Hey there gang.  It has been a quiet day but I’ve actually gotten some stuff done.  I feel like I was pretty productive.  The weather is rather nice and I’m thinking there may be a trip in a little while.  For now though we are here.

We registered our child for kindergarten today.  This is going to be some experience I can assure you.  His school is over 35 minutes away.  Well technically it is his base school.  All he really has to do is register there and then get into the system.  Then he can apply and try to get into other schools that may or may not have a traditional school calendar.  We are simply hoping that he will be in a good school.  His neighbors are in a school that is about 15  minutes away and it is also a good school.  We would like him to attend this particular school for several reasons.  First, because it is closer.  Obviously with the economy like it is,  it would be nice if his school were on my way to work.  At least not very far out of the way.  Second, because it is a good school and gets pretty good reviews from parents and students.  Third, would be for the support of the neighbors kids.  It would be nice if he could see a familiar face at school.  I guess it would make me feel better too.  It is a crazy and terrifying thought to think that I’m about to unleash my child into the world all by himself.  He will be alone I’m sure for a little while until he meets someone.  Some kindred soul and they will bond.  Then again I think he will be okay because he’s pretty smart.  What did you do when your child first went off to school?  He will not ride the bus for his first few years.  His mom wouldn’t let him I don’t think.  How did you overcome your fears?  How did your child respond to his first day?

Do you know that expression about having to lie in the bed you’ve made for yourself, like it’s supposed to be a bad thing? I’ve always questioned its meaning because to me, the reward for making the bed would be being able to lie in it for the rest of the day. And that’s actually a good thing, right? 

As I prepared the kids’ lunchboxes this morning, I found myself thinking about a variation on the expression. Something along the lines of: “You’ve made your lunchbox, now lie in it”. Which admittedly, doesn’t make sense. Although, it must be said that the food still remaining in my children’s lunchboxes at the end of a school day often *does* look like the kids have lain in it – and moreover, their uniforms look like they’d definitely rolled the hell all over that lunch. 

ANYWAY, the phrase “you’ve made your bed…” in its original form (as opposed to my radical reinterpreted form) most certainly did apply to one aspect of my lunch-box preparation… and that was in the careful writing and inclusion of “little notes” in said lunch box. 

Listen, in my defence, it all started on The Pixie’s first day ever of school. I was making the lunches and trying not to weep openly on the vegemite rolls, when I remembered reading about how fellow-blogger and twitter friend The Sharpest Pencil includes “little love letters” in with her son’s lunch every day.

Before I knew it, I had written my precious little girl a precious little note that said “Mummy ♥ [Pixie]“. But because she can’t actually read yet, I then drew a picture of me and a picture of her and a whole lotta love hearts and kisses and then cut the whole thing in the shape of a heart so that my meaning could not be mistaken (that is, in case she thought the note merely said “mummy will be extremely cranky if you don’t eat this lunch she’s lovingly prepared for you” – which was certainly something I might have thought, but just not written in a note for her lunchbox on her first day). 

When I picked The Pixie up school, she was so excited about the note. She had carefully folded it and put it in the front pocket of her bag. And she pulled it out and showed it to me, exclaiming with overwhelming enthusiasm: “I loved my little notey! I want one every day when I go to school!!”.

Of course, later on I heard from our little friend Master J that she’d been crying in the playground during recess because she “missed Mummy so much”. Which was probably around the same time she’d opened her lunchbox and happened upon that note… Coincidence? Um… 

Anyway, The Pixie has assured me that the note in itself didn’t make her sad, and that NOT getting a note would make her sadder. And so I’ve promised her I’ll continue. 

Mr Justice, in the meantime, in his eternal search for truth, justice and a fair shake of the sauce bottle in this world, asked why he didn’t get a note, too. 

“What, one cut in a shape of a love heart with ‘Mummy ♥ [Mr Justice]‘ on it?” I joked. 

“No way!” he replied somewhat ferociously, before adding: “I was thinking something in the shape of a star, maybe with a Joke Of The Day on it.”

CUT TO: next morning, me cutting a piece of paper into a shape of a star and then writing “What do you get when you cross a cat and a parrot? A carrot!”. 

Lunch box? Made? Yes, people. I’m definitely enjoying some quality horizontal time in it now. 

Of course, if I’m truly honest about why I’m doing this, it’s because there is one thing that’s definitely worse than the kids wanting notes in their lunchbox every day. And that’s them not wanting me to put notes in their lunch box any more… For all this shall pass. 

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This post is dedicated to my beautiful little girl, who completes her first week of formal education today. 

I had to drop my son off at daycare for the first time this morning. I like work, but I also must work. I am lucky to have a musician husband who is a very busy and can support the family financially, but the health benefits come through my job.

I had my son, S., dressed like a prep school monkey; little blue pin striped shirt, cream velvet coat with a stitched emblem on the chest and a blue cap on his head. Classsaaay

I have never been a particularly materialist woman. I think babies are cute enough, but I’m not overly fond of children. But…when my son smiles I feel like my heart is going to burst through my chest. His blue eyes are the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever looked into. His little prep school outfit makes me want to have a million more babies. 

So…looking his dapper best, I dumped my son with a woman I barely know. It was a little like digging my heart out of my breast with a dull, rusty, bitter little spoon.

My husband called me between teaching lessons to ask about the mental state of the transporter.

“It was awesome. I can’t wait to do that again. I can go from being a bad mother to a totally preoccupied employee in a matter of minutes.”

I had my first official Spring 2010 class today! Actually I just have one class today so I couldn’t tell much.

It went well tho, it was a big class of over 200 students. I felt pretty good in class since it was my first Upper Division Business class.

Hopefully tomorrow will go as good as today, I mean I have 5 classes to go to tmr, so I’l have to pretty much stay the whole day at school, gotta go pack up some lunch now!

Oh and I’ll upload my final schedule next post