est. 2005
The week…
July 6: Sometimes they get along.
July 7: A little quality quiet time with the big one.
July 8: Clay fun during quiet time…he was so proud that he spelled his name.
July 9: Newest read
July 10: Again it’s craftiness during quiet time. Today = sidewalk paint
July 11: Meeting my new nephew, Harrison
July 12: Annual reunion with the college buddies/roomies. We figured out we have been friends for 18 years. And have 13 kids between the 6 of us!
How was your week?
Holy crap!
It’s JULY!
June 29: It’s summer. That means Pants Optional if you are under 3.
June 30: Moving day! On to a new classroom and new adventures!
July 1: Just reading a book to daddy.
July 2: A morning at the zoo with daddy.
July 3: our garden is Bird High by the fourth of July.
July 4: park in the morning, lazy afternoon, dinner and sparklers with friends, and then daddy’s fireworks show in our jammies. A great holiday!
July 5: This is exactly what summer should look like.
Hopefully all of my American readers had a great holiday.
I know we did.
You know how I can tell? Everyone could have realistically gone to bed at 8pm tonight.
Boom.
I took pictures of the good stuff this week.
But behind the good, there was some very hard stuff.
June 15; Happy Father’s Day to this guy!
June 16: I like the age when they can go out and play without needing much from me. The week starts out Ok.
June 17: I have three for breakfast today since cousin Lilly is here. I also get the phone call telling me about my job transfer to 8th grade ELA. This day is hard.
June 18: Happy anniversary to us! nine years strong! (I also had a pre-cancerous spot frozen off my face).
June 19: Even though I have a very hard day, this one knows when I need a smile. He put on my glasses and said, “I Momma!!”
June 20: It’s birthday party prep day! Eddie is excited for cousins and friends to come play in the pool!
June 21: This guy is still 2 days away from turning five, but we celebrate with a FIESTA today.
I’d like to say I am facing all of these challenges and emotions with remarkable aplomb.
I’d like to say I am proud of how I am handling it all.
But I am not.
So.
I’m not sure what to do other than just keep breathing.
This week was the height of our transition.
There was a lot of push and pull.
And crying.
I was looking through my Instagram feed and I realized it looks like this week was SO MUCH FUN.
But that was just what I took pictures of.
In between there was a lot of frustration.
And questions (from the boys AND me) about when they can go back to daycare.
June 8: Charlie “helps” with yard work.
June 9: He calls this his “animal house”. I think he needs a sweat shirt that says “college”.
June 10: Reading over some note my aunt took so I can write my grandfather’s military years in narrative form.
June 11; Private tour of the new Verizon Smart Store in Grand Rapids, Mi.
June 12: All three boys quiet in one spot. I think this is the first time all week.
June 13: Although the weather was chilly (mid 50’s), we braved the park for an hour.
June 14: one of our favorite things to do all month: cards with great friends because it means family fun for all of us!
The truth of the photos is that we found fun.
The untruth of the pictures is that there was a lot of tension and stress and time outs around the fun.
That is parenthood, though, right?
We’ll get there.
It is JUNE and it is SUMMER.
OFFICIALLY.
June 1: Open house for a very special graduate.
June 2: The boys are still in daycare, so I whip up some marscapone. No big deal.
June 3: The homemade cheesecake ice cream with raspberry sauce I made with yesterday’s marscapone.
June 4: Date Day! This guy was my date for pedicures, lunch, and some shopping.
June 5: I get to go as a guest to the Make A Wish Michigan The Fault in Our Stars Premier event. It was amazing.
June 6: Home with these two goobers trying to figure out our new summer groove.
June 7: The boys come to Indiana with me for a reading Three Minus One. I was super nervous to read my piece, but Eddie told me he would like me even if I messed up, so I was good.
I will admit that there were parts of the week that felt stressful and I definitely battled with some anxiety.
The boys and I have NOT found our groove yet, but we will.
Cortney reminded me that this is just the transition. It will be Ok.
And it will.
I mean, we have perfect weather this week, and this is just transition?
I’ll take it.
Well, well, well.
There you are, summer.
May 25: I sit back with a beer and my book at watch the “help” wash my car.
May 26: Memorial Day sprinkler fun. Except sprinklers were not Charlie’s idea of fun
May 26: A freshly laundered Bird
May 28: Last #teacherstyle shot of the school year.
May 29: Finished grading all exams and feeling darn good about it.
May 30: Celebrating the last day of school looks a lot different than it used to.
