The Patch

Quirky

Josh and I were talking about quirky things that we, and others do. These are not the obvious things, but those little idiosyncrasies that we may not be aware of. We had talked about it at our lunch table and it was just so funny. As I was telling Josh about it I said, "I wonder what people would say is mine." I know I have things that people notice about me that I do or say a lot. Josh replied, " I could tell you right now." I was all ears.
He then proceeded to inform me that my "thing" is dropping things- especially when the house is quiet or everyone is sleeping. I HONESTLY had no idea what he was talking about. I have never thought of myself as clumsy and he assured me it wasn't clumsy as much as it was butter fingers. I was shocked!
That was about 3 weeks ago, and let me tell you. I DROP STUFF ALL OF THE TIME! I have been laughing so hard at the full glasses of water I have spilled, the things I have dropped out of cupboards, and the number of times I spend bending down to pick something up that I have dropped. It's at home, in the classroom and out and about. It's truly unreal.
Each time it happens we look at each other and crack up. He said this has been going on since he has known me- 15 years plus. He admitted that he would hear me drop something and just shake his head and smile. How have I never noticed this?
Too funny.

Space Shuttle Endeavor

Just another normal day at school last Friday...or not. Last week the staff and students at my school, and thousands of others all over California got be enjoy a once in ten lifetimes opportunity. The space shuttle Endeavor was showcased one last time before returning to LA for retirement. It flew over several landmarks in California, one of them being Moffett Field. As it happened, our school was smack dab in the middle of Moffett field and its next fly over destination.

We found out the flight route 2 days before. I spent some time showing pictures of the shuttle and researching its space career. The day before we kept the live stream on of its flight from Texas to LA. We were ready!

We took all of the kids outside to the bleachers in the field and waited for an hour before we saw the massive aircrafts fly over our school. Once we saw the jet craft that accompanied the space shuttle we all got to our feet. The fly over was put to the soundtrack of all of our students screaming and pointing. THIS IS WHAT SCHOOL'S ABOUT! We were all high the rest of the day. The experience was unreal. I know the kids will remember that forever. So so cool.

MIA

I honestly could write on this blog every day. At least once a day something happens and I think to myself, "I have to write that on the blog so that it's captured." A month has past and 100 things have happened. Here is what I remember that I want to get down.

1. The kids are both in soccer and it is truly entertaining. Haley still skips and hops around the field, although her last game she handled the ball for more than one kick. In fact, she ran the ball 1/3 of the way down the field. Nice! Ryan runs around the WHOLE time. Sometimes he gets near the ball and others he does not.
I am not seeing glimmers of Mia Hamm or David Beckham for sure. I am seeing the kids running around and being a part of a team. Very cool.

2. My school year is really fabulous. I love middle school. It helps that I have had amazing teaching partners in my 5 years at this school and Amy is nothing short of that. We balance each other and I appreciate her laughter, wisdom and experience. We have a really good bunch of kids this year and we enjoy every second.

3. Ryan was looking through Haley's yearbook from kindergarten and saw her picture. She looked so little. He said, " Sissy, you look really cute in this picture." It was precious.

4. I have felt just a bit out of touch this last month. In a blink September is almost over. I haven't seen as much family as I'd like and I miss my nieces and nephews. I will ratify that in October. :)

5. I experienced seeing the space shuttle Endeavor fly right over our school...will need a separate post about that. It was awesome in so many ways.

Ok, gonna head downstairs to hang with Josh. More soon.

1st Days

Ryan started preschool! He loves it.

 Haley started 2nd grade! She loves it.

Pain

In the recent months, some people in our lives have been experiencing some real pain. This pain has included loss, illness and heart break. When people I care about, or even hear about, are going through these types of things it immediately puts my life in perspective. I strive to live in a place of gratitude and appreciation and when I am not, these kinds of situations catapult me right back.
It is a helpless feeling when supporting someone who is going through something unfathomable to you. I often don't know what to say and instead say, "I wish I knew the words to say right now, but I don't." I have also learned not to say, "Let me know what I can do." Instead I say, "I would like to take the kids while you go get a pedicure or take a nap, when's a good time?" or, "I'm going to the grocery store and would like to pick you up a bag of groceries, send me a list."
I realize that a lot of people in pain do not ask for specific help not because they don't need it, but because they don't know what to ask for.

It's a hard and helpless feeling to witness a loved one in despair. At this moment in my life I am overwhelmingly grateful for health, a home, all 4 of my parents, my sisters and brothers in law, my friends, my children, my husband, my students, my job. Not only am I thankful for all of this but for all that it includes and entails.

I wish I could wipe away the pain that those around me have been going through. Until I have that power I will try and ease it as much as I can.

From Sandals to Shoes

The summer break is officially over. I started back to work on Wednesday and the students come on Monday. This would explain why I was wide awake with a racing brain at 5:10 this morning. This would explain why I have fallen asleep on the couch the last three nights before 10:00. My summer sleep schedule was more like 11 or 12:00-7:30 or 8:00. Quite a change.

I must say this this was THE BEST SUMMER YET. Besides our actual destination vacations, the kids and I had the best time together. We had play dates, lazy time, park adventures, library visits, beach fun (at least once a week) and lots and lots of swimming. I would say between pools, lakes and oceans that this was the summer of water.

I can't quite pin why this summer felt so much better than the rest. Perhaps it's that that kids are 4 and 7 which means schedules can be a bit flexible. Rest time can be at any point of the late afternoon instead of right at 1:00 so no one crashes and burns. Perhaps it helped that I wasn't anal about the house needing to be clean and being frustrated feeling like all I did was clean up messes. The kids are at the age when THEY are cleaning up most messes they make. Perhaps these have been my favorite stages of their lives. They are more independent and less needy.

Perhaps (and I think this is the most true) I just love their little selves. They are fun and love to be outdoors and are social. They love to play games and watch a movie and read books. I just like being around those darn kids. I find them to be awesome. Biased? Possibly.

I know I write this a lot, but I feel so blessed to have the job I have. I work full time in a profession I am passionate about, but get the benefits of being there for my kids and spending valuable time with them. What could be better? Ok...maybe a lottery win, but still...

The summer was incredible. I will never forget it.

And now it's time to start again. It's time to put away my flips flops that I wore every. single. day. and get out my shoes. Haley is starting 2nd grade and Ryan is starting pre school. Josh just started his new job within his organization. All is good at the Russell house. We are ready to start our newest adventure.