Hyphenated & Overextended

There are some things in life that should be logistically simple...like sending your kids to school.  As the parent of twins I have found out that the most simple things in life can become unbelievably complicated.  Christian and Patience are in preschool right now and we had their Kindergarten screening and registration this week. 

The goofy kids just before we left:

During the screening I asked a simple question "Who do I talk to about my twins' placement next year?".  At that point I had opened a floodgate that didn't stop over the next hour.  I was told by no less than six different people what I "should" do with the twins for school next year.  Let me tell you that the advice of educators, in my experience thus far, is to separate them.  The decision to separate them for preschool was easy.  I knew it would be good for each of them socially and preschool is only six hours a week.  Kindergarten is 7 hours a day 5 days a week...completely different for the kiddos.  Christian and Patience WANT to be together next year.  Personally I am leaning toward this happening but I haven't made a final decision.  I emailed the principal at their future school to ask some questions and wasn't very clear in my email so she got back to me telling me that she would note that we want them in the same room next year but since I haven't made that decision yet I emailed her back to ask a couple of questions about homework and how they would deal with a child who experiences undue anxiety.  Hopefully I will hear back about those things soon.  So I am still weighing the pros and cons of each situation:

The argument for keeping them in the same classroom:

Pros:

They will have each other for comfort and emotional support, something familiar in a totally new situation
I won't have to worry about one of them getting to do activities that the other doesn't...something we have run into with preschool resulting in a lot of disappointment
Homework, if not the same, should be similar for each child
Things like field trips or special activities will be on the same schedule and I won't have to split myself between two classrooms

Cons:

The kids are in a stage where they get physical with each other when they are upset and angry, a behavior we are working hard to end but would be totally inappropriate for school
Patience who is age appropriately on target with her academics would possibly compare her abilities to Christian who excels academically
Christian would possibly be dependent on Patience socially to help him cope and make friends

The argument for separating them

Pros

Encouraging individuality
Patience would have the chance to see her peers working at the same basic level she does
Christian would have the opportunity to grow socially without depending on his sister
The kids might get along better at home after being apart all day.

Cons

Organization would be more difficult, keeping class assignments straight and calendar dates organized
Different teaching styles may make one child feel left out
The kids would miss each other
Christian tends to be very anxious while figuring out new situations and it is helpful to have  Patience with him.


There is no "right" decision here but I want to try to do what is best for my kids.  Luckily they are going to a great school next year and the principal has a wonderful reputation.  We live in a school district that I was proud to work for during the 5 years prior to the twins' birth.   Now if only I could figure it all out. 

I was reminded today, as I talked with a friend who is a first time mom with an infant, how much I have learned as a mother.

1) For example, until every child that comes into my house is over the age of 13 I will not have eggshell or satin paint covering my walls.   There IS NO SUCH THING AS WASHABLE eggshell or satin paint, I don't care what the company advertises.  I learned this the hard way.  Speaking of walls, sunscreen hand prints do NOT wash off of walls.  Whatever greasy ingredient that sunscreen contains seeps quickly into the paint and to remove those precious shiny prints it takes a couple of coats of KILZ in addition to the two to three coats of paint.  Oh, and the prints ran the length of a living room wall.  It is semi-gloss from here on out.  Maybe not the height of fashion but infinitely more washable.

2) Washable markers are only MOSTLY washable.  The blue marker isn't as washable as the rest of the pack.  When Patience decorated herself from head to toe with "washable" markers using blue and black to make Cheetah designs ALL over her body (no area that she could reach was left ignored) the black washed away and she retained blue spots for nearly a week of daily baths.  

