And More Tid-Bits

Still too busy to sit down and blog about all the things I want to get out. So, here are some glimpses of my life this week:

1. We had Andrew's "family birthday party" on Sunday. Both sets of Grandparents were there (of course), two sets of Aunts/Uncles, cousins, and us. It went very well. I was organized, the house was clean, the backyard was beautiful (thanks to Matt), and Andrew was a happy guy. I even made stuff: Strawberries drizzled with white and dark chocolate, onion dip, and raspberry iced tea. The strawberries were a hit, the onion dip got devoured, and I forgot to put out the iced tea so I'm enjoying it myself. Here are a few pictures:

2. Those cute caterpillars my students found ended up being cannibalistic so we got rid of all of them but one. The chrysalis that was there last week got eaten by the other evil caterpillars but there is a new one and we're checking daily to see what comes out. I have a Stephen King image of a demon, fanged, blood-thirsty butterfly emerging from the chrysalis one of these mornings. I'll let you know (but if you don't hear from me soon, assume I've fallen victim to the Cujo of all butterflies).

3. Nathaniel is sick again. Cold, fever, runny poopies. Will my youngest ever be healthy for longer than a month at a time????

4. Andrew has a girlfriend. Her name is Mia. I asked him what makes her his "girlfriend". He explained that he likes her and she likes him- so she is his girlfriend. When I asked what she is like he told me, "She has long hair.... wears different shirts... and is naughty." 'Nuff said.

5. The Classical Academy (the part home/part regular school) wouldn't tell me where Andrew is on the wait list. She could only tell me there are six on the list for first grade and he is in the middle of the list. I asked her if that meant he was number 3.5 (I was feeling bitchy) and she still wouldn't tell me. Grrrr...

6. On the Heritage Charter School list, he is number 2 now (down from number 4). And-gasp!- they told me that information without hesitation. I like that.

7. I think I'm officially in love with Target.

8. My little brother and sister-in-law are pregnant. I'm so excited! We need a girl in the family... think pink... think pink.

9. I love when I see Daddies who are not afraid to carry their babies in a Baby Bjorn (or any type of carrier). So sweet!

10. Nate's preschool teacher found a baby bird on the playground. It couldn't fly yet and was in danger of being stepped on, run over by tricycles, or loved to death. She put it in a little plastic tub. I put the baby on a tree limb so the mommy could get him flying once the kids were gone.
It was all very intriguing. Now Nate thinks he is a baby bird. He wakes up and "chirps". We drive to school and he "chirps". He chirps more than he talks! I'm wondering if I should start finding worms to regurgitate into his mouth. Hmmmm...

So, that's it for now! In just 54 days, 16 hours, and 45 minutes I will be a Stay-at-Home-Mom again. That means I will have lots of time to blog. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.... excuse me while I choke on the laughter generated by that comment! And that's OK! I can't wait to be a full-time Mommy again... even though it's the hardest job I've ever had!

Tidbits

I've been so busy with work and family the past couple weeks, I haven't had time to blog (I miss it!). Here are a few things that are/have been happening in my life:

1. Nate has another ear infection. Tubes? Remind me why we did that surgery...

2. Andrew turned six on Thursday. I'm such a flake these days that I was out shopping for his birthday presents at 9:00 p.m. Wednesday night. Thank God for Target! I did make cupcakes for his class, though. Woo hoo... sometimes I rock!

3. Wednesday night, after my frenzied birthday shopping, I figured I had just enough time to wax my eyebrows. I ended up being in too much of a hurry-- and the glass of wine didn't help-- I carelessly got too much wax on my eyebrow. I ripped the hair out, only to discover that I took a chunk of the middle of my left eyebrow with it. Thank God for eyebrow pencils!

Before eyebrow pencil...

After eyebrow pencil...

4. A couple of my students found some caterpillars on the bushes on the playground. We are now housing about 7 squirmy, hungry, spiky caterpillars. The students chose the names: Chico, Mr. Pickles, Spike Jr., Slash, Dot, Monkey, and Spike Sr. One has already turned into a chrysalis... I hope it's a butterfly and not a moth.

5. I went to a meeting for Heritage Charter School parents' meeting on Thursday night (Andrew is number 4 on the waiting list for 1st grade). Very interesting. Is that the place for us? IF we get in, I think it will be. There are about 700 people on the school-wide waiting list.

6. I've been so exhausted lately. Why? I don't know!

7. I'm getting to the end of my school year... I'm making lessons plans up to the last week of school already!

8. I'm trying to plan a kids' birthday party for Andrew's birthday. Uh, yes... I know it was on Thursday. Did I mention I've been a complete flake these days? Anyway, the plan is to have it at a private museum, here in town. The museum owner has dinosaur fossils and lots of other cool stuff. Andrew is so excited! Remember, this is the kid who has his very own "museum" in his room.

9. Nathaniel can do a perfect-10 somersault. I need to get that scrappy little guy in gymnastics!

10. My husband is still wavering in his support of me getting a tattoo. I still really want to get one.

So, there ya go! These are all the topics I would devote entire blogs to but I don't have time.

Here are a few pictures of Andrew's birthday.

This was the morning of Andrew's birthday. He was a happy boy with more Indiana Jones Legos to add to his collection.

I guess the cupcakes were yummy enough for a bunch of kindergarteners to eat up!

