Halloween Pot-Luck Party

Had a post trick-or-treating potluck with a few dozen of our neighbors. Ate way too much cheese dip while watching the children slowly dissolve into sugar-filled, sleep-deprived monsters. 

Here is Korra painting a pumpkin minutes before totally losing it because I said she couldn't have any more candy

Trick-or-Treat

Loaded all the neighborhood kids up and took the to the "nicer" streets for trick-or-treating!

Quadruple Date

Went on a date with 3 other couples from our church and neighborhood to a Thai restaurant and then to the oh-so romantic destination of Old Navy where we all bought a pair of jogging/sweat pants. Living the dream. 

Leaving Early Again

Leaving work early to go to the high school for the 3rd day in a row. Back to the Social Security office yet again. 

Team Day

Today's Red Ribbon Week theme is "Tam Up Against Drugs" so I'm supporting my favorite quiddich team the Gryffindor Lions (ensemble includes tshirt, jacket, scarf, and earrings). Feeling pretty clever for my librarian-ization of this theme day. 

Dentist and SS Office

Took the afternoon off to get Danny to his dental appointment and then to get his social security number.  We found out he has 10 cavities (one on which needs an immediate root canal) and that the SS office closes at noon on Wednesdays.  Not the best afternoon. 

Fanny Pack

Today is Tacky Day. I wish the fanny pack I'm wearing wasn't considered tacky because its so useful. 

Parent Conference

Finally met with THE teacher (plus the counselor and principal). The teacher was very defensive, the counselor and principal were helpful and supportive.  I talked about Danny's past, our hopes for his future, and what I needed to help him be successful. The teacher softened a little by the end and I was able to finally get an answer about what make-up work he needs to do (though still not why he got a zero in the first place). Best of all, the counselor changed his schedule so he'll have s different teacher next semester!  Here's hoping for an uneventful 7 weeks until then. 

Self-Portrait

Korra (with her new haircut that's still a little lopsided because she won't stay still) and her self-portrait. 

Portrait

Korra drew this picture of me. 

Crying Korra

Korra cried for 10 minutes after they left. 

Chili Cook-Off

The Chili Cook-Off was packed. I saw quite a few former/current students and coworkers as we walked around and tried chili. Korra's Princess Leia costume didn't even last 20 minutes (it was pretty hot). On the walk back we stopped for burgers and hot dogs at Charlie Joseph's and ice cream at the Medicine Cabinet.

Pumpkin Carving

GG & PopPop

Korra's really enjoying time with her GG and PopPop who are visiting!  Tomorrow we're going to the Chili Cook-Off. 

Green Card!!!

Danny's green card came in the mail today!  Going to get a SS number soon!

Green Card!

Got some really good news in the mail today!  Danny's application for employment has been approved and his Green Card is in the mail!

Chutney?

I received a jar of Vidalia Onion Chutney and it looks delicious, but I actually have no idea what to serve it with (or in?).  Suggestions?

Dress-Up

Haircut

Korra gave herself a haircut at school today. A chunk out of her bangs that is thankfully not too noticeable. But they sent the cut hair home in a bag. 

No Teacher Conference

The teacher I'm having the issues with couldn't come to the conference yesterday so now I've gotten the assistant principal involved.  How did I become THAT parent?

7 Years

Just realized I've been keeping this blog for 7 years. Whoa. 

Great Kid

Korra read books to herself in bed for an hour this morning, giving me time to enjoy my coffee, crocheting, and an episode of Jane the Virgin.  

Drawings

Korra's drawings have started to look intentional. This is a drawing of "a guy."

Son

I don't know when it happened but I started referring to Korra and Danny as my children (in the plural) and then to Danny as my son. 

Hummingbird Festival

Korra and I went to the Hummingbird Festival this morning where we enjoyed eating kettle corn and looking at the arts and crafts. 

Also I bought this amazing Harry Potter necklace!

Memma

Korra suddenly named her baby doll. The doll formerly know as Baby is now Memma. No idea how she thought of it, but it's pretty cute. Also worth noting that though several stuffed animals and dolls sleep in her bed, Memma is the only one she won't sleep without and us also the only toy she regularly asks to take with us places. 

Date Night

Tonight's romantic date night included dinner at a Mexican restaurant and a trip to the grocery store. 

Flirting

After noticing how many girls he calls "mi princesa" on Facebook, I taught Danny a new word in English: flirting. 

New Job

I forgot to mention that Nate started a new job.  He's working as a teacher's assistant in the mornings at the elementary Montessori school.  They were looking for someone full time, but decided they'd rather have Nate for the morning than someone else all day.  Of course, this is in addition to watching Korra plus her two Daytime Sisters (4 years and 9 months old) all afternoon.  I'm a little sad that he won't be able to help out around the house as much (you mean I have to go to the grocery store and fold laundry now?), but so happy he has this great opportunity.

