I’ve been a mom for almost 7 years now and this is the time I have been waiting for. My girls are very close in age. They are 6, 4, & 3. I have spent these last years with a kid attached to me and while I have enjoyed it, I couldn’t wait for the day till they were all in school.

Last month, I started preparing for school by organizing their closets and getting old clothes out. Adjusting and rearranging I was excited by the idea of school starting again. Then it hit me.

GOOD BYE DIAPERS.. 6 YRS WAS LONG ENOUGH

Miss C was a big girl. She’s been 90% potty trained since the summer but I still put a diaper on her at night. While she’s been dry, she’s been waking up wet now that it’s getting cold again. I moved her diapers into the spare closet and I realized that my baby wasn’t a baby anymore. This was really happening.

I had this conversation with another mother from my church. While we’re both excited to be past this “baby” stage, we both see the next step totally different. I see it as an adventure and that we finally get to explore and do more fun things. She, on the other hand, is having a hard time coping with the fact that her family is now a proper family with big kids.

EMPTY HOUSE

Every day my house is now empty. After school drop offs, I go for a run or to the market but when I return, it’s quiet. There’s no one here but me. It’s absolutely strange to not have to listen to Peppa Pig or put on another video from Super Simple Songs. I don’t have to cook lunch for anyone which is awesome but at the same time, I’m wondering if my kids miss me as much as I miss them. It’s only been 2 weeks since Miss C started a full schedule but I have big plans.. once my empty house gets clean again.

THE FREE TIME I DON’T HAVE

One of the main perks of having kids in school was to have some free time again. Time to clean the house and do the grocery shopping without having to push a stroller or call La Suocera Napoletana (my MIL) to babysit. Time to blog or work on my photo library without having to stay up till 2am (like I’m doing right now). I guess I somehow thought it would all magically fall into place but it hasn’t and that’s ok. I’m taking it slow. I’ve just finished the “cambio di stagione” which is the changing of seasonal clothes. They’ve been washed and dried for weeks but it’s been oddly warm for October so I’ve had a pile of clothes on a bed until today when I finally finished hanging everything.

I would say that my schedule should fall into place now but my parents are in town for the next 4 weeks. So everything will get put on hold…. AGAIN!