It has been so beyond gorgeous out lately and we have been making the most of every moment.  We have been given a tiny glimpse of summer and we are hungry for more.  The kids spend endless hours outside after school, stealing every moment of daylight they possibly can.  Our driveway is constantly filled with chalk drawings and often is turned into a street hockey play area. We have bubble wands and shovels strewn about the lawn. The kids are always filthy from digging in dirt, climbing trees, and running around like crazy.  Basically, it is everything childhood should be, and it is pretty fantastic.

Just last week, we were outside drawing with chalk and playing.  Taylor was so excited that it was finally warm out and tried to do everything all at once.  She was playing chalk for only a few moments before she abandoned her drawings to go play something else, vowing to come back to it. I didn’t think anything of it, and went back to folding laundry.  Yes, I brought a big basket of laundry outside to fold.  I had the kids carry the basket out (because chores make them well rounded and responsible right?) and folded everything on a big blanket we have.  Todd came home a while later and started cracking up at the sight of me folding laundry on the driveway, but I felt productive.  Anyway, Todd walked through the mess of driveway toys and chalk drawings and stopped and pointed to one and asked me what it was.  I got up to see, since I couldn’t see it from where I was sitting and realized that it was one of the ones Taylor had started and abandoned for the time being.  We called her over and asked her to tell us about what she drew.  She proudly exclaimed that she was working on a mermaid and would finish it later.  Clearly.  We should have known what it was immediately, but I guess we aren’t as in tune with the art world as we once thought.  Our neighbors stopped over to talk and their child played with our kids for a little while.  We made sure to point out the poor, neglected mermaid so they wouldn’t think we were completely obscene.  We all had a good laugh about it, and I do have to say that Taylor did eventually end up finishing it.  My sweet girl.

The boys have been having such an amazing time in school lately.  Their teachers do so many creative things with them and they come home happily explaining all they did each day.  Sometimes, they only have a few words to say, and other times, they have big elaborate stories to tell.  Yesterday, they had their first ever field trip.  They were so incredibly excited the days leading up to it.  They couldn’t wait to be “big kids like Taylor” and be on a trip outside of school.  The field trip was at a nature center, and they had an absolute blast.  They came home with huge smiles on their faces and were going on and on about how much fun they had and how they can’t wait to go back on another field trip.  I asked them about what they did, expecting them to tell me about all of the animals they saw, but they both spoke about something different: maple syrup. They told me that they learned all about how maple syrup was made and how they put it into bottles and people got to eat it.  They were sure to tell me that they did not get to taste any of it because it wasn’t ready to eat yet.  I thought it was a pretty cool thing to do on a field trip, knowing that they do tap maple trees for syrup at this location, and was so impressed by the knowledge they had of the process. They told Taylor all about the maple syrup when we picked her up from school.  They told Todd about it when he got home.  They told my mom when she called them that night. They told their friends who came over to play.  Joseph even specifically asked me if he could call Brampy (my dad) this morning to tell him about the maple syrup field trip – and he did.  When I dropped them off this morning, their teachers commented on how well they listened at the field trip and how much fun they had. I thanked them, and reiterated everything the boys told me about the maple syrup making and how it was their favorite part of the field trip.  The head teacher looked at me like I was certifiably insane and then said “What? We didn’t see them make maple syrup yesterday…” I again told her, in more detail, what the boys had told me and she said “That’s really funny.  They were up ahead with me and a few other kids while we were waiting for the other students and teachers to catch up and I explained what the sign for syrup said, but that’s it.”  Apparently these two took that small bit of information and ran with it, dubbing it as their favorite part.  I can’t even comprehend what went through their little minds to get them so excited for this event that never happened, but that’s my kids for you.

