Out of the Fog

Not so much the fog, really, but the excitement and stress of a new job, the holiday season, new routines and other "stressors" that I've created for myself.

Today I am at home with a week of vacation stretching out before me (thanks to my new job in the public schools), which is a good thing because both of my bambinos are sick. "Robots" and "Ice Age": if I didn't know the dialogue to these movies by heart before, I certainly know it now.

In between this and that, I've been reading at a feverish pace to keep up with the voracious readers that are my students. I am currently reading "Frindle", a quick little book that appeals mainly to my third graders and I've just finished reading the first non-picture book read-aloud to my children "My Father's Dragon" - a book that held their interest chapter after chapter even with minimal illustrations.

As for the blog, while I have not outgrown Blogger, I think I've definitely outgrown my drab template. Any suggestions?

Project Flip and Flop

Today the kids and I tried a project that was slightly exasperating on the technical side: crayon "stained glass" windows. Pip lost interest quickly, while Sprout was a machine with the crayon sharpener, dumping her crayon shavings onto wax paper, and watching while I ironed another sheet on top. She created an adorable heart which she then affixed to the front window using her stash of stickers (aside: I always used to look down my nose at people whose car/bay/storm windows were covered in stickers. Didn't they have enough CONTROL to prevent this from happening? I'm that person now. Don't look down your nose at me and no, I don't have enough control).

My question is - does wax paper have a right side and a wrong side? Does it matter what sides you iron together? I tried ironing leaves and the paper would just not stick together. Also, the crayon oozed through (through!) the wax paper onto my ironing board...is this so wrong?

Sleepless in the Middle

Yes, there is something about falling asleep in your wee one's bed only to get up at 2:30 in the morning, twiddling your thumbs. I would vacuum, but that's a bit too noisy. So, it's just me and the cat prowling around the house.

Mama (that's me) is in need of an upgrade...I think Mom 2.0 is in order. What are your eco-savvy, healthy pick-me-ups? And, as the weather gets colder, how do you avoid The Couch?

Ten Things About Winter In Massachusetts That Make Virginians Go "Huh?"

A chill is in the air and at the risk of sounding like "When I was growing up..." I thought I'd put to paper (pixels?) ten things that people from Virginia just don't understand about Boston winters.

10) The weather report. Never have so many words been used to describe so many forms of precipitation.

9) Snow? So? The world does not stop because of a few inches. Or feet, for that matter. Even during the Blizzard of '78 we got crafty.

8) Function over Fashion for the morning commute.

7) Mice in the Oreos.

6) The oil man, hunched over as he pulled the hose up the driveway to the side of the house. The unsung heroes of winter.

5) Mittens drying on hot radiators.

4) Snow. I'm not talking wet slush. Or half-hearted flakes. I'm talking snow that actually sparkled and would blow like sugar.

3) If you were in primary or secondary school and you could see the flashing orange/yellow lights of the snowplow even through your eyelids on a cold, dark, snowy morning... you'd count your lucky stars, roll back over and go to sleep. And yes, the gamble that you took by not doing your homework has paid off once again.

2) Setting out the sticks. How else will the snow plow know where the street ends and your sidewalk begins? Minnesota knows what I'm talking about.

and the number one thing people in Virginia don't understand about winters in Boston:

1) Here in Virginia, school cancellations are done by county. More efficient, perhaps, but pretty boring. In Massachusetts (when I was growing up), snow days were announced alphabetically by TOWN and I would be riveted to the radio (WBZ, natch) listening for mine (which, to add to the suspense, started with a "W"). Dozens of towns: Arlington...Belmont...Boston...to Holliston, Lincoln, Wakefield, Waltham, agonizing, but when it got to your town...heaven.

Just Be...

Every once in a while I write a post about how I get into Keeping Up With The Joneses mode. With so many blogs featuring so many great ideas posted by so many Moms it's easy to feel like you're doing well, nothing. Last week it finally occurred to me (I'm a tad slow on the uptake) that whatever you do, you do. Your activities don't have to match the Jones' activities. Some families take road trips. You don't have to. Some Moms knit beautiful sweaters or create cozy quilts. You don't have to (that's what Etsy is for!). Some Moms maintain the sweetest blogs (with eh hem, regular updates). You don't have to. But last week, we had an fall picnic in our own backyard followed by Pip and Sprout making homemade Halloween decorations in front of a roaring fire. We did that. You don't have to. Life is not really a checklist. Sometimes it's just better to go with the flow.

We are reading a number of page-turners at our house. Green Husband cannot put down Devil in the White City which details "murder and mayhem" during the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. This book came highly recommended from Green Nana, Green Husband's MIL.

Green Husband so kindly and so thoughtfully picked up Donald Hall's Unpacking the Boxes. I am just now realizing that I have quite the large collection of works by Donald Hall and his wife, Jane Kenyon, including their wonderful interview on PBS with Bill Moyers.

For those of you in the mood for an extremely moving and beautiful book meant for the tween and teen set, Sharon Creech's Walk Two Moons is one of my new all time favorites.