Sunday Night Blues

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6 1/2 days off from school plus 4 weekend days is a good break, but I am never ready to go back to school.

I always wish for one more day.  One more day to clean up the house.  One more day to get back into my sleep routine.  One more day to play out side with Tumblebug.  One more day to craft.  One more day to do laundry.

But then Sunday night comes and I realize I don’t have one more day.

Unfortunately I took a nap today, so here it is 11:00 and I am blogging instead of sleeping.  I am not ready for class tomorrow.  I didn’t bring anything home because I knew I wouldn’t look at it.  My third graders are hoping for a word round-up puzzle and I haven’t finished one for them yet (see my previous post about perfectionism).  I am going back to the start of the unit with my second graders, so I am planned for that.  Everything else I am going to wing and plan for the rest of the week tomorrow afternoon.

And what the heck am I going to wear?  I just hope it isn’t too cold tomorrow.  As long as I have clean clothes for Tumblebug, I’ll find something for myself.

January 1, 2011

Happy New Year!  I am starting over.  Really I am.  Maybe what I need to do to keep this blog going is to set up more posts in advance.

To kick off the new year I am focusing on cleaning my house.  With a toddler running around I am finding more and more things he shouldn’t touch and things that are just in the way.  I have also been looking forward to when he is a school age kid and wants to have a friend over or when he is a teenager.  Hopefully we will have moved by the teen years (and the elementary school years, God willing), but I don’t want the CHAOS to follow us.  We hardly have anyone over now, but I want to have more time with my “new mommy” friends next summer.

I typically overestimate the amount of time it will take to clean up a spot.  I am also a perfectionist.  It keeps me from doing a lot of things.  If I can’t do it right, I am not going to do it.  Driving (I was 20 before I got my license), auditioning (I would love to be in a show, but I won’t audition if I am not going to get the part), knitting (I have no “first swatch” to show, because I ripped everything out).  If I can’t make my closet look exactly how I want it to look I would rather not put my clothes away.  I don’t cook because I am afraid of messing up.  I don’t hang art or photos on my walls (partly because they are 160 year old plaster and lathe) because I am don’t want to regret where I hung things.  Crafts, school work, packing, and house work.  These are all things I get anxious about.  I am working on that.

I have started the decluttering with Christmas.  As I got out and put away ornaments I put some aside.  I filled a bag with ornaments I have received from students over the years so I can hang them on my tree at school.  I also pulled ornaments out for my sister.  She really likes angels, so she is getting all my angels plus some that don’t really fit my newly established “themes”.  Any she doesn’t want will go to our church for the next Christmas bazaar.  I have decided to stick with some themes for decorating next year.  Snowmen, stars, primary colors, ornaments that represent things that happened during the year, and Hallmark ornaments.  I would like to get a small tree for my son’s room to hang snowmen ornaments on.  When we have a bigger place I would like to have more than 1 tree.  I envision one that is all stars and white lights, one that is my Hallmark ornaments (mostly Peanuts and Wizard of Oz), and one that is ornaments we have made or represent our years as a family.

There is so much more in my home I need to weed out, but that’s a story for another day.

Thankful Sunday

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I have so many things to be thankful for this weekend.

  • old friends who pop up out of no where
  • eating breakfast at a local diner where everyone knows you
  • real Vermont maple syrup
  • a syrupy sticky baby
  • bright beautiful sunshine
  • my sister getting married
  • to someone nice
  • my parents’  great friends
  • they also have access to a great pool
  • my son’s joy in the swimming pool
  • new friends
  • turkey burgers
  • frosted cookies
  • sandboxes
  • big kids and little kids
  • swings
  • feeling comfortable with people you’ve only just met
  • a sandy chocolately baby
  • a clean fresh baby
  • a sleeping worn out baby
  • a busy day that was crazy fun

Sisters

Sunday night blues

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Today was a very long day.

This morning was rehearsal for next week’s Children’s Sunday program.  Bug and I watched the rehearsal and then ate pancakes with the girls.  It is hard to believe I have been there Sunday School teacher for 3 years.  I have known all of the girls since they were babies.  Now they are young women.  They are all so beautiful and strong.

