What can I say? Spiderman has officially started preschool. And I can tell you...H. and I were bored to tears until his return. As if it weren't bad enough starting one child...now I have 2 children gone and that is more than half of my offspring. But you could not imagine a more excited 4 year old.
It all started last night when I found him lying in bed at 10:30 p.m. still staring at the ceiling of his bedroom with a big, happy grin on his face. Then he came in at 4:00 a.m. and again at 6:00 a.m. to ask if it were time to go to preschool yet. Finally his alarm clock went off at 7:00 a.m. and by 7:02 a.m. he was standing at the side of our bed, fully dressed wearing his Spiderman backpack, bed made, room cleaned up, asking if it was time to go yet! It really was a contagious, "something really big is about to happen" kind of feeling!
After chicken nuggets and mandarin oranges for breakfast (his choice), we all piled in to the car and drove the boy to preschool. He is going to school where J. attends so it is a very grown up feeling to be whisked away to the "big kid" school. He got out of the car clutching the straps of his backpack, grabbed my hand, and bravely started marching for the entrance. We had packed his extra set of clothes and underwear and a "light" snack and he kept asking to make sure I hadn't forgotten to put those things in his backpack.
We entered the preschool door and M. clutched my hand as we walked over to find the hook with his name. He hung up his crisp, new backpack and quickly wandered over to the table where the kids were working on an "M" paper...now this was a good omen since his name starts with "M" and it happens to be his "very favorite letter"! M. got to work and suddenly C. and I were very out of place accessories in the preschool room. Both of us let out a little sigh and then C. said, "Well, I guess that's it. Should we go?" I don't know what we were waiting for. We desperately didn't want him to be sad or nervous about us leaving...but maybe we were hoping he would be a TINY bit nervous or sad about seeing us go. It is the realization that he was completely ready but as his parents, we weren't quite ready to see him be so grown up and independent.
OK, so I haven't lost touch with the fact that we are talking about preschool here, not college but it still has gone so fast and our Spiderman is going to be 5 years old in a month. It was a great moment seeing him march into preschool but one tinged with a little bit too much reality. Those kids that you think are NEVER going to get any older are suddenly a little bit older and so much changes in the blink of an eye. I have to admit I was really, really happy to go pick him up. And it was the most fabulous ride home from school with M. in the back seat telling me all the wonders of his first day in preschool. It is his OWN experience that only he will be able to share with us and I could tell really quickly how much this was going to mean to him.I can't wait to share every minute with him!
Monday, August 27, 2007
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Car Pool Nerd
Now we all know that I was a little emotional on J.'s first day of school. I arrived 15 whole minutes early to pick him up just because I wanted to be first in the car pool line and show all the other kids whose mom loved them the best! So I pull up close to the front of the line, and I get this little tap on my window. I roll it down and the car pool lady says, "I'm so sorry. I noticed you don't have a number on your front windshield."
I respond with, "What number? I didn't know anything about a number? What is this number thing?"
Car pool nazi sends me in to the front office to go register for a number. I head back out to the minivan, still parked in the front of the school, put my number in the windshield and look at the clock. Whew, still 3 minutes to spare.
Another tap on the window. I roll it down again to find car pool nazi smiling awkwardly. "I noticed you got a number."
Me: Yes.
Nazi: I'm so sorry. You have a blue number and this is the gold lane. I'm going to have to ask you to move.
Me: Where am I moving to?
Nazi lady points down the street and around the corner and half-way through the city where cars are piled up waiting.
Me: (speechless)
I pull to the end of the hideous line where I wait until 10 minutes after school has let out before I even move 6 inches and then another 15 minutes until I get back up to the school to pick up my little first grader who has now been waiting 25 minutes. I'm in the right lane, paid my dues and I can't find my son. I finally roll down the window and ask J.'s teacher where he is. She answers, "Oh, he is sitting inside the gym because you didn't have a carpool number."
I am not making this up. Not one line of it. I had to park the car, take the kids out, haul *&# into the school where my child is sitting in the middle of the school gym looking a little dazed. The funny thing was...there wasn't a single adult in sight to "check" him out or verify that I had complied with the very complex school car pool number legislation. We just walked right out.
J: Mom, why are you so late?
Mom: It's a long story J. but I want you to know something. Despite what it may seem, your mom really does love you the best!
I respond with, "What number? I didn't know anything about a number? What is this number thing?"
Car pool nazi sends me in to the front office to go register for a number. I head back out to the minivan, still parked in the front of the school, put my number in the windshield and look at the clock. Whew, still 3 minutes to spare.
Another tap on the window. I roll it down again to find car pool nazi smiling awkwardly. "I noticed you got a number."
Me: Yes.
Nazi: I'm so sorry. You have a blue number and this is the gold lane. I'm going to have to ask you to move.
