I've Never Had Trouble Flying Before

It's that time of year when grades are due. I'm frantically reading papers trying to say something meaningful in my feedback but let's face it, the work is done already and we all just want to focus on the grade. Five more to go. I have Sam watching Netflix cartoons on the couch while I read papers. I'm not going to win any parenting (or blogging) awards here, but I am going to finish those five papers.

Not Even a Mouse

We had a full house this week. The quiet today is nice, but I sure do miss having this dynamic duo around.

Hold the Phone

Along with the Christmas festivities we managed to celebrate the birth of our girl, Eloise, two years ago that very day. There was giving and receiving, carols and lights, and this Elmo cake to mark the occasion. 

The Reading Life: 2015 Edition

I was inspired by Word Savvy to read more in 2015. I had missed my reading life and this goal was one worth the effort. I read in many formats this year. Print, digital, and audio. Sometimes I had a single book in all three formats. Most of the time I had a different book in each format. 32 books in all. That's a book every 1.6 weeks. I'm pretty proud of this accomplishment, so let's just try to maintain in 2016. Here's the rundown.

Adult Fiction

Attachments

The Imposter Bride

State of Wonder

Dept. of Speculation

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Station Eleven

A Spool of Blue Thread

The Summer Book

The Round House

The Paying Guests

Young Adult Fiction

The Impossible Knife of Memory

The Good Braider

Brown Girl Dreaming

El Deafo

Crossover

We Were Liars

Echo

Audio Books

A Tale for the Time Being

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves

The Invention of Wings

All the Light We Cannot See

Everything I Never Told You

Far from the Tree

Yes Please

BossyPants

Between the World and Me

Course Texts (these count, too!)

Make Me

Discourse Analysis: An Introduction

Discourse and Social Change

Discourses in Place

Critical Discourse Analysis in Education

Discourse in Action

Let's Do This

We're moving into the home stretch here. 7 emails to send out. 16 papers to grade. I'm working from home. The kids are downstairs with my sister. I might have some hot cocoa after completing a few tasks. The family arrives tomorrow. Vacation brain is creeping in. Must. Focus.

Maybe It Just Needs a Little Love

Sam and I had to talk Dave into this Chistmas Movie Night idea. Later it sold itself. 

In a Positive Light

It's pretty clear to some people (named Dave) that I have a post-nasal drip. He's actually in a pretty good position to make this diagnosis. Not so much because he's a doctor but because he's literally positioned next to me when I'm sleeping and--apparently--snoring loudly.

Side note: Amy Poehler also snores loudly. I learned this in her book, Yes Please. We all know that Amy Poehler is hilarious and probably great fun to hang out with. So snoring is obviously not a character flaw.

Back to the story: Dave's been trying for a couple of years to get me to use the neti pot regularly. I'm usually too tired to bother. And am fairly unconvinced that it could make a difference.

Recently Dave brought home an alternative nasal rinse device that doesn't require bending over the sink in discomfort and anger. With this nasal rinse, I remain upright while distilled water quickly and efficiently clears my passages.

As a result, I haven't snored in two whole weeks. And what's more, I sleep 100 times better than before. Like, I actually feel rested and am pleasant in the morning.

I can't really figure out how to end this post except to say that I might be a new woman. I mean, if I weren't overworked, stressed out, lacking in physical activity, and the mother of toddlers, I could probably do anything.

A Nice Sharp Turn

Sam has what we like to call The Pukies. Now that he's almost five, The Pukies are surprisingly manageable. Sam just grabs his bowl and takes care of business. He was a bit of a lump on the couch, but I appreciated this low-energy change-of-pace. When his sister came over to bother him, he just said, "Please leave me alone, Eloise." And she walked away.

I do hope he feels better tomorrow. But only a little.

Poised and Professional

Here we are in December, and truth be told, I'm finding it really hard to remember to write on the blog. The toddlers are a mess of emotions lately. That's part of the problem. A couple of days ago, for example, Dave and I stared at each other in awe as both of our children wailed over some breakfast detail that we had gotten wrong. I mean, inconsolable over the oatmeal. In tandem.

And that garage. It has stolen my husband. I'm admittedly resentful. Dave suggested that we skip giving each other gifts this year because our gift to each other is the garage. I'm trying really hard to see it that way.

Despite these first world challenges, I do plan to post 12 times in December. Never fear. Some things are just that important.

Thanksgiving Brag

It may not seem like a brag, but I do feel exceedingly proud of the fact that we have relaxed to the max while visiting my family in Montana. We have filled our days with eating, talking, game playing, drinking, eating again, and sitting around. I'll need to do some major detoxing when we get back tomorrow, but overall, this trip has been just what our on-the-go family needed.

He Draws

The holiday chalkboard is ready. It's spectacular as usual.

Hard Brag

I've been standing my ground today as my hardworking and beloved partner talks about how much work he needs to do on the garage this weekend and do I really need to be at that conference all day? 

The conference that I've had on my calendar since May? I ask. Yes. I'll be going to that all day tomorrow. 

This is the hard stuff that marriages are made of. I'm not backing down. 

He Cooks

 

I am very sorry that you were not able to have this delicious Bahn Mi for dinner tonight. I ate the whole thing. It feels like bragging to say that. It was a lot of food after all. 

Foundation

For a hearty breakfast, Sam recommends yogurt, oatmeal, and cereal. I mean, come on. He's so smart. 

Braggadocio

Dave worked today and I was so chill about it. I took the kids to the zoo, the library, the grocery store, and Choo Choo Bob's. And I didn't yell at or rush my children once. SuperMom? I think so.

Come On In

I took Sam to his swimming class for the first time tonight. Dave has been talking up Sam's progress, and I was excited to see what he'd been up to.

You might recall that we used to hold Sam's hand while he watched his own swimming class in action. But now the boy is doing it!

He puts his head in the water, floats on his back, and even kicks and paddles his way across the lane. I mean, it's sort of a flailing motion and the untrained observer might think he's actually struggling quite a bit, but believe me, he's doing it!

I almost cried.

On the way home I told Sam, "I'm proud of you." And he replied, "I am too."

We Built This City

We've been working on the new garage forever now (and by we, I mean Dave, of course). Today he had his dad and brother over to put something that may or may not have been sheetrock (I don't really know what any of the materials are called) onto the ceiling (I'm also not certain that I can all where they put the material the ceiling). While they worked I took care of Sam, Eloise, and my awesome nephew, O (which is, let's be clear, helping with the garage).

Taking care of three children wasn't so hard, I found, especially when I put on some Okee Dokee Brothers and gave everyone an instrument.

I mean, parts of it were hard. But only when one of my own children cried incessantly over not being able to ride a bicycle twice her size (Eloise) or continued to knock over the smaller children (Sam).

Bon Retour

We're back now and recovering well from a lovely, lovely weekend away. The kids stayed with Nana and Papa, and the best sign we could have that they loved every minute was this morning when Eloise ran after Dave on his way out the door yelling, "Nana! Nana!" As in, please take me to Nana's house immediately. Things are decidedly less fun at our house, but you're stuck here, kid. I'm not leaving you again for a long time.

Beau Parc

Dave and I are in Montreal. It's quite lovely. Mont Royal, for which the city is named, is spectacular. There's a short cut to the top of the mountain but somehow we missed that turn. In the end, that was the best way to go.

Big Brother

Eloise won't go anywhere without Bear-Bear. Today on our fall hike at the cabin, Sam had this covered.