Back to Preschool!

Everyone is officially back to school!

Charlotte went back today:

Her first day of 3's! She will go three mornings a week, Monday and Wednesday and Friday.

And Anneliese went back yesterday, her last first day of preschool:

Most of the "old 4's" like her are going five days a week (which is a new option at our church), and she is totally ready for that if we had wanted her to (she's actually ready for kindergarten, in my opinion -- and desperately wants to go to kindergarten -- but just after she was born they changed the NC schools birth date deadline from October 15th to August 31st, so she misses the deadline now), but now that I have seen what it is like to have a kid gone all day every weekday, I'm in no hurry to rush it for preschool -- so she's only doing four mornings, Monday through Thursday. On Fridays she will be at home with Ali and me, and I am glad for it.

Can I point out here how much it delights me that my children happily bound up those steps outside church and grab that rail and smile for pictures now? What started as a random photo of Nathan as a toddler has turned into a legit first-day tradition, complete with Starbucks. (All the best traditions come with Starbucks. True story.)

Anyway they each had their first days, and next week starts our new routine. Nathan is in school most of the day every day, of course. And all the girls will be home every afternoon. But the mornings will be more scattered:
- Mondays I will have just Ali,
- Tuesdays and Thursdays I will have Charlotte and Ali,
- Fridays it'll be Anneliese and Ali,
and Wednesday mornings (while Ali is at mmo) will once again be MINE ALL MINE. Those four hours are precious, y'all. Not because I have anything important or pressing to do (although it's nice to have a go-to window to schedule things I don't want to drag any kids along to), but simply because, like most people, even chatty extroverts, sometimes I like to be ALONE FTLOG.

I have big plans for giant coffees, and long showers, and reading under my covers, and I might even poop with no one talking to me. It's going to be awesome.