School

Well, well, well. I survived the week with nary a scratch only a giant bite mark on my arm and maybe an extra gray hair or two.  This was the week that all three gremlins started school. You read that right! All three. My baby is in Kindergarten. **moment of silence** They also started full day Kindergarten, so it has been quite the adjustment for everyone involved. The first day they did a lovely job. It was a staggered start, with Kindergarten and First grade starting on Wednesday. Katie and Tyler were both very excited and got right on the bus. Hallelujah! I didn't even take a first day picture because I didn't want anything to throw Tyler off. (Someday he can talk about that missing page in the scrapbook in therapy!) James and I spent a fun day together. When the bus came, Tyler got off the bus very serious and walked past us and hightailed it home without a word. He got a snack, went out and sat on the swing for 20 minutes. Once he had decompressed he said it was fun and seemed very excited about the whole thing. The next day....not so much. We reached the bus stop and he panicked. He saw the bus and took off running all the way home. Another mom asked 'He won't keep going will he?' Um, yes. He will, and he did. I hurriedly shooed the other two on the bus and ran after Tyler. He was screaming all the way home. I got him his blankie, cut a little scrap of super soft fleece for him to keep in his pocket to snuggle with, and told him we were going to school. He cried all the way there, and when we got in he held to my arm like his life depended on it. The aide was trying to talk him into coming, and the music teacher was telling him how fun it would be. I knew that wasn't going to work, and finally they realized they were going to have to pry him away from me. The aide looked at the two teachers standing there (one a big burly gym teacher) and said 'I'm gonna need help.' Uh, yes you are! Come to think of it, I should have worn some falconry gloves or the kind of suit the police use to practice with the K-9 dogs. Live and learn. When they tried to remove him, his panic level went through the roof and he grabbed my arm and bit me so hard I am now sporting a big bruise and a set of teethmarks to match. Oddly enough, if I remember correctly, James did the same thing when I left him for Kindergarten. Is this some weird fight or flight response? A totally unacceptable fight or flight response! Once I unclamped the jaws of my baby velociraptor, I took off. It is never, ever easy to leave your kid screaming in the hallway for you. I held my tears til I got to the sidewalk but it made for a pretty crappy way to start the day. Friday, they all got on the bus and it was James' turn to get agitated. But he got on and that is all that matters. Next week will hopefully be more smooth and I can enjoy some time to get things done around here!

And as a (funny!) side note, their bus driver looks like Dog the Bounty Hunter. I secretly wondered why they couldn't just hire only nice, grandmotherly types. When the bus pulled up to the corner on Friday afternoon, all us parents looked at each other, wondering what on earth was going on. The kids were stomping so loud, in unison, and yelling. When the bus doors opened, we were blasted with a bus load of kids singing 'We will, we will ROCK YOU!!!' and stomping their feet to the beat. It was hilarious. Apparently the bus drive sings on Fridays. He played the harmonica for them when they were waiting in the bus line for the other kids, then taught them the song on the bus ride home. This could make for some exciting Fridays!