3) Never assume that a toddler can't reach something no matter how high you put it or if you lock it up.  The only locking mechanisms I have found to keep my kids out of things are a) a child lock on a cabinet that is out of reach of them standing on a counter and b) a combination padlock.   Seriously, they grow like weeds and what they can't reach one day they will reach the next.  I won't ever forget the honey bear I left sitting on the kitchen counter one day.  The twins were about two years old.  I HAD to use the restroom.  I was absent from the room for 10 minutes at most.  I came downstairs to a living room and kitchen covered in honey.  I have never been more grateful for leather furniture and more horrified by carpeting.  I steam cleaned that carpet a minimum of 10 times after that and it was just never okay afterward.  (keep in mind it was well used carpet when we moved into the house though)

4)  Speaking of carpet.  I will never buy carpet to cover a floor.  Not ever!  Carpet is nasty.  There is not a vacuum on earth that can actually get it deep down clean, there is not a carpet cleaner that has ever been invented that can get rid of the grime that people grind into it.  Every adult, child and animal that has tracked through your house has left a little piece of themselves in your carpet that will never go away.  I realize that the same thing happens on hard floors but the difference is that you can actually GET HARD FLOORS CLEAN!  It is possible.  I know that once a week my hard floors are completely clean and scrubbed, the dirt and grime are gone so at the very most I have a weeks' worth of grime on them at a time.  Seems so much better to me than the alternative.   I wish we could be that family who has white carpet that stays white, but it's never going to happen.

5)  Do not have a toddler without having a concentrated orange cleaner like GOO GONE or DiSolve IT in the house.   Patience went through a phase of putting anything she could find in her hair, this included Vaseline, Desitin Nighttime (the super thick stuff) and Mentholatum.  Her favorite was the Desitin.  I tried shampooing it, which did nothing to break any of it down.  I tried dish soap, which helped but there is no way to keep a toddler still while you soap, rinse, blot and repeat the 6 times it takes to break it down this way.  Then someone suggested using cornstarch, this actually worked the best of what I had tried so far and was alternated with a dish soap wash.  After two rounds of cornstarch and dishsoap her hair was about 90% grease free.   Finally someone suggested DiSolve It to me.  I was extremely careful to keep it away from her eyes and massaged it into her hair, let it sit for a minute and used children's shampoo to rinse the orange oil out of her hair.  After one course of this her hair was 90% clean, we went through it again and finished with some adult conditioner as I felt her hair needed some pampering.  When rinsed and blown dry her hair was perfect.  By far easier than any other method I have discovered.   These cleaners are also great for getting greasy stains out of clothes, I apply the cleaner and let it sit for 5 minutes or so and apply dish soap directly over it to break down the oils before I toss it in the wash.  It has saved a lot of clothes around here that I thought were toast.  Also, it gets gum out of carpet AND hair!  I love both products but the spray bottle that the DiSolve It comes in is much more convenient.

6) Speaking of cleaning products OXY Clean is my best friend.  My husbands' cat is persnickety to say the least and she has left more than 100 stains over the years on items I wish I could have gotten clean.  Last year I discovered that OXY Clean will remove most of these stains even after they have gone through the dryer.

7) Scrub your stainless steel sink with dishwasher detergent.  It will shine but make sure you rinse it all the way.

8)  Magic Erasers are Gods' gift to home makers...they clean walls, clean floors, and get the burnt off crust from around your stove burners.

9)  Standard baby gates aren't narrow enough for bedroom doors of older homes and 5 year olds are horrible at closing doors.  Chance is obsessed with the cat food and water which is now shut behind our bedroom door but when the twins use the computer the door often gets left open and it is like the 15 month old has a radar to tell him he can get to the goods.  On the same note Chance likes to play in the toilet.  I think we have finally won the battle to keep the bathroom door shut...at least he hasn't made it to the toilet to play in over a week now.

The most important thing I have learned (and try to remember at the most difficult times) is that messes don't matter.  The child who just decorated the wall with a sharpie wasn't being malicious but was expressing her inner artist.  The child who decorated the leather recliner with the sharpie and signed it with his name when he was 2 wasn't following the rules but Christian had just signed his name (well his nickname Bubby) on ANYTHING and he was only 2.   Kids like to test the boundaries we set up for them to see how far those boundaries will stretch.  It is what they are SUPPOSED to do.  As long as they aren't being nasty it can always be dealt with without yelling.  I keep reminding myself of this.  Because it is an area where I am constantly failing.   I am loud by nature and when I am annoyed or angry it just escalates.  Maybe putting it out there will help keep me in a state of constant vigilance so I can become better at using my "indoor voice".

Sweet little Sundress

This dress should fit a 7-9 pound newborn baby.



