Back to School

Life around here has gotten a little... strange.  My kids are growing up and i'm not entirely sure that I'm one hundred percent okay with it.  I know I don't have much of a choice- scientists are pretty insistent on curing disease and not inventing a spray that will freeze my kids at their current ages.  It's all good... I just want to be a little selfish.  I wish they could stay where they are at.  

Kate is 2 and is Mama's Little Helper.  I officially have a shadow.  She is pretty good to entertain herself most of the time- I made peach jam the other morning and she spent the time in the living room playing with her barbies and little people.  I had to keep checking on her to make sure she was still there- it was really nice.  Whenever she isn't entertaining herself- she is right on my heels "helping" me get my chores done.  She is an excellent help when moving clothes from the washer into the dryer, and loves to sweep the kitchen floor for me.  Kate loves helping me make dinner- her apron is always at the ready and come about 4:30 she comes to find me.  I know she can't read time yet- so it's so funny to me that she inherently knows that it's time to start making dinner.  One day her own family will love her for it!  

Ryan starts preschool on Friday.  We went today to meet his teacher and we stayed for a while to play on the playground.  He was a little iffy at first... He kept trying to hang onto my hand and pull me with him all over the classroom- but his teacher, Miss Tammy wasn't having it.  She took Ryan in hand and off they went.  She was Ryan's teacher last year and was SO good for him.  I am so excited that they will be together again this year.  And it will be good for him to have something to do with his time.  These last couple of weeks without his older brother have been really, really hard on him.  It's not that he isn't happy to play with his sister- because he is- and they do play really sweetly- Ryan is pretty content to play "house" with Kate, in fact- he makes a mean pretend pancake, BUT...  he misses his brother.  Ty and Ryan are the best of friends, and co-conspirators- Ryan looks forward to when Ty comes home all day long.  He's been kind of lost- so I think it will be good for him to have something that is just his.  I know school scares him a little- but we'll get through it... and when he gets home... he'll have his little sister waiting impatiently for him!

And then there's Ty.  Oh my baby Ty.  These last couple weeks have been hard on me too.  I miss my biggest helper.  And I mean that literally.  Ty ran a thousand steps a day for me and I miss him.  I know I say this a lot- but he has really grown up these last couple of months.  And I KNOW it's because of his Celiac diagnosis.  He is just a different kid.  And his entry into 1st grade has absolutely proved it to me (if I wasn't convinced before).  He is SO responsible and has the greatest work ethic in school.  He took it upon himself to tell his teacher the very first day of school about his gluten- intolerance!  I mean seriously!  He's 7!  That was supposed to be my job- but he told me he didn't want there to be any problems with his tummy at school so he wanted to make sure that Mrs. Baer knew.  Is that amazing or what?  And he's actually gotten to a point now that I enjoy being around him.  I know that sounds bad... but people... it was really bad there for a while.  Looking back now- I know that it was because of the gluten.  If you feel crappy all the time- you are going to act crappy all the time.  Ty used to be pretty sassy and really quick to lose his temper (think violently explosive).  He was surly and had bed-wetting accidents nightly.  This went on for about two years before Shaun and I started exploring some different options as to what to do with him.  It was clear to both of us that this behavior was no longer "just a phase" he was going through.  It took longer than any of us would have liked- but he ended up with his diagnosis and none of us have looked back since.  I have a friend that is currently trying to decide whether or not to take her daughter off of gluten because of her behavior.  She called to ask my advice- if there wasn't the actual medical diagnosis of Celiac Disease, and knowing what I know now- would I still take Ty off the gluten just to address the behavior problems we had been having?  My answer was absolutely.  Ty is a different kid.  Maybe that's wrong.  He's still himself- but he's a better version of himself.  He's funny and sweet.  He teases now and is kinder to his siblings.  He helps without being asked... and goes weeks without a bed-wetting accident.  I really hadn't thought about how far we had come in the last six months until I had this conversation with my friend- and I'm really glad we did.  It made me tear up a little to think about how much I love this little guy.  Ryan isn't the only one that misses him.

Anyway- there will be some more pictures to follow of back to school, but I was just sitting here in the quiet of the house today and realized it was just that... QUIET!  It's almost un-nerving... almost.  :)