We Finally Belong!

It's such a nice feeling to be with people who "get" you and share the same interests, right? See, starting in September we've been a bit lonely. No, I don't mean because M was not yet potty trained.

(He is totally potty trained by now and it only took me 2 days with no tears and no mess and no embarrassment. I've meant to write a whole big book, something like "No Cry Potty Training" or something, but turns out I only have 1 piece of advice - don't rush it, wait, don't worry shame or compare to others, don't listen to grandparents' nagging. One day it's like a switch will flip in the little one's head and he'll be like "yeah, mom/dad, I can do it and I WANT to do it!")

What I mean is most of our little friends started preschool and were busy 2-3 days of the week. And the rest of the time they were either sick or doing something "developmental" like craft classes or organized sports or ballet.

Then finally, at M's gym class (yeah, the irony of it) we've ran into another mom who was homeschooling her 3 year old. And she told me about this group, Cary Homeschoolers. It's secular and open to all who are either homeschooling or thinking about it. And also to non-Cary residents. So we promptly joined and it's been awesome. So far we've been to a bunch of park playdates where kids of all ages get together and play freely for hours.

We've also been to the weekly preschool co-op where 3-5 year olds do show-and-tells and listen to a story and then explore and play a lot. We've been to the Holiday Cookie Exchange - awesome, lots of cookies, hot cider and hot chocolate in the perfectly wintry, sans snow, weather. And the latest was the gingerbread house making party for preschoolers. M really enjoyed it and did most of the job decorating his house and then a gingerbread man.

So we're excited about all the new friends, about their cool toys (the Toy Story 3 Action Junk Yard), their crazy stunts (jumping off the stool face down onto the couch), and all the cool games (no holds barred tag). And I'm thrilled about meeting other moms who are giving a shot to homeschooling.