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?

A storm is coming!

Were in the midst of our 3rd day of "severe weather" is coming.

Thanks weatherman, but wind/sprinkling rain does not really equal severe weather. Sure the clouds look menacing, but I'll still bundle up the kiddos and head outside. Whereas severe weather finds me hunkered down in the basement.

We've been leaving the classroom door open in the afternoon. Loving the fresh breeze and watching the weather.

Some of the kiddos noticed the wind and began chanting

A storm is coming, a storm is coming

I love storms! but only at school (guess who plays up their parents at home?)

I love thunder! When is it going to be loud?

Apparently they don't remember that severe weather often leads to us sitting (with no toys/books/puzzles) in the basement hallway. Maybe instead they are remembering this

Being a teacher of toddler I'm not kidding myself. They are most likely simply caught up in their friends excitement. They most likely have no idea that they are cheering for the thunder to start. Had it started (like the weatherman said) I'm sure it would have been quickly followed by loud wailing from my toddler room. But for now, we'll pretend to be brave

Goodbye Weekend...

Goodbye last minute visits with friends:

and uber yummy cheese and wine

Goodbye crafty errands:

4 shops in 3 hours, favorite purchase? 1 lb of glitter!!!

Goodbye afternoon naps listening to rain outside the window:

and the utter confusion when the alarm goes off

Goodbye holidays services and baptisms:

3 hours of rituals...at some point they lose their impact

Goodbye late night runs for frosties:

cause after a 3 hr service, we deserve it!

Goodbye lazy mornings

and making up for it with late night laundering

Goodbye family holiday dinner:

some made us laugh, some made us want to scream,

and as always the kiddos stole the show

Hello Beautiful Week!

Looking forward to: only 4 days with kiddos, a day of "professional development", starting to use the lb of glitter! and the first trip to the farmers market (okay thats on the weekend, but I can't wait!)

inspired by

We're 3 weeks in

Well it looks like this tornado season is kicking off swimmingly. After last fall's adventures of huddling in the basement hallway with 12 toddlers, I get slightly anxious when tornado weather is coming. My ears are tuned into the silence, just waiting to hear those god damn sirens.

Those sirens that mean stop whatever your doing, convince the kiddos to stop whatever they are doing. Walk do not run down the long hallway to the basement. Where toddlers must be entertained with whatever I can find in my pockets. Hair barrettes on a good day, lint on a not so good day.

Well last night the sirens went off. Thank God is was 2:30 am not 2:30 pm. Thank God!

Instead of waking up 12 toddlers and convincing them to follow me down the hall, I only had to wake up 1 Jesse. Although a bit like my toddlers...

He grumbled as I woke him up.

He stumbled down the hallway and stairs, collapsing into a heap on the floor.

He wrapped the blanket around forming his own little cocoon in the cold dark basement.

He questioned my sanity asking Why? and did not like my response of "Cause we have too"

Thank God it was 2:30 am.

Although for the record, Franklin County...can we work on this tornado siren thingy. I don't mind them when there is an actual threat. But when the storm passes and then the sirens start I begin to believe its a bit of malarkey. I'm all for safety. But I'm not all for this hiding out in a basement thing unless i really really have to.

Goodbye Weekend...

Inspired by Your Best Beautiful

Goodbye waking up to houseguests on the couch:

sure sign of a fun night before

Goodbye dreaming of July gardens:

the sprouts seem so little compared to their summer glory

Goodbye last years harvest:

the last of the green tomatoes making salsa verde

Goodbye glass jars:

and countless rearranges to find a place for the empties

Goodbye live music and people watching:

and attempts at sly picture taking, always elicit a friends advice before

walking out the door

Goodbye first serious ride of the season:

really wishing I didn't live UPhill from the bike path

Goodbye late afternoon naps:

waking up to eat dinner then back to bed

Goodbye starting a new project:

and googling tutorials to decipher the pattern

Goodbye dreams:

random, vivid, curious subconscious

Hello Beautiful Week...

Looking forward to a return to normal programming following the week o' uber fun, helping a friend invent the wheel, girly conversations (and consultation) working on the new project

Inspiration

I've been thinking round and round about a project. I want to knit a sweater. A perfect sweater to stow in my classroom to pull out during nap times and late evenings when it gets just a bit chilly. I think I found it

I am lusting after this sweater

Now I just need to figure out how to read a pattern...