Late

Today I got the kids ready for school, worked for 8 hours and then went out with some friends. And I forgot my camera. When I got home it was about 10 and the house was dark and quiet. Peter and the kids were all sleeping. As I sat down to check my e-mail, my faithful companion got up from her bed and settled right behind me. Such a good puppy dog.

Finally school!

Mr. T started school today!!! Hooray! He was SO excited and ended up having a great day. The first day a parent goes with him so Peter went and he spent the three hours pretty much socializing with other parents. Mr. T is like the big man on campus. He knows where everything is, the teacher, the routine, the other kids - he is all over it. Peter and I have come up with some activities for him to do at home this year to supplement preschool so that he won't be bored and will be as ready as possible for kindergarten next year. I'm so proud of my little guy (who has incidentally informed me I can no longer call him "little guy" as he is now 4.)

Spiders and Football

Random thoughts for today:

1) The kids spent last night at my parents so we woke up this morning to a quiet house that we were remarkably able to keep clean for more than 10 minutes. (Thanks Mom!)

2) It is spider season, so there have been spiders everywhere - in the house around the house. The guy above built that web on our front porch overnight. At the beginning the kids would scream everytime they saw a spider and refuse to enter the room it was in. So I told them spiders eat mosquitos and they have been co-existing ever since. Now all the spiders in our house are named Henry.

3) This is my first year playing fantasy football with husband and friends and it has been a bit awkward. Who knew fantasy football was a boys game? They seem pretty uncomfortable having a girl in the league, and in turn I am REALLY REALLY trying to not be last, actually I would very much like to win but will settle for not being last. Which leads to another awkward thing - this week husband is last. Can I do a victory dance and post a lot of smack talk because I was fifth (or third from last for you negative folks)? Not so much. Fortunately, he is not the sort of guy who has a ton of ego invested in something like fantasy football. Which is one of the many things I love about him.

Soccer Game

Miss E had her first soccer game today. After one practice, they had a game. None of the kids knew what to do, the coaches weren't sure of the rules and they all had a blast. The ball was dropped and all six of them would converge on it. There was pushing, shoving and falling. But the kids all got up and got back in there. When it wasn't their turn to play, they sat on the sidelines picking flowers, trying on the bounds markers as hats and doing head-stands. It was just the most delightful morning, sitting in the sun-warmed grass (note to self: bring chair next time) and watching a group of 5-year olds kick it out in an aggressive manner over a soccer ball. And I discovered that apparently, I am the sort of parent who likes to micro-manage the coaching. Who would've thunk it? I guess it's a good thing Peter is the assistant coach.

Left behind

We have finished Miss E's first week of kindergarten and it has gone great. Better than great - it has been FANTASTIC. Those of you who know her know what a big deal this is. She is entering the classroom happy, riding the bus with ease, thriving on all the structure and rules and today was her first all school assembly ever and she was beyond words. Tomorrow is her first soccer game. It is all amazing, new and fun.

And we are all so happy for her. However, Mr. T does not start school until next week. He is also going to the same preschool where he has been for 2 years already. He has been home with us everyday not doing too much (hindsight -should have planned more exciting activities for him during first week of school) and he is a bit bored. He also has been to her amazing new school, looked at the huge library, seen the computer lab and her classroom. He has met her bus every day and listened to us excitedly ask her about activities and friends and teachers. And he is feeling very left behind and left out.

Today when she was telling us about her assembly she happened to let drop that they were having a movie night were you could bring your pillow to the gym and watch a movie. She also happened to leave out the part about it being for the whole family. At this point his head dropped to the counter and he started bawling. It was too much. And then as I reassured him that he could go as well, he looked up, with tears in his eyes, and said "I know, I was just joking" and my heart broke a little bit.

I'm not sure how to make this OK. His school IS going to be a bit boring this year. He has been there for 2 years already, and they do the same activities (with variations for ability) each year. I want to make this better for him and help him feel like he's not getting the short straw, but I don't know how. This is something that is really hard about having kids so close in age. He will be in Kindergarten next year but by then it won't be as shiny and new anymore. For now, we are going to really focus on him starting school next week and see if helps things look up a bit. And extra hugs. Always extra hugs.

Gifts

While waiting for the bus today, Mr. T picked up these little gifts for Miss E. 4 dandelion heads and a small rock (Ignore the wet rotting deck under them that is a story for another day. Sigh.)  He then assured me that he would pick the same for me too, except maybe one less because it was Miss E's second day at kindergarten and that was pretty special.

I tell you, that kids got charm in spades. SPADES I say. It will take him far. We also spent the morning making chocolate chip cookies which he got to mix. And guess what makes kindergartners happy when they get off the bus? Warm cookies and flowers.

First Day of Kindergarten

OK. I did cry. A little. After I dropped her off. She looked so unsure when I left - actually all the kids looked a bit shell-shocked. The classroom was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. I realized as I was there, how different this was than preschool. The building is huge. There are a ton of kids at school. The kids are all expected to know how they are getting home that day or if they are going to after-care. They come in, hang up their back-packs, wash their hands and tell the teacher that. Some kids said "bus" and their mom dropping them off would say "no, you're being picked up today". I was grateful once again for the kid that Miss E is. I know in the morning every day I can tell her what is happening after school and she will remember that and communicate it to her teacher.

As I left I wanted to give her about a million hugs and say "I love you" and "this will be OK - not just OK but great" but after about 2 of those people start looking at you funny. Including your kid. So I left, with a deep breath in my lungs, faith in my heart and some tears in my eyes.

Today I left her in the care of adults that I don't know. I have never done that before. See that guy driving the bus? I don't even know his name, have never even talked to him, yet he is driving my child around town. And I am letting him because I have faith that he is kind. And in fact, he did drive an extra loop around to give her a longer bus ride since it was the first day and she is the first stop. So I am grateful to him for that. For paying attention and making an effort. As for her, she was proud of herself for being so brave today. And I was proud of her for the same thing and proud of myself because, let me tell you, sending your kid off to kindergarten isn't for the faint of heart. (Unless you have older kids, then it probably doesn't seem like such a big deal. Or a lot of kids and you are ready to boot them all out of the house.)

A story from today:
Me: What were the rules you learned at circle time?
Her: If you want to say something you have to raise your hand and wait for the teacher to call your name. One kid rose his hand after that rule and when she called his name he said "fart". He was not being good.
Me: I guess not.