Friday morning

I backed up my wake up time to 5:45 today since Sweet P seems to be on an earlier wake up schedule herself. If only I hadn't had to pack Sister's lunch this morning instead of last night I would've had a lovely bit of just mama time...

This first week back to school has been a real bummer, to use a phrase dating from my own school days. I've already had Sister's teacher call me to express her concern over my daughter's near-constant fidgeting--yes, already! I found myself wanting to advise Sister to just start biting her nails like I used to do, but instead had her make herself a "stress ball" to squeeze under her desk. It's just a balloon filled with rice and tied off and is pleasantly squeeze-y. Sister herself told me that she can't just sit there with her hands quietly resting on her desk, that she needs something for them to do. I can definitely relate, so here's hoping the rice-filled balloon will fix everything. If someone recommends she be medicated to keep her focused in school, I will seriously consider homeschooling her.

My goodness, what grim thoughts for lovely mama time!

Some things I'm looking forward to this weekend: getting some sleep so I can kick this cold that isn't helping with my record-high grumpiness level; having brunch with a couple friends; doing some sewing; and having Husband home!

Birds are beginning to sing now, though the dog is still snoring in his crate...

Rising fifth grader, not rising at the moment

Rising fifth grader, not rising, originally uploaded by Secretsugar.

This is how Sister intends to spend a good portion of her time now that school has let out. (Today! Finally!) Can you tell she's psyched? And do you remember when you had this kind of leisure time? I remember long afternoons and evenings spent curled up in a chair or on the porch with nothing to do but read if I wanted. Back before the days of the internet, clearly.

Happy summer, everyone!

Special (sleepy) day

I'm so lacking in sleep today that I feel hung over. Like my body isn't functioning properly and my blood is all whack somehow. Yes, I had a glass of wine last night, but it's definitely not that. Will.this.baby.please.stop.waking.up.to.nurse. Please, Sweet P! I'm going to start her on solids this weekend in the hopes that more calories will help. I'm in the magical thinking stage of trying to deal with sleep deprivation, obviously, thinking maybe sweet potatoes will help. Riiiiiiight.

Despite my bone weariness, I've promised Sister that I would pull her out of school after lunch today so I could take everyone to Pullen Park in Raleigh. Pullen Park has a huge playground along with an antique carousel, a kiddie train, and a little boat ride. Oh, and a snack bar with a huge array of ice cream and popsicles for cheap. I've been trying not to do quite so much driving lately, but I did want to do something special for Sister since she wrapped up her end-of-grade tests yesterday. Getting through two whole days of math tests is definitely worth celebrating around here! She feels confident that she passed, so I feel confident, too. I hear ya, Kat, on reconsidering homeschool once your boy has to face the EOG's. It's a lot of stress on a kid. Sister told me that one of her classmates threw up in the middle of the test yesterday and had to go home. Poor guy.

Another project, done

Blue and orange batik wall hanging, originally uploaded by Secretsugar.

I've been working on this batik wall hanging for a month or two now to go in our newly painted family room. It came out well, even though once again I made the mistake of thinking our sofa is orange when it is, in fact, a sort of rusty, persimmon pudding-y color. So it doesn't completely match, but it's better than the things I had on the walls in there before. Mostly I made it because I wanted to try using batiks for a change and also wanted to try making something with wonky shapes. I think I might love wonky shaped things. Yes, you do waste a fair amount of fabric in the trimming, but personally I find it much easier to be precise in trimming than in sewing.

It's good to have one of my sewing projects come to a good end. Kinda takes the sting out of Friday's silent auction humiliation. The three items I made and donated got bid on and sold, it's true, but were not exactly wild successes. I had a large green purse sell for $19 with maybe 4 or 5 bids on it. The leaf print bag I posted a picture of sold for $16 with 4 bids, one of which was (ahem) mine when I realized that someone was going to get it for only $10. Is it gauche to bid on your own donations at an auction? I don't care! I LOVED that bag and wanted it back if the world wasn't going to appreciate it! But when the little 5th grade girl I'd just outbid came marching up behind me and bid $16, I just let it go. If she wanted it that badly and all...

The cloth grocery bags I donated as a set went to one of the Girl Scout moms who was maybe (but maybe not!) doing it out of pity. She seemed to genuinely like them and even stood guard over them at the end so that no one else would outbid her. Bless her, I was flattered even if she WAS being a little effusive with her admiration.

All in all, I raised $60 for Sister's school. Meh. I also spent $80 on a cooler full of plastic beach crap made in China that I stupidly bid on and won. At least it's for the school. I guess. Though Husband pointed out that people's priorities are all wrong if we'll pay that much for plastic mass-produced shit and spurn something someone made by hand. Bless him, too.

