Kids

School Days

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 1 Comment

My little boy is starting school in 6 weeks.  I can hardly believe it.  I know it is just pre-school but his is a big deal because he will be going to school full days for five days a week.  It will be a big change for him and for his sister.  Yesterday we got together at a local park with a some of the other families/kids from his class.  It was really nice.  The families seem very nice and laid back–even those who are on the very upper side of the upper-middle-class.  Several of the families are doctors but what is nice about this town I live in is that everyone is pretty down to earth.  It was really a great gathering and it was really great to be around families who all have the same wishes for their kids–to give them the best education possible.

We talked about getting together every other week-or even every week until school starts so that the kids can get to know each other.  I don’t know how that will work with vacations, etc., but it would be awesome for the kids to get to really know each other.  I’m pretty lucky that my kid is social and has been in lots of social stituations and is sue to beting around other kids and makes friends pretty easily.  I am excited about school–I am probably more excited than Noah is.

But it reminds me that summer is almost over.  That really sucks.

Change Is For The Better–But A Cube?

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 1 Comment

Well, today wraps up my first week of work.  I can say that it has been an easier transition than I had hoped for.  Thank you Kellie for creating an in-home daycare that my kids love so much today they could barely manage to say good-bye to me.  Oh wait…today they didn’t even say good-bye they just took off playing leaving me there holding their bag and feeling foolish that I worried about what they would do without me.  I guess I should have been worried about what I would do without them. 

On Monday, I picked them up after their first day and asked Noah how it went.  He replied–“Good, but I had to stand in the corner.”  She uses a time-out corner.  But Noah was also happy to report that he only had to do it once and that he listened the rest of the day.  I have to admit that this is so good for them, as I am not really a disciplinarian.  I let a lot of stuff go that won’t be let go at school, etc.; therefore, this is such a good thing for them and they will learn much better about listening and sharing, etc.  I am also glad that they are in a small home environment as the lessons that can be taught/learned are more easily dealt with because there aren’t so many kids to manage.  Both of them have done great at quiet time–I thought for sure Noah would lie awake for those two hours and really get himself in trouble.  He falls a asleep quickly and needs to be woken up when it’s over.  So, they are doing great. 

And, while I miss them tremendously, I also feel fortunate enough to not feel as though I am missing out on anything.  Am I?  Sure Zo will start talking, etc.  But what I am gaining is greater.  I had lost the appreciation I had for being a parent.  It was starting to wear on me more than I knew.  Plus I still get Friday’s to have fun with the kiddos.  I am happier and more tired than I have been in a long time. 

I have to say though, OMG how do people handle sitting in a cube all day working?  I don’t know how people do it without going slightly crazy.  I am fortunate that our cube has a window so I can look out at trees and cars driving by, but seriously, sitting in front of a computer all day in a cube is hard.  At least I have a partner in crime to talk to/work with, but it still sucks.  This is certainly very different than anything I have done before or any job that I have had.  I am use to be up and moving and teaching.  This is just something I know that I will get use to. 

I hate to say this–I am more tired working than I was when I was staying home.  I know it’s a different kind of tired and there are extenuating circumstances–like waking up at 5:30 to get to the gym by 6am so I can be home by 7am.  This has me in bed each night by 9pm and asleep. I can hardly keep my eyes open at night and that makes it a little hard for hubby–because he doesn’t get to see me much.  I guess that’s what weekend are for–I forgot about weekends.  I now love weekends.  Before they were just another day that I had to be mom.  Now, I can’t wait to get to be mom. 

The job itself is tough–there is so much to learn and it amazing the position of power we are in as charter school sponsors.  There is so much to improve and I know have the perfect stomping ground for my dissertation as one of our schools in underperforming and really wants to invite university researchers in.  This job may give me more than I originially hoped it might.

The Stuff In My Head

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 3 Comments

I am really out of practice these days interms of posting here and in terms of what to even write about.  I love my kids, but can only write about them so much.  I have been too busy these days to watch the news or keep up on what is going on in the world.  My life has been completely about my kids and me.  I have been working hard to make the most of our time together before I go back to work–in two weeks–and they start daycare.  It is effecting me much more than I thought it would. 

Don’t get me wrong I am so very excited about going back to work andmaking money so that we can actually afford to send Noah to the fancy private school–still sacrificing most things that we use to think were necessary–we are down to 20 tv channels and I love TV.  I am not excited about leaving my kids with someone else 4 days a week 7 hours a day.  While there is a lot about being at home all day with the kids that is hard for me, I am going to miss them so much.  For example, in the middle of this post Noah started to poop and I kept asking if he wanted to go on the potty and he didn’t, finally I convinced him and he went on the potty (for the 2nd time) and said “That wasn’t so bad.”  I will miss these moments.  There are so many small moments that I am going to miss and that totally sucks. 

