First Day Of School 2012

I know I'm still going through all of our summer pictures and adventures because I have been just awful about getting those posts up.  Sorry about that, but I'm taking a break from our summer to share with you back to school.

The kids started school today.  Natalie's in 8th grade, Kaitlyn is in 5th grade, and CJ is in Kindergarten.  Natalie really did not want to go so I'm hoping she's having fun.  Kaitlyn couldn't wait to get back and I actually won't even really get to hear about her first day until late tonight or tomorrow because she is going to a football game with a friend after school today.  And then there's CJ who is starting Kindergarten.  Oy, how does this happen?  It's a transitional year for all three of them and I think it's going to be great.

8th grade for Natalie is starting out a little bumpy as I don't agree with her course schedule.  We will have to wait 4 weeks to see about changing that though.  5th grade for Kaitlyn isn't exactly what we had hoped for as far as a teacher goes, but I am pleased with who she got none the less and we'll make the most of that as well.  I'm relieved that CJ didn't get the mystery teacher this year because up until oh about yesterday they had no idea who was teaching the other Kindergarten class.  So he had at least had a chance to meet his teacher before school started which I'm hoping was helpful for him.

So today we had 3 nervously hopefully excited kids heading off to school.

Natalie all ready to start 8th grade

My 3 school kids

CJ was looking at Daddy

Got him to look at me, but he looks petrified

Gosh, she's so pretty

Everyday, I swear she looks more and more like my mom

There's my happy handsome boy

CJ and Kaitlyn ready to go on the bus together

Walking to the bus stop

Deep in thought at the bus stop

Little social butterfly

And off they go on the bus

CJ will actually be home very soon and I hope he's feeling chatty.  He wasn't allowed to sit in the back of the bus with his sister which I'm hoping he's okay with because Kaitlyn said he could sit in back with her.  Last years bus driver apparently allowed that.  This year she said no, but Kaitlyn could sit up front.  So she sat with him on the way to school.  Well, at least until she was out of our sight.

Looking forward to a really great school year.  Now to research local magnet schools for Kaitlyn.  Just trying to explore all of our options.

Riding the school bus

Today was CJ's first day on the school bus. He seemed fine with it, I was a nervous wreck. I put on a happy face about it today though and woke him up all excited about taking the bus. Don't need him getting any of my fears. We stood on the porch with Kaitlyn today trying to figure out who's bus would come first. Technically CJ's came first, but Kaitlyn's was right behind so I had to send her to the corner while I was getting CJ on the bus. He is so tiny he had to crawl up the stairs on the bus because he couldn't get his foot up on the step. We got on and I strapped him in and took this picture.

I asked the driver when I should expect him to be back and she told me 11:40. So I went inside and fed Alyssa and tried to keep myself busy to not think about my 3 year old on the bus. Then before I knew it it was 11:40. So I headed downstairs and waited on the porch for 30 minutes for the bus to come. I was definitely getting nervous, but also I understand that the driver is still learning her route and the kids and the parents and there could have been a problem on the bus or something. CJ was very happy when I got on the bus. I took him off and asked him about his day. He told me they have playdough at his school! Ahhh yes playdough is great when mom has a playdough ban in the house. They also have toys and he got to play he told me. I asked him about the bus and he said it was bumpy, but it was fun! Well, that's good to hear. He will get on the bus again tomorrow. He is growing so fast. What a difference between last year and this year. By the time he starts Kindergarten next year he's going to be running onto the bus and forgetting to give me a kiss goodbye.

CJ's 1st day of Pre-K 4

All 3 children are officially in school. CJ started this morning. He was pretty excited to be going. He got up and ate breakfast and then got dressed and brushed his teeth, washed his face, and brushed his hair. Well, he had some help with all of that. Joe brought Kaitlyn to the bus stop and the bus that we were told wouldn't start for CJ until Wednesday pulled up in front of the house. Thankfully the bus driver was understanding that he wasn't going to be riding it today, but at least I knew about when to expect it tomorrow. It works out pretty well with Kaitlyn's bus too. Before we left we took our annual back to school pictures...

handsome boy

Got his back pack

All ready to go out the door

At school

Waiting for his teacher

Going in with his teacher

After dropping him off at school we ran a few errands to keep busy and before we knew it it was time to pick CJ up from school. He came out and was super excited to see us. He even had a few stories to tell us about his day which is a huge improvement from last year. He told us he played with puzzles and his teacher read him a story about a bear. Oh yes and we can't forget about his snack (which mommy had thoughtfully placed a note for him in) and he used the potty twice he said. Sounds like he had a great day. No one cried this year either so that's good. There's always tomorrow though. First day on the bus. This I am super nervous about. After a bad experience with a child of mine and a bus I was hesitant to do this, but I know I have to get him used to this and I need to get used to it too. At least his bus driver isn't the same one that left Natalie alone on the bus. Well, considering she was fired she better not be driving the bus.

So anyways, there might be a few more pictures to share of the big boy on the bus tomorrow. He was very tired by the time we got home today and I'm sure tomorrow is going to be worse. I wouldn't be too surprised if he's asleep on the bus when I get him off tomorrow.

I have a video slide show from this weekend that I will be sharing sometime this week too so be on the look out for that. I am glad to be back into a routine again. My plan for tomorrow (if Alyssa will cooperate) is to go through CJ's toys and clean things up in there while he's at school. I'll really need something to keep myself distracted tomorrow from thinking of him on the bus.

First day of school 2011

The 2011/2012 school year has started. Natalie is now in 7th grade and Kaitlyn is in 4th. I'm looking forward to great years for both of them. CJ goes to preschool on Tuesday.

