Mid week progress report.

Well being part way through the week I thought I’d update how Dylan is settling in. Monday morning we march him off to school, he lined up a bundle of nerves, quiet and solemn. He was trying to be so brave, blinking back his tears. He’s a sensitive little soul. The night before school he hands my husband a little piece of paper and says “this is how I feel about starting school tomorrow”:

But I was prepared. I found some little cards in target and I gave him one that he took in his school bag. I used to write him post it notes with similar messages in Kindergarten. “Have an awesome day”, “do good listening” and other mum things. He had one taken off him once from his teacher because he was looking at the note and not listening to her! He is into Pirates of the Carribean after Disney World so this card is perfect:

First day of Kindergarten in Australia was so much easier. Before he had even started on day one he knew where everything in the school was, he had met his teacher and principal, he had even used the canteen! He knew kids in his class and even though he cried walking into class for the first few weeks I knew he was in good hands and I never walked into the classroom, even if he was crying. I don’t believe in making my boys stop crying if they are upset, I do believe in letting them find a solution and a way to sooth or calm themselves. A little tough but for their own good.

Before his first day here, he met the principal and guidance counsellor. He also knew where his classroom was, that was it. But he walked in calm and not needing me, no tears and I’m glad that the independence last year has payed off. When he lined him up with the other kids he looked like he’d fit right in, a class with only 4 girls and he is one of the tallest boys. He has on his pluto shirt from Disney World and his teacher says she recognised it because shes been there. Dylan is now convinced that he saw her there.

One thing I REALLY would have paid money to see? His reaction to the kids saying the pledge of allegiance. I asked him about it and he said yes, that he didn’t know the words, and apparently theres actions too. I explain that he’ll get used to it, just like he had to learn prayers at his old school.

Before I went to pick him up I was in a momentary panic. I’d been stewing about how he’d been getting on all day, unable to do much or concentrate. Hamish and I cleaned up and made a cake, filled out paperwork for his preschool and then I raced down to submit the paperwork before his nap.

Now the tricky bit was getting him a couple of hours nap before picking up Dyl. But he fell asleep in the car so I did a shuffle from car to house. First part of transfer car to house works fine, but when I want to get Dylan I can’t find my keys. Minor panic, but I remembered at the last minute where I put them. I race out the door, Hammie bed to car shuffling done, and get to school on time. He comes out grinning like a cheshire cat.

He had a goodie bag full of Avengers stationery as the schools theme for the year is superheroes. I ask did you have a good day? And his reply was “better than good, it was awesome!”. He tells me “only one little thing went wrong, I thought lunchtime was recess so I didn’t get to eat my sandwich”. A rookie mistake which I know he won’t make again!

This is Dylan this morning, coming out of his shell and playing with his mates, smiles all round.

Today brings no words and a little calm that I’ve been searching for all week.

Keep calm and school on.

Today I am trying to be calm and Zen. You see tomorrow is Dylan’s first day of school. It’s been looming for a while, but I put it to the back of my mind as there’s always been other things to do. But the day is almost here and I have mixed emotions about it. Looking forward to child free days again (Hamish starts preschool on Wednesday) but worried about the whole settling in thing.

Yesterday Dylan tells us that when he thinks about starting school his heart beats really fast like he’s been running in a race and his tummy feels funny. Fletch and I both explain that we get those feelings too and that there’s plenty of people around that he can talk to if he needs help. I both love and hate that he has these anxious feelings. I like that he can acknowledge the physical sensation of stress and that as a parent my job is to teach him mentally how to deal with that and turn it into a positive outcome.

