Holding Pattern

We are just a few weeks away from the start of school, and my life is so up in the air! I wish I knew where we were going to go to school in the fall (three weeks).

My first choice is looking like we are going to be in a fantastic location, 45 minutes from the house. That is at least three hours a day on the road. That is less than ideal.

My second choice, is just that, a second choice.

My first choice looks like it will have great hours 8:30 to 1:45! Just over five hours. The location sounds fantastic. Big open spaces, room for a huge garden. The philosophy of the school is still fantastic, even more so, with talks of full sustainability, solar panels, gray water capture, trashless environment.

My second choice, has okay hours 9-3. The location is nice. The philosophy is similar, but different.

I just wish, wish I knew something for sure.

Educating Ryan and Evan

It has been no secret that I have been stressing about sending my boys to public Kindergarten since oh, well before the boys were born. Stressing is a mild description of my state of mind, agonizing, is maybe a better descriptor.

I've considered many, many, options from home schooling to selling my soul, going back to work and taking a second on the house to send the boys to a private school, and everything in between.

I had resigned myself to sending them to the local elementary. The one with 900 kids. (that's as big as my high school) The one with 7, SEVEN kindergarten classes. But as registration grew closer, I grew even more apprehensive. Sick even.

Then I started bantering around the idea of my own private school. Hiring a teacher and recruiting 6 or 8 kids, rotating homes, locations. It was because of this idea that I started thinking about the teachers I knew, I reached out to see if anyone knew of anyone.

Lo and behold, a friend of mine, who taught at a private school with a teaching philosophy I love before having her son, was interested and looking for part time work. We had a discussion the other day, and she mentioned a school where a friend of hers works. A place she is considering for her own son in a year. We talked briefly about the teaching philosophy, and it sounded great. I immediately googled it, and found it is a school with an approach that was one of my favorites when I did my initial research 5 years ago.

One of the things that had been holding me back from many schools, and applying to many charter schools was Scott's insistence that the boys go to school in the neighborhood, so they could hang with their buddies after school, like he did. He was pretty adamant. However, just after the application deadline for one of my favorite schools passed, Scott had a change of heart.

Armed with this new freedom, and knowing that most application deadlines had passed, I took a chance and "swung by" this new school of interest. And while it is not in a new building, I've described it as a bit dingy, and it is far away from home, I filled out applications on the spot. It felt like a weight had lifted off of my shoulders. The weight of the world so to speak. I think I actually slept last night for the first time in well, a long, long time. I now have an option.

We officially tour the school on Thursday, and I hope it is all that I want it to be, all that I need it to be, all that my boys need it to be.

Pumpkin Patch 2010

I realize it's been a while since I posted pictures of the boys. They are getting so big and grown up. I need to do more pictures, more consistently, just more.

We took a class field trip to a local Pumpkin Patch, a couple of weeks ago, and the boys, and their classmates had a blast.

Not evidenced by Ryan's face here, but there was a fun hayride.


A cotton seed hill to slide down. (on a side note, I loved watching the multiple sets of twins sharing the saucers, lots of the kids tried to share, but it seemed that the twins were the most successful. It's all that womb sharing, it comes in handy.)


And then there was the pumpkin picking.

I swear they had to touch every. single. pumpkin. twice.


But ultimately we were happy with our choices, and we had a really fun morning with our class.

And so it begins...

a lifetime of learning.
Today was it. The day I left my kids for their first day of school. Big day for us. The first time I've ever left my kids with someone other than family, (or nearly family) EVER. EVER. Let me make that clear. EVER!

I was very excited. It is time. It is time for them to learn from someone other than me. For them to have to follow directions from someone other than me. For them to learn to work things out with out me there to help. BUT...I've also been very worried about how this would go over. These boys haven't exactly been eager to be separated from me.

I prepared myself for the worst. Lots of tears, shrieking, hysterics.



We wandered off to our classroom, buckets (we decorated them ourselves) full of a change of clothes, including shoes (the extra pair of shoes threw me, I had to go buy them more shoes!) a bottle of water, and our special friends (Snoopy and Ringo).



We walked into their classroom where they were greeted by their awesome teacher, they learned how to put their buckets on the shelf and we washed their hands. By this time they were chomping at the bit to get to the stuff laid out to play with today. I saw shaving cream and trucks, but I didn't really look too closely. By the time they had their hands washed they were ready to play. I gave them each a kiss, and told them I would see them later. I got a "where are you going?" from Ryan, and a little look of worry, but I told him I would see him later, and off I went...to wait in the church courtyard...to wait for all hell to break loose...for the tears and hysterics.

I waited for an hour.

And then I went home and waited with my cell phone close at hand for two more hours.

And then I went to pick them up.


All of the parents waited anxiously at the door waiting for it to open. We signed up for snack days, and looked at pictures from the days activities. Then in turn we each stepped into the classroom while Mrs. F asked the class "who does this Mommy belong to?" and we each got to watch as our kids eyes lit up and smiles came across their faces. Ryan couldn't wait until I got to his seat, he came running over to give me a hug and knocked me to the floor. We went over to where they were sitting and Ryan let Evan in to hug me too. Evan was so excited, SO EXCITED. His feet were dancing and he was hugging and kissing me, and he was making this noise he makes when he is really happy. It's hard to describe, kind of a high pitched moan, or a mew? He was so, so happy to see me.

It was this moment that almost made me lose it. I was really happy to see them too.

We got home and during lunch we talked about what they did in school.

This is some of what they had to say:

Ryan: My water spilled two times, I said oops.
Ryan: We had cereal for snack.
Ryan: We didn't dance with bean bags. (Me: Mrs. F said that you did) No, (shakes head) We DIDn't
Ryan: I didn't want to do it. (the bean bag dance) I picked a chair and sat down in it.
Evan: I writed (Me: You wrote?) Yes, I writed. (Me: what did you write?) 17.
Ryan: Sometimes we color at school
Evan: I danced with bean bags and I stood up.
Evan: We pretended our buddies were bean bags. (Me: Ah ha! You didn't use bean bags with the bean bag dance, you used your buddies! Is that right Ryan?)
Evan: YES! and we POPPED them into the air!

This evening I gave them their Schultuete. I read about these "first day of school cones" in a blog a couple of years ago and filed it away as a neat tradition to start with the kids. I was going to give them to the boys before school, and then one of the mom's I know suggested that they might not want to leave to go to school after they got all of their treats, so I adapted.





Scott also thought to get the boys a special treat!!!! Look at how excited Evan is to get his "American Flag" hackey sack. He promptly asked if he could take it to bed. I said yes, and he replied, "Now I'll have two hackey sacks in bed!"


I love how simple things make these kids so darn happy. I wish you could bottle that joy. I guess the next best thing is to have your kids share their happiness with you each and every day.