preschool?!

preschool.

whoa.

i have to say that i'm really not quite ready to let my little guy grow up. i'm sort of avoiding preschool, actually. if i sign him up, then he has to go, and...get...well, BIG.

i digress.

so i'm looking into preschools in the area that are first and foremost:

a) convenient.

b) affordable.

c) and, of course, they need to teach, and well.

southeastern regional high school has a program that has come highly recommended to me from a few different people, and since it's practically across the street from the church, ie, only 6 miles from us, so it's one of the front runners.

let's talk about this, though, moms. did any of you realize how EXPENSIVE preschool is?!

holy moly!

here is a breakdown of southeastern's center for early learners:

full day program:

tuesday and thursday, 7:15am-4:15pm: $60/wk

monday/wed/friday, 7:15am-4:15pm: $90/wk

i think we're doing a full day program because i'm not about to get us all out of the house every single day. nooo thanks. i'll have to do that every year from now until he's 18, so i'm cool with not making that kind of daily commitment right now (if your curious what the pricing is for a half day- full week, it's mon-fri, 7:15-11:45, $75/wk).

but have you done the math on it?!
$60/wk for 16 weeks = $960

20 weeks = $1200

24 weeks = $1440

(etc.)

!!! whoa, baby. i don't actually know how many weeks this particular program is, though i do know it starts 9/8/10, but regardless, it's hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of dollars. worth it, sure, but surprising for me, to say the least.

so i want to hear back from you!

do you think the cost of preschool is exorbitant? or would you pay anything to get them out of the house, ahem, i mean, educated? (kidding, kidding)

do you see pro's and con's for half days versus full days?

local readers- do you have suggestions of other great programs? what is their pricing like? for how many days and what times??

i'm one for making educated decisions (excuse the pun), so let's talk some preschool, mamas!

eli's quote of the day

it's early, but eli's one liners wait for no one. i had told elias that i'd consider letting him watch one more show this morning, but he wasn't being very kind to piper, so i was undecided. i suddenly realized i was alone upstairs and when I came down, the two of them were sitting watching dora the explorer. i sat down to put on my socks, not saying anything yet about the tv and eli turns to me and says:

"i said to myself, maybe there is a show on that is appropriate for kids, and i saw this and so i watched it."

!!!
i mean, really?! i'm letting him watch dora just for saying appropriate! i'm not even mad...i'm impressed!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

what are these big things?

i am brimming with things to write. overflowing. and yet i still am struggling to find time to blog amidst the 12 hours missing from my week, a room above our garage being converted into a studio for our friends matt and beth, a moms group, a couples group, a new unnamed small group, house projects, a home to clean, two children and a husband to love and care for, annnnndd whatever else it is that us mother-type people do (what DON'T we do, really?).

i know some of you are on facebook see my little updates and quick snippets, and i'm glad to have a quick way to connect. but ultimately, i miss my blog, my little place for ramblings, insights, ideas, and anecdotes, amongst other things.

so here i am, for a quick moment to share a funny story. you may have guessed already who the author of the funny is, so if you guessed elias, well...you're right :) i just can't even get over him these days. he is a constant source of joy and laughter in our home, and the wonderment of a 3 and a half year old is just too much.

like today, for example.

he walks up to me in the kitchen, stands right in front of me, looks up, grabs my chest, and asks "what are these big things mommy?"

immediately, i cannot hold my smile, for so many, many reasons. i mean, c'monn- he called them big.

so i look down into his adorable little smiling face and say, "well, God gave girls breasts to feed little babies" to which he replies nonchalantly, "oh, right, so you can shoot milk out of 'em." (now i'm REALLY trying hard not to laugh. did he say "shoot"?!), and i answer "yes, milk comes out of them when the baby is little."

and i show him his chest, and explain about boys and how they can't feed a baby like a mommy, etc. but i was just DYING. the curiosity and innocence of little kids is just too precious.

i have to tell ya, i just love that boy*

*even if he wants to be referred to as spiderman and threatens to punch bad guys in the neck [i tell ya, explaining good and evil to a 3 year old is quite complicated...]!

