Stay At Home Girlfriend

 

“There’s a trick to the ‘graceful exit.’ It begins with the vision to recognize when a job, a life stage, or a relationship is over — and let it go. It means leaving what’s over without denying its validity or its past importance to our lives. It was important. It involves a sense of future, a belief that every exit line is an entry, that we are moving up, rather than out.” 

| Ellen Goodman 

 

 This quote could not be more perfect for my life right now. 

My last day at Goddard was originally scheduled for May 29th, two days before we planned to move. I moved the date up to the 22nd, realizing that I would be a giant stress ball if I didn't take some time off to successfully pack up our place, organize and get rid of things, something I love to do.  The feeling of cleaning and throwing things away that I no longer have use for or straight up, don't like anymore, is something I thoroughly enjoy. I ask myself, "If someone were to secretly throw this away, would I notice?" If the answer is no, in the trash it goes, or the Goodwill pile, depending. 

Before I started working in childcare, I had this weird "year curse," I called it. Every job up until the one I had in a center setting, I completely lost interest in around a year, give or take a month or two. I felt a need for change. I didn't feel the need to change professions, but I did need a change inside the company, so my director, at the time, was happy to put me in another classroom, if I needed. Thankfully, this was an option. Well, I had been at Goddard for a little over two years, loved my classroom at one point and the age group, toddlers, but my last few weeks at Goddard were tough. I had this thought in my mind that I was leaving, my kids were challenging, I just didn't have the patience or want to grow that connection and relationship with the newer kids in my class because I didn't feel it worth it. This was a constant mindset of mine, I had a hard time steering clear from it and this was not good for me on a day to day basis. It was time for a change. I needed change.

Long story short, I was done with work a lot sooner than planned, without a graceful exit, not going to lie. After leaving work so frustrated, I had a hard time holding back tears on each drive home, I decided it wasn't worth it. Financially, it would be tough, having a couple weeks off in between my end date at Goddard and my start date at KinderCare, but this was less important to me than my happiness. I would rather be even more of  a broke joke for a couple weeks, than have upset, frustrated thoughts towards such an amazing company, one that I had been happy with for the last couple years of my life. I wanted to remember Goddard as the place that came as close as possible to the first center that I worked at, the one that set the bar extremely high. I was so happy there. I wanted to keep those grateful thoughts I had towards that place and the management, instead of spending my last few weeks in Colorado, upset and frustrated at the end of every work day. 

So, this week and next, I'm a stay at home girlfriend. 

With the help of our road trip at the beginning of this month, I can now stay awake later than 8PM. I no longer wake up at 6AM and have 2 breakfasts before 10. I actually went back to sleep yesterday and woke up at 11AM and felt extremely disgusted with myself. So, I made myself work out. I decided that I'm going to make amazing use of my time this week and next. 

 This morning, I went and observed another toddler classroom at a high quality center in Boulder. See? Keeping myself busy. I have always been curious about other classrooms, only ever having been in the ones in centers I've worked for. It was an eye opener for me. Seeing the teacher's interactions and love towards the kiddos just made me realize even more that I wasn't in a good place my last couple weeks at Goddard. I was so frustrated that I wasn't taking the time to be the teacher that I can be, and know to be, to better the children and all of our happiness day to day. I also learned, that I need to let go a bit and let toddlers be toddlers. The teachers in the classroom weren't constantly, or at all, worried about things being neat or picked up. How do I even have this mindset with children? Let them be messy! Let them have the option of a bunch of different toys and activities, because they learn when they are having fun and when they want to. Not on my time. I'm taking this realization back to my classroom in Wisconsin, whatever classroom that may be.

In the last week, Joel has been taking apart our yard, replanting things in different planters, rearranging what we're leaving here and getting everything ready to go back to Wisconsin with us. We'll have a yard to call our own to invest time and money into, hooray! Yesterday, he took out each fishie, crab, eel and snail, put them into separate bags, drained the water in our salt water fish tank, took it apart and loaded it into his truck to drive it home to Wisconsin. This motivated me to start some packing myself. I started to take down pictures, pack candles, home decor and put them into boxes. "This is so insane," I kept telling Joel. Packing up our life here seems so surreal, it came so fast. When Joel was finally ready to take off, I kissed him goodbye, told him to be safe and turned the outside light on, a habit, when he leaves and I don't expect his return until late at night. I turned the light off and reminded myself that he wouldn't be home tonight. He would be back in Wisconsin. And then I felt extremely home sick. I thought to myself, how in the world could I feel so homesick? Or was it another feeling? I need to be here. I only have ten more days here. Ten more days in this amazing state that we've called 'home' for the last two and a half years. Oh, Colorado, you deserve a blog post all to yourself. 

