first day of school(s)!

Sweet Langston's first day of Kindergarten!  

Our family just before we walked big L. over for his first day.

It's official!  We have a Kindergarten guy in our fam!  And his first day, in his words, was, "the best day of my life!"  Wow.  Can't beat that. ;)  **Quick side note here:  His teacher seemed fantastic from the first time I saw here.  She was one of the "energetic" ones I remember from a "meet the teachers" thing last spring.  And when we saw the great organization of her classroom (we had open house, then "bring the supplies morning" so L. & fam explored the school twice before he really had to go), we were fired up about this lady.  She has 22 years of experience.  She's from Mississippi (we'll forgive her for being a Bulldogs fan...her hubby did his phD at Mississippi State).  I felt like she seemed a perfect "match" for our Langston...and Mama's usually right about these things. :)**
When we asked him for the 'recap of the day' he gave us a quick run down of the "stations" they did in the a.m., then quickly moved on to when he saw me waiting to pick him up. :)  (Missing: probably the hours b't 8:30 and 2:40!  ha! )  So, we were specific:  Did Mrs. Pryor read to you?  Yes, the Kissing Hand.  Were you the line leader? No.  Door holder?  No.  Did you go potty?  No, but he tried.  Did you eat lunch?  Yes, and he chose salad & carrots w his pizza...and drank all his milk. :)  (Good job!) Did anyone in your class cry?  Nope.  Not a one.  And his b.f.f., Amir, got to come home w him at the end of the day! 
The only "whew" part, to me, was how exhausted this guy was at the end of the day.  7:45 to 2:40 is a LONG day for little people (for any people).  He cried over anything that didn't go his way yesterday.  I hear 'earlier bedtime' calling!

Little Miss Z. on her first day of pre-school!

  

L. loves that sister!  He was more nervous about her first day than we were! :)  

 B. called after he dropped Z. off on her first day to tell me that she did great...no tears or anything.  I made him tell L. that bc L. had been so worried about her!  When we went to pick her up, B. was bringing her out of the classroom & she was SLEEPY, but aside from that great.  She ate lunch well, "helped" w a baby. (Her favorite things in life right now are babies and books.)  And peed on the potty. (she is officially POTTY trained, y'all!...I think I missed posting that somewhere!)  She has the greatest pre-school teachers ever...Ms. Ann & Ms. Sandy...although when I asked her about her teachers I think she combined their names bc she kept correcting me & calling ?them? "Ms. Andy."  :)  But she did have great things to report.  We were all so happy & she was ready for that nap! :

Yea, Zora-bean!  Riding to school w Daddy!

 Mondays and Wednesdays are "daddy mornings" right now.  B. will bike both kiddos to school on Monday (weather permitting) while Mommy teaches Zumba (Mon. 8:30) and then my Yoga & Pilates class at the University (Mon. & Wed. 10-10:50).  Zora will be at her "school" on Monday mornings.  I'll pick her up at lunch & bring her home for nurse & nap-time.  Wednesdays B. will have her all morning if I sub & then teach or I'll bring her to him when I teach at WIU, then take her home around lunch.
Yesterday I bought this huge dry erase board to put all our "stuff to do" on. B &I are alike in that "if we don't write it down, it doesn't happen."  Huge fans of "lists" in this house!  I even made L. his own personal tiny dry erase w. his name on it & a pack of dry erase crayons (bc those "low odor" things are still stinky, I think...I don't want him breathing that stuff).  His has what happens at school on it (they are beginning "color days" next week, so they will get to wear certain colors...his "share day" is next week, too).  He gave me hugs & kisses for that surprise! :)  I filled out my classes/PTO meetings/dr. appts./playgroups on the board, then B. filled out meetings/ball games/babysit for friends...and more than I am thinking of right now. :) 

KIN 252 Contemporary Physical Activities

Here I am in the gym (we are now in a FANTASTIC dance studio) on my first day of [teaching] class.  Don't worry, I didn't ask a student to hold the camera!  :)  I took this on the "timer" before class began...just to document my first day in yet another experiment of "career choice."  Could one make a career of experimenting w careers?  Hmmmm. :)  My doula training is in a few weeks & I am SO excited about that, too.  I think maybe if I didn't enjoy so many things it wouldn't be so tough to choose one...or two. :)

Anyway, class is going great so far.  I have around 20 guys and 4 or 5 gals.  (Which I didn't expect, but they are phys. ed. majors & that's traditionally male dominated, so I guess I was just thinking about the whole Yoga/Pilates thing...not Phys. Ed. kids.)  So far, we've had one day of lecture &one day of "movement" (which includes explaining, exploring, correcting, etc.).  They've been attentive, respectful & a little shocked by how intense Hatha Yoga can be.  But four of them stayed after to talk the second day & I feel like almost all were in agreement that it was "more intense & more fun" than they thought.  Good stuff.  I hope they apply it when they finish.  I would LOVE to see some Yoga (& Pilates) taught in the schools.