Hello everyone...a quick note to let you know that I'm alive....
I have not had the chance to read everyone's posts.... I've been thinking
about you all....I'm so busy right now AND sick again. (I'm just about OVER
being sick...) DH was hit in the throat and chin by a very large tree branch
this evening. He is ok. He has several scratches and a HUGE skinned place
on his chin......like a rug burn but really deep. His throat hurts (inside) but
he refuses to go to the dr. This happened while I was at my 2nd PTA meeting
in as many days. I will go to my 3rd on Thursday. I think I may need a medal
for PTA meetings this year!

Our 7th graders case manager and I are having a serious fight.... I truly feel
for what she does. (At school I am on the other side of her desk...the collaborative class....) THEY just can't get their crap together. I am VERY compassionate and can commiserate regarding her position and the demands on her time......HOWEVER, our son is our *ONLY* priority. I am sorry that they have stacked her caseload. I am sorry that her computer is horrid. I am sorry that she hasn't learned the software that is needed for him to do math on the computer. (Mousie, you know anything about MathPad2 or whatever the latest MathPad is?) I'm sorry that she has MORE students than she can handle BUT they have had 2 full weeks to get the kid a keyed lock for a locker. Yadda, yadda, yadda.... Tonight she made the grave error of telling MY son NOT to talk to me or his advocate. Everything (in his words re: her speech) must go thru her...... that SHE has the final say over what he can tell us or not. GUESS HOW THAT WENT OVER..... Lead ton of bricks! I have spoken with her on the phone. I am not too sure that she gets that HE is our ONLY priority. That when I'm at school, I have my whole class to worry with.....but for now....by DARN........they need to get his IEP done correctly.....without another darn excuse......

I have got to get to bed.... I took my cough medicine and I'm typing this with my eyes closed.... I have not coughed in 10 minutes or so...THAT amazes me!

Summer. Did I miss your PM with the address?
Kerry. Feel better!
Ginny. I don't have a clue about what was wrong with your mom...but I"m glad she is doing well!
Mouse. Do you forgive me for not sending coupons.... What a great friend I'm turning out to be......

ya'll take care.
meee
He is doing well in spite of me feeling horrid about things....

'Morning!
Summer- sorry for the crummy day...... Got a kid with a bad case of the touchie/feelies huh? (had one of them on the bus last year.....) Hopefully today will be much better. And yeah, you probably should lock up your purse. I have heard of stolen wallets/purses even in churches recently~ had it happen to myself many years ago at work. Bