Just a quickie.......Summer- hope you are feeling better!! Stinks when the asthma kicks in. Sorry too that Dh has it, men are usually such miserable patients. Hope everyone feels better!

Mouse- enjoy the camp......see ya when I get back from NC.

Robyn- a 95 degree cold front???? Yup this has been one miserable summer...Happy unpacking!

Kerry- well, can Dh clean??? Who knows if I will ever get mine done. Several rooms are in pretty good shape- but the crew is self destructing them on me.

Pam- 3 hour meeting!!!!???? Yawn......

Got my route......can't wait to see the little buggers- well maybe........they did make my route so for the HS portion of it I go past my house (bring home my neighbors son) from the Catholic HS. That is kind of nice~ especially if I am leaving a sickie at home myself while I work. (and I am sure that my supervisor rigged that one for me!). Completed the "dry run" this am too....one less thing to do. Tomorrow is my 3 hr safety meeting and a meeting before that because I have 2 students with shared custody (and all the darned state laws about that.....ugh.......).
BTW- got to WW yesterday, lost .6#. Ok, down is better than up as far as the scale goes, and I went to an evening meeting.....so I usually weigh more in the evening.
I WILL get to next weeks meeting in Kitty Hawk......just to keep me sane. For those of you WW'ers out there our meeting was on handling fast food- I left because I do that part of the program well- and Dd was waiting for me at home....had to rush back.
Back to cleaning!!!! Sorry if I missed you.
See ya!
Ginny

Hey!
Day two under my belt and I am already feeling quite overwhelmed. We had a three and a half hour staff development today. Boring........ My room mate and I are starting to get everything put away and I still have so much to do. I found out that the blind student I will be having is quite lazy according to the brailist, and doesn't want to come to this "stupid" school.
I have to put a huge table in my room which I don't have room for because the braile books are huge and I need room for both of them in addition to the other desks and two teachers desks since I am sharing a room. I found out today from the counties Exceptional Coordinator that I was handpicked for this student. Maybe this is the reason for the grade change? The guidance counselor stopped by to tell me about another "hand picked" student of mine as well. I was warned that the mother of this exceptional student is a piece of work........You know, it's just all overwhelming. I also found out I have a new mentee. They didn't tell me who it was and just happened to find out right before leaving school. So, I guess I will go and make her a welcome basket tomorrow and ask her forgiveness for not introducing myself sooner. Oh well........ We just found out we have to turn our lesson plans in a week in advance now. I have never had to do that before. It's no big deal really, but I am going to have to do stuff early so that my co teacher and I can coordinate as well as get anything to the brailest that I need to have ready. I don't know if I am that organized. Guess this will be a challenge for me. I'm sort of a last minute kind of gal as far as running copies and stuff. Busy busy busy. I think I will have to get a second job to pay for the gas to go to my first job. I drive thirty miles one way. Gas is up to 2.59 per gallon here. Or it was Monday. Haven't checked in the past couple of days.
Hey to everyone. Got to get supper going.
Pam

Hey Ya'll!

......I can feel the end of summer slipping through my hands..... I am officially in a panic over it all! Today was spent at the orthodontist (wheee) and visiting my parents. I cooked a great chicken recipe from Cooking Light and then took the youngest to a special icecream party that was for all the kids who passed their yearly SOL tests! It was a wonderful way for the school to pass out the SOL results and have a very small town celebration for the kids! When we returned home, I cleaned the pool ALONE.....and then took a nice long shower. I stayed OP today! I have tomorrow left and then my first official WW week will end! I'm nervous...and hopeful!

Sounds like it will be a quiet weekend around here.... Mouse will be at camp. Summer in Maine. Gin will be headed to my beloved beach! I certainly hope that you will all have wonderful and safe trips!

Pam, sorry that your first week back is so overwhelming! I *KNOW* how it can be! (And *WILL* be in just 1 week for me! *gasp* ::sigh::!) Please check your private messages....I'll be sending one as soon as I post this!

Hope everyone else is doing well....and enjoying the very last few days of FREEDOM!
take care,
meeee

Hello everyone! Sounds like I am back just in time for everyone to leave. We had a nice relaxing camping trip. We spent one day at Michigan Adventure which is a combo amusement/water park. The weather was beautiful (82 with a nice breeze) but the park was packed. I guess everyone had the same idea of going before school starts! I wish Robyn would have been with me as I love to ride the big roller coasters but my family is a bunch of whimps! I am hoping to get out to golf today as it has been almost a week but I am feeling like I should go into work. I guess I'll see if we get the rain they mentioned or not.

