Collecting Moments 7

Last night, the second season of our Girls on the Run club ended with a party filled with music, dancing, pizza, paint, picture frames and cupcakes of course...

Collecting Moments 6

Buddy Roller and I started reading this book a few days ago, and we love it!!!

Collecting Moments 5

The Dab

And so it was, another day of testing. And unlike last week, where my brain felt like an empty hour glass, today was more like a deflated beach ball.

What to do with kids after they've tested for more than three hours, trapped in a classroom, without even a window? Well...take them outside! And that's just what we did. We visited our school garden, got some fresh air, got silly (especially the boys), took a few photos, and even did the dab.

Collecting memories is what it's all about...with my kiddos in middle school.

Collecting Moments 4

Yesterday, coaches and running buddies...all teachers at my school...united to support our students as some of them took on the challenge of running their first 5K! As I continue to collect the special moments in my life, I cannot help but feel joy and gratitude to be part of such a committed bunch of educators. There were lots of laughs, hugs, and much support going around for our girls. Our students had fun, and each and every one of them met their challenge of completing the 3.1 miles.

Here are a few more photos if you'd like to see...

Collecting Moments 3

It has been one hellacious week! Have you ever had one of those?

I felt like Alexander because I had a, "horrible, terrible, no good, very bad" week, in more ways than one...

Collecting Moments 2

It's day two, and I'm still collecting moments. Are you?

You might ask, what's so special about eating frozen yogurt? Well the answer is simple. It's all about who you're eating it with. You see when you don't see your mother-in-law all that often, and she's visiting from Florida, then a little date out, just the girls and some yogurt...is quite special.

Collecting Moments 1

Day one of my challenge is all about Friday night bingo. Most Fridays, we are flat out exhausted and don't want to do anything, or go anywhere! But we all pulled together and made this one happen. Bingo Night at Buddy Roller's school got the whole family together, and even though we didn't win (we did get to see some teachers get pie thrown in their face though), we created a moment that included us three and grandma too!

Collect Moments Not Things

Last week I wrote about collecting and treasuring special moments. Even though I don't believe in the "more is better" mentality, we live in a world where it can be so easy to lose sight of what's really important.

We spend so much time on things. Buying things, collecting things, buying more things...and when we run out of space for those things, we need a bigger house to make room for those things that we really don't even need. Let's face it...in a world where meals are "supersized," and a closet is only a closet when it's "walk-in," we can lose focus.

And that's why I decided to issue myself a challenge...

Spring Break Faves

Tomorrow I'll return to school after having a glorious ten day break from life. I'm sure my middle schoolers will be just thrilled to get back to school, and I can't wait to face their lovely pre-teen moods on Monday. Sounds like fun, right?

So on this eve before returning to work, I'm thinking about all the things I appreciated while on spring break:

1. I didn't have to set an alarm clock for 10 days; in fact, most days I wasn't even aware of the day...or time! 
2. I didn't have to rush and eat my lunch and use the restroom in under 20 minutes.
3. I could use the restroom whenever I wanted.
4. I could take a nap.
5. Lounge by the pool.
6. Walk on the beach.
7. Eat. Eat. Eat.
8. Play board games with my family.
9. Stay up late.
10. Spend good quality time with my family.

Here are more photos if you'd like to see...

Treasure the Moments

My mother-in-law tells the story best.

Many, many, years ago, she spotted them from the window of her kitchen.  They were playing in her back yard. A teenager and his girlfriend.  They weren't doing anything special.  Just playing around, chasing each other...the young girl's long brown hair trailing behind her in the New England breeze. At one point, the young girl even climbs on her boyfriend's back, both laughing and delighting in each other. Young, naive and in love. And every time she tells the story, my mother-in-law reminds me how envious she was of those two teenagers.  Not in a bad way...but she realized then how special and rare their love was.

I've heard this story maybe four times in the last 26 years, and every time my mother-in-law tells it, I always end up feeling happy and nostalgic.  The Hubs and I...played a lot during our early years together.  In fact, I remember climbing up his back and sitting on his shoulders quite a bit.  Of course, I was a bit smaller and weighed less back then.

So, in honor of those early years...I climbed right up there on The Hubs' back. And the photo...courtesy of my mother-in-law who witnessed our budding love some 26 years ago.

Collect the moments. And treasure them.

On Nature's Beauty

What is it about palm trees that always make me stop and take notice? 

Is it the island girl in me? The one who always longs for the beach and the feel of the hot white sand sliding between my toes?

Or is it the way they stand so tall...towering above all below them...with such majesty and grace.

Maybe it's because they think they're all that...dancing in the tropical breeze, swaying this way and that way, as they touch the sky.

I'm not sure what it is, but palm trees get me every time.

Happy spring break!