Tanti Sarah Kay came for a visit, and the kids are still talking about her! Weather teaching them animal noises around the kitchen table, pushing them high on the swings, or telling them hilarious stories and making them all laugh at bedtime, Dave’s sister makes Mary Poppins look boring.

We had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants with friends, enjoyed the deck and a visit with my parents, and pretty much lived life to the fullest over Labor Day weekend.

Thank God! I found myself camped on the kitchen floor the night before school started, surrounded by backpacks, lunchboxes, rainpants (yes, that’s a thing!), and spare socks and underwear. Armed with a permanent marker, I put our name on everything and tried to make sure the right clothes went in the right color backpack. Heaven forbid Tess got boy socks!

Then it was morning. Joy and the big kids all ran around excited but nervous. We all felt rushed with our new routine, and trying to get everything pulled together so we didn’t forget anyone or anything on the way out the door. Elise couldn’t get over how quiet the house was with two instead of four.

Tess slid right back into school. Our social butterfly is already making friends with the older kids in her class, and is delighted daily to look for her bestie when she gets to school. Remy has a hard time saying goodbye, and protests by going limp in the stairwell. He has just as hard a time leaving at the end of the day, and always pouts when he has to say goodbye to his teacher and new friends. We can’t wait to meet Naomi, who he talks about incessantly!

We are a week in, and while tired, we are all adjusting to our new routine. Joy hitches a ride some mornings as her school is right next to my office, but she also puts yogurts out for the kids to speed up breakfast, as she gets down before we do. The kids know that after pounding their yogurt they should get their shoes on, give maman kiss, and jump into daddy’s car. We pull away in unison in our matching red carpool cars, like a sitcom. No words fully communicate the mad dash that takes place between seven and 730. That said, my gratitude towards all of the adults in this house is immense, particularly at that point in the day. It may take a village, but we definitely have built one!