Last day of school, and a surprise.

David on his last day.

David's last day of Kindergarten is today. Did that go fast or what? It gets me misty-eyed, as I remember my own year of Kindergarten so fondly. There's no escaping it... he's a big boy now.

Over the weekend we had a little family party for David's birthday. He had so much fun he slept until 9am on Sunday (unheard of in this house)! In fact, we spent much of the day Sunday recuperating from a busy weekend.


David and "the cake".

Not much else to report, except to say you'll want to stay tuned to my blog this week.

Why? Well, I'm hosting my first official giveaway, and I know you all will enter, won't you??? You won't want to miss it. The retail value is a staggering $400.

I'm no joke.

The zoo, and a very large totebag...

I remember my first official elementary school field trip. We went to the zoo. I don't remember a lot about that trip, but I do remember we did a lot of walking. Most of the stories are retold by my Mom (she remembers the early days a lot better than I do).

Yesterday, I took off a day of work, laced up my walking shoes, packed a bag that I swore I would regret carrying (more on that in a sec), and joined the commune of (mostly) SAH Moms for the Kindergarten extravaganza of excitement and torture... otherwise known as the "trip to the zoo".

Fifty 5 and 6 year-olds, two buses, and 12 chaperones.

Oh, the bag... I must tell you. I didn't want to bring the Coach bag, so I switched to a Vera Bradley tote instead. The contents? Plentiful for student emergencies. I had wipes, tissues, band-aids, sunblock, water, tylenol, extra clothes, an umbrella, snacks, camera, napkins, and about 5 other miscellaneous items that made the bag so heavy I could have used it as a lethal weapon.

Overkill? perhaps.

But then as I met and started talking to some of the other moms, I realized they were carrying small purses or NOTHING. Which kind of intrigued me.

Let me tell you a little bit about my son's catholic school. Most of these Moms have LARGE families. If you work full-time or have two or less kids they marvel at you like you are some sort of endangered species. So, I have to wonder, why pack so light? I thought they would be the ones hauling the stuffed backpacks and acting in line with the Girl Scout motto... "Be Prepared!" But no, not the case.

So what if I told you I used EVERYTHING in my bag? Oh yes. I administered first aid once (to one of my assigned kids), donated all my napkins to another Mom cleaning vomit, dispensed all my band-aids, and used up my sunblock, used all my wipes (when the bathroom ran out of toilet paper), and donated a shirt to a poor little guy who got sick on himself. I strategically used all my snacks to bribe two kids to sit quietly and stop bugging each other on the bus.

I even became the staff photographer when several moms forgot their cameras.

The kids had a great time, the only downside was the zoo we went to was more than an hour away, so our time actually IN THE ZOO was compressed to three hours (and we had to build lunch in there too).

It was a nice day. And, after trolling the zoo looking at zebras, snakes, and alligators keeping track of a herd of kids (and saving the day with my two ton tote) I think I would qualify as a mom deserving of more than one kid, don't you?

Should I ask my RE to transfer a litter of donor embryos?

Whatcha think? lol.

Conjunction Junction, what's your function?

I just hate weekends that are gone in a flash.

This (upcoming) week is just awful. Work is crazy... I have a deadline for a massive presentation that I am not confident I can put together.

Life is crazy, but what's really bugging me lately?

Kindergarten.

Today, a school conference this afternoon with D's teacher. I have to admit, I am stunned that Kindergarten is so... hard. David is struggling a little with his work, and I think I need to take a little of that blame since I didn't realize the serious time commitment over and above regular homework reinforcing the concepts. His weakest areas... sight words and the sounds that letters make (he knows his letters, but consistently stumbles on sounds which affects "sounding out" sight words).

When I was a kid, my reinforcement came in the form of Schoolhouse Rock on Saturday morning TV. Those days, ummmm yeah. GONE.

I have flashcards I made for the letters, numbers, colors, ordinal numbers, sight words, and letter sounds. I printed off exercises I found on the web to help him with his writing but I admit, I spend more time searching for stuff and I can't seem to find what I am looking for which frustrates me to no end.

David has "official" homework 3 nights a week (it's supposed to be a 10-15 minute exercise), but clearly they are delusional because it takes much longer. Hell, sometimes I don't understand the assignment (NOT KIDDING).

I found that the key with David is repetition and repetition. The weeknights he doesn't have assigned homework I review with him, and we do extra work. Maybe 20-25 minutes or so. Sometimes less when he's particularly in a bad mood. And on the weekends, I try to fit in a little review here and there when we find the time. Emphasis on FINDING THE TIME.

But now I am coming to the conclusion that it's not enough. This is a problem. Now I completely understand why some families choose to home school. Because if I have to teach full-time after I am done my regular day-job, that presents a serious dilemma. Let's face it, I need the day job for the money, but my son's education is way more important. Well, except for the "house over the head" thing. Kinda need that.

(Note to self: buy lottery tickets pronto!)

I love teaching David. I love to teach, and if I wasn't doing technology consulting for Big Corporation, this would be a job I would love to do. I just wish there was more time to do it. David needs more of me, and I feel guilty because he shouldn't be struggling because Mommy and Daddy have a crazy schedule.

For the parents out there that do it well (or hell, better than my sorry ass).... any suggestions? Perhaps a favorite book with activities? Home school website? Suggestions how to make the time more valuable? Any hints/tricks?

I feel so scattered at the moment. I really need a new plan.

Wordless Wednesday

I really want to be a GOALIE... what do you mean there's no goalies in Kindergarten soccer?

Latte Rehab has its perks

Now that David catches the bus for school (and I'm not driving him 12 miles each way to daycare) I have extra time on my hands.

I didn't realize that my weekday commute to daycare chewed up a ton of time each day. I used to leave the house at 7:15am, and lucky if I got home by 8:15am.

Now I walk a block at 7:30am to the bus stop, and I'm sitting at my desk here in the home office by 7:40am.

Whatever will I do with the extra 50 minutes?? lol.

I'm saving some money as well. I used to fill up at the gas station once a week, and now who knows how far a tank will get me. I filled up last Sunday and my tank is still on FULL!

S. works about 7 miles from home, and he no longer has to drive out of this way for PM pickups at daycare either. That's a lot of savings considering he has a gas guzzling pickup truck.

Sadly, I gave up my morning coffee. Four days a week I had been stopping at Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts. Now I make my coffee at home mostly. I still treat myself on the weekends or an occasional afternoon. I figure I am saving about $80 a month just in coffee alone.

I could get used to this.

Of course, all the saved money will go towards the infertility debt, but something is better than nothing, right?

After that, I should institute a new PURSE fund. Now that's what I call FUN.

Down the Rabbit Hole

So here I am.

The last week has been really, really... odd. First the world comes to a complete stop for a day, and then life goes on. Trouble is everything is upside down and right side up.

Caterpillar: Who... are... you?
Alice: Why, I hardly know, sir. I've changed so much since this morning, you see...
Caterpillar: No, I do not C, explain yourself.
Alice: I'm afraid I can't explain myself, you see, because I'm not myself, you know.
Caterpillar: I do not know.
Alice: I can't put it any more clearly, sir, because it isn't clear to me.

Alice in Wonderland, yes, that's me. Where nothing makes sense and everything makes perfect sense.

My son's first days of school have been challenging for him and me. A new schedule, new people, new environment, and a little bit of tears. Tears from David, that is. I know it will take awhile for him to feel comfortable in his new world, but it's a very odd emotion coming from him. He is usually the fearless one. The independent little man. The boy who n-e-v-e-r cries. To see tears in his eyes as he gets on the bus rattles me, because I've been there too. The unknown is scary sometimes.

Then there's work. I'm still on my sabbatical, one week left to be a pretend stay-at-home mom. I am frantically knocking things off the to-do list as if the world ends next Tuesday when I return to work. Work has been on my mind. There is more responsibility on the horizon... and in order for me to keep moving forward I need to break out of my shell and move on to different challenges- some of them way out of my comfort zone, but what I need to do.

