School starts!

Hear that? That was the sound of a champagne cork popping in parents homes in our area. My little girl started second grade today. I set my alarm (with my 3 snooze time cushion), got up, and prepared to wake a sleepy kid who usually doesn't get up until 8. As I stumbled toward the bathroom at 6:45, I heard "Mommy, did you forget about me?". Catie was up, dressed, and ready to wait for the bus. I reminded her that the bus wouldn't even come for another hour, forced her to eat breakfast, packed her lunch money, reminded her that bouncing won't make the bus come faster, and finally sent her out the door.
Daniel is still asleep - and small wonder. I caught him not only out of bed, but out of his room drawing on a chalkboard at 11:00 PM. I'm a little groggy myself - I might take a little rest while the getting's good.
As for my current project, I'm still trying to figure out a cheap way to Frankenstein my bike into something with a passenger seat. I'm very taken with the xtracycle concept (www.xtracycle.com) which elongates the bike frame and puts passengers on a board over the rear wheel. Not only that, but the stretched-out frame allows for twice as many pannier bags to be hung, so you could concievably bike your kids to school and pick up groceries without using a drop of gas. I really like the idea of popping Daniel on the back of my bike and doing my errands, and of course he's too big for a baby bike seat. "Why not a trailer?" my fiancee asks - the answer is they seem cumbersome. I've watched parents labor with pulling them up hills, struggle through tight spaces, and have difficulty securing them when they reached their destination. Apart from that the kid is way behind you, making conversation harder. Maybe that's what some parents want - I know I'd like a special kid bubble for the car on noisy days - but if I'm on a bike ride on a busy street I want to know that my kids are righttherethankyou.
So why not spring for an xtracycle? Dude, look at the name of the blog! It costs $235 for the conversion kit, and another $350 for the "family van" package. I have a $10 bike! I'm brainstorming using one of the higher end pannier racks as a foundation for my own, shorter version of my mom taxi. I probably won't be able to fit both kids on, like I would if I had the xtracycle, but I'd get at least one on there.

Going to enjoy the peace while it lasts!