Around Here 2: 01/06-01/12

A look into what it is like to live in our home just this minute.

Intentional Outdoor Hours:  1+ hour (of 1000)
We got one afternoon of 50 degree weather and some sunshine that was total bliss. The big kids and I got outside until it got dark and the (literal) thunderstorm clouds rolled in. Other than that, my outdoor hours seem to be accumulating only from our cold weather chicken duties of switching out the water and collecting eggs. My poor girls, they must be so bored all day coop'ed up (hah chicken puns), I wish I could speak hen and tell them spring does return after all this cold and wet.

Reading The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult. I also started reading some new Spanish learning novels to share with my students (Clase de confesiones, La bella mentira, y La perezosa impaciente) that arrived this week from my classroom fairy godmother, Ashley. You are so sweet and considerate (she included boxes of tissues too for a healthy start to the new year!) I just can't even believe I am blessed enough to have someone who constantly cheers me on in the classroom. gracias, gracias, muchisimo gracias.

Celebrating Orthodox Christmas at lunch at Gigi and Pappy's house and then with our traditional sleepout under the Christmas tree. This year, we took all the rest of the Christmas decorations down (including all the ornaments!) but the kids were happy to sleep under our 'naked' tree (lol). Orthodox Santa came and brought one gift for the girls to share and one for the boys to share. For the record - as of January 12th, our 'naked' Christmas tree is STILL UP. #lawdhelpme

So proud and inspired by my cousin Heather who is always the kindest and most thoughtful person I know, but this week gave birth to a beautiful baby girl for a couple who so desperately wanted a baby but couldn't do it on their own. Heather, you are just incredible and being a surrogate is only one (albeit a really big, selfless, brave one) of the million examples of things that you do for others all the time. I am so proud and lucky to know and love you.

Feeling grateful that 'lasterday' is still going strong in this house thanks to Vially. So is 'lasternight,' 'lasterweek,' and 'lasteryear.'

Passing my last (?) PRAXIS test before I can register for online college classes to finally square up on this certification. I took the Fundamental Knowledge test on Saturday and after two hours of ELA, Math, Science, and Social/Civil Studies questions - my brain was mush. But I passed so onward and upward.

Meeting up with the Vordrans for a playdate! B and the girls decided to drive me out to my test (since the weather looked a little iffy) and we made the lastest last minute plans with the Vorndrans at the trampoline park near my testing site. Everyone jumped and wore out their energy while I tested, and they we all went out for Mexican afterwards. It was so wonderful to catch up and so incredibly nice to be with friends who also know and accept this is such a crazy time in our lives (with little kiddos) and when we can squeeze in a short visit then it's awesome, but when we can't - no hard feelings. xxoxo love you guys!
...meanwhile the boys had a sleepover with my parents and had a blast playing in the snow and Grey even got to try out his new snowboard. He's obsessed.

Basketball season'ing with two games this week for Brandon's team and two games for Greyson's Duke Andrews team (we had to miss his first CT game because of overlap - he was so bummed). He also had three nights of Booboo's basketball practice which keeps us buzzing around all week, but with the help of my parents (thank you!) we usually only have to either pick up or drop off. This is always the point in basketball season where exhaustion starts to set in and I start apologizing to all our friends and family about how we sort of fall off the face of the earth. Even though I have attended (next to) no games, it is still tough on our family to have a Daddy running back and forth to games/practices every day of the week. Just sending a thank you to all of our friends and family who tolerate us through the next few weeks, we always roll out of basketball season a little ragged.

Teaching review in Spanish 1 as we prepared for the Unit 3 test (#weloveGimkit). I have finally decided to just bail on teaching old school all together in Spanish 1 because it just does not do anyone the kind of good that teaching through novels and comprehensible content does. So, please excuse me while I realign my curriculum map for the 43rd time until I figure out what works best de nuevo. Spanish 1 Honors worked through Somos Unit 4 while learning about habla, toma, and quiere ser. Spanish 2 had all their privileges taken away (for forever?) because I have had it up to there. More on my thoughts about being a teacher in 2019 to come soon. Spanish 2 Honors started the Somos Unit 13 (el chico del apt 512!) and Spanish 3 Honors finished the preterito Super 7 interview and started Los Tres Cerditos fluency unit. On Señor Wooly Friday, we did an embedded reading of the Feo song and it was an awesome exercise in using their skills in listening, speaking, and reading in Spanish. After they read each level of embedded reading, they could come to me to listen to and answer some questions in Spanish about the passage and then 'level up' to the next embedded reading. Gah, I loved listening to them work their way to figure out the answers and understand the questions #geekforlife

Making Hawaiian meatballs in the slow cooker, tomato soup and grilled cheese (and burning the soup on the bottom of the pot, I have been trying to get that thing cleaned for days!), super delicious pork chops and stuffing bake, and a fridge clean out day on Sunday. Brandon and I have been doing really good at making all of our weekday lunches on Sunday. The first week we had three days of beef chili (3 day work week), and this week we had five days of salads (two plain salads, 2 days of flavored tuna on top, and 1 day of taco meat on top).