And, the baby-making business. The phone has not rung yet with advice from "the collective", otherwise known as my four RE's. I suppose I can beat them to the punch and schedule a consult. They had their meeting, and I'm sure that there was a universal head-scratching when discussing my chart. My chart which now looks like two reams of paper. Rampant with words like, "Habitual Aborter without Current Pregnancy", and "Female Infertility with Unspecified Origin". I've had wild thoughts of just letting it all go, and never stepping foot in the RE's office, but who am I kidding?

I also have my International Adoption paperwork stack off the side of my desk. I fear to look into it again, because the pang of the unknown is there, but I know that once I flip that switch I will be headlong into another venture. The difference being that there is a beginning, middle, and end. The problem is the middle. It is so vast in terms of time. And time is dwindling, no doubt about that.

I cleaned my closet today. It felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders after I hung up the last hanger and drove the clothes to Goodwill. I ignored the old baby stuff in the corner. I pondered tossing them in the dumpster, but even that was too much brain space to occupy even for another second.

Maybe next week will feel a little different.

Alice: Well, when one's lost, I suppose it's good advice to stay where you are until someone finds you. But who'd ever think to look for me here?

The First Day

Today was David's first day of Kindergarten.

It started off great. He had his backpack and was ready to go:

He was excited to get on the bus.

I hopped in the car and drove to school, to meet his bus and partake in the Kindergarten Parenting Tradition of pictures in the gym.

He had that weary look on his face, with all of the parents buzzing around and the commotion, but with a kiss on the forehead he was off to his classroom.

A couple parents and myself stalked in the hallway, and as I zoomed in out of sight with my camera, I saw him crying silently at his desk, with his hands over his eyes. Not a day in the last four years of daycare, preschool, and pre-K, did David ever cry at school.

It broke my heart, and I wanted to reach out to him but I knew I shouldn't. As the teachers sat the kids at their seats, the assistant whispered something to David and he seemed to come around.

I lurked in the hallway until the principal encouraged us (gently) to leave. Three moms and I walked out with tears in our eyes.

I'm sure he's fine, and it was a case of the nerves getting the best of him... being in a new environment around new people. I remember my first day of school, and what a mixture of emotions. Happy, sad, scared, excited.

But after the events of the last few days it was a lot of tears shed from my end... all the way driving home, and salty tears hitting the keyboard as I type this.

My baby is a big boy now.

Wardrobe Reflections

Today was uniform purchase day at the school David will be attending next month.

It was a zoo. Clothes flying everywhere. Adults making fools of themselves being impatient and rude.

It was pretty unorganized, so I made the best of a bad situation and found a young girl to help me. She was nice enough to walk us though every oxford shirt, tie, and gym short.

I am so GLAD David will be wearing a uniform. Totally takes the pressure off buying school clothes.

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Nothing new in the IVF realm. RE upped my dose yesterday to stimulate some better growth. Next scan is tomorrow. Pray for lots of follicles please.

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Oh, and speaking of Kindergarten, check out my latest NJ Moms post. The meds are making me reflective, crazy, and weepy. Par for the course.

Well-timed silence hath more eloquence than speech

Oh, hello there. Seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth for the last few days. Actually I haven't... just busy with a long list of to-do's and no time to do them.

Since we got "the call" from the school, I've been busy catching up on what the other Kindergarten parents already knew about. They had an orientation shortly before the end of the school year with the two teachers. I'm behind the eight ball since I won't get the same orientation. Spent the last couple of days calling the school secretary back and forth trying to figure out what info I need.

Other than that, I've been catching up on work (real work, not the time wasting fun I do here on the internet). I've been feeling like I've been not entirely productive lately. I know my boss is trying to lay off giving me any crazy projects, primarily because I have my sabbatical coming up in August, and the July/August fertility fun scheduled.

