Preschool Conference

Last week we attended Harper's very first school conference...yes, they start them in preschool now!  It was so much fun to see and hear how she is doing in school so far.  Academically, she is doing wonderful!  Socially, she is improving, but still has much more room to grow.  {Our main goal enrolling her in 3-year-old preschool was for social skills.}

Academically:  The teacher reports no problems in this area (yay)!  She knows all of her letters, shapes, numbers, colors, etc.  She is able to sort by color, shape, and size.  She can write her name and draw a self-portrait.  One page in her "progress book" that got me all emotional was a picture of a happy face and a sad face, and she had to say what made her happy and sad.  Happy = my mommy, Sad = when my mommy and daddy leave.  Oh that still makes me tear up, it breaks my heart whenever we have to leave her!

Socially: Harper pretty much only talks to her teachers.  At the beginning of the year she was their shadow.  At recess she plays by herself or stands by the teachers.  Now she is slowly starting to play with the other kids, which I'm not too terribly worried about because it is normal at the preschool age to engage in parallel play.  (when kids play next to each other, not with each other.)  Harper still will not answer a question in front of the large group.  She loves to dance and sing though! 

At Home: Harper practices writing her name almost everyday.  We are working on patterning, counting to 100 (she can count to 39 right now, and can count to 100 by 10's), writing all numbers and letters 

Goals:  Writing our last name, learning beginning sounds of each letter

#34

Happy 34th Birthday, Adam!!!

Homemade gifts are the best !  Adam's Birthday card from Harper - can you tell what she drew on the left side?  Birthday Balloons!

We made daddy a chocolate pudding cake, to go along with his favorite supper - Bacon Ranch Chicken Breasts with Roasted Ranch Potatoes! Yum!

I told Harper that Adam is now 34, and she said "Whoa!  That's big!"  LOL

PRN

As of yesterday I am no longer an *official* full-time employee at Iowa Specialty Hospital, instead I am now  a PRN (as needed) employee.  I still plan (and hope) to pick up full-time hours each week, however I am not guaranteed the hours, which kind of makes me nervous.  Adam and I had many conversations about this decision and we are confident that this is the best choice for our family at this point in our lives.

With Adam and I both working nights, we depended on our family members to drive to Clarion and spend the night and following morning with Harper.  If we both worked the weekend then Harper would go to Northwood.  I think it was wearing on everyone, myself, Adam and Harper included.  It was usually only about once a week and every other weekend or so, but it was still a hassle.  I think it was hardest on Harper, as she never knew who would be putting her to bed or why we were always sending her to her Grandparents.

My mom said something to me one time that really made seriously think about going PRN ~ she said something along the lines of 'not wanting Harper to associate coming to see her Grandma/Grandpa as a sad thing.'  Don't get me wrong, Harper loves spending time with both sets of Grandparents, but she also gets sad because we're not there.  I don't ever want my children to be sad about visiting their grandparents, I want them to create lots of happy memories, which I know is the case now.  BUT....it was time to put an end to the frequent visits without mommy and daddy going along too.  I know there will still be weekends that my children will visit without us there, but hopefully the visits will be fewer and far between, so they are excited to go see them!


Pros:

• I get to create my own schedule
• Harper requires less daycare, which cuts down on the daycare bill (and our families driving down to watch her)
• I don't HAVE to work weekends or holidays (or even nights for that matter)
• I don't have to worry about getting time off for special occasions (I just won't sign up to work if I know in advance)
• I can pick up shifts in both Belmond and Clarion

Cons:

• I am not guaranteed full-time hours
• I am not eligible to receive benefits - including a paid maternity leave (our health/dental insurance is through Adam so it's not a big deal)
• I work on Adam's days off - which means we only have 1 day off together out of every 8 days ( BUT we are all together every afternoon, our family time is spent together in the few hours before supper, instead of the few hours after supper like most families)
• I am not guaranteed full-time hours

As you can see, there are both pros and cons to going PRN, we just had to go with our hearts and trust that this decision will work out for our family.  I am not required to work nights or weekends,  but that is our greatest need at work right  now, so I will continue to work the night shifts and a few weekend here and there.  I do have about 5 days shifts scheduled, but the day shift is pretty much fully-staffed, unlike nights.  So I will work where I'm needed to get in my full-time hours, and I've even picked up a few shifts in Clarion.  I will continue to work as a PRN employee until: Adam switches to days, I get a day job, or both kids are in school ~ which ever comes first!

A BIG THANK YOU to our families who have helped us out these past 5 months - there is NO WAY that we could have gotten through that time without you, we are forever grateful!