Back to School

I was ELATED when Michael drove off to school with
Jack and Emma this morning. I got my groove going and had two loads of laundry done by noon. I redoubled my Christmas take down efforts (no comments on how long it took). Lily agreed to go grocery shopping with me, she held the list.

At 1:30 I heard the doorbell ring. A little odd in the middle of the day, but not totally unexpected. I opened the door to find a couple neighborhood boys. One of them goes to the same school as Jack. I had a moment of panic, thinking I sent my kids to school and there was no school. Since I knew that wasn't the case, I had to gently tell the truant boy that he was missing school. He had a look of panic/embarrassment on his face. I only laughed a bit, and then I laughed a little harder when I remembered that his mom is a teacher in the school district. We (the charter school) went back today, the rest of the district returns on Thursday.

Sick Day

The first sick day of the school year goes to Jack. He woke up with a sore throat and said it hurt to swallow. Well, let's just say he's going to school tomorrow sore throat or not.

The school year has started with a bang so far. We've have good days and bad days. Tears have been shed over homework. The kids have been getting used to waking up early and going to bed earlier.

Tomorrow is "Dress of Choice" day. I can't wait to see what Emma chooses. Jack dresses for comfort not style.

It's the Best Time of the Year

Look at those bright eager smiles.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Back To School Time

We start school a little earlier this year. August 19th is "D" day in our district. I haven't started school supply shopping yet, but I have managed to find a few pairs of uniform slacks for Jack and Emma. For the most part, I like having the kids wear uniforms. There are no argument about what to wear in the mornings. That being said, it can get a little spendy when you *gasp* have to pay FULL price for a pair of slacks.

Emma will have a new addition to her ensemble this year. The kids are required to wear a belt when they start 2nd grade. I've been keeping my eyes peeled for a "girlish" belt that is not encrusted with sparkles and rhinestones. A plain belt is not an easy thing to find when you're looking.

And So It...

Ends. Today is the last day of school. I've been anticipating and dreading this day for a while. I am looking forward to no homework, washing uniforms, and the driving to and from school.

I am wholly unprepared for the Summer. Last year I was angsting about what to do with the kids during the Summer that I was slightly more prepared. I had workbooks, summer programs scoped out, and swimsuits ready for the pool. This year? The kids bikes don't have flat tires. That's a step in the right direction, right?

Spirit Week

The kids have had "spirit week" at school. I'm a little bummed that I didn't take pictures all week.

Monday was pj day, who wouldn't want to go to school in their pjs?! Tuesday was "twin day". Jack's partner chose navy school pants and a red polo. Pretty easy to get right considering it is essentially a school uniform. Emma wore a white t-shirt and jeans. There was some mix up and her twin didn't wear what she wore. It's very dramatic being in first grade.

Wednesday was "Sports day". We don't really follow sports at our house, so the kids don't have team jerseys. I let the kids wear athletic shorts and faux sport shirts from Target. Close enough in my book.

Today is crazy hair and clash day. We've got today nailed.

Early Morning TV

I was up turning on the tv way too early this morning. We did get a considerable amount of snow yesterday and I just wanted to be sure that school was canceled. It's not that I mind school being canceled, I just like to know and can have some expectation of the day ahead. At about 5:15 AM the kid's school district had canceled school for the day.

Spring Break is supposed to start next week, it would appear that we are going to have an extra long Spring Break. Emma was also supposed to have a field trip today. She is a little disappointed that she isn't going. I'm sure she'll feel better knowing that the field trip will be rescheduled.

I need to find more gloves for the kids. Jack went out to play with some friends yesterday and forgot to wear snow pants and gloves. I'm sure he would have played longer but he nearly broke down the front door trying to get inside and get warm. His pants were frozen stiff and he broke down in tears because his hands were so cold. That was a lesson learned on what to wear when playing in the snow. (I need to find some empty bread sacks and tube socks)

Lily didn't want to touch the snow, she was warming up her thumb by sucking on it.

Snow Day

Well, there were rumor about a big snow storm, but I didn't believe. We rarely turn on the tv in the morning and today was no exception. I guess I should have been watching the news to find out about school closures. In the year and a half that we've been in Colorado the kids haven't had a single "snow day" for school. Today we are having our first snowed in day.

I woke Michael up to take the kids to school. I generally take the kids but I didn't want to go outside today. Maybe I should have thought about that before I sent Michael off to school with the kids. Michael showed up at school and wondered why there were no cars/kids. A nice Mom in a minivan stopped and told him there was no school due to snow. He turned back around and brought the kids home. Ironically the one day I get Michael to take the kids to school, he doesn't have to.

