Spring Break 2012 - A Staycation #Fail . . . or Was It?

I've done this for years, friends--this meaning the teacher vacations, the treasured ones that I work so hard to earn. The ones that make me feel like a student again, or somewhat more accurately, like a stay-at-home mom. And since we don't usually have "vacation money" per say, my daughter and I have gotten pretty comfortable with the so-called staycation. Austin is a super-cool city where there's always something going on somewhere, most of our family lives here, and we have our pets at home to keep things lively, too (especially since we're outnumbered 2:1, both in quantity & adorableness). 

We usually follow the loosely-formulated day of: 

• Wake up whenever, gear up for the day with some grub and at-home time. 
• Do at least one errand &/or chore and one just-for-fun outing (not necessarily in that order).
• Wrap up the day by just taking care of ourselves, the pets, and enjoying home (or a family member's home & hospitality;-). 
• And finally, go to sleep whenever. 

Typically, we both appreciate all of the extra hours in our day to run around and/or chill out. But, this year I can look back and say I largely failed! That is not to say it was all bad by any means, but generally speaking, not a lot of fun was had. Let's see why that may be...

This year there was an added twist of a science project to be completed (not purposely assigned over the break, but Ariana had an extended due date as a result of circumstances beyond her control). Maybe I can blame the fail on that. Nah, it caused only a couple of minor speed humps in the Spring Break road. Maybe we had gotten too behind on chores. This is a serious contender for what really went wrong; I feel like all I did at home was laundry and dishes--and I was home way too much! Perhaps I subconsciously sabotaged myself by imagining some actual Spring Cleaning might get done. (The added pressure sometimes bursts my bubble, and then not even the basics get done...but, no, that wasn't it.) Or, maybe it's the notably difficult age at which my daughter currently finds herself (a tween, indeed!). Well, that is definitely a player--especially with the aforementioned science project and chores to get done! Well, now that I think of it, I wasn't feeling terribly well most of the time, either. So, physically and emotionally, I was very challenged. That sounds most like the primary culprit. You know the saying: "When Momma ain't happy..."

So, looking back on it, this Spring Break felt largely like my own personal version of Groundhog Day (remember that movie?!?! Find fun facts about it contributed to BuzzFeed by Bill Murray himself, here: http://www.buzzfeed.com/billmurray/things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-the-movie-g). I guess the main tone of this post is venting, with a bit of a self-serving purpose: to help me recover from the ickies that permeated my break, and hopefully to determine, 'How do I stop re-living this day?' 

However, there were some definite highlights not to be underestimated betwixt the hum-drum moments. So, maybe venting here did work it all out! Now, images of several happy moments bring me a smile. Time for a change of tone, as I feel much better now. Writing really can be cathartic. And stay-at-home moms are miracle workers. :) So, with no further ado, your prize for having made it through my bitch-session: some photos of the good times we squeezed in! 

Just Us...

Visiting the school garden plot they just planted

There's some smiles...

With family...

Ariana introduces cousin Jude to the wonders of gymnastics!

And, he's ready to try it for himself! Whoa, did you see that?!

More active fun with Cousin 'Ana'

St. Patty's Day shot taken just before leaving,
so we are all pretty pooped

Ari & I toasted with green fruit smoothies at home

And, with friends...

(only one of whom is actually pictured)

Visiting the Dr. Seuss visit at Art on 5th

...not to mention some other happies not caught on film: 

• Dinner and a movie at my Granny's courtesy of Aunt Vicki. We watched Footloose, the remake, which we all enjoyed.
• My all-too-brief visit with my bestie, Cedar, which ended with a slightly un-fun, but highly appreciated co-errand to Home Depot. Necessary evils are always more enjoyable with a friend!
• Ariana's nicely-timed outing to one of her bestie's house on Wednesday. I don't think they kept up the semi-tradition of baking something while she was there, but highlights I gathered were the trampoline antics, and some innocent, detective-like reconnaissance performed on unsuspecting neighbors.
• Additionally, some enjoyable visits peppered-in here & there with my dear-ol' Ma. Her week was unusually busy & stressful week, so our time together was made that much sweeter in comparison.

P.S. For anyone with a geeky inclination to wonder what experiment my little scientist performed, it was soaking eggs in different types of vinegar to see which vinegar yielded the bounciest egg. It was the white vinegar. Although, she performed the version of the experiment with raw eggs rather than boiled. I do not recommend it. (I'll preserve some mystery and let you look it up or just imagine why...) But she rocked it out, and the final tri-fold display was one which made her rightly proud.