Family Day

We finished another week as happy and healthy as we could manage.  What a relief!  Jackson still has a bit of a cough left and I still have to hold my ribs when I cough or sneeze, but it seems our illnesses are fading away slowly but surely.

This week, my school had its parents' evening (parent-teacher conferences).  Unfortunately, the day before the night to meet all of my students' parents, I lost my voice.  Go figure!  At this point, I wasn't surprised, but the show must go on.  So even though I had to strain to get every word out, I met with all of the parents and finished by 6 o'clock (it only took two-and-a-half hours).  Parents' evening is really different from my memories of conferences in Ohio.  When I was little, our teachers spent an entire week meeting with parents every night for at least 15 minutes each in their classrooms.  Sometimes, the teachers even provided snacks and drinks like cookies and coffee for parents who may have arrived early to their appointment so they had something to eat while they waited in the hallway.  In England, parents are allotted a 5-minute time slot and all of the teachers sit around the perimeter of the hall (gym) while the parents sit in the middle of the room, waiting to be called over to their child's teacher's table.

As a parent, I would appreciate the 15-minute meeting much more than a quick 5-minute update, but as a teacher, I really like having all of the meetings done in one night.  To be clear, parents can request extra time for their meeting or can ask to talk to teachers before or after school at any time if they feel that they want more details about their child's progress.

With all of the hours I've been putting into work, little has been getting done around the house, but today, Lee and I had a productive day of rearranging our living room furniture, dusting, vacuuming, ordering new flooring for our kitchen and entryway at a local shop, eating out and trying a new pub, and putting up new Christmas decorations.  Best of all, I also made our Thanksgiving dinner and it only took me two-and-a-half hours!  Admittedly, the glazed carrots took three hours, but they were prepared in the slow cooker (crock-pot), so they don't really count.  Needless to say, we are all tuckered out and the boys are both in bed now.  It was great to have a day completely devoted to family without any school distractions.  Because we were so productive and we got to spend so much time playing with Jackson, it also makes the day feel like a success.

Next week, Jackson will get to meet Santa for the second time in his life.  Last year, he was only two-months-old and he would let anyone hold him, but we're not sure how this round will go since he is getting more selective about who he lets pick him up.  Tune in next week to see how it goes!

Walking back and forth between Mommy and Daddy

Happy Thanksgiving!  We celebrated today with a big meal of chicken (in place of turkey), creamed corn, glazed carrots, stuffing, Brussels sprouts with bacon, and green bean casserole.  Jackson liked everything besides the stuffing and we don't know if he likes Brussels sprouts because he started falling asleep before he could finish his meal.

Go OSU!  O-H-I-O!  Jackson didn't actually stay awake for the end of the big game today, but he certainly showed his excitement when we brought all of the food to the table.  After he went to bed, Lee and I enjoyed watching the game--what a nail-biter!

Developmental updates:  Jackson began pointing at things this week, other than at pictures in his book.  He points out new things he notices or wants to bring our attention to.  He is doing really well with his walking technique and today, he even walked across the room, stopped to clap and then roll his arms one over the other, and then continued walking toward his toys.  Besides stopping to do a few dance moves, Jackson has also started standing and bouncing to the beat of songs (mostly to his current favourite Rockin' Robin) and bracing himself and stomping his feet to the music, too.  For the past two weeks, Jackson has slept through the night and has only woken up a few times because he didn't feel well (usually he had a temperature and needed Calpol).  At nursery, he is also only drinking milk--no more formula--and only needs to drink out of a bottle if he's feeling unwell or a little cranky.

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.