Some days, it hits me hard that I have TWINS. I honestly don’t know that I’ll ever say it out loud and have it be honest to goodness real to me. It’s just life for us. This is our normal; our every day. We have a beautiful daughter and two sons, simple as that. But when I stop to think about it logistically, I completely understand how incredibly lucky I am and I am in awe. I am in awe that I had three children in under TWO years. I am in awe that even though it was so hard on my body, I did it. I grew two perfect humans at once. I am in awe that Todd and I have been through so much with this little of family of ours yet we are still as strong as ever, if not more so. I am in awe of not only the sibling bond that all three of my loves have, but the undeniable twin bond that you just don’t understand unless you live it. 

So on this cold, rainy day, I’m going to sit back and be in awe of the simple things in life, like counting the raindrops with your best friend by your side because I’m not sure life gets much better than this.

 

Today, I reached my limit of arguing. I picked up the boys from school and got to listen to the insanely sweet story about how one boy lost his mittens, so they split a pair on the playground. “Mommy, we shared because we didn’t want a brother to be cold! Aren’t we nice?” We literally went from that sweetness to insanity and it went something like this:

Mom, he told me I looked like a moo cow!
Mom, he tripped me.
Mommy, he said he’s not my friend anymore.
Mom, he told me I can’t open my eyes because he doesn’t want to look at them.
Mom, he’s looking at me.
Mommy, now he’s looking at me again.
Mommy! He punched me in the face.
Mom, he slapped me.
Mommy! He tripped my feet.

They fought over who got out of the car first, who walked through the door first, and who got to stand underneath the alarm panel while I was turning it off. They made it a race as to who could get underdressed first (we still change clothing every day after preschool, because, germs). They were competing so hard about the undressing that they both got their heads stuck in their hoodies and their legs stuck in their pants. They were a mini heap of semi-nakedness in front of the washer and dryer until I freed them from their clothing confines. Still, I gave them another chance, with the warning that they would be losing iPad time if they kept up this behavior. At this point, they both needed to use the bathroom at the same time. I told one to go upstairs and one to go downstairs and that became a fight. The literally tried to sit on each other’s laps to poop, shoving the other off the toilet in the process. iPad time was lost; they went to the bathroom in relative peace. I sent them to their room to get changed as I switched the laundry and heard loud booms and screaming. I ran up the stairs to find them pulling hair, rolling each other off their beds, tossing books, etc. because they were having some sort of new clothing competition. Jackson was red in the face screaming “You are bad for forever!” This fighting went on for a while and I was done. I know they are still young and I understand the whole boys will be boys concept. I also understand that they have an innate competitive nature and it’s not always a walk in the park, being a twin. I get this. But today was overkill.

I decided to bring out an old friend. Does anyone remember the Get-Along shirt ? I made it a while a back while the boys were much smaller and were having a bad bout of fighting. They disliked it the few times I used it, but overall, weren’t as bothered by it as I had hoped. It didn’t change much in the long run. This time, they were much bigger. Having two of them inside the shirt at the same time was more of a challenge, and more of a punishment. They were not happy. At all. They stood there in that shirt, as I folded a basket of laundry and had the audacity to argue with each other and call each other names. After that, I started giving them jobs. They had to go put their laundry away, grab a tissue, throw dryer sheets in the garbage, etc. I told them that the only way to do this was through teamwork and cooperation and that they’d be wearing the shirt until they learned to be nice to each other and work together. They tried to run off to do their jobs and ended up looking like a Road Runner cartoon. They went down in every which way. They cried that they couldn’t get back up and that I had to do it for them. Mean mom over here simply told them to work together and figure it out. They rolled around on their backs for a bit before realizing that if one started to get up and helped the other, they’d make much more progress. After about ten minutes in the shirt, they were good to go. They said their apologies and played so nicely together for the remainder of the afternoon, with the threat of “the shirt” clearly looming over their heads. At one point, they were cleaning up their books and started arguing and I heard Jospeh say “Shh! Remember the shirt? Let’s be nice brothers.” It may have worked for today, but I’m not going to hold my breath on ideas of a calm tomorrow.

And just for good measure, here’s a picture of all three of my little loves in one of their finer moments where they love each other so much that they can’t sleep apart.

