School is Back!

We are officially full-swing into the 2017-18 school year.

We went from having nothing on the calendar to being triple-booked three times a week. And I'm not even exaggerating!

How does that happen? How do we go from having literally nothing to do to having 10 things to do in the span of a week?! Zero to eighty in five seconds.

I am not complaining though! I live for routine. My kids maybe don't live for it, but man, do they function better when they are in one.

Thanks to routine life and staying busy, Tess is FINALLY sleeping better! The girl is getting a fantastic nap in the afternoon and then going to bed at 7 pm and hasn't been waking up until six. And even if she does wake up a little before six, she sits and chats in her bed, rather than wailing like a lunatic!

It. Is. The. Best!

So an update on school...

If you don't follow my InstaStories on Instagram, you didn't see last week's story on the madness of drop off and pickup at the kids school. I'm coming to terms with it... the madness... and that maybe this is the best way to do things in the city. A parent of a new girl in Sloane's class was talking to me one morning at drop-off and they moved to the neighborhood just to attend this school - they moved like 10 blocks south. I asked if this 'arrangement' was normal since they came from a setting very similar. His answer? Yep.

So basically I'm the out-of-towner who needs to shut her pie hole and adjust.

But for the record, I still think there has to be a better way to perform these tasks... ;)

Reece has really seemed to enjoy school. On the second morning of school, he did ask if he could just go to school the next week. But since, he hasn't fought having to go! After the first day, I asked if he had gotten in trouble (because I had seen him sitting in timeout at recess that afternoon -- FYI: our apartment is directly across from the school so I can see everything!) and he said yes, because was talking too much. So... besides sitting in timeout for not following rules on the playground (which I later found out was really not that big of a deal, but at the moment, I was kind of freaking out), he was asked to remember the class rules and take turns talking.

Who does that kid belong to?! :)

His assistant teacher is named Mrs. Michelle. And that is also the name of the former principal at his preschool he attended in Bentonville. And at In His Image, he saw quite a lot of Ms. Michele. So much that he named her Ms. Michele Office. So he made sure to tell me that Mrs. Michelle is not who you see if you are bad like Ms. Michele Office.

Annnnd I laughed for awhile!

Sloane is doing well... so I think. She doesn't say much... and trying to get her to tell you two things she did that day besides swing at the playground and eat lunch is like pulling teeth! There are a few things that she finally has mentioned to me that have happened at school that I had to get straightened out (nothing major), but in the end, it sucks being the new kid. Especially when you are the new kid and not Reece - carefree and doesn't know that he's the new kid.

I feel for her and say prayers that she will start to remember kids names in her class ("Mom, that girl is in my class!" "Cool! What's her name?" "Ummm.... I don't know!"), and make a few buddies so she can relax a little. WhenI drop her off in the morning, she waits in a line with her other class mates and she's always at the end... slowly walking in and always looking for me. I give a big wave with a big smile on my face, she sees me, waves and smiles and goes in.

Can I just say that my kids are better than me in so many ways? There is no way I could have been "the new kid". There was a point in my life when we almost moved from Sedan for my dad to take a new job and in the end, my parents kept us where we were. And praise the Lord because there is a really good chance that I would have become a hermit!

But on to week two we go with a lot of new activities starting this week including Catechism tomorrow (both Sloane and Reece will go - this should be interesting...) and Sloane starts a dance class on Thursday that includes ballet, jazz and tap - I'm fairly certain I will ask to participate as well!

We are full-throttle into the school year... and that's the way I like it!

XXOO,
Allyson