Dragon Con Parade

Nate and Korra walked with some friends to see the Dragon Con Parade this morning (while I got cupcakes and a balloon). 

Birthday party

I forgot to take any pictures except this one. Cupcakes with kitties on them. Cat plates, napkins, and balloon. 4 little girls swimming. Korra says it was a great birthday party. 

Magical

Everyone in the family had a magical evening. Korra got her first trip to Build-a-Bear (complete with friends/babysitters who didn't say no to just about anything) and Nate and I went to see Puffs, a Harry Potter-esque play. If only we had Madame Pomfrey's Pepperup Potion for these colds Nate and I are getting. 

Colds- plural

Nate and I are both coming down with colds today, which sucks extra because a) it's a 3 day weekend and b) we have a date planned tonight. 

Much Better

I'm feeling much more balanced, clear headed, and organized today.  Things are starting to fall back into place.  It also helps that we have a 3 day weekend coming up.

Morning Music

Since Nate now works the same hours I do (7-4 most days), but he has a longer commute, Korra and I don't have to be quiet in the mornings anymore.  Lately we've been playing music at full blast while we get ready.  This morning it was Lizzo.  Great way to start the day.

Self-Care

I cried at work 3 times before lunch. I'm just feeling so overwhelmed. So I'm doing a little self care: I'm watching Tiny Homes in the bath while eating half a pint of Ben and Jerry's. 

Swirling, bursting

I woke up at 5am, an hour before my alarm, with my brain absolutely bursting with thoughts about school. I am feeling so overwhelmed by the academic needs of my students and the time constraints. I'm trying to juggle, sort, plan, organize. I haven't yet come up with solutions to the dozens of concerns that seem to fill my mind to capacity. I'm exhausted. I can't seem to calm the swirling thoughts which feel disorganized and not fully formed. I need this upcoming 3 day weekend for a reset. 

How?

I'm not one to say, "I wish time would stand still" or "I miss when Korra was..." I love every new stage with her. I don't get sappy over her growing up. But then...

I was going through saved YouTube videos for my dance challenge and I came across this. 

https://youtu.be/NIfiSj681Hk 

On the same day my almost 7 year old lost another tooth, I rediscovered this video of her at 18 months. And I cried. And watched it again. And cried some more. And then I put a dollar under Korra's pillow and watched the video again while I tried to figure out what the heck you should do with your kid's teeth. Saving it seems gross but so does throwing it away in the trash. It's a part of a human body! So I think I'll just watch my baby in the bath a few more times and wonder how time went by so fast. 

Finally!

I pulled it out while she played on my phone. 

Loose Tooth

 Korra's front tooth is so loose it keeps twisting around and getting stuck like this: 

UTI and Oz

After almost an hour of screaming, I took Korra to the Urgent Care for a UTI. Somehow she was magically better once the doctor came in (before she'd even gotten her antibiotics). In fact, she felt well enough for us to go straight from the doctor to Torched Hop for lunch with friends from LaGrange. Then we went directly to the Fox Theater to watch the Wizard of Oz. Besides wanting to snuggle a bit more than usual, Korra didn't seem to be in any pain and she really liked the movie. 

Coma

Today I took a two and a half hour nap. I slept so deeply it was like a coma. 

Pen Pal

We've been sponsoring a child through Compassion International for over 10 years. Korra has recently really enjoyed writing letters to Armando, who is 12 and lives in Equador. They both enjoy drawing and now are sharing a love of soccer. 

Welp, that sucks

That my students took their first quiz. Nearly everyone failed it. That was not the case for the other ELA teacher who gave this quiz. Thus- my teaching was the issue. Ugh. 

On the other hand, I had the second highest ELA scores on the Milestones for the school (the state end of year test- the data just came out). Either way, I have lots of work to do next week but I'm not going to work on it, worry about it, or check my email this weekend. 

Soccer Practice

Korra had her first soccer practice today!

