Back to School

We just waved good-bye to the last of our house guests and here I am -- so surprisingly -- at the computer! Time for a little decompression!

These are interesting times for me. My mind is swirling with various thoughts and emotions and I want to write it all down before it all goes cascading away into time.

Life is wonderful blog fodder.

Anyway, yesterday I sent four kids off to public school for the new school year. We all got up at 6:00 AM, when we've usually been getting up at about 9:00, and the kids were on the bus by 7:00. I left at 7:45 to take Keri Lynn to school, so her poor brain wouldn't get sloshed around by the bus.

Then, along with the three youngest that will be staying with me to homeschool this year (Kylie, Kade and Konner), we took Denise and her four kids off to visit Georgia's Capitol Building. Denise is taking her kids all over the United States on a 2 1/2 month adventure -- and they stopped by to see us for a few days on their trip. So, we went to the Capitol -- and having just visited it a few weeks ago with Danny and Jessica -- we knew how to get there (sort of -- Jackie style anyway) -- and find a place to park.

We had the tour this time and learned interesting facts about our beautiful state. I also picked up some brochures for future field trips. Then we headed back home, with a stop at the park and at Dairy Queen, so that we could meet the school kids.

I picked up Keri Lynn from her first day so that she wouldn't have to ride the bus with her still-healing head. The plan was to take her to and from school for the next few weeks, so I filled up the gas tank (at $2.73 a gallon) and headed to the high school. However, the van was leaking radiator fluid and stalled on me a number of times on the way home -- not good. It literally just made it into our garage where it sits right now while Keith and I make some decisions about the family transportation. Do we replace the transmission (because that's what it needs) of our 1991 van or do we get a "new" used car? Meanwhile, I'm trying not to be in a panic about not having my own wheels. I miss the van already!

By the time I got home, Keva and Kathleen were home and then Kristofer got home about an hour and a half after them, having missed his bus ride home. Luckily, he caught a ride with a neighborhood friend because I couldn't have gone to get him. Whew! The first thing Kristofer said when he came in from school was, "Mom, I've got to pack a BIGGER lunch!"
I then spent the next two hours filling out paperwork and signing release forms and jotting down dates and teachers' names and homerooms and stuff like that until my brain was swimming in information. While I did that, Denise worked on my ever-increasing laundry. Then, I made dinner and we sent all the kids to BED! They were all exhausted.

I tried to get a few things from Wal-Mart that the kids still needed for school, but Wal-Mart was cleaned out, so they'll have to wait for a few more things. I saw some things at Big Lots last time I was there that will help satisfy the needs. Gotta love Big Lots. Both big kids need a scientific calculator. Back in the old days, I had to buy mine for what I think was at least a hundred dollars, and now you can get the same thing for about $10. Pay a little more and it does the graphing for you. Amazing, these new fangled gadgets!

So, we started the whole getting up at the crack of dawn thing for the second day of school today. The kids' lunches were a little fuller! I gave Kristofer some money to get a second breakfast at school. When we get the reduced lunch pricing approved, they can get their lunches at the cafeteria, although they may want to go ahead and keep bringing lunches. Gone are the days of lazying about the breakfast table with a bowl of top ramen and a book. They were all amazed at how short lunch breaks were!

The little kids are all anxious to start school, too. Kylie got her books out and did her own lesson plan for the day so that she could be a part of the action. I don't know if I'm ready to start school myself yet. Today, I think I'll just kind of lay on the couch for awhile.

This last week has been a whopper! I had a total of four adult houseguests and a combined total of 11 additional kids! One nearly-gone eye allergy and itchy scalp (more on that fun story later). A broken van. Three trips to the park. Two trips to Dairy Queen. And a total change of schedule. Taking a deep breath now . . . : )