First Day of School Already?!

Wow -- I'm sitting here in my home office and the only sound I hear is the dog "talking" in her sleep.  No screaming.  No bickering.  No stomping.  No pretending.  No TV.  The silence is making my ears ring!

I dropped my little Thomas off at school this morning.  He'll be going to 1/2 day preschool 3 days a week.  The older three are in full day classes -- 5th grade, 4th grade, and 1st grade.

Where have my babies gone?!  Incredibly surreal.

And NICE
And quiet
And a little bit sad

Here's my favorite picture of my little Thomas this morning before school:

And my favorite quote from him as we got him ready: "Mommy, it's my first day of school, so make my hair as handsome as possible, okay?  And I also have my nice handsome shirt, and my handsome pantses (love this word), and I'll wear my super-fast shoes."

Here's a pic from last week's first day of school for the older kids -- much more representative of our household....love, horsing around, teasing, noisy, wrestling, giggles:

I love these little people!!  Those sparkly eyes, crooked and missing teeth, and soft skin....I just *crave* their little arms around my neck after school.

Sammy has ZERO front teeth, Ben is learning the cello this year, and Clara has the same sized feet as ME.  Crazy how these kids are growing!  I'm so blessed to be their mom, and so very proud of them :-)


I like to think about what I remember from my childhood when I was my kids' ages.

Let's see ----

4 years old?  I don't remember much of anything.  My little sister Tiffany was about 2.  I'm thinking we lived in Oshkosh, Wisconsin?  I'll have to ask Mom and Dad.

6 years old -- 1st grade?  We were in St. Louis, MO I think.  I went to 1st grade at Seven Holy Founders Catholic school.  We had to wear uniforms, and my teacher was Mrs. Mater.  The only school experience I remember that year was picture day.  Picture day was the only day of the year that we could wear "real clothes" instead of our uniform.  I forgot and wore my uniform....and was devastated.  My teacher let me borrow her navy blue sweater, so my picture wouldn't be a "uniform picture".  It was a sweet gesture, but you can still tell in my picture that I'd been crying.

9 years old -- 3rd grade?  We were in De Moines, IA.  I was at Clive Elementary, and I had Mr. Sweeney as my teacher.  I did NOT like having a male teacher (this is Clara's first year having a male teacher too!).  I was convinced Mr Sweeney didn't like me at ALL.  But we had a "menagerie" complete with hamsters, gerbils, salamanders, and even a tarantula.  Loved that :-)  My best friend was Ellen Burger....and we're back in touch now thanks to the miracle of facebook!  This is also the year that my youngest sister, Megan, was born.  Man....I remember poking at her when she slept because I wanted her to wake up so I could play with her.  You're welcome, Mom and Dad :-)

10 years old -- 5th grade?  My family had just moved to Williston, ND and I was starting school there.  Lewis and Clark Elementary.  Mrs.  Lobsinger didn't like me one bit, and I never really knew why.  I liked to play marbles and tetherball at recess.  And the cool girl of the school, a 6th grader named April, wanted me to "follow" her at recess.  She would literally strut around the playground and demand that people walk behind her....her own little fan club or something.  But not me.  I don't play nice when I'm bossed around (not much has changed).  We decided to settle our debate with a game of tetherball.  Since I was just a "little 5th grader", she let me start the game.  I wound up and swung that ball as hard as I could.  And she received my serve....right smack dab in her nose!  Blood was everywhere, and I literally feared for my life...probably because all the kids who'd gathered to watch the game looked at me with wide eyes and whispered things like "you're DEAD".  That was the end of me being asked to "follow" her.  Come to think of it, I don't remember anyone following her after that.  Let the record reflect that I did NOT mean to hurt her -- it was an accident that I felt really bad about....but it sure felt good to have her off my back.  And my first love....Daniel Soggy.  We "went together" all through 5th and 6th grade.  My Dad called him Chief-Soak-A-Soggy-Sock.  Hahaha!!

Here's to a great school year, everyone.