I promise I won’t dive into the movie, Back to School, starring Rodney Dangerfield, Sam Kinison, Salley Kellerman, and a very young Robert Downey Jr. So, at what age is it appropriate to show Niko this movie?
Tomorrow, Niko goes back to school. It feels like just yesterday we were picking him from his last day of first grade. It did take him a few weeks after school ended to get rid of his cough. He was sick a lot last year, but that was given as it was his first time being around other kids his age for an extended period of time. One day last year, Nina was meeting him for lunch, and he wasn’t with his class when they strolled out for lunch. His classmates told her he went to the nurse.
I am pretty sure that Niko had a good summer as we didn’t have anything major planned. It was nice to see him relax and not have to worry about getting up early in the morning for school. I am not going to write about everything we did this summer, as I am fairly confident that I have already written about it. Even though I did get a number for one of his classmate’s dad’s, we never reached out. I didn’t want to text him and say hey, meets us at the pool and playground on Saturday at 9 am, because I know Niko changes his mind quickly about things.
We met his teacher and visited his classroom last Thursday. His classroom is just a few more doors down from his first-grade classroom, so he is already familiar with the layout.
Being the dad, I got to carry a box of school supplies for Niko, and we always tend to buy more as we like helping the teacher with it. A few of his classmates from his first-grade class will be in his second-grade class. While I was standing outside in the heat for some ice cream from a food truck, Nina and Niko explored the second floor and found his first-grade teacher as well. The ice cream was ice cream, and you can’t mess that up, but it wasn’t worth the hefty price tag even though we had some toppings; mine was Fruity Pebbles and Niko had Oreo cookies.
You know I like to research food, and there was one food truck there called Slider Provider, and I really wanted it. But, for lunch that day, Nina ordered Domino’s pizza, so I told Niko no for Slider Provider, but yes for ice cream. I told Niko we can try Slider Provider when they come to our neighborhood clubhouse as we get them and others every week.
Niko has new clothes and a new backpack to wear. His backpack is from Lands End, but Nina customized it by putting Super Mario Bros patches all over it. It actually looks really awesome. He is still wearing long sleeve pants and shirts, so the new ones are super thin and are perfect for the hot weather. I liked the way they felt, so I got myself some new shirts as well, but mine are short sleeve. I like thin clothes and in addition to the shirts, I also brought lots of new thin shorts from a company called 32 Degrees.
It will be nice for him to get back in the swing of school, but I know Nina and I will miss him throughout the day.
I will be glad that starting tomorrow, I can work downstairs. I have already cleared my desk which had a lot of Niko art supplies all over it and moved a small rug and floor protector, so I don’t damage the flooring with my chair. I worked upstairs since school ended, so we could all be together.
Just like last year, Nina and I have a pass so we can walk him to his class all year long and we can also have lunch with Nikom, which I am looking forward to doing.
On Friday, we got our groceries delivered, and it was a little bit more money than we normally would spend, as we included Niko snacks and stuff for lunch. We will make a Costco run in the next few weeks as there is one close to where we live.
Nina and I will have to get back in the groove of making his lunch the night before, but I am hoping that Niko can assist us.
Once thing I love about working from home, and my work schedule, is I can go with them in the mornings for drop-off as we leave the house at 7:25 am and are back home by 7:45 am. I login at work at 8 am. I am not going to like setting my alarm for 6 am or 6:15 am to wake him up. I like to make sure that Niko has plenty of time to use the bathroom, get dressed, and eat before going to school. During the summer break, my alarm was set for 7:30 am or whenever Niko woke up, which sometimes was earlier, but lately it has been around 8 am.
On Saturday, I was hoping Niko and I could do something fun out in the world, and I told him, he can make the plans and I will honor them within reason. But unfortunately, he didn’t want to do anything. I even tried to bribe him by telling him he can have my hotspot for his iPad, but that didn’t work. I really thought he would want to do something as I know for the next few weekends, he will likely be tired from school. So, instead of going out, I made us bacon and eggs (he had his on a plate with no tortillas, and I had tortillas). Afterwards, we played Mario Kart 8 on the Switch, and he crushed me; he got first place, and I got last place. After that humiliation, I asked him if we wanted to go to CVS so we can pick some stuff up for Nina’s birthday next Saturday. He was like, yes, let’s do it! I am not going to tell you what we got Nina as I know she reads this, but I will tell you Niko got top ramen, Oreo cookies, wafer cookies, and a chocolate bar. It’s fun to let him have a shopping cart and let him have at it.