In ten days, we close our Colorado chapter and move our life back to the Midwest. It's going to be so weird, great, but so weird to be back there and not just being there to visit. It will be our home. Colorado will now be the place that we visit, not somewhere we come home to. I'll have to remind myself when we get back to the land of cheese that I won't be on vacation but staycation. That's what we said when we moved our lives to Colorado, a little more fitting for this state than Wisconsin.

I'll let you know how my staycation is this coming winter back in the Midwest.

Yikes.

 

Tattoo O'Clock

I got on here intending to blog about our super amazing road trip we did at the beginning of this month but I started to look through my trillion pictures, decide which ones I wanted to post and then my brain started to hurt so I stopped. We'll see if I ever develop ambition for that post of way too many pictures.

I will on the other hand, share some pictures from this past week. 

Last Tuesday we saw Lana Del Rey at Red Rocks, which made my day take a complete 180. I was a little bummed that the weather wasn't as nice as I had wanted it to be and the crop top and high waisted shorts were a 'no-go' but a little chilliness didn't stop me from crying tears of complete and utter contentment. She looked amazing, sounded amazing and I swear, her and I had a moment during "Blue Jeans." Joel and I were both shocked at how young the crowd was. We joked with the couple next to us, who were our age, about the fact that most of the people there probably had no idea who Courtney Love is. Yes, that's right, Courtney Love opened up for Lana Del Rey and it was fantastic. I especially loved her entry into her set, "I'm going to take it back to the 80's, long before you little f***ers were born." She clearly noticed the crowd too. 

My music tastes have calmed, extremely, since we've lived in Colorado, like I've said before. I'm not constantly fist pumping to EDM anymore. Don't get me wrong, I love a good dance party but I spend a lot of time listening to Ben Howard and Lana Del Rey. I'm so happy we were able to see both of them during our Colorado chapter. 

After months of counting down, even via Snapchat (see below) I was reunited in Colorado one last time with one of my best friends. 

This best friend and I date back to Sunday School in our Elementary years. We started out going to church together and bible camp and our friendship has come a long way since. We are similar in ways but also very different and I love her just the same. It was time for her to get one more visit in before we move back to the Midwest. IN 12 DAYS. This is an insane realization, by the way.

Punch Bowl Social Club.

After a little run in with urgent care, too much money put towards medications, an inhaler, rest and some movies, all on her first day here, she was a bit more in "vacation mode." We headed down to Denver for Joel's show and my life was seriously made, sitting next to her and having one of the little boys in my previous class and his parents be there as well. 

Sunday we hiked Greyrock in Fort Collins. I read about it forever ago and needed to do it at least once before we moved. We got on the trail at 11:50AM and got off shortly after 6PM. We literally spent the day hiking. 

Not going to lie, it looks tiny in this picture. But, we were at the top. 

This explains my bad knees. pc: Joel Kachel

Heart rocks, everywhere.

Greyrock is on the right. After getting to the top, we wound around down and through the meadows loop next.

We found perfect walking sticks during our hike and decided to leave them for the next person or group. A little more than six hours later, we finished and felt accomplished, both having trouble blocking out our sore knees. Bad knees at twenty seven, I've accepted it. 

And then yesterday, we got tattoos. 

I have been contemplating getting another tattoo for awhile now and I think the only reason that was, was because I had forgotten what it felt like to get one. I didn't remember it hurting, but being terribly annoying, aggravating. Han went first, first timer, and then it was my turn. I sat down and straight up told the guy not to listen to me if I told him to stop. 

Inked, finally.

pc: Hanna Schulberg

I remember now why I walked out of the tattoo shop the first time and told myself I would never get another one. Who knows, maybe seven years down the road, I'll change my mind again and go get another.

