And now back to your regularly scheduled programming

Holy crap, what an absolute exhausting month September was.

It is too emotionally taxing to recount it all but basically Gavin had a major anxiety attack about starting Kindergarten. He was unable to go for about 5 days while we figured out what to do. It seemed like every day I was either on the phone with the school counselor, my Early Childhood consultant SIL, or the 25 other people who called for an hour by hour report. On top of that I was back and forth to the school for meetings, bringing Gavin to an outside counselor, picking Ciara up from preschool (of which, I missed her very first day due to Gavin's issues) and then back to the school to pick up Aidan. Crazy.

In the end, we switched teachers and the boys are now separated. This is something I never ever thought I would do in Kindergarten but it is turning out to be the best thing. Gavin definitely needed a more maternal, warm, seasoned teacher. He is doing so much better now. Aidan was fine with Mr. K's teaching style and energy and in the end, I think this will be the best thing for him. I am thinking he will grow more confident and independent without his brother there. Plus, it gives them a break from each other. They shared a womb, they share their toys and everything else so it'll be good for them to have their own K experiences.

Looking forward to October and less drama!

She misses her brothers

I knew she would. They have been her constant playmates for the past 3 years.

On Monday, she would ask periodically "Is it time to pick up my brothers yet?". Today at the park she said "I wish Gavin was here to play pirates with me".

Tomorrow she goes to preschool! Her class is mostly girls so I hope she finds some playmates soon.

And just like that.....they're Kindergarteners

The first day has come and gone, fairly uneventful. It was a bit anti-climactic after all the festivities last week. The open house to tour the school at our leisure, the one-on-one assessment with their new teacher, and the one hour "mini-day" while the parents had coffee in the cafetorium.

So, off they went. Nary a tear from any of us (the night before was a different story on my part, though). Aidan was a chatterbox the entire walk home while I didn't hear a peep out of Gavin. I think it will take him a few weeks to get used to it and feel comfortable.

And then it hit me

Next week holds a big, life-changing day for our little family.

The first day of Kindergarten.

I have been having such mixed emotions this whole summer about this. Some days I am so ready to pack them up and drop them off at the school door and burn rubber away from there. Then there are days where I think I will miss them beyond words and can't get the thoughts out of my head how the dynamics of our relationship will change forever. Not necessarily in a bad way but I just hate any kind of change.

For the past 5 years, my mom has not worked on Thursdays. It started out so she could help me with the boys when they were newborns and then just evolved into "Grandma day" where she would come over and we would go out and do something fun with the boys and later, Ciara. Tomorrow is our last "Grandma day", all of us together. This time next week they will be in school. All day. For six hours.

Today the boys had their kindergarten assessments (kindergarten starts a week later than elementary kids) and as we were leaving the building, the students were being dismissed. It was chaotic to say the least and it just finally hit me that my boys are going to soon be in with this swarm of children. They will run off with their friends to get in a few extra moments on the play structure. I will probably get the universal "I don't know" when I ask what they did at school that day. On the flip side, they will be making new friends, learning new things and experiencing so much. I am excited for that.

Like I said, I just have a hard time with change. But, change is good. Change is life.