:)

grease monkey

this story is a perfect example of why mothers don't have extra time. bear with me...

after our play date with lee, cadie, and jax this morning, i dropped by my mum and dads. he had back surgery yesterday to fix a herniated disc (one of like, five), and decided he wanted to come home...today. typical. but elias and piper do a good job cheering him up, mainly because they are slightly obsessed with him, elias especially, so we stop in to say hi real quick and get home in time for naps.

after we get home and i have the kids in bed, i hear some banging and crashing in piper's monitor, which is a clear indicator that elias is doing some rearranging in his room next door, ie, not napping. so i head upstairs to investigate. when i open his door, i see every (every.) toy in his toy box emptied onto the floor (in their place? a pillow and a blanket. he likes to sleep in there...), i see piles of books in his bed, but i don't see elias.

hmm.

i see that my door is closed, so i walk into my bedroom to find him pretending to be asleep in my bed. always a goof. i ask him if he wants to take a nap in my room, which is a rarity that evokes much excitement, so i proceed to tuck him in. i head back downstairs and remember that i'm cooking italian sausage for dinner. right. probably want to pay attention to your dinner, michelle. i give the sausages a turn, throw in some laundry, and head upstairs to make sure elias is quiet. i hear him talking to himself so i open the door to find him sitting on the floor next to the bed

covered.

in.

aquaphor.

and when i say covered, i mean covered. ev-er-y-where. slathered. his legs, his arms, every part of his body not covered by clothes is coated with a nice thick greasy layer of aquaphor.

i look at him with my "if looks could kill/choke/throttle/etc." stare, and he doesn't even flinch. or skip a beat. he just looks at me matter-of-factly and says "mom- i JUST had surgery."

oh, my fault! i didn't realize that people are typically coated with a thick layer of grease after "surgery". but thanks, elias, for the enlightenment.

sigh. kids...
and THAT is just ONE example of why moms are busy and exhausted. because of grease monkeys.

(note: soap alone is not an adequate adversary for aquaphor. next time maybe i'll try gasoline...)

i smell good

i walked into eli's room tonight to tuck him in and say goodnight, per the usual after dave reads him a story. he's at the age where he gets creative with requests or conversations to make bed time last as long as possible. i climb into bed next to him (he sleeps in a double bed, so there's plenty of room for snuggling) and he says "mom, i like how you (s)mellll" and i said "thank you" to which he replied "your welcome." i love this kid. what a total confidence boost after my much needed shower today. hahaha...

i proceeded to tell him that i like how he smells, too (which is very true- a mix of nappy breath, pee, dirt, and boy, with a splash of watermelon shampoo). he pauses, smells his hand vehemently, and says "i (s)mell like trees!"...

and then he tries to pick my nose.

ahhh, i love boys.

tea time...or pee time?

so i'm cleaning the toy room the other night and i'm looking for these magnets that go to something i wanted to hang in the kids toy room for their artwork. i had let elias play with them (my first mistake) and can't find them anywhere. i'm thinking "did he eat them?...did piper?...are they stuck to something random somewhere?..."

can't find them. but i open one of the cabinets in eli's little kitchen, and i see a tea cup. grandma nancy gave piper THE cutest tea set made out of tin for her birthday, and there, sitting on the shelf inside the little cabinet is one of these little tea cups.

full of pee.

yes- you read that right. pee.

now my first thought is "how in the WORLD did he ever pee into this tiny tea cup with out making a mess?! and without me KNOWING?!" there was no pee to be seen anywhere around this tea cup. not so much as a ring underneath it when i picked it up. (gross.) and this pee had been in there for a day or two (trust me, it just was). so i was never privy to nor invited to this pee party, which is uncharacteristic, because elias is the kid who's like "guess what i did mom!" or "yes, i hit piper"...secrets and lying are just not his forte.

so i'm puzzled by this pee/tea cup, and i'm also kind of impressed. not that i should be, i should be mad or something, but i was. i was just impressed. and a little mad at the peeing in places other than the toilet. we've been peeing in the toilet for a long time now, so i wasn't sure what to make of the peeing in random things. the thought of it started to make me a lit-tle nervous...

