No more wrist brace

I stopped wearing it. I’m not having any more pains and I figured it was time to try going without. So far, so good.

We found out that Malachi’s school in Jamaica starts the last week of August. This is great news!

It gives us more time to get there than we originally thought. Now I just have to send them all the information that they require for admissions. I recently heard someone lament that getting their kindergarten into an International School was like enrolling for college.

I can’t say from experience what enrolling in public school is like. Enrolling in AISK is very similar to enrolling in ISM. Here’s the list of Pre-School – Grade 3 application process (Step 2) taken from their website:

Completed Application part 1 and fee (US$50)

Copy of Birth Certificate/photo page in passport

2 passport photographs

Vaccination records

Last 3 end-of-year reports

Elementary Confidential Reference

Any professional educational evaluations done by outside source

External Standardized Test Results (if available)

Personal Interview/Assessment and Campus Tour

This is all after an enquiry which is an email sent to the school to make your intentions of applying known. It’s an opportunity for us to introduce our child and family and give them an idea of what’s in store. Step 3 is admission decision (which is a given for us, and we’ve already been told he has a spot, even though we haven’t completed step 2).

This is what many families go through every two to four years to enroll their children in school. Some families have more to do, some less, I would think. It’s crazy! Right now I’m doing this for one child, but when we’re enrolling in a new school after Jamaica I will be doing it for three (3!) children. That’s a lot of paperwork to do for school.

Our departure date hasn’t been approved yet, but if we get the one we want, we’ll be departing in fewer than four months! That’s not very long from now. I’m excited to have some time in the States. I’m very ready for that.

Right now, though, I think I should work on that application…

“A Peaceful Plant”

Malachi’s class had a field trip. They’re learning about plants in school, so they went to the local outdoor plant market at the mall across the street from their school. I went as a parent supervisor.

We walked to the market which took us about fifteen minutes. Right now it’s hot and sunny in Manila, so that fifteen minutes was pretty hard on most of us.

Once we were at the market their teacher gave them instructions on their assignment and told them to explore.

I had two boys with Malachi and me and they really liked the little cactuses at the very front. So they asked the woman who sells them their questions three and wrote their answers. Malachi kind of liked the cactuses, but he really wanted a “peaceful plant.”

One thing you may not know about Malachi is how sweet he is. He’s sensitive, loving, caring, kind, and so sweet. So I wasn’t surprised when he said he wanted the “peaceful plant”, it just endeared him to me even more.

The older I get the more peace I want in my life. Maybe it’s because I have three young boys. Maybe it’s because there’s a lot of stress in living abroad and in frequent moves. Whatever the reason, I very much treasure peace (and quiet). So I understood Malachi’s desire to have a “peaceful plant.”

He picked a very pretty, very peaceful plant…that he left in his cubby at school. It’s a good thing that it’s an indoor/low water plant!

Since it’s at school, I can’t take a picture of it for you. But here’s a picture of what it looks like.

Photo courtesy of My Gardin in Japan

It’s not a calla lily but it does look like one. His is this color, but it has a bright yellow and tall stamen or pistil, I don’t know which it is.

I hope Malachi has a greener thumb than his parents.

Good Meeting

I had a good meeting with Malachi’s teacher. You can read about the adventure in getting there here.
His teacher, Cara, or Ms. Cara to the students, is really nice. She’s young, probably about my age. She had great things to say about Malachi. She said he has really good manners, she’s very impressed with him.
He has trouble with concentration sometimes but has figured out that positive reinforcement works really well with him and is using that to her and his advantage. She knows who Malachi needs to be separated from to be able to work better (hint: it’s the girlfriend that I’ve already mentioned).
Cara said that he’s good at making friends, and has two girls and at least one boy that he’s frequently spending time with.
She noted that he’s a bit of a picky eater. I corrected and I said he’s quite a picky eater. This is a problem that we faced last year, and I still don’t know how to solve it. We’ll have to do more brain storming.
There doesn’t seem to be any academic hesitation at all with Malachi. I learned a bit about their grading system and it’s different than I’m used to, but it sounds like it’s better than what I saw last year.
This was just another instance at the school to make me love it even more.

School

Before I start, I just want to say that this is my 500th post on wife-mommy-woman. I think that's pretty awesome. Now back to our regularly unscheduled blog post...

A friend noticed that I've been a little silent and asked if I'm ok.

I'm doing pretty well, although I am pretty stressed out. If you're my facebook friend you may know that this semester I returned to school. You see, I never finished my bachelor's degree. About two years in I got pregnant with Malachi and decided not to finish. But for some reason, now that I have three kids (omg), I've decided it's time.

Really, there won't be an easier, or slower time in life, so I might as well get it done. And in order to get the degree I want (Business Administration in Management) at the pace I'm going (two classes a semester) John said it will take about 8 1/2 years because not all of my credits will transfer to that degree.

I'm determined to get that degree though - it's what I want. So maybe next year when we're in Manila and I have even more help in the house I'll take three classes a semester. I think I'll still work part-time, but I'd like a job that's even more part-time than my current one. Because even though I love working in the CLO, there's a lot of work to be done outside of my 16 hours/week in the office. I'd like a job that I could leave at the office, maybe I'll work in the consulate. Who wants to come take care of my three kids in D.C. next summer so I can take ConGen?

I realize I'm rambling. So...here's what's going on with me right now:

1 husband
3 kids
1 part time (16 hours, plus comp time for events) job
1 personal trainer 3 x a week to get rid of the mommy body and get back some semblance of the hot body I once had
2 University classes (American History 1301, Lifelong Learning for Adult Students) and I don't even have the books yet - I can't imagine what it'll be like when I do!
Hanging out with friends (when I have time!)
Salon services (it takes a lot to keep up a hot bod) when I have time!
And other random things you throw into the loop

Can I just say that without P (the nanny/maid) I would not be able to accomplish all of this.

So if I am a bit silent in the next 6-8 years, it's not because I don't enjoy blogging, it's because I'm really (insert expletive) busy!