Patience

Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them - every day begin the task anew.
~Saint Augustine

This is something that I need to be telling myself as we get one day closer to the end of the first half of the school year. I also enjoyed the fact that on Sunday the homily was about patience. It is funny how the homilies reflect how I am feeling at the moment.

I will just remember to tell myself to breathe through the next 12 school days. :)

Celtic Thunder

I saw these guys in concert last night and they were AMAZING! I had never heard anything about them until Rosie mentioned that she wanted to go and Laura proclaimed they looked too "gay" to see in concert. I was blown away! Plus who wouldn't enjoy seeing Irishmen in kilts! :)

Kitchen Redo

Back in September, my parents ice maker went bananas overnight and they woke up to the flooding of their kitchen, mudroom, and my dad's room. Then all of that water had to go somewhere and it went into the basement. So after a week of fans and humidifiers running nonstop. The place was finally dried out.

The insurance people took off with the ice maker hoping to find something wrong with it. They also took off with all of the clothes that were "water damaged" in the basement and sent them off to be dry cleaned. The nice insurance people also took pulled off the laminate flooring so that the sub floor could dry.

So now that the kitchen has been pulled apart, it has forced my mom to go ahead and redo the kitchen. She has talked for years how she wanted to redo the kitchen. I just told her the ice maker gave her the shove that she needed to redo. :)

So my mom and I spent yesterday steaming off the wallpaper. We were quite proud of the fact that we have half of the kitchen done. She is having Kitchens Etc. come in and put in new ceramic flooring and granite counter tops. I am hoping that I can get the rest of the wallpaper off the walls and paint before the flooring people come in. However, it takes my mom an eternity to commit to the perfect paint color. I think I am going to go to Lowe's and pick out some colors and slap it on the wall and then maybe I will get an answer out of her!

What still needs to be pulled off:

What was accomplished:

Now if I can get in there this weekend and get the rest of it off, my world will be great. However I have a school function on Sunday that is taking up most of my afternoon. This might be tricky!

A Perfect Day

It was a beautiful day for apple picking. I mentioned to Laura that I had wanted to go apple picking a couple of weeks ago. She told me that she was going with a friend. I was welcomed to come along, but I told her I would be a third wheel. :)

So Laura organized it so that the entire family could go. Despite the icky forecast that we got on Friday, today is absolutely gorgeous!

After about 10 minutes, my parents apple bushel was full and the rest of us had yet to even fill half. We even ran into people we knew.

We had a good time and we came to realization that we probably should have taken a group shot when we ran into the people that we knew after we had gone and left.

Now I have a bag full of apples, and I know that there is no possible way that I will be able to eat all of them. So off to school they go! :)

Laura and Eddie in a search for the perfect apples

Rosie and her tiny apple

Rosie and Steve with the giant apple that he found

Tony and Eddie

Rosie even picked a pumpkin :)

Bike Ride

I had an old teaching friend call me up the other day wondering if I wanted to go bike riding at the Apple Festival in Nappanee on Saturday. She told me that her husband was unable to go because he had to work and she had really wanted to go. She mentioned that there was a 16 mile route and a 30 mile route. I told her I was up for either.

I don't know what in the heck I was thinking! I haven't ridden my bike in over a year. So we set out for the 30 mile route today. Gee was I stupid. Within the first half hour my legs were starting to hurt, but I kept pedaling. About 10 miles into the ride, I figured out that I have been on the highest resistance gear possible. stupid, stupid, stupid :)

We rested quite a bit for my sake and even took a short cut. The funny thing was that while on the shortcut we meet another rider and he is looking and talking to my friend. Then he said that he knew her. So here we are in the middle of a cornfield and they figure out that they went to school together at Washington. It really is a small world!

So after 13.2 miles we stop at the first SAG stop at an Amish house. Which I have no idea what SAG means, but they have some treats and I am more than happy to stop. My friend decided that I should stay while she finishes up the rest of the ride. I had no problem with that.

So I rested, while other riders were coming in and getting refueled. Some riders were even talking about the ride that is happening on Sunday and it is a 70 mile one. What the heck people!?!

Also while I was resting the Amish couple that was providing the treats had three small children playing outside. The one youngest daughter brought her chair and sat it right next to mine and she was bringing me treats and climbed on my lap and enjoyed her juice. She was a cutie!

So my friend gets me after an hour and she informs me that she checked off my name at the finish line so that people don't go looking for me. :) Also she mentioned that there was Amish homemade ice cream and apple pie at the finish line and that the organizers of the ride told her that I was more than welcomed to come and enjoy some pie. They even sent her with Apple Butter for me! I declined going back for the pie and ice cream.

Even though I am beyond sore tonight and probably will have a tough time of walking tomorrow, I really enjoyed my bike ride and catching up with an old friend. My husband thinks that I am nuts for biking that long of a distance. I probably am, but I enjoyed myself. That is what I will keep telling myself tomorrow! :)

Water Aerobics

Water aerobics has become latest exercise craze. I have always wanted to partake in this activity, but have always been a little weary of walking into a class and not knowing anyone. However, I guess I am becoming braver because I actually took the plunge!

My first class was on Monday and I LOVED it! It is a 45 minute class and it actually seems like it is shorter. The water might be a little chilly when we first get in, but I quickly warm up after doing all of the warm up exercises.

The only thing that I need to get now is another bathing suit and it is the wrong time of year to buy one. I was hoping that I could find one on clearance but have had no such luck. So I went searching online and I think I found one at Land's End that is reasonably priced.

The only thing that I am not looking forward to is when the colder months arrive and I have to get into a chilly pool. Brrr!

For now though, I am content and even thinking about starting to spin again on Tuesday nights. :)

I am alive

Sorry for the blogging hiatus. Since the end of July I have had to get ready for the start of school and that always drags me down. Now that we are two weeks in, I feel I have a grip on things.

