Day 12: Thankful

I'm not feeling well today and I am having a hard time trying to find something to write about. I haven't had much inspiration while resting and watching tv.  Then it occurred to me that even though I don't feel well, I have many things to be thankful for.

I'm thankful that my youngest daughter, who has been sick for the last two days, is feeling much better today and is back to her sassy little self.

I'm thankful that my middle daughter is very excited about her "SUPER hard homework" -- playing outside (and I'm thankful for her teacher who recognized the need for that fabulous homework this week).

I'm thankful that my oldest daughter is working toward a lofty reading goal and enjoying every moment of it.  Her teacher has been keeping track (using Accelerated Reader) how many words each student has read this year.  This 10 year old of mine is approaching the MILLION word mark and she has no intention of stopping until she reaches that goal.

I'm thankful for the progress report that arrived in my inbox this morning. My oldest and only son has earned himself 6 As and 1 A- so far this marking period.  He works hard and it pays off! He's proud of himself and I'm one proud Mama!

And finally, I'm thankful for my husband. He's my rock, my friend and my partner. He is truly my other half.  We make a good team and take good care of each other.  I'm especially thankful today that he took the four kiddos to a family birthday party and left me a quiet house for resting and getting better.

Day 11: Recharge and Refuel

It was a strange week.  This week held assessments in preparation for conferences and soon report cards, a math training and half day out of the classroom and two days of a sick child.  I felt drained.  I felt tired.  I felt like a permanent passenger on the struggle bus.

Tonight, however, was a night to recharge and refuel.  I had an enjoyable evening with good friends, good food and good drinks.  We have a small book club and talked a bit about the book we read.  Mostly we talked about school.  Mostly we solved all the world's problems.

Having these moments out with friends makes me realize how important it really is to recharge my own battery.  As a mom, wife and teacher I am always looking out for my home and school families.  I'm a care taker and I make sure they get to recharge and refuel but I'm not always good at recognizing when I need to do the same for myself.

I'm glad to have these ladies in my life.  I'm glad to refuel with them.  I'm glad to laugh with them.

I'm glad this week is over and it ended on a positive note.  Onward to next week's challenges!

Day 10: 5 Bullet Thursday

I was up half the night with a sick child last night and had a full day of work today. To say I'm tired is a gross understatement.  My well feels dry today.  I'm not feeling inspired to do anything but take a nap.  It seems like a good time to try out a strategy that I saw Shari use in her slice yesterday here at Islands of My Soul.  She's a first time SOLC participant...go ahead...go read her slice first and share some comment love. Come back when you are done...I'll wait...    :)

Here is my sleep deprived attempt at 5 Bullet Thursday!

Song on my mind: Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust" - this is my friend's theme song and I feel like it is so fitting.  It can be applied to my situation last night (sick again, bed changed, kid cleaned up - another one bites the dust) or at school today (assessment time, pull over a child, give test - another one bites the dust).

Quote on my mind: "Writing floats on a sea of talk." I'm not sure where this originated but my writing guru says it a lot.  It's always rattling around in my head, especially in times like now when I am introducing a new skill or new genre of writing to my kindergarten students.

One thing I wish I was better at this week: Getting my assessments finished for conferences which start next week.  It's been one thing after another...snow days, math trainings, sick kids, etc.  I just feel like I'm treading water instead of making the progress that I need to be making.  Tomorrow's a new day!

Best thing I've eaten this week: Raspberry bread with cinnamon topping.  My daughter's babysitter met me at the door this morning with a container and a fork.  She'd made this deliciousness this morning and was giving a container to each mom this morning as we dropped off our kiddos.  She's just simply amazing!

My wonder of the week: I wonder if all of my families will show up for their parent teacher conferences next week.  There is one family I have yet to meet this year.  They haven't ever come for anything, they wait in the office on the rare occasion that they pick her up early, they don't answer phone/email/notes home.  

 

Day 9: Oh Lovely Mud

It was the middle of a very rainy spring which was following a very snowy winter.  To say that it was muddy outside was an incredible understatement.  I'd been traveling the dirt roads to my parents home since before I was born. I knew these roads forward and backward, in the dark and with my eyes closed.  I knew where every mud puddle, chatter bump and large stone were in the road.  But...I had never, in my life, seen mud like this before.

As the last stretch of pavement came to an end, I stopped the car.  At this point, I had two choices.  My house was on the road that was directly in front of me - that is, if I could have driven straight ahead, through a mile of thick forest, marshy swamp and a small gravel pit.  To get there, I had to turn and go the three miles around the block.  I could go to the right, the path most traveled, where I knew every dip and bump like my own face.  I could go to the left, the path less traveled, where I knew there was always a wet, swampy area that encroached on the road in good weather, but the rest of the path was a more smooth passage.

