Like Mother Like Daughter I Guess

I have an oddly vivid memory of helping a friend in kindergarten become more comfortable on stairs. Our playground was built into a hill and there was a big set of open stairs leading to it. I seem to remember that this friend lived in a one-story house and wasn't used to big open stairs. So I remember one recess walking up and down and up and down the stairs with my friend so she could get to the playground more easily. My mom will tell you that this was just the kind of thing that I did. I liked to help people, especially when they were scared of something.

Well, I sent a note to Erin's teacher yesterday with some random mundane questions (like "are there nut restrictions for snack" or "is there a gym/art/music schedule"). She quickly responded to my questions and added this little bit at the beginning of her note to me.

"Thanks for the note this morning. I apologize for not getting back to you sooner, we had a busy, fun-filled day! Erin is such a delight to have in class! She is very smart and kind to all the students. She has really helped one student who has been very shy and hesitant to try new things, so I appreciate that."

I don't think I've ever openly stated to Erin - "You should help people who need it" or "Help kids who are shy." Maybe she sees it around the house. Maybe it's the Big Sister in her (she really does love her little brother, especially when he lets her help him with something). Maybe it's just some innate part of her that hurts when someone seems sad or afraid. I'm not sure.

Erin's never mentioned any of this to me. She talks about a few people in class but never says "Hey mom, I made ***** feel better today," or "I showed ***** how to play blocks". To her it's no big deal. But to mommy, knowing that she's a compassionate beautiful young girl it's a very big deal.

Growing Up

With "up" being the operative word. Poor Jeffrey was long, long overdue for an upgrade in beds. It was not a rare occurrence to walk into his bedroom for my ritual goodnight kiss (before I go to bed) and find him half on the floor, half in the bed. By last week when he was just getting into bed his feet were hanging off the end. So we took advantage of two events - the mattress sales with students moving back into town and the upcoming consignment shop where I can sell the toddler bed (ironically where I originally purchased it) - to give the kiddo a new "big boy" bed.

As I mentioned above, the students are all back in town this week and every store in town that could have a mattress sale....was having a mattress sale. I really assumed our best bet would be Sam's Club, but honestly I found better deals elsewhere. Jeffrey and I scoped out the sales while Erin was in school. At first he really disliked getting in and out of the car. Then one of the salespeople let him "try out" a bed. Well that opened up a whole new adventure. The game of "How many beds can I jump from without touching the ground." Thankfully the sales guy was a daddy himself and had witnessed his own son play the same game many a time.

So after getting some pricing ideas and talking things over with daddy we went out Sunday to purchase said "big boy" bed. We made a morning out of it by stopping first at our favorite playground. Then we headed to Target to pick out a new set of sheets (Lightning McQueen of course). Finally we headed to the mattress store.

I showed Tom the chosen mattress and he agreed that it looked good. Jeffrey quickly returned to his game of "jump on the mattresses". Erin, after a long week at school, was exhausted and whiny. While I was sitting down to fill out the paperwork Jeffrey did a full-on header off one of the beds, whacking himself pretty hard. That's what he gets for playing such a "fun" game. We purchased the mattress and box before we realized we had one more stop to make. The store nicely held the items while we made a quick run into Sam's for stuff for Tom's mead. When we returned to the store they had everything ready and the "mattress expert" was able to tie both the mattress and box to the top of the Intrepid.

We drove home with the "whap whap whap" of plastic in the wind the whole way but arrived with 2 intact items. And just in time as the rains were getting ready to open up. Jeffrey, of course, had passed out on the drive home and I gently moved him into our bedroom. Mommy and daddy easily got the mattress and box inside. While daddy un-earthed his old headboard and frame from the basement, mommy cleared some things out of Jeffrey's room and started taking apart his little toddler bed.

The whole process of setting the new room up took only about 30 minutes. Once Jeffrey awoke he was sequestered in sister's room to await his surprise. When we let him in, he was thrilled and super excited about his big boy McQueen bed. It's set in a corner to limit bed falling accidents but he's slept in a twin before so we're not so worried about it.

So far he's been sleeping like a champ. Loves, loves, loves his new bed and seems to really love how it makes him feel like a big boy.

Back in June

Sound Asleep in his new bed

My Big Kindergartener

Well today was the first official day of Kindergarten. Everyone was up pretty early and excited for the day. Noni got Erin a pretty dress to wear on her first day and she couldn't wait to put it on (I did make her wait until after breakfast though). She also let me pull her bangs back off her face so she could see for the rest of the day.

Erin was really excited about taking the bus to school. We headed out about 7:45 to wait for the bus (doesn't come to the house, we have to drive to the bus stop). We were told the bus would arrive between 7:45 and 8:00 AM. So, she threw her new blue/froggie backpack on her back and stood there like such a big girl waiting for the bus. As big as she could feel with mommy and little bro standing right next to her. We could see several other groups of kids standing along the street. When she first spotted the bus she got sooooo excited. That was pretty quickly squashed when it drove right by the stop. Our house is not far from the school so several buses from different routes passed the house, none of them stopping for Erin.

