Summer is Here!

Last day of school today.  Bittersweet, as I no longer have a third grader and a kindergartner.  Here they are on their last day:

It's been a really great year for both boys.  Will had a great team helping him be the best that he could be and it looks like fourth grade will continue to be great!  Don't get me wrong, it'll still be hard sometimes.  It just feels so good to be supported.

And kindergarten....man, Sean hit the jackpot.  The teacher sent out an email yesterday to all the parents saying thanks for sharing your great kids with me, that it was a pleasure.  One thing that she mentioned is that this class really accepted each other for who they are, that everyone genuinely liked each other, was one of the most polite and respectful classes, etc.  One kid summed it up:  "There are lots of good friends with good hearts."  It warmed this mom's heart.

On to summer:  tonight is the boys' last karate class for at least two weeks.  Because they are headed to a fun-filled week with Grandmom and Grandpop on Saturday! And after that.....vacation with us!  Summer's full of fun plans--robotics camp, karate camp, trips to Six Flags, etc.  We'll make it a great one.

End-of-Year Gifties

Believe it or not....it's almost time to think about the end of the year for school.  I'm talking about making plans for summer camp, what the heck we're going to do between school ending and camp starting, etc.  And most of all.....teacher's gifts.

I asked Will recently if he would like me to knit his third grade teacher an end-of-year gift and he said yes.  He wanted a scarf, and it should be colorful because she likes lots of color.  Well good....because I already have a ZickZack scarf knitted up and it is quite colorful!  :)

I asked Sean the same question and he readily agreed.  However, when I asked him what I should make he surprised me.  "How about sweaters for her kids, Mom?  She has a 2 year old and a one-year old."  So sweet.  I pondered on it for a little bit and you know what?  It's a great idea.  Not only is it a kind and generous gesture on Sean's part, it's not a typical "teacher" gift.  In talking to my friend Jen (who's younger son Pat is in Sean's class and happens to be one of his best friends) she loved the idea and offered to make one of them.  Awesome!  So I took the 2-year old (girl) and she took the 1-year old (boy.)

After poking around on Ravelry a bit, I picked the Gidday Sweater.  It comes in a multitude of sizes and is really cute.  I decided to stick with the gray with red stripes, after "agonizing" for a while over colors.  (Navy blue and white?  Purple?  Pink?)  It's a unisex sweater, so her little brother can wear it later.  It'll be adorable with a pair of jeans and a white tee underneath.  

Now I'm just waiting for my yarn to arrive!  

And I Didn't Cry....Much

The big yellow bus came today and took my boys to school.  My younger one for the first time.  And I didn't cry.  He was a bit apprehensive and needed a "Go ahead!  You've got this."  for encouragement.   He was excited right up til that point.  The big kid, well....he was anxious to start a new school but was taking solace in the fact that it's a new school for EVERY kid there because last year it was a middle school and not elementary.

 Here they are, and yes, if Big Bro is wearing a Minecraft shirt then you can be sure the Little Bro is wearing one as well!

Right after the kids got on the bus and we walked home, Hubby grabbed his bags and headed for a work conference in Texas.  There may have been a couple of tears.  And they MAY have been that I don't have my own ticket on the plane, and am running the show this week.  Nah....I'll miss him.  That's the first reason.  The second is jealousy of his nice hotel room all on his own.  I had my turn in Vermont last May, though.

So it's "Friday Night Fun Club:  The Extended Edition" until (you guessed it) Friday.  There will be lots of pasta, school fundraiser, karate class, etc etc.  Oh, and that pesky thing called Work.

School Bell's Starting to Ring

School starts in less than two weeks.  Which is strange, because our town is going back almost two weeks later than the others around us, due to construction and restructuring.  Karate camp ends tomorrow....and I'm just as sad this year as I was last summer. It's been a good one and I know that the boys have loved going every day.  

We're hurriedly finishing the summer homework, and the emails and robo-calls have started rolling in with school announcements.  I got Will's back to school supplies the other night to the tune of $85!  Dry erase markers, 48 sharpened pencils, a slew of folders, a bunch of highlighters (chisel tip ONLY).....and that's not even all of it.  He still needs a pair of earbuds and I told the boys that I'd treat them to new lunchboxes this weekend.  I'm thankful that there's no supply list for kindergarten, but am SO LOOKING FORWARD to shopping for supplies for both kids next year.

It's great to have good friends.  Especially friends who offer to take your younger son to Kindergarten Orientation with their son!  I'm stuck working today while Sean's meeting his teacher and taking a ride on the bus.  Ah well, I'll get to meet the teacher next week at open house.

It's a bit of a whirlwind, with some longing and happiness mixed together.  We'll get through it.

Summer's Inevitable End

Three weeks of summer left.  Then it's back to school, back to routine.  Shopping with Will, haircuts, summer homework assignments (that we forgot about) all this week.  Karate camp coming to an end, bedtime enforcement laziness grinding to a halt, etc etc etc.

Is it me, or do summers seem to get shorter as time marches on?

Hellos and Goodbyes

It's been a banner week, with lots of Hellos and Goodbyes.


--Hubby's car required a crap-ton of $$$ to repair the exhaust system, officially giving the car a vacuum attachment to our bank account.  The car is ten years old and has 128K miles.  Time for a replacement!