These kids of mine are no strangers to bumps and bruises. They play hard and are tough. We usually “walk off” a lot of their minor injuries, or they will sit there harping on it for days. We literally have had hours of tears before over a hang nail.

This morning, Taylor said she couldn’t walk on stairs because her leg hurt her. I’m inclined to believe it was simply asleep and felt weird for a while, but we’ll see what happens when I get her from school. It could also be “growing pains.”  I know a few other kids her age have been having them and she is sprouting up! She asked me to have bandaids (or bandanas, as she calls them, still) ready for her when she gets home. Anyone with with kids, or anyone who has even been around kids for that matter knows that bandaids are magical. Those little gauzy, glorified stickers are usually enough to make any child feel better about his or her ailments.

When I picked the boys up from school today, they decided to full on rush into the house. They were a mere three feet away from me as I watched them collide. I’m pretty sure Joseph tripped over Jackson’s booted feet and just went down. I saw it happen. His arm went underneath him in an awkward way, his own boot flew off, and he landed on his back. Of course, he screamed and I rushed over to check his head, immediately. He was fine, but is going to be sore tomorrow! Poor baby. He has a small scrape on one arm and a small scrape with seriously the smallest dot of blood I’ve ever seen. When he saw the blood, he started yelling “I’m bleeding! I’m bleeding!” He completely lost any composure we had regained after the fall. Naturally, he asked for bandaids to feel better. I think seven was the magical number today. Seven bandaids slapped on his skin, and he was good to go. He is still dragging his injured leg behind him as if it was detached from his body, but he full on ran into the kitchen when I asked him if he wanted chocolate, so I think he’ll be just fine.

Jackson and Ranger were so concerned about this whole process. It was quite adorable. Jackson took seven trips to the garbage to dispose of the bandaid wrappers and kissed his brother’s boo boos multiple times. Ranger sat on the floor near Joseph’s feet and whined until I put him on the sofa next to his boys. After everything was said and done, Jackson looked at me with tears in his little eyes. I asked him what was wrong and he said “It hurts me too when brother gets hurt. It hurts me inside, but I don’t get a boo boo outside.” This isn’t the first time we’ve heard him say things like this, but it still gets to me every time. Their bond is so strong and pure and I’m in awe.

The boys have been doing really well in school, which has been amazing to hear. It’s nice to know that they can put their life of crime behind them, at least for a few hours each day. They learn about different things each week and the entire classroom transforms into whatever they are studying. Last week it was icicles / winter, another week was grocery store (complete with food boxes, prices, money, and a cash register). It’s always something different and even though they are having fun playing with their friends, they are learning so much! This week, they are studying cooking, pizza, specifically. This has been the biggest hit by far. They are so extremely excited to come home each day and tell me what they did, what ingredients they used, how many slices are in their pizza, P words they thought of, etc.

When I picked them up today, they were wearing adorable chef hats that they made and decorated themselves. They were elated and felt like big shots walking out of school. They begged and pleaded with me to make their own pizza tonight, so I figured, why not? We hadn’t done that in a while, and if they were showing so much interest in it, perhaps they’d eat more than 2.5 bites before falling mysteriously ill with a tummy ailment that only lasts until dessert time. We went to the grocery store and naturally, they wanted to wear their chef hats. I still get stopped very often for people asking if they are twins, but that more than quadrupled today. The hats were magnets. We were stopped every few steps for people commenting on how cute they were and how adorable their chef hats were. They were pleasant with people, but were clearly on the move and more than once said “Sorry, we need to buy things to make pizza now!” I guess that was their way of saying they were done conversing. The amount of joy they brought to people today was incredible, and it was so fun to see. Who would have thought that simple school-made hats on cute little boys would be such a hit?

They could hardly contain their excitement when it was time to make the pizza, and each of the kids put so much work into it! They had to make sure that the pizza sauce was spread in a circular pattern and that every bit was covered. They had to make sure that the cheese was sprinkled just so. They were interested in the numbers on the stove (both temperature and bake time) and had another little learning experience through that. It was so much fun to see them so exited about something so simple. They think they are going to help me cook every night from now on, but I’m not so sure about that.

