Kar, ranting and raving is a lot of what we do here. So, don't you dare apologize for getting your frustrations off your chest. Heck, between Robyn and I, we have cornered the market on ranting and raving. Robyn is always good at sticking in some sarcastic humor to make hers entertaining. So, my friend, no worries!

My DD is driving me nuts. Someone at school, probably the P.E. teacher, is really pushing healthy eating and exercise...but to the point of making DD obsessive about it. She is only 6 and is terrified that she is fat! This kid has to wear size 6 slims. She is tall and skinny. The only place I can buy her pants is at the Gap because they have slims and also adjustable waist pants. In August, she wore the slims and still had to adjust them by a couple of buttons to keep her pants from falling off. This past week was "Jump Rope for Heart," so all of the teachers probably included healthy eating and exercise in their lessons. The problem is that DD is a perfectionist. Now that they have put into her head that "fat is bad," she is obsessing over everyone's weight, especially herself. During the after school program, they split the kids into two groups for gym time. DD was in the first group. When it was time to switch, she said she needed to burn more calories, so she stayed for the second session.

If anyone has suggestions of how to handle this, I would love them. I don't want my child to become anorexic or bullimic. God help me.

On a lighter note, we are going to a hockey game tonite. That should take my mind off everything.

Have a good weekend!

Summer

Thanks Summer for your wonderful words of advice. I felt much better after I got my shower this morning. Then my step-DD and I went to Subway for lunch. I think this might turn into a Saturday habit for the two of us. Since we are the only one's who like it at our house. Then my brother in law came over to visit, so no school work done today. Oh darn! I am really torn up about it. Yeah right. So my day did improve. Now if I can just keep that good mood going on through tomorrow.
I hope you had a fun time at the Hockey Game. I will think about your problem with your daugther and get back to you. Have a great Sunday.

Hello PEOPLE! Miss me????

WHAT A WEEK THAT WAS! I hope that things slow down for this one! It even continued into the weekend....today..SUNDAY, I finally get to stay at home and clean and feel as if I'm on a VACATION! WhoooHOOOO...no I didn't bang my head on a wall somewhere during my busy week. I wasn't home ANY night this past week prior to 8:15. Sooooo, sitting in my pj's listening to the children fight and the washer spin and the dishwasher hum and typing to you all seems sooooo relaxing! YIKES! Maybe I did hit my head!

KAR, honey.... THAT was hardly a rant! If you want it to qualify for a rant it has to be at LEAST one whole screen long...and have at LEAST 2 words that would be bleeped if said on television....NOT the superbowl mind you....no, we don't go THAT far...just a regular NON cable NON superbowl show! I hate hate hate hate hate when I *HAVE* to get up early on the weekends for some reason. I hate hate hate hate hate hate when I get up and the reason I got up is either canceled or whatever! WHAT a waste of perfect sleep! I hear you girlfriend! I hear you! BUT look at it this way...You got your work out in! The rest of us slept right through it! YOU made an effort in the right direction. The rest of us just turned over. THAT is not an effective workout! The thing I hate most is when my DH cancels a family outing cause it doesn't suit him ...without consulting / asking / confering with me! Know what I mean?! Anywho...practice on your ranting! I think with a little practice you will become a fine, fine ranter! Let me know if you need help with the proper bleeping vocabulary! Lately, I've become an expert! Too bad they don't give patches for that fete with CubScouts or BoyScouts! I'd have a new thing to sew on my nonexistant (I REFUSE to wear that crap!) brag vest!

