Halloween Parade

We had an adorable neighborhood Halloween parade with the kids in their costumes!  Hoping this will become a new tradition!

Terrible Music

Decided to listen to the Top 100 on Spotify while processing the new books.  Apparently I have very different taste in music from everyone else on Spotify.

Nerdy Dewey Love

Just unpacked my Abridged 14th Edition of the Dewey Decimal Classification manual.  Oh how I missed you, my friend!

Teacher Costume

I'm dressed as a teacher for Halloween: khaki jumper, teaching pins (school bus, school house, etc), sweater with an apple, Mary Jane's with holiday ankle socks.

Avon Nativity Set

As a kid, my mom had this little nativity set she purchased from Avon for us to play with.  I inherited our set, but I thought it would be a great Christmas present for my sister and nephew if I could find one online.  I did, but the least expensive set I found was $57 (plus shipping)!  Guess I'll cherish it a little more this year...  

Call the Vatican

There's been a miracle.  All the rest of the books from my old school were delivered!  I may have done an embarrassing dance in front of a room full of students.

Go, go, go

Got my whole carload of supplies unpacked and organized, saw 8 classes, came home and did 3 loads of laundry, baked 4 pans of brownies, cooked dinner, went to yoga, and still had time to snuggle with Korra.  I am ready for bed!

They're HERE!

They just delivered half the boxes of books!  I'm SOOOOOO excited!

Feeling Crafty

Just thought of a few homemade Christmas gifts and now I'm antsy to get crafting!  9 PM on a Monday is probably not a good time to start a project...

Tranquil Turtle

Korra's had this turtle that lights up and plays soothing ocean sounds since she was a newborn, but we haven't used it in a long while (the batteries died).  She pulled it out of her toy box after her bath so, on a whim, I put new batteries in it and turned off the light in her room.  We both laid on the floor and watched the light play on the ceiling and within 2 minutes she laid her head on my stomach and we cuddled that way until she fell asleep.  Perfect end to my day.

Fruit Ninja and Skype

Korra learned how to play Fruit Ninja (the fruit flying up makes her laugh).  She also successfully Skyped with both sets of grandparents in the past 2 days (meaning she smiled and interacted instead of crying and trying to grab the tablet).

175 Boxes!

Got all of the books that are coming to me boxed before 2:30!  Now we just have to wait for them to be delivered and go back one more time to do some final cleaning.

Like Christmas

I was so excited about today that I hardly slept last night.  I go over in my mind which books I want to box up first, how to best delegate to my helpers, etc.  Also, I think there will be so much closure when this is done.

Like a Holiday

Tomorrow is the big day!  I get to sleep in an extra 30 minutes and then I get to go get my books from my old school!!  And then, I get to come home for lunch AND even though I'm working the same hours, I'll be home 20 minutes earlier even if I walk home! Yay!

Keyboard

There is one thing that I do not like at all about touch screens.  No matter how big the "keyboard" on screen is, my typing skills immediately revert back to my 7th grade abilities and I end up typing with my index fingers.

Still Sleeping

Korra went to bed at 8:30 last night.  It's 9:15 and she's still sleeping.  I think the Fall Festival yesterday really wore her out!

Best Costume

Korra won best costume in her age group, all 20 of my cupcakes got gobbled up, and our beanbag toss was well liked by the kids.  All in all, a very successful Fall Festival!

Korra and Nobby

Nobby let Korra pet him for 2 whole minutes!

89 pics

Just deleted 89 pictures that Korra took of her forehead and the ceiling.

RIP Charlotte

Our banana spider that has lived on our front porch for the past few months died last night.  Glad Korra's not old enough to ask questions about death yet.

Farewell Party

Going to see lots of my old teacher friends at a farewell party this afternoon.  Really looking forward to catching up with them!

Manga

My big order of manga books came in yesterday.  The kids are so excited!

Baby Makes It Better

Nate and Korra stopped by the school while they were out running errands.  Hugging on the 2 people you love most in life make even a not-so-great morning much better.

That Kind of Morning

This morning is just as crazy as yesterday.  Insurance enrollment, MIA subs, a presentation I have to set up for that nobody told me about...  I hope this is not going to become the new normal.

180 Bags

Sorted candy for Saturday's neighborhood Fall Festival.  180 bags of goodies, ready to go!  I've already got our costumes and my beanbag toss game ready, too!

Letter Writing

Instead of calling a parent, I had the student write a letter to his mom telling her what he was doing in the library instead of reading.  And then I mailed it.  I wonder how this will work.

