Jennette's Blog

Yearbook

April 29, 2021

This is my 4th yearbook that I'm designing from scratch for Austin Discovery School (where I work). I love this time of year and getting creative with the book. I've been super proud of each book that I've put together and every year I have more experience and feel like it is even better than the last.

I love the new company (TreeRing) that I'm using this year to get the book printed. In addition to planting a tree for every yearbook sold, they also allow each person to customize 2 pages in their own yearbook which really personalizes the experience for the students.

My deadline is a few weeks away and I can see the book coming together which is such a good feeling.

I've been spending so much time on the little details that I will be really glad to turn it in on May 14 and get my life back!

Fully Vaccinated

March 15, 2021

Today when I woke up, I had a new sense of being safe. I'm fully vaccinated. 2 weeks ago today I got my 2nd covid shot.

I got the moderna vaccine. My first shot came on January 30, 2021 and my 2nd one 30 days later on March 1. The side effects sucked but nothing so bad to not make me do it over again if needed in a heart beat.

I trust the doctors and scientists who worked on this vaccine and believe it will do more good than harm. I also believe that people should have every right to decide if the vaccine is right or wrong for them. I hope that the majority of people will accept the vaccine as a path towards a new normal (I don't believe it will ever be like it was pre-March 2020.).

If you have questions about the vaccine, what side effects I experienced exactly, etc., I'd be happy to answer them. Just email me.

Crazy Morning led to a New Experience

December 16, 2020

Today I woke up super early to go walk with 2 good friends of mine. We planned it almost 2 weeks ago and I've been looking forward to it as I hadn't seen one of those friends since before COVID-19 started.

We were walking around the trail at Lady Bird Lake and enjoying nice conversation with each other, when one of my friends realizes that her phone has fallen out of her pocket somewhere on the trail. We've been walking for an hour, so we start to panic that we don't know where it is. She starts retracing our steps. After 20 minutes or so we find her phone.

During that 20 minutes, our other friend had to continue on without us because she had to be at work at 10am for a meeting so she couldn't be late getting back. I had a Dr's Appointment for a blood draw at 10:10am and I quickly realized I wouldn't be on time either...so we did something that I never thought I would have a reason to do (why would I?  I own a car) --- but today we had a valid reason.

I rented one of those scooters that I see tossed around on the sides of the roads. My friend and I rode scooters the last part of the way back to make sure I stood a chance of making it to my appointment. We were both nervous as neither of us had ever ridden on them before. It was a ton of fun and way faster getting back than it would have been if we had walked it.

Enjoy the pics below...(For the record, I took my mask off for the pictures but was wearing a mask the rest of the time) 

Starting Back to "In Person" School

October 27, 2020

Today I started back to work in person at ADS. I have mixed feelings about it. I loved seeing people again especially my kiddos in Aftercare, but I also hate that it is such a high risk.

Now that I'm back at work in person, I'm going to have to be extra careful around my parents and wearing a mask to ensure that they don't get exposed because of me. It's a weird feeling to know that now I can potentially expose my parents and those around me. I've been living in a COVID bubble since March without seeing very many people at all. So it feels really weird to be around people again.

I'm proud of the ADS Admin team and the safety precautions we've put in place for COVID. It's been a lot of work to prepare to open. I think the precautions are good. I think they will make a difference but I guess only time will tell.

Saying Goodbye Again

October 26, 2020

Due to some really unfortunate circumstances, Emily left today to go back to Brazil to quarantine there. I'm going to miss her a lot. She's made the last 7 months of quarantine bearable. The picture below was taken at the airport earlier today. Trying to smile through the tears.

Zilker Botanical Gardens

October 21, 2020

Today we decided to go explore Zilker Botanical Gardens and since they are all outside, we felt pretty safe doing so. I would recommend a visit just to get out and be immersed in nature. Despite taking them off for some pictures, we had our masks on the majority of time just in case we saw other people.

Dad's 74th Birthday

October 7, 2020

Today is my dad's birthday. To celebrate, we went to pick up food from Phil's Ice House. We ordered to go but when we arrived there was no one sitting out on their patio so we decided to eat there on the patio.

Austin Sunset

September 11, 2020

Tonight we drove over to the back side of Austin Discovery School where I work to watch the sunset over Austin.

Mom's 75th birthday

August 16, 2020

Tomorrow is mom's 75th birthday. To celebrate, we rented a boat today that we could be alone on and brought along brunch to hang out on Lady Bird Lake. Very relaxing and something memorable that we could do during the pandemic while being safe.

Socially-Distanced Drive-By Birthday

June 23, 2020

Today is my birthday. This is not normally how I would celebrate my birthday. When I think back to 2 years ago with a huge celebration, it makes me sad. But today we are making lemonade out of the lemons. My parents decorated my house for my "drive by" birthday party. Friends drove by wishing me well. My mom also surprised me with a surprise Zoom Call so that friends from around the country could wish me a happy birthday over video chat. It was a lot of fun. Overall a great and definitely memorable birthday.

Silver Linings - Family Zoom

May 17, 2020

Since this pandemic started in March, the Gianakos family has gotten together and zoomed every Sunday at 3pm. Prior to the pandemic, we would see each other at family reunions or family events. We're all close and really enjoy spending time together. The pandemic just showed us that there is technology that can allow us to keep in touch better.

This is something I look forward to each week and really enjoy spending an hour or so on zoom with my family. We talk about the pandemic or about life in general or about what we want to do when the pandemic is over and whose house we are visiting first (my Aunt Denise just built a new house.)

It's weird to say but I'm thankful to the pandemic for bringing our family closer during this awful time. I don't see this tradition changing anytime soon --- even after the pandemic is over. Not every family member makes it every week, but we all come when we can and enjoy the company of whomever is able to join us for that week.

If I haven't said it lately, I'm lucky to be a part of such an amazing family.

Puzzles

April 29, 2020

We are obsessed with puzzles. We started and finished the purple one on the left back in March. The one on the right is the one we finished today. We've done like 10 already.

The Uncanceled Project

April 1, 2020

There is a company called Run The Edge who puts on virtual races each year. I'm currently signed up for their 2020 in 2020 race which is walking 2,020 miles in 2020. A few days ago, in light of the pandemix, they announced a new virtual event called the "Un-Canceled Project." The series is completely free of charge and open to all who want to participate. Each week you choose a race (or 2 or 3!) that you want to challenge yourself to do that week.

I've decided that I want to challenge myself to do a 5k and a 10k every week in April. Here's the first of hopefully many bibs for this project.

If you want to learn more about the Uncancelled Project or Run the Edge, click the Bib Above.

Greek Food & Family

December 27, 2019

We are in Florida getting ready to leave on our cruise tomorrow. Tonight we went and had a nice dinner in Ybor City at one of our favorite mediterranean restaurants. It's so rare for my entire immediate family to be all together so I wanted to share this great picture I got tonight at dinner.

Christmas Caroling

December 22, 2019

Tonight we walked around my parents neighborhood singing Christmas Carols to their neighbors. It was so much fun and I hope that we make this a new tradition.

I was really glad that my dad was feeling well enough to go with us even though mom had to drive him as he can't walk far distances. He's healing up nicely.

Dad's in the Hospital

December 6, 2019

So I got a call last night around 7pm from my mom that she was in the process of taking my dad to the ER because he had fallen and hurt himself. I quickly grabbed a few things and headed to Bastrop to meet them at the ER. I got there just in time to see the X-Ray which confirmed a broken hip. He would need to be transported to Austin for a partial hip replacement. While he waited for the ambulance to take him, mom and I quickly went home to drop off her car and we got back to the ER just in time to follow him to the Hospital in Austin.

He had surgery first thing this morning and is already on the mend. He will be here for a couple of days before being moved to a rehab facility so that they can work with him. He'll be back to new in no time I'm sure.

The pic below is after he woke up from surgery and was finally able to eat something which made him happy.

2 Broken Feet

November 23, 2019

Well it was confirmed that I have not just one but 2 broken feet due to stress fractures. So I'll be in a wheel chair for a few weeks while they heal.

The good news is that I'm already putting my feet up and relaxing at my best friend's house in Amarillo and I will be recouperating here for the week before returning to Austin.

22 Days Left

October 30, 2019

This morning I learned that I have 22 days left to love on my sweet boys. On November 21, 2019, they will be dropped off at the Mexican Embassay here in Austin to be flown to Mexico to move in with their grandmother. This is going to be really hard to do. 2 days ago, for the first time, the youngest told me that he loved me. I say I love you to them on a daily basis but they've never said it back --- until Monday of this week. He said it in the cutest way possible and knowing that this was coming --- it took everything I had to not burst into tears.

I did get some good news though. According to CPS, their grandmother is willing to keep in touch with me. I'm cautiously hopeful that I can stay in their lives in some capacity. She holds all the power -- so if she changes her mind, there will be no recourse for me --- but I will take what I can get to stay in their lives.

Eve of Mediation

October 17, 2019

Mediation hearing for my boys is happening tomorrow. Not sure how I feel about it. Whichever way it goes, I feel like they are going to be the ones that suffer no matter what happens. I feel like both choices are bad and there is no good outcome to be had --- just more of a lesser of two evils situation. There is no way for me to shield and protect them in this very broken foster care system. It breaks my heart to think about the pain that they will endure when they leave and I know what's coming. They don't. They can't stop talking about the Fall Festival that Grammy and Pappou are taking them to this weekend at my school. They have no idea what is about to happen to them. They can't prepare. I can do nothing to help them in this. It's just a very helpless place to be.

People tell me all the time, "I don't know how you do it - I could never give the kids up." Do they think I like torturing myself? These kids deserve love and deserve to have a stable family if only for a little while. That's what I signed up for. But it doesn't make it easy as I do have a heart and it will break my heart into a million pieces when they leave. But at least I know that I had the chance to love them and that makes me feel pretty damn lucky.

It finally happened!

September 29, 2019

When I lost custody of my first foster son back in December of 2016, I was granted only 4 visits with him a year (once every 3 months). As time has gone on, I realize all that I'm missing out on not just the little things like singing songs at bedtime or cuddling while watching TV, but big milestones like first day of school or soccer games. I remember thinking that I just hoped that his GG and I could get to a point in our relationship where she would invite me to a soccer game when he was old enough to play.

Well, it happened sooner than I thought it would. Yesterday was my quarterly visit with him and GG invited us to come watch him play soccer in the morning before our visit. Mom, Dad and I went and watched him play and it was magical. He got distracted with us being there --- but as I walked around the field, I kept seeing him point me out to different players and his coaches. He kept telling them, "Jenny is here." My heart was beaming with pride. I love him so much. Our visits are never long enough. I start missing him the moment we take him back to GG. I have hope now though that the relationship between his biological family and mine will only get stronger with time and that we will hopefully get to a place where it can just be full of love between all of us. That's what I want more than anything.

Family Reunion

July 22, 2019

I'm really lucky to call myself part of the Gianakos Clan. I just finished spending an amazing weekend with my Greek Family in Hendersonville, NC. It's where my great-grandfather came to the US and settled with his wife. He opened a candy store there and while the candy store isn't there anymore, the building still stands and a historical plaque talking about my great-grandfather is on the outside of the building.

I got to spend a lot of time with my cousins which was nice. Laura Beth's family and Mom, Dad and I went hiking to see some waterfalls on the first day we were in town. It was a good hike and we got some amazing pictures. I got to meet my cousin Shannon Zoe for the first time. She lives in NYC and is on a side of the family that rarely participates in family things. It was really nice getting to know her and spending quality time. I always love spending time with my cousins.

I find myself sad this morning as we drive to Nashville where I will be flying home. I never get enough time with my family.

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