And They're Off...

I just put the wee ones on the bus.  Today, it arrived at 8:25, and the thing I'm most excited about the fact that the bus looks like it will be coming 40 minutes later to pick them up this year than it did last year?  The fact that I get to sleep in longer.

But it hasn't exactly been a smooth journey to the bus.

Technically, Mister Man isn't supposed to be allowed to ride the bus, because we petitioned him into the school Little Miss attends as part of the Spanish immersion program she's in.  I'm supposed to have to drive him - anyone who petitions is.  However, there is a bus that stops in our driveway to pick up Little Miss.  And it has three students on it, including her.  Fortunately, I was able to negotiate with the district and bus company, and he's there with a fee.

On Thursday last week, this letter arrived.

Ok, so great.  We're supposed to go.  Oh.  Wait.  That part is blank.  It's ok, though.  We know the bus comes to our house because we're the only stop anywhere near us.  And the bus will pick us up at... oh.  Wait.  That part is blank, too.  Hmmm.

So of course I called the bus company.  The nice woman there told me that it would probably be about the same time as it was last year.  When I pointed out that sometimes the bus picked us up at 7:40 or 7:50 and sometimes at 8:10 and that one of the children who had ridden the bus previously was no longer at the school, which would probably affect the route since he lives ten minutes away.  She investigated and let me know that they were still working on those routes and that we'd get a call that afternoon.

Monday morning, I called again, still having heard nothing.  They were still working on the schedule.  I called later in the afternoon, and we finally learned that the bus would arrive between 8:10 and 8:15.  Phew.

A side note.  In the letter, you'll notice that it says that "if your child is starting kindergarten their (sic) route information will be delivered to you under separate cover at a later date."  So all kindergartners received this letter that tells them nothing.  And they'll get another letter printed later.  That's a waste of time (printing, stuffing) and money (postage).  As a taxpayer, that irks me.  Then I discovered that not only were the children in the Spanish immersion program receiving a blank letter, but every student in the district that doesn't ride a bus for whatever reason, including all others who petitioned to schools other than their home schools - and we have a lot of walkers for our neighborhood schools - received the same letter.  So now in addition to wasting time and money by sending useless letters, you also have very confused people calling the number listed, taking up time to answer questions that should never have been stirred up and annoying people.  Government at its best.  So when they talk budget cuts next year, I'm going to request that this be there, too.  It isn't a huge difference, but it's enough.

So back to our bus story.

Yesterday, we went outside a little before 8 so I could take the obligatory first day of school pictures.  Tell me they aren't adorable.

At 8:26, I called the bus company.  Eleven minutes past the later time the bus was supposed to pick them up?  If it wasn't close, I would need to drive them to ensure they get there on time.  The line was busy, not surprising.  After seventeen tries, I got through.  And they tracked down the bus, which was fortunately only two minutes away by that point.

The bus pulled into our driveway.  The bus driver introduced himself and confirmed that he was picking up Little Miss.  Ummm and Mister Man?  Nope, he wasn't on the list.  I sighed and explained that he should be, and the very nice bus driver wrote him down.  It isn't a huge issue on the way to school, but he can't get on the bus (and what bus route; no one would even know) if he isn't on the list for the after school bus.  So I called the contact at the district again.  And left her a message.

It wasn't the worst issue yesterday, as I was picking them up to get Mister Man to tae kwon do on time (which we were still late to, oops).  And today I'm picking them up, too.  Tomorrow, however, he needs to be on the route.  I'm still waiting for that call back.

So how has government been working for you lately?

First Day Of School: Mom Fail

This week was our first week of school. I got the wee ones up and ready bright and early for their first day. We have a tradition that we take pictures on our front step the first day of every school year. It's so fun to look back over the years (ok, so it's only been four) and see how much they've grown. They are now taller than the door handle. Much taller.

I ushered them outside for our photo shoot, just in time before we had to leave to pick up carpool and get to school on time. I grabbed my camera as I headed out the door and got them arranged on the front porch.

I turned on my camera and looked through the lens. Oddly, I couldn't take a photo. I pulled the camera away from my eye to puzzle it out. Oh. Hmm. "Battery Exhausted" flashed away at me.