Speaking of which, I'm just waiting around for my next cycle start to begin the birth control pills. Expecting that probably Wednesday of next week.

My RE just did a redo of my insurance coverage and was happy to see some new coverage (albeit not 100% because my plan is 75/25). I see ICSI is covered, and we could potentially need that.. the jury is still out depending on S.'s sample or the RE's intuition I guess. Interestingly, there are several new sections, most notably a block for "is DE (Donor Egg) covered"? The answer was yes. Which may be something to keep in mind if we strike out this round although kind of generic in nature because the expenses behind DE are not trivial.

Not covered is cryopreservation, which honestly is something in the back of my mind to which I am indifferent. I mean, why keep eggs on ice if my eggs suck? I know I am being presumptuous there, but I find that I am too well informed on all of this infertility stuff. A woman age 40 with good eggs is sort of a misnomer.

I hate statistics.

More good news (for a change)

Well, things are starting to look up in the BagMomma house.

We finally received the long-awaited call we thought would never come... a spot opened up for David at the local Catholic School. We are ecstatic! This was our first choice, and we are so happy that we don't have to use our Plan B ($$ Private School) or Plan C (Half-Day Public School).

Could the tide be turning??? Could GOOD LUCK be just around the corner?

I guess we'll see. But for now, it's happy times around here.

Caution: School Crossing Ahead

I have to rehash an old story because it's driving me crazy. And the control freak that lives inside me can't let it go.

If you remember, I blogged back a few months ago about David attending Kindergarten. The truth is, we still don't know exactly where.

Yes, he's still on the waiting list at local Catholic School. He's also registered at the expensive private school. And, yes, he's also registered for the crappy 2 1/2 hour per day public school.

I still am waiting on the Catholic school. The Principal there must think I am completely stir-crazy, as she has received numerous letters from other parents trying to help me out in convincing her to open a spot for my son. This school is the best of both worlds.... full day, reasonably priced.

Then there's the private school. After all the visits and a non-refundable deposit I captured a spot for David. It's expensive (more than I am paying now). And last month we received a note from the school indicating the teacher I met and really liked QUIT. They just hired a new teacher, and I haven't met her yet.

Last month I relented and registered David for public school. The local school has a good reputation, but the Kindergarten school year is a joke. I feel like putting David there would negate all the learning he's done so far.... and take him out of sync. He's used to a full day and to go to a measly two hour school day.... I don't know.... The only perk in this scenario is that a good friend of mine has volunteered to watch David (AM or PM... whichever session he is assigned to). But the real kicker??? The school doesn't tell you whether your child is on the AM or PM session until TWO weeks before the start of school. Freaking unbelievable.

I've resigned myself to the fact that I will have to be in this nebulous zone all summer. Until either the one school calls us, or I just throw in the towel and decide to be poor or decide that we can hack Kindergarten on a severely reduced schedule.

The one thing that is definite is my baby is graduating from Pre-K and the daycare he's loved for the last 4 years on June 13th.

And, will begin his elementary education SOMEWHERE in the Fall.

Somewhere....

When you say "stop the world I want to get off!!" and it HAPPENS...

Could it be a bright spot in the horizon I see?

Certainly not in the fertility area. In fact, I am feeling a bit bruised at the fact that I just sent my RE a very LARGE check for my last two (failed...sigh) cycles. Oh, how it hurt to write so many digits on a check with nothing to show for it.

I did make a final decision on David's school for Kindergarten. It's not the school I toured (and registered for) last week. It was my last visit to the last private school on my list. And to my surprise it was the BEST school. Expensive (what isn't?) but was exactly what I was looking for in a school. And I think it meets David's needs perfectly. I met with the teacher this morning after an initial tour on Saturday, and just loved it.

If you are wondering what we will do if the "catholic school" calls us back from the waiting list... well, it's a no brainer. It's a $5k difference in tuition, and I am not stupid.

So, my mind is at least at ease that we finally have a plan. Check that off my list!!

