for the love of high school ...

Did anyone ever watch this show ...

The Facts of Life was a goofy little show set at an all-girls boarding school - it aired in the early 80's, when I was just starting middle school. Does anyone remember the original cast of FoL (which included a young Molly Ringwald)? ...

Young and impressionable, I used to dream that someday I'd be a part of it ... that I'd go to a fancy girls school, wear a cute uniform, live in a dorm full of giggly typecast girls, throw in a kooky grandma type like Mrs. Garrett and crazy hijinks would ensue. I fancied myself as a Tootie ... young and silly, a bit nosy and gossipy, always wearing those roller skates and spouting sassy catchphrases like "there's gonna be trubbbuuulllll" ... cue canned audience laughter. Can anyone relate? Is any of this even ringing any bells? Well sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction because the punch line is that I actually did end up attending an all-girls boarding school for my high school years. And although there were definitely a few crazy hijinks, the real thing was a long long way from the Facts of Life cliché ... no uniforms, no Mrs. G, no silly script or audience applause.

I was barely 14 when I arrived, with about 90 pounds on my pre-pubescent 5'2" frame. The school was over 1300 miles from home in an age long before cellphones, emails, internet, or even computers - total isolation by today's standards. Now that I have daughters of my own, I know how much my mother's heart must have hurt as she hugged me goodbye on that first day. But despite the distance from home and my complete lack of sophistication, somehow it all worked and not only did I survive boarding school, I flourished. Speaking literally, I grew 5 inches taller that first year (yes, it actually hurt) ... but more importantly, I went from a lost and awkward middle schooler to an engaged and self-reliant teenager. Happy joyful years ... by far the most challenging, most fun, most difficult, and most rewarding experience all at once. And a sisterhood to boot. It was the right school at the right time. Lucky lucky ladybug, right? I do know that - and I will always be so incredibly grateful that I got to be a part of it.

(photo courtesy of Molly Merrick)

Tomorrow I'm driving down to my alma mater for 3 nights, it's my Reunion Weekend and I can't wait to see my peeps because I already know that we'll pick right up as though no time at all has passed ... just like the generations behind mine are already singing about ...

oh, the denial ..

I was walking with my bloggy-turned-real friend swooper yesterday morning and it was one of the most beautiful days imaginable ... bright and sunny with blue skies as far as the eye could see and a light breeze to maintain a perfect 72 degrees. Glorious. But just like the needle that scratches across a record when the party's just been busted, she suddenly exclaimed that it was, in fact, at that exact moment, officially Fall. I think I might have blacked out ... she saw the distress on my face, the nausea that surfaced, I had to stop and take a deep breath. Yup, the denial continues ... and like a reluctant child at the edge of the pool, I just can't jump in.

Is my denial because those sweet little backyard pumpkins that we had just discovered were torn out days later by the neighbor on the other side? Or maybe I'm just drained from the back-to-school bam-pow-wham? Could it be the piles of household desk work that I've fallen so far behind on? Or is it the Floridian in me, plain and simple? Whatever the reason, I just cannot seem to find my balance since school started ... every time I feel like I might be gaining some small semblance of control, it eludes me. The perpetual to-do list is killing me ... 3 things checked off, 5 things added. And until I scale back on the to-do's, I just can't add "Fall" to my list!

I find myself actually longing for a weekend of steady pouring rain - the kind where you stay in your jammies until noon and never open the front door ... I'm desperate to sit down, organize myself and this house, and get control back! The forecast?

Perfection. Glorious sunny perfection. Just like the first official day of Fall when I walked with swooper and just like the 104 perfect days of summer we had before that. Don't get me wrong, I know I'm lucky as a ladybug to be blessed with this kind of weather - Lord knows it sure doesn't stay this way in New England. So I plan to soak up every minute while I can. Yup, the denial will continue until I find room on my to-do list ... no Fall for me, not yet anyway ...

word girl ...

With a tivo in the house (well - 3 tivos, actually - his, hers, and kids ... wait, did I just admit that out loud?), we really don't watch a whole lot of unintentional tv. Thanks to the miracle of dvr television, we almost always watch from a menu of collected shows rather than a show being broadcast in 'real time' (football is the one big exception that comes to mind). The manbug of the house has season passes to HBO's Entourage and a few History Channel shows like American Pickers and Pawn Stars, while my tivo gathers episodes of Mad Men, Modern Family, 30 Rock, a sprinkling of HGTV shows, and variety of less intelligent shows that fall way down on the food chain like The Dish and those classy Jersey Housewives.