May 31: Eddie and I had a date to Barnes and Noble for new bed time books and a treat. He chose Cricket in Times Square and Stewart Little. He also chose fruit punch and a vanilla cupcake.
School is out.
I repeat: SCHOOL IS OUT.
More lasts, which lead to more firsts.
“Tis the life of a parent and teacher.
May 18: cuddles with the small one.
May 19: my seniors are all done. Work is odd now.
May 20: He has always crossed his toes…since birth.
May 23: This guy is now officially a Kindergartner!
May 22: Graduation night.I am really REALLY going to miss this group of seniors. Especially this one.
May 23: The books man, they keep coming. And I LOVE it! #classroomlibrary
May 24: As per Sluiter tradition, the flowers have been purchased and planted on this Memorial Day weekend.
And just like that I am on the cusp of my last week of school.
Summer, I see you.
This week was a killer.
Not because it was so busy, but because all my feelings leaked out of my eyes.
May is a tricky month because not only is it filled with busy, but it always brings the end of something too.
May 11: Happy Mother’s Day! Eddie made me this beautiful necklace!
May 12: The sweet REM poster the boys got me for Mother’s Day
May 13: fuzzy family selfie…er…usie?
May 14: I may have gotten out of control with my new “Property of Sluiter Nation” stamp at school
May 15: on the way home from the Scholastic Book Warehouse Sale: five baby cows in a camo jeep. WHAT?
May 16: Seniors’ Last day. They made me cry. Jerks.
May 17: Eddie’s last swimming lesson for this year. He rocked it.
Lasts were everywhere this week.
And we face some more lasts this coming week.
We also got lots of good news this week:
Eddie is going to our first choice of elementary schools in the fall for Kindergarten,
and I get to go to BlogHer ’14 in July!!!
WOOT!
Happy Mother’s Day!
I was going to write a post.
And then I didn’t.
I was going to buy meaningful cards for our mothers.
And then I didn’t.
I was going to go with Cort and the boys to all the moms to deliver their Mother’s Day flowers.
And then I didn’t.
I’m batting 1000 here, people. For the wrong team.
The truth is, I don’t’ know if I am coming or going lately.
But this is what our week looked like when I managed to think about taking pictures of it:
May 4: Home from Chicago with this hombre
May 5: Me and my guys
May 6: Tulip Time means corn dogs for dinner from a food truck!
May 7: Tulip Time Parade with Grandma!
May 8: Cort snapped this one. The boys were cuddling on me because I would be gone AGAIN from them over the weekend.
May 9: This one woke up early to make me smile before I left
May 10: Attempting to unpack this HUGE “relaxation” basket I won in our school’s Relay for Life raffle fundraiser.
We were busy with Tulip Time this week and then Friday to Saturday I was in our state capital to work on some Common Core Training.
This coming week is the last week of school for seniors in our district which means I will run myself ragged getting grades done.
Next weekend we have deliberately left open so we can actually spend time as a family.
I miss my family.
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I am honored to once again be part of Postpartum Progress’s Mother’s Day Rally. This year marks four years since my own diagnosis. This rally, which I found just a couple short months after my diagnosis, saved me. They helped me know I was not alone. My letter goes live at 6pm est, but it’s just one of many. Treat yourself this mother’s day to some uplifting reading.
Holy moly this week was jam-packed!
Every May is like this, but I think each year it’s a little more crazy.
I’m not sure it’s because the kids are getting older or what, but it zips by!
April 27: I go to school to bring all the books that have been donated. This looks like a lot, but as of this picture I have added WAY more! Yay internet!
April 28: A big pile of dirt arrived. Heaven for our two dirt balls.
April 29: MOAR BOOKS ARRIVE!
April 30: Happy birthday to my old man who apparently knows what a “selfie” is.
May 1: Playing with the toys of the show you’re watching.
May 2: Fiesta at Sea with some of the best weirdos on the planet…students!
May 3: culture day in Chicago. This one was from our mural tour. I will post more about our Chicago trip tomorrow!
Not pictured was Cort’s “Brews and Bros.” night, Dinner with my family for my dad’s birthday, Cortney’s bowling awards banquet, and my entire trip to Chicago.
You can see the pictures from my trip here. Or wait until tomorrow to read all about it.
Now if you’ll excuse me, my email inboxes are bursting, I have laundry to do, and I have another three blog posts to write.
And that doesn’t include all the school work and other writing due.
Oh, May. You so crazy.