I guess I am MIAM: Missing In Action Mouse? Just a very busy mouse.
I'm required to take the students on a minimum of 4 field trips. I have over 50 kids... when I counted today, I came up with 49, but I know that can't be right. There have to be more.
Anyway, I've been saying since July that transportation was going to be an issue. We have 4 mini-vans and 1 lift-van at school. Our school provides no transportation, the local schools that send the students bus them to us. We have 180 students; 67 of them go on community instruction trips weekly... The other two vans are part of work-based learning, our off-campus job training program. We share the vans and the lift-van with other programs.
So, here I am, required to take these kids out on these trips... and have no transportation. They said they'd rent a bus: but I only have a budget of $1000 for the year... and each TRIP (not day, each TRIP!!!) costs $150-$300 or more depending on the bus company we go with and whether or not we need a lift-bus for our students who use wheelchairs. I have 6 groups of students, with 8-9 in each group except one smallish group of 6. So now they're not going to rent the bus and I got the transportation mess dumped back on my lap. And since this is a required part of the curriculum, if I don't get them out on these trips, it'll impact my evaluation negatively.
We have a "bus" that needs some repair work, and a driver with a CDL license, but the hospital that runs our program won't approve funding for a driver or repairs.
We're also required to have a 1:3 staff to student ratio... so if I have 9 kids, I need 3 staff members. But we're also reuired to have 2 staff per van... so with 9 kids I need two vans and 4 staff. :?:
The whole thing has given me a huge headache, to be honest. I had letters ready to go to businesses and stuff done in August. And they're still dragging their feet.

When I come up for air, I'll let you all know. I'm still getting in some exercise at least.

:mouse:

Mouse- bravo for you getting some exercise in!!!! :D Despite the stress of what you are dealing with, that is an accomplishment. (but if you were like me you would be biting someones head off without the stress relief of a workout). Wish I could help you out here......got the CDL, got the vehicle (hey, it even just passed inspection!)....have a benevolent boss.....but I don't have a lift or a monitor. To add to your headache, if the trip were to take place here in NY, each handicap bus would need a monitor, who must also be state certified. Anyway- hang in there!!!!!!! Hope you can get a few strokes in from time to time.

Reminder to everyone.......GET YOUR FLU SHOTS! (those who can tolerate it, or take the nasal immunization) It is that time of year and we are exposed to so much.

Not much new here. Dh was el crabbo (like that spanish, eh??? :lol: ) last nite. I was a good girl, and ironed instead of binge my anger away. Ok, I admit I ironed so that I could get more stuff done so that I can have tomorrow off. Tomorrow nite I am leaving Ds in charge of dinner (spaghetti/meatballs/italian bread and undetermined as of yet veggie). All he has to do is thaw the meatballs and sauce....the rest is easy. Then I am off to a WW meeting and then get my hair cut and colored. (haven't been for either since early June!). The house will look like the hurricane took a detour thru it.....and they will all be plunked in front of the TV - but I need a night off. Ok, nuff of me babbling......gotta go. Hope everyone is doing ok.
Take care.
Ginny

I'm still in field trip h*ll... still no deal with the transportation. One of my new students is from my home state of PA. He'll be bussed to us from York everyday. That is a lot better trip than quite a few of our kids since we have kids from just about every county in MD and DC. The traffic from DC or Calvert County is a lot worse than the traffic from York! I can't wait to find out what district he's typically assigned to... And then I'm going to apply for a job there! :) :) :)
The district must care a LITTLE bit if they've agreed to pay for him to come to our program... there are very few private programs in the Central PA area, and I've seen districts completely isolate the kids by hiring a separate teacher and aide for one kid and desigining a separate program. That may sound good, but really, its not any good at all for the child.
They also dropped the concept of "working IEP binders" on us. Each case manager now must maintain a green binder of information on the students. ITs a duplicate of the binders that we store in the IEP office. :shrug: Seems a waste of time and trees to me when the current IEPs and quarterly reports are on the server. I have a copy of each student's IEP that I case manage in a binder and file other information in that binder as well. I don't have ROOM for 5 binders... they have to be locked up! I have next to ZERO locking space in my room.
Its just another thing I have to do, when I don't have enough time to do what they already want. Like, to run my community service club, I have to give up planning periods... they won't do a club period this school year. But our kids need community service hours to graduate with a diploma. Most of them don't or can't do it outside of school. So my club is much in demand for seniors. But without an established club time, I'll give up a planning period and who knows how much other time to come up with activities for them!
:mouse:

Evening Ladies,
Just a quick drop in for me. Sounds like you have been having the same kinds of days that I have been having these last two days, Mouse. I knew this week was going to be a bad one yesterday morning when I asked another staff member how many more work days until Friday? at 9 a.m. We had only been in school for 45 minutes. The kids have been more active and mouthy these past few days. I put up with a sick child all day long. He threw up four times and had the runs all day long. Called mom at 9:15 and she said that she was in the doctor's office. Called back at 1:35 to check on her son and to say that she just got out of the office and was on her way home. Send him on the bus. So it was a rough day. I hope to God that my aides, my other students and I don't get sick from him. It just pissed me off how uncaring the lady was about her son. It was her sister who was seeing the doctor. She could have left and came to pick up her son and came back for her sister.
Ginny sorry to hear that your son's hand was broken more severe than first thought. How did he break it again? Enjoy your night to yourself tomorrow. Those evenings are always fun and few and far between.
Robyn you poor gal! You sound so stressed. Remember to breathe and relax some. Sounds like you really love your new school though. So that is a great thing!
Summer, Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Hope you have a wonderful day tomorrow. Enjoy yourself.
Well I went to TOPS tonight. I stayed the same weight wise. So I guess I am going to have to try and kick it up a notch to lose some next week. I really need to start losing again since the end of Nov. we are having a birthday party for my grandma. She turns 90 and the whole family is going to get together and some of my family hasn't seen me in a few years and I want to surprise them with my weight loss. But I would like to be a little smaller by then.
Well ladies it is off to bed for me. I think I am all ready to start another day tomorrow. Lunch is packed, clothes laid out and a warm coat set out since I have to do bus duty in the mornings. It is suppose to be down in the low 30's tonight here. So I just might freeze in the morning waiting on the bus.
Talk to you all later.
Kerry

Thank you for the birthday wishes!

