Sorry, False Alarm... And Other News!

So. Last time I wrote, I was in a panic because I thought I was going to be homeless, and separated from the kids, in less than a week. But, as always seems to happen around here, things went back to normal.
The day after I wrote, I was still being told that we were losing the house and that I'd need to find somewhere else to live.
But then, suddenly, nobody was talking about it anymore!
I was afraid to bring it up or ask. Finallny, after a few days, I dared to ask Jimmy, "So, are we still leaving in a few days?"
He said, "No, we're staying here for now... for at least a month."
What have we learned here, kids?
1. Don't panic or get worried until you actually experience something bad happen! No need to go crazy and lose sleep over something that may or may not happen.
2. On the other hand, be prepared for the worst. I am going to start at least organizing my stuff and getting my car ready, so I can live in it if need be!

Anyways.... here we all are, right?
Today is the first day of school for Little Bear and Rafael. Yesterday Little Bear went with her grandma to her school for Meet The Teacher Day. Meanwhile, I took Rafael to his Meet The  Teacher Day!
Rafael and Little Bear are both in first grade, and both very similar in personality, but they experience school very differently. Little Bear did great in school last year. She started out behind the class because we moved here from a ghetto town with a crappy school system, but she quickly caught up. Her teacher loved her, and she enjoyed school.
Rafael, on the other hand, had a teacher who was older, and more old-school in her ways. Rafael is a hyperactive little dude who has trouble sitting still and focusing, and will often yell out in class, including sometimes saying "inappropriate" things. His teacher had a gripe against him all school year. She didn't really believe in working with a child, using positive reinforcement and what not. She was more into just punishing. As a result, Rafael lost his snack privileges at least once a week (because apparently snacking is a privilege, not a right), lost a lot of recesses, got yelled at a lot, and got multiple angry notes sent home. He hated school! So this year, he was really nervous about starting second grade, and didn't want to even visit the school for Meet The Teacher. I had to promise him that we were only going to stop in  so he'd know where his classroom was and who was in his class, and that I wasn't  leaving him there. I also had to promise to let him bring the stuffed pig that he'd won from Enchanted Castle the day before. I guess he hoped the pig would protect him from the forces of evil!
I was really hoping he'd have a better teacher this year!
And it seems like we were in luck! Rafael's new teacher is young, new to the school, and very friendly. She let the kids pick out their own desks, telling them to find one that "feels like the right desk for you." It was very sweet! I mentioned to her that Rafael had had a hard year last year, and that he sometimes had trouble with sitting and listening and focusing, but that he was a really good kid. She tussled his hair and said, "Well, thats just something we can work on, right?" As we left the school, Rafael was ecstatic! He said he loved his new teacher, and he was excited that some of his friends were in his class!

Rafael sitting in the desk that feels right.

When we got home, I asked Little Bear about her Meet The Teacher Day. She seemed sort of quiet and less than enthusiastic. I asked her who her new teacher was, and she said an unfamiliar name.
When I asked if that was good or bad, Little Bear looked pointedly at me and said somberly, "Last year, she was down the hall from my class, and we could always hear her yelling! We would all look at each other and say, `I hope I'm never in her class!'"
Poor Little Bear. But I tried to explain to her that, since she doesn't usually get in trouble at school, she probably won't be one of the kids getting yelled at.
She seemed a little happier today when she got ready for school! Last night Diana took her for a mani-pedi at Sweet And Sassy, and also dyed bright pink highlights into her hair. Doesn't she look like a little rock star?

So now its just me and Pufferfish.
Pufferfish really wanted to go to school! As soon as she got home from helping drop off the big kids, she ran to me and said, "Can I do my school work?" We really didn't do any Tot School things all summer, because the focus was mostly on keeping Little Bear and Rafael busy so they didn't climb the walls and kill each other! So today I pulled out my basket of Pufferfish's "school work," and we spent an hour just doing file folder games and workbooks! She cranked through the things that were too hard for her back in May.
We're working on getting her into actual preschool, but its expensive! Even the park district costs about $120 per month. It doesn't sound like much, but it is money nobody here has. In the mean time, I'm gonna have to start getting new Tot School stuff together. I'm gonna sign her up for the drop-off story and craft program at the library, too, and I can at least tell her thats preschool!
Anyway... thats whats up with me... so how about you?