July it is. . .

Fudge Fest. . .horse show. . .YACHT race. . .and the Umbrella will be on a sandy beach for 5 wonderful days. . .and it will probably be cleaner than that room. . .eeeek, but well, it is cheap, and we are SO PSYCHED. . .


Sigh- back to work!

Summer day dreams in Winter Spring. . .

We are going to put down the umbrella here


I CANNOT WAIT!!!


We will be here and here and here. . .unless I have to move to July- which I may just do. . .:)

The BEST. day. EVER!

Happy under the umbrella

Taking on the jellies

Under the sea

Ahoy!

At the helm, my Precious

Some of the most amazing time EVER spent under the umbrella. . .

Mom, I am just SO HAPPY!!

Butter on the Pilot Deck

Waiting to pet Sting Rays

Umm, you want me to what what?

Fish. . . .awesome

Mommy, I am just so happy. . .

Me too, Precious, me too. . .

Love these faces. . .

Peaceful and happy faces

Cute and Precious

VERY cute and precious

The. best. gift.for.mom. EVER!

Cocoa

Love these children

Around town

So, we are not waiting until summer to have a little more fun. . .I think I am ready to stretch the purse strings a bit, we were just SO tight on funds for a while- and while I got us through it, i do not want to come that close to epic fail EVER again. . .talk about bad memories. . .

No- we are taking every opportunity to get out and about when we can- Precious is doing well, and we have had a lot of fun on the few trips we did go on for the day. . .

Like here, we went for the day- no pictures because, well, it was water. . .but ALL of the kids had an awesome time of it. . .

And here, which I got discount tickets for, I will post pictures soon, THAT was amazing. . .

and finally here, where we were able to complete one of the best days of my life. . .and pictures will be forthcoming. . .but I have to get going for now. . .

Lots of things brewing under the umbrella. . .:)

All work. . .no play. . . makes kids really really sad

So, in taking stock of my prelim reading situation, I am in a very good place- Jewish reading list is done, Non Profit list is close to being done, and the Poverty list will be going down on Sunday. . .for sure, end of story. . .such a great feeling. . .

BUT- there are rumblings under the umbrella, from little ones who have been SO AMAZING in their acceptance of every schedule change, and every blip on the way to this point. Oatmeal for supper, sandwiches. . .oh the SANDWICHES, and on top of everything, a crazy Pesach coming up. . .we are carbohydrate life forms here, and Pesach is ROUGH. . .

SO, in honor of the great sacrifices these wonderful amazing bratty spunky, sassy awfully wonderful kids have made, I have decided to say "heck with it" and. . .wait for it. . .PLAN A SUMMER VACATION. . .YAY!

We are going for a few reasons; first, I did get funding for next year from my wonderful department! I am so happy about this, as it will mean I can continue on in school and well, I am very very blessed by this!

Second, we have, as a family, had so much loss this past year- my kids have through so much, and we have had so many occasions to have to grin and bear it. . .dammit I want my kids to grin and LOVE their lives. I want memories to last a lifetime and beyond- I want tales told to my great great GREAT grandchildren about the person I was, and the things I did with my kids. . .the stories about how I damaged my kids with my degree seeking behavior will surely survive too. . .as it should:)

So, where to go? This is no frills, low budget vacation for the Rainmom and her rain drops. . .4 of them. . .and one of them with the autism. . .so, where will we go?


Why here, of course!


I cannot wait!

Back at it. . .

Ok- the whole "spring break" thing that those that work outside of academia think is so great? They just do not get it! EVEN if I had nothing else to do, this would NOT be a break, because all this means is that for a few days, I can get all of the things that I have been slacking on done without having to worry about certain things. . .OH and when your kids are on break with you??? Fuggetaboutit. . .the world and everything in it stops and you get nothing NOTHING done. . .

Wait, yes you actually have the chance to make memories that will, in likelihood, ensure a small. but intense course of therapy for your children in later years. . .like when they ask their special someones to scream irrationally at them for a week in March. . .because to NOT have that happen seems "odd"

Or the ever popular and very effective "if you do not like it, you do not have to eat/wear/watch/play with it, but you will not get anything else, these are your options. . .the reply to THAT can be silence and a slammed door or whining that will last forever. . .or 5 minutes during spring break.

Add to that trying to get the Passover stuff done and yeah. . .some break. . .

300th post. . .and what will it be about?

It will be precious

Like Butter

Bitter-sweet Cocoa. . .

It is always about the kids here- and for the 300th post, it has to be about them. I have a love/lament attitude about life just now- but this is my love part!

Lament? Well, I met with my chair Thursday, and it became really clear that I have no real social life these days, and my academic life is really solitary confinement. . .in short, I am a babbling mess when with adults lately. Need help in the bathroom? I am THERE! Got a boo boo? ON IT! Want to have an intelligent conversation about all matters adult and scholarly? Ummmmmmm, wanna cookie? Need laundry done? Dishes? You get the point. . .I have very little adult contact these days. . .and the interactions are a bit stilted in my every day life. . .

So apologies to Amanda, I was Miss Babbling Brooks. . .:)