Crap. Is this going to be an every other day thing?

All the way to school, Zevan claims he is not going to school, and that “We are going to pick Zander up from school.”

“Yes, after you and Zander go to class today, we will pick you and Zander up.”

“No! We are going to just pick up Zander!”

According to Doug, this thread arbitrarily started at breakfast.

So, we take Zander to class first, and Zevan fights the whole way not to go to his classroom.

I sit with him in my lap to get his indoor shoes on. He keeps trying to take them off after I get them on.

Ms. Paula comes over and tries to talk to him. He’s not having it.

I tell him the usual stuff – I’ll pick him up, it will be okay…

I ask him what’s wrong. Why doesn’t he want to go?

I try to redirect, “Weren’t you going to ask Ms. Paula what your hamster’s name is?” “Are you going to do the moveable alphabet today?”

Finally Ms. Sheila comes over and takes him in her arms. He’s still crying.

As she carries him inside, I tell him that I’ll see him after class, and he’ll be okay.

What the heck? Is this going to be an every other day type thing???

We’re leaving for NJ tonight, so it will be like the first day of school again on Monday when we get back.

Sigh.

So, we went to school today, and I told the boys that we were going to take Zander to class first.

“Because last time, we took Zevan first,” reasons Zander.

“And he cried, and Dad had to take you to class while I took care of Zevan,” I reminded.

“Maybe you should always take me to class first,” replies Zander.

I thank him profusely for being so nice and considerate. What a sweetie!

So I take Zander to his room, and we have the usual hugs and goodbyes. Then, I walk Zevan to his classroom, from the inside door.

This actually gives me an opportunity to help him to his coat hook and indoor shoes. He sits down to put them on, and I tell him that I’m going to sign him in and I’ll be right back. After I sign in, I come back and hear him saying, “Ms. Sheila, I need some help with my shoes.”

I need to get him new indoor shoes. These are a bit narrow for him, and hard to get on.

She tries to direct him to get them on, but it is difficult. I help him, vowing to get easier shoes to get on by the time we get back from NJ. I give him a hug, and say, “I’ll pick you up after school.”

“I’m not going to cry, Mom, ” he tells me bravely.

“It’s okay, sweetie.” I hug him, and Ms. Sheila takes his hands and leads him to circle time, telling him what a brave boy he is.

So, Doug and I attended the Winter Warlock Debut at Bristol Brewery with his sister and her husband.

It was a great night, we dinner at the Blue Star (again, ate too much), had great conversation and laughs all night.

I drove home, and as we were heading north on Tejon, to get on the highway, the light turned yellow for the car in front of me. I either had to slam on my brakes or go through, and I went through (normally I wouldn’t do that – particularly if the boys are in the car). Of course, as I went through the now red light, a cop went through the intersection.

Of course, he whips around, and as I am on the on-ramp, he pulls me over. “Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap…” and so forth, I get out my license, registration and insurance and roll down the window.

I’m a pro at this because I get a speeding ticket once a year. But I never do this kind of thing – honestly. I will heartily admit that I am a serious lead foot. “I feel the need. The need for speed.”

Anyway, he comes up to the window, and says, “The reason I pulled you over is because you did not stop at the red light. I need your license, registration and insurance card.” I don’t even remember if I said anything, I just handed him all the paperwork, and he headed back to his car.

So Doug and I take this time to talk about the hefty fees and the points. And I keep cursing myself because I never do that, why did I do that?

The cop comes back and says, “Can you tell me why you did not stop at that light?”

I say, “I don’t even know. I never do that. I guess I wasn’t paying attention. I wasn’t in a hurry or anything.”

He says, “Well, I don’t want to ruin your driving record. We’re out here looking for drunk drivers and you are obviously not that. But it is a serious offense, ” and he hands me my stuff back. No ticket.”

“Thank you, sir. I’m sorry, sir.” I say, hoping that I am not revealing just how SHOCKED I am. And he sends us on his merry way.

Holy cow! I NEVER get out of tickets. I don’t even know how to try. I always hear about people who can talk their way out of tickets or get off somehow, but in 21 years of driving, this has NEVER EVER happened to me (or Doug).

I just hope I haven’t used up all my karma for a year with this one…

Up and down the trail with May and Candy…

Followed by Starbucks – hmmm, probably shouldn’t do that TOO often…

Ah, I spoke too soon. 

We took the boys to school this morning, and we took Zevan to his classroom first.  He wanted me to carry him inside, and I told him that he had to walk in.  He wouldn’t, got upset, cried, and clung to me.  I tried talking with him, and he was just upset.

Thankfully Doug happened to come with us this morning, so he took Zander to his class while I dealt with Zevan.

Finally, Ms. Paula said, “You need to come with me, Zevan, so your mom can go.”  I handed him to her, and he protested and cried, “Mommy!  Mommy!”  I said, “I’ll see you later…”  and left, reluctantly.

Doug had come through Ms. Paula’s class to come out to meet me.  When I asked if he was still crying, Doug said that he was and she was talking quietly with him.

I watched the door, out of sight for a while, and then we left.

I felt bummed out while he was at school.  I hate leaving him like that, but I know that staying just makes it worse.

When I picked him up (that was the longest 2 1/2 hours!), he was happy and fine.  Ms. Sheila said that he had to sit on her lap for a little while to calm down, and then he was fine.

Sigh.

So, there’s no school tomorrow (teacher in service day), then he goes to school on Monday and Tuesday, THEN we go to NJ the rest of the week.  So, he really won’t get settled into a routine until after we get back.

Sigh.

I have to admit that I was feeling very anxious about it last night, and I had trouble sleeping.

Today was the big day. Zander came into the bed a little after 6 AM. We cuddled for a while. I opened up the curtains to help Zevan get up easier. We lounged in bed, talking softly until it was closer to 7 AM.

Doug took their breakfast order. Toaster Scramble and Toaster Strudel for Zander. Boiled egg and Toaster Strudel for Zevan.

Doug made the boys breakfast while I got them dressed. The boys ate breakfast with their usual routine of fooling around and being told to focus and eat.

Doug took the video camera to school to capture Zevan’s first day at Buena Vista Elementary.

We all drove together and Doug filmed the boys in the car, and walking to the door.

We took Zander to class first. As I said good-bye, Zander asked, “Why are you leaving already?”

“We need to take Zevan to his classroom.” I felt guilty already just saying that to him.

“Oh.” And he gave me a big hug and kiss.

Doug and I walked Zevan to his classroom, from the inside. Most parents come from the door that leads to the playground. Ms. Sheila showed us Zevan’s hook for his backpack and coat, and his shoes go on the shelf over his hook. I signed Zevan in while Doug helped him get into the shoe routine. (At Buena Vista, everyone changes into “indoor shoes” when they are in the classroom. A la Mr. Rogers).

Zevan walked around his classroom a little bit, and an older classmate was showing him how to get to circle time. Doug and I asked for our good bye hugs and kisses, and Zevan dismissed us with a wave!

So, we went to him for hugs and kisses anyway. Doug filmed a little bit of Zevan’s introduction to the classroom. He seemed very at home in circle.

Doug and I left, feeling sentimental. We passed another mom in the hall whose child was not at all happy about going to school. I’m thankful we haven’t had that problem at all with either Zboy starting at Buena Vista.

We walked hand in hand towards the car. I was feeling emotional, but not overcome. I confessed, “I feel so …” and I touched my heart, “but at the same time — I’m free! I’m free!” and I did a little twirl on the sidewalk. Doug looked amused.

We talked a little about alternating who would get dropped off first at school, so neither one felt slighted about it. I took Doug to the house to pick up his car so he could go to work.

I went for a run with May, stopped by her house, then came home, ate and checked email before going back to pick both boys up.

I walked up to the playground with the camera recording, and found Zevan and filmed until he saw me.

I went to sign him out and asked his teachers how his day went. Zevan told me that he did some spooning work.

Ms. Sheila said that he had a great day. That he was comfortable.

I asked if he went potty, and mentioned that he has only been potty trained for a month (well, actually a few weeks…), and they said he did fine. Ms. Paula asked him if he needed to go, and he replied, “No, Ms. Paula.”

She went on to talk about how he knows all of his letter sounds, that he was doing the movable alphabet, and reading… “cat… bat…” and that the 5 year olds looked at him, amazed. She said, “Why didn’t you bring him 2 weeks ago? He is so ready to be here” and I said, “Because this was the day he was assigned.”

Needless to say, I was feeling very proud of my little guy.

I filmed them in the playground for a while after picking them up. It was nice.

Megan called to check on how it went. We met her and Silvia at McDonald’s for lunch and then went back to our house for Grandma’s homemade carrot cake made from carrots in her garden.

All in all, a good day. I even brought them with me to my PT appt with Jessica, and thanks to May’s portable DVD player, it went much better than any other time. We even went to the car wash afterwards and they “helped” me wash the Montana.

I have to say, having time to myself this morning really helped me feel more relaxed the rest of the day.

I can’t believe I’m finally here. Two kids in preschool at the same time. Wow. Damn it, I earned it!

For variety, I ran with May on the Santa Fe trail…