I just skimmed all the post since I have been gone, so sorry if I missed something important. First of all I give out my heart felt sympathies to all of you who have begun or will begin school soon. I am already morning the loss of summer and I still have two full weeks left. I miss my students but not my 4:45 a.m. alarm or the lack of any leisure time what so ever!

Robyn - Congratulations on sticking to WW so well! Are you following the healthy guidelines (2-3 dairy, 1-2 lean protein, 5 veggy/fruits, 2 tsp oil, tons of water)? I find if I just try to get those in, it is almost 20 points. When I started I had a hard time getting my points in and my leader scolded me so atleast get 20. I am excited to hear the results of your WI tomorrow. Look at the new casemanager for your DS this way, you got rid of the old one that you didn't like. Maybe the new one will be wonderful!

Mouse - have fun at camp! I think inviting the aid to the interview shows the signs of a very good principal. He obviously cares what his employees think and values their opinions. I'll keep my fingers crossed that the best school wins! How nice if you are forced to choose which job to take! As far as the extended school year and FAPE, I would think that is part of it. Isn't that the appropriate part if the extended year is what they need. I think that lawyer is a bit uninformed! Hopefully you won't end up at that school so it won't be a problem.

Ginny - I am so glad that you got your route back. It will not only be nice for you but for the children also. I am sure it helps their back to school gitters to see a familiar face when they get on the bus. They changed the bus routes all around again this year. I am hoping my children get the same driver they had last year. She really cared about the kids. Before her my DF was the bus driver, so she had a tough act to follow. You couldn't beat having Grandpa drive the bus!

Pam - good luck with your blind student. I would be a bit more worried about the traumatic brain injury. They can sometimes have violent outburst due to their injury. It is weird how that happens. The last blind student I had was a little perv. He would try to use his blindness as a tool to feel girls up! Other than that he was a great kid though.

Summer - Sorry to hear you are still not feeling well. I guess it is better this week when you can take a nap than the first week of school when you are dragging without being sick. I usually loose my voice that first week because I am not use to projecting my voice. I hope you get your computer up and running quickly.

Kerry - Oh I hope you enjoyed your alone time. That is something that I RARELY get to enjoy. I never said that I was good at golf, I just said that I like to do it! I am actually amazingly inept considering how long I have been playing! My tournament was fun though. I don't often play with my DH. We didn't win any prizes for golf but I won $11 in a raffle thing. That about paid for my Mikes!

I hope everyone enjoys their weekends. I have a million things to choose from. Why does it seem that everything falls on the same days? Currently the weather report if iffy so that will rule out several events as they are outdoor things. One of these days I need to start thinking about school shopping for my little darlings. I am sure neither one of them has a pair of pants that are long enough for them. I am glad they are healthy but this growing like weeds can be expensive!

Sue

Welcome back, Sue! Glad to hear that you enjoyed your camping trip! We would have loved to have been with you at the amusement/water park! All 4 of us enjoy roller coasters! (One ds has to look at it to decide IF he will ride....but he usually will!) When we travel, we are always looking for new parks ....and coasters.... to try! Regarding ds's casemanager... he had her for 2 years...and we loved her!!! Sooo... the change is hard to stomach! Re: following the WWheathy guidelines...OIL? How? I understand what it is for... BUT...how?! Can I take a flax seed oil supplement capsule? (How many points does THAT count?! LOL) The water is easy for me...as long as it doesn't have ice in it! I do NOT like my water iced and strugle to drink it if it is cold!
The rain here began before I got up! Today I told my family NOT to wake me... that I was going to sleep this day of summer away. I now only have until NEXT Friday...and then my summer is over! *gasp*::sigh::*gasp* New shoes. THAT is what my kids need very badly. For those, I have to drive about 30 minutes to get. Into the "big city" and its chaos and traffic....WITH both boys! We will do it. Maybe tonight. It is Friday! I'm running out of days. *gasp*::sigh::*gasp* Mannnn, I don't want summer to end!

Pam, How was school today? At least it is Friday! Did you get my PM? I hope what I was trying to say came thru. I have never written and rewritten a message so many times before! Hope it is all coming together. They need to STOP with the long meetings! Who is your mentee? (Ie, brand new teacher? new to the school? etc...)

Gin, Hope you managed to get thru your safety and student related meetings! They certainly make sure that you are READY for your trip to the beach, don't they?! Are you a Sunday to Sunday or Saturday to Saturday at the beach?! I bet you told me this before...I can't remember! What day were you going to go to WW again?

