Only during Homecoming week

I can say with certainty that while living in DC Patrick never asked me in the 11th hour to find him a pair of colored tights for his costume he was supposed to wear to work the next day. It was comforting knowing I would not have to search the Target women's pantyhose aisle for a size he could wear. Alas, those idyllic days are over and we are back to grabbing random pieces of clothing to put together an outfit for some themed day. You know you work in a high school when, you can dress up like this...

Neon Day

Dynamic Duo Day

Greek Day (Patrick was not wearing a toga so he went another route)

90's day- There was a boy band performance at lunch time and let's just say it was epic. Patrick got to play the lead and dance/lip snych to "Bye, Bye, Bye." The kids went nuts. I'm not sure the people in DC would have taken Patrick as seriously as they did if they knew about some of these costumes and pep rally performances.

To cap off the week we went to the Homecoming game to support several of Patrick's students as they ran for King and Queen. Paige managed to sweet talk our sweet friend Will into giving her his sash. It made her night and Will was runner up for King!

Future Homecoming Queen?

Girls on the Run

Anna has participated in Girls on the Run for the last few weeks. It's at another school after school so we have to rush to get there, but she always receives the warmest welcome and is making sweet friends. I can tell she's really enjoying the running aspect and is even learning to set goals to reach. I did mention the possibility of her wearing a team tutu during the 5K and let me just say, that was met with a firm NO! I tried to let her know it would show her team spirit to which she replied, "There's no way I am wearing a tutu Mom. It would get in the way of my running." I think she's taking the run part of this very seriously!

One of the other neat parts of GOTR is the lesson portion. They teach the girls about emotions, coping skills, confidence, teamwork and lots of other character skills. It's nice to have another place where Anna is hearing positive messages from other people. I'm so glad she was open to trying something new (a lesson we learned in DC).

First field trip and a Gathering

Last Friday I was able to witness a milestone for Paige. She attended her first real field trip on a school bus. Granted we did a TON of cool field trips last year, but they were usually in the boring Mommy-mobile (with fun snacks, books on CD and gum I might add) or the ohh so lame Metro. This, however, was a BIG deal! We had several group discussions about bus rules, safety, what it would feel like, who to sit with, etc. Anna, our bus expert, had many things to share of course.

The field trip was to the local library that used to be located just across the street from the school. The kids would actually walk there, check out books and then walk back to school. Now the library has been renovated (which is awesome!) and moved to less than 5 minutes away. Thus, the kids ride the bus now. Amazingly, the school scheduled both Anna and Paige's classes to go at the same time!!! So they rode the bus together and my heart melted. Also, thank you for making this easy on me.

The 4th grade class buddied up with the 1st graders and they each helped their younger counterparts select books from their author project. I was so impressed with the big kids and how helpful they were. It wasn't long ago I was escorting Anna's class to the library and they were like a herd of cats. Now they are so responsible and helpful!

Paige's class did equally well, selecting books, checking them out and then reading quietly. At one point, one of the teachers pointed out to me that Anna was leading a read aloud to several other students including her little sister. It made me smile. All in all it was a great trip!

That afternoon at school, Anna had her first 4th grade Gathering where her class presented to the entire school what they have been learning. Anna was pumped to share her most recent piece of writing about a fictional trip to three different states. I am amazed at the detail and dialogue she uses as well as her confidence in front of her peers. She really has grown so much from that timid kindergartner in front of the microphone.

School Pictures

Every year we go through the same thing with school pictures. My girls know we don't buy the school pictures because a. they are pretty pricey and b. I take much better spontaneous photos of the girls that capture their true personalities. Now don't get me wrong! I think school pics are great and totally support those that do purchase them.

Knowing this my two tend to have a "this is a waste of time" attitude which was only exacerbated when Paige found Patrick's old Calvin and Hobbes book depicting Calvin drawing a monster face on his tummy and then lifting his shirt at the last minute for it to become his school picture. There was much talk around here about this being replicated. I threatened many years of exile if it did.

In any event, the girls suffered through their school pictures and I can see the disdain in their faces. Anna's says: I'm gonna smile, but my eyes are shooting you with invisible lasers right now. Note Anna's wearing of her "best" sporty t-shirt. Paige's says: this is all you are going to get, buddy and don't call me Rapunzel either.

So I laughed and shook my head. Then I promptly put them back in their backpacks to return to the picture people. I wonder what next year will hold...

Fall things

For me the beginning of the school year marks the beginning of fall even if it's not technically celebrated season-wise until a few weeks later. Just a week ago I brought down the fall decos and lit my fall candle despite the fact we are still in the mid-80s. I've even enjoyed some pumpkin items. I know, I'm a bit early! Regardless, we have a few fall traditions we enjoy.

First up....football! We love our Gamecocks and enjoy cheering for them even if this is a "building year." (note: that's a better way of saying we aren't doing so hot lately!) My Gamecock Girls took their annual picture. Patrick and I have hunkered down on the couch on Saturday evenings to cheer (or curse in some people's cases). 

We also adore the Greek Festival which is HUGE in Columbia. Some times Patrick and I are able to sneak away by ourselves or I've taken the girls when they were at home as pre-schoolers. This year the whole family was excited to experience it together. We enjoyed live music, cool booths of fun stuff to look at, a tour of the Greek Orthodox Church, delicious food and of course baklava sundaes. At the end, we stayed to watch a reenactment of the Greek army. Turns out my people are fans of history no matter what country of origin or time period. 

Finally, we planted a fall garden this year. It's not quite cool enough for some of our crops to pop up, but so far the beans and radish are going gangbusters. Here's a first fruit. Now if the girls would let them grow just a bit bigger maybe we will actually have something to eat!