My shoulder now says, "Property of JK Music." 

Just kidding. 

Mother Nature is my Main B

It's actually thundering and lightening outside right now, you guys. I heard one, little, sorry boom of thunder at work a week or two ago, and saw lightening once through the blinds during nap time but this is my first full on storm of the year. This is so exciting. Cleanse my mind, body and soul, Mother Nature, cleanse me. Gosh, it feels good. Just to look out my living room window and see pouring rain. What makes it better is the fact that it's still light out, a nice glow, if you ask me. Let's be real, the sun is shining! As summer is right around the corner, the days are getting longer and it's light until after 8PM. This is the best, the realization that our days are getting longer, warmer. There is nothing like light, and sunshine and a good downpour all at once. This is something I will miss dearly when we move back to the Midwest, the sunshowers. The weathermen actually talk about them. They exist. You got it, it's when the sun is shining bright but it's raining. It's the absolute best. 

It makes me think of a time I had a terrible day at work and then drove home and on my way, was blessed with the most amazing sunshower and then the clouds parted and the rain went away and the sun fully came out just in time to go down. It was beautiful. 

Of course, I Instagramed, think  I didn't? 

The caption was, "Proof that there are greater things than today's frustration." 

Oh man, does Mother Nature feel me. She knows my moods. She knows that this evening's rainfall is all too appropriate after the day I had, the week I had, I should say. The weather is my emotion's, twin, I'm telling you. Between my challenging class of one and a half year olds and my last couple weeks spent at Goddard, my eyes have been leaking lately, lets just say. I've felt frustration and a sense of happy and both are making me more emotional than a pregnant woman. I'm the biggest baby you'll ever meet, I swear to you.

 

What I need is a good downpour to cleanse my mind. And a vacation. I can cross one off the list tonight and the other come, early Sunday morning. Conveniently, today was my last day of work for 9 days and Joel and I are anxiously awaiting a road trip. We dreamed up this plan a couple months ago. Dreamed up, is that right? How do you say that? It's like hanged. Anyways, we developed this master plan and I am so excited we are following through. We are heading towards Utah and doing some camping in Moab. We knew we would never make this trip, after we move back to Wisconsin. Being six hours from Moab is far more manageable than like what, 18 hours? I've always wanted to visit those beautiful arches, stand underneath them. You can bet there will be some pictures taken. After Moab, it's back into Colorado to Telluride, down to Mesa Verde, the Four Corners, back up into Durango and Salida to visit one of my Mom's best friends from high school. We had an amazing last camping trip during the Fall last year, not too far from where we live and thinking about it makes me even more excited to do this road trip. We will be seeing a handful of great places we have not yet seen since we've lived in Colorado. What a wonderful way to start our last month in this beautiful state.

I suppose I can share a couple pictures from my Birthday weekend, last weekend. One of my best friends was in town. She had never been to Colorado, was truly running out of time, us being so close to our move and what better weekend than the one in between our Birthdays. There was nothing like having her here, basking in the sunshine in my backyard and drinking my morning coffee with her. Sharing some drinks, Birthday cards and gifts, laughs, cake, and just being in her presence, gosh, it was lovely.

 

Bridesmaid Material | pc: Joel Kachel

She bought me Drew Barrymore's book for my Birthday. I love cute and/or hilarious coffee table books like it. It's a book of pictures she's taken over the years, hearts in random objects, places. Hearts. Perfect. We all know how much I love love. 

Always wearing those leggings. 

And then look at what I found on my beer glass later that night. 

That's not just my very talented boyfriend playing music in the background, it's a heart puddle of beer placed so perfectly on my glass. Is this real life? 

 

When deciding what I wanted written on our Birthday cake, I took all three of us into account. With Tier having just turned twenty six, me twenty seven, and Joel twenty eight, we needed something fitting for all of us. This is what I went with: 

 

Sparkler candles that didn't really sparkler at all, but we didn't fret. 

 

We visited a couple friends in Denver that had just taken in five foster kittens. Five kittens. At once. Have you ever played with five kittens at the same time? It's happiness, at least, in my world.

 

 

I got no group pictures because the little buggers were speedy things and I was just thoroughly enjoying the moment. Picture this guy, plus four more. Skipping around. Biting each other's ears, wrestling. Greatness. How our friend will give them up, is beyond me. Good luck, Lia.

