New job for Tara

I decided to transfer this year, at least be looking for schools near home. Even though 11 miles one way might be nothing to some, I am over it. Also with little kids, it would be nice to be closer.

I completed transfer process in March & started looking & talking with people around MNPS, especially keeping eyes open for retirements. There were a few, particularly in East Nashville area, it was amazing. Sadly I applied, but nothing panned out, jobs went to others. I even applied at schools I wasn't interested, but it was good experience. You are not desperate, but can practice your answers. : )

Actually interestingly it made me ponder what I was doing, what are my goals at year 15, where am I headed. I knew it wasn't the right fit, but questioning "what is it I want." Ironically at this interview I saw counselor leaving her interview, then she got the job, so her school was open. I still wasn't thinking about that school as it wasn't in East Nashville, but my coordinator encouraged me & I talked with counselor. I emailed principal. We met next day & I got an offer. I accepted.

During the 2014-15 school year I will be School Counselor at Amqui Elementary School.
It is about 300 fewer students than PMES and 5.8 miles away from home.
Madison is much better commute for me - straight North, no traffic.

Good deal! : )

Fascinating Observation

For lack of another clever title, I had an interesting conversation today. I went to a 1/2 day training, unexpected as it was intended for MS & HS counselors mainly, but I found out & went. Glad I did, great stuff about college readiness & preparation & it really is a Pre-K-12 mindset. Hopefully this speaker will be brought back for ES counselors soon.

I sat with some colleagues whom I know mainly from my MS days which is where both individuals have worked most of career as counselors. One person I know better asked about my children, talking about how big they've gotten, in school now, wow, already, where does she go to school ... you know they drill, we catch up a bit. My children are young, theirs are not, they each have 1 grown child in college. They both are not much older than me, yet are less than 5-10 years of being eligible for retirement (30 years of service) & I am only 1/2 way. Example, person said in 7 years can retire at age 52 ... that means I am only 2 years or so younger. WOW! Such different places you know.

Anyway, I asked where their children attended school. Keep in mind that they have worked these 20+ years for MNPS as teacher & counselor. 1 person said some private school for K-8, then DA for HS. Other person said USN for K-12. Conversation already included discussion about college fees & how they weren't going anywhere during summer because Belmont was getting all their money & they get no financial aid from completing FASA because they appear to make too much money. Luckily that will NOT be our situation since we have 1 income. : )

OK - so this is interesting to me. This is not first time I have encountered this scenario. You work for MNPS, but your children attend private school. 15 years ago MNPS was a different place ... actually that is around the time I started working for MNPS. Both individuals are African-American women - not sure if that makes a difference, just interesting, also both children are female. Actually they are friends - I asked if they knew each other at Belmont. Not sure if moms were friends & kids met or whatever, but they've all known each other a long time. Regardless interesting stuff. Person 1 whose child graduated from DA said that her child attended a "public" college (MTSU, TSU, UT),  but couldn't handle it so had to go to private.

Not sure what that means, but again interesting stuff. Oh, best part, when discussing money, person 1 said her child gets no scholarships ... initially I thought because she didn't get any. NOPE! She didn't apply! No way. I applied for EVERYTHING in HS even some Delta & AKA affiliated scholarships & I didn't know anything or anyone connected to those organizations. She said she talked with her about it, but she wouldn't do it & she's a school counselor. WTF! Unacceptable. It is called, stop paying for Belmont, young person gets a job, apply for some scholarships. I know what TSU was like for graduate school & it was shockingly different from Wellesley & I was older than 18 or 22, but I finished & it was definitely cheaper.

Fascinating stuff ... Julia & Jacqueline be ready to get some money for college, no free ride from parents. : )

Not in the mood

Nope not what adults might say to each other! : )

More Jac quotes - awesome sauce!

"I am not in the mood."
"That's enough."

Guess whom she said these 2 phrases to?
Yep, Miss Julia.

