first day of school.

The bosslings started school today. It was something Mr. Boss and I had been talking about since we decided to move to Arizona, something I was having a hard time agreeing to, because it meant I had to admit that homeschooling wasn't the right fit for us. That was hard for me.

Homeschooling was something I'd been wanting to do since I became a mom, but the truth was, having five little ones at home was exhausting, let alone managing to maintain some sort of schedule – especially because that just isn't my personality. It was a recipe for major mommy-burnout, but I still had a hard time with the idea. In my mind, it was like admitting defeat, and, well, I'm a sore loser. But after a lot of pondering about it all, I realized that it was okay that homeschooling didn't work for us, and it was okay to put the kids in school.

With that decided, we got them all registered and got to meet Z's teacher last week, met C and E's teachers earlier this week, took the kids backpack shopping last night, and today was the big day.

I wanted to make it extra special for them, so I woke up super early to make them a special breakfast.

pancakes with their grade and first initial

Then they got dressed and I took them out on the porch for some quick pictures in their first-day outfits.

I love how their individual personalities shine through in these photos.

Finally, we were ready to head down to the bus stop.

aren't they the cutest?

We got them on the bus, then Mr. Boss and I loaded the baby bosslings up and drove to the school to meet them and make sure they found their classrooms.

Lastly, one by one, we dropped each one off and said goodbye for the day.

Phew! I had gotten to a point where I was really looking forward to getting a big break when we sent them off to school. Burnout is legit, people. But watching them as they excitedly stepped on to the bus hit me pretty hard. I guess, even when you know you need the time apart, even when its for something important like their education, it is still hard to actually send them off into the world.

Bus will be here in a few, gotta run! I am so ready to hug my babies!