Tower of babble

Things change pretty quickly around here. I mean, with three little ones, the littlest being very little, (and when I say little, I by no means mean small) they are always changing and growing and learning. No two days are the same. Poor hubby has been away most of the month, stopping home to sleep about once a week before jetting off again, and unfortunately he has missed a lot. For instance:

Paddy boy talks. Yes, that is crazy. No, I am not crazy. Well, at least not for this reason anyway.

Seriously, in the past I have talked to Moms who have told me that their own cherubs were talking at 7, 8, 9 months old. I have always smiled politely and nodded, then as soon as the coast was clear, rolled my eyes to holy heaven and had a good laugh. "I mean really lady, we all think our babies are geniuses, but don't you think, just maybe you are looking a little too far into the baby babble for meaning? "

Trust me, I have two children who can form complete sentences and one who is even beginning to grasp the nuances of sarcasm -, I know that talking children are nothing to get excited about! Talking children quickly learn to talk back, to be fresh, to question your authority! (why mommy?) - the best parenting advice I ever got, but of course, failed to heed, was "don't teach him to talk". That said, now, I have an 8 month old baby who talks! Really.

At 8 1/2 months of age, Paddy Boy says - in appropriate circumstances - "Mommy", "Grandma", "First Son" and yesterday morning, when I handed him a matchbox car to occupy him while I was changing his diaper, "Car". I thought I had my hands full with Curly, I have a feeling that I haven't seen anything yet!
Did I mention that he also crawls 100mph and stands up?

Aren't you curious?

Where have I been!!??

I ask myself this. The thing is that Hubby has been spending more time this month in FLA than at home. August 2007 and I am essentially a single parent! I am not really crying tears in my chicken soup though, I have perspective on this, it's just that I don't have time to blog.

Anyway I thought I would just log on quickly tonight to share the news that you may have been waiting for....


It is official...

First Son is going to kindergarten.

We have made our decision and I am now 100% on board, PTA and the whole bit. That is not to say that on September 5th I am not going to be having a serious mental breakdown, but I promised my friend Karen (another MrsP, seems there are a lot of us) - that I will NOT follow the bus.

So, do me a favor and say a prayer for me, and for First Son. Oh yeah, throw one in for Mrs. Hayes too, she has no idea what she's in for!! Ha ha.

Mom, you're a Hippo

First son and I have this silly game that we love to play. He will say "Mom, you're a Hippo." I will then feign indignation (because really, the term "hippo" - not so complimentary), and I will grab him and squeeze him, then refuse to let him go until he proclaims, through giggles, "Mom, you're not a Hippo, you're my Mommy and I love you"
I can't believe my sweet baby boy is almost 5!

Not sleeping

I must confess, I am not sleeping well at night. Paddy boy has little to do with it. I have something on my mind and it is BIG. Hubby and I are thinking about keeping First Son home from Kindergarten. Homeschooling him. I think about it all the time, I read books, I search the web, and mostly I lie awake in bed at night. I feel like I don't really have anyone to talk to about this besides Hubby, and it is almost the only thing we do talk about. I wish there were someone else whom I could bounce my ideas off of, someone who could help me make this decision.

The thing is that where we live, homeschooling is, well, weird. My family thinks I am crazy, although they have been very nice and respectful, as I requested in an earlier post, but I know they think it is weird. My friends are all so excited about sending their own cherubs off, that they couldn't possibly understand why I wouldn't want to. I don't blame these people for their attitudes, because not that long ago I too would have said - "what are you crazy?" I would never have thought that I would be the type to even consider homeschooling, and yet here I am. There also isn't any one pivotal moment either, this is an idea that has developed over time, I guess the past 5 years.

I have thought about the idea that if this were the right decision, it wouldn't be so hard to make, but when I think about just sending him off to kindergarten, I don't get excited about that either.

The kindergarten bus will be outside my door in a little over a month. I am feeling the pressure to make this decision. Maybe if it weren't full-day kindergarten I would feel better, but it is full day, so there is no room for "maybe". I am leaning toward keeping him with me and teaching him myself. What is holding me back? I think it is peer pressure, society pressure. I don't usually give in to that kind of pressure. Do I? Well, I do have that Vera Bradley bag. Hmmmm.

There are just so many wonderful things about homeschooling, and I can't list even half as many on the opposite subject, public schooling. Still, I am hesitating. Why?

Here it is, an open question, I welcome your comments on the following:

please respond in the comments section, and please do not be "anonymous"

1.WHY should I send First Son to public Kindergarten?