But if I don’t get out and go back to work and flex my intellect I am going to go insane and will then miss a lot more moments of cuteness.  I am happy about the decision but that mom guilt is ever present and that totally sucks. I don’t want to feel guilty for going back to work but then I fell guilty that I don’t feel guilty.  What vicious cycle and it sucks that our society has conditioned us on so many levels that leaving our kids in someone else’s care is bad.  I know my kids will thrive and love the interaction of other kids–I have two of the most social kids in the world. 

I am happy to report that I have dropped my first 10lbs since starting back with my trainer and a nutrition program.  I have never felt better and am really happy that I am doing it in a very healthy way.  It’s been 6 weeks and while I would have liked it to be 12lbs for 2lbs a week of loss–but I am happy with that.  At this rate it will take me 60 weeks to lose the 100lbs I want to lose.  So, hopefully I can stick to it. 

We finally got around to planting flowers in honor of Noah and Zoë’s birthmothers.  We picked roses.  There are three rose bushes and a bird bath in the honor landscape–a rose bush for both birthmothers and a rose bush for me.  It’s a beautiful and I feel proud to have such a visible way of honoring them and one that will allow the kids to honor them and think about them.  The small pink roses are for Zoë’s birth mom and the yellowy/pink ones are for Noah’s.  Mine haven’t bloomed yet but will have big lavender blooms.  Now here are some pics of the kids from the past few days. 

Newsletters coming–I’m a total slacker.  Just found out that I earned a 100% on my big huge research proposal for my ed research class and netted a 99% in the class.  I am so happy and relieved.  Its my first 100% in grad school on a paper.  So frickin excited.

Tales From Blogger Slackerdom

/ Dawn Kasal-Finley / 3 Comments

I’m here and plan to be back more regularly now that school is almost over.  I am done as a student but still have about a week left as a teacher and am anxious to be finished and not at all excited about reading final essays. 

Life has been crazy, busy and lazy all at the same time.  I know that sounds a little contradictory to many of you, but trust me it is true.  Things here at Che Finley have been buzzing along.  The past few weekends have been hectic–New Orleans, Bill’s golf weekend, then we had my mom’s birthday, a wedding and mothers day this past weekend. 

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed at all I want to get done these few weeks I have off before I start my JOB on June 1.  In case you can’t feel my excitement–let me just say I. AM. VERY. VERY. VERY. EXCITED.  I can hardly stand it.  I am going to check out a daycare possibility for the kids that is close to Noah’s future school and is a place Zoë can continue at until she goes to school.  I am hoping it works out–as the price is right and that isn’t always a good thing.  I’ll report more on that later. 

I want to organize the office space and clean up a little so that the space is functional for me when I decide to work form home. 

SAD NEWS–Team Finley will not be able to attend Wannafest this year.  Sorry fellow Wannafesters–we are traveling so much this year that we just can’t afford the over $1200 in airfare for us to fly to Seattle.  We had been hoping to use miles but we’d need 200,000 miles and that just isn’t happening.  I am so sad, but we are so going next year.  This  year we have a trip nearly every month from March-September and we are strapped $$$$ at this point.  Add to that Noah’s exorbitantly expensive private school and we just can’t make it all work.  We will miss seeing all of you.  But I did read that Hayat and Kiya’s new house has guest quarters…

I have been working out and am feeling really good physically–a little sore because my trainer often busts my ass but he also reminds me that that is what I am paying him for.  He rocks. 

Noah is officially in a big boy bed.  His twin bed came yesterday–he picked it out and it was the tallest one–he loves mommy and daddy’s big bed and wanted one of his own.  So, we’ll see how that is goes.  He loves the bed but last night we had some thunder and it woke him up and he ended up in our room again.  We’ll keep working on that. 

I am looking for any sage wisdom for getting my little man to poop on the potty.  We have the peeing thing down 99.9% of the time but we are at a big old O for pooping.  It’s frustrating.  I have until aug 27th for him to be 100% potty trained and I fear the time is going to go too fast.  So any tips/tricks would be great. 

Zoë is a pistol and is getting more ornery every day.  But she is so cute that it’s often okay.

Sorry for the randomness but Slackerdom provides only that.