tomorrow - tomorrow, I love ya tomorrow!

In the morning we get on a plane to go back to a place we lived by and loved...

Yeah!  We are returning to Florida!  To temperatures that will be around 88 and 90 degrees the entire week! We will stay by our old neighborhood and enjoy the ease of Hampton Inn the first two nights and then switch over to a Vacation Villa (just like the dozens and dozens of homes that existed in our old neighborhood!) and frolic in the pool out back, play inside on the foosball and pool table, and - as Bryson Jr. excitedly stated 'watch cable TV!'.  That makes it sound like the cable TV that you don't anyone to see!  However, as we don't have a TV that is hooked up to get regular TV stations, my children think that a TV that can bring in any station their little hearts desire is one of the best parts of the vacation!

Then again, when they have the option of watching TV or going to the Magic Kingdom or Sea World...let's hope they pick the last two choices.  If not....I have failed as a parent!!!!  

We plan to drive down to Tampa on Saturday and enjoy a day of this.... {I know it won't look exactly like this, but it will be warm, it will be sunny and it WILL be wonderful!}

And the best news of all - Bryson {Sr.} is actually coming!  One would think that would be easy to assume that the dad comes along on a family vacation - and I thought so too...once upon a time.  However, stories through MBA school of veteran moms of I-Bankers whose husbands never came on the trip, or left early has stayed crystal clear in my mind :)  And so, it wasn't a huge surprise a few weeks ago, that Bryson booked a ticket to come home a few days early from the trip.  He said he couldn't stay away that long, without feeling really guilty that he was missing too much time from the office.  I put on a grin - called my mom and asked her to meet me and the kids in Florida...after all, the show must go on!

Then last week, while I was at the school working on some projects - he texted me with what might have been his famous last words (only kidding!).... 'Stand by.  Looks like the project will kick off, and I might need to stay here'.

Hmmmm.  It's one thing to hear about vacations being canceled for dads in other families - when it's your own family it is the reality you hoped to escape.  Bryson talked to his boss, and the advice he got was 'it's up to you, I never advice anyone to not take a family vacation.  However, this will be a big project and you'll need to be accessible if you go on your trip'.

We talked about the options over the weekend.  And Bryson decided to come along with us.  If he stayed here he knew he would regret not being with us, and that the work might not be as demanding while we are gone (that's laughable, because when is it not demanding....but we were trying to come up with some great reasons of why he should still come!).  Bryson went and told his boss today that he plans to come on the trip, to which the boss stated he thought that was a great choice....but then they talked over some details which left Bryson worried.

I tell you this work is about as crazy as it gets.  Or maybe it's just making us crazy!

So, in the end - Bryson will be with us.  Sort of.  I know that he will physically be flying down with us on Tuesday and that we will see him at some part during the week --- however, already our first day of fun it will be me and the 3 kiddos running down Main Street and through the Castle into Adventure Land....because Dad has a 10am conference call!  However, Prince Charming states he will show up by that afternoon - definitely, for sure!

Well - at least this crazy work pays for us to have fun.  And that hopefully Bryson will get some of the fun and rest he needs too.  After all, all work and no play --- is definitely not the type of life we want!

So long for now --- for the next 9 days I'll be in la-la land where responsibilities are lessened, and the skin will be turning a nice brown color reminding me that it has been way too long cooped up inside during the longest winter of my life(!) and we will have lots and lots of family time and fun together....at least I hope so!  

I'm the mom....

Today I had a moment where I realized the type of mom I'm not...and the type of mom I am.

I realized I'm not the cupcake mom.

And definitely not the Easter Bunny cupcake mom.

Let me back-up a bit.  I was working on a project up in the school library - one of two big ones at the school this week.  A friend of mine called and offered to take Jacob to the park with her twins who are in the morning Pre-K class.  She said they could play outside and have a picnic lunch and then bring Jacob back for his class in the afternoon, so I could get things finished up. I told her it would be perfect - and she said to come down in a few minutes as they were just finishing up the cupcakes that a mom had brought in to celebrate Easter.

I didn't think much about what she had said, besides how nice it would be for Jacob to get outside and run around instead of doing more computer games while I worked on my different projects in the library again.  He is becoming quite a pro at the Lego games, as he has ample time to practice them each week!  We walked down the hallway, chatting about the day and I told him how excited I was that he was going to have a picnic with his friends!  I had a tiny bit of a wish that I could be outside to enjoy the beautiful sunshine, but the moment was fleeting as I really wanted to get these projects checked off before we left for Spring Break!

