We had quite the back to school experience.
Ready for their first day of school at Zimmerman Elementary and Westwood Elementary
First off, we are in a new school district and at new schools. That is always going to be an experience in itself. We went to open house, met N & E’s teachers…did all the pre-school stuff. We are incredibly blessed that Grandpa is watching the kids before AND after school for us. So, last week on Tuesday the kiddos and I were off to Grandpa’s about 7:15. It was a perfect morning, almost scarily so…at least at our house.
Let me stop to brag for just a moment. We made it the entire week with home packed lunches and going thru backpacks every night, plus we did our reading minutes and had homemade dinner at home EVERY night last week, okay on Tuesday we at at Grandpa’s, but I brought the crock pot in the morning.
Back to the kiddos school experience. On Tuesday morning, Grandpa ended up driving the kids to school because the bus never came (or at least never stopped). Oh Joy. We chalked it up to being the first day of school. Miss E was SO proud that she was able to find her way to her classroom all by herself. That’s a big deal to her, because N has walked her to class for the past 2 years, at least to get started. He is such a good big brother.
The true adventure of Tuesday came on the way home from school. N got off the bus at Grandpa’s and told him “E never got on the bus at her school!” When Grandpa asked the bus driver, he said he didn’t know, but would call the busing company. Grandpa and N headed to the elementary school. Along the way, they ran into the bus again, and asked the driver if he had gotten ahold of anyone. The response Grandpa got was “We are looking for her.” Not the response any parent/grandparent wants to hear.
By the time Grandpa got to the school, he had gotten a response that she got on the wrong bus and they were bringing her to the school. It turns out that the bus company had E going to our house rather than Grandpa’s house. That put her on a different bus. Apparently, the driver told her to get off near our house and she said, “No, I am not supposed to get off here. I am supposed to go to Grandpa’s house.” Not one tear, just a determined little girl who stood her ground. I am SO proud of my little cookie. It was nearly 6 when she was placed safely into Grandpa’s care. Her first words to Grandpa: “I have to pee so bad! And, I am hungry.” That’s my girl!
Both kiddos had great first days of school. N has his second cousin L in his class. This is making the transition to a new school SO much easier for him. Miss E is so resilient and bubbly, she is doing wonderful as well.
Wednesday, the bus picked N & E up in the morning, no problems. I was sitting at my desk about 4:45 waiting to do one last hygiene exam (the kids SHOULD get to Grandpa’s about 4:20) when my phone rang. It was the busing company. My first thought is “What now?”
The woman on the other end of the phone told me “E didn’t get off the bus again.” We will be getting her to Grandpa’s house in a bit. She asked that we work with E to make sure she knew where her stop was. My response was something to the effect of E didn’t get off the bus yesterday because she was put on the wrong bus, however we would work with the kids. I asked about N. I was informed that he had gotten on the wrong bus, but had already been dropped off at Grandpa’s. Wow!
After I hung up with her, I made a quick call to Grandpa to check in. He had both kids. When I asked about Miss E, Grandpa told me that when he questioned the bus driver, the driver told him, “I drove past it.” WHAT!!! Now I was pissed, to say the least. The bus company accused Miss E of not getting off the bus. How the heck is she supposed to get off at the correct stop, if the driver didn’t stop. I called the bus company back and had a discussion…well I chewed out the person who told me that E “didn’t get off the bus again.” I let her have it. How ridiculous!
Thursday and Friday, things went perfectly. I guess sometimes being a bitch really does pay off.
The kiddos both had great weeks at school and are super excited to go again tomorrow. Now to see how well Mommy and Daddy do at keeping up on making lunches and going thru backpacks. This is as much of a test for us as them.
Well, it is time to get ready for tomorrow and get to bed.
