day?  Plus, we are supposed to pay extra for breakfast!

So, we asked the director how breakfast works.  She first of all told us that breakfast is now included in the tuition price (a change I evidently missed....so no worries on the extra money thing).  However, she was concerned that we didn't WANT the boys eating breakfast there.  We assured her that its fine, we will just ensure they are getting lighter breakfasts at home! 

The director and the boys teacher both assured us that the boys are GOOD eaters.  They often times ask for a second serving of most things, but eat almost anything. 

Guess this explains why we are buying 4T pajamas!

2)  TV time - the past few weeks, Brian and I have been a bit concerned about how much TV they are watching at daycare.  Each day they were telling us about shows they had watched that day - sometimes listing 5 or 6 shows!  So, we asked the director, and the boys teacher last night how much TV they watch at school.  They were a bit dumbfounded by our question, but told us they have "movie time" on Friday afternoons where they watch videos, and that kids there after 6:00 at night watch videos to allow the aids to clean their classrooms for the night. 
When we told them the boys tell us they watch it everyday, they were blown away!  Evidently our little guys have quite the imagination!  However, we are confused as to how they know some of the things they know - must be their friends singing songs or telling them things!

3)  Potty training - the ultimate goal is to have the boys potty trained before they move into their next room (when they turn 3).  We discussed what the boys have been doing potty training wise at home, shared with them that the boys are talking more about it (they know which kids at school wear "big boy pants", and last weekend Lincoln watched Knox), and inquired about diapers vs. pull-ups.  Since the boys are showing interest, they will start trying to work with them at school more now, and Miss Monica gave us some suggestions for how to help the process along at home too.  So, today we took in both diapers and pull-ups.  Anxious to see how it goes today!

Summary:
Overall, I believe that our boys must be pretty good kids.  In the video, we could see they were paying attention most of the time, singing along with the songs, and doing what they were asked.  At lunch, they were sitting in their chairs and eating like they are supposed to.  They were patiently waiting in line to see the firetruck, and so happy when they were swinging outside.

We asked the teacher about their behavior - they mention how much the boys wrestle at school, and I just want to make sure they are only beating each other up.  They assured me that it's really just Jackson picking on Lincoln - they don't bother the other kids, but if that changes, they will definitely let us know.

I think the people at daycare enjoy our boys.  Everyone knows who they are, and it still cracks them up that they spend SO MUCH time together.  They know they are good eaters, and they know their personalities.  Last night, Miss Monica commented as she was buckling the boys in the van that she just loves how they giggle EVERY day on their way out to the van.  They are happy to see us!  She said they giggle throughout the day with each other, but it is a different giggle when they know mommy and daddy are there to pick them up. They are excited to see us and go home.  I thought that was normal for kids, but evidently not!

I'm a very happy and proud mommy today....and I love my boys immensely.  I hope the giggles are their way of telling us that they know how much we love them, and that they love us too!