So yesterday we had gone out to enjoy the last day of summer and get a few last minute things. When we came home we had no power. That made it interesting for trying to get things together for the first day of school. I was labeling school supplies in the dark. Natalie who was already a bundle of nerves was freaking out about how she'd get up in the morning. The power came on just as we were sending everyone to bed so that was a relief.

This morning Natalie got up with no problems and showered and dried her hair. I got up and found her all dressed and sitting on the couch with her head in her hands. I think she might have been more nervous this year than last and this wasn't even a new school for her. I had to remind her of what needed to be done. We snapped a few pictures and she went off to catch the bus.

Here's my big 7th grader...

A shot of the girls together...

Backpack on...

Out the door...


Once Natalie headed off to the bus stop I made sure Kaitlyn was getting all ready. I kept checking out the window to see if Natalie's bus had come. School starts for her at 8 a.m. and her bus didn't pick her up until 8:05. Perfect!

Kaitlyn got ready pretty quickly and was eager to go out the door. I took some pictures of her and then we headed outside to wait for her bus.

Here's my big 4th grader...

Heading out the door...

Going down the stairs...

Heading to the bus...

One last so long before getting on the bus...


And then my day with just the two littles began. It wasn't too bad, but around the middle of the day I was getting very anxious to hear about the girl's day.

Natalie came home very excited. She likes her teachers and feels much more confident about things this year. While her best friend is on her team they don't have any classes together, but that doesn't seem to be bothering her too much. So things so far seem like they are going to go well for her this year.

Then Kaitlyn came home and seems pleased with her teacher. He's not the best she said. She was happy that she did get to see her teacher from last year though. And she's writing an "All About Me" thing and wants to have a picture of last years teacher to put him down as her hero. She kept talking about how he was a hero to her because he helped her so much last year. I'm so glad she had him. And I'm hoping that she will have a wonderful experience this year too. I think she will. She adjusts pretty easily to things. She did tell me that her teacher didn't have any books she could read. She asked him for help and he found her one, but she said it's tricky. So we'll see how he handles her. I told her tricky is good because it's good to be challenged.

So one day down 179 to go. I think we'll survive. I survived my big homework night. All papers are filled out and ready to be returned to school tomorrow.

Getting excited about Back to School

Well, it's that time of year again. The class assignment letters are starting to get sent out for the elementary school students. The team assignments for the middle school students. Everyone is getting ready to start a new year. Everyone is starting to get excited.

Natalie's team assignment came in the mail last week. We already knew what team she was going to be on, but we were excited to get her supply list so we could start working on getting some stuff. Thankfully no one will be needing new back packs this year. In spite of Kaitlyn constantly telling me what she wants for a backpack she will not be getting a new one. We spent a lot of money on backpacks last year for the express purpose of not having to buy them for a few years, hopefully. And everyone's backpack is still in good shape. So she's stuck with it for another year.

Kaitlyn's teacher assignment came today. Her only hope was that she NOT get one teacher. And she did NOT get that teacher either! Yay! She's very happy with the teacher she got. I will be calling him in a few weeks to set up a conference so we can discuss what Kaitlyn will get this year for her special accommodations. Looking forward to a great year and found out that her awesome 3rd grade teacher is now teaching 5th so thinking it would be so neat if she got him again for 5th grade.

Natalie called her best friend today to find out what team she got on and they are on the same team. And now Natalie is really looking forward to 7th grade. I'm looking forward to it too. That was a huge issue for her last year was the friendships she had. She bonds really strongly to people so it was hard not having her best friend on her team. Now she will be unstoppable with her best friend by her side. So I'm really excited for her this year.

We still have a few weeks of vacation left. They don't go back until September 1st. So we will continue to enjoy our summer vacation and prepare for an awesome 4th grade year for Kaitlyn and 7th for Natalie. Oh and lets not forget, CJ in Pre-K4 this year. Although, if he doesn't shape up with this potty training they might kick him out. We're still working on it. I think it's just at home that he's not potty trained though so maybe he'll be fine at school. He doesn't start until after Labor Day though so we get an extra five days to work on things.

Backpacks

Boy, I am back to blogging in full force now. I've been thinking about backpacks a lot lately. Soon my children will be going back to school and I need to purchase them a new backpack. Natalie needs something large as she starts middle school this year. I have heard they get a lot of work in the 6th grade too. So I want to make sure she has a large enough backpack to carry all of her books in. But it also needs to be able to hold all of those books without ripping. And really if I'm going to spend $50 on a backpack I would like it to last more than a year. So I began my search with Lands End backpacks. This one has caught my attention:


Natalie likes it for it's color. I like the padding and the appearance that it's sturdy and lasts long. It also seems like it would hold a lot in it, but it's hard to tell without actually touching it too. However, I know Lands End is a good company that stands behind their products. I have no doubt that if I had any issues that they would resolve it.

Then there's the Jansport bag. I have one actually. Got it when I was in high school and I still have it. It does have a hole in it, but it actually still functions very well for me. We still use it a lot. I carried my high school and college books in it. We have used it for travel as well. So I know Jansport is a good quality bag. Here's the one I like which also happens to be like mine:


This one is slightly larger than the Lands End bag. Given my previous experience with Jansport I am almost inclined to go with the Jansport.

But still I'd like to hear others opinions on this. So please tell me if you have any experience with Lands End and Jansport and which you prefer. Or if there's something out there that is 10 times better than either of these brands. My ideal situation would be that I get a backpack that will last my girls through high school. Now I know this might be asking for too much out of a back pack and when children are involved, but I'm so tired of having to buy a new backpack every year. And while my children insist that I get a new one for them they rarely get rid of their old one. So we have quite the collection of old used backpacks going on here. So if I could cut down on that growing collection that would be great. So please don't be afraid to post your opinions here on which would be the best backpack to buy.