Successful first week of school!

Maggie and Cassie are having a very good time at school. The first day went well, I didn't cry like I thought I would (I didn't want to upset them, so held it in)

We told Nate that we would take him to the donut shop after we saw the girls get settled. He was totally fine. Donuts make everything better.

We drove to the bus stop the first day. Lino, Nate and I drove up to the school to see them settled in. I nearly lost it when they told me they aren't babies anymore. Sniff. They will always be my babies.

Getting on the bus:

Lockers for their stuff:

Coming home!!!!! I was so excited to see them. There was just a slight small glitch with drop off, but Lino called the bus company to clarify things and it is taken care of now.

So, we all did fine. Maggie had a bit of a sad the first day, but the teacher helped her through it. It is a huge adjustment for all of us, but a good one!

Biting my tongue...

I can get pretty worked up over things that I feel strongly about. I am biting my tongue and not posting a reply to something I read on a forum I visit.


This is what was posted:

I'm starting my new job today! After three years of being a stay at home mom, I am so excited to be able to get out of the house and be me (Selfish, I know). At the same time, I haven't had a "real job" for three years, and that makes me nervous as all get out! I have no experience in this line of work, and I hope I'm not too overwhelmed. I heard today will be quite busy/stressful. Here I go! Wish me luck!

I do want to wish her well at her new job. However, being a stay at home mom is a real job! It bothers me when people say it isn't. It is work--hard work. All day and all night, 7 days a week. The rewards are superb, however, and I feel very fortunate and blessed that I have been home with my children.

So, rather than wish her well (and potentially type something that could be read wrong), I just didn't post anything. And am posting it here instead.

Tooth fairy and random stuff

Maggie lost her 2nd tooth the other day. (On the bottom, center right) Her big girl tooth had popped up behind it, just like the first lost tooth. It was starting to get really wiggly and when I checked it on Wednesday, it pulled right out! She was so excited.

The tooth fairy leaves small prizes, instead of money. Isn't it amazing that the tooth fairy brought her new purple playdoh, just like she wanted? Such a smart tooth fairy.

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The Kindergarten playdate went well. Maggie and Cassie had a great time playing with the other kids. Nate had fun climbing. Cassie was super excited to see the friend that we know there. They played really well together.

At one point, I was walking around the play structure to help Nate, and I hear a boy "He won't be my friend" The mom responds with, "Let go of him, he'll be your friend". The bigger boy had the other kid in a headlock! Mom didn't seem terribly concerned. I think he (bigger boy) is in the morning session with Maggie and Cassie. I certainly hope he calms down in school....

Maggie and a little boy played together quite a bit. When we got home, Maggie and Lino were walking down the hallway, and all of a sudden Lino says "WHAT??!" Apparently the little boy told Maggie that she was his girlfriend, and when they get bigger they have to be mean to each other. Oy.

My girls have no idea about boyfriends/girlfriends, so I just told her that yes, she was his friend and she is a girl.

Lino is ready to start a D.A.D.D's club. Dad's Against Daughter's Dating. He thinks that the dads' could register the boys, after they pass a regimen of tests and things, and then they would be allowed to date the daughters.

*******

I have been staying up way too late, trying to watch the Olympics. I had to read about the mens beach volleyball this morning. I just couldn't watch the end, I was so sleepy.

I was so excited for Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor. They looked awesome. They haven't lost a match in over a year! Can you imagine? How come at career day in High School, noone talked about Beach Volleyball? I would have loved that.

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Football season starts soon. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any preseason games due to the Olympics.

::sarcasm ahead::

I love how the NFL seems to have forgotten and banished the Patriots from primetime opening weekend games. They went the entire season winning, and sure, they lost the Superbowl, but they still were amazing. I am pretty sure that the NFL saw some increased ratings as people tuned in to watch the Pats. They aren't in any of the Primtime slots. Really? Your wonder team suddenly isn't good enough? Come on.

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So less than a week to go. Maggie and Cassie are very excited to start. I asked that they be in the same class. Between the allergy and never having been separated, I thought it would be better.

Kindergarten orientation

Today was orientation day for Maggie and Cassie. Lino was able to switch his schedule for work so he had the morning off and attended also.

The teacher seems very nice. Maggie and Cassie each made a drawing for her, and she listened when they gave them to her, which is good. The classroom seems very fun, lots of bright colors and things to do. As it turns out, a friend of a friend is going to be in their class, so they already know someone!

As part of the welcome packet there was a brief mention of snacks needing to be peanut free, and the nurse touched on reading labels to know what is safe. I need to remind them that Cassie has a tree nut allergy, too, so some snacks (like the suggested granola) may not be safe.... I spoke with the nurse briefly afterwards, and she seemed to brush off my concern, but she also may have been in a hurry. I will have to see when I drop off Cassie's epipen and benedryl.

After the classroom part, the kids were lined up to walk to the bus, where they got a quick ride. Nate seemed very sad that they were going. He knows that they are going to school, but I don't think he understands exactly what that is. Lino mentioned that he thinks (and I agree) that Nate is going to have a hard time adjusting to his bestest buddies leaving every day!

While we were waiting for the bus to come back, we were chatting with the principal. She recognized the girls' names and remembered Cassie's allergy. As it turns out, the principal carries an epipen for a bee sting allergy. So she understands!! My migraine that I had last night/this morning may have been caused by my anxiety over the start of school and worry that Cassie's allergy won't be taken seriously. I felt better after my chat with the principal, though. She said that all the parents comply and are careful. It doesn't mean the worry is gone, but it helps.

There was paperwork to be filled out for volunteering, and as I checked off all of the things that I would be interested in helping with, Lino said to add his name to the paper, too; he wants to volunteer.. There were quite a few dads at orientation, which I thought was nice.

So next is a play date for the kindergarten kids, tomorrow night. Then, the following Wednesday is the big day!!! The principal said that we could put the kids on the bus and drive to school to see them off (so we will most definitely be part of the parade behind the bus!)

Playing catch up

Wow, it is almost halfway through August. Where does the time go?


Lino was on vacation for the first week. We had plans to finish scraping/painting the house. It rained pretty much the whole week.

We did a bunch of errands, put up Nate's bedroom furniture, converted Maggie and Cassie's beds into bunk beds. I still have to get pictures of their rooms. Maybe later today.


We took the kids bowling. Very fun. Although, we did have to remind them that real bowling is different than Wii bowling. They did really well, though. It was cute. There were only a couple of balls that went the wrong direction. Maggie and Cassie tried really hard to roll the balls the right way. Nate would kind of drop/push his and then turn right around and run back to the seats to watch.


Unlike when we went mini-golfing, I brought the camera. I was playing with settings, though, so not all of the shots were fabulous.




Finding balls that they could pick up (6 lbs)




Maggie:

Cassie:



Nate:

Watching.