First Day of School

TGI and a very good F!

Aug 6th, 2010

After the week I’ve had, or actually after the past couple of days I’ve had, I’m happy, MORE THAN HAPPY, to say that my Little Man did sooooooo much better in school today. And he didn’t cut anybody’s hair. In fact, he didn’t cut anything!! Of course, he got severely punished last night for yesterdays kinder-salon incident, and apparently this punishment stuck. And he was GOOOOD! He promised me he’d be good, and he did!!! I’m so proud of my big Little Man.

Priss has had a good couple days of school too. She came home yesterday and stated that 7th grade is awesome. She didn’t even want to go to school; then on the first day, she comes home boasting about how great it is! Kids. Today, she said school is so awesome she just loves being in 7th grade. Just wait till the homework starts… bet she’ll be singing a different tune then!!

I’ve been hopping around the net, reading loads and loads of blogs (and still have loads and loads to go) and have found so many great ones I’ll never get my reader caught up! But, that’s ok. I’ve also found some fun and interesting memes, and this is one of them…

So this is my week summed up. I sorta already started it, up there *points up*…heh.

I said I’d never walk through the doors of a Wal-Mart again, but Wednesday, I walked through the doors of my least favorite Wal-Mart. (I tried to avoid it, I really did. Went to Dollar General first, then K-Mart. Wal-Mart was the last resort. And believe me, the temp was reading 106 so I wasn’t store hopping for the fun of it!!) I don’t know about the ones in your area, but the one I went to has to be managed by monkeys. Honestly. No, monkeys could do better. I couldn’t find anything. You’d think they’d have all the school supplies together, right? Wrong. They were scattered all over the store. Some at the front. Some by health and beauty. Some by electronics. And some were even by the housewares department, on the endcaps. I was so mad and frustrated by the time I finally got out of there, I looked like the TNT in a looney tunes strip. UGH..no.more.Wal-Mart. And by the way, what Wal-Mart runs out of crayons. I mean really, crayons? HOW do you run out of crayons?

Did you know that if a pre-teen girl can’t find a really cook book bag before the first day of school that the whole world will come to a screeching halt and the planets will crash into each other? No? Me neither. But apparently it will. Or not. Because my pre-teen went to school without a book bag, and as far as I can tell, the planets are still properly aligned and there has been no catastrophic cosmic collision to speak of. Unless you count the one where her drama and my temper didn’t quite see eye-to-eye. But that’s more like an explosion on Mars than the extinction of the Milky Way.

Can someone tell me why men’s deodorant works better than women’s deodorant? I ran out of deodorant, and, well, I was too lazy to go a mile up the road and get more so I used hubby’s instead. I think I’m going to keep on using his because it actually works. Apparently this has been a well kept secret. I’ve asked him a time or two—because it has been, honest to goodness, 100-106 degrees lately with heat index of 115-130… it’s flippin hot people—why I seem to be all wet and gross about the pits and he’s not. I mean, we were both in the same place at the same time doing the same thing… yet he seems nice and dry while I have the most not-so-lovely wet spots about my pits. He just shrugs this stuff off. Well, secrets out bub… now I know! (And yes, I use his razor too!!) I’ll never have wet pits again! YES!

Did I really just blog about deodorant? Man, I need new stuff! o_O

By the way, I somehow managed to lose my cutting board to the oven/range… that sucker just jumped right off the counter and slid in that little tight spot between the wall and oven. If I were a diving judge, I’d give it a 10 because it was a perfect jump. Maybe it was trying to hide from me? Tired of being cut up all the time? Who knows. What I do know is it’s still there. I really miss that cutting board.

Now, I’m going to go shopping again. But not at Wal-Mart. I’d rather have wet pits.

How many ways can you say “MORTIFIED”? I need other-Mama help! BAD!!

Aug 5th, 2010

by Nickie.

4 comments

This morning, I cried tears of sadness because my baby, my Little Man, was spending his first day away from me, at school, in kindergarten, like a ‘big kid’.

This afternoon, I cried tears of sadness because I was disappointed, angered, frustrated, MORTIFIED—because…

I knocked on the door and peeked in because his class was the only one that hadn’t dismissed yet. I figured they were just running behind, and they were. As I peeked my head in, the TA acknowledged me and asked if I wanted to come in. Nice, friendly, right? You’re misunderstanding. She asked “Do you want to go ahead and come in, and shut the door?” The expression on her face said it all. It was like a meeting with the principal, only worse, because this is kindergarten… the littlest of the school age kids.

I shut the door behind me as his teacher walked over to me. His teacher is great. She’s kind and patient, which is good qualities in a teacher, especially a kindergarten teacher. I asked her if she’d had problems with Little Man. He generally is very energetic and tends to not want to sit still for very long—and sometimes plays a little too rough with kids his own age. (The product of having brothers that are 11 to 15 years older than him.) She said he’d been in trouble a couple times, and had to sit in the ‘bad seat’ for a little while. He, as I suspected, wouldn’t stay in his seat. But… one of the times his butt left the chair, he somehow managed to get his scissors out of his supply box and… cut a little girl’s hair. Like. A lot. Three or so inches a lot.

