Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Getting ready for school and carpet!

Next week has a lot of excitement packed into it. In a mere six days the kids go back to school, and in seven days, we finally get our new carpet.

Normally I kind of dread the kids going back to school. Actually, I have mixed feelings about it. The house is quieter with half the kids gone and it's not so chaotic. So I can't say that I don't enjoy that part. Heck, I have heard of some moms that get together to throw a party on the first day of school!

On the other hand, I worry about the kids. Mostly about the adjustment part, fitting in, ect. I worry about the same stuff I used to worry about when I was a kid going to school: will they find a lunch buddy to play with, will other kids tease them, will the teacher be nice? I thought when I grew up and stopped going to school that I wouldn't have to worry about that stuff anymore, but apparently not. And it doesn't help to add school shootings to the list.

All in all, I think we're all more excited for school this year than nervous. It has been a looong summer. It's been fun, but we haven't been able to do as much or get out as much because of our new budget. I think the kids will be excited to see their friends again. I know Lucy will; she hasn't seen any of her friends this summer even though we tried to get together with them.

Max will be a middle-schooler this year. He gets to go down the "big kids" hall where all the 5th-8th graders go. He's pretty proud about that. :-)

He also gets a "real locker"; meaning the real tall ones. He even can put a poster and a mirror in their if he wants to. Big times! :-)

This year he might be going to the 5th graders camp in the fall. This has been a conversation that has been ongoing for the last few weeks as school has gotten closer. "Should I go, or shouldn't I go?" This was Max always asking himself or us as he worried. It would be a big thing for Max to go, since it means two nights away from home with a bunch of other kids. Sounds like fun to most people, but for Max, it's a real source of anxiety and would be a huge step in progress for him. So he decided he does want to go, and Dennis will be also going as chaperone. They should have a lot of fun; there is canoeing and games and S'mores and bunk beds and all that good stuff. It should be a confidence booster for him.

We got all the school supplies minus some of what the teachers ask for "community use". I try to get what I can, but each teacher asks for paper towels, sanitizer wipes, Sharpies and freezer bags. This is in addition to what they already say you must buy, like the pencils, folders, notebooks and stuff. I try to help out with the community use stuff, but I feel like the school should help out more with that. I have spent about $200 on school items alone, and this is not counting the shoes I still need to buy for each kid because they outgrew them during the summer. We hardly wear shoes around here; it's either flip-flops or barefeet.

Anyway, all the kids got the teachers they were hoping for, Lucy found out her best friend is in her class this year, and Max is super-excited with all the new grown-up privileges he gets to enjoy as a middle-schooler. Luke is the only one who is dragging his feet, as usual. School is not his favorite thing. He is still my biggest worry--even more so than Max in some ways--of all the kids. Why people don't like him, is beyond me. They are missing out on a gem of a kid. It is their loss. That's all I can say about that.

The day after school, we get our new carpet finally. I am praying that nothing goes wrong this time. Please, God, let us finally have a floor!

I know I keep saying this, but I'll be so happy once we finally get the carpet. There is just something about carpet that makes a house homey and complete. I won't even mind vacuuming again. All we have right now are little squares of left-over carpet from our old house that thankfully Dennis thought to bring "just in case" we didn't have a floor for a long time. I vacuum those every so often and Henry always asks, "why that?" ("Why are you doing that?") It's been so long since he's been on a real carpeted floor that I suppose he doesn't really understand what the vacuum is for anymore.

I will have pictures of our new carpet when it's installed! But you already knew that, didn't you.

One more week! 




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