We are adjusting to some aspects of the new normal with more to follow.
On Monday, Mike subbed at a school and then shadowed a fellow teacher in the evening class he thought he would be assigned to at PACE (more on that later). He felt a bit overwhelmed by the time he got home.
Many teachers post inspirational posters and theme their rooms, which Mike appreciates and uses as his own inspiration both personally and for his own potential classrooms.
Landon woke up with a severely swollen upper lip Tuesday morning. We kept him home from school and grilled him about his "extracurricular" activities the day before.
Hallie and Mike were both quite tired by end of day Tuesday. Landon got this shot of his mama who was trying to keep warm while watching JoJo Rabbit as part of Landon's history class at school. Perfect satire for the times we're living in. We remember when people knew how to identify and repudiate fascism when they saw it.
Hallie and her coworkers have had to deal with a chronic water leak and other issues at Starbucks which were finally resolved this week.
Speaking of resolved issues, after a few days of taking antibiotics and rest, a trimmer Fergus has finally gotten his appetite and energy back. He's gone back to hunting and/or visiting his other family too (we don't really know if there's another family he visits. Mike just feels suspicious, and maybe a little jealous?).
Hallie got Mike the LEGO Tranquil Garden as a "just because" gift that she gave hime right before our anniversary. He decided to build it this week in celebration both of the new job and our upcoming trip to Tokyo and Kyoto.
Hallie and her Starbucks coworkers found this customer's haircut to be quite amusing. Upon viewing the the photo, Mike wondered whether it might have a practical purpose, like maybe the dude wears a hat or helmet at work. Who really knows? No one asked the guy.
Hallie has had to endure some pretty cold mornings this week bringing in her students from the cold. She and Mrs. Kelly have a student teacher helping out this semester.
Mike taught his night classes this week and will start his morning classes next week. His supervisor Sofia asked him if he was willing/able to make a change, so he will switch the intermediate vocabulary-intensive night class he was teaching for an advanced grammar-intensive class starting next week. It's been an interesting week, to say the least. Mike appreciates the setting and nature of the work he's doing. His colleagues and students seem like great people so far. We're working with many immigrants from a variety of backgrounds. They are required to have student or other immigrant visas, but even so, many feel apprehensive about new of ICE activities in the state. Sofia shared a resource, Red Cards issued by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, that works not only for them but serves as a reminder that "all people in the United States, regardless of immigration status, have certain rights and protections under the U.S. Constitution" (despite the current administration and its supporters' actions to the contrary).
Kai came back on Monday, and we'll have him through most of next week. He's such a cuddle bug!
On Saturday morning, Hallie, Eliza, and Amanda did a girls' morning out at Rockwell Ice Cream, where they had ice cream for breakfast on National Ice Cream for Breakfast Day. They brought home some breakfast-themed pints of the yummy stuff for the boys to sample as well.
In-shop, they shared a donut sundae made with French Toast-flavored ice cream.
We love our Canadian and Mexican family and friends, and we don't think that good neighbors start trade wars with each other. To quote the late Ronald Reagan: "Our peaceful trading partners are not our enemies; they are our allies. We should beware of the demagogues who are ready to declare a trade war against our friends—weakening our economy, our national security, and the entire free world—all while cynically waving the American flag."
We have only 110 days left until we drive to Vegas for the first lego of our Japan trip. Coincidentally, we'll be going by way of Vancouver (hopefully -- assuming this trumped-up trade war doesn't turn into something more serious before then).
With Mike's new schedule, Hallie's schedule at Starbucks has been reduced a bit so she can be home with the kids. We are all going to be adjusting to the new new. Hallie will hopefully be able to pick up a few extra hours in the floral depart as Valentine's Day quickly approaches. Landon starts orientation at Jimmy John's this next week, and we hope he will enjoy himself.
