Last Friday morning the kids and I set out on a great adventure. We planned to take a nature hike, complete with backpacks, nature journals, colored pencils, water bottles and snacks. My friend, Liz, knew just the place, the only problem was, she wasn’t exactly sure how to find it. No matter, we loaded up the kids, I hung my little DVD player between the seats, popped in Multiplication Rock, and off we went.

We had a lovely drive, as we listened to “three is a magic number,” chatted, and watched for signs that would show us we were getting near our destination.

I had big plans for this morning.  Despite the fact that we got home from our amazing weekend at 11:30 last night, this was going to be Little Man’s first day of Kindergarten.  That, of course, necessitated putting on cute clothes, making sure his face was clean and moisturized, and taking an adorable picture on the front porch.  It didn’t happen.

As I stood in my kitchen surveying the piles of duffles, backpacks, and shoes, I doubted whether it was realistic to start school with the two little boys.  My older children were off to a good start; maybe one more day wouldn’t matter.  But I also knew that if I waited until I had everything tidy and ready to go, it could easily be another week.

Eby got some very neat gifts for his birthday including this one that has provided days of learning and enjoyment, a Live Butterfly Garden.  First there was the anticipation of waiting for the caterpillars to arrive – just getting mail is exciting when you are six, but mail with wriggling caterpillars is even better. The slightly gross factor was another benefit for Eby, and the girls didn’t mind it either.

The caterpillars ate the food in the container they arrived in and eventually climbed to the lid, hung upside down, and formed chrysalides (yes, that is the plural of “chrysalis” – I even googled it to be sure).  Once they had all formed, we opened the container, removed the liner of the lid and pinned it to the inside of the mesh Butterfly Garden.