I’ve been off the grid since the first day of school, it’s been HARD.

I was doing fine last Tuesday when the teachers started back to school; Adam stayed home with H that day. I was doing great the first day of school, when H went to her sitter Diana’s house for the first time. But then I picked her up on Wednesday and realized she’d spent an entire day with someone else. She had a great time, but it felt so surreal to me. Then I got a horrible night’s sleep, woke up in tears about the daunting prospect of another day with this new reality, got through Thursday, and had a complete breakdown after putting her to bed that night. The time with her after school just went too fast. I’ve never cried so hard in my life.

But we got through that first short week and my first full week of school. And I’ve just been soaking in the time with her, I’ve shut out everything else in life but that and getting the library ready for the school year. Ironing is piling up, I’ve barely been online since school started, I’ve forgotten to return texts and emails. And I haven’t stayed later at work than I have to. It’s a huge transition, and I know at some point we’ll get the hang of it. I can’t believe how many bags of stuff I leave the house with every day, and I still haven’t perfected the commute time with her. But she loves Diana and the two little boys there, too. So that’s a load off my mind, that she’s happy and not crying for me. Although I’ll admit, the first day I was a teensy bit sad that she didn’t seem to miss me at all.

Yesterday was a tough day, so I’m really glad to be home now for a 4 day weekend. The work doesn’t wait for me to collect myself after dropping off my baby, and of course the first couple weeks of school are filled with things that don’t work, paperwork that needs finishing, and new learning curves for everyone. I haven’t been able to start checking out books yet, but I’m really hoping that the 4 days, some rest, and some time with the baby will make next Wednesday seem a little less daunting.

H is passed out on our bed with her dad, so I thought I’d let the sleeping bear and cub keep napping while I catch up with the universe. My bulletin boards look great, I’ve changed it up a little this year. The Library Tree is now where the Achievements board used to be.

In its place is my new Blast Off With Books board. I’ve gotten rid of Achievements and am now keeping track of the number of books read by students. They fill out a little form every time they read a book.

I used my Cricut for the spaceships and letters, it’s the Boys Will be Boys cartridge.

And then I decided to move my new book displays. I got rid of the Spotlight On bulletin board, which no one ever paid any attention to anyway. I want to keep the front bookcase under the Blast Off board clear for student work this year, I’m going to select the best works and put them in flyer displays there. Taping them all to the desk just isn’t working anymore. So I want to make use of that real estate at the back of the room, where no one ever goes to look for things.

I was inspired by the Olympics this year. I should have rethought the paper I used with the white background (I never do white backgrounds), but I’m not going to stress it.

And of course most of this was done before school even started, so I had my helper with me.

And by helper, I mean she hung out quietly watching Winnie the Pooh for a little while so I could finish up.

I’m getting there. I’m really grateful for this 4 day weekend, I desperately need to decompress and spend time with that little schmoop.