DH is calling me... so I'm going to have to cut this short! Hey to everyone who I missed!

take care,
meeee

Hiya!
This could be my last visit here for a week......not sure. Welcome back Sue! Glad the camping trip was good.......Pam- you made it thru week one! (now you can laugh at all of us when we are bellyachin!). Robyn- Saturday to Saturday........I got to a Wednesday meeting here in NY, and will get to the one Thursday am in Kitty Hawk.
Yup, I am a nut case for going while on vacation- the only reason I will not make it is if the weather goes in the tank and we go somewhere els for the day.
I do hope to get back later.........if I do not see ya in a week!
Ginny
(sorry if I missed you......Hi to Mouse, Summer, Kerry)

Hey!
It's Friday. Made it through. I worked tonight til 6 and finally have gotten alot of stuff straightened out. So, I feel much better. No time for me to get personal, cause I have to get ready to go to dinner. Yeah, no cooking tonight.
I am a mentor to the ESL (english as a second language) teacher. She is new to the state, our school, but not new to teaching. She seems really nice and I made her a goodie basket with pens, pencils, white out, stickers, teachery stuff and took it to her this morning with my apologies for not meeting her sooner. I think it will be fine. My old mentee left the school to be a technology person for the county. I am very saddened by this cause he was a blast.

We have convocation Monday Morning. So, dont have to get up as early since the meeting is five minutes from my house. That is something to look forward to.

I have a website you all might be interested in looking at. It's called:
www.allkindsofminds.org
I went to the Schools attuned workshop and this is done by the creator DR.Mel Levine. There is a good book too, called A Mind At A Time by him that tells how every student can succeed.
Ok, gotta go take the flat iron to my hair. Hope you all have a great weekend.


Sorry for being so *****y yesterday. I am just a little overwhelmed.
Pam

Hey ya'll!

Checking in.... seems that it is going to be a quiet week around here. ...and I bet it only gets more quiet as we get into September! I have 1 week of summer left. ...and I am in a panic... I'm serious! P A N I C.... for multiple reasons!

Pam, glad to hear that things are better! I sent you another PM!
I have read a bit of Mel Levine's work... Thank you so very much for reminding me of that website! It has been a while since my last visit there...and well THIS is the year that I'm going to NEED all the help in the classroom that I can get! ...Overwhelmed? hehehe, I am joking when I say... WHY? What do you have to do? ...The students aren't even there yet! (My brother in law always says stupid things like that... I always want to choke him! Once I did tell him to kiss my fanny in response to THAT very same comment that I used above!) IF people only REALLY knew, understood AND cared what we REALLY do! ::sigh::

Gotta go get my laundry done. Tomorrow I have to go to my WW WI. I want to make sure that I have VERY light summer clothes on! I'm considering removing the captive bead ring that I wear in my left cartilage..cause it is on the heavy side! (Ok..so I'm kidding about removing the ring... I guess that would be unfair since I did weigh with it last week!) Don't you worry! I will be back to update you about my progress tomorrow! LOL...I'm SURE you were going to lose sleep wondering if I was going to tell all about it, huh?! Dryer just buzzed for the 2nd time! I am NOT ironing in this heat.... so...adios!

take care!
Robyn

Robyn: Okay, I am dying to know how your WI went this morning! You need to get two tsp of oil, so I am guessing that would be an awful lot of flaxseed capsules! I usually just put mine on a salad or pour it over my 94% ff popcorn. It cost me two points and I really HATE spending them on oil. The oil thing is fairly new. I didn't have to do it when I started. Then it was the dairy I hated to spend points on. Well not if it was cheese or ice cream but I don't care for milk. We are the opposite when it comes to water. I can't drink it unless it is ice cold. Luckily we have an ice machine at school that I can steal from. Sorry about the loss of your casemanager. My DS use to have a full time aid. They have them for three years and then they have to get a new one. You really get attached! My DD needs new shoes too. I wish I was like normal women who love to shop! Then I wouldn't need to dread shopping on top of dreading going back to a schedule. Not to mention the cost of school shopping these days! Hey did you ever post your recipe? I think you said it was for Tilapia. If so, where did you post it? I have a bag of Tilapia in my freezer that needs to be cooked.

Ginny - We will miss you. Hopefully you are having different weather than we are this week. Sounds like we are going to get a taste of Fall. I guess that is good since it will make it easier to shop and do school work. I give you a lot of credit for going to WW on vacation. I always think about it but never quite make it there. I really need to get back on track. I am hoping when school starts up it will be easier.

Pam - Congratulations on surviving your first week back at school! I am sure we will all be overwhelmed when our time comes. I may have a mentee this year too. We have a new special education teacher. As I have been there the longest it would make sense but our principal may pick the other male teacher just because he is male!

