Autumn Upon Us

Fall has finally fallen...though, in all honesty, aside from shortening days and that beautiful slanting autumn light that comes just before sunset, you can't really tell much difference here in La Roda.  The first week in September was the hottest all summer with the highest temperatures for this month since 1922!  It was 115ºF for several days straight and I think the lowest it dropped to at night was somewhere around 85ºF.  Thankfully, that heat wave has passed and we're having more normal temperatures now.  Daytime highs are still in the low 90's but at least it's cooling off quite nicely at night.

Anyway, I am not blogging to give you a weather report...sorry.

Things around here have been rolling right along so quickly that it just seems impossible to sit and blog.  Sometimes because I really haven't got the time, and sometimes because I feel too scattered to focus and write my thoughts.  Even now, I am (as usual) writing on borrowed time since Emily is long over due to wake up from her nap.

And speaking of the smallest member of the household, she is daily more fun, more engaging and more of a little character. :)  What joy she brings to the home!  Her vocabulary is growing in leaps and bounds, though I do notice that her Spanish has really begun to catch up with the English now that my parents have been away for some time.  Their presence really gave her a boost of English.

She now says "Shesh you" when you sneeze and "Tookey" (thank you) when you give her something.  She has finally started to say "sí" as before "yeah" was her only affirmative word; and surprisingly she separates to whom she should reply with which word!  She has never responded "sí" to one of my questions in English and with her Auntie and Abuela I hear her most often answering in Spanish.  It's pretty amazing to watch her bilingualism grow.  I am envious.

At work we have begun classes for the school children again, but with the difference that we are now planning our own classes.  So far this is wonderful because I have my classes prepped and set up exactly how I like--planned to the gills!  Last week was our first week and it went off without a hitch.

...Well, Emily woke up, as expected, and I'm just sitting down to finish this up and post it before anymore time gets away from me!

Anyway, work is going well, and for now the planning doesn't mean any extra work for me.  Usually I teach Thurs. Fri. mornings if you recall, but at the moment (with the beginning of the school year, etc.) we don't have many morning classes so I spend that time prepping.  My boss would like to get everything put together in a sort of homemade coursebook, so I'm just working away until I get the whole year planned for 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade. ;)  I'm just about to Halloween with all three at the moment.

Now it's time for my dinner.  Em is down for the night so a relaxing glass of vino is in order and then maybe my book or a movie...or maybe just straight to bed. ;)