Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa

Monday, August 9. 2021

I may be at work as you are reading this! Today and tomorrow are teacher days and the students come Wednesday – ready or not! It’s a big deal, y’all. We have not had 2000ish students in our building since March 13, 2020. That’s a long time. Last year we had about 700 kids on A Day and 700 on B Day. Our other kids remained totally virtual.

I didn’t plan much for last week on purpose. I was super lazy and it was good and intentional. I did finish Outer Banks! Priorities!

Friday morning I did my veggie prep. I do zucchini, onions, and mushrooms once or twice a week. I just use olive oil Pam and spices. I have a veggie scramble most mornings, but the veggies are great to have on hand for lunch and dinner, too.

I also started washing all of the college bedding. Our staging area this year is just a corner of the basement. Last year we had our old Master bedroom entirely empty for this purpose.

For lunch Friday I had leftover bbq, a small potato, apple slices, and two of the cutest little breadsticks you have ever seen from the skinny pizza dough – with a bit of spray butter. It may seem like I have eaten out a lot this summer, but I really haven’t! I have had the majority of my meals at home. I just show you the restaurant foods more!

I did not go anywhere Friday during the day! I really just stayed in my pajamas until 2, then showered, and just did cleaning and tasks around the house all day. I was really nice.

Friday was the night we got to see Jack perform in our Central Park downtown. There is a permanent amphitheater there and they have 2-3 food trucks and a bar. It is a free event and they do 3 productions during June, July, and August.

Mason and Tom

Amy and Mason

Jack and Mason’s friends’ parents (and our friends) came for the first half.

Jack was the duke.

We got there early and got to see the warm ups.

I got a veggie bowl and it was delicious. I will try to create this at home!

The play didn’t start til 8 and it ended around 10:30. I stayed up way past my bedtime. Jack is so happy to have had this experience. He talked the whole way home about it. He agreed to ride with us since we were all going, but the other nights he leaves around 6 and gets home after 11. I have waited up for him because I’m a mom. I’m tired!

Any Food Network fans? Damaris Phillips is from Louisville and one of my favorite personalities. She is a professor at a college in culinary arts and has written a cookbook. I follow her on Instagram, too. Anyway, I noticed an elaborate picnic table in the back. There are picnic tables you can use and also some green space where you can lay out blankets and pillows. The elaborate spread was Damaris’! I went back and watched her Instastories and she showed what she made for her friends. I want to do that!

Saturday morning I had my every 8 weeks or so hair appointment. I always take the first appointment of the day and it came early.

Awkward, but better.

Then, I went to Kroger to get boating supplies.

We went to a party on the river at 4:00.

I bought and tried my first High Noon in pineapple. Yum!

The party involved going up a staircase onto an “island” where there was bbq, corn, beans, and a few other things.

It was fun and I was wiped out by the time we headed home around 8:00. I got home around 9:00 and watched Big Brother with Mason while we waited for Jack to get home.

Sunday morning I prepped for the week – faux egg McMuffins, Mexican quinoa, egg roll in a bowl, and sweet potato lasagna. My friend at work is making me two lunches a week and I am making her two lunches a week. One day we will be on our own.

Then, Mason went to a movie with friends – Suicide Squad and Tom and I went to Jungle Cruise. We liked it.

What was the highlight of your weekend? I may not post as much in the coming weeks; I’m just going to see how it goes!

Amy

Friday, August 6, 2021

Happy Friday! It’s time once again to link up with Andrea, etc. right here!

I was not ready for this Friday to come. But, I had a really nice week and it was so much better than last week. I purposely kept this week really open on my calendar to just see where the wind took me and spend time at home. I love a weekday where I can just do whatever! Monday I set up my classroom and did some stuff for freshmen orientation and then had the rest of the week open.

Here are some things that made me happy while looking back at my phone camera roll. I hope you had lots of favorites, too!

What is it with me and yellow books this summer? Yes, I do judge a literal book by its cover. This is cute so far. I have had a series of “did not finish” library books lately. I don’t feel guilt; I just move on.

Another favorite was heading out to the patio to read after dinner.

I judged the Fiber One 70 calorie bars too quickly. I heated up the brownie in the microwave for 15 seconds and then topped with fat free Reddi Whip and it was good- but small!

