Happy Birthday to Lane!

Happy Birthday to Lane!

The First Week of School

We've had a good first week of school.  On Tuesday, Alexee said she'd be fine with Rhett walking her to her classroom from the drop-off line. Rhett has been a big help to her.  He has walked her there every day, stopped by the office to buy her a pencil pouch and carried her scrapbook page in so it wouldn't get wrinkled.  

Tuesday a.m.

She took her pink blankies in the car with her and held them right until time to climb out.

When I picked them up Thursday afternoon, Alexee was wearing the spare outfit from her backpack.  I was surprised to find her original outfit looking like this:  (She said she didn't notice the mud puddle on the playground until it was too late.)  :)  I guess she made the most of her 30 minute recess!

Our goldfish, Dorothy, died last week so we went to PetSmart to get a new fish this week.  We got a Betta this time, and the kids decided to name it David.  They asked for many other things while at the store:  a turtle, hamster, cat and bird...but this was our only pet purchase:

Welcome, David.

bedtime

Thursday after school we were out on the back deck when Rhett told me he was going to do some yard work because he was "not at all happy with the way our yard has been looking lately".  He's right--we've kind of just let the weeds go because it has been so hot. He trimmed all the holly bushes, pulled weeds, watered my plants and swept off the rocks and the deck!  It looked a lot better when he was done!

He recruited these little helpers.

Friday morning I took Crosby to the church playground.  I think he had a good time.

Sitting in the shade having a snack with two of our neighbors. 

Friday afternoon, Alexee and Rhett had been invited to ride home from school with Maylee and Lawson, so they were very excited about that.  I picked them up from there, and we went straight to Purple Cow to have a snack with my Dad who was passing through for work.  It was a brief visit, but we were so glad to get to see him--it had been too long!  Wish Mom could have been here, too.

Granddad & the boys

She has been so tired all week.  She has been falling asleep very quickly at night.  I'd only left her room about 5-10 minutes before this, but when I peeked back in, she was already asleep.  (That isn't the real Bogart on the left side of the picture, that's the stuffed animal version.)  :)

Friday night

Meanwhile, Rhett went from Purple Cow to another friend's house for a birthday party.  They went to Playtime Pizza, one of his FAVORITE places to go--he's really been looking forward to this!  My friend sent me a picture and said R was having a great time!

It was nice to have a lazy Saturday.  It rained for a little while this morning.  We didn't have to be anywhere at all, so we stayed home all day.  The kids planned a party in the playroom and invited me.  :)  They'd made confetti and decorated the table, and they asked me to bring "food on platters and bags of chips".  After the special lunch, they had party games planned--this was Crosby's favorite part!  It's so nice when they use their imaginations and play well together instead of fight!

Back-To-School!

We are half-way through the first week of school, and so far everyone is doing fine!  We are switching gears from summer and getting back into a routine...homework, earlier dinner/baths, choosing clothes the night before, packing lunches, eating breakfast by 7:00, leaving the house on time, watching the clock so I don't miss carpool, etc.  

Sunday night I got as many things ready as I could:

Monday morning Rhett had his alarm set for 6:30 and got up on his own, no problem.  I had to wake Alexee up, which I expected.  She's the only one of the three that ever "sleeps in".  Crosby's usually up by 5:45, so I knew I wouldn't have to worry about him!  :)  We quickly snapped a few first-day photos before we loaded up.  (I found these cute, free printable signs here.)

THIRD GRADE and KINDERGARTEN.

Not possible.  

(I think Rhett was yawning.)  :)

Ready to go--no worries.

Excited about a new adventure (but said she wished I was her teacher so I could stay there all day).

Feeling like I'm running late by this point--I've watched several of the neighbors leave for school while we were still making photos.

On the way in we ran into Lawson & Maylee.

We took Alexee to her classroom first.  Her sweet teacher greeted her with a big hug.  No tears (by either of us--thankfully it was all too rushed to have time to get emotional.  I knew we had to make it quick and get Rhett upstairs to his room).  She looked a little overwhelmed, but Rhett took charge and told her to go hang her backpack on the hook and put on her name tag.  I was glad to have him helping her so I could take a few pictures of the process.

She took her seat and started her coloring sheet, and we said good-bye.  I thought she looked so small sitting there by herself.

Now on to Rhett's room!  He didn't really need help, of course, so we just waved as he took off to his seat. 