Summer, I'd try to talk to the teacher! Really I would. Just to let them know what they have done (and I know that they didn't MEAN to do this, but...well,) they need to know what some and maybe others are obsessed over now! I'm not too sure what to REALLY do about your DD...I'd be scared to death, so I'm right along with you!
ummm....Have you thought about checking into books at the library. (WHAT weak advice...but I don't know whatelse to tell you!) Is there a guidance counselor at her or your school that could guide you?! You are very correct when you are worried that these thoughts will lead her to other problems! My best friend in hs was bullemic. It was only a few years ago...more than 20 years AFTER hs that I learned this! You are wise to be worried! My son's advocate always talks about a book, QueenBees and Wannabees ...she is always telling moms of girls to read it. I'm not sure if you will find what you are looking for about this topic in it....BUT I bet you will find other stuff...I know she is only 6, so this book maybe a bit early for you to read. I'm just trying to think of anything that might help! (and noooo, I don't work for amazon.com! LOL)

Story, I'm hearing you! There are so many children who are falling through the cracks. Being left behind or not.... the cracks are NOT funny places to be. I work with a 4th grade boy who can NOT read on a 1st grade reading level. He comes to me to "help" my kids. EVEN my lowest group can read better than he can. It is incredibly sad...I can't imagine how he even survives in a 4th grade class. (Yes, he is up for testing...he came from another school division that evidently did nothing.....Guess who's AYP will be screwed up because of their lack of interventions!) I SWEARRRR, we have to do SOMETHING that gets parents to do SOMETHING with their kids. They hatch em and throw them at us and we have to fix em. ENOUGH!

Cal, dress warmly for those "cold" days! :P ...and doesn't it amaze and make you ill.... no matter how hard you and your collegues work....AYP wasn't met because of 1 group at 1 grade.... YOU are a failure due to the 8th grade! ARGHHH! Congrats on things fitting you better! Doesn't that make you feel great?! Keep it going in a postive direction! (I'm right with you regarding how to balance this junk and ME!)

Okey...ENOUGH of me for the day! I'm off to fix round 2 of breakfast. I hate hate hate hate when someone doesn't want to eat when I fix it and then wants his own little restruant open for his dining pleasure....ARGH!

Ya'll have a great day! I will check in later today!
(((hugs)))
Robyn

The hockey game sucked. borrrrrrrrring! The other team scored and then for two periods, they skated back and forth pausing to fight here and there. It wasn't until the end of the third period while we were leaving that our team scored. The game ended with a tie in overtime.

I told DH several times that I wasn't going to church on Sunday, so I expected to be able to sleep in. Yeh, right! DD was in my room at 7:30, and woke me up from a verrrrry delicious dream (which didn't involve food if you get my meaning! ) I pretended to be still asleep while DH and DD carried on a 10 minute conversation. They wanted me to make them breakfast. By the time I chased them out and locked the bedroom door, the dream was very much gone and sleep was impossible to achieve.

We did our taxes and got back enough to pay for Disneyworld! One less worry.

Robyn, thanks for the feedback re: DD. I want to see what will happen now that Jump rope for heart week is over. If they stop talking about it, she may stop obsessing. If she doesn't I will surely take action. What I would like to happen is for me to get to a normal weight, and for my entire family to exercise and eat right so that she doesn't worry about getting fat.

I have tons of schoolwork tonite and this week. You may not see as much of me as usual.

Have a great week!

Summer

Hi Everyone,
Just checking in before I go off to bed. I need to get enough rest for the upcoming week. Plus I have to stay after school tomorrow until 6:30. So it will be a long day. I did not sleep well last night since I had an upset stomach. So I am really tired tonight. Robyn my DH is really good about making plans with me and the kids and then changing his mind. I should be use to it by now. I just drives me nuts. My DH and I had a talk with his DD today about eating healthier and excercising more. She is 8 years old and already weighs 106 pounds. She just wants to eat junk food, drink pop and watch tv all day long. Not a good thing to do. So Summer I have a different fight on my hands. My DH's ex-wife is a very heavy and has many different medical problems. But she will not do anything about her weight. So it is going to be a long hard road for my step-DD. She did ask me if would do one of my Walking Videos with her this morning. So I guess that is a step in the right direction. But I am afarid the only time she will excerise is when she is over here every other weekend. Plus that will be the only healthly eating she will do. Her mom likes to eat fast food with the kids alot and meals of convience vs. health. I guess small steps are better than nothing at all. Well I better go and get ready for bed. Talk to you all later. Have a great Monday!