We only stayed for the start of church.  A young friend sang the prelude (and several solos throughout the service).  As soon as the piano started Bug looked up and fought to see what was going on.  We were in the back and she was standing in the front.  I stood him up on my lap and he moved and clapped through the whole song.  I tried to keep him from yelling out, but that is like trying to catch the wind.  He gets so caught up in music.  He wiggles and dances.  He claps and tries to sing along.

We slipped out after the children’s sermon to have time to go to Wal*Mart to pick up photos and baby stuff.  Bug is teething again, but this time it actually seems to hurt him.  He is getting his bottom right 2nd tooth and probably his bottom right canine and bicuspid and something on the left.  He didn’t cry at all for the first 6 teeth (bottom two front in November and top four front in January) and now he is miserable.  I got him some chewy teething rings and numbing gel.  He hates the numbing gel to the point that he won’t even take his pacifier after because he thinks it is more yucky stuff, but the instant relief is palpable.  I also ended up buying a laminating machine for the book I am working on for his classroom.

Then it was back in the car for the 2 hour -that we thought would be 1.5- trip north to have lunch with our cousin.  She is actually our second cousin, but does it really matter? She is the oldest of our generation and my sister is the youngest.  They are 30 years apart!  She is a retired video editor from California and she only gets to Vermont once a year.  She graduated from Middlebury 40 years ago and teaches a course in video editing there every J-term.  This year she took a break from that, but came east for her reunion.  She is a fabulously brilliant woman and we always have a great time visiting with her.  Bug was smitten with her and she with him.  We had lunch at a lovely little place and the food was magnificent.  Then we just sat around and talked forever.  Soon enough it was time to head home.  Bug slept all the way home and was only awake long enough for some food and a bath.

And that is about how long I will last.

Cows on Parade

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This was the 9th year of our annual Strolling of the Heifers.  We have been to every one, except the year of the thunderstorm, even I am not dedicated enough for that.  It may sound like the silliest parade ever, but it sure is popular.  Our town fills up with locals and out-of-towners, all to see over 60 heifers, plus dozens of goats, mules, sheep, oxen, Highland Cows, tons of school kids, dance groups, bands, jump ropers, local businesses, non-profit groups, theater companies, and a man in a ballgown.  I love the small town-ness of it all.  I don’t mind the traffic and the crowd.  It is something that makes Brattleboro different.  I know there are places that use the slogan “Keep Blankity-blank Weird”, but non of these places have anything on us.

Weekend plans

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Friday

  • Gallery Walk tonight
  • dinner out
  • no bath for baby!

Saturday

  • Strolling of the Heifers!!!!
  • Dairy Fest and Green Expo
  • early to bed after a long day

Sunday

  • Sunday School (last day, after 3 years of teaching the same girls)
  • Church
  • long drive to Bradford
  • lunch with Bee
  • long drive home
  • early to bed

Friday night highlights

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Tonight we are heading to NY to spend time with my mother-in-law, her mom and her brother’s family.  We are going to the Capital District Scottish games. This will mark my 10th year going to the Scottish Games with my husband’s family.  The games are okay.  We get there in plenty of time for the parade of tartans and then the massed bands.  We also walk around and look in the shop tents.  We like to watch the games.

Some very neat things have happened in conjunction with the Scottish Games.  In 2000, I went to my first games 3 months after we started dating.  I got to meet my husband’s family for the first time.  A couple years ago we got to meet Steve Caporizzo from WTEN. He took a picture with Gramma and then (after I emailed him) he sent her a really nice note.  But last year was the best.  We stayed in a hotel in the Berkshires on Sunday instead of going home.  40 weeks later we were 3 instead of 2.

My feet like parades too

My feet love a parade in 2008.

My feet at the Scottish Games in 2007.

My feet at the Scottish Games in 2007.

Standing at the Scottish games in 2005.

Standing at the Scottish games in 2005.