Following a CPR class on Monday night, I had trouble relaxing to go to sleep, and when I started to drift off, the clock read, 12 midnight, and I realized that I was officially turning 40. :( I wasn't pleased...I cursed the gods...I was pissed. :mad: Then the nucklehead who shares a bed with me began to snore. :( I tapped him and told him repeatedly to wake up and that he was snoring. He didn't stop. :mad: So, I moved out to sleep in the playroom. Shortly thereafter, the dog started to snore. :mad: Needless to say, the following morning, I was exhausted, crabby, and a total *****! :p Guess who was an hour late and didn't call, so nobody knew whether or not she intended to show up?! My aide strolled in at 9:30 with a plethora of lies only to tell me that she may (will) need a week off to deal with some personal issues. I told her that her job was in serious jeopardy and had better speak with the principal.

I have more to write, but DH just found mold under wallpaper he was removing! I have to help him.

Happy Birthday Summer!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sounds like everyone else is having a wonderful week, just like me.......June is coming, right???
And I do get the do-do head award for my flu shot reminder ( I heard the news later about the shortage). Aw, get your Flumist.....that is a domestic company and as I understand there is no shortage of them. Being that all of us are under the age of 50 there should be no problem there....
Sorry to be short. Have lots to do to set up Ds for dinner tonite, so that I can have 3 hours off for good behavior. Mouse, Kerry, Summer and Robyn- have a great day!
Ginny

I'm back. The previous owner of our home left behind many surprises over the years, and we just discovered another...above the drop ceiling in our dining room is really bad mold. DD and I have asthma. This is no joke. DH tore down contaminated ceiling tiles and pieces of sheetrock and is now using mold/mildew cleaner on it. He is two rooms away from me with the windows open and the doors closed, and the fumes are bugging me. :faint:

Well, I had the biopsy today. My boob is killing me, and I probably shouldn't be typing right now, but I'm bored. I had to lie face down on a HARD table with a hole in it for my boob to hang into...pleasant. It was so friggin uncomfortable on that table...a man must have invented it. Anyway, mammograms were performed on me to pinpoint the area, novacaine was injected, and a small incision was made for the biopsy. It hurt a little, but the doctor was good about giving me more novacaine as needed. They put a chip inside me marking the spot in case the tissue will need to be removed. After the biopsy, I had two more mammograms which made me bleed...duh! Besides my boob being SQUEEZED TO DEATH :fr: the worst part was that awful table. I am taking ibuprofen and a good stiff drink for pain, not to mention an ice pack.

Ginny, since I have asthma, flu mist will not be an option for me. I must find a flu shot. I am assuming since I am part of a high risk group, I will be able to get one somewhere. Good for you getting back to WW and the beauty salon!

Kerry, I really hate it when parents drop off a sick kid in the morning and then won't pick them up when we call. Last Friday, we had an awards ceremony...student of the month and perfect attendance. I had a girl getting a perfect attendance award (big deal!). She was really dragging, so my aide took her temperature which was 102! We called mom who said she wouldn't be there till the ceremony...an hour later. We had no nurse (we only have one on Tues. & Thurs.) so we couldn't keep her isolated from the other children. Mom arrived and as her child was hanging her head and clearly ill, she waited to take her home throughout the entire hour long ceremony! The girl left a few minutes before dismissal! Now we've all been exposed and all mom cares about is the stupid friggin computer-generated certificate. :mad: So, I understand how you feel about these parents' priorities...they're all screwed up.

Mousie, don't you just "love" it when the administration comes up with yet another "great" idea?! If they would just let us teach...

Robyn, more often than not, I can't get everything done that I need to over the weekend. I always say that if we had three-day weekends, I could do it. That one more day makes quite a difference. Just think, Columbus Day is Monday. Maybe you will catch up then.

Well my friends, I don't expect my pathology results till the beginning of next week. When I get them, you will have them as well.

Thanks for the birthday wishes, and please keep the prayers coming!

My TA is so on my list of people to do harm to right now. I asked her to help me out by copying the information for the damn green binders. I didn't ask her to MAKE the binders, keep them updated, store them, nothing... just help copy. I had meetings to go to during our half-day after the kids left today. She didn't want to do it, I know that. So what does she do? Goes to our supervisor and asks for clarification as to what she is to do with the binders! I was livid. That was on top of the whole field trip mess, and my supervisor casually suggesting to our development/grant office that I might like (LIKE? IS HE INSANE?!) to take my students to our huge fund-raising event the "Festival of Trees". To price the items, and then later to help tear down. Oh, and I can take them on the LIGHT RAIL/METRO/SUBWAY. Yea. Okay. Just what I want to do! :RRRRR:
I am getting to the point again where I can't eat, because I'm so nauseous all the time, and it HAS to be from stress. So I did go to the gym, but not my entire workout: just 50 minutes or so, swimming and weights. I was going to stay longer, but I was getting a headache from not eating.
:mad: I'm just SO FREAKING MAD at them! Mid-terms are due, and I have that snotty idiot database administrator who is still being a snotty witch to me. My TA is acting like a jerk... GRRR!!!!!!!

Summer: I sympathize. I can't imagine, my only references are the CT scan, the MRI and the hidascan. Those were all hard, narrow tables...definitely designed by men.

:mouse:

Well, I decided to use a sick day today. I'm not in agony, but I am sore and uncomfortable...I certainly don't want anyone running up to me for a hug! If I worked in an office-setting, I could probably handle the discomfort.

I feel like such a friggin cliche': It is Breast Cancer Awareness Month; I've just turned 40 (when the average woman has her first mammogram); and it is the day after my biopsy! Whatever!

I don't want to type too long because the motrin is beginning to wear off, and I'm starting to hurt again. So, I will check in tomorrow.

Take care ladies!

Ginny, thanks for the card! ;)

I'm really trying not to panic...OKAY, I'M PANICKING!!! I called my doctor today to see if he is giving flu shots to high risk patients since I have asthma. The very rude receptionist said, "We will not be offering them this year." When I asked, "Even for high risk patients?" She answered. "We will not be offering them this year," and promptly disconnected me. I then called my allergy/asthma specialist. They won't be giving the shots either, but at least the nurse was very apologetic and understanding. Next I called the hospital. They don't have them either!!! I called a clinic, and they told me to call at the end of the month.