Even big sister told them how proud she was. She taught them the importance of washing their hands before touching food, and stood guard in the bathroom to make sure they did it properly. And to their credit, each of my three loves ate an entire slice of pizza and can’t wait for leftovers. I’d call that a success!

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged and I made sure I set aside the time to do it today, even if it’s only a few minutes. Part of my desire to blog today is because I honestly miss the writing – stringing words together that become our story, to look back on for years to come. The other part is simply because I am so damn proud of my children.

They may still be drawn to the allure of toilet water. They may stay up way later than they should. They may need a punch-pass, train ticket style, for their trips to time out, but sometimes… Sometimes, they just get it right. Really right.

I love looking at the world through their eyes. I know this might sound like a cliche thing that parents say as their children are growing up, but it really holds true in my case. Everything is fascinating to them. While the question “WHY” is asked a million times a day and becomes annoying at times, I also acknowledge that this is how they learn. These little people that I made rely on me to know how the world works; to know what’s expected of them.

The kids were excited to have today off for Martin (or ‘Marvin’ according to Taylor) Luther King Jr’s Birthday, but they didn’t know what it really meant. I tried to break it down to their learning level, and interest level, knowing that I’d lose it if it wasn’t basic enough. I explained to them that MLK was a man who had darker skin and wasn’t treated fairly because of his skin color. He, and his family and friends of similar skin colors, were seen as different and thought to be not good people just because of how they looked. We talked about how many people with lighter color skin thought that they were better, and many of these light skinned people were not kind to others. We talked about good choices vs. not such good choices (something we do often around this house) and the kids decided on their own, that it’s not okay to treat someone different because of the way they look, skin or otherwise. Taylor was even quick to point out that both light skinned people and dark skinned people can be different from other people if they are in a wheelchair too, but even people in wheel chairs have the same insides and we should be nice to them. I love the way her mind works. We talked about content and character and appropriate actions toward people. When we talked about friends and what being a good friend meant, I asked if they had friends with different colored skin. This was something they really had to think about it. It honestly is not something that children just see. They choose their friends based on who is kind to them, who plays with them, etc. At the end of our conversation, the boys walked away saying “everyone has the same heart inside.” Clearly, I know there is much more depth to Martin Luther King Jr. and his dreams and legacy, but for explaining it to a six year old and two four year olds, I was happy with this take-away. They are compassionate and willing learners and I know they will do some good in this world.

This morning, we were enjoying our lazy pajama day. We watched movies, played with blocks, read books, and colored. When we were cleaning up the hundreds of crayons they had scattered about, I had an idea. I asked everyone to quickly grab three crayons that were ‘skin colored’ and bring them to me. I was eager to see what they came up with, and they did not disappoint. I truly believe that hatred is learned, and it’s something my kids are not taking part of. They might know a few four letter words that have slipped out of my mouth a time or two, but since these are the crayons they brought me, I think we’re doing alright.

True to her form, Taylor said “Mom, we all chose different skin colors because there are different people in this world. I wanted to choose a green crayon, but the only people I know that are green are witches and zombies and I don’t know if their insides are like ours because they aren’t so nice.”

Just this morning, my aunt expressed her concern that the boys are growing up and are less savage. The stories I have been sharing have been few and far between. I assured her that in fact, they are still incredibly savage, but I am just finding less time to sit down and form cohesive sentences. You’d think with three kids in school for at least part of the day, my brain would be more amendable to writing, but that’s not exactly the case. I’ve been keeping myself so busy. Between starting a puppy sitting job, getting through birthdays and holidays, and the million home improvement jobs I’ve taken upon myself, I just can’t muster energy for much else, but I will try once in a while because as I’ve mentioned before, this is your baby book, kids.

