we invited some families over to celebrate back to school.
they brought the ice cream and we provided all the toppings.
my kids were so excited.
they helped prepare everything and clean up the yard and house.
earlier in the day annie shouted out to the gas station attendant "WE'RE HAVING AN ICE CREAM PARTY!"
he smiled and said "well….that sounds like fun"
one kid (not shown) decided to just have a bowl of candy with whipped cream….no ice cream. :)
it was loud with kid craziness.
we had every age…1 month up to teenager.
chaos at it's best.
good old fashioned summer fun.
everyone ate their ice cream, talked and played and the sun began to set.
as soon as it got dark we watched a movie outside.
we watched UP.
i really love that movie…i tear up every time.
even at my party in the dark on my lawn.
we laid blankets and pillows and kids piled everywhere…..pure lovely to see.
(after i took this shot i went inside and closed my blinds and dimmed the lights…fyi.)
our first try at an outside movie was a success.
i can't wait to try it again.
in the fall without mosquitos will be fun too.
*****************************************************************************************************************
school starts tomorrow.
will i be able to do it without crying? we shall see.
and by the way…the crying at school would be a huge first for me.
i see those moms every year & have always thought "what is your problem? you've got some free time – move it!"
but this year with my baby going and leaving my arms empty….alone to figure out who i am.
i want her to go and i want her to grow and learn and love it.
but i am still on the fence about this whole Mother of Children role i have now.
instead of Mother of Babies role that i told myself i had.
yeah….i am aware i haven't had a baby for five years.
don't rub it in.
it just hadn't really set in so hard until this year.
we have a permanent solution to not producing babies in my womb…..so wishing for babies isn't going to help.
i may cry at kindergarten drop off.
and i may not.
i know that i am going running as soon as she goes in the door….maybe i should be crying about that.
i haven't run since june 24.
except once….but it was pathetic.
i have teased annie "how can you grow up and leave me her all alone?!"
and then i fake cry.
she said "oh mom….YOU CAN SEW!"
true true true.
Nicole M. - Random question since I’ve been looking at both of these – what kind of screen and projector do you have? Thanks.
Iris Brown - HI Meg!
I keep referring back to this post to get more details on your outdoor movie. I would like to this outdoor party for my kids to welcome summer and trying to save up for the setup equipment. Will you please do a post or contact me directly when you have a moment? I know your busy, but I would be so grateful. You give such great ideas and an inspiration to other moms.
Lisa - What a wonderful idea to have a party to celebrate going back to school!! Looks like it was so fun…I’m wondering how you did the outdoor movie, I’ve been wanting to do that for a while now…please share if you have time.
I would be seriously worrying about Lauren, (not really 🙂 but she is a knockout, I think boys will be lining up at your house very soon if they havn’t already!!!
Andrea - Hi Meg,
I’m coming out of ‘lurking’ to say that I feel your heart ache. Except I only have one … and this year he left me ALL DAY for 1st grade. I too am trying to figure out my new role and what to do … a quiet house is very different.
And guess what I did the first day of school?
Went running! I ran 5.8miles to be exact … I figured if I ran my heart out it wouldn’t hurt so bad.
We’ve both been surviving pretty good … we’ve already got 7 days under our belts :).
Happy Day … Best wishes on this new adventure!
Kacey - What a perfect back to school celebration!
I’m with you on the last baby thing. Well, sort of. I’m already preparing myself for next year when my oldest goes to kindergarten and my youngest (I just have two!) goes to preschool. I know that will be hard, but it will be even harder when my youngest starts kindergarten. I imagine every mom cries, inside or outside. 🙂
Good luck and run HARD!
jodi sunderland - I would love to know how you did the outdoor movie! Please, PLEASE let us in on the details!
I can always find a creative idea on your blog!
Cori - I am 45 and have 4 kids. I am sending my baby to school in 2 weeks. I feel like I will cry. Then I may dance. Then I will probably cry some more. Then I will do wash. Enjoy it all Meg!
shiela - you are just too hillarious!
