Happy 10th Anniversary!

I'm sitting here trying to convince myself to go to bed. It's 12:20 am. I should be IN BED!

I really should. I better as tomorrow is going to come fast and furious - Mondays usually come up like that!

However, I can't go to bed until I write just a few things down. Like that Bryson is at the office. Again.

It's been a lot of work this week - last week as well. However, we pulled off something miraculous. We actually got away this weekend. And not just for a date - for a night and part of a day - together. And it was bliss!  And it was before our 10 year anniversary!  

I called Bryson on Thursday afternoon - having a little pity party because I had seen him for exactly 40 minutes this week....and that is while we sat in Parent Teacher Conferences, and then he kissed me outside the school doors and I walked back home alone and he walked back to the subway to work another grueling 8 hours to get home at 4:30am. It's been a week of 2 - 4am work "days" and it was getting old - very, very fast.

So, when I called I asked him if he could be sure to get off on Friday afternoon - and I were to arrange to have the kiddos looked after - could we get away until Saturday night. And thankfully - he said that the major meetings and projects would need to be done by Friday afternoon....and so yes, he probably could get away.

That is all I needed. I called in a huge favor from one of my Visiting Teachers who always asks if she can come and watch the kids - and then I call her and she is busy....we seem to be on complete opposite schedules! Luck was on our side....she was able to come and stay on Friday night with the kiddos - she and her husband live on the island, and she slept over here to be sure our kiddos were safe and sound, while her husband stayed at their place with the dog. Reason #43 why I'm not interested in getting an animal any time soon! :)

So, I ran like crazy on Friday to:

1) do the laundry for the week - 6 loads in 1.5 hours! {having 12 washing machines is amazing, although I don't think some people in my building love that I use 6 washing machines at once when I do my laundry.  Oh well - can't change much on that one!}

2) ran on the treadmill while the laundry was in the wash, and enjoyed the thought I could do this only because Bryson was upstairs getting ready for the day as Jacob played on lego.com {have I mentioned that boy is obsessed with this website!}

3) Got ready and ran to get the car from the parking garage and ran Jacob over to his friend's house for a playdate while I cruised out to IKEA

4) Purchased art projects for 15 classes that need to have an individual project that we can auction off during our Silent Auction & Art Show on April 2nd. You'd think that last year when I started this with the classes, I would have realized that this means I get to be the one to do it any year we live here! I had most of the ideas for each class, however I was walking through IKEA trying to get inspiration for the other classes & I not only found enough ideas but a few more....and I left with 2 carts full and an Explorer that was maxed out with future projects that I hope and would love to bring in their own big amount at the Silent Auction coming up. Now the fun part - doing the projects with all of the classes in the next week and a half! Unlike last year I am going to schedule in grocery shopping and laundry for myself - otherwise it won't get done for 2 weeks!

*Back to FRIDAY!

5) I drove back as fast as possible - in almost true New York'er fashion, so that I arrived at the school just a little bit after it let out.  Thankfully our neighbor had picked up the boys with her daughter and so they were all playing at the park (in our lovely 70 degree weather that was much to lovely and a huge tease that spring was close!) - so I unloaded the car and put everything into the PTA room and remembered to load up the 3 boxes of random things to donate to the thrift store...only forgetting the other box that should have been donated as well!  I drove back to the apartment to put in the plants that had been purchased for a project.   Up 8 flights - set down plants & remember to pick up the 2 bookshelves to be donated.  Drove down Main St. to the thrift store and finally had everything out of the car!  Now it was time to load up for a different fun :)

6) Pick everyone up at the park and drive home and slide into one of the best parallel parking jobs I have ever done. At least I am getting better, as it's the only kind of parking most places we go to.  

7) Run upstairs and start making snacks, trying to pack, clean the house, schedule a place to stay for tonight ---- and get a hold of Bryson (Sr.) whom I haven't talked with all of the day to be sure he didn't get bombarded with work after his meeting so we can still go away!

8) Get the one load of laundry that I had accidentally left down in the laundry room - thankfully it's the jeans and long sleeved t-shirt load. It's one of the few loads that I'll leave unattended - either purposefully (yes, I've done that before) or by accident.

