A Good Kind of Tired

The first day of school following "spring forward" is always hard, and today was no exception.  I actually slept until my alarm went off instead of waking before it, as is my usual habit.  It seemed like everything I tried to do as I got ready for work this morning went wrong, including spilling my coffee as I was trying to get out the door.

But the sun was shining.

I didn't need the car seat heater as we drove to school.

I was incredibly productive today.  My only break was at lunch.  Though I wasn't in any classrooms today, I used my one day of unscheduled time this week to take care of tasks that I haven't had time to get done and to prepare for the two solid days of meetings that begin tomorrow.

I left school as soon as the car line let up and headed to the car wash.  I was SHOCKED to see the line was only three cars ahead of me... I had been prepared for a much longer line, and was kind of looking forward to sitting in the silent car DOING NOTHING, LISTENING TO NOTHING for about 15 minutes.

My clean-inside-and-out van was worth it.

Tonight I got to see my 9 year old play in her first real band concert.  Let me say... she rocked it on the bass drum!

Looking forward to a great day of learning with my colleagues tomorrow.  I'll be a good kind of tired again, then, too.

Happy Monday!

A Sunday Slice

Yesterday, I wrote about my crazy busy Saturday.  Today couldn't have been more different!

First... I slept until nearly 9AM.  That's nearly unheard of for me.  It felt so good, though, after a late-night carpool run that got Molly and me back home around midnight.  I figured I would sleep in, but I didn't figure it would be THAT in (of course, the spring forward helped)!

THEN I got to be lazy on the couch until it was time to get the girls ready for their first performance with the North Suburban School of Dance dance company.  The girls in the company range in age from 9 to 13, and they have been working on this nine number show since early January.  The girls performed in an assisted living center, and they did an amazing job.  I love watching my girls dance... each time I get a little teary-eyed remembering the 3-year-old dancers they once were.  Molly especially has grown very graceful over the past year.  I almost don't recognize her when she's dancing.  Abby is more confident in her dancing this year.  She smiles more and looks less like a deer in the headlights than this time last year.  I'm thankful the Y offers this extra dance opportunity for the girls to go out into the community to perform.

THEN I did some shopping.  I hate everything in my closet right now.  I'm tired of wearing black and gray and brown and craving some brighter colors and springy pastels.  Molly needed a pair of shorts to wear with her costume for the school musical this week, so off to Kohl's I went.  They must have been giving away something in that store, because the parking lot was Black Friday-packed, and the lines inside were long!  I couldn't believe how crazy it was for a random Sunday in March.  Maybe, like me, people are tired of hunkering down at home and avoiding the cold and so used today's mild, sunny weather to do errands they'd been putting off.

When I got home, I took a nap... my favorite Sunday afternoon activity.

Though it seems like a busy Sunday, it really didn't feel like it.  The pace was slow, and I was able to take some time to be by myself and just enjoy driving around on a beautiful sunny day.  I'm looking forward to more of those sunny Sundays in the future.

Now.... on to Monday!

Saturdays are NOT Restful Days

All week I look forward to the weekend... to relaxing and getting things accomplished around the house.  To having time to enjoy my family.  To having time for me.

Every Saturday I wonder what the heck I was thinking.

Saturdays are quite possibly the busiest day of my week.  A typical Saturday look like this:

1. Get up.
2. Put in a load of laundry.
3. Go to the grocery store.
4. Transfer laundry to dryer; put in new load.
5. Put away groceries.
6. Tidy the house.  Badger the kids to at least put their dirty clothes in their hampers.
7. Fold first load.  Repeat earlier laundry sequence.
8. Fix lunch.
9. Badger girls to get their dance things together.
10. Play mom taxi.
11. Multiple times.
12. More laundry.
13. Fix dinner.
14. Collapse on couch in exhaustion.

I'm sure this schedule is not all that different from many other moms.  It's easy to be overwhelmed by all I have to accomplish.

At least I have my Sundays!

Organizational Woes

Last school year, I switched jobs in my building.  I went from being a 7th grade LA teacher to taking on the role of our school's literacy coach.  As part of the transition, I downsized from a full-size classroom to an office that doubles as our school's book room.  Once my bookshelves arrived, I organized our leveled books, my picture book collection, and the professional book collection in a way that I thought made sense.  I crammed all of the "But I might need this someday" stuff into the bookshelves and muddled through my first year.

This year, our assistant superintendent ordered me some more leveled texts, and I had to figure out how to make them fit.  I decided to do a complete overhaul of my office.  It's taken me weeks, and I'm still not finished.