As I said, a bit humiliating.

Anti-achievement

This week Sister has been bringing home this super-easy math homework--easy because she's done it all before and it is merely intended as review before the end-of-grade tests start next week. Her whole class is worried about these tests, and Sister has been a bit worried about them, too, since last year when she first caught wind of them. I've been assuring her ever since that she has nothing to worry about, that these tests are really testing how well her teacher has been teaching and how well her school is working. Now, I will admit thatI have no fear at all Sister is going to fail third grade. These tests do determine whether a 3rd grader will be promoted to 4th, will have to spend vacation days indoors at summer school, or will fail altogether. But Sister's a smart girl who's practically hung on every word this adored teacher has uttered all year, from what I can tell.

Some part of me feels a bit of guilt that I should really be doing more to help her teacher out here. I love love love this particular teacher. She's done a miraculous job reinforcing my belief of the past couple of years that Sister does not have attention problems requiring medication (as 2 of her teachers have hinted we should look into). Rather, she just hadn't yet found the teacher who could bring out the best in her. Some part of me thinks I should return the favor and drill Sister on this huge list of terms and problems that she's going to encounter in the end-of-grade tests next week so her teacher will look especially good. I got this list last week and what I did instead was asked Sister about a couple of things on it, then promptly stuck it in a drawer where it's still languishing under some more recently-added coupons.

I just can't make myself believe that stressing Sister over an achievement test in third grade is really an okay thing to do, notwithstanding the fabulousness of her teacher. Yes, I'm assuming she'll do well enough because I used to do well on such tests as a kid. Above that, it's just not worth it to me to spend two weeks drilling her in order to up her score by a couple of points. She's only 8! There will certainly be time to stress about tests when she's older and the stakes are higher. But third grade? Pfffttt.

Back to THIS?

This back-to-school business is hitting me hard all of a sudden. I feel like I've been thrown violently out of a summer of comparative leisure and relaxation--or anyway, as much of that as can be expected while trying to keep a couple of kids from being TOO bored--to the fast lane of Brownies, open houses, emails to the teacher, after school activities, packing non-boring yet nutritious lunches, and trying to instill good homework habits in Sister so that she doesn't take 2 hours to do 30 minutes' worth of homework. How did this happen? And did I REALLY believe that once Sister was back in school I would somehow miraculously have time to start going to the gym regularly like I've been promising myself I'd do?

Yeah, right.

The afterschool grind resumes

So Sister's in third grade now, as of last week, and we're settling into our afternoon routine all over again. We walk home from school, have a snack, dismantle the backpack contents, start on homework. I'm beginning to get alarm bells about the homework all of a sudden, though. I've never thought of myself as bad at math--except for maybe high school calculus which I nearly flunked--but just what the hell are "fact families" and "addends?" THAT"S third grade math?! I had to look it up on-line so as not to embarass myself calling her teacher. I honestly had no clue at all.

Maybe I should be reading ahead or something. Sheesh.

Summer cometh before the fall

Autumn is on its way. Know how I know that? Not because we've been having nighttime temperatures in the low 70's and 60's lately here in sweltering NC. Not because the tulip poplars and dogwood trees have begun subtly changing their leaf colors. Not even 'cause I have a calendar and can do the math myself. No, the reason I know fall is coming is because this morning found me toting 2-9 X 13 sausage and mushrom breakfast stratas and 24 oatmeal and dried cherry muffins to Sister's school for the teacher appreciation breakfast. At 7:20.

And school doesn't even start til next Friday.

Just my way of kicking off a very busy school year, y'all! Let me bend your ear here with my idiocy. I've signed up for no less than 3 PTA committees, roped in by 2 new and friendly PTA co-presidents who use free wine to make parents do things they would not otherwise EVER consider in their right and sober minds. I decided to be one of the co-leaders of Sister's Brownie troop, in the wild and probably wildly stupid hope that it would be easier and less-stressful than being the cookie mom. I have also repented my former position of not signing Sister up for "too many" activities because kids should have proper childhoods, dammit, and have plenty of free time to lie around and read and imagine stuff and not be pushed into being super-achievers too early. I have repented because this has meant that I signed Sister up for exactly NOTHING last year (except twice a month Brownies), and I get the feeling she's bored and making trouble with me to spice things up for herself. I have, therefore, signed her up for twice a week swim class, and am waiting to hear if this local farm camp place can also fit her in for horse-back riding one day a week.

I'm in for it. Joining the ranks of the freak-out busy moms--I mean the REALLY freak-out busy moms--who forget they have hobbies and interests and sex and sleep to fit in, too.

I'll keep y'all posted.