Me: Where am I moving to?
Nazi lady points down the street and around the corner and half-way through the city where cars are piled up waiting.
Me: (speechless)
I pull to the end of the hideous line where I wait until 10 minutes after school has let out before I even move 6 inches and then another 15 minutes until I get back up to the school to pick up my little first grader who has now been waiting 25 minutes. I'm in the right lane, paid my dues and I can't find my son. I finally roll down the window and ask J.'s teacher where he is. She answers, "Oh, he is sitting inside the gym because you didn't have a carpool number."
I am not making this up. Not one line of it. I had to park the car, take the kids out, haul *&# into the school where my child is sitting in the middle of the school gym looking a little dazed. The funny thing was...there wasn't a single adult in sight to "check" him out or verify that I had complied with the very complex school car pool number legislation. We just walked right out.
J: Mom, why are you so late?
Mom: It's a long story J. but I want you to know something. Despite what it may seem, your mom really does love you the best!
First Day of School
J. has officially started first grade. He is surviving beautifully and I am surprising myself but not having the emotional attacks I expected. I spent the summer dreading the start of school. I thought kindergarten last year was the perfect blend of education and freedom. He went to school every day for 3 hours and then he came home and played. All day school would appeal more if he weren't such a pleasant person to be around. I love hanging out with the boy...I love going on field trips and adventures my kids and discovering new things to explore together. I love J.'s questions and observations and running commentary. I love being the one to teach him new things. Love it. But there are lots of things I want for my boy that I alone can't provide. So off to school we go.
Things started a week ago when the kids and I headed out for a little school shopping. First stop...Target. M. got a new backpack and H. got a Hello Kitty lunchbox (that she thinks is a backpack). The boys chose an alarm clock and only a preschooler and a first grader could be so excited about waking up to an alarm clock. It was the highlight purchase of the day. Everyone got new underwear and socks. Doesn't it just seem like items every child should have when starting school?
On to Children's Place where I found the deal of the century...last year's shorts for $1.99 plus 25% off. One pair in blue, one pair in stone, both in J.'s size. I took it as a gracious sign from God that we were on the right track with the whole school thing. We got shorts, shirts, new sturdy shoes...and then stopped at Cold Stone for a little school shopping treat!
Fast forward. Monday night for FHE C. gave each child a special father's blessing. They were beautiful and I once again felt overwhelmed with gratitude to have a husband and father who not only holds the priesthood, but honors it in every way possible. I truly felt strengthened and uplifted and felt as if angels were in place to ensure that each of us would be guided, protected, and inspired as we approached all this new year held for us. A miracle right in our front living room!
Tuesday morning dawned bright and early. The boys' alarm clock was shrieking and irritating and got us all out of bed. The kids did their chores and then we met around the kitchen table as a family for prayers, scripture reading, and cinnamon rolls and bacon. I made J.'s lunch with all his favorites...turkey sandwich on white bread with Dijon mustard, a little container of pizza flavored Pringles chips, and an applesauce. I put a spoon, folded napkin and a little note from his Mom in the brown paper sack that had his name sprawled across the front. With more enthusiasm than I have ever seen from a person whose childhood freedom has ended and 12 years of full day school sentence starting, J. bounded out to the car like he was headed to Disneyland. Off to school the whole family went.
We walked him in and watched the games unfold. The entire school met in the gym for a hideously boring welcome speech from the principal and some other lady who I don't know and then they were off to class. I cried a little but waved a lot. I took pictures and gave him hugs and then trotted off to the school library where I hung out cataloging books for the next 3 hours until I felt like I could walk out of the school and know I would see my boy again. I only checked on him once...he didn't see me. I just snuck my head around the corner. I really, really am not an overprotective parent. Really. This is just all been a little new for me and it represents a significant change in my life with J. Not in a bad way, just a new and different way.
J. will never be home with me full-time again. I share him now and although we are sending him to an amazing charter school that is filled with amazing people and wonderful experiences, no one will ever have his best interest at heart like I do. I love to teach and being able to share the wonders of the world around us with my children has been pure joy. I won't stop doing that but now I share that experience with a school that gets him for 7 hours a day. It is a paradigm shift and I don't always embrace change well.
I will write another post about the hilarious car pool incident at the end of school that really highlights what a clueless parent I am but needless to say, I finally picked my child up from school at the end of the day and HE LOVED IT! EVERY MINUTE of it! It was early out day for the first 2 days of school and he asked me the whole way home when he would be able to go to a FULL day of school. Today was his first FULL day of school and he said it felt like 3 minutes and then it was over. We've survived 3 days of school and he continues to love every minute. And you know what? It isn't so bad. I get to spend a whole day playing with M. and H. and I love this chance to be with them and get to know them in a whole new way. M. starts preschool on Monday so I'm bracing myself for the next big event but he is ready and excited and now I know it is all going to be OK.
