Boys' first day of school (sorta); a wedding, a hangover and other tidbits

Today the boys had their orientation /first day at their new school!

We met their new teacher, toured their beautiful classrooms, watched as they selected cubbies, played with toys, did some spin art, and met new friends. They also saw their friend Marcus, and fell right in together, like old times.

This is the multi-purpose room. We were waiting to go up and tour their classrooms.

Their new teacher, Mr. Valle.

The Three Amigos. That's Marcus - in the stylin' hat.

Making spin art.

Their masterpieces! (And my toes.)

Guys - it is such a nice building, with all the things you think of when you imagine what a pre-school should look like. I got all teary thinking about how blessed we are to be able to provide this kind of place for our kids - and about how this is the kind of school ALL kids deserve. I don't know how the years will go -- or even this year -- but I can tell you that I really felt good when I left there today.


This week is another crazy week, with weird schedules and introducing the new aftercare sitter to the routine, so I'm not completely out of the "I need a Xanax" woods just yet. But I'm getting there.

Speaking of the new aftercare person, Friday was officially Michelle's last day with us, after four years of being a total member of our family. WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH! :-(
 

We'll miss you, Mi-Mi!

I am so sad about it. She was a Godsend, truly. I don't know what we're going to do without her. We made a special dinner for her, and gave her flowers and a balloon, and we had chocolate cake to celebrate our time with her. We were all really sad (but cake helps!) and we're determined that Michelle will not be gone for long. We'll still have her come hang out with the kids for some date nights, etc. And she wants us to Skype with her from time to time, too. I love it that she loves my kids so much, especially because they ADORE her. So, for us, it's just see you later, Michelle, and not good-bye. You can't get rid of us that fast!

This weekend, as a matter of fact, we would have used her to go to my friend Andrea's wedding, but we decided to let them stay with my parents overnight so that we could enjoy the wedding and not have to get up at the crack of dawn the next day.

Andrea's wedding was fabulous! She looked beautiful, but she's asked us not to share photos of her, so I won't. Just trust me when I say her dress was gorgeous! And it was great to get together with her and so many friends and drink and eat and cut-up and dance the night away. We had so much fun!!

"Ussie" with my girls Kelly and Shreya

Me and my sweetpea. Check him out in his new tux -- and 35 lbs. lighter! I hate him.

Why am I so short? I blame my parents.

The fellas, stylin'!

By the end of the night, women were bringing out bottles upon bottles of spirits, with fireworks coming out the top. Yes, it was that kind of night.

I might have done a little too much cutting up (ahem) because the next morning, Lester and I both needed this -- in copious amounts.

But it was great to get to go out to brunch with my sweetie and ease into the day. Many thanks to my Mom and Dad for watching the Davis crazies for us! We love you!

Worrisome things abound

After Cary's fine rash and blotchy patch on his face refused to go away, I made an appointment for him at the pediatrician.

Dr. Bodnar said Cary's got extremely dry skin, and although he wouldn't go so far as to say he has eczema, the blotchy patch on his face is a form of it. So we now have switched to a new soap and a new lotion, Cetaphil, and we have to lather him up with it twice a day. He prescribed a stronger medication for the blotchy patch, which has to be applied three times a day. And Dr. Bodnar urged us to start bathing the children every other day, instead of every day as we had been doing. (That's one recommendation I can cheer about.)

While he was there, Dr. Bodnar could hear Cary coughing and listened to his chest. Picking up on some wheezing, he has now declared my poor Cary asthmatic. (This is the third or fourth time Cary's gotten wheezy when he has a cold.) So now, he's on a nebulizer treatment two or three times a day.

When I told my sister this news, she reminded me that doctors say that asthma, eczema and allergies tend to go together -- the Big Three. So I guess we should now be on the lookout for any allergies Cary might have.