9) Put the boys back in the car to go pick up Madeleine from her playdate up at the Octagon (the building North of us). I wouldn't usually drive, but the car is already out front as I had to pay for parking on the street - my rationale with this is that if the car is there it will help me to hurry and get out earlier!....that was a nice idea in theory - terrible in actually having it happen!

10) We got back with Madeleine - and we head into super warp speed to finish everything.  Madeleine starts to fold and put away clothes, Bryson Jr. is on bathroom duty, Jacob is whining about wanting to play Lego.com.  It's tempting to just send them all outside in the amazing weather so I can focus on finally getting a place booked.  However, the thought of leaving even for a night and not having things done is too much for my OCD behavior ;)
11) Our friend finally arrives to watch the kiddos - and thankfully we are at the point where I can shoo them all away and finish the final things on my own.  Madeleine has Activity Days and is meeting another girls from church and her mom to go into the city.  I ask the gal to take everyone to go and get something to eat....as I need them out of the apartment and I don't really have something in mind for dinner.  Easier to just eat out!
12) After everyone is out, I move from room to room - hiding the things into closets that I won't be able to finish, and doing my best to finish off the things that can be seen - washing the kitchen and bathroom floors, the dishes, and the last parts of the bathroom that Bugaboo hadn't gotten to.

Life feels so great right now and I don't feel stressed because Bryson and I finally got away over the weekend. I have the dearest Visiting Teacher, who has asked to watch the kids but it has never worked out. Bryson's schedule the last two weeks has been back to the insane hours where he is home consistently between 2am & 4am....usually the later :( He needed a break, I wanted one as well, and the 10 year anniversary is tomorrow - so we finally decided we just needed to get away....and thankfully others pushed us to do it! We left on Friday night after Bryson got home early....at 7pm! {lol} We drove up to the Hudson Valley area & the highlights of the trip were: Bryson getting to sleep in until 10:30am and I got to work out without getting up super early or worrying about how to fit it in around PTA and Jacob's pre-k schedule..... oh and another highlight would definitely have to be 'The Strawberry Place' where we ended up for a 2 o'clock in the afternoon "breakfast/brunch" which had the most amazing food ---- waffles piled high with fresh fruit, ice cream and whipped cream. Mmmmmmmmm!!

Happy 10 years to us!  I'm so thankful that our friends were so willing to help us out, so that we could go and have a little pre-anniversary getaway!  That was probably one of the best ways I've ever had anyone visit teach and serve me!!  

The timing was also perfect, as the insanity has started and we are well on our way to the next two weeks living in crazy land! well, more crazy than the usual crazy.

The children's school last year started combining an Art Show with a Silent Auction, as the main fundraiser for the school & now specifically to fund Arts as our teacher was excessed due to budget cuts last year. We pay for an outside group to come in and teach art - which is working well, it's just very expensive...although not as expensive as the teacher was, and we are able to apply for grants to make this all possible. We are putting together donations that businesses and individuals have given. We are working with the group to get all the art work up from 400 students onto the walls of our two main halls. And I....I'm doing art projects with 15 classes. Lucky me. No, seriously I am lucky - I love this, it's a little touch back at teaching and working with children, without the stress of my own classroom. However, it is a lot of work....but I can only get mad at myself for coming up and proposing the idea which was a hit with the parents last year.

Anyway - I had a moment from getting home from being at the school and before we run off to dance lessons to say.....I want to keep updating, but life is going to be in the Audobahn lane for the next two weeks. Everything will be super fun - but like anything in life - it takes time.

So - if you don't hear from me....or the updates don't make any sense!....just know that I might be more insane than usual. This poor parent that was helping me today told me that if she were me, she would be completely stressed out. For me - I love this....adrenaline is pumping, brain is non-stop and the outcomes should be good. Oh please let them be good, because we need money!

If they aren't good - I suppose we can always push for the move away, so that I don't have to show my face anymore at the school :) Which that is another part to what could stress me out right now - we are still talking about what to do for next year. After looking at some homes, the weather got nice here and I don't feel as rushed to get out of the city. Funny how a changed perspective changes - well just changes it all! Also, we had a PTA meeting and there is the idea being thrown out that we would do Co-Presidents next year and my current position would now be a Co-President role. Hmmmmm....again I could run away from that, or some others (and sometimes myself) would like to stay.

And at some point - pictures will come with posts, I will write more and update more......when I officially-officially return most likely after the Silent Auction is finished!