The First Day of School 2017

We wished Summer wouldn't come to an end, but before we knew it, the first day of school had arrived! Dylan, Lexie and Lily have been back in school for almost two weeks, and Liam's first day was yesterday. This year, we have a 7th Grader, 5th Grader, 1st Grader and preschooler, and this mama can't figure out HOW her kids grew up so fast!

This year brought so many changes for Dylan, Lexie and Lily. Surprisingly, they adjusted well to all the changes. I can't honestly say that I love our new normal, but it's a work in progress!

Dylan started 7th Grade this year, which just seems crazy to even say. We both have to wake up over a full hour earlier than everyone else, while it's still dark outside. My alarm goes off at 6, his alarm goes off at 6:15, and he's on the bus by 6:40. He hasn't complained, and seems to like the independence of middle school, and all of his teachers and classes!

Lexie started 5th Grade, and she moved to a new building. In our district, the 5th and 6th graders get moved into a larger school that is run very much like a mini-middle school. I personally feel like it forces our kids to grow up too quickly, but it is what it is. Lexie loves school, though, and she loves her teachers this year, so that definitely helps!

My sweet Lily started 1st Grade, so she is officially in school all day long. I'm not going to lie. I miss the afternoons we spent together! That transition was tough for the first few days for Dylan and Lexie at that age, but it hasn't even fazed Lily. Even though she's the youngest in her class again, she adjusted beautifully!

{Lily's Outfit - The Hair Bow Company}

Liam is the only one who didn't experience many changes! His routine for Pre-K is nearly identical to his first year of preschool. He is attending the same preschool, is in the same classroom, has the same schedule, and has the same assistant teacher and therapists. His amazing teacher moved to another school, unfortunately, so he has a new teacher this year, and a few new classmates.  He has a year of hard work ahead of him preparing for Kindergarten next Fall! (Hold me!)

{Liam's Outfit - Babies R Us}

As for me, my days are chaotic! I wake up at 6, wake Dylan up at 6:15, watch him get on the bus at 6:40, work for a half hour, wake the girls up at 7:15, take them to the bus stop around 7:55, work for another half hour, get ready for the day, then work until Liam wakes up. After he plays for a bit, we go for a run and tackle necessary errands or appointments. Liam starts school at 12:30, so I have to drive him. Since he just started yesterday, today will be the first day in my entire (almost) 13 years of parenthood that I will be without a child in the afternoon. It's definitely strange! I plan on working as much as possible while he is at school!

Dylan gets home from school at 2:45, just as I have to leave to pick Liam up from preschool. A half hour after we arrive home, the bus drops the girls off. Then we are thrown into a flurry of homework, studying, packing lunches, choosing clothes for the next day, and going to activities. I am EXHAUSTED. I still can't fall asleep until 1 AM, then naturally wake up at 5:30 each morning. A wave of exhaustion hits around 1 PM, but I can't do anything about it!

Our new normal is exhausting and busy, but everybody seems to be adjusting well so far! The kids were blessed with great teachers this year, and every parent knows that makes all the difference. We are officially 9 days into the school year, and I'm already drowning in paperwork and desperately trying to juggle 5 busy schedules!

The first day of school was on Thursday, August 24th. It was a week earlier than when they usually start, and earlier than many of the surrounding school districts. The only perk is school ending in May, as long as they don't have snow days to make up!

Our back to school traditions are the same every year! I always decorate the living room with a back to school banner and a first day of school wreath, so they wake up to a festive morning. We usually have donuts for breakfast, which is their favorite special treat, and a favorite dinner. And we always do a mini photoshoot on the first day of school! I take pictures of them holding their Back To School chalkboards just before they get on the bus, then take a few more pictures when they get home.

Here is a glimpse of Dylan, Lexie, Lily and Liam's first day of school:

DYLAN
AGE: 12
GRADE: 7
SCHOOL: Middle School
TEACHER(S): Too many to list!
FAVORITE SUBJECT: Social Studies/History
SPORTS/ACTIVITIES: Basketball and Chorus

ALEXANDRIA
AGE:10
GRADE: 5
SCHOOL: Centennial School
TEACHER(S): Mrs. Madigan and Ms. VanIddekinge (I had to ask for help for that one!)
FAVORITE SUBJECT: Science
SPORTS/ACTIVITIES: Soccer, Band (flute), and Chorus

LILIANA
AGE: 6
GRADE: 1
SCHOOL: Primary Center
TEACHER(S): Mrs. Wright
FAVORITE SUBJECT: Math
SPORTS/ACTIVITIES: Ballet, Jazz and Acro

LIAM
AGE: 4
GRADE: Pre-K
SCHOOL: MIU
TEACHER(S): Ms. Tracy (Bellis)
FAVORITE LEARNING ACTIVITY: Reading
SPORTS/ACTIVITIES: Destroying the house in 5 seconds

School is off to a busy, but great start! Here's to a wonderful school year for all four of my kids!

Have your kids started school yet?

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School's Out for the Summer!

It's official: School's out for the Summer! 

It was easily the fastest school year ever! I mean, I swear they just started. But as of 3:50 PM, Dylan and Lexie joined Lily and Liam on Summer Break. They reluctantly said their goodbyes to their friends and their absolutely amazing teachers, and they headed home for a Summer full of fun!

5th Grade was a tough transition for Dylan AND for me.  Everybody warned us, but I guess I was in denial.

The work load was intense and Dylan's great grades didn't come as easily this year as they have in the past. Dylan had to work hard to get good grades. He had to learn organizational skills and he HAD to study. It was a wake up call for both of us and it took several months before he found his groove.  I found myself, along with many other friends walking this path for the first time, often saying "I HATE 5th Grade!!!"

In our school district, the 5th and 6th grade building is very much like a junior high.  The kids are starting to join cliques and the rules are strict.  School isn't as much fun anymore because it isn't elementary school.

If I'm going to be completely honest, I'm not a fan of this setup. Kids in 5th and 6th grade are still kids and I feel like Dylan was forced to grow up faster than he should have this year.  I really did notice a difference between him and family members and friends his age who were attending a traditional K-6 school.  This year was about his clothes, his hair, how he looked, and girls. I certainly wasn't ready to deal with that stuff THIS early!

Thankfully, Dylan enjoyed going to school. We had a rough patch at the beginning, but he soon adjusted. He had great friends and he adored his teacher. He had an incredibly supportive teacher who helped him out along the way. I can only hope that one of my other children is lucky enough to have her for a teacher someday!

Lexie, on the other hand, breezed through 3rd Grade!

Lexie loves school!  On the two days that we forced her to stay home because she was sick, she begged to go.  It definitely helped that she had an awesome teacher who made each day fun!

Lexie excels at school. She was a "model third grader" according to her teacher and she took pride in her hard work and excellent grades. Lexie came home with fun stories to share about her teacher and her friends each afternoon and was excited to go to school every single day. Any teacher that can inspire a child in that way is a hero in my book!  I'm really hoping that Lily and/or Liam have him as a teacher in the future. If only every teacher Lexie gets could have his dedication and enthusiasm!

It was an amazing school year for Lexie!

I'm so proud of BOTH of my kids for their hard work this year. When I looked at them before they headed to school this morning, I couldn't help but wonder, "Where did time go?" They truly looked so grown up and it happened in the blink of an eye! 

When I did the traditional first day of school/last day of school comparison, the changes were evident. Especially with Dylan! Who are these big kids and where did my babies go?!?

 

These big kids got off the bus this afternoon and their enthusiasm was lacking. Dylan's tween attitude was in full force. He's just too cool these days. He thrives on going to school and seeing his friends, but he was too cool to admit that he would miss his friends and his teacher. Lexie was crying because she ALREADY missed school, she missed her friends and she missed her teacher. She just didn't want school to end and her emotions were spilling over. I just stood there, completely stunned. Where was their last day of school excitement???

