I heart Summer

Sandled feet in the grass, flip flop tan lines

New picnic baskets filled with snacks and

grownup beverages (some more concealed than others)

Playing the game: vintage woodstock or from a thrift store

New views in familiar places

Makes me happy

***

cause what makes me happy is the best part of the tradition

a tradition

Sad Monster, Glad Monster is a favorite in my classroom right now. One each page the monster tells us all the things that make him sad, glad, angry, silly...

We have a tradition. After we read each page, we all close our eyes, take a deep breath and (mostly) one at a time tell each other what makes us feel...

Surprise fresh flowers in my delivered produce, coming home to a clean kitchen, peeks of sunshine after long rainy days

make me glad

Long rainy days, saying goodbye, parents who ignore the fun stories of their kids adventures and focus on but did you "learn anything today"

make me sad

Jumping in puddles, winning penny slot machine games, shaking glitter onto posterboard (and the living room rug)

make me silly

Broken windows, parents who let their children play in the middle of the street, waiters who ignore my table then don't collect my payment expecting me to find the hidden register myself

make me angry (and find themselves footing my bill)

Friends headed for far away places, unexpected noises in the middle of the night and threats of tornadoes

make me worried (not necessarily b/c of the impending destruction,

rather the nightmare of entertaining toddlers in a dark basement

hallway for hours on end)

tidbits from our trip

It's still funny when the border guys ask if I'm carrying personal protection

Even funnier when the border guys ask how we know each other (insert slightly inappropriate comment about the reason for personal protection)

IHOP in our hotel=best thing ever. Pancakes and coffee in jammies is a perfect way to start the day

The weather at the falls reminds me of Cali. Cool, misty kinda gross in the morning. Cleared away by noon. Afternoon of sunshine with white puffy clouds

Lots of walking and long bike rides hopefully have combated the large amount of yummy food I consumed

A plastic bag does keep the camera safe from crazy misting spray and makes for rather "artistic" photos

Mixing traditional tourist activities with sun filled afternoon walks is a great balance to the day

Baked Goat Cheese and Red Wine really is the best thing since sliced bread

Wine country makes my heart happy

Goodbye Weekend...

Goodbye bottle of wine with dinner

and falling asleep soon after

Goodbye early morning alarm

and stupidly forgetting to turn it off

Goodbye cheering for 55K of my closest friends

and planning for next year- pink tulle, streamers and more glitter

Goodbye celebrations

of life, of upcoming births and 75 years

Goodbye card playing shenanigans

and prize bartering

Goodbye lazy Sundays

brunch, nap, dinner with friends

Goodbye weekend chores

found in my car: 3 tupperwares containers of black ooze, 2 winter hats,

a pair of mittens, a half full bottle of wine, 3 flip flops and a blanket that

still sheds sand if you shake hard enough

Goodbye late night conversations

and how far our responsibility as a society extends

Goodbye road trip planning

maps, snacks and detours

Hello Beautiful Week!

Looking forward to a quick 11 hours of work, road trip commencing,

wandering around wine country, and getting a stamp in my passport

Inspired By

but how

do I manage to accomplish anything during the day?

20 minutes into the day, a couple parents are dropping their kiddos off. Make small talk. Say hello to kiddos. Delight over birthday pictures. Interrupted by screams.

Hooligan #1 (of the day) didn't like the way innocent bystander was glancing at him. Proceeds to get her to move by grabbing a chunk of her hair and removing it from her head.

Hugs for the bystander. Stern looks for the Hooligan. Have the audacity to insist that he check on the bystander. Statement was met by screams and running away. Chase him down. Screaming/now thrashing hooligan carried back to the scene of the crime and made to sit and wait until he was ready to check on said toddler.

Remember those parents in the room? They called out have a good day as they quickly scampered out during the screaming/thrashing

an hour later. Damn rain. Forced to get gross motor time inside. In order to get to the indoor playspace we must negotiate a very tall flight of stairs. Damn architect.

Hooligan #2 (for the day) nearly pushes Hooligan #1 down the flight over very tall stairs. Once heart recovers I have the audacity again to insist that Hooligan #2 check on Hooligan #1. Although my suspicion is that he deserved it. We all wait in the stairwell until Hooligan #2 decides he is finally ready to admit defeat and check on his friend.

an hour later. Diaper changing time. a conversation

Do you want to sit on the potty

No! No! No!!!!!

ok fine. diaper off, quick wipe, diaper back on

Screaming/Thrashing/how dare you put my diaper back on!/Trying to throw myself off this here changing table

Move thrashing body onto floor so at least she wont fall from 3 feet in the air.

What do you need?

Cream! Cream! I need cream!

Check diaper region...no rash.

Sorry, but you don't need cream. You are just fine. Reapply diaper

Screaming/Thrashing/Removing diaper once again

Potty! Potty! Sit on potty!

Stare in disbelief

Remember when you screamed No NO NO! to the potty?

Not going to sit you on the potty now. I understand you are a woman and it is your prerogative to change your mind. However this is an important life lesson. Sometimes when you change you mind, you don't always get your way. Let me know when you are ready for you diaper. You can stay here until then.

**Crossing my fingers that she doesn't decide to 'try the potty' on the floor

Now i totally could have saved myself some heartache and just let her sit on the damn potty. However I know this child and I know this is how the operates. She would continue to find something to be dramatic about. Boundaries have to exist for a reason. We're 2 and we unfortunately are still discovering this.

Oh and we totally tried this stunt again during the next diaper change. At least there was less drama. Perhaps we're learning?