Surprise! (and not the good kind)

Came in this morning to find the insurance enrollment people are spending the next 2 days in the library.  And no one told me.  And I wasn't here in October last year so I had no idea.  This morning has been a non-stop scramble to rearrange the furniture and the schedule to make it work.

Hero Day

Today is Hero Day.  And apparently you're supposed to wear camouflage.  I don't own any camo, but I do own a cape.  I think it's more in line with the theme anyway.

Double Date

Tonight we had a great at-home double date with our neighbors Ben and Laura.  BBQ pot roast with cheesy ranch grits and roasted broccoli while the kids played and then a round of board games!

Hat Day

Today is hat day.  I'm wearing my grandma's pink hat.  This is one of the few times I wish I had a smart phone.  I'd totally take a selfie right now.

Sleep Crawling

Sometimes at night, I watch Korra on the monitor as she crawl around her crib, blindly looking for her blankie.

Parks and Rec

I am so sad to hear that Parks and Rec has been put on hiatus.  That's my favorite show and I'm SO sad!

Return of the Yogi!

It's been quite a while since I last participated in a yoga class.  Tonight one of my neighbor's lead one in our community center.  Loved it so much!

Sausage Biscuit

A sweet 7th grade boy who I've been recommending books to all year brought me a sausage biscuit this morning!  What a nice surprise!

Maybe Not A Total Failure

Fixed the website (all by myself) AND got into my webinar only 10 minutes late.

Internet Failure

In addition to my epic website fail, I also just failed to get into my Book Fair webinar and had to reschedule.

Webmaster Fail

As I've told you before, I am completely unqualified to be the website manager for my school.  Today proves this yet again.  I have no idea how I did it and I don't even have the techno-words to explain it, but I made almost all the pages disappear.  Who's the patron saint of the internet?  I need some intervention!

OCD Dream

I had a dream I was organizing a closet.  That was the entire dream.

Fall Weather

I am really enjoying the beautiful weather we have had today.  And I'm happy to see it'll be like this all week!

Wedding Recap

Had a truly fantastic time at Meghan's wedding!  Loved the time with my girls, but chasing around a very active toddler all day in many un-toddler-friendly settings (yard with an in-ground pool, houses full of people getting ready for the wedding, a reception venue with candles all over the tables and floor) was exhausting!  We'll all sleep well tonight.

Meg's Wedding!

Korra and I are headed out early for a pre-wedding breakfast with some of my college girls.  Looking forward to some time with my friends!

Blue Blood

Overheard a teacher's assistant tell a small group of students that your blood is blue until the oxygen in the air hits it.  Had to bite my tongue from shouting out, "Wrong, wrong, wrong!"  I don't want to embarrass her, but I also don't want the kids to believe that for the rest of their lives.  What do I do?

Second Favorite Library Tool

Been putting my second favorite library tool (my button maker!) to good use this week.  Every time a student compliments my Teen Read Week button, I give it to them.  Oh, and in just in case you were wondering, my favorite library tools rank as follows:

1) typewriter

2) button maker

3) engraver

Interest Has Dwindled

Remember how I said I had all those teachers excited to be a part of my teacher book club?  Guess how many were able to make today's meeting?  3.  Including me.  Going to try to reschedule in hopes that it was just a date conflict and not that they are no longer interested.

Health Insurance

Our insurance is changing from an HMO to an HRA.  I hate making these decisions.

Extra Busy

Saw 13 classes (approximately 390 students) today.  I am one tired librarian.

Blogging Anniversary

Yesterday was my FIVE YEAR blogging anniversary.  During the past 5 years, I've finished my master's degree, Nate earned his master's degree, we became foster parents and had 2 long-term placements (NA and AL) come and go, Korra was born, and I changed schools.  Not to mention all the book, movie, and recipe reviews as well as all the little minutia of my life.  Silly as it is, I love having this documentation of my life and having you, dear readers, to share it with.

Teen Read Week!

It's finally here!  Teen Read Week!  It kind of looks like my Pintrest "Library" board exploded all over the media center.  I hope the kids like it.

Korra at 13 Months

Our wonderful friend and neighbor Laura took these photos of Korra last week.

Thought I'd also take this opportunity to document a few things about Korra at 13 months old.

• She loves to eat pretzels, canned pineapple, raisins, and yogurt.
• She does actions for "How big are you?" and "Peek-a-boo!"
• She likes to feed herself with a spoon and brush her own teeth and hair.
• She has scrapes on her knee, elbow, chin, and wrist because she practically runs everywhere she goes.
• She does not like to have her hands dirty (she dusts them off when she falls).
• She gets very snuggly with me when she's tired.
• She talks all the time, but the only words she uses in context are "Uh, oh" and "No."
• She still sucks her thumb and has gotten very attached to her blankie when she sleeps.
• She still loves the bath, she loves looking at books, and she loves going for walks in her wagon.

