Back to School 2014

Well, well, well.  It is here.  We got a few clothes, A LOT of supplies, met teachers, and have got enough paperwork to drive me nuts for hours (literally) because 5 kids means 5 times as much paperwork (only 3 times as much for now).  Sometimes I can't understand why I can't just fill out 1 paper with all their names on it and photocopy it BUT NOOOO.  Must have separate forms for everyone and then specific forms for each teacher and, and, and...

My kids LOVE school, so no worries there.  I, we, they are excited about their teachers.  I am excited about being more involved in the classroom than I typically am.  Last year of elementary for my eldest.  Why?  How?  Because...

A few photos of my MOST PRECIOUS CREATIONS!!!  I am so blessed to have each of them.  I forget it at some point during every day, I am sure, but I love moments when it dawns brightly in my *thick* skull just what I have going on here.  This day is one of those moments.

 He's ready.  So ready.  He will have to work...but any time, any time, he is going to fly, fly, fly.

 Let's be honest, he already is flying.  Hat and happy and hungry have replaced wat and wappy and wungry.  Thirteen has replaced the imaginary number firteen.  He is so smart.  I am so in love with his brains and his ninja skills and that pure soul of heavenly grace bursting forth from his blue eyes when he desperately reaches for one last kiss and hug, one last kiss and hug from me.

 And these 2.  Mutt and Jeff?  Um, not quite.  Lily gets to be queen of elementary for the year.  Nothing like being an upper classman.  It is, as Nacho would say, THE BEST!!!

 Matt gets to sit next to his best friend in class, at least for now, and after school they were all bursting to tell me things, lots of things.  Okay, I have to drag info out of Matt if it doesn't involve dragons and obscure fictitious game characters, but otherwise they were full of exuberance that had to be shared IMMEDIATELY.

Photobomb Shawn.  Wassup lil Dude!

Highlights of my day!!! 

1. Making myself get out of bed to wake Lily who was insistent if she wasn't out of bed by a certain time I must rouse her.

2.  Chipper moods during morning routine and everyone being all set.  There was a pair of missing shoes but that was the PM kindergartener, so no sweat...only a little bit of a raised voice from moi.

3.  A relatively clam morning.  A counter was degunkified AND disinfected.  It sounds like nothing, but you have no idea how much it meant.

4.  Learning that a 10 minute walk can EASILY take over 30 minutes with a cheerful and curious 5-year-old and his amiable 3-year-old sidekick.  Can anyone say rolly-pollys???

5.  Learning that though the walk back with a 3-year-old is quicker than 30 minutes, it can involve a little drama, just a little, and lots of exhaustion.  He has little legs and it WAS almost 2 miles round trip.

(incidentally, that was a magical walk BOTH WAYS)  With 5 kids, lively, talkative types, not everyone gets their fair share to shine in a group setting, so hearing what Ben had to say and noticed on our walk was eye opening.  Then, on the way back, to actually hear what Shawn heared-he asked me if I heard this sound and that sound, etc.  It was a precious walk.  We even saw a bunch of big chickens which I think Shawn would have watched for hours, but alas, work called and off we went).

6.  Poop...in the toilet...man, I did go there, but it was so...beautiful?  Thank you Steve Jobs for the iPad and Netflix for Netflix.  And then we rejoiced.

7.  Ben blushing red when I asked him about his day.  He gave me a thumbs up and thumbs down.  The thumbs up was that they got to go on a gingerbread cookie hunt.  The thumbs down?  "A girl has a crush on me!"  I asked how he could tell.  Completely exasperatedly, he replied, "Because she followed me everywhere!!!"  There are worse things in life, my little friend.

8.  Smoked turkey.

9.  Family Home Evening.  We did some test runs of air rockets for Pack Meeting that Lucas is in charge of on Thursday...and ate Oatmeal Cooke Bars.

10.  Falling in love all over again with my wee ones...and not so wee ones.  They are messy, sometimes smelly, sometimes moody, sometimes mean but always beautiful, mostly brave, shockingly smart, and full of all the goodness all children are originally full of...unless the world/rotten people snuff out the sparkle.

This is the life...except for the relative (I said relative, don't go hating on me) poverty, little rest, and wanting very much to do the best for each of my kids and each of the parts of my life and my husband but struggling to feel it's anywhere near good enough.  I think that will pretty much be an always feeling.  Sometimes I feel like I hit the nail on the head.  Sometimes I wish I could do a moment or a day or a week over (or have it erased from my memory), but I am always trying...so if effort counts, which it does, and if the Lord knows my heart and desires (which HE most definitely does), I guess it's worth it.  I may not get to live out half the dreams I had for this life, but I am definitely living the ones I wanted most, so that will do for now.