Weeknight Friends

Tonight we had dinner with some friends. This elevates them to a while new friend level. You have to have a certain level of familiarity and comfortability to hang out on a school night. It has to be low key and relaxing and I have to be able to say, "it's 8:00 and I need to go to bed." It's nice to realize we have more and more friends who fit into that category. 

Fart Radius

During a timed essay this afternoon, one of my students let out a quiet, but long fart. All of the students around him quickly and quietly scooted their desks away from him until he was quite alone in the center of the room.

This is by far the gassiest group of middle schoolers I've ever taught. 

Chili and cornbread

Perfect night for a crockpot full of chili and reading on the couch under an afghan. 

Leaf Fight

It was 40 degrees outside when we took the kids out for recess. We had an epic leaf fight. I took some amazing pictures but I can't post most of them because they are of the kids. Here are a few

Danny

Danny came for Thanksgiving! And I completely forgot to get a picture. He's currently living in Ohio (he travels around the country installing conveyer belts in factories). It was so nice to see him and hear how well he's doing, even if seeing his Camaro and hearing about his $500 speeding ticket did make me very nervous. 

Here are some other Thanksgiving pictures since I didn't get one of Danny. 

Crafting

Korra did a lot of Thanksgiving crafting. She made a board game called "Thanksgiving Fun." She made a Thanksgiving banner and a turkey craft, too.

I worked on a blanket for my niece and on some scarves for my coworkers. 

Turkey Trot

On Thanksgiving morning, my father in law, sister in law and I drove into downtown Blue Ridge at 6:30am for the 5K Turkey Trot. It was 27 degrees when the race began. Waiting for the race to begin was the worst part. We ran (and walked) together which slowed my time a bit (39 min 24 sec) but it was fun and I think we'll do it again. 

On the way home we saw a half dozen turkeys crossing the road right in front of the car. Feels like it must be a good sign on Turkey Day. 

Thanksgiving Party

We spent about 3 hours at our friends' house for their giant Thanksgiving party. They had over 120 RSVP. We probably saw over 70 during our time there (people were still arriving when we left). Fun but overwhelming at times. 

Now we're on our way to the cabin for the week!

Metal Stamping

This morning I went to a metal stamping class. I made 2 necklaces, a bracelet, and a keychain and had a great time. Definitely a craft I could get into. 

After 2

Before 2:00 was a great day. After 2:00 was awful. I need Thanksgiving to be restful and restorative in more ways the one. 

Flying Solo

My coteacher took the day off so I've got both classes on the day before Thanksgiving break. Thanks, Clint. 

2 Unrelated Things with Onomatopoeias at the End

1) I made French toast with leftovers from my homemade bread and it was amazing. Yum. 

2) I just saw that 102 people have RSVPed "yes" to the Thanksgiving meal/party we're going to at a friend's house tomorrow. Whoa. 

Ants

Woke up to a sink full of ants.  Thankfully it was in the bathroom and not the kitchen.  Really glad the rain is supposed to finally stop today.

Evaluation

Today I had my mid-year evaluation. My lesson went really well because of careful planning and months of working towards growth as a professional. It was my best evaluation at Kindezi so far. It feels like my best evaluation ever, in part because every evaluation I've had at previous schools has felt more like a formality. Just some boxes to check rather than an actual opportunity for reflection and growth.  There was never any incentive to be more than acceptable. My job was secure and I'd get my raise for putting in the years. Now my raise is tied to my evaluations (among other things), but it's not just that. There's also this culture of professional growth that has me motivated to be a better teacher in a much more focused and intentional way.  It's a good feeling. 

Rainy and Cold

It has been raining ALL day.  And cold.  So thankful that Girl Scouts got cancelled.  Looking forward to going home (after tumbling) to homemade ramen and the last few chapters of my book.

Alarm Songs

I have 11 alarms in my phone just for school (because we don't have bells to signal class changes). I just spent 20 minutes picking songs for each one of those alarms. Mostly I picked them because they are songs that will make me smile. Sometimes I picked them for their names (such as "Never There" for my "take attendance" alarm). Here's hoping this bit of novelty and humor will help me though these last 5 days before Thanksgiving break. 

