First Week of School

I can't believe it's the end of the first week of school already! Even though mornings are a little hectic, for the most part, this week has gone fairly smoothly. I got 3 phone calls from the school about Kyle's insulin pump on Tuesday and a phone call about Charlie yesterday, but otherwise, they apparently have all adjusted well. I haven't heard about any behavioral issues from Kyle's teacher, but I guess he's saving up for when the honeymoon is over!

Charlie did have surgery on Aug. 28 and the first few days were fairly rocky. He didn't really want to drink and could only have a pureed diet. He finally started drinking and eating better (mashed potatoes were his fav) but then by the evening on Labor Day, started complaining that he needed to throw up. He actually just spit up a little and I figured he must've eaten too fast. Then, on Tuesday, he said he threw up at school once and at the sitter's once, then twice at home he ran to the bathroom. What I saw wasn't much more than spit up, and since it was the first day of school, I attributed it to anxiety. He had his follow-up appointment with the surgeon on Wednesday afternoon who thought Charlie was doing well and said he could begin eating solids -- just chewed well -- even pizza. Well, of course, you know what Charlie wanted for dinner! But, he wanted that after McDonald's french fries. He ate the fries and then later, ate a piece of pizza. I tried to get him to stop and not eat the crust, but he was so excited that he kept eating. He then spit up a little (again, not much) and was fine for the rest of the evening. When we got home from church, he wanted another piece of pizza, which, of course, I wouldn't let him have right before bed. He ate very little all day yesterday and at school, tried a pb&j sandwich (not the one I packed for him that would have been softer!), and it didn't set well. I haven't heard anything today.

My major concern for this year is the HOMEWORK! Charlie hasn't had any yet -- he said the teachers said no homework the first week, but my other 3 have had homework. Yes, 2 kindergartners and a first-grader have had homework the first week of school! Kyle and Joanna had art projects and one word wall word to practice this week ("I"). Marcie had to read 10 minutes nightly and read and write some kindergarten word wall words as a review. Do you know how much time it takes to help kids with homework who cannot function even semi-independently with it?!!! The sitter did homework with Marcie yesterday but she still had to read last night and fill her "getting to know you" bag. We finished Kyle's and Joanna's projects (required them to draw a picture of their home and put photos on a page AND dictate to me answers to "We like to...") and Marcie's by 9PM but at 11:30PM, I remembered that I needed to sign forms for each of them verifying that they did it and get all of the stuff in their bookbags. I am really concerned about getting homework done for 4 kids (and Charlie with 3rd grade homework) and still have some sanity. At least I can maybe ease into it this year because the kindergarten homework won't be too excessive....I hope!