New Routine

Wow! Day #2 of school is over and it just may have been better than day #1. Cooper was the first one up this morning, apparently having NOT received the memo that it is no longer necessary to get out of bed at 5:30am. I tried desperately to bribe him with cartoons in order to get a few more minutes in bed...but he wasn't into cartoons, he rarely ever is. Instead he wanted a "bagel with butter". Far be it from me to withhold food from a two year old. His bagel kept him occupied long enough for me to sneak in a quick (and I mean quick) shower. Before I knew it, my little school girl was up, dressed, had her shoes on and was downstairs getting her backpack with an entire hour to spare! It broke my heart to have to explain to her that we had an hour to wait before we could leave for the bus stop. The poor thing, she's so used to me ripping her from her bed and throwing her in the car that she doesn't know what to do with all this time in the mornings!

We had a surprise visit from Mimi and Pappy Richard this morning. Mimi even walked along to the bus stop, which was a nice treat for McKenna. We returned home just before Mom Mom and Pappy Landis arrived to babysit Cooper for the day.

I've been slightly spoiled the last two days having Earl home Thursday and my grandparents here today. I got to go to Target by myself (which is slightly dangerous) and to get my haircut today. It's been nice. I know it's not reality though. The thing that I can't get over is just how quickly the day flies by. It's a good thing I was watching the clock this afternoon and was in time to get McKenna off of the bus. Speaking of which, it was pouring down rain this afternoon, meaning that we had to drive to the bus stop. Sitting there in the line of SUV's and Minivans I finally felt like a full fledged MOM! It was kind of funny in a way - there I was with my toddler in the back, having just come home from getting my hair colored (to cover the grey, no less) and I was waiting in my SUV to pick up my "school aged child". I almost had to laugh out loud. It's hard to picture yourself sitting in your car in the pouring down rain at the bus stop until you actually are there doing it!

After picking McKenna up we headed to the library to return some books. We ran into her gymnastics coach who asked how the first day went and more importantly, how I did. It was funny when the librarian answered for me and said, "It's okay until that bus pulls away and you feel like the winds been knocked out of you for a second." I couldn't have described it better. This whole school thing must be like some kind of secret shared between all mothers. Strange.
Anyway, I think that I've been most surprised the past two days by the extra special one on one time I've had with Cooper. I haven't had him to myself since he was just a few weeks old. It's so fun being able to focus just on him. And have I ever mentioned how absolutely funny he is? He will definitely keep me entertained for the next few years.

Tonight we are celebrating the end to an exciting week with our friends/neighbors. We are so lucky to have met them and so fortunate that our daughters ended up in the same kindergarten class and at the same table. As I said before, I'm sure that won't last for long - but we'll give them the benefit of the doubt. I continue to be so happy that we made the choice to move here. It's easy to second guess yourself at times and wonder what might have been different, but ultimately there is a plan superior to our own and as always we just have to trust it.
Thanks to everyone to who sent me comments, text messages and called to see how things went yesterday. It was great to hear from everyone and really nice to know that so many people care about us. For those of you who have yet to experience kindergarten, I wish I could say something to make it less emotional or easier. But it's not something that anyone can prepare you for - you just have to experience it for yourself and trust that you'll have great friends like I do to coach you through it.