Whew! This past week I finished submitting Matthew's college preschool applications for next year. And yesterday we/he got 2 invites to come back for child visits - yay! This probably doesn't sound like such a big deal, or like something that would take up so much time and energy, but, believe me, it is. We're not even trying to get a spot in one of the ritziest preschools (yes, some of the preschools around here are ritzy!) but there are so many young families and so few preschools, Montessori and otherwise, that it is really competitive. The applications are pages and pages of questions about your child, your family, your educational philosophy, what can you contribute to the school community, does he dress himself, how does he intereact with other children, what are his strenghts, what are his weaknesses, blah, blah, blah. Sometimes it is just that same basic question (describe your child's personality) but they phrase it 3 or 4 different ways, so yuo need to come up with 3 or 4 perfect answers. Ugh!
If you think I'm making too much of this or stressing myself out about it too much, you haven't talked to other parents of 2 year olds in DC. One mother I know who went through this last year does admissions at Georgetown (University) and when she started the process she thought, "Oh, no big deal, I deal with college admissions all day, I can handle this." Well, she had just as much trouble. Her daughter ended up getting into a nice Montessori school, but not without a lot of hand-wringing. It puts my stomach in knots just thinking about it.
So, on to less knotty things. I've been doing lots of Amy Karol-inspired things lately and it's been loads of fun! After some hesitation (I know how to sew pretty well, but Bend the Rules Sewing looks so cute - do I really need a book about how to do projects that I could probably figure out on my own - the library doesn't have the book, so maybe I should just buy it - she seems like a nice person, I'll just buy the book) I bought BTRS and I love it! It would be a great book for a beginner, but it is also a great refresher of lots of things I haven't thought about since junior high home ec. And so what if I could probably figure out some of the patterns on my own, my brain power is being used up writing essays on my 2 year old child's sense of civic responsibility, so maybe I couldn't figure them out on my own.
Last night I was hunched over the coffee table doing 2 of Amy's papercutting projects for some upcoming birthdays. Her designs are really sweet, and I just adore anything Pennsylvania Dutchy, of course! Even her banner this moth (season? I don't know how often she changes it) is folksy and PD. But she lives in Oregon, and has recently talked about Swedish Christmas bread, so maybe she would say it is more folksy-Swedish, but, whatever, I love it and it reminds me of the good ol' Lehigh Valley!