First Day of Kindergarten (AKA: A Big, Fat Mess!!!)

Yesterday was Kyle's first day of Kindergarten! I can't believe how big he is getting. *sniff sniff*

Kyle is a big chicken. I wouldn't even say he is shy. He is a chicken. He has been soooo anxious about this first day of school. He was scared he would get lost. He was scared his teacher would be mean. He was scared he might see his shadow and there would be six more weeks of winter.....I tried to do my best to get him calmed down about it. I wasn't very successful. However, there was a silver lining. He was SOOOOOOO excited about riding the bus. Last year, my daughter had THE BEST bus driver EVER. He let them sit in the back of the bus. He let them eat snacks. He dressed up like Winnie the Pooh on Halloween. He was awesome! Kyle couldn't wait to ride the bus!! I figured as long as I could get him on the bus, he would then be better at school and there would be no big scene where they were peeling him off my leg, screaming, as I walked away crying. It was the safest way. Or so I thought...

So, we got up yesterday and ate a delicious breakfast. We got dressed and headed out to the bus stop with our new backpacks, filled with all kinds of cool, new school supplies.







Seriously!! They are the cutest little elementary school kids EVER!!! (In my unbiased opinion, of course)

We saw the bus coming around the corner....



They were so freaking excited!! You would have thought we just told them they were going to Disney World!!! (Unless they were Evan, who, when asked the other day if he wanted to go to Disney for his Birthday replied, "Yea, sure," all nonchalantly.)



They grabbed their backpacks, swung them up and onto their backs and watched as the bus drove straight past us.......

I called the school and told them. They asked if I could just drive them to school and then come into the office to verify that I had the correct bus stop location. I said "ok." But I KNEW that this was going to make things much harder.

So, we drove to school and had to fight a MASSIVE crowd of people that all felt the need to drive their children to school on the first day. I decided I would drop Kaily and Kyle off in the drop off circle instead of trying to find a parking place. Plus, I figured it would be easier to get Kyle to separate from me this way. So, I did. They took Kyle out and I watched them walk him into his building. I then proceeded to drive around, looking for a place to park that was within a mile of the office since I had Laney and Evan with me.

I found a spot and then went and got in the line at the office. As I was standing there, I saw a woman walking towards me. Kyle was holding her hand, sobbing. I left the line to see what had happened. It was just another mom that had him. She had found him wandering around the 4th grade building, crying. That means not only did he get out of his classroom, but he then got all the way OUT of the Kindergarten building!! I couldn't believe it. I then spent the next 40 minutes trying to get him calmed down (while holding Laney on one hip and constantly having to tell Evan that he couldn't wander off as he was exclaiming "I'm going to school now! Where's my lunch box??" I didn't get Kyle calmed down. Eventually, they peeled him off of me and I left.

I went back to the office and they said I was at the correct bus stop (DUH! I knew that already) and that they would make sure the bus driver knew where he needed to drop them off.

Fast forward a few hours....

Here's Evan, waiting for the bus to come.



He's pretty darn cute, too....if I do say so myself.



We stood and waited. My phone rang. It was my husband. He says:

"The bus driver dropped them off at the wrong stop."

WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?

Apparently, he had pulled up to the stop. Kaily told him he was in the wrong place and they weren't supposed to get off the bus if I wasn't there. His response:
"It's not my fault your mommy isn't here. This is your stop. You have to get off the bus now." And he left them there, standing on the corner. ALONE!!!!! (He's lucky he was a little, old man when I met him the next morning or I would have opened a can of you know what on his hiney!!!!)

A neighbor saw them wandering around and called one of the numbers (my husband's cell) that I had pinned to Kyle's backpack. I went and picked them up. They were fine. They were drinking Lemonade Capri-Sun's and were disappointed because the woman was going to get them a bag of chips, but I showed up. (Go figure!) I, however, was NOT fine. I completely flipped. I started shaking and I immediately called the school. When I confronted him about it this morning, he was SOO rude to me. This story is so long you have probably already fallen asleep, so I will spare you those details. I wish there was someway I could get his old, wrinkly butt fired, but apparently they are hard up for bus drivers, so chances of that happening are slim to none.

So, instead I will have to do the next best thing and give him a lump of coal for Christmas this year. Enjoy your smudgy, black fingers you crotchety old man!!!!!

Besides the whole being passed up by the bus and the whole escaping and getting lost in the morning thing and the whole kindergartner being dropped off on the side of the road, ALONE, fiasco.....Kyle really had a great time and was excited to go back today (ON THE BUS!!).

(Disclaimer: I DO NOT feel that ALL old people are crotchety. In fact, I love elderly folk!! They rock!! I would be just as upset if the driver were a crotchety young man (or woman).)