That scores a big U for "unsatisfactory"

I just read my last post, and even I couldn't help saying, "What the?!  I mean, seriously, lady.  Why even post with no info like that?"  Sheesh.  Sorry.

We are all good here, I assure you.  Last week, Stephanie was the Star of the Week in her kindergarten class.  That meant every day brought new opportunities for this mama to be involved in her school...to such an extent that by Friday morning, Hubby suggested I request a salary.
Do I love it?  Yes!
Is this a big part of why I am a stay-at-home mom?  Yes!
Is it still a whole lot of crazy?  Oh, yes indeed-y!

So, what were all those things that kept me so busy?  Simple things, really.  We completed an interview and shared pictures.  I helped three groups of kindergarteners make no-bake pumpkin oatmeal cookies.  Stephanie and I performed a science experiment of making Sticky-Icky* (which is pretty much the way to any little boy's--and most kindergartener's--heart, let me tell you).  Somewhere in there, I had a 3rd grade parents' meeting with the Head of the Lower School.  Oh, and on Friday, I was slated to provide faculty treats for all Lower School teachers...and my oven crapped out (I discovered after 2 debacles that the oven thermometer was suddenly 30 degrees off).  I have a reputation to uphold (and delivery was expected first thing in the morning), so I couldn't just buy something.  I ended up providing strawberries, grapes...and at least part of all three baking attempts:  jacked-up banana bread, chocolate chip cream cheese coffee cake and our favorite pumpkin muffins**.  I now have no flour in the house.  For the record, the secretary told me that I could have just brought the jacked-up banana bread, because once the teachers knew there was Jack Daniels in it, that was the first to go (ha!).  As it is, they only left 2 grapes, which cracked me up completely.  Someone really didn't want to be the last one to eat everything, so...

In case you still aren't buying my busy excuse (who would?), I'll toss in the mix that our girl's asthma issues have returned.  After six months of no medication whatsoever, we are now back on all kinds of meds plus my little homeopathic remedies...and she still wakes up a few times a night coughing despite all of that defence.  It isn't nice.  I have no idea why this is happening.  I'm just thankful her issues are of the coughing variety rather than the horrible-terrifying-gasping-for-air-cannot-breathe variety as some families face.  But I still have not slept through the night in weeks, so there you go.

Anyhoo, life is good.  I can say that with a straight face, because it is true (also, I just watched this and boy oh boy are we blessed just by the grace of where we were born).  I really do intend to get back in the writing habit soon.  You know as well as I do what they say about good intentions, but I will try.  Just for you!


*I promise to post the recipe for this when I figure out where I put it...

** I omit the pecans, cinnamon-sugar and reduce the sugar in the muffin to 1/2 cup.  This seems adequately compensated by the milk chocolate chips we prefer to the carob, and I don't bother restricting us to 1/2 cup there, if you get my meaning.

Just ducky

In case you were wondering what happened to me this time, everything is just ducky here in Pittsburgh!  The crazy simply hasn't let up yet, though the manic-stress part of it has.  I need to make space again for writing.  I'm working my way back to it.  In the meantime, here's a picture of a giant rubber duck:




This duck sculpture has traveled around the world, and Pittsburgh is the first US city to get it.  It arrived at the end of September, and today we finally made the trek into town to see it.  Pretty cute, huh?

Recommended reading: Code Name Verity

I have a confession to make: I love reading kid lit.  I always loved it, but my brief years teaching reading to pre-teens--which coincided with publication of the first book of Harry Potter--sealed the deal.  Recent happy finds have included The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Wonderstruck, Wildwood and The Mysterious Benedict Society.

At our small local bookshop works a wonderful woman named Tess.  Among her myriad talents, she is the buyer for the children's department and an avid reader of kid lit.  We have decided to form our own kid lit book club of two.  First up, Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein.  It is classed as "young adult" (too intense for kid lit but not targeted for adult readers), but I didn't find anything too young about it.  This book knocked my socks off.

Code Name Verity is very well-written historical fiction set during World War II.  It tells the story of two friends, both young women, one of whom has been captured as a spy in France and the other was the pilot who flew her there.  The woman who has been captured has succumbed to the horrific interrogation and has agreed to write out everything she knows, which she does in detailed, dramatic style rather than flat reporting.  Her story forms the main text of the book.  While the author doesn't go for shock factor by providing too much detail on the horrors of war and captivity, the shock and horror is felt.  This book stressed me out, but I couldn't put it down.  I had to abandon my preferred reading-before-bedtime with this one several chapters in (it gave me bad dreams!), but I stole time during the day to keep it going.

