First Day of School

5:00 AM came bright and early when I handed Liesel her ritalin to start the day. She groggily sat up, took her medicine and headed to the shower. Her bus now comes at 6:55 AM so this is going to be a whole new world for her. She's spent the last few years chasing after her bus at 8:10 AM because she had such a hard time getting everything together. At least there won't be any distractions from her sisters, who were soundly sleeping.

The middle school encouraged all the students to wear the free t-shirt they gave out at orientation which made getting ready fairly easy. I've never been that mom crying on the first day of school because I just can't believe my babies are growing up. That said, I really agonized over Liesel starting middle school. We spent hours planning how to decorate her locker. I took her on a special shopping trip not just for school supplies, but for a hygiene kit just in case, well, you know. We had a lot of fun with that one, actually. Aside from pads, fresh underwear and deodorant, we also bought lip gloss and her very first perfume roller. She picked Grace by Philosophy in keeping with her middle name. The sales associate looked at us and said she wished her mom had done that with her when she was in middle school. I shopped sales for cute, hip clothes until Liesel finally told me she really didn't need anything else. We have lived different lives. 

We snapped a selfie during orientation with kissy lips.

Then Liesel grabbed my phone, cut me out of the picture, and added a Snap Chat filter. 

See? I'm losing her.

I knew from my own experience as well as observing the youth around me, that things change once they hit middle school. Most kids get a phone which can bring problems like bad social media influences and porn. They swear more because it seems more adult. On that note, please never ask my kids which swear words they've heard me say. It's a panoply of profanity uttered (okay, sometimes screamed) in moments of sheer frustration. Even so, it bothers me to think of my kids hearing it from other kids. Kids should be kids! Adulthood lasts sooo long!!! Kids should treasure those fleeting moments of their youth!

I made the gross mistake of reading Reviving Ophelia at the beginning of the summer. It's basically to raising a tween what What to Expect When You're Expecting is to being pregnant. I finished that sure she's going to end up sleeping around to find acceptance, dropping out of school, snorting anything and everything she can find, cutting and worst of all, blaming me and hating me for it. I've felt like I'm already losing Liesel. What secrets will she keep from me? What bad decisions will she have to pay for? How much will she hate me even when I'm doing my level best to be a good mother for her? One passage in particular hit me like a Mac truck, 

I'm screwed.

Throughout the summer I found myself making excuses to talk to Liesel more, hug her more, treat her more and desperately trying to fortify our bond before the years ahead shred it to pieces. It's with all this heaviness of heart that I walked Liesel to the bus more tied up in knots than she was about the first day of middle school.

She looked so serene there waiting for the bus. So beautiful. So prepared to embrace the challenges that lay ahead.

Then she said, "Mom, enough with the pictures!" and suddenly that bus couldn't come soon enough for both of us.

 She was off and I headed back home to get the next two out the door. At least they still love me.

Unless elementary school has drastically changed, I remember running around and playing a lot. For whatever reason, my girls really love to dress up for school, especially for Meet the Teacher and the first day. Brigitta wanted to wear a dress and the high heeled sandals we may have to rip off her feet once she goes to college. She loves them so much!

Ireland was all aglow now that she's the oldest sister at the elementary school. I think being a good leader is a quality that gets squelched due to her birth order. It will be nice to see that aspect of her personality develop a bit this year.

Brigitta had her yearly checkup early that morning so she didn't actually take the bus on the first day of school. Brent snapped this one of Ireland:

Kindergarten starts a day after everyone else. I asked the principal if that was to give the Kindergarten teachers an extra day to drink and she laughed. The first day is just a half day and without the littlest ones so it's a "soft start." If something goes wrong, it's so much easier to remedy but the next day it's all hands on deck.

Sydney and I spent our last day together the way we always spent our days together- she was dragged along while I maniacally ran errands. I was determined to clean the summer out of the Pilot and that ended up taking HOURS!!! The girls managed to pack in quite the mess of those backseats and I was scrubbing carpets and wiping down spills on just about every inch of car. I was planning to have homemade cookies for everyone but that just plain didn't happen. I rushed home and made it just in time as everyone started to breeze in the door from a half day. Much to my dismay, Liesel had a rough start especially when it came to finding friends at lunch. However, she was anxious to talk to me about it and we cuddled for a bit. I haven't lost her completely... yet.

