Solution For Gadget

Today was our daughters first day of school and she enjoyed riding the bus with her big brother, Max as he returned for his second year at Atenas Preschool y Escuela Colina Azul. As they stood by the gate waiting on the bus, backpacks loaded and uniforms neat and new, Matt and I held our new baby, Sofia and awaited our opportunity to have a quiet house for the first time in almost 3 months.

We love our children, but Summertime in Costa Rica has taken its toll on our little ones, like most kids at the end of summer. They have become a bit lazy, sleeping later, staying up later and, frankly, starting to morph into small human turds. That is right, I said it, TURDS! We tried to keep structure and initiate learning exercises and Matt was taking them to every park in town every day, but with so many hours in the day, we found ourselves turning on the TV just to make phone calls and follow up on emails, because business still must go on and parents still must work, even in the summer, leaving the TV as the babysitter, as bad as it sounds. Our kids had a hard time adjusting at first, then after several weeks of no school, they turned into couch potatoes. We had to beg them to get dressed and go to the park, only to have them whine at the park to go home and watch TV. Then, when they got back home, at NOON, they would take off their play clothes and put on pajamas! Can you believe it? So our kids are watching TV all day, fighting over what movie to watch next and wearing pajamas on the couch. UGH...we have been looking forward to this day for a while. So with the anticipation of the first day of school, we all woke up early and the kids were dressed and ready about 30 minutes early. We are all outside again, waiting for the bus. 

Matt and I packed Sofia up in our new baby carrier and hit the mountain for the first time in a few months, since the pregnancy. We live in paradise and our quiet stroll was glorious and I am so happy to be back on my feet, walking our beautiful mountain. When we got back home, we put on some Jazz music and Matt started tinkering and I got to look at the computer and spend some alone time with the new baby. We got a ton of work done already in just a couple of hours of the kids being out of our hair. I hear people complain about the cost of school and daycare and after a 2 1/2 month summer with my 2 kids, I will never complain. Teachers are a godsend and they should be paid for their time and patience because mine has run out; and in the nick of time, since our baby arrived early. My husband has a saying, "Our kids are the sweetest kids in the world, UNTIL THEY ARE NOT!" Anyone who has kids, knows the feeling. 

If this happens, we will deal with it, but for today, I have truly enjoyed my quiet time. Every parent needs it and every teacher needs to be appreciated. I think I will get a small gift for my kids teachers to show them how much I appreciate their hard work each day with my little angels...lol...or devils, whatever role they play today. Lets just hope there are no turds involved. :)