peace

Ahhh Everdeen is napping...the house is clean and somehow I got through my list of things to do.  This peace is divine.

oh wait...I can hear a little voice singing in the other room...haha well it was nice while it lasted ;)

A Little Catch Up {A Portrait A Week}

Week 31

Week 34

Week 35

Week 36

Week 37

Week 38

I've been behind on my portrait a week project...I even went two weeks without taking a single picture, which is unheard of in this household! :) I think with such a busy season upon me, I will be forever grateful that I have these portraits and the memories and little moments that go with each one. This project literally makes me stop and smell the roses with my sweet girl. 

Today is full of laundry, vacuuming, cleaning, and taking care of my sick little one. Another cold...not the first and definitely not the last this season.  She's extra clingy today, of course when I have a million things to do. 

These past few weeks have been good, but there have been moments where that drowning feeling sneaks up on me and I almost become frozen.  When I have a list two pages long of things not only to do for work, but at home too, I sometimes end up not doing any of it. It's funny how that works. And then of course I become more overwhelmed. 

Oddly enough I didn't feel this crazy when I switched districts, schools, and grade levels last year. Maybe it's because going from Kinder to First isn't as big of an adjustment. Maybe I was still in shock of realizing we finally got to move home. I try to get to school by 7:15 and I usually work until 5:30.  I've spent almost every weekend working in my classroom taking Everdeen with me. She's a superstar and usually doesn't have any trouble staying occupied. She likes rearranging the insides of kid's desks the best...moving this kid's eraser into this kid's desk and adding books from my library into another desk.  It's always funny on Monday morning when the kids walk in looking confused...why are there six copies of Charlotte's Web in my desk? haha

And just when I think I have things under control for school I realize I haven't cleaned the bathtub in two weeks or I forgot to buy diapers for Everdeen's daycare and they've sent a note home three times.  

When I'm teaching it's where I want to be.  I love my job and I strive everyday to be better, to make my classroom somewhere where my students want to be. A place where we laugh and become a family. But lately I've felt that pressure in my chest right before a huge ugly cry. Pardon moi, but how the hell am I supposed to do all of this!

I know there's no simple answer and I know it's about finding a balance...but that is so much easier said than done. I know it's about being grateful that I have these problems and that these problems really aren't the end of the world.  Even when they feel like it. 

...just writing out my thoughts helps take the pressure off a little bit. I think I can now go tackle the laundry before I take a much deserved nap. 

I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils

This morning something in the air had changed. I went downstairs to open the curtains and let in the cold dark air.  It took me back to one of those ordinary fall mornings when I was little, except it's not ordinary. There's something magical about the changing of the seasons.  A hint of dampness...fresh and crisp.

I've survived my first two weeks back to school. I'm loving teaching fourth grade again, but like with anything new I'm trying to keep my head above the water while I figure it all out.  I've been breathing, thinking and dreaming school everyday. It's always an adjustment for my husband and for me. Any spouse of a teacher knows that the first month of school overtakes just about every aspect of life. But soon things will calm down again and there will be a normal rhythm to life. I leave most mornings while my family is still peacefully sleeping and my heart always aches a little when I have to say goodbye to Everdeen. 

We still always have dinner together as a family and still love to go on our evening walks. We ask Everdeen about her days at her little school. "Everdeen has own school, mama has own school!" She says every time I pick her up. I can't believe how much her language has developed in the past few weeks.  I love listening to her try to sing the ABC song or Wheels on the Bus.  

Life is good.  It seems like the seasons change just as we begin to long for a freshness and the start of something new. It's nice how it works that way :)

Our Big Fat Greek/Italian Reunion, Christening, and Wedding {Michigan Part III}

One of the many reasons why we made the road trip to Michigan was so that we could have a little family reunion (on my dad's side). It was the first time we had all been together in a very long time- since 1990 to be exact- and there were lots of new little cousins running around that we had yet to meet.  With my cousin's wedding that weekend, my aunt thought it would be the perfect chance to have a Redente family BBQ. 

Everdeen was having no part of a cousin picture...

The four inexplicable blond haired cousins 

Anthony and Vincent playing with, cool, Great Uncle Ed

The next day we woke up early and put on our Sunday best for my nephew Oliver's Christening. We drove through downtown Detroit and into Greek town...hoping we wouldn't take a wrong turn and end up on some sketchy part of 8 Mile Road. The Greek Church was beautiful and it was so special to get to whiteness such a unique ceremony...all in Greek of course! Oliver is now officially Greek and will soon learn how to shout Opa! and throw back a shot of Ouzo. I kid...

After a celebration luncheon my sisters and I hopped in the car with my mom and drove around the small town of Northville, where she had grown up.  My mom showed us the home she had lived in, her schools she had attended, and the church where my parents were married. We even got to say hello to her dear friend who she has known since primary school :) I think it must always be bittersweet visiting a place you hold dear to your heart...especially when every time you come back it has changed and grown. Sometimes I wish places never changed, but stayed a time stamp of what was then. 

That evening we were off to Detroit once more, but this time for our cousins's wedding at the Masonic Temple. I had never driven around Detroit until now.  It had sort of an eerie feeling to it...run down, trash along the roads. What were once beautiful old brick buildings and houses were now boarded up and abandoned. It was sad to think that this city was once powerful and great and today it looks like it's been through war...which in a way, I guess it sort of has been.

The wedding was beautiful and we had a great time celebrating with our family! Martin and I enjoyed our second date in two months- I know I know, we're getting carried away...

The next morning we awoke at quarter to 4 to say goodbye to Kate and Bobby and began to pack up the car for the long 18 hour trip back to Colorado.  I'm so glad we all decided to go together...all the memories we shared and the special moments we witnessed.  It was the perfect way to end my summer vacation. I'm back to school next week so we are soaking up these last few days together as a family.