My DH gave me my birthday present early. It is a brand new set of fancy dancy golf clubs! He wanted me to have them early because he knows the closer it gets to school starting, the less I'll golf. Of course I got them last night so now it is raining today!

I need to run to the bank. My DH got lightening out of golf (they play in the rain but the course won't let you play if there is lightening) so he wants to go to a mantinee. Hopefully there is something playing that is appropriate for a 10 and 13-year-old. Looks like all my outside events are off for today. Actually they are probably still on but I don't like standing in the rain.

Sue

Goooood morning the fewww of us who are around!

I've been up since 5:40 as I had my WW meeting at 7 afreakinm! Whoohooo!
I'm happy and pleased and estatic (and realistic!) to report that I've shed 5.6 pounds according to the 2nd scale from the left at my WW meeting! I know! I know! The first week is not only the easy week...it is also the BIGGGG week! No, I don't expect to drop that much this coming week! BUT...whooohoooooooo I got a 5 pound bookmark thingy! Whooohoooo! (AND I'm over 1/2 way to the next pound! I wonder if I should have gone potty ONE more time before that weigh in?! LOL)

Anyway! That is my big news of the day!

So what is up with you folks?! I'm off to plan our meals for the week and then do the grocery shopping! Don't worry... I still feel that "EndofSummerPanic" in my 5.6 pounds lighter gut! (hehehhee...had to get THAT in there one more time! )

Will check in later today!
take care,
Robyn

Hey!
First Congratulations Robyn! Way to go...........I'm going in the opposite direction I'm sad to say.........

Had a busy day yesterday. Went to Raleigh to look for school clothes...Way to expensive. It was funny. We went to Sax Fifth Avenue.
There was NOBODY in that store except for one lady looking at shoes in the shoe department. No wonder. I picked up the cutest pair of beaded sandals and when I turned them over they were $398. No prices on the Luis Vuitton. (If you have to ask the price you obviously can't afford it.) The killer to me was this garrish ugly puke green alligator bag that was so big I could have used it for a tote back for the low low price of $3,100! We could not have afforded one shoe lace in that store. But, it was neat to go in there to look around. I'm sure they had the cameras watching our every move. Speaking of which.......... Let me tell you a cool story.....My mom and brother have a new and used store in Virginia Beach. They sale antiques, and odds and ends of everything. There is a man that my brother knows who is a trash collector who brings in like bikes that people are throwing away and lawn mowers and stuff that my brother fixes, paints and sells. Well one day he was doing his job in this really ritzy section of Virginia Beach. I think Whitney Houston actually has a house there. Anyway, he found an entire garbage bag of Coach bags and assorted other purses. So my mom was telling me and I said I want one......I looked at the purses and the coach ones were huge and way bigger than anything I would want, but, there was a cute Dooney Bourke one that I ended up getting. Almost brand new still had the little sticker with the serial number etc....I saw it yesterday at Dillards for over $200! My husband said hey would you like a wallet to match? The little teeeeeeeeeeny wallet was $185. I said No thanks I wouldn't have any money to put in there thanks. Anyway, just thought that was sort of interesting.

I guess I need to clean the house today. It is quite cluttered. Maybe I'll get around to that this morning. Still have to get my nine year olds school supplies and a new book bag so I guess at some point today I will go to Walmart and see what I can find. Also have to do lesson plans and email them to my principal before tomorrow morning at 8! Yuck! Still don't know what I will be doing the first two days of school. I hate the first day. It makes me nervous. I usually don't sleep at all the whole night before...

When is your birthday Sue? Happy Birthday! Too bad you couldn't go out and try out the new clubs. Will they improve your game?????????It's gonna be 110 with the heat index here today. I am ready for fall. This summer has been way too hot for me.

Guess everyone else is enjoying their vacations.....I'm off to work.

Pam

Hi everyone,
First off, congrats to Robyn on her weight loss. That is awesome, gal! Keep up the good work.
Pam, I am in the same boat you are. We have a school district wide meeting tomorrow morning and than building meetings tomorrow afternoon. The dear students come back on Tuesday. Than we are off and running for 180 days.
Sue, glad you had a nice vacation. So when do you start back to school?
Hope Mouse, Ginny and Summer are enjoying their vacations. I am looking forward to my long weekend here in a few weeks.
Went school clothes shopping on Thursday. Friday morning woke up to a missing filling. Called the dentist and can't get in until tomorrow afternoon. So I have been in pain all weekend long. The boys started football this year so we had to go to their first game today. It was scheduled for yesterday and people in the league forgot to tell the coaches that they had changed it to today, so we were up and out the door yesterday morning before 8. Meaning my last Saturday before school starts and I was up at 6am. Only for them to say sorry for the inconivience, but same time and place tomorrow. So I didn't get to sleep in at all this weekend.
Well I better go and get ready for bed. Talk to you all later.
Kerry

I'm back from camp! Don't have much time...

