The pressure of being 3...

The boys started pre-school last week. I thought that sentence would make me sigh with relief and walk around with a big smile but that is not how it happened. I will say before any pre-school drama started I was having a hard time with the smiling part when thinking about school starting up for the boys. We've had a great summer playing and being lazy and growing and hanging out and this would be Wyatt's first time away from mom for that long of a stretch. We do go to the gym every day during the week but the most the boys are in the nursery is for two hours (the limit!!) and they are together playing and it took a while to get Wyatt used to that and happy at drop off. So I was mourning our summer schedule a little bit...knowing that we're one year closer to the year I have to let Oliver go completely, 5 days a week, 7 hours a day and that already makes me sad! (And I never thought I'd be THAT mom...guess I'm realizing that luckily for my boys that I am THAT mom!) Oliver was ready, ready, ready...this is his third year at his school and he loves school! I also knew Wyatt would love school as soon as he got warmed up. Tuesday came and went and I realized that maybe I bit off more than I could chew with Oliver's class. I'll spare you the entire dramatic run down of my week but let's just say that it ended on Thursday with me completely SOBBING in a teacher conference in Oliver's class. L.O.V.E.L.Y...never been much of a CRAZY before but now I am THAT mom too! Anyhow...that kid is extremely intelligent at times, loves books and reading and can now make up his own stories to go with the books, jams out with the best of them to his Jack Johnson Curious George CD and Bible songs CD (nothing like "I'm in the Lord's Army" blaring to get you going in the morning!!), and has the best little conversations with me, Wyatt, and anything else that will listen! However, that child also refuses to put any stock in to potty training! He knows the routine, he knows how to go, he knows why to go, he knows where to go and what to do, but BULL if he cares if he actually DOES any of it!! His school requires the kids in the 3 year old class to be potty trained...and just knowing HOW to use the potty is not enough, you have to actually DO IT! So this week turned in to our first heart tugging parent decision and we decided to remove all pressure and put Oliver in the older 2 year old class. If he was born on his actual due date that would have been the only option anyway and it would have been decided for us so I feel good about our decision...we did the whole follower thing last year with him being the absolute youngest and now he gets to do the leader thing and be the oldest by a month or so. We've talked to him and he doesn't care so why should we? And I have a feeling this won't be the last time we have to make a heart tugging decision about our child. I know we won't always be able to take the pressure off to make life easier but when your 3 shouldn't your life be as pressure free as possible? Won't there be time for academic challenges later in life...like when you're 5?? HA! By the way...Wyatt is loving school and will probably choose to stay in the toddler class forever...messy projects, a play ground just his size (OUTSIDE is what he yells all day long!), two FANTASTIC teachers who have proved to be worthy of the tuition we pay in more ways than just one, and 5 other boys to play trucks with (none of whom take his toy to show him the "correct" way to play with it) I love those boys...and hopefully they'll love school! I can finally say that with a sigh of relief and a smile on my face!