6 months from now...another one...

Will be going  to school! Come on people, what were you thinking I was going to say??? Seriously. I'm busy enough!

I'm talking about Agent P going to Kindergarten. His teacher has no idea what she/he is in for!!  I envision the first day being something of a routine day where I drive him to school (if he lets me-he's already talking about riding the bus! GASP!) and walk him to class (again, if he allows me to).  He is already going to preschool 2 days a week and barely says goodbye to us!
Of course deep down we momma's all hope for a tear or two.  I mean, really, let's be honest. I had to carry that kid around in my uterus for 9 months, birth him, and get him thru his first 5 years of life before handing him over to Kindergarten. I've endured RSV, ear infections, stomach flu's, other random illnesses, teething, potty training, talking back, and all the attitude that comes with an independent Taurus kid. Trust me when I say, I deserve a tear or two....don't I???

I'm afraid the only tears I will be getting will be the ones that either I shed, or the ones that Mini P and Monkey shed for leaving their brother at school and they don't get to stay.

Agent P is very independent and while I'm sure he loves us, can certainly function well without us. I am in the process of yet another room switching fiasco here. (A-Dog is moving into what was my office. Can you say "and then she had none"?????) When A-Dog asked Agent P if he was going to miss sharing a room he looked him square in the eye and said "nope". A-Dog was crushed. I had to stifle my laugh because it was pretty funny!

But that is how Agent P is. To the point. He is a very vivacious and articulate 4 3/4 year old. He is going strong from the time he wakes up until the time he finally falls asleep. He is creative and somewhat devious. If he doesn't like the answer you give him he will just persist and continue on with a rephrase of the question or statement. I have to give him credit, if there's a loophole, he will find it!

I'm not sure Kindergarten will ever be ready for him. We found out yesterday from his preschool teacher that he can read a minimum of 45 words. They aren't really sure how many because he was already sounding out words he didn't know so they stopped. I'm a bit nervous about that....when kids start reading-that is when you can no longer make things up!! Not that I'd do that of course, but if I did, I'd now risk being caught!

I'd love to share a photo or 2 but my sweet husband got me a Netbook for Christmas and all my photos are on the other computer that sits in a room that is nearly no longer mine. Short of the long - I'm too lazy to go in, turn it on, find and edit photos, move them to this computer and upload them. I have a house to clean today!

A nice relaxing ride...

or not.

It could have been.

If I was alone I guess.

But really, what fun is that? :- )

SO, we all 6 packed up and headed over to Saguaro East. They have a paved road that bikes can ride on, as well as cars can drive on and pedestrians walk/run on.  We did cause a bit of a stir when we pulled in driving a suburban with a trailer attached with all sorts of bikes in it. Hey, at least we didn't have the white resin chair (or rocking chair) strapped to the top.  But, the weather was a perfect 60-65 degrees and sunny with barely any wind. What could go wrong?

We got everything unloaded and everyone to their appropriate spot.

The goal was to ride to the picnic area and back (about 2 miles or so). Since my sweet husband was the one pulling the twins, I volunteered to be in charge of Agent P. It's hard to say who had the tougher job. Agent P just started learning to ride without training wheels, however this was not the venue to be running beside him grabbing the seat every time he started tilting over. Not in my opinion.

But the ride started off as typical. I had to head back to the truck after we got around the first curve and up the first hill. Agent P had forgotten his knee/elbow pads and riding gloves. Anyone that knows him well, knows it was in my best interest to head back and get them. Safety first!

That's when the real fun began. I think I burned more calories from stress and anxiety than I did from the actual rigorous bike ride.

Now, I'm a mom of 4. You would think I would actually know something by now. Or at least accepted what I know and stop praying it's not reality. But I have 2 dare devil kids. One is Agent P and the other is Mini P. Luckily, she was tucked away in the bike carrier - strapped in by a 5-point harness with a snap down window. She was safe and sound.

Not Agent P.

Agent P was riding his bike with training wheels. His hand me down bike from A-Dog. Assuming it has lasted this long, does not mean it will last until Monkey. Trust me when I say the boy (P) is hard on stuff. Very hard.

Agent P and I brought up the rear. The one-sided conversation during our trek went a little bit like this:

ME: Agent P - you HAVE to watch in front of you!!! STOP watching your shadow!!!

ME: Seriously!!! STOP turning around and watch the road!

ME: Why on EARTH are you stopping in the middle of the road, I almost ran you over!

ME: TURN AROUND!!!

ME: You have to stop slamming on the brakes - you are burning your tire right off!

ME: Stop watching your shadow and watch the road.

ME: WATCH THE ROAD!!!

We rode for 1 mile there and 1 mile back like that. I did throw in some random "you are doing awesome" and a "you can do it" during the hills. But there was very little room for any HOORAY'S because frankly, I was expending all my breath and energy trying to keep him on the road. I swear that I was kicking myself for not bringing any pliers because I just knew at any moment he was going to go careening off the side into a prickly pear cactus. I can say with complete certainty, he needs a new back tire. I think he burned nearly all the rubber of with his awesome brake work.  

But we did make it to the picnic area...

And back...

With no cactus needles.

However, next time, I think we will go on a cloudy day.