No Pressure

We experienced our first fall break this weekend.  It was full of really happy moments.

I'm realizing that school puts a lot of stress on our family- pressure to get up and moving so we can be out the door at a certain time.  Pressure to keep Leah interested in school (school hasn't been too challenging for her yet since she is only there for 3 hours every morning, which is mostly reading time... and her teacher told us she was reading at an-end-of-1st-grade-level during the first week of testing).  Pressure to keep Emma on a nap schedule that keeps her happy and rested, while also being able to pick Leah up from school at 11:30 every day and occasionally running other errands, visiting teaching, seeing friends.  Pressure to have quality teaching/nurturing/energy-releasing moments with Adam every morning while his sisters are at school and napping (but, oh! only one child to entertain means the potential for getting so much done!).  Pressure to get as much done in the spare pockets of each hour so I can focus more on my kids.  Pressure to keep the afternoons enjoyable/enriching/educating/entertaining so I don't feel like maybe school really is a better place for Leah than home.  Pressure to get a good meal on the table every night so Jason doesn't come home to a half-gnawed PBJ that has been cast aside on the kitchen counter, and there is no time left in the day for me to cook something decent because our nights are filled with dance class carpool, piano lessons, gymnastics, date night and FHE.  Pressure to make sure that my kids are regularly bathed so none of them are labeled the stinky kid at home, school, or play.  Pressure to get the kids into bed at a decent hour so we can get up and do it all again the next day.  Pressure to (again!) cram as much work/me-time as I can into those few precious hours before I fall into bed, gearing myself up for another full day.  Pressure to remind myself how very grateful I am for all the things that I don't feel as much stress or worry about- money, health, safety, finding a job after graduation...

Okay, so maybe all of that pressure isn't so much school-induced as it is motherhood/life-induced, but still.  It was so nice to let that pressure go, even just for a few days.

We started fall break in our jammies.  The kids heard popping popcorn and sneakily appeared in the kitchen, not sure if we would shuffle them back to bed like we have to do on school nights.  Thanks to fall break, we just invited them to join us in a game of speed Scrabble.

We continued the fall fun the next morning in our jammies.

We had some school friends over for a cookie-decorating lunch date (one of the major downsides of half-day kindergarten is that Leah misses out on social time with her friends).  I haven't seen Leah that excited since her last birthday.

But first Adam and Emma had to help me make the cookies.

And they were happy to help sample the completed product.

We hosted date night, went to a service project at a local Boy Scout camp the next morning, a birthday party in the afternoon and a Halloweenie Roast in the evening.  We had a delightfully regular Sabbath day.  We ate more cookies and carved pumpkins (Halloween related pictures will be getting their own post).

I wanted the final day of fall break to be full of fun.  We headed to Mary Lou's for donuts this morning before the sun was up.  The kids were so excited to be out first thing- in their jammies, no less!  When we pulled out of the driveway there were still stars in the sky.  We watched the sunrise and saw a beautiful full moon as we slowly made our way over to the best donuts in town.  And seeing Daddy for breakfast!  What a treat in itself.  Then we dropped him off at school and headed home.

The kids were thrilled to spend the entire morning in jammies- we read stacks of books, played a witchy game of "Room on the Broom", and watched cartoons.  

We made skeleton crafts, had a tasty lunch and played beauty shop.  Emma Grace took two naps.

We ended the day with dance class, a quick dinner and a Family Home Evening treasure hunt.  It was a happy, happy long weekend.  When I look back on this weekend, I will remember that it was happy.  I was laughing, smiling, and playing with my kids.  I still did 4 loads of laundry today, prepared, served and cleaned up several meals, and even did some closet organization for the kids.  I still responded to pressing emails, did the dance carpool, and had to get after kids for not responding to requests the third, or thirtieth time.  But we all laughed, smiled and had fun the whole day, the whole weekend long.  The pressure was off.

Now I just need to figure out how to incorporate those happy feelings into the back-to-business days of our lives.  Or maybe the break from all that pressure is what makes these moments so special.