I had my ears double pierced when I was in college, I think. I got a wild hair and thought I would see if the hole had totally closed. The answer is “no”. I cannot believe that I have not worn earrings in 30 years in the second hole and they are still open. Kids, let that be a lesson when you think about piercing your body.

I decided to go to Claire’s and I talked to the piercing lady and she said they no longer recommend peroxide or alcohol because they dry your lobe, but that she recommends putting a bit of Neosporin on the stem of the earring. So, I found this cute set on clearance and have been doubling up.

I purchased this at Target and will get back to you. I have the tanning drops and they work really well.

I cannot believe it but my Tan-Luxe The Butter is almost gone. I will probably end up getting a new bottle when it goes on sale, but I wanted to see the comparison. I will get back to you.

I found this flavor and also did the microwave trick.

You may remember my Wednesday post where I showed this dress? I ordered it from Target pickup in the next two sizes down for reference. I ended up needing the smallest size of the three. I forgot to tell you it has pockets!

I returned the two larger sizes to Target and had the hardest time. Normally Target returns are a joy. This took 15 minutes. The employee at the service desk was a young man and I predicted he wouldn’t understand what I wanted to do. I got the first dress for $19 with my circle rewards and their 20% dresses promotion. The second two dresses were $27.99 I think. I wanted to keep my $19 price but keep one of the $27 sizes. He asked me several times “so, how many dresses do you want to keep?” I asked him if a different person to help me it was so bad. He was offended, I know, and insisted he could do it. I literally had to say, “they are all the same dress but in three different sizes so I only want to keep the one that fits” maybe 5 times. And, guess what? He did need to call someone else to help.

Ernie has enjoyed his walks and we have had pleasant weather this week!

Wednesday afternoon, very spontaneously, I reminded Tom we had been wanting to see the weekly sailboat race on the river. He picked me up after work and we went to Captain’s Quarters by car. This is the place we normally go to by boat. They had an hour wait on a Wednesday at 5:30 but we got lucky and found a table at their outdoor bar.

I had a prosecco. It is so crisp and perfect for a summer day or night! My favorite brand is La Marca and they have the cute little individual bottles.

And, all of their pizzas can be ordered on cauliflower crust but I had never tried it. I ordered it this time with a caprese pizza and it was amazing. It was huge so I only ate some of it but took the rest home. I don’t have an air fryer (decided against it) but have been using the convection feature on my oven for heating up stuff like this.

Tom got a fish sandwich. After we ate, we went down to their giant lawn, sat in their adirondack chairs, and watched the sailboats.

I keep this little bug spray in my purse because mosquitos love me!

Another favorite is that I ordered the body wash that I loved so much from our hotel in Nashville. I have one in my shower and I gifted two to my people with recent birthdays.

I have been watching Outer Banks season 2 this week on my own and it’s been entertaining!

What have been your favorites this week?

I would love to hear!

Amy

Thursday, August 5, 2021

My twins will be sophomores! I’m so chill about the prep this year that I don’t even know when Jack and Mason will move back to campus! Ha! That’s not really the whole story. Their college is having move-in appointments either Monday, August 16 or Tuesday, August 17. They have not yet received the email with the link to sign up.

Last summer, amidst the pandemic, I spent a great deal of time ordering online and shopping in person for supplies for their dorm rooms with each of them. They lived in two different dorms. Jack showed up and his roommate had bailed and he ended up with a private room at no extra cost. He was super happy because he has lots of instruments to room with as a music major. Mason had a roommate and the roommate had lots of supplies that they shared. At second semester, Jack requested to move to Mason’s dorm because it was nicer and he wasn’t very happy in his dorm. Also, due to Covid, they were not allowed in each other’s dorms. He was able to move (several empty rooms due to Covid) and was a floor below Mason and his roommate. This year Jack has a solo room again in that same dorm from second semester. Mason is moving with the same roommate to an upperclassman dorm just across from Jack’s dorm. I hope that visiting privileges to other dorms will be granted as they are vaccinated.

Anyway, this year they are doing most of the preparations. I will go back to work full time on Monday and they can go buy the toiletries, laundry detergent, and other supplies they need.

