Although let's get real here - there's a whole 2 week vacation I haven't blogged about yet, either. Dang it.
But. BUT. This start of the school year is even bigger than normal because ALL FOUR KIDS ARE IN SCHOOL ALL DAY!!!!!
Which means I have the house to myself.
Which means I can get a lot more done. Or do nothing at all. Or a little bit of both.
It's only been three days. I've done a bit of both.
The night before we introduced our new motto for the year:
We really need this motto. Heck, the whole world needs this motto. But the Madsens especially. Being kind is hard. I caught myself thinking that today as I got ready to yell at Josh about doing his morning chores. Growl. The motto kept me in check. (It did not, however, keep Josh in check. Double growl.) It came from this talk, in case you're interested.
The morning started early with Spencer. And poor kid, this is the only picture I got of him the whole day, taken just after 7am and in the rain. Oh well. Just look at last year's pictures. He's the same only taller and older and ohmygoshhowdoIhaveaseventhgradernow?!??! He's rockin' middle school. Really and truly. Spencer just rocks.
I only got one picture of Josh because that's all he would allow. That boy. He's in 4th grade, going on... 14th grade? I dunno, he just really, REALLY wants to be older. But he's still only 9. It's hard on both of us. The child has great hair and great taste in college t-shirts, though.
Josh's teacher's name is Mrs. Rohler and I've only met her once but I already love her because: 1) She seems totally fun but also totally no-nonsense. Kids in her class behave. 2) She's teaching cursive. Woo-hoo! 3) Her class is sports themed, which Josh is into. Not that he would admit it.
And then there's Cole. Cole is SUPER excited for 1st grade!! Just look at that roar of excitement!
And that roar of excitement!
This boy has been ready for 1st grade since halfway through Kindergarten. Three days in and he's complaining about how the stuff they're doing is boring because it's all review. (Sorry, Cole. Get used to all classes starting out that way.) His teacher's name is Mrs. Meyers, and she lives in our neighborhood. And... that's about all I know about her so far. She seems pretty great, though.
And then there's Tess. Tess is the first of my children to ever care about what they worse and what their hair looked like on the first day of Kindergarten. She chose a double braid. I did my best.
She chose a shirt with pictures of doughnuts and "I got nuts for doughnuts" at the bottom. Because "I really, really love doughnuts!"
This girl has NO FEAR. She refused to let me take her to school and DEMANDED that she get to ride the school bus.
Tess's teacher is Miss Lenhardt. She's young, has a Chicago suburbs accent, and told me that in her class they sing and dance. A Lot. This will be the perfect thing for my little diva.
Each Kindergartner wears a nametag to school for a couple of weeks in case they get lost.
The only picture I could get of all three of them where they were all facing forward.
There's Miss Tess. Not only did she demand to ride the bus, she literally pushed her brothers out of the way so she could get on first. That girl is going places. (And I don't mean just to school.)
This whole scene? Totally saved me from crying. I was getting a little emotional, but as soon as I saw her determination, that all went away. How could I be sad when she was so obviously excited?
I actually had to get ready that morning because there was a meeting for the Kindergarten parents at the school. I was a little put out about it because this ain't my first rodeo. It's my fourth. But I still went to show the teacher was an involved parent I am... or whatever. (Peer pressure. It was peer pressure.) And I didn't really need to be there, there wasn't anything new. However, I did get to witness this little interaction.
Mrs. Lenhardt (having explained what was going on for 3-4 minutes): Okay, so pay attention! When I call your name, please come line up in front of me. Okay?
Class: *terrified stares, looking into space, wiggling, general Kindergarteness*
Mrs. Lendhardt: Tess Madsen.
Tess (without missing a beat): WHAT.
*crickets chirping*
Tess (quickly jumping up): Oh yeah!
That's my girl.
So yeah, that pretty much made the meeting worth attending. Also, I was having a really good hair day. The humidity was juuuust right to make my curls actual curls and not a fuzzball of annoyance.
I look... like a mother who has all of her kids in school all day! Woo-hoo!
Tuesday was actually Lance and my 16th anniversary as well. We had had plans to go out that day, but they fell through. But that's okay, because he came home for lunch and the house was so quiet and peaceful with just the two of us there - just like when we were newlyweds!
Being alone during the day is taking getting used to. I keep catching myself mentally planning things in my head as if I have to work around preschool morning schedules. And while I was running errands today I thought more than once "Wait - where's Tess?"
And the house is QUIET. Unnaturally quiet. But. I was able to clean walls without anyone coming up to me, putting a sticky hand on the wall, and asking me what I was doing. And I listened to my music - LOUD - and no one complained about it. Or questioned my musical choices. (Today? 80's pop. You haven't lived until you've swept the kitchen floor to "Footloose".)
Like all new phases in life, this will take some time getting used to. But I suspect it won't take too long!
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