Black Friday

Yes, I was one of the insane people up and about today at 5:30 this morning. I will say however, I did not venture out onto Grape Road. I am not THAT insane! I stayed on the southside here and shopped at Kohl's, Old Navy, Target, Circuit City and Lowe's.

I really thought that Kohl's would have been busier. I was there at 5:45 this morning and by the time that I checked out at 6:30 I walked right up to a register. Last year I waited in line for at least 1/2 an hour. Not this year. The only real line that I waited in was at Target and that was maybe 5 minutes at the most.

So I have my father's gift finished. I then have everybody else started. I even have my secret santa present for school finished. I am trying to get everything finished within the next two weeks, so I can enjoy the season. Also school gets very crazy the last week before break. So I just need one less headache.

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. I ate way too much, but it was all yummy. Here are some pics from our festive event. Enjoy!

Run, Run, Run

It feels as though I have not stopped moving since my feet hit the floor at 6 this morning. School felt like a blur. Since we were not in school on Friday, it means that all of my tests that I give on Friday were pushed to today. So that means I have a spelling, grammar, and reading test to grade for each of my students. My prep today was really spent to trying to figure out my Thanksgiving Basket deal and our annual feast that is happening tomorrow. So nothing has really been graded. Ugh!

Then I had to run to pay a bill after school and then off to Martin's to shop for the turkey and other items for our Thanksgiving Basket at school. Normally I love stuffing our basket full of goodies, however since hubby has not worked a full week since September. I need to get creative. But I think I got some great deals and the basket should be really nice. Normally the students bring in more than enough however this year I ask for cans of beans and I get one lonely can. So it has been interesting nonetheless.

Then I had to run home and start peeling apples. A couple of weeks ago the St. Mary's Alumnae Club here in South Bend was asked to donate pies to help out the Thanksgiving feast at the Hope Rescue Mission. They needed 80 pies. So I volunteered my baking talents to make two pies. I opted for making two apple pies. The funny thing is that I have never made an apple pie in my life. However I will say that they smell delicious and I am sad that I will not be able to taste one.

My mom-in-law also brought me over 3 cups of pecans tonight. Some client dropped off a huge bag of pecans at her job today. So she shoveled out some for me for baking. So I called my mom and said that I have pecans for her pecan pie that she makes. I also asked about my dad because he had his second round of chemo today. Mom said that he looked tired but that is about it. He is also starting to lose his hair. As I was helping my parents clean yesterday at their house for Thanksgiving preparations, he kept tugging at his hair and moustache. I told him to knock it out, needless to say he didn't listen too well. His next treatment will be in December in Houston.

Now I am off to NOT grade papers and watch Heroes before falling asleep and having another chaotic day tomorrow.

No more two hour delay...

Now we are closed for the day. That just means that I have a three day weekend. How nice! Although now we go to school on President's Day in February. Oh well.

You know you're a teacher when....

I am sitting around the house this morning because of a two hour delay. I normally would go back to bed but I fell asleep at 8:30 last night. So I am well rested. I came across these funnies called You know you're a teacher when....

• You can make up games on the spot.
• You realize there are never enough pencils/glue sticks/scissors in the world.
• You see a child misbehaving in the supermarket you automatically give them "the look".
• You have perfected "the look" which turns any child to stone.
• A social life was a thing you used to have.
• You know the life story of every single child in your class, and can recognize them all from the back of their head.
• You dread notes from parents.
• The word OBSERVATION sends blind panic through your system.
• Weekends are spent planning for next week.
• You can't remember the last time you blow dried or straightened your hair.
• You can maintain a straight face in ANY situation.
• Stupid names of children in your class become the norm to you. Also, you realize some names you will never name your own children, due to experiences with children who have that name!
• The staffroom is your sanctuary.
• Packed lunches are a part of daily life.
• You want to choke a person when they say "Oh, you must have such FUN everyday. This must be like playtime for you."
• You know what all the "must haves" for children are right now.
• You can sense misbehaviour without actually seeing it.
• You don't know whether to laugh or cry when someone says "Teaching? That's an 8-3 job! You're so lucky!"
• You say things once, then repeat them, then ask if everyone understands what you are saying, before repeating again.
• You know at least 5 different methods of doing multiplication (not including a calculator)
• You secretly love it when a child in your class has a birthday - treats!
• You get fed up with different news reports everyday from politicians telling you how to do your job - why don't they spend a day in a school for a change?
• You find yourself using cliche teacher phrases that you swore to yourself you would never use - e.g. "pens down, arms folded, eyes front." "I'm sorry Reece, you clearly have something more important to say/be doing than concentrating on my lesson" "tuck your shirt in"
• You don't bother telling people anything about your job as they never seem to fully understand the stress...(sigh)
• You count down the days till half-terms, holidays, weekends knowing that without them you would be headed for a nervous breakdown.
• You have more control over/respect from children than their parents.
• When you meet someone else who is a teacher, you have an immediate bond.
• You loathe children who finish their work quickly!
• There are headache tablets in your desk drawer.
• Stickers are still a form of excitement for you (especially scratch n sniff ones!)

