i really like school.

jakob- 7th grade, leah- lady bug pre-school, lily- home
(leah does get her hair fized before school starts-- but lily wore her pjs all day long!)

i know it's only been a few days... but i do really like school.

Here are 10 8 things i love about school.

1. i LOVE making lunches. 

when i was little i always got free lunch.  i envied the kids with lunches from home and cute little notes from their moms and stickers.  now that i'm a mom, i LOVE putting little surprises in my kids' lunch sacks (mainly cute erasers) and i love writing them embarrassing notes with a little scripture or reminder for the day.  today i cut their salami into hearts.  i LOVE it!

2. i LOVE seeing the clothes they pick out.

as much as i'm a fan of school uniforms, i do love to see the different styles my kids choose.  Ellie is so opinionated and randomly fashionable and very non-gym appropriate.  anna is just like me, very neat and very classic- i always smile at her clothes.  drew tends to be more conservative by nature, and he dresses WARM (i continually have to remind him it's not great to wear long sleeves with shorts).  jakob is very confidant-- today he wore a cookie monster shirt and he kept telling his little sisters he was going to gobble them up.  i LOVE their unique personalities.

3.  i LOVE driving them to school and picking them up.
it is SOO fun for me to talk to my kids on the way to school when they are full of anticipation for the day.  and, i love the ride home when i get to hear them clamoring to tell me things that happened.  jakob laughed and said, "i can't believe i almost forgot to tell you... today i locked all my things in the WRONG locker."  It was unlocked when he stuck his things in it and then he and his friends tried hundreds of times to open it but it wouldn't work.  They finally realized it was the wrong locker and had to get the counselor to open it for him.  What a funny first day story!! 

4. i LOVE teachers.

i love hearing about the things they are learning, and how much they love their teachers.  Leah said her teacher was, "Just like a good mommy."  I thought that was cute, because her teacher seemed on the stricter side to me.  i love hearing other people who love my kids and know my kids.  when i asked if leah was good, she said, "Oh, of course,  She's a doll."  !!! I hope she always feels that way.  And, I got a sweet note from anna's teacher who said, "I love her already."  And, ellie told me five times that her teacher has a privacy box where she can write him a note if she wants to and tell him anything.  She spent quite some time last night writing a note to her teacher for the privacy box... she told him she wanted a different group to work with in group time because her group all watches rated R movies.  drew was so excited to tell me that i have HOMEWORK, i have to write an essay about him that is less than a million words long.  i LOVE teachers!

leah with mrs. bonnie.

5.  i LOVE having all day with my little girls.
oh how i love having my big kids gone for a chunk of time.  my house is quiet and slow.  my little girls become front and center in my life.  little kids and cleaning a house are great pairs.  they are so cute following me around as i do my chores.  they find great joy in folding washcloths or pairing socks while i fold the laundry, washing mirrors, cutting the tops off the strawberries, counting the apples at the grocery store.  oh, and the joys of nap time... we get to read as many stories as we want, and EVERYONE lays down for an afternoon snooze.  it is so fun having little ones to focus on during the day... and so fun when life gets noisy again after school.  i LOVE the variety that school brings.

6.  schedules.  shedules.  schedules!

i LOVE the routine that school brings.  how i miss my monday, thursay laundry days during the summer.  shopping on tuesday.  pizza on fridays.  morning scripture time is so much easier to do when it is part of our morning routine.  piano practicing... chores... i LOVE the structure that school adds to our day.  (Yup, I'll get sick of this by next spring.)

7. school supplies.

i LOVE them.  and, i love watching my kids get so excited about crayons and mechanical pencils.

i love seeing the folders they pick out and how they organize (or don't) their back packs.  so fun!  i have a great job!

8.  problem solving.
drew says, an hour before school starts, "Oh mom, i need gym clothes.  A shirt with my name on it."  tah dah...  it's fun for me to do small things to alleviate stress for my kids.  i found ellie's lunch left in the car, nad just dropped it off before i went home.  tah dah, problem solved!!  today, i need to figure out a french horn for jakob- i love to problem solve (most days).  [i think it's easy for me to love this stuff because my husband is home and usually huffy about these surprises... i love being the one who just makes everything better with a smile!]

cute boy... not so cute mess on the counter behind him.  can't wait till i can cross "organize craft room"  off the list!

9.  i'm sure i could think of 2 more things to make it an even 10... but my time is up!

life is good.

my house is quiet.

i have big plans for my day...
hope you have a great one!!