Janie - I remember the pre school comment my oldest made while reading your blog today. He said, Mom I can go up to the door all by myself without you and Jamie. You went with me to meet the teacher yesterday. His younger brother and I sat and watched him go up and open the door and go in. I will always remember that day as long as I live. The independence of it all. They grew up and now they have babies of their own.
Julie - I love it!! I always wonder about the moms crying too…but when I drop off my last to kindergarten…I just might too! Enjoy your school kick off!!
Rach - I’m crying for you. 🙂 My daughter is only 17 months old and I am projecting the very same day in my mind and while I will be excited for the free time, I will be as sad as you are right now. Big hugs. I hope it goes well and that the run is cathartic. Good luck!!
amy jupin - i hope the first day of school was great for all of you!
hoping annie had a blast and that you didn’t shed a tear–at least not in front of her! 🙂
thinking of you tonight, friend.
Dawn Eshnaur - I sooo feel your pain about school starting. My “baby” is going to be a SENIOR tomorrow! It is my last “first day of school”. I love being a mother so much and I am having a hard time. This time next year, I will have no one at home. All three boys will be gone and I am very sad about it. People say it is exciting and a new chapter, but I don’t feel that way. Where did the time go? I teach Kindergarten and I know people will be crying at school in the morning. I just hope I’m not one of them……
LibraryGirl62 - Oh, my friend, wait until you prepare to send the oldest off to college~I cry daily and it is a year away 🙂
Flower Patch Farmgirl - Oooh…I’m a huge fan of the fake cry. I pull that one out with frequency. I’m thinking you are allowed two tears tomorrow, but just two. OK fine, you are allowed five, but just five. One for each baby/child. And then – you run!
candace - ice cream and an outside movie – i’d be so excited i’d tell the gas station clerk too!
as a kindergarten teacher, i loved reading this. it is good to see the emotions/reasoning behind parents who have a hard time.
Elizabeth - Pour yourself a cup of coffee and pull out “The Gift of an Ordinary Day” and she can help you make that transition!
Taylor-Ann - Looks like a great way to end the summer.
Deputy's Wife - This was me and my husband last year. Our baby started kindergarten and we couldn’t believe it was possible. It was a little easier for me, since I work at his school. A little more difficult for my husband. Our youngest stayed with him three days a week since the hubby works odd hours. It took him awhile to adjust. You too will find a good place.
Anna Schaufler - I want to live at your house. I really do. Interested in adopting a married 26-year-old? I’m a nanny and I clean and cook. Just a thought.
Jessie - OMG! I am so starting a savings fund for a PROJECTOR!! I LOVE it. My kids will think I’m awesome. Thanks!!
Ashley Stinson @ The Hillside Home - that party looks straight out of a martha stewart living article. the outdoor movie is too adorable for words. i can not wait to do these types of things someday when all of the babies in our family are older. 🙂 good luck at kindergarten drop-off…. 🙂
Amy - Can you please explain more about your outdoor movie night? I am SO wanting to do this for my daughter’s 5th birthday in September. What kind of projector did you use? Did you rent it? Thanks so much!! PS: LOVE YOUR BLOG!!!!
Kerry Wiebe - Megs, Thanks again for inviting us it was awesome! In fact Natalia wants to do the same thing next May after 8th grade graduation! See, you are cool or at least my teenager thinks you are!!! I love the pic of Kenton I was wondering if I could get a copy sometime if you get a chance. I just wanted to tell you that if you need a baby fix just give me a call and I’ve got one I can share. Talk to you soon Love Ya!
Vera - FUN party!!! I was one of “those moms” at Kindergarten drop off yesterday – except it was my oldest, not my youngest. I didnt’ think I would cry, but it just hit me how crazy fast these five years went by, and how our lives would never the same now that we’ve entered School World. I’m excited, but it was a little bit traumatic. Good luck with Annie!!
nicole pope - We’ve been dying to do the outside movie. Did you rent the screen and projector???