 

Joel's Mom was also in town for work and was able to stick around for a Joel Kachel show and our Birthday festivities. 

 

Mother In Law Material

Well, that's just not the best cell phone picture ever taken.

 

It was a short, sweet visit from a couple ladies I adore and I loved every minute of it, even though I wish they could have stuck around longer, have seen more, gone exploring. 

 

It's okay, there will be exploring done this week, lots of it. 

Road trip To-Do list, here I come! 

 

Moab road trip: 2 days 

Lana Del Rey at Red Rocks: 11 days 

(Another) best friend comes to town: 12 days 

Move back to the Midwest: 30 days 

 

 

 

Green & Blue Paint on a Paper Plate; That Was Our Art Project Today

Today, my toddlers did an art project in honor of Earth Day, our Beautiful Mother Earth.

So it's my turn.

 

Here's to you, Mother Nature.

You've graced me with so many wonderful moments to photograph these past couple years in Colorado. This is a true Wayne and Garth, "We're not worthy" moment here. 

Photo Locations (from top to bottom)

 

1 & 2.  Poudre Canyon

 

3. Hanging Lake

 

4 & 5. Trail to Deep Lake Campground

 

6 & 7. Poudre Canyon 

 

8. Highway 287

 

9. Trail to Deep Lake Campground

 

 

Liebster Blog Award

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Well, this makes me feel incredibly special. The other night, I received a notification from my friend and fellow blogger, Kylie Bores, nominating me for The Liebster Blog Award. The award was created to discover and recognize new bloggers and welcome them to the blog world. Well, my blog is a happy four years old as of February, she isn't new by any means, but I very easily fall out of a blogging routine and I still have a lot to learn.

Kylie asked me a series of questions and here are my answers. (Doesn't this bring you back to Myspace? Who remembers Myspace? I lived for these Q&As)  

 

1. Are you a morning or night person? I am a morning person, hands down. I leave my house by 6:30 every weekday to make it to work by 7. Sleeping in on the weekends means no later than 7. Most days it's about 6:10. One accomplishes way more of the day this way.

2. What is your guilty pleasure? I don't feel guilty about any of my pleasures. ;) I honestly don't know what to put for this. Can I say, Gossip Girl? That show makes me wish I had a better sense of fashion. and money. 

3. What is your favorite holiday? Why? Christmas! The smells, the decorations, the food, the company, just the overall feeling it brings me, is simply wonderful. 

4. What is the first thing on your life bucket list (today)? The incredibly annoying snowfall outside makes me really want summertime. I've always wanted to experience a field of sunflowers. To walk through, or alongside, I would be so happy. I thought about saying Coachella but I think I've become too calm for a weekend long party like Coachella.

5. What is your favorite season and something you love to do that time of year? As the years go on, I find myself loving Fall more and more. The cooler weather, the attire, the scents, the amazing changing colors of the trees. I live for cool Fall weekends, drinking hot apple cider, with Fireball going to apple orchards or wineries. 

6. If you had a day all alone with no plans, what would you do? I would sleep in till 7 sip way too much coffee, listen to Ben Howard Pandora, catch up with all the blogs that I love that are full to the brim with beautiful pictures. I would spend it outside if it were nice, with my cats, of course. Which, would lead to taking pictures of them. I would do laundry, read my book at some point, perhaps work out. If Joel is out of town, this is basically how I spend my Saturdays and Sundays. I'm a Grandma. 

7. What is your favorite song currently? Hideaway by Kiesza. I seriously want to live in the music video and learn the choreography.  

8. Upload a favorite picture of your self and tell us where it was taken. 

This is me at probably age 2, in the house I grew up in, back in Wisconsin. I have the same face, same hair, same personality and I still love to climb mountains. 

