This school year has been surrounded with headaches. Not for the younger two, who continue on at their elementary school, but the oldest is now in middle school. We spent much of the summer figuring out ways for him to get to and from school, does he need a phone and/or laptop for school?, and so. much. more. I was honestly relieved when the first day came because all of our planning and headaches were (somewhat) gone. As usual, I took the first day of school off so I could see the minis off (didn't quite happen that way though), take part in the family picnic the middle school does for the 6th graders, and have some time to myself after a busy summer with not many breaks from my own children (love them, but every parent needs some breaks!).
The minis were up bright and early. Much earlier than needed, but nerves and excitement kept sleep at bay. My day began early too, but apparently not early enough. When the younger two minis saw all of the kids in the neighborhood begin their walk to school earlier than predicted, they begged to go walk with their friends. Hubs snapped quick photos of them before Harrison and Elizabeth walked with their friends to the first day of school. I got to yell a measly "have a great day!" from my bedroom as I changed my clothes.
I did get ready in time to take the oldest and his best friend to their first day of middle school. It was a mix of excitement and nervousness in the car ride to school. The biggest news of the day: I didn't cry once!!! All of my babies got older, moved onto new grades, teachers, and school, life as we knew it will never be the same...and I made it through without crying. I'm kind of wondering when it will all hit me, but so far so good.
Hubs managed a couple of pictures of the three minis together before going their separate ways (for the first time in their lives).
Max, 6th Grade. When I asked him to take a picture with me, he tried to grab my phone to take a picture OF me. Sigh. I still talked him into a picture easily though (he claims he just misheard me).
I asked Max and Co. if I could get out of the car and take pictures of them. His friend gave an enthusiastic "sure!" Max rolled his eyes and gave a "whatever."
To be honest, the probable reason I didn't get choked up dropping Max off for his first day of middle school was because I had been looking forward to this breakfast with mimosas for a couple of weeks. I happily dropped off so I could celebrate the end of summer. I wasn't the only one with this idea.
At the restaurant were a few groups of mom celebrating the first day of school. One group was done up in designer clothes and ten pounds of make up. Another group of was done up in business clothes with their cell phone on alert. The third group had on pajamas and leggings and their messy hair up in ponytails. I'll give you one guess which group are my people.
Middle school family picnic lunch. It was wonderful running into the usual school families. If it felt that way for the adults, I have to imagine it was comforting for the kids too. It was the perfect way to meet the teachers as well. We stayed for a bit to watch the kids doing their class building exercises. The first day of middle school was all class building to help the kids meet new kids. I loved how they went about the first day and the activities they had them do.
Usually after the first day of school the minis come home exhausted. Instead they came home revved up. I don't know if walking to and from school with their neighborhood friends plays a part in this, but they had more energy than the moon shoes could handle (and me. Mom. They had waayyy more energy than I was anticipating after a relaxing day).
To celebrate the first day of school, we do two things every year. First, the minis after school treat is cupcakes from Scratch Cupcakery. This has been a tradition since the oldest was in Kindergarten. Every year in between my me-time activities, I make a run to Scratch. The other thing we always do is a dinner out at whatever restaurant the minis choose. In the past this has ranged from fancy meals to McDonald's. This year we invited family along and went to the kid's favorite Mexican restaurant, El Rodeo.
As usual, Elizabeth needed to go to the bathroom within minutes of sitting down. So I took her to the bathroom and waited outside of her stall. From inside I hear her peeing and crunching.....
Me: "Elizabeth, did you take a chip with salsa on it into the bathroom with you?"
Elizabeth: "Yep! I did!"
Sadly, kinda normal around here.
The minis had a hard time settling down. They required extra play time and a later bedtime. Thankfully when we did put them to bed they crashed hard. For kids that weren't overly excited about the start of the school year, they were suddenly jazzed about the new school year after Back To School Night. Thankfully that enthusiasm continues (and hopefully for the rest of the school year). It makes this transition so much easier on this momma!