I wonder why ... yep, you guessed it.
We say them OFTEN to Julia apparently.
Ahh, the funny things kids say ... hear ... repeat : )

Diet Bet challenge

In May my friend Niki told me about this program, invited me to join this DietBet challenge she was doing for 4 weeks. $30 entry fee, goal to lose 6% of body weight, if you do, you get your money back. Great incentive & motivation. Bonus is you get % of pot if other people don't lost their 6%. Pot was $85K at that point, later it grew to over $100K. Initially I thought it would be great for Jai to do, as I really was living in denial world about my weight. I thought I'd gained a bit, but didn't realize until I decided to join with them & stepped on scale how wrong I was. I weighed as much as I did when I started Virgin Diet ONE year ago. I was SO pissed since I'd lost 18 pounds in 3 months, felt & looked great (still had another 10 or so pounds to lose).

Logistics
1. You create account, choose Diet Bet you're doing, pay entry fee
2. Receive BEGINNING email with secret word which you write on card/paper
3. 2 photos are taken & uploaded while standing on scale
photo 1: put card on floor next to scale, take photo of number on scale (aerial photo)
photo 2: distance photo showing you on scale
3. Upload photos as directed on website, wait for review process for approval
4. Lose weight, you can post info on website, use social media, encourage others, see your progress
5. Receive ENDING email with secret word which you write on card/paper
6. 2 photos are taken & uploaded while standing on scale (same process as before really)
photo 1: put card on floor next to scale, take photo of number on scale (aerial photo)
photo 2: distance photo showing you on scale
7. Upload photos as directed on website, wait for review process for approval
8. Hopefully you're a WINNER!!!!!!!

If you win, you get money deposited into your account. It can be used for future DietBet challenges or processed for PayPal account reimbursement. Jai & I both said from beginning "I just want to get my $30 back!!" : )

May 5-June 2 was basically the 4 weeks for first challenge I did. I lost 1-2 pounds each week, loving this process, especially posting on Twitter or sending "high 5's" to Jai & Niki. I started following Virgin Diet in week 2 to give me more structure. I also starting exercising consistently, returned to my routine at Y each morning before work. I hit a bump 1 week before END & gained 2 pounds which freaked me out (think it was hormonal) as I only had to lose 0.5 to win. I'm a fierce competitor - to be close & lose would really annoy me. I cracked down, limiting carbs, no chips or crackers for snack, & I did it. Got my final weight photos done & approved on Monday, June 2 (last day of work for teachers, also day I got new job) then celebrated on Tuesday, June 3 lunch at Calypso Cafe with PMES colleagues.I got rice with salad & fruit tea with meal (I rarely do that!). YAY!

I lost 7 pounds which is amazing. I felt great & wanted to continue that trend & momentum.
Overall goal for summer is to lose another 10 pounds.
Sadly Jai nor Niki met their % goal, but they lost weight - I got some of their money.

Fast forward to Aug. 3 when I'm really writing this post. : )
I had told Susie about this process & she decided to participate so we joined 1 together for June 6-July 3.
Luckily entry fee was $15 & I used part of my winnings. Unfortunately I was on vacation first part & then I don't know what happened when we returned to Nashville, but I didn't lose weight, actually I gained it. Later I discovered I'm experiencing some hormonal changes that I believe negatively impacted weight. Also we were eating out more (so typical in summer, especially while traveling) though exercising more I thought. Anyway, neither of us met % goal. : (

I have some money in account so not sure if I'll do another challenge or convert to PayPal, but I got "back on horse" & following healthy eating behavior & going to Y each morning (walking Johnders every morning too until I returned to work last week). I am back to my winning weight from June 2, shorts fit again (I don't want to go to Goodwill for me again until I lose overall goal of 25 pounds!), feel better. Limiting snacks helps - I have been eating fresh local fruit mostly instead of chips & crackers, trying to get gluten free as much as possible, but not being fanatic (no wheat!). I'm not following Virgin Diet - I need eggs & tofu sometimes, but not daily. No peanuts & corn are standard for me anyway. Limiting sweets always helps. I made applesauce cake when some friends came over last weekend & it was so strange. Delicious, but I hadn't baked in 3 months.

New goal - lose 2 pounds each month
Lower expectation so it's attainable & safe. That means I'll get to 24 pounds in year or sooner maybe which is great. I want us to be at "fighting" weight before 10 year wedding anniversary trip in June 2015. : )

1 Lawn Mower ... Taken ... Good news!

Cleaning out garage ... seems to be an annual summer activity, especially when I'm packing up my office & I need storage space for 7 weeks. So I find QUITE a few items that need to be gone, either taken to drop-off center off Trinity Lane or put on the street. I loaded up the van yesterday with some chemical liquids & other items, including full container of glass bottles, for Jai to take this morning.

