Yea!!!! The kids are back in school

[jamie2112]

My 2 kids started school today and boy I sure missed the quiet mornings after the go to the bus. 8 hours with out the kids, weird I already miss um....I didn't think I would but I can't wait to see how their 1st day went. I have a 2nd grader and a 5th grader who both love music and both play instruments Guitar and Drums.. Anybody else have kids returning to school? Are you enjoying adult time? I work mainly at night so I have my days free now and its weird not having them here.....

 

[rnatalli]

Great... More crazy mothers causing traffic, driving minivans, and endangering their own children I have to deal with in the mornings.

 

[adk highlander]

My little one starts Kindergarten this year. She is going to attend next to where I work so I will get to bring her in everyday. My wife is having an issue with this because she brought her to preschool out where she works and now she won't get to bring her and will miss that time together in the car. Our daughter is very excited and cannot wait to make new friends and have fun.

I will not get any extra time and in fact I will have to actually be more punctual due to bringing her. Oh well we have been blessed with a good little soul and I would do anything for her.

 

[jamie2112]

Great... More crazy mothers causing traffic, driving minivans, and endangering their own children I have to deal with in the mornings.

Thats an everyday thing here in MD........

 

[rnatalli]

It really scares me how many times I've almost killed someone because of a minivan approaching or leaving a school. I particularly like the parents who stick a baby carriage out into traffic as a way to stop the cars.

 

[Sheep]

My children were turned into a sweater. Thanks for opening a wound.

SheepStar

 

[jamie2112]

No problem Sheep ,they are very warm though........

 

[itschris]

My daughter just started high school. She's in the International Bachloreate program so she goes to a school a bit out of our zone. She has to catch the bus at 6am. Since it's dark and the pick up is outside our gates, I get every morning and take her to the stop.

It's been brutal waking that early, but on the bright side, I started going to the gym after the bus comes.

I never thought I'd hear myself say, "I can't wait till she can drive herself."

 

[jamie2112]

God I can't even think about my daughter driving yet.......I have 6 years to deal with that yet.........

 

[Sheep]

My daughter just started high school. She's in the International Bachloreate program so she goes to a school a bit out of our zone. She has to catch the bus at 6am. Since it's dark and the pick up is outside our gates, I get every morning and take her to the stop.

It's been brutal waking that early, but on the bright side, I started going to the gym after the bus comes.

I never thought I'd hear myself say, "I can't wait till she can drive herself."

The High School I attended offered the IB program. After asking friends that did it whether or not it was worth it, I got mixed reviews. Hopefully it goes smoother for her.

SheepStar

 

[speakerman39]

God I can't even think about my daughter driving yet.......I have 6 years to deal with that yet.........

Hey Jamie be sure to enjoy it-cherish it too because it all goes by rather quickly. I am still having trouble believing my daughter will be 20 this November!!!!! Seems like only yesterday she was being held in my arms. Never had any idea time would get away from me so easily.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[jamie2112]

You got that right Phil. My daughter was just 2 weeks ago it seems. I guess the older we get the quicker time seems to pass.....

 

[itschris]

The High School I attended offered the IB program. After asking friends that did it whether or not it was worth it, I got mixed reviews. Hopefully it goes smoother for her.

SheepStar

I know I'm biased since she's my stepdaughter and I've known her since she was 5, but she one of the rare kids who is just stupid smart, but "normal" if you know what i mean. She's a totally normal, social kid who takes an hour to get ready in the norning and stares at herself for 20 mintutes before she leaves the house. I'm a big fan of letting kids be kids, but she was actually annoyed last year in 8th grade because she didn't feel challenged... yet she was in gifted, IMASS, and Meggas Math. Her class was using the same algebra book that most of the jr's and sr's in high school were. We spend a lot of time with her but at the same time, she's very self motivated and we let her guide herself where she wants to go within the boundaries we set. She really wanted to give IB a shot, so that's what we're doing. I told her that we'd give it a shot, but I wasn't going to let her be miserable in the process. If it works out, then great, if not, she can leave IB next year and just take AP classes. I won't let her quit for being lazy, but we're not going to force her either. "The biggiest problem the kids face is time management. They procrastinate and get behind... then it really becomes a struggle. It's a delicate balance. Also though, nothing good ever comes from kids with too much idle time. Last summer she was invited to Duke University for their summer TIP program. That was a great experience for her, but she the supervision was surprisingly lax and lacking. After a 3 week free-for-all, it took almost a month deprogram her attitude problem. I just want her to stay focused yet have a solid balance of fun and downtime. We're just going to play it by ear.

 

[itschris]

Hey Jamie be sure to enjoy it-cherish it too because it all goes by rather quickly. I am still having trouble believing my daughter will be 20 this November!!!!! Seems like only yesterday she was held in my arms. Never had any idea time would get away from you so easily.

Cheers,

Phil

It's been funny watching Christina struggle between wanting to be an "independent adult" and a little girl all at the same time. She still like hanging out with us, so I guess we're lucky. She still won't let me watch tv without positioning me just perfect so she can take her pillow and blanket and lay on me. She still wants piggy back rides once in awhile and she still dances in front of the tv now and then, though it's more booty shankin then anything else. I can definately sense her growing up though. She spends more time by herself texting and im-ing her friends then she used to, and she'll ditch me in 2 seconds flat if one of her friends invites her to the mall. She'll feel bad, she'll apologize, she'll hug and give me big kiss, but she'll bail nonetheless. It's all good though. I couldn't ask for a better kid.

