Lots going on

And just like that it's September!  Mid September at that! the semester has started for all FOUR of us again! Chris is back to work for the year, I'm taking more classes, Max is in the 4 yr old preschool program at his school and that means one thing right? He had a birthday!  He's a full tried and true four year old inside and out.  He is growing so much and changing every day it's amazing!  His conversational skills are great now too.  He has an opinion about anything and has become a very inquisitive little boy.  Max started a question the other day like this, "Mom, I have a question and I'm very curious to know the answer." He went on to ask me, "What is thunder and lightning and how and why does it happen?"  Yes, that was a 3 part question that required quite a lot of explaining...  I love it!

As I mentioned above, the semester has started for all FOUR of us.  Yep that's right my baby, Andy, is in school too this year.  About a week and a half prior to Max heading back to school I decided to start researching a class that I could take to Andy once a week or so during the time that Max was in school.  This proved to be downright impossible to find.  However, in my searches I was directed to a school in Kennedy Township Called The Early Learning Institute (T.E.L.I.) (they have several locations in the Pittsburgh area for the local readers).  This facility started out as a school for children with special needs but as their program grew it became a favorite place for families to send their young children who do not have special needs.  T.E.L.I. now only has a few children with special needs and the majority are children without.

We took a tour, and signed him up.  Andy is now part of their 2 yr old preschool program and LOVES it!  He jumped right in on the first day with no issues with me leaving AT ALL!  Such a big boy!  the atmosphere is very laid back, they have a somewhat structured schedule, including circle time with stories and singing, play time, craft time and snack time.  They mostly learn how to interact with others outside of the family dynamic, letters, numbers and the usual little guy stuff.  One day a week and he's happy as a little lark because he gets to go to school too!  I in turn am happy as a mama lark because I get ONE morning a week that I can do my own thing by myself! I can run, I can work, I can grab a coffee, I can go grocery shopping, I can do nothing (probably won't ever happen).  It's a win - win for all of us!

One thing I'm already feeling I need some help with is finding healthy snacks for Max to take.  I currently have organic animal crackers from Costco, those dried apples/pears, bananas, strawberries from Costco, Cheese sticks, fresh fruit, apple sauce...  But I am worried these items will get old quickly... What healthy snack options do you use for your kids?