First Day of School

     Travis started school yesterday. He was really excited for several reasons. First, he loves school. Second, his teacher, Mrs. Mailman, was finally going to be back from maternity leave. Since Mrs. Mailman was back, Ms. Ruben, his 1:1, could go back to being his 1:1. She had been covering as the classroom substitute at the end of the school year and for summer school. She was also excited that Mrs. Mailman was coming back and she could go back to working 1:1 with Travis. 

    I worked on Monday, but really that was professional development stuff. It was not entirely useful or entirely useless. Which was sort of different from most other PDs I have had to attend. But yesterday the paras didn't have to work. I got Travis off to school and then went and put in the laundry SUPER early. Once it was in the dryers I went to school for the staff welcome breakfast. I didn't have to be there, but I like the people I work with, so I went to visit. 
     Once it was time for everyone to do staff meetings, I went back to the laundromat and got everything folded and went home. I was done with laundry, with everything put away, before 9:30! It was amazing! Then I packed up a ton of snacks and seltzer and drove it over to Travis's school. Keeping him on a low carb diet is a little bit tricky while he's at school. But not too bad. They send home the lunch menu and we color code what he can eat, what he needs to only have a little bit of sometimes and what is right out. I also send him with lunch every day. But the beginning of the year I like to stock them up on plenty of extra snacks for him. Travis is a hungry person.
     I got back from school before noon and I was super bored. I took a tiny nap and then decided to go and attack some more weeds in the yard. We have a couple of pine trees next to the driveway that has a very healthy crop of weeds under it. And a couple of hastas, but mostly weeds. And awful strangler vines that keep trying to kill the trees. So I spent a good amount of time, with my new garden gloves, pulling weeds and vines. 

     I also got a good collection of burrs. All over my sneakers, gloves, trying to creep down my gloves. Even hours later I keep finding them on the back of my T-shirt. But it looks a lot better under those trees. 

      I have talked about the palm noodles before. They are a really amazing pasta substitute that is as close to real pasta as I have had while doing low carb. They now have lasagna shaped noodles. That made me really happy! I have made zucchini lasagna and used sliced turkey (it was interesting) but the palm noodles I think are my favorite! I didn't cook them first, just took them out of the cans, rinsed them really well, and made my lasagna as I usually do.

     It holds together a lot better than with zucchini noodles, has a very traditional flavor, and just a bit of firmness to the noodles. I think it's great. All the palm noodles are pricey, almost everything low carb is, but they are really great if you love pasta. And we do enjoy pasta dishes. 

     Today is my first day back to school with the students. Monday I figured out who I am working with and what classes I will be in and I think it will be a good year! I have worked with one of the teachers before, had lunch all last year with another, heard really good things about a third from his students, have said hi to another in the halls often and the last one is new so I don't know him at all. I think this year is going to be great. I am at least feeling optimistic about it.