Well, my aide was back today. The Director of Early Childhood came to talk to her about her excessive absenses. She explained that when my aide is out, it negatively affects two classrooms. Now, I certainly know what it is like to have a sick child or be sick. But in my household, my DH and I take turns staying home with DD. Why can't her boyfriend take turns with her? Also, I really think that some of her "days off" are days that she just doesn't "feel like" working. I've had a rough year of being sick and with DD as well. But, I still have less sick days than my aide. I've used 5 since August, and she has used 8 since the end of November. So, I believe she is abusing her privilege. (I'm glad my boss spoke to her.)

My school is having a bake sale on Friday. I am soooooo weak in those situations. I was asked to bake even though the home school coordinator knows I am trying to lose weight. My first response was a rather indignant and pissed off "NO!" She bugged me later in the day, so I offered to make fat-free brownies. I don't really want to or have time to, but it will get her off my back, and keep me focused on eating fat-free rather than all of the fattening goodies at the bake sale.

For the first time in 2004, I EXERCISED. Yes, I got my lazy butt off of the couch, and for 20 minutes, rode my recumbent bike. You have to realize how much I HATE to exercise. So, I consider this an amazing fete!

Time to get back to all my school work.

Summer

Hi Ladies,
Congrats Summer on riding your bike. How did you feel after your 20 minutes were over? Is this something you might build into your schedule? I am proud of you girl!
I know what it feels like to hate to excerise. I was like that at one time too. Now I love to excerise. It makes me relieve a lot of stress and not go so insane.
The kids at school were wild. They were very loud and would not follow the simplest of directions. I felt liking banging my head up against a brick wall several times today. I solved that problem of feeling stessed and wanting to eat a lot of chocolate, by meeting a friend at Curves and working out. I can not wait until Spring, so the kids can run off their excess energy outside. I felt like such a ***** yelling at the kids in the after school program. But no one else was going to do it. They stopped walking all over the staff and myself after I got their attention.
After working out, I came home to watch a little bit of tv on our new tv. The DH left me a note saying that I had to figure out what was wrong with the digital cable box. Needless to say I didn't figure it out tonight. That is one thing I don't touch after a long day at work. If it already screwed up, I could really screw it up more. So I guess tomorrow afternoon when I get home from school I will have him help me figure out what is wrong. Two heads are better than one on things like this.
Well I better go to bed, 5:30 comes awful early. I hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday. It is TOPS meeting night, so I am hoping to loss some weight this week. Keep your fingers crossed that I did.

Last night I was in bed...asleep...at 6:34....and I slept. And slept. And slept.
I guess my DH did dinner for the kids because I found evidence of it EVERY where in the kitchen this morning. I was not sick. WELL, I was. I'm SICK of SCHOOL!

Today I returned home announcing that I'm 13 years from retirement.
I fell into bed...DH went into the kitchen and began dinner. I followed him to see if he had bumped his head or something. He sent me back to take a shower saying that he was sorry that I had a horrible day. YIKES!

I love him dearly...but this is totally OUT of the ordinary for him.... Things at school are totally horrid right now. GUESS he has figured that much out. He KNOWS me! I only crawl into bed and disappear for 11 hours when I'm desperate.

I will survive. BUT, I've gotta figure out this emotional weight thing....OR I'm gonna
weigh 200 pounds again! I've come WAYYYYY tooooo far to wear fat clothes again!
Tomorrow is another day. (Waiting for the ED placement that will take place as soon as we get the placement letter for one of my cherubs! THAT will make life much more liveable!)

I *am* 13 years away from retiring with 30 years of service (JUST to clarify that I'm not THAT old! LOL)

type to you later........
Robyn

Hi Ladies,
I hope everyone's Tuesday was good. Mine was fine until about 1 and then I heard the same child who is 14 cry for over an hour and a half. I was so glad to see the school bus pull up and him run to get on it! LOL Then I had to go sit through a committee meeting that was a waste of my time. Oh well I only have about 3 months to sit through meetings until the end of the school year.
Robyn sorry to hear about your awful start to the week. I am glad that your DH is being very loving and supportive. You will not get back in fat people clothes, because I will not let you get that way. You can and will do this! Keep thinking pleasant thin thoughts!
I am only 24 years from retiring with 30 years of service. That seems like a lifetime away. LOL. Oh too think of all the problem parents and children I might encounter.
I went to my TOPS meeting tonight and I lost 1/2 pound last week. So that is the 7th week in a row that I have lost weight. I only have 1 3/4 pounds to loss and I will have lost 20 pounds since last April. I am hoping to get to my 20 pound goal by the end of Feburary. So just maybe by the time my birthday gets here in May, I can fit into a smaller pair of jeans and pants. That would be so nice.
My DH figured out the digital cable box, TV, VCR/DVD problem. He hooked up the wires wrong. I am so glad he figured that out and I didn't have to mess with it. So I was able to come home and watch more than just 10 basic channels this evening. YIPPPPPEEEEEEEE!
I better go and get my stuff ready for school tomorrow. I hope everyone has a wonderful hump day! It is going to be a long day for me. I am at school until 6:30 tomorrow night and then I am going to go met at friend and go workout. So maybe it is a good thing I am making the effort to work out after long days, that can be my reward for getting through the stress of the evening. LOL.

Well ladies just checking in. I had a really long and rough day today. I had a meeting with my boss. He observed me last month and then wrote up my evaluation. He went over it with me today. I have three to four weeks to make his recommendations evident in my classroom. I was a little upset because I have been trying to implement things. But it is really hard when you have a lot of snow days and then have to deal with behaviors from one student that affects the whole classroom. I guess I wouldn't have much of a life for the next two or three weeks. Since I will be busy working my regular day and then come home and try to get this other stuff done. It is right in the height of IEP and MFE season, too. I want to just scream, because I have a two year contract and it is not up until next year. I will just keep my mouth shut and see what he has in store for me. Well ladies, it has been a very long day. I am going to go to bed. I hope everyone has a great Thursday!

Happy Valentine's Day! Hope all is well with everyone. Just wanted to check in. I am so glad that it is the weekend. Time for some much needed rest and relaxation. Well I need to run. I have a workout scheduled with one of my friends this morning at Curves. Talk to you all later. Have a wonderful weekend!

Hi everyone! I just found this group -- I'm usually on the Atkins threads -- and I'm not even going to take the time to read through all of these posts before I introduce myself.

I'm a special education teacher for MIMR/MOMR elementary students in Arizona. If you don't mind, I'd like to continue to drop in from time-to-time. Now, I'm going to get busy reading those back-logs so I can get acquainted!

Welcome Paula. I, too, teach in Arizona. I'm a 7th grade Language Arts teacher for an inner city school in west Phoenix. I enjoy my job, but this NCLB stuff is really killing morale. This is a great group of ladies from all over. Many of them are back East and their talk of snow days and ice makes me glad I'm here. I hope you stay around. Again, welcome.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone. I have been sooo busy this week getting progress reports out. Just not enough time. I refused to work on my own time and so it took me a little longer. I've also been putting together some work to last my kiddos 3-4 days because my grandmother is getting worse and I know there will be a funeral soon. I made sure I had everything ready yesterday in case I'm in California on Tuesday. What a week.
To top it off, we had several meetings this week during our prep time and yesterday they had a fire drill. One of the teachers finally told the principal that the drill was the last straw. She really told him what everyone else is thinking. Only 5 weeks until break.

Hope everyone has a wonderful 3 days off.

