Mrs. Bramer(aka: Reading Mom)Goes PTA

I have a not-so-secret to tell ya.
This whole stay-at-home-mom of school-aged kids is different.
And weird.
Wonderful...
But guilt-inducing.
It's perfect... and a little too much free time.
But not quite as much free time as I had expected.
All at once.

Weird I tell ya.
Last week I think I was at school four days.
And I think two of those days I was there for over 3 hours each time.
Ummm... they should just hire me and it would take care of my little issue of needing to
find a part-time job.
That might work.

Our new school became a Project-Based Learning Laboratory School this year associated with
the University.
We love it.
Its a different approach to learning and it is working great for the kids, for all of us.
I think as a new parent +  new kids at this school, which has a lot of big changes going on
this year, we want it to be successful.
There are other of families just like us that switched schools to go here and also lots of families just starting out with this whole
school thing and I think we're all hoping for the same thing while doing what we can.
It feels really good to feel good about our decision to make this big switch.
That means a lot of volunteering but also lots of cool + unique projects and extra stuff in the evenings
and on weekends.
But, I am taking full advantage of the fact that I am able to spend so much time over there this year, it's a big year full of changes and
lots of good stuff...and who knows, next year might look different for us.

The other day at school I heard someone mention my name in conversation and said;
"Mrs. Bramer is here...." and once again my first thought was; Huh? My mother-in-law is here?
Some days you just wonder how you got from being in school yourself to becoming the Second
Grade Reading Mom of a kindergartner and second-grader?
Weird, I tell ya.

This New Gig + Shop Update

Hey there.
Well, it's Day 2 of school and I have a confession;
It's really quiet.
Like really quiet.
I really miss the kids and wasn't sure if I was ready for all of this, BUT,  the upside is that this whole free time thing is
pretty cool, too...
I'm not gonna lie.
I can sit out on the front porch or just be in the front of the house and hear all the kids playing
on the playground.
I really like that, it makes me feel better.

This morning I worked on listing shop stuff and edited pictures while watching old re-runs of
I Love Lucy while drinking my coffee.
In the complete quiet.
It was really nice.
So here is my humble opinion; it's tough letting your youngest start school and have both kids back
in school after being home together all Summer long and kind of stepping into a whole new phase in your life, really --
but there are definitely positives, too.
It kind of all balances out.
If you would have seen me before Wyatt started school you just wouldn't believe that I am handling
it this well this time around.
Seriously.
I think I cried on and off for a few weeks before he started and then was a hot MESS the first day
of school.
The fear of the unknown, wondering how it's going to go, how they will handle it, how things
will change and all that...it's scary.

And you know what else?
It felt so good to sit down at the dinner table last night for a family dinner and hear all about the
kid's day. It really did.
We always ate dinner at the table together when I was growing up.
Always.
Until we got older, then we would be at different functions and activities, then it was a little different.
So one of my many, many goals for myself is to put more time and effort into dinner and meal planning.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


I updated The Shop today but I still have more to add- including more jewelry and a few
table cloths.
It.takes. forever.
Who knew?

Geeeeeez.

Click on the link above to go shopping.

Hope your week is off to a good start.

Happy Tuesday.

worst.mom.ever.

yesterday i missed my boy's play at school.
i thought it was friday.
i wrote it on the calendar for friday, told eric it was friday...have thought all along it was friday.
it was wednesday.
he was george washington.
and i missed it.
he had lines.
and no family there to see it.
i feel like the worst mom in the world.
i am sad, sad, sad.
there's no getting that moment back, i just missed it.
i have been looking so forward to friday, to finally see this little play he has been talking about and working on.
you know what is even more sad?
i picked him up from school and he told me on the way to the park.
at the park i called to tell eric then started to cry, which made wyatt cry.
he said he felt bad for me because he knew how much i wanted to see it and he knew that i
thought it was friday.
i know in the grand scheme of things this is not the end of the world.
but it's one of those things that makes you feel super shitty and there's nothing you can do about it,
there is no going back, no second chance.
major parent fail.
major.
i feel so bad.

and just to clarify (and not make myself look worse than i already feel) this play was not
a whole class thing but a small group he is in that meets once a week.
they do special projects/activities,  it's a small group of about six kids.
so a note was sent home and an email sent a while back but it wasn't something everyone was
talking about or anything.

but he was george washington.
and he wore a wig and a ruffled shirt and i never even saw him in any of it.
i am sad, sad, sad.