Saturday, August 28, 2010

Still living with Yaya and Papa. Things are still going well, despite the fact that we had planned to be in a new house by the time school started. School started this week. Jack is now a kindergartener. It's been an unbelievably emotional week for mom. Second-most for Jack, and third-most, I would have to say, for Annie. Everyone else seems to be fine.

I took Jack, Mallie and Annie to Jack's kindergarten Open House on Monday. As Annie ran around the room, tearing the darling teacher's decoration off the walls and I tore after her, trying to limit her damage as much as possible, Jack and Mallie worked to put his supplies in the appropriate areas and look through his new books. When I saw Jack's name tag taped onto his desk, I nearly lost it. I held back the tears by telling myself that this was just the OPEN HOUSE. At least, wait until tomorrow's orientation to completely make a fool of myself (and Jack).

Orientation Day. We are driving down Lorain Rd. toward Auntie's to drop the girls off so I can take Jck to orientation....and it hits me. This is the last day I have my kid all to myself... to do whatever we want to do without the thought of early bedtime for school tomorrow, or looming homework..... I am now a parent of a school kid. The little guy I propped up in his high chair and feed cheerios and turkey to for lunch is now going off to luch at school, with his lunch bag. (For some reason, this lunch thing is REALLY killing me. The thought of him, sitting there, by 'his big self' (as Mallie would say), at a table, eating a packed lunch, seems So terribly cold and institutional. I hate it to this minute, so I will stop thinking about it.) We get to Auntie's and get out of the car...I'm already crying and I hear her say, "oh Buddy! You look so handsome for school!: and then it comes even harder. Uncontrollable now and ugly. She sees this and tries to calm the situation in her way, which usually works, but it's over by now. And she knows it, and starts crying herself. 'Ok, ok, what is it?' she asks in a hushed tone with the two of us smooshed into her back hallway. 'I just realized it's my last day with him!!'......WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
Anyway, he walks into his class on orientation day... sits down without missing a beat, gets out his crayons and starts his worksheet. I am left standing on the out-skirts, just staring, in awe and with pride. He'll occasionally look up and grin with a thumbs-up. I'm trying to keep it together. The most agonizing 5 minutes of my life. He is so stinking cute. So smart. So ready. And I'm the one that is not.

Great set up to the first actual day. Luckily Tommy sensed (by sensed I mean listened to me tell him that I was going to be a disaster and needed him home) my emotions and took a day off of work for Jack's first day. We drove Jack to school together on Wednesday. He requested that we go in Tommy's car and 'listen to some Irish music' on the way there. He was pumped. More than pumped. The pictures speak for themselves (arms in the air over his head, open mouthed laughs in the front yard, showing off his bookbag). We pulled into the parking lot behind a bus and I secretly thanked God that we'd haave 10 more seconds with him while all those kids filed out. Finally, it was his turn and he jumped out of the car and darted for the door. "a-Hem!' i said....He stopped and turned around with a grin and then turned back for the door. "Please, a quick hug!' I begged! He ran back, tapped my thigh with his head and was off. A fifth grader was there to help him. He hesitated and then went in...... I was doubled over. ugggggg.


Day 2. I was crying again after drop-off. Not as bad as Day 1, but sad. When I picked him up, I could tell something was a little off. He said he hated his teacher. Turns out she had to talk to him for talking in the hall. He blurted out "that's the art area!" when his class passed the art room in the hall. Not according to rules. He was devastated. I couldn't get him to coddle him in the car on the way home, so I made up for it by grilling him about every little detail of the story when we got home. Jack gets uncomfortable when being grilled. There's a turn-off valve for him and when it's off, it's off. Didn't know this. He turned it off and I kept grilling, so he started making stuff up. He came down from his bath and said, "Mom, I'm worried about my teacher." My heart said, OH MY GOD!! YOU POOR BABAY!!!!!!!!!! LET'S TALK ALL ABOUT IT!!!!!" So, when he was done talking about the fact that he was spoken to sternly in the hallway, and I kept grilling....here are the answers I got: "I painted on my face", "I wrote all over my hands", "My card was turned to Blue and I got a ten minute time-out". "My teacher ws yelling right in my face, really loud, like Daddy yells........ PLEASE tell me what you would do!??? Because if it were me (and it was) you would email the teacher and try to figure what the 'f' is going on!!!!!! Yep.....I sure as heck did!!! Former 1st grade teacher....emailing her child's teach about non-issues on the 2nd (which in teacher language= busiest and most chaotic day of the year).... no problem Mrs. Arsena.....Mrs. Gilbride will keep you busy all year.

Return email from Mrs. Arsena went something as follows: "Oh my gosh! We haven't even used paint yet this year! Jack is doing great in class!:) We are all learning about not talking in the halls, but he has not been in trouble at all yet. If he was writing on his hands, I didn't notice it! What an imagination!!" oh, uh.....yeah..... nevermind. (i've now used my one allotted concerned correspondence to the teacher for the year on the 2nd stinking day of school.....crap).


Jack IS wiped out after school and today (saturday). I notice that he's definately low on enegery. It's a HUGE difference from preschool. I think it'll take a few weeks, but once he adjusts, the sky's the limit!!!!




Annie has been pretty upset this week. I'm not sure it's the fact that her 'Jackie' isn't here all day...but it is coincidental. She loves her Jack and asks about him immediately when she wakes up. Once she finds 'Sissy' she's ok, though. She and Mallie usually eat their breakfasts together and then disappear into the living room to play for at leat and hour while I clean up the kitchen and upstairs. They have a ball togehter. There is definately an ending point for the happy play though. They start getting bored, and then it's time for an outing. Things go unbeliveabley smoothly while Jack is at school. I feel like I am missing something the whole time.

A few weeks ago, Mallie and Annie started this intense pretend play together. They talk jibberish to each other at 100 miles an hour. They use hand motions and intonation as though they know exactly what they are talking about. Back and forth. Their babies are a huge source of imagination....along with accessories from the dress-up drawer. They are very good little buddies.


Annie has started imitating Spider Man. We call it 'spider ann'. She will run into a room, stop in the middle, squat down and hold out her arms and hands and make a 'whooshing' sound as though she is spraying out webs. She also does a great slider impression by doing the same squating action and sticking out her tummy and swishing it around. In fact, most ofher dance moves involve that squatting move....or a frontwards, backward stepping action. She in talented! :)

Annie's best word lately are 'Bitch--ell" (mitchell) Dinn-a-din (Finnegan), 'book' (milk), deep-ee-deeps (blankets) and 'pacey-pac', (pacifier)

Mallie is certainly becoming her own little person. I am not sure that I have documented the chicken story, but when we were living on Northwood, we were ridng bikes down the street when she stopped at a neighbor's driveway, saw a small group of sparrow and shouted at them, .'OUTTA MY WAY YOU CHICKENS!!!!" and drove away on her princess bike.

Here speech is endlessly amusing to me. She's leaving off the first consonant of words...so skirts are 'kirts', school is 'chool', and smoothies are 'moothsies'. She wants to do everything 'by her big self'.