He did what?!?!

As I was conducting reading groups today, one of my students came up to the group in a panic yelling, "Bobby* just ATE a crayon!" What the heck was the first thing going through my mind.

Then Penelope* proceeds to tell me, "I told him to eat a crayon and he did. I didn't think he really would!" I look up and sure enough Bobby is wiping crayon out of his mouth with a tissue, shouting "I didn't know she was kidding!"

I asked Penelope why she would do this and she just replied, "I don't know." She felt totally horrible though.

Then another student comes up to me five minutes later and says, "Tiffany just put an eraser in my mouth."

Oh gee whiz, could life in the second grade get any more exciting?

*I have changed the name to protect the innocent. :0)

Waste some time

If you feel like you have some time to waste, check out my cousin's wedding pics at: http://grantisaacstudio.blogspot.com/

The photographer did an awesome job. Also check out some of their other work. I really enjoyed some of the pics!

I hate rainy days!

There is nothing worse than a rainy Friday. I actually dread Friday's because I have no preps. I have the students from 8:00 in the morning until 3:00 in the afternoon straight. My saving grace is usually 15 minutes for morning recess, 20 minutes for lunch followed by 15 minutes for recess, and then a 15 minutes of recess in the afternoon. However when it rains it means the only time that I am away to hear myself think is the 20 minutes that I get to scarf down my lunch. Otherwise I am cooped up in the classroom watching recess float by. Gee an indoor playground sounds great on these days! It would save my sanity. :)

Happy Birthday

Happy 22nd birthday to my little sister! Too bad that she is in class today from 10 AM until 7:30 tonight. But then again her weekend begins on Wednesday...so I don't feel too sorry for her! :)

Isn't it too early for that?

Does anyone else think that Thanksgiving gets mixed up or even forgotten about this time of year? I love Christmas, but I also think that it is too early to start with Christmas music. I think that just about every store I walked into today, there was Christmas music on. There was even a radio station with Christmas music on. School is just wacky this time of year because of our huge Thanksgiving feast that we put on. Just please let me get through Thanksgiving, then maybe I can start to think about Christmas. :)

My Father

My parents made it to Houston safe and sound on Tuesday evening with no problems. They did however get lost when they made it towards my aunt's house in Montgomery, but they made it there and enjoyed a yummy steak dinner.

They met with the doctor on Wednesday in Houston. They answered all of the questions/concerns that my parents had. My dad, however, is not a candidate for the experimental pill. So they scheduled him for a bunch of medical tests that probably required a bunch of poking and scanning of his body and a scan of his brain yesterday (Thursday). Then they scheduled chemo for Friday (today).

He will have chemo every 21 days. His first round was today. His next round will be in 21 days back here in South Bend and then after that it will be back to Houston for his third round of chemo. So by the time Christmas rolls around he will have lost his hair. Hubby just told me that him and my father will be bald for Christmas. :)

The images from the brain scan and countless MRI's that he had shows that there are no masses of tumors on his brain or on any other part of his body. This is a good thing because they thought that would have been the case due to his spread of cancer.

So they are trying different combinations of chemo, hoping to stop the spread of the cancer. The doctor says that the outlook should be good after these rounds of chemo. So now only time will tell. One thing that my mom told me is that on this particular floor of the hospital, there are 30 doctors dedicated to stopping the spread of prostate cancer. My dad's doctor is a lady in her mid-thirties heading this experimental study. So they feel she knows what she is talking about.

I know there is more to tell, but Rosie couldn't explain it to me because she said that she is not the one studying to be the nurse in the family (as she put it). Only Laura could do that, however Laura is feeling crappy and went to bed early. When I was talking to my parents tonight, their phone died because the battery went dead. But they will be home Saturday afternoon.

I just ask that you please keep my father in your prayers.

Where's George?

Has anybody ever seen the dollar bills with the inked wording, "Track This Bill"? I received one of these bills last night at Barnaby's in Mishawaka. I was excited because I have seen these from afar and just have never gotten my hands on one.

So I entered the necessary information and hoped that I was one of many that has tracked this bill. Gee was I wrong! It has traveled from Mishawaka to South Bend. Whoppie!

So I signed up to receive notification of where this dollar bill will go when it leaves my hands. (I know I'm a dork!) So now I am off to spend my hard earned dollar on a very yummy Culver's ice cream sundae because it has been one of those days!

Also keep my father in your prayers. They left for Texas today and hopefully they have found their way to my aunt's house with no problems!

Let your voice be heard

I am looking forward to tonight and seeing what the outcome will be. I am also ready for the political commercials to be over with.

I thought I would post a poem about voting, but there are none that are halfway decent. So instead I found some quotes that I like. Enjoy!

"Those who stay away from the election think that one vote will do no good: 'Tis but one step more to think one vote will do no harm." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all." ~ John F. Kennedy

"Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be." ~ Sydney J. Harris

Let us remember that our right to vote was not a right earned easily. So please get out there and vote today!