Stratford High School football

First home football game - also Elementary School Night
We showed up for tailgating & game wearing our IES spirit wear. Lots of fun, good crowd!

While watching the game
Probably best Julia quote ever ... "is football about violence?"

3 more home games, plan to be there for Community PTO tailgating.
Fun & food & people watching!

"Rock Star" - not Cleaner

I asked Julia to clean up her area.  Then later in the van, I asked her to pick up some stuff on the floor. This is what she said to me: " I am a Rock Star and an Artist, not a Cleaner."
Then she proceeded to tell me "You boss everyone around & we don't like it."
I said something about even rock stars & artists were children who cleaned up after themselves!

Apparently there has been discussion among my family members.
THEY don't like being bossed around!

My response - clean up your stuff. Simple! : )

Missed Bus (MTA) 2X this week!

The title of post explains it all. I usually ride the bus 1-2X ... so this week I didn't ride it at all!
I'm going to try to ride 2-3 times next week. I'll let you know how it goes. : )

Parent meeting/PTO success

Once again I am backfilling posts ... I wish I could write posts more quickly. I read emails usually within day or so, why cannot do that with blog posts.

Anyway, today (8/21/14) we had Parent meeting at J's school.
It was good turn-out. We learned what's happening at IES.
Exciting news like Reading Recovery program for first grade students to help basic reading skills.
Also Reading Clinic for other students to help with reading deficits.

• We had food & drinks! 
• We had more teachers present than last year. 
• Some teachers helped with child care. 
• We elected PTO officers. 
• We had door prizes. 
• We have meeting dates set for year. 

Overall it was great!

First Day of School

Hope everyone that started school today had a good first day!

Julia greeted me with 

"It was awesome to be in first grade. I love my teacher!" 

... ahh, those are good words to hear.

Little tears are forming again as I write. : )

I had "best FIRST day ever" (15 years as MNPS employee) - it was amazing!

Extremely impressed with how smooth the day went at Amqui ES.

I'm exhausted, but it was good day.

Enjoy tomorrow off if you have kids (sarcasm as I know you might wish it wasn't so) at home.  They get back to school on Friday (school buildings are used for election sites so that is why no school on Thursday).

Remember to vote tomorrow! Long lines mean participation! : )

New Commute, New Transportation possibly

I like my new commute, very little traffic, fewer miles, less time in car.
How will I listen to those audio books anymore?! : )
I'll probably leave home around same time in order to avoid school zones (hate them!!!).
Also allow me to have some quiet time in office, maybe get some tasks done (I can tell that I will be running ALL day like at previous schools!).
I am going to explore taking bus to work since I live & work now 0.25 mi from Gallatin Road.
I am sure it will likely mean a longer day.
No driving, less wear & tear on 11 year old car, walk to bus stops - all good!
Regardless it is a more peaceful transition for me from home to work.
Drive home is more traffic, more people awake I guess, but nothing like driving home from PMES.

Update on bus (mid-August):
MTA Swipe & Ride program - I thought was free since Jai used it at NPL.
It is free IF employer pays for it. Unlike NPL, the state, Vanderbilt, MNPS does not. : (
This year is first for MS & HS students having free bus passes which is awesome.
It will help with traffic & less teen drivers on the road! : )
However, it would be fantastic if MNPS paid for employees as it would help with traffic & stress.
I tweeted about it & included @MetroSchools as Jai taught me. I doubt it will be retweeted as other tweets have been! : )

Regardless I purchased a 20 ride local pass = 10 trips. My goal is to ride bus 3 days a week. I will have some kind of PTO meeting almost every week & there will be day I miss bus or want to drive.
I rode it 1 day last week (I had appointments or meetings other days). It was fine.

I cut it close in morning - bus was almost there when I got to stop. I caught up on some texts I'd not had time to reply. Walk to school was farther than I estimated. A colleague saw me & hestitated to stop. It was funny! I had plenty of time in afternoon & got to stop no problem. However, bus was late which had me worried! I texted some more! : ) Then I got off in wrong place & had longer walk home. Not bad overall. I need to have magazine or book, maybe get audio book on my shuffle.

Happy Birthday, Tara!

This is what I wrote to my friends on day before my birthday! : )

Dear Friends!

Well, today is my last day as 43 ... OMG! I cannot believe I am "mid-40's" - HA!

Yep, though I am a planner, I am now sending email with plan for dinner tomorrow.

Nothing fancy or wild, but craving some Drunken Fried Rice so Thai it is.

I'm getting it Medium too - kids will have to get another dish!

We heard Pad Thai Kitchen on W. Eastland closed so this is our other favorite place in East Nashville.

Friday, August 1

5:30pm - yes, we eat early.

We're basically senior citizens with young children!

Thai Phooket Restaurant

www.thaiphooket.com

207 Woodland St, Nashville, TN 37213

(615) 248-7933

If you want to join us, come on!

It was fun. 15 people total, 9 adults, 5 kids.

We had interesting service, not typical, but kept us guessing. 

Also they bought a cake & sang "Happy Birthday" - that was hilarious!

We'll probably still have some folks over later in August for casual back yard "party."
Grill meat, kids play in baby pool, nothing fancy AT ALL!