I don't mean to overreact, but a cold totally knocks me out. I always get bronchitis, and many times get pneumonia. My asthma gets really bad, and it is really scary. Since I was diagnosed with asthma, my doctors always made me get a flu shot...and now they are telling me that they can't help me. What the f*ck is happening to our healthcare system when there is a way to prevent a serious illness, and the richest country in the world can't get its hands on the vaccine for it?! AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am SOOOOO glad its Friday. This was a horrendous week. I've written more resource referals and lunch detentions that Carter has peanuts. I swear a wrote a lunch detention today because a kid kept saying the word Fifteen in a sing-song voice, and I told him if he did it again (he was doing it to tease another kid who couldn't spell the word) he was going to write the word 100 times in lunch detention. Damn if the kid didn't say the word again, just to see what I'd do!
Another one wound up in in-school suspension from my class because he threw a magnet across the room and scratched up a full-page magnifyer that a visually impaired student uses.
And then we get to my friend, the database administrator. I was told that I needed to go to one program's mid-term review during 1st period. So I went and dropped my grades off with that person. She brought them back down to me. I fixed the errors she found, and reprinted. 5th period, I'm upstairs buying a sandwich (which I later regret doing!) and I get paged. So I called the room... I'm supposed to be at ANOTHER team (the Industry team I'm part of) grade review. But I'd already done it! So, I told the database administrator that. I was very nice about it. I just said, "Your email list said I was assigned to Ms. X." And she said, "I'll talk to you later, but you need to understand me this year!" So I went right to my supervisor, and told him that I'm just not doing this again with her all year long. I've done it with her for the last 2 years, and I've been nothing but polite. I've never reported her to her supervisor, and until last year I never complained about her to anybody. Other staff have complained to administration on my behalf because she's been so unprofessional toward me.

As for health care, Summer: I figured it out a few months ago. My insurance company would rather pay for ultrasounds, MRIs, blood tests, CT scans, 6x yearly visits to an endocrinologist, plus all my medications.... when if they'd approve the damn surgery to remove the pannus, I wouldn't need all of that as often!

:mouse:

Update: I just received word that the hospital I work for is only going to provide flu shots to those people who do direct patient care. I kind of doubt that means the school employees, because I don't think that they consider what we do to be patient care.
I might be wrong, though. My guess would be they'll do people who are actually AT the hospital first.
Which leaves me in a similar position to Summer: I don't have asthma, but I do get bronchitis any time I get a cold; and I have this whole endocrine disorder. I'm not sure that counts as a serious chronic disease though. In the past, prior to my being diagnosed, I was always required to have the flu shot by my employer because so many of my students are medically fragile. Lots of them need to be suctioned or have oxygen if they get colds.
:mouse:

BENIGN!!!!!!!!

:cp: :dance: :hat: :flow1: :flow2: :dancer: :dance: :cp:

WOW! GREAT NEWS SUMMER!!! HUZZAH! CHEERS!

And, of course, a special batch of brownies just for you (they taste much better when celebrating than they do when used for cheering up!)

:mouse:

HOT DAMN and HALLELUJAH!

I'll be back.......WHAT A WEEK THIS HAS BEEN....
one of my kids (AT THE NEW school!) brought a knife to school.

WHEW! Today is baseball, cleaning house and laundry and homework and
for SOME reason I said I'd be in charge of the BoyScout fundraiser...what the helllllll was I thinking????

take care ya'll!

I love it when our kids surprise the heck out of us. Really. A kid I don't even teach swimming to tried to kick another kid in the locker rooms yesterday. I stopped him, and his mom was NOT happy with me. I told the lead instructor that the kid, from what I've observed over the last 4 weeks of lessons, is headed straight for my school and one of our more restrictive progams. The kid kicked the teacher last night too.
And I see what happens when these dysfunctional kids become adults... I'm dispatcher this weekend, so ... I had one client who needed a hotel, and we can't use our usual one that we use downtown because the manager pitched a hissy fit on me Friday night and hung up on me. He's upset because we're doing payment different, and none of the hotels seem able to follow a simple direction: DO NOT SWIPE THE PAYMENT CARD UNTIL CHECK OUT! Its not hard. Take the card from the client. Attach it to their folio. Swipe it at checkout. If it doesn't work, call the Red Cross. Its not like the Red Cross is going to disappear off the face of the planet! Better yet, read the Merchant Instructions sheet that we send with the card!
ARRRRGH! Anyway, this lady was sent to the Econolodge near our chapter. She said she didn't work and had no transportation. I was pretty pleased: I got her right on a major bus route, and 2 miles from chapter. 2 miles with sidewalks and set-up for pedestrians... near a large grocery store and lots of fast-food choices. That EconoLodge doesn't always have rooms... they're usually full.
She called me 3 hours after my team left her to go to the hotel, asking if we could put her somewhere else. I'd tried other hotels, but for whatever reason, lots of the hotels were full. Apparently, she called one of them and they told her they had a room, but the hotel didn't understand she was a Red Cross client... we get a discounted rate (really, really discounted...like $52/night instead of $79!). When they understood that,t hey didn't have any rooms available because the regular rooms were sold out. So last night, I go off to teach swimming (dealt with the kicker), and I'm driving home and the pager goes off... its this woman again. She's in ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY...near BWI Airport... at least 10 miles from the city, and a good 15-20 miles from the hotel that she said was too far away for her since she had no money and no transportation... wanting to stay at the Motel 6 near the airport! For pity's sake! Hotels near airports cost a lot more, and now this woman without transportation isn't even in the same County or City as where she needs to be on Monday morning when she checks out of the hotel and needs to get services!
And she picked a hotel that we don't even have a contract with, so of course, they had no idea how to use the card. She has two teenage boys, doesn't work... :shrug:
I feel badly for lots of them, but sometimes they just do things and its so clear they didn't THINK before they did them! How the heck is she going to get from Anne Arundel County to the City housing office or the Red Cross office to do what she needs to do on Monday?
:mouse:

