Back On Track

So after 5 consecutive weeks of being off track, the kids headed out the door to catch the bus this morning once again. I was excited, Noah was excited, Ellie was not - not surprising. She loves school, but hates leaving me (and Leah). She couldn't fall asleep last night because she was so worried. Oh that girl!! I totally relate though. I was exactly like her. I HATED leaving my mom at her age to go to school. She has gotten better however, when compared to last year. Once last year she chased after my car as I was pulling out of the carpool lane. The teacher had to come chasing after her and basically had to pry her off of me. We both left crying. Not a good memory. Last night I assured her that it will get easier, and we planned a few fun things to do after school and this weekend. She left with a smile on her face this morning, so that is always a good thing.

Being off track most definitely has it's pros and cons. I love that we don't have to drag our fannies out of bed at 7:00. We can stay in our jammies all day if we want - which we did. There is no pressure to get homework done, and spelling words studied. They can play play play all day.

The down side, at least this time, is that it was 5 blasted weeks. They have been off since before Christmas. WAAAYY to long. Three weeks is perfect. Five is too many, espceially in the middle of winter. By the last week they were bored, and trust me I heard about it. We were running out of ideas quickly. Yesterday they resorted to cutting potatoes in half and dipping them in paint and stamping them on paper. They actually loved it, but the idea was out of pure despiration. If only it weren't FREEZING outside. That would have increased our options a bit more.


One other down side of being off track (with 4 kids) is the fact that my life still has to go on. We still need groceries, I still need to drive preschool car pool, I still need to take Leah to her doctors. appointment and make a trip to the post office. And I get to take them ALL with me! What a treat. I hate grocery shopping with 4 kids, and I am sure they hate it just as much. I question how I am supposed to shop when my cart is already full of kids? It is inevitable that we will make some kind of a scene. It is not uncommon that someone ends up in tears. But we need to eat, and that requires groceries. That is something I will not miss about them being back in school. Two at the store is much more manageable.

So we have 9 weeks of school before they go off again. I excited to get back on to some sort of schedule and hopefully get a bit done while they are at school. Organization is the goal, although it has been the goal for the past 8 years. One day I will reach it!