We're back to the grind....

... back to school, early wake-ups, open houses & PTA meetings, homework many nights, etc. 

(The extra curricular activities continued through the summer, so the after-school hours are not that different except for the choir class that Isabella is doing before gymnastics on Wednesdays).  She doesn't seem that into it - although she wanted "formal" voice lessons... this is formal (but not one-on-one like she wanted).  We'll see how it goes!  

Hopefully her classmate / friend who she rides over on the church bus with... will help keep her motivated to stay in it.  It's really nice that I don't have to cart her to the activity -- I only have to worry about picking her up!

Mercer is still working at the Sprayground.  September is the last month of his seasonal job.  There is also informal hitting lessons that started a couple of weeks ago at school for the baseball team.  (thankfully his travel baseball hasn't started yet - that starts next week - eek).  But - there have been a couple of times where the hitting lessons have conflicted with work & he's had to leave early. 

He's also missed some church things due to work too, but he was able to get to an end-of-summer event.  The lady who is over the youth program sent me this picture!

His work schedule will move to just weekends after Labor Day, so the conflicts should go away.  There has been a little bit of stress with scheduling, but overall - he's been pretty good about work / it's been a positive experience.  (It has kept him busy / off of devices -- although he still gets plenty of device time -- AND he's built up a nice little bit of savings!) 

I was asked to teach an extra class again this year; I reluctantly agreed to do so.  I already have WAY MORE students this year than last even before adding the adding the extra class.  (My level 3 class was 12 students last year.  This year, it's 26!  My level 1 classes are bigger than last year as well. And - the counselors have absolutely FILLED UP the Intro classes to capacity.)  I had 180 students on my roster last year.  This year, I have over 200 already.  Unfortunately, we needed the extra income, so I've got one more class (and one less planning period) that is filling up.  Pray that it doesn't reach capacity!!  (Last year, I taught an extra class, but it capped out at 9 students (but 2 ended up not staying, so it was 7 most of the year last year... which was really really nice.)  My new class is already double that and it's growing each day we meet.  :/

I'm definitely re-using many lessons from last year - which helps  (and I'm NOT taking a college-level course this year like I did last year ... so... fingers crossed it will be OK!)  I am re-using an architectural folly / literal advertising project this past week... but I did have to add 1 thing to this year's fun little Intro project:  the inspiration for the "building as advertisement" (the Big Chicken) turned 60 a few weeks ago!   It was all over the local news.  The architect / designer (who was really a structural engineer working at Atlantic Steel who graduated from Ga Tech)... he turned 90 around the same time.  They honored him as well at the same celebration. 

There has been some other things all over the news - bad press about our neighboring school system (where I used to work).  A teacher got fired for reading a book about feeling OK about who you are on the inside even if you look different on the outside + the next week press for a book ban / cancelling of the reading bowl.  My teacher friends from that county who I am in book club with are all sick over both! 

This teacher book-club group - we finally all got together (so - yay - another get-together with friends!)  Several of them are huge activists / advocates for self-expression... and they said they will probably lose their jobs this year over all of this.  :(  wow!

Meanwhile, my school system got good press on TV for hiring an emotional support dog that walks around with the police officer that goes between the elementary schools.  (Isabella was excited that she got to meet Barney this week!)

Oh - BIGGER NEWS... NATIONAL NEWS: former President Trump was in Atlanta this past week at the Fulton County Jail - where he was finger-printed and his mug-shot was taken.  He's on bail (his attorney filed the bail bond!)  19 people total were brought to the Fulton County Jail where the will be tried (probably next year) for trying to tamper with the previous presidential election.  Sorry - I don't want to put his mug shot in the blog! 

As a family, we've tried to get some things in on the weekends in too.  Todd, Isabella, Hip-Hop and I went for a hike.  (Mercer was working) - we got to see a mama and baby deer which was exciting + other dogs on the trail.

The next weekend, our "hike" was up to the square - to the farmer's market.  (Well, Isabella didn't walk... she rode her bike.)  She wanted tamales & we knew there was a vendor at the farmer's market, so off we went on our (hot) adventure. 

Mercer - again - was working.  He wasn't interested in tamales anyways!

One thing that is cool that happens in Marietta every year - there are art exhibits along the trail that goes from Kennesaw Mountain to the square (and beyond). There's an exhibit that is so fun (when the sun is shining)... light passes through these colorful acrylic panels.  Also, I LOVE when driving under the bridge and my car fills up with color!

Here it's reflecting on the railroad bridge nearby.

This was the next day - different time of day / different pattern. 

It was really really hot.  We had tamales that evening.  Eh.  

The day before we went to the square - Isabella had her horse lesson.  But - it was really hot that day too... and they weren't taking the horses out for riding lessons. 