At Red Robin... a great place to bring kids! And they bring out a Sundae for the Birthday Boy.

I found this while I was searching for the birthday pics. I think I just realized why I've been so exhausted! That's the Mommy & Daddy bed... notice the lack of space?

"Just" Mom for a Day

My youngest, Nate, was sick yesterday. I ended up taking the day off of work to take care of him. In addition to taking care of the symptoms of Nate's upset tummy (no details needed), the day was busy with cleaning, laundry, dishes, and de-cluttering the house.

As the day came to an end, I started to see the differences between being "just" a mom and being a "working" mom. While the person hasn't changed, the roles of each position are vastly different. Here's what I mean:

Working Mom (WM): Get up, get ready for work. Wake the boys up, rush around to get them ready for school.
Just Mom (JM): Wake up, snuggle with the boys until they are ready to get up.

WM: Inhale breakfast. Find something the boys can eat in the van on the way to school.
JM: Enjoy a healthy breakfast. Make breakfast for the boys... a real breakfast, complete with Flinstone's multi-vitamins and juice.

WM: Grab last-minute items & necessities. Struggle, yell, and beg in order to get the boys into the van.
JM: While the boys eat their well-balanced breakfast, peruse school notes, sign field trip permission slips, read the teacher's weekly newsletter, savor a cup of hot coffee.

WM: Drive to work/school, cursing the traffic lights and slow drivers. Put lip gloss on, dig around in my multiple bags to make sure I didn't forget the keys to my classroom. Try to figure out if my kindergartener is serious when he informs me that his field trip money and permission slip are due that day. Curse myself and my parenting skills when I realize he's telling me the truth.
JM: Kiss the husband and kindergartener good-bye after making sure they have everything they need for the day.

WM: Late for work (again!). Send Andrew to the playground with the rest of the K-3rd graders with kisses and promises to pick him up right after school. Take Nate to his preschool room...promise to pick him up after nap-time, peel him off my legs, pick him up because he looks sad. Give lots of kisses and squeezes until he feels better. Rush to my classroom to get ready for the day with other people's kids.
JM: Spend the morning comforting and snuggling with Nate as we watch reruns of Wow! Wow! Wubzy.

WM: Work, work, work
JM: Wash breakfast dishes, put laundry in washer

WM: Deter students from going to the office for ice packs, cough drops, etc.
JM: Laundry (including putting clean clothes away!)

WM: Count down the minutes until a quick Starbuck's run during lunch break.
JM: Play "Animal Doctor" with Nate, laundry

WM: Make contact with my local dealer for my liquid stimulant
JM: Make lunch for myself and Nate (who doesn't eat)

WM: Teach, nurse, settle disputes
JM: Laundry, wash floor (and realize I can't remember the last time I washed it!)

WM: Send students home or to after school care
JM: Pick Andrew up from school (early) and go home.

WM: Get the boys, finish up work stuff, wonder what the heck I'm going to make for dinner.
JM: Get home, let the boys play in the back yard, check on the dinner cooking in the Crock Pot, decide on side-dishes. Do laundry.

WM: Get home, let the boys crash on the couch. Order pizza delivery. Scale the Mount Everest-sized piles of laundry in order to air out the house by opening windows.
JM: Look forward to the Hubby getting home.

WM: Do a load of laundry... all boys' clothes. Wait for the Hubby and/or the Pizza Guy (at this point either one will do!).
JM: Be happy that all the laundry is washed, dried, and put away. Kiss the Hubby when he walks in and announce that dinner will be ready soon.

WM: Forget to put the wet, clean clothes in the dryer. Kiss the Pizza Guy when he arrives and announce that dinner is ready when Hubby walks in the door.
JM: Enjoy a nice dinner with my guys.

WM: Rush through dinner, Hubby cleans up. Finally put clothes in dryer and start another load (which will sit there until the next day).
JM: Bath time, play time, etc.

WM: Bath time, bed time, feel guilty that I'm not grading papers or making lesson plans
JM: Iron clothes, relax, talk to Hubby.

WM: Stay up too late, go to bed and fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.
JM: Stay up too late, go to bed, and have enough energy to... well, you know.


OK, I admit... a lot of this is exaggerated. I don't really kiss the Pizza Guy! And in reality, being "Just" Mom is not always relaxing, satisfying, or productive. In reality, "Just" Moms don't always have clean homes, happy, healthy kids, and sexually satisfied husbands.

In my experience, however, trying to work full-time and then coming home and being Mommy is like trying to pick up one of those slippery, tube-shaped, gel-filled novelty toys-- just when you think you've got a hold of it, it slides out of your hands and falls to the floor. It's so difficult to do it all successfully!

Also, I realize that some Moms have to work. It's not easy these days to be able to pay for all that life throws at you. For those Moms, I have to say: Hang in there! I don't know how you manage it. At least I have an end in sight. I'm almost at the end of my contract (June 13th) and after that, I am blessed to have the option to not work.

So, there it is... how the "Just" Mom me differs from the "Working" Mom me. I didn't appreciate being "just" a mommy before I chose to go back to work. While life won't be perfect when I'm done with this school year (it never is), I feel confident that I will make better use of my time with my kids and around the house. I know I will appreciate my full-time job as Just Mom once I claim that title in 66 days, 7 hours, 51 minutes and 36 seconds.

But who's counting?