nice day

Kind of went by in a blur, though.

DS2's first day of school went off with nary a hitch, and only a few rough spots for the little guy. First, he cried a bit at circle time because he didn't want to sing, so we told him that was OK. Second, he cried at snack time because he didn't want to eat pretzels for a snack. We told him he didn't have to eat them and he pouted for a while, sipped his apple juice, and recovered. The kid has remarkable self-control.

I think he really enjoyed himself and I took an entire digital photo essay of his first day, many of the things he did. Today was not hard because I was expected to stay with him, and staying with him, of course, is easy. He hates it when anyone says this, but he is my baby, and the idea of leaving him for 2+ hours without his brother or sister is very rough on me. He has never been alone like that in a setting like that. When there is a lot of commotion he tends to shut down. I'm wondering how he will handle next week when the entire class (16 kids) is in attendance, as opposed to today, when only half the class was there. They give the kids one day with the half-class to get the routine down, which I think is a splendid idea.

I really love the school. I have been there for so long that I easily fell back into the old encouraging/guiding language that is best for little ones who are so easily distracted. This is a huge step for all of these kids, and there are a lot of skills to master: sharing, waiting in line, a whole host of social skills as well as dexterities and academics... it's extraordinary, and I'm glad my kids had/have the chance to explore all that in such a great environment.

One of my dear friends picked DD up at school for me and then we met at Mimi's Cafe for lunch, which was really good except by the time our food arrived I was starving, so I at my entire burger, which I have literally never done before. Then, of course, my friend ambushed me with the restaurant "Happy Birthday!" and a nice slice of chocolate mousse pie. I was already full but I ate it anyway. It was good, and I was relieved that I didn't feel gross or sick the rest of the day from eating too much. Sleepy, though.

Then I spent the rest of the day in a haze of reading blogs, news, and editorial coverage of everything going on. I can see I have to develop some ground rules for myself on this issue!

Three day weekend, no plans! Yay!