The next day, it was finally Sydney's turn to enter the public school system! Like her sisters, Sydney chose a pretty dress to run around in on the playground. A white dress, no less.

Unlike Liesel's new beginning, I had nothing but confidence in Sydney's. She's been to the elementary school with me countless times. Everyone in the office knows her, heck, most of the teachers know her and even if they didn't she's basically a carbon copy of the other 3.

Sydney. Was. Ready. Beyond ready. I think she was ready about 3 years ago. Here she is anxiously awaiting the bus.

After all the years of watching everyone else board that big, yellow bus, it was finally her turn.

She had the most fantastic day!

This time I had the homemade cookies ready for them when they arrived home from school.

I've been looking forward to this day for years, counting down days even, and once I returned to the now-silent house, I was flooded with relief. I did it, I made it. Before I even had kids I knew I wanted to stay home with them while they were little. When Liesel was a baby and I was still working, I felt overwhelming guilt at handing her over to someone else every day. Once I was home, I wanted to stay home until all my chicks had flown the coop. I wanted to be the one to raise them, even if I was imperfect at it. And I was done. I was a dedicated stay-at-home mom during those formative years. Not many women have that luxury, and I feel incredibly blessed to have been able to do so.

Meet the Teacher

Meet the Teacher isn't until the afternoon but the girls are so wired to check out their new classrooms and see old friends it's hard to keep them calm. We make a day of it by laying out outfits for the first days of school and then having a spa day with face masks, a bath (with bath bomb), and mani-pedis. 

I was pretty on the ball this year. All of Ireland's medication and dr's forms had been turned in early. Sydney's medical and vision forms were likewise already taken care of. Even so, Meet the Teacher is so short and I have four classrooms to hit. I cringed when I asked Ireland if she could go to her classroom by herself first and then I would join her as soon as I could. Oh the blessed relief when Ireland heartily agreed, happy to take on the responsibility. Liesel helped me with Sydney- the kindergartners always have more complicated instructions- I think it's just to keep nervous parents busy. With everyone stepping up, we made it through in that narrow 1-hour time range!

Can I just take a moment to laud our school district? Now we really don't love paying the mammoth property taxes but I have to give them credit, we definitely see where our money goes- the schools! We received notification that some of the school supplies were being covered by the district. Brent and I looked at each other in disbelief when we added up the back-to-school expenses. We saved so much money!

Here are some of the seating options in Brigitta's classroom:

The table with balance ball chairs.

The table with these cool wobble chairs.

The standing desk with disks you can balance on if you'd like.

Then there's this quiet spot with a soft stool. I was so shy as a kid, this sweet little desk would have been my JAM!

There's similar classrooms like this at the middle school too. Some of the classrooms actually look nicer than corporate conference rooms! Then there are the 3-D printers and the newly renovated kitchens for Home Ec. I spent a fair amount of time plotting out how to make Liesel's locker look nice because surely it was this smelly, practically rusty, old thing that we all had to use, right?

Wrong. They're beautifully clean and new!

Someone even thought to install the tile that looks like hardwood, so the whole school has a much more welcoming and homey feeling.

We may have to tolerate corruption in our government, bad Midwest weather and ridiculously high taxes, but the public schools are rather impressive. I'm glad my kids are getting their education in these parts!

Usually we celebrate surviving Meet the Teacher at our favorite fro-yo place but it closed down! Both locations!!! We opted for Coldstone instead and well, I don't mind that change one bit.

The girls didn't seem to either.

Goodbye to Summer

This summer was epic. Although we held on to a lot of traditions like trips to Iowa City, Nauvoo and Lake Michigan, ANW Camp, lunch downtown, etc. we tried some new things as well. Improv Camp was a resounding success. Slowly but surely, we are solidifying our own way of celebrating the 4th of July. Not to mention our home became Hotel Chicago for a slew of visitors for weeks on end. 

With the girls getting older, it was an easier summer but definitely not easy by any stretch of the imagination. I felt strongly that this was the last summer of innocent childhood for all my daughters. Sydney's starting school full-time and Liesel is beginning middle school. In some ways it was just a typical summer. But so many others this was a watershed moment for our family. The winds of change are blowing and I can feel it deep down in my bones. That feeling nagged at me incessantly all summer long. 