(According to NASA, July 2023 was the hottest month on record since records have been kept starting in 1880!  But - that's not just local to us... that was global.  Here in Georgia, the heat index was over 100 degrees for a couple of weeks -- it definitely felt hotter here in August than it did in July!) 

So instead of riding the horse, she got to give the horse ("Waffles") a bath!

Isabella colored her hair (with hair "crayons) and it looked pretty cool wrapped up in a bun on top. 

The BIG thing we did last weekend:  

we went to our first Atlanta United soccer game!  Todd said he didn't want to go see the Mets / Braves because the Mets have not been playing well.  

So, this was a part of his Father's Day gift.

  

It was actually a lot of fun (except for the walk to / from the car).  We've heard that there's a lot of energy at soccer games.  

There is!  Isabella took a book, of course, but there was enough action for her to look up and ask questions every now and then.

(There was fire when Atlanta scored a goal.)  It was a good game for us to go to - there was plenty of action and Atlanta won!

Labor Day weekend - Mercer worked 2 double-shifts!  (someone called out for the weekend).  He missed a LOT of yard work that Todd and I were doing.  He was not upset he missed it!  It is stuff that Todd and I have been meaning to get to much of the summer, but.... 1- baseball and 2- it was always too hot.  This was a nice weekend.  Isabella got out and helped a little.  We also took her to the pool for one last hoorah before they close for the season.... but we were SOOOO TIRED and she wanted to play with her 50 year old parents instead of the other 8 - 12 year old kids that were there.  oof!

Todd & I also headed to the square to catch up with one of my former teacher-friends who was an art teacher at one of the private schools I worked at.  She was exhibiting up on the square + we checked out the rest of the art exhibits.  We were grateful that she reached out and got us out of our yard-work-fest!  

Overall, it was not a very exciting weekend -- I guess they can't all be as exciting!  

One thing that's VERY EXCITING, though:  we celebrated Mercer's 15th adoption day today (September 5th)!  15 years ago, we "officially" became parents according to the courts.  

He wanted Szechuan (Chinese) food for dinner + we had a little cake + a little gift for him afterwards.  

We just wanted to let him know how happy we were that he's a part of our family!  

Here's a couple of random photos that we took b/c Isabella needed to take it to school.  We're not a great at taking family selfies (we don't have one of those extender arms / selfie-sticks!), but this is what we've got!

This is our goofy, little family unit!  XOXO

Back to Life. Back to Reality.

School has begun.  We're not fully back into the swing of things, but it hit us in the face and we just have to go with it!  I went in that one day for a "required" flex day / put a bookshelf together and then forgot about work again until the REAL day we were supposed to be there for teacher planning.  We tried to squeeze in a few more summer memories before the visage of summer completely slipped away...

We did go play putt-putt since we could not get it in the week before.

We went to a pool party (well, only Mercer and a friend did - Isabella didn't feel well).

We hosted a lemonade stand.

This has been on her list of things to do for several summers and we just hadn't done it. So - before the end of July, we set one up / logged into a national fundraiser for St. Jude and went for it!  She more than met her goal of $250 because of the great cause... it was not hard to meet. 

Some neighbors stopped by.

Even a girl (between Mercer and Isabella's age rode her bike down and dropped a $20 in that her mom gave her) we told her to stay as long as she wanted and have as many cookies as she wanted!  :) 

Her mom was getting her out of the house (per a later text), but also it really helped keep Isabella there... as after the little girl left and the customers died down, it was hard to keep her out there on the hot summer day.  Todd may have had to finish per our advertised time because we walked a cup over to a neighbor with cats, and.... well....

People who didn't even want lemonade or a cookie donated!  This little stand in front of our house with both walk-up and drive-up service raised $400 for the Research Hospital.  Just before the end of the month we received an email that from lemonade stands across the country over $474,000 had been raised in the month of July!!

It was a lot of set-up / break down, but good that we did it!

We had dinner out with our old friends from CDH.  (Our friends brought their "miracle baby" who is now 11 years old.  we didn't think to ask our kids to go - we went out without our kids... maybe made them pizza before we left?!)  

The BIG thing that Isabella and I squeezed in that last week of summer:  a trip to "Broadway in Atlanta" to go see the show Wicked!  Todd's sister used to always take her oldest daughter every year (up to the one in NY)... and I remember her talking about it for always, so when it was in town, we checked it out.   

We got a little bit dressed up, but there were people who really got decked out!

She liked the stars in the ceiling of the Fox Theater. 

The tile.

The dragon which was a part of the set.

We also learned that sitting up closer isn't always better.  We moved back at intermission so we could see more.

Overall - it was a good production.  She put her head on my shoulder at one point and said she's glad we came.

She took in all of the night-life surrounding the Fox as well and the hordes of people surrounding the theater after the show let out.  It was definitely a new experience for her!

That was our last "hurrah" for the summer.

Mercer continues to work through his summer job - which will end soon as it's seasonal.  