9. Would you rather scuba dive or sky dive? Scuba dive. I would have to be pushed out of the plane to sky dive. 

10. What is your greatest fear? Knives. 

11. If you had the time for a new hobby, what would you like to do? I would love to learn to knit. Someday, I will. 

Bloggers I nominate: 

• Alyssa at You, Me and Baby Make 3 

• Chelsea at Writings off the Mat by Chelsea

• Anna at The Ruffled Mama

• Linnea at Her Soul Sparkles

• Jamie at Life As {Emma's} Mom

• Elise at Profiteor 

*Ladies, I know a few of you haven't blogged for awhile. I understand that life is crazy busy and most of you have a baby or 4, but I hope you find time to sit down and accept this award and spill some thoughts. It's fun and I truly miss reading what you have to say.

Questions for my blogger nominees: 

1. Why did you start your blog?

2. What is the easiest/hardest thing about keeping a blog?

3. Where is one place you would love to visit but have never been? 

4. What is your favorite form of social media and why? (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.)

5. What is something you do everyday?

6. In your opinion, what is the most important aspect in a relationship?

7. Are you a cat or dog person?

8. What does the most perfect day look like to you?

9. How would your closest friends describe you?

10. What's your favorite quote or motto in life?

11. In your opinion, how does one live a happy life?  

Happy Blogging, fellow bloggers!

Friday For The Win

Whoever invented the "delay brew" button on coffee makers is a genius. 

There is just something amazing about waking up to the smell of fresh coffee. 

Also, look how great I'm doing, keeping up with my blog, you guys. I don't know what it is, I blog and then don't for months on end and here I am now, blogging a couple days in a row. Funny, this is one thing that my Taurus, routine stricken self cannot hold on to. Well, this and working out. I'm reminding myself that it's all in my control and I'm rootin for you, Parr! 

Yesterday, was absolutely a win, in my book. I woke up at 6:10AM slept in and drank my coffee, poured my thoughts out into the blog world and felt total, and complete ease. It felt like a Saturday. I find it hilarious how just having one more day during your weekend, can make you so freaking happy. 

I went for a hike. By myself. Have you ever done this? Can I compare it to eating in a restaurant by yourself? I still haven't done that one. Well, sit down. I ate by myself at the Subway in a food court when I worked part time at Rosedale Mall in high school. That doesn't count. There was just something amazing about blaring my music, turning it off occasionally and being alone with my thoughts. Joel and I had spontaneously started the hike once on a whim, and didn't go the entire way. I needed to finish it. You know, the Taurus in me was eaten up by the fact of starting it and not finishing it.

I was almost to the top, power walking, like I do normally, when I almost stepped on a rattlesnake. He was half way on the trail, blended in completely by the rock and sand around him. You can imagine how high I jumped. Picture a cat, with a banana peal. He slithered away and gave me quite the aggressive rattle. Nothing more surprising and shocking than snakes in nature. I can hold and be in the company of Joel's snakes at his parent's house back home in Minnesota, but snakes in the wild? No thanks.

Yesterday, I also did a little shopping. I'm rationalizing my few purchases by reminding myself that I haven't shopped since before the first of the year (can you believe it?) and it's my Birthday month. I usually make a way bigger deal about my Birthday month than I'm doing this year. I honestly don't know why because I love Birthdays and I love growing up. I live for it. Literally. I haven't shopped since the first of the year because, well, I'm trying hard to limit myself, as well as save money for our move back to the Midwest in a couple months. My parents aren't paying for the moving truck this time around and I don't blame them. They have helped us out tremendously in the past and continue to. It's time to be adults and buy the moving truck on our own. We can do it!

I babysat for one of the boys in my class last night, him and his Brother, who is four. Kids are hilarious and I find so much joy in spending a Friday or Saturday here and there for a few hours, flying airplanes around the house, reading too many books and having silly conversations about fire truck beds. Especially, with kids that are too smart for their own good. Kids that use words like, "Similar" and say, "Well" instead of good. Early childhood centers, you make children so smart. You are a great thing.

You bet your bottom he put all those books away.

 As for today, I'll be cleaning the house in preparation for Joel's return home tomorrow morning, listening to Vance Joy on repeat. I'll be having a serious movie date with myself, because Divergent came in the mail yesterday. I'll probably spend some time outside, starring at the recently bloomed tulips. Odds of a solo dance party to Kiesza's "Hideaway" are good because I seriously cannot stop watching that video and wishing I were in it. A solo dance party, that's self-love, isn't it?  I'm going to dream about kissing my boyfriend and then tomorrow, I get to do so, for the first time in a little over a week. Yay!

