a touch of homesickness

i woke up this morning, and looked at instagram and facebook... looking for pictures of all our friends starting their big kindergarten year.  and since i am two hours behind them, they were posted by 7:00am.

i would lie if i said i wasn't a little on the homesick side this morning.

your kids are so cute.  they have grown so much.  especially ethan's little friends from preschool...

and i would be completely dishonest if i didn't tell you that i wasn't sad that my baby was getting the same kindergarten experience.  one similar to my own.  one that i understand...

squint and you can see our neighborhood.  kinda :)

but you see, things get to be different and more of an adventure for us.  we get to spend a year "on vacation" and we get to do school in our own way.  a way that will work for this year.  and if i wasn't doing homeschool, and we were starting kindergarten at the elementary school next week, i still think i would feel this way.  i just spent a good 15 minutes looking at the website for our elementary school we are zoned in.  it would not be the right fit.  i know it.  for a variety of reasons.  this is better for our family. 

its really weird to be in a temporary spot for an extended period of time.

its hard to be different.  you can't look at benchmark comparisons.  there is a deep life lesson embedded in this.  its so obvious it is comical.  this is better for us.

anyway.

do y'all have dealing with sand tips?  seriously...

on to my really good news.  still about school... we got in to our school.  the seemingly impossible situation.  WE GOT IN.  honestly, i view it as nothing short of a miracle.  an absolute miracle.  there are 8 or so kids in the class.  he wasn't close to the top for the wait list.  he was on the bottom.  spot number 8.  unless you have held your breath on a wait list, you can't truly appreciate how grim those numbers are.

i prayed for us to end up in the situation we needed to be in -- even if that meant i had my kids in school on different days.  even if that meant that throughout this year i never had a morning to myself.  maybe we were supposed to be in the charter school that i didn't want to be in.  maybe it was safer.  or happier.  or good in some way i had no idea about.  maybe the less impressive curriculum was actually fine.  maybe my faith was being tested.

i had moments of doubt.  i had moments of panic.  but i tried to stay upbeat.  we will be where we are supposed to be.  if it is my charter school of choice, there will be a way made.

after i found out it was official, i felt a weight lifted.

zoo photo op.  did you know the sd zoo is fantastic?  ;)

if i sound dramatic, i encourage you to think about not having a mental break from the care and education of your children.  my husband works long hours... i am fortunate to be at home with them.  but the mental warfare of not popping into a grocery store without the carseats, hand holding, please don't scream, please don't touch, no we cannot have xyz...  or have you ever been to the obgyn with your kids?  how about a haircut.

okay.

enough of my mellow drama.  we have a busy week ahead - last week of summer and a visit from my mother in law.

the above pictures are from legoland.  this was our second trip... yes, we are season pass holders.  sigh.  legoland is enchanting if you are under 8.  there are rides.  there are larger than life lego models.  it is crowded.  there are lines...  i mean, i do it for the kids.  its not terrible... but lets just say i would so much rather be at the zoo.  or the museum.  i am hoping that when school starts we can come on a friday and it won't be as crowded.  and i am praying that people are right when they say that once the races are over in del mar, traffic is improved.  because, man.  all i wanted to do after legoland was be teleported home.  not drive an hour in traffic.  mercy.