Last night we went to the library and got a few movies and books. Looks like we'll be watching movies and doing lots of drawing today. If we hadn't had "Springlike" weather the past couple weeks I'd enjoy this more. Spring break is next week...let's hope the kids have school tomorrow.

100 Days of School

Today was the 100th day of school. Emma's shirt says it all.

Before school, Emma came bouncing down the stairs already dressed for school. That was a little unusual, but it was dress of choice day and I figured that she was excited to pick out her clothes. Her initial outfit consisted of the green shirt as the bottom layer followed by another t-shirt and a sweater covering them. She was also wearing a long brown shirt scrunched at her waist layered over her jean skirt. To really pull this off she needed mismatched leg warmed, alas she does not own leg warmers.

I did have her take off the brown shirt, but I was ok with the rest of the outfit. I didn't realize what the green shirt had on it.

After school, Emma is holding her lunch bag in front of her covering her shirt. She very quietly says, "Mom, I have to tell you something." I immediately think, "What did she do?!" Emma continues by lowering her lunch bag and shows me her shirt.

I was a little confused, thinking that maybe she did it at school. Nope, she had planned out the whole thing the night before. I was honestly too relieved that she hadn't misbehaved in school to care about the shirt. Emma and I had a talked about how we treat clothes and sneaking. I'm not sure it was a very effective talk considering I had to keep turning around and laughing.

No School Today

I woke up @ 4:30 AM and thought; "Ugg, it's Monday. I have to take the kids to school."
Well, it was definitely Monday, but the kids have the entire week off. On one hand I am happy to not be running around, on the other...well, the kids have the ENTIRE week off.

In a spirit of cooperation and desperation, I'm enlisting my kids to "deep" clean the house. We made a list of things that need to get done and they get to earn money for doing these extra chores. I am selling them on the idea that they get to earn this money for Christmas. I must have done a good job selling the idea, they were actually excited to do a few of the chores. So far, Jack is in the lead with $.75 followed up by fifty cents for each girl.

Tomorrow we'll be working outside once it warms up. Who wants a rake?

Dress of Choice

The kids wear "uniforms" to school which is good for me, a bit boring for them. The last school day of the month is "dress of choice" day which all the kids look forward to. Emma was so excited to get to choose her outfit that she started laying out her outfit last night. Jack just wants to wear comfy clothes.

Emma went boho chic with a hounds tooth dress, pink peter pan collared shirt, black leggings, and a new blue hat. I love that she looks a little like Punky Brewster.

The weather has definitely gotten colder. Lily is sporting her new winter coat, which I had been putting off getting. She had opinions about pink...I wanted something that wouldn't show dirt. She was pleased as punch that the jacket had pink flowers on it.

Crazy Day

This afternoon we had Parent/Teacher conferences for Jack and Emma. I had a bad night's sleep, woke up in a funk, and was dreading going to a certain conference. In an attempt to get out of the funk I stayed as busy as I could all day. That's not hard when Lily follows me and undoes everything that I've just done. (she's awfully cute doing it)

Usually I get babysitting so that we don't have to take the kids to the conferences. Being a slacker, I didn't get babysitting and Michael and I had to brave conferences with three kids. Luckily Jack and Emma are old enough to sit in the hallway and wait, but Lily hit a wall about halfway through each conference.

The good news about both conferences were that they were fairly short and sweet. Not too many surprises and grades were pretty good. Emma made out pretty well. We decided to start paying for grades and she made off with eight hard earned dollars. Jack is working hard, he managed to earn $4.50. Money well spent.

Once conferences were over, my day got a lot better. Pulled off dinner for us and a family across that street. Made rolls that I was a little dubious would turn out..totally turned out. Had the kitchen completely cleaned before bed, and read to all the kids before bed.

School Pictures

Yup, it's that time of year again. I can't believe school pictures crept up on me again. I swore to myself last year that I was not going to spend the money on school pictures again, but here we are again. To buy bad pictures or not? That is the question.

The school is encouraging parents to dress their children in "fall" colors. They will have an environmental background. It screams 1970's. I especially love the log to lean on.

On the upside, I got Jack and Emma's haircut. If you'll notice, Emma's bangs are a little crooked, but isn't that the charm of school pictures.

A+ For Effort

We did it! Emma has such a good week at school that she earned a reward for her efforts. She had a playdate with a friend on Friday afternoon.

Last week her teacher and I came up with a "sticker" program for good behavior at school. Emma and I sat down and discussed what kind of rewards she could earn by behaving at school. At first she wanted to earn toys. I nixed the idea because I didn't want more toys added to the millions they already have. Instead we came up with activities that she could do. The list included;

-invite a friend over
-make cookies with Mom
-paint nails
-go swimming
-rent a movie of her choice

Let's hope that we've turned a corner and will not have anymore "incident reports" . Dare I ask for more ideas to add to the reward list?

