I am participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge: A slice a day for all of March.  You should do it too!  Thank you, Two Writing Teachers! Readers, check out their site, and start slicing! 

I’m so excited to travel in the spring to see my sister and her wonderful art show. We booked what looks like an amazing, off the grid, sustainable living cottage that we will share with my parents. The kids are excited for the long road trip, and the mini vacation. Not to mention how much we all miss my sister! I’m proud for getting it all set 2 whole months in advance. I imagined that this week, I’d send the FYI to my kids’ teachers, but that maybe that was too soon to let them know.

Then yesterday I read the email from H’s teacher, with the date for his class play.

Yep. The day we are leaving.

And today, after my hasty email to L’s teacher, I find out that her play is the day we are getting back home.

These aren’t just any plays. These are THE plays. Every spring, every class K – 8 puts on a class play. They are more than fun. They are community building, full of learning, and very very important. This is what the children work on for weeks, if not months. It is defining, and magical, and important.

This stress!  What will my kids do? I have some ideas… Number one: switch the date of the play! Not my finest selfless suggestion…and one that I have already heard is not possible.

Maybe they can still be involved in some way.

Hopefully this won’t impact my 8 year old’s behavior.

Maybe a solution will be uncovered.

Hopefully this will all feel better after some brainstorming and help by their amazing teachers.

What an annoying slice of this already yucky day. 

 I am participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge: A slice a day for all of March.  You should do it too!  Thank you, Two Writing Teachers! Readers, check out their site, and start slicing! 

Later: I'll do wash
without legos, treasure, coins
Now: I scoop, laugh, grin

 I am participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge: A slice a day for all of March.  You should do it too!  Thank you, Two Writing Teachers! Readers, check out their site, and start slicing! 

Parenting is a crazy way to spend the day. The slices abound really, but just a few from yesterday. . . The walk: I forced the children to go on a walk. Convincing them to stop their random hanging out to go on a mission took stamina… but soon we were off. They all decided to wear short sleeves, even though I thought they would get cold eventually. The site of them walking in short sleeves begged to be photographed. Here’s what I eventually ended up getting… so cute, right? Facebook cover photo worthy.

But when I asked them to let me take a picture from behind them, the first picture I got was this:

It was actually the perfect picture to illustrate their actual feelings about going on a walk, carrying bags no less! The Post Office: Just imagine two boys, 8 and 5 happily experimenting with the mail slot. The envelope is there! Now it’s gone! Still gone! Still gone! Still gone! The Library: Try as I might, I can’t get my kids to love the library as much as I do. Yesterday I didn’t even really like it. It was crowded, and someone was wearing too much cologne. The computer in the kids section always frustrates me… it turns my book loving 5 year old into a computer game junkie.  But the science activity was fun, and we picked out some movies, paid our fines (yep. fines.), and I got a book, “Beyond the Laughing Sky,”  which has been on my to read list. Luckily my kids are shy, so when a little boy came up to E at the computer and asked if there was another computer to use, my kids all jumped up. “We should actually go.” L said as E ripped the headphones from his ear and all but threw them at the little boy. We checked out our movies and my book, as my boys chanted their favorite line from the NFL bad lip reading:  “I thought about what you said man, I got my legos and I’ll bring them,  then we can play. All day. ” Time to leave the library! Coffee Shop “Small town Twist:” Headed to the coffee shop, we passed the deserted Santa House, and the kids looked inside.

The kids decided they’d much rather go to the ice cream shop. I said, “But ice cream is more of a summer activity.” and E replied, “But it won’t melt!” So against my better judgment, in we went. Our local ice cream shop used to be a Dairy Queen, but is now an independent local “Twist.” We try to like it. Even my vegan self wants local businesses to work. But every time we go it just doesn’t work out for us. This visit started with broken ice cream machines, “We have dipped vanilla and chocolate,” we were told. The kids chose their flavor and asked for sprinkles. The woman behind the counter said something and I asked her to repeat. “Would the kids like to watch the sprinkle machine?” My three kids politely turned to watch as the machine started slowly turning, dropping sprinkles as it buzzed. We smiled at each other sharing the joke that this was not really very exciting. Their ice creams each received about 15 sprinkles, and we sat at a table, noticing the empty ice cream cake freezers and we laughed. Later at home, telling the story to Mr. Thought, H wanted to be sure we weren’t laughing at the woman who was serving our ice cream. We talked about that, about empathy, and about how we were surely laughing at our circumstances, not the nice worker.

Karate: We walked to Karate, and I wiped E’s sticky face and hands with his shirt as we went in. E and I watched the big kids, and I read my library book while he played a few games on my iPhone. All is calm until E randomly fell on the floor. He’s okay, but what’s with 5 year olds always falling and bumping? “Did you hit your head?” I asked him about 5 times before I believed him that it was just his hands and knees. Back Home: A family meeting is called to decide what to do the next day, mommy’s last day of spring “break.” On thoughts of heading on a long day trip to the Crayola Experience, I said “There are pros and cons. I think we would all have a great day! But if it’s just mommy and three of you, I’m concerned that if you don’t listen, you could get lost, or in trouble with a stranger.” I expected them to say, “We’ll listen, we promise!” But instead they all say together, “No. I don’t want to go then.” Ahhhh. My kids. At least they are realistic with their listening skills. So we planned a day of local activities instead. Parenting is a crazy way to spend the day. While I’ve been writing this post… H has made strawberry soup, which we tried (not too bad actually. E has made legos, and every time he walks away from his project he slips on a magazine someone has left on the floor. I keep saying, “Please pick up the magazine so you stop slipping!” L is making and then organizing her videos on her iPad, and Mr. Thought has said “I have to get to work!” about 5 times. H  looks over my shoulder and says: “Slice of life! Why don’t you just cut a little piece of your brain? A slice of your life. A slice of your heart?”

 I am participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge: A slice a day for all of March.  You should do it too!  Thank you, Two Writing Teachers! Readers, check out their site, and start slicing! 

Yesterday
Tomorrow it will feel so good to
do laundry
clean the bathroom
and the kitchen
I will help kids straighten up their rooms
fill bags for goodwill
get groceries
go on a run


Today
What a nice day to
let kids play
read blogs 
and comment for the commenting challenge
Maybe I'll take the kids to a movie
I'll still fit in the run
How much longer can I ignore the laundry?

This is why being a grown up isn't really working out for me. 

I tell my students to 
make a to do list
color code it
start with priority one
check things off, 
It will feel so good!
 
I tell my children to 
clean up after themselves
do their chores first

I sit at my dining room table
the sun is pouring in the window
the mess is all around me

I'm trying to motivate myself
To take my own advice. 

Wish me luck.