I sighed and mentally cursed myself for not having oh, I don't know checked the battery or simply charged it just in case because this was a Big Day. Grumbling, I ran inside, having the brilliant idea to simply use my point and shoot - hoping against hope that this camera had battery to spare.

Unfortunately, the point and shoot has seen better days, and the photos it now takes aren't exactly the best. Evidence?

So ummm because I wasn't satisfied, I decided to "recreate" the first day of school on the second day. Because my camera battery had now been plugged in for 24 hours and there was no way I was failing again. Do you think they'll notice in ten years that this was taken on a Mass day because Mister Man is in his full uniform and that it was therefore not truly a first day of school picture?

I sure hope not. I'm going with the same theory for when I make up errr guesstimate the information for their baby books. Someday. Eh, just sign me up for Mother Of The Year and be done with it.

Win a Lawry's seasoning pack

Mommy Needs To Go Back To Kindergarten

Current Giveaways:

$25 Target Gift Card and a whole bunch of back to school type stuff here.
Family four pack of tickets to Disney on Ice in Chicago for the Wednesday September 8 performance here.
Seventh Generation prize pack filled with cleaning supplies here.

***

So Little Miss finally started kindergarten. After all the changes of last week, she finally got enrolled and met her teacher and we even (sort of) found out her bus schedule - for the afternoons at least.

Amazingly, she even let me choose her outfit today, although she rejected my first option. Note that I was smart enough not to try a skirt. (And so so weird not to see kids in uniforms! I got used to it so quickly after just a year.)

Once we got out the door, (late today and fines for both of them) I dropped off the carpool at Mister Man's school. Unlike Friday morning where the booster seats in the third row were so crammed together that the poor three kids back there were almost permanently living there (that's its own story), everyone comfortably fit in the car and we were able to use the drop off line to have my circus clown car act of four kids piling out of my car.

From there, I drove on to Little Miss's school. When I asked in the office for a map of the school, they didn't have one (note to people who work in schools: make a hand drawn map for families showing the important things in your school - front door, office, gym, parking lot(s), and so forth). I was told to park and then kids play in the playground until the bell rings and they line up with their teachers.

So I parked. And I walked to the playground. I saw lines of backpacks on the basketball court, but I couldn't decipher the codes written in chalk for which class was which. Once I figured out who the adult aides were supervising, I asked one. That's when I found out there are two playgrounds. And that kindergarteners meet at the other one. Located on the opposite side of the school.

Not wanting to be late on the first day, we hustled down the sidewalk. We heard the first bell ring as we passed in front of the school, and luckily we made it into line while it was still forming and before it started moving. Phew!

Who knew it was so hard to get someone to school? In previous years, either a bus has shown up to pick up a wee one (this year the bus arrives 15 minutes after I leave to drive carpool, boo!) or the school provided a map with good instructions on dropoff and pickup procedures. Apparently Mommy fails the first day.

Fingers crossed Little Miss doesn't!

Annnnnd They're Off!

If you're up with Disney Princesses, I'm also giving away a family four pack of tickets to Disney on Ice in Chicago for the Wednesday September 8 performance here.

I'm giving away our new favorite book - Is Your Buffalo Ready for Kindergarten here.

I have a new giveaway up for a Monopoly board game here.

***

Yesterday, we had meet the teacher day. Mister Man was able to go to his classroom to drop off all his supplies and well, meet his teachers. I was able to find out that there were eighteen students in his first grade class - including more girls than last year. We both got to see that he knows many of the kids in his class and is friends with many of them already.

Phew.

But today was the big day. We had to be up and out the door on time, and we added a new friend to our carpool. Somehow, it all worked out, and I even had time to get a few pictures of Mister Man for our annual first day of school montage.

Unfortunately, it was really sunny today, so he couldn't open his eyes all the way. I feel your pain, son, I feel your pain.

When we got to school, I asked that they wait by the entrance so I could take our traditional in front of school pictures, too. He obliged nicely - I was so proud.

And of course our new carpool buddy wanted to be in the picture with him, too. And so did Little Miss (who was to have started kindergarten tomorrow but now won't - and that's tomorrow's post). I absoluately love this picture - and only partly because they are all so happy to be together that they are voluntarily holding hands. Seriously, how sweet are they?

