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Home › Diaries › Candace W.'s › September 10, 2002

Candace W.'s Diary Entries

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September 10, 2002

Wake Up Call

It doesn’t feel like it’s only been about a week since I last wrote, it feel like it’s been years. I think school has aged me in a short period of time. Getting us all up early is taking its toll. I am just not accustomed to it! Neither is Alexandria for that matter. Every morning I have to wake her up, and she doesn’t really want to be awake. I try my best to get her into bed by 9:00, but we’re still working out all the kinks in the scheduling.

So, last Tuesday was her first day of preschool. This one is called “Creative Playtime”. It should be called “Highly Regimented Gestapoesque Preschool Class”. This is the class that runs from 11:30 to 3:15, three days a week. Al went to part of the first one, so he wasn’t really sure how it was. When he stayed the entire time for Thursday, he found out its true colors. The kiddies start by eating the lunch that they’ve brought from home. Alexandria ate only her drink. She didn’t touch her sandwich. Well, she’s sometimes like that, so that was no big deal. She did have an accident there, they said she peed in her pants. They also said I didn’t bring any underwear for her, nor socks. Well, the underwear were right in her backpack, right with the change of clothes I brought. True, I didn’t bring any socks. So, why did she pee in her pants? Because they have SCHEDULED bathroom breaks. If a kid goes up to the ONE teacher they have in the room, they are told to “Wait, because it’s not time for our bathroom break yet.” Yeah. Granted the age for the children enrolled is from 3 to 4, but they did assure me Alexandria would do fine, and was old enough. Ummm, yeah, but she WILL pee in her pants every day. I don’t believe in this crap about making a kid wait to go to the bathroom at a specific time. That’s just stupid, in my opinion. If the kid has to go, well, they ought to be allowed to use the bathroom. I understand in this situation it’s not feasible, because there’s only one teacher and there are no bathrooms in their classroom (which is also dumb to me, but I’m not the Park District).

Other than that, I guess she has fun and everything, but we’re probably going to pull her from that class. Al can’t stay with her there the entire time, and we’re worried about undoing all her potty training successes with this class. She’s already had a bunch of accidents this week. She just seems to not care about it again any more. She also got a huge goose egg on her forehead from running into one of the tables there. Al was right there, but didn’t see her do it. (Duh!) I wanted to know if some little s.o.b. pushed her into this table, but Alexandria wouldn’t give an answer either way. Al said Alexandria was really knocked for a loop, and that she staggered around afterwards. She also didn’t like the ice they tried to get her to put on her head. Oh, well. She also comes home with assorted scratches on her legs, and I don’t know how she gets those, either. It sure as hell isn’t from home.

The other great thing she brought home from preschool is the first cold she’s had since we moved here. (I think.) So, I’ve got a cold and so does she. Al is a weenie, because he never gets sick. I’ve got snot running out all over all the time, a headache, and a sore throat. I am already tired of this cold, and I’ve only had it three days. Alexandria seems to just have a lot of snot. It’s clear snot, so it’s no big deal, but it’s annoying. I asked her if she wanted to use the “booger sucker” and she said, “YEAH!” and brought it to me. She likes it for some odd reason. I am not going to argue. She is also very good about having her nose blown, and will let me pick at her until I’m satisfied she’s clean. I’ve always been really obsessed with keeping her clean and decent, so I think that’s why these things don’t bother her now. Even to the point where she’s trying to use the booger sucker on herself! I’m not going to knock it. LOL Last night she sneezed all over my back (ewww!), as we were sleeping in bed. I just took off my shirt and rolled back over, after I wiped her nose. Poor kid!

The other preschool class she’s in is two days a week, from 8:30 to 11:15. We all like that one much better. It’s called Busy Bees. They have two teachers (for the same number of kids), the kids are a little younger, and they have a potty right in the classroom, and the kids can go whenever they need to. She will stay in this class. She hasn’t had any accidents in this one. If it were 5 days a week, I think it would be perfect. She loves to play on the slides and things in it (they have a big playroom), and they do little projects, and they are read books. When I get home, Alexandria can remember what she did in preschool, and she tells me the books they read. She especially liked “Froggy Goes to School”. And if she doesn’t know the title, she describes it. I am going to buy her some more books from their little book clubs there. We got 3 fliers (Can you believe that? Isn’t that excessive?) from these clubs, like Scholastic. I think they’re called Firefly, Seesaw, and something else. I remember getting books from Troll (same company, but the club is for different ages), and that was fun. I used to order books for her from daycare. There are worse things to spend money on. Anyway, we like this class a lot better, and I think she does, too. Even if she doesn’t know it yet. Meaning, I know she likes this one, but I think she likes both of them. I’d rather she didn’t like the other one. LOL

Al is going to speak with the teacher for the Creative Playtime class and she’ll probably finish out the week in there, and then we’re going to pull her from it. I am satisfied with that decision, other than the fact that we didn’t get out money’s worth quite yet. I’d rather not have her peeing in her pants every day, and all that.


So, preschool is a mixed bag. Next year she’ll be old enough to be put in the 3 day a week Busy Bees. And (if we’re still living here at that time!) the year after that, she can go to the morning one. Al is still set on home schooling her, which is why we’re so fixated on giving her experiences with other children now.


Alexandria has also settled down a little more. Last week (and Sunday) she was really living up to the “terrible twos”. I’d get home after a day of school, and be greeted by whining and complaining and tantrums and peeing on the floor, on purpose. Ugh. Now she seems to have a better handle on her emotions (that, and she’s getting more sleep), and when I come home she tells me what she did and has me read books to her and play with her a little. Al reads to her a lot again, too. I don’t think she’s seen a video in a while, and I like that, as well. Al takes out to the park (of course) and she rides her trike. Now, if the weather would just cool off, I would take her too! It’s been beastly hot here lately, and it doesn’t help that where I spend most of my time (the TA offices) aren’t air-conditioned. I am excited because tomorrow it’s supposed to be around a high of 72. Today the high is 91. I am hanging out where the air conditioning is, for sure (the library). Unfortunately, I have to eat my lunch somewhere else.


I think that brings us up to speed on the life of Alexandria! I’ll be back next week!


Candace and Alexandria



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