School Registration

Today was registration day at Jack's new school.  He starts school next Monday!  August 6th is pretty early but he gets done around the 3rd week in May.  That's why we had to miss International Festival and our two weeks of August in Maine and visit earlier.

Pat asked Jack if he was nervous about starting school and he said, "A little bit."  When pressed further, he said he is nervous because he hasn't really done as many worksheets as he should have done this summer.  Not because he's going to a brand new school and has no idea where his classroom is or who his teacher is and not because he doesn't know anyone at the school!

I've tried to get him to do a few worksheets and some reading this summer so he doesn't completely forget how to read.  He's been very resistant to it for the most part so I may have tried to guilt him into it by telling him he needs to remember what he learned last year or he'll be behind.  Then I read something on Jack's 6-7 year checkup from the doctor that said not to push them into reading because it can interfere with his interest in learning.  So I backed off.  Mostly I really want him to love reading like I do but I think that will come in time.

Anyway, I was probably more nervous for his registration day.  I had all my questions written down so I wouldn't forget anything.  I had the most questions about the bus system.  The only elementary school experience I have is my own and I had 10 students in my class, there were 4 classrooms and only one bus.  This school has seven classrooms of 1st graders alone!

After driving home for a few more pieces of paperwork, Jack is officially registered for 1st grade.  He met the principal and despite our coaching, when she asked him a question he responded with his typical "Yeah."  At which point she said, "He'll be saying 'Yes, Ma'am!' in no time!"

I was really looking forward to back-to-school shopping but the school puts together a box of all items required for his class and it's one-stop shopping.  I think Jack would have enjoyed the scavenger hunt of finding all the things on his list and filling the shopping cart, but Pat convinced me this would be much easier.  We still have to go out and find a lunchbox though.

Thursday night is parents' night for Casey's school although she doesn't start until late August.  It is also a movie night at Jack's school.  He should find out his classroom and teacher then.

And so the school years really begin!!!



  

Elmo's Rescue

We are now Tennesseans and survived our move.  We got settled in our new house and a few weeks later headed to the airport for our trip to Maine.  We had a great week there and there are more stories to tell.  But this is just about our trip back to Tennessee.

On our way home from Maine, I decided to schedule late flights out of Maine.  We had to drive four hours to the airport so I figured we might as well make a day of it and I would deal with the consequences of leaving Portland at 6pm and not arriving in Memphis until 10:30pm (which felt like 11:30pm).  

We were feeling a little rushed on our way to the airport but got there an hour before the flight.  Of course there was a long line to weigh baggage and they were making announcements on the speakers that a plane that had just landed was the plane to Atlanta and we should get to the boarding area.  In reality, after waiting 10-15 minutes to check baggage and 10 minutes to go through security, they hadn't even started boarding yet.  But once they did start boarding, Casey of course decided she had to go to the bathroom.  

We had a layover in Atlanta and had to switch concourses to get to our next gate.  While we were going down an escalator I was trying to tell Jack that we might be going on a shuttle to get to the next concourse.  I said the word three or four times and he couldn't hear me & didn't understand what I was trying to say and I was getting very frustrated.  When we got on the shuttle and he heard the announcement that it was called the "plane train", he just looked at me like I was crazy for calling it a shuttle.  "It's a plane train Mommy!"

We waited about an hour for our next flight.  I enjoyed some people watching.  Casey acted like she was going to go to sleep but spent 15 minutes trying to get just right with her blanket and pillow, 2 minutes pretending to sleep and then sat up and said, "Good morning Mommy!"  To which I meanly said, "We're not playing that game.  Either sleep or sit up and find something to do."

We were among the last people to get on the plane, which was fine because I knew we had three seats together and that all our carry-ons would fit under the seat so we wouldn't be struggling to find overhead space.  While we were in line, I said, "Does everyone have everything?"  I glanced at all our things and it looked like we had all our bags.