The most frustrating part of this whole endeavor has been the MESS that I'm living in as I work my way through all of the STUFF that is taking up so much space.  Last year, I was afraid to get rid of anything, not knowing what I might need at any given time.  This year, I'm purging... getting rid of things that I'm pretty sure I'm not going to need, making digital files for the things that MIGHT come up.  I'm hoping that by the beginning of April I'll be working in a space that makes sense for me, the kids I work with in intervention small groups, and the teachers who come looking for resources.

Wish me luck.

Behind me you can see my newly organized leveled texts, put neatly into magazine files.  The other bookcases have yet to be tackled!  

So I Have This Problem......

I'll bet some of you have this problem, too.  It seems to be rampant among teachers, especially those who teach reading and writing.  It's an expensive problem to have, and it seems to kick into high gear right after the Fourth of July, but hey.... who am I kidding?  It can rear its ugly head at any time.

Know what it is?  I'll tell you.....

It's OFFICE SUPPLY ADDICTION!

I can't got into an Office Max or Staples without buying at least a package of pencils or perhaps a ream of paper.

Colorful binder clips send me into a tizzy.

Sharpies.... forget about it. MUST have them in every color.

My biggest problem, though, are pens.  I am a persnickety pen procurer.  I can't use just any old Bic. No Siree, Bob!  I need ink that flows smoothly from the barrel.  A cushioned grip is a plus.  I prefer gel ink that doesn't smear, and I MUST have a medium point.

In other words, I like expensive pens.

For a teacher, this is a problem, because pens have a way of developing legs and walking stealthily out of the classroom.  Over time, these escaped pens add up to a pretty penny!

Right now, my favorite pens are these:

They might well and truly be the best pens I've ever bought.  I have to hide them from my daughters who like to steal them from me, and I am careful never to leave one in the copier room at school.

I think deep down, I must believe that if I possess the perfect pen, suddenly I'll be transformed into a REAL writer.... that the words will flow without hesitation from my brain, through the pen, and onto the page.  I know, however, that it's not that easy, that writing is hard work, and I need to sit down and write EVERY SINGLE DAY and get those ideas onto the paper (or screen) and then revise and reread and revise again.

Someday I'll do that.  Maybe.

Until then..... HEY!  GIVE ME MY PEN BACK!

A Moment of Panic

Today I was a bit distracted as I left school.  My daughter had texted me a photo of our dripping ceiling and after I texted her a reply I tossed my phone into my purse and then headed out the school doors and into the parking lot, loaded my bags into my van, and drove home to investigate the ceiling situation.

I went to text Dan, only to discover that my phone was nowhere to be found.  Not in my tote bag... not in my purse.... not in the small bag I used to carry my shoes home.  I figured I must have imagined tossing my phone in the bag and assumed it was on the table in my office at school.

Tried Find My Iphone.  No luck.  Battery must have died.

About an hour or so later, Abby and I headed out to get Molly from play practice, and as I backed out of the driveway, I noticed a blotch of pink and purple lying in the snow in the driveway.

I experienced a moment of panic.

That pink and purple blob was my phone in its Otterbox case.

And I had just backed over it.

In case you don't know what an Otterbox is, the one I have looks like this:

And amazingly... my phone still works!  The cold zapped the battery, but once it warmed up and charged a bit, it started right up and worked.  The screen didn't even crack.

If I wasn't convinced of the greatness of the Otterbox before, I am now.  I will NEVER leave my phone out of this case ever again. 

This is my second near-disaster with this phone.  The first one was last July when my phone, at that time in a cute Vera Bradley case, went for a swim after falling out of the back pocket of my jeans.  I saved it that time by letting it dry in rice for three days.  Perhaps if I had left it in the heftier case, the water would not have gotten inside the phone. 

Perhaps I should be more careful with my electronic devices.  

And zip my purse.

Lesson learned.

Disclaimer:  I am not trying to sell you one of these.  Otterbox did not sponsor my post.  This story is true!  :-)

Taco Tuesday

Tonight was Taco Tuesday at the Rench Ranch, just as it was in many households and school cafeterias across the country.  I've discovered my girls like chicken tacos made with sauteed chicken breasts seasoned with taco seasoning from The Spice House.  It's not spicy... mild but flavorful.  They like flour tortillas, not corn.  They like queso fresco and avocado.

It was an awesome meal.

Not because of the chicken tacos, or at least not solely (though they were awfully tasty).

It was awesome because all four of us were seated around the table, talking about our days and sharing our lives.  The topic du jour was ISAT testing.... though that's a blog post for another time.

When I sit at the table with my guy and my girls, I think about how dinnertime is my favorite part of the day. The girls are growing up so quickly and their lives are increasingly busy.  I know that by the time they are both in high school, these family dinners will become less frequent.  I know that in just five years, our dinner table will have an empty place as Molly will be off in college.

It makes me misty.... AND IT'S FIVE YEARS AWAY!

But for now, I'll revel in these everyday miracles that are my girls and enjoy their company as long as I have it.