seven more sleeps!

Thinking of the neighborhood children beginning their first day of school, I couldn't help but ask this morning,

"Eliza, when does Kindergarten start?"

"Seven more sleeps!" I detect the pain in her voice. Her dismay isn't a result of worry or nerves, but rather she is disappointed. The wait was sadly prolonged as I made the mistake in assuming that Kindergarten would begin the same day as the rest of the school.

(aspiring to be the teacher's pet)

Even with a list as "organized" as this,
...the error wasn't caught until late last week. Rather than having five days left on our countdown, we actually had twelve. It's okay though. With the excitement of 'back to school night' and our two on one meeting with her teacher this Wednesday (standard for all students entering Kindergarten), there's enough school related excitement to help occupy us during the wait.

As for Henry, I tried to pull together a co-op with a group of Moms; but my friend and I were struggling to drum up interest and/or get firm commitments. While working through possible solutions, Andrew and I visited a neighborhood preschool and it stole.my.heart. And Henry's.

(As we clean out the final boxes from our move,
artificial flowers continue to magically appear. Random.)

I feel like a total sellout as I remember the special experience I had with Eliza during her first year of preschool; but it would seem with so many Utah-esque options to choose from, we're dealing with different circumstances. For example: with Eliza, I had friends who watched Henry when it was my turn to host preschool and I likewise returned the favor to them. I don't think that would have happened here. It could have worked, I'm sure, but I opted for Henry to attend preschool twice a week for two hours a day somewhere else. We will plan and host play dates with his neighborhood friends to help bond those friendships.

Last year, I was an emotional wreck (I'd like to play the pregnancy card) as I prepared to send Eliza to preschool. The time (five days a week, three hours a day) + the money (*enter insane cost here) + the distance (one hour drive round trip) all factored into my emotional instability. That being said, preschool proved to be a great blessing to Eliza. I don't regret our decision for her to attend, but in the beginning it felt emotionally premature.

Thank the stars above, Utah's Kindergarten is half day. And while her preschool teacher recommended that Eliza attend full day (if possible), I'm glad Henry and I have one more year of having that extra slice of time with her.

Cute little Naughty Lottie has promised to help keep my mind off those two while they're at school. You see, one of my favorite features of our kitchen

has become hers.
She walks (read: crawls) on the wild side.