Roller Skating and Ice Cream

This afternoon Korra and I went roller skating with some friends who had never been skating before. Everyone had fun and no one was seriously injured. Afterwards we went to ice cream.

High School English Certification Test

This morning I took a three and a half hour long test to get my high school English teaching certification. I'm pretty sure I passed it despite my headache. It was much easier than the HR certification test and even though I had to drive to a testing center in the suburbs, at least I was able to go to the bathroom when I needed to. A fair trade off. 

Babysitter Katie

Nate and the Snider adults went to a concert tonight and because I'm an old lady who doesn't love concerts, I stayed with Korra and their kids. Unfortunately, their youngest started complaining of a tummy ache not long after they left and after about 2 hours, barfed. Poor kid. Fingers crossed everyone else doesn't get it and he feels better soon. 

One more time

I just got off the phone with Verizon for the THIRD time today.  3 phone lines transferred, 2 new phones activated, and a hot spot added to a line.

Verizon, Again

This afternoon I called Verizon customer service to do the EXACT same thing I did this morning, but the process was completely different and in the end the rep said we couldn't complete it without information we didn't have (and didn't need this morning).  It was as confusing as being called 5 different names during one phone call, but more frustrating because it was a total waste of time.

Congresswoman Williams

Next week Tuesday is Girl Scout Day at the state capitol.  Korra's troop is planning to go, so I reached out to our congresswoman to ask if she could meet with the girls.  I just found out she agreed!  Now I'm jealous that I won't be going, but really excited for the girls.

"I want one"

"I want one" was the subject line of an email from my boss.  The only other thing that was included in the email was a link to a big stand up water dispenser (sparkling, still, flavored, hot, and cold). 

Name Variations

I had to call Verizon's help line today and in the span of a 20 minute phone call, the representative called the all of the following names:

Kathy

Karen

Catty

Katarine

Katie

Kathryn

Only the last of which was the name I gave at the beginning of the phone call.

Breakfast Club

2 of my coworkers were already working at the kitchen counter when I came in this morning. I grabbed my laptop and joined.  Now there are 8 of us all working in the kitchen together, chatting and drinking coffee, and it's a lovely way to start the day.  

Accept the things I cannot change

In every job I've had (minus high school babysitting and being a cashier at Ace Hardware), I see inefficiencies, inconsistencies, or injustices and I get passionate about fixing them.  This is probably the #1 cause of stress and frustration for me at work because most places don't like their flaws being pointed out and are resistant to change.  I'm having a moment where I want to push for changes, but I know it will be frustrating (and could very well result in a poor annual review in addition to not making any change).  I'm trying to remember that this is not my company, that it's just a job, and that I can still be good at it without bucking the status quo.  I need to master the mindset of accepting the things I cannot change if I'm ever going back into the public school system.  This is good practice.

A Case of the Mondays

I had a rough morning.  It felt like just one thing after another went wrong or was more complicated than it needed to be. Hopefully the rest of the day will be less stressful/annoying.

Playdates and Dinners with Friends

Both yesterday and today Korra had a play date with a friend in the afternoon (Finley, then Emmaline) and then our family had dinner with friends (the Sniders, then Evan). 

Hilarious Book

I read this book over the weekend and it was hilarious. 

CrossStitch Protege

Last weekend Korra asked me to teach her to cross-stitch. In typical Korra fashion, she *almost* finished the project but then required relentless prodding to finish. 

2 Teeth Extracted

Korra was so nervous about getting her teeth pulled today. They gave her nitrous oxide to help calm her down and let her watch whatever she wanted on YouTube. 

She needed two rounds of novocaine injections which she really hated and then the first tooth took a lot of pulling to get out.  I wish I'd eaten beforehand because seeing her go through it made me queasy (apparently my body still thinks she's part of me) and it broke my heart to see her cry. Thankfully, the second tooth was easier.  The promise of ice cream and unrestricted iPad time helped her recover quickly. 

Wet Cat Toys

Alex carries around his favorite toys (tiny stuffed animals) and then puts them in his water bowl. 

Korra's FanFic

Korra just shared with me the 68 page Word doc that is her Warrior Cats fan-fiction that she wrote with her new best friend.  It's 14 pt font and has some illustrations, but that's still a heck of a hefty book for an 11 year old to write.  Trying to find this girl some writing camps to attend this summer.

163

More counting I did this morning: Korra has sold 163 boxes of Girl Scout cookies. 

78

I counted Nate's t-shirts as I was putting some away in his drawer this morning.  He owns (at least) 78.  He could wear a different one every day for over two and a half months.  That's not even counting all of his brightly patterned button down shirts.

First Semester Awards

Korra got two awards today- one for having straight As for the whole first semester of 6th grade and the other from her Spanish teacher for excellence in that class.  That part was great.

The not-so-great part was when it ended, it was less than 15 minutes until dismissal but the principal said they didn't want us to take our kids yet.  We texted Korra that we'd wait outside, but she was told by her teacher that parents would just come get them.  The confusion caused Korra to get very upset  (read: overreact) and cry in front of lots of her classmates and teachers that her parents left her.  It was stressful and frustrating and embarrassing. 

Lunch with Dani

I met up with Danille for lunch today at a favorite Mediterranean restaurant.  The falafel, tabouli, and baba ganoush were AMAZING and it was good to catch up since we haven't seen each other since before Christmas. She made me exceptionally thankful we are not homeowners while telling me about the THREE racoons that were just caught in their attic.  

Severance?

Teaching jobs don't ever offer severance.  It was a concept I only ever thought about for high-paying corporate jobs and usually when you were being downsized.  Apparently that's not the case.  Between my job and Nate's, I've seen instances of several people who were fired because they were terrible at their jobs get HUGE severance packages.  I don't understand.  I will never be bad enough at my job to get a lump sum at the time of being fired.  

27 degrees

Korra braved the cold with this morning's play date!

Splatter Paint Party

Korra went to a birthday party this afternoon at a splatter painting studio. 

Miss Popularity

Korra has a birthday party this afternoon/evening. Tomorrow she has a playdate in the morning (or whatever we're calling it now that she's in middle school) and Girl Scouts in the afternoon. This morning I had TWO more moms text me that their daughters want to hang out with Korra. This kid's social life is busy!  What are Nate and I supposed to do?