Yesterday I went shopping with birthday gift certificates. I got DD a couple more birthday presents. After trying on multitudes of tops, I found a sweater that is actually up-to-date, in style this season, fits my body, and looks good!!! So I bought three of them...black, burgundy, and periwinkle blue!!! I have such a hard time finding something in my size that is fashionable and fits me, that when I do, I try to buy more than one color. My body is tough because I have a short stubby neck, huge boobs, I'm short-waisted, have wide hips, a big belly, very long legs, and wide feet. So, no matter what I wear, it has to be in a "special" size...plus sized, 42 DDD, tall, 8 wide. So, as I'm sure you can imagine, shopping for clothing is a royal challenge. I used to be a junior 9/10, 36 C, tall, 7 medium width. So, the only issue was the length of my pants. I used to check out Vogue and Mademoiselle and follow the fashion trends. Now I look for something that will cover my body without embarrassing me. I have actually skipped church because I had nothing to wear that I looked attractive in. How screwed up is that?! I look forward to losing weight and having an easier time dressing.

Yesterday I passed the Estee Lauder counter and the saleslady stopped me to give me a pink ribbon. Apparently Estee Lauder had breast cancer. Well, I told her that I had a biopsy a few days ago and the tumor was benign. The saleslady just moments before a total stranger to me gave me a hug and congratulated me. We were both crying. Isn't it amazing how women can relate to each other on such a personal level when it is about life and death?

Mousie, I give you a lot of credit for putting up with all the bullsh*t you put up with. I don't know if I would have the patience. The Red Cross is lucky to have you. I hope that the "powers that be" know that. Thanks for the brownies...they were delicious!!!

Robyn, thanks for celebrating with me.

Ginny & Kerry, I hope your long weekend is relaxing.

Oh, one more thing. 40 isn't looking so bad to me anymore. You see, I have a new perspective. I'm alive, and I plan on being a very old woman one day...wrinkles and all. But, I will NEVER act my age...I never have...why should I start now? ;)

Compared to the school that I work at, dealing with the clients at the Red Cross is a piece of cake!
The database administrator got me again today. I swear, if that lady doesn't leave me alone... I told my supervisor that if he didn't do something about her that I'd go the director of the school or the database admin's supervisor or I'd quit...and I'd make sure my grades weren't done when I left! She is REALLY getting on my nerves with nit-picky crapola.
I accidentally filed one kid's report in his twin brother's folder. They're identical twins, I have both boys, and one is in 3rd period, the other is in 4th. Sue me, I made a mistake and didn't realize it. They found the report, it was NOT a major deal that needed to be CC'd to my supervisor.
Also... and I'm throwing this question out to ALL of you teachers or parents...
Our mid-term ended last Wednesday, 10/6/04. I entered grades last on 10/4/04.
I put grades in one time per week, and the only daily grade students get in my classroom is 50 points for appropriate work-place behavior. Therefore, there was no grade for me to enter after 10/1/04, as the grades entered on 10/4 were for the previous week. She's telling me I should have been putting grades in the electronic gradebook up to and through 10/6/04. I think that's insane...
Why would I rush or enter grades for assignments that are to come in the future?
How do you gals that use electronic gradebooks do it?
As it happens, there were no grades for any specific assignments on Monday or Tuesday. I only see half my kids on Wednesdays, and they work on their portfolios then. Their portfolios won't get a grade until the end of 2nd quarter because there isn't enough IN there to grade!
Now they want me to go back and put in grades for the 4th, 5th and 6th so that "I have grades through 10/6/04." That's just flat out stupid, IMO.

:mouse:

Oh, and Summer, I forgot this. A good friend of mine says that (and I know he gets it from somebody else, just don't remember who) if you don't grow up by 40 (50?) you don't have to.

:mouse:

Well even though I don't use electronic grading, being expected to grade for work done in the future doesn't make sense and is inaccurate. By the way, I'm glad there is someone else out there who shares my view of "growing up."

Following a very nice weekend...shopping with gift certificates, movies with DD, take-out, a really fun play date with my best friend and her kids yesterday, adorable Christmas pictures taken of DD this morning, I feel the stress upon me. DH told me he is $400 short. So to avoid the mortgage payment being made late, I wrote him a check off my credit card...which I hate doing. But, we must make that payment. I can't lose my home. I can't lose my child's home. I've told him before to get a second job and not just rely on overtime. I told him again tonite that he needs to either get a better paying job or get a second job. We can't live like this. I'm working a second job and not seeing my child as much as I should. He is working overtime and is not around as much as he should be. But we must pay our bills. AAAAAHHHH!!!

I forgot to tell you. Get a load of this...I went to the surgeon tonite so he could check my incision. He just had to tell me that my weight is putting me at a higher risk of getting breast cancer, and just because I'm okay right now, it doesn't mean I will be okay in the future. In other words, I'd better lose weight. Duh! No sh*t Sherlock! Why is it that doctors think we are ignorant about the ill effects our weight has on our health?! Intellectually, I know I need to lose weight. However, the stress I've been under while waiting to find out my diagnosis has added even more weight onto my already overweight body. I know I need to lose weight. I'm not an idiot. But something psychological inside me is preventing me from doing so. Right now I just want to dig a deep hole and hide in it.

Evening Ladies,
Just a quick note to say hi! Had a nice relaxing weekend. Had to work a long day at school today. I was there until 8 tonight. I did the afterschool program from 3-6 and then worked the spaghetti dinner that we had to support our school levy in Nov. So I am one tired puppy right now.
Summer glad to hear that your tests come back with wonderful news!! Sorry the doctor had to act like an a@@hole about your weight though.
Mouse I use an electric gradebook and my boss lets us cut off grades a few days prior to the end of the grading period if we want to. All long is there are enough grades in there to justify how a student earned their grades. Sounds like you have had a long week and weekend.
Ginny and Robyn, hi there gals. Hope all is well with you.
Well I am off to bed. I hope I am not grumpy for my kids tomorrow. I warned them that i would be tired tomorrow and to be on their best behavior.
Talk to you all later.
Have a great Tuesday!
Kerry

I posted a long ranting thing about my kid and his iep and his worthless teachers... I'll spare you the reading......

I am going to go nuts trying to deal with this.......

meanwhile back in the kitchen... I eat... YUM...THAT solves everything....bleech..

Just a quick hello to let you know that I am still alive......my big day off I spent cleaning my mother's house and attempting to debug her computer (BIG sarcastic thanks to my sister!!!!!). And now the car needs repair....so I will be driving a trip this Thursday nite.....this week is going to be torture.
Anyway- Summer that is wonderful news about your biopsy. I keep on telling my Dd (the 8 yr old, the only one who listens anymore) that when I grow up I either want to be Peter Pan or our cat (who has one dilly of a wonderful life!). She keeps on telling me that I am grown up......but that sure gives you my perspective on aging.....
Mouse, Kerry and Robyn- sorry not to get personal right now. BTW- I can identify with the kid bringing a knife to school.......had one bring it on the bus last year (and I took it away from him on the way home- he had been at school with it all day.........). Not a nice feeling......
Hope everyone is doing ok. See ya later!
Ginny

Robyn: If I can help with the IEP issues, just drop me a note.

Summer/Ginny: Yes. Ugh. I don't want to grow up either... or if I do, I also want to be my cat and sit in the window and sleep in the sun. And play with toilet paper rolls and lay in the clean laundry.

Kerry: That is my thought... if the marking period ends 10/6/04, I shouldn't be putting grades in the gradebook on 10/6/04. I should have my grades in and finished at least 3 days prior to the marking period cut off. Just because WE end our midterm on 10/6/04, and don't print reports until 10/8/04 doesn't mean that its good practice or that any real school district does it that way. I swear: If I had done that in Fairfax County or even my horrible City school, I would have been in major trouble!

:mouse:

Robyn, I'm so sorry you are stressing over your son's iep. :( I sure hope it gets better...and don't feel like you need to spare us from reading your rantings. Girl, that is what you do best...heck I sure need to do it an awful lot, and you read me! Take care.

Mousie, I have this picture in my head right now of lying in a basket full of laundry fresh from the dryer. Wow that sounds good!

Kerry, I'm glad to hear that you had a relaxing weekend. I didn't know you also worked at your after school program. Do you enjoy it? I hate to admit this, but for me, even though it is a loooong day, it is the easiest money I've ever made! First of all, the hourly rate is outstanding! Second of all, once we are done supervising homework, the kids just play with my center activities, and we sometimes show a video. Third of all, I get to work in my room and take care of things I don't have time for when my students are present. The only negative is that it takes away time from DD. I certainly wouldn't be doing it if our financial situation was better. But since I have to work a second job, it is definitely right up my alley!

Ginny, I'm with you...Peter Pan all the way!!! I have loved that movie since I was a child. When Disney came out with the anniversary edition, I grabbed it.

Today I had the pleasure of announcing to all my coworkers my good news. Well, not all of them...just the ones I shared my medical issues with. And, I had the weirdest experience. There is a teacher in my building who has never really given me the "time of day." No matter how friendly I've been toward her or helpful when she needed to borrow something or whatever, she just has always given me the "cold shoulder." Well, today she runs up to me and gives me a BIG HUG because she heard the great news through the grapevine!!! I almost dropped dead right there in the hallway between the girls and boys bathrooms. I was tongue-tied and said something really cliche' and felt sort of happy yet awkward. (What an idiot!) Apparently she can really relate because her mom had a double mastectomy and another teacher in the building (her friend) is also going through this. She is beating herself up for not getting her annual mammogram in two years and plans on going immediately. Anyway, I hope that maybe now we will have some sort of connection, and it doesn't go right back to her ignoring me. How pitifully lame do I sound?! I don't need her as a friend, but when I'm in a situation like this, it becomes my goal to make someone that is aloof my friend...I guess I like a challenge!

Well, I'm gonna hit the hay and cozy up with a trashy novel. DH is watching the Yankees and Red Sox compete for going to the World Series. So, he won't even notice when I slip upstairs early.

Evening Gals,
Well first things first, I made it through the day. But boy I am I tired tonight. I went to TOPS tonight, only to gain a 1/2 pound. I can't seem to get back in the losing mode since 3 weeks ago. I am going to have to do something to kick my weight loss up.
Summer about the afterschool program you are right it is the easiest money. I have to work the homework room for an 1 1/2 and then we usually do a small enrichment lesson with the kids and then let them play outside for the last hour of the program. Plus I am able to use my homework time to get my stuff done that I couldn't do when my students are present too. That way I don't have to take much work home with me this year. So that is nice. glad to hear that you have a connection with your one coworker. I hope that it keeps on improving between the two of you.
Ginny sounds like you had a busy day off yesterday. How is your mom doing? I hope things are going great for her.
Mouse, hope your day went better today. Have you been able to make it to the gym yet this week? I haven't been able to go to Curves yet this week. So I am hoping to go tomorrow evening. It all depends on if my dh can pick me up from school on time and I can get to the gym before they close. They went me work out even though they are closed but I still like to get there before they close.
Robyn, please feel free to vent away. You might just get some much needed advice and be able to see the problem from another angle once you share it with us. We are always here for each other. Hope your day went better today!
Well I am off to bed. Talk to you all later. Have a great Wednesday!
Kerry

Another short hello.....

Mouse- ah......I forgot about the toilet paper rolls. Had a cat years ago that I had to buy double the amount of TP- one roll for me, one for him. Thanks for reminding me of that.

Summer- how nice that you were able to connect with someone regarding your experience. Sometimes people are like that.......they can't open up themselves unless they see you do so first..... How are you feeling? Less sore, I hope.

Kerry- I hope you get to Curves soon. I know how important that is to you! I forget, what diet are you on? (just wondering why the stalemate at the scale)

Robyn-Hope your IEP issues somehow happily resolve......hang in there......there has to be a way to work this out.

Gotta hop in the shower and get ready to face the masses.....Did I really have Monday off???? Sure does not feel like it.
See ya later!
Ginny

Well, just me again. Somehow survived my am route, despite the fact that the students are settling in a bit and now a bit too comfortable with the rules- in other words getting rowdy. I will be writing up the flashers little brother when I get back in this afternoon. He does not take me seriously at all.....proceeds to make all kinds of noises while crossing rr tracks (and I have about the worst crossing in the am, fully loaded bus- the view of the oncoming track is totally obscured by a large switch box and the bend in the track so that I am totally relying on my ears and the rr lights and gate and a ton of prayers while crossing and this little brat is making noises). Sorry for babbling but this crossing has always scared me- yes I follow all procedures but it is still a bad crossing. So, with a big smile on my face, I will write this monster up. Doubt it will do any good, but it sure will feel good!!!!! (and I would love to be a fly on the wall in this house for a day just to see how wierd it is in there to have created these kids). Thanks for letting me vent.