a couple of days go by. still no magnets, which is killing me because i can't stand it when i can't find something. i'll look all day and in every spare moment to find it. but no luck on the magnets yet. so i'm cleaning up again one night, and i pick up the tea kettle and i hear something clanging around inside. i look inside and there i find the three missing magnets...

and some more pee.

awesome. i guess when your mom says "no more water" in the tea set (since it was rusting), you have to find other ways to make believe. and, of course, now i know how he had such amazing accuracy- his pouring skills are fantastic.

anyone for pee time, i mean, tea time?!

lovin and a huggin and a walkin

as much as i find myself speaking to elias for not being careful or gentle enough, and pippa for being in eli's personal space and for whining, these two really do love each other to bits. this is a video of elias and piper lovin-and-a-huggin. there's nothing that brings more joy to a mama than seeing her children love on each other. kinda makes you want to melt a little...

although she's taken a step here and there since june, piper started putting 3, 4, and 5 steps together last week. here she is this morning doing her thang. she's gotten very confident with standing, and now i can see in her feisty little eyes that she's dying to run and keep up with elias (which i'm not sure is a possibility, but one can aspire). her little walk is too adorable. between that and her new top teeth, she's suddenly a really big girl to me.

and i LOVE it, but i always miss my little babies...

i know you seen me on the video (true)

since i can't get blogger to upload videos for some reason (blast you, blogger!), i'm uploading them onto facebook. if any of you readers of mine are on facebook and haven't found me yet, friend me so you can watch. these videos are hilarious and adorable, and include:

• elias playing the piano singing "glory God" and "red sox song" (for you, auntie kris). watch his star-quality as he tells me to clap and not to come "too close." just plain hilarious.


• the release of ribbons the mouse and her four babies "into the wild"...some funny commentary on this one.


• piper dancing to "boom boom pow" in the living room. shaking her booty booty. SO adorable.

hope you all have a fabulous weekend!
if you're local, check out the rummage sale going on at our church today from 8 to 2!

"gotcha last"

so this morning, as i made my tea and waited for the clothes in the dryer to fluff, elias wanted to play chase. so we run around for a clip, but he had a fair amount of unwritten rules (such as "don't actually ever get me") and was whining when i would break them (i'm working on my mind reading skills), so i decided to teach him a new game.

when i was younger, my mom would play "gotcha last" with me, my brother, and my sister. the basic premise is tag, but in one room, and more along the lines of artful dodging, because you have only a small space.

so i introduce "gotcha last" to elias and he's cracking up as he dips and dodges, smacking me and giggling. and in true eli form, what does he do?

he opens the kitchen drawer and pulls out a knife.

talk about upping the ante, huh? albeit a plastic kids knife (yes, from ikea), i was fascinated by my child's response to grab a knife. to elias, knives are "swords" and he thinks that in all scenarios, swords are the answer (maybe it's time to lay off the prince philip?).

soo typical that my e-man would get a little west side story with my innocent game of gotcha last. no big surprise there.

i just adore boys. their logic never ceases to amaze and enthrall me.
but i think me and e probably need to have a little chat about the 'knives are the answer' thing...

:)

early bird & crazy fish

it's currently 6:32 am and i have been awake for nearly an hour, compliments of my chipper early bird, piper glory, who's insisted for the past few days that between 5 and 6 am is the perfect time to poop her pants.

but it's SO not.

(side thought: her behavior the past week or so begs the question- are ALL little girls some degree of high maintenance? some level of demanding, squirrely, determined, or impossible? i know that girls and boys are inherently different in some ways, but for you mamas with girls and boys out there- are girls WAY harder to deal with, or is it just me??)

i might as well take advantage of this early start, though, with a cup of tea, and a nice early morning blog. it's already 60 degrees outside, which determines that today i'm going to take elias and piper to the beach at watson pond. i have yet to do this solo. i feel pretty confident, except for the fact that my son thinks he's michael phelps (who is an outlier, by the way) and i don't have any "coast guard approved" swim gear for him. (swimmies/floaties are not approved flotation devices. whatever...) so if the lifeguards are there, they're going to kindly ask me to take his swimmies off. they'd rather he drown than wear unapproved swim gear. because that makes sense...

