ice, ice baby...

oh. my. stars.

it's finally here...the first day of school. dawson starts 2nd grade and dodge starts kindergarten! i have been dreading this day for a while...dont get me wrong, i'm excited for them. but selfishly, i wish they could stay home with me, too. i am waaaaaaaayyyyy too sentimental, sensitive, and mushy for my own good. i did my very best to not get ONE BIT lonesome sounding as we readied for that first day....i think i pulled it off quite well :)

sometimes, i think my boys are SO different from each other...today was a good example. i heard dodge sneaking around his room at 6:45am getting dressed...talking to himself with a smile on his face...dawson woke to his alarm clock at 7 am, and dragged himself to the recliner, where he proceeds to watch "arthur" for a half hour...cuz he needs his "wake up" time...

dodge is bouncing off the walls excited, asking questions about the playground...dawson is busy telling him all the "rules" he will have in mrs lyon's class...specifically the dreaded TRAFFIC LIGHT...so funny.


so here they are...this is the only shot that wasn't blurry, cuz i couldn't get dodge to stand still.



ok, he stood still for this one...this is a kid who is not nervous...at least, he's not gonna let anyone know he's nervous...he can put on a good show when others are around...and the neighbors were waiting with us at the bus stop...and this is how he acted....hmmm. definitley NOT like his mama.

i am also an official noon hour aide at school...i help during recess and lunch..adam sandler's lunch lady routine from SNL always goes through my head :)....anyway...those kids are so stinking sweet...the youngest kids come in that cafeteria like deer in the headlights...wondering where to go...at one point, dodge came running up to me, and asked if he could eat his muffin now. you have no idea how much i just want to sit next to him, kiss him and talk about his morning. ugh.

then, i go out to recess with the older kids...just then a para-pro comes running out..."rachel, i think you better get inside" and she hands me an ice pak....all sorts of things go running through my head...but not this: "dodge was drinking the blue liquid out of this" ...good governor. so, i go inside. dodge tells me he's fine, it tasted like water, and it was all over my lunch bag. (i thought this "sheet" of ice was so nifty, cuz you can cut it to size...well, i must have sliced it a little close)

so, on the first day of school, my first day on the job, i find myself sitting in the secretary's chair, googling "rubbermaid ice paks"...lovely. dont worry, it WAS non-toxic...geez!

later...when my boys got off the bus...dodge yells, "that was COOL!" and dawson says, "hi mom". dodge's backpack is wide open, and later his teacher e-mails all the parents informing us that "after the dust settled, two info packets were found on the floor" wanna take any guesses?

more to come on school days...it has been a very busy week, full of emotions, and not just mine :)