All Signed Up

Elizabeth is 4 years old now, so that means preschool next year! Unfortunately, we found out that the public school system would not be offering preschool this next year due to budget cuts. I was so very disappointed. I have been counting on that for next year. So I asked around for people's opinions on the private preschools, and then called for prices. I had made up my mind for Calvary Lutheran preschool, and put Elizabeth's name on the sign up list.
But then a funny thing happened. A small article in the local paper last Friday mentioned that the public schools would be doing a preschool after all, and sign up started Monday morning at 9 am. No bus transportation would be provided, however. I can handle that. After all, preschool through the school district would be saving us $75 a month.
So this morning as soon as I got Emma off to school, I got the remaining 4 of us ready to go sign Elizabeth up for preschool. Everybody dressed, potty-ed, shoes on, diaper bag packed with the essentials, birth certificate, proof of address, immunization record, Moby wrap already tied around me and we were off! We arrived at the district office, I took Annie out of her infant seat and got her snuggled into the Moby Wrap, grabbed the diaper bag, Maddie's infant carrier, and took Elizabeth by the hand, feeling that I totally had it all together walked into the district office at 9:02.
Can you believe it? We were already late and had to stand in line. That's ok, I planned for this and had toys and binkies in tow. It was finally our turn and I gave all the paper work to the secretary. She made the appropriate copies, I signed the appropriate forms, only to be told that I would now have to go over to the elementary school Elizabeth would be attending to finish the process. *sigh* There is no decent parking there, so we walked across the street to the elementary school. All the while, I swear Maddie is gaining weight by the pound. She weighs a good 19-20 lbs without the infant carrier anyway. My right arm was killing me by the time I arrived.
As we walked in, there was a table set up in the hall, so I went over there only to be asked if I'd been to the district office yet. Yes, yes I had. Then I needed to go to the office for the rest of the paper work, and then I could come back to the table. So over to the office the Kannely Traveling Zoo went. Then I was asked again, had I been by the district office yet? Again, yes I had. I was given a folder with paperwork, they took copies of the immunization record and birth certificate (again) and I went sit down and fill out paper work. Ugh. I had to put the paper as far away from myself as possible, because Annie kept trying to grab either the pen or the papers. My handwriting as not as pretty as it could have been. I kept answering Elizabeth's questions, ferried questions about twins and the reason for Elizabeth's glasses, entertained the twins with binkies, etc. and felt myself wishing I were rich enough for a nanny all while filling out paperwork. Then I was told that Elizabeth was behind in her shots and couldn't be signed up until that was fixed. So I was told to come back later when that problem was solved. I took my folder of paperwork, looked with envy at all those presentable people who took showers every morning and took my brood back to my minivan. As I was pressing the unlock button on the key chain, I hear, "Yoo Hoo!" (Yes, I am serious, she said "Yoo Hoo.") It was the nurse hurrying from the school, across the street in my direction. I took a quick survey around me, wondering if it was really me she was trying to flag down. Or, what did I forget to take with me? Turns out, she's been giving the wrong information to parents. Those shots are needed for kindergarten, not preschool. Elizabeth was fine and could she have my folder to take back to the nice secretaries? So I gave her Elizabeth's paperwork and I think we are all taken care of. The babies cried all the way home, since it was time for them to eat again and I was just plain exhausted. It was an hour long trip. And Elizabeth was disappointed that preschool didn't start today...