Quick and Dirty...

The very last thing I should be doing tonight is writing a blog post, but it's been so long and I have so much to say!  Here's the quick and dirty version of what's happening at our house:

1.  Today was my first day of school.  I'm so glad to be back, but oooohhhh my word, we have a lot of work to do.  I love my kids, but they are BABIES and I miss last year's class.  I wasn't around for the first day of school last year, so I forgot how this felt.  I should hire a sub for the first six weeks every year, especially if it's Kim from last year!  She was awesome and I miss her.  On a happier note, I have a student teacher!!!  She's amazing and helped me stay sane today. Phew!  It's going to be a long year, but I'm READY!

2.  Sylvain had a job interview yesterday, which made us so happy, but then he took the girls to Kroger today and they picked out flowers for Mommy.  He dropped off the flowers and Starbucks at school to celebrate my first day so....he's kind of NAILING this Stay-At-Home-Dad gig.  He did the grocery shopping, gave the girls lunch, took them to the ZOO, put them down for naps, and had dinner on the table when I got home.  I could really get used to this, and to be honest...he totally loved it.

3.  Margot - whenever I get concerned about the things she can't do yet (like walk or point to her belly), I decide that she makes up for it in cuteness and snuggles.  This girl will lay her head on my shoulder and KEEP IT THERE for minutes at a time, any time of day.  She is the SNUGGLIEST of babies and I love her for it.  She likes to climb onto the ottoman and Sylvain has enforced a strict "don't save Margot" rule, which means I'm not allowed to catch her when she rolls off onto the floor and hurts herself.  He thinks this will teach her to not fall off....she has two bruises on her face and she was sitting there this morning, so I think she has proved him wrong.  I totally catch her when he's not around.

4. Sylvia - she's about to start preschool two days a week at our church.  I'm not sure if you understand how important this is, so I'll just tell you....next year she's in Pre-Kindergarten and then the NEXT year, she's in REAL KINDERGARTEN!!  She picked out a purple backpack.  She met her teachers and some of her classmates after mass last Sunday and I have a feeling she's going to be best friends with Adeline - the OTHER girl wearing all the dress up clothes at once.

Sylvia's ballet class continues to be the highlight of her week, and I'm telling you....that ballet teacher is the very best teacher who ever lived on the planet ever in a million years!  We talk about Ms. Kelly all week long.  Then on Tuesdays, we get to SEE Ms. Kelly and tell her EV.ER.Y.THING about ourselves. There are six other girls in the class, but Sylvia absolutely talks the MOST and now Ms. Kelly might as well be our Nanny, because she knows ALL about us.  It's fine.  I was prepared for this.

5. EVAN'S HOME!!!!!  This should have been number one, but...yeah.  Evan's here!  In the FLESH!  I saw him with my own two EYES!  It was amazing.  I have pictures, which I'll post soon, but...for now I'll just say that having a brother in the Army has changed everything.  I'm so glad he's here.  We had dinner at Dad's house on Sunday and usually Sylvia hangs out in the garage with Dad for a while, but when Dad walked inside without her, I was confused.  Then I looked out the window and saw Evan pushing her on the pink plastic swing.  *Exhale*  All is right with the world.  Seeing them together....knowing that she went there willingly an didn't whine or cry for me or Sylvain.........it suddenly felt like we were all back to normal.  And it was heavenly.

Okay, the first day of school is over, but the SECOND day of school is tomorrow and I better get ready!  Goodnight!!