Traffic

I don't usually have to thnk about Atlanta traffic. I bike to work and then just avoid driving during rush hour. But today I had to venture out. It took us 12 minutes to go 2 blocks. 30 minutes to go 3 miles. It's awwwwwwwwfuuuuul. 

Work Email

Someone please stop me from checking my work email after 4:30. 

I'm going to have such a hard time falling asleep now. 

Postcards

I started drawing tonight on postcards to send my students. Trying really hard to be more intentional about building relationships this year. 

Mentally Exhausted

Too many little things on my to do list at home and at school. Too many students' feelings to manage. My brain is tired. 

Quick Visit

My brother Brian is in town for the night to go to a concert. We had about an hour and a half to catch up after school today. It wasn't a lot, but it was nice. 

Drama

OMG there is so much middle school drama today. I have listened and been patient and sympathetic and offered advice and mediated. I'm just about all compassioned-out. 

Day 15

Day 15

Today I showed Ms Brown (my coteacher) one of my dance moves I've been practicing and she laughed really hard. Not because it was bad as much as I just think the idea of me dancing is hilariously awkward for everyone who knows me (including me). This evening I practiced in front of a mirror. Even though I'm technically doing the moves right, I feel like I just look so stupid. So lame. I don't know if 85 more days of practice will fix that. 

Table Cloths

For the second time in less than a year, Amazon has sent us a large package of disposable table cloths. Both times in boxes by itself and the same brand. It's clearly addressed to us but it doesn't show up on our order history. Weird, right?

Return of the Voice

My voice came back just in time to chant a bit at the Anti-Racism rally/March yesterday and was nearly back to full volume today!

Anti-Racism Signs

No Voice

I woke up with no voice. Nothing above a whisper and even that is painful and weak. Hopefully it'll be back by Monday. 

Poker

Last night we went over to friends' house for pizza and poker. I've never actually played before and it was fun to learn (along with their 10 year old). I won at poker, while Nate cleaned up at Black Jack. If we'd been playing with real money, we would have broken even between the 2 of us. I don't see any casinos in our future. 

So so nice

Even on a Friday afternoon, after taking a pretest, my students are so engaged and nice and fun. I am so thankful for this group of kids!

Charter Advocacy

Spent 2 hours after school today (and after a faculty meeting) at a meeting to prepare parents and teachers to share our stories at the APS board meeting next month. The school's chapter is up for renewal this year. It was interesting and I'm really excited to be involved but I am so so so tired. 

Late nights

Nate's worked until after 7 yesterday and today. It's a big change from the last 6+ years and I know it's going to take more the a few weeks to get used to it. Trying to be positive and open. Today, Korra and I worked on invitations for her birthday party, 

went to Publix, read a bunch of Harry Potter,?and started on our protest/rally signs for Saturday (pictures of that later). 

Raspy voice

The first month of teaching, my voice is always so raspy and a little show because I'm not used to talking for 8 hours a day.  Is that something many other profession has to be accustomed to?

Day 6 & 7

Day 6

This morning I went to a Zumba class.  I think I can incorporate some of moves from that in place of some of the moves that are too hard for me in the videos. In other news, none of my Facebook friends were willing to help with the dance challenge. They just said things like, "OMG, you've got to record your final dance and post it here!" I'm pretty sure they think it's going to be hilariously terrible. 

Day 7

I practiced the Jaywalk for about 5 minutes (a student taught me this move on Friday). Then I practiced some moves I learned at Zumba and on YouTube for about 15 minutes just to get some muscle memory for them. My husband walked in on me practicing and I was embarrassed. I can't imagine how embarrassed I'm going to feel in 92 days. 

Meal Prep

I'm addition to making a delicious dinner, I also made 3 other dinners for the week. Hopefully that will give me more time to practice my dance moves. 

