High Maintenance Mom

Tomorrow is our first day of kindergarten and I've been trying to prepare myself as well as secretly prepare B. We've been trying to schedule lots of unstructured play in between hair cuts, clothes shopping, and meeting new kids. N started his school last week - he's in the older preschool room and seems to be enjoying it. Below are some of the things we've done to prepare...

• School Clothes: We shopped for clothes and I've ironed labels onto them (see Personalized labels for school). We also ended up buying B a new dresser so we could separate his school clothes (uniform) from his non-school clothes. I'm hoping he won't care as much about not being able to wear his favorite shirts, if he doesn't have to dig through a tiny drawer of them to find his solid color shirts.
• Food: I made lists of dinners and lunches for the upcoming week (see Weekly menu 30 April 06, Packing a lunch for infants through school age children, and the pdf downloads below). It's been a tiring month, and from past experience I know that I can throw together some pretty uninspiring dinners in this state. Having a schedule helps me eat something for dinner that doesn't make me feel worse afterwards and it cuts down on some of the stress.
• Personal care: Both kids had haircuts today. Then this evening they had a bath and their nails trimmed. If there is dirt within a few hundred feet, it will get under my kids' nails. I usually don't care but tonight I do.
• Entertainment: Two weeks ago, when we had no child care, we took day trips to places we enjoy visiting. We were originally going to go camping but during B's last few weeks of school he started to complain about not being able to stay at home and play enough. So I scheduled playtime at home with different length trips in the area to try to limit the meltdowns. We went to the aquarium, then spent a quiet day near the house, then we went to the zoo, the next day we took the train to a children's museum, and so on. My mom also visited during this time and we had a play date with a new friend.
• Getting used to the new school: Last week B spent in camp with his after school program at his new school. It ran from 8am until 6pm so I could practice both getting him there on time and picking him up. I learned a bit about what roads not to take and how to get N quickly so I can pick up both kids, when necessary. At the same time, B met some new kids and seems comfortable with his after school program.
• Meeting kids: In addition to the camp, we also had multiple play dates with another family whose daughter is going to be in the after school program. I met her mom at the orientation meeting, although it now feels like we've been friends for much longer. Ben and his new friend are not in the same class but they will see each other throughout the day and after school.
• Preparing myself: The transition to kindergarten has been strange for me as I didn't expect to feel any anxiety. At first I found myself unnecessarily distracted but this past week I've been easier on myself. I've also scheduled in more exercise (see New York City Ballet Workout DVDs: A great way to improve posture and mood).
• The plan for tomorrow: I've packed B's back pack (in the school colors) with the request school supplies. I've also added a change of clothes, just in case, and a snack. His school goes from about 8 to 2:30 so it's a long day. I have no idea what they do about snack so I gave him a few pretzels and dried fruit. I am planning to walk him into his room tomorrow but I was told I could only stay a few minutes. At first I was told where I could drop him off but I'd like to see his classroom. After my five minutes in his room, I will join other parents for a few minutes before rushing off to work. I've limited my to do list for work to two items so there is a chance I can get something done.

If anyone has any other suggestions for getting through the first few weeks (months) of an immersion program, please let me know. We're excited to start this new part of our lives and I'm interested to see if any of the preparation helped.