Tapping My Foot

I'm a big ball of nervous energy tonight. My girls start school tomorrow.

After we put them to bed, I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself [I could have done dishes] so I went outside and washed our Outback. I decided I feel better about washing my car in my driveway because I use natural cleaning products to do so. Look, I'm trying to go on a tangent. After towel drying her, Olive is our Outback's name, I took her for a spin around the 'hood. Mostly because she's sleeping in our driveway tonight rather than our garage, and I just know she's going to have bird poo on her in the morning.

When I got home, I heard my girls call out for me. Jake had come outside for a bit at the end of the wash and went back in right before I took a little drive. During the time he came out, our girls had come out of their room looking for us(they never looked outside). Cora, through eyes that had been crying, told Jake she was about to be brave and go out on the front porch and yell, "HELP! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP US!" Instead, they just laid in our bed waiting for us, likely crying intermittently. They are so tender and sweet. Cora asked why I didn't leave a note.

They are snug in their beds, well, bed. Cora has been scared since we saw a crab in the pool in Alabama. A few nights ago, she wanted Magnolia to sleep with her. Magnolia agreed. The next night, Magnolia wanted to sleep in her own bed, so we pushed their beds together. I love walking in to check on them and seeing how they've managed to wrap themselves around each other.

They are both so excited for school. We had an open house last night, and they were on complete overload. So much to do and see! Cora will travel between 5 different areas depending on the color of the ticket waiting in her box each day (practical life and geography - yellow,writing and animals - orange, language and reading - red, sensorial and botany - green, and math - blue). She'll travel between three rooms with a little work group of about 12. She'll return to her "circle" everyday for calendar work, a time of conversation and to decompress, lunch, and chapter time (an adult reads from a chapter book then they play music while the children rest for a while before their afternoon work begins.

See what I mean? Cora will be gone all day. The all day part doesn't start until Friday, but wow. I'm giving myself pep-talks. Magnolia will be at school Tu, W, Th for about 2.5 hours each day. I won't find myself with all kinds of time on my hands, but I will feel weird picking up one and not the other. Magnolia still naps, so I hope I can bring her home, eat lunch, and let her have her downtime before we go get Cora. Maybe she won't miss her as much that way.

Their school is so sweet, and their teachers are fantastic, and I love Montessori, but I sort of wish I was there doing it all with them. It's amazing. They're amazing. I'm going to go try not to cry.

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