Neglected

If you are feeling neglected by my lack of writing, fear not!  And don't take it personally.  Just ask my library books.  You know, the ones that I checked out, renewed, and are now overdue?  There are some that I haven't even read yet!  And how about the movie that I checked out and then forgot I checked out?  Ten dollar fine on that one. 

This weekend was lovely because I was able to get to some of the things I've been neglecting.  I finished a book, vacuumed under my bed, and gathered bags and bags of clothes and shoes for charity.  My hubby was the spearhead on that one.

I also got to spend real time with my family.  We went to the pumpkin patch and went on a hayride.  We picked pumpkins, sipped cider, and enjoyed the fall weather.

I need more weekends like that.  They course through my veins and make my heart sing.

Perfect Equation

fall day + apple cider + pumpkin/chocolate chip muffin = pure bliss

I see the moon, and the moon sees me. God bless the moon, and God bless me.

The moon has been spectacular lately.  His beauty has surprised me on two occasions this week. 

The first time, I was driving with my children, listening to the Haunted Mansion cd that my hunka hunka hubby bought as a surprise.  Please understand that it is the soundtrack/story from the ride, not the movie.  I haven't seen the movie, but I haven't heard too many good things about it.

ANYway.  We were driving and feeling deliciously spooked, when all-of-a-sudden we spied the moon in all of his October glory.  He was just right there, out of nowhere.  He was huge and orange and just so perfect that for a moment my breath was stolen.  I actually gasped, I did. 

What was even more spectacular was when we went the opposite direction and I watched the moon quickly rise in the sky from my rear view mirror.  Gorgeous, I tell you.

And then there was tonight, which also involved a bit of spookiness.  I was alone in the car, and as I flipped through the radio there was a song about Transformers.  There was a robotic voice in the song, which immediately gave me chills.  I have a fear of robots.  I'll tell that story another day.  But as I ascended the hill, on my way to the library, there was the moon, ready once more to set the scene.  Again, he was huge and shocking. 

There is so much creation to simply delight in.  I hope that my children inherit my love of it all.

In the Wind

There is something about wind that stirs something in me.  It conjures up a scream of excitement that sticks in my throat.  If I'm with my kids, I may let it out.  Of course, in the grown-up world, it is rarely appropriate to scream when excited.  This is why I work with kids.  The grown-up world is boring!

I just dropped off my students for gym.  This requires a walk from our building down to the main church building.  I noticed the wind and the weather on the way down.  On the way back, by myself, I savored it.  There is nothing quite like a breezy October day.  Better still, it's chapel day so I am wearing a skirt.   It was positively delicious to feel the wind whipping my skirt around my legs as I took to the long way back to my classroom.

Today would be a great day to pick a pumpkin.

Autumn

I'm excited to be falling into Fall, but not nearly as excited as my daughter.  She woke up yesterday and asked to look out my bedroom window.  She wanted to see all the trees.  She figured that since it was Fall, all the leaves would look the part!  Explaining reality to her was bittersweet.  It made me want to laugh and cry all at once. 

Her babysitter said that she inspected EVERY TREE on their walk for signs of a change in the seasons.  I have no doubt this routine will continue until she is satisfied with the progress.   I love that girl.

End of Summer Party

Last time, I posted about my bout with end-of-summer melancholy. I wanted to conquer it with panache, so brought together a party.

Food, fixin's and family.

Getting ready:

Family and fun:

Enjoying the corn...

The famous "catalog pose:"

Tracina, Mrs. Debbie, and Beans


Mama & Papa

The Hubster & Me

I Believe in Magic

“If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.” Loren Eiseley

This weekend I sat and watched my daughter swim. She loves to paddled herself around the pool, wearing her swimmie-wings. I had planned to get in, too, but when I checked the thermometer and saw that the water was only 74 degrees, I only got in up to my tootsies.

As I sat on the ladder, dangling my feet in the the pool, I reflected on the magic that is water. I truly believe that water has the ability to heal. When I was 8 and 9 months pregnant with Sophie, I took a water aerobics class. All week long my body would ache. I would feel the pull in the muscles as my belly grew heavier with my baby girl. By Thursday afternoon, I would be questioning whether I could actually survive through Friday. But Thursday night, I would experience the miracle of water aerobics. Suddenly, my body didn't ache. The effects would carry me through until the following Thursday.

I felt sort of melancholy sitting there. I realized that I needed some magic to carry me through until autumn began to charm me with her beautiful colors.

Tune in tomorrow to see the end-of-summer party that I orchestrated to be the bit of magic that I needed.

Out With the Old and In With the New

For a teacher, September marks the start of the new year. It's hard to see it any other way. My calendar runs from September to June. The summer months don't need a calendar, or a watch, for that matter. Time simply doesn't exist in the summer.