Guys, this weekend is way cooler than the other side of the pillow.

Velcro Nation

If today were a normal Friday, I would have been at work for a little over an hour. The younger toddler teacher would have just taken her kids to their classroom and my few kiddos at school already, would be finishing up their breakfast. I would be playing with the ones who didn't bring breakfast, most likely in our kitchen area, because this is their favorite place to play; with the food, dress up clothes, babies and blankets. They would hold the babies on their chest, cover them with a blanket on the floor, pat their backs and say, "Night, night, baby."

One of my little girls would constantly be pointing out and saying the names of all the objects in the room that she knows and can now say. "Shoes! .... Chair!....Puppy!" As well as every object in the classroom being the color brown.

9AM would roll around and all my monsters kiddos that hadn't pooped yet, would come potty with me. They would try hard to pull their pants down by themselves, pull the tabs of their diapers, ask, "Help, please" if they can't and then throw their diaper away and sit on the potty, if they want. Some would sit, some wouldn't, some would even pee in the potty. After trying the potty, they would go to their drawer, full of their diapers, sometimes take out a handful, until I remind them, "Just one diaper, please!" They would put one or five back and enthusiastically show me Minnie Mouse "Min Mouse" or "Elmo" on the one they chose.

After snack, we would go outside to run laps around our playground (say it with me, "longer nap time") and my co-teacher and I would throw balls up on top of our shade umbrella and watch the balls roll down and our kids would laugh when the balls bounce on the ground. We could do this all day. They would fill their play shopping carts with balls, sit in the cars and tell their friends, "Bye, bye, see ya" and drive away. They would climb the side of the play tree and count 1, 2, 3, and "Jump!" They would pop bubbles with their fingers and feet and say, "Pop, bubbles, pop!" They would color with chalk on the sidewalk but only on the pictures their teachers had already drawn. They would point out the truck that just drove by, which sounds like a word that shouldn't be coming out of a one year old's mouth. They would shove their balls through the holes in the side of the tunnel and think it's hilarious when their teachers push them back through from the other side. 

Can we just take a minute to think about how simple happiness is when you're one, almost two. 

Everyday at work, I am reminded how simple life can be, how it's the simple things that really do make us happy. Yes, at times I get frustrated because I am surrounded by one year olds who are terribly emotional, dramatic and sometimes, mean and rough with their friends, but they continue to shock me with the words that come out of their mouths for the first time, how caring they really can be towards each other. When they rub their friend's back when their friend hasn't gotten their way, needed to be redirected or are mad at something, that no one else has a clue about but them, and are throwing a tantrum and crying on the floor. When they show each other where certain toys go or how the blocks need to be placed in the bucket to make them all fit. When they hold hands and just walk around the classroom or playground together or just give hugs in the middle of popping bubbles. It's times like these when I know I am doing something right and am in the right profession for me.

You couldn't pay me to work in an office. With adults.

I spend my days turning everything into a song, "Circle time, circle time, we all love circle time!" I make a fool of myself by talking in ridiculous voices. I don't have to shower because my kids love me no matter what I look like or smell like. I get paint on my clothes, arms, sometimes my face. I get boogers and tears on my clothes and on occasion, poop. I talk about simple things like colors, shapes, feelings and counting to ten, all day long. I read books with way too much enthusiasm and show my kiddos things like pinwheels, whistles, magnets and grass and it's all amazing to them. My days are filled with matching simple pictures of food, letters and shapes and teaching my littles to "turn the picture around so the velcro sticks." Velcro, who doesn't love velcro?

Simplicity, people. 

On a normal Friday, I would be so thankful that it's the end of the week. I would be saying, "TGIF" to all my fellow teachers that I pass in the hallway or on my lunch break. I would be counting down the hours until I was "child-free" for a couple days. All of you who work a full work week and then go home to children, well, you're super human. 

Our school is closed today for Spring Break so it's not a normal Friday. It's now 9AM and I'm still in bed, drinking my coffee, blogging; not encouraging potty use, saying, "Yay, you did it! You went potty" and clapping my hands. I can't believe I am saying this, but I would be fine with a normal Friday, that's what makes today so stinkin awesome! 

Here's to today!