But I get it. I understand how difficult it is to say goodbye to something you know.  They trusted and loved their teachers and felt completely comfortable in their classrooms. It's hard to face the unknown of another year ahead of them and only hope that they win the teacher lottery again.

I get it, because that's how I feel, too.  I liked how things were. Time is moving entirely too quickly and I'm trying desperately to hold on to life as it is at this very moment and I'm not succeeding whatsoever. Time...and my kids...are slipping out of my grasp much faster than I like.

But that's the point of raising kids, isn't it? It's incredibly bittersweet. You want them to grow and thrive but it's just so hard to let go of the past.

And here we are.  5th Grade and 3rd Grade are officially over. It seemed like decades before we would reach this point and now I'm just wondering where time went!

I'm looking forward to Summer Break with my kids. I just want to spend time with them and enjoy the NOW.

I just hope I don't lose my sanity along the way...I'm just keeping it real.

I have three kids camping out in our living room for their first night of Summer Break. The oldest two bickered all afternoon. The tween couldn't control his attitude and lost his iPod. The 9 year old cried all evening about school being over. The toddler is trying to fight off a fever. In the morning, my niece will be arriving to spend the day with us.  And did I mention that it's now 3:30 AM?

In just a few hours, Camp Mom is about to begin! My kids, and their cousins and friends who will be spending most weekdays with us (I told you I was crazy), have a fun Summer ahead of them. I've been browsing my Pinterest boards, writing down ideas, shopping for supplies and loosely planning our weeks. 

I tried to stick to the same plan each week: Two outings, one craft, one recipe and one DIY activity.  It was a lot of work, but I managed to come up with enough ideas for each Summer weekday plus a few extras, just in case! The best part is that none of it is time-consuming and most things can be done at any time throughout the day!

Stay tuned...I'll be sharing the project next Tuesday and I'm going to attempt to recap each week of Camp Mom fun throughout the Summer!

My hope is to make memories with my kids over the Summer and enjoy each day. Before I know it, Fall will be here and all FOUR of my kids will be heading to school. I'm holding on to the now with all my might!

ALL FOUR KIDS IN SCHOOL. I can't even think about that without crying! Motherhood is a tough gig!

What are your plans for Summer Break?

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Off They Go!

It's officially the first day of school!

Dylan and Lexie woke up so excited about their first day!  After our traditional Back To School doughnut breakfast, they put on their brand new Back To School outfits, and we snapped a few obligatory first day pictures!



Dylan is going into 5th grade, which means he's moving into a new building.  It's a much bigger school and actually looks very much like a high school.  He was a bit intimidated when we toured it, but he's looking forward to seeing his friends and having a locker for the first time! His three teachers are very nice and he found out there's another skateboarder in his class, so he can't wait to meet him. Dylan's a great kid and I know he's going to have a great year!




Lexie is starting 3rd grade! She's still in the same school, but is moving up to the top floor this year.  She has a male teacher for the second time in her short school career.  There are only a handful of male teachers in K-6, and I went to school with both of the male teachers Lexie was assigned!  I graduated with Lexie's kindergarten teacher and Lexie's new teacher was a year ahead of me in high school. Lexie can't wait to tell him that she saw his high school yearbook pictures! Lexie is going to have a great year, too!




Dylan and Lexie are a bit bummed that they won't be in the same school anymore (they won't be in the same school again until Lexie starts 9th grade!), but they still ride the bus together!



Lily doesn't start school until next week, so she was feeling a bit left out this morning! She watched sadly as Dylan and Lexie climbed on the bus and held onto my leg as the bus pulled away.  I think she's going to miss them!



Here's to a great 2015-2016 school year!  My "babies" are growing up way too quickly!!!



Did your kids start school yet?  If so, how is everything going? 

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