I started my morning with an early wake-up call from our darling son, who had to use the potty. Luckily, Gus was already up and showering, so he got to handle that one. Then Nikos came out and wanted to talk to me. I convinced him to sleep. It actually worked! Score one for Mom!
We got up at around 6:30, and quickly ate and got dressed. I also threw dinner in the crock pot so that it could work its magic all day while we were out and about. By 8:15, we were out the door and on our way to preschool. I turned in all the paperwork to enroll our big boy, and the director walked him around to see the various rooms. The school doesn't start until 9am, but they also provide before/after care-- so there were a few kiddos already there. Nikos clung to me for dear life! Maya did, too, to a certain extent. I don't think they said more than two words combined to the teachers, but I'm sure that will change soon!
As expected, Nikos talked about this visit almost non-stop for the rest of the day. Of course! Because even though he was SO shy, he was noticing every minute detail of that school. And I think he is pretty excited about it. They even had his little cubby labeled and ready to go. :) He'll start on January 3rd. I think he is going to have a blast there!
After that, we made the drive to our new pediatrician's office-- the one my mommy friend had hooked us up with. And I am so glad she did, because we had a fantastic experience there. For one, the drive there was really easy. It's actually in "the city" (Worcester), and I despise driving there. Lots of one-way streets and confusing intersections that meet at weird angles. But there is an easy little back-roads way of getting there, that is super direct and skirts the congested part of the city entirely. And it's beautiful! Lots of rolling hills, farmland, and trees... and then BOOM! you hit the city, and the pediatrician's office is right there. In an amazing old Victorian home, complete with turrets and everything. So the drive and the ambiance are great to begin with! Not that that really matters when choosing a pediatrician (ha!), but it sure put me in a great mood!
Then, everyone was just incredibly nice. I chatted with the receptionist for a while, and left feeling like I had made a new friend, hehe! The entire office staff was really friendly and down-to-earth. And the doctor! She was wonderful! She was so great with the kids, and even had Nikos giggling by the end of the appointment (unheard of!). It was such a great match. She is one of the owners of the practice, too, and really knows her stuff. By the time we left, we had everything we needed for the preschool AND both kids got their flu shots. Nikos never even realized he got a shot. And both kids were loaded up with lollipops and stickers as we left. We will definitely be going back! Nikos even announced in the car that he liked getting his check-up. His words: "Check-ups don't hurt in Massachusetts! They only hurt in California!" Whatever, kid. But I'm glad he was happy. And the verdict? We have a healthy four-year-old! 50th percentile for height, 75th for weight. I knew he'd been eating bricks!
Anyway... Since we were in the city, I decided to find the mall. I'd never been there, but I wanted to buy an area rug and knew the mall had a few good stores for that. We actually need a lot of them (the entire house is hardwood), but I was determined to get ONE today... so we could sit on it to open presents on Christmas. I dragged the kids a few places, found one that I liked, and then a very kind store employee actually carried the whole thing through the store and out to the parking lot for me. He really didn't need to do that, but I sure appreciated it. And the kids love the new rug! It's actually going to go in the living room once Christmas is over, but it will be perfect in the front room for now. Hooray!
At that point, it was lunch time, so we stopped by McDonald's (my bribe to Nikos for going to the doctor) and got some food to take home. And just as we got home, the clouds decided to dump buckets on us! It rained pretty much all afternoon. Which was fine, because I got to actually hang some things on the walls and make this place look more homey. All while smelling dinner in the crock pot, and watching the kids dance to silly songs on the new rug. It really was a great afternoon! I actually snapped this really quickly when they were out of the room. Behold, my new rug! And the insanity that is the gift pile under our tree, as things continue to arrive from various relatives. These kids are going to go bananas on Sunday!
Also, I was too tired to post last night, but the kids made ornaments yesterday! We wrapped them up and they gave them to Gus when he got home. I haven't taken photos of the final products yet, but they were salt-dough ornaments. Each kid made one of their handprint, and I wrote their name and the year on there. Once they were done baking, the kids painted them with acrylics, and I sprayed a clear gloss on top to seal it all in. They turned out really cute, and the kids had so much fun! Here are a few photos from the painting stage. Hard at work!
I also spent the day yesterday unpacking as many of the remaining boxes as possible. I've reached a point where we really need some office furniture, and an organization system for the dining room closet. But we're almost there! Time to really get moving on the painting (ugh!).
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