Happy First Week

We have successfully made it through the first week of school.  I am just about over the moon about how well everyone has done {including myself}.

All three kiddos are loving their teachers and school...who could ask for more?

I felt this was grounds for a little celebratory gift.  I couldn't resist myself when I was in line at Michaels on Tuesday {running my first errand in months sans kids!}.  Please don't think I'm crazy.  But if you you know me, I'm sure you already do.

So...I grabbed a few backpack clips.  I thought it was certainly fitting for a "Happy First Week Of School" gift.  Not to mention my girls are enamored with Beanie Boos.  And don't we know, Jack's Minecraft obsession is far from over.

I bagged them up and whipped up a few tags.  I can't wait to surprise the kids when they get home from school today! {and even more than that I can't wait to sleep past 6:00 am tomorrow}  woo hoo!

Happy Friday...and First Week!

First Days

First Day{s} of school have come and gone.  Super scared to jinx myself, but...so far so good!  The big kids started back on Monday morning.  To say I had a restless night of sleep Sunday evening would be an understatement.  Letting go of them is never an easy thing to do, especially considering I have a Kindergartner now! *sigh*

Surprisingly everything went super well.  Daddy and I both decided to walk the kids in {just in case I needed help peeling Maggie off of me}.  I had no idea what to expect from this little one.  I planned for the worse but prayed for the best.

It seems my prayers were answered.  Maggie was definitely a tad bit nervous, but as soon as she saw Ms. R and her welcoming smile, all was well.  I was so beyond elated that Maggie was happy that I literally forgot to cry.  I almost felt guilty walking out of the building with a smile plastered across my face.

Yay!  Maggie did it!  And without a tear {from either of us}!  Woo hoo!

Jack did amazing, just as expected.  He has been counting down the days until school started back up.  However, I can hardly believe he is entering 2nd grade.  He just looks so grown up all of a sudden!

The best part of all was the excitement of being in the new building.  It is truly amazing!   Most definitely the newest and fanciest school I've ever been a part of.  I'm just thrilled that my kids get to spend the next few years here.  And Maggie will be the first graduating class to have gone K-5th.  Pretty exciting stuff!

After we successfully made it through day one of Kindergarten and 2nd Grade, it was Lucy's turn.  She was more than ready, especially after seeing her bigs have their first days.

Lucy is doing a two day "young 3's" class.  Her August birthday is a serious challenge.  I must have agonized endless hours about this decision....old twos vs. threes.  In the end, the teachers won out.  They insisted that she was ready for 3's.  And I have to admit, I could see where they were coming from.

I guess it was just me who wasn't quite ready.  When I found out that a two day a week class was offered, I jumped on it.  No way I was giving up my baby for three days just yet.

I'm more than confident that I made the best decision for sweet Lu.  Her teacher is amazing, you can't even tell that she is the youngest in the class {which was a serious concern for me }, and Lucy said she had the "best day ever" when I picked her up.

Pure sweetness.

I'm honestly feeling really good about this school year.  I can't say I expected that....the anticipation just about did me in.  Seeing my kids happy and loving school is the greatest gift!  I can finally exhale. SHEW!  I see an amazing year on the horizon.

Now let's just hope I haven't jinxed myself...

Meeting And Greeting

We spent the entirety of yesterday morning meeting and greeting our 2015-2016 school year teachers.  As luck would have it all three kids were scheduled for the same morning with two of them even overlapping.  Ugh!

Between Daddy and I we managed to get all three kiddos everywhere they needed to be.  Needless to say it was a long morning, but extremely exciting and, if I'm being honest, a tiny bit overwhelming.

We started at "Kindergarten Round Up" for this sweetie pie.  The round up included a tour of the new building, lots of signing up, a peek at a real live school bus, and finally meeting our new teachers!

Although Maggie was noticeably anxious, she did great!  She even managed to make a new friend on our tour group {who is also in her class}.  I could not believe this sweetness...

All was pretty well until Maggie had to climb aboard the school bus WITHOUT ME.  She nearly went into full panic mode and quickly followed it with tears.  *sigh* Monday morning shall be very interesting.

Maggie was able to regroup and busted out into a full fledge smile when she met the beautiful Ms.R.  Maggie is sure she looks just like Belle and that's about all it takes to make Maggie excited about her new teacher and Kindergarten.  Shew!

Mrs. G is beyond sweet.  She might be one of the kindest most lovely ladies I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.  She was actually Jack's parapro in Kindergarten.  I was thrilled to be reunited with her and I just know she will take great care of my Mags.

Meanwhile Jack and Daddy were on pre-school duty.  I had Jack take his iPad to grab as many pictures as possible since I couldn't be there.  Boo hoo.  Lucy apparently didn't mind a bit and was absolutely enamored with Mrs. Lisa.

Rightfully so, she has the bubbliest and most contagious smile.  We adore her already.

From what I gathered, Lucy took no time at all warming up to her new classroom.  She checked out everything and even made a new friend.  That's my Lu!

Once that meet and greet was complete, Daddy and Jack met us back at the elementary school for Jack's turn to meet his 2nd grade teacher.

Pre Open House, Mrs. Y was described to us as organized, smart, very academic, and a solid teacher.  Jack was just about beside himself when he heard "organized".  Love that boy!  I foresee a great 2nd grade experience for this scholar of mine.

Not to mention a boat load of his buddies are in his class with him.  Fun!

We made it!  3 meet and greets, 3 wonderful teachers, and 3 very happy kiddos.  And I must note ONE excited {and extremely relieved} mommy.

6:00 am Monday morning will be here before we know it! *gasp*

Back To School

I can barely stand the fact that it is time to gear up for the Back to School madness.  Anyone else?  In an effort to cure my onset of depression, I started decorating.  It seems decorating is always the cure to any of my ill moods.

That and the fact that I got a sneak peek at the big's new elementary school.  Well, same school just a BRAND NEW building.  And let me say, it was well over due and it is BeAuTiFuL!  It certainly sparked some back to school joy my heart.

So much so, that I came home and got right to work. Not to mention all this decorating excitement is helping to keep my new Kindergartener's anxiety at bay.  Sweet Maggie....this is all for you {and your grieving momma}

I started at the front door.  I wanted a fresh look to our First Day of School pictures.  I can't wait to stand my cuties up next to this with their backpacks on.  I'm so in love with it, that I already have a wish list planned for the upcoming holidays.  

I also jazzed up the kitchen table.  We spend a lot of time here so it definitely needed to express some back to school happiness.

I used a few of my goodies that I had collected for the teacher's back to school luncheon.  No sense in letting all that work go to waste.  I grabbed a few of my colorful linen napkins and unfolded them for temporary place mats.  These were a wedding gift to Clay and I nearly 10 YEARS ago!  Never did I imagine I would be decorating a table for "back to school" with them.

I was all about color in the classroom and apparently I still am.

The kid's got a kick out of the chalkboard "name tags".

And lest we not forget my traipse to the basement storage room for the "Back To School" books.  I'm sure my summer books are tear stained from storing them away.

And with that, we are slowly getting in the spirit around here.  Off to Meet and Greets tomorrow!  Woah...how did this happen?