Flights both ways were good; but somewhere there is a security agent from the Traffic Security Administration peddling my birth control pills! They were certainly in my bag when I left, and they were most certainly not there when I arrived. The bottle of phenergan was open too (I hardly ever get nauseated anymore, but since I wasn't sure of what types of food they'd serve at camp, it seemed a good idea to be safe!), but there were no pills in the bottom of the bag, so it seems likely some of those made it into the pockets of TSA also. They left my spironolactone, the pre-natal vitamins and the benedryl alone. I bet that confused 'em: pre-natal vitamins and birth control pills in the same suitcase? Along with a small jar of peanut butter, several itty-bitty cans of tuna, and diet soda? A sleeping bag? Two towels? WHAT????
Sufficient to make them open my bag both going out to Chicago and coming back! They had the little sticker on my bag to show they'd opened it.
And they make you take your shoes off at security... That was traumatic because I nearly killed myself leaving Chicago because my socks slipped on the floor, and one lady tried to move the bin that had my laptop in it. I survived, however, and those are the kinds of travel stories that will make funny anecdotes later.
Camp was really neat: the food wasn't bad at all, the pool was nice. Moaning Myrtle lived in our bathroom (for those of you who have read Harry Potter, you'll get the reference!): we had the phantom toilet. It flushed itself. Seriously. It wasn't automatic, either. Then today we woke up and the toilet was overflowing onto the floor.
I did lots of tech support, which I am good at so that was a good place for me to be.
The people were nice, and the support counselors from the camp itself were SO TOTALLY AWESOME! I wish I were a little younger: many of them will be visiting DC, and if I were younger, I would have offered to be tour guide, but they don't want to hang around with a 32 year old teacher.
It was a good time. I've got TONS of pictures that I need to organize (I wound up using both of my flash cards for the camera at the Saturday night dance/ice cream social... the kids made the ice cream themselves!). The only downer was a parent who is also on the board of directors for the camp who was just a . I was unfortunate enough to have to listen to her last night, and then this morning. This morning was the worst, though, because she was trying to stir up trouble for the camp director with the other parents... And I was sitting there listening. You all know I've had to deal with that at my own schools, and that I absolutely hate it.
I didn't know what to do. I wanted to call her on it, but I couldn't. I wanted to tell the camp director, bt I couldn't... I finally told the other parent who helped found the camp (it was her family that picked me up at the airport and encouraged me to go in the first place) and she handled it. I feel like I was a coward, though.
I need to run and eat though and go to bed. I'm super tired, but I also have to go to work tomorrow. The wash is in the dyrer and will just stay there will tomorrow!

Hey!
Just a quickie as I have to leave in ten mniutes to go to convocation. BLuck....Two hours is way to long when I have many things that need to be done in my classroom. (Especially since we have open house tomorrow night) Yikes.
Mouse: Sounds like you had a good time. It's about time you had someething good go your way. I'm laughing about the birth control pills. Maybe somebody's girlfriend was out..................

Kerry: Gosh, you all don't get much prep time before school starts do you? Our kids don't come til Thursday. Thankfully.........Hope all goes well.

Well, let me get going. I will need to find a stupid parking spot......I dread this meeting. They are usually quite corny and long.

Later...............
Pam

Hi, all. EVerybody must either be in classrooms or on vacation!

Pam: Well, my theory is that since the pills are white, there is a TSA agent over in DC (since I flew out of National) who crushed the pills up and is selling the white powder for $20/bag. It won't make them high, but we might have fewer unplanned pregnancies in DC for a month!

But the rest of today was just a real downer. The first in-service today was about highly qualified teachers. They laid it out real clear: I must be highly qualified in every CONTENT AREA THAT I TEACH. That means, for my students, I must be highly qualified in elementary education (for my students doing alternate assessments), and then in grades K-whatevergradelevel they are at... in EVERY CORE SUBJECT I TEACH! I'm going to be taking Praxis tests for the rest of my life! I *might* be highly qualified for English and History, there was something in the regs about 9 credit hours... I attended a liberal arts undergrad program, so I should have enough credits in history/social studies (I enjoy history, so I took quite a few electives in that) and then all my journalism and writing credits might take care of English. I'm just not sure how to get them to do the transcript review. I might qualify in reading if I can take some more reading classes... I already have 6, so I should only need 3 more. However, I can't attend graduate classes because the school hours are so stupid.
:grrr:
Okay. Enough. Hope everybody else is doing well. Later.