*snicker*
I'm such a dork. Anyway... I think it has finally sunk in for everyone here in The Land of Me that I am staying home. My kids have adjusted beautifully and the transition was very smooth for them.
I figured my son would have a few issues. He had been going to the same home childcare program before and after school since Kindergarten (now in fourth grade) and was quite attached to both the owner (also my former employer before I stopped working, hence the real reason why I chose to stay home) and the kids that went there... or so I thought. Not once has he asked to go back or really mentioned any of them. Nor has he complained about not riding the bus (he actually loves that I pick him up and drop him off! Score two for me!). What I thought would be a big problem - Homework. It was always completed directly after getting off the bus at the childcare home. I would check it after dinner when we got home (somewhere in the rush of the evening, which is now a thing of the past), but that was usually it. I thought for sure it would be a huge fight, mainly because I was told that it was at the childcare home. WRONG! He comes home, sits down with a snack and usually has it done within 20 minutes. Plain and simple. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!
My daughter? What a difference! She's more independant and generally a happier child. It used to be that at the end of the day when we got home she was crawling up my nose, trying to get my undivided attention... all while I was in the middle of the evening rush (have I mentioned that I don't miss this blur of cooking, dinner, cleaning, baths, showers, homework, bedtime, quality time, and oh yea, if I can squeeze it in, me time?). It was so stressful for both of us. Now, because she has me all to herself for most of the day it's not such a big deal. And, I feel she's really learning more and more age appropriately here with me. I firmly believe that preschoolers learn best through play, not sitting at a table doing worksheet after worksheet, not being told where to put the paint on the paper and what color to use, and certainly not by having to redo your "work" because it wasn't done "well enough" the first time(again, this is why I quit my job!). We cook together (she loves to cook!), we clean together, we even play with yarn together... and she learns so much from these everyday tasks! I'm sure there are a few of you reading this asking yourself about socialization... never fear - we get plenty of it! Dance class, story time at the library, Mommy and Me at the local theater, spending time with our friends and family... trust me, it's all there!
All of this just reinforces for me that I made the right decision!!!
However, I wish I could say the transition went this well for my husband... Without going into the gory details - we've gone round and round about a few things. What it all boils down to - he's really worried about the financial end of things. But he's slowly seeing that we're keeping our heads above water and relaxing a bit. Overall, he has agreed that this was the right thing to do not only for our kids, but us as well. It's just taking a little getting used to. Proof that you can teach an old dog new tricks, it just takes a bit longer.
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