August 23, 2011

Yesterday was the first day of school.

 The morning went off without a hitch.

Both kids said farewell to me and eagerly went to their classrooms and found their seats.  

It helped that they had already met their teachers.

My Fearless First Grader

We live close to the school and both kids (and parents) had the pleasure of meeting their teachers as they worked in their classrooms over the weekend.

Elementary teachers work so hard to create welcoming, learning environments for their students.

My Third Grader Ready to Hit the Books

With the big ones away, Ness and I went for a walk.

It wasn't as long as I would have liked because she is fiercely independent these days.

Looks like I'll have to get back to running if I want to get distance in--I can cover more ground quicker and she likes to go fast so it just might work!

It was strange not to have much that had to be done today.  

The house was clean, groceries bought. . .of course there is always laundry to do but I gave myself permission to take the day off and just enjoy my baby girl.

We spent some time under the table with her babies.

It cracks me up how much she imitates us.

She grabs her purse and puts her babies in the stroller and takes them on walks. . .it was that little reminder:

she sees it all

she hears it all

she imitates us.

As wonderful as my day off was--Today I'm heading to my classroom to get things ready for my students.

Summer is officially over. Now I need to go into work mode to create, lesson plan and problem solve.

Actually, that is my life daily with my little ones but it is different in a classroom of my own.

There is a different pressure for our students to succeed and to raise API scores...

a pressure that I don't miss at all during my summer vacation.

I take with me my multiple moments of gulps of gratitude.

Summer was very good to us.

Now, though it is merely a memory.