Kerry- back to before....I forget which program you are following, but I know you attend TOPS. If you are interested, I can send you a copy machine copy of the pages describing WW Core program, to see if following that breaks you out of your weight loss slump. Don't get discouraged!

Summer- I can probably answer this myself, but is Dh a Sox fan or Yankees??
Trash the Yankees all you like here......just because I live in NY I am NOT a Yankee fan. Dh is a Sox fan all the way. As a matter of fact, this time last year (same scenario) I was just outside Boston college shopping with Dd.
It was really neat to see the how with Boston press wrote about the playoffs. And if you don't follow baseball, hope your book is nice and relaxing.


Mouse- you getting any gym/swimming time in? How are the lessons (swimming) going?

Robyn-how did you day go?????

FYI, my mom is doing ok. She is progressing slowly- but looks pretty normal and is slowly becoming functional. Her house was a MESS....(so what else is new?) so Dd and I did some cleaning up for her. My sister is a lazy slob. End case. I know our Dm is no housekeeper, but she could have done something to help.
So, speaking of slobs, I'd better get moving and clean up here. Got a wee bit of a cold, but nothing too awful. It is just slowing me down.
Hope everyone has a good day. See ya later.
Ginny

Ginny, that sounds just horrid... I'd probably kill the kid or say I was going to. I have to drive students in our vans, and I flat out refused to get licensed for our lift-bus... I'll drive the Red Cross' emergency vehicle (ambulance size) and a 16-passenger van, but not that lift bus. It has an extra powerful engine because of the lift and the weight of the chairs... its all in the back. I almost always threaten the kids with dire consequences when I drive...
I am getting the swimming time in, but not the weights. I'm not getting to the gym until after 4:30 most days, and I have this strange desire to be home before 7:30... so I've been bad about weights. But I have been doing at least half a mile 5 days a week.
I didn't get home tonight until nearly 8... I had to go over to Whole Foods near my apartent/school to drop off information because I want to take the kids over there for our retail field trip... and I'd been told our PR/Development office had set it up, but I got there and they adn't. So I had to quick put together information about the high school and my program for the manager and drop it by there. I missed him, of course, and he isn't in again till Saturday. There goes my field trip for Tuesday. :(
And GOOD NEWS.... Back in August I submitted a presentation for the Council for Exceptional Children's annual convention. The CEC is the largest special education professional organization in the United States, and perhaps world-wide, becuase they have international membership. Their annual convention is huge... and THEY ACCEPTED MY PRESENTATION! Its what they call "provisional acceptance" meaning that the judges rated the presentation high enough and interesting enough to run... but they have to see if they have room for all the presentations. So now I need to get my butt registered... but its $300!!! I'm hoping the school will pick up a chunk of it without too much problem.

:mouse:

Ginny, you crack me up. I am not a baseball fan at all...they spend too much time scratching their crotches and chewing tobacco. I prefer hockey myself. It is a fast paced sport and manages to hold my attention. DH is a die hard Yankees fan. He cried when Mickey Mantle died. My father, and most of my family are Yankees fans. I have some family in Massachusetts who, of course, are Red Sox fans which can make family gatherings entertaining to say the least. I stay out of it since I'm not in the least bit interested. I thought last night's game was the deciding game for who was playing in the world series only to find out that it was game 1 of a possible 7. :( Then the world series. :( Add the presidential debates, and there isn't a friggin thing to watch on tv. After working hard all day, I like to have at least an hour to vegetate and watch entertaining junk on the tube. I already told DH that he'd better give me one hour tonite to watch my new favorite show, "The Mountain" at 9pm. We have a second tv, but it is in the playroom right off DD's bedroom, and it would wake her up if we watched it at night. :( He can spare one hour. It won't kill him. New subject...I totally understand your anger at that little nimrod making all sorts of noise at a dangerous crossing.

Kerry, sorry about the gain. But, you know how it goes. It could be your cycle. You could be retaining water. Lot's of reasons. Just keep on keeping on!

The kindergarten teachers in my building are not meant to teach young children. They are harsh and cold-hearted. Retirement seems like the perfect solution to me, but only one is near it. Anyway, the worst one of all got many of my students from last year. They are really struggling emotionally. Those who are smart enough to be successful are not great, but okay. But those who are slower learners or creative thinkers are really being mistreated. Last year one of them was the author of a class book. The book won an award. The child is a really creative and in my mind, unconventionally intelligent. He can be a little "spacey" but is capable of so much in a loving and supportive environment. He was so successful in my room. Well, I made the mistake of telling his new K teacher that he is bright. Now she constantly tells me that he is stupid. It hurts me so much because I know he isn't, and I really love this little boy. I hate it that she thinks he is stupid and probably isn't very nice to him. Two other boys from last year she refers to as, "Dumb and Dumber." One of them saw me standing in my doorway today and ran up to give me a hug. When I hugged him back, she yelled at him, "Don't you dare go in her room!" The poor kid got so upset. All the parents I had last year that have this teacher come complaining to me that she is such a witch and they miss me so much. Their kids talk about my aide and I constantly. It just breaks my heart. :sorry:

Mouse-that is just wonderful news for you regarding your presentation!!!!!! What a great achievment to get some national recognition for all your efforts and hard work.
Congrats!!!!!!!!! I am glad to hear that you are getting some quality pool time in for you. (know that the pool is to you what walking is to me!). Well, as far as getting home early....maybe you just need the rest, and well being that none of us are getting immunized against the flu, proper rest is one big factor in fighting it off. (yup, I am trying to make lemonade out of lemons!). Don't push too hard....you must be needing a break or something.

