Tomorrow, the kids finally–finally!–are done with school.  I’m not entirely sure why school dragged on so long.  People are claiming we didn’t even use all our snow days, so that doesn’t quite explain it.  Of course, Labor Day was late this year, so that partially explains it (given that school begins the day after Labor Day).  It’s really been kind of silly.  Geeky Girl hasn’t done all that much for at least a week.  Geeky Boy does have exams, but things seemed to slow down the last week or so, with little homework.

We’re looking forward to some much needed rest and relaxation.  In the next couple of weeks, we’ll be traveling a bit.  When we return, I’ll give you all the lowdown.  After that, we’re pretty much done for the summer.  We’ll squeeze in a visit to relatives late in the summer, but otherwise, we’re going to just be hanging out at home and the pool.  I’ll be doing a little bit of work to prepare for classes in the fall, but I’m not that concerned, given that I’ve already done a fair amount.  I’m really going to try not to work too much before my official start date.  I know things will be busy enough once work begins.  We also have a lot of other things going on this summer, which I’m not quite at liberty to reveal just yet, but I’ll let you know.  In the meantime, stay cool, and I’ll be back with more news in a week or so.

Tomorrow I’ll be cleaning up in preparation for a visit from the in-laws, so I thought I’d throw something up now.  If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I have either a herniated or bulging disc in my neck, which is creating pain in my shoulder and down my arm.  I had a very nice visit at the orthopedic’s yesterday and they’ve sent me off for physical therapy.  I start on Friday.  It hurts to sit at the computer and type for very long.  I can do it in 20-30 minute stretches.

Apparently, I no longer do pain very well, or at least pain that prevents me from doing things that I want and need to do.  On Monday, I was very upset about my pain and when Mr. Geeky asked me if I was okay, I burst into tears and said, “No.”  I used to be a trooper about pain.  I barely flinched when I slammed my finger in a car door once.  Labor, no big deal.  Uncomfortable maybe, but really not too bad as far as I was concerned.  Now I’m a big baby about it.  I’ve been given permission to eat Advil like candy, which definitely helps.  I’m taking warm baths and icing and heating.  I feel confident I’ll be okay.  Unlike some people, I do tend to follow doctor’s orders.  Mr. Geeky also insisted that we get a mattress topper and new pillows, which we did last night.  We got memory foam and after one night, we like it.

On the very positive side, I was accepted to this workshop at MIT.  The acceptance rate was 18%.  I’m quite excited.  I have lots of ideas for what I want to do with my teaching, but I can always use more.

In addition, I’ve jumped on the FlyLady bandwagon, and so far so good.  I’m on day 7.  My main goal is to do only the baby steps for the day and ignore most everything else.  Some days, I’ll do the daily mission.  Today’s mission, for example, is cleaning out the fridge, something I need to do anyway, so I’m planning to tackle that after this post.  I also just left post-it’s for the kids to do some things when they get home.  My goal is to have this place running like a well-oiled machine by fall.  The best part about the whole thing is the idea of getting dressed first thing.  I had relished hanging out in my pj’s, but getting dressed–showered, hair done, shoes on and all–is pretty awesome.  I’m often done with any chores before 7:30, leaving me plenty of time to drink my coffee, catch up on news, and help Geeky Girl get ready.  I’ve always had a work first, play after attitude, but this takes it to a whole new level.  I also scheduled a pick up for all the clothes we’ve cleaned out in the last few weeks, so clearing out slowly but surely, on my way to that well-oiled machine.

Parties for this kids birthdays also take place this weekend.  Everything is arranged.  I don’t have to do anything except show up.  Next week is the last full week of school.  We’re all ready for a break and hopefully a restful summer.