I was so very thankful that I had Crosby to walk out with me so I didn't feel completely empty.  Last year, after we'd drop off in carpool line I'd always say, "Do I still have two kids and a dog in here?" (Bogart usually rides with us but didn't today because we walked inside.)  It was strange to drive out of the parking lot with just one kid!  :(  I made it fine until we got home and I looked in their rooms and saw how they'd made their own beds and arranged all their stuff.  I sat on Alexee's bed and had a little cry.  They don't stay babies nearly long enough.

Seeing her pink blankies left on the couch didn't help.  She went straight to them when she got home.

It was good that I didn't have time to sit on her bed and stay sad.  I was going to a back-to-school prayer brunch that morning, and I needed to finish my dip and get out the door.  The brunch was organized by a few moms from the local Moms-In-Prayer group.  I think there were 44 girls there!  It was such a great way to start off the school year, and I'm hoping to meet with them on a regular basis.

I tried a new recipe, Monster Cookie Dough Dip, with pretzels, apples and graham cracker sticks.  

I was anxious to pick up the kids and see how their first day went.  Alexee first said, "It was the worst first day ever", but after talking with her she was only saying that because her stomach was hurting and she scraped her arm.  Minor physical ailments aside, she said she had a good day and made a new friend (although she couldn't remember her name and said she couldn't read so how was she supposed to read the girl's name tag??)  She also said she had homework but forgot her folder and couldn't remember what the homework was.  Rhett asked her why she didn't bring her folder home and she said, "Don't ask me.  It's the first day--how am I supposed to know what to do!?!?"  Haha!  I could tell she was tired that night.  In the bathtub she told me that it was such a long day and she wished she could take a nap instead of doing ALLLLLL those things.  She hasn't taken a nap in months, but I guess it actually sounded like something she'd like to do now!  Rhett reported that things were fine.  He didn't have much to say about it (not unusual--he rarely wants to discuss school in detail) other than that he wasn't very hungry at lunch time, and for some reason they have to sit boy-girl-boy-girl at the lunch table, which I don't think he was crazy about.  Overall, I think it was a good first day for everyone.

Oh, one more thing to record...I asked Crosby during the day if he missed Alexee and Rhett now that they're at school and he said, "No.  Rhett calls me "poop' and Alexee never shares her candy." I'd been feeling sorry for him because I assumed he'd be lonely, but maybe I was way wrong!  I told my friend Mary Katherine (who is the third child in her family) about his comment--she said she could completely identify with him and that this would probably be the best year of his life! Ha!

Alexee remembered her folder on Tuesday, and this was her first day coloring sheet:  

*****

Crosby's first day of MDO/PreK3 wasn't until Tuesday.  He said he didn't want to go, but he was smiling and happy and walked right in and started playing with toys the second we got to his new classroom.  Here he is that morning holding his "I'm a Preschooler" sign and wearing his new school shoes.

He only goes two days a week, and I think he always has fun! 

He enjoyed singing "Wheels on the Bus" and doing a school bus craft on his first day!

Meet the Teacher Night

I feel like both Rhett and Alexee got wonderful teachers--I trust it will be a great year!  

It was a little disappointing at first to find out that A didn't get in class with any of the girls from her playgroup, but she'll be fine.  I knew they couldn't all be together, but I honestly assumed she'd have at least one familiar name on the list.  She cried on Tuesday when the letters arrived in the mail and we realized that no one was in her room.  I felt so bad for her.  But she has moved on, and after meet-the-teacher night last night, she seems really excited and comfortable about Monday.  

With Mrs. Dees

Showing us where she will hang her back pack.  

Supplies stations

(I thought I'd put "Alexee" somewhere on her registration paperwork, but it showed up as Alexandra on the list the teacher was given so everything was labeled with her full name for now.)

At her seat.

Crosby thought her room was very entertaining, too!

Alexee loved that corner area with the colorful pillows, lanterns and lamp.

Next stop:  Mrs. Carter's Corral to check out Rhett's 3rd Grade room.  She had a neat wild-west theme, and everything looked so cute and fun!

With Mrs. Carter

They were very interested in the live tarantula!

The guys unpacking the school supplies at R's seat. (So glad Lane was home in time to go with us!)  One of Rhett's best friends is in his class, and we recognized several other names as we walked around the tables. 

Adding his name to the Car-Rider list

We are thankful for a nice, safe school for our kids and for teachers and administrators that are willing to invest in them.  Looking forward to a fantastic year ahead!