Additionally, Cary's had a fever for the last two days and has been fairly cranky about it. Dean's had a fever too, but has been more pleasant -- until this morning. I checked them both when they woke up and Cary's temperature subsided some, but Dean's jumped up a degree to 100.8. And now both of them are crankypants. The whining, people. Good GRIEF.

They've both been out of school since Tuesday, and I figure I'll just keep them out tomorrow too. Apparently, a lot of kids in their class are sick, so perhaps I can keep them away from the other germ-generators long enough to rid our house of this bug once and for all.

Meanwhile, I am really worried about our nanny, Michelle. She's having some quite serious personal issues and I worry about her emotional state. I also worry that 1) She'll be distracted and depressed when she's with the kids and 2) She'll very soon need to find other work that will pay better and offer medical benefits.

This makes me so, so sad, I can't even tell you. I love Michelle so much. She's such a good, kind, giving, funny person and she has been amazing with and for our kids. I knew we couldn't keep her forever -- she's ambitious and talented and wants more for her life. But I had really hoped Clair would get to benefit from her love and care until she was at least 2 and ready for pre-school. And the boys -- who have been with her since they were 9 months old -- truly think of her as family. As do I.

She hasn't said she's leaving us, but she has mentioned that she is conflicted about what to do. And as much as I really want to, we just can't afford to pay her any more money. And honestly, even if we could eke out a few extra dollars, it wouldn't ever be enough for her to really support herself.

So I'm going to have to look for other alternatives, none of which, frankly, will ever be as sweet and comfortable as what we have going now. So I'm bummed. And worried about Michelle. And worried about Cary and his myriad afflictions.

One bit of good news (I'm almost afraid to say it, because you know how this works): I think I've finally figured out the secret to a full night's sleep! Two melatonin and a baby monitor turned down so low I can't hear all of Clair's moans and groans. (But I can hear if she is truly in distress.)

So -- YAY for that. Because all of these worrisome things seem much more manageable when I'm not dog-dead tired.

Last days of maternity leave recap

Clair had a better night last night (only woke up once to eat) and so I am not as catatonic as I was yesterday.

Whew, thank the LORD!

But I'm still sorta getting into the swing of things at work, so I don't have time to really, really post like I'd like. I really wanted to post my checklist (which looks pretty good, actually!)  Instead, I'll post a couple photos from our zoo trip on Friday, which is what we did to commemorate my last (week)day of maternity leave!

Dean looking at the zebras!

Cary looking at the hippos! (Despite the photographic evidence to the contrary, the boys were not dressed alike. The two shirts were different colors and very different on the front!)

The whole family. As you well know by now, my children do not smile for pictures. But trust me: They LOVED the zoo!

And I'll also post a photo of me in my badass red jeans, which I wore Sunday night to go see NEW EDITION with my friends!!!!!! (Seriously, people, I am a New Edition NUT! I have all the albums, even the single of their very first song ever, which came out on vinyl -- hellloooo! -- before the actual album came out in 1983. Yes, I have that. And their Greatest Hits albums. And their Christmas album. And their sucky "Under the Blue Moon" album. I have them all. Know all the songs. Would follow them around like a Dead Head if they performed more often. I am sick. My kids are gonna hate me for forcing them to hear New Edition songs all throughout their childhood!)

True "Candy Girls" for LIFE!

 And, I will say that the boys were SO excited to see Michelle when she came in yesterday morning. Cary, surprisingly, was moved so much, he kept hugging her and hugging her! Dean threw her a little bit of shade, of course (just like he did when they came to visit me when I was in the hospital, holding Clair in my arms), but then he was back to adoring her within minutes. She said the day went really well, and she wasn't frazzled at all having all three kids all by herself all day long.

This makes me SO happy, folks. More than the smile that Clair gave me when she saw me. More than the extra love and hugs I got from the boys yesterday evening. More than getting in the bed and being fast asleep at 9:30 (halleluiah!) Because this means that maybe, just maybe, she won't quit on me! :-)