And since our ladybugs, in turn, have grown up in a tivo household, they never really watch 'real time' tv. I'm so thankful that the only tv shows they ever watch are from a collection of season passes and not mindless channel surfing! When they were younger, their tivo menu was filled with sweet cheerful cartoons like Maisy, Little Miss Spider, Clifford, and Charlie & Lola. These days, it's shows like Cake Boss, Fetch, Wizards of Waverly Place, and AFV that fill the menu. But there is one lone cartoon left among the season passes - it's a PBS-kids gem called Word Girl ... since the title character/superhero is a 10 year old girl, my bugs are on the hook - and since the writing is so intelligent and clever, so am I.

Maybe it's the teacher in me or my nerdy love of vocabulary - but truth be told, Word Girl is as much a favorite of mine as it is theirs. First off, it's the last of their cartoons, so that alone makes me sentimental ... they're growing up! But unlike so much of the junk out there, this one's actually a really smart show (and it teaches too ... woven into each script are two new vocab words like 'impeccable', 'frenzied', or 'flummoxed') and the talented voice artists perfectly deliver the dry subtle humor in the writing, which has a very Tina Fey/30 Rock vibe (Chris Parnell of SNL fame voices the narrator, so maybe I'm not too far off?). The villains are characters like "The Butcher" (who butchers words), "Lady Redundant Woman" (who overcomplicates her sentences with redundant words), and "Seymour Orlando Smooth" (a game show host who schmoozes with is handsome smile) to name a few - completely ridiculous yet hilarious parodies of themselves. The bugs will often play an episode as I'm getting dinner ready and I loosely tune in as they watch ... and I just love how much my kids are starting to 'get' the more subtle humor that makes me giggle just as much ... see what you think ...

One of the downsides of living off of the tivo menu is that there are probably a lot of good shows out there that never pass through our radar ... anyone got any favorites or recommendations out there? Would love to hear of anything you're loving ... either kids shows or grown ups ... and clearly, with RHONJ on my menu, I'm not picky - or judgmental ;-)

goodbye summer ...

As much as I've been resisting it, the fact of the matter is that it's just not summer anymore around here ... the school year is underway, the camp kid's sailboats have all been pulled in for the winter, even the docks and floats are starting to be pulled out of the harbor - the air has developed an autumn bite in the mornings and there's just no more denying it: summer 2010 is officially history ... gone are the long warm evenings like this one ...

Summer 2010 has been a particularly tough summer to let go of - not only was it action packed and fun filled, but the weather was the best it's been in a decade - we must have had 90 sunsets in row like the one above ... sigh ...

In case you didn't notice after reading the drama of my last post, I don't handle this change very well - Fall hits me with a pow every single time. The jolt of the rat-race routine, the return of those chilly northern winds, the sudden overload on our schedule, it's not easy for me ... but at the end of it all, after I've had a chance to recover from the shock of the pow, I really do like the Fall - blue jeans and boots, apple picking, pumpkin carving, autumn leaves, even the frosty winds (and that's saying a lot from this Floridian). It just takes me a little extra time to embrace it! The other night we enjoyed what will likely be our last grill-out of the year ... our outdoor table is next to a tall wall in our backyard that is completely covered in leafy vines ... out of the blue our littlest ladybug looked up and exclaimed 'pumpkins!' To our shock, we all looked up to see something we have never once seen in our 9 years at this house:

Two tiny pumpkins peeking out from the vines! Somehow, a rogue pumpkin vine has appeared out of nowhere on our leafy wall, like a happy little surprise whispering in my ear that it's ok to say goodbye to summer ... it may be tough for me, but this fun sight sure helps take the edge off. Thanks for the nudge, Mother Nature ...

follow up ... thanks so much for the reassuring words regarding the middle school social drama my daughter felt in her first days last week, your input was so appreciated ... I'm happy to report that week 2 has been a thousand percent better - ah, the reality of middle school ... (insert large exhale here) ...

bam! pow! wham!

It's been a rough rough week since school started ... I feel like life went from a manageable but fun 70 miles per hour to an out of control, barely able to hold on 100+ miles per hour. The early morning game of beat-the-clock, the exhausting hours at school for the girls, balancing the after-school activities with the long hours of homework, the late nights trying to squeeze it all in ... only to start it all over again early the next morning. Booooooo! It's been nothing short of a painful sucker punch that we're still trying to recover from ...

And as if the adjustment to the the bam of our school-year routine hasn't been difficult enough, on top of the bam came a pow ...

Already reeling from the bam, the pow has been the direct result of something new this school year ... social drama. It seems that summer vacation brought about some changes to the social hierarchy in my big ladybug's 6th grade class - and the catty 'mean girl' games have begun right out of the gate. Two girls in particular have returned as an inseparable pair - with twice the bitchiness, they are ruling the roost. Oy. My older daughter is one of the most compassionate people I've ever known, she would cry her own tears for anyone facing adversity ... so she's having a really tough time wondering why these girls don't feel the consequences of their actions. And, although the pair hasn't singled my daughter out or said anything hurtful to her (yet), she is clearly being excluded. Ouch.

