It starts with an idea

And a mason jar chocked full of ideas

Vegetarian for a month
Alongside great friends
Helpful that Jesse will be out of town for half of it

A new cookbook for Christmas
And Pinterest
Plus a pretty jar full of inspiration

First up? Meatless Hopping John
Rice, black eyed peas and veggies
A great way to begin a year

This year the holidays were

A weekend away
Relaxing in jammies
Experimenting with new recipes
        3 parts ginger beer 1.5 parts dark rum and a splash of lime: delish!
Battling against the ladybugs who decided to join us on our cabin retreat

Cooking
Zucchini and feta muffins with rosemary and black pepper dusted cream cheese frosting

And crafting
Napkins and a rocking hat
Cause boys need sparkly things too

Lots of time with family and friends
And an extra day playing in the snow

Welcome to November

Love the tradition of taking time to pause and be grateful for...

Our home and finally starting to feel like this is our space

     most of the boxes are unpacked

     decorations are beginning to be placed

Men who get excited about old furniture
     and driving them into Columbus
     and figuring out how to make it work

Fall weather and soups
     nothing that I love more than a big pot of soup on the stove
     and bringing my own bowl to the tailgate
     and contests with cousins to see who can eat the most
              declaring myself the winner after finishing my 5th bowl

City services that haul away my junk
     30 bags of leaves (what we did all weekend)
     We were those trashy neighbors waiting for bulk pickup
     Recycling bins are inching their way closer
             15 blocks and counting

Voting by mail

     and avoiding the lines

     and sitting with my computer being able to research each issue

     and feeling like I actually get a say in our future

what I love about Fridays

some may say I'm a bit of a dreamer
imaginary vacations, meals, plans for the weekend

What I love most about Fridays is the dreaming
a whole weekend filled with nothing but time
wondering how will we spend it?

Beer Tasting at the shop just up the street?
     and bringing some yummy choices home
A fire to enjoy the chilly evening?
     so the logs may be a little damp, thats what lighter fluid is for right?
     the ingredients for smores are calling my name
House Projects?
     cause the list is never ending
     cutting shelves to get ready to paint
     yardwork, cause with the rain the roots will be easy to pull up right
Celebrating with friends?
     love first birthday parties!
Farmers Market browsing?
     and perhaps procuring produce for canning

sniff sniff

a hazard of working with children
the germs, oh the germs!

For the last 6 weeks I feel like I've been sick every other week
First a cold, knocked me out for a weekend

Then the stomach bug thats been going around
That was not my best 24 hours

Then on Thursday I felt the sniffles coming
Upped my vitamin C intake
Drank copious amounts of hot tea

And then my man caught it
Oh the humanity

Beer breaks turned into to "medicine" breaks
OJ for the vitamin C, whiskey (or rum) to kill off the germs

a big step

As excited as we were for buying a house

and leaving the trashy neighbors

who not only let their kiddos play in the parking lot

but have the audacity to defend their parking lot playing rights 

     Seriously, if someone in a motorized vehicle is yelling at your kids to get out of the way

     maybe you should too

     instead of declaring, how dare you yell at my children?!?!

And having a space to make our own

goodbye faux wood trim that's really made of plastic

goodbye linoleum that has been super glued to the floor (with not so super glue)

goodbye condo association that hates nature

     love my dusty miller plant that over wintered for 3 straight years

who cares if you're a bit gangly at the edges

and of course I dug up a bit to bring to our home

We took a moment to say goodbye to our first place

where we fought

     over dishes, and vacuuming and a certain someone's ridiculously busy winter schedule

where we dreamed

     of awesome vacations and future homes and our lives together

 where we settled into ourselves and our relationship

Closing a chapter in our lives
Goodbye Apartment
Helloooooo awesome new house!

I warned him

I noticed this little guy as I was pulling out of my driveway one morning

I stopped, snapped a picture and suggested he may want to get away now

He stubbornly held on to that mirror my whole drive

     all 6 minutes of it: yay for a short commute

Well, congrats!

Hope you enjoyed the ride

Cause now we're gonna go play with some toddlers

Bwah ha ha

Parked my car and began wondering how I could get him in the building

     cause you know touching it would not be an option

Yay for a slight tendency to live out of my car 

     and finding an old coffee cup in the back seat

After a bit of shrieking, jumping and perhaps dropping him on the ground

It worked!

