It's just *another* manic Monday. . .

Ugh, now I know I won't have that song out of my head for days. There really are times I wish I didn't think in song lyrics and quotes from "The Simpsons." (It would probably make me seem a lot less unbalanced to many people around me, too!) So, Rowan's back at the 4-7 dance class block, I've cleaned the bathroom (my major goal for that time today, I'm such a go-getter) and it's too early to start dinner, so I figured I'd take a moment to write. Maybe this crazy schedule will at least get me back to writing regularly (maybe someday I'll write more than blog entries in that time. And maybe someone will arrive at my house and stick a diamond tiara on my head and make me Queen of the World, right?). Week four back at school started off with a bang - from a slammed door - and a lot of tears. I'm not quite sure what the problem was as I was just getting up as it was reaching crescendo, but as far as I can tell, it involved cold clothes to put on, refrigerator doors that bump noses (certainly not the fault of the person opening the door), and no time to do the hair. Oy. And more tears out the door. Yes, folks, the bright shiny newness of middle school seems to have officially worn off. While we had a nice time in Maine this weekend, I still feel like I could use a vacation - it just isn't long enough to really relax, stressing about making breakfast on Sunday morning kept me from really de-stressing entirely on Saturday, and it was pretty yucky weather on Saturday which ruined the "lay around on the beach reading all this great stuff I brought to read while Rowan plays" plan. It wasn't horrible weather, the kids at least could play outside, albeit getting a little wet in the process - but I remember the days that getting wet wasn't an acceptable excuse not to venture outside - but it wasn't quite what I'd hoped for. Sunday was sunny, but it was pretty cold and we left shortly after lunch. If Rowan and I weren't already booked for Texas in February, I'd be investigating somewhere nice and warm to get away by myself, because it's only September and already I'm feeling chilled all the time - it's going to be a long winter, I fear. And, again, since no one came and yelled at me and told me I wasn't allowed to play in their sandbox, another set of questions courtesy of Monday Madness (and a set of answers courtesy of Fred's two feet, er, or Heather's brain if you'd prefer). 1. What was your biggest challenge this past week? Being in charge of that meal at Ferry Beach - I am great at organizing things (besides my house, as Gary would be quick to point out), but cooking is outside my comfort zone. I imagined all sorts of disasters (including massive food poisoning, forgetting a key ingredient, dropping all 70 eggs on the floor. . .). 2. What was your biggest accomplishment this past week? Dare I say... the meal? It went well, no one got food poisoning, no eggs were lost, all ingredients made it safely (we ran out of milk for the cereal, but someone ran out and got some - since I was using powdered milk in my recipes, I didn't think about it ahead of time and there wasn't enough left over after Saturday). I had an awesome set of people working with me and I truly wouldn't have been able to do it without them (especially the one who had an innate ability to keep track of the timing on every tray of food that went into the oven at a separate time and know when to pull them out!). 3. What was the most exciting thing that happened in your life this past week? Wow, this one is stumping me. It wasn't a particularly exciting week! I voted, I'm such a geek to admit this, but I still get a little thrill each time I vote (even if I'm not even remotely thrilled with the candidates). 4. What one thing made you the happiest this past week? Reconnecting with various people.

Monday Madness

Well, it's the third week of school, but the real start of the mad rush that is our "school year lives." The first week is laid back, the second week has Labor Day, but now... now we're back to homework assignments and after school activities. We dropped Rowan off at dance class about an hour ago and won't go get her for another 2 (she has class from 4-5, a break, then 6-7, but it's just not worth getting her between them, so she's going to stay and work on homework and other busy work she brought to entertain herself - at least the studios have closed circuit TV's so she can watch the other classes if she's bored senseless. It's amazing how flickering pictures on a TV screen will mesmerize her). So, basically on Mondays we see her getting ready in the morning, then she goes to school, I see her for about 10 minutes getting ready (quickly!!) for dance, then we pick her up at 7, eat dinner, finish the getting ready for bed routine, and that's it. It's kind of crazy. Tomorrow is her first day of Girl Scouts; I've agreed to help out for the September meetings, so this should be a good reminder of why I'm a Leader in an entirely different troop. ;-) It's so hard, because I know I expect a million times more from her than any other girl. I agreed to be in charge of breakfast on Sunday for our church's annual retreat to Ferry Beach in Maine. Um, wait, I hate cooking for 3 people, now I'm overseeing cooking for 125?! Okay, I don't know what I was thinking, but there we go. So, that's weighing heavily on my mind this week - making sure we have enough food, not too much food, transporting it, storing it... I may need a retreat to recover from stressing myself out about the retreat! Rowan had her first field hockey session yesterday, and, well, it could have gone better, but I guess it could have gone worse! She was SO upset and frustrated early on because she was struggling to keep up, since most of the girls she was with played last year or at least had some experience beforehand. She literally had only touched a stick the day before for the first time to take it home from the store - I know nothing of the game to have helped prep her. She was muddling through but broke down when they were about to start relay races. One of the coaches was really wonderful with her, though, took her to the side, tried to calm her down and promised to work with her when she wanted to. She had to come talk to me a few minutes before getting back into the action, get a hug, be told she could NOT quit after 45 minutes, but she only had to last through November and if she hates it, she never has to do it again. I told her the best thing she could do was get back in and watch to learn what she needed to practice so she could do so at home. She did go back and at the end she said she was glad she went back and that she enjoyed it, but needed to practice. So, I guess it went well overall, but it was just heartbreaking watching her totally struggle to just move the ball forward while the other girls were running, turning, etc. around without problems. (Field hockey is an odd game to try to pick up, it requires you to turn your body in all sorts of odd positions to keep the stick in the proper position, at least from what I could see on the sidelines!) And, finally, a little meme courtesy of another source of Monday Madness: 1. Do you have children in school? Haven't you been reading? ;-) Yes, Rowan is in 5th grade. 2. Are YOU currently in school (any level)? Nope. 3. Did you (or your children) attend a public or private school? Rowan goes to a charter school, which is a public school operated independently of the local school board - it's funded through the same funds, but administered separately. I attended public school through middle school, then went to a private (Catholic, all-girls, heh) school for high school, just because I knew it would be a better educational experience (and one of my best friends was going...). It was a miserable experience in a lot of ways, but it really did serve me well educationally. 4. As far as formal education, what level have you completed? I have like 3.5 years worth of college credits, but never finished my degree. It annoys me every time I have to fill out a form that asks for my highest level of education because I want to say "Associates Degree" - since at least it sounds like I finished *something* - considering I have more than enough credits for one, but nope, I have to just say "some college." 5. Do you, or did you have loans out for your (or your children's) education? I did for college, finally paid them all off a few years back. 6. What are your thoughts on the cost of tuition for colleges and universities? Yay, expensive! Seriously, it's scary, but it's reality, so I don't give it a whole ton of thought other than wishing Rowan would become a virtuoso at something, quickly! ;-) Me and Gary, nearly blowing away (photo taken by Rowan): Oh, before I go, I have to share this link to the story accompanying funniest photo our newspaper has featured in a long time. Seriously, look at the picture - click on it to see it larger. I keep looking at it (it was on the front page, so it was one of the first things I saw this morning) and it *still* cracks me up each time. Some people take mushrooms very, very seriously.