Ty's FIRST Day of Kindergarten

Many of you are dying to know how Tyson's first day of Kindergarten went. I can say with confidence that it was a huge success. I am thankful to God that he allowed Tyson to be relieved of any anxieties and to handle it like such a BIG BOY! I have also come to recognize what amazing friends and family I have through their texts, phone calls, and emails the day Tyson left to get on the bus. It really helped to hear from everyone, so thank you all. You know who you are. Even though I still have two more children to care for, the silence was deafening. I have sooooo much to report on and if you're interested continue reading. If not, at least enjoy the pictures of Tyson's first day of Kindergarten below.

First up... Our new and very routined schedule:

4:40 am - Mommy and Daddy wake up.
5:15 am - Mommy and Daddy work out.
6:00 am - Mommy wakes Tyson up. Mommy and Tyson shower.
6:10 am- Tyson watches a show in Mommy's bed while mommy starts getting ready. He is also responsible for getting himself dressed. His outfit is already ironed and hung up in his room.
6:30 am - Daddy, Mommy, and Ty head downstairs for prayer, breakfast, a small devotional and memorization of a bible verse.

This week Tyson is learning, Phillippians 1:21 "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." He had it memorized before the bus arrived.

6:50 am - Tyson finishes his breakfast and watches the tail end of a show on noggin.
7:00 am - Tyson clears his breakfast dishes, uses the potty, brushes his teeth, puts on shoes, and grabs his book bag.
7:10 am - Tyson walks to the bus stop with mommy and daddy.
7:14 am - The bus arrives.

7:14 am -2:35 pm Tyson attends Kindergarten at Fort. Lewis Elementary

2:35 pm - Tyson arrives home.
2:35 pm - 3:00 pm Tyson and I discuss his day. He uses the bathroom and eats a snack. We also go over any homework he may have. Finally, we rehearse his bible verse again.
3:00 pm - I allow Tyson to unwind by watching a show or playing 30 minutes of nintendo wii. He hasn't cared to play. He's pooped. At this time, I repack his lunch for the next day. Packing his lunch this early is so nice and oh so helpful come night time or early am before school. It also allows me to pack him a very well thought out and healthy lunch.

4:00 pm - Babies wake up from nap. We all reunite.
4:00 pm - 5:00 pm We play as a family while dinner is baking.
5:00 pm - Daddy comes home.
5:15 pm - 6:00 pm Dinner
6:00 pm - 6:30 pm One parent bathes kiddies and one parent cleans up dinner. We alternate.
6:30 pm - 7:15 pm Family time
7:15 pm - 7:45 pm Brush teeth, story time, responsibility chart discussion, and prayers.
7:45 pm - Lights out

Routined as routined can be but it takes a routine to run a tight ship. I am just so thankful that Darren is just like me. We work so well as a team to get everything done so we can have time with our children and then time with each other. This new routine allows us 2 hours and 15 minutes to clean up, read, relax, and snuggle after the kiddies go to bed.

Okay, so now that the routine is out of the way, here are a few things that Ty said about his first day of school:

*He likes his teacher.
*He loves riding the bus.
*He learned how to spell the word red on day 1 and the word blue on day 2.
*He played alone on the playground because he didn't know who to play with, but apparently most kids did too.
*He had two encounters where children were mean. He didn't respond.
*He ate his lunch. Lunch is at 10:35 am. I asked him, "Were you hungry at lunch?" He said, "YES! STARVED!"

It's insanely adorable when he gets off the bus. All of the kids say, "BYE TYSON!"

On another note, sadly to say, Monday we stayed home all day. I cleaned a little and spent some quality time with Lilah and Jaxon. I took them to our neighborhood park, read books, and gave tons of kisses. Lilah was so pitiful. Thanks to her I was unable to distract myself away from thinking of Tyson every second of the day. She would yell periodically, "BRAAAATHER". It was so heartbreaking. She was trying to figure out where Ty was. I even captured it on video. So needless to say, I thought of Ty all day. When he got off the bus he was so enthused and all smiles. He couldn't wait to get home and show me all of his art work and tell me all about his day. I pray this attitude lasts all year long. I asked him if he ever, in his day, thought, "Geez, how much longer until I go home?" He said, "No mom. I was only at school for like 2 hours!" He sounds like a teenager already.

About 6:40 pm, Ty had a HUGE meltdown. Not a temper tantrum, a meltdown. He was so exhausted. We had him in bed with the lights out by 7:35 pm. He was sound asleep by 7:40 pm..

Day 1 Homework:

1. Practice spelling your name in D'Nealian Handwriting. (Yes I too have homework. What the heck is D'Nealian Handwriting?)
2. Practice classroom/school rules
3. Practice your cafeteria number.

Today (Day 2) I received a thank you note from Ms. Barrett. I've been told by my step mom that she's reporting me for "brown nosing". The thank you note was for a LARGE Godiva chocolate candy bar and a pair of Virginia Tech earrings that we purchased for her as a welcome back to school gift. Ty's teacher is our age, has a 5 year old, and is a graduate of VT. She reminds me a ton of my sister-in-law.

Tonight, I asked Ty if I could pick him up from school on Fridays and he said, "No. I want to ride the bus." He might as well have stabbed me in the heart. I guess he's too cool for me now. This is the part that I will really find difficult about him going to school. Last year, he looked forward to me picking him up, this year, it's all about the bus. And by next year, it will be all about his friends, I am sure. Eventually, I will be chop liver. I'll only be good for a hot meal and money to go to the movies with his guy friends. LOL!

Day 2 went equally as well. His only complaint was "Some boy that sat next to me at the lunch table ate a hot dog and after he was done he kept blowing his hot dog breath in my face. I thought I was going to throw up. Phew."

Life is always full of surprises with children. I really look forward to hearing about his day everyday. It's so sad to watch Ty grow up, but it's so beautiful to witness excitement about something most kids dread so much.