It is mid-October an a million billion degrees (okay it is in the high 90s regularly). I finally bought pants for work, but I can't wear them because it is too hot. Matt isn't even complaining about the electric bill when I turn on the AC at home, so you know it is melting hot. Poor Jameson looks like a bulldog puddle on the bathroom floor all day long. We decorated for Halloween, but I refused to take the kids to the pumpkin patch when it was already 85 at 8 am last weekend. Madi is so excited for trick or treating and I am almost done making their costumes.
Madeline is really enjoying her new dance class. She loves seeing her school friends on Saturday and is constantly singing "I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" as they prepare for the winter performance. Eleanor has taken to wearing Madi's old leo and tutu when we go to dance class and (when she isn't stuffing her face with snacks) she dances on the side of the room. The teacher gives all of the girls stickers at the end of class and includes the little siblings in the sticker time, so nice!
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| Ella has been getting better at taking selfies |
The girls had dentist appointments at the end of September. Madeline lost her mind in the lobby of the dentist office. After all was said and done, Matt found a new dentist for the girls. They went last week and both did very well!
I attended a school meeting at the beginning of October with the 49th Street Moms (we have decided we need a gang name) for Franklin STEAM. This is the elementary school that 2/3 of Talmadge and Kensington are supposed to go to. We are in the 6 blocks that are supposed to go somewhere else. We have all decided that we want to send the kids to one school if we can, partly for the kids and partly to help with car pooling etc. Franklin has some great teachers and their new principal is a friend of mine. So we went to the meeting, we all really think Franklin is great, and I totally put myself out there telling the superintendent that she needs to fix the boundary lines to include the whole neighborhood of Talmadge. Hopefully she immediately forgot my name and won't recognize me if she sees me in the district office.
Ella is growing up in leaps and bounds. She literally jumps like a frog (with included ribbit) at least once a day for 15 minutes. She is talking constantly, repeating new words back to you and then trying out sentences. Yesterday in the car on the way to school, she said "my chapstick please?" out of nowhere and was thrilled to get her chapstick (yes she has her own because she was rubbing mine all over her face) for the ride to school. Everything has a "my" in it now. My doll, my blankie, my snack. The only word I hear more than "my" is"no." No to every single snack in the cabinet and fridge until she finally chooses the food item she wants. No to all clothing options. No to shoes. No to socks. No to school. I hate no. Ella has also begun developing her own tastes. She doesn't always give into Madeline's choices for clothes, or shows, or playing. She is asserting herself everywhere and the number 1 assertion we hear is "rocket!!!" (as Eleanor is in love with The Little Einsteins and would sit naked, eating salty snacks, watching tv all day long if I let her)
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| Beach night. You know its hot when I am willing to get in the water in October! |
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| Watching the air show at the Kelly house |
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| Fly over! |
For her part, Madeline is really hitting her stride in school. She is very into her share days (the kids all bring in an item from home associated with a letter on Thursdays). Madi plans what to bring starting the weekend before she brings it. She loves to tell me what her friends brought and describe what they did in school each day. I hope Madeline keeps this excitement about school as we head into the next decade of learning! Madi is so good with her sister and the littles in the neighborhood. She holds their hands, forces them to swap toys, and loves pushing them in various car-type toys down the block. She remembers everything and will randomly ask questions like "When are we going to see Auntie Nee? We haven't seen her in forever." I feel like Madi is on the cusp of not needing help to get ready in the morning or at night. She does just about everything herself, just needs to prompting and cajoling into teeth or shoes. We are also having a regularly scheduled meltdown every other day or so. This involves tantrums, throwing hard objects at my head, and eventually me holding Madeline's door closed with my body while she acts out the Exorcist in her room. She always calms down after 10-15 minutes and is willing to discuss why she got in trouble and what a better choice might be for next time. I feel like I have a teenager in my house and this has really increased my consumption of wine in the last month.
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| Even a package of toilet paper is a toy! |
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| Ring around the rosie with Susan and the neighborhood littles |
On the plus side, Madi is now the only teenage like creature I have to deal with on a regular basis. I began a district position as the TK-12 Math/Science Resource Teacher for San Diego Unified. My title is long because my jobs will be many and varied. I am hoping to mostly focus on science, but I do know I am going to be doing some work helping elementary teachers integrate math and science in their classes. I am also helping with the Early Implementation Grant the district has for the new science standards and working with an aquaponics group. I hear I am going to be working on a Drought grant but I have no idea what that is or when I'll start. I am also working to draw up a district plan to train teachers in all grades in the new science standards and start the implementation process. The transition out of the classroom has been interesting. I was ready to quit about two hours into day 1, after waiting for a secretary for over an hour and not having a desk or laptop provided for me. As of Day 7, I have a laptop, a crappy chair shoehorned into a corner between two other people's desks, business cards, and a bunch of meetings on my calendar. It is getting better and I am hopeful that I will really like the job flexibility (I went to the gym before work last Thursday, wow!). I also hope I may make a difference in the way science is taught in San Diego, but we'll have to see what shakes out.
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| My sad little corner |
