So, of course I should be getting some work done and here I am goofing off on Minti instead. Sigh. There's no hope for me.

We went to a Japanese garden yesterday that was really nice. It was kind of nice to be exposed to some Japanese culture again, as I haven't been around anything even remotely Japanese (Naruto doesn't count!) in several years. I resisted the urge to by a set of chopsticks (Thiago thinks they're for playing with and I get tired of arguing with him) in the little gift shop, and bought chocolate covered cracker-sticks that I used to eat ALL the time on my commute instead. Aahhh...good times, good times.

I can't believe Thanksgiving's right around the corner! I dunno if we're gonna have much of one cuz Genesio will probly have to work. I am thinking of inviting my Japanese student to join us (for...whatever) but she's a vegan and I'll admit I'm a little perplexed as to what I might feed her. Lots of mashed potatoes! We get along though, and she's not going back home for it, so it'd be nice to have her over. She can have Thanksgiving with us since my husband might not be able to make it. Sheesh.

Some photos:

My Minti is so slow!! It's taking forever to load pages and it's very discouraging. Here I am with some time to check things out and my computer won't cooperate! Arrgh! I guess I need a new one. Or some more memory or something...

So, Halloween has come and gone and we're well into November! And the election's finally over! I am sooooo happy that I will not have to put up political mail at work any more! Yippee! Those things are the WORST for paper cuts! I'm pretty pleased with the results of the presidential election as well. I just hope Obama can fulfill at least a few of the things that he's promised and that all that power doesn't go to his head!! Only time will tell...

On a lighter note, here are the kids:

Thiago

Emily

And here are our jack o'lanterns. I had the kids draw on the pumpkins and then carved it as best I could. Thiago drew a LOT so I just picked something that looked kinda like a face, and Emily really wanted to draw a cat by herself, so I tried to carve it as best I could. I just made a scary face myself.

The weather is finally turning nice! We're past both unbearably hot AND worst of hurricane season and it's getting a little cool in the evenings! This is great! I can open windows instead of having the air on all the time. Yay! It's especially nice because the kids are more willing to get off their butts and play outside for a change, too. I KNEW I liked fall! As long as it's a southern fall. The high here for today is supposed to be around 85ºF (around 26-28ºC?) whereas where I used to live, the high for today is 50ºF (10ºC)! Yuck. So glad I'm not there any more!

Wow! I can't believe it's been almost a month since I've blogged!! I guess I HAVE been busy! I am now working at the post office. Whee! Well, I'm on "probation" for the time being and won't be really, truly hired until that's over. The sucky thing is that it's for 90 days... of work!! Since I'm only going to be working one or two days a week generally, it's gonna take about a year to get off probation! Poop! But that's what's been keeping me away from Minti. I got trained for two different mail routes, and ended up working six days a couple of weeks ago. Needless to say, all I wanted to do when I got home was sleep! Not that the kids (or hubby) went for that idea, but I tried! Now I'm down to only working one day this week. It's kinda nice, even though the paycheck'll be smaller.

Emily's started soccer, although she's too darn competitive. At her last game/practice she just wouldn't go in any more when the coach called her for her turn and just sat on the sidelines pouting. Well, I got pretty upset cuz I was there to see her play, but that didn't change anything of course. After we got home we talked about it, and the problem is she wants to mark goals! Ugh. I told her it's just as important to turn the ball around in her team's direction (which she does pretty good at sometimes) as it is to mark a goal. Also, I told her she needs to practice when I ask her if she wants to go play a bit at home and that might help, too. We'll see how the next session goes. At school she got moved into the high reading group, which I thought was pretty cool. I had a meeting with her teacher last week and she told me this. I just wanted to find out if all the homework she was getting was normal! and whether Emily was on track with things. I guess she's doing well! Apparently there are parents who want MORE homework for their kids!! I, actually, am of the mindset that there shouldn't be ANY in first grade, but I guess I'm in my own club on that one. What's everyone else think? Here's an example of one week of homework assignments:

Monday: Read a ten-page long story (one sentence per page) they've been doing in school and talk about it. Math worksheet with six problems. Answer questions on a page that I couldn't find in the stuff she brought home. Study sight words.

Tuesday: Write a story using 5 of her spelling words. (Mind you, she's JUST learning how to write. I'm not sure how much of a story is supposed to be made of the words can, go, to, I etc.) Practice math addition facts through 9. Practice reading the story again.

Wednesday: Write five sentences with other spelling words. Another math worksheet with six problems. Answer more questions from that page I can't find. Continue to practice story.

Thursday: Write a story about the character from the story she'd been reading and include drawings. Study spelling words, sight words and math facts for tests tomorrow.

Um, we did the math worksheets and some sentences with spelling words, and that's about all I could do without totally killing her spirit for learning. After spending seven hours in school all day is that what she needs when she gets home?! I guess some parents think so. Anyhoo...

Juan's at the other end of the spectrum on school. He's failing one class and in danger of failing another and continues to try and hide this from us. Sigh. I don't even know what to say any more except maybe, get a job? His attitude in general has been better, but he just can't seem to figure out how to get through school. He has to take the state's standardized test this year for the first time, and if he doesn't pass it eventually, he won't graduate. He took it for practice last year and did miserably. I guess I need to start reading him bedtime stories again too. It seems to be working for Emily...

