Zach and Allie Go To Kindergarten

And just like that, Zach and Allie are in kindergarten. And Nick started 4th grade. And -- gulp! -- Blake is now a 7th grader.

We've been getting ready for weeks. Reading and re-reading Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten, picking out the perfect backpacks and lunch boxes (Transformers for Zach, Hello Kitty for Allie), buying some new duds, getting some new sneakers (and learning that Allie's feet are a size and a half bigger than Zach's!). And of course, conquering the list of school supplies published on the school's web site.

For Blake and Nick, there wasn't much excitement -- or at least it was contained. I so vividly recall how excited Blake would get for the first day of school, organizing his binder so perfectly and smiling so brightly as I took first-day-of-school pictures. Now it's all so casual for him.

And Nick, well, Nick's never been too excited for the first day of school. I tried my best to make the morning go smoothly. I got up early and showered, had all the lunches made with time to spare, had the kids pick out their clothes the night before, had the backpacks ready to go.

But of course, there was bound to be a glitch or two.

Blake left first (it's not cool to be seen with your parents, you know) ... but forgot his schedule. So I had Nick run out to try to catch him with the schedule. And in our hurry to have him reach Blake, he forgot his lunch (but don't worry, grandmas, we got it to him:). And this is only Day 1.

So Brett and I accompanied Zach and Allie on the short (but scorching hot -- I think we hit about 107 on Monday) walk.

We met the teacher at the gate, got in line and walked them to their seat (they're in the same class, but not sitting together) in the class. Zach got weepy, kept asking for "one more kiss and hug." Allie got a bit teary, too, but stayed composed.

When I picked them up, Zach said it "was long." But they both proudly showed me their coloring papers and told me about their jobs for the day: Allie was in charge of turning off the lights and Zach was the door holder.

Once I got home I hopped on the treadmill, but the rest of the day seemed surreal and I had a hard time focusing. I went to the grocery store and tried to do a few chores and made cookies.

I've always loved time to myself, but on this day, 3:30 couldn't come fast enough.