So here is to crispy new school clothes, sharpened pencils, new boxes of crayons, and mother's tears as they watch little ones grow up! Hurray! May this school year be filled with grand adventure!
(P.S. I have a million pictures that I can't get to work on my poor broken down computer. I'll figure out a way to get it going! Stand by for darling pictures!)
Things started a week ago when the kids and I headed out for a little school shopping. First stop...Target. M. got a new backpack and H. got a Hello Kitty lunchbox (that she thinks is a backpack). The boys chose an alarm clock and only a preschooler and a first grader could be so excited about waking up to an alarm clock. It was the highlight purchase of the day. Everyone got new underwear and socks. Doesn't it just seem like items every child should have when starting school?
On to Children's Place where I found the deal of the century...last year's shorts for $1.99 plus 25% off. One pair in blue, one pair in stone, both in J.'s size. I took it as a gracious sign from God that we were on the right track with the whole school thing. We got shorts, shirts, new sturdy shoes...and then stopped at Cold Stone for a little school shopping treat!
Fast forward. Monday night for FHE C. gave each child a special father's blessing. They were beautiful and I once again felt overwhelmed with gratitude to have a husband and father who not only holds the priesthood, but honors it in every way possible. I truly felt strengthened and uplifted and felt as if angels were in place to ensure that each of us would be guided, protected, and inspired as we approached all this new year held for us. A miracle right in our front living room!
Tuesday morning dawned bright and early. The boys' alarm clock was shrieking and irritating and got us all out of bed. The kids did their chores and then we met around the kitchen table as a family for prayers, scripture reading, and cinnamon rolls and bacon. I made J.'s lunch with all his favorites...turkey sandwich on white bread with Dijon mustard, a little container of pizza flavored Pringles chips, and an applesauce. I put a spoon, folded napkin and a little note from his Mom in the brown paper sack that had his name sprawled across the front. With more enthusiasm than I have ever seen from a person whose childhood freedom has ended and 12 years of full day school sentence starting, J. bounded out to the car like he was headed to Disneyland. Off to school the whole family went.
We walked him in and watched the games unfold. The entire school met in the gym for a hideously boring welcome speech from the principal and some other lady who I don't know and then they were off to class. I cried a little but waved a lot. I took pictures and gave him hugs and then trotted off to the school library where I hung out cataloging books for the next 3 hours until I felt like I could walk out of the school and know I would see my boy again. I only checked on him once...he didn't see me. I just snuck my head around the corner. I really, really am not an overprotective parent. Really. This is just all been a little new for me and it represents a significant change in my life with J. Not in a bad way, just a new and different way.
J. will never be home with me full-time again. I share him now and although we are sending him to an amazing charter school that is filled with amazing people and wonderful experiences, no one will ever have his best interest at heart like I do. I love to teach and being able to share the wonders of the world around us with my children has been pure joy. I won't stop doing that but now I share that experience with a school that gets him for 7 hours a day. It is a paradigm shift and I don't always embrace change well.
I will write another post about the hilarious car pool incident at the end of school that really highlights what a clueless parent I am but needless to say, I finally picked my child up from school at the end of the day and HE LOVED IT! EVERY MINUTE of it! It was early out day for the first 2 days of school and he asked me the whole way home when he would be able to go to a FULL day of school. Today was his first FULL day of school and he said it felt like 3 minutes and then it was over. We've survived 3 days of school and he continues to love every minute. And you know what? It isn't so bad. I get to spend a whole day playing with M. and H. and I love this chance to be with them and get to know them in a whole new way. M. starts preschool on Monday so I'm bracing myself for the next big event but he is ready and excited and now I know it is all going to be OK.
So here is to crispy new school clothes, sharpened pencils, new boxes of crayons, and mother's tears as they watch little ones grow up! Hurray! May this school year be filled with grand adventure!
(P.S. I have a million pictures that I can't get to work on my poor broken down computer. I'll figure out a way to get it going! Stand by for darling pictures!)
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Around the World
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome my fabulous sister-in-law to the world of blogging. The girl is only in her mid 20's but has literally traveled the world. She leads the most fascinating life and I love living vicariously through her adventures. And she is an amazing photographer. She is leaving in a few days for 4 months in India, Thailand, and Hong Kong. Hold on to your hats folks...if I know Cimberly, it will be one fantastic ride!
CIMBERLY'S AMAZING ADVENTURES
CIMBERLY'S AMAZING ADVENTURES
Tagged
I think Jessica tagged me. Does this mean I answer those questions on my blog? I've never been super clear about the tagging thing. I feel so old.
