Back To School

It is 8:24 pm and the girls are in bed. *breathes sigh of relief* School break is over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

E&L got their showers and school clothes are set out. Their backpacks have been filled in true minimalist style (1 folder, 1 notebook, 1 pencil case with 1 pencil each of 5 different colors, and 1 little pencil sharpener). The rest of the school supplies are inventoried and put away.

• 3 packs of loose leaf paper? Check.
• 5 spiral bound notebooks of varying colors? Check.
• 1 pack of highlighters? Check.
• 5 folders of various adorable animals? Check.
• 1 pack of pencil top erasers? Check.
• 2 packs of crayons? Check.
• 2 packs of colored pencils? Check.
• 2 packs of markers? Check.
• 4 glue sticks? Check.
• 1 extra pencil box? Check.
• 1 extra pencil sharpener? Check.
• 1 pair of children's safety scissors? Check.
• 2 20-packs of pencils? Check.
• 1 pack of pens? Check.

We should be good for the first week of school. And by that, I mean Thursday and Friday. I am betting that come Monday, they will be "out" of paper or pencils. They are so not liking the fact that when they went to bed, it was still light enough out to read outside. *snicker* I know, I'm mean. But damn, I've been looking forward to tomorrow since the end of May!

We are eagerly awaiting the list of required school supplies. I'm sure we will end up having the wrong color/type of notebooks, the wrong brand of crayons/markers, the wrong kind of glue, etc. Also, I'm sure they need 100 boxes of Kleenex and 50 bottles of hand sanitizer from each child. At least, to hear my mom talk about what they had to send last year, that sounds about right. I recall asking students to bring in 2 boxes of tissue, 1 container of clorox wipes, and 1 bottle of hand sanitizer when I taught. But that was 1 item per quarter. I had about 150 students and no classroom so storing 300 boxes of tissues at the beginning of the school year would have been an interesting feat.

Have your children/siblings/grandkids/neighbors/students started back yet? Did I leave anything off the list of needed school supplies? Have ideas for useful things for others to send into the classroom?

Love is love, no matter the back story. <3 DS

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone has stuffed themselves with some good eats and enjoyed (or tolerated) the company of family and friends. I spent my day split between three places so it was a little chaotic. But I survived. :)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I like to tell myself what all I have to be thankful for in this pretty crappy economy. This is what I am thankful for:

• My family that loves me no matter what, even when we are all so pissed at each other that we can't look at each other without busting a gasket.
• My friends that love me no matter what, even when I am bitchy and spend all day ranting about how my family is a bunch of nuts and 2 year olds.
• My passion of reading, writing, and all things contained within. I would be an incredibly boring person without those creative pursuits.
• The United States military troops serving abroad and at home to protect our way of life, beliefs, and freedoms. If I could personally hug each and every one of you, I would do so gladly.
• Other writers and creative people throughout the world that provide a revolving door of creativity and inspiration. Keep on keeping on folks!

Enjoy the rest of your evening folks. Stay tuned tomorrow for an announcement and this week's journal entries. Have a safe night and weekend.

Love is love, no matter the back story. <3 DS