H hook
light WW cotton yarn like Peaches & Creme
Bodice-
Ch 36

row 1: DC in 4th CH from hook and next 3 chs,
(1 DC, CH 1, 1 DC) in next ch,
DC in next 5 chs,
(1 DC, CH 1, 1 DC) in next ch,
DC in next 10 chs,
(1 DC, CH 1, 1 DC) in next ch,
DC in next 5 chs,
(1 DC, CH 1, 1 DC) in next ch,
DC in last 5 chs. Ch 2, turn.

rows 2-5: DC in each DC across, putting 1 DC, CH 1, 1 DC in next ch, in center CH 1 space of corner below.
Ch 2, turn.   (to increase size of  dress add rows to this section, 2 added rows equals about 1 1/2 to 2 inches of increase around the chest)

row 6: DC across to CH 1 space of corner group, ch 4, dc in CH 1 of  second corner group,
DC across to CH1 space of third corner group, ch 4, DC in last CH 1 space of corner group, DC to end.
Ch 2, turn.


rows 7-9: HDC in first st and each st across. Ch 2, turn.  (I switch colors for rows 9 and 10)
Join at end of row 9
Skirt- worked in rounds  (another color change)

round 1: Ch 2, 2 DC in same st as CH,  skip next, *3 DC in next stitch, skip next* around, join
round 2: slip stitch in next 2 (to center of cluster) Chain 2, 2 DC in same stitch, *3 DC in center stitch of cluster” around, join
rounds 3-11 : repeat round 2  (you can increase the length by adding rows here)
round 12 : CH 2, HDC in each chain around, fasten off

Back and neck trim- (another color change)

Join yarn in the back opening of the left side, ch1, sc up the side, 3sc in corner, sc around neck, (1sc, ch 3, 1sc) in corner for button hold.

Sweet little Sunhat
0-3 month  (instructions for larger sizes included in notes at the end)

Materials:

Worsted weight cotton yarn  (I like Peaches & Creme, I can make one of these hats with a small ball of their yarn)
H hook
Yarn needle

Abbreviations:
CH= chain
DC= double crochet
SS= Slip Stitch
St= stitch
YO= Yarn over
X = X stitch   (YO skip a stitch, DC in next St, YO DC in skipped St)  here is a tutorial if you need more help http://www.crochetcabana.com/stitches/stitches-x-stitch.htm
BLO= Back Loop Only
FLO= Front Loop Only

Round 1:  CH 3, DC 11 in first CH join with SS to top of CH 3  (12 DC total)

Round 2:  CH 3, DC in same CH, 2 DC in each Ch around, join (24 DC)

Round 3:  CH 3, DC in same chain, *1 DC in next CH, 2 DC in next CH* repeat from * to * around, join  (36 DC)

Round 4:  CH 3,  DC in same CH, *1 DC in next 2 CH, 2 DC in next CH* repeat from * to * around, join  (48 DC)

Round 5:  CH 3, DC in BLO in each ST around, join  (48 DC)

Round 6:  CH 3, DC in stitch before join, X stitch around, join   (24 X stitches)

Round 7:   Repeat round 6   (for added length repeat round once more)

Round 8:  CH 3, DC in each ST around, join  (48 DC)

Round 9:  CH 1, SC in FLO in next, *2 SC in next , SC in next 2* repeat from * to * around, join

Round 10:  CH 1, SC in next two ST, *2 SC in next, SC in next 4* repeat from * to * around, join

Round 11:  CH 1, SC in next ST, *2 SC in next, SC in next 6* repeat from  * to * around, join, fasten off   (88 SC)

Use the yarn needle to weave in loose ends.

I used a decorative button to embellish my hat but you can crochet a flower or small butterfly as an ornament.


NOTES:

To increase size add a round or rounds after round 4, the number of stitches between your single DC by one for each addition round.  i.e. the next round would be *1 DC in next 3 CH, DC in next CH* the next row would be *1 DC in next 4, DC in next CH*  and so on.

To  increase length add rounds of X stitch between rounds 6 and 7.
To increase width of brim increase after Round 11 by 2’s.  i.e. *2 SC in next, SC in next 8*  for next round, then *2 SC in next, SC in next 10* for the next

Happy hooking!