Gold belt!

Last night, Molly had her karate promotion ceremony from a white belt to a gold belt. It was actually a bit of a surprise, as we only found out on Monday that she was going to be promoted. Her instructor has been out for a while with a broken foot, so when he came back, he evaluated her for promotion (he's the only one that can do that) and gave her the "red stripe" on her belt that means she would be up for promotion at the next monthly ceremony - which happened to be two days later! She did great. I seriously doubt that karate will be her big "thing" in her life, but I am really impressed by the self-defense lessons these kids learn as they stick with it, so I hope she at least stays with it for a few years.

BTW, Luke is also in karate, and has been for about 6 months longer. He's in a younger kids program called "Karate Kids", that have different belt colors. He's been promoted twice and currently has a yellow belt with a black stripe. Once he hits age 7, he'll move up into the regular program, but not as a white belt (the sign of a REAL beginner). He'll have a yellow belt with a white stripe.

Are you as confused as I am? It's taken me the better part of a year to figure out the belt colors of karate. Never mind all the different "degrees" of brown and black belts....

Now, 'wonderful' mom that I am, I FORGOT the frickin' camera, so I don't have any pics to share. You'll just have to trust me that she looked great. :)

FDOS

Day 1: Both of aforementioned goals accomplished! I was up at 6:15, saw E off on his 'last first day' (geesh, Mom, get over it), then did a yoga DVD (featuring, by the way, a very scantily clad young man on the beach; not a bad way to start the day). L was so excited about the FDOS that he was up at 7 am wondering how long until the bus came.

This line of questioning continued at about 2 minute intervals until about 8:30, when we actually left to walk down to the bus. Goodness, that kid can be a nag.

Everyone got off for FDOS school on time, and well-equipped. And I didn't even have any fleeting moments of sadness/mourning/wistfulness/longing for another baby when the school bus picked them up, as I have in prior years. This is an old routine by now; they even have the same bus driver, who btw, was E's bus driver as well when he was in 5th grade seven years ago. I sure hope they get off the bus this afternoon as jazzed as they were this morning. :)

Update to follow.

The Last First Day

Hello, remember me? After a long period of brain dry-rot, I'm back. And this time, I hope for good. My goal(s) for the new school year:

1. Blog every day, even though I know there are about 2 people that MIGHT read it. Oh, and be witty, creative, full of deep meaning, and poetic all the time.
2. Get up at 6:15 every weekday morning to see E off to school, exercise (!), and get showered/dressed before little ones get up, so that I can get to 'work' sooner in the day.
3. Don't set more goals than I can handle.

As for the title of this post, tomorrow is E's LAST FIRST DAY of school. He's a high school senior this year. This little factoid occurred to me while driving home from the bridal show I played at this afternoon. Put in that context, it really makes me sad. E could care less - 'whatever Mom'. He just wants to be done with school forever.... and ever. But how did my first baby get to be a SENIOR?! Graduation, portraits, all that stuff? Did I mention that I am simply NOT old enough to have a kid that's a senior in high school. Uh-uh. No way.

SPEAKING of bridal shows......oh Lordy, why did they invent such a thing?! Thousands of bridezillas-to-be (often with mom in tow) roaming the aisles looking at cakes, invites, dj's, tuxes, mortgage companies (?!), and of course classical musicians that are playing the Pachelbel Canon over.... and over.... and over..... and over.... and over. Yes, it is a pretty piece of music, but WHY does every bride in this nation have to have it played at her wedding? Come on girls, be creative, and do your wedding musicians a favor.