We made it in the door

     and it was fabulous

45 minutes of watching and wondering and examining with magnifying glasses
Noticing his eyes, his legs, his tiny mouth
Hypothesizing as to how he can walk on a stick upside down
Wondering why he keeps walking away from us and back towards the teacher
     I dunno toddlers, maybe because you are so excited you keep shouting at him
     Hi Praying Mantis!  Come here!  Wanna see my magnifying glass?!?!
     I think he's just a bit terrified

I love being the teacher who takes advantage of ordinary moments like this
I love my kiddos and their burgeoning self awareness and experimentation with friend making
     and introducing themselves to the praying mantis  "Hi I'm Susie!"
     and wondering why he didn't respond
     and then speculating as to the last name before naming it after a favorite friend

oh the projects

It's quickly becoming clear the dirty little secret of home ownership

There are always projects to be done

Someone may have suggested making a list

Someone may have thrown an itty bitty tantrum and declared

     We will live here forever!  We don't need a damn list

Grateful for inlaws with awesome tools like powerwashers.  

Watched Jesse for a few moments then decided it looked like fun

He wouldn't let me use it near the house

Apparently I did it too slowly and someone was feeling nervous I would damage the side of the house

Love the immediate results- wooo hooo clean deck!

But then, a tiny bit of dirty grime flew up and hit me in the face

I realized I was covered in tiny polka dots of dirty grime

and just like that I was finished

4 people, 8 hours and our flower beds look fantastic

We filled up 13 bags of lawn "trash" 

And created 3 distinct piles of kindling for the fire pit

Who knew their were rocks hiding under the ivy?

Up Next:
Sealing the deck
and Painting the basement
Wonder what else we'll stumble upon

A few of my favorite things

Hello swinging on the front porch, watching a storm roll through

why yes, that is a citronella candle

the mosquitoes are attacking. 2 candles, lots of bug spray 

and I still get new bites every day sigh

Hello sunlight streaming into my bathroom

first major project: ripping down the glass shower doors

best decision ever, so much grossness lived under there 

Hello lovely view as I drink my coffee

still don't know what kind of trees those are

still convincing Jesse not to taste the berries for "research purposes" 

 Hello Washer and Dryer!  My new BFFs!!!

it's been a long 3 months of hang drying clothes

Hello soft clothes that snap back into place after drying

Hello ingenuity (following the cursing) of an electrical plug that is 3 inches too high

Hello sunglasses!  Who put you in the medicine cabinet?

living in that awkward place of some stuff here, some stuff there

some stuff disappeared

with each box unpacked it feels more and more like home

Hello Monday!

Excited/nervous for the first week with a full roster

     12 toddlers are a whole new ballgame after only having a handful on any given day

Excited for completely more house projects (laundry!!!)

     and having a whole day on Friday to spend in my house

Excited for more visitors

     loving showing off my home

Linking with Lisa to start the week

In Hindsight

After a weekend spent cleaning and cleaning and cleaning, I'm so glad we didn't buy a fixer upper house.  That being said we invested...

a day steam cleaning the carpet in one room (Granted, its a biggish room, with lots of nooks and crannies making me grateful the cleaner came with hand tools)

a day scrubbing grout- cause ewww...7 magic erasers later and the heebie jeebies are gone

a day working in the yard and did not get the grass mowed or the landscaping weeded

     however, we did pull out the ugly satellite dish, and create a big giant burn pile- yay

a day scrubbing down walls and cursing renters who put nails, hooks and staples into old fabulous wood trim

a few hours beginning to scrub down the kitchen at which point a certain someone (me) gave up after dog hair was found inside the fridge

I have never been an animal person and I'm pretty sure this experience is confirming that 

This whole owning a house thing is a lot of work

but I love, love, love it!

I'm grateful for...

the Lice Center of Ohio and their free head checks: even teachers.  Such a relief to know my kiddos (and me) are lice free
     especially when a certain toddler now knows if she claims her hair is "itchy" she gets to avoid 
     nap for a few more minutes


texts that say, stop by after work for some boxes
     and confidence in driving my car full of boxes.  If I can drive across country without being 
     able to see out my mirrors, a 5 mile drive across town aint no thing


the entertainment provided by my facebook friends
     it amuses me to see each side of the political spectrum represented so passionately


the double hug:  first just a regular hug, then a tight extra squeeze from a classroom alumni

a man who kisses my cheek and whispers I love you as I'm falling asleep
     even if it does wake me up for a bit

Toddler Room Tales

Just the other day I was musing that my kiddos weren't being funny...seems they heard that as a challenge and brought their A game this week

To the kiddo with the burgeoning foot fetish:
I don't think she wants you to touch her feet
Do you hear how she is telling you No!
Stop touching her feet
Your friend is trying to give you a message, I need you to respect it
If you don't stop touching her feet I will need to help your body 
     screaming, thrashing toddler
I'm sorry this is making you angry, but you needed help.
If a friend tells you to stop, you need to stop touching her feet!


