Motherhood Musings and May Play

Let's start with some contemplations this post, shall we? It seems like at least twice a year, there is some big burst - whether in the mainstream media or the "blogosphere" - about some sort of Mommy War. Working Moms vs. Stay-at-Home Moms. Breastfeeding Moms vs. Formula-Feeding Moms. Monogamists vs. Sister Wives. (Okay, I made that third one up.) Time Magazine's recent cover of course inspired a lot of conversation, but some less in-your-face pieces keep these "feuds" going... or seek to resolve them. (I love this one, which is more heartfelt, and this one, which is fabulous smart-assery at its best.) 



Why so contemplative? Well, even though the publication date here says May 31, it's actually June 26 (do you feel so deceived?), and my return to work approaches. And it's this time of year that has me thinking, wow, I am so stuck-in-the-middle. There are times during summer that I think that I would just love to stay at home, that the house would be clean, the blog would be updated, I would be so fit... and then there are as many times that I miss my colleagues, miss grown-up time, miss the validation (albeit often paired with a frantic pace) that my job offers. Barring a lottery win, the musings don't really matter. I'm where I am, and one of the bazillion things about being in the field of education that I appreciate is that I can make a difference in children's lives when I'm away from my own child, and I get just enough time off to have the best of both worlds.


Phew. Sorry for the random deep thoughts there. This is all a very circuitous preamble to discussing Mother's Day 2012. Bless your hearts... 


Anyway, Luke's PPCD class had a Mother's Day tea party, and even though I had to use half a personal day to attend it, did I go? HECK YES. It was so precious. I don't have many pictures, largely because I don't know that it's all that cool to post videos and pictures of other people's children without their consent. But here's my kid:

Mom and I went to Luke's class, and we witnessed circle time* and had a lovely brunch. It was great to see Luke's little friends and just get a little slice of what his day at school is like. 


*Luke was SO not into circle time. Part of why there isn't video is that most of it was teachers and paras re-directing Luke to be on task. Oh well. : ) 


It's a little thing, but since I am a working mom, it was just a precious day to me. Here's the gift I got: isn't it too cute? The little lady bugs are his fingerprints?**

**I think to be certified in Early Education, you must make a list of 725 things you can create with tempura paint and children's finger, toe, hand, and/or foot prints. I'm astonished by the creativity of Luke's teachers! 


I got another gift after Sunday school on Mother's Day. These precious little Luke creations will adorn my classroom this year so my little guy is with me while I deal with the teenagers' shenanigans. 

Let's see, what else about May...


We ventured out to Main Street Days at the end of the month. It was hotter than Hades, but we had a great time. Here's the little man enjoying one of many rides:

Then, the heat necessitated a time for a drink and a snack:

And after some more fun and getting home, he just conked out. Sweet little guy!

Here are a couple of pictures from Memorial Day. We spent the morning playing in our yard with our new play set and an inflatable pool Grandma and Grandpa got Luke last summer. Jeremy combined the two to make a pretty awesome-sauce day for Luke, as you'll see in the video (which I hope works...):

(If the video doesn't work: we set up the pool right at the base of the slide, so he could slide right into it. He thought it was the coolest thing since Nilla Wafers.)