Pre-summer indulgence

I've been managing to squeeze in some fun lately, in between report cards, and end of year activities. Yesterday - Memorial Day - I totally played hooky from life. Met my girlfriend at Starbucks and after fueling up we hit Old Navy. I have not been shopping for awhile, except for peeks when I'm walking through Target, or ducking into Marshall's next store for five minutes. My friend and I spent almost two hours in Old Navy and I emerged with two bags. (This totaled $150, which is the same that one outfit might cost at, say, Jcrew.)

One of my favorite purchases was these adorable cropped jeans pictured above. They are diva cropped trouser jeans. Incidentally, I love trouser jeans with the flat front and just side pockets (instead of the traditional 5-pocket) - they almost always work for me. Anyway, I highly recommend these pants - they come in dark rinse, white, and faded blue. They are stretchy and comfy too!

After the shopping extravaganza and chatfest, I collected the fam at home and we went to a memorial day party at our friend's pool club. Way too much fun was had, and like my shopping trip, we indulged a little more than was planned! (safely) We all hit the sack by 8:30 p.m. last night, dreaming of summer. All we need now is the WEATHER to cooperate. Four more days!

Dear diary...

I've been off my blogging routine for a bit. The end of the school year is always chock full of drama. Who is getting pink slipped, losing their job share partner, has to move to a different grade level, school, etc. Teachers stressed about these changes and all of the end of year events and extra work. Students anxious/excited about summer and what's to come for them. A nice twist is that I have been feeling the love lately from my kiddos and families (after another disappointing teacher appreciation week.) I guess when it happens organically, it is more meaningful. After our fab open house, we had a wonderful end of year BBQ yesterday. The kids had the best time, and my parents and student teacher rocked with helping pull it all together. Everyone is in major countdown mode to the last day, but I would be happy to stay with my kiddos a little longer. The end always seems to arrive so fast and furious.

I will be squeezing in work all this lovely memorial day weekend, in between parties, some relaxation, and cleaning up my neglected house! : ( As always, whenever it is time for a transition (start of a new calendar year, beginning of summer, new school year) I always am setting goals and reinventing myself. Stay tuned for my summer plans.....

work, work, is never done!

The bad news - I am tired of writing recommendation letters.

The good news - at least I'm not looking for a job right now!

two more happies

Now that life is a little more under control, I am ready to post away! Two happies to share:

Happy1: I got all my magazines in the mail today. I am embarrassed to tell you that the number is 6! I am a magazine junkie. They are crisp, glossy, and promising to change my life. I can't wait to read them.

Happy 2: The Real Housewives of NY is on tonight. Woo Hoo! We also have two Modern Families waiting to be watched.

I must go. My entertainment awaits.....

Things to be excited about....

Happy news this week! Biggest loser sisters - whom I adore - Hannah and Olivia made the final four, and then the two top spots. Who will be the ultimate biggest loser? Good chance it might be one of these girls in purple! Both (actually all three girls pictured) lost about or over 100 pounds in their five month stint on the show. Hannah and Olivia are such sources of comic relief and so sweet that they have been my favorites of all-time.
The second happy - Open House was a huge success! I didn't get pics of the good stuff - don't know why - like their memory books. The big highlight was the play we perform - The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I am so proud of that.
(some of that crap could have come off the counters.) : ) It was a great, happy night. Now I all I have to do is finish assessing reading and math, enter all the score into the computer and on paper, do report cards, place classes for two grade levels, organize the kids' work samples into evidence portfolios, help facilitate our bbq and end of year concert, make concert decorations with kids, make kindergarten graduation certificates, do my student teacher's assessment, and close down my room for summer cleaning. In the next two weeks. My student teacher has two days of solo teaching so I am going to get as much done today and tomorrow (testing) as possible! Bring on the coffee and go me! : )

Who needs calgon when you've got these girls?

Things are still hectic, but I have to take a minute to give a shout out to my garden state girls! The 90-minute season premiere of NJ Housewives was on last night, and I loved every minute. Now that Bethenny has her own show these Housewives are perhaps my new favorite of the franchise. OK, naturally I'm having a few laughs at their expense. But what I like about this group is their emphasis on family. They are all related somehow, and instead of running off to glitzy premiers, they hang out at each others houses or at the park with the kids. (Only their houses are 100 times bigger than mine and their clothes a 100 times more expensive.) And the drama last night....even E was stopped in his footsteps as he passed by the TV and saw the breakdown at christening. It was like something out of the Godfather, with the fighting, son crying to his dad, all the Italian. As E stood there, rapt, of course he said, "I can't believe your watching this. Wait, who is that? How are they related? What happened to him?"

Mazel Tov, Ladies! Can't wait 'til next week!

Coming to you live from Crazytown

Last summer, Miss P and I often visited 'Lazyville.' I don't know if you've seen the SNL skit where Justin Timberlake is advertising for a plastic surgery clinic. He is costumed as a breast implant and singing chants that end with "bring it on down to plasticville!" Naturally, P did not see this episode, but E and I did. E would often call us after finishing up with summer school for the day, and we'd hit him with a ditty, ending with 'bring it on down to lazyville!' In Lazyville, you are in your shorts, sweats, or pajamas, lounging with books, magazines, and maybe a show on TV. You are laughing and carefree.

I'm living in crazytown right now. Last night I found myself in the classroom furiously eating BBQ chips (fail) while typing an email about a student's IEP tomorrow, with my memory books spread out, and my assessment box beckoning. Tip of the iceberg. Open House has snuck up on me! See you on the other side!(I should be in Lazyville in one month.)

A Sporty Mother's Day...

(above, E, P and cousins on Saturday, May 7)

This year on Mother's Day I willingly got up at 7:00 a.m. Why??? I was running in Palo Alto's Run with the Bulls Mother's Day Run. (Again, you ask - Why??) : ) I wanted to do something active and a family-oriented 5K seemed to be just the ticket.


While I ran (felt great by the way) Miss P enjoyed a free kids training clinic led by the coaches of a local kids running club"The Jackrabbits." She practiced the long jump, the discus, sprinting and other exercises. I finished in time to pick up a fun activity for my class from their workout. Speaking of my time....when we first arrived I was a bit intimidated by all of the professional looking runners in their fancy running wear, with cool gear, and pre-race rituals underway.
I ended up placing 299 out of 365. I wasn't last! : ) And my dear Miss P who ran a 200 meter later on against kiddos in the jack rabbits club (check out the stance of those other girls - serious runners) wasn't last either! I am ready to sign up for my next 5K and improve my time.

We came home and I took a long shower and leisured in bed reading. I did invite the family to my retreat for a mother's day movie on the Hallmark channel.

Hope you had a great mother's day too! I am excited to celebrate with my mom this Friday night. : )

Gadget Free Family Fun - Balloon Rockets

Miss P received balloon rockets in her Easter basket and they are a blast (ha ha). Looks like you can get them from Amazon for less than $10. I totally recommend these for yard or park play. (Expect your child to be the most popular kid at the park if so.) They'd also make a good birthday gift. As usual, I am not in any way affiliated with balloon rocket folks. I only wish people would give me things! : ) Ha ha.

May day Anniversary

So I was uber grumpy in my last post. My annoyance continued off and on for about 24 hours, with an allergy attack, a cut finger, Miss P tearing open a box of cereal, screaming, and then running through the house with it to find us, leaving a trail of puffed oats, and ending with our vacuum cleaner breaking.

By Saturday night though, things were looking up. I'd had a good hair day. We enjoyed a yummy tri-tip dinner with wine and played games with P. We woke up to this sign on May 1st, our 11 year anniversary.
It reads (spelling corrected): "Happy Anniversary Mom and _____. Love, Paige. You're Super Parents!" Apparently 'dad' didn't quite make the cut. How cute is this?

We had brunch at Southern Kitchen in Los Gatos and did a fun hike right afterward. Then we headed home and set up the little oasis pictured up top for the afternoon. Lawn games, reading, mimosas, and saying 'hey' to the neighbors ensued. O.K., I'll admit it -- Life is good.