I.WAS.MORTIFIED. to say the least.

She also said that Little Man is a little bit behind the other kids. But will catch up. She’ll work with him. He’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it.

I’ve seen mamas walking through Wal-Mart towing their screaming kids by the arm and thought “boy I’m glad mine isn’t like that.” I’ve been around the kids that you don’t want to see coming because they are either so mean or so undisciplined that you just want to yank them up and shake some sense into them… or their mama. I never… ever… EVER… thought my child would be… one of THOSE kids. He is one of THOSE kids. And I don’t know how to take it. I don’t know how it happened.

When he was old enough for the bigger kids to really take up time with him, I was constantly having to correct them because they, the boys specifically, would play so rough and mean. Play wrestling and fighting, causing him to hit and fight back. They were only playing, but I felt it wasn’t teaching Little Man how to properly ‘play’ or interact with other kids. He has picked up on a lot of the older kids’ ways… especially the rough-housing. I thought that would be my biggest problem in school. And I’d hoped that when he saw how other kids his own age actually interacted with each other, he’d see how much fun it really is to ‘play’.

I never, ever EVER, imagined that—on his first day of kindergarten—I’d hear such from his teacher. He cut her hair. If I were that little girl’s mama, I’d be furious. FURIOUS! I don’t even know how to make this right. I don’t know where he got the idea to cut someone’s hair. I mean, am I not supposed to take him for hair cuts so that he won’t learn bad habits? How am I supposed to handle this? How do I teach him that this behavior is NOT acceptable, and can’t ever happen again? I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO!!!!

Ok, so what now?

Aug 5th, 2010

by Nickie.

2 comments

It’s done. I did it. And managed to get off the school grounds before the tears took over. My baby is officially a kindergartener. I am officially sad and depressed. HE couldn’t wait to get rid of me! He is determined to prove to me that he is a “big boy” now. As if I NEED to be reminded that my baby is growing up at the speed of light!

As if I weren’t having enough anxiety about this day… I was the only mom there with a camera. Can you believe that? The ONLY one. I thought everyone wanted pictures of their babies’ first day at school. No matter. I don’t mind being that mom. I’m sure my Little Man was wishing I was one of the other moms though—you know, the ones without cameras. If I were telepathic, I’m sure I’d have heard “Mama, do you HAVE to put that thing in my face every five seconds?” “Yes. YES!” I’d say. I do have to put that thing in his face every five seconds because in another five minutes, he’ll be at his high school graduation! I mean, really… time is… flying. And it’s not like I could ever forget his first day of school—well, except maybe when I’m eighty and can’t even remember my own name or how to wipe my own butt—but I must have pictures to look back on. I NEED pictures to look back on. And I’m totally and completely rambling on about pictures when in fact I should be grabbing yet another tissue and wiping my eyes so can see better and STOP being a babbling box of emotions already! But it’s my baaabbbbyyyy. He’s not supposed to be this big already.

He was so excited about school today that he couldn’t go to sleep last night. I think he finally nodded off a little after 10… way too late for sure. When I woke him this morning, he rolled over and smiled, then said “I’m still sleepy.” All it took was “But you have to get ready for school” and he was out of that bed in a split second with just as much excitement as last night. He did cuddle with me for a few minutes though, and that was priceless!

He ate his breakfast faster than I’ve ever seen him eat before… even faster than he eats cookies. And he was quick to remind me about his snack and new Spider Man thermos for his ‘dwink’. And, of course, he had to put it all in his snack bag BY HIMSELF because “I know how to do it mommy.” So we got him dressed, brushed his teeth, and fixed his hair. Then it started. “Is it time to go yet mommy?” Not yet.” Five minutes later. “How about now?” This went on for about twenty minutes. “The clock says 7 and 2 and 1. Is it time now?” At least I did manage to get in a picture of him with his big sister before rushing out the door. And now is where the mama guilt comes in. I was so focused on getting Little Man to his first day of school, I completely left Priss out, and on her first day… of Junior High. Of course, she’d rather I not make a big fuss about it because she had enough anxiety of her own, without adding mine to it. And she refused to let me take her to school. She wanted to ride the bus. Apparently it’s not ‘cool’ to be dropped off by your mom when you’re a ‘junior high kid’. And that bus-fever hit my Little Man too. He wanted to ride the bus, but of course I wouldn’t let him. Not just yet anyway. Because, I mean, really, he’s my baby and all. He’s just to little to ride that big bad school bus!

Priss was already at school by the time we got there. (The Jr/High School is adjacent to the Elementary, on the same campus, separated by the tech building, and lots of grass, lots and lots of grass, and some dirt, and well, you get the picture, right?) She spotted us as we were walking to the front doors, and was all smiles as she waved. Let me tell you, that smile brightened my day! And reminded me yet again that she was also having a first today.

When it was all said and done, my Little Man was busy coloring and completely ignoring me because he’s “a big boy now” and Priss was happily chatting away with friends she hadn’t seen all summer. I left with a smile– though mostly to hide the fact that I was ready to bust out in tears. And now I have the day to myself, in complete silence. All alone. Kidless. *sigh*