06
6:52 – I want to remember how every single day Harriet wakes up and asks Jesse for milk in her Dora cup. I want to remember how she says Doa Bup. I want to remember how she can point to Dora and Boots, but that she’s never actually seen the show (as far as I know).
9:13 – I want to remember how this morning got away from me and suddenly I was at work and I hadn’t taken any photos of getting ready, dropping the kids off at dad’s house, getting to school, preparing the lessons, drinking my coffee. I also want to remember these fun kids. 7th graders are so entirely funny.
10:38 – I want to remember how, even as a sub, I get to teach some of my favorite lessons. The teacher for whom I was subbing didn’t have time to really prepare a lesson, but we texted about what was going on. I was happy that she was talking about heroes, and I jumped at the chance to do one of my favorite activities about the Hero Cycle. It’s not a particularly difficult activity, but it really helps the students understand the Hero Cycle.
11:35 – I want to remember this school. It’s where I did my student teaching, and a big chunk of my subbing. It has changed a lot, but it has a lot of heart. The kids are charming and funny and bright. The staff is full of some of my very favorite people. It’s also a fancy new building with lots of great things, the least of which is the instant hot water in the staff rooms. But that hot water tap was pretty great during my two day job there.
12:35 – I want to remember these days of papers to grade, lessons to teach, ideas to share.
2:32 – I want to remember the energy of kids at the end of the day. They know that freedom is soon theirs, and it’s electric. It’s like a surge, then they leave and it’s silence.
2:38 – I want to remember raindrops and windows and school buses.
4:18 – I want to remember how Alma is requesting certain songs when we’re in the car. It used to be the ‘paper song,’ also known as ‘the monkey on your back,’ officially known as “Anyone Else But You” by the Moldy Peaches. Lately it’s been “The Dreaming Tree” by Dave Matthews, which I obviously love. She asks lots of interesting questions about the song. She asks about death and about trees. She will see a tree out her window and ask if it’s the Dreaming Tree.
4:56 – I want to remember how Alma had a fever for 4 days and didn’t have much appetite. Seeing her eat a bowl of yogurt while watching Octonauts made me very happy.
5:47 – I want to remember cooking with Jesse. We make a good team, and it gives us a chance to talk and catch up after our days. I love that man, and love that we get to do this life together.
6:18 – I want to remember how this girl won’t stop dancing and singing ever, even with a 4 days fever. Tonight we had a dance party to “Everything is Awesome” because we had a family movie night and watched The Lego Movie and it’s stuck in all our heads. But it’s true – everything is awesome.
6:33 – I want to remember how much these girls love the bath. I want to remember Harriet’s curls, especially when they’re wet.
8:49 – I want to remember these tea dates with Katrina. It does my heart and soul so much good to get out of the house and spend time with her. Talking about jobs and kids and our lives is so easy and great with Katrina. We were joined by another sweet friend, Christy, when she happened to come to the teahouse to stock up. It felt good to talk and laugh and connect with these two wonderful mamas.
Other Days In The Life:
May 12, 2015
September 9, 2015
November 11, 2015
This is our fourth year visiting Santa at the Festival of Trees. It’s great to see him every year. This year we went with Rory and Poppy, and all four kids were (mostly) happy to go say hello. They were a little nervous, but there were absolutely no tears. I’m sure the candy canes helped.
10:02 – I want to remember this time with Harriet. I totally hate this age when she has so much to say, but she doesn’t have the words to say it. This moment, she had something terrible to tell me about this ball, but I just couldn’t figure out what she was saying. Then she spent my entire shower yelling at me to help her find her backpack (that ended up being on the floor in the hallway…). She is whiny and screechy. I’m not sure why I want to remember all of this, but I get the feeling it will be funny to look back at it all. Right? 
10:57 – I want to remember their wonder (and their happiness at being out of the car). Right here Alma said, “I don’t want to smell the flowers because of allergies.” The she smelled the flowers. She doesn’t have allergies, by the way.
11:03 – I want to remember all the beauty of Autumn. Snowberries are a favorite, and it was fun to be able to share them with the girls. We also call most wild berries ‘bird berries’ because I want the girls to know not to eat them – they are only good for birds. So far, this has worked to keep them from eating random poison berries. 
11:17 – I want to remember these sweet friends. I love that our kids won’t remember a time that these kids weren’t in their lives. Since it was a holiday, a lot of my friends (and their kids) had the day off of work and school, so we made plans to meet at the Museum of Natural and Cultural History. I’d never taken the kids there, so it was especially fun. Not to mention the cool backpacks that each kid got to wear. And the fact that Harriet’s was almost bigger than she is.
12:03 – I want to remember how these kids were curious, engaged, interested, and awesome. The museum is set up so well, and our kids did a great job exploring.
12:05 – I want to remember how this girl tries (and succeeds) to keep up with the big kids. She’s difficult these days, but watching her learn and grow is a joy, truly. 
12:32 – I want to remember these friendships. 
12:48 – I want to remember how we got lunch at one of the dorms, and ate outside. I’d like to forget how crazy it was trying to wrangle two girls (plus the others), pick out food for us, order it, pay for it, and not lose either kid. But I want to remember how, as we were leaving the food court, Jane said, “And as they leave, they throw condoms to the audience.” I’m sure watching all of us with our kids was enough to inspire abstinence in at least a few of the college students. 
3:49 – I want to remember how Alma likes to take my camera and take photos. This one worked out because it’s nice to have photos of me in these posts, since I’m the one usually taking the photos. I also want to remember how busy I’ve been getting some Christmas things ready.
4:41 – I want to remember how, whenever Rory comes over, it becomes a dress-up party. They change and play and run and dance.
4:57 – I want to remember these three. Right now they’re the big kids (Poppy will catch up soon) and they are the best. I want to remember the way Harriet still sucks on her fingers and rubs her eyelashes. I want to remember Alma’s dramatic flair (look at those pinkies!). 
I want to remember how I forgot to take any more photos because we were just having a good time with our friends, getting pizza, eating pizza, talking about god and God, and Heaven and heaven. Sometimes it’s better to just put the camera down and live and remember.
When they got to the park, it was sunny and warm. They hiked around the waterfalls, in the woods, and had lots of fun. They had a picnic lunch in the lodge and hiked some more. 
Of course, the rain showed up. They embraced the water and got soaked. At this point, it didn’t matter if the rain was falling, or the creek was splashing. It was warm enough that it was still fun.
It was so wet, though, that everyone decided to head home. They realized they would have just spent the whole night in their tents as a fire would have been impossible and everything would be too wet to sit on. I don’t think Alma was too disappointed. They got to do all the fun things of camping without sleeping on the wet ground. 