Back to school eve

It's back-to-school eve.  For me.  Ben doesn't go back until next week.

4 dozen-ish gooey (and still disconcertingly flat even though I mixed by hand AND chilled the dough) chocolate chip mom-guilt cookies cool on my kitchen counter.

I packed my giant tote bag with a phone charger; some headphones; my favorite sunglasses; 7 lipsticks; a handful of bobby pins; a couple of pens I stole out of Ben's basket of shit on top of his dresser; that weird cord that plugs my Mac into the super smart podium in my classroom; a slew of syllabi and handouts just in case my 5:00 alarm doesn't get me worked out, fed, dressed, and on campus in enough time to hit my office; cute high heeled booties to replace the Uggs I'll walk a half-mile to class in; my trusty Tiffany-blue Klean Kanteen; my stream-of-consciousness red Moleskine notebook; and, soon, my  320-calorie lunch of a smoked turkey sandwich, a huge bag of baby carrots, an apple, and a pear and this very computer.

I hung my dress, tights, scarf, and necklace haphazardly on my closet door and hope that the steam from my shower smooths out any last minute wrinkles.  I have even laid out my earrings and rings and swear I am going to charge my Fitbit tonight.

I did my adjunct online work tonight.  Sent a welcome message to my real students.  Emailed all my PTO board members and assembled agendas for our meetings tomorrow night.  Rescheduled a meeting for a public speaking seminar I am giving for a campus group to accommodate taking harry to the cardiologist.  Made sure Jack is current with his homework and set the boys up to have a successful homework time when they wake up in the morning.  Blocked off 2 hours a day 4 days a week to write and swear I am not going to do petty worky things or screw around on the internet marinating in horrible guilt instead.

Spring semester is getting REAL.

But not today!  Today we went swimming at my parents' hotel despite the below zero temps and then drove to the Jelly Belly warehouse to take a tour and buy that stupid game where you have to eat gross flavored beans.  Such a fun day!!

All of the kids loved the pool, but Cooper was especially delighted and delightful, running around in the water feature, jumping in the "deep" end, and eating the tops of 8 donuts.  Then he fell down and almost bit through his lip and spent the rest of the time sitting sadly in the hot tub.  He was holding a towel to his mouth, ad it was a little red when he pulled it away.  He looked at it and started shrieking "BLOOD! BLOOD!  BLOOD!"  That kids HATES to bleed his own blood.  He kept coming up to me and asking, "Is blood still coming out?" for hours afterward.

 A friend of ours smoked a turkey breast four us, and Beatrix wasted no time grabbing a piece.

 After dinner Dorothy danced to "Better When I'm Dancing" for at least 40 minutes.  Like she does almost every night.

 The warehouse tour was really lame (REALLY LAME), but we got o ride a train, so the kids totally loved it.  I played the gross jelly bean game along with them in the car on the way home until I got a moldy cheese jelly bean.  Then it was all over for me.