We jumped back into school with both feet this past week! We spent Monday unpacking, cleaning, and running errands after being away for the past 3 months. Even though class didn't start until Wednesday, I forgot that that meant that I would have to spend most of the day on Tuesday preparing my cases for the next day--just in case I got "cold called" (which I did in my first class of the morning).
Wednesday was quite the day.
Alison officially started kindergarten. She's been talking about it for the past 6 months at least--and the big day finally came. We all woke up bright and early and walked down to the bus stop together. Ali was ecstatic; I was terrified. A trainload of questions started pouring through my mind as we stood and waited for the bus to come: Am I really old enough to have a daughter starting school? Is the bus safe for a 5-year old? What does it take to be a bus driver? How will I know that she actually arrived at the school, and had a safe day? How will she know where to go when she gets off the bus?
When the bus arrived, Ali hopped right on, turned and looked at us with a slight moment of hesitation, and then sat down in the first seat and waved goodbye. I considered getting in the car and following the bus from a distance, but since I had 8:00 a.m. class myself, I decided against it.
I hurried home at 3:00 p.m. to make sure I was there at the bus stop along with Megan and Kaitlyn for when Ali got home. I don't think I've seen Ali grow up so much over the course of just a few hours. She came home with more self-confidence than I've ever seen. She told Kaitlyn all about what it was like to go to school: cheeseburgers for lunch, art time, library time, backpacks, cubbies, and the like. I was just glad that she wasn't traumatized for life after the experience.
I hurried home at 3:00 p.m. to make sure I was there at the bus stop along with Megan and Kaitlyn for when Ali got home. I don't think I've seen Ali grow up so much over the course of just a few hours. She came home with more self-confidence than I've ever seen. She told Kaitlyn all about what it was like to go to school: cheeseburgers for lunch, art time, library time, backpacks, cubbies, and the like. I was just glad that she wasn't traumatized for life after the experience.
Although Kaitlyn enjoyed hearing about Ali's day, I think she was starting to feel a little neglected. She started talking about how she went to school that day too. Megan made a special effort to make sure that she and Kaitlyn went out and played and did whatever Kaitlyn wanted so that it would be a special day for her too--but I guess it didn't go as well as we had hoped.
When we got home, Kaitlyn again started talking about how she went to school and learned ballet. She started spinning around and around in our living room until she was dizzy. The ottoman from our rocker had just been moved a little bit more to the center of the room than normal. Kaitlyn lost her balance and hit a corner of the footrest just above her right eye! Kaitlyn sure got the attention she was wanting!
BEFORE:
AFTER:
It didn't seem quite deep enough for stitches once we got it all cleaned up--although she fought with everything she had during the whole cleaning process. After about 30 minutes, she settled down and actually fell asleep (nap time + physical exertion fighting the clean-up).
Since I had class, and since things seemed to be OK, I asked Megan to text me at 5:15 p.m. if Kaitlyn had any issues waking up--which she didn't. When I got home, Megan said that Kaitlyn's eye had continued to bleed off and on. So, we decided to take her in to the Urgent Care center to make sure everything was OK--which she was. Ugh. What a day!
Now...remember, how I mentioned Ali's self-confidence? The next day she commented to Megan in the morning, "I love my new short hair." Upon closer examination, Megan discovered that Ali had given herself a haircut! So...we had to take her to the real barber to get it evened out--which was quite the challenge since Ali had cut pieces indiscriminately.
Since I had class, and since things seemed to be OK, I asked Megan to text me at 5:15 p.m. if Kaitlyn had any issues waking up--which she didn't. When I got home, Megan said that Kaitlyn's eye had continued to bleed off and on. So, we decided to take her in to the Urgent Care center to make sure everything was OK--which she was. Ugh. What a day!
Now...remember, how I mentioned Ali's self-confidence? The next day she commented to Megan in the morning, "I love my new short hair." Upon closer examination, Megan discovered that Ali had given herself a haircut! So...we had to take her to the real barber to get it evened out--which was quite the challenge since Ali had cut pieces indiscriminately.
She's so cute with her new haircut, but it certainly wasn't something that we had planned on.
I'll have to post another time about Alison and Kaitlyn sneaking treats into their bedroom as they said, "I love you Dad. We're just going to go into our room and close the door to play nicely together."
I'll have to post another time about Alison and Kaitlyn sneaking treats into their bedroom as they said, "I love you Dad. We're just going to go into our room and close the door to play nicely together."