 

[speakerman39]

You got that right Phil. My daughter was just 2 weeks ago it seems. I guess the older we get the quicker time seems to pass.....

Amen bro. Time goes by so quickly that at times it feels like I am playing catch-up, but don't seem to get anywhere. Makes me wanna say WTF.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[Pheaton]

My daughter just started high school. She's in the International Bachloreate program so she goes to a school a bit out of our zone. She has to catch the bus at 6am. Since it's dark and the pick up is outside our gates, I get every morning and take her to the stop.

It's been brutal waking that early, but on the bright side, I started going to the gym after the bus comes.

I never thought I'd hear myself say, "I can't wait till she can drive herself."

Hi,
As a teacher, I always have mixed feelings at this time of year. I am excited to go back, but I also miss being able to sleep in during the summer, and having time to read books, watch movies, etc....

I have something in common with your daughter, as I will be teaching in an all IB school this year. We have already been back for a week and a half and my freshman are having an okay time getting adjusted. My sophomores are actually having a more difficult time getting back into it.

Pheaton

 

[speakerman39]

It's been funny watching Christina struggle between wanting to be an "independent adult" and a little girl all at the same time. She still like hanging out with us, so I guess we're lucky. She still won't let me watch tv without positioning me just perfect so she can take her pillow and blanket and lay on me. She still wants piggy back rides once in awhile and she still dances in front of the tv now and then, though it's more booty shankin then anything else. I can definately sense her growing up though. She spends more time by herself texting and im-ing her friends then she used to, and she'll ditch me in 2 seconds flat if one of her friends invites her to the mall. She'll feel bad, she'll apologize, she'll hug and give me big kiss, but she'll bail nonetheless. It's all good though. I couldn't ask for a better kid.

Chris, this is exactly the kind of moments that you will treasure for a lifetime. It sounds like you both have an excellent relationship filled with unconditional love. I am so glad you are taking the time to reflect on what I refer to as "precious moments" . Sadly, others, do it much later into the game so to speak. Anyways, thanks for sharing with us my friend.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[sparky77]

I work midnight to 7:30am out of my home office, the kids get up at 7 to get ready for school, so they leave about the time I go to bed. Finally I get to sleep in peace after a very long summer without much sleep. The downside is, now I have to try and remember all the things I tried to forget so I can help them with homework again.......

 

[itschris]

Chris, this is exactly the kind of moments that you will treasure for a lifetime. It sounds like you both have an excellent relationship filled with unconditional love. I am so glad you are taking the time to reflect on what I refer to as "precious moments" . Sadly, others, do it much later into the game so to speak. Anyways, thanks for sharing with us my friend.

Cheers,

Phil

I'm trying. She definately has more "tude" these past couple of months.. but she goes through those phases now and then. My wife is a few years older than me and she can't have anymore kids and for the longest time felt she was cheating me if we got together because we couldn't have our own. I always told her that Christina would be enough and now that we're actually together and have been married for just over a year now... we're very much a solid family and I think of her as my own daughter. We've all been close for about 8 years with a few gaps here or there, so we've spent a lot of time together.

I missed out on having the baby/toddler years, but I don't think that's changed anything. In fact, in some ways, I feel it's helped because I'm trying to catch up and spend as much time as I can with her. We have our ups and downs, but I think it's no different than any other family. She's such a great kid and I really thankful.

 

[itschris]

Hi,
As a teacher, I always have mixed feelings at this time of year. I am excited to go back, but I also miss being able to sleep in during the summer, and having time to read books, watch movies, etc....

I have something in common with your daughter, as I will be teaching in an all IB school this year. We have already been back for a week and a half and my freshman are having an okay time getting adjusted. My sophomores are actually having a more difficult time getting back into it.

Pheaton

I think she's adjusting far better than I am. I get up early and let my wife sleep in since I started going tot he gym in the morning. I'm pretty sluggish the first 30 minutes but I get it together after that. I thought she'd have a really hard time, but she's getting up all on her own and has been in bed by 9:30 all on her own without having to be told. She's managing her time well.

Last year it was a real struggle to get her up. We'd have to wake 2-3 times, than she'd carry her blanket with her onto the couch and go into "transition" for another 20 minutes until she finally got going.

The only thing she's complained about so far is that she misses Bill O'Reilly every night, but she DVR's it! She's very interested in politics and has a very strong grasp of today's issues. She's bit aggrivated already with one of her teachers who has a pony tail and trashes Bush throughout the class time. It was only her second rotation with him and she finally spoke up after class and said, "It's okay to disagree with policy, but you can and should still show respect for the office." She went on to tell him that it's not fair for him to "impart his opinion on politics without balancing the content" because it does a "disservice to us because we're still forming our own opinions." He actually applauded her and they're going to be doing an assignment on it now which goes into explaining why you actually believe what you do. The thinking is, so many just say they support this or that, or are this or that, without really knowing why.

Overall, I'm hoping this is going to be a very positive experience for her. I think the horror stories are largely due to kids who just can't or don't want to really dedicate the time and make the effort to find that balance. We'll see how it goes.