A new school year has begun! Katie is a 6th grader, Ryan goes into 2nd, and Ethan begins his school journey as he enters into Kindergarten. Following tradition, the kids all gathered in the backyard with their clean and new uniforms and stuffed backpacks...some tackier than others (Ethan would not budge on the Darth backpack, ugh):
Repeat daily for one month, and count down. This question was asked by Ethan with big eyes of excitement and anticipation. However, when the day came to actually step out as a big Kindergartner, those brown eyes welled up (OK, and then mine did too) and his face of excitement looked a little more like panic and fear as he lined up in front of his classroom for the very first time, ready to sit "criss-cross applesauce" for the first time, open his own yogurt container at lunch for the first time, and.....well....you get it. Here is Ethan, killing us all with those darn huge brown eyes...
I mean, the eyes are one thing, but he is tugging on his heart...ugh. Surefire way to send a mommy into tears right there...good thing I was sporting my big sunglasses. I wonder if he knows how sad I was that day, and how hard it was for ME to leave him. Its that way with each one as they venture off...weird how some things just dont get easier no matter how many kids you have.
Ryan was all ready to roll into second grade. He had several of his friends from first grade waiting for him as he got to school, and Ethan soon learned that Ryan was the cool kid to hang around. He has a great side by side aide, Ms. Leanne, who stays by his side all day to help him be as much of a part of the "typical" students day as possible. She worked with Ryan all last year, so this year they join forces again to conquer the days. Here they are goofing around with one of their poses...
And then there is Katie. WOW how we 6th graders become wayyyyyyy too cool to give mom a kiss or hug in public quickly. Geez, ya wouldda thought I had asked her to kiss her brother or something but she gave me the whole, "umm,mom, I will just give you a kiss in the car and then go to class...you don't need to walk me there, ok?". Now, mind you...I was raised by a dad who---after I myself tried pulling the same antics with him on my first day of 6th grade showed up to the bus stop wearing his STRAW COWBOY HAT and singing as I got on the bus in front of my friends. It worked, though. I NEVER made a stink about giving him a hug before catching that bus again.
I tell Katie that story so she knows how nice I am. But...I also tell her I cant promise I wont ever do something cool like that...just to keep her on her toes. :-)
So they are all back into the school routine now, and life is quieter during the day with just Owen and I at home. Its still too soon to tell if I will have more time to actually relax, as I am now working on all the clean up from the whole summer...we were always coming or going somewhere and the house surely got missed along the way. I am pretty sure Dave wants to fire our house cleaner (me), and our gardener (ditto), and probably the cook too at this point, as all efforts lately have been just keeping above water. I used to have such a clean house-all the time. Even after Katie was born things were always spiffy and cute, ready for the random visitor at any given moment. But now I am always chasing the ball...spraying the stinky playroom couches with Fabreze five minutes before company arrives and re-loading the laundry basket with the unfolded clean clothes so I can hide it in our bedroom. With every other pile of random papers and kids artwork and things to be filed away. Oh, and by the way, our bedroom is certainly a "no fly" zone....not pretty.
But then I realize that someday I will have that clean house back.
And it will be quiet.
And I will be sad sometimes.
...just the thought of what it will be like when Owen goes to school and I have NO kids here with me at home.
I will have to find who I was BEFORE I was a mom. And figure out who that person is now. Somewhere between peg jeans, big hair, and becoming a mom to four children there is a person who I will need to reconnect with. That will be weird. But I cant really worry about that moment now, it will be here soon enough.
Wow that was a bit of a Debbie Downer moment there...yikes. OK, on to more happy things.
Back to school was not the only event that August saw for us, as Ethan and Owen were baptized at the local Catholic church. Godparents Fran and Stacey, along with cousins Alex and Jessica made their way up from Los Angeles which made the occasion a fun one for everyone. Here are a couple photos from the baptism day...
OK, so we all joke a little about the boys in their baptism outfits. Especially Ethan, who we say could have at any moment ran outside, looked up to the sky and yelled,"le Plane, le Plane" a la' Tattoo from good ol' Fantasy Island. Their abuelita got them all their special clothing for the day, and they both looked so handsome!
And the fabulous Godparents Fran and Stacey and cousins Alex and Jessica
Baptism boys with Tita and Abuelo
...and with Nana and Papa!
So with a goodbye to the vacation season of summer and hello to a new school year, we once again look forward to more excitement and adventures in our family. Soccer has started for Ethan, Katie continues to take piano and will take 4-H in the fall, and we hope to get Ryan into Special Olympics Swimming in Davis.
Owen will just continue being an almost-two-year-old wall painter, garbage pillager, table climber, and slobbery kissing little boy.
For God's gifts we give thanks.
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