Ahhhh, Vacation

So we're back from our vacation.  We actually came home Wednesday night, but I've been digging out.  I haven't even let myself open this page, so I wouldn't be tempted.  I have discovered, though, in my absence, that I missed it!  A lot.  Now that the fire to write has been re-ignited in me, it's burning steadily.  Speaking of writing, I'm reading Pat Conroy's new book - South of Broad right now.  Really, really good.  You should check it out!

Where did we go on vacation you ask?  Before I answer, nauseatingly I'm sure, let me assure you that I have not been endorsed by this place to write this description.  It is pure love only.  We went to The Greenbrier.  It's a place with history, quality, service and luxury.  We go every year. This was Husband and I's 8th visit, Oldest's 7th and Youngest's 2nd visit. 

So fun on many levels.  Oldest did the Adventure Zone for kids both days we were there.  It's a 1/2 day or all day program.  If you choose all day, they plan so many fun things for your child!  She got to do a carriage ride, stable tour, swimming, bowling, hiking and crafts both days.  Usually Husband plays lots and lots of golf, but this year, he took the year off to do family time.  As an alternative we helped ourselves to some spa time.  It was Heaven. 

The food is top notch, known throughout the country for its high quality.  We weren't disappointed. 

But what I like the most, is that every year that we go back it seems a little more like home to us.  They pride themselves on keeping their staff for many, many, MANY years.  They have 5-6 people who have worked there for more than FIFTY years.  At least 60 or so who have worked there for more than 25 years.  And they remember you.  It might not be the moment we walk in the door, but as the days go by, they remembered our visit from last year.  One of the doormen has been there for 52 years.  He told me as we were leaving that a man in his 30s came up to him last week and said, "do you remember me?"  And he didn't, and felt so bad.  His Southern Hospitality is so strong, that he couldn't stand not remembering this man, thinking he should.  The man then said "Oh, I'm just kidding, I used to come here with my grandfather and I remember you from when I was a kid.  I just wanted you to know I remember you and say hi to you again."  How cool is that? 

The kids were, well, practically perfect in every way, to quote the oft-misunderstood Mary Poppins.  It is like they are sprinkled with good girl dust upon arrival at the doors and it lasts the whole time we are there.  Youngest WAS a bit of a beast at the beginning of every meal, but we all know her propensities toward craziness when she's hungry.  Once her belly was full, though, she would start what we called the "FBD - Full Belly Dance" in her chair, which was this funny, rhythmic swaying to the happiness of her full belly.  Hilarious, that girl.  Plus she mastered the lyrics of Twinkle Twinkle - only slightly changing words - like "Gwinkle, Gwinkle, wittwle tar."

So we're all feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, repaired and ready - for Fall, school, work, my "free job" (excessive volunteerism).  And we have a little more sparkle in our eyes than we did last week. 

Has anyone been there?  I would love to hear your stories.

Don't miss Sunday's post - Super Sunday Series - Imaginational Overexcitability.  See you then!

A good night's sleep makes for the most productive days

In 90 minutes, I have a 4 hour workshop to attend.  I organized it, someone else is facilitating it.  So in honor of THOSE four hours, I have only SLEPT four hours!

Because I was scrambling to get all of the details finished, right?  Nooooooooo, here's why:

1. Went to bed at 10pm for a solid 8 hours.
2. Oldest was awake singing until well past 10:45.
3. Husband called up at 10:45 to ask my if I knew why the sound wasn't working on the tv.  Um, no honey, I'm up here sleeping.
4. Oldest's hamster began her nightly escape attempts around 10:30.  She gave up when I took her out of the bathtub at 6am this morning.  Yes, thanks to a very smart friend of mine, that's where we put her cage at night now.
5. Husband came to bed at 1:30.  He's a nightowl.  Usually I'm completely asleep, but not last night.
6. FINALLY, at 2am, I covered Hamster with a bath towel to dampen the noise and that did it.

On top of the workshop this morning, I am coming home today to pack for a vacation!  Wow, this is going to be a loooooooonnnnnnnngggggg day. 

BUT I AM OVER 100 SITE VISITS NOW - JUST HAPPENED YESTERDAY!  Just cartwheeled around the house over my excitement.  Oh, no I didn't - I'm too tired!  :)

And don't forget Super Sunday Series begins tomorrow!  Intellectual overexcitability is on tap first.

september pictures

Sometimes I wonder why I try something ambitious like loading pictures while my kids are "happily occupied," because during the time it took to do this, Youngest is now climbing all over me and the computer desk asking to see something on YouTube and it has taken my 5 full minutes to write this one run-on sentence.  but it's worth it to see these cute faces.  I think.  :)

The Teetering Update

So yesterday was when my parents left.  Usually I don't see much fallout on the day they leave.  But yesterday it was ALL ME who had the fallout. 

I decided to use a shortcut to the girls' gymnastics class.  Last night was the first night.  I chose the wrong way and got us lost to the tune of a 20 minute detour.  At the beginning, who was falling apart?  No one.  I was in control.  We were going to make it.  The girls were none-the-wiser.  Just holding hands in the back seat singing (alternating) Our Lady Peace and O.A.R.  How cute is that?

I started realizing my folly pretty early in the game (ie: I overestimated my ability to get us from point A to point B too easily).  We were not coming from home.  We were coming from an appointment and I had it totally worked out in my head how to get there.  It was going to be no problem.

The PROBLEM, I discovered, was that I HAD NO IDEA HOW TO GET THERE FROM WHERE WE WERE.  I tried, and I DID get us there, but there were about 30 minutes of OMG, WHERE ARE WE, CHRIMINY WHAT HAVE I DONE moments. 

The kids handled it well until LITERALLY, the last 2 minutes.  I mean, seriously, do you have to freak out when we're there?  What about Mommy's freak out the previous 30 minutes?   You know it, moms, the silent freak out you do when you don't want your kids to know?  The freak out you try to hide but your tension fills the car?  Oh, is that just me?  Sorry. 

Being lost AND not on time is quite possibly my biggest personal life nightmare (aside from the obvious family catastrophies I won't go into here). 

So, you are wondering how the last two minutes went? 

Oldest started bawling and hyperventilating over our late-ness (15 minutes), mostly because Youngest kept saying (I kid you not - 20 times at least), "Oldest, are we at dimdastics yet?"  It was funny until Oldest started moaning in the backseat and begging her to STOP because she was going to DIE if she heard it one more time. 

Of course, as it's always the case when Mommy's held it together over major trauma (getting lost in your own town certainly fits THAT), I ended up saying in a not-so-normal tone of voice, "DO YOU WANT MOMMY TO START SCREAMING WHEN WE ARE LITERALLY TWO MINUTES AWAY, I MEAN I CAN SEE THE PLACE, CAN'T WE ALL KEEP FROM LOSING IT NOW?"

Which begs the question that maybe MOMMY was losing it, I know. 

But, we made it in one piece.  15 minutes late, which makes me C-R-A-Z-Y.  I can't stand being late.  Hmmmm.  I wonder where Oldest gets her standards?  Just one of life's little mysteries.  ;)

And they L-O-V-E-D it.  Seriously.  They think gymnastics (dimdastics) is the best thing that ever happened to both of them.


Ahhhhhhhhh.  Some days it all works out. Eventually.

She's teetering

My parents are visiting right now.  They leave tomorrow.  So far, we have had a very pleasant visit all around.  I'm just dreading Wednesday, because it takes about 24 hours for Oldest to go all whacky for a day or so after a visit. 

This just happened over Labor Day with my in-laws.  They visited, staying two nights.  It couldn't have gone better.  Except for staying up too late chatting with my mother-in-law (apparently all of my husband's family share his night owlish tendencies).  They left Monday morning right after breakfast and Tuesday morning, RIGHT after breakfast, Oldest totally fell apart. 

I'm talking full scale short circuit.  It was ugly, I can't even get into the details.  But after I spent some not so proud moments haranguing her, she said,

"Mommy, I don't know what's wrong with me.  I just can't think today.  Having Grandma and Grandpa here was so fun and I got to wake up to them for two mornings and this morning they were gone.  So I feel all kooky and weird about that and it's making me mess up at everything.  I wish I could make it stop."

Well, talk about stopping an angry mommy in her tracks.  How SAD that transitions still do this to her after everything we've worked on to help her through them.  Is there ever going to come a time when she can manage them fully?  I felt so badly for her and was so mad at myself after this talk.  She truly, accurately assessed her feelings and why she was having them and I was so wrapped up in her crazy behavior that I forgot that she might be going through the "post visit transition."

Truthfully, though, she'd never really had it with my in-laws.  But she's definitely gone through this with MY parents - practically every time.

So I'm ready this visit.  24 hours after my parents leave tomorrow - I'm ready for the meltdown.  And we're going to make it through together.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Introducing the Super Sunday Series

I've been upset about LIFE getting in the way of my blogging this week.  But just because I haven't made a post doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about my little blog baby. 

As much as I want, truly WANT, to be as impressively academic as some of the sites I'm now following thanks to Twitter, I just can't.  I started this blog to help me deal with the daily issues of gifted life.  And let's face it; sometimes the daily issues just aren't glamourously academic.  They're painfully exasperating.  And fun - because sometimes they ARE fun too.

That being said, I am SO happy about being accepted into a gifted community that I didn't even know existed until my good friend Sidney from http://www.innovate2uplift.net/ introduced me!  And I feel like if I don't at least try to raise my own personal bar a little bit for those of YOU from that community, then I will be letting you down.  Because you all rock the gifted advocacy fight.  Seriously, I am not worthy. 

So I am introducing the Super Sunday Series for your academic reading pleasure and for my need to discuss more than just "it's hard to carry my gifted child out of birthday parties screaming."  Because it is about more than that, right?

I will devote my Sunday posts to something of academically gifted interest.  There are so many topics to choose from - I can't wait!  I have all of my books lined up and ready to start digesting and discussing.  I will spend time on the education aspect first, and then do a little personal application, because that's where the fun is for me.  :)

The rest of the week?  Well, it's all about the day to day fun and games of gifted.  Highs, lows and everything in between.  Time permitting, of course.  Did I really think summer was busy?  HA!

But Sunday?  It's all about high level thinking.  Then applying.

Starting next week:  the excitabilities and the gifted child.   Can't wait!  See you then.

Update on my errant "children"

I am so happy to report Kanye West's call to Taylor Swift to apologize.  Good for him. 

I am fascinated how many papers have carried the same article I quoted yesterday.  Newsworthy stuff, apparently. 

Now I can get back to the important things in my life.