Jackson decided to help prove my point earlier today, and did so in a way that I’m sure I won’t forget for a while. Sometimes, I allow the boys to play on their iPads (our very old ones) while we wait in the pickup line at Taylor’s school. I usually use this time to talk to a friend, read, etc. I honestly only half pay attention to what they are playing with in the back seat because I know it’s not like iPad time at home. They don’t have internet access for me to worry about them getting into something inappropriate. What can go wrong? I was chatting back and forth with them a bit about their games. Jospeh kept saying things like “Mom, I found the blue train! Mom, 100 is the highest number ever! Mom, do you know how many shapes I see?” Confident that they were enjoying their educationally stimulating recreational activity, I went about reading my psychological thriller, getting lost in someone else’s drama for a while. As I’m flipping a page, I hear a muffled, yet distinct “Mother Fucker.” Surely that wasn’t one of my children saying that, but since we were the only ones in the car, I had to consider it. I was taken aback at first and didn’t even know what to say. While I was taking a few seconds to process the words I just heard come out of a sweet little four year old mouth, I then heard “Where are the goddamn weapons?” Cue the freak out. I immediately turned around and asked Jackson to show me what was on his iPad. He very quickly toggled the screen and said “Oh, see? It’s the Banana Boom (minions) game, Mom.” Nice try, kid, but you were busted in action. I went to the back of the car, grabbed the iPad and went to see what other applications he had open to find that he had launched some movie app that I didn’t even know was on there. Not only did he launch it, but he was watching an R rated war movie that Todd had on there from when the iPad previously belonged to him. I guess the iPad wasn’t properly wiped clean before we gave it to our smart boy (I’m looking at you, Todd). That’s a project for tonight. I’m very pleased to hear the boys expanding their vocabulary, but this particular language was not in my sights. I wonder what else was said in that movie he was watching (and how many times he sneaked a viewing in the pickup line) because the other night he told his brother that he was being a vagina. While you’re all doing what you do tomorrow, please think of me and keep your fingers crossed that the phone number for preschool doesn’t come up on my phone.

And just for good measure, here’s a sweet picture of my little men. They really are growing up so quickly! I’d just prefer they save the choice language for their college years.

My boys are four.  My tiny little preemies, who fought for their place in this world are four.  My “tornado twins” who used to paint the walls with their own poop are four. My sweet boys who give me the best hugs and kisses and make me smile daily are four.  How did this happen? It is so hard for me to believe, but life is ever-changing and as much as I want them to stay little forever, they are growing up.  I currently have two four year olds and a five year old and it that in itself really is funny to me for some reason.

The boys are doing so well in school.  Their teachers have told me countless times that they are such sweet kids and such a pleasure to have in class.  They are apparently very well behaved and interact well with other children.  This makes me so proud, and I am glad they keep their shenanigans at bay and bring them home for me instead.  They are doing things I never thought they’d be doing like making puzzles on their own, identifying letters, spelling their names, etc.  They’ve actually been doing this stuff for a while, but school is bringing out the best in them.

JOSEPH — Joseph actually came over as I was blogging and wanted to find the letters for his name, so that is courtesy of my littlest.

Obviously, I knew they’d do all of these things eventually but was never sure when they’d acquire some of these skills.  They honestly make me beam with pride. They are also learning more about this great big world around them.  Just today, the kindergarten class at their school hosted a lemonade stand to raise money for children with Cancer.  They proudly used their dollars to purchase cups of lemonade.  As we were leaving, Jackson looked at me and said “Mommy, this lemonade is going to go to the hospital to help the sick kids!’ Joseph replied with a “Yeah, sick kids need lemonade to make them feel better and we want to bring them some.”  They didn’t quite understand the entire concept, so we discussed how some kids are really sick and have to stay in the hospital for long periods of time and the donations and money they get from people buying lemonade goes to help the kids who are there.  They really thought about this and said “So our dollars help kids?”  They then proceeded to ask other people around us if they had any dollars and told them that they should use their dollars to go buy lemonade to help the sick kids.  I love that they listened and understood and then tried to take action.  They really are such sweet boys.