This is Dylans school stationery list – word for word and produces a similar stress reaction for me:

GRADE ONE (No Trapper Keepers)

1 – box traditional crayons (24-count, no specialty crayons)

2 – erasers (Pink Pearl type)

3 – plastic pocket folders with pockets at bottom, no prongs

1 – pair blunt end scissors (Fiskars recommended)

2 – dozen pencils (#2, sharpened)

1 – yellow highlighter

1 – 4 oz. Elmer’s Glue

2 – glue sticks

1 – large “school box” to hold supplies

2 – boxes of tissues (for classroom distribution)

1 – container antibacterial wipes (for classroom distribution)

1 – large bottle hand sanitizer

1- box Ziploc bags (boys-sandwich size, girls – gallon size)

1- backpack (no wheels)

I have no idea what some of this stuff is! So off we go to one of those mega warehouse stationery places and I attempt to decipher the list. I get to the counter and the most wonderful shop assistant asks me if I could find everything. I show her the list and enquire about the folder item and ask her if what I’ve selected is right. She runs away to some dark corner of the shop to get the right folders. So I try the other item which I was stuck on. A “school box” for pencils. Now I had picked up a cardboard filing card box, but again, a school box is a very specific type of pencil case in a plastic box form. Apparently some parents even come in looking for specific colours. I still don’t know what a trapper keeper is, but it sounds a little Harry Potter-ish to me. So glad I asked in the end. Dyl was there with me so I remind him how we needed to ask questions when we aren’t sure. Perfect example!

He wants to order his lunch from the cafeteria tomorrow. I’ve told him to take it easy and just get himself settled and figure out how it all works this week. Save that challenge for another time. Good to see his appetite hasn’t gone missing with all those nerves!

Today brings no words, just lots of labelled school stocks ready to see in the new school year.

Coming down from Disney.

We are on our flight back home. Coming down from our a-grade Disney induced vacay. Shall I explain a little bit more about this Disney World rush that has us hooked? Our recreational stay of choice was a resort called The Boardwalk resort. There are in actual fact numerous resorts that are dotted around the outskirts of the four theme parks that make up Disney World. They are all themed and styled very uniquely. From pirate themed places, to jungle and Carribean beach styles. There are places to stay right in the parks themselves. You name it, disney will fan out the cards and you take your pick and deal.

Being the week before school goes back (not that I’m counting down or anything) and being the hotter part of summer we thought it might be less busy. To be honest I’ve nothing to benchmark against. Was it crowded? Yes, you’d expect that though, was it busier on the weekend? Yes, again to be expected. The thing is, if you plan a little, it makes things easier. So wet rides in the afternoon to cool off, shows in air con during the middle of the day, fastpasses collected in the morning to the popular rides so that you don’t have to line up and wait.

With young kids, to get through one whole park, you need 2 days. (Unless you keep them out late, but its such a big day for them that its probably not worth it). We did 4 parks in 6 days and there’s things that we didn’t see. We went to Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom twice. There was lots of Epcot we didnt see but the main reason we went back to Hollywood Studios is because they had Star Wars attractions.

On our first visit, Dylan signed up to do a jedi training show on stage, but an afternoon summer storm rolled through and it was cancelled. Light sabres in lightning is apparently a safety issue? He hadn’t stopped pestering us all morning and he was gutted. Second time back, the storm came down just after his show finished. So he was standing in a Paduan robe in the 100 degree heat, sweat dripping down but having the time of his life fighting Darth Vader.

After that they go into the conveniently placed Star Wars gift shop and make their own light sabers. They did have some which got lost in transit over here. So for those of you like me who are not star wars nerds…err, enlightened i mean, heres a bit of trivia about light sabers. Each one is unique to the individual that owns it. Each uses a different force or emotion that controls the light saber. The children have chosen ones that befits their personalities perfectly. Dylan chooses Mace Windu, who uses the emotion of anger but he has to use it in a channeled way to control his actions and fight for good. Hamish chooses Darth Vader, known for his uncontrolled, ruthless anger and force. Believe me we saw plenty of that!

In saying that though I am really happy how they have travelled, the hottest part of summer in tropical heat they are not used to. Some one wisely told me take ice packs and keep them cool as their body temperatures are so much warmer. Brilliant tip!

In finishing this off, we are home now. We pull up into our driveway, Hamish throws a wobbly, he wants to go “back to our mickey house”. Withdrawl symptoms are hitting us all hard as we dry out from our happy kingdom induced haze.