My beautiful big ladybug is such an amazing kid - her sensitivity is one of her biggest gifts. But in some cases, her sensitivity can work against her and her self confidence has long struggled because of it. After just 3 days at school, my daughter asked me through her tears why these 2 girls "look right through her" ... my heart crumbled and broke to hear those perceptive words, it was all I could do to hold myself together ... how does a mother answer this question? If someone knows, I'd sure like to hear. I wanted to answer by saying "because her f-#@%! mother is a bitch too, and pulls exactly the same #$@!, the apple sure didn't fall far!" ... but instead I took a breath and praised her for her compassion and for being able to recognize and articulate her feelings. I urged her to try to pursue other girlfriends, ones who will really look at her and listen to her, ones who make her feel good about herself and support her. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure this is what she heard ... blah blah blah wah wah wah. The irony of it all is that I was a middle school teacher once upon a time - so why can't I fix this?! I've ordered myself one of these to start with ...

Any other suggestions?? ... sigh ... I reeeeeally liked the lazy days of summer - is it so much to ask for an extension ... please?

officially back to school ...

Today was the first day of school for the little ladybugs ... such big changes for both of them, this is going to be a really big year. The big ladybug is moving on to middle school: 6th grade ... team sports, extended hours, lockers, independence, multiple teachers and assignments, a Weds thru Fri outward-bound-style field trip this Fall, the social (not to mention physical) changes and pressures ... yikes. Meantime, the little ladybug is heading to 4th grade, where she'll begin multi-subject homework and changing classrooms - it's the start of her 2-year transition toward middle school ... double yikes. This morning, I was almost shocked at how much they've changed since their first day of school last year ... here they are on the first day of 5th/3rd grades:

Look at them above, so fresh-faced - so happy and young ... the big bug was feeling like a hot shot, 5th grade was her senior year among the little kids, and the little bug was so exited to be moving upstairs to 3rd grade on that day ... I love that photo. And here they are just one year later, this morning, heading off to 6th and 4th ...

I feel like I don't have young kids anymore when I see this one ... *sniff sniff*. And not only do they look older, they are acting older - I was banned from accompanying either one of them inside (a one-time privilege given to parents only on the first day). I was allowed to drive them over and drop them off outside, with a promise to keep a low profile and my emotions in control. And now I'm sitting in a veeeery quiet and empty house - too quiet - I miss my little ladybugs! Am I being selfish for wanting to jar them up and keep them young forever?! Unabashedly, yes ... I know ... but I still can't help myself. Watching my oldest go off to middle school this morning, I am as unglued as I was when my littlest went off to Kindergarten 4 years ago ... this has been a tough tough morning ... *double sniff* ...

amendment ... ran into some unpleasant technical probs with our home network yesterday and couldn't post ... you'll be happy to know I was better at letting them go this morning - baby steps, momma ... baby steps ... here is a photo of day 2 ...

Hey, check me out!

Well, today is Tuesday the 7th, and the girls head back to school tomorrow - we're filled with anticipation over here, such big changes in store for my little ladybugs this year! I'll be sure to post about their return once I have something more to report, but in the meantime my guest post over at Lists in my Pocket is up today ... how cool is that?! Thank you so much, Lisa, for including me in your Simplify Series!! Lisa was the very first person to visit me here on this blog, we bonded over our shared love of the frozen hot chocolates from the New York restaurant Serendipity (yum) ... and with a bond like that, you know we've been friendly ever since! Lisa's blog covers a lot of fun and useful household design and organizational projects (not to mention a killer chocolate chip cookie recipe) - with her, it's all about finding the balance and living simply ... her style is something I never get tired of, especially with the recent string of gorgeous weddings she's attended, so I hope you'll check her out! Thanks again, Lisa ...

not again ...

When I was first starting this blog last winter, I posted a blurb about my love of Target ... yup, that's right - as in, the store ... I mean, what's not to love?! If you look back at that earlier post, you'll be happy to know that I was indeed able to score one of those Liberty bicycles for myself ... they sold out company-wide in 3 days, so that counts as one of my finest Target conquests, yay! Fortunately, the love works both ways - my Target Visa earns money for the little bugs' school ($1151 so far!) and it also earns me 10% discounts once/month ... that's when I return the love by shopping for everything from clothes and home accessories to shampoo and dish soap at Target. So I am, in short, a longtime loyal regular at our local Target - like for years.

