Christmas Morning-getting ready to move



Christmas eve right before bed



Christmas came and went-It is funny that you prep for it for so long just to have it go by in a flash. Kids had an absolute blast and loved everything they got. Being 2500 miles away from all of our family makes for a super full Christmas tree. The kids received multiple gifts each from Dana/Troy, Jenn/Dan, Tara/Jon, Kelly/Dan, Mom/Dad, Cookie, Dawn/Lou and Barbara. If we were home their gift opening would happen a little here and there when we visited with family...but here they opened everyone's gifts Christmas morning. It made for a Christmas tree on steroids. I actually did not put any gifts under the tree since it was so dead and wilted. All had to go in front of the tree and around there. Since I am super anal and have to show every box/package it spread out quite a lot.Frank and I got them an easel and one small toy each when the rest came from Santa and all of our generous family members that love them. Santa gave Devin the blue wrapping and Riley the Disney Princess and the rest was from family members or for Frank and I. Frank took the pictures while I videoed and the kids did a pretty good job at taking turns. One thing I will never allow is mass chaos of tearing paper open. Take turns, see what you get and move on. Definitely never open a package until all the gifts are unwrapped. We filled up 7 trash bags full of packaging and (thank God) we have nice trash guys that will pick it all up. I do feel bad for them on the pick up days after Christmas.

All the decorations are put away and the house is picked back up again. Putting ornaments back in the boxes they came in is super annoying and I definitely do not look forward to it. Thank goodness for Hallmark making their boxes in three general sizes which makes it easy to put them away in a big storage box. The house is looking bare without all the warm and cozy Christmas decorations, but it was nice while it lasted.

On to the news everyone is interested in. All knew we were moving home. It went from sometime this coming summer-to this winter/early spring to the next few weeks. Frank is moving home on Jan 15th and I will follow sometime that next month. No, I do not know where quite yet...but somewhere in the Burlington County area. Frank will be staying down by work for the few weeks I am still in Vegas and then we will move into our new home once we figure out which one. It is very exciting, very daunting and very sad at the same time.



loving his Batman jammies

I called a few schools today and I was very disappointed with their curriculums. I did not realize that Devin's school was that much better than your typical preschool...or just that the type of school he goes to now is hard to come by in the South Jersey area? One of the schools that was recommended to me told me that they "hope" to accomplish these by the end of the school year

-count to 20

-write first and hopefully last name

-know sounds of all letters

-shape and color recognition

-know at least 12-15 capital letters
-use scissors to cut a triangle, square and circle

  

-----I had to ask her if she was talking about the 4 year program and she said "yes, and it is OK if your child is not able to do all these, and that its just a guideline." I honestly thought she was reading the 3 year old program off to me. What 4 year old does not know all their letter sounds? or colors/shapes? Count to 20? Devin has been able to do that since 3, and this year he can do up to 100 with guidance here an there. Write first name? That should have been the 3 year old goal! They should know all their capital and lower case letters by the end of the 3 year old program as well-and have the motor skills to write them all by now. I asked if they did math, science or social studies and she said come April they start adding 1 by 1 up to 10, no subtraction though. Again Dev has been doing math addition and subtraction all school year.

I have to give huge props to Devin's current program. Not only did he go just two days last year, he only goes 2hrs 45 min this year three days a week and is levels ahead of these kids. Not to  mention this particular school wants $620 a month for three part time days while we now pay $430 a month for three part time days of a much better education. Now I know all kids learn at different paces and I work at home with him all the time, but come on. That is highway robbery for a sub par program. I have one more phone call to make to a different school, but it looks like we may continue his education at home until the start of school in September. There is no reason we should pay for a preschool where he is leaps ahead of the other kids and he will just be bored. The only other school I was interested in (Moorestown Friends) only offers the pre-k program at 5 full days and thats not what we need. Boo. It was pointed out to me today that having worked with Devin myself and challenged him at home has given him an upper hand and helped him to excel. Maybe I should start my own in home preschool this fall for Riley...

So for now, boxes are ordered and will arrive in the next few days and I will slowly start to pack. I have at least five more weeks here so I cannot pack everything to soon, but I can start slowly.  Its wierd that I have been waiting for this to happen for so long that it is so surreal that it is actually here. We have heard so many times that we are moving, and this time its finally happening and it is back to home. Sigh-