Summer- ok, lets see......this makes sense.......you live in New England and are married to a Yankee fan......I am in NY married to a Sox fan........and we meet somewhere in the middle where there is either a good novel or chick flick, cause I am baseballed out too!!!!!!!!!! I love hockey- same reason....action and not so.....yawn.......boring...... Glad I made you laugh!!!!! And as far as the idiotic presidential debates.......I am so sick of them and this whole election. Please, can we get this thing over with now?????? The election lasts one- just one day- and the weeks and weeks of hype are killing me. Honestly, I do know who I am voting for- all the debates in the world will not change that. And I do not really believe that a debate is a valid forum....not the way they are run. How sad about the bad attitude teachers. How disheartening for you and the kids to find the best in a student, only to have someone else knock them down. You will always be remembered as the teacher who loved them for who they are~how special is that!!!!! (and keep on giving them hugs, as if I had to tell you that!)
I wrote up my little monster today.....just had to. Too many safety issues. Survived the rest of today, the kids were pretty good and the day went pretty well for the most part. Got about 3 miles of walking in today. And it is going to rain for 2 days so I will be limited to tapes.
I'd better go.....time to get Dd into bed.
Hi to Robyn and Kerry! Hope you are doing ok.
See ya tomorrow.
Ginny

Yahoo on the presentation being accepted for the convention...

...and *HOCKEY* ...gotta love a sport where they rip each other's clothing off :P Professional baseball on t.v. is sooooooooo boring.... when you're there in real life watching it ATLEAST you get to watch the freaky fans in the stands and eat junk food because it is THE law of the stadium....

I have not resolved ANY of the issues about my ds' IEP...but thanks for the support with it! Mouse, I may have to "use" your brain...cause I'm ready to kick some middle school teacher fanny!

I have been so overwhelmed with my evaluation being due this week. Did it today and got an excellent review! It was a great lesson and the feedback was WONDERFUL! :)

gotta run..dh issues!

Evening Ladies,
Well I had a great day. My kids finally realized that I meant business and stopped their petty fights. I was actually able to get some work done today that I had set out to do. So that was a shocker in itself, since something usually comes up and sidetracks me. I got my 2 mile walk in this morning and then my 3x's around the circle at Curves tonight. So I am happy with my efforts today.
I was a week late on my TOM and I think that has screwed up my body for the last three weeks. But I am hoping to get back on a plan. I had been watching my carb intake and limiting it to 60 grams 3 meals a day and 30 grams for a bedtime snack. I had been following this for about two months and then I slowly fell off the bandwagon. But I am going to start phasing myself back to that program, since it was helping lose weight. But my eating today was sort of on track.
Mouse congrats on the presentation. I hope that your school will just step up and pay your way to the confernence. Sorry to hear that your planned fieldtrip was not so planned out after all. When do you think your kids go on there?
Summer so what trashy novel are you reading right now? I am with you all about baseball. After spending my whole summer going to ball practices and games for two different teams, it got old real fast. Now we are into socceer games and those parents are the rudest parents I have ever seen. I have to keep my mouth shut at the kids' games because I want to just lay it on the line for these parents and tell them off. You just keep loving and nuturing those kids when ever you see them. Two of our first graders in the afterschool program, told me tonight that they remembered how I would read them stories and play games with them last year. That they missed me being their teacher. So that made me feel really good after spending 1 1/2 hours with 5th and 6th grade students. There is just one pocket of those kids that no matter what I do they have to try to overstep my boundries. Tonight I laid down the law as soon as they walked in the door and I didn't have that many problems with them. It doesn't help that two of the 6 graders are twin sisters. SO did you get to watch your show?
Ginny, glad to hear that your mom is doing great. I bet she sure appreciates having you as a dd. Sounds like you two are very close. I think alot of my problem has been stress lately at school and home. But I am going to channel my stress in a more physical way and not by eating. I would appreciate the info though. PM and I will give you my snail mail address.
Hi Robyn, hope you are having a great week!
Well my dh needs the phone. SO I will talk to you all later.
Have a great Thursday!
Kerry

Just a short hello......other than the miserable $360 bill from the auto mechanic......why did I say I would drive this trip tonite????? Must have been insane.
I want my cat and a good long nap......and this cold is not helping me.

Kerry- great idea channeling all that stress into activity or something creative- instead of eating (hey, I can identify with that!) Good job getting that workout in.

Robyn- you go girl!!!!! I am so happy for you with the good evaluation??? (as if we expected any other than good news for you?!) You've worked hard and deserve this.

Mouse and Summer- how is your week going......
Someone please wake me up when it is Friday evening and this week is OVER!
See ya tomorrow. (if I survive this trip)
Ginny

Ginny, I think the Yankee affiliation comes from the fact that I live less than an hour from Manhattan. So, we are very much affected by all that is NYC, the good, the bad, and the ugly. It is great when we want to see a Broadway show, etc. I will definitely continue to give my ex-students the attention they need. (I have one who comes to me for bandaids on her boo boos rather than the nurse.) They all know that I love them like my own and will always be welcome in my room whenever they need to be there. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade teachers actually encourage my continued involvement. They send their students downstairs to read to my class, etc. They are all wonderful teachers themselves, so they don't feel threatened by my relationship with their kids. I wish pre-k was located upstairs with the big kids instead of downstairs with kindergarten since they have a lot more fun upstairs, and the teachers are much friendlier.

Kerry, so you have big kids in your after school program. It is so funny...3rd graders are big kids to me!!! How silly is that?! I am reading Fair Haven by JoAnn Ross. I just finished reading The Notebook. I liked the beginning to the middle until it switched over to the story about the couple when they got old. It was too friggin depressing. I would have liked to read about the couple's whole life and marriage together, not just the beginning of their relationship and then when she got alzheimers. Ick. :( Anyway, Fair Haven is set in glorious Ireland, and it is very romantic. I love it so far, but I'm still waiting for it to get juicy!

Robyn & Ginny, it is so cool (no pun intended) that you both like Hockey!!! Wow!!!

Robyn, sorry things aren't getting better with DS. Keep fighting girl. You know the law. You know what you have coming to you. Take it.

Mousie, miss you.

I can't wait for the weekend. I hope it lingers a little longer than most of them do. :cool:

WELLLLLLLLLL...........today was a tuff day at school BUT I gotta tell you... it was NOTHING compared to good days at the old school! :) Amazing but soooooo darn true! Tonight tho I'm exhausted! I think the whole WEEK has been difficult for some reason!

