Today's High: 74

It always surprised me, growing up, that the hot summer temperatures knew to take a dive as soon as school started. One week, we were marching our way through band camp under the harsh sun, sweat pouring down our backs and ticking our noses, making it hard to stand perfectly still at attention. And the next, we were huddling in the bleachers during a football game, hiding under blankets in our Color Guard uniforms, with wool letter jackets and our white leather gloves still on to keep our fingers warm. And come half-time, we’d be frantically warming stiff fingers and the icy metal poles of our flags, hoping that we wouldn’t drop them during the performance because of the cold.

The past week has been like that. Mother Nature saw the start of school and dialed back the temperature by ten degrees. It should make for some glorious outdoor recess time for Charlotte, and a comfortable crispness during soccer practice. It also means that I need to go ahead and buy her uniform-appropriate tights, and possibly a fall jacket, because the days of bare knees and short sleeves may be closer than I thought.

Stop Obsessing Already!

I'm sure every reader of this blog has noticed that I can become a bit
obsessive about some topics. Lately, its Kindergarten. I think I'm
more traumatized by Charlotte starting school than she is. Every school
day so far, I've picked her up with a huge smile on her face, and not
the "Thank goodness my mommy's here to rescue me" kind of smile.

Yesterday was another of my trying days, when I worried about all kinds
of things, imagining problems that never came to be. It was Charlotte's
second full day of school, her birthday, and her first day of soccer
practice. The poor kid had a backpack, lunchbox, soccer bag, and
Tupperware container full of cupcakes to bring to school. I believe she
had plenty of help to carry things, but its still a lot for a little kid
to be responsible for.

I was worried about the cupcakes-that I was sending them in the right
way. I had checked beforehand about sending in homemade ones, and was
told OK. I would like to have delivered them later in the day instead
of with Charlotte at dropoff, but there was no way to do that without
leaving them sitting in a hot car at work first. I didn't get any nasty
notes from the teacher, and the snacks were eaten, so I'm guessing that
all was good.

I was worried about lunch. As I mentioned yesterday, I'm still new at
this, as is Char. On Friday afternoon, she requested that I pack her
milk instead of having her buy it at school, so I did. But last night,
her thermos was still full. She told me she "accidentally got in the
milk line." Huh. Well, she also said she'd rather just buy her milk.
So today, I hope she accidentally gets back in that milk line.

I was worried about soccer. Char's practice doesn't start till 5, and
there's no good way for me to pick her up from school, get Trystan, and
get her back for practice without just driving around for an hour
straight. So she went to the school's late dismissal and got to play
outside and then have a snack inside instead. Someone else had to help
her get her shin guards and shoes on, and her jumper off, though she
really only needs help tying the laces. The rest she can handle.

I had not heard from the coach directly before the first practice, and I
was worried that she really didn't have practice until next week, and
would be stuck at school. And I had no contact number or email for the
coach. I ended up calling the school, and being re-assured that all was
well. I'm sure they think I'm neurotic.

Soccer went fine. Char loves it, and loves running. She got to share a
few extra cupcakes with her teammates after practice. And the coach's
daughter was in a dance class with Charlotte last fall, so the girls
recognized each other though they're in different classes during the
day. The coach's wife recognized Charlotte, too, and we found out they
live not far from us, and are considering signing their daughter up for
the same dance class I just enrolled Char in for the fall.

After soccer, Charlotte requested hot dogs for dinner, so we went to
A&W. Char got a rootbeer float with hers. At home, she cheerfully
worked on her homework-a worksheet matching capital and small letters.
And then she got to try out the Dance Dance Revolution Disney Edition
game that she got for her birthday.

I'm going to try, try, try to relax a bit. I think things are less
stressful from here. We've passed most of the "firsts" that I've been
anxious about. But, its only a matter of time before I find yet another
thing to stress out about.

The craziness of the last week is over. Charlotte is 5, she is a kindergartener, jer birthday party is past, and I am done baking cupcakes for a while. Hallelujah.

Let me quantify that last statement. Over a 6-day period, I baked and iced the products of 5 separate cake mixes. Five. 14 eggs (one called for 2 instead of 3). About 1 1/2 cups of canola oil. At least 3 cans of store-bought frosting to supplement the huge batch of homemade stuff that I used to decorate the sheetcake for her party.

I feel remarkably unhurried today. I have no evening classes, no looming deadlines, and the piles of laundry resemble molehills rather than mountains. We even vacuumed our basement playroom this weekend.

Now, I get to start fussing over something new: the lunch box. What to pack. How much. Will she eat the healthy stuff, or just the dessert? (Friday, she finished her pudding but not her sandwich, and was hungry and cranky after school). She's an opinionated little princess, so she may get to start packing her own lunch after a while, with parental oversight. Otherwise, I predict many mini-tantrums over the fact that I packed peaches when she wanted applesauce or failed to divine that needed 12 baby carrots instead of 10.

If anyone has suggestions for tasty packed lunch options for kids, I'd love to hear them. I'm a novice at this. I almost never packed a lunch in school, and at work I rely heavily on access to a microwave and toaster to prepare something edible (I'd love an actual toaster-oven and a sink, maybe a dishwasher...heck give me a full kitchen...but I make do with microwave and toaster).