Once we got past the pictures, I was chopped liver. Mister Man and his friend almost ran to get to their classrooms (they sadly aren't in the same class this year). When Mister Man came back out to put his backpack in his cubby, I asked for a good-bye hug, which he granted and then sprinted back into the classroom.

His friend was standing on the other side of me, and she gave me the saddest look ever after he ran in. But I wanted to give him a good-bye hug, too!

Ahhhh, puppy love.

The best part of the day though? I found out that Mister Man had a wonderful green day. I'm so proud of him!

Free At Last, Free At Last, Thank God Almighty, I'm Free At Last!

Ok, so by free, I mean free for like three hours a day. At the most. But still, this beats the snot out of last year when I had the wee ones on opposite schedules for preschool. Dumbest move I've ever made -- parents, please don't think it's a good idea to have one child in the am and one in the pm. It's not. Really not.

Mister Man started school last week, and Little Miss headed off this week.

Last Friday (because, ya know, school started on Monday), I got a call letting me know that her bus would be picking her up at 8:05am. I asked what time it would be dropping her off, as my mom needed to know. Uhh, they didn't know. They guesstimated that it would be 55 minutes after her school got out because the bus was picking her up 55 minutes before school started. Solid logic.

At 8:05, we were waiting outside, and I'd completed picture taking. Time out for pictures... Awww, isn't she cute?







At 8:20, the "big kid" bus came by, so I knew there was no excuse about traffic that would keep her bus from arriving. So I called the bus company. And got a busy signal.

*sigh*

I called a friend of mine who was possibly on our route to see if the bus had picked up her son yet. She was driving in, but yes, the bus had stopped by her house ten minutes before.

*sigh*

I finally got through to the bus company and "oh, no -- she's the fourth pickup, so 8:05 is the time the route starts, not when she'll be picked up. She'll be picked up much later. We don't know exactly when yet. But her bus is on its way and should be there any moment now."

Grrrr.

At 8:40, I called them again. The bus really is on its way. They promise. I mention that I have to start work at 9am and would have driven her in had I known that the bus would be this late.

At 8:57, the bus pulls into my driveway. Yes, school starts at 9am.

I ask the bus driver if this is the time I should expect (after three years of not once having either child get to school on time, I've had it. If the bus isn't going to pick her up on time, I'm making an issue of it again. I refuse to lose 15-20 minutes of class time on a daily basis). She says that no, she isn't actually the normal bus driver. She just had the route shoved into her hands at 7:55 and had to figure out where she was going after that. It should be more like 8:20 or 8:25.

Oh, and the Q-vest that I'd specifically talked to the bus company about on Friday to confirm that it would be there on Friday even though I'd marked it on the bus form? Yeah, it wasn't there. Fortunately, the bus driver had a spare harness, but it's too big for her and not what she was supposed to have. In fact, today is Day Five, and the drive her home bus driver still doesn't have one.





But on the plus side, I had a massage on Wednesday morning. Everyone should start ever day like that. Forever. And today, I had an almost two hour brunch with a friend of mine.

I'm liking this freedom. And I promise, next week I'm making it to the gym. At least once.

And ... He's Off!

Ahhh, the first day of school. Or rather, the first half day of kindergarten.

I'm still working on understanding why the first day is only a half day (or an hour in the case of preschool). The wee ones have been in daycare all day long forever, and it's more confusing to the kids I know to only go for a short time than it would be go just get the regular schedule started.

Then again, maybe I'm more concerned about my own convenience and not wanting to have to find something to do for only twenty minutes before I have to turn around and collect the wee ones again.

Regardless, Mister Man is officially a kindergartner. And he loved it. And he had a good day. Phew!

Boo to whoever broke my unspoken deal that the first day of school will be nice and sunny so we can take our outdoor first day of school photos. I'm filing an official complaint about the deluge today.











I do love the start of the school year, and I know I'm not alone. There are some pretty common reasons why we, as parents, look forward to this, but it's still fun to review them. So without further ado:

My Top Five Best Things About The First Day Of School

5. Oh finally, we're in a routine again. Finally. We aren't up too late, waking up early, eating lunch at odd times, missing needed naps, and the whining and general crankiness that results from being out of rhythm and routine. And I'm only mostly talking about the wee ones here.

4. This means that the horrible hot and sticky days of August are almost over. Ok, except this year when we really haven't had much of that whole hot and humid August thing. I wore jeans today. And it's not the first time that I've had to. I love fall though, and summer weather and I ... not so good of friends.

3. There is just so much potential that is there to be realized with this upcoming school year. The bright shining faces and excitement of the wee ones is contagious. I look back to see all that they did and accomplished the previous year, and I try to imagine what they'll look like at the end of this school year. Granted, much of what I imagine comes crashing down upon me as reality sets in, but I can pretend on this first day, right?

2. I finally have some me time. Or at least I do this year. Last year, I was stupid. S.T.U.P.I.D. I was worried that the wee ones on the bus at the same time would be -- how did I phrase it to the school again? Oh yes -- "just a little too much togetherness for them." And so I requested that Mister Man be moved to the afternoon. So every day, I had a wee one with me. I had zero time just to me. This year, Mister Man is all day, and Little Miss is in the mornings, so I have a lot of time (ok, except when I'm working) to get things done. And to take time for me. And I know I'm not alone in this one!

And the Number One Best Thing About The First Day Of School?

I have more friends. More moms who are going through the same thing I am and who don't look at me like I'm insane when panicking over having to find a second lunchbox to send snack in (seriously, SERIOUSLY I need to go buy a second lunchbox? *sigh*) or labeling each individual crayon because that's what our teacher asked us to do. And ohhh the potential for playdates just went up. With kids who are on the same schedule as us. I'm already eyeing up a little boy who loves dinosaurs nearly as much as Mister Man does.

And now? I'm off to go pack tomorrow's snack, lunch, fill two water bottles, and set out the school uniform before I collapse into bed. How's your transition to school going?

Little Miss Has No Bus

And let me tell you, was she hot that she didn't get to ride the bus on her first day of preschool. She's a big girl now, and she wanted on the bus. Mister Man got to ride on the bus, so where was hers?

Granted, the girl has a point. She should have been on the bus. I turned in the bus forms for her last Wednesday, and the bus company only requires 48 to 72 hours to set up the routes. And yes, she rides the bus to preschool because she goes to the public preschool, so it's a service they offer to those of us who live on the opposite side of the district.

There have been a few problems so far this year with the bus, some of them involving children being taken to the wrong house or to home instead of daycare and the like. I won't get into that, but Little Miss doesn't get to ride the bus until Thursday. She's not thrilled that she has to wait that long. The girl really needs to learn patience. Do they teach that in preschool?

Because she didn't get to ride the bus and because Monday is an office day, I decided I couldn't justify seeing her off on her first day. In fact, her first day required some juggling. My office is an hour twenty northeast of my house in traffic (which is why I leave at 6:10 to get there by 7 and avoid at least most of it!). And the preschool is 20 to 25 minutes southwest of my house. Do the math if I drop her off at 9am.

The fun of it is that Mister Man has his kindergarten program at daycare that also starts at 9am. Daycare is three minutes from our house, if that. And I can't drop him off early or really late.
Yes, I owe my parents a nice dinner out. They very kindly handled both children for me, including my dad picking up Little Miss at preschool and taking her to daycare afterwards. And tomorrow he's doing the same. Have I mentioned how much I love and appreciate my parents?

The good news is that she truly enjoyed her first day of school. She loves her teacher, and apparently her teacher has enjoyed having her in class (ha! See what she knows!), as well. She told me that she played a lot with Trinity and learned about how she uses her nose to smell. A successful first day!

My mom very kindly took photos for me of Little Miss. I'd requested some of her on the front stoop, as is my yearly tradition. Little Miss apparently didn't want to cooperate. I literally had a total of five where she wasn't facing backwards or sideways or some other goofy thing. Standing still is not her forte. And phototaking isn't my mom's....

Last First Day Of Preschool

Yep, Mister Man started preschool (for the third year!) today. Next year, he'll be finished with preschool, and already this year is so different.

He chose his own outfit and got dressed one hundred percent by himself. And he's in afternoon preschool for the first time, too. Considering that he napped the last four days and asked to take a nap around 10am today, that doesn't bode too well, but we'll see how it goes. We really wanted him to do an enrichment program a few mornings a week to keep him challenged and interested in learning, and of course that is only offered in the mornings.