Since I moved up a grade this year to third, I have half of the same students that I had last year. In a way it is a good/bad thing. I do know what to expect and what the abilities are of the students without having to feel my way around. The bad thing is that it is hard to implement new strategies because half of them remember how I did things last year. So it has been a ride these last two weeks.

Also our playground is not finished. So at the moment we are playing in between the church and the parking lot. Lets just say organized chaos ensues and I want to pull my hair out most days after recess. However I just keep saying that it will only be a month until it is finished (fingers crossed).

Hubby started a job at Memorial doing laundry and his schedule is wacky. He has to be at work at 6 during the week and 4:30 if he works weekends. So he is getting up an hour and a half before his start time and it only means that I have to get up with him because the alarm is on my side of the bed and I refuse to wake up to annoying beeping sound. :)

However we aren't sure how long this job will last because 1. we believe he is becoming a scapegoat for everything and 2. he was told that Memorial is looking to outsource laundry. So we are back to the drawing board on looking for jobs. He is also toying around with the idea of a vet tech program at Brown Mackie. So we don't know really where we are headed. It is always fun to be surprised :)

Mom and Dad are headed to Texas today for two weeks. Dad is going to be part of a trial study and needs to be down there for two weeks straight and then he will go back every week Tuesday until Friday for the following four weeks after his two weeks are finished. Hopefully everything goes smooth for the next six weeks. I just ask that you keep him in your prayers. :)

I'm baking up a storm today for a get-together at my brother's. He is supplying the house and the grill and I am bringing the food for him to cook. I think it is a good deal since my house is a tad on the smaller side. So I hope everyone has a happy Labor Day!

So many pics...so little space

We had so much fun this weekend. It was great seeing family and a long lost friend. These three pics are probably my fav from the weekend, although I could have put so much more up!

I love this one of hubby and I.

Keely and I met in Kindergarten and were friends through eighth grade. Then we lost touch because we both went to different high schools and colleges. It was so great to see her!

I LOVE this pic of Carisse and her red shoes!

Harry Potter Update

We had a fantastic time at the Harry Potter Exhibition exhibit at the Science and Industry Museum. We saw many of the different props and clothing worn by the stars over the years. I also thought it was cool to see how small the clothing was in the first movie compared to the latest movies. We were not allowed to take any pics in the exhibition, but they did have the flying car that was used in the movie in the lobby and you could take all of the pics that you wanted.

We also saw the movie in the Omnimax theater. The Omnimax theater is completely different than an IMAX theater in that the Omnimax theater is rounded but still really big. So my neck got uncomfortable watching it because you had to keep turning your head to see all of the different things going on in the scene. But the flying scenes felt like you were right there in the movie!

We also ate at a yummy restuarant before we made our way back to the train station. Also just a FYI the South Shore people (aka the answering service with the schedules) do not even know what side of the tracks their trains show up on!

Harry Potter

I am off to Chicago today. Friends from high school and I are off to the Harry Potter exhibit at the Science and Industry Museum and then viewing the movie in IMAX. I really cannot remember how the book goes or the last movie, but I am sure once I get into the movie I will start to remember.

I even have one of the gals making me a t-shirt with Hufflepuff written on it and the crest of the house on the lower left hip side of the shirt. :)

It should be a fun filled day!

Summer School

I am in the final week of teaching summer school. There are four adults in the classroom. One is in charge of reading, another in charge of writing, another in charge of fluency, and another in charge of art.

I am the person in charge of art. After four weeks of completing art projects that go along with the theme of the week, I am happy with the way things have turned out. I literally go to work for three and a half hours and get paid to complete art projects. I have enjoyed myself. :)

I have taken pics of what we have completed. Hubby asked me why I made them and I said why not. It was fun!

Planet Bubbles for our Space Week

Pennants for our Sports Week

Monsters for our Scary Week

Fingerprint Art for our Mystery Week

Now I just have to make it to Friday and then I am back on vacation for three more weeks before I go in and start putting back together my classroom.

Demolition Derby

Friday night hubby and I found ourselves at the 4-H Fair. We were there because we heard that they were going to have a demolition derby. Hubby really wanted to go and I was curious because it was being held in the main grandstand. I wondered how in the heck that would happen.

After the evening was over, we decided that we have to go to another one with a larger arena. Apparently there is going to be a bigger one held at the South Bend Motor Speedway September 12.

I have come to the conclusion that demo's are really LOUD and there is some fascination with Care Bears. I haven't figured that one out yet.

Here is our night in pics:

This car took Best in Show because it looked the prettiest (although that is probably not the technical term).

Wreckage! Oh and the field was grass and by the end of the night it was dirt and dirt was everywhere!

If you can look closely at the driver front tire it is completely off and dragging.

The driver of car 212 was only 16! He made it into the finals, although he did not win.

This pic just cracks me up because both the driver and the Pink Panther are watching the action!

Now for the next race we will attend, we just have to drag my brother along with us!

I feel extremely stupid today

I was getting into the car like usual today and was backing out and then all of a sudden I heard a snap and a black plastic piece fly past me. I throw the car in park and jump out to see what I had hit.

Apparently the garage door never went all the way up and I backed right into the door. Mind you the door only had about two more feet to reach the top. Needless to say that was not enough clearance to get the car out. So I hit the button again hoping that the door would go up. No luck because the door fell off of the track.

I ran into the house to get wake hubby up and told him to get out to the garage. He came with and helped pop the track back into place. Then we closed the garage. The only damage to my car are the luggage racks that sit on top and some white paint scraped along the top edge. Luckily the luggage racks were there otherwise I would have dented the top of my car.

Also while we were outside, hubby slapped my neck. Before I could yell at him he blurted out spider and I freaked and started hitting myself. So with the spider not crawling on me anymore, I set off to work.

