First days!

Well, it's Labor Day.

I thanked my husband for working so hard for our family. After I got to sleep in until 10:30 this morning. Yeah, he's feeling a little snarky himself today.

Also with Labor Day comes the update you all have no doubt been waiting for. My voicemail filled up, my server crashed with all the inquiries of how the first days of school went.

The boys first day was Wednesday, and they looked ready for the new year.

(Darn safety reflective patches. Don't you know you are messing with my pictures?!)

Larry Potter got tie shoes the color of bleach - so we can't look directly at them without a special oatmeal-box viewer. And, he can't tie them. When we got them, I told him he had to learn to tie them by the time school started. Unfortunately, I was not quick enough to find a threat logical enough to make this a priority. (I could almost see it in his eyes: "What are you going to do, Mom? Take away my shoes and make me go to school in holey crocs? Keep me from going into 3rd grade? There's a reason our back-to-school shopping ended at the liquor store.") And now, his laces are his Achilles heel. I hope some teacher shames him or me enough this year to have him learn.

Hoover was all ready to to go kindergarten. At back to school night, his teacher asked if he would have any separation problems the first day of school. Does this look like a kid that wants to stay home with Mom?

Don't you have a glass of wine to get to, Mom? You're cramping my style.

He did everything he was supposed to do, as asked by his teacher. And, when I started feeling misty, he said to me "Don't worry, Mom. I'll be home later." (Note: I am not one to get teary-eyed about school. I just can't believe he's already in kindergarten.)

The day went well for both of them, or so they said. Hoover said he made friends but can't remember their names. LP said he spent most of the day talking to Sam, who's been in every class of his -minus last year- since pre-school.

A day later, I get a few more stories out of LP.

Me: Did you see Hoover at all during the day?
LP: Yeah, I saw him outside while he was lining up to go back in from recess.
Me: Did you say hi?
LP: He didn't see me.
Me: How do you know that?
LP: Well, I was in my classroom looking out the window. Then my teacher told me to sit down.

And...

LP: Mom, I sang a special song for my class on the first day of school, but they all booed me.
Me: [disgusted and shocked look on my face] You did what? When?
LP: During art class.
Me: [shaking my head and thinking this could be a long year for him] Don't sing in school unless you're in music class.
LP: But Grandma [DH's mother] told me I could sing whenever I want to!

This explains a lot about my husband.

Mini-me also started school last week.

A few things I'd like to point out about this picture. First of all, doesn't my front porch look awesome. Yeah, I think Better Homes and Gardens are on their way out for an intervention.

Check out MM's outfit. The too-small pink hoodie...because she refused to leave the house without it, even though it was 81 degrees out. The black Mary Janes on the wrong feet and without socks. Again, the battles one picks. And of course, the hood had to be UP and ZIPPED, therefore not being able to get any pictures of her adorable jumper. It's like she's 13 already.

She cried when I left, but I was told at pick-up, she did great. She's ready to go again tomorrow.

And what did I do while she was pre-school, thus leaving me alone in the house?

(blink)

(blink)

Yeah, I couldn't figure it out either.

I didn't know what to do with myself. I wandered the house for about an hour, then got up the courage to go work out. When I got home from that, I fixed myself up and headed to Starbucks. I wrestled with the idea of given the camera to the barista to take MY picture on that eventful day, but eventually chickened out. Here's an artist's rendering for you.

That's me with a coffee in one hand and my Blackberry in the other. For those 15 minutes, I was officially THAT mom. Also with me was my current copy of American Poetry Review, which pretty much made me re-evaluate my life and what I could have accomplished. Yeah, I could have given up all of this to be a starving poet. And then, in the ultimate form of irony (already, it was ironic I was reading APR in an "establishment" coffee house), I wrote a poem on my Blackberry.

Then I went to pick up MM from pre-school. I can't wait to see what I do tomorrow with my time.