BACK TO SCHOOL

On Monday night, Olivia and Nick and I went to "Meet the Teacher" night at their new school, Lewis and Clark Elementary. It was so fun and SO organized!! Nick was the first to find his classroom and he was a little quiet when we met his teacher, Mrs. Orr. She is a brand new teacher this year so she is probably as nervous as he is! Nick warmed up as soon as we found his name tag on his table and started putting away his school supplies. Soon it was time to leave and he was busy playing transformers with two of his classmates. He is going to LOVE kindergarten! Then it was off to Olivia's classroom on the other side of the school. Her teacher, Mrs. Jellison, met us at the door and said, "You must be Olivia! You just barely moved here! Did you get my postcard?" I could tell Olivia was immediately in love with her. Just a very spunky, cute lady who obviously enjoys her job very much. Olivia had a list of tasks to complete on her desk before we were able to leave. I signed up for parent/teacher conferences and to help as a room mom for the class parties. Nick wanted me to be in his class for Halloween so I signed up to help with Olivia's Valentine party. We headed to the cafeteria, where stations were set up so parents could make sure to get everything taken care of before the first day of school. I put money in their lunch accounts, bought school t-shirts, found out about the PTA, Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, etc., etc. Some students had "pre-ordered" their school supplies in the spring so they were picking up these neat little packages with everything they needed to start the year. What a great idea! If I didn't love shopping for school supplies so much, I may consider doing that next year! It was a fun night and really got both of the kids excited to start the year!
Today was the first day of school so Nick and Liv were up early, dressed in their new duds and eager for sprinkle pancakes. Olivia spent most of the morning telling Nick what he should expect at kindergarten. He didn't say much, but he wasn't acting too nervous either. Last night when I was trimming his nails, he told me he was worried that he wouldn't make any friends and that he would probably miss me. My heart broke into a million pieces while I tried to tell him how wonderful school was going to be and that, as long as he was kind to everyone, he would be able to make lots of new friends. We talked about one of our favorite books, Kissing Hand, and the little raccoon in the story who leaves his mommy to go to school. Nick decided to take part of his favorite blanket with him for rest time, thinking that might help him not feel so lonely. OH, WHY DO KIDS HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL AND LEAVE THEIR MOMMIES??????
We had breakfast and took pictures and then we were off, in the pouring rain, to school. The kids were quiet when we pulled into the parking lot and Liv said her stomach was "flickering around with butterflies." Nick walked right into his class and sat down, only looking back once so I could wave to him. Livi did the same when her perky teacher, once again, met her at the door and said,"Good Morning, Olivia!" Chris and I made our way out to the car so I could start crying in private. I am so happy they have a good school to attend and I know how much they love learning. I also know it is good for them to be in the school setting, making friends and learning to work with others. It's just that they are my babies, and it is hard to see them getting big. Kindergarten is always hard for me because it's like the beginning of the end. They will never be home all day with me again. Ever. And that makes me sad. Ben is going to be sad with his kids, too. He has never been without them! He likes the idea of "Ben go to school? Drop off?" so he carries Nick's lunch box around the house with his blanket stuffed inside it. He's tried on the kids' school clothes they had laid out...this didn't go over so well. Nick has been waiting to wear his new Sketchers for a month and to see Ben roaming around in them this morning just about sent him through the roof! I am sure my little buddy and I will have a great time together, once he stops asking "Where Livi go?" every two minutes!I thought about the little rascals every few minutes today day, hoping they were having fun and adjusting well. I think my stomach was even "flickering" for them!!! On the way to pick them up, Chris said," Wow, that day went by fast didn't it? Doesn't seem like the kids have been gone very long!" I just stared at him. It felt like I hadn't seen them in months and I was hoping they would still recognize me.

We arrived at the school and I could not believe the orderliness of the pick-up routine! We had been given a map of how to proceed at orientation, as well as a colored sheet of paper to boldly print our students names on. The colored sheet was hung in the corner of my windshield and as I entered the parking spot, a lady met me with a two-way radio. She radioed Nick and Olivia's names to someone and told me to continue into the lot. As I reached the side walk, there were my two darlings skipping out to a blue square painted near the curb. Another teacher met them at the curb, opened the back door of the car for them and wished us well before she closed the door and sent us on our way. Isn't that the craziest thing EVER??? Valet parking! It must take them hours to get everyone loaded into their cars! I was totally impressed.

The kids had big smiles on their faces and both were so exicted to tell us about their first days of school. It was great. They both love their teachers, made friends, and REALLY enjoyed lunchtime... they have five different meal options to choose from each day and five different drinks as well. That kind of stuff goes over BIG with my kids! Nick told me all about rest time and that he wasn't "that tired" so he and his new buddy just "spied on the teacher" instead of sleeping. He also made friends with another boy who was wearing the same new shoes as he! Olivia was able to name all the kids in her class and was really excited about the rewards system her teacher has for the class. That girl was born to go to school! They both wanted to go to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner so we headed over there for a little back to school celebration. It was a fun night. We played card games once we got home, had prayers and scriptures and then it was to bed for three tired kids. What a fantastic way to start the school year!