First Day(s) of School...Charleston Edition

I am over the moon to report that both kids ROCKED their first day of school! I on the other hand certainly got a near failing grade for all the nail biting, aimless wandering, nervous eating that I did. The only reason I won't give myself a failing grade is because I did manage to get to the chiropractor as well as make a couple Christmas returns.

Here's the recap...

At 6:20 am my alarm went off (Izzy was in bed with me because Pete was out of town). I went downstairs to turn on the oven and make cinnamon rolls for the kids for breakfast. This seems to be the breakfast of choice when a "special" option is given.

6:35 I wake Izzy up. As she is slowly waking I look out my window and notice the bus is waiting at our neighborhood bus stop. Did you catch that it is ONLY 6:35!!! I told this to Izzy and she said, "I don't care how early it comes, I want to ride it." I don't think that will happen.

6:45 Izzy is dressed and sitting at the table eating a cinnamon roll. I go to wake Drew (and Izzy follows because she wants to wake him).

6:47 wake Drew who is upset that we have to take Izzy to school because he wants to play Wii. I tell him that he can stay in his pj's but he insists on putting his clothes on.

7:05 we are on our way to Izzy's school. We park and walk a distance that takes FOREVER because Drew is still half asleep and walking at a snails pace.

7:30 I leave Izzy in her classroom :(

Drew and I then come back home where he is now allowed to play Wii while I shower. He then has a second breakfast while I pack his lunch for school.

I dropped Drew at 9 (walked him in) and then went about running errands until I picked him up at 12:30.

Drew typically gets dropped off and picked up in a car line (except on Fridays when I go in to pick him up). Once Drew was loaded in the car I began asking about his day.

Me: DREW!!! Tell me about school! Did you have a good day?
Drew: Hey! Hey! Hey Mom, I 'fink' I met a new best friend!
Me: You did, that's GREAT! Do you remember his name?
Drew: It's Brock.

One kid down and one to go...

For the first couple weeks I will pick Izzy up as a "walker" This means that the teacher will walk her out of the school and hand deliver her to me at the end of the parked buses (many people do this as it seems to be faster then going through the pick up line). Once she finds a buddy in the neighborhood she may ride the afternoon bus.

I was able to see Izzy walking long before she spotted me. She was just marching along with the rest of the "walkers" and didn't seem at all out of sorts or anxious. Once she saw me she broke into a big ole grin :-) Her day was just as exciting as Drew's with the meeting of a potential new best friend. Once we got home and I was able to look in her folder the teacher had written a brief note stating that Izzy had a smile on her face most of the day.

As I type this Izzy has had school for 3 days and Drew twice. Izzy has commented about not wanting to go to school but when asked for a reason she tells me it is because she misses me. She has also stated that she misses her old school and friends. Thankfully these just seem to be brief passing comments and have not brought much opposition to going or lots of crying. Izzy even brought home a certificate (good for a free kids meal at Chick-Fil-A) and recognized for: respect, joy, determination, kindness and a double dose of courage! Drew did FANTASTIC on his second day. On our way to school I asked him if he wanted me to walk him in or drop him off in the car line. He asked "what does Brock do?" I told him he gets dropped off in line. Drew said, "den dat's what I want to do!"

Perhaps the funniest thing was when I picked Drew up (remember Friday's we go into the classroom to get them) as I was walking towards his class I heard him say to another parent, "Hi, I'm a new student at this school. My name is Drew and I am 4."