As such, I've formed somewhat of a friendship with their employee in charge at the customer service desk each weekday - at this point, we've known one another since the girls were in pre-school. Libby is her name and she's as salty as they come ... crass and no-nonsense, you don't want to be on her bad side. Maybe it was my adorable young ladybugs doing the early footwork for me, but fortunately she really took a shine to me early on ... I knew we were on her good side when she once told me that we were like a breath of fresh air after she deals with "all the stupid people". She's a character right out of central casting ... her tough-cookie attitude, her gritty Boston accent (dark=dahk, car=cah, 'that pahty was wicked fun', etc), Libby always tells it like it is in a raspy voice that probably reflects a lifetime of smoking ...

At Halloween time, Libby often replaces her Target nametag with one that reads 'Strega' and it's one of my favorite things about her because, love her or hate her, she doesn't take crap from anyone so it suits her perfectly. She's the type who you'd think would live to be a hundred, still laughing herself into that familiar smoker's cough like she does when I share stories about the girls ... stories she asks for each and every time I see her without fail.

Well, when we returned from our trip to West Virginia last week, we did our back-to-school provisioning at Target and Libby wasn't at her usual post by the entrance in her customer service nook. Maybe a lunch break? I knew she'd want to see the girls since she always asks, so we circled back after we had finished up ... that's when I noticed the vase of roses at the side of the desk with her nametag (the real one - Libby) clipped to a stick that poked out with the roses. The only person there was a young employee so I asked if it was Libby's birthday, hoping she was getting a well deserved day off from all the stupid people. The girl looked horrified and said the words I never thought I'd hear ... "Libby died last week". My heart sunk right then and there, and even though it's been several days, I still can't believe it. The day after we left for West Virginia, Libby died (at home) from a massive stroke - alive and well one minute, then gone the next. Not at all the way I thought her story would end. It's got me freaked out all over again ... and sad, too ... it's colorful people like Libby who make the world an interesting place.

(photo courtesy of The Salem News)

RIP, Libby ... I'll miss you. Here's to hoping you're in a wonderful place with no more stupid people to drive you nuts ...

bedtime stories ...

I started this post in early June before the school year ended ... but somehow it got buried in the chaos of summertime before I could finish. On Monday, I was reminded about it after reading about Kerri's back-to-school bedtime story for her son - then yesterday, Mary Katherine posted the most beautiful photos of their bookshelves and I got inspired to do exactly the same (thanks, MK!) - thanks, ladies, for reminding me to dig this one out and finish it up ...

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Since my earliest days of motherhood, I've been an avid reader with my girls. It started in the final weeks of my first pregnancy - I'd read classic bedtime stories like Goodnight Moon to my big belly each night. And a couple of years later, my toddler-sized ladybug and I would read stories to the little ladybug in the weeks before her birth, too. We chose books like Eric Carle's Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See, hoping that those fun rhymes would elicit a response from the baby inside.

Happily, the girls wound up loving books as much as I do and reading together became a huge part of their early days, especially at bedtime ... it's so heartwarming to me that all these years later, they still enjoy a good bedtime story and often choose from those earliest books in our now-enormous library. From classic stories like Guess How Much I Love You and Are You My Mother? to rhyming books like Go Dogs Go, Jamberry, and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, the girls continue to love these titles just as much as when they were little. And even though my big ladybug has studied complex books like Tuck Everlasting and Bridge to Terabithia at school, she still loves to curl up with me from time to time to read good old Curious George or Olivia. What could be better? For me, this is pure bliss.

Tonight (okay, so this night was actually back in June ...) was one of those blissful nights where the 3 of us ladybugs read one of our all time favorites and it's left me with a case of the warm-n-fuzzies. It's the 1942 book The Little House, written and illustrated by the incredible Virginia Lee Burton (who also authored Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel among others). If you haven't read this gem of a story, you really must take the time for this classic - still as magical today as it was when it was written 68 years ago.

It's the story of a sweet little cottage built in the countryside long ago - she is filled with love by the generations of family who grow up there over the years ... but alas, the noisy and intrusive city boundaries start to creep out into the country, consuming space all around her, and she goes abandoned and into disrepair. But happy is the day when the little house is recognized by a young woman as the house her great great grandfather had built. From there, the house gets carefully transported back out to the country where she is once again filled with the laughter and love of a family. The illustrations are incredibly charming as the house goes from loved to neglected and back to loved again ...

... combined with such a heartwarming ending, what could be better?! It's one that we've been reading for years and years ... along with a whole library of other classics you can see here (again, full creative credit on these pics goes to MK!) ...

These three photos are just a small taste of what we've got around the house for my ladybugs ... when I saw Mary Katherine's photos, I immediately recognized the great majority of their books and felt right at home ... does anyone reading now feel the same way? Do you still enjoy the blessing of a bedtime story with your kids? What are some of your favorite titles? Can't wait to hear ...