Their birthday celebrations didn’t go exactly as planned this year.  Unfortunately, my grandmother ended up needing emergency surgery and a hospital stay.  Since we were all helping her and spending time with her at the hospital (mostly my Mom, who has shown that she really is some kind of human / saint hybrid) we didn’t feel like anyone would be enjoying the party.  Stuff happens, and family comes first. We promised to have it another day when things calm down and Mema is well again.  The boys were bummed but took the news like champs. They were okay with waiting until Mema got better and we vowed to make their birthday special anyway.  On their birthday, we did FaceTime with Mema so they could see her and then let them basically choose a few activities for the rest of the day.  We told them they could pick one thing they wanted to do (assuming they’d come with a collective decision as they do with most things) but they out-smarted us.  One chose Build-a-Bear and the other chose ice cream.  We said yes to both.  We now have two new Paw Patrol dogs and a giant pink pony (we couldn’t leave big sister out of the fun).  While on our way to Build-a-Bear, my sweet girl said “Mommy? Since kids can’t go into the grown up hospital (kids aren’t allowed in ICU, for good reason) can we make Mema a bear? I think Bears can go to hospitals.” She made me tear up, for sure.  We ended up getting her a black and white dog.  The kids each put a heart into it.  When we told the woman what we were doing, even she teared up and told us that there was a way for us to record a message to put into the bear. We ended up doing that, and it was more perfect than I could ever imagine. Mema absolutely loved it, and loves hearing the kids’ voices whenever she wants. Later that day, we went out for ice cream, had a pizza party, cupcakes, and a movie night.  I’d say they had a great day!

These two have always been really close.  They definitely share that special “twin bond” but since turning four (a whole five days ago) it has been even stronger.  It is so weird, but magical at the same time.  I love watching their interactions so much.  They have been falling asleep literally holding each other at night.  They watch tv almost on top of each other.  They have been playing so nicely together.  Jackson will say “I got this” and carry Joseph’s backpack for him.  Joseph will grab Jackson’s water cup and run over to him with it if he even has a slight cough.  Perhaps my favorite example so far came yesterday when they went to the doctor for their four year old physicals.  Jackson got his vaccinations first.  After lots of tears, he got hugs and once he calmed down, he had a lollipop and went behind me so Joseph could have his turn.  He couldn’t directly see what was happening.  As the first needle came close to Joseph’s arm and made contact, Jackson screamed “No, that hurts me! That hurts Joseph!”  Did he actually feel his brother’s pain? I’ve heard of this happening before, but it was crazy to see first hand.

The boys have now been in school for a few weeks and they are loving every moment of it!  The fact that they love school so much has made it a bit easier on my end.  I still miss my best buddies during the morning hours, but seeing their excited faces when I get there for pick up does something to me.  Every day, they act like they haven’t seen me in ages, where in reality it was only three hours.  They both run into my arms and give me the biggest squeezes as they try to talk over each other, telling me about their day.  It really is adorable. Their teachers have said they are doing really well.  They are happy, they are listening and they are playing with each other, but making new friends as well. Hearing this makes me so happy about our decisions to send them.  It really has been good for all of us.  I haven’t been having too much “down time” yet while they are in school because it still feels weird to me.  At some point, maybe I will get there, but for now, I am keeping busy. I have completely remodeled and repainted the kids playroom.  It was something that I’ve been meaning to do for some time, but never got around to doing (probably because I always had little ones under foot).  I am still putting up a few final touches, but I will definitely do a post about it soon since I’ve had a few people ask me about it.  I am going to be starting the boys’ bedroom next! Mama is on a roll!

This morning, we went apple picking!  It is the perfect family activity for fall and we were so excited to go.  When we got dressed this morning, it was in the 70s, so we wore long shirts since it was cool and we’d be surrounded by trees. Bad move.  By the time we got up there, Mother Nature forgot it was Fall and it was ninety degrees. Ninety. We were sweaty and gross by the time we got home, but boy did we have a good time!  The kids were so excited to be able to pick their own apples.  They felt so accomplished doing so and were looking for the best ones.  We also did our fair share of sampling the apples.  Apples taste even more delicious when you pluck them from the trees yourself.  At one point, Jackson couldn’t decide which variety of apple he wanted, so he walked around double-fisting two different kinds of apples!  Their faces were full of wonder and amazement.  It was definitely a great day.  Of course, I snapped a few pictures while we were there.  You know me; I’m always trying to capture the moments!  While most of our pictures came out typical for us (nobody looking at the camera, tongue out, fingers in the nose, etc.) one of the ones of Taylor came out so beautifully.