Weather was a bit unpredictable. We went from wearing shorts and having the air on to having the windows open and wearing shorts and freezing in the morning and thinking that we need long pants TO shut windows, the heat on, jackets and LONG pants daily! All in the scope of a week! Whew!

I'm sort of hoping, dreaming, heck PRAYING that it will be raining on Saturday so that we don't have to go to ds' baseball game. Bad mom, huh?! :) I want to, neeeeed to sleep!

My fabu review had one of the new teachers in tears today. She and I met at the beginning of the year. She teaches 5th grade. She is young. We have NOTHING in common EXCEPT.... she has a GREAT sense of humor! We've gotten fairly close. Which is hysterical as we are such polar opposites...except for the laughing in the middle! :) Anyway...her lesson and review were FARRRRRR from good. She has NEVER taught before. NOTHING went right with her lesson, yadda yadda yadda.... And so she asks if she could read mine. WHO knew she was gonna flip. It took me nearly 30 minutes to explain that while I'm new to the school that I've been teaching first grade for 17 years. YEARS. YEARS! I could have been HER first grade teacher!!!!
Poor thing...I felt horrible for knowing how to teach! I did my best to reassure her. She has a mentor....but I've been trying to give her "old dog pointers"...things you learn to do because of experience! Anyway. I was sort of taken off guard by her tears as a result of my success... poor girl!

I am in a very bad spot with my head and my fat. I have a LOT of deep thinking that must be done. I just can't seem to get it done right now tho. Which makes me sad so I eat which makes me sadder so I eat... DARNNN how do you get emotions undercontrol?! I was considering a shrink... my brain needs so much work!

Stephen's teachers have said that they can meet with me for a conference any time between the hours of 8 and 4. Those are MY work hours nearly exactly... AND I have 5 days of leave for the year.....and there are no flu shots ....... I'm petrified. and I'm angry that they have SUCH compassion for a fellow teacher. (We wont discuss the teacher's kid....sigh!) enough..

I'm off to get to my homework...yipeee skippee...

Tomorrow is FRIDAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Hope everyone is doing well.... Hang in there!
:) take care,
meeeeee

Robyn, that new teacher is so lucky to have you. It is too bad that student teaching didn't prepare her better. But, she has you with your experience, your compassion, and best of all, your sense of humor!!! As far as the "availability" of the teachers you need to meet with...that is bullsh*t!!! They have to accomodate you either before school or after school. I can't tell you how many parents I've met with when it was inconvenient for me, but since it was my responsibility to meet with them, I did it. Then again, my district bends over backwards for parents. They clearly don't do that in your son's district. :( I understand the panic about sick time and the lack of flu shots. As you've read, I'm in a total panic right now. Basically, the only people getting shots in CT are hooked up to their own portable oxygen tanks or feeding tubes which makes me being an asthma patient look like small potatoes. I'm sh*t out of luck. Already my room has been flooded with sick kids whose parents drop them off saying, "he is sick, but he really wanted to come to school or she threw up three times before school, but she is okay now or he has a cold and is coughing a lot, so I will take him to the doctor AFTER school." Three of them arrived with fevers. I saw that glazed over look on their faces, felt their foreheads, took their temps at the front door of the school, and sent them home with fevers ranging from 101-103!!!. Each parent acted totally shocked that their child had a fever...yeh right!!! So, I know, like you and everyone else at our thread, I will be using every last sick day this year. :(

Hello, all. I'm here. I survived the week, but it was surely a minor miracle.
I gave the letter of acceptance to my supervisor yesterday, and it was like I set off a wet firecracker. No congratulations, didn't get told I did a good job, didn't ask me about plans or anything. He just wasn't interested. :( That started Thursday.
Mid-Day Thursday, I found myself scheduled for a "mediation meeting" with the database administration, her supervisor, my lead teacher and my supervisor. What a JOKE that was! I was told that I don't go the extra mile, that I try to evade the system by not following policy, and got blamed for at least two issues that I had no control over. One included a student that was assigned to my class, but his homeroom teacher got his schedule wrong when she gave him a student version... and although I followed procedures to find out where he was, I was blamed for not emailing the database administrator to let her know that he wasn't in my class. I emailed the lead teacher for his program and his homeroom teacher! For pity's sake. I was also blamed because the database administrator sent out an email listing the various report review meetings, and I went to the wrong one. She moved my name from the department I teach for, to the department that I case manage for. There are two teachers in the building that teach in the Industry/Vo-Tech area, but case manager for the traveling diploma program; me and the Tech Ed teacher. So I went to the review meeting for the group where my name was. Makes sense to you, right? Yea, well it didn't make sense to anybody else (although verbally it initially made sense to my supervisor when I checked with him and the lead teacher!!!!), and I was told if I didn't understand something, I should email the database administrator. What was there to not understand? You put my name under the lead teacher for the diploma program, not under the vo-tech program. I went where YOUR list told me to go!
:shrug: Somehow, though, that is my fault too.
Despite the fact that the database administrator was warned by HR over her dealings with staff and that other staff complained about how she treated me the last 2 years, it was all my fault. Right. Whatever. It was a pointless meeting that kept me from calling my endocrinologist when I was supposed to, and kept me from eating my lunch until nearly 2 pm since they took my entire planning period and another 20 minutes of a class.
I'm so tired of all the BS, really. They're expecting at least 5, possibly more, new students enrolled... and 2 of my classes are already at 9 and 10 students. I don't have that many desks! I asked for more desks in July. They didn't order them till August, and then other staff received the desks. I asked for 4-6, and received 3.
I don't go the extra mile, but I met after-school on a FRIDAY with somebody from the DC area Red Cross to set up a community service opportunity for our students who need hours to graduate. Those community service opportunities will, by the way, take place during my planning period... and after-school or on weekends. All this, from somebody who doesn't go the extra mile. What the :censored:???????
So, my poor endocrinologist has been trying to talk to me for 2 weeks, I haven't been able to talk to her for more than 10 minutes. I'm waiting for her to call me now... we were supposed to talk at 4:30, but she was busy. Its 5:40 now, so I kinda doubt I'll hear from her... and she's gone all next week.
:mouse: