Choosing a preschool for Ryan

Ryan has been waiting a long time for this day to come! Finally the state got everything in order and we are able to interview priceless for the 05-06 school year. We wake up, like most mornings and I announce "we are going to choose a school today!" Ryan immediately starts getting dressed and chanting "I go to school, I go to school" and Tyler immediately frowns and says "do we have to go NOW?" Yep typical morning here! It takes a bribe the size of the Sahara desert for Tyler to go along with the excitement and be happy for his brother, but it happens and we are all on the same page. We have our list of preapproved schools in hand, yes I said preapproved. In this county you can not be too careful where you go because 'private preschool' to some is a back room of a trailer where old Aunt Bertha's 20 dogs sleep at night. With Tyler as my navigator and Ryan still chanting "I go to school" in the back seat, we are off. Meanwhile Dylan stares at us all like we should be driving to the looney bin instead of to schools. We arrive at school #1 and see the classroom. Ryan hates it, he cries immediately "this is not my school I don't like it". Hmm not a good way to start this out, will all the schools create the same reaction? God I hope not because I need him to be in preschool this year! Tyler loves the school - but is it his school and his choice? Oh right, I forgot to mention to him he doesn't have a say in this matter, he isn't happy! We head to school #2, we get lost. My navigator has forgotten a very important line in the directions and we drive around and around and around in circles looking for a building that does not exist. Finally, after ripping the directions from the lap of my navigator, I realize our mistake and correct it. We find school #2. Ryan likes it, Mom doesn't. Off to school #3 which is about 2000 miles out of the way and we decide it isn't worth the drive and don't even interview them. Since we have now been in the truck for about 3 hours tummies are starting to rumble. Lunch time, this shouldn't be a problem, we'll eat out today for a special treat, what kid doesn't like to eat out? Mine apparently. I offer lunch to my children, who at this time are starving to death and withering away to nothing, according to Tyler, and I get 3 different answers on what to have. We bicker back and forth for about 15 minutes all the while passing every fast food restaurant on the road, when finally Tyler and Ryan agree to have A&W. I agree - I'm starving to death now too! We arrive at the drive thru and spend another 15 minutes in front of the sign trying to decide what food is wanted. Tyler insists on eating a chili dog - in my truck - I battle him on it, I loose. He is now under strict orders with the consequence of immediate death that NO CHILI from his chili dog will touch ANY PART of my truck. Ryan who has ordered chicken is again singing "I go to school, I go to school". We pull into a space to eat and I wrap Tyler in 3 napkins and the paper bag the food came in to protected from any spills that I know he will make. He rolls his eyes at me and calls me a dork. Ryan has stopped chanting his school song and is now complaining his chicken doesn't taste good. Great, are we looking at a case of salmonella now? No, nothing that bad thankfully, just a confused child who is eating a hush puppy instead of a chicken finger. I correct the situation and he is happy. Dylan who has still been staring at us like we belong in the looney bin is now all smiles as he shoves chunks of chicken and fistfulls of french fries into his mouth. 'God don't choke' is all I can think as I watch him shove food in his mouth faster then the speed of lightning. I turn around in my seat, eager to take my first bite of food now that it is getting cold, and what do my eyes land upon? Two huge chili spills ON MY SEAT! "Um, Tyler? What is that?" I ask as I point to the chili. "It's chili" I get with yet another eye roll. How can this child miss 3 napkins and a paper bag and still spill on the seat? I blame his father, I don't know how or why, but I am sure some rare gene has been passed by his father to make this child as messy as he is. We clean up the chili, I scarf down my food and we head off to school #4. This school looks promising, we wake up Dylan who has fallen asleep now with a full belly and he is not happy. There's that look again like I should be in a looney bin - does he know something about me that I don't know? We enter school #4 and are informed that the second building 5 blocks away will be the one holding preschool classes. Load all 3 boys back into the truck and drive to the other location. We do not stop, this second building is Aunt Bertha's trailer!! Ryan's happy chants have now turned into whines of "why don't I have a school yet Mama?" and Tyler's bribed enthusiasm has turned into "Are we done yet, I'm bored! Just put him in the school I liked best!" Then the bickering starts again between the older boys "I liked it so you'll go there" "I don't like it and won't go" - back a forth for the next 10 minutes until we arrive at school #5. This is the last school on our list. Please God let this one be the one, I can not stand to do more research on schools and get back in the truck for another 3 hours with these children! We walk in and are immediately greeted by Ms. Barbie (yes this is her real name!) She smiles at Ryan, he smiles back - this is good! We tour the school, Ryan is in awe, even though his classroom is "broken" (being remodeled) at the moment. We all smile, this one is good, we sign the papers! Ryan is beside himself with joy as we load back into the truck one last time to head home, chanting "I have a school now, I have a school now!" I sigh in relief that the day of traveling all over the county is over and we are set with a school for Ryan and then I am met with Tyler's eye roll and a classic smart-aleck question of "why didn't we just come to this school first?"

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