Adding to the specialness of the day, Sandi got her a new dress (they tried on “one hundred,” as Madeline later recounted to me):

Then we picked up Papa and went to McDonald’s for dinner. Madeline got a Happy Meal—a rare treat—and wolfed it down so she could play with her Alvin and the Chipmunks Squeakquel figurine. (She liked that toy so much that she invented a cool trick with it and took it to preschool it was her turn for the sharing bag.)

The actual evening was unsurprisingly similar to the last one I attended. We played on their activity tables, which contained a bucket of fake snow, finger painting, and some sand to plow. Then we helped her create her popsicle-stick picture frame for a photograph we took in the beginning:

Then we had sugar cookies that the children had prepared for us, got introduced to the rest of the attendees by Madeline, and listened to a story. At the end of the story’s reading, the other teacher turned on the ceiling fan which caused snow-like confetti to drift onto our heads. This caused a wave of delight and surprise for the children, same as last year.

It was very pleasant and I look forward to doing it again in a couple of years with Paul.

(Loved seeing Mimi wear Kimmie’s old Christmas dress this year. I loved those dresses so much!)

The snack was cupcakes and fruit. After the treats we sat down to listen to Mrs. Thurman read a book before heading out to the playground to play.

In 8 days this tiny foot will be going to preschool. It is so hard to think of her being ready, but she is.

This week she has been solemn. I think she has been sad because the Girls started school and she is still waiting for her school to start. Finally her teacher called yesterday to schedule the home visit. When I told her about it she beamed.

We met with Mrs. Larsen today and Mimi colored the tag for her cubby. She listened intently to Mrs. Larsen and Mimi talked about how she didn’t know what she would do at preschool but she was so excited to find out. She seemed so mature when speaking to the teacher. I really can’t believe she is old enough for preschool.

Today when Kimberly and Annie returned from Kindergarten she rushed over to her folder and showed them her name tag. Thankfully they were both super excited for her. It was so neat to see her with something to share with them, rather than just listening to their stories.

The teacher talked about Mimi’s seizures, and while they haven’t happened in a while it is always a possibility. She told me that they would call 911 first if something happened to her. I was very glad to hear this and really struck by the fact that there are parents who would rather the school waste precious moments finding their phone number and calling them first. She said that this has happened. I was flabbergasted! I cannot imagine being such a controlling person that I would rather the school dig out my phone number than to call 911. Or is it that I have been in a serious situation that warranted a 911 call and I know how serious every moment is. Either way, I am glad that their policy is to call 911 immediately.

Letting Mimi go isn’t going to be easy. She won’t have the comfort of a “twin” sister to ease her hard times. (While she has a good friend in her class this isn’t the same.) She isn’t technically the baby in the family but she still seems like the baby.

She is ready and she is excited. I have eight days to wrap my mind around the fact that it is really happening.

Tuesday was a very exciting and special day for the school girls. Their preschool class hosted a Dad’s Night Out where each girl brought her father to school for a nice little party. Since there are two of them, they were allowed to bring their grandfather as well.

The build-up to the big day was especially adorable. Before I left for work, Annie came up to me in her endearing way—which featured a supremely-cheesy grin and a special arm-swinging, toe-tapping little dance—and said, “Daaad, do you know what toooday is?” I, of course, played dumb and we both laughed as I made one absurd speculation after another. (Much to Sandi’s chagrin, I think Annie and I share a sense of humor.)

When I got home from work after picking Joe up, they hightailed it out the door to greet the MINI and show off the brand-new dresses they got for the occasion. They looked great and their exuberance made me even more eager to go to the party than I already was. We went to dinner at McDonald’s and I bought them Happy Meals, which we almost never do. They played on the equipment for a little bit and we left.

Their Rainbow Room and the adjoining Teddy Bear Room were full of preschoolers and their fathers. We worked on decorating a popsicle-stick frame that will hold a picture we took that night. After that, we listened to Mrs. Thurman read Snow aloud. At the conclusion of the story time, Mrs. Larson clicked the ceiling fan on and let loose piles of “snow” that were positioned secretly on the fan blades.