We met the little friends downstairs and watched as child after child left the morning pre-k class holding onto a precious decorated Easter Bunny cupcake

I kissed Jacob goodbye and waved to his two little friends and gave a bit thank you to the mom & then ran back up the stairs and started to breeze down the hallway.

It was then I thought about those Easter Bunny cupcakes.  How cute they were, and how the little faces of those preschool students lit up holding their precious treats!  I realized with a swiftness that I'm not the mom that is called on to bring treats.  I don't think of it on my own either.  If there is a sign-up, I'll put my name down to bring something in for a class party and there were times in the past when I did some fun decorating of cakes, cookies and such.

I was feeling a little down - that I wasn't fulfilling some mom role that is set out there in how many cupcakes I have made for my children's class.  And as I walked along feeling a little overwhelmed with how many things I thought I should be doing, I glanced up and saw the school.  And then saw into the library with the projects I was helping with.  And that's when it hit me - I'm not an Easter Bunny cupcake mom --- but I'm a mom that does other things....and those things can be cool in their non-pink marshmallow ear sort of way....

....I worked on picture frames, mosaics, modge-podge murals on just about any object you can think of!...and so much more {these are the art projects with the 15 classes for the Silent Auction....ta da!}

I'm also a mom that is an impromptu costume designer!  I received a call 4 days before 50+ children from the school are in a performance....and suddenly need costumes!  The 3rd graders were part of a Columbian Music Performance & the musicians that we hire through a company to work with the students are quite talented....however, they are definitely unorganized!

What was I to do when the thought of all those students would go on stage without "real" costumes?  Well, I called 4 other moms and during a school day we cut, and we cut and we cut - until we had 25 ponchos, and 25 sashes with little flowers on them for the girls, 30+ colored sashes for the boys, and 25 tissue paper flowers to put into all of the girl's hair.

And the performance was fabulous!  Singing, dancing and music galore --- and the costumes were not perfect (there was not one piece of sewing we did!  If we couldn't glue gun it, we didn't do it!), however the children kept saying that they felt like "real professionals" because they all matched and had their own costumes.  It was the cutest thing to see their faces light up when we were helping them get dressed!

And I'm the type of mom - that takes on another step of the Beautification at school.  It was started last year when we did the flags representing all the nations that the children are from....we have over 60 nationalities in our school (that are reported).  The Beautification has continued this year, with finally taking art that the children have created with the new art program - and framing select pieces and hanging them around the school.  It sounded rather simple and something that would be fun to work on --- however, as many projects go, it becomes a little more complicated and a little harder as you get into the work.

This all was going on the week that Jacob got Strep Throat after Bryson already had it last week.  The week that I was supposed to be getting ready for our trip, and getting an apartment rearranged yet again (after buying something from a friend that was moving, I've had to rearrange the place....again!  It's hilarious how often this place gets redone, because of space factors and as it is small I get tired of the same view after only a very short time!).

And amazingly enough - it all got done to some degree.  It was done to the wire on Friday after school, when we finally took one grouping of framed art and went to work on the wall....4 hours later, 5 active children, 2 PTA moms, 2 pizzas and 2 custodians --- we were finally finished (and I can't believe I didn't get a picture of it!).  That is when we realized that all 60 other framed art, will continue to go up - but only one wall at a time.  It took so much longer than we anticipated....but we loved the end product so much more than we thought we would as well!

I'm so happy with the projects that I worked on this week and other weeks at the school.

I also realize that it's okay to be happy that I'm the type of mom that doesn't do Easter Bunny cupcakes.

At least right now.  And maybe for some time.

Because there are other projects.  The ones that I do for my children and their school - and when they see me at the school each time and their faces light up....I believe that they know I am doing this because I love them.  And I love being part of their life.  I love being back in a school setting.  I love projects...I just don't think of cooking projects as much as I do the other projects that fill up my days.

And hopefully - just hopefully - that will be just as good as making Easter Bunny Cupcakes & won't put them in therapy because I never made them cupcakes --- because goodness knows we'll need therapy for all the other mistakes I'm making as mom!