Thiago's spending some time with a Brazilian woman who watches kids so that on those days I do work my mom can get a break. Well, and it's giving me a break today, cuz I took him and I'm not working (for once!) He seems to like it okay, although she has a one-year-old and Thiago flatly stated that he does not like the baby. That's what happens when you're the youngest I guess! He's not used to someone else being the one grabbing stuff out of HIS hands! I think it's funny. And I hope his Portuguese will improve, because that's all she speaks. Yay!

So that's what we've been up to for the last month! As long as I'm only working one day this week I will probly be found goofing around on Minti again!

Cheers to everyone!

It's amazing what a little good music and a day off can do for the soul! Ha! Day off. Who am I kidding. I still have to go to the store, run an errand for hubby, tutor a kid and feed people, but hey, at least it's not on top of driving a mail truck around all day and trying to meet a newspaper deadline! That is saved for Tuesdays! And, I haven't actually driven the mail truck for work yet. I just got trained in it two days ago. That was kinda fun, actually. Better than sitting on my butt inside all day. Man those things are nothing but blind spots, though. A word of advice: give mail trucks plenty of room! They can't see you!

So, here I sit, listening to my music, typing a minti blog and alternately trying to get a grocery list ready. Life seems to be going well these days. Oh! And get this, Juan brought home his first progress reports for the year and they were all As (top grades) but one. Wow! That's a switch! Last year he almost failed drama! Drama!!! Don't you just have to show up for that? I hope he can keep it up. Emily's doing great, too, but I kind of expected that. She has all satisfactories, and her teacher's comment was "wonderful!" That's always nice. I hope she doesn't get burnt out though. She's in first grade and she has homework EVERY night! And it's a lot! I'm exhausted from it. I've already noticed she prefers math to the other stuff, too.

I cannot think of anything to share right now, but I just thought I'd say hello to the world while I had a moment! Hello world! I hope anyone reading this is doing well and has positive vibes going on as well!!

Peace out!

After spending the last year in a state of severe "income challenge" it is nice to finally have a few things come together.

I worked today. It was a long day and I nearly threw up. Cool, huh? Yeah, it was my  introduction to what I'll be doing at the post office before long. There are lots of little details to keep track of, and I'm thankful that it's only going to be one day a week to start! Although it's a boring, mindless, menial job, what I will like about it is that there's always going to be something to do! And I can leave as soon as I"m done! Yay! I hate having to try and look busy at jobs, and that won't be necessary here! So that's my no-brainer job. Oh yeah, I almost threw up because I had to go out in the mail truck with the guy who usually does the route and check out what I'll be subbing for, and it was very hot and stuffy back there and there was way too much stop and go with serious brake slamming action for my weak stomach to take. (I just checked, and I'm sorry to see there's no emoticon for hurling. )

I am also going to start doing a small editing job for the local newspaper once a week, and that is something I really enjoy doing, so I'm glad it worked out. I can do it from home, and it's just editing and putting togetheer "school pages" that each school in this district sends in to the paper to be published once a week. Good deal there.

I'm also going to keep tutoring and I still have one student for private Japanese lessons once a week. I just hope I can keep track of it all! And luckily, the hours are actually not going to be huge, so I won't have to put Thiago in day care or anything like that right now. I've thought about looking into a part-time pre-school if I could find one, but I'm probly too late, and most seem to be full-time and combined with daycare. Sigh. I'll just keep taking care of him myself, I spose. He does play with the boy next store sometimes, so I figure that's good for his social development or some such thing. Except that the boy next door doesn't talk very well (he says otay for okay, and suck for truck, and he's 5!) Maybe he can learn a few things from Thiago...

It's time to put him and his sister to bed! How did it get so late so fast?!

じゃまたね！バイバイ〜！

Fay is gone! Finally! She certainly took her time getting past us. Sheesh. That had to have been about the slowest moving storm EVER! It's been pretty quiet here since yesterday, actually, but a lot of streets are still flooded and school is closed until Monday. THAT really chaps my hide. Ah well. It could be MUCH worse. Our neighborhood is very un-flooded and the water never got anywhere near the house. Thank goodness! We don't have flood insurance included in our homeowners insurance yet, so I better get on that! The busiest part of hurricane season has just begun!

The kids have been playing on the computer a lot with all this unexpected time off. Does anyone else know Club Penguin? It's great! I play too! Thiago doesn't quite have the coordination for some of the games on there yet so he goes back to NickJr to feel competent. I had meant to do "school" with both of them today, but went and got my hair cut and colored and stuff and ran out of time. I got Thiago a book of coloring and really simple maze practice that he actually was excited about doing, so that's a relief. I thought I would start doing something like that with him, but up to now if I ask him if he wants to do school when Emily does his answer is an emphatic NO. He's got plenty of time to become interested in these things though, I suppose.

Emily, on the other hand, is always willing to do school, and I'm pleased with how well she's doing on her Portuguese reading. Now I just need to get her vocabulary up there so she knows what all these words she's sounding out mean! Portuguese is so much easier to read than English! Once we finish her current workbook she should be able to sound out any word thrown at her and then I can have her start reading her Portuguese books to me!

As for me, I'm supposed to be proofreading a manuscript and I keep avoiding it! It's actually a pretty interesting read for once, but I just can't get focused! Maybe it's all this Club Penguin noise and the call of Minti or something... I'll give it another go here and try and get focused!

Ciao gente!