The children erupted at that development. Annie, Kimberly, and their friend Kate proceeded to collect up handfuls of “snow” to throw at me. I returned the barrage amidst giggles galore. We concluded the evening with snacks (cookies that they had made) and the family photos for the frames.

Sadly, the ride home was marred by the realization that we had missed about 20 minutes of the party. I felt horrible and apologized profusely; I had thought the party started at 6:30 PM instead of its actual 6 o’clock start time. I blew it. I had saved the details on Google Calendar, but I don’t currently have a PDA or other PIM-style gadget. What’s worse, I had misplaced my cell phone somewhere in the house and Sandi wasn’t answering my calls from the pay phone at McDonald’s. (Side note: apparently, they still have pay phones but they cost 50¢ for 3 minutes. Craziness!)

The evening that had started so promisingly ended in disappointment. I had spent the entire evening with them so it’s not as if I were working through their party, but my usual memory aids weren’t around to come to my rescue. That bumped up the priority on an iPod Touch tremendously; I’ve started scoping out Craigslist for good deals. I certainly don’t want this to ever happen again.

They had green cupcakes and fruit for snack. Mimi was invited to join in. I am not sure who was more excited about the party, Annie and Kimmie or Madeline.

After the snack they all cleaned up and went to circle time with Mrs. Thurman. They read a story about Christmas and sang some songs while shaking jingle bells. It was such a nice time. I am so glad we were invited.

Annie and Kimberly made great candle centerpieces that we will be taking to Grammy’s for the holiday dinner.

Annie

Kimberly

We went in and I was told that Annie choked Kimmie, leaving a red mark on her neck. I was mortified. I began talking to the girls and it ends up Annie came up behind Kimberly and was hugging her so tightly that she was choking her. I believe this because Annie has done the same thing to me and she is generally pretty excitable.

We talked to Annie and explained to her how she hurt Kimmie and how this is not okay. She seemed to accept that and said she would not do it again. I am just wondering at what point she is going to begin to work on keeping her emotions in check, or if she can.

In a way I am kind of glad that she did this to Kimmie. I cannot imagine the kind of guilt I would feel if Annie had done this to another classmate. I am in no way saying I am glad she did this to Kimmie because I would rather nobody be hurt, but rather that on top of the issue we don’t have to deal with another families stress.

I am sure that the teachers understand and know how excitable Annie can be and how she never meant to hurt Kimmie. In all her 5 years she has never done anything maliciously to anyone. I really don’t think she has it in her.

The girls have been studying dinosaurs and learned so much. They made dioramas and sculptures that we were able to take home.

Madeline was so excited to go to the preschool and get to play on the playground and play in the classroom. She really enjoyed doing both things. She still says she is not excited to go next year, but I am sure in time that will change.

Imagine my surprise when they started preschool and they WANTED to dress alike. So far they have been going to preschool for 3 weeks and every day they dress alike. I LOVE it!!!! They are so cute.

Here they are on Tuesday. You cannot tell in the picture but they even made a point to wear matching underwear!

Unfortunately, Madeline (which she now pronounces Madelyn) caught the bug. And of course in her it became 10 times worse than it was with Annie. My poor girl. I am sure she has a weakened immune system, but as the doctor said once when I asked, he thinks so too but it wouldn’t matter either way because there is no way to fix it.

I am sure this is only the first of many germs to be brought home and passed around.

The girls had a great day. Last night I made a checklist for them so that they knew all that had to be done before preschool. (Yeah, the teacher in me just can’t help but prepare them.) They worked on getting everything done. Kimberly was very systematic about it and went straight down the list and made, the more docile, Annie do the same. They were ready and just had to find shoes. Unfortunately Kimberly lost one of her running shoes and that stopped up everything and made everyone go into search mode. The shoe was never found and she had to go to school in her mary jane silver shoes. She was wanting the running shoes because at their preschool you have to have sneakers on if you want to go on the majority of the equipment outside. Kimberly was all tears but nothing was going to keep her down very long, she was on her way to preschool and nothing would dampen that mood.