Our schedule was so jam packed and Midwest summer storms being what they are, I wasn't even sure we'd be able to make the traditional trip downtown. Turns out the weather was on our side and we headed for Buckingham Fountain to make those oh so critical school-year wishes.

I love this little tradition. They never tell me their wish so it's a sweet moment of privacy and independence as they anticipate the school year to come. Their hopes and dreams are truly their own as they toss in their coins.

It was hot so everyone was happy to cool off in at the splash pads in Maggie Daley Park.

I'm not sure what the appeal is in sitting on these but if one of my kids isn't doing it, someone else's is!

The bridge over to the Bean is pretty cool although it's high. I told Liesel to jump so I could snap a quick photo and this one cracks me up. Brigitta didn't want to put her shoes back on and she just about burned the soles of her feet. She tried shuffling on her towel until I pointed out how filthy it was getting. Undeterred, she didn't want to put on those shoes! She finally made it to a cool patch of grass in the shade in front of the Pritzker Pavilion.

I'm not sure how I missed a picture with Brent who brought icy cold drinks straight from his office! We enjoyed a great picnic and then headed over for photos.

I know the Bean is kind of a tourist trap, but it really is a fun place to get creative with photos!

Brigitta always goes for the big jump and ends up flailing. So like her!

Sydney almost jumped clear out of the frame!

 We decided to try some hair toss photos while we were at it.

 With her new haircut, Sydney doesn't have too much hair to toss but I think she does it with style nonetheless.

 Ireland was getting a bit nauseous under the Bean and I can't blame her. I always feel dizzy with all the reflections. She headed back to hang out with Brent while I the rest of the girls wanted some more pictures. I can't deny them that! This little corner give such a lovely glow while still being shady.

Liesel had just a couple more she wanted to try on for size and I think they turned out really well!

We wrapped things up at Crown Fountain so the girls could cool off once more. 

Since it's not our first time at the rodeo, Brent and I scored seats on the west side, in the shade. While the girls played, we struck up a conversation with an elderly couple next to us who were visiting from out of state. It was a nice reminder that someday, waaaay in the future, we might be empty-nesters watching young families while on vacation.

Seriously, I'm kicking myself for not having any photos with Brent! He misses out on so much over the summer as he slaves away at the office, I can't believe I didn't make sure to get him in some of the photos! Well, you'll just have to believe that he was there, saying goodbye to summer right along with us. We dropped him off at the office, happy to have him be a small part of our day.

Brigitta is SEVEN!

Job #1 for Brigitta's birthday was to begin her baptism quilt for her 8th birthday. I really dragged my feet on Ireland's baptism quilt and man oh man did I pay dividends in stress on that one! Brigitta's symbol is the forget-me-not while her color is purple and we found the perfect fabric for the border. I'm really betting on her excitement about her quilt sustaining me through the process... because it is a PROCESS!

Brigitta is named after her great-great grandmother Birgithe Cathrine Jensen who hailed from Denmark. My dad tells me if he could describe her in 1 word it would be loving. Birgithe especially had a love for animals and apparently owned a cow who would follow her around. I don't know if personality traits can be passed down, but if they can Brigitta definitely inherited that one!

Whenever we visit Iowa City, I worry she's going to smother Dakota with love but Whitney assured me that affection is mutual. She took this video of Gita sneaking downstairs to cuddle a bit (notice the wagging tail). 

She had a BIG breakfast in bed!

Brigitta never wants anyone to be left out so she asked for a strawberry cake from ColdStone since Liesel is on the chocolate challenge.

Her big gift was the American Girl doll she's been absolutely pining for. 

Gita's hair is darkening fast- much faster than her sisters who are more likely to stay life-long blondes. She loves that she's the only one who looks more like me and was excited her doll had chocolate brown hair as well.

Both grandparents also gave her gift cards so she could have some fun at the store. 

We ran into this puppy "sheepadoodle" just before entering the store. He's part sheepdog and part poodle and he was the cutest, fluffiest, sweetest thing I've ever seen. Gita was in heaven!

Something about seeing these police officers dressed in kevlar  with weapons at their side and yet being absolutely charmed by the adorable displays made me smile.

This is going to be a banner year for Brigitta as she prepares for baptism next year and no doubt grows in grace and wisdom. Happy Birthday sweet girl, I love you so much!