These were the days when a cell phone resided in my glove box for emergency use only.  I had used it exactly three times in as many years.  My boyfriend was coming home from college with me for the weekend.  He knew the roads well also, having made this trip many times himself.

As we sat, stopped at the end of the pavement, we looked at each other.  Neither of use could believe what we were looking at in the road.  It was as if someone had left the sprinkler on in the sandbox.  For a month.  The mud looked deeper than any I'd seen on any road before.  Being the "man" of the situation, my sweetie hopped out of the car, grabbed a stick and started poking to see if he could determine which way I should turn based on the depth of the mud.  Both options were equally terrible.

I decided to pull out the emergency cell phone.  I called my parents and assured them that yes I was fine but that I was stopped at the end of the pavement and couldn't decide which way to go.  I honestly thought that it didn't matter because I was sure I would get stuck in the mud in either direction.  My dad assured me that I would be fine.  Turn right and take the normal route.  Don't go too slow or you will get stuck.  Don't go too fast because the mud will pull you around on the road and you'll end up in the ditch.  You'll be fine, he said.

I looked at my boyfriend, "How about you drive? Dad says it will be fine as long as you don't go too fast or too slow."

Not a chance, he said. He absolutely didn't want to be the one responsible for getting my car stuck in the mud.  So, I took a deep breath and floored it.  It was three full miles of mud-spraying, fighting-with-the-steering-wheel action.  There were muddy trenches to stay out of, puddles that looked like small ponds and ducks swimming in the ditch along side of us.  But we made it!

As we pulled onto my parent's road, I was finally able to loosen the white knuckled grip I had on the wheel.  Our eyes must still have been huge when we arrived home because my mom and dad both burst out laughing when they got a look at us.  I vowed to stay home until summer.  I was NEVER driving again until the mud dried up.

The next day, my parents decided we should go visit their friends for the afternoon.  The friends who lived about four miles away, over the same muddy stretch of road we had just traveled.  My dad said since my car did so well in the mud, we should drive that and since I did so well managing the roads, I should drive.  I didn't say a single word.  I'm sure my face said everything that was needed as I handed him my keys and climbed firmly into the backseat.

He laughed at me and climbed into the driver's seat, all the while shaking his head at my craziness.  We were able to make it to their house and my dad made every effort to be sure I knew the road wasn't really that bad.  If you were an expert driver, like him, then it was really no big deal.  He delighted in telling everyone about our faces after we managed to drive through the mud the day before and spent a great deal of time picking on us throughout the afternoon.

When it was time to leave, Dad offered to let me redeem myself by driving home. I, of course, declined, but the mud was nothing that my dad couldn't handle, so he was happy to drive.  We piled back into the car and off we went.  On the way, I told him in that one certain extra nasty point, I had tried to stay to the right side because it looked slightly more firm.  He just shook his head and told me he had this under control.  He went to the left side.

That was his one fatal error.  We were immediately immersed in mud as deep as the center of the hubcaps in my little blue Cavalier.  At this point, I suggested pulling out the ol' emergency phone to call for help.  He decided we better just get out and survey the situation.  He was sure we could push the car out of the mud.

The mud thought otherwise.

The car sat so deep into the mud that the bottom of the car was resting in it.  And, since we were all out of the car and standing in the mud anyway, we might as well just walk the last mile home and get the truck to come pull it out.

If driving in deep, sloppy mud wasn't wonderful enough...now we had the pleasure of walking through the ankle deep muck.  Good times.

When all was said and done, it took two trucks, a tractor and 6 men to finally get my little blue car out of the mud.  My dad was kind enough to give my car a topside wash in the yard that day and sent me home with $10 so I could get the super duper underside car wash on my way back to school the next day. I may have been kind enough to give him a few little jabs about his amazing mud driving skills.

And yes, I was able to make it through the mud to get back to college the next day...without getting stuck.

Day 8: I'm Still Mad At Her

Today was a pretty typical day at school.  I did my thing, I packed my bag, rounded up my own children and ushered them to the car.  It was a rare 70 degree March day in Michigan and I was ready to go home.  I was looking forward to putting the windows down a bit and getting some fresh air.  I was looking forward to getting out of my school clothes and into something more lounge-worthy.

As I crested the hill I could see that the driveway at the end of the cul de sac was empty.  This means that we beat my hubby home from work today.  I sent my oldest into the house to leash up the dogs and take them outside, a task he isn't too fond of at the end of the day.  The three girls went in ahead of me.  I immediately heard the dreaded words.

"Dogs! What did you get into?" Yelled my feisty 4 year old.

"Uh, mom? You aren't going to believe what they did this time!" warned the two older girls.

At this point, I wasn't sure I even wanted to know.  At this point, I was a little disappointed to be the first adult home.

"What did they do?" I asked, mentally running through the list of possibilities.  Chew another toy? Find a stray shoe? What did they do to the couch? Someone have an accident on the floor?