They went into class and showed Dad and Mimi around. Then it was time for good bye and they did well. They didn’t forget to give me my good morning hug, in fact I got plenty of extras to hold me over. I got a little welled up when Annie told me she was going to be brave. We left with Mimi walking in the middle holding Bill and my hands. It was definitely weird, but good.

I made a keepsake video of the morning’s events. It was fun and turned out really cute. I know we will treasure this video. Please pay no attention to my morning voice in the beginning.

1st-day-of-preschool (better quality)

Mimi, not wanting to be left out of special days, decided that she wanted to pack her bag too and spend her time at work with Papa. Here she is when we dropped her off, she got her water bottle and bagel snack put in the fridge and got straight to “work.”

When we picked her up she was over sitting on the stool helping Papa unmold the ceramics. She enjoyed her time, although Papa mentioned that she missed us some and wondered what we were up to.

All in all it was a great and weird day. Leaving Mimi with my Father really made me realize how this little situation will change things so much. It was weird being with the other girls and not Mimi. I knew Mimi was having a great time and I wasn’t worried about her for a moment, it was just weird.

Tomorrow morning as Bill, Mimi and I walk out the doors after leaving Kimberly and Annie secure in their classroom I am sure it is going to be weird. Weird . . . wonderful . . . weird . . . great . . . weird . . . exciting . . . weird. Anyone who knows me knows that change is not my strong suit. I know we are ready for this change. I get choked up when I think about how exciting and wonderful this change will be for Annie and Kimmie, but it will be weird. No doubt about it change is weird.

*On a side note the preschool had play food and one of the play foods was injera! For those of you not familiar it is the flat bread that is the staple of Ehtiopian cuisine.

They each colored a rainbow with purple backing because they are in the Rainbow room and their door is purple. As a teacher I can fully appreciate this gentle lesson that was given. They learned that they cannot wear Crocs or flip clops if they want to climb on the toys at school, that they cannot ask for help with wiping their buns, and that they cannot leave the classroom without permission.

I learned that they will be loved and cared for deeply. I have so much peace at them going there, I cannot express fully how comforting that is to me. I have said it before, but I will say it again, I could not have dreamed up a more perfect preschool for my kids. This is going to be one heck of a journey. I too am so excited for them to begin.

I was really amazed at how much has to be done with a peanut allergy. Kimberly was allergic at 20 months old and with allergies the first exposure is often less horrible than any other exposure. However, we never have been super careful about it, she eats at Chick-a-fil which fries in peanut oil, she eats things that list on the package they are packaged around nuts, and she doesn’t have an issue if anyone around her eats them. There is an extensive paper I had to fill out and I had to get an epi pen for her to keep at preschool. I am glad that they are so sensitive about this because there are nut allergies that are that bad, but this preschool is nut free.

So next Tuesday we have Open House and then on Wednesday morning Annie and Kimberly will be off to their first day of school. Time for them to start writing their own life stories without me involved. I know this is going to be a year of huge leaps of growth in them. I am so excited to see how they change.

Today the Girls and I were discussing it. Annie started crying saying that she would miss me too much and if it was okay with me if she stayed to live with us FOREVER. While that sounds nice now I am sure she won’t and honestly I want her to go out and make her own way in the world.

Kimberly was emotional but ready and excited for all the crafts they would be doing. Yes, craft time in her most favorite time of day around here and when we toured the classroom her teacher told her that they can paint whenever they wanted. She was sold on preschool from that moment.

Mimi was upset that her sisters would be going to preschool and that she was not yet old enough to go. Actually, according to the preschool she is acceptable but we don’t plan to send her or the others until they are 4. She assured Annie that she would not let me forget to pick them up (as though that could happen).

I am nervous, excited, anxious, and proud all in one moment. I think that this is going to be such an exciting change in our family structure. I know it will be good for us all.