Before we got ready for preschool, we did our obligatory fashion show. We do this twice a year where I take out every stitch of upcoming season clothing out of the closet and lay it on each of the wee ones' beds. They have to try everything on to get a clean bed again. This was, of course, my mom's brilliant idea, but I'll admit that it had to be done.

Things we found out:
1) Mister Man is an angel. He tried on everything we asked him to.
2) Mister Man has grown a lot since this spring (read: May) when he last wore a lot of his clothes.
3) Hand-me-downs are a lifesaver. I literally do not have to shop for a single piece of clothing for either child this year because of all the clothes they received as gifts from friends and relatives and from handmedowns. In fact, Little Miss's closet is so stuffed, I can barely fit all her clothes onto the rack.
4) Little Miss is not my child. She is an evil spawn of some Stubbornbeast that I have yet to beat.
5) Little Miss will never be a clotheshorse.
6) There are two ways to get Little Miss to try on clothes: threaten to take away Snowy (the bear) or tell her that the shirt she's about to try on matches her underwear. Go figure.
7) There will be some VERY happy little children in our area this fall. The preschool Mister Man attends has a not insignificant portion of very high poverty families, and the school has a great network to distribute outgrown clothes to families who need them. And you wouldn't imagine how grateful they are for little things like this (or making Easter baskets or Christmas stockings for kids). They never ask for it, but there's always a need.
8) Little Miss may have far fewer clothes that fit her than we think she does because we only tried on about a third of her clothes and instead did the "yeah, I'm sure that'll fit" for the rest. It was truly that bad.

After lunch, we took our traditional first day of school pictures, and I ended up with 23. Thank GOD for digital photography, so I can see what he's done that makes the previous picture not the one for the memory book. I finally started talking about my dad goofing around with him at the pool yesterday, and that cracked the first normal smile I got.


Then of course he got all cute and coy on me, so I had to save this one, too. Awww, can you believe he isn't even five yet?

Little Miss was very sad that today was not her first day of preschool. It was supposed to be her first day, and more on that later. Today is about Mister Man's first day. She did wait for his bus with Snowy though. In fact we all waited.

The bus was supposed to arrive at 12:30. Preschool starts at 1pm, and it's about 20-25 minutes from our house. We knew that Mister Man was the last pickup (he gets carsick), so they'd go straight to school after him.

At 12:46, I called the bus company to see where the bus was and was told that they were running late today. They seemed truly perturbed when I asked them to check to see how late the bus was so that I could drive Mister Man to school myself if it was more than five or so minutes away.

While I was on hold, a bus pulled up to our driveway and opened the door. Mister Man started to get on. "Is this Grant?" Ummm nope, it isn't. I did some quick thinking and realized this was the kindergarten bus and that I knew a Grant who was going to afternoon kindergarten. He didn't live on our street though, so I gave directions to the grateful bus driver.

Our bus showed up at 12:54. I talked to Grant's mom later today and found out that the two buses both stopped at her house at the same time (she has one son going to Mister Man's school on his bus and one going to kindergarten), which caused just a tiny bit of confusion.

You'll notice that the bus driver is checking off on her list that yes, this is in fact the correct child getting on the bus. Mister Man wasted no time getting on that bus!

And the bus driver remembered us. She had been our bus driver Mister Man's first year in preschool. God help me, I can't remember her name for anything, and I didn't have the presence of mind to ask. I did ask her if she could put him in a harness though (they hadn't told her that) and confirme that she would pick him up from daycare tomorrow and Thursday (nope, hadn't told her that either).

In the end, it turned out fine. He has the same preschool teacher as he did last year. This year, there are currently only five kids in his class -- three boys and two girls. My first thought? This will make his 15 child limit birthday party that much easier. I think that officially makes me a bad mom.

Truly though, having five kids in the class for a teacher and an aide should really help him out a lot this year. I hope! I know it won't stay this small all year long, as there are five more screenings yet this year and each screening means more children added to the program. At the same time, he's in the oldest and highest functioning class this year in the afternoons, so in all likelihood there won't be too many more children added to it.

When he got home, I asked him what he'd learned today, and his answer was "nothing new." I suppose I ought to get used to that. At least one thing hasn't changed though -- he came home with all his pockets filled with acorns that he'd collected from the field in the playground. They're currently sitting in Daddy's shoe (shhh!).