clearly they they don't understand that my son, ever since he could, runs full speed for ALL water, all the time, and he's a total unafraid menace...in a puddle, kiddie pool, big pool, lake, and especially at the beach. he's jumping in, waves knocking him over, salt water in his eyes, and the BIGGEST smile on his face imaginable. he's been jumping into my parents pool since he was 1, and last summer, at 2, he would jump in by himself, no help, and swim around. with his little floaties, of course.

almost completely fearless.

which can be SCARY and a tad UNNERVING. (just not to lifeguards...)

truth is, i pretty much love his fearlessness. he's a good fit with my crazy bartlett genes because i'm not ever worried about him. i find that mostly, elias makes other people nervous, but not usually me. moms pace around nervously glancing from him to me, wondering if i'm going to continue letting him do whatever he's doing. it's funny. since he's always had the propensity to be dangerous, so we've just taught him how to safely climb/teeter/jump/scale/reach/stack/etc. it's much easier than trying to keep him off off away from things. he's equipped with innate skill and coordination, so if he doesn't think he can do something, he'll always shoot me a glance like "i don't know about this one mom. what do you think?" and i'll give him a nod and a wink.

right now i'm kind of imagining him in the water at watson's, diving around, doing his stunts, while piper eats sand, splashes maniacally, and tries to leap in herself, carrying on the menace legacy. this girl...whew, i might be more nervous about her. the more i write this the more i'm wondering if i need back-up. hahaha. it should be...complicated and interesting.

what i don't imagine is that i'll be laying on a towel, reading a magazine, and relaxing. that would be what i would have been doing, say, 4 years ago. and i'd be all tan, and up on fashion trends, and drinking an iced coffee. but today? i'll be juggling kids, making sure no one drowns, feeding sandwiches full of sand, lugging gear, overseeing sandcastle constructions, monitoring sand throwing and splashing, packing and unpacking...

and you know what...it will be great. especially in my cute new bathing suit :) so 1950's. love it!

eli's birthday party

so it's been a mellow birthday day for elias. pretty much like any day, except he did get to ride on GP's lawnmower today, which was cool. we're about to have dinner, and then we'll head off to friendly's for a little birthday ice cream. elias LOVES ice cream. then back for some presents from us, including a lightening mcqueen kite and birthday trunks, a baby bottle and juice cup, and a pirate/captain hook costume (which we bought thanks to great grandma skip!). he's going to love his presents. and by the way, his phrase of the day today is "totally awesome!" no matter what i say or ask. which is...totally awesome.

so here's a few photos from eli's little family birthday gathering on sunday for your viewing pleasure :) you can look forward to two more installments of birthday blogs tomorrow and saturday to wrap up birthday week!

dada helping me decorate. this guy makes hanging streamers look so easy. i wish i had known about this talent sooner.

lightening mcqueen. of course.

almost ready for party time!

my attempt at making a really cool birthday cake. i wanted it to say "tractor tippin's fun!" but i couldn't fit it on this mini-cake, so i settled for "3" :)

and some cupcakes

let the madness begin!

oh look- it's a picture that's in focus. hmm. how bazaar.

elias with a frosting face

elias and cousin jack

and a little video to capture some of the fun. (warning- my family cannot be held responsible for any of their actions or background conversations. bartletts are crazy. they just are.)

this is elias opening his gift from grandma and grandpa in indiana, so this one's especially for them. enjoy! we love you!

picture post: march

eli's whipped cream mustache

miss piper, smiley girl

playing paino, just like dada

with her my little pony

hanging on the bed with mama

investigating

elias the "firefighter"

haha, in my rainboots and vest

how soon we forget...

i think, after about 5 days, that i am finally climbing out of the dark hole called sickness, with elias and piper not too far behind. dave, with the power of orange juice, vitamins, and will power, has somehow avoided the train wreck. sunday he wasn't feeling well, but he told me he was going to kick this sickness in the...

miss piper sleeping through the night the past couple nights has been a huge help. when i say huge, i mean tremendous. GIGANTIC.

and a jagged edge of her first little tooth has finally emerged. her bottom left.