Things we are not fond of in the fall: crazy hurricanes! The girls had to get out of the house just a bit, so here's their weather report via picture during a blustery period of Irma's visit as well as a rather large worm who enjoyed the wet weather. 

A quick recap with the School Board

Patrick was asked to present to our School Board last week. He was able to share a brief look at what he did last year in DC as well as a couple of take aways. It's always amazing to hear the neat things he was able to participate in and accomplish, some of which I don't fully understand until I hear him present to others! My only disappointment was the time allotted. Five minutes (and a very strict 5 minutes at that) was not nearly enough time for him to get into any depth. Nonetheless, the girls and I were happy to go a support him. He definitely made a lot of connections in DC and will continue to advocate for students and teachers. In fact, he already has an upcoming trip to Washington.

Keep up the good work, Patrick! We're proud of you!!

Catching up

Wow, I feel like I have really not been posting a lot lately. I've also noticed I haven't been taking as many pictures. I think it has to do with the business of our season, but I'm also trying to be a lot more present which means getting out from behind the camera to enjoy the moment. Nonetheless, I do want to record some of our happenings lately.

Last week the girls' school has their Opening Picnic. I worked the Annual Fund table, but the kids had a great time running around with their friends while Patrick visited with some other parents. We loved seeing Paige's classroom and her excitement was contagious. They had a scavenger hunt where we checked out all of their special corners and projects they had been working on. I can tell she is enthusiastic about school and learning a lot. Anna's class had an online math quiz where we competed against other parents to answer addition problems. It was a lot of fun. She is really enjoying her new teacher, Ms. Blake.

Overall I am so pleased with the progress I have seen in the girls over the last few weeks. Paige is taking off as a reader. Her enthusiasm, endurance and independence have grown tremendously. She is choosing harder books with longer stories and will take the time to use her techniques to read words she isn't familiar with. It's very exciting! She also LOVES her acting class. They are doing a performance based on the book The Day the Crayons Quit. It's hilarious to see her sitting at the kitchen table practicing her lines in different voices. She's taking it very seriously and will find out her parts next week. It's also no coincidence she chose this author for her author project at school.

Anna is really growing in confidence and speed with her math. I was really hoping this would occur as she can often doubt her math abilities. I've also seen a jump in her responsibility, handling her homework assignments and projects independently. It's so strange NOT knowing what her homework is and allowing her to be in control of what is due and when! She is handling it very well. Anna is also LOVING Girls on the Run. She is easily the fastest on her team with the most endurance and is also enjoying the activities. While I know she can do well at the sport, I am going to encourage her this time to use her skills to help others on her team. I think this will be a good chance for her to slow down a bit so she can bring others along. We'll see...she doesn't easily slow down for anybody!

It's a fun time in our house. I am so grateful the transition has gone well and everybody is enjoying their places in our new routine. It's a sweet reminder that God has us at each stage even if it looks really different from year to year.

Irma update

Praise God! My family is safe and well in FL. Everybody weathered the storm with only my mom losing power at her house. They had to retreat to their safe rooms a few times due to tornadoes in the area, but nothing came close to them fortunately. My mom is still without power this morning, but is able to borrow my brother-in-law's generator and begin clean up efforts. Preliminary inspection of the house looks like there was only minimal damage.

My brother in Tampa decided to move locations yesterday morning due to the forecast wind speeds and a precarious tree out front of his apartment. But he had power, lots of food and some co-workers to keep him company so he was fine. When he returned to his home this morning, everything was just how he left it including the clock which was still keeping time correctly! It helps when you are on the hospital power grid.

We are so thankful the storm shifted and weakened as it approached land. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers during this scary situation. And of course our prayers are with those who will have much more damage and clean up to deal with.

Irma

Thank you to everybody who has reached out to share your thoughts and prayers for my family in FL. We are all anxiously watching Irma. At this point, my mom will be staying with my sister, brother-in-law and nieces who all live in Jupiter, FL just miles from the east coast. They have made preparations to both of their homes, collected food and supplies and have a generator with lots of gas. My biggest concern is the intensity of the hurricane on the NE side of the storm. I'm hopeful they are able to dodge some of the most extreme winds. Fortunately they live in a town home where they can seek shelter on an interior wall and their windows are shatter resistant.

Meanwhile, my brother is in the Tampa area and also making preparations. He is currently living on the second floor of an apartment complex where the management is also preparing for the storm.

My dad both fortunately and unfortunately is in Atlanta this weekend. While I know he wishes he were there to help, not having another person in Irma's path is a blessing. Mom got plenty of help and at this point Dad has his hands full managing what he will potentially receive from Irma.

Our family has been through several hurricanes, none this intense, but we are aware that you really just don't know what it will do until it happens. There are opportunities for it to shift a certain way and cause less damage and we are praying this is the case.

Again, thank you for any prayers! I will post updates as I know information.

Labor Day

We've been busy, busy getting back into our new normal. It's been a good transition and we are all doing well. The girls had their first full week of school last week and handled it like pros. And this week our after school activities have begun-Girls on the Run for Anna and an acting class for Paige. Of course, Patrick and I are also back in school and getting our voices back in teaching shape. I forgot how much energy it takes to be in front of the class!

With all our activities lately, it was nice to have an extra day off this weekend. We decided to extend summer just a bit longer by heading up to Lake Keowee to spend the day on my parent's dock. It was a beautiful day! We loved being their with our friends the Powells and had fun celebrating John's birthday. The kids had a blast eating a picnic lunch on the top of the double decker dock, jumping off the dock both top and bottom and swimming around like fish for hours. It was hard to get them to leave and honestly we probably returned a bit later than we wanted for a school night, but it was totally worth it. Now we're back to grind!