Tag: back to school

Good-Bye Summer

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

In my neck of the woods, summer is gone. Oh the heat still toys with us, trying to play mind-games on our already fried brains. Fried from heat. Fried from to-do lists, schedules, etc…

This is my last week with my kids before the new school year begins. I’m always nervous for them. Nervous they’ll get picked on, nervous they’ll have rotten teachers with no compassion, nervous they’ll be nervous. Generally, I’m not a worrier.  But this time of year, I am. 

I know God has it all under control. I know He’s promised to take care of them. I trust Him to do it, but those pre-school jitters still get me looking like a drunk marionette. Right now, you’re picturing me as a trashed Pinocchio-ette. Admit it.

This summer has flown by. I mean really. I can’t figure out where summer went. So this week I’m taking a blogging break and I’ll probably be online less, although my iPhone makes it hard. School supplies are bought. Clothes and shoes are purchased and my house is mostly clean. So I’m taking this last week to hang out with my kids and yeah, do some writing when they get sick of me. Depending on how much sarcasm I drop will determine how long it takes before they beg me to go away! 

BUT!!!!


I’ll be back, you can all sigh in relief now, on Monday, August 6th and we’ll all get to hang out at Cuppa Josie’s in Shelby Lake with Lisa Jordan. Expect a recipe, a super cool ending to the day, and lots of coffee, tea, and pastries! Holla!

Would you rather take math classes the rest of your life with a teacher you like, or creative writing with a teacher you detest? Why?
*photocredit: freedigitalphotos

A Whole Day Cleaning Out the…

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

Yeah, the pantry. School is starting in two weeks! Two. Two weeks and my house is simply not ready for grumpy heads rising before 6:30 a.m., heading to school to beat the tardy bell at 7:20.

It’s not ready for starving mouths that need after-school snacks and all that goes along with five days of kid-torture.

My pantry was ridiculous.

So maybe I didn’t spend a whole day on it, but I swear I did spend an hour and it’s possible more than one bag of trash went out, I will not admit to any more than one. 

I reorganized my spice rack, moved a few things to different cabinets, shopped for school supplies and got them ready to go in boxes, and basically cleaned house. No, not basically, I did clean house.

I was quiet online yesterday and I got zipola writing done. I will say while dinner was in the oven, I took a break with a cup of tea and Lisa Jordan’s newest book, Lakeside Family. A fifteen minute break. Yeah, it turned into an hour and I admit to laughing out loud and even sobbing tearing up. You can pre-order it! Click on Lisa’s name.

Now that my laundry is done, school supplies purchased, and I can open my pantry without stale chips and moldy bread falling out (I might or might not be exaggerating) I can get back to writing. Oh and I got inspired by Amanda Dykes uber-cool organized desk, so I cleaned mine off and did a little organizing myself! You can read about it at Melissa Tagg’s Tag(g)lines, where she guest posted, HERE!

Do you do a full scrub on your house before school starts up? And even better, if you could be one item in a pantry, what would you be and why?

Back to School, Already? and…A Moment with Myles

Posted on by Jessica R. Patch

First off, I’m guest blogging over at David N. Walker’s blog. Come by and let’s talk memories!

My kids have gone back to school. Already!

Bailey was indifferent, only excited about her dry erase board and mirror. So rolling my eyes right now.

Myles was pumped. He had his new Transformers backback and “fresh” markers. 🙂 His teacher is new this year. I told him to try and abstain from breaking her in too soon.

I dropped Bailey off. 7th grade. I pulled away and teared up. When did my baby become a jr. high student?

As I drove to Myles’s school he asked, “So is 2nd grade going to be hard? Will I know everything?” Same thing he asked about 1st grade.

“Not everything, sweetie. But that’s what you have a teacher for–to help you learn new things. Not everything will be easy, but that’s why you do your best and study–“

He cuts me off with his deadpan tone. “Mom, is this a speech?”

Well, there went that. “No, I was encouraging you.”

“Sounds like a speech.”

I turned the volume up on the radio and the rest of the ride we listened to Jesus Culture. Love me some Kim Walker.

He refused to let me walk him up. “I’m 7, Mom.”

“Okay. Have a good day. Try to listen and–” I smiled. “Have fun.” That last statement could be dangerous.

But man, I loved going back to school!

I loved new clothes, shoes, and supplies. I loved seeing all my friends again…because the day before had been too long. School was enjoyable for me. A new year, new teacher/s, new adventures. I’ve only been kicked off the bus twice and detention once!

I’m thankful my son doesn’t ride the bus. Eventually, detention will be inevitable. I’m preparing now. 

 I’m leaving you with a clip from one of my favorite movies. Billy Madison. I’m sorry, I can’t get enough of Adam Sandler.

Did you like going back to school? What did you love most?