Here goes:
Job's I've Held:
1. Tons of retail stuff
2. Tons of receptionist jobs (engineering firm, travel agency, chiropracters office...)
3. Elementary School teacher
4. Library story teller
Places to go for a weekend getaway:
1. What's that?
2. San Diego, CA
3. A cabin in the mountains.
4. Somewhere where I don't have to cook, clean, wipe bums, or watch PBS Kids.
Movies I can watch over and over:
1. Singin' In the Rain
2. Charlie and Lola (any volume)
3. Princess Bride
4. Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, & Return of the Jedi
Guilty Pleasures:
1. Shopping at Target
2. Chocolate chip cookie dough
3. Reading books late in to the night when I should be sleeping (I just HAD to agree with Jessica on this one!)
4.Getting loaded potato bites and a rootbeer from Arby's, a People magazine from Wal-Mart, and then just sitting in the mini-van in the parking lot late at night enjoying all the delicious alone time!
Places I've Lived:
1. St. Louis, MO
2. Boston, MA
3. Goteborg, Sweden
4. Provo, Utah
What were likely the first things you thought of when you saw your significant other for the first time:
1. He has such great "happy" eyes!
2. He doesn't even know I exist!
3. I really like the goatie...
4. Cute bum!
Places I've been on Vacation:
1. Nantucket, MA
2. Western Europe
3. Vernal, UT (just went last week...had a great time!)
4. camping in the great Rocky mountains!
Favorite Foods:
1. Baked potato (actually, any kind of potato!)
2. Steak
3. cookie dough
4. pasta stuff
If in a "jam" with your spouse, what tactics do you use to get out of the doghouse?
1. Go get the loaded potato bites, rootbeer, People magazine, and give the situation some space!
2. Go to bed.
3. Pray...lots.
4. Try to put things in perspective...
Websites I visit Almost daily:
1. blogs
2. my email
3. my bank account
4. shabbyapple.com (just can't get enough of the beautiful dresses right now!)
Places I would rather be right now:
1. A cruise in the Caribbean
2. A cabin in the mountains
3. A little vacation house on Nantucket island
4. In bed
Who sent this to me:
Jessica
Now I get to pick four other blog buddies to do this survey:
1. Abby J.
2. Emma Jo
3.Megan...come on cousin...get going!
4. Missy
Here goes:
Job's I've Held:
1. Tons of retail stuff
2. Tons of receptionist jobs (engineering firm, travel agency, chiropracters office...)
3. Elementary School teacher
4. Library story teller
Places to go for a weekend getaway:
1. What's that?
2. San Diego, CA
3. A cabin in the mountains.
4. Somewhere where I don't have to cook, clean, wipe bums, or watch PBS Kids.
Movies I can watch over and over:
1. Singin' In the Rain
2. Charlie and Lola (any volume)
3. Princess Bride
4. Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, & Return of the Jedi
Guilty Pleasures:
1. Shopping at Target
2. Chocolate chip cookie dough
3. Reading books late in to the night when I should be sleeping (I just HAD to agree with Jessica on this one!)
4.Getting loaded potato bites and a rootbeer from Arby's, a People magazine from Wal-Mart, and then just sitting in the mini-van in the parking lot late at night enjoying all the delicious alone time!
Places I've Lived:
1. St. Louis, MO
2. Boston, MA
3. Goteborg, Sweden
4. Provo, Utah
What were likely the first things you thought of when you saw your significant other for the first time:
1. He has such great "happy" eyes!
2. He doesn't even know I exist!
3. I really like the goatie...
4. Cute bum!
Places I've been on Vacation:
1. Nantucket, MA
2. Western Europe
3. Vernal, UT (just went last week...had a great time!)
4. camping in the great Rocky mountains!
Favorite Foods:
1. Baked potato (actually, any kind of potato!)
2. Steak
3. cookie dough
4. pasta stuff
If in a "jam" with your spouse, what tactics do you use to get out of the doghouse?
1. Go get the loaded potato bites, rootbeer, People magazine, and give the situation some space!
2. Go to bed.
3. Pray...lots.
4. Try to put things in perspective...
Websites I visit Almost daily:
1. blogs
2. my email
3. my bank account
4. shabbyapple.com (just can't get enough of the beautiful dresses right now!)
Places I would rather be right now:
1. A cruise in the Caribbean
2. A cabin in the mountains
3. A little vacation house on Nantucket island
4. In bed
Who sent this to me:
Jessica
Now I get to pick four other blog buddies to do this survey:
1. Abby J.
2. Emma Jo
3.Megan...come on cousin...get going!
4. Missy
Thursday, August 16, 2007
NEW BLOG!
My cute husband has posted new blogs! I'm so pleased. He always makes me laugh with his posts so hop on over and be encouraging!
CHRIS' BLOG
CHRIS' BLOG
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