First Day of Kindergarten (and an Earthquake!)

Boy, we'll never forget Daniel's first day of school!

EVER!!

We had a 5.9 magnitude earthquake, the epicenter of which was about 50 miles from our home and only 20 from my work office. Around 1:50 pm our office started shaking terribly and I was so scared. We're on the 3rd floor of a building and the floor felt unglued. Thankfully it stopped and I was able to get ahold of Troy and he was able to call Daniel's school. The kids were all fine, but this momma wasn't!!

To backtrack, this morning started out like any other. Daniel knew it was the big day and he still begged for 2 more minutes of sleep complete with covering himself back up over his head!! Once out of bed we served him scrambled eggs, bacon and toast with jelly. Then we got dressed, brushed teeth, washed face and headed out to the big K!!

We arrived at school and he headed right in leaving us in the dust, until we got to where the Kindergartner's meet in the morning. Then he ever so gently attached himself to my side. His teacher, who I really like, greeted him by name, but he wasn't having any of it. Once I got him unglued from me and we showed him which 2 tables were his classes, he went and sat down about 10 seats away from everyone else and put his head down. Broke my heart!! Never fear though, I walked over and re-sat him with some new friends. When we left he was taking his jacket off and loking around.

When we picked him up, he was all smiles and talked up a storm. He made new friends, liked his teacher and he didn't have an accident. Since we're still dealing with his medical condition, this is and continues to be my biggest worry for him. I went in ahead of time and had a conference with his teacher and the school nurse to explain his condition, set his potty schedule up and give them the letter from the urologist using big terms and was very impressive! The teacher followed the instructions to a "T" and Daniel did great!!

If you are wondering, Daniel has to void on a timed schedule which we are slowly trying to draw out. Normal bladders can hold urine for about 4 hours, but Daniel can only hold about an hour and a half. This is because his bladder was so stretched from the obstruction he had for so long and his reflux issue (both have been corrected, but the damage was already done). We still don't know the depth of feeling he has as far as the urge to go goes, and it's something we are still trying to ascertain through medical testing and simply Daniel getting older and being able to tell us. Because his bladder is so large, he doesn't get the "bladder-brain" signal until it's too late and he leaks urine. However, the hour and half schedule works for him and we are "training" his bladder to hold it that long without leaks. Fortunately #2's in the potty are no problem. So, as long as you keep him on schedule, he does great. We'll work up to 4 hours eventually but it could take a few years. Since we were told he would need a permanent cathedar at one point, we think his progress is great!!!

Anywho, he wrote his name for his teacher today and drew a picture of her. Troy picked Daniel up and he said Daniel's teacher said he was "excellent" and that she "really enjoyed him"!! Daniel talked non-stop about his day and his new friends. He said he earned 6 punches on his card for good behavior and earned extra recess time!! When I asked what he got the punches for he rolled his eyes and said "For good listening mom", in a "duh" kind of tone. Seriously! Apparently I need a punch card because he seems to have selective hearing around here!!

Whew!! I feel so much better now about our decision to send him on to Kindergarten! I know we may face some difficulties, but today went really well - minus the earthquake of course!!! Without further ado - Daniel his first day of Kindergarten!!!