By 8:15 I decided that we'd either missed the bus or something had gone wrong. Rather than have her being late for school the first day, I tossed the kids in the car and drove the 3 extra minutes to the school. I got to the drop-off zone where a staff member was waiting to walk her into the school. She was so excited. She went right with him, gave a little wave over her shoulder and that was that. Mommy had to pull the car through the drop off and didn't even get to see her go inside.

While she was at school mommy got the bus issue worked out so she could ride the bus home. All reports are that she had a great first day. She apparently got a sticker for being a good listener. They read some stories, had calendar time, sang some songs, spent some free time exploring the room and even had "quiet rest time" with some books. She remembers a few names of people (mostly boys) that she interacted with in class. It looks at least from today that she's going to really enjoy school.

She did get to ride the bus home. Jeffrey and I were there to pick her up from the bus stop - and glad we did because she would have ridden right past it. I'll have to make sure she gets off for a few days I think. We're aiming to catch the bus tomorrow morning so the bus driver gets a little more acquainted with Erin, and she with the driver.

So we're all breathing a big sigh of relief that the day went as well as it did. I'm glad she's making some friends and starting such a new and exciting part of her life. Even if it does mean she's growing up too fast.

One More Day

Just one day left before Kindergarten. Erin's not worried one bit. She's super excited. Mommy, on the other hand, is super stressed. There's a lot to get organized for a kindergartner.

What bus does she ride? Where will it pick her up? When does it come? When does it drop her off?

Is her teacher nice? Organized? Willing to work "with" us?

How do school lunches work? Do we pay cash? Use a debit card? Use a personal random 6 digit code?

Will Erin feel alone? Will she make new friends? Will she be brave enough to introduce herself?


So much to worry about. We answered a few of the questions last night at Orientation. Found out when her bus picks her up and where. Her teacher seems quite nice and Erin took immediately to her. The classroom was bright with lots of activities.

I'm still not sure how lunch will work. There's some code that Erin will have to use to buy lunch when she wants to buy lunch. We do have a lunch calendar. Erin's decided that she wants me to make her lunch for tomorrow.

So tomorrow morning we'll venture out to catch the bus bright and early. I'm sure Erin will hop right on, and I'll stay and watch until I can't see the bus any longer. All summer I knew this day would come. I told myself that it's no big deal. Every little girl goes to school. They wave out the bus window at mommy and ride away. And I know she'll be fine. She'll have a great time and make some new friends. But I'll still be sad, and shed a tear or two as I watch my big girl climb up those big steps and disappear into the bright yellow of her awaited school bus.

Beach Week

We had a wonderful week at the beach with daddy's extended family last week. We got to see all our cousins (boy is Baby Will getting big), Aunts and Uncles and Grandma and Grandpa. Erin and Jeffrey LOVED being at the ocean. It's been a few years since either of them has spent time at the beach, but the both warmed up to it quite quickly. They had so much fun playing in the surf and the sand. The water temperature was unseasonably cold (ranged from 64 to about 68) but that didn't seem to bother them a bit. I was really hoping that the first wave to knock Jeffrey down would scare him enough to make him wary of the ocean. Nope! He got knocked down, stood right back up and went careening into the surf even farther. Erin was slightly more cautious, but not by much. I was amazed at how brave she was with the waves.

We spent a few hours every morning and afternoon at the beach and in the evenings we'd take a family (or mommy/daddy) walk. The kids really loved their special time with the family and are already asking when they will get to play with Cousin Rylie again and when we are going back to the beach.


So here are the Top 10 Fun Things to Do at the Beach (according to Erin and Jeffrey).

10: Go for morning or evening family walks and search for seashells.

9: Watch mommy and daddy build sand castles while waiting with bull dozer in hand ready to destroy them.

8: Jump waves with any adult Erin could convince to hold her hand.

7: Sprinkle people's feet with freezing ocean water in a watering can.

6: Get soaking wet, run into the sand, roll down the sand hills and back into the ocean - this was all Jeffrey.

5: Play paddle ball with anyone who would be patient enough.

4: Play catch in the waves with daddy, mommy, grandma or grandpa.

3: Take a morning off from the beach and go to the amusement park on the Boardwalk.

2: Help mommy and daddy dig a BIG hole then jump into it, over it, climb out of it, dig more out of it....

1: Use the ocean's surf as an automatic ball return by tossing a floating ball into the ocean and waiting for the waves to bring it right back to them.

So as you can see we had a wonderful time. We made up games. Played with family. Got wet and covered with sand. And totally tired ourselves out. But it was completely worth it. Thanks so much grandma and grandpa for this super fun time.