st. patrick's day - and home learning and teaching

well, I must say this has been an extremely crazy week and a half or so.

yes, we did buy that perfect st. patrick's day outfit for school and dance, just about a week ago.  when we were going to school, and work, and out.  but now, we are on day three of staying home. 

today was my first day of remote teaching, which really means setting up plenty of enrichment opportunities, but due to equity, we have to look at this break as essentially summer.  what do we HOPE our students are doing while they are not in the classroom learning? 

this also pairs with me beginning to homeschool my own daughter.  woah, in a million years I would have never thought that phrase would have been spoken by me, and true.  yes, I am thankful for my credential right now.  however, primary grades are not my jam, but we are doing okay. 

finding time for all the little things that are so easy to say no to during the regular hustle and bustle of our lives has been pretty amazing.  notice the last photo - she is showing off her fresh manicure.  yes ma'am!  good thing I've loved nail polish since my strangely tom-boyish tween/teen years!

so, when my mind starts to get a little overwhelmed with the current state of this pandemic, I just try to focus on the time I am getting with everly that I do not normally have.  and yes, that includes some stir crazy moments, because she is seven, and we are constantly changing our focus.  however, I am thankful for her love of ballet.  yesterday, I think she danced for close to three hours!!!  yes, that is an amazing thing to be thankful for!

so, because I would have tried to share some green loving photos, but if I was working in the traditional sense, there probably would not have been an official blog post to go along, because, yeah, that whole time thing.  but time, that is now one luxury I have.  [seriously, the mr. is currently making beignets in the kitchen right now, we have had that cafe du monde box of beignet mix since last july, but yeah, time] maybe this will mean I will actually have time to blog about that time we went to new orleans last summer?!?

alright, that is all for now.  let's all hang in there - okay?!?  okay.

mother's day weekend

this past weekend we took advantage of a weekend away, and soaked up lots of mom-time with three generations in tow. we visited Hayes Mansion for the first time, and soaked up the history, but mostly, the gorgeous succulents that greeted us at the entrance.  everly spent time in the pool, and danced in the sunset.  it was a great way to start our mother's day weekend off right.

we had been invited to the 40th anniversary celebration at Mission Springs, the outdoor education camp I take my students to every fall.  everly has been coming to this camp with me since she was two, and getting to bring my mom with us for this family day made it a bit more special.  everly was pretty pleased to get to show her grammie all of her special places at camp, and the activities that we enjoy every year.

we hiked, held chickens, stamped our clothes with ferns, and enjoyed a perfect day outdoors.

for me, my proudest moment was when my daughter said she wanted to try the zip-line this trip.  last time she tackled the rock wall, but still wasn't quite sure about the zip.  that morning, she brought up the fact that she wanted to try it again, and then asked me if it was safe.  I reassured her that it was, and that was all she needed to make the jump.  for our first time down the zip, ev and I went at the same time.  I looked over to her and asked if she wanted me to count down for her.  she said no, I'm ready, and jumped.  seriously, like 30 seconds after he gave us the go ahead.  after making our way to the bottom, she quickly let me know that she was going to go again.  and she did, three more times.  I love the naturalists reactions to her going, over and over again!  I loved that they loved it too!

and, because a part of this blog is really me just curating my memories in an easy fashion, I have to share an early mission springs photo of everly enjoying the outdoors

happy mother's day indeed!

the green door - happy st. patrick's day

when you have a green door, you better make a thing out of posting photos in front of it, on st. patrick's day.

and my spring yard is also asking for a few photos...

and, because I love a good look back

here you go...

[2019]

 [2018]

[2017]

look how much she has grown from the first and third photo - that little door handle, oh my.

and man, I've been itching to change my door color lately, but now these photos have me thinking maybe to keep it green.  sigh.

and yes, we typically get two years out of holiday specific clothing.  

that sweatshirt looks like we might get a third.

happy st. patrick's day

last year ev learned the magic of the leprechauns at preschool, this year, since the holiday has fallen on the weekend, it was time to keep that magic alive at home.  we created a leprechaun trap with oh so much glitter, had our gold stolen from the trap only to find...no leprechaun this morning.  however, she's been chasing trails of glitter gold and the tiniest green footprints around our dining room and front porch [yes, my husband loves me, just in case you were wondering].

she has been trying to catch the 'delicate creatures' 

as she refers to them.  

apparently, the disguise helps.

today we made her day by getting my old tap shoes out of the hope chest - just the perfect size - she's been twirling around ever since.  to say she's caught the dance bug is an understatement.

we also spent part of our day making a green ombre cake, with pink frosting, because, she's five, at that's what she wanted.  our cake was a bit too crumbly to make our 'naked' cake dreams come to fruition, but it sure tasted good!

 here she is last year -

and our very first st. patrick's day together -

happy weekend & happy st. patty's day