(angels singing)

this is only the beginning, but i'm ready for all the madness tooth cutting brings.

ha ha ha, not really.

truth is, i have no recollection of tooth cutting, or whether elias was rotten when he got teeth, or what is was like in that period of time. he's like the golden boy who did no wrong because we simply can't remember. dave and i are always trying to recall things from when elias was piper's age, and we rarely can.

regardless of our failed memories, poor piper takes the cake for being a pain in the neck overall anyway. she's a sassy little thing, with her furrowed brow, her angry little fits of rage, and her adorable, beautiful, shrieking, smiling, face.

it's sort of like she's my first child. all the things i thought i learned, or would remember "for next time"? yeah, couldn't tell you one of them.

the other night i recalled (i already had forgotten?!) how she used to make me wrestle her to breastfeed. every time. relentlessly. and now, we don't wrestle anymore (proof that God really does love me!). man, i like her a whole lot more! yet another example of the short term memory loss associated with our kids.

i tend to think it's part of God's divine plan that women especially would forget all of the reasons why we would never want to be pregnant, giving birth, breastfeeding, raising little tiny people, etc. etc. etc. there are about 53972350823 trillion reasons why logic would tell us 'this is not a good idea.' and if this part of our brains functioned properly, would we really ever jump excitedly at the chance to do it again?! if we really remembered??


no. the answer is no.

us women, we just love it all. we can't help it.


the good.
the bad.
the ugly.
ALL of it.

which is why despite some sleepless nights, drippy, boogery noses, coughing, whining, and all the other fun things sickness brings along with it, i still love my life. and i love my children.

and i wouldn't even trade it.


see?! WHAT is wrong with us!?!?

boogers, earwax, and eyelashes

the thing i love about children is they are in so many ways mirrors of their parents. our speech, our bad habits, our unkind behavior, our idiosyncrasies totally rub off on them.

which brings me to boogers, earwax, and eyelashes.

i have a lot of quirks (gross understatement). everyone does, i suppose. but i have a thing for cleanliness. from personal hygiene-type cleanliness to cleaning my microwave and trash can-type cleanliness. and this trait can be evidenced clearly in my son who can vacuum a floor very efficiently, gladly wipes up messes he makes, and loves brushing his teeth and washing his hands.

in terms of hygiene, i always want my kids fingernails clipped, their noses clean, ears free of earwax, and eyeballs not crusty. it's just how it has to be for me. i can't deal with dirt under fingernails or boogery noses. it makes me anxious or something.

so the other morning, as dave an i lay sleepily in bed, young elias jumps all over the place, playing, snuggling, telling us to get "our dress on," (ie, get dressed). piper wakes up (geez, i wonder why) and elias bolts to hop into her crib with her, as always. we stay in bed, listening to the two of them in the monitor, hoping for just five more minutes. two, even.

but in abut one minute, piper is crying.

this is not uncommon. elias is often a bit rowdy.

i call to him and ask why piper is crying, and elias yells back "i'm pickin she's buuuuggers mum!"

my son is picking the boogers out of his little sister's nose.

hahahahahaha.

and how do i tell him not to do that when i do it to the two of them all the time?! eek!

as his mother, i guess i should have seen the signs that his cleanliness obsession would escalate when he was "geddin eyelash out piper's eyeeee" the other day or when he goes digging around in his ears for earwax.

realization:

my son...

is me. in so many scary scary ways.

...it's nice to have a partner to fight hygiene crime, though.

i think we'll make a good booger-picking team.

the darnedest things

my silly goose

and my sweet boy

elias has really been killing me with some of his expressions lately. killing me. from the way he says things to the little sayings themselves, and of course, his inflections (and accent)...it's all too much sometimes. having a conversation with a 2 year old is pretty much always hilarious. especially with elias, because he's in it to make people laugh. here are some of his latest expressions:


"two times.." or "two minutes.." (sounds like "two mits") as he hold up two fingers. everything is in the framework of two. maybe because he's two.

"what time is it?" this is one of his newest questions. he like to be in the know, i guess.

"stop dooooin this to me!" this is what he says when i do something he doesn't approve of. like taking a toy away.

"cut it out!" yeah. i say this to him all the time, so now he says it to me. awesome.

"one second." he's a busy kid. so he likes to make me wait while he finishes things.

