Runny Noses and Hugs

Well, I've been back to school officially for two days, and I'm already under the weather. The mental and emotional fatigue is already keeping me up at nights, but physically, I'm convinced the building is trying to kill me. There are years of kiddie germs coated on every surface of that place; I don't care how awesome a job our custodians do in the summer, you can't erase that crud.

Naturally, a week at daycare has already given Violet a runny nose as well. It was bound to happen soon or later, I guess we might as well get this party started.

Violet has had a bit of a time transitioning back to school. The first day we hyped it up enough that she seemed fairly excited about going. She spotted her BFF Emma and their reunion was a beautiful thing (and involved  dropping trou to show off their "big girl" underwear to each other right there in the playground). The next day when I dropped her off, the shine seemed to have worn thin and she teared up when I left. By the third day, reality had firmly set in and sweet girl was in tears before we even left the house! Even with all her drama last year at drop off, she never boo-hooed before arriving at school! Poor thing, just about broke my heart with her big tears.

The good news is, she is always happy as a clam when we pick her up and the teachers are full of cheerful reports. She's been rockin' the potty at school, whoo-hoo! I think we can officially declare this potty training thing a success! Gold medal!

One fun part of daycare this year is how much Violet is now able to verbalize. When I ask her what she did at school, I get a fairly accurate report back. I also get to hear, "Mommy, I miss you when you go to work. Mommy, you miss me when I go to school? You come back to get me? I miss you, Mommy!" Melt.

And I don't know if it's all the recent changes, but Violet has become quite attached to her baby dolls. We have several floating around the house, but one in particular seems to be the current favorite. The baby doll gets to go to school with Violet and "sleep" in her cubby until the end of the day. I also get to hear, "Oh baby, I miss you!" and watch Violet lavish her doll with big hugs in the afternoon. So sweet. The doll is also a required part of bedtime and most car trips, so there definitely is a growing bond there. Perhaps there is some girlie-girl in my little sword-wielding, truck-pushing, keeping-up-with-the-neighborhood-boys daughter after all.

A Toddler's Brain

So true.

Spotted here via here.

The End of Summer

I know, it's hot as blazes outside right now, how can it be the end of summer? Alas, my wonderful break is drawing to a close. I've been up to the school a half-dozen times already, working on my classroom. And this Monday, I'm starting Violet in daycare so she can ease back into our routine before the real fun of pre-planning starts.

At the "simma poo!"

But we're making a pretty good end of things around here. Lately we've been staying busy with trips to the pool, a Braves game, date night with a turn at the movies (I feel like we haven't been the theater together in years!), and fun with friends. I've been speed reading through as many books as I can, with the feeling that reading for pleasure will be put on hold for a while. I got 12 under my belt this break, including this favorite and this classic! I also fulfilled my New Year's Resolution of reading and watching all of Harry Potter again.

"Helping" get my classroom ready.

This summer has been very different from last year's. Violet is so independent now, we can carry on conversations together, and I've had more me-time, like joining a new Bible study and book club. I've enjoyed her and my family more because of it. And while I didn't accomplish everything on my summer wish-list, I'm okay with that.

Babysitting these adorable two!

Tomorrow I have my first official back-to-school meeting with my first grade team, and I know my brain will just be awash with details and ideas and to-do lists as soon as it starts, so this is my last peaceful evening before the madness begins anew. Summer 2012, you have been good to us.

Testing out a few "big girl" beds. We converted Violet's crib to a toddler bed earlier this week and so far, the transition has been seamless!

Spontaneous Friday night Braves game!

Repeat

Want to know what it sounds like around the house these days?

Violet had earned a new nickname - Stewie.

Flying High

Violet and I had the privilege of attending a Vacation Bible School (affectionately known as Camp Sky) run next door by my multi-talented neighbor Kim. I helped out for three days, and Violet tagged along for two of them. While it was a little over her head, she still got into the singing and dancing, and you know she understands snack time just fine. Here are a few memories we made:

Getting some instructions on the side from resident expert Christian.

Waiting intently for the parachute game.

So serious! What a listener!

Following directions pays off with a purple fish.

A little face time with mommy before VBS starts. (Mommy needed way more coffee for this much excitement so early in the morning.)

Violet loved "Sky Camp"! This balloon was pretty much the highlight of the entire camp in her mind.

Walking the White Halls

I wasn't going to do it. I wasn't going to surrender my summer a moment before I had to by going into school. I've been trying my hardest to not even think about school. I've even started avoiding Pinterest because all the school-related pins were just bringing me down.

But then I shipped Violet off for three days to her grandmothers. And then I found out some friends were going to work on their classrooms. I knew the thought of other people getting a jump start on things would just cause me anxiety, trying to relax at home. I hate knowing other people are getting ahead of me. So I bit the bullet.

School or mental institution... you decide.

Definitely looks better than how we ended the year, though!

As you can see, they've done quite a bit of work this summer for us! In the two days I've gone in, I managed to get my room unpacked, arranged, and organized. Next time I go in (hopefully not until the week of pre-planning) I'll work on hanging things on the wall, making new materials for the year, putting student names on everything. We all have new classrooms this year, so figuring out where things will go and trying to adjust to a new layout has made things interesting. Hopefully I'll be happy with the choices I'm making.

Don't tell anyone, but I'm getting the teensiest bit exciting about the coming year.

Now I'm off to lay on the couch in my child-free house and enjoy the rest of my summer, thank you very much!

Sam Adams I Am

Sam he is.

Before we arrived in Boston, we were all tasked with choosing a day's worth of activities for the family. At the top of my list, one of the activities I was most looking forward to, was a visit to the Sam Adams brewery. And fortunately, the esteemed brewery happened to be in the very neighborhood we were staying in. A short 20-minute walk one morning brought us happily there. (Don't worry, Violet had a lovely time at the playground with Grandma and cousin Brooke while we were doing our tasting.)

One of my favorite flavors.

The tour was free, hands-on and rather impressive. I've been to a brewery tour before, the Shiner brewery in Shiner, Texas. But as that's the only place in the world they brew Shiner, we had to keep our distance. Most of the tour was conducted in front of glass windows overlooking the bottling factory floor. But that's cool, I understand. There is important work going on in Shiner, Texas!

This tour, however, was entirely different. It's here where they create, test and perfect each Sam Adams beer, but most of the actual brewing is done elsewhere (under conditions strictly controlled to exactly match the Boston site - down to treating the water to taste exactly like Boston's). We were able to sample the different kinds of grain used in the brewing process, handle and crush the hops in the same method the brew masters use when choosing the perfect ingredients, and of course, learn all about what makes Sam Adams a great beer. This particular tour had the added excitement of being filmed for some promotional web commercials, so who knows, perhaps I'll also get my big Hollywood break!

Cheers!

Of course, the highlight of the tour was its culmination in the tasting room, where our excellent tour guide walked us through appreciating our beer with all our senses. We tasted this year's new batch of Octoberfest and toasted one another on our new beer knowledge. We also got to keep these lovely tasting glasses. Cheers!

Octoberfest in July!

Lauren and Greg in the tasting room.

Ready for my Hollywood close-up!

Blue Steel!

Having far too much fun in the gift shop with ol' Sam. I had a remarkably difficult time centering the camera after our stint in the tasting room (notice the glass I refused to put down making an appearance in the lower corner. Cheers indeed!)