 

It helps that she’s beautiful herself to begin with, but this picture really makes me happy.  You can see the happiness in her eyes, as she’s hiding behind her apple, and I just love it. I can’t wait to take these kids apple picking again.  Of course, they are already begging to go pumpkin picking, but I told them we needed to wait few weeks for that!

Somehow, our long weekend escaped us and is over too soon, once again.  But before we acknowledge that it’s back to school tomorrow, we are ending the weekend on a high note – with homemade apple crisp!  The kids are quite excited that they “picked the ingredients for the dessert”.  I might have to make it a few more times this season because even though it’s delicious, it doesn’t quite feel the same eating it when it is so hot out!

We have completed six days of kindergarten (only 174 to go), and I am proud to report that it is going well!  I say we because this kindergarten business has been just as much of an adjustment for me as it has been for Taylor; probably more so.  Taylor jumped right into kindergarten without looking back.  She was so excited as we drove her to her first day and could not wait to get started.  She proudly got out her folder, put her lunch and backpack in her cubby and said hello to her friends. She gave us hugs and a kiss and said “See you at pickup” and went right to work on the assignment she had at her table.  I was so proud of her, that I had a hard time even finding sad tears.  I definitely teared up when leaving the room and walking back to the car, but honestly, I was more proud than anything.  This kid really amazes me and I am so proud of her. I’m not going to lie, I did cry a bit more when I was actually in the car and pulling away from the school. By eleven in the morning, I was so antsy.  I wanted to get back in the car and get her already but we still had hours to go. We are adjusting well though, even me. Taylor loves kindergarten so much already.  She really loves the school, the classroom, the teacher, her friends, and all that kindergarten entails.  I am so glad we made the decision to send her to a week of a summer reading camp that her school hosted.  It was a way for the kids to get to know the school and some of the staff, all the while meeting new friends that would become classmates.  Taylor came home after the first day and was talking about two boys in the summer program who were a set of twins.  She really enjoyed hanging out with them and would come home and tell me about the things they did.  As Todd and I were discussing how adorable it was and how proud we were of her for jumping in and making new friends, we realized we knew who the kids were. As it turns out, the twin boys (and their adorable older brother) are the sons of a coworker of Todd’s.  Since I used to work at the same company, I knew this woman, too.  These three boys and our three kids became such fast friends and we spent time with them this summer going to various playgrounds and letting the kids hang out.  Fortunately, one of the boys is in Taylor’s class and that has been so wonderful for both of them.  It also makes me feel good knowing that there are other kids there who know and love my girl to help look after her.  Much to Taylor’s delight, her good friend from down the street is also in her class, so she’s really happy.  Not only does she know friends already, but she’s making new friends and is so happy.

Now that we are in somewhat of a routine and have found a flow that works for our family, it’s all going to change again once the boys begin school this week.  I am pretty much going to be spending more time in my car than at my house, but I guess that’s what I signed up for!  Leaving the boys at their first day of pre-school is really going to send me into a tail spin. At least when Taylor went off to school, I still had my little buddies, but with them spending their morning getting an education and learning how to be good citizens, I am on my own. I am really going to be at a loss for a while, but I am sure I will adjust with time.  The boys are beyond excited to begin “Big Boy School” and I am trying to encourage them and keep that happiness forefront in their minds.  I am pretty sure they will be just fine, but there is a chance that one or both of them will cry when I leave, and that would honestly shatter my heart. We’ll see how it goes. I mean…just look at these two. They’ve come a long way from writing on the walls with poop. My babies!