Teaching Tuesday--Finding a Preschool...

My two kids are still little.  My daughter is 3 months old and my son is 2.5 years old.  School has been one of the farthest things from my mind.  However, a recent conversation with an acquaintance got me thinking.  She was asking if I was going to be putting my son in preschool in the fall.  I hadn't even thought of it.  I'm a mom who's fighting to stay at home.  But I'm also an educator, highly valuing the efforts of teachers in our community.  And I'm very aware of what a blessing education is.

My delima is this: When do you put a child into preschool?  How do you find one and how do you afford it?  I'm looking for some creative, but practical solutions here.  Because although I still think my little guy is still too young to enter school, I'd like to have some "education" of my own before decision time comes.