{Tiny Wings}

And just like that, summer vacation is over.  *sigh.*  How does that happen??

This school year is proving to be stressful different already!

See this photo?

It was taken shortly after “O’Dark Early” this morning.  I’m not even kidding when I say the sun was barely awake yet.  And here we are dressed and ready to roll.

That’s because this kid . . .

. . . is taking high school Algebra.  At a high school.  And you know what??  High School starts at 7:15am.  And guess who has to drive this 8th-grader-playing-freshman to said high school?  Yeah, that’d be me.  (Getting up at 5 a.m.?  My new normal. *Waah!*)  You will note by the look on his face that he’s about as happy as his Momma.  And yet, he still obliged me the (super quick, ’cause we didn’t want to be late) first day of school photo shoot.  Next year when he’s a real high school-er, will I be so lucky?

So that leaves this girl . . .

to be my only victim subject for the usual First Day of School front yard photoshoot.  I’ll spare you the tomfoolery, but suffice it to say, she’s a ham as usual.  My 5th grade ham.

It felt really weird dropping only ONE of my kids off at school today.  Like, shades of things to come weird.  And I’m not sure I liked it, really.  I guess I’m kind of big on certain traditions after all.  I debated, for a half of a second, actually hanging around at school until Ry got dropped off.  Of course, that would have been potentially embarrassing, so I spared him. (Nice Momma.)  Thankfully, Meg obliged me and my camera, so I got this sweet photo just prior to the bell ringing!

Hoping and praying for a smooth school year!

Warning:  Whiny post ahead . . .

Now, it’s not unlike me to drop out of the blogosphere, unannounced, for indefinite periods of time.  I realize that.  But somewhere in the back of my head, I’m always concocting blog posts . . . that never get typed and published.  But they’re there, honestly.

Summer is usually my time to recuperate from a long school year full of deadlines and obligations.  A time when I can focus on catching up, having fun, and stocking up on relaxation.  We’re a month into summer break, and I’m just not seeing that happen this year.

Not to sound like a Debbie-Downer . . . but so far, this summer has been full of obligations.  Work.  Visits to the orthodontist.  Visits to the pediatrician.  Visits to the allergist. Visits to the veterinarian.  More work.  Lots of stress.  Even more worry.  Lots of frustration.

Now, don’t get me wrong — there have been some nice highlights.  Some lovely weekend afternoons spent poolside.  Quality time spent with the family (both immediate and extended.) Even a solitary date night.

One thing that makes me smile every time I think about it is winning an amazing giveaway.  The wonderful and talented Cathy Zielske chose MY name — out of 1100+ entries — to win a brand new engraved 8g iPod Nano and a Nike+iPod Sport Kit (courtesy of Cathy) and the book Run Like a Mother (courtesy of the authors, Dimity and Sarah.)  My new orange nano (with the words “Start where you are” engraved on the back), the Nike+ sensor and I have started logging in miles together.  I never thought I’d actually be a runner again (after a high school cross country team failure!!) but I’m enjoying it!  It’s interesting to see what this 41 year old body is still capable of.

So, exercise has become my “Me” time.  Which is good, because I need it.  Because honestly, I’m feeling like an all-around failure at this point.  I’m drowning in housework.  I’m swamped on-the-job.  I’m grumpy and impatient with my kids and husband.  I worry about my personal life when I’m at work, and my work performance when I’m at home.  I need a vacation to catch up on the things I’ve put off, and then I need another to relax and rejuvenate. As much as I’d love to blog about all of the sweet projects I’m doing with my kids, and how many awesome summer adventures we’re having — I just can’t, because they’re not happening.  I’m drowning.

So, I’m giving myself permission to turn off my “mental blogging” and take a summer hiatus from this — another “To Do” on a list so long it requires multiple pads of paper.  If the mood strikes, I may post again before the end of summer.  But I’m okay with the fact that I may not.  I’m thinking of taking an internet break altogether.  It’s hard to read about everyone else’s adventures when I feel sad about not being able to provide my family with adventures of their own.

The next few weeks are full.  Coming off of the 4th of July weekend, we’re now occupied with next weekend’s Dragon Boat Festival.  Then Meghan’s Birthday.  Then our anniversary.  Then Reilly’s curling camp and football practices.  Then Reilly’s birthday.  And that’s all in July!!  I’m working on planning an August vacation — a long weekend is just about all we can squeeze in at this point! I’m going to try to remind myself to enjoy these events rather than just get through them.

I apologize for the negative tone of this post.  I generally like to keep things upbeat and positive . . . but I also want to be honest.  This is where I’m at; the good, the bad & the ugly.

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe summer.  Catch ya on the flipside!

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week, as many of you know!  I generally try to do something small for my kids’ teachers during this week . . . and something a bit bigger in a few weeks for an end of the school year gift.  (But, to be perfectly honest — some years it has ended up being one or the other!)

This year, I came up with a super cute and quick gift, pretty much at the last minute!  I was happy how they turned out, and actually thought to snap a photo!  You’ll have to pardon the bad quality of the picture, though — when I woke up this morning, we were in the middle of a thunderstorm, and the natural lighting was less than ideal!

Anyhow, I mass produced a bunch of these cute Criss-Cross Coasters in some coffee-themed fabric that I had in my stash.  (ALL of Ry & Meg’s teachers this year are coffee fanatics!)  These are the easiest sewing project EVER.  So easy that my kids could even  handle making them! The “quick” factor was certainly an added bonus, too.

I tied two coasters together with some twill tape and a “Teacher Appreciation Caffeination Week” tag (and a personal note on the back) and tucked a couple Starbucks Via coffee packets inside the pockets of the top coaster.   I slid the whole thing into a tiny little paper bag, and sent them to school with the kids for delivery!  I hope the teachers enjoy their little treat!

Happy Friday, everyone!   I hope you all have a wonderful Mother’s Day weekend!

Congratulations, Jenny!!  You’re the winner! I will email you today to get your mailing info!

Thanks to everyone who participated!