Zoo Time

My sister, Karen, lives in Louisiana only a few hours from New Orleans. She her boys (Braden 6 and Hunter 4) made a quick trip to New Orleans for a suprise trip to the zoo for Braden's birthday.

The adults all loved seeing the boys play together and Peter loved playing with his cousins. We all had a blast and are looking forward to many more trips to the zoo and afternoons with our cousins!

The Return of the Lunchbreak

Full disclosure here, the mornings are rough! There is chaos. I sound like a broken record. I have to wake up at 5:30am and I don't have to be at work until 8:30! I drop Peter off at 8:00 and Olivia at 8:15. We only live about 15 minutes from school/work so that means that the other 2 HOURS are spent trying to get everyone dressed, fed, and loaded in the car. If I don't get everything together the night before and pack Olivia's lunch then we're in big trouble. Olivia also has become extremely partial to the bible songs CD and she shrieks at the top of her lungs until I turn it on and then proceeds to giggle all the way to school. We don't ease into the day around here. We jump on and hold on tight for dear life!

On the other hand the Lunchbreak is bliss! I'd forgotten what it's like to have a block of time completely to myself! I've run errands, had a lunch date with my hubby, enjoyed lunch with coworkers, gone shoe shopping. I love my lunchbreak! Oh and in case you were wondering, when I was a stay-at-home mom naptime was nothing like a lunchbreak! Naptime was the only time I could accommplish anything at home so that was when I made phonecalls, mopped floors, took a shower, did laundry, etc. etc. etc. So bring on the lunchbreak!

Olivia's New School

Olivia has been going to her new school here in New Orleans for two weeks. She is loving it! The Chartwell Center is a very small private school for children with autism and related disorders. Olivia does not have autism but we are more confident every day that it is the best place for Olivia right now. Olivia's school day at The Chartwell Center is very structured. There is one teacher, two aides and 4 other children in Olivia's class. Olivia is the only little girl in her class. Each child has their own picture schedule that they follow throughout the school day. They utilize the sensory diet to ensure that each child is in their optimum learning zone. A sensory diet is a "carefully designed, personalized activity plan that provides the sensory input a person needs to stay focused and organized throughout the day. Just as you may jiggle your knee or chew gum to stay awake or soak in a hot tub to unwind, children need to engage in stabilizing, focusing activities too." We've learned over the last several months that this is very important for Olivia and this was one of the big selling points for The Chartwell Center. Here's some great information about Sensory Diets (http://sensorysmarts.com/sensory_diet_activities.html. Olivia gets to go swimming every Monday and horseback riding on Tuesdays. The Chartwell Center is a great fit for Olivia right now and we are so blessed to be able to send her there! And, by the way, how cute is she in her uniform!

A Mini-Update

We're still here. Settling in. I have tons to post about (and photos) but here's a mini-update in the interim.


Olivia--Olivia started school earlier this week and LOVES it! I was concerned about her fitting in but she is doing great so far. Tons more on this when I have time. Her room is completely unpacked but not quite set up yet. I have yet to find a part time nanny (I thought with thousands of college students in the area this wouldn't be too difficult, I was wrong). We are working on it though, we've tried student employment services at both Loyola and Tulane, I've send emails to the sorority girls at Loyola, I've asked my work-study students at work if they know anyone and I've posted the job on Sittercity.com. If you have any other ideas let me know!

Peter--We decided that the Newcomb Children's Center on Tulane University's campus is the best place for Peter this year. They have an immersion program involving a series of playdates with the child and a parent to help transition the child into their class. Honestly it was quite complicated. Fortunately Peter loved school right from the start and they decided that Peter was immersing himself easily into the classroom and they waived the week of immersion. Wednesday was Peter's first full day and he reported that he got to play with 2 pirate ships, he played in a beach in a box (aka sandbox), and he ate snacks. He has been a little more clingy with me lately but I think that it's the transition of me working rather than a school thing.

Mike--Initially Mike was planning on starting work at Tulane "after the 4 day Columbus Weekend" or "around October 15". Once we arrived here and he realized that the rest of the world doesn't get a 4 day Columbus Day weekend or even a 3 day weekend he decided to start October 10, after a few days home alone with the kids that was further amended to Friday, October 7th, earlier this week that was further amended to Thursday, October 6th. Mike starts work today! Joking aside he has done a great job of coordinating the delivery of our household goods, which FINALLY happened earlier this week. I have loved seeing the subtle changes in the kids that have occurred as a result of Mike being full time Parent-in-Charge. Both kids are much less needy and they both complain less. Peter is more independent and Olivia is in such a good mood because she is getting to spend extra time with Daddy. Mike was also inspired by one of Peter's new classmates who speaks primarily French, Mike began his own Spanish Language immersion program with Peter and is now speaking to him primarily in Spanish. I love it!

Laurie--I am loving my job. I'm the Assistant Director of Alumni Relations at Loyola. I work primarily with the 34 Alumni Chapters all over the US and in Puerto Rico and the Young Alumni Board. I get to work on a good mix of event planning and strategic planning so that is exciting. I think I'm also bringing the ideal skill set to this position so that has made it really rewarding to be both challenged and fulfilled (not to toot my own horn :). I am having some feelings of guilt and worry over not spending as much kids but I'm working through those. I know that Peter needed to be around other kids, he needs some of that social interaction and Olivia would be in school anyway.