In work news, I found out that essentially I am taking a large paycut for 2008. Isn't that just fabulous. It wasn't good enough for hubby to get a 5-digit paycut this year. Now I am in the same boat. Oh, it will be slim pickin's at the BagMomma house this year. Financial lockdown.

Oh, the bright spot. I'm getting there....

Yes, firming up the education plans was nice, but I'm not giving it full credit because of the money thing...

The bright spot for me today is the extra four weeks vacation I just was granted in addition to the four weeks I already get.

How? It's called a sabbatical, baby.

You see, I was part of a very large software company acquisition in 1995. And, part of what was grandfathered into my new company was a little thing called a sabbatical.

A sabbatical was a four-week PAID vacation. You have to take all four weeks at once. I got my first one in my 5th year of employment. And because the hostile takeover occurred during that time I was grandfathered a second and final sabbatical at 15 years of employment. Of course, I filed that thought under the "I won't be at this job for 15 years so who freakin cares" folder.

But guess what? Last month marked my 15th year. And how shit-faced happy was I last week when I called HR to see if my sabbatical was still valid after all those years.

AND IT WAS.

I get one whole month to be a stay at home Mom this summer. And I still get my other four weeks of vacation to take whenever I want this year. I can even tack on to the end of the sabbatical.

Hot damn. I get to disappear from the matrix for a whole month. I'm thinking of doing it late August and September.

I can't wait.

One month off to cook, clean, organize, be home for my son after school, volunteer, take deep breaths, count my blessings, and file my nails.

So who cares if we just took a financial beating this week. I got something even more valuable than money........

TIME

Get out! They LEARN there??

You're tiring over my education ramblings, I know.

Oh, how I wish I could turn back time to two weeks ago, when positivity was all around. Life was looking up.

And then........ well....... you know.

So this kindergarten thing has served a purpose. It has taken my mind off of wallowing in self pity from the miscarriage.

It gave me a MISSION. A GOAL.

I've been to two private schools since my last post. One good (more on that in a sec) and one I didn't feel good about. I have one more appointment on Saturday. So far, I've put down one check for registration as of today. We may or may not end up at this school, but I wanted a sure thing, so I got it if I want it.

You know what was weird researching these schools, visiting and asking questions? I came to the realization that Kindergarten nowadays is far more academic than I imagined.

Oh pshaw, Shelli..... you didn't know that???

In my mind, I knew it, sure. I am so used to going to David's Pre-K school, and seeing him mostly playing and having fun, with a secondary emphasis on academia. The school he is at now goes by the belief "Learning through play"... which is a common one among daycares and preschools.

But when I toured this particular new school yesterday (which I subsequently went back today and put down my check) I was... I don't know...scared.

This school offers an environment that is vastly different. Sure, there's still playground time (and art, and music), but the class time is serious. I saw 17 five year olds sitting at little tables with books, and papers and #2 pencils. Smiling and raising their hand rather than jumping out of their seat and yelling for Cheez-Its.

And I panicked.

Is David ready for this?

So I asked my questions, talked to the teachers and some of the students who seemed five going on fifteen. Ok, I exaggerating. They were well-behaved, intelligent little people that looked like they LOVED learning.

LOVED IT.

And it stirred very odd emotions in me.

My baby is going to be FIVE in May. And in September he is going to SCHOOL, not daycare. He is going to LEARN. And WRITE and READ. Jeez, he could be writing a symphony by first grade for all I know.

Good lord, this just dawned on me. And I know you are probably reading this and laughing at my oversight.

So check in hand, I also made an appointment to bring David in for a pre-test in April. Placement, if you will. Because at this school they have THREE levels of Kindergarten. Which I liked the idea of. Because it allows the child to learn at the pace comfortable for them.

So it was an eye opening day. We are not 100% on this school yet, but it's a start.

Moving along...

It's distressing to look at the state of my life.

From the outside in, I must look like a total hot mess. Not of Britney Spears proportion or anything, please. Despite some major setbacks, I still can appear that I have my shit together, even though I am one latte away from a major freakout.

