First days of school

Last week at this time, I could only theorize how the week would go. Doug started his "new job" on Monday morning. The boys and I joined him (and the other residents/families) in the afternoon for a tour of Fellowship Bible Church. I'm not sure what happened that morning, but it was full of fights, tears, and just general chaotic behavior nonsense. Perhaps Daddy going to work was the reality that we had officially moved in. Life began. Vacation over. Zach still talked excitedly about school, but Sam was sending mixed signals about how he was feeling about kindergarten. So, when Wednesday morning arrived, I didn't know what to expect. The only thing I knew is that my face had to remain most confident in the chance that "someone" would break down.

Alarm set for 6am. Cinnamon rolls out of the oven by 6:30. Boys were groggy, but excited about getting out of bed. They looked so sharp ready for school in their uniforms. Sneakers and socks along with shirts tucked in w/belt is all new for us. Sam wanted to have a packed lunch for the first day, while Zach was happy to have a "tray lunch". He was all about the turkey corndog. I wasn't surprised that Sam wanted one normal routine thing in his day (turkey/cheese sandwich, 5 carrots, homemade granola bar, snack sticks, and juice). Zach insisted on having something in his backpack, so he slipped Smiley (one of his stuffed zebras) in all on his own.

All five of us arrived at school at 7:10 to walk them to their classes. Zach's teacher handed us more forms to fill out as he hung up his backpack and found his nametag before

sitting down to color at a table. Sam was the first to arrive in his classroom and had some trouble finding his name by the hooks since the teacher used his full name instead of "Sam". There's a little girl named Samia in his class too, so that was throwing him off. His class is grouped in four tables, so he found his name at table number two with the green basket. As you can tell in the pic, he was happy to be there and ready to see what kindergarten was really all about. While Doug bought "communication folders" from the school bookstore, I put some money in their cafeteria accounts and took some paperwork to the office. I snapped the shot of Zach in his class

when I returned the forms back to Zach's teacher. In keeping with his normal demeanor, he didn't notice me being there again. Then, Doug, Eli and I went to have a little breakfast together before Doug's day started. I really enjoyed piddling around the house that day. Eli took a long nap. I really don't think it was any longer than normal. It just seemed so, because I was alone. I couldn't wait to hear what they had to say when I picked them up, but I did get some good chores done around the house with Chris Tomlin as the only background noise.

Carpool will hopefully get faster as the days go on. Smile. Once in the car, Zach's first words were, "Ms. Piazza says, 'I'm sorry to say that there are no stuffed animals allowed at school'." He used that "I'm sorry to say" phrase several times that evening, so it must have made an impression. It was fun to hear them chatter to each other about their day. It was hard not to pepper them with questions. Overall, they said their first day was "great".

And, it's been just as great the rest of last week, too. On the first day, Zach said that the music they played during rest-time distracted him and he just couldn't sleep. But, on the second day, he did nap (an hour is allotted), and we could tell because he was still awake at 10pm. Sam named a couple boys and talked about playing "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" at recess with them. They have been eager to show me what's in their folder (when there has been something). I think it was Thursday that Zach came home with two papers that had just colored round scribbles on them.

One had his name; the other didn't. He wouldn't let me rest until I helped him write his name on the blank one. [We think he might be left-handed, so it's hard to know which hand to favor.] Then, he proceeded to lead us (me and Sam) in coloring a rainbow of our own. He told us it was in the shape of a C, then went on to tell us the colors to color in order (ya know, ROY G BIV). Not sure if that was what his scribbles were supposed to be in school or not. But he was very confident as he finished his rainbow.

Sam wrote his name (he has never wanted to practice letters) on all his papers so far. He sometimes flips the S and sometimes he gets it right. He's so ready to learn ... I can't wait to see how fast he gobbles up everything this year. Zach was all hands on deck to help me put together homemade pizza on Friday night, while Sam was outside with Doug. He just jabbered away to me. I have a feeling he's probably pretty quiet and compliant at school ... and maybe missing some "mom time". It was fun to have him so eager to help. It sounds like "homework" starts this week for Sam. Yippee.