Teacher Update

She hasn't responded to my request for written assignments in the future (so we know exactly what she expects from Danny) and when I asked her what she meant by including SAT vocabulary in the essay, she responded by copy and pasting a definition of SAT.  No mention of if there's a list she's getting these SAT words from or if she wants definitions or what. She must know (since I've emailed her a dozen times from my school address) that I am both educated and interested in specifics.  She's just being a turd.  So I called the school counselor and set up a parent-teacher conference for Monday.  

Curlers

PSAT Steps

Administered the PSAT today and walked 8,000 steps just by pacing the room during the 4 hour test. 

A Long Rant about a Teacher

On Friday I noticed that Danny's grade is his literature dropped from a 95 to a 47 because of 3 zeros on essays. I immediately emailed the teacher asking what the assignments were and if he could make them up.  She responded with a complaint about Danny's behavior in her class- that he just smiles, laughs and "pretends" like he doesn't understand her when she tries to help him. Could that be because he actually doesn't understand her?!  Anyway, in the next 12 emails I try to get clarification on what exactly these assignments are. I speak perfect English and gave a master's degree (and I've read the book they are reading for class) and I'm still not sure what she wants him to do. Not only does she not have the original assignment to show me, she doesn't have the work Danny turned in.  So Danny and I spend an hour last night looking over the chapter he's supposed to be writing about (including examples of all the figures of speech) and I realize that not only has he never written an essay, he doesn't actually know what an essay is. And though The Hunger Games is hardly a taxing read, it's still way above his current reading comprehension level.  I know he's a high school student and teachers want to encourage responsibility and independence at this age, but Danny is not a typical teenager (at least in his education) and he needs an advocate at school to be successful. 

Water Heater, Part 90

After 2 phone calls with HeatWorks, we found out that while they will reimburse us the expense of the water booster heater, they will not reimburse us the expense of having professionals install not one but two of these boosters. They'll send us a THIRD replacement but we'd still have to cover the cost of installing that one. I am so frustrated but not nearly as frustrated as Nate is since he spent a good part of the day in the crawl space dealing with this.  (So thankful for our neighbor who helped both last night and today).  So we're out $450 and gave nothing to show for it.

Hamilton

Listening to the soundtrack to the Hamilton musical.  I am head over heels in love!

Hot Water Heater Saga, Part 89

Came home to find the hot water heater booster had stopped working (meaning we gave no hot water) and that it is leaking water into our crawl space. 

Family Photo

Danny requested a family photo. :)

Beach

Genevieve and I took the 4 kids to the beach today.

Samson

Why in the world would anyone take a weekend trip to Samson, Alabama?  To cuddle a new baby!  Going to meet our new niece Aoife In a few hours!

Stereotypical

Brought a stack of books to read with the  students in English class. Then I brought a book to read while I ate my dinner at Chick-fil-a for our school's spirit night. But I ended up talking with former students about books. I'm such a stereotypical librarian. 

In with the New

It only took me 4+ hours and an order from Amazon but I figured out how to connect the brand new Chromebooks to the smart boards/projectors (which of course are older and lack HDMI connections) AND how to get around our school's firewall so I could do a Google Hangout with 4 teachers. All in preparation for tomorrow's Google Hangout with celebrity scientist Steve Spangler!  Fingers crossed it goes smoothly!

Picture Hair

I was debating whether to let Korra go to school today (picture day) with her usual headband (Nate's default hair styling) or to wake her up almost 2 hours early so I could fix her hair.  Found a good compromise when my sweet neighbor offered to come over and fix Korra's hair before school.  Our neighbors are the best!

Out With the Old

Today our IT department is bringing a large truck to haul off 25 overhead projectors, 30 large TVs, 3 ancient scanners, 6 VCRs, and a couple of boxes filled with miscellaneous old keyboards, cables, mice, etc. It is a very exciting day!

Grocery Shopping Sidekick

Godparents

Our friends who we had brunch with yesterday surprised and honored us by asking if we would be godparents to their baby who is due in March!  

Seminary Friends

Having lunch with a couple of Nate's friends from seminary today!

A Glorious Hour

Nate, Danny, and Korra all left to help with a 5K this morning. This means for the first time in I don't know how long, I am alone in my house for an entire hour.  Lovely. 

K-o-r-r-a

A few days ago Korra surprised us by writing her name.  The handwriting station seems to be her favorite at school lately.  

Memory

Playing a game of Memory with Korra. She wins about half the time. This kid honestly has a better memory than me!