Regarding my rant yesterday on the education issues.... I am a little calmer and have a plan D, E, and F in place. I e-mailed the Principal of said Catholic school, and fell on the sword. My Mom-in-law helped with the all-out assault, and she too contacted Ms. Principal. We found out that David is in the top three of the waiting list, and my willingness to throw down a $500 donation to the church would have helped (before decisions were made), but now is of little value.

Yeah, that freaks me out a bit. And more so when I happened to chat to the co-director of the school David is in now.. she mentioned that her nephew was just accepted to this same school. Her sister is not a parishioner. That pissed me off. Because it means that there really was no priority given to parishioners like me, and Ms. Principal chose students only on the basis of the "squeaky wheel" theory.

I was ready to mount my attack. But cooler heads prevailed, and I have resigned myself to the fact that if they don't want us, they are missing one great opportunity and a great kid. Whatever will be will be.

In the meantime, I setup some appointments with two other private schools (tomorrow, and Saturday) for a grand tour. These two schools *may* have space available, but I need to check out the atmosphere, curriculum, teachers, and most importantly the price. Both have non-refundable registration fees, but they are less than $100 each, so if I like what I see I may just register and have it in my back pocket. After all of this, I am willing to gamble $200 for some peace of mind. Otherwise I'll be a total mess until the end of the summer.

Also, for those of you who have e-mailed me on the info I was seeking on RPL testing, THANK YOU! Keep the notes coming! You guys have given me some great hints and ideas to check out. I am so grateful for this community.

Amongst all of this drama, hubby and I are also renewing our research into adoption. I've been poking around with a lot of my blogging buddies on that subject as well, so if you are in the process of adoption, I'd love to hear from you. We are still leaning towards Int'l adoption, but I'm not ruling out anything at the moment.

Lastly, a bit of more sad news..... I never have enough it seems. My Grandmother (my Dad's Mom) is gravely ill and not expected to recover. She is in the hospital (has been for the last month or so). I have a sort of unusual relationship with my Dad's parents over the years (I was never as close to them as I was with my Mom's parents). A long story for another time......
however I do wish a peaceful ending to the situation for my Grandmother, and prayers to my Grandfather that he can be strong through this. But mostly, I am thinking about my Dad. He has shouldered much of the care (and drama) over the last few years, and I know how difficult a decision he has along with my Aunts and Uncles.

Sheesh, it's only Tuesday and I feel like it should be the end of the week.

My goal for today is to take deep breaths and try to remain serene.

With everything going on, I'm still surviving.

The booby prize

Oh my.

After last week's events, you'd think I would have run out of bad luck.

But no.

Remember awhile back when I registered David for the local Catholic school? I stood out in the freezing cold, attended an open house, even created a cover letter professing my dedication to the church?

Well, we got the letter on Saturday that he didn't get in. I burst into tears. I really wanted him to attend that school. David really wanted to go there too.

Worse yet, I had been putting Plan B into motion (checking out the local private schools for a full day kindergarten program). Turns out they are on waiting lists too. I'm still looking, and it's not going well.

Which leaves me with Plan C (or as I like to call it, the booby prize). Public school.

I don't have a problem with the public school per se, except the fact that it's not even a true half-day. My township offers split sessions (8:45 to 11:15 or 1:15 to 3:45). That's a 2.5 hour school day!! WTF? What math are they using??? That's not HALF DAY at all.

On top of that, you don't know which session you get until two weeks before the first day of school. Kind of inconvenient in setting up before/after care. Make that IMPOSSIBLE. Worse yet, I would end up spending a significant part of my work day carting David around. To somewhere. Where I don't know. It's too short a day to drive him to where he goes now (25 minutes away). I would be sure to be fired from my job considering I would essentially be driving all day.

More than anything, I just want stability for David. I want him in one place, one educational and nuturing environment. He deserves that.

I've lost sleep the last two nights over this. I just wanted ONE THING to go easy. But no, of course not.

I need this black cloud over my head to GO AWAY.

Seriously, what the hell is going on with me??

