Back to School!

The boys went back to school on Wednesday, August 20th. I was unorganized and running behind as usual, so I did not get their "First Day of School" picture at home. Here's Chris in his new classroom, sitting next to the very sweet Alden Ross and next to them is the lovely Mina Cavasos. I think they are going to have a wonderful year with Ms. Reinhart for a first grade teacher.


Riley refused to pose for me in front of his school. His principal, Mr. Walsworth, made him stop in the crosswalk and look at me. I guess Mr. Walsworth was more of a "pal" to me than to Riley at that moment. Riley is also going to have a great school year with Mrs. Demers for 4th grade.

While they were in school, I packed for our trip to Anchorage. Then Matt, Sarah, Maya and I met my friend Alana and my mom for lunch.

After school I drove the kids up to Anchorage to put Sarah on a plane back to Arizona. I could have flown her up but the boys needed back to school clothes and I am tired of buying them clothes through the mail that do not fit. But after taking them shopping I may reconsider that decision.

Although my boys love clothes, they hate shopping for clothes. My plan was simple enough: find out what size they wear and buy one set in each color. That turned out to be easier said than done. They are both between sizes. One size fits them in the waist but the length is too short, the next size up was humungaloid all around, or as Sarah likes to say, Ginormous. So we skipped the sweat pants they are so fond of and tried the jeans. They wore a bigger size if the jeans were fitted, a smaller size if the jeans were "relaxed". Keep in mind that my boys have a one store limit. When Riley could not get his beloved sweat pants at the Gap, we ventured to Old Navy. Chris by now was having a melt down. Oh, I forgot to mention that I had already forced them to go to Costco with me for the big stock up on staples trip. Again, some of you may be thinking that I am a glutton for punishment. Perhaps I am. But there are reasons for my madness. I live in a small town at the end of the road. Therefore I have to pay a lot more money for food, clothing and fuel than my neighbors up the road. So it behooves me to shop in Anchorage whenever I can.

My brother and sister in law were kind enough to keep my three little ones while I met with our new accountant, I did not want to take advantage of them by leaving my children behind while I shopped. The kids missed school on Thursday while we were in Anchorage but made it back in time for Friday. This week they will begin there first full week of school, only to be set back again by Labor Day weekend. I wish school would just start after Labor Day and end before Memorial Day weekend. I know what you homeschoolers are thinking. I'm not cut out for home schooling. In fact, I live for the day my kids go to school. I worship public educators. Flawed as the public education system may be, it is an integral part of my mental health.

Speaking of my mental health. This is how it looked this morning as we were driving to church. This is summer time folks. Oh, I found a few yellow birch leaves on the ground today, it's actually beginning to turn into Fall. And my peonies haven't even opened up yet. Last summer my rosebuds rotted without opening. I've been dreading the end of summer. But today I realized, hey, maybe it won't be that bad. I mean, at least in the winter time, I don't EXPECT it to be warm or sunny. So maybe if the sun comes out in winter, for however short a day it is, it will still be a pleasant surprise!

Okay, back to the picture above with me, Sarah, my mom and Maya. So which one of my daughters is adopted? Tonight, I was telling Matt enviously about how Autumn blows kisses when she goes to bed and then plays in her crib until her parents come in to pick her up in the morning. We still have to be in the room with Maya for at least an hour every night before she falls asleep. Matt says she's just like all my other children. He swears that she and I are probably related, I mean, genetically. You see, we are both from Bien Hoa, only I was born 40 years earlier and was adopted in 1974.

So what else is new with Maya? We met with Martha the speech therapist on Friday. Martha thinks Maya is doing very well. We are scheduled to meet with Martha every other week. Susan, her occupational therapist wants to see her weekly because we only have a few more months before she turns 3, and then she will transition from Birth 2 Three to the Intensive Needs Preschool program at our elementary school in January. She is saying at least one new word per week, but her eating is still a challenge. She tries all kinds of new foods, chews them up and spits them out. The past few days she has not been drinking her formula. We are down to 3 bottles a day and she only drinks about 2-3 out of 6 ounces. I know I am not supposed to react to this, and maybe I wouldn't, if she didn't weigh 18 pounds and wear size 12 months clothes. I wish I could relax about this issue. I'm not sure what lesson I am supposed to be learning from this. I have always thought parenting is the hardest job I've ever had. I don't feel at all prepared for this particular challenge.