Lightweight

I had one Truly hard lemonade while I cooked dinner and now I'm pleasantly buzzed. Being a lightweight is pretty sweet. 

Full Library

I have more books than will fit!

Books!

The PTO fully funded my Little Free Library so I am able to use the extra donated money from teachers and parents to buy books to fill it!

I ordered 30+ books by/about BIPOC and/or LGBTQIA people, plus a smattering of graphic novels and other high interest books for middle schoolers. I hope the neighborhood kids will be as excited about these books as I am!

The first batch came in today!

Aquarium

One of the patients at Nate's clinic works at the Aquarium and gave him free tickets. He suggested we go first thing in the morning when they open and so we decided to try. Initially we were going to walk the 1.3 miles there but it was drizzling when we left. 

For the first hour we were there, we only saw 6 other people- and they weren't even in the same exhibits as us. The place was empty and that was awesome. We could stay in front of each exhibit as long as we wanted. We really enjoyed the otters and one of the employees even had one show off just for us. 

By 9:45 we were finishing up and it was starting to feel crowded (by my extreme COVID standards). We ordered some brunch for pickup and enjoyed it at home. 

Oktoberfest Date

Korra's at her friend's house for a playdate so Nate and I are checking out the Oktoberfest in the beer garden of Brickstore Pub. 

Both the pretzel and beer is huge. 

New flags

The banner I made in June (with a sheet and a sharpie) was looking rough so I ordered something new...

IMPACT Training: a Story of Multi-tasking

While participating in our IMPACT Zoom training, I'm also folding laundry, checking my email, and eating breakfast (banana bread and coffee). As long as we turn on our camera and say something insightful (just reference a previous fostering experience), we're golden. 

Mechanical Engineer in the Making

Korra is currently disassembling her old bike. 

Decision Time

The school district is supposed to decide in the next few days if we'll go back into the building (and how often and when) or if we'll stay virtual. Our charter school network will decide early next week.  I'm feeling anxious about this. I don't love teaching online but I don't feel ready to go back. I'm not ready to learn a whole new set of procedures and to take a whole new set of plans. I'm also afraid of getting sick. I miss my kids. I miss normal, but I know that going back will not make things normal.  I just want things to be normal. 

Animorphs

Nate suggested Korra try the Animorphs series, so I got the first two books from the library.  She read them in less than 24 hours and was disappointed she didn't have the rest of the series immediately.  

Little Free Library Installed!

More pictures from Cloudland Canyon

 

Cloudland Canyon

 We arrived around 4 in the afternoon with plenty of time to set up camp and get the fire going for hot dogs and S'mores. We slept pretty well and the weather was absolutely perfect. Saturday morning we went for what ending up being a 3-4 mile hike. First down (and then back up) 600 steps to what is (during other parts of the year) a beautiful waterfall. We really enjoyed climbing all over the rocks!

After a picnic lunch, we did a bit more hiking to see all the canyon overlooks. 

The kids were totally exhausted and after a dinner of campfire nachos (and more S'mores) went to bed early so we had a chance to sit around the fire and catch up. 

Nate and I didn't sleep very well last night because our air mattress failed us and had to be reinflated every 2-3 hours. 

In the morning we packed up, played at the playground a bit and then went for one more hike (a little over a mile?) to some outlooks where we could see across the canyon to where we hiked yesterday. 

We decided to stop for lunch at a local BBQ place on our way out. We had to wait almost an hour for our food (even though we were the first customers of the day) but the weather was gorgeous, the kids weren't TOO whiney and the food ended up being quite good. 

It was a wonderful weekend and I can't wait to go camping again. First we need a new air mattress. Or maybe a pop-up camper. 

Full Car

Turns out you need almost as much stuff for a weekend of camping as you do for a 28 day camping road trip. This Prius is packed. 

Little Free Library!

My Little Free Library came in the mail and today I put it together!

Camping

 After that bummer of a post, I need to immediately write about something good.

This weekend, we're meeting up with friends from college at the Cloudland Canyon Campground.  Nate and I both took the afternoon off tomorrow.  The weather looks PERFECT (highs in the low to mid 70s, lows in the high 50s).  We have delicious camping food planned (smores!  hot dogs!  campfire nachos!).  We'll have excellent company.  We'll get to go somewhere and do something.  It's going to be so good.

Let's Just Be Honest

 This blog is for me, but sometimes I don't want to write about how things are really going because a) other people read this and b) the things in my life involve other people (who may not want their business out on the internet).  

So I've been quiet for the last few days because my life has been pretty consumed with things that involve other people- and things I don't necessarily want to tell everyone.  But it's my life and this blog is for me in the end, so I want to write about some of it.  

On Monday night we got a call from a county jail.  It was Danny asking for $3000 in bail money because he got arrested for his second DUI.  I'm mad.  I'm scared.  I'm so sad.  I'm frustrated.  I'm conflicted.  We decided that even though we have the money (and even though he promised to pay us back) that we're not going to bail him out- at least not now.  I don't know if time in jail will be the thing that finally gets through to him, but I know for sure that bailing him out will not.  I don't want to enable him.  I don't want him to get hurt or hurt someone else by continuing this behavior.  And at the same time I am so sad and worried this will forever hurt our relationship with him (and his girlfriend and their baby).  And I'm so scared about the future because even if he does get bail, he still will have to face consequences of possibly more jail time and even challenges to his legal status.  

