First Day of School

So they are off and I'm surprizingly not crying into my coffee. The drop off was more chaotic than poignant. Parents were everywhere chatting with each other, taking pictures and asking the poor teacher a zillion questions. Athena took everything in stride. Waltzed right in, hung her backpack, found her star and put it up on the board, placed her snack in the basket and tolerated my hugs and kisses and silly nervousness.

Chris waited outside Athena's classroom with the Dude and Zoe while I fussed (tucking in her shirt, adjusting her headband) and fretted (Gah! I forgot to buy milk tickets!) She found her place and it was time for me to go. Walking across the room I felt the tears coming and caught the eye of a Mom friend. "Don't come near me with that!" she warned, making me laugh.

Then it was Zoe's turn. My Zoe who would cling to me and say "Holdmeholdmeholdmeholdme!" when I dropped her off at preschool last year, also just walked right in, found her cubby and put her backpack away. When she saw her friend Caitlyn, she went right over, tapped her on the shoulder and gave her such an excited, happy smile. Just a kiss and a hug for me and she was fine.

"Time for you to go, Mom!"

I would like to think that its all the preparation we did last week (meeting the teachers, visiting their rooms) and the anticipation we built up that led to this easy transition. They were so totally adjusted and fine with everything it left me feeling slightly abandoned.

Even though Athena has been enrolled at some preschool or another since she was six months old, the significance of today has absolutely nothing to do with her being out of the house. Kindergarten is the beginning of her own journey and separate from me she's starting to make her way. It's a new beginning but also the absolute end of her babyhood and I think I'm already nostalgic for yesterday.

At least I have the Dude to baby for a few more years.

Goodbye Summer

Gone are the lazy days of staying up late, sleeping in and basking in the sun, school starts tomorrow.

The clothes are purchased, the supplies bought, the paperwork is in, the teachers are met with, the classes have been toured, the days have been counted down and I have a massive knot in my throat because I am so not ready.

My baby starts Kindergarten tomorrow.

Raised by Savages

Here's a thing about having three kids: the voices of influence are equally strong.

What I mean is this: with one child you have two parents teaching and guiding the little one, with two you have the same two parents with the added bonus of a sibling to look up to and follow around. Now as the baby in a three child family you have four teachers, equal parts adult and kid.

So Jack is being raised half by reasonable adults and half by savages. And as a result he's learning that it really is quite funny to scream as loud as you can for no reason and throw your food at the dinner table and do a baby tap dance in a puddle again and again until you are covered from head to toe in mud. The reaction you get is priceless. You are the funniest baby in the world and, of course, you aren't going to listen when the Mom tries to stop you.

Today, the girls were trying to teach him how to say the word "poop." I fear the kid 'voice of influence' is winning.

P.S. What do you think about the new larger picture size? Too big?

Travel Day

After 17 hours, three time zones, two planes and a car ride over the mountains (without vomit incident, thankfully), we are home.
Ahhhh.

NeverLand

I've been reading the J.M. Barrie Young Readers chapter book of Peter Pan to Athena every night on this trip (Zoe thinks its boring). The story is oddly reflective of our time here. We've been on adventures almost every day and when they're aren't any adventures we make them up, just like in Peter Pan. But like Wendy, we are growing rather homesick and instead of Mother, we miss this guy an awful lot and it feels like we've been gone for years. We certainly hope he's left the window open, because we're ready to fly home.

"You must have been warned against letting the golden hours slip by; but some of them are golden only because we let them slip by."

"All children, except one, grow up."

"She was one of the kind that likes to grow up. In the end she grew up of her own free will a day quicker than the other girls."


"Young boys should never be sent to bed. They always wake up a day older, and then before you know it, they're grown."


"Let no one who loves be unhappy, even love unreturned has its rainbow. "

"Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting."

A Beautiful Day

The plan was to meet Mary and Willa for a day at "The Beach" - a soft sand shore of Lake Taghkanic - but just as we arrived the lingering grey clouds darkened and it started to pour and thunder. So instead we had our picnic lunch on Mary's kitchen table. Then the rain stopped. Blue skies peered out beneath the clouds and it turned into a beautiful day.

I tried to make these pictures look like the funky muddy ones you would get from your Instamatic circa 1979. That's what a day at the lake feels like, some vague and blurry remembrance of childhood.

Park Pics

Getting sick of all these pictures?

Because I am just getting started. O how I love taking pictures of my minis.

Afternoon Tea

When a little friend comes to call

its nice to offer cookies

and tea

even if the "tea" is actually chocolate milk.

The Grand Hostess.

The Guest.

The Uninvited Guest.

Even univited guests are made to feel welcome (or smothered until they leave on their own accord).

Quite a fun time was had in Yiayia's Garden (and closet) today.

Dollhouse

Still in NY, we dug out and dusted off my 30-year old dollhouse for the girls to enjoy this week. It's amazing for me to be reunited with all the little furniture that I collected for years. Each piece has a story and represents saved allowances and travels through Europe. It took all my maturity not to elbow the girls out of the way and tell them exactly where everything is suppose to go.

Ciao!

Tempted to photoshop an Italian cigar and Martini into this picture...

but that would so wrong.

(Oh dear! Oh dear!)