November we an interesting month. It started off with Election Day (11/3). The boys were very interested in watching the news as the results started coming in. Unfortunately, there was not clear winner by the end of the day. Votes were still being counted in key states with races that were too close to call. The mail-in ballots extended the vote counting.
November 4th, still no elections results. In fact, the experts are saying that this whole process may take up until the day of the inauguration as President Trump is calling for recounts in several states and is threatening law suits in other states over the results. It will be an interesting several weeks.
Today was also my last day of tutoring the kids before Mrs. Joplin returns. Mixed emotions about that!
November 5th we found out that Naomi made the JV volleyball team. She is super excited.
November 6th when I got to school, someone was parked in both of my assigned spaces. What are the odds of that one?!?! Also, I signed the official offer letter for the Support Squad position.
November 7th enough of the votes have been counted now and Biden has gotten more than the required amount of electoral votes to become the next president. President Trump still does not have enough electoral votes and is nowhere near the required amount. He is mad and has ramped up his effort to prove voter fraud and sue several states.
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| The football field is finished and the kids LOVE getting to play on it each day during physical activity. |
Sunday, November 8th we had our 4th annual Turkey Shoot. This year we had to hold it in the garage and everyone was wearing masks, but they didn't mind because they love this tradition!! They also love that I ask the questions that will be on the upcoming assessment.
At school we are studying the respiratory system and the kids are loving all the experiments. One day we did a lung capacity test. The kids took a deep breath and blew as much air as they could into their balloon. They then measured the circumference of the balloon to see what their lung capacity looked like. Each student did it three times and then compared their numbers to the numbers of their fellow students.
We also made a model of the lung and diaphragm using a bottle, straw, clay, an elastic and two balloons. I am really going to miss these kids, but they are so excited to have Mrs. Joplin come back. I can't blame them because she is an incredible teacher.
November 11th Sandra and I were finally able to reconnect for lunch. With everything that has been going on we haven't been able to get together since ... April?... TOO LONG!! We had a lot of catching up to do.
While I was gone to lunch, Steve and Naomi went to IKEA to get her new bedroom furniture. She wanted to upgrade everything to better reflect her soon-to-be 15-year-old self. A family in the ward (the Ts) came and picked up her loft bed for their oldest son who was super excited to have the coolest bed ever!!
November 12th we had historic rainfall in Charlotte! My argument for getting kayaks is much stronger today.
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| Exhibit A! |
November 13th - Naomi is officially 15! I cannot believe that my baby is 15. Where has the time gone? She is still the fun-loving, smart, sassy girl she has always been.
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| Cheesecake and sushi were the menu for this birthday. |
Steve called me later that afternoon and told me he was waiting on an official offer letter for a job that would start in February (well after his no-compete clause would expire). I was grateful since Steve had been feeling really down on himself. This is month 5 of not having a job in his field and it was starting to wear on him.
November 17th was my last day in the classroom with the kiddos! It was a bitter sweet day. One of the kid called me "magical" today. I will miss them so much, but plan to come and visit as much as I can without becoming a nuisance.
November 18th was pass the torch day. I spent the day with Mrs. Joplin going over the kiddos and their needs and amazing qualities and any routines we had gotten in, etc. The kids are going to love having Mrs. Joplin back. During our team meeting the teachers surprised me with cards from the kids and a card signed by all the teachers with $100 to "spend on myself". I have loved every minute of my time with this team of amazing teachers. They taught me so much about loving others and keeping things in perspective. I will be forever grateful to Kathy Oneil for putting up with me and helping me through the three months of teaching through two different plans. I learned so much from Ms. Costenoble, Colberg and In about planning math and science lessons and how to just tuck and roll when things don't go as planned. The beauty of my new position is that I still get to work with them and help with students who are struggling.
November 19th was my first day on the Support Squad. Ms. Jones had set up a great office area in her room for me so I would have a place to work. It was also pajama day at school and I had promised the kids that I would wear my penguin onsie. They didn't believe that I had one. They loved my onsie and penguin slippers! To make things better, Ms Jones and I went to each class in the school to reintroduce the support squad and show the kids how to access the new app on their ipads to get to the Support Squad via Zoom or email. It was a fun and busy day.
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| Pirella, me, Tedder and Jones dressed up for pajama day |
Also on this, the 19th day of November, Steve found out about a potential offer from Newell Brands, he had a flat tire caused by a broken off key and the JV team won their first match against North Lincoln.
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| November 21st I was feeling kind of sad and then God sent this beautiful sky to cheer me up. He knows me so well. |
November 23rd and 24th were remoted half days before the Thanksgiving holiday. I had a lot of kids stop by my Zoom asking for help. This new job is proving to be both fun and challenging. I reached out to each teacher for names of students who could use a little help and encouragement and the response was a little overwhelming. There are so many students who are struggling with at-home learning. Hopefully I can help some of them improve their motivation and grades in the coming quarters.
November 25th I woke up and NEEDED to go on a walk. It was a gorgeous day and the temperature was just right. There were so many interesting and beautiful things to see. I am proud to say that I have turned into my mom. We always teased her for stopping and getting up close with the flowers and nature and today I stopped and took pictures of the flowers and the trees and... two of my favorite pictures are below.
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| Imprints of leaves on the sidewalk. |
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| This tree bark is really interesting. I love it. |
Back at home, Nick wanted to take his car in for an oil, lube and filter and also to have the tires rotated. We dropped his car off at the dealer and then went grocery shopping for a few things we still needed for Thanksgiving and also to buy food to restock our 72-hour kits. Nick is my grocery shopping buddy. We have a good time and usually find something new we want to try. We headed home where we got everything and unloaded when Naomi asked if we were going to paint her ceiling white again. She had a habit of putting her toes on the ceiling when she had the loft bed and now she didn't want to look at the toe juice anymore. We got her ceiling done and the kids were hungry. They wanted Krispy Krunchy Chicken so I drove them to get some lunch and then it was off to pick up Nick's car. Back at home we finished putting some drawers together for Naomi's room. We also put up the lights her Aunt Laura had given her for her birthday. The effect was super cool. The lights have a remote control and she can change the color too. It finishes off her room and she LOVES it.
While Naomi and I were working on her desk drawers I hear Steve talking to someone in the garage and went down to check it out. Our "new" neighbor,, Mo (not the one who greets the cars every morning on the corner but the one that bought the house next to Donita) had come over to talk. We hadn't officially met him yet because our schedules are so different. He is very nice and it was fun to get to know him a little better.
November 26th was a good Thanksgiving Day! I was almost done fixing the meal when the microwave died. It wouldn't be a Thanksgiving without one of the appliances giving up. We all laughed, had a great meal and boxed up some of the leftovers to go give to the homeless. We drove around Charlotte looking for people who needed a meal. We were lucky and found several people on street corners with signs asking for food or money.
November 27th we got a new microwave. Steve and the kids wanted to heat up their Thanksgiving left-overs so it was top priority! We are starting to transition our appliances to stainless steel and it is going to complete the kitchen make-over once that is done and the new flooring goes in. Don't hold your breath. That may not happen in the next several years, but baby steps are always good. We also got the clothing in the 72-hour kits updated. It was funny, and a little sad, to see how much the kids had grown since we last updated things in the kits. We are now ready for an emergency again. Let's hope we don't need them - but it is 2020 so you never know.
November 28th I spent the day setting up the Christmas stuff. I love putting up the Christmas stuff. Our house is so festive!
November 30th when I picked Naomi up from volleyball practice she showed me her knees (which were scary bruised - see picture below) and told me that she bruised them playing pickle ball in PE. Ouch! But she had fun doing it so I guess it was worth it.
Naomi's volleyball pictures came in the mail!!!!!! Check them out!!!!!!!!
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