We may or may not be threatened by a lice outbreak from the older classrooms
     Yes I have been super itchy thank you hypocondria
     Yes I come home from work everyday and make Jesse check my hair
     Yes I have been alternating: letting my hair get super dirty gross and shampooing it like 
     crazy with Coconut shampoo, cause the rumor is lice hate both those things
So picture this:  nap time, rubbing a cute toddler back helping him fall asleep
All of the sudden he starts scrubbing at his head like crazy
     (sidenote:  older sibling in the outbreak affected classroom)
Are you itchy?  Head nodding
Deep breath and a quick glance through his hair (yay for little boys and short haircuts)
Turned out to just be a toddler trying to avoid falling asleep   whew!


and courtesy of a toddler parent...
How was the storm that rolled through?
     Appropriate response of how it was loud but we talked about being brave cause we know 
     we are safe at school
Ignoring me completely going on to say...
Yeah a big reason we switched schools was cause of the storms
We figured you guys are in a bigger building, you probably don't lose electricity often
     assuming he wasn't serious I responded...yeah you know how clintonville is
Blank look
     Do you live in the community?
Yeah we live in UA
     also known as land of underground powerlines that rarely loses power
     very unlike clintonville, land of powerlines through the back of properties cleverly disguised 
     by big trees that like to fall down

Do you have shadows in your bed?

We're saying goodbye to kiddos left and right this time of the year
Unlike our birthday celebrations which we have down to a science,
Our last day celebrations are much more a bit of this and a bit of that
     with random toddler tantrums thrown in

It's their special day, we do all of their favorite things, shower them with hugs and kisses
For our most recent graduate, this involved reading (and rereading) our collection of monster books

including The Great Monster Hunt by Norbert Landa
The first book this kiddo every asked me to read,
when he was finally warming up to us and the classroom
I read this one book for a solid hour yesterday
Each time I finished he piped up it's not a monster, its a mouse!  Read the Monster Hunt again?

Savoring the last moments with this kiddo
We poured so much into him
He grew so much in a year
Hate that he is moving away

Of course I will keep reading your favorite book
After the third reading, the conversation began
     I scared.  Shadows in my bed
     Do you have shadows in your bed?

Note:  I do in deed have shadows in my bed.  After many nights of waking up in panic, staring into the darkness of the room, I went out to buy a nightlight.  Its a retro pink glittery lava lamp and I love it.  It makes the shadows go away

But who needs to bring baggage like that into a classroom.
Enter important life lesson time
     and the conversation that kept repeating for an hour


Yep, sometimes I have shadows in my bed
When I feel scared, I take a deep breath, and feel really really brave
If I'm still scared, I turn on a light- that makes the shadows go away
If I'm still scared I ask for help, from my mom or my dad or a friend

Much head nodding followed by...
I scared.  Shadows in my bed.
You have shadows in your bed?

By the end of the hour the conversation began to look different

I scared.  Shadows in my bed.
You have shadows in your bed?
You feel brave.  I feel brave
Mom and dad help me

the anatomy of a spontaneous roadtrip

Prequel:
Survive raging thunderstorms, power outages and hysterical parents while their toddlers wonder
     "Carri, why is a tree rolling across the parking lot"
      oh please, please avoid my car
Run around like a maniac, completing my to do list by 4 pm
      Fun adventure bike riding to Farmers Market
      Detouring to see the ginormous trees that fell across the road, smashing cars

      Sewing, packing, procuring beverages
      Airport Run
      Invent decorations from materials gathered from CVS
             Tissue paper, wrapping paper and streamers go a long way

we may have gotten a little artistically inappropriate with this by the end of the night

Party like a rockstar celebrating a dear friend's last weekend as a single lady

The Spark of an Idea:
Wake up barely avoiding a hangover:  Winner!
Count my lucky stars that I have power and a hot shower
Begin remembering just how long my work was closed last time power went out
     a whole week:  it took them 4 days to restore power and 1 day for cleanup
Begin wondering what am I going to do for the next few days if I don't end up working

The Moment of Rationality:
phone calls ensued
3 trusted confidants
     all who sent me to voicemail
ten minutes of waiting for a return call
deciding to go ahead and pack
     cause i can always unpack
one last glance at the clock

Throwing Caution to the Wind:
Hit the Road Jack, Don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more

10 miles south of Columbus my first returned phone call
     the advice:  do it!  it'll be a blast
40 miles south of Columbus, second returned phone call
     the advice:  a bit more rational, but do it!  Hit the road!  Yay for road trips!
5 miles north of Cincy, final returned phone call
     the advice:  you've already left now haven't you- ha!  he knows me well

Sent to the Nashville Crew along with

what are yall doing tonight?

     want some company?

Makes what I do worth it, even the crazy days

its 5 o'clock somewhere and instead of pouring a cocktail; I pull out the small watermelon that was gifted to our room to explore.  

We don't just cut up fruit and eat it.  We explore.  What is this?  can I pick it up?  how do we open it?  what color is it inside?  will it be messy?

I hold the bottom of the fruit as the kiddos each take a turn using their strong arms to lift it- most can, even our smallest

I pause for a moment waiting for inspiration.  What shall we do with this fruit.

a game
a rolling game
where take turns rolling it and catching it
on the table top
with paint!!!

Best idea ever.
a dob of red paint for the watermelon to roll through as it travels across the table.

As we rolled it back and forth we noticed the watermelon was making roads
When we added blue paint, we noticed the roads mixed to form a new color
We realized that we had to make sure a friend was ready before we rolled it to them
We sharpened our reflexes to catch the watermelon at the edge of the table
     most of the time


Some kids played for a few moments then left
Some stayed the whole time
Some declared it "messy!" and somehow managed to play without touching paint
Some bothered by the mess, but wanting to play washed their hands after each turn

For 30 minutes this game continued
until finally we had to stop and clean up
as we're collectively scrubbing the table a little one announced
Carri, you're my bestest teacher


And that is why I teach 
    and wear play clothes and use washable paint

Bad News/Good News

I had to teach by myself today (a coworker was stuck de-licing her home)

     I don't have an itchy scalp (just phantom itchyness)

I had to work the early shift (showing up at work a good 3 hours earlier than usual)

     I got to leave 3 hours early- yay for wine at 4 pm!  and the cat nap that followed

I got hug-rejected from a kiddo today

     Her mom gave me an awesome plant (now I just need to figure out what it is)

I spent an evening home alone

     I avoided getting dragged to see Prometheus

I stopped in to Trader Joes for the 3rd time this week

    Yes I am a stalker, but my wine finally came in- wahoo!

A Friday evening spent with wine, my favorite snacks and a new book
A great way to start the weekend!

Goodbye Weekend

Goodbye starting my day with my favorite coffee mug

     can you tell this is my drinking coffee spot?  this table is looking forward to getting refinished

Goodbye Farmers Market mornings oh how I love you

     catching up with dear friends

     conversations jumping all over the map

     and the strawberries, yum, yum!  

 

Goodbye remnants of a fun night

Love evenings that start with dinner and a cocktail

then progress to liquor and shoe removal

with a final dose of late night snacks and game shenanigans

the winning card was a tough choice:

Sexy is...a refrigerator or Garth Brooks

 Goodbye ingenuity and taking advantage of the heat wave

stupid dryer broke again (3 weeks ago)

replacement part is in the mail

love having a man who is handy

PS:  not so easy to grill chicken while navigating the clothing maze

 Goodbye Sunday night picnic

my favorite way to end a busy weekend

 love laying under the big trees,

listening to music,

wondering what the week will bring

New Clothes, New Clothes!

I got a new shirt for my birthday!  

 Aren't you adorable?

Oh no!  What happened?

Weird bunching and pulling

This shirt is looking very cropped toppy

Hmmm can I get through a workday without lifting my arms?
Ummm have you met my toddlers?
     although at the moment its my eldest 3 year old giving me the most grief
     multiple conversations, daily
     you are the oldest Koala!  That comes with responsibility
     do NOT climb on the furniture, do NOT wrestle with your friends
     do NOT pour water from our sink on your friend just cause he was standing there
     seriously?!?!  

One sleeve gone and its already much better

and now I have a plan

Hacking off sleeves

taking in extra gappy spots

and weird puckered places

tada!  It's like a brand new shirt!!

and I love it!!!

it survived a whole day of toddlers wahoo!

Thankful for

a good friend coming home 

and sunglasses to disguise the tears

a group effort

Right out of high school dear friends of mine joined the army
     well technically not the army
this meant training, a decent job, steady income
plans and possibilities for the future

I hated that they couldn't make it home for long weekends and holidays
I hated that trying to reach them on the phone involved very complicated time zone math
but this was pre 9/11 so really what was the concern?

And then everything changed
I love our soldiers, I hate what they have to do
     what they see, what they hear, what stays with them

I hated holding my breath,
     waiting for the phone call
          what time is it there?  Oh me too!
So, so, so glad they made it home

5 years ago my company hosted a homecoming ceremony
Standing with families as they waited and watched and cheered as the buses came into view
Grateful spouses, shy kids and proud parents welcoming home their soldiers

Tears streaming down my face as I realized what I missed
So appreciative of all the others who welcomed my soldiers home because I was too far away

Uber excited that I'm close enough to welcome this one home
Directions scouted out?  check!
Alarm set?  check!
Waterproof Mascara?  check!

And what would a celebration be without a glitter poster

whats that in the corner?

Trying to keep the poster family friendly

but still a nod to humor, and a tattoo