School is back in session.

THIS MORNING:
First day of school breakfast: Chocolate Chip pancakes courtesy of Dad. I hope they aren't too hyper.
Make lunches: Peanut butter and honey, applesauce, pudding, and CapriSun. YUM!
Spike the hair: They wanted spikey hair for the first day of school. What style!
Father's blessings all around: Wyatt insisted on having one too, even though preschool doesn't start up for a few more weeks!
Drive them to school: Zach wanted me to take him to his class. I won't argue with that request.

Mixed feeling going on here. This past week the kids have been a little stir crazy--trying to beat each other up every other second. Part of me has been anxious to get them back into school. Today is the first day of school here--yes, the middle of August and school is starting. The house is strangely quiet and I think Wyatt is already bored out of his mind. Zach started first grade this year and his teacher, Mrs. Nuttall, seems nice. She is a mother of ten and a grandmother of fourteen. I talked to her a little about Zach's love of reading and she mentioned that she has several top readers in her class. I am just praying that Zach will open up a little and play with the kids at recess. He only knows one or two of the kids in the class so it is almost like starting from scratch again(There are nine first grade classes this year--talk about an overcrowded school!!! I guess that is why they are building a new one next to our neighborhood). He has been saying that he wasn't excited for school for the past week but he had a pretty excited smile on his face this morning. Cross my fingers.
Ethan, my little social bug, was more than excited to get back into the school routine. He recognized four or five of the thirty four--yes 34 that wasn't a typo--kids in his class. I talked to his teacher, Mrs. DeBeikas(De-BAKE-us) about his love of Math. She said that she seems to get the high Math kids. Principal Armstrong seems to have found good matches for both of the boys!! One of his best friends and math buddies, Jack, is in his class. They went crazy when they saw each other this morning. He will be fine--I just hope not so fine that he talks too much in class. It is a little hard to believe that half of my kids are in full time school now. Once preschool starts I will only have Mallory some of the time. I am not sure I am ready for this. I love my kids and I miss them when they are gone. (Not enough to home school or anything--I am not patient enough to handle that!) I know that going to school is good for them--to learn how to maneuver in the world independently one step at a time. I can do this....I can give them room to grow. I just pray every day that I have taught them what they need to make good choices, be good examples, and to choose good friends. Breathe, Sigh, time to go do laundry. And here they are coming home. One of my favorite moments of the day--can you see Zach's outstretched arms?? And they are running to me! Makes my heart all happy inside!