"real quick." he'll say "eyi-yi read this book real quick" it's a good stall for when we need to leave somewhere. along with "two minutes" and "one second."

today he tells me "i no have poops. i'm lyin." what?! i don't even know where he learned about lying. and he gives himself up so quick. always has. he's an honest little bugger. which is great, because he's always into mischief.

but any naughty behavior is followed up with a quick apology: "soirrryy"

"i'm very 'cited!" and "that make you happy?" he's into emotions. he often tells me "this frustratin me, mum!" when toys aren't performing as he'd hoped.

"wiiiiickedd. gp says that all the time." apparently my dad says wicked a lot. haha.

"...on tuesday" everything that happens, happens on tuesday. or "last night."

"siy-yey [silly] goose! deanna say that all the time." eli's quoting everyone these days. watch out!

"member dat?! [remember that?] he'll say "member dat truck right dere, mum? member dat?" lol. why, yes, elias, i do.

"cool dude!" matt and josh taught him that one.

"oh, MANNNN!"

"uh-oh, skeddy-oh [spaghetti-o]" compliments of his dada...

"my bucket" which is his binka. even though he can say binka. he still calls it a bucket.

"my he-bow" which is what he calls an elbow. or a knee. and even a shoulder sometimes :)

"really yummy down my froat [throat]!" haha, yeah...because i was teaching him that food goes down your throat and into your stomach. kids are funny.

"no, me good." it's his version of "i'm good. thanks anyway"

"that mans name, mum?" he'll point at any stranger who he shares a smile or interaction with and ask their name. but ask me. well, they say moms know everything, right?

"when ________'s birthday is?" he needs to know everyones birthday. everyones.

and my favorites:

"smooooooth like butta!" that one is all me. i teach him the good stuff.

"whoa! ho-ey mo-ey [holy moly]!" this is hilarious. that's all there is to it.


kids really do say the darnedest things...anyone have any good toddler quotes?

picture post

i have SO many pictures.

i am totally a photographers daughter, i guess. growing up there was always a camera following me around like paparazzi, and i've grown to love taking photographs and love having my picture taken. my mum still always has her camera, and her and my big sister have been shooting professionally as bartlett photography for years (shameless plug www.bartlettphotographyonline.com). i'm so spoiled, because my mum will just swing by and take pictures. like these first two shots (two out of the 2,000 she took) that she took last week on a whim. gotta love a piper's christmas tutu for these instances.

i can barely stand this picture.

c'monnn...

my chipper little bird. she wakes up this way. every day. every time.

my two monkeys with their two monkeys.

i might rename her cheeks mcgee

elias helping dada in the "project room" as he calls it. he does so many projects with dave that he actually has legit skills. like handling drills. he knows what he's doing, man. it's nuts.

so big. so cute.

speaking of cute...

piper sleeping as i burp her. priceless.

this is eli's doll. she's been around since his first birthday (thanks, lee!) and he's had quite an affinity for her lately. he named her alicia (ah-lee-ce-yah) after diego's sister in"go, diego, go!" (he's addicted to that show lately.) and he takes her around with him everywhere. to church. to bed. to watch tv. he sits her on his lap. i could die, it's so flippin adorable.

piper also loves his doll. mostly to chew on. here she is with my sister nicole and her cousin jack.

eli's new thing is crawling into piper's crib with her when she wakes up. now that her crib is covered in a tarp, it's hard, but when he can, he hops right in and snuggles her. and puts blankets over her head.

double-trouble

i LOVE this shot. this is my dad, eli's "gp" and one very happy boy. elias is a lot like my dad. full of energy. a bit fresh. fun to be around. active, which is a gross understatement for them both. elias is obsessed with ATV's because his gp rides ATV's. they play together for hours. because my dad is actually still a kid. good for me. maybe not for my mom...

ahhh, my son. goofball. how did he even get into this? who knows...

and my piper glory girl. her and elias both have these big ole beautiful eyes. lucky little ducks, they are.

eli's room

hooray! it's finally finished!

well...it was.

until i smashed a huge hole through piper's wall into eli's wall helping (or was it?) dave do some demo in piper's nursery.

he should have known not to ask me if i wanted to take out some aggression on the wall.

big mistake. HUGE.

aaah yes. a nice look in his just finished blue wall.