While we were buckling our seat belts, Casey whimpered, "Where's Elmo?"  I started to panic a little and said, "Isn't he in your bag?"  A quick look around determined that he was not to be found.  Casey started crying hysterically.  My first thought was that it really was the end of Elmo.  I said, "That's really sad, Casey."  Jack chimed in with, "I'm kind of sad too because that used to be my Elmo."  

That's when I realized that I couldn't let Elmo go without a fight.  I asked the flight attendant if I could go search for him and she said I could as long as I had my boarding pass.  I gave a brief moment's thought as to whether I should just leave my two children on the plane by themselves.  I wasn't really worried about them but more about whether others would think it strange that I left them.  

I ran down the ramp and out to our seat but Elmo wasn't anywhere to be seen.  There was a man sitting near our seat and I asked if he had seen Elmo.  He said a janitor had just come by and taken him. I couldn't see the janitor on the concourse at all.  I wanted to run after him, but I didn't dare to go away from the plane.   I was so dismayed after running all they way out there to rescue Elmo and I couldn't even do it.

I explained to the ticket agent what had happened.  She said the janitor shouldn't have taken it but should have brought it to her, but that was all she could do for me.  

I walked back onto the plane empty-handed.  Casey broke down crying again and it made me start to cry.  She calmed down a little and asked if she could get a new Elmo and I told her she could have any one she wanted.  

Then I saw the ticket agent walking onto the plane and I saw a little flash of red in her hands.  I quickly wiped the tears off my face.  When she got to us, I was so thankful.  She said the man sitting out there had tracked down the janitor and gotten Elmo for us!

I wish I could have run out there to thank him personally but I will never forget the kindness of that man in saving Elmo for us.  

Jack's Birthday

Thankfully, Jack didn't ask us to get up early to try to surprise him this year for his birthday.  Last year we were at the shore and unwrapping presents by 6am after his "surprise" party.

Instead, Jack decided to try to recreate the sleepless night before he was born minus the contractions.  He was obviously very excited about his birthday and wasn't sleeping well.  I ended up in his room at some point, tossing and turning with him.  Then he woke up at 5:30.

So it was a rough start to the morning but once he dug into his presents, he was much better.  This year I bought only things that he wanted instead of buying things that I thought he would like.  It worked out pretty well as he was very happy with everything.

We had a special birthday lunch for which he chose the menu.  He wanted pizza and when I asked where he wanted it from, he told me Domino's with a little attitude as if there were any other place from which he would want pizza.  And then he wanted a watermelon, feta and mint salad.  It was really good and he actually ate it.  He asked for a blueberry upside down cake for his cake.  I was very happy to oblige with a cake that required no decorating.  (He was sitting beside me during packing a couple weeks ago while I was looking at some recipes which is why he picked these certain things.)

We had a birthday lunch because for the afternoon and evening we went to a pool party at the Captain's house.  It was a Hail and Farewell for some of the officers at Pat's work.  The kids were in the pool for a good 4 hours.  There was also a little impromptu surprise birthday party for Jack while we were there.  He got a few gifts from some very nice people who barely knew him and a big cake.  He thought it was great and was very excited about his toys.

It was a pretty good birthday considering we got our household goods less than a week before and knew very few people here.  

6 Years Old!

Jack turned 6 yesterday!  Here's a little bit about 6 year old Jack and some old pictures.  Birthday festivity recap to come in another post.

He loves to play.

He still loves Star Wars.

He's really into Hot Wheels right now.

He likes math and is doing really well at reading.

He's smart and coordinated and imaginative.

He builds amazing Lego creations on his own and also follows the directions so intently for the sets he gets.

He loves sports, especially hockey, and was pretty sure that he was a better goalie than the Flyer's backup goalie this year.

He can be painfully shy with people he doesn't know but he's being brave and shaking hands and looking people in the eye as we meet a lot of new people in Tennessee.

There's a lot of food he doesn't like but he does like some of the strangest things like pesto, cantaloupe, and feta cheese.

He loves crafts.
He likes to be funny and make people laugh.