New Kids on the Block

Elise and Lucas with visiting pal Regan

This summer has truly been a time of transition for everyone in the Molloy family. After the big move at the end of June, we decided to keep the kids in the daycare by our old house for the month of July, to provide a little stability in their otherwise tumultuous lives. While this seemed to be a great idea at the time, it turned out to be somewhat of a disaster.


The drive to the old daycare - especially since we were doing it in morning and evening rush hour - took well over an hour. Even when they did ok with the morning drive, by the time I picked them up at 5:30, they were cranky and hungry and not in the mood to sit in traffic for long periods of time (and frankly neither was I!). On top of the hour drive to the daycare and the hour plus home from the daycare, it was still a 30-45 minute drive to/from work for me and Marty from there. So basically Marty and I and the kids spent the majority of the month of July in the car. We were all pretty miserable about it.

It got so bad that Elise would cry and cry the night before school begging not to have to go in the car the next morning. We'd intended to take Elise back to the old school a few times in the month of August too, to prepare for her big Pre-K Graduation with her best buddies, but she begged not to have to do the drive anymore ("I'll probably have a kindergarten graduation anyway" she said) so in the end we decided to skip it.

So in August, Lucas and Elise made the transition to a new school, closer to home. Lucas had been at the old school for literally his entire life and Elise had been there since she was 14 months old. They both knew and loved all the teachers, had their very best buddies they have been playing with since they were babies, and knew all of the routines and rules like it was another home. Moving to a new school - with new teachers, new kids, new routines and new rules was a little scary for them at first, but they both adjusted incredibly quickly and incredibly well.

Luke's class is called the "Owl" room and it's a multi-age grouping of kids 2-4. He almost immediately loved the teachers, Jackie and Scott, and made friends (well, the way that 2 year olds do) with Abhi and Ben. He has continued to do a great job on the potty - even at school (something I was very worried about) and after the first week of a few little accidents he hasn't had an accident at school since (not even at nap time!).
Elise with visiting pal Riley
Elise's class was called "Cricket Camp" and all the kids were 5 year olds gearing up for kindergarten in the fall. They took fun field trips once a week - one week bowling, one week a playground and pizza, one week the Insectarium, etc - and while she had a little trouble making friends at first she eventually starting hanging out with a sweet little girl named Laney every chance she got and they quickly became thick as thieves. Of course she still really misses Audrey and Ana Mercedes and Sara Jane, but she never once complained about being dropped off at the new school and never cried.

September marks a new adjustment, yet again, for Elise. She starts Kindergarten on Wednesday and she'll also have a new before and after school program to get used to. However, she has certainly proved that she can adjust quickly and well, and I while I think it's going to be a little challenging at the beginning before she meets some new buddies, she is going to do great.
Lucas with baby Taishi Mangos