Off and Running

I've been relying on the sun to wake me up and get the kids ready for school. Well, the sun failed me this morning. I sprung out of bed at 7:27. We usually leave the house at 7:55. Emma and Jack desperately needed showers and I had planned on waking up a little earlier to get that done. Well, the shower was more important than getting to school a little late.

The kids were showered, dressed, feed, and in the car by 7:59. Still enough time to get to school with minutes to spare. I forgot to sign a paper for Emma, rushed inside to grab it and go. We missed the window of "train free" car ride to school. There are train tracks that bisect the route to school. We got to the train tracks just as the arms came down. Whoops.

Jack and Emma were late to school and it was completely my fault. I guess I need to set my alarm and start waking up to that instead of the sun.

Cornered On The Playground

A standing rule at our house is that during the school week, no friends over to play except on Fridays...and Saturdays. This was enacted to "motivate" Jack to get his homework done and mostly to counteract the chaos of school days. That's not to say that he doesn't play with neighborhood friends during the week. I mostly don't want to worry about setting up playdates and worry about driving my kids from here to there and everywhere.

After school, I was cornered on the playground. Two of Jack's friends had come up with a master plan and proceeded to TELL ME what they wanted to do at our house. I already had a long day at that point, long story involving Emma and her third "opps" report. I was in no mood to negotiate with terrorists.

I proceeded to tell one young ruffian that he was not allowed to come to our house until I talked to his parents and that he'd have to wait another day. Tears immediately followed. I've seen tears before. I was not swayed by the tears. A minute later the father walks up. I've met him before and I was pleasant when I said, " Hi, how's it going?"

His reponse; "Well, that depends on how the next minute of conversation goes."

WHAT?!

Once again, I do not negotiate with terrorists. I proceeded to tell him that since we didn't have plans that his child couldn't spring it on me and come over. I had a momentary lapse of sanity and threw him a bone by saying that he could call and set up a future playdate. How bad would it be to be "gone" all weekend and screen my calls?

Back to School

I'm not sure who was more excited, me or Emma. Jack had a case of "the nerves" this morning and kept balking at going to school. In all fairness, he was having an allergy attack and looked like he could use a day in bed. (No such luck on the first day of school!)Emma found her friend Morgan and marched right into school. No need to walk in with her, she barely waved goodbye as she started First grade.
Jack's teacher came prepared with a sign, which was a smart move on her part. The first day is always a little chaotic with more parents than children. Especially the ones with cameras :).

Good Enough

I've been avoiding the task of hemming Jack's school pants. As you may recall, Jack wore a hole in his last pair of Khakis the very last week of school. Well, I wasn't in a hurry to hem pants all Summer but I decided to bite the bullet and get it done.

I am not a sewer. I don't have the patience or inclination to spend the time. Sometimes I feel a tug to go sew something, but it is usually something banal and perfunctory like hemming pants. Jack has three new pairs of shorts, they aren't pretty, but they're good enough.

School Registration

I wasn't the first one in line at the kid's school for registration, but I could've been. This year feels very different from last, in that we are actually ready for school. Moving in July/August is fairly nerve racking when it comes to getting kids ready for the following school year. Things are much calmer this year.

So, we went to turn in the million papers that the school would like in order for them to attend school. Hopefully I won't be filling out duplicate forms this year. I think last year because we didn't go through the regular registration process the school kept losing our filled out forms.

We did find out the kids' teachers. Not really knowing the teachers, I think that we'll be happy with whom we got. I did try and request a male teacher for Jack, but no luck there. I think that all the parents of boys wanted this teacher just because it's a rarity to have a male elementary teacher. Jack was also separated from his friend Elijah, I think this is a good thing, however Jack is REALLY good at making friends wherever he goes.

T minus 12 days.

Let The Count Down Begin

I had put the start of the school year out of my head. It seemed so far off that I didn't dare think of the day the the kids would be back in school. To top it off, Emma and Jack are on the same all day schedule. Lily will get to feel like an "only" child for a year.

When I was discussing the start date of school I had thought that it started around the 22nd or 23rd of August. Then I was informed that the 23rd was a Saturday. Well, I jumped up and went to find the school calendar to check my dates. Much to my surprise and glee, school starts on the 18th!!!!

Time to start restocking school supplies. I think the kids are ok on school uniforms until it gets cold enough to stop wearing shorts. I hit the penny sales at office Max and Depot. There is still a long list of things to get, but it's like Christmas shopping.

Wahoo!!! It's the most wonderful time of the year.