Really? (alternately titled, "Whitt's End")

ok. my last blog posts were about Caden's great school adventures. have you ever heard of the honeymoon period? on day 4 of kindergarten, i got a call from the school nurse. apparently, Caden had gotten so upset in class that he threw up everywhere. i asked if he had been upset (he has a sensitive gag reflex and can throw up "on demand" when appropriate). she said no, and i was surprised. but, i was also surprised that he would be upset because he had been such a big boy in the carpool line. i get up to the school and the nurse wants to send him home because he's vomited at school. i ask Caden why he was sick and he says that he wants to go home and play with LaLa and not go to school. after changing his clothes and convincing nurse lady that he didn't have a super-contagious stomach bug, he went back to class. after a little while, he calmed down and ended up having a great day at school. [note: where did my sweet precious loving five year old learn that if he threw up on day 4 of kindergarten, they would have to send him home?]

on friday (day 5), i decided that i would walk him to his class. i had heard that parents were allowed to walk them to class first week of school. i must have been given bad information because i was accosted/tackled by the front office saying i had to sign in and that i could not walk him to class. that upset him, and the principal and Mrs. Buxton were kindly there, ready to drag him kicking and screaming to class. [note: i surely deserve mom of the year award, and can i just say... teachers don't get paid enough?]

all weekend was spent praying and bribing and making sticker charts and the promises of money and toys and, well, you get the hint. all ready for a big day on Monday. [note: i'm in a doo-wop group and we had a concert on Friday and Saturday. Friday, a lady i recognized from somewhere was in attendance. after talking with her, it turns out she is the office lady at school. yeah- she knew me as "Caden's mom." can i remind you that it is the first week of school, she's never met me before and she knows me as "Caden's mom?" i was not very excited about that. we have that child. i'm married to a teacher. we know all about those children :)]

week two has been a little better. monday was good. he didn't cry in carpool, but he did cry a little in class. he dried it up like a big boy and was fine for the rest of the day. tuesday, he was pulled from the van crying in carpool line and drug to class. [i need to clear a shelf for all of the MOTY awards i'll be getting.] Wednesday, he got a break. we had a few appointments as a family that we could not miss, and he had a pre-excused absence, thus, no school.

that brings us to today. Thursday. day 9 of kindergarten. Caden wakes up crying. does not want to go to school. wants to stay home. doesn't like school. wishes he didn't have to go. we get distracted and he forgets to cry. makes it almost to the end of carpool line before he starts crying again. when it's our turn to open the door and jump out, he bails from his seat, hides under Timothy's rear facing carseat and hugs the back of the driver side seat. together, i can't push him, and the kind lady can't pull him to the open door. she suggests i park. i do, and she has brought reinforcements. i get out, open the driver sliding door and he bolts to the other side of the van. one of the three teachers "helping" runs to the other side of the van. he then jumps in the back seat. i open the hatch. at this point, there are 3 doors and one hatch open. all being manned by crazy mama/teacher ladies who all just want the games to stop and for Caden to go to kindergarten. forthelove. he now realizes that he is surrounded and busts out laughing. he has now started a game of catch the crazy five year old, and the four of us are all being outsmarted. i finally get my big girl voice on, and say, "Caden, you are going to school today. one of us will take you to the door. who do you want it to be?" he chooses me, i pull him from the storage area of the van (his last ditch effort at evading arrest) and hug him. he is, at this point, rolling in laughter that he thinks he 'won' the fight. well, baby, you're right. you won. you left the car with a big ol smile on your face, and didn't have tears (inside the school) at all today. i'm proud of you, little man. let's try for another good day tomorrow!

God, please give me the strength and compassion and energy to get through this trial. Lord, you know that i have several things on my plate right now. please help Caden to enjoy school and for us to find a routine that works for all of us. thank you for putting him in a great class with a patient teacher and for the friends that he is starting to make. thank you for the small victory we had today. please calm Caden's fears and help him to not have a spirit of fear, but one of love, strength and good decisions. help me to respond in a compassionate way. amen.

Caden's first day of K5

Here it is, folks! Caden's big day has come and gone uneventfully. He loves his teacher, made a new friend (Candice), and wanted to go back the next day. I heard anything from , "i got there to early and had to wait forever for class to start" to " why weren't you the first car in car rider line" to "there's a hole on the playground that has two dead kids in it" and so on and so forth. It was a great first day, and his second sounded like it went just as well. Thaank you Lord for a mostly laid back kid who keeps his mama in line and in laughter, all the time!

It's finally here... Kindergarten!

maybe one day in a few weeks, when i'm up to my eyeballs in homemade costumes and snacks for an entire class, i'll blog sentimentally about Caden's first day of Kindergarten-- but not today. He is so big and so friendly and so ready for school! We received a post card in the mail last week from his teacher, Mrs. Buxton. He was SO excited to get mail from her!

If you know Caden very well, you probably know that he can be enthusiastic. WHEN HE WANTS TO! Sometimes at bible study or at a new nursery or NEW anything, he can quickly change from my strong, brave, friendly little man, to a vulnerable, scared little boy. It doesn't happen often, and it doesn't take long for him to warm up and forget all about little old mama. we've talked about kindergarten all summer, and it was finally time to pack up our school supplies and head to school!

Josh was able to take off from practice (a big sacrifice for second week in pads) and we were good to go. After shipping Laura Grace and Timothy to Rachel's house (for the 23rd time this week), we stopped at Springville Elementary!

this year, Caden will be in Mrs. Buxton's class. It is a multi-age classroom called the Flex class in Springville. it is a class that has team-teachers with K-5 and 1st grade students. There are two teachers in there and the kids will learn some subjects separately and some as a big group. in Kindergarten, the students will get to be exposed to higher grade skills, buddy up with first graders, and will loop up to the a teacher that he is familiar with in first grade. We felt that Caden would benefit greatly from this setting, so we requested the class. We have heard that Mrs. Buxton is a great christian lady, and after meeting her and Mrs. P (the first grade teacher in Flex), we found several church and community friends that we will have in common. Here are a few pictures from today!

He was so excited to see his name everywhere. on the wall, on his chair, on a folder. He was really excited! I was so impressed with the amount of time that Mrs. Buxton spent with us and with Caden to help make him feel comfortable! I think I'm almost ready for this :)

I don't think it will take Mrs. Buxton very long to fall in love with our little man. He is truly truly a gift from God and i am humbled everyday that I get to be his mommy during this very important time of his life! Now, to bring the tear level down, I'll let you know that i can no longer concentrate on this post because Caden and Josh are yelling and laughing SO loudly right now as they watch WipeOut in the next room. That's my que... I'm missing out on all of the fun :)