Long Drives Feel Longer

Know what makes a long drive feel even longer?  Having a screaming child in the car.  Korra hates long car rides (and she makes us hate them, too!)

Jude's Baptism

Beautiful service (so neat that my mother-in-law got to marry all 3 of her children and is now getting to baptize her grandchild) and lots of enjoyable time spent with family and friends.

Seagram's

This is what I was missing out on by not drinking in high school or college.  Seagram's Cherry Fizz is both a tasty and silly drink.

Longest Nap

Korra took a 3.5 hour nap today.  That is the longest nap she has EVER taken.

Rough Night

My nephew is teething.  It was a rough night for everyone.  Thank goodness he's so cute.

Florida Bound

We're leaving right after school today for a 3 day weekend in Florida!  Looking forward to time with Nate's family as we celebrate our nephew's baptism.

Hunger Games Movie

Today and tomorrow, they're filming for the 3rd Hunger Games movie 3 blocks from my house!  

Running Into Things

This morning I ran into the baby gate (in the dark hallway- forgot we had it) and then found that our resident Banana Spider (we can her Charlotte, of course) had built a web across the front door.

Jane Of All Trades

Is there anything a media specialist doesn't do?

Today I'm cleaning corroded batteries out of calculators in between helping 7th graders research cancer.

Zulily

Went to buy Korra some leggings, ended up buying 3 Christmas presents, too.  Also stayed up 30 minutes later than I intended.  Oh, Zulily, you get me every time.

Baby Gate

We bought (and Nate installed) a baby gate.  Korra can now be contained!

Smelly Bookmarks

For Teen Read Week, I bought smelly book marks.  I've been sorting them into class-sized batches and now my hands smell like a weird combination of gumballs, strawberries, chocolate chip cookies, gummy worms, pickles, popcorn, and bacon.

Return To Me

Nate's at trivia so I'm watching one of my favorite romantic movies- Return to Me.  Definitely helps take my mind off the ghost story I just finished for the 7th grade book club (Ghost of Graylock).

Pig-tails

Put Korra's hair into 2 little pig-tails today.  It only lasted for a couple of minutes, but it was so fun and made her seem like such a big girl!

Poppy Seed Chicken

First attempt at making Poppy Seed Chicken- success!

No Nursing

Today is the first day in Korra's life that we didn't nurse at all.  This is the first thing of babyhood that we've left behind that I'm sad about.

This Is The End

Splurged and spent $1.28 to rent This is the End.  That is one ridiculous movie.

More Flowers

Found another bunch of flowers on the front porch from my sweet little neighbors.

Basking

Still basking in the warm glow of my huge library win yesterday.  I have told every teacher and student I've seen today about all the books we'll be getting soon!

Pancakes!

In an effort to build morale, we have a potluck lunch on the first Friday of each month.  This month's theme is breakfast, so I'm up early making grandma's buttermilk pancakes.  Even if no one else enjoys them, I know I will!

Navajo Tacos

Tonight's new recipe: Navajo Tacos.  First we made Navajo fry bread (flour, salt, baking powder, and milk fried in a bit of oil), then spread it with refried beans, topped with cheese, and the broiled it in the oven.  Yum!

Bouquet

The 3 and 5 year old kids from across the street picked me a bouquet of wild flowers.  I think I might have 2 new BFFs.

Color Coded Spreadsheet for the Win!

My meeting went really well and I'm going to get ALL the books (that are appropriate for middle school) from my old school!!!!!

New Toy

Korra wants whatever we have... (Don't worry! It's empty!)

10:30 Snickers

I ate a Snickers bar at 10:30 AM.  It's that kind of stressful day.

Book Reviews

I just finished reading 2 good (but VERY different) books.

The first was for my teacher book club.  We read The Book Thief.  It was long and sometimes overly poetic in it's language, but a powerful and beautiful story of World War II.

The second was another YA read called Every Day.  The premise of this book is amazing.  Every day A wakes up in a different body.  While I wasn't completely happy with the ending and all it's unanswered questions, the concept was SO interesting, it was worth it.

Middle School Graffiti

Found doodled on a table:

"Mrs. B. sucks"

followed by a smiley face, a peace sign, and a heart.

Middle schoolers are ridiculous.

Parent Complaint

A parent complained to a school board member that a teacher was eating chips in front of the students.  I think this definitely qualifies as a first world problem.

Top 3

Top 3 things students say to me on any given day:

1) Can you help me find a book?

2) I think I lost my books.

3) I saw you walking with your baby.