Sleepover Success

Both girls were sound asleep by 8:30. In the morning we had chocolate chip pancakes. While working on Perler beads, I heard Korra's friend say, "this is the best sleepover ever." I felt like I won at mom-ing. 

At least until Korra had a complete meltdown at church. Ah well. 

First sleepover

Korra invited a friend over for her first sleepover. They played with Play Dough, made cookies, and watched a movie with popcorn. Assuming no one cries or gets sick overnight, I think we'll count it as a success!

Mae

My ears are still ringing from the concert we went to last night but it's worth it. 

Some wonderful friends brought us Chinese food for dinner (no driving in the traffic and rain!) and then babysat Korra so we could go to the Mae concert at the Masquerade (which is only a little over a mile from our house!).  It was a great concert even if I did feel really old because a) it was too loud and b) the lights were to bright and c) it was so late (11:30!). 

Toothless

Tooth Fairy Note

Korra lost her second tooth tonight, while watching Genius Jr (she loves the smart kids, I love looking at Niel Patrick Harris) and flipping through the new Essential Pokemon Handbook she bought at the book fair. She insisted on writing a note to the tooth fairy to ask if she could keep her tooth and still get money. She was so excited, I thought the tooth fairy (me) would fall asleep before she did. It actually made it a little easier this time since I didn't have to find the tooth, only slip a dollar coin under. I'll try to get a photo of her smile tomorrow. 

Eye Doctor

In the last month Korra let has had check-ups at the pediatrician, dentist, and eye doctor. Good news- we liked the new eye doctor (it's only a mile from the house) and her farsightedness is improving. The less good news is that though her farsightedness might go away, her eyes will likely continue right past 20/20 and she'll become as nearsighted as her parents. That astigmatism in her left eye isn't going anywhere either. 

Baked Blueberry Oatmeal

Rainy cold afternoons call for delicious breakfast for dinner. 

Guinness Book

My students really enjoyed looking at the Guinness Book of World Records at the Book Fair.  I couldn't afford to spend $30 on it, so I checked on Thriftbooks and found each of the past 4 years of record books for only $3 each- with free shipping!  

All Graded

It was such a good feeling to be completely caught up on my grading yesterday. It almost makes me want to stop giving assignments so I can stay this way. 

I voted

Waited in line for an hour but I did it

Christmas Books

Just spent $75 on thriftbooks.com on Christmas presents for the nieces and nephews. I love buying books for my favorite little people!

Genius Jr

Korra has been binge watching Genius Jr this morning (and I don't mind at all since Neil Patrick Harris is the host). 

Shower

This afternoon I enjoyed celebrating my brother and his fiance at a shower at their house. The food and decor were wonderfully Halloween themed, while the gifts were mostly Christmas decorations. It was so great. 

Nate had to stay home with Korra (because her cold triggered her asthma) and watch lots of Pokemon. 

Much Better

Friday was much better than Thursday. We played a fun game on class and the kids were much kinder. My mom was waiting for us when we got home and so was a Crock-Pot full of my favorite soup. 

Homework

Doing her math homework while listening to Andrew WK. 

Caffeine vs Sugar

This morning I spent some time trying to figure out how much caffeine I needed to balance out the amount of sugar my sleep deprived students would consume before the end of the day. 

My morning was spent in a very boring meeting and my afternoon was a frustrating power struggle. It was like a life size game of whack-a-mole but the moles are sugar-fueled, hormone-riddled 12 year olds who don't want to stay in the room much less in their seats and are hell bent on touching each other and making each other cry. And instead of a mallet all I have is threats of lunch detention and phone calls to their moms. 

After school I was supposed to go to an attendance committee (it's exactly as fun as it sounds) but got a call from Nate that the dealership had to keep his car overnight. So Korra and I drove 45 min in rush hour traffic to pick Nate up. 

Needless to say, today was hard.