One-on-one time

Because Jellybean is at school all day long, Peanut and I have every weekday to ourselves now. I really thought Peanut would miss Jellybean terribly during the day and that Jellybean wouldn't want as much to do with Peanut anymore. It has turned out to be just the opposite.

Peanut seems to relish in Jellybean being gone: all the toys to herself, no one (besides Mama) telling her what to do, uncorrupted imagination scenarios. When we get home from taking Jellybean to school, Peanut dives right into the toys and starts talking to herself and pretending. She doesn't even want me to play with her (I've gone from the entertainment hub of both girls to a complete wallflower in less than a month). She likes to draw a picture for Jellybean each day, but other than that, we hardly mention the kindergartener.

Jellybean, on the other hand, throws her arms around Peanut when we pick her up at school. She asks for Peanut to kiss her hand each morning (from the book The Kissing Hand) when we drop her off. Jellybean always says she's too busy to miss Peanut, but she's certainly glad to see her when school is out.

Peanut and I have two school years to hang out before she goes to kindergarten (let us not speak of that again). I had almost two years with Jellybean before Peanut was born. So, this is our time to spend together, and I love being able to learn more about her each day. I am definitely reaping the rewards of their age difference.

The many benefits of having a kid in school

Jellybean loves school. Even on the mornings after she went to bed kinda late (oops, L and I need to get better at this new routine), she pops out of bed and gets dressed, talking about how excited she is to go to kindergarten.

I knew that once I got over my emotions -- can I mention that any more?! -- I'd enjoy seeing her transform into a school kid and all the changes that come with that. New friends, newfound abilities, more independence -- all of those are already evident.

We live pretty close to her school, so we walk there and back every day, about 10-15 minutes each way. Those walks have been a great time to talk about all her new experiences. And, because I walk both ways of those walks twice a day those walks hold something else for me: more exercise!

I didn't even realize it until after the first couple days, how much activity those walks are adding to MY day. Now, no matter how much working out I do, in the name of school transportation, I will be adding a minimum of 40 minutes of walking to my daily routine. And, because at 3 she is too little for fitness walks, I am also pushing Peanut in the Burley stroller the whole time (and Jellybean when she wants in). Have I mentioned we also live up a steep hill?

So, let's do the math. 40 minutes of brisk walking x pushing 35-85 lbs. + 2 steep hill climbs =
1 Mama who likes how this school year is shaping up!

P.S. Yes, I realize that's L in the picture. I'm always behind the camera. And, do you like our retro Burley?

Janis Joplin

Jellybean (and by extension of Jellybean, Peanut too) loves Janis Joplin music. She cannot get enough of Janis. I even downloaded more Janis so she could listen. In hindsight, perhaps "Mercedes Benz" was not the best choice, but it's too late now.

If a song comes on, Jellybean will stop what she's doing and walk near the stereo -- not as old-fashioned as it sounds, the iPod runs the show -- so she can hear the words and belt it out. Of course, she never does a command performance, especially for the camera, but I tried once and got this:




I haven't had the heart to tell her yet that Janis Joplin is no longer alive. I think she would be very sad.

On the rind

I have prepared and fed my kids 1,327,965 snacks as a stay-at-home mom. Morning and afternoon, every solid-food-eating day of their lives. Fruit is my first choice, but sometimes the options just get tired, and the kids are less-than-enthused about eating snacks (then crankiness ensues from all involved). With budget and time constraints, I can only be so creative with snacks.

Sometimes I have to "sell" the snacks to them in Spin Mama fashion -- "We got these from the farmers, who grew them just for us" -- and I try to keep it interesting, by having snack outside or at the park.

I had a brainstorm one day that has definitely made snack time a win-win for the kids and me. I didn't want to cut up a whole cantaloupe and cube it into bite-size morsels (laziness prevails!) , so I made a big deal one day that our cantaloupe was "on the rind." I piled a bunch of slices on big plate and let them help themselves. You would have thought I had given them candy! They loved it. And they ate half a cantaloupe between them at one sitting.

I've done the same with watermelon, although that is almost exclusively and outside snack -- sticky pink goo everywhere, anyone?

And now that I'm picking Jellybean up at school each afternoon, and she's so, so hungry, "on the rind" is totally the portable way to go. You can walk and chew cantaloupe at the same time.