this and that... update

Curious George has been in school for a week (3 days a week). He said it's fun, but one day while getting ready for bed he said no one plays with him. I was a bit worried, but then he went on and said, "All they do is learn about states! and nobody plays!" Aaaah. So much clearer now. For laughs, I mentioned this to his teacher and was told that they do most of their academics in the morning (after starting the day with the pledge of allegiance) and play time after that.

I finally found a doctor here in Texas, and had my first appointment there today. I ended up with a male doctor, because the female doctor wouldn't be available until later. It worked out, since this doctor was pretty nice and talked to me and answered all my questions. I really do have better luck with male doctors. He did mention something new to me. He said that since I am a Strep A carrier (after battling strep throat 4x in 5 months, though we're all hoping it's been eradicated with the 2 strong antibiotics I was put on), I will have to be put on antibiotics while preparing for the c-section. It's not a danger to the baby, unlike Strep B, but the danger is with my incision being infected because of the bacteria. The hospital is right next to the office building, and according to my new doctor, it is a great hospital with a Level III NICU. My girls were born in the hospital with only a Level I.

We also had access to the rental house today. So after driving Curious George to school, the girls and I spent a little time there looking around. The girls liked it, though they kept asking for where the tables and chairs were. :) After we picked up Curious George to school, we spent time there again for him to see it. The house is a small house (definitely too small for all of us though, but big enough for a temporary rental). It has 4 bedrooms; one bedroom for CG, one for the girls, and then master. The 4th will be used as an office/activity/computer room for the kids. There is a small breakfast area, a small kitchen, formal dining room and livingroom with fireplace. The best part is the yard...again, it's not as big as what we used to have, but it's big enough and nice and flat and fenced in. After 4 weeks in the apartment, and no outside space, we're all thankful for the yard!

Our belongings will be delivered to the rental house either on Friday or Saturday. I am hoping for it to be on Friday so that I only have the girls with me, with CG in school. Daddy works on Saturdays. You'd think it'll be easy to just tell people where to place your boxes of junk, but being that I look like I'm 12 months pregnant, it isn't easy. Plus there are little ones afoot that I have to keep from getting trampled. Then we still have to haul our stuff from the apartment to the house. We need to vacate the apartment by Monday.

Oh, and there is a matter of damage charges to the apartment. This is a corporate housing that is fully furnished. But we are responsible for any damage we do it. Thing 1 found a metal toy of CG's and started scratching the LCD flat panel TV with it. I found her doing it too late, so there are a lot of scratches. From what we've been able to search on the internet, scratches on the screen is very expensive. It would be cheaper to buy a new one. So, we are either going to be charged through our butts for it, or we pay for the amount of buying a new one. In any case, it's not going to be cheap.

The girls are now always begging to go to school with their Kuya (or as they pronouce it - "KU-LA"). If we money fell from trees, I would have no issue putting them to school, especially to have them potty trained! Potty training isn't doing well right now. They are both ready, but just refusing to use the potty. Thing 2 especially stays dry for hours, even after a nap. But even if I catch her before she pees, and sit her down on the toilet, she still refuses to use it. ARGH!

Daddy is very busy at work, but he loves it. He leaves at 6:30 in the morning everyday, and doesn't get back home until 6:30, and he works on Saturdays (though shorter hours). I'm just hoping all this hard work pays off and he can take off here and there when necessary after baby is born. Thing 2 asks everyday, at times every few minutes, "Where'd Daddy go?". I answer, "at work." She replies, "at work?". "Yes." Then 3 minutes later, she asks again. Since CG has been in school, she even adds, "Where'd Kula go?"

first day in a new pre-k

Curious Goerge's class start at 8:30. I wanted to be there by 8am today so I had to wake everyone up at 7. While it doesn't sound like a big deal, it's a little early for them. On their own, they don't start waking up until 7:15 to 7:30. So this morning, all we had time for is change clothes and take breakfast with us. We made it out at 7:40 and the GPS said we'd get there by 8. When we got to our exit, there was a police blockage. I exited off the next exit but when we got to the same street, it was closed on the other end. Great. I had to fiddle with the GPS on the go, and didn't think I did it right. By 8:20, we were circling around the school. I knew we were close, but just don't know how to get there. I called the school, but the director was no help. She only knew the way she takes everyday. Gee, thanks. Finally, I drove around and around and got there by 8:30. Our drive should be much shorter once we move to the rental house in a week.

