The kiddos!

I've been blogging tons about Italy; the food, the house, Venice but everything has been from my point of view. I thought I would mention how the kids are doing.

Bubba started school this week. I have to say that when I went and enrolled him, I was very impressed. We met the registrar, filled out paperwork then met with a counselor. She talked to Bubba about what he liked best about school, had him color a picture, write his name, etc then (working with current class sizes) placed him in the class that she thought would be the best fit. Bubba loves to color, write, read and draw...he impressed the counselor immensely with his ability to write, that he can identity and write all 26 letter of the alphabet, upper and lowercase and that he can count to 100 and write up into the 30's. Shortly after assigning him a teacher, we got a tour of the school. It's new and just really nice. Good layout, great policies regarding attendance and security (his last school was nuts!) and most importantly, Bubba was impressed. Their room has it's own bathroom and a door to the playground...that's a big deal when you're five!

So after getting up earlier than he's had to in weeks (school starts at 8:10 here, in Texas it STARTED at 7:20!) he was off. Thursday afternoon I met one very excited kindergartener at the bus. He loved it! First, he got to ride the bus (it picks him up and drops him off at the hotel for now) and he loved that. Then he got to go to his classroom. He got to play outside even though it was cold (in Texas they had indoor recess anytime it was cooler than 45degrees) and he couldn't believe it. From the bus, the school, his teacher, the meals in the cafeteria...he loved all of it. I feel much more confident in this district than I did our last (we were considering pulling him out and homeschooling) and now Pooks is beyond excited to go next year. I'm hoping he gets Mrs. M as well. She sent home so much info to keep me informed and at ease. Plus she wants to have a meeting to introduce me to herself and her classroom. She even wrote a note that said ''Love, love, love your son! He is a very capable child!". His last teacher was nice but this one is above and beyond...and it's only the second day!

waiting for the bus!

And the younger kids? They're doing great too. This week we've had more issues with tantrums and whining but I think it's a combination of the hotel losing it's appeal and they are waking when Bubba wakes...which is too early for them. The two boys *want* to nap (seriously, Peanut asked to go lay down) so I let them for about and hour-hour and a half and guess what? Bed time was hell. Horrible. They didn't go to bed until almost 10pm which fed into a vicious cycle when they woke at 7am again this morning. I cannot wait to get to our house, get settled and for bubba to be able to get up and get ready without disturbing them. 

Prior to the last few days, things were even better. They love all the new foods. Gnocchi with cheese sauce and pizza are their favorites though they have tried almost everything that we've offered. They love bread with olive oil drizzled on it, inhaled the fresh Parmesan-Reggiano  that I grated on their pasta (and it was sharp...I was taken back on how different it tastes to what we're used to) and know that when we go to restaurants there are no kids meals, no to-go cups. It's water in a glass and they have to be very careful. 

They love being able to see the mountains and whenever it's really clear out, they ask to go upstairs and ''take some pictures''. Me with my phone, them with their toy phones. They are amazed at how some days you can see the mountains, some days you cannot! 

So far, no one has complained. They occasionally say they miss Nanaw/Papa, their friend Alivia...but overall they've adapted. They are very, very excited about our new house! Bubba especially is insanely excited about having a house with a fireplace!