Courtney Walsh - I’ve never cried at drop off. Not once. Not with baby #1. Not with baby #2. But yesterday, dropping my nine year old off at her new school in a new state where she knew no one, I balled like a baby. I was able to hold it together until I got to the car, but then I lost it. It was not pretty. 🙁
I hope you have more success than I did.
Christy - I didn’t cry at K drop off, but it was very emotional. I think I cried after orientation. For some reason, 2nd grade (this yr) was relly hard on me.
The party looked like a blast! Right down to the outdoor movie. So much fun!
Annette - Your party rocked!!! I still cry and go through withdrawals when school starts, and I have a 5th grader and 1st grader.
visart-dali.com - Great party, I wish we had our house and not an apartment on the 11 floor…
Viktoria Slutsky - This really hard for me too, my youngest is going to the 1st grade this September and I know I will be crying lol…
Viktoria Slutsky - This really hard for me too, my youngest is going to the 1st grade this September and I know I will be crying lol…
kathy b - Wait….you have gas station attendants in Kansas?
We have to punp our own gas in California.
Time marches on but we all need to cry occasionally as we miss what we had, as kids grow.
Kathy b
Kimberly - I wanna come to your party!!!
Molly Pearce - Now you have made me crave ice cream with all those toppings! They looked so scrumptious!! I am the one who gets the weird looks when at school functions for my younger siblings. I cried at my brothers 8th grade graduation this summer and cried at my sisters 5th grade graduation. But what people don’t know is that I helped my mom raise them and that I do have a motherly love for them, just because I didn’t birth them or my names not on the adoption form does not mean I don’t have that kind of love for them. And yes I cried when I took my brother driving last Friday and realized he is getting older and that 14 years can turn into a blink of an eye and them he had to console me, hahaha. I love children, all children! Hopefully I’ll be able to have a house full, God willing!
~Molly P
Sandy - I have friends that live in a neighborhood where on the LAST day of school the parents are waiting at the bus stop with super soaker squirt guns and soak the kids as they get off the bus.
Your back to school party and movie night sound amazing! I wish I was your neighbor.
Dropping Annie off might be difficult, but you will learn to enjoy your quiet time alone – I have no doubt about that! 🙂
Susan - Details! Details! Did you rent a projector and screen? Where? Was it expensive? I love that you are a DOER. I have all these IDEAS. I think, and think about something, but generally don’t DO it. You say you are going to do something, and you do it. Love it. Good luck with the first day of school. I know it is going to be hard, but you will be okay.
angela - What fun! I want to show a movie outside this fall when the nights are just a little cooler!!!! Hope the first day of K went great today and that you got your run in AND went to the laundromat!
j - that will be me next year. with all of that free time I’m planning on having a nervous break down (and crying lots).
Staci - I agree…I’ve never cried…I have another year until my Jake is full time…we only have 1/2 day Kindergarten here. So I have another year to find myself 🙂 And I soooo wish I knew how to sew…it’s my goal…so maybe next year, when I’m dropping him off allll day….I’ll be able to sew something by then 🙂 Have a great day Megan!!!!! And WHAT FUN that party looked like 🙂 I want to do an outside movie so badly!
denise - I am a crier, and I am hormonal cause I am pregnant!!! So I cried at this post!!!! My 3 year old is starting Pre-K and the teacher just called and asked if she could do 3 days instead of 2!!! Like I said I am a crier, so I did what I do best, and gave myself a headache!!
PS your party looked so fun!!! We are having a pool party tonight! Hope it is as a big success as yours 🙂
Charlene@Adventures-In-Mommy-Land - I will be in the same boat with you. My baby is going to kindergarten too 🙁 I’m also struggling with what my identity is now that I don’t have any kids at home any more. And I know I will cry…I just know it!
Love your party, looks like a lot of fun! I’m planning one of my own here too. It’s the little things in life that are worth celebrating.