I'm sure we put on quite a show for the neighbors. :)

My Birthday

Yesterday was my birthday and it was very low key. Which is exactly how I like it. I had some of the summer school students wish me a happy birthday and when I got out of work I had five texts telling me happy birthday. Then basically I laid around the house all day not doing a darn thing. It was wonderful!

I also received a birthday card from one of my second graders in the mail with a gift card to Friday's. I thought that was very thoughtful of the student!

I also checked the order status of my bench that my parents bought for me. I found out that it was arriving yesterday at some unknown time. So basically Mr. (or Ms.) Fed-Ex person kept me waiting.

So around 7 o'clock my package still had not come so we decided to go to Friday's and use the gift card. Dinner was yummy, the waitress was dumb. I know that she was busy rushing around to her four tables but we lost her for a good 30 minutes while waiting for our check. Then she didn't even run the gift card, just our debit. When I questioned her she said it was too late. I know that I should have raised a stink, but I just wanted to get home.

So we got home and the package was on the porch. I asked hubby if we could put it together even though it was 9 o'clock. He didn't mind, but then my friend called (whom I haven't talked to since Christmas) and so we talked for awhile, while we discussed me coming to Florida for a little relaxation because now that she has a real job and no longer is in school she doesn't know when she will be coming back up to South Bend. (She got her PHD in May and is now working for the Army Corp of Electrical Engineers in Miami.)

So after I got off the phone we proceeded to put my present together and realized that it didn't have directions, but we figured it out after some trial and errors. So now we have a nice piece of furniture on the porch that is hiding my shoes and only 2 pairs of hubby's because lets face it, I have more shoes than him!

So now that the porch is starting to come together, we are thinking about what kind of floor to put down. I would like to go linoleum or possibly a fake looking wood just because the real wood would get messed up with the snow and I am pretty sure under the carpet is just plywood. Decisions, decisions! :)

Need a book to read?

You would think that since I am on summer vacation I would post more. However that is not the case. It is probably because I am catching up on reading and sleeping! :)

In case you are looking for something to read, I recommend Bitter is the New Black by Jennifer Lancaster. It is non-fiction and just very hilarious. It is a laugh out loud kind of story and very hard to put down.

Rosie recommended it to me and know I have have finished the second book written by her called Bright Lights, Big Ass. I have to read the third book written by her, Such a Pretty Fat.

So if you are looking for something to make you laugh, try Bitter is the New Black! (Dang I sound like some commercial!)

Elkhart Farmer's Market

I went to the Elkhart Farmer's Market today for one purpose...jumbo jellybeans. They are my dad's favorite and he has been talking about how he needs to go to Wakarusa and get some jumbo jellybeans.

However I did not have to make the drive to Wakarusa but only to the Elkhart Farmer's Market because they have a booth there. I also wandered around the market and oogled at the Amish made tables and goodies on the second floor.

I did happen to find this nice little table runner. My original purpose was to place it on my new hutch in the porch. However I have found that it looks quite nice on my table. So I am thinking of going back and getting another one that matches the dining room and placing it on the table and the one I got today on the hutch in the porch. Only due to the fact that the colors would go better on the porch. Plus it the rectangle one was only $8! What a bargain!


So at the moment Mr. Gnome (who is also part of my dad's Father Day present) is hanging out on the table with a nice comfort under his feet. :-)

Pretty Flowers

I am very proud of how this flower pot turned out:

Interview

This past week I went on an interview with a school that is literally five minutes from my house. The principal was really nice and explained that he was being proactive and getting a list of names of people that he could hire in case the corporation didn't have anyone to fill the positions at his school.

While going through my resume, he told me that since I did not have any experience teaching the Balanced Literacy Program (the reading program that the school system uses) my chances of getting hired are pretty slim. Gee thanks!

He explained that since his school is a Title 1 school that he needed to see results right away and did not have time to teach the Balanced Literacy Program to the new hires that did not have knowledge of the program.

He did offer to put my name down on a list of instructional assistants. I asked him what the pay rate was for this type of position and he said it was $11 to 12 an hour with benefits. I told him that I would be interested but I really need a teachign position because I am at the moment the only wage earner in the family.

So who knows where the heck that leaves me. At the moment, I guess I am content staying at my school and teaching third grade. The only thing is that I am having some of the students that I had in second grade. Although I think I did a good job of splitting them up so I don't have as many behavior problems with certain "groups" of students.

So we shall see what happens.

The Finished Hutch

I finally decided to finish the rest of the hutch in between the rain showers this week:

Now I just have to figure out what else to place on the shelves because the bottom part is pretty much filled up! I LOVE extra storage.

How I Spent My Day

While Tony was cleaning out the garage at his house last summer, there was a hutch in there that I had wanted. My parents took it home to their house and that is where it sat until last night. I finally had the time to pay attention to this potentially cute piece of furniture.

However, it dawns on me after looking at the pictures that I took that I really didn't take a picture of what it looked like together. It had multi-colored drawer knobs and the one door did not close all of the way.

This is the original back of the cabinet and it was falling apart. Jay took the back off. He has decided that he loves to destroy things. :)

We went off to Lowe's to get a new piece of backing cut for us and all of the appropriate hinges and knobs and a new paint color.

It was the perfect day to paint because the sun was not too hot and the wind was just right. It took less than three hours to get it sanded, painted, and put back together.

Here Jay is attaching the new back to the hutch.

After our three hours of work, here is the final product. I am in love with it!

Now I just have to decide if I would like to place the top part on top of the bottom part. If I decide to do this, I have to sand and paint it. In the end it might just be worth it! :)

Curio Cabinet

I am a huge fan of craigslist. I love just looking at the furniture that other people have posted. Rosie was looking for a curio cabinet and I told her I would look on craigslist and see what I could find. Lo and behold I found one and it was in pretty decent shape and it was only $35. Hey what a deal! The only problem was that it was in Rochester.