--  Said "money-pit" car was replaced with a "new to us" Volkswagen Jetta.  So far we're very happy.  :)

--Will said goodbye to preschool and hello to full-day kindergarten!  Here he is on his first day.

He was super-excited the first morning, ready with his backpack and new Mario Brothers lunchbox for the bus stop half an hour early.  He also loves his new afterschool arrangement.  The only person not happy with the arrangement is Sean, who insists that "he wanna go kinergahden too!"  Patience, sweetie.  Patience.  We, though we know that this is a "honeymoon phase" are absolutey thrilled that he is loving it! And will ride that feeling for as long as possible. 

A Different Proud

And today I am a proud parent of both a kindergartner and a soccer player!  (Hint, both are the same kid.)

We made a family trek to the local sports store so that we could take part in their "Youth Soccer Appreciation Day" and get discounts on all of Will's soccer supplies.  Half an hour later he's the proud owner of a ball, cleats, shin guards, soccer socks and practice shorts.  It feels like I was shopping for soccer stuff for myself just yesterday....and here we've come, full-circle.  Oh, I hope that he likes it!  It's our first real dive into organized activity and he could definitely use the structure and socializing skills.

Later on, just Will and I headed to Target for some back to school stuff.  Or in his case, "first time to school" stuff.  Picking out fall clothes for him was a challenge this year.  Why the heck  can't boy sizes be like the baby and toddler sizes??  It was mind-blowing, trying to figure out what would fit and seemed to take forever.  But we're home with three bags and that's one more thing to check off our to-do list for this weekend.

My big kid....growing up.  It didn't really hit me until we were in Target today.  And I'm powerless in stopping it.  It's what you want, of course, but oh my goodness.

The Big Sendoff

I did it.  I dropped Will off today for his first day of preschool.  AND I managed to hold off on the teary goodbye, though I lost it in the car on the way to work. 

Little Man was SO excited for school this morning!  I packed up his things that he needed and put his name on his lunchbox last night.  The lunchbox may have been the most exciting thing for him, actually.  This morning he was all about it, wanting to see his sandwich and apple slices, and insisting that I bring the same exact lunch to work.  I took pictures (coming soon) of him posing with it back at the house.  He was so lost in the thrill of going to school, he forgot his old friend Brown Doggie on the coffee table.  The kids are allowed to have a "lovey" at naptime, so Good Ol' Mommy stuffed him deep-down in the tote bag just in case he missed his buddy when it came time to rest this afternoon.  I think that's when the desire to cry started on my part, seeing Brown Dog and knowing that an era has passed. 

Upon getting in the car, I explained to him that we had to drop off his brother first.  "And then you're bringing me to school?  How far away is my school?"  He enthusiastically informed me that babies weren't allowed at school, and if he saw a baby there he was going to put it in his lunchbox.  (this kid is too much)

Drop-off went seamlessly.  Almost TOO seamlessly.  As soon as we got into the building and said hello to his teacher "Miss Sandy" he was tearing off to play with some kids.  One thing that can be said about Will, he certainly is a social butterfly.  Nope, not a shy bone in his body.  And with that...."Bye Mom!  See you later, I'm gonna go play now!"

So.  I'm the mom of a preschooler.  Happy for his adventures and happy for him to have kids his own age to interact with.  But still teary. 

Big Brother Duties

Will's not the only one going to school this fall....Hubby is back in school and taking two more classes for his Master's, so two nights a week it's just me and my boys.  For some reason, Hubby seems to get housework done on nights that it's him and the boys, but I haven't mastered that tricky task just yet!

Tonight Will has taken it upon himself to entertain his little brother.  He's been dancing, making faces, yelling peek-a-boo and assigning animal noises to me and Joey in order to keep Sean in stitches.  Sean's loving the attention!  Joey also likes when Will is the ringleader, as Will's heavy-handed with the treats.  Lately he asks to give Joey his cookies "all by himself."  This consists of carrying around a stepstool and climbing up to the dresser in our room to get a canister of dog cookies.  While I was fetching Sean's teething tablets, Will came running and said he "helped" by giving Joey cookies because he deserved them.  That's when I noticed the cookie canister was looking a little light.  I discovered half the canister arranged in circles in my bedroom, with Will working furtively to make them faster before getting caught. 

Where's the camera when you need one?  Will was pretty disappointed when I told him he had to put the cookies back except one.  But I don't think anyone was more disappointed than Good Ol' Joe-Joe. 

School Bells and Toy Story Lunchboxes

I guess it's time....Will is headed to preschool!  We've hemmed and hawed through this decision...this year or next year?  Well, he really needs some socialization with kids his own age.  So after some research, we found a nice school to send him two days per week.  We opted for the full-day program, so Mommy doesn't have to leave work multiple times in a day to ferry the boys back and forth.  (Which makes for a happier Mommy, honestly.) Last week I got him his very own Toy Story lunchbox, and a Toy Story sleeping bag to boot.  He's very excited about these things, and about school in general. 

I just cannot believe it's time for him to go to school.  It seems like yesterday he was a baby:

and now he's not really a toddler anymore, as he approaches four years old.  He is a little boy.

In the end, this is bittersweet:  My "Baby" is growing up.  But think of the new adventures in this chapter of his life, and the stories that he'll have for me every day when I pick him up.  "Mommy, guess what we did in school today?"