Today was the first day back to Early Start for the twins. I don't know how they felt about it, but Mommy was certainly ready for it to start back again. We've had a fun summer, but Mommy was running out of ideas to keep everyone happy and occupied all day, every day, so it's a welcome break in our daily routine, at least for me. Three whole hours with, at most, one child (Connor will start back after Labor Day, and then there will be two days of total freedom when their school times overlap, you know, for all of an hour)!
For the last week or so, I've been trying to prepare Sawyer and Xander for what was coming. We've been taking a look at their backpacks, getting those organized and ready. We've been talking about "school" and their teachers. We've even had two home visits, one from each set of teachers, before the big day. Both boys did well with those, offering even a grin or two while their teachers were here. Xander even showed off some of his new words from this summer.
So this morning Mommy got out of bed early, for her anyway. We had breakfast over and done with before Super Why even went off at 9:30. And that's impressive, if you're wondering. And then right at 10 a.m. we started getting ready. We need the extra time this year, what with potty training and all. So we had our potty sessions, for both boys, and we're successful (with a little help for Sawyer, of course). Then we lined everyone up to get ready.
Over the summer, we acquired the bench organizer in the photo above from a good friend of Josh's who had moved and didn't have room for it in his new place. He was nice enough to let us have it, and it was the perfect fit for the little alcove under our front steps. It's become the general staging area for all things little people in our house. All of their shoes - crocs, tennis shoes and house shoes - fit perfectly under the bench seat. Their jackets, backpacks and lunch bags hang up on the hooks, and their winter gear - gloves and hats and such - fit perfectly in the little baskets at the top.
And this is where we line them up and get them organized, or try to. It's still a work in progress. Connor does well, getting his shoes out and sitting on the bench to get help putting them on. The other two, well, you kind of have to chase them down and force their shoes on them. And then I carry their backpacks out to the truck because there's really no need for them to put them on only to take them off once they get to their car seats.
So we made one last minute potty stop (it had been 25 minutes, you know), and we were off. The drive to school only takes about five minutes, but we left a little early to allow for the first day madness. I was a little worried about Sawyer, who I noticed was covering his ears from the backseat. That's usually his sign of displeasure, and he usually does it when he doesn't recognize where we're going or sometimes, like today, when he knows exactly where we're going. But we pulled into the car pool line and both of them seemed fine.
There were tons of cars everywhere, including first-time parents walking their kids in and just parking in the car pool line. So it was a little crazy. I figured my guys were going to start getting angry about the wait, so I joined the others and walked them up to the drop off point to hand off with their teachers. They were both fine until this point, but Sawyer looked up at me with his pitiful face when it was time to change hands. This was clearly not what he had signed up for. He went with her, but he looked back over his shoulder with a bit of pitiful whining all the way into the building. I wasn't too upset, because I was pretty sure it wouldn't last. Both boys had done this off and on last year, but their teachers assured me it usually passed the minute they found themselves in a classroom full of toys.
And today was no different. Sawyer's teacher told me he had a great first day when she walked the boys out this afternoon. I didn't see Xander's teacher, but he seemed to be in a good mood as he was walking out. He had a few potty training accidents, which is surprising, because he's usually my good one. But he's also my frequent pottier (as in every 15 or 20 minutes), so I'm hopeful it will get better as the teachers get used to his signs and he gets comfortable in the classroom again. I just pulled out some more extra clothes to send in his backpack again tomorrow.
We also are experimenting once again with school lunches. We still have two extremely picky eaters on our hands, and I was hoping that by starting from the beginning with ordering school lunches like most of their classmates have, we might convince them to try a few new things. Here's hoping. Of course, Sawyer's teacher told me he wouldn't touch it all today, and he dragged me to the kitchen cabinet where I keep the kids plates practically the minute we walked in the door (right after I took them both potty, anyway)! I'm not sure about Xander, but he didn't eat much for me when I fixed them a small snack after school.
And that was our first day back. There were a few tears, a few potty accidents, probably not much lunch consumed, and the beginning of a new routine for a while. Not a bad first day.
Connor, in particular, probably liked it. We did some shopping - new school shoes for him, office stuff for us, and a new CD for Daddy who's taken up running - and then we finished off the day with lunch and play time at Chick-fil-a. I'm sure he was as ready for a fun day as Mommy was, and we had to squeeze it in before tomorrow when he heads back to the lake for a few days to prepare for his beach trip on Saturday! The kid definitely has it made.