The First Day of School - 2008

The Girls on their first morning back to school - July 28, 2008

Well, I have made it through the morning of the first day of school 2008. The day that all 3 of my fabulous children go to school. I thought I would cry, and I did for about half a second, but it went away as I rushed (and I really mean rushed) from taking Alex and Abby to school to getting Alissa to the high school so she wouldn't be late. It's been a hectic morning!

Alex and Abby have to be at school by 7:45, and Alissa by 7:55. Abby's teacher opens the door for the kids to come in at exactly 7:45. So, by the time Jon and I get her settled and get back to the car where Alissa is waiting, it's 7:51. Alissa is panicking - "I'm going to be late, Mom!!"

She got there exactly at 7:55. Hopefully the 1st period teacher showed some mercy because it's the first day and the kids are new to the school and there is inherent chaos that goes along with that. Obviously we'll have to figure out a better plan to get everyone to school on time starting tomorrow!

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So I'm sitting here at my desk, in a quiet house. We've done this before, when Abby was in preschool and Alissa and Alex were in school in TN. But, somehow it's different now. Kindergarten is a whole other world, and Abby has been counting down the days for months now. And the quiet here is different - knowing she is gone for the whole day. I know, I know - time for her to grow up. I can't help it - she's still my "baby" in many ways. We still cuddle on Saturday mornings and she still is so excited to see me all the time. I am missing her! She'd heard me talking to my friend about missing her while she's at school, so I made sure to tell her not to worry about Mom. (She can be a worrier, just like me, only not so bad.) Jon assures me that she will be fine, and I know he's right. (When I worry, he is always the voice of reason and he is almost always right. I don't know how he stays so calm all the time.)

Thought I would share some pics of the girls from this morning before things started to get crazy!

Have a great day all. Say a prayer that the girls have a great day and that Mom makes it through the day full of slience....

Love, Tiffany

Abby getting ready for school...

Alex posing for the camera...

Alissa doesn't want to go...She's not used to being up this early...

Miscellaneous updates...

Hey all. It's been a couple of weeks since my last post. Since that time, Alex has graduated from Phase I of DEFY, the DoD camp she was attending. For those of you that have been wondering where Alex has been in my posts, I was waiting for the camp to get started before I posted about it. Then, before I knew it, camp was over! So, I took a couple of pictures at her Phase I graduation.

Phase II starts in August. The kids go one Saturday a month and there's learning accompanied usually by community service or a field trip. At the end of the year-long commitment in May, Alex will graduate from the program and be eligible to be a "Junior Mentor" (when she's 12). It's a really neat program, gets the kids doing something besides watching TV. And, you've all seen the commercials about talking to your kids about stuff. This was, if nothing else, a chance for some of the information about drugs, tobacco, alcohol, gangs, and basic behavior to enter their brains. You could tell that most of the kids got something out of it. And, they made new friends that they wouldn't otherwise have met (because these kids live all over the island, and have parents in all branches of service.) Overall, I think it was an exceptional program that I was glad to have been able to let Alex participate in.

On a totally separate note, I wanted to share some unrelated pictures. Abby's been loving her Creative Dance Class, and you can tell from the pictures that she's trying to do her best. I am so proud of her!

And, lastly, I've been trying to get on the Elliptical Machine at least 3 or 4 days a week for the past 3 months or so. Is it working? Yeah, I think it's starting to work. (When and if you can see dramatic changes, I will post a picture.) Anyway, I think my consistent exercise habits are rubbing off on the kids, but on this particular day they were more just goofing around (note Abby's facial expression and the fact that Alissa is wearing skinny jeans on the machine!)

For us this is the last weekend before all 3 of my beautiful girls start school. Alissa is nervous, Alex is indifferent, Abby is thrilled. I am all of those, and scared, too. As I mentioned before, our lives change on Monday. Maybe that's a little dramatic, but we are definitely opening a new chapter in the Heffner family novel. I hope you will all say a prayer for my girls and their first day back to school, and a prayer that Mom makes it through the day too!

Have a great weekend everyone, I will post "First Day of School" pictures on Monday afternoon...

Abby is officially a kindergartener!

So, Abby started kindergarten Friday...Well, it was kindergarten testing, but she went to school and met the other new kindergarteners. She wore her Kapolei uniform (and if you remember seeing Alex's in my January post, you know it's mainly just t-shirts.) But, they got a new color this year - purple - and the kids are really excited about it so Abby wore her purple shirt to school.

Since kindergarten is a full-day program here, the kids stayed until noon for testing so they could experience eating lunch at school. (Abby took her lunch, which she excitedly helped me pack the night before.)

When I took her to school, each child went into the classroom individually. The teacher asked the child for their name, crossed it off on the list she had, and said "OK, hug Mommy/Daddy goodbye." To which we hugged when it was our turn. Abby hugged me long enough to be polite and headed inside. (She has been waiting for this day to come for a few months now, and she was ready to go.) I didn't understand why they weren't letting the parents come into the classroom until it was our turn. Abby skipped excitedly to where she needed to go, while I turned around to leave and started crying like a baby! My last child, my baby, is officially in school now. Part of me is so excited for her, because she is so ready to start. But, part of me knows that these kids are growing faster than I am ready for. And, another part of me is scared about what an empty house will sound like when all 3 kids are in school and I am here working. Abby and I have been together for 4 years, since I started working at home. We're buddies. She is my shopping partner, my lunch companion, the person who is always there. I know that she's ready to let go and start this exciting new chapter, and part of me is too. But, I will miss having her around all day.

Here's her big day: