One Hundred

With one day to spare, I reached my goal of reading 100 books in 2021!  

Here's a little break down:

5 graphic novels

10 memoirs

81 novels

29 romance novels

26 young adult novels

45 written by people of color

Hunter

I made her a quiver out of some leggings that had holes in the knees. 

Gift cards and exchanges

Korra and I drove around in the rain this morning to do some post Christmas shopping. Returned a few of the 7 candles I got as teacher gifts for some lotion at Bath and Body Works, exchanged a secret Santa gift (a phone tripod) from Nate's coworker for a play bow and arrow set for Korra, and bought a puzzle with a Barnes and Noble gift card. It was nice to get out of the house for a bit. 

Nate tests positive

Nate's PCR came back positive so he needs to quarantine until January 2nd. With the new guidelines, he could go out masked once he's symptom free, but we'll probably play it safe. 

The fact that it's supposed to rain for the next 3 days isn't helping my outlook for the rest of this week. We were going to try outdoor playdates. Not sure what I can do to make it more bearable for Korra. 

Quarantine Update

Every day has been pretty much the same except opening presents on Christmas morning. Watching Taskmaster, building a puzzle, playing a board game, taking walks and naps.

I'm officially past my 10 days of quarantine. Korra is in the clear. Nate started having symptoms on Christmas Eve so we're back to square one. He had a PCR test yesterday so hopefully we'll know if we need to keep quarantining.  This week is going to be extra hard on Korra. She's bored and lonely. 

Christmas Eve

More Christmas crafts, watching Christmas movies, reading Christmas picture books, and driving around to see Christmas lights. I think we're doing an ok job of quarantine Christmas. 

God Bless Friends

Beth delivered a box of Christmas crafts and treats. Rachel sent us money to rent movies. Very thankful for thoughtful friends. 

Creative Energy

Today I have more energy so Korra and I embarked on some creative endeavors. We baked a small batch of sugar cookies and painted!

Sick family

All 3 of us feel awful. 

Christmas Plans Cancelled

I got my PCR COVID test results. I have COVID. I'm devastated. I wanted to see family over this break so badly. 

Mommy's Helper

Korra helped me fold laundry, wrap Christmas presents, and then make dinner- homemade macaroni and cheese (with bacon), roasted asparagus, and apple crisp!  

Another COVID test

Went to the health department for another COVID test (a PRC). I should have the results tomorrow. I feel better today than yesterday, but mostly because the COVID booster side effects were over). I still feel pretty yucky- stuffy/runny nose, cough, sore throat, and lack of energy. 

We got news of another student testing positive, so that brings to the total to 10 students, which is 20% of our grade. A definite outbreak. 

Even if I test negative, I'll still need to test another time or two to be sure I'm in the clear before visiting family at the end of the week. 

12 hours of sleep

I went to sleep right after dinner last night and slept for 12 hours. Since then I've watched 3 movies. Not sure how much my physical state is due to my cold or my COVID booster, but I hope a very lazy day will have me back to normal by tomorrow. 

Piano Recital

Korra had her first in person piano recital today.

She played "Carol of the Bells" and "Linus and Lucy."

 

COVID drama

I got 2 more phone calls from the school about confirmed positive cases of COVID in my class. I took another home test (negative) and scheduled a PCR test for Monday morning. Fingers crossed that the kids didn't have the omicron variant so that I have more immunity. 

Booster Aquired

The pharmacist said I could still get my booster since I had a negative test yesterday. Going to take another home test at lunchtime today. 

Garden Lights

Nate's parents came into the city tonight to go with us to the Botanical Gardens' Holiday Lights. The weather is much warmer than when we went last year, but it's also much more crowded. 

The pink line of death

I started feeling sick last night. Sore throat, runny nose. Had trouble sleeping. No fever. Reminded myself that I had a negative COVID test on Wednesday and that today is only a half day. Right at dismissal, 2 teachers on my team and a student who I eat lunch with test positive and I learn the entire 7th grade was quarantined today. Now the likelihood that this is just a cold starts to feel more doubtful. I raced home and, with Korra's help, tried out our home COVID tests for the first time. It's a lot like taking a pregnancy test. One line, no COVID. Two lines, COVID. All I could (and still can) think about is how this might ruin my chances of seeing family over Christmas break. 

Thankfully the test was negative, but I'm still so nervous. I'll definitely take another home test tomorrow. Maybe I'll go get a PCR test, too. I'm supposed to get my booster tomorrow morning but I'm not sure they'll let me. 

No more pigtails

Korra just told me that she's too old for pigtails and I'm trying not to cry on my way to school.

Tough Week

Maybe you can tell from the lack of posts, it's been a tough week. Challenging student behavior and bad news about hours from Nate's job on top of the usual "things could be better." We're tired and really ready for the Christmas break. 

Breakfast Chef

For her "Simple Meals" badge for Girl Scouts, Korra needed to cook her own healthy breakfast. She's very proud of the scrambled eggs and toast she made this morning. 

Little Miss Independent

Korra has been asking to walk to the library by herself. It's only 2 blocks away, so we've been experimenting with allowing her to walk further and further ahead of us. Today she left the house a solid 4 minutes before me. During that time, 2 cars pulled over to ask if she was ok and where her parents were. She was very annoyed by this.  I know part of it is that she looks younger than she is, but I can't help but wonder if she would be stopped less (or at all) of she was a child of color. 

Gingerdoodles

I tried a new cookie recipe today and I'm already planning to make them again. A cross between gingersnaps and snickerdoodles- Highly recommend. 

https://laurenslatest.com/gingerdoodle-cookies/

Ramen

We decided that on a rainy night, it would be amazing to go out for ramen. It was a really nice dinner and made all the nicer because we felt safe enough to eat in the restaurant (Korra's fully vaccinated now!). So much better than take-out!

Support Group

I had a phone visit with my doctor today. After talking about my depression and teacher burn out he said he wished he could connect patients to each other for support with issues like this. I suggested that he put up a flyer for a support group, offer his lobby for meetings, and then recommend the group to certain patients. So he's doing just that! I don't know if I'll go but it made me feel nice to know I had a good idea. 

Survey

The school sent out their mid-year parent and teacher surveys and I did not hold back. I feel better getting it off my chest. 

Mental Health Day

I have 6 days of PTO and I plan to strategically use every one of them before the end of the school year. 

Before Thanksgiving I scheduled to take PTO today- the exact halfway point of the 3 weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. Call it a preventative maintenance break. 

I made waffles for breakfast, I went to the grocery store and pharmacy, took a nap, listened to half a novel (Midnight Library), went for a walk, and sewed some more of my quilt. 

I feel refreshed and ready to take on the last 7 school days. 

Split Pea Soup

I made split pea soup for dinner. I really like split pea soup but Nate isn't a fan. Korra absolutely loved it, so I guess now we can out vote him and have it more than once every 5 years. 

Paddington

Nate got a new tattoo!

51 pounds!

Korra is so excited!  She just weighed herself and she's finally broken 50 lbs. That means (at 9 years old), she's officially outgrown the car seat we brought her home from the hospital in. 

75 degrees in December

The weather today is gorgeous but not very winter-y.  We're enjoying having all the windows open and I went on 2 walks today.  Soaking up that Vitamin D!