735, 755, 1145, 350

No, these are not lottery numbers or lucky numbers (well, not to everyone at least). These are the times a bus stops in front of our house every weekday. School has started! I guess that is old news, but I am still excited. I, for some reason, had these dreams of school starting and life magically becoming easier. Though I am most definitely enjoying the extra time to work, I am now reminded of just how much I was not able to accomplish this summer. I am on a marathon now trying to catch up with lofty hopes of one day getting ahead. Not to worry, this is just a dream- I will not get my hopes us.

Well, Madeline is in a new school and loves it! I was so concerned about her transition and the drama that would ensue, but it turns out I am seemingly the one most affected by it all. I am a mess! I miss her old school and want to go back! I don’t like having to learn all the new rules and regulations. I picked her up the other day and was completely traumatized. What is happening to me? I used to love change and everything about it, but now I completely thrown off by any hint of it. Our fridge broke last week and I told Josh that I was sad- not because of the money (though that is the actual worst part), but because I liked our old one and simply did not want to change it. Anyway, Madeline has jumped right in and is doing great. She is in a smaller more specialized classroom that seems like it will be a good fit. There are 6 students at this point and 3 teachers- can you believe it?! I get a note home each day to let me know how her day went. Well, the other day the note said, “Madeline had a good day today! She is having a hard time staying in her seat during independent work time though- She likes to ‘pop-up’ and help others.” This is not unusual for Madeline, sitting still has never been her strong suit, but the fact that they can not keep her situated when there are 3 teachers in the room goes to show you how much fun her past teachers must have had. I mentioned this to Madeline’s teacher from last year and I think it made him feel a lot better.

Timothy is another story. I don’t know how much he actually likes school (seeing as he does not talk and such), but I do know that he adores the bus. Having it come everyday is like a dream come true! He patiently (and by patiently I mean the complete opposite- he goes berserk) waits every morning and can hardly contain his excitement when it rounds the corner. I think, more than anything, he likes the routine, but it sure is cute seeing him get so excited every morning. That is, until this morning. I am doing everything I can to keep him from hurting himself, myself and/or the house while waiting for the bus to come. Finally it came 10 minutes late and I walk with/get dragged by him to the bus only to be told that they do not have a car seat for him today. His usual bus needed work done and this one was not equipped (his normall bus has them built in the seat where you can just pull out the center and viola- a car seat)! She said that it was not in his file and suggested that I just put him in a seat belt. After I controlled the urge to say all sorts of sarcastic comments I calmly mentioned that there is absolutely no possible way

he would stay in his seat and he can even get out of a 5-point-harness when he so desires. I mean, he is not quite 30 pounds (which is hard to believe- I think he is made completely of muscle because when he jumps, hits or head butts you it feels like more than 30 pounds), so it is illegal to not have him in a seat. Well, I just had to change my plans for the morning and take him to school. So what if Sadie did not get to really eat breakfast? Who cares if I had an enormous list of things to do that did not include spending 40 minutes carting Timothy to school (the school is not close)? Ahhh…the joys of being a mom! They really do need to have a book or some type of disclosures you have to sign before mommy-hood commences.