"They got into the cupboard again!" scowled my sweet and sassy seven year old.

I turned the corner and tried to take in the scene.  To the right, the pantry doors stood open, the kitchen rug was laying in a heap in the middle of the room, and one child was indignantly trying to figure out who forgot to put the rubber band on the doors this morning. 

You see, this pantry entry has been a bit of a nasty habit.  We used to keep the dog food bag on the floor of the pantry.  After finding the doors open and the dog food bag chewed and torn open, we stopped keeping the food there.  It is now safely located on the top shelf.  The trash has a lid on it and so far...knock on wood...the dogs either haven't figured out how to get into it or they haven't noticed it there. 

Today, the dogs aimed a wee bit higher and managed to get two bags of chips from the second shelf.  They dragged them into the family room, made themselves comfy on the new rug in the middle of the room, and proceeded to chew on the clips until they could get them off the bags.  There were chip pieces and crumbs from one end of the rug to the other, along with the remnants of the bags and clips.

Apparently, after a nice snack of chips, dogs feel the need to go to the bathroom.  Now, we have two young dogs who are home all day alone.  We, even at one and two years old, leave them a puppy pad for those days when they just can't wait.  No big deal...when they keep it on the pad.  Normally they do, if there is any accident at all.  Today?  Of course not.  I'll just let you imagine the rug for a minute...chips and poop...nice, right?

After a few choice words muttered under my breath, I grabbed the dustpan and broom and got the biggest pieces of chips cleaned up.  I grabbed some paper and picked up the less desirable pieces on the rug.  I gathered the blanket that we keep over the couch while we are gone and began to fold it.  Guess what I found then?  Yep, one of them peed on the floor and the blanket was laying in it. 

Oh, this just keeps getting better and better, I thought.  There may have been a couple more words said in the heat of the moment and out of earshot of the littles.  I wiped up the mess and gathered the blanket and took it downstairs to be washed.  I vacuumed up the rest of the crumbs just as the dogs came back inside. 

Remember, it's 70 degrees and beautiful outside.  Three little girls were in their rooms putting on shorts and preparing to head outside to play.  My son immediately went upstairs to do the same.  I grumbled at the dogs as I began to put away the paper towels.  I was just unplugging the vacuum when I heard the first girl yelling.

"The dog just puked on the couch in the living room!  Mom, come quick!"

At this point, I wanted to go back to school.  Or under a rock.  Or just about anywhere else.

I grabbed the paper towels and ran to the living room.  I guess it's clear which dog is the main culprit now.  I sent my son back outside with the dog in case she got sick again.  Luckily, the majority of the mess landed on a throw blanket.  Unfortunately, there was a pillow corner and a small spot on the  [brand new] couch that wasn't so lucky.  I gathered my wet, soapy cloth and dry towel and began to clean the couch.  I gathered the SECOND blanket and carried it downstairs.  I went ahead and started the washer this time.  As I reached the top of the stairs son was calling me. 

"She isn't getting sick or acting like she's going to.  Can we come back inside?" he asked.

Not more than 2 minutes after coming back inside, this dog jumps up on the couch (the old one in the family room this time) and pukes again.  Kindly, she managed to do it in the crease between the two cushions.  Yes, that means two cushions got it AND the two pillows that were standing on top of them. 

That's it.  I quit.  I'll be in the Bahamas if you need me.

It's this moment that my hubby decides to call and tell me he's on his way home.  So, as I scrubbed the SECOND puke stain off the couch and pillows, I explained to him what the dogs had been up to on this fine day.

Twenty minute later, just moments after I was finally finished with all the cleaning, he arrived.  After getting all the fun details about my adventures and after I had the privilege of cleaning up yet another puke mess on the floor, he looked at me and said the magic words.

"So...should we just order pizza tonight, honey?"

And all was right with the world again.

Except for the dog.

I'm still mad at her.

Day 7: Happy Birthday Dad

A single ray of sunlight
shines down from the clouds
I know it's you there
Just checking in with me


I'm missing you today
on your birthday

I wish I could climb a rainbow
and knock upon your door
I'd like to see your smiling face
and sit with you once more

I'm missing you today
on your birthday

If I could dial your number
just to talk for a while
what things would I choose to say
and how would I decide

I'm missing you today
on your birthday

I'm missing you today
just like every day

Day 6: My Loves

Laundry
Dishes
Dusting
Sink cleaning
Trash removing
Dinner making
Bill paying

All things that never end

Homework
Legos
Video games
Shopkins
Dolls
Curious George books
Mom, will you help me?

All things that will end too soon

I think today I'll ignore the things that won't go away
and pour my time into the things that matter most
the little ones that grow up too fast
and we will make the cookies
play with the toys

read the books
play the games
and enjoy

my loves
today