I'm also struggling with my anxiety.  The situation with Danny as well as other triggers have made getting through the day hard.  I'm having trouble sleeping even though I'm exhausted from the energy it takes to keep myself together and functioning.  It's not bad all day, but it's there.  I'm doing all the things to help- scheduling an appointment with a therapist, exercising, meditating- but it's still a struggle.  Life is hard and sad right now and I'm not sure when it's going to get easier.  

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Over the last 2 months, Korra and I have listened to the 5th Harry Potter book together. Today we finished.  Guess we get to watch the movie now!

Troop Leader

Korra is leading her Girl Scout troop meeting tonight. The badge is Home Scientist. I am so impressed with her confidence, organization, and leadership. 

Teaching Champion

I started my big unit on fake news and media bias today and I had 100% attendance to my class (a huge deal for online class) AND a really positive response to the content. Even little technology hiccups didn't take away from the flow and focus too much. 

I feel like I'm really getting the hang of this online teaching thing, which makes me worried that someone somewhere is about to make a big education pronouncement that changes everything. 

Getting out of the house for a bit

While Korra was at a play date, Nate and I went to Publix where we got our flu shots and then used the gift cards to buy beer and hard lemonade. Then we walked a block and picked up BBQ for dinner before walking another block to pick up Korra from her playdate. Even small excursions out of the house feel huge. 

A Pie Chart

Korra drew this circle graph to show how I divide my attention. 

Emotionally exhausted

Korra has had a rough couple of days, which means I have too. Trying to manage her emotions and work at the same time is tiring. 

I'm really thankful tomorrow is a "sustainability day" (which just means we don't have any tasks we are required to do because they felt bad for promising something they couldn't follow through with). I plan to take a longer walk, eat a special lunch with Korra, and take a nap. 

Family Heirloom

My parents decided to get a new kitchen table- the kitchen table that had belonged to my grandparents (though briefly) and that we had through my whole life. I happily took this table (and it's 2 leaves!). A little sad to let go of the circle table (I feel attached to it since I've refinished it twice) but I think this one will serve us better in the long-term. 

A Pool Divided

Our neighborhood pool has 2 distinction sides both physically by it's design and in population. Today is a perfect example. One side had 3 or 4 families with small children, social distancing as much as you can with small children.  The other side had 25+ singles/childless couples playing floating beer pong (and definitely not social distancing). 

Punctuation

I heard this NPR report about how many people read the use of a period at the end of a sentence in text messages as passive aggressive. Now I'm double checking every text and worrying over what parents and students have perceived my tone to be in these last 6 months. Hopefully the know I'm an old lady English teacher and I just don't know any better. 

Another New (to us) Bike

Korra has been riding the same bike for a little over 3 years. Besides her balance bike, it's been her only bike. We knew she had just about outgrown it but it started making some disconcerting rattling sounds this week so we decided to start looking for a new one. Just a few minutes on Nextdoor and we got this

You might not be able to tell by her face (the sun was in her eyes) but she's pumped. 

Water bottle holder, tassles, hand brakes... this bike has it all :)

6 pounds down!

I gained about 6 pounds during the beginning of COVID, but I've been working over last 2 months to be healthier. Walking 2 miles every morning and tracking my foods/calories has resulted in losing 6 pounds and feeling a lot better!  If I ever wear real pants again, I know they'll fit!

Warrior Cat Books- An Update

Korra has read SEVENTEEN of the novels in this book series (Warrior Cats) since mid-June.  Each book is about 300 pages. During that time she's also re-read several favorites (Bone series, Wayside School series, Fudge series, Ivy and Bean series).  She is as voracious a reader as her parents and it makes me incredibly proud.

Tooth #8

Korra lost another tooth today!

Little Library Update

The city approved the location and the Little Free Library has been ordered!

180

Last semester I had a parent use ALL CAPS to text me a couple of times (the text version of yelling).  She was super frustrated with so many things and just took it out on me.  She seemed almost as annoyed with me this year and I was feeling nervous.  I mean, I HAVE to communicate with parents constantly now that we're virtual.  Today, I called her daughter and she must have had me on speaker phone.  When I was done, mom texted me this:

"Just want to say, YOU ARE A GREAT TEACHER. Just hearing your conversation now... wow"

It feels even better coming from a parent who previously didn't think so highly of me.

Sticky Notes

I love to use sticky notes for my To Do lists and reminders. The cat loves sticky notes too, but for a different reason. She loves that I'm working from home. So many more sticky notes for her to eat. 

8

Today my daughter is 8 years old. We celebrated with Taco Bell and chocolate cake. 

Wake Up Calls

Since all my students have been calling me at less than ideal times of day, I've started returning the favor.  Two of my students keep oversleeping our morning class so... they get a 7:45am wake up call from their teacher every day!  These are the things I could never do if I had 100+ students, but with 47, it's manageable.