I told Rosie that I could pick it up only because Plymouth is halfway to Rochester. So I responded to the ad on craigslist and the lady selling it was going to meet me at the WalMart. So on Monday, May 11 after school I set off for Rochester.

Well I should have stayed in Plymouth and gotten schoolwork completed. The lady never showed up. I was mad because I had about an hour drive back home and with no cabinet. The lady e-mails me the next day and says, "Oh sorry I laid my son down for a nap and I had a huge headache so I fell asleep also. When do you want to pick up the cabinet?" What!?! Are you kidding me?!?

I e-mailed her back and said that I was not driving back to Rochester and she was going to have to come to Plymouth to drop it off. She e-mailed back and agreed. So we set up another date for that Thursday.

Thursday rolled around and still no lady. Nope she didn't show up again and not again the next two times over the next week and a half. Every time there would be a new excuse of why she couldn't meet. The last time she didn't show up I didn't e-mail her back and left it at that. Apparently she really doesn't need to sell it because otherwise a decent and courteous person would show up or e-mail and tell me that they wouldn't be able to meet that day.

Then as I was checking my junk e-mail today, there was an e-mail from this lady asking if I still wanted the cabinet. What...you've got to be kidding me! I e-mailed her back this morning and told her that she was done wasting my time and if she really wanted to sell the cabinet that she had to drive to South Bend to my house because I am not going to Plymouth until August!

Needless to say I probably will not get a response to that one. Some people are just plain rude.

Thank You

As I was out on recess duty yesterday, I had one of my students come up and tell me that Logan just threw the basketball at his head. So I called the over Logan and asked why he threw the basketball at the other child's head. He replied that we were playing a game about aliens and so-and-so was the alien. So I asked Logan what he owed the other student, and Logan replied, "Thank you?" As much as I wanted to laugh, I reminded him that he needed to say that he was sorry.

So I guess the new thing to say to another child that one hits is "Thank You!"

Kids gotta love 'em!

The Countdown is On

Well this is the final week of school and the last day is the day after Memorial Day. I am happy, but I am also feeling the pressure of the end-of-the year crap that needs to be done before the students get their report cards.

I need to finish grading the huge bag that is sitting in my car at the moment. I am also giving a Unit 7 test in Math tomorrow that I would like to stick in the grade book. On the other hand I am so totally sick of grading.

We have been informed by our principal that we still need to teach and go through workbooks and introduce new material. Hello....I am having a hard enough time to keep my students focused. It is not until I threaten them with sending them to the principal's office that they settle down. I loathe this time of the year.

I also need to write down report card comments and print up awards. So as the week drags on so will my body because I am also battling a sinus thing. It seems that when it rains it pours!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to my brother! He is turning 27 this year and he is completely freaked. It was funny to remind him a couple of months ago that he was turning 27 and he said that he was only 25 and that he would be turning 26. Sorry bud! :)

Is This Really a Good Idea?

We were told yesterday that our Home and School Association (HASA) is looking into getting new paper towel and soap dispensers for next year. That is a good idea because the ones that we have are really gross and in fact the entire bathrooms could be updated.

However they want to put in automatic soap and paper towel dispensers. Hello! We are in an elementary school where kids will play with anything! So I guess another duty to add to my job is going to be to patrol the dispensers and do I dare let the students go in by themselves? Why doesn't anyone ask the teachers what they think? Blah!

I have things to do

A student of mine handed me a note today that said, "I will be picking her up at 11:00 today." Nowhere on the note did it say why. When the student handed me this note she told me that "She had things to do today!" What the heck you are in second grade. I just had to chuckle.

Apparently because her daughter did not make her reading goal for the school year, mom was taking her children who did not make it and treat them to an afternoon of fun. Due to the fact that the students who did meet their goal for the year got to go bowling.

Sometimes parents just don't make sense. Although I was sure to send home the work that we were completing this afternoon. :)

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mother's out there. I hope you have a very special day. I am in the process of making some yummy quiche for my mom and then I am making dinner for my mother-in-law tonight. It shall be a busy day.

Stupidity

I feel awfully stupid today. I washed my cell phone. In the ten years that I have had a cell phone nothing has ever happened to it. I have always been very careful with the dang thing. Then yesterday I came home from work and picking out flowers for Mother's Day that I left the phone in my coat and didn't take it out and set it on the counter like I always do. Instead I threw my coat on top of the pile of laundry waiting to go downstairs.

I had hubby take the laundry downstairs last night and then I just threw things into the washing machine and went upstairs to watch TV. I didn't remember that my coat was in the pile. Then when I woke up this morning and headed downstairs to complete another load, I found it.

Now I just have to hope that my contract is up for renewal and I can get my new every two deal. Otherwise I have no idea how I am going to pay for a new one. Blah!

I feel a bit old

I was aged just a bit this week when it was announced that one of my former students is being sent off to Iraq this week. Talk about feeling old. This student was in the sixth grade being of the first class that I ever taught back in 2002.

While that particular class is finishing up their senior years this month and getting ready to graduate, he is being sent off to the desert. His mother home schooled him for high school and it doesn't help that mom isn't all there. Although I am sure that he signed up for the army as soon as he turned 18 and left his house.

In the three years that I taught social studies to him, he was always engrossed in what wars there were and the kind fighting techniques that were used. Needless to say, he is probably loving the fact that he did get shipped out. Although I am sending prayers his way to keep him safe. :)

Summer Job

Well I got my summer job, however it is not the position I was hoping for. I am helping out with summer school again for the South Bend Schools. My job title is "Helper." I was really hoping for the the Reading Instructor position. There is an extra $10 per hour for that position.

I am going to be ticked off if I find out that college students are taking part in the position of reading instructor when we were assured last year that all the title of that particular position were filled by licenced teachers. That was not the case! I shall come to find out June 18.