Randomness and Obsessive Tendencies

So I braved the below zero wind chill to enroll my son at the local Catholic school. There were a ton of people there. All us parents huddled in the gym sitting at the kid's lunch tables looking like kids ourselves. Filling in the admissions applications with #2 pencils and then, standing in a single file line to hand in our manilla folders.

If you were a stranger peering in from the outside you would have thought the S.A.T. was going on. Dead silence.

The woman that took all my papers was nice enough. She made a few copies of some important documents, reviewed the papers, and was nice enough to let me attach a cover letter to the admissions form (my last ditch effort to make them see that we must. absolutely. have. to. be. accepted.)

So, I've done all I can and now we are in wait and see mode for the letter in the mail that determines the fate of David's education. Fun, no? Kind of like getting accepted to college. Except the tuition is a little less. lol.

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In pg news, no news is good news I guess. I had a minor meltdown yesterday when I just KNEW my pregnancy was doomed.

I just can't give myself a break. I was so obesessed with having/not having/having symptoms I was like a grenade ready to explode. Which now has proven my theory that I cannot enjoy a pregnancy no matter how good the signs are. These stupid miscarriages have robbed me of any sense of peacefulness.

Much like an addict, I guess.. I am always looking for the pregnancy "fix", in this case my beta tomorrow and upcoming ultrasound. I just want someone to tell me things are going to be okay. Look into the crystal ball, and tell me what I want to hear.

That's just not going to happen, so for now I am living day to day. Ok, maybe I fudged that a little. More like hour to hour.

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Today is hubby and I's 13th Wedding Anniversary. 13 years. I just can't believe how fast the time has gone. And everything we've been though...it's still quite a wild ride. Still best friends. Love you sweetie....

Education and the frazzled Mom

Yes, it's on. The single most important decision is upon us, and it's (SURPRISE) not infertility related.

Kindergarten.

If you are a long time reader, you may remember me blogging about this topic a year or so ago. We were stressing the decision as to where to start David's official education.

Since our daycare doesn't do full day kindergarten (which saddens me, really, because I LOVE the school) we have the following choices:

1. Full day Kindergarten at a private school (closest I am considering is 30 minutes away... the other is 45 minutes away).
2. Full day Kindergarten at our local Catholic school.
3. Half day Kindergarten at local public school.

The cons:

Full day @ private school is very expensive and I would need to drive David back and forth on my own (and it's the furthest in miles from my home). The quality of the education is unknown (depends on the teacher and the school curriculum).

Catholic school is full day, but only until 2:45pm. Aftercare would be needed for an hour or two.

Half day @ public school would be a nightmare. I would still have to find and pay for 1/2 day of daycare (which negates the free part of public school). The worst part would be coordinating the bus and the drive to aftercare. Technically, half-day at our public school is 2 1/2 hours total "in-school" time. And you don't know if you get AM or PM session until 3 weeks before school starts. Yeah, I know....

The pros:

Full day at private school is least disruptive to mine and hubby's working day.

Catholic school is only 1/3 the cost of private school and is just two miles away, very close. They provide free busing. And, they have the option to provide aftercare on site for a minimal fee. The school has a great rep for a good education.

No pros for public school, except to say that technically I am paying property taxes and school taxes, so it's free but not really free. The quality of education is ok, but not stellar.

Hubby and I are leaning towards the Catholic school big time. S. has a strong affinity for the religious aspect (we are raising David as a Catholic). I like the school's reputation. I must admit, I am not Catholic (raised Protestant), but we are parishioners there, and I've thought about converting. Pondered, lol. Those of you who know me in real life are probably shocked at that statement.

The big con for Catholic school, it's harrrrrd to get in. Really hard. There's a pecking order, and we qualify as we are parishioners (and we were married there and had David christened there). But we are not the big fish in the church. We are guppies amidst a sea of salmon, bluefish, and sharks.

Registration is Feburary 11th. I will arrive early and throw myself on the mercy of the staff to please let my kid in.

Please?