Sheryl - I am not a crier at school either. But this year I have my girl starting middle school and my son (baby) starting Kindergarten. I thought I was fine, I work at his school after all….but I just saw him in the school doing the tour on the first day and the sweet look on his face — “there’s my mama” — that made me cry!
Kelly - At my school we had a “boohoo/yahoo breakfast” every year for the parents after they dropped their kiddos off. Finding our identity as moms is truly a challenge I feel. My sweet mother-in-law treated me to a massage with a great massage therapist the other day and as I lay there I tried to think of what my identity is now and how to even see myself. Thanks for writing about your thoughts and feelings. Kelly
Jennifer - What an awesome idea for a back to school party! Love it…and good thoughts and wishes coming your way. Change is always difficult in the beginning, but then we adjust and things begin to feel normal AND comfortable again in our lives. I love the advice Annie gave you…just sew! Too cute! 🙂
Jessica Kujawa - What a great way to start the school year! I may have to “borrow” this idea! ha! My daughter starts full day 1st grade this year and I feel the same way you do about your daughter…it will be nice to have time to myself, but it’s official…the babies are no longer babies…sigh
enjoy your run!
jessica
alogcottagelife
Kathi - So, when may move to your neighborhood? Such fun you all have!
My only daughter starts her senior year on Monday and I’m certain she wants to celebrate that. What she doesn’t want to celebrate is the end of the summer! She’s already called it her last free summer. I think an ice cream social is definitely in order for Sunday evening…
gina - I’ll probably be at school crying too. And I don’t have the excuse of Ezra being my baby. But I really thought he would be, so that’s what I’m attributing all the tears to. (Yes, I’ve already cried) Maybe he and Annie will be in the same class. I think those two would have so much fun together. See you in the morning!
Patty - WOuld you please share how you did your outside movie night? I have it on our summer list and have no idea how to make it happen! Did you rent a projector? Wonder wonder wonder – keep staring at the summer list and the outside movie night is mocking me!!
Thank you!
Keshet Shenkar - LOVE the outdoor movie idea. And you’ll figure out who you are, I’m sure:)
sandy toe - Can I come and live at your house???
sandy toe
Krista - I wish you were my neighbors! Looks like it was a perfect summer evening. Hope all goes well with the big Kindergarten sendoff, I am sure Annie is thrilled at what lies ahead for her!
Amanda - My baby went off to kindergarten this morning leaving me to figure out who I am. Reading your post makes me feel a bit better knowing I’m not the only one feeling this way. Again, love your blog 🙂
`Kelly - Gosh darn it I want to do an outside movie so badly! I’ve been scheming up a way to do it since last summer but so far my husband isn’t on board. Your party looks like fun though. 🙂
Oh I hope the big drop goes well for you today. Ours was a week ago and I cried like a baby. I HATE the first day of school! Free time or not, I miss my kiddos when they’re at school!
AshleyAnn - I love how Annie knows you well…she knew what to say that in her mind would comfort you. She’s really cute.
Laura - Just think of the joy you will feel going grocery shopping without that ever present question, “Mom can we have this sugar laced high fructose based fake food that should be banned by the FDA which will make us go crazy on a sugar high for hours? PLEEEEEEEESSSE?????” We went to Walmart yesterday and I think my ears were bleeding at the end. Side not though, I won’t be crying next week. I already have lunch plans:D
tasha roe - always love reading about your block parties! so much fun! what a fun ‘last hurrah” for the kiddos too!
hope the first day was a good one. ours was yesterday and everyone did really well. My 3rd grader is in a new building with his older brother, but with all the BIG kids. he is timid to begin with so he was really feeling nervous yesterday. All in all they did well, I did well….. Let’s wait and see how it goes when my baby girl goes to school in 3 years. I tear up now thinking about it!