Today brings no words, just thoughts of our Magical stay in the Magical Kindom…and a magical credit card bill to go with it.

My Happy Place.

In the kingdom coined “the happiest place on earth”, I thought I’d chronicle our meltdowns large and small.

1. First off is me after our luggage arrives this morning and I realise I’ve left my toothbrush at home. Thank goodness Fletch brought floss. I’d use his brush but it’s kind of gross.

2. Hamish gets scared on the Pirates of the carribean ride. Fair call when you see it through the eyes of a 3 year old.
3. I try to take same child to see Fairies. This will be nice and settling to talk to tinkerbell after scary pirates. He screams in line ” I HATE FAIRIES. THEY ARE STUUUUPPPIID!” I give up and leave.
4. The boys get a “fast pass” to splash mountain, where you get a voucher to turn up at a particular time then go straight in without lining up. But the ride breaks down when Dylan goes back to hop on ride in allocated time. He spits the dummy.
5. They go back after lunch only to find that ride is broken again. This time it’s Fletch’s turn.
6. We buy Hamish a Mickey and I told fletch to send it back to the room so we are not carrying it around all day. Hamish is not happy with this. He loudly lets us know. Easy enough to fix though and at least he’s got a cuddle buddy.
7. Dylan and Fletch try for a third time to ride Splash Mountain. He texts me to say they are going on – brilliant. I wait on the bridge to wave at the boys when they come down the mountain. Hamish decides he wants another toy. Yelling progresses. I remind him he’s got Mickey. Apparently now Mickey is stupid too.
8. So continuing on from that I’m stillI trying to find Fletch on Splash Mountain. More boats go past, not theirs. Then Hamish needs the toilet. You don’t play around these kinds of things and he’s going crazy in his pram, gushing water sound probably not helping. Get back, we’ve missed their boat – of course. Must find happy place.
9. At 9pm there is the big procession through the park and we toss up whether to stay or go. Now Dylan is never one to admit defeat so when he tells us he’s tired and wants to go, we think we better not push our luck. Hamish doesn’t like this answer. More major meltown and a tirade of insults including how stupid we all are. Even the poor gate keeper who just lets out the strollers and prams copped an insult too.

Hilarious! We did have fun of course, so much fun as expected. But it’s the little things that make the memories so why not share them too. Tomorrow we are going to tackle Epcot.

Today brings no words, no really bad words anyway.

Watch out Disney World, here we come!

So we were on the plane to Orlando. Dylan and Hamish seem to be under the impression that they were getting special attention like on their flight over here from Australia. Dylan wants to know where the individual TV screens are with video games. Hamish just wants a blanket. International travel has ruined them!

Before we left they were driving me crazy. Hamish got up at 4am hopped into my bed, then threw a tantrum when I would’nt get out of bed to get his bunny rug. So the morning was long to say the least. The 3pm flight couldnt come quick enough. He slept on the plane but it now means he won’t sleep here in our room. Oh well, if this is how it’ll be i’ll just stay out tomorrow night and transfer him from Pram to bed.

Mine and Dylans luggage hasn’t turned up. I hope it does or it’ll be a trip to the Disney shop to go in search of clean clothes. Dylan had a soft serve chocolate icecream after dinner. It was the true winner may I say. I don’t know what we were thinking. But I can’t put him back in them. Shocker.

Tomorrow we are going to the magical kingdom. Afterall if you are thinking about disney and mickey its what you always think of first right? Fletch and I can’t believe we are here. We had this discussion about how as kids it’s the childhood equivalent of Mecca, something that you dream about seeing. Both of us have fond memories of disney hour on the weekends. And I guess the boys see the castle at the begining of movies and always point out “Mickey’s castle”, yet I wonder if it’s that same desire.

Today brings no words, just a calm peace as the crazy kids have just fallen asleep and some very messy clothes, remants of a fun start to our family holiday.