Chicken and Grits

I found a new "make again" recipe!  Chicken on cheese grits covered with mushrooms and onions. You should try it. 

https://iowagirleats.com/2015/04/08/saucy-smothered-southern-chicken-with-parmesan-grits/

Beloved Community

This afternoon we walked to the King Center with some friends for an international festival called the Beloved Community. It was super hot so we were happy to get back home and head to the pool. We swam, ate dinner, swam some more, and spent some wonderful time catching up. It was the perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon/evening. 

So sweet

These kids are so nice. 3 of them ran up to me to say good morning. 3 others have me hugs at the end of the day. 

My new partner teacher

My new coteacher and I are lesson planning machines. We've knocked out our plans for 2 weeks in a row in about an hour each time.  She's not as exciting and inspiring as Clint was last year. She's not my co-teaching soul mate. But so far, we're working well. Also, she has experience working with elementary kids (I have none) and I have a group of students that are elementary level readers. I'm hopeful this will be a peaceful, easy-ish year where these kids grow a lot. 

A cold already?

School's only be in session for a week and my throat is already scratchy. Kids are so germy. 

5 lbs

As a person who has always been on the thinner side, I've struggled with being able to talk about weight and exercise. Whenever I bring it up, someone will say I don't need to lose weight or roll their eyes like I'm being ridiculous. So when I've gained and lost weight, I've kept it to myself. But this is my blog so I'll share if I want. 

I've used a calorie tracking app on and off for the last 4 years. It's really effective for me. Earlier this summer I was unhappy with the weight I saw on the scale and with the way my shorts were fitting so I decided to start changing and tracking my diet. In the last month, I've lost 5 pounds and I'm really proud!   I have about 5 more to go to meet my goal and I know those will probably be slower going, but I'm ok with that. I'm also trying to be ok with being a thinner woman trying to lose weight. It doesn't mean I'm vain or anorexic. I'm just being healthy. I shouldn't have to be ashamed (though I'm still not going to share this beyond this blog). 

Day 2 (of 100 Day Challenge)

Here's my journal entry (remember, this is written in part as a model for my students)

Day 2

8/6/19

I almost forgot that I needed to work on this project today.  I spent about 30 minutes surfing YouTube looking for "Panini" dance videos that don't look a) too hard or b) too embarrassing.  I'd start one and think, "Ok, I could do that" and then they'd bust out this move that looks impossible. I'm definitely not a good enough dancer to combine moves from several different videos and choreograph this thing myself.  Tomorrow I'm just going to have to pick one and start practicing.

Compliment

One of my students said my outfit was "on fleek."  That's the coolest compliment I've ever received.

100 Day Challenge

Today is day 1 of 100.  Today I started my students (and myself) on a journey to learn a new skill.  Everyone is picking one thing they can't do at all and practicing it (and writing about it) for 100 days.  I have chosen to learn a dance.  I let the kids pick the song I will dance to (I gave them 4 choices).  I'll share my first journal entry here (FYI, it's written for to be shared with the kids).

Day 1

8/5/19

I just finished counting the votes for which song I should dance to.  Almost all the votes were for "Panini." I'm really excited to start this challenge, but also nervous.  I've always really wanted to learn how to dance so hopefully this is my chance. I know it will take a lot of work but I worry that no matter how hard I work, I'll still be terrible.  What if I make a total fool of myself in front of my students? I guess I'll never know if I don't try.

Big Questions

Today Korra and I had a conversation about homelessness. She asked me why people are homeless. She asked me how we can help them. She asked why most homeless people are black. She asked me why people take drugs. Big questions with complicated answers. But I was honest about broken systems, racism, inequality, injustice. And together she and I made a plan for our own little way to help. I pray she continues to wrestle with these big questions and never feels so overwhelmed by their complexity that she stops acting in love and seeking justice. 

Hanging with Friends

Yesterday we had an afternoon filled with friends. First friends with kids came over to swim and then we met other friends for a little brewery hopping. Finished the day with really delicious BBQ with just the 3 of us. 

Jane

Watched the final episode of Jane the Virgin. I really enjoyed that show so much over the last 4 years!