I’ve been in DC for the past two days with 280 eighth graders.
Some people might cower in fear at that prospect, but it is honestly the best part of the school year.
Kids, in general, are great
Middle school kids are just extraordinary.
I love, love, love my job being a middle school teacher.
Also, the other chaperones on my bus are just good people.
Excellent people.
Really fun people, and they love middle schoolers just as much as I do.
Great trip with great kids and great adults!
I don’t know what breakfast looks like at your house, but at our house, it looks like this.
The monkeys are up at the crack of dawn everyday, and for the past few weeks, when I emerge from the shower, I find them all on the same side of the table, looking at hidden pictures/objects books.
They have plenty of time before school, so there is no rush. They take turns findng things in the pictures and I have to say, it is a really nice way to get going in the morning.
Yes, there are plenty of mornings that aren’t quite so idyllic, but the past few weeks have been divine!
Sometimes…
…just because it’s 4:30…
…just because it’s raining…
…just because you love them…
…just because…
Apparently, even Mother Nature is a chauvinist.
I mean, seriously, Mother Nature.
We expect such treatment from men (and here I speak of “men” in a general term…Real Man would never behave in such a manner).
We don’t like it, but it is there.
But to be betrayed by our own kind?
Et tu, Mother Nature?
I came across this article this evening, and couldn’t believe that even in our own chemical makeup, the guys get the perks.
Peanut butter and pizza…health foods for the guys, while we get flaxseed and collard greens?
Where is the justice?
Someday, there will be a day when a man forgoes the chocolate and peanut butter ice cream cone for fear it will go to his hips, and the women asks for a third scoop.
That, my friends, is the world I dream of for my daughter.
You know, I think it takes a lot of energy to be silly.
Like, when you try on your Grandma’s reading glasses.
Or, when you have had your bath, are in your jammies, and decide to go with your Mommy to ShopRite on a Sunday night.
However, sometimes…sometimes, just being four is exhausting.
Okay, it wasn’t the carnivale, like in Rio.
It was more like the local Catholic church hosting their yearly carnival.
But, if you are 9, 6 or 4, it is just as exciting!
There were lines…
There was food…
There were really expensive tickets…
There were big slides…
There were many rides…
There were great views from the top of the Ferris wheel….
There was wind-tossed hair…
…and great times were had by all.
Yes, I did it.
I took the plunge.
I bought myself a Nook.
I had been putting aside some money for either a Kindle or a Nook, and then when I received a Barnes and Noble gift card for Mother’s Day, that settled the question of which one I would buy and when I would buy it.
So, I bought the Nook.
AND I LOVE IT!!!
I am completely a crazy book reader to begin with, and really didn’t think I could read more than I already do.
My friend, Kim, told me that when she got her Kindle, one of the benefits was that she read more.
Pishaw, I thought.
Guess what?
She was right.
Having a book so…available…is just so…FREAKING AWESOME!
I still love the feel of a book.
I still love the smell of a book.
I still love to hold a book in my hand.
However…
When I was nervous about having a second baby, because how could I ever love another child as much as I loved Monkey Girl, people told me that your heart doesn’t divide, but it multiplies.
They were right.
And strangely, it applies to books and e-readers as well.
Ah, sweet love.
No, it’s not his birthday.
I just was clicking through the pictures on my laptop and came across this one, which I’ve probably posted before, but I was struck by it tonight.
Was my 4 year old who has a full mouth of teeth, wears underwear, goes in the potty, and says words like “actually” really ever this small?
Be. Still. My. Heart.
Tonight was Baby Monkey’s celebration at nursery school.
You may remember that the winter celebration was an exercise in futility.
He didn’t sing.
He didn’t make the movements.
He made lots of funny faces, but none of them were related to anything that was supposed to be happening on that stage.
He was 3.
Now, he’s 4.
This time, he did much better.
He sang and did the motions for two of the five songs.
He’s improving.
The rest of the time, he played with the zipper on his sweater.
Made funny faces.
Giggled with his best buddy, Jack.
He was 4.
I’m so in love with this kid, sometimes I can barely breathe.
Enjoy some of our images of tonight’s celebration.
Maybe next winter we’ll get three out of five songs, and maybe by his last celebration, next spring, we may get him to sing all five!
But, I wouldn’t hold your breath.
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