Karen H. - Your party looks so fun. My 5 year old – my last baby- is going to Kindergarten too. I felt a lump in my throat when I typed that! We start school in September so we have a little more time. I asked her the same question “What will I do all day without you?” and she said “Mom, you can go shopping!”. Too funny. I’ll be finding myself as well. Wear water proof mascara tomorrow just in case! 🙁
Amy Lynne - What a great idea! I love the outdoor movie. I hope all of the kids enjoy their first day back and you enjoy your sewing time!
Holly - What a fun party idea! I have seen a couple of outdoor movies lately. hmmm…wonder if Hannah would like an outdoor movie party?….BTW Meg, my boy went to kindergarten this yr and he asked when I was leaving!
Heather R. - Cool outdoor movie/ice cream party. Our girls would L.O.V.E. that! Did you rent a screen/player? First day of school here, too. I hope it is a good school year for your kiddos and for you. :)!
Tracy - What a great back to school treat and it looks like everyone had a great time. I am one of those moms…the ones that cry, and my 2 are going into 3rd & 5th. I did cry the hardest when my youngest went into Kindergarten though…it does get easier and you find things to occupy your time. I hear you about the babies vs children…but they will always be your babies no matter what age and you adapt. Good luck, hang in there and pack a baggie of tissues just in case. : )
Kimberlee J. - Happy back to school day!
Love you!
citymouse - This is such a nice idea. Mt kids go back next Wednesday. They’re half-way through high school, so I am not sure they’d be jazzed about an ice cream social.
Tracy - Looks like a whole lot of fun, Meg! Hard to believe school is starting for everyone but us already. We don’t go back until September 2nd and they don’t get out until the 3rd week in June. YUCK! Love the idea of the outside theater – I have yet to see the movie UP and we are huge movie buffs – what is wrong with us?! LOL I can’t wait to see the first day of school photos as always. My 2 babies will be in 10th and 11th grade this year. Talk about a scary thought! Yikes! I had to LOL at Annie’s comment that you can sew – too cute! I hope you have a wonderfully peaceful and enjoyable day today. Big hugs! :o)
Carla - I read your blog everyday, sometimes things you say make me think all day. I am 35 this year too but just at the start of this parenting lark, with a 2.5 year old and a 5 month old (and hoping to produce a few more between now and the big 40 :-)) Anyway, the said 2.5 year old is hollering, having become stuck in the 5 month old’s swing so I’ll make it brief. An icecream party with an outdoor movie. I wish you were my mom. Have a big cry after your baby starts school then after your run, lie on your beautiful sofa in your beautiful family room and enjoy the silence. She’ll always be your baby, no matter what she stage she is at but I can imagine this is a hard change. Don’t fight it, acknowledge the melancoly, mourn the end of a phase and then turn and face the new one with excitement and joy (all that said, I get the heebiejeebies when I even think of my LO starting preschool 😉 )
Absolutely adore your blog, you’re a very inspirational lady. Indeed, one of the things on my “must do before I die” list is go to Kansas and have you photograph my family :-)I live in Ireland so that might take a while 🙂
Nikki - What a wonderful way to celebrate the start of the school year. We’re having rainbow themed ice cream party for Ezra’s Birthday…. I can’t wait.
It’s funny how you start your school year in August…. in Australia our school year runs from Jan – end of Nov… we have our big summer break in Dec and Jan.
Hope you hold up ok after the school drop off. My youngest started prep this year. After the school drop off, I sat on the couch and enjoyed the peace of an empty house after our very busy summer 🙂
Gekakel - Wat a great way to celebrate back to school!!!
Gemma - Your party sounds AMAZING! Great fun : )
Gemma x
Henita Riesen - I know just how you feel…I dropped up my 3rd child off at school for her first day yesterday, a I still have a 3 year old at home, but I just kind of walked around in circles not knowing what to do…although my ambitious to-do list is a mile long. I didn’t cry…I did that when the first went to school, and will probably do the same when the last goes, but my heart was tearing! And yes I could sew too…if the inspiration would come back!