True to that "young adult" classification, I cannot recommend this book to anyone under 15, but I do strongly recommend it for women ages 15 and up.  It is an intense, emotionally- and mentally-engaging story of two strong female characters whose unlikely friendship provides the backbone of the book.  The worth of these women is not defined by men, though they are constantly surrounded by men given the nature of the story and the time period.  There is no sappy romance to portray them as feminine cliches.  They are powerful characters in a compelling story.  If you pick it up, please let me know what you think!

Sheila goes to kindergarten

Sheila visited Stephanie's kindergarten class today.



Despite making two rather large and smelly poos in the cat carrier, she was a perfect lady while on display.  She pecked at the carrot shavings I offered her, politely observed the children as they asked questions, preened and stretched so they could properly admire her feathers and wings, and then inspected everyone's shoelaces.
The kids were fascinated.
It was awesome.

An epic month

This morning, I drove to the airport after Monday morning assembly at school to wave good-bye to our visitors.  We have had extended family houseguests for the past 10 days (10! in the first month of school!).  Did I mention that meant 9 people--5 adults, 4 kids--in our 3 bedroom house?  Whew!  Blessedly, our guests were of the pleasant, thoughtful and non-stressing variety (i.e., they helped deal with laundry mountain and cleaned my kitchen daily--danke!).





When I mention the duration of their stay to the average American, the listener tends to faint on my behalf.  In truth, longer visits are (in some ways) a bit easier.  Sure, it takes days to find a groove, but once the groove is found, that is the new normal.  It really was nice coming back from the crazy school-morning-scramble to a clean kitchen (not typical here).  I liked getting to know these people who I had really only met once at a very overwhelming family dinner party a decade long past.  We all loved having a baby around again, even finding her frequent outbursts of baby fury* and frustration pretty hilarious (it's a good thing babies are so cute!).  And while our very verbal Stephanie never got past the stress of the language barrier, our sweet Eleanor stepped up and did her best to engage our 4 year old visitor as much and as often as she could.

*photographic evidence of baby fury above.  He wanted her in the picture; she wanted me to hold her.


(with his new buddy. how much do I love watching Hubby with a baby?) 

Now, my biggest job is re-establishing some kind of normalcy around here.  September was a hard month.  A full month.  A busy month.  Back to school.  An 8-year-old's birthday party.   The Sewickley Chicken Walk.  A whirlwind week of home reorganization  to prepare for 5 extra people, and then the presence of 5 extra (albeit lovely) people.  Somewhere in there was my birthday too.  In its way, September was epic.  I think we're all ready for some seriously non-epic slowness.

Tomorrow is October.
I wonder what that month will bring?

You are not alone

Hello!  Remember me?  I'm the mom who posted about the night before back to school and then disappeared into the black hole that is back to school.  The mayhem.  The mania.  The headless-chickeness of it all!

It came to a head at my wonderful doctor's office this morning.  I went in for a big check-up (and a bonus tetanus booster! yippee!), and I responded to her casual "How are you?" by simultaneously smiling a big smile and bursting into tears as I said, "Oh, I'm fine!  Totally fine!  I mean, physically you know.  Nothing wrong!"  Sheesh.

Mamas, if the back-to-school mania monster is getting to you, YOU ARE NOT ALONE.  Yes, I did just write that in all caps.  It deserves it.  I'm over the whole Stepford wife, perfect appearance, taking on the world and liking it facade.  This is coming from the woman who realized at 8am this morning that we forgot to attend a sweet child's birthday party yesterday afternoon.  Major big oops.  Blessedly, her mother (and the sweet child herself!) was very gracious and understanding when I pounced them with a crazed look and my wild apologies.  If only I were more gracious and understanding of myself.

I'm going to call that the tipping point.  After a relaxed, open-ended and largely happy summer for us, this was a major shift.  It's time to acknowledge that this is indeed a time of mayhem and mania, but it will pass.  We will all adapt to the new routine, the new demands on our time.   It's okay to be off-kilter but trying.  It's okay to say "NO!" to the unending opportunities to be busier.  And it is necessary to make time for self-care.  Make even just a tiny hole in the day for you.  I bet you can find it if you look.  Even 5 minutes of deep  breathing, counting your breath in and out up to 10 and starting over again, is tremendously beneficial.
Beer o'clock might be helpful too.

Back to school tomorrow

'Twas the night before school starts
And all through the house
Little creatures were wondering
(As was my spouse)

What would this new year bring
Though keeping our cool
We were all quite excited
To go back to school