FIRST day of Preschool!

I've always pictured the day I would take Cambelle to preschool to be years from now... I'm still in awe that I have a preschooler. And, I can't believe the three hours I didn't have her, went by really fast. It felt more like 30 minutes rather then three hours.

My day started off with my alarm going off at seven am. I wanted to be up and ready to start the day before the girls got up. My plan was to wake Cambelle up at 8am, if she wasn't up already. I hate to wake her, since ya never know what you're gonna get... but thankfully she woke up at 7:55am. She woke up excited and with a big smile on her face. I talked to her about school, what was going to happen and what we were going to do the rest of the day... She stated a couple of things during our conversation:

* Mommy, are you dropping me off?

* Do I get to eat there?

* Can we go to Fuddruckers after nap?

* Will you pick me up?

* Am I taking a bus to school?

So, once I made the girls breakfast and got them ready we were out the door at 8:45am. Our drive to school is 5-7 minutes, so I didn't (won't) feel rushed to be on time. From 9-9:15am the kids are involved in their activity stations, so if I was running late, she wouldn't miss anything.

When we got there, the doors weren't open yet. And, just as we got out of the car I ran into another mom I knew from Music Class and we chatted while walking up to the doors. Her daughter is in the 4 year old program so she knew Cambelle's teacher and was telling me all good things about her.

Once the doors were open, everyone went scattering for their classroom. When we got to Cambelle's classroom I signed her in while Jeff was standing with Cambelle... but she went right on in before I could even say goodbye. She was standing right in the doorway, putting her name tag on and I leaned in and gave her a kiss. When I did that, that is when she lost it. She started to cry and I could hear her all the way down the hallway. Other kids were crying too so it was just a cry fest all around. I just didn't feel right leaving without saying goodbye... I didn't want her to look around for me and not see me. Maybe I made it worse, but I'm sure she was fine after that. She was probably fine in five minutes. But, not me... when I got to the car, I lost it. I was trying to say bye to Jeff and I couldn't even speak. There were so many feelings going through my head that I just had to let out a good cry. I don't know exactly how long she cried for or what they did to distract her but she came home with some artwork, so she was a busy little girl.

After my sob fest, Chloe and I ran to Target and Kohls. Starbucks and shopping always make me feel better. And, of course, Chloe had no idea what was going on... she said Cambelle a lot but I reassured her that she was at school and we'll pick her up soon.

(not sure what this face means)

At 11:45, I rolled back into the school parking lot to find that the doors were unlocked so I peaked in on her and found her finishing up her zebra mask. Then, they had circle time and said a prayer. Her teacher came out to the hallway and announced that they all did a great job. The kids glued, painted and had a great time. We were then allowed into the classroom. When I walked in, Cambelle spotted me and ran right to me.... Oh, how I missed her.

I signed her out immediately and she wanted to show me her chair, craft and drawing. I asked her teacher how Cambelle did and she said she did GREAT! Nothing else to report... just great!

I'm hoping for more GREAT days! She's looking forward to going back and she seems very happy with this transition. It'll take time for me to get used to, but all that matters is that Cambelle is happy. YAY for school... school rocks!