backyard mini-utopia

Sometimes, and I really mean rarely, I astonish myself with my parenting brilliance. Such was the case a few afternoons ago when both Matt and I were exercising our scholarly rights and the children were being, well, children. One of those comic book lightbulbs crackled above my head. Plastic dinosaurs+ messy late summer rock and fern garden+water +two fidgety boys =fun times. I gave the boys license to carefully play in my haphazard fern and rock garden in the back. They made watering holes out of shells, stacked rocks became caves and cliffs, chunks of driftwood became bridges and the tub of plastic dinosaurs came out to play (as did a few neighborhood children). Dinoland is still being utilized days later.

To completely change the subject...I am thrilled that it is officially time for cozy (and easy) dinners. A bunch of our CSA veggies, chopped and roasted with salt and o. oil and a crusty loaf of bread = a Fall dinner around here. I can take a 15 min.break from writing a position paper on Inclusion and have dinner completely prepped and in the oven.

Mommy, can I have this for Christmas?

a room of one's own...

and a few beautiful, thoughtfully organized art supplies...

Thanks to Laura who originally spotted this and sent it to me and Apartment Therapy and Shauna and Stephen who actually use this space.

Autumn in the Valley

The boys at the corn maze...

One of the hardest things for me about starting school has been letting go of the domestic stuff, and the extra time spent at home just being a mom. It is difficult to balance the work load and the kids. It is so important for me to just have lots of time BEING with my kids. I have been incredibly lucky to have it for as long as I have. Since I began school, Ez and I just don't have a lot of that time together anymore. Three days a week, he gets home from preschool/daycare just in time for me to hug him and hop on my bike to class. It has made our nighttime snuggles all the more important. And I know it has been hard for him too. He had a bit of a cold last Friday and I eagerly called his teachers to say he wouldn't be coming in. I snuggled him up with blankets and we had soup for lunch but really he was mostly running around and having fun. He did say to me that he didn't want to go to school anymore and he didn't want me to go anywhere ever again. Sheesh. And yet, I know that I need to do this school thing, for myself and for my kids. I think there is something wonderful about raising your kids in an environment where books and learning and education are so valued. Although you don't need a university or a degree to do that. There are moments when I wish we lived in a farmhouse surrounded by land and family and friends and we all just stayed home with our kids and gave each other breaks when we needed them and learned/taught together.

Because of all this I have decided to keep him home on Fridays, for awhile at least. For him and for me. I am going to have our babysitter come for a couple hours while Matt and I have a "date" at a cafe to get some work done. Then I will have the rest of the day with my brown-eyed, dimpled darling, before he goes to college, which sometimes feels like tomorrow...

That said, I am loving my program. I am so inspired and motivated by my professors, who are all brilliant. I think Special education attracts a certain kind of person and I am so happy to be amongst them. And even my Legislation/Policy class is getting less scary and more accessible.

It is officially Autumn here in the Pioneer Valley. I am eagerly awaiting our first trip to an apple orchard, our first cider, cider doughnuts and apple pies.

P.S

Bright Star , the film about Keats and his love Fanny, looks like it will be a beautiful, romantic film. The trailer provides a few glimpses at Fanny's wardrobe, her dresses alone warrant a viewing.

Trailer viewing is the kind of treat one needs after reading pages of legislation!

News from Lake Woe is Me

Jewel weed for poison ivy relief

I am not here to complain. I am here to celebrate and publish the fact that Matty, dear soul that he is, washed everything in our house, wiped down the kids shoes, washed everything made of fabric that is anywhere in our house, made me a sandwitch and then took the kids to a corn maze. So that I could lie in bed, not scratch the new poison ivy rash covering my inner elbows and hip (the one that has been blossoming since I started prednisone), blow my nose ( I am a preschool teacher) read some of the many pages and write more of that paper due Monday (for my fearsome legislation and policy class, Annie, how did you do it).

And good news... Jewel weed, ya know, the one with the pretty cone shaped pale orange flowers and the seed pods that explode with a touch of your finger, does seem to be helping my itching subside. I broke open the stem and rubbed it all over my new rashes.

I am no longer a stress case. It is official. I can do nothing but laugh at how my physical self has become a perfect storm of sickness at the same time that I start school. It is hilarious.

stampy and nerves and crazy random rambling, sorry

I am really digging the new LOVE stamps. Beautiful subtly autumnal palette. Lovely Picasso-esque rendering.

This is my second week of school. I am still really nervous. YEGADS! What is the deal? I am doing okay. My work is getting done. Guzzling chamomile tea. I finally found a teenage girl with A.D.D for my lit. class. I am so psyched about it. I really miss girl-time. And yet, what the hell am I doing?????ACK.

I know I just need to calm down. It doesn't help that Prednisone makes people hyper. Like I needed that.

Ms. Fancy Pants goes to school or Rash Blues

I have an enormous rash around my neck.

I have so much reading to do it is unbelievable. And my speedy reading abilities don't help much because, I was unaware that Special Ed. research is written in a foreign language known as acronymish. So, 12 pages of dense-ish meta-analysis yields more rash and 2 pages of definitions for me. But really I am happy. I am very interested in what I am reading. And the rash is due to Matt's broken backpack rubbing against my shoulders for 4 miles (to and from cafe) and then me scratching it like a crazy woman while I read. Oh and the other rash is poison ivy on my hands and arms. The good news is my mouth sores have mostly healed. Sorry for all the grossness. I have to share. I promise I won't mention mouth sores ever again in this blog. But if you have any problems with acid in your mucous membranes, get thee to a health food store and get some DGL (diglycerinhizinated licorice). I know I spelled it wrong but the folks at the store will understand.

Sorry this post is sort of wack. I am going to try to post once a week and I will do my darndest not to post about OHI, NAEP, ESEA, RTI, NLTSZ SEELS, rashes or the oral issues I have had.

I promise.

I am loving school. I think I will survive it. Matt has been super peachy about doing all the cooking and much of the dishes and letting me disappear to read for hours. So um, I have to read some more now. ciao!

vintage gift, new gift

Japanese porcelain equivalent of a hug...

If you come to tea at my house, I promise you can use whichever one you choose.

Dawn and co. returned a few days ago and they very sweetly presented us all with gifts. These four vintage tea bag holders are so darling and cheerful. I don't have the time or prowess it takes to scour thrift stores and antique stores for items like this; it is all the more special to me when friends do that work for me. And, somehow when I unwrapped these beauties they reminded me of something even more important. They reminded me that cozy Fall and dreadfully long Winter are on their way and consequently my traditional afternoon cup of Earl Grey/Green or flowery Jasmine or just plain black (I do love my Awake tea) are eminent. And that is a wonderful tradition. And everything will be ok. And the hives on my cheek and stress canker sores in my mouth (Molly and I seem to become acidic with stress) are going away. And, really, all will be okay.

And, speaking of gifts, I received the book that I WON in the mail. Bend the Rules with Fabric, a book written by one of my heroes, Amy Karol. This book is so incredibly fun and smart and fresh and fabulously inspiring. I love that her voice is so alive in these books. There are so many projects I want to tackle: the whole cloth quilt, the tote bags and well nearly everything in the book. But I suppose I will have to wait until Christmas break!