I Think We May Have a Problem

This is what one of my students brought back to school today. It is his social studies book. He has been without it for the past two days. I told him that he needed to bring it back on Wednesday or he was talking to the principal about why he couldn't bring his book back to school. Well now I see why he couldn't.

It literally has been ripped out of the binding. In my seven years of teaching I have never seen anything like this. I asked him what happened and he told me that he left it at his babysitters and when he woke up the next morning this is what it looked like. I asked if Dad had seen it yet and he replied no. I believe that we have some anger issues going on here. What do you think?

So needless to say I was going to talk to Dad after 1st Communion practice tonight, and they failed to show up. However we did have one student there with a professional photographer and videographer. Hello....it is practice!

Why is teaching getting weirder as the years go on?

Monday Musings

Okay I step into my classroom this morning at 7:20 and looked at the phone in the classroom. Yup the dang red light was lit up. That meant that somebody left me a message. Nothing like having a message first thing on a Monday morning. I was going to try to ignore it, but my senses came to me and I listened.

It was the same parent whose child was nutty last week (aka the one who called me such a lovely name). She asked me to move her daughter away from two other students. Okay so I complied with that. Then when I saw mom, she asked if I had gotten her email. I replied that I haven't yet checked my email. So I went and checked my email and read what she had to say. Oh the joys of teaching.

Just when I thought the day couldn't get any better, a student came up to me after morning recess to tell me that another student just flicked her off. Oh what the heck!?! I called the student over to me and asked if he just flicked her off and he said yes. (Heck the kid was honest, I have to give him props for that!) I just said in a very calm voice that he was going to talk to the principal later and told him to sit back down.

Needless to say the student that did the flicking missed lunch recess and afternoon recess. Also my principal came in with the student after lunch and personally moved his desk back to a corner of the room and told him that was his new spot until he learned to respect other students.

Gee whiz...I really didn't have this much trouble teaching junior high students. Heck I am already counting down the days until the start of summer vacation....19 days! It really couldn't come soon enough.

She Said What?

I have a second grader who is beginning to test her parents. Needless to say that she has begun using swear words around them and I was told yesterday that she really wanted to get in trouble at school. This is my student who couldn't be anything but nice.

Mom also told me that when her daughter walked out of school yesterday, she walked straight up to mom and told her nothing about her day and just whispered to mom that "My teacher is a *itch." Needless to say mom went home and had the girl put soap in her mouth for a minute, just like she warned her she would do.

Why the mom felt the need to tell me is beyond me, but I think the student is wanting some attention. However, I'm sure that is not the first time some student had called me that. Heck I taught junior high for five years! However it is the first time a second grader has called me that.

Shouldn't a second grader be happy go-lucky? Gee whiz!

Goodnight Stella

Bruno and Stella...these were two dogs that we had gotten when my parents moved us out into the country. They were just pups. Over the years they had gotten into plenty of trouble.

They loved to run, because that is what shepard huskies loved to do. They once crossed the toll road and made it to the State Police station with no problem, they have swum in other people's swimming pools because it was so gosh darn hot when they ran away, and they loved the rabbits.

Over the years the goat pasture was made for the dogs to run around in safe secluded area. Then eventually the entire back woods was fenced off so they could frolic in the woods.

Bruno passed away about a year and a half ago and Stella was still going. Though her body was slowing down, she no longer ran like she used to. We could leave her dog cage open and she would wander and make her daily trips around the house.

Her hearing eventually left her last summer and I'm sure her eyesight was not the greatest. She began having seizures and it would knock her down, but she would get back up after it was over and go about her business.

For the past few weeks she has been having seizures that left her down a little longer than usual. Until last week when she just couldn't get back up. Her back legs just wouldn't cooperate. She enjoyed the sunshine of Wednesday night and the following night my parents had her put to sleep.

While my dad was out feeding the goats and the sheep tonight, he got locked in the barn with them. Somehow the latch caught itself. He had to go out through the gate of the pasture and he came back into the house asking who went out and locked the door on him. We said it wasn't us and he told us it was probably the ghost of Stella watching over the barn.

Goodnight Stella you had a good 15 years! :)

Something to Smile About

Fire Codes

The school had a visit from the state Fire Marshall last week and we were updated about fire codes.

We were told at our meeting yesterday that we must keep our classroom doors closed at all times because they are fire doors and apparently fire cannot make their way through them. So I am guessing that the hallway doors must be closed too? Does that mean that we are going to whack a few unsuspecting students?

We have also been told that our bulletin boards must NOT have any paper backing and that only 20% of the board can be filled.

Excuse me but what in the heck am I supposed to do with my calendar and message center? "Sorry kids, we cannot learn the calendar because it takes up more than 20% of the bulletin board." Also my bulletin boards are over 50 years old and they are not the prettiest things in the world, so paper backing is a must.

As for displaying student work out in the hall, I guess I can forget that too because having 16 students would definitely cover up more than 20% of the board.

If there is a fire, do you think that 20% of a bulletin board is going matter in the long run? I swear that some people have nothing better to do.

Keep it on the QT

This is what my principal said to me today. I'm a little confused but I think she was referring to the information she gave me on next year's teaching status. At the moment, there really should be only one third grade classroom because of the numbers for next year, which is 29 students. But this is way too many third graders to have in one classroom and plus combining the two classes for next year would be disastrous. They really do need another year to grow.

So my principal asked me if I was looking into other schools. I said that I am, but I am just looking. (I did sign my intent form saying that I was coming back next school year.) She told me that the school that I interviewed at last year probably would not have any openings (at least what she has heard). I also threw in the comment that maybe many people would not be getting out of teaching because of the way the economy is at the moment.

She said she was going to ask if we could have two third grades next year, just so I could have a teaching position. Gee thanks, it all rests on me. So if I do get another job, you are just going to throw 29 students together who really shouldn't be together? Thanks!

I just cannot seem to win. I am hoping that the six resumes that I sent to schools all within 10 minutes driving distance hopefully come through.

Only time will tell. Keep your fingers crossed. :)

Thank Goodness for Weekends

I am itching to settle into reading this weekend, although it might not happen as long as I would like. I am on a new series called the Sookie Stackhouse books and I am hooked. I can see how Twilight was adapted from this series, although these books are for adults. :)

However, I need to catch up on bookwork on Saturday at the station because my parents are out of town again in Houston. Dad is getting more chemo and they are having it all done down there. He has to go through four treatments, this is treatment number two. He goes back at the end of April and then the middle of May. So hopefully it does stop the cancer from growing. In the meantime, I get to get caught up on the sheets that my mom usually does, but I am slowly teaching myself how to do them.

Then since the parents are away, we have orders from them to go to church on Sunday because of it being Palm Sunday. I think my mom just wants us to go to the bake sale after church for the yummy peanut butter pie that she got last year from there. :)

Rosie has decided to plan out the entire day for us. So we are going to church, going out to breakfast and then going to look at/buy furniture for Tony. (I still have his credit card) Then at some point I have to get my pizza dough started because I told my parents that I would make dinner for them on Sunday night at their house because they get back into town that morning and my dad is going to be bushed. So homemade pizza is in order and I cannot wait to make it!

Have a restful weekend!

Bomb Threat

As I was trying to get students situated on a Phonics paper, we get a message over the intercom saying that all recesses were to be held inside today. I look out the window and the sun is shinning and I know for a fact that it was above 20 degrees.

Then the students are convinced that it is an April Fool's Day joke. But after five minutes they weren't so sure because no one came back on to say April Fool's! I knew that there had to be something going on, but we were given no information. So as the students were having inside recess, I got onto the computer and went to a news site hoping for some information. Nothing.

So as I was beginning to teach a rousing lesson on adjectives, the other second grade teacher came over and told me not to say anything to the students, but the court house got a bomb threat called in.

So long story short, nothing was found and the students got to go outside for the rest of the day's recesses. Although now I am thinking that maybe we should have done things differently. It really would be nice to be informed.

Ta Da...Strawberry Cheesecake

It might not look like the picture, but it was in its own right a work of art! :) My mom was very impressed and Laura told me that I have too much time on my hands. However this only took 30 minutes to prepare and pop into the fridge. I did forget to keep a strawberry to dip in the chocolate to place on top. But I am still impressed on how it turned out.

It was also very yummy to eat. Laura said to do without the chocolate on top next time and my mom suggested white chocolate drizzled on top. I suggested putting some graham crackers in the middle with the strawberries and pound cake. However, I will be making this for my grandparents for Easter. :)

Baking Attempt

This is what I am planning on recreating today. It just looked so good, that I had to give it a try. When I am finished, I will post what mine looks like! :)

Pretty Flowers

On Thursday, when I picked these up from the American Cancer Society's Daffidil Days they were nothing put stems and closed up flowers. Low and behold on Friday they opened up and now I have pretty flowers to admire! :)

Happy Fish

I cannot even remember the last time that I cleaned this fish tank. It probably has been a year or two. Disgusting I know, but the fish didn't seem to care and they all were swimming happy.

I made it a priority to clean the tank today and here they are, happily swimming in their fresh tank.

I only had one fish casualty. I placed all of the fish in a bucket while I cleaned and scrubbed their tank. When I placed them all back into the tank and was cleaning up the kitchen I found a dead fish laying on top of my stove. The poor little fish committed fish suicide by jumping out. So needless to say he was not sucking wind and had to be flushed.

Spring Break

A whole week of non-teaching duties. What else could be better?

I stayed until 5 PM on Friday, just to finish up grading and lesson planning so I would not have to worry about completing any teacher duties during this week. I am so happy that I did. Now I just need to walk into school on Monday, March 30. :)

I have a load of things that I would like to accomplish over break:

• Update my resume and fill out a summer school application for South Bend Schools.
• Complete cover letters and some various applications for school corporations around the area. I have no idea what my job situation looks like at the end of this year. Technically I could bump a teacher, but I would really like to be closer to home.
• Tear apart the front porch lattice because it is dingy and plain disguisting. I would like to put up the plastic lattice therefore it would not need painting in the years to come. The railings also need to be replaced, but that might be a summer project.
• Get my brother's house up and going. I made him go with me after work yesterday and we made a list of things that need to be finished before he can move in. Technically he could move in right now, but he keeps coming up with excuses of why he cannot move in. I am taking away the excuses! :)
• Clean out my parents basement so that they can finish the wood flooring. Again my brother's things are in the way of the floor being finished.

If I can accomplish half of what is on my list I will be a happy camper!

Take Time

It has been all sorts of crazy around here and I came across this poem/prayer at our teacher meeting on Tuesday. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. :)

Take Time

Take time to think;

It is the source of power.

Take time to read;

It is the foundation of wisdom.

Take time to play;

It is the secret of staying young.

Take time to be quiet;

It is the opportunity to seek God.

Take time to be aware;

It is the opportunity to help others.

Take time to love and to be loved;

it is God's greatest gift.

Take time to laugh;

it is the music of the soul.

Take time to be friendly;

It is the road to happiness.

Take time to dream;

It is what the future is made of.

Take time to pray;

It is the greatest power on Earth.

Cinnamon Rolls

The next time I roll out cinnamon rolls the night before, I will put them in the oven to rise because this is what happened:

If you notice the obvious slope in the middle of the rolls it is because the dang cat slept on the towels on that side of the pan. So half of the rolls are not that fluffy as the other half.

Oh well...I guess that they are still yummy to eat.

I am also waiting for my quiche to finish and then I am taking them all to work at the station. They love when I bring them food. :)

The Lesson

Here's a giggle:

Then Jesus took his disciples up the mountain and gathering them around him, he taught them the saying:

Blessed are the poor in spirit for their is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are the meek
Blessed are they that mourn
Blessed are the merciful
Blessed are they who thirst for justice
Blessed are you when persecuted
Blessed are you when you suffer
Be glad and rejoice for your reward is great in heaven....

Then Simon Peter said, "Do we have to write this down?"
and Andrew said, "Are we supposed to know this?"
and James said, "Will we have a test on it?"
and Phillip said, "What if we don't know it?"
and Bartholomew said, "Do we have to turn this in?"
and John said, "The other disciples didn't have to learn this"
and Mathew said, "When do we get out of here?"
and Judas said, "What does this have to with real life?"

Then one of the Pharisees present asked to see Jesus's lesson plans and inquired of Jesus his terminal objectives in the cognitive domain.

And Jesus wept.

Really

My winter coat zipper broke last week just before the temp dropped. Mind you that I got this coat last February because the current coat that I had last year the zipper was getting stuck. I was stuck in the dang coat during Mass with the students and couldn't exactly wriggle out of it in the middle of Mass.

So I found another one of my dressier coats in the closet and decided to wear that one last week. Gee that was a mistake because of the temperature drop it really wasn't keeping me warm. So I stole my hubby's big warm coat for the rest of last week.

I then put on my dressier coat today and after Ash Wednesday services I went to zip my coat and guess what....the dang zipper broke! The little piece that you stick into the zipper fell off and now I had no way to zip up the dang thing. Good thing that today was on the warmer side.

I think that it just means that spring is around the corner and there is no need for a winter coat anymore! In the meantime I have another dressier coat (not warm) but it does button. Maybe I will have some luck with that or maybe one of the buttons will fall off. Then again it probably will be my luck that all of them will fall off!

Randomness of a Busy Week

Dad came home from the hospital on Wednesday. I even think that he was back to work on Thursday. The man just doesn't know when to take it easy!

I had after school duty all this week. That means that I usually don't tackle the grading until all of the students are gone. So I was a half-hour behind everyday. So it meant that I didn't leave school until almost 5 o'clock everyday. It makes for a long day when you get there by 7:15 every morning! I am still behind on grading and lesson planning and having to finish up the rest of it today.

On Saturday, our school had their Mardi Gras fun fair. We were required to be there for an hour. We were also required to purchase a spaghetti dinner ticket. I handed mine back. There was no way I was going to pay $6 for a ticket. I showed up for my hour despite the weather being totally horrible outside. I have a feeling the person who ordered us to be there did not even show up. It is usually the case.

I have two cats who have been required to go to the vet for the past three weeks. Isabelle has a pirate eye. After going to the vet for the first time two weeks ago, the vet thought that she had an eye irritation and gave us drops. A week later it still was not clearing up. So we take her back to the vet and it is determined that she has a scratch on her eye and he missed it the first time because her eye was so swollen. So now we have a cream we have to smooth on the inside of her eyelid two times a day for ten days. The other cat Jenni has a skin infection. The back end of her is bald. She was taking pills and an antibiotic. I treated her for fleas and now she is still not looking better. So needless to say she needs to go back to the vet this week. It figures that all of this happens while hubby has no job.

My winter coat's zipper broke on Tuesday. I thought that it was a heck of a time to break! So I have been wearing my hubby's large winter coat. It keeps me warm and that is about the only thing that counts at the moment. Plus every store is wiping out their winter coat collection to make room for bathing suits. Blah!

We got our DVR on Thursday. I am totally in love with this piece of equipment and did not eeven know what I was missing. Hubby even went through old VHS tapes that we used to record shows on and disposed of them. He says it is going to save on wear-n-tear of the VCR.

Now this coming week is a four-day week with a meeting on Friday here in town. Hopefully it will be a normal week despite the snow that we are having outside. Happy last week of February!

My day

I usually check my phone during recess while the students are away. However today, I was so completely busy that I didn't have time to check it until 3:30 because I had after school duty. So when I check it I have a text from my sister saying dads rm #xxxx and his phone number is xxx-xxxx.

By this time I am in panic mode. I know my dad didn't feel good last night and that he was running a fever. I had a voicemail from my other sister telling me what was going on, however that was at 8:30 this morning. She tells me that mom took dad to the er because he had a 104 temperature at 4:30 this morning and that he has xxx infection in his leg. I didn't catch the infection part because I didn't understand the medical terminology.

So I try calling my mom and she did not answer her phone. So I call my dad at the hospital. I asked him what was going on and if he was okay. He told me he was fine and to come visit him.

My mom called back and told me what was going on and that he was staying the night to bring his fever down and to get rid of the infection.

So hubby and I went to spend the evening with dad. He had quite a packed room with my sister, brother, cousin, and my mom.

He is getting pumped full of antibiotics and they do not want to release him until the infection in his leg is gone. He has also been running a fever off and on all day and he is sweating like crazy.

Rosie took him some lottery tickets and chocolate. He said that he really wants a cookie. :) I told I would bring one to him on Tuesday.

He is happy that he gets his own room because he is on the Oncology floor of Memorial and there really are no set visiting hours. So technically we could all go see him at 3 in the morning. :) My cousin was joking with him that one of the tow truck drivers would be there to see him at that time in the morning.

So hopefully the antibiotics are working and his fever will go down. I ask that you keep him in your prayers.

I hope you had a happy heart day!

We have never really celebrated Valentine's Day. We usually go to the extent of getting each other cards and that is that. I, however, did not even get my hubby a card this year. Instead I got him an ice-cream cake from DQ. He just loves these cakes and has been carrying on about one for the past month and a half.

Even though the message was kinda cheesy, it was a yummy cake!

I even got tulips from one of my students on Thursday. They look very pretty in my living room. I cannot wait for spring to hurry up and get here!

Frustration

Bathroom breaks. Yup I am frustrated about bathroom breaks. It seems no matter what I try to do I get yelled at about it. I can't take the entire class because we get too loud in the hall waiting. I can't send one student at a time because they end up goofing around and they have to go with the entire class.

I have three boys that cannot be in the bathroom at the same time together. So taking the entire class becomes a 10 minute event. I have two boys that cannot go by themselves because they were goofing around in the hall or in the bathroom. So unless I want to have an accident in the room the entire class has to go.

I had my entire class ready except for one student. I took the class back because they were already yelled at for being too noisy. So I figured one student wouldn't be a big deal. Gee was I wrong. I get called out into the classroom to be asked "Did you know so and so was in the bathroom?" I replied I did and then was proceeded to be told that he is no longer allowed in the bathroom by himself because he was making noise and talking to another student (not from my class). I explained to her that I only took the entire class because so and so cannot use the bathroom by himself. She told me that tell him to come to her office and she will take him.

HELLO you are never in your office!!!!!!!! She then proceeded to tell me that I need to limit my bathroom breaks to two a day. Yuppers that's right two bathroom breaks a day for seven and eight year olds.

I am screwed either way.

You know it is cold when...

you find your cat curled up under the covers. Seriously this is what I found last night as I was crawling into bed. Lucy has done this on occasion, last week I found her completely under the covers.

Although today is rather a nice day, I feel horrible. I hate, hate, hate shifts in the weather. My poor head cannot stand it. Also I had three students out sick on Friday. So between a change in the weather and the germs floating around in my classroom I feel crappy. So as a result I have been in bed or laying on the couch sleeping for the majority of the weekend.

I have had a headache since Friday night that will not go away. I feel so bad that I am thinking about getting a sub for tomorrow. Which is something that I hate to do because it is more work for me. I have not taken a sick day in over two years. It is easier to drag myself through the school day than it is to plan for a sub. Although I really don't think that I will be able to drag myself through.

So happy February! What a way to start off the new month.

Happy Flying

My parents are leaving today for Houston. This should be dad's final chemo treatment for awhile. He then gets to take his "Chemo Holiday." He will still be required to get his blood drawn and get scanned every so often here in South Bend and down in Houston. They will be back home on Tuesday night. Please keep my dad in your prayers this week. :)

Need Snow?

While going through the classified ads last night, hubby came across this ad:

So if you feel that you don't quite have enough in your yard, you now have another option to get some more! :)

The Art of Handwriting

This is a topic of conversation that came up today during our In-Service. Our principal is really old-school and believes in the art of handwriting. We have a contest that we are supposed to have the students complete by the end of February.

She would like us to constantly correct the students on their pencil technique and how they pull their pencil down on the paper. She would like us to spend more than 15 minutes teaching handwriting. We are NOT to tell the students to open up to page so and so and complete it. We are to have the students practice on the board, on blank pieces of paper, and newspapers.

I, on the other hand, totally disagree with the teaching of handwriting. I am constantly short on minutes trying to teach Reading, Grammar, Math, and if I am lucky I can squeeze in Writing and Science on a good day.

I believe that students have their handwriting technique down from Kindergarten and it is somewhat tweaked in the first grade. By the time I have them in second grade, I believe, that they are already set in their ways and it is impossible to correct them.

I also remember this speech back when I taught junior high. Explain to me how to correct a 12, 13, and 14 year old on correcting their handwriting. It just isn't going to happen.

I believe that if I can read the paper, I am in good shape. Even on standardized tests it tells the student to write in what is most legible (cursive or print). However, isn't everything being done on computers?

Now I will go through the correct techniques for teaching cursive in the next few weeks when we begin, but I will not have the time to spend more than 15 minutes of my precious time on these correct techniques.

What do you think? Is the art of handwriting really that important in school anymore?

Trying to Stay Warm

This is what the temperature is right now at 11 o'clock at night and it is supposed to get colder. We usually have the door between the porch and the living room open for the cats to run in and out. However we closed it at 6 o'clock tonight because we were just chilled. So the cats better be good tonight.

I went out there earlier to retrieve a plant and I came back chilled. The heater we have out there is barely making a dent in this ridiculous temperature. I think the only thing going for us is that we will be a little warmer than the country because our houses are closer together here in the city.

The other good thing is that we have school off again tomorrow and so I think I will be baking to help warm up the house. Think warm thoughts!!!

Happy 60th Anniversary

On Thursday, my grandparents celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. We had a small party for them today at their house. We saw some video footage of before they were married and another video of when my aunts and uncles were under 5 years of age. I can say that I really do look like my mom's side of the family.

You wouldn't mind one more...

I knew a week before school let out in December that I was getting one of the students from the other second grade class due to conflict of personalities with another student. However I was told not by my principal but by the other second grade teacher.

I was waiting all week for my principal to say something to me. Heck the student even knew and told everyone in his class. I kept telling the other teacher that it would be Monday morning when we returned from break that we were shoving his desk into my room.

Surprise, surprise..this morning I open my door and there is desk sitting in my doorway. The other teacher asked me if I was told yet and I shook my head. My principal only said something to me 10 minutes to 8 when the parent and the student were standing in my classroom.

Another teacher told me that I really do need to find another school where I am not stepped on. I guess part of that is my fault because I go with the punches and I am really too flexible.

Only 18 weeks until summer vacation. It should be a fun ride until we get there. Argh!

A new post for the new year!

I hope everyone had a happy and safe New Year! We are currently in the process of getting an alarm system installed because my father says that we need one. Rosie's house was broken into back in October and so my father said that we were all getting an alarm system. Tony got his about a month ago, Rosie's was installed two days ago, and so today it is our turn.

The cats were curious when the alarm person came. Lucy was going bonkers with all of the new noises that were being made by the drilling and pulling of wires. I just had to snap this pic...

She looks like she is being terrorized by all of the wires. Goofy cat!