Back-to-School or BUST!!

Yes, the only thing missing a photo of me cheering. As you can see, we are pretty excited that it is FINALLY the Day Before School Starts!!! Yay!!! Why are we so excited?? Well, several reasons. Let's see if I can hit the highlights:

New Kindergartner: Yes indeed, we have a new Kindergartner in the house. Miss P2 will be joining the ranks of the scholastically inclined and she could not be more excited. I asked her last night what she was excited about and she pretty much told me, "Mom! I am excited about EVERYTHING!" lol If you know P2 then you probably do not find that terribly surprising. Funny girl. She did admit that she is really looking forward to Recess!

Miss Social: P1 is our Social Butterfly and lately she especially has been climbing the walls for things to do, places to go, and people to see. She has indeed been a bit nervous about the whole prospect of school, largely since, as one who does not do change well, having a new classroom, teachers, and a new schedule is a bit disconcerting to her. Thursday night was Meet the Teacher night so we were able to go up to school, drop off her supplies and see where her classroom is, meet both her English and Spanish teachers and most importantly, see some of her friends. She seems much more settled and a lot more smiley since then. I asked her yesterday if she was still nervous about school starting and she said, "No, not really." I am SO glad. I now think 1st Grade will Rock!

My Sanity: Oye! Summer has gone quite well and it was really nice to have a more 'normal' summer for a change. Still and all, this past month has really been a stretch for everyone, including and sometimes especially me. I have run out of the energy and money it takes to entertain 3 kids and since they are feeling stressed themselves, it is doubly difficult to get them to entertain themselves. If they are not entertained in some manner, either by me or themselves, then the fighting, bickering, and "Mom! She looked at me!" squabbling breaks out. Ugh. Thankfully, while I will have plenty of new projects to keep me busy with school starting, I will also have more peace and tranquilite during the day. Oh, for some tranquilite!

Mom-n-Me Time: P3 may not know it yet but her life is about to take a decided turn for the fun in her eyes. The sheer fact that she will have from 7:30 to 3pm ALONE WITH MOM should just delight her to no end! She is a different child when she has one on one time with me. Can we say Happy, Happy, Happy!? No fighting, no yelling, and very few temper tantrums (remember she is 2 after all:). Of course, I do not expect her to like the hours from 3-5 one little bit when I have to give most of my attention to her sisters AND it is the 'Witching Hour.' Oh well - win some , you lose some I guess.

New Clothes: This is one of P1's favorite things about this time of year...feeling like she has gotten all kinds of 'new' clothes. P2 seemed to think it was a pretty good deal as well. We did a little shopping plus sorted through what we already had to get ready. Now it feels like 'Dress Up' a little bit.

Routine: My hubby may not want to admit it but we ALL love being back in a more structured routine. Being the essentially anal soul that I am, the structure that returning to school brings is really a welcome respite from the up and down schedule of the Summer. I really like knowing that we get up at 6:30, have breakfast and get the kids to school by 7:30 and that they are there until 3pm, then I pick them up and we have a little down time before homework, dinner, bath and bed. It just works.


The VERY BEST part though, is the actual 1st Day of School memories. Last year, P1 was a little hesitant but very excited to get up, get dressed and go to see her teacher. She looked so big with her backpack going out to the car...until we reached the school and I saw her in comparison to the 5th Graders! But, my baby girl was off and running. I thought about her ALL day last year and was excited when it was time to pick her up. I was not sure what to expect. I needn't have worried! She came running out to the van, hair flying, little legs pumping as fast as they could with the most wonderful smile plastered all over her face. I will never forget it!

So wish us luck tomorrow and I will be back to fill you in on all of the details about how it goes! If I can get them to go to sleep tonight, it will be a miracle but they really do have to because, ready or not, it is Back-to-School or BUST!

This post was written for a Parent Bloggers Network contest sponsored by Hanes.

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