First Day of Kindergarten

Well, just like that, practically 5 years have come and gone as my baby was off to Kindergarten today! The day started with Mass from 9:15 to 10:15, then they went to their classrooms until 12:15 and they were done! I worked at the school until 12:15, too so it was a great way to ease myself into the transition!! :)

My office/classroom door is right by the Kindergarten playground so I did sneak a few peaks during recess :) I can't believe what a blessing it is that I can be at Brookey's school a couple of days a week. So far, she likes it too although she was so busy playing with all of her friends, she didn't even notice I was there! She knows practically everyone in her class from preschool which is making this a very easy transition for her. Who knows what this year will hold but so far, we're off to a good start!


All the Kindergartners at the alter

Brookey and Madeline

Later, Mom! As they march off to class...

People ask us why we don't have dogs...

You're looking at them!!!!!!

More Swimming Success!

Brooke passed her first swimming class of the summer with no problem. But the class she just completed I thought, was hard.

The first day, I completely thought she was in over her head and I kept telling her that is was completely OK if she didn't "pass" this class. I was just happy she wasn't afraid of the water anymore! In fact, I was fully intending for her to be in this class for at least 2-3 sessions.

But low and behold, today I watched her swim half the width of the pool using her "big arms", do a pretty decent backstroke and breaststroke (for a 4 year old), "dive" underwater and retrieve rings and swim, flipping from her back to her front. You have no idea how amazed I was. At this time last year, I couldn't get the kid to jump into the water. And even just last week she was telling her teacher to "come closer" when she swam out to him. Today, she was telling him to go out farther! We are so proud of her. Now I am confident that if she fell into a pool by accident, she would be able to swim to the side with ease. And really, that was my only goal for the summer!!

And They Said It Wouldn't Last...

Well, my 1 1/2 month stint as a full-time stay at home mom didn't last! This isn't to say I didn't have every intention of staying home for at least a full year. However, I was very emotional about leaving the classroom and my job altogether and no part time positions were available at the time.

Someone was watching over me, though and about a month after school ended, a position came open at Brookey's private Catholic school. The position was for a special ed teacher, 2 days a week...working in the classroom right next to Brookey's Kindergarten class! Even better, this position doesn't include endless paperwork, lawsuits, lengthy report writing, bureaucracy (all of which my old job entailed!!)...all I do is work with kids. I can't think of anything more perfect for this point in my life.

I'll be working Tuesdays & Thursdays and Buddy will go back to his "baby school" 2x a week and get a little social interaction. I'm so excited to transition into this much-needed balance in my family and professional life!