ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

I'm taking a short break from our summer recap to share the fist day of school.  It was a big day with my oldest entering middle school and my youngest heading to kindergarten.  There were a few nerves and a few shed tears but it was a successful first day.

 Lockers and schedules and 8 teachers, oh my!

 New outfit, new teacher, same great girl!

 All smiles with a pink backpack, new lunchbox, and the same green dress big sister wore on her first day of school!

Hard start for Jack this morning but he has a great teacher and will do well this year.

I had breakfast and mimosas, with 6 other moms, after dropping the kids off at school.  

Then it was warm chocolate chip cookies and milk with the kids after school.

It was a good day!

SUMMER RECAP PART 1

My kids start back to school in a week.  We have had such a busy summer, full of adventures and I haven't had time to record any of it.


So, here is my 2011 summer recap.


The first week of summer break the kids watched TV and played video games nonstop while I sat in the dining room amid mountains of worksheets, macaroni crafts, report cards, Thanksgiving crafts, finger paintings and notebooks filled with writing projects and journal entries.  How to sort, organize and agonizingly decide what goes to the trash was the task ahead of me during that first week of summer.


It is truly an overwhelming task for a mom of 4.

I began with the first born, with the scrapbook of school days already begun.

 My preschooler who has just finished his elementary education and is now wading into the waters of middle school.  There were a few tears shed.  After 2 days in the dining room I was able to pack everything precious about his school days into a plastic bin that will likely be slid under a bed and forgotten for some time.  But occasionally, that preschool face, proudly holding the flowers planted in a Dixie cup, is the face I see when I tuck him into bed at night.

There was a sadness in knowing that my first baby has hit this milestone but I am one to look forwards and not backwards too often. 

The lid is on.  The school year is officially over.  And our summer begins.

Part 2 tomorrow.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Today it began.
That morning rush.
Alarms buzzing, showers starting, lunches being packed, rushing to the breakfast table.

My 7 year old was dressed and ready, with his backpack on, at 6:30 AM.  My 5th grader ready to get there early so he can meet his new teacher.

It's the first day of school.  A new school in a new town.  New teachers, new backpacks, new friends, new experiences.
My kids were so eager to go!

I'm so thankful that there were no teary eyes. They went forth with excitement and confidence.

And then there was one.

Our little Molly, who has asked me three times already, "When do we go get them?"

I was invited out to a mother's breakfast - a tradition on the first day of school with some of my new neighbors.  It was lovely, and they were such an encouragement.  There are new things for us all in this season.

And now I am home in a quiet house wondering how I got to this point.  Grateful that I am here but a little lost too.  I can't wait for 3:00 so I can hear how their day went!

Today I am sharing at