The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Mother

Solar eclipses, convocation, teacher work days, school supplies, Hurricane Harvey, first days, new school, gas shortages, Labor day, another hurricane...Yikes! It's truly been a whirl wind around here, (no pun intended with the hurricanes)!  As I am sure you have heard it before...there's no tired, like a teacher tired, at the beginning of the new school year. The non-stop work, as both a teacher and a mom with 4 kiddos, that back to school time entails, is exhausting...emotionally and physically. Like with other September posts, I always remark that August goes by in such a blur, September hits you like a brick wall, making you wonder how you got here. It's been a true month of adjustments around here.  Some of us have had a better start than others. Bailey and Savannah are off to another great start at O'Connor High School.  Bailey's thrilled as a senior to only have half days, thanks to working so hard academically over the years.  He's taking all but one...

About a month ago, I scheduled a campus tour for the University of Alabama for Bailey. At the time, I had no idea who was going to go, where we were going to stay, or how we would even afford the extra expense, so close to the start of back-to-school. What I did know, was that it had to happen. I couldn't let Bailey apply for an out-of-state university, without him seeing it with his own eyes. I stressed for days, maybe even weeks and spent hours on websites like Booking and Priceline, trying to find the perfect deal and place. I looked at the GulfShores, quaint towns like Natchez, even NOLA, trying to make this a real adventure. But everything was beginning to blur and I just couldn't decide. With some help from an angel (Savannah's boyfriend's mom!), she booked us into an amazing Embassy Suites in Tuscaloosa.  The perfect size for our family and price. Now there were some extra glitches to deal with...both Savannah and John got sick.  But what troopers! They took thei...

As I flossed my teeth this morning, I realized summer time can be a really good influence on our habits. I have plenty of time in my morning routine to take care of the things I should, like flossing! I've had time to exercise, do yoga and read before bed, without feeling like I have to hurry up and get to sleep. We bake, cook as a family, organize things around the house and do spontaneous outings for fun. The kids are all caught up on doctor's appointments, eyes, teeth, and the pediatrician, for well visits times four.  We've been able to make time for friends, family and plenty of time for the six of us to bond.  We don't have any plans for a vacation this year, but I do for see a roadtrip to check out colleges very soon. On the other hand, I tend to sometimes hold onto a lot of guilt, (recovering Catholic school girl here!) over the stupidest things, like too much relaxing, too much sleeping, too much t.v., too much tech time, too much fighting. I feel terrible ov...