Ch-ch-ch-changes

Wow. The summer is just about over. Well, not the hot temperatures by a long shot, but carefree, unstructured days of a whole lotta nuttin' are drawing to an end.

I swore back in June that we were going to use the neighborhood pools more this summer than we did last. Well, that didn't happen. Although I have to say, I did take both girls to the pool last Friday all by myself. I was proud that I did it, but quickly realized why I hadn't done it sooner. Wow. Keeping my eye on Twinkle, while holding Sparkle wasn't easy.

We had some fun this summer AND you know, added a family member. When I think about it, that alone was enough for our summer to be complete. Everything else is gravy.

We went to Twinkle's school today for "Meet the Teacher". I'm really excited about school this year. She's starting first grade at a new school. From age 2 through Kindergarten, she went to the Montessori school at our church and loved it. This year she is going here. It's a hybrid between a private school and homeschooling. She'll be home on Tuesdays and Thursdays with yours truly as her teacher. Although I have moments of, "What was I thinking?!", I'm really glad she's going to be home those days. This is actually a reduction in "at school" time compared to Kindergarten last year. She's a very social creature, so I hope that only three days a week at school will be enough for her. I'll just have to make sure she has outside activities as well.

Which brings us to [insert ominous music] soccer. I've fought it (mostly Mr. Swizzle's begging). I just have this thing about not wanting to join the hordes that flock to the soccer fields every Saturday morning in the Fall. I finally gave in. Actually, I think I gave in to peer pressure. The friends and neighbors who've already been sucked in telling me how good it will be for her, etc. I'm sure it will be. Especially since practices are on Thursdays and she will have been home all day with me. She'll be needing others to run and play with. My only concern is her trying to take over even though this is her first year. I hope she listens to her coaches and her teammates and gets along.

While I was writing that it occurred to me - that's really what I hope for Mr. Swizzle too. Play well with others, dear. Try to be nice.

We went to a little swim party to get to know her team last night. It was nice. The parents were nice and normal. One of the other moms even said, when talking about a friend's team, "They're really, uh, really competitive. We're just here for fun. I mean, our girls play pretty well, but they aren't...like that." That made me feel better. A friend told me today that her son has been switched to a different team from last year and this new team practices TWO times a week, plus games. That seems like a lot. I don't know if I'd want to do that.

So, there's a whole lot of new going on here at Chez Swizzle. We need to shop for school supplies, a bookcase for the home school room, cleats and shin guards.

What fun! What fun!