First Day 2011

I definitely have a camping post in the works (my mom keeps checking for it) but since I'm not finished with that post, we're moving on. Here's to our first day of school this year (which was yesterday).

Nathan-4th grade. Dane 2nd grade. Kathryn- 5th grade.

It's been a little bit of baptism by fire this year. All of these guys wanted to play soccer and how do you tell one or two they can but not the other?? So it's 3 kids on 3 different teams, practicing 4 days a week between the teams and games on Saturday. After only 2 days, I need a life coach on how to manage all of this and feed my family/clean my house. I managed the laundry today but forgot about dinner. Oops! It was scrambled eggs and toast for dinner. Hey, they went to bed full. That's enough, right?

We are excited for this year with 3 great teachers. I love good teachers that want to be there teaching kids. It's going to be a hard year at our school with budget cuts. They have much bigger class sizes (29-2nd graders, 31- 4th graders and 30- 5th graders) and less staff to go around. Again, so grateful we have teachers than can handle the pressures. I'm going to owe them some chocolate!

I can't believe this will be Kathryn's last year of elementary school. What in the world?? I remember 5th grade very well (and the stuff the kids were saying on the playground) and she just can't be that old. I'm grateful she's a good, kind girl. I hope that takes her far. Nathan has outgrown Kat by almost 2 inches and is starting to look so much older to me. He's ready to tackle anything, loves anything that keeps him busy and thinks he's pretty close to grown up, ha. Dane will be baptized in a couple weeks (he turns 8 on Saturday) and while I still think of him as 'the younger one' he's getting older too. He's so excited to start soccer and practices in the backyard every night he doesn't have practice. They really are growing up, all of them. Of course, this should be a known fact by now but they still catch me by surprise.

Reed wouldn't cooperate for the picture taking so nothing of him yesterday morning. He made it until about 2pm before he started asking to go get the kids, specifically Dane. He said he really missed Dane and could we drive to the school and get him. Today didn't go quite as well. By about 9am (they'd been gone 40 minutes) he was asking for Dane again. That's his Lego buddy and I don't quite fit the bill. Dane made him a Lego 'penguin' that he played with off and on all day. That might be one of his 'jobs' every morning! I only see one problem, when he gets used to being alone with me, we will be joined by a little one. Poor 3 yr old.

As for me, things are good. I have plenty I could complain about (and do, believe me I do) but I just keep telling myself I can do anything for 11 weeks. Well, 9 weeks if I'm lucky and this baby likes me as much as Reed did, ha. So I do keep wishing/hoping he likes me as much as Reed did. Is that such a wrong wish to have?