I knew it had been a while since I last posted, but I didn't realize I had gone all of Sept. & Oct. without a post. I have felt busy, but mostly I felt that I would be spending time on the computer when I should be doing other things (i.e. cleaning, cooking, mothering, etc...). I feel mostly caught up now, so I will try and catch up a little on what has been going on.
Advice #1: I think I mentioned before that Nathan started preschool in late August. He has loved it! He sings the songs they learn all the time, and he LOVES 'show-and-tell'. BUT he has had so much anxiety lately about leaving me. Anytime he thinks I am going to leave him, he totally freaks out. Sometimes I almost think he is having a panic attack. I know part of it is age, but I feel like it is a little extreme. The other day as I was taking him to preschool, he was screaming and climbing out of his chair in the back seat; asking me to please turn around and go back home. I decided to stay awhile with him so he could get acclimated and feel more comfortable. He still cried when I left, but was having the grandest time when I came to pick him up. He said he loved preschool, and he loved his teacher. But now he is back to saying that he doesn't want to go tomorrow. He doesn't like it anymore (again), and wants to stay home. I have let him stay home once before, thinking that if I did, maybe he would get over it and want to go the next time, but that didn't happen. So I need advice. He does something similar with Nursery on Sundays... and any other time he thinks I am going to leave.
Advice #2: This week was my last week teaching piano. I really felt that it was becoming hard on my kids. They were acting out during that time just to get attention and I felt it was taking away from the quality of teaching I could give. I've wondered if part of Nathan's anxiety is because I teach piano once a week and teach dance 2x a week. I teach ballroom at the elementary school 2x a week for an hour. He's usually with a grandma and doesn't mind when I leave him during that time, ironically enough. But I've been wondering if I should stop teaching dance at the end of the semester. I wouldn't do it of course unless they had someone to take my position, but I feel that is just another time to invite Nathan to feel anxiety when it really isn't needed. I guess advice isn't as crucial on this one, since I will probably quit if it isn't a problem to replace me. It will feel nice to not have as many obligations, but sometimes it also helps get us into a schedule.
Matthew enjoyed it, but started wondering why we were taking all that stuff out and started to put it back in for us. :) Nathan helped Jon paint it when they were done carving it.
The dinosaur, lion, witch, and my Knight in Shining Armour. :)