Well, we also have a few lawn mowers, 1 that barely works Jai says & needs repair. The other does NOT work. So this morning on way to Y, struggling, I pushed it to the curb in front of our house. I figured someone who likes to fix machines might grab it at some point today. Hoping!

As I'm leaving for work & pull out of the driveway later this morning, a police car is driving by & motions for me to stop & asks if the lawn mower is mine. I say yes. Officer inquires if I meant to leave it there to which I reply "yes, it's no good, doesn't work." Officer: "Oh, it's kaput. Are you hoping someone will take it?" "Yes" I say. Officer says "maybe you should put a sign on it." I say "great idea, I'll call my husband. Thanks!"

I drive off as I am now even later for work, thank goodness it is a work day & I'll stay late again today to finish everything on my TO DO list. I call Jai & leave long voicemail & tell him the story. I finish with "it looks like rain, don't worry about a note." When I get home after putting away my stuff, I go to bathroom. Julia rushes in (there is NO privacy in this house!). With excitement, she says "guess what?! Did you see the lawn mower?" I said "no, actually, I didn't notice when I got home." Julia says "it's gone. I wrote a note that said 'Please take' and someone did:" She was SO excited, smiling ear to ear!

So great! On so many levels. My girl can write a note that helps us get rid of stuff. You know I love it! : )

Way to Go, Seattle!

This morning at Y while exercising I saw on TV news crawler that Seattle's City Council approved a phased-in $15 minimum wage which is highest in the nation. I don't know any more details, not sure how long the phase-in process is, but that is good news. I suspect the cost of living is higher in Seattle, but people need a chance at a living wage. I hope other cities/states follow this lead.

Toddler Tantrums & Sleep Challenges

I know we wrote a post similar to this title 3 years ago! Ugh! I hate this stage.
Tears, screams, meltdowns ... oh my, I feel like having a tantrum myself sometimes (and have!).
It also seems worse than with Julia, but hindsight is imperfect & subjective.
Partially due to Jacqueline having a role model who still has her moments - too many in my opinion.

I remember talking with some college friends at reunion 2 years ago about behavior issues.
"What is wrong with my child?"
We have children with similar age difference. I thought some behavior was related to Jacqueline's arrival 5 months prior & adjustment issues. As we discussed our concerns, I learned that one friend's 2nd child who is Julia's age, was doing similar behavior as had her older child (3 years older). I felt some relief that we weren't alone, basically normal development. I also felt dread as I realized that it would happen again in 2-3 years with Jac. Oh, despair! Enjoy those sweet baby moments because the toddler train of hell will roll along soon enough.  Fast forward to Destination fun times - we are already here! : )

Good news is it doesn't last forever, just is another developmental stage that has positives & negatives.

The sleep issue is another beast, definitely 1 created by circumstances of 2nd child & survival. Jacqueline slept in our bed & room WAY longer than Julia did. She rarely slept through night, while breastfeeding, even once she moved to girls' room, nor after weaning at 20 months old. She sleeps less than Julia which is sad for many reasons. Jacqueline seems like Jai's child for sure whereas Julia is a sleeper like me. We dealt with it, overall still getting more sleep than when either girls were newborns - it's all relative!

Then Jac climbed out of crib a year ago & it's been on. For safety reasons she has toddler bed now. She starts out there at bedtime, but when she wakes up at 1-2am, she walks into our room & climbs into our bed. We had a "child-proof" gadget on door knob - she cried, then knocked on door once she learned how to do that. Again for survival purposes, wanting to keep Julia asleep, especially once she started attending school every day, we acquiesced to keep the peace. We have tried "tough love" sleep training at points, but then someone gets sick & we fall back into bad habit. Also Jacqueline is stubborn & loud & we're tired. Vicious cycle.

Hopefully this sentence applies here also - "Good news is it doesn't last forever, just is another developmental stage that has positives & negatives." I really hope so because I want her out of my bed! Actually I really want to sleep alone again. I miss my alone time! The commute to work & daily shower is not enough. : )