Day 0 and day 1 of school year 2009-10

Before I start talking about the new school year, I first need to talk about this:


That's me and Deni in the back seat there, with Patrick and one of Smith Mountain Lake's barnstormers at the controls. For Patrick's birthday, Deni got him a flying lesson and when we showed up, it turned out the instructor had room for two more. Deni took her camera up in the plane, but I don't have those pictures so you'll have to take my word for it that it was beautiful and so much fun to see the lake from, oh, 3,000 feet?? I have no idea. My eyes were busy looking out the window at all the sights I'd seen from driving and boating around. I think Patrick may have been a little too focused to do much sightseeing, but he did a great job we only buzzed the control tower once, a la Top Gun. The best piece of advice I took away from it was, "fly it like you stole it," which is my new motto.

Yesterday the kids' school was closed to get ready for the new school year, so we went had a crazy adventure day. After we dropped Ali off, we drove up to Huntley Meadows Park for a morning hike. I've never been, but it was a great spot for exploring and running through the woods, and they also have a great boardwalk through the wetlands where you can pretend that you see all the animals they say live there. We did see the "beaver dam" they advertised, but it just looked like a ranger dropped a handful of twigs. Anyway, the kids loved it.

Here we are at a stoplight. I just held up the camera and took a quick shot since everyone was wearing sunglasses and we had MIA blasting on the system. It wasn't until we got home and I looked at the pics that I saw Jake giving me the tongue. On our way downtown, we stopped at the Maine Ave. fish market for a snack. This wasn't my best idea ever (forklifts, hobos, Sadie-sized spaces between the boats and the Potomuck), but the kids loved it. They got to touch the live crabs, and see all the giant fish. They also got to see that mackerel that Ali's always talking about (I told them this particular one wasn't "holy"). We got some oysters, shrimp, crab balls and hush puppies. Sadie didn't want any of it, but she finally tried a hush puppy and loved it. Then she thought she was getting another, but got a crab ball instead. She made a very sad face and returned the half chewed crab ball to me, and not wanting to risk repeating that experience again, she refused any more hush puppies.


We got down to the mall and ran around a bit. Here they are in front of two monuments (beat that, Sears Portraits!):



Then Sadie saw the Carousel and that was that. We got on and they picked their horses -- Sadie on the purple one, and Jake on the one with a big number "3" that I assumed they painted on to appease the NASCAR tourist lobby. I tied the little strap around Sadie's waist, and wondered, what the heck does that strap do anyway? As the vintage carousel started turning, I noticed the sign that required one adult per child. In about 30 seconds, we were spinning faster than any carousel I'd ever been on. I was feeling the G-Forces more than that plane ride, and I could see both kids tilting outward on their horses ("They're PONIES!" Sadie kept reminding me). I kept jogging back and forth between the kids, making sure they weren't about to fly off, and trying not to show any fear in my expression. I think the ride lasted 34 minutes. I was glad when it was over.
Next we went over to the American History museum to check out the transportation section, and then the kid-zone. We also did the ride simulator thing that they could probably do a better job explaining how it fits into American History, but whatever. Jake loved it, and Sadie "was a little bit scared". She reminded me tonight that she was a little bit scared. I told her we wouldn't ride it again, but she said she wanted to, except this time with Mommy, Daddy, Jake, Sadie......and Cousin Lyssa.

Ok, so the first day of school was today. It was a hectic morning here as we were running a bit behind schedule and Sadie insisted on SLOWLY finishing every.......last......bite.....of her waffle. In the meantime, I took a picture of Jake, sporting his new favorite comical expression: Here are both kids, ready for what turned out to be a great first day in their new classes!

Haircuts and Homecomings

I came back from a four-day trip out to San Antonio on Thursday and it was so nice to be back home. Here's my welcome committee:Ali started her Masters program at CSU (my alma mater) this week. It's called Leadership and Organizational Studies, which sounds like what she was doing when she was an at-home mom. But as it turns out, that's also what she gets paid to do at Sunrise, so way to transfer those skills!

To give her a few minutes to do some schoolwork, I took the kids out for haircuts this morning. It was Sadie's first haircut, and she did great! She sat very quiety, with that suspicious, furrowed eyebrow look that she must have picked up from studying Ali's baby pictures (or I suppose it could have something to do with genes). You can't see too well from this picture, but the rest of her hair is still long, she just got a little trim in addition to the bangs. Jake got his standard cut, and chatted up the barber the whole time I was helping with Sadie. "Mommy's at home doing work for her teacher. We don't get haircuts every day, just some days. This is Sadie's first haircut. She likes yogurt" and on and on.

Back to School Night

Last night was Back to School Night at Merritt Academy where the kids have been going for two weeks now. It was fun to hear stories about the kids and to talk with their teachers (without the kids running around or crying or jumping or talking or screaming or....) We learned that Jake takes his weekly jobs very seriously -- this week he's Door Holder. He loves to make and play with Gak, and to build with blocks and play with trains. And he's in love with a little girl named Grace. Hee hee!

In Sadie's class, they talked about how she's still adjusting, but doing much better and feeling more comfortable every day. It was nice to hear that for someone like Sadie who had never been in daycare, she was doing great. To help with the transition, they've been letting Sadie wear her backpack all day. Apparently, it's her security blanket and she tries to put it back on if they take it off and hang it up. We knew about this, but didn't quite know the extent of her addiction. Her teachers showed us some pictures of the kids finger painting. They were all in just diapers so their clothes didn't get custom paint jobs, except for little Sadie, who was wearing her diaper.............and her backpack. It was too cute. But, they said yesterday was the first whole day where she didn't wear her backpack!! So, we're making progress!

First Day of School

Today means big changes for 75 percent of the family. Jake and Sadie are both starting school and Ali is going back to work (and by "work" I mean work that someone pays you for). Jake has been in preschool before, and recently he'd been going three mornings a week. I'm really excited for Jake. He loves to learn (and teach), and loves being part of a group. I think he's going to love it.

But Sadie, poor sheltered Sadie, is in for a surprise. Ali said the drop-off this morning went well, so I was somewhat relieved. I think Sadie will really enjoy the playground and I think being around all the other kids her age will help her come out of her shell a little. Time will tell...