The first day of the 2009/2010 School Year

Today (Monday) was the first day of school for my girls. We had intended to re-adjust them to a school schedule over the last few weeks, but near constant sleepovers stopped that dead in its tracks.



Well, last night YaYa had trouble sleeping, and came downstairs at midnight crying. She claimed to have seen a ghost in the hall. It's not as crazy as it sounds, as Lisa claims to have 'felt' and heard spirits here. Even if true, I reckon the ghosts are no danger to us. My family has owned this house for nearly 70 years, and the only people I know to have died here are my great-grandparents (one of whom died in this very room).

Around two, when I went to bed, I found our 'ghost' - LuLu was not only awake, but having a grand time playing in her room. [edited for language].

Surprisingly, despite those events they woke up more cheerful than their parents, and the school day went well.



Not so a subsequent trip to the grocery store, where LuLu and YaYa fought over seating in a car cart - the automobile shaped grocery carts used when shopping with little kids. Well, enough was enough. I abandoned the cart and dragged the girls home, kicking and screaming. No number of "sorry's" could sway me - after many years, I have converted to Lisa's hard(er) line stance with the kids.

Later, I did make the trip, successfully, with Smiley and YaYa (Lu wanted to stay home.)

In the late afternoon I decided to clean the fish tanks and the turtles enclosure. With the sun shining and a moderate temperature on hand, I decided to give Franklin some time to roam around outside.





Smiley was drafted to stand guard, and he radiated happiness and fun while doing the job. Keep in mind, Franklin can move. No one ever believes me because a) he's a turtle and b) he plays it close to the vest until you grow complacent. But I turned my head to give my attention to YaYa and turned around to find him gone. Another 30 seconds and he'd have been completely under the porch, the only real means of escape from the yard.



I put the kids down SUPER early, at 5:30, but they were exhausted. I think LuLu was fast asleep in a few minutes, with Smiley following soon after. YaYa is stubborn, and pitter-pattered around for awhile.

All in all, a good day, as most of mine are. ;)