Both of Curious George's teachers are asian. One is half Filipino and half Chinese (though mostly Filipino) and the other is Chinese, I think. They're pretty friendly. They have a field trip to the local library today, so it would be Curious George's first field trip. After chit-chatting with the teachers, we said our goodbyes. I told the boy I'd pick him up later. He asked if I would pick him up after lunch. I said no, I would be picking him up way later, after their nap and more school stuff. To that he replied, "NAP? They take naps?" Yuppers. The girls begged to stay. They find school fun. Unfortunately, we'll have to delay a bit longer for financial reasons...unless Daddy finally wins the lottery.

I forgot write an update on Curious George's liver test. I got a call from the pediatrician on Tuesday saying that his liver functions are normal. Test showed he's had mono before and that something about the test is elevated and he wants a stool sample. I was too elated about the fact that there is nothing wrong with his liver that it took a moment to sink in that I would have to collect poop. Ick. It's not as much yucky, being that I'm still changing 2 poopie butts, but how to collect it? Thanks to a couple of mamas that gave me ideas.

Daddy and I are a little stumped that we had no idea that Curious George has had mono. I Googled mono on kids and said that it's easy to miss because of the cold symptoms, but the fatigue is usually unmistakable because it takes little kids about 2-4 weeks to get over it. There were several weeks in N.C. when it didn't seem to matter that he had a nap everyday, he was still tired all the time. It could have been then. We'll never know. At least now we know. Having had mono himself, Daddy said we'd have to look out for it because once you've had mono, you never get rid of it.

A new preschool and haircut for everyone!

The first order of business for the day was to visit a preschool. I called several places, and narrowed the place to just one. We visited a Primrose school and ultimately ended up signing Curious George up. He loved the place, and based on what the teachers told me, it is exactly where he should be on his knowledge development. They have computers in the room, they are working on writing, math and reading. Everyone of which he is already working on. It's not a cheap school, but they let Curious George in for 3 full days a week. After being in schools that didn't cater to his abilities for the past year, we are more than happy to get him back in to something that will challenge him. Besides, he's off to public school this fall and then we'll only have to think about the twins in preschool.

I told Curious George he could start on Monday, but he insisted on starting immediately. Thankfully, they allowed him to start this Friday.

The girls also loved the toddler classroom. They wanted to join right in, but unfortunately, we need to offset the cost by delaying their start by a few more months.

Then we went to get a haircut for Curious George. I found a place for kids that was close by and it turned out to be an excellent place. He was super excited and before leaving the place, he already asked when he could go back. :) The good thing is, it's only about 5 miles from our rental house! (which we will be moving into next week)

He got to pick which vehicle chair he wanted to sit on, and a choice of movie to watch. I love this haircut! He looks so handsome and ready for his new school.

Then it was Thing 2's turn. She was excited to get on the police car, but shed a few tears when the woman started cutting her hair. But after a few minutes, she was happy again.

All happy!

Thing 1 was last. She protested at first. She also chose the police car and both she and Thing 2 watched Cinderella.

They only got a 2 inch trim. I really wanted their hair shorter because it's getting harder to take care of, but I mentioned to the lady that Daddy wanted them left long. So she insisted on only taking 2 inches off. They look great and it was a pleasant first hair cut for them. The woman even gave me locks of their hair. Awwww.

Then it was time to go back to the apartment after a long morning. Dallas is intimidating with all the over pass highway interchanges. Everytime I go back to the apartment, I miss a turn! Thankfully, with a GPS, I will always find my way back. But this is why, as if the actual interchange isn't crazy enough, take a look at the GPS!