Summer, for me, ends tomorrow. It's the start of back-to-school meetings. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't sad. My family is my life, and it is painful to have to go back to spending 8+ hours a day away from them. I'd also be lying if I said I wasn't excited. I feel like my batteries have been fully charged. I have so many new ideas and a brand new crop of kids to love.

My goal this year is to sit down at the end of each school day, remember something positive from my day, and write it down in a journal. I want to have a catalog of joy by the time June rolls around.

Now it's time to get some sleep or morning is going to be rough!

It's the little things

My husband went to the store the other night, and while he was there he picked up popcorn for our beloved hot air popper.

I've discovered that Jolly Time white popcorn is our favorite. They are small and crispy and absolutely perfect.

He was able to find Jolly Time, but they were yellow. Instead of coming in a jar, they came in a bag.

Now, bags are messy. Kernels have a mind of their own, and tend to go spilling into a zillion places. But, I was struck with an idea.

I love glass milk bottles. I don't know why I love them so, I just do. And here I had a convenient storage mechanism, and a cutesy display piece. Love it!

Pressing "Pause"

I'm feeling a bit stressed. I have end-of-the-school-year tasks coming out the wazoo. I need to devote real time to cleaning, instead of just doing a "good enough" job on my house. I am smack dab in the middle of a grad course.

Really. I'm asking Calgon to take me away.

Tonight, with 589443 things to do--and those are just the things that are due tomorrow--I decided that we will slow down and do something silly for dinner.

So we are eating our Hamburger Helper (I told you I was busy!) with chopsticks. It started out as something fun, but it made me slow down and enjoy my meal. I guess it was just what I needed.

Rewind and Recharge

I had a day today. A day that started out rough. I thought of throwing in the towel--calling for a sub and heading home to hide.

I didn't though.

I toughed it out. I prayed. I asked friends for prayer. I had a steaming up of coffee.

I felt better. I accomplished much more than I thought I could. I made it through.

One of the things that brightened my afternoon was reading through posts in this journal. I may not write a lot, but going back through lifted my spirits.

I feel the same way when I read through my personal journal. It's like taking myself by the hand and walking through the good times and the bad and seeing how I made it through. It's refreshing, really.

Quick Math Fact

Standardized testing + a rainy day = frazzled teacher

Brave

I've been thinking a lot about the song Brave by Nichole Nordeman in relationship to my life.

In general, I don't think I am brave. I'm scared of bugs. I hate the dark. Trying to sleep when my husband isn't home is pretty much a useless task--I hear every bump in the night.

But I've noticed that something changes when I am with my kids.

The lyrics say:
So long status quo
I think I just let go
You make me want to be brave
The way it always was
Is no longer good enough
You make me want to be brave

Suddenly when I'm with my little ones, all of the things that concern me are no longer concerns. I found myself walking with my Sophie through the woods this weekend, nonchalantly mentioning that we had to be careful as to not run into spider webs. I had to make myself not think about it all terribly hard or I would have gotten squeamish. Instead, I focused on my sweet girl and enjoying the great outdoors.

Prayer

Do I believe in the power of prayer?
I thought that the answer to this question was easy. Of course I do. I've prayed my entire life for a multitude of reasons. It has always seemed to come pretty easily.

Lately, though, I've begun to think a little harder on the subject.

My husband and I joined a small group (Bible study) for parents. The only details I knew, or really cared about, when signing up was that it was for parents and it would meet in the same town on the same night as my son's small group.

I was pleasantly surprised to find, after being contacted by the leaders of the group, that the study would be on The Power of a Praying Parent. I already had the book. I'd bought it soon after my husband and I married. Had I read it? No... I'd started, but then life happened. Doesn't life always seem to get in the way?

So Kev and I began the book. The chapters are short and are followed by a sample prayer and verses. Some are on topics that I've considered, and some have never before even crossed my mind, but I've found that I have prayed on very few of the topics.

Why? Why wouldn't I pray for my children, for my husband, for my marriage in earnest? If I truly believe in the power of prayer, why haven't I used it as the biggest tool in my arsenal? What am I waiting for?

Cleaning out the Clutter

We are pile-makers in my house. I have always been a pile-maker. I married a pile-maker. It's not the best combination for maintaining a clutter free household.

One of the places in my house that is notorious for attracting clutter is end of my counter.

Well, yesterday, I took charge. I moved my beloved KitchenAid stand mixer to the end of the counter.

Aren't you glad I wore pants when I took that?
Not that I wouldn't normally wear pants...

Her (Yes, her. Her name is Ruby.) new location makes good organizational sense for a couple of reasons. First of all, she's beautiful. Why wouldn't I want to display her proudly so she is one of the first things you see upon entering my kitchen? Secondly, I use Ruby quite often. In order to use her, I have to slide her forward, as she's under a under-cabinet-cd player. I won't be able to slide her forward if there is clutter on the counter. Thirdly, the very size of Ruby cuts down on the amount of space available for clutter in that area.

My husband is cynical. I will do my best to prove him wrong. Ruby and I are a team!

After the Storm

You know, I think it's true that the lows that we experience help us to truly enjoy the highs.

My family is coming off of a nasty stomach bug that took nearly all of us out over the last few days.

In the dark of night, when I was in the throws of it all, I tried to keep the perspective that it would not last forever. I kept hearing the lyric, "Though the sorrow may last for the night, the joy comes with the morning." Although it lasted past the morning, my son, my husband, my parents, and I all felt better and better throughout the day.

This morning, my sister is sick. She started in sometime yesterday afternoon. I offered her my perspective on the situation, and she's trying to stay positive as well.

Progress?

I've done well with my quest to get back on the vacuuming wagon. I've done so every night of this year. My hubby has helped once or twice, but it has come back to the forefront of my mind. This is good.

I need to apply this strategy to other areas of my life. My weight, for instance, has become an issue with me lately. It has been slowly creeping up since the birth of my son, but I'm beginning to feel it. I'm 31 years old and I have less energy than I should.

Although I'm not at the point of being obese, I feel I need to get this under control now. I don't want to feel old.

So yesterday I decided to re-educate myself on food. I went to mypyramid.gov and printed out a ton of info on all of the food groups. I customized a plan for myself, regarding how many calories I should be eating and how many of each food group I should be eating to get those calories. I printed out food journals to keep track of my daily intake of each of the food groups and how much physical exercise I have done.

My goal is to journal my food intake in my binder for 30 days. At that point, either journalling will have become a habit and I will continue, or a new awareness of food will have become a habit and I won't need to journal.

I hope to find myself making progress through these steps. I think I've finally figured out that the only way I can change is through a concious introduction of a new and healthier habit. It's interesting to learn new things about myself.

stopping along the walk on a snowy day

We took a walk today. It's snowing. It's the first real snow we've had here in Maryland.

I learned something. It's hard to take an almost-4-year-old for a walk when it is snowing.

She wanted to make snow angels. And so she did.

Again...

and again...

and again...

and again.

Good times. Good times.

In the eye of the beholder

It was difficult for me to get up this morning. Hard to get back into the swing of things.

I'd laid out my clothes and jewelry. I'd made my lunch. I'd assembled tonight's dinner into the crockpot.

Still, it was hard to see 6 am when I've had so many glorious days of sleeping in.

But I have to say, I think I had it pretty easy compared to my fourth graders who had to do long division first thing this morning. Ugh.

A Fresh Start

It's a whole new year. A year of promise and hope. A clean slate.

I resolve this year to be a better me. I want to be a better mom, a better wife, a better teacher, a better version of myself.

I want to shine , not because of me, but because of Him.

I have never been good at breaking or making habits. I tend to slack, it's true. Back in July, I'd had a little get together at my house. I cleaned spectacularly for this event. Everything glistened. Everything shone.

That night, when the little party dispersed, I got out my trusty Dyson and vacuumed the first floor again. It wasn't hard. The rooms were tidy, all toys were in place, and I finished within 5 minutes time.

The next night, the children and I watched a movie on the living room floor. Popcorn was popped. Popcorn was eaten. Popcorn was spilled on the floor.

After the final credits, we moved the furniture back in place and I, once again, took out the Dyson and vacuumed the floor.

Three nights in a row, I'd done this. I decided to do it the next night, and the next, and the next.

A week later, my house was still as pristine as the night of the party. It was a turning point.

I decided to try to keep this up for 21 days. And I did. It was a habit.

Each night, as my husband and I readied the kids for bed, my thoughts would automatically turn to vacuuming. I admit, sometimes I felt weighed down by the impending job, but then I'd remember that it didn't take any more than 10 minutes out of my time.

When the kids were tucked in, I'd head back downstairs to make sure every toy, every shoe, every remote control was in place. Then out would come Sir Dyson and within minutes my job would be done.

I kept this habit for four months. Then came our trip to Disney World. The morning after we returned, my oldest greeted me at breakfast with, "Mom! You forgot to vacuum last night!" And so I had. It hadn't even entered my mind. We were gone for a little over a week. In that week, I broke my routine.

My life was enriched by this little experiment. I saw what I am capable of, if I just set a goal for myself.

We arrived home from my parents' house well after midnight last night. We tucked the kids in bed. I loaded the dishwasher, wiped down the counter, walked around making sure every toy, every shoe, every remote control was in place. Then I pulled out my Dyson and vacuumed. It didn't take me long. It was a fresh start. And so I begin again.