Keeping it real!

In the spirit of "keeping it real" and not being a roses and sunshine only kinda social media gal (don't want to be boring like that!! LOL) -- here are some truths from our first 3 weeks of school:

**I made both girls cry the first day of school. Yep, Lulu having to write two sentences did her in and she ended up in her room crying her heart out for about 30 minutes over the stress of having to write TWO. SENTENCES. Bug kept interrupting me during Science and I snapped, and she went and cried. (And then I made stuffed peppers for dinner, which just about made the hubs cry, too - 3/3!!)

**I have been plagued by self doubt about this decision. It's lessening as time goes on, but there are still nights I lay awake worrying that my kids will miss out on some important thing that I have forgotten. Or have dreams where I realize that I've made a horrible mistake and I run in and re-enroll them at school. For those who know me well, this isn't too different than other big parenting decisions I have made. But I think because I've made a "weird" and different decision for my kids, it feels scarier somehow.

**The first week I was delirious with exhaustion. Each week has gotten easier, but wow this is tiring!!!! My patience is very low some days and I'll admit it, I have yelled at the girls when they frustrate me in those moments. I'm working on it, and as they get into their grooves and know what is expected, it's getting calmer. (Classical music and lavender oil mists help us all a ton!!! ;) )

And to go along with that, here are a couple amazing heart-warming things that have also been happening:

**Bug is returning to her happier and more relaxed self day by day. Lulu still struggles with anxiety, but that is also lessening as we go (anxiety was brought on by a math placement test @ school last year) -- that was the "2 sentence" meltdown on day 1. "What if it's not okay?? What if you don't like what I write!!??" I'm working to help her realize that her best effort is more than enough - and if she makes a mistake, that's how we learn.

**The girls have bonded and are so much nicer to each other (usually). As someone said, they have no choice - they are stuck together so much!! LOL, so true -- but seriously a couple weeks before we started our school year, I was wondering if I was insane because SO MUCH FIGHTING ALL THE TIME OMG!! So truly, it could have gone either way with these two. It's wonderful watching them grow closer and become friends.


OK back to it!!! Halfway through Session 1! Most schools around us are back to school now, so it feels more exciting to be home.... I am still glad we started during the summer but yeah there were days where the girls were like "WHYYYYY!! It's SUMMER!!" :)