There is nothing I look more forward to than picking the kids up from school. I start in Gavin's room where he greets me by flapping his arms until I pick him up and he squeezes my neck tightly. Then we go get routine-oriented Tyler. Whatever he is working on when I arrive, he diligently puts away before running over, chanting "Mama, Mama" with his arms spread wide for a big hug. Then we go into his classroom where he shows me Larry the fish and we get Tyler's daily report. He says bye bye to all the teachers and kids, and any parents he sees. Getting him from that point to the door is the hardest part. He's like his dad in the way he can say goodbye but still not leave for what seems like ever after that. Me, I say goodbye and I leave. Not Tyler. He wants to show me every dinosaur and elephant, look at every picture on the wall, wave to every parent, teacher and student. Finally we make our way to the door where he gets a cracker. Sometimes it's oyster crackers, sometimes it's graham crackers. Lord help us if the only crackers left are soda crackers because that triggers a meltdown. And he says bye bye to anyone else who crosses our path until we get outside, where he says "Where Mama's car?" I point it out and he heads straight to it. My arms are full with baby, art projects, dirty clothes, etc. so I have to put on my mean mommy hat and scare Tyler into not doing anything but staying very close and touching my car. Aside from the occassional deviation, he does this pretty well. Then we get in the car and drive home. Tyler asks for his sunglasses. "Go home, Mama."