Just two more days and counting!

Summer is almost here! TWO more days of activities and we're through for the whole year! Tomorrow is Brandon and Ashley's award ceremony (off campus, of course. . . and at 8AM across town). . . But we only have to stay until 10AM and then we're done for the day. Tuesday is the last day of "school" and both classes have a celebratory end-of-year field trip from 10-2. And that's it!

I love the freedom of summer and I find myself thinking about all the wonderful things that could fill my days.

Here is what a day in the life of Sherilyn looks like during the school year:
• Wake up 6:30, get kids ready for school.
(fortunately, Karlon does the first drop-off run at 7:30 for me)
• While he's gone, I focus on getting Jonathan and myself ready for preschool drop-off at 9am.
• Leave home at 8:30-8:45 to arrive in Cedar Park between 9 and 9:15
• Sign Jonathan in, exit the building and either. . .
. . .a) drive directly back home and arrive 9:30-9:45 . . .or
. . .b) run a few errands on my way home and get back between 10 - 10:30
• This gives me enough time at home to read/reply to email or perhaps make a phone call before it's time to leave again at 11:21 to get a good parking place at the circle drive for picking up Brandon and Ashley.
• Wait at the circle drive, bored, until the kids are released from class and mosey themselves to the truck. . .
• Leave said parking lot between 11:45 and 11:50
• Drive back to Cedar park to pick up Jonathan and arrive roughly at 12:20
• Sit in parking lot and work on homework with Brandon and Ashley until 12:58, walk in and sign Jonathan out at 1pm.
• Drive directly back home and arrive between 1:20 and 1:30.
• Prepare lunch for 4 people (Jon ate at school) and eat.
• Begin supplementary homework rotation (more on this at a later date, I'm sure).
Fist Ashley (writing and spelling, math, reading)
. . .then Brandon (math, writing, reading)
• Prepare dinner, eat, send the kids to bed. Then it's all about laying clothes out for the following morning, packing snacks/Jon's lunch, filling out [those infernal] reading journals, making sure all homework is in correct folder, folders are in the correct backpacks and backpacks are ready to go and hanging assigned doorknobs.
Whew! Then it's time to rest.

Anyway, I feel like I'm coming back to life. I LOVE summer! . . .I can hear all those wonderful previously unfinished projects just calling my name.

I was thinking I'd finish repainting Ashley's bedroom furniture first, since that's been in the queue the longest. Repainting the upstairs from all the kid-crayon marks and handprints has been in the queue second-longest. . . I have a junk-closet of stuff that keeps growing and growing all the time that needs to be sorted into things to keep, things to give away and things to sell (then I actually need to follow through with giving away or selling the stuff). . . I have 3 bedrooms and a gameroom to finish decorating. I own most of the supplies for decorating each, but just never get around to installing the stuff.

Jonathan is starting Kindergarten in three months, and I have yet to complete his nursery. He grew out of it about four years ago and moved into Brandon's room. . . and the "nursery" is now more of a storage room. It is half-exquisitely decorated in the theme of Peter Rabbit and I have left it the way it is because I do eventually want to complete it and take pictures before turning it back into a closet/setting area. So this project has actually been in the queue the longest. . . and would probably be the most fun. . . but the other things still take priority because they're more currently useful.

. . .BUT before any of those things, the absolute first on the list will have to be cleaning house. By the end of the school year, everything is so chaotic that I can't keep up and before I know it, the house seriously does look like a tornado hit it. (And unlike some people, I don't overstate the facts.) Here's a picture of my office last weekend:


And here's what it looked like after a day and a half of sorting, organizing and filing:


"Ahhhh." . . .that's one room down and . . .like 13 more to go!

I think I'll chronicle my summertime productivity here. . . .Give it a snazzy title like The Great Transformation. . . .

And the adventure officially begins June 3! . . .in *TWO* days!
Wahoo!!! I just *LOVE* summer!!!

AND the TATTLE AWARD of the day GOES TO. . .

BRANDON! - surprisingly. Usually he minds his own business, but this one I guess he couldn't ignore:
"Mom! Jonathan turned the TV off and spit at my leg!"

Another chapter closed

Today was Jonathan's last day of preschool. It didn't really occur to me because his preschool has a private Kindergarten that he'll attend next year which is comfortably located just across the hall. But something Jonathan said this morning triggered the realization: "This is my very last day of preschool EVER!" Wow. The bitter-sweetness of it all washed over me like a wave. It's a little sad that the kids are all growing up and (as of 1pm today) we have officially closed the book on preschool. . . but at the same time, it's rather satisfying to have attained the freedom that comes with having older kids. . . the freedom of being able to ask a simple question and get an answer rather than having to guess. . . freedom to be able to enjoy a meal together in a restaurant without anyone having a meltdown. . . knowing they can get themselves dressed, pour their own juice, entertain themselves.
. . .Well, I guess I can fudge a little on the setimentality of it all since Kindergarten is one of those years that can really still be considered preschool. After all, it isn't really required by the state of Texas. . . and the NAEYC does accredit Kindergartens.
. . .Okay. We'll call it preschool for just one more year . . .and while we do that, there's no law that says we can't enjoy the benefits of having school-aged kids as well. . . (Where's my blond wig and microphone? . . . ♫♪ the best of both worlds ♫♪. . .)

First, I'd like to say to anyone who is not down with Winnie-the-Pooh, that the word "Thotful" was originally spelled by a bear of very little brain.

(well, I had to write something for a test-entry)