1. I feel like I could maybe change my blog name to the "Going Back to School Blog" since that's nearly what every one of my posts has been about for the past month. But I think I'm done with that now. Except for one more thing. I promise. This is it.
So yesterday was the first day William started school at the same time as the rest of the first through eighth-graders do. As is normal practice at his school, all the lower school students line up outside on the plaza in front of the sign where their teacher's name is written. They all wait for the bell to ring and for their teacher to escort them inside and into their classroom. The parents kind of gather behind the student body waiting until the bell rings to make sure their child gets in the building OK. (This won't happen every day but it's common to have all the parents there for the first week or so.) So Brian and I are waiting for the bell, dry eyes, no emotion. Then the bell rings and suddenly every single student turns toward the kindergarten lines and starts clapping and cheering and whooping and hollering for those teeny, tiny kindergartners as they paraded in behind their teacher for the first time. I don't believe there was a dry eye in the crowd. It was such an uplifting sense of community. A real we're-watching-out-for-the-little-ones moment. It, once again, reaffirmed our decision to send William to this school.
2. Seeing as he is a kindergartner now, I figured it was high time this kiddo learn how to tie his own shoes. I was kind of forced into it because I found out that once they outgrow the toddler sizes and start wearing youth sizes, the hook and loop velcro options are very limited. Once we get into winter he's going to have to change out of his boots and into his tennis shoes all by himself. So we sat down after lunch for a little lesson. Five minutes in and someone wanted to take both shoes and throw them through the window. That someone may have been me. This is why I could never homeschool.
I did some Google searches and found this helpful method called the
Ian Knot. Have you heard of it? I haven't but it looks a lot easier (and faster) to teach than the "around the tree" or "bunny ears" method. We'll give it another go this afternoon and hope that neither of us ends up in a screaming match.
3. Yesterday at kindergarten pick-up I met another mom who also has a baby due in December. I found out that our due dates are just a day a part and at that very moment I wanted to crawl into a hole because she looked a whole one or two months LESS pregnant than me.
And then she said to me, "Wow! You look
a lot smaller than I do!"
I laughed and told her I had just had the exact opposite feeling. It just goes to show you, we are always our own worst critic.
4. We have a major problem going on in our house. It's a problem other moms of girls warned me about but that I failed to believe would ever be the case because, you know, I've got such a good handle on things compared to other parents.
Lucy will only wear dresses. And by that I mean, it is an all-out fall-to-the-ground, weep, wailing, hysterical disaster if I try to dress her in anything else. It is as if I am trying to dress her in an outfit made out of razor blades. She physically hurts to put on anything that is not a dress.
I can sometimes get her into a skirt but it still takes a lot of convincing. "I promise. This will twirl just like a dress. Look how pretty it is!"
Right now it really isn't that big of a deal because she has plenty of sun dresses to choose from in between my laundry cycles. But once we get into winter, things could get tricky. It's tough to find dresses that keep little ones warm in our harsh climate. Leggings and tights can only do so much. I'm praying the chill will help sway her but until then I've taken to eBay to find as many cheap long-sleeve dresses as I can.
5. Brian and I have two kidless trips coming up! The best part, of course, is that there will be no kids with us. But the second best part is that both trips are almost entirely paid for by his work. One will be in a couple weeks out to Boston where I only had to buy a plane ticket and the other is at a posh resort in Northern Minnesota where I only have to pay for the gas it takes to get me there. That one will be in the middle of October right at the height of the autumn colors. A huge advance thank you goes out to both of our mothers who will be coming into our home to watch the kids while we're away. It's easy to leave the kids when we know they are in the hands of someone who loves them just as much as we do.
6. Sometimes I can't think of seven different things to say in 7 Quick Takes.
7. This is one of those times.
This month Earth's Best sent me a package of their Chlorine Free Diapers which seems to be a nice compromise between being environmentally conscience while still enjoying the ease of disposable diapers. Each diaper contains natural absorbent material such as corn and wheat. Using these renewable resources reduces your impact on the environment.