Cal

Phew! I just came up for air! What a week! Sorry I've been MIA, but I was in deep...way over my head in preparations for the VISIT OF 80 EDUCATORS AND ADMINISTRATORS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.

Even though I am not completely ready for VISIT the Monday after vacation, I can't control it now. At 4pm on Friday, the custodian kicked me out of the school. I cannot enter again until 7:30 (George won't open the doors any earlier) that Monday morning of the VISIT. It doesn't matter that I am not ready. George wanted to go home. I can't blame him. It has been a rough week for one and all in our building. Since we got our new principal, who by the way is fabulous (so far), things are a changin'. We all got a beautiful new rocking chair. Some of us got new desks (not me ) and other new furniture. Some of us got new rugs for circle time (not me ). A mural of the city is being painted in the foyer. The library is being relocated to a nicer room. Suddenly we have supplies (the old principal was hoarding everything). There is so much more, but I'm sure you get the gist of it.

I can do a little at home as far as tweeking my lesson plans and assembling the book of colors that the kids illustrated, and George laminated (even though he was overwhelmed with tasks). But on Monday, the 23rd, my *** better be in my classroom by 7:30 taking care of the finishing touches.

My room has been chosen as a model classroom. So, there will be no flying under the radar for me. Crap! Maybe next year. After I caved in and abandoned my developmentally appropriate philosophy (for this week only) and made the kids do writing pieces on the book, Guess How Much I Love You, the Director of Early Childhood gave me the "seal of approval," which is not given lightly by her. She dragged my new principal in my room who went nuts when she saw my criteria charts and rubrics. They decided that I needed to lead a professional development training session for the other teachers. That will go over like a lead balloon... when the veteran teachers find out that a 3rd year newbie without her masters degree will be teaching them how to write a rubric. Again, why can't I just fly under the radar? Yes, I want to do a good job and please the administration, but why can't they smile and leave me alone?

As of yesterday afternoon, I am on winter break for a week. Thank you God. Of course, I have a cold...are you surprised?! Every time I encounter stress at school, I get sick. I'm lucky though, DD had strep throat earlier in the month, and the home/school coordinator had strep this week. So, a cold is okay especially since I won't have to take a sick day.

On Monday night, I have to stay overnight in the hospital's sleep clinic to have a sleep study done. My ENT wants to see if I have sleep apnea. Please pray that I don't. I don't want to wear an oxygen mask or have surgery!!! Hopefully I will just snore and get up to pee all night!

I have missed being in touch with you all, but I promise now that I am off school, I will be around a lot more.

Welcome Paula!

Summer

Calnative: Thanks for the welcome! So sorry about your grandmother. Sounds like you're under a lot of stress. I'll be thinking positive thoughts for you!

Summerlover: Thanks to you, too, for the welcome! Seems like you're learning a valuable lesson -- be good at what you do and someone WILL take notice. Don't worry too much about the old guard. I'm also a newbie (2 years - but I'm a bit older), and I've already found that there will always be those teachers who have been around for a while and grown complacent. These teachers absolutely hate new people coming in who are still filled with vim and vigor and love for the profession. Knock 'em dead and strut your stuff! Reinvigorate them!

I've been busy with updating my IEP goals for next week's parent/teacher conferences and standards reports. One of the regular ed teachers actually came up to me and said "I envy you, not having to do standards reports on your kids." I told her I'd switch with her any day. Then SHE can update over 200 individual objectives at report time, and SHE can complete 12 AIMS-A tests (the check-list from h***) per year, and SHE can.....oooooppppssss!!!! I'm venting again. It's just that I'm the only one at my school who does what I do and it's a very misunderstood program. After all, how hard can it be "handling" a bunch of MIMR/MOMR kids? Isn't it just like babysitting? ARGGHHH! Ahhhh....I'm feeling much better now! :

Thank again for welcoming me. I'm truly glad to have found this group and look forward to getting to know all of you!