Apparently they like him - as at the end of July - they did a feature of some of their summer high school employees.  He was one of them! 

Here's the verbiage:   

We can't let July is Parks & Recreation month end without shouting the praises of three more of our summer staff members, Neyla Lamont, Mercer Groves & Amy Lunar.

Next up, Mercer Groves. In between baseball & family time, Mercer worked at Elizabeth Porter Sprayground this summer. Mercer was another one of our wonderful Gem City Summer Camp past campers & he & his family have volunteered for Keep Marietta Beautiful at litter pickups & shredding events, therefore he knew Marietta Parks, Recreation & Facilities was where he wanted to work. Mercer, THANK YOU for keeping watch over the kiddos at EP Sprayground this summer!

I have mentioned before that he rides his bike over.  Well, I had a neighbor ask me if our son is the one that is riding his bike like a Yogi Master.  I had to "catch" him coming home one day from work to see what my neighbor was talking about!!   

He comes down Thrill Hill without pedaling.  He crosses he legs across the metal post in the middle as he's blaring music from a portable speaker.  He is quite the site!  (and - he apparently brings that kind of energy to the Sprayground too - he has a playlist for little kids so there's music playing!)  

(These are stills from a video I took trying to capture this zen state on a bike!)

He has gotten to each food at kids' birthday parties, buy half-price food (hopefully that's OK!) at the concession stand, talk to a lot of people he knows from around school, the neighborhood, baseball, church, etc - if they happen to go up there for some reason with little kids.  

I have had MANY adults say that he carried on a conversation with them... and that he's a nice kid.  I'm glad he's come out of his shell talking to people a bit and can carry on a conversation with an adult!  I think this has been good for him... and to start building his bank account up -- he is saying now that he's probably saving for a car... and that he would work there again next summer (assuming they would hire him back and that they'd work around his baseball schedule again).  He still has a few more weeks of actual work before the close down for the season (some during the week / some work on the weekends) but it's been very light so far that school has started back.

His baseball has not started up yet, but it will in a week or two.

Isabella has been rolling with all of her normal activities that she did last school year / through the summer (music, gymnastics, horse lessons).  She was excited that she got to move to a different - a faster - horse AND that she basically is not in need of a side-handler.  

She is "trotting" but she wants to go to the next level -- she wants to "canter."  This place will not let the horses go that fast so at some point, we will have to move on.  Her side-handler said she's ready to go to the next level and one day we'll own a horse.  ha!

Also during that last week, regular stuff happened.  I finished the Venetian plaster on that one SMALL piece of wall next to the window that I could not finish during winter break earlier this year. 

(in progress)

Finished. (and finally hung artwork back up on our walls now that all of the sanding is done)

Handled the school / clothes shopping / back-to-school activities.  Sported a mystery rash on my face that spread to my arms, legs and shoulders.  Todd worked on a broken dishwasher and fixed door locks that have been broken for more than a month.  You know - regular stuff!

But - sadly - summer had to come to an end. 

Meet & Greet at her school happened the day before classes started. She's in the "House of Communication."  

And here are the ACTUAL1st day of school photos:

Mercer - in the dark because we leave so early to get to the high school.  He's starting his 10th grade year.

The school in it's annual tradition gets rolled by the Seniors.

Me in my classroom with the shelf I put together (It was a nice-quality bookshelf the media center specialists dismantled from the media center in May before their renovation took place over the summer)  This is a HUGE help in how I can organize my materials!

(Have I mentioned - I hate selfies!  Of course, I'm looking not at the camera but to see if the bookshelf is in the pic.  ha!)  

Starting my 10th year of teaching -- 4th year at MHS teaching Architecture.

And - Isabella starting 5th grade.

Since we've technically been back 1 1/2 weeks already - I have to say that I'm happy at a comment Todd made: that I don't seem as stressed out as I have before.   

I have also squeezed in a LOT over this 1st full week too that was me-time related.  I'm not ready to throw myself fully into school.  Maybe that's the way to do it?!    

Neighborhood book club + ladies night at an old neighbor's house - haven't seen most of these ladies since before Covid hit + the Barbie movie. (Yeah - I went with some girls and actually liked it more than I thought I would.) 

I will admit - I am a little bit nervous because ALL of my classes are huge.  I have way more students this year than I did last year -- even though I taught an extra class last year / giving up a planning period.  But - I NEED TO MAKE RELAXATION AND TAKING TIME FOR MYSELF AS A PRIORITY.   

I don't know that I want to really throw myself into it like I have before.  It "takes" too much.  

Fingers crossed for a good school year for our little family and the teachers / students out there in our community & beyond!

Funny photo to end. 

We took Isabella to breakfast one morning while Mercer was at work (shhhh - he doesn't know)... but she's pretty open-minded about trying foods.  I had avocado toast with a balsamic reduction on it.  After talking about good it was... she was willing to try it.  She loved it!  yay