We will again use the giant IKEA blue bags that we bought on Amazon or that were gifted to us by Aunt Kate. When they came home in April, I made sure they washed all their bedding and towels and folded them and put them either back in the IKEA bags or on the shelves in our basement storage room. I think we will wash all of those again since they have been sitting for that long.

Packing List:

IKEA blue bags

duffle for short trips home

comforter

sheets

set of towels and washcloths

blanket for dorm room

two bed pillows

back rest pillow for studying on bed

hangers for the wardrobe- each room has two beds, two desks, two wardrobes, trash can, microwave, and fridge

hamper

clothes and shoes – I will encourage them to only think about clothes they will wear in August or September for now

masks – their college is requiring masks for public indoor spaces

I think back to a year ago and it was so scary. I was sad to be an empty nester. I was sending my kids to college in a pandemic. I love that they chose a college so close (20 minutes or so from home) because that has really been a comfort in this climate. It also makes everything easier. They can easily come home and get something later. I don’t feel the stress to get everything done in one fell swoop. The timing of the move isn’t great. That is my first full week of students, but it will be fine. Tom knows that he doesn’t get many good dinners in August – ha!

I am so glad they are still in the dorms. I cannot imagine trying to outfit an apartment or two apartments right now. I think kids are too eager to move into apartments. There is so much that goes into that – food shopping, cooking, decor, cleaning supplies, etc. I say live in the dorms (if you can afford it) because it’s the only time in your life you get to do that! Plus, have you seen the dorm amenities? They just keep getting nicer and nicer. I think a lot of people think apartments will be significantly cheaper, but there are lots of expenses. I loved living in dorms for two years and a sorority house/dorm for two years.

Wow…I digressed.

I have been shaking my head at some parents’ extreme preparations on social media or on my kids’ college parent Facebook page. Kids moving into a dorm do not need an iron, ironing board, vacuum, printer, microwave, or fridge at our college. There is a printing center in each dorm and most things are submitted electronically. The college provides microwaves and fridges which is worth its weight in gold. College kids do not vacuum or iron! Each dorm has a vacuum that can be checked out. I don’t know about an iron that can be checked out, but that is what Downy Wrinkle Release is for. Sorry, I am pretty opinionated!

I know that sometimes the packing or overpacking is to quell some of the nerves for the parent. It’s a huge thing to send your child off after 18 years of 24/7. I told one of my friends that the worst part is the anticipation and then you see them happy and thriving and it’s all good.

I am sad, too. I had such a good summer with my two. We didn’t do many BIG things but we enjoyed the noise in the house, the ordinary dinners, the shows we watched together, the conversations we had, and the friends they had over.

Any thoughts to share with me on this Thursday? It’s always o.k. to disagree! We can still be friends!

Amy

Wednesday, August 4, 2021

It’s Wednesday again and it’s time to link up with The Style Six here. Today’s post is more about some recent purchases, planning for my back to school outfits, and a glasses dilemma.

Well, I dug out my masks in preparation for returning to work. Pomchies brand are the only ones that I can stand for a work day. If you are local, go see my friend Amy at The Prickly Pear. They are two for $10. If you aren’t local, you can purchase them online. I run these through the washer and dryer with my other clothes.

So I am in planning for what to wear back to school mode like most of my teacher friends. I like to wear something new on the first day and I almost always wear a dress. I ordered this from curbside pickup on the recommendation of Melanie Shankle of the Big Mama blog. Now I’m wondering if I should try a size smaller for comparison. I am super happy with the material and the style. I feel like this is a dress I can wear now through spring.

Hear me out… I decided I needed a mandolin vegetable slicer – not the instrument. One of my blog readers suggested it and I have been wanting to try my sweet potato lasagna that I did in the spring. It had great potential but it needed really thin sliced sweet potatoes because these act as the noodles. I looked online but then had the idea to try TJ Maxx. So, I went in and found these two beauties for $16.99. How could I leave them?

Here is me wearing it in Target before wearing it Saturday night to the outdoor concert. Note the prescription sunglasses on my head and the prescription regular glasses on my face. We will come back to this later.

I really like that they both have “fallish” colors in them because I like to have warm weather items that can look more fall appropriate. We can easily still have hot days until November here.

Oh yeah, I also found the mandolin vegetable slicer! Ha!

I was also in the market for black heeled sandals.

These are Corso Como from Nordstrom on sale for $41. I want to be able to wear these out and to school. I always keep an extra pair of shoes in my bag for school and they are usually Birkenstocks.

I want to wear dresses and blouses when school starts. That is the vibe I’m feeling right now.

Now, the glasses issue. Some of you gals of a certain age may be able to relate and may have some advice for me.

Glasses + mask sucks. They fog up. I am near sighted, but my vision isn’t horrible. If I wear my contacts to work, I need readers to see up close. This is what I have been doing for several years when I didn’t wear a mask. If I don’t wear contacts I can read just fine with my naked eyes, but my distance vision is impaired. I am thinking I will leave my contacts out and just use my glasses when I need to see a student further away. Thoughts? My prescription sunglasses have been a game changer. I have hardly worn my contacts at all this summer. When I go out I wear my sunglasses and have the regular glasses as back up. I have only worn a mask twice this summer so it hasn’t been a problem.

What have you been wearing? Are you planning to get back into “real” clothes? This tends to be the time of year that we are tired of some of our summer things I think.

Thanks for reading,

Amy

Tuesday, August 3, 2021

It’s time for a fun linkup here to show each other what we have purchased lately from Amazon!

I felt like I ordered a lot in July, but when I looked back I realized it was reasonable. I did have a few misses that were returned.

I love this bra and have it in nude and black. Someone said Walmart has them cheaper but I didn’t find that to be the case when I looked.

You have seen this dress already, but here it is again! This looks and feels like a dress from a boutique.

I have been experimenting with doing my own gel nails at home and I have been super happy with the Beetles brand nail polishes.

I have enjoyed wearing a watch again after ordering this one!

I love a shiny lip gloss but I think I like a lip color where I add my own clear gloss better. This is a great price and a great consistency.

College kids home means lost chargers so I bought these plugs with two spots and these cords. They have been great!

This eye cream is really amazing. It instantly tightens under the eye.

And, finally I ordered these that will arrive this week. They look like they have potential!

What have you purchased lately? Amazon is so overwhelming that I appreciate recommendations!

Thanks for reading,

Amy

Monday, August 2, 2021

Hello Monday! I’m linking up today with Heather, Tanya, and more here.

I’m not really happy to see this Monday because It’s my last one before I start back full time a week from now. I love my job, but once I get on that train it is a long and sometimes arduous journey. Fellow teachers know what I’m talking about!

I had a really good weekend after a hard week.

Friday night we played host to some people on our boat. We rarely take the boat out in the evenings and every time we do we question why we don’t do it more often! So, my high school friend connected us with a 27 year year old new to town named Hooks. You may remember me taking him to the flea market. So, Hooks, my high school friend Dan (who is also helping him to connect here in town) and his wife Kara, and my co-worker Elizabeth and her boyfriend Andrew all came out. Elizabeth and Andrew are close to Hooks’ age so I’ve been trying to connect them, as well.

The young crowd:

Hooks, Andrew, and Elizabeth

Dan and Kara (part of the old group – sorry!)

Elizabeth and I (part of the old group). Tom is in the background talking to….

Jenny, another high school friend who happened to be at Captain’s Quarters. I went to high school an hour from here, by the way. Dan and Jenny are loyal readers of this blog. Thanks, guys! Dan called this photo “#blogworthy” so I had to include it. Dan may very well be the only male reader I have.

I ordered a grilled fish (#healthy) with fries (#balance). I only ate 5 fries and then I made the young people eat them.

And, I made up for the lost calories in Trulys, a blueberry seltzer that Andrew gave me, and this Unicorn Fart beer.

This is why we should go out in the evening more!

Hooks and Andrew got the full tour of the downtown from the water. We had charcuterie and apps that everyone brought and then ordered food at our riverside restaurant. We toured a bit more before heading back. I think we were out from 6-9:30.

Jack and Mason went to Shakespeare in the Park to see Henry V. They said it was awesome. Now, Jack’s show opens this week – Midsummer Night’s Dream. They start so late because they are outdoors – 8:00 and run until almost 11:00. Don’t they know I go to bed early? Hopefully they won’t have rain.

Saturday I was pretty lazy. I did start Outer Banks Season 2 so I will be able to relate to my students. Just kidding – I really do like it.

It really irritates me that they say “John B”. I guess that is his name, but how about just “John” sometimes? ” J.B.”?

Well, my hydrangea and I are in sync. She has flowered most of my summer and now as my summer is fading, so is she. I appreciate her solidarity. See ya next season, beauty.

Saturday night was so much fun. Jack and Mason stayed home with sushi and Tom and I took our sushi and sushi for our friends to a neighborhood that was having a concert.

I also bought a frose (frozen rose).

We all took our shoes off to practice “earthing”. Have you heard of this? It’s about the connection of the human body and the earth and if you go barefoot you can reap the energy from the ground. Anyhow, it can’t hurt – unless you step on a yellowjacket or a nail and impale your foot. Friday I had gotten a pedicure with “Funny Bunny” which I heard is being discontinued. My feet look especially “Flintstone” in this photo and for that I apologize.

People were up and dancing and it was so nice to see.

Sunday Tom, Ernie, and I went out on the boat. Jack and Mason had two friends over to play games.

Then, Tom and I saw a late afternoon movie – Snake Eyes. It wasn’t very good but I like Henry Golding from Crazy Rich Asians.

It was a full weekend.

Today as you are reading this I will be doing my classroom set up. We get a day’s pay for doing it and we get to pick which day we do it. It’s very nice.

Our school board voted that we will be going back in masks regardless of vaccination status. Then, we got word that all student desks must be facing the same direction and we needed to get as close to 3 feet apart for the desks as we can. I usually do a horseshoe shape with my desks to make it more communicative. My sister wanted to know if the students would be allowed to turn their heads.

Maybe I was naive, but I didn’t think we would have to wear masks if we were vaccinated. At the high school level, every single person has been offered the vaccine. Darn you, Delta variant. You can go away!

What was the highlight of your weekend? Is your summer coming to a close?

I would love to hear!

Amy

Friday, July 30, 2021

I am linking up with Andrea and many more here for ….

I don’t have too much this week, but here we go…

Mason and I have a tradition of watching Big Brother. We started this a few years ago and it’s been fun. We are enjoying this year’s group of people. We are not caught up because it’s on three times a week!

Wednesday evening my friend Heather invited the other Heather and I over to see her finished kitchen and eat sushi. It is gorgeous!

She has a cute dog named Paisley.

Heather is a vegetarian and always gets a veggie roll wrapped in soy paper instead of sea weed, so I ordered that, too. I loved it. I know next to nothing about sushi.

I couldn’t save this for Wednesday when I typically show outfits and any new items in my wardrobe. My favorite local consignment shop has put out their fall stuff and their spring and summer is 50-75% off.

This Vince Camuto dress was $7!

This blouse was $8! and gives off some serious Pioneer Woman vibes. IYKYK! (This is what the kids say – “if you know you know”.)

I’m still not sure how I get this subscription (they come packaged together) but I love it. I’m going to dive into these two magazines this weekend.

I’m just not motivated to read my current library book, so I was excited that two requests came in for me.

I am a very seasonal reader so I like to finish all summer books before school starts.

What were your favorites this week? Is your summer wrapping up, too? When I see you here again it will be August! Ay!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend,

Amy

Thursday, July 29. 2021

Today I thought I would re-visit my posts from here and here and give you an update. You all have been so supportive and I can’t thank you enough.

So, I have now lost 25 pounds! It is very slow going – for two weeks I only lost .2, but then I had a nice 2 pound loss last week.

I bought these Fiber One lemon and chocolate fudge that are 2 points each for a little dessert. I don’t know if I will buy these again. They are very crumbly and there isn’t much to them.

I also got the coffee cake and I feel the same about them. I will use these up in my school lunches I think and then probably not purchase again.

Pretty much all summer I have gotten in at least three servings of veggies at breakfast. Prepping these veggies once or twice a week is such a game changer. I top them with two scrambled eggs usually.

I’ve been eating veggie burgers quite a bit. I made a yummy wrap with some potatoes on the side.

I invested in a food scale per the recommendation of my friend Kim. A few years ago, I didn’t believe I could make a true friend on the internet, but my mind has been changed. The support I have gotten from Kim is a true blessing. Thank you, Kim!

Below you will see me measuring out 1 oz. of feta for my whole grain pasta I made one day for lunch. I did the Tik Tok pasta with the roasted tomatoes. It had potential, but I needed more tomatoes.

I like to add a squirt of this to the fiber one brownie or to my bowl of strawberries.

I love this recipe for Mexican quinoa was given to me by another blogger, Kristen. I changed it to make it easier, though, because I’m lazy. I prepare a cup of quinoa by boiling it with two cups of water and then simmering for 15 minutes. When done, I add as much jarred salsa as I want with a can of green chiles. I add a tiny bit of shredded Mexican cheese when I am ready to eat it. Everything except the cheese is zero points!

I have increased my fruit intake and I am loving the strawberries that are so flavorful right now – with a dollop of Reddi Wip! I just noticed there is no “h” in Reddi Wip. That is weird!

I have a banana almost every day.

I have plans to make some homemade egg breakfast sandwiches with these below. They are 3 points.

I have one of these every day and yes, I do eat it by the “string”. What kind of monster just bites into it? Ha! I have told you this before, but Ernie comes running when he hears my string cheese being opened.

I love a Dum Dum sucker for a little something sweet in the evenings.

I have a half of a Premier protein everyday – either in the late morning or in the afternoon.

I will need to fall back on some fast food as school starts. I really want to try this “Burger in a Tub” from 5 Guys. I would try to make it less than 10 points – maybe by ordering the kid’s size burger. Doesn’t this sound good?

Or, I could make it homemade with ground turkey and a “special sauce” from Greek yogurt again. Yum!

And, I thought this Chick-Fil-A guide would be helpful. I love their grilled nuggets!

What can you recommend?

Amy

Wednesday, July 28. 2021

Happy Hump Day! I am linking up today with The Style Six here!

I don’t have many outfits for you this week I’m sorry to say.

This is what I wore to dinner Thursday night – the black $13 Walmart dress, gold jewelry, and my cognac MIA clog sandals. We ate with Beth and Bob and Beth had on the same sandals. I should have gotten a photo of her outfit – all white – white jeans, white tank, and these sandals and she looked chic as always.

On Friday, I wore the yellow but didn’t take the time to adjust it for the photo, apparently. This time I made it more casual with gold Birks. The black is the most flattering of three colors I own. I have black, yellow, and a dark cornflower blue.

Monday for my professional development I wore this new blouse. I love the pattern. I wore it with the white Old Navy jeans that I frayed myself. By the end of the day they were so stretched out and looked frumpy. Do you all have that problem with Old Navy, too?

Tuesday for the professional development I wore the black dress but paired it with the gold Birks and my leopard headband.

O.k…. I have managed to not get on the Nordstrom website for their famous anniversary sale, but I have made two more purchases since we last spoke about new purchases – ha!

This first one is going to be controversial. Please don’t send me hate mail. I kind of think of the goose that lays the golden egg but then it makes me chuckle.

I purchased GOLD clogs from Lotta of Stockholm.

I warned you….the summer of 2021 is the summer of gold in my school wardrobe. Did I do this because of the Olympics? I don’t know. The summer of 2020 was the summer of red – remember my red saltwaters and my red clogs and my red Dr. Scholl’s? Yes, I do realize I have a problem. I am consistent, though.

I picture styling these gold clogs with my fun ruffle pants, skirts, dresses, and jeans.

And, I went to another TJ Maxx for some reason and found this Cynthia Rowley blouse. I thought it was super pretty.

What have you been wearing lately?

What have you purchased lately?

I can’t believe that one of my consignment stores is putting out fall stuff this week!

Thanks for reading and remember not to bully me about my GOLD clogs. Don’t they say “Go for the gold”?

Amy

Tuesday, July 27, 2021

I wanted to write this post because the time is nigh! We had varying degrees of “normal” school over the past year and a bit. So, it may have been quite a while since you have thought about stuff like this. Last year was all about survival. Many schools didn’t allow parents in the building. Everything was different!

My perspective comes from 27 years as a high school Spanish teacher and 13 years as a k-12 mom.

-Don’t complain about your school, teachers, or school or district policy in front of your child. I have been frustrated looking for a certain color folder or I have wondered why my child needed 24 pre-sharpened pencils, too. It’s stressful. Think the thoughts, but don’t say them in front of your kid. It’s important for us to stay positive and model respect for school and teacher rules. This is small potatoes in elementary school, but it becomes large potatoes in high school. If you complain about the high school dress code or act like it’s not important, that carries over into other rules that your child will have to follow.

-Any time the school opens its doors to parents, go! It amazes me how few parents come to our open house. What a unique opportunity to get to meet all of your big kids’ teachers and essentially walk their schedule and live their day. Your presence is just as important in high school, and maybe even more as your high school kids tend to communicate less.

-Get the school calendar now, mark dates, and don’t plan trips during school. Pulling your kid out makes it hard for kids to keep up and honestly, it sends the wrong message. Of course, there are always exceptions – weddings, funerals, and a few other events. I can’t tell you how many of my students complain about their parents making them miss school. I ask that my students email me if they must be absent – preferably before our class meets so that I can help keep them on track. This also adds a layer of accountability and maybe, just maybe this improves attendance. Picture this – we have a 7 period day. Your kid misses one day and has 7 assignments to make up. That can be overwhelming.

-Don’t bombard the teacher at open house. Send an email if there is important information about your child. The teacher may have to give multiple presentations. At my school the teachers have taught all day and come back to school that night for the event. He/She will not remember the details because they will be so exhausted!

-Let your child start doing the emails to the teachers when age appropriate. “Hi Mrs. Jones, I just wanted to let you know that I am home sick today. I will talk to my classmate about what I missed, but feel free to send me anything I need if you have time. I hope to be back tomorrow. Thank you so much, Student.”

-I always tell my students to have a “phone a friend” in each class. As a parent, it would be good to encourage this. Pick one student that usually knows what’s going on and ask for their number. Most kids are happy to help a classmate. It would be great if this was a reciprocal relationship and they can both help each other when absent.

-Do not be afraid to email the teacher! This is really the easiest way for us to communicate. We just don’t have much time for phone calls and rarely have an empty room to have a private conversation.

-Go to the parent teacher conferences. We want to be partners with our parents. Meeting the parents can really help us to better serve our students.

-If there is a problem, try to fix it with the teacher first. I have heard stories of parents taking the smallest complaints to the principal without talking to the teacher first. Most teachers enter the profession because they care about kids. I have heard parents talk like a teacher is “out to get” their kid.

-Please don’t treat your child’s teacher like “the help”. I have heard one parent complain about a teacher and say “I mean, I pay her salary; she should do what I ask”. The teachers in your school have a great deal of education. I have a bachelor’s degree and two Master’s degrees. Plus, think of all the experience and on-the-job training they have. This is so disrespectful. These same parents probably say, “I could never do their job”.

-Do not always believe your child, as bad as that sounds. I have seen some parents not even listen to the teacher’s account of what happened. Where did the notion come from that a parent must always side with their child? There is right and wrong and sometimes your kid will be wrong! Wouldn’t you rather your child be wrong at age 8 than age 18?

-Do not stress about gifts for teachers. Sure it is a nice gesture, but I always worry about the kids who can’t afford gifts feeling badly. An email, a card in my mailbox, or a note sent with a student (even better when it is written by the student) means so much to me. I have every single one saved. I even have some of the emails printed out, but sadly, I didn’t do this with all of them. If your child loves a particular lesson, send an email saying how much they talked about it over dinner. This makes our day!

-YOU are your child’s first and most important teacher. They model your behavior, your speech, your tone, your attitude, and your etiquette. They watch you read for pleasure. They notice if you have a spirit of curiosity and if you are a life long learner. They notice how you treat your job or profession if you work outside the home. Take them to museums, historical landmarks, events, and festivals – but don’t go crazy. Don’t try to do it all in one weekend!

-Please stop overscheduling your child. They need time to play and be at home. They need time to do homework. I’m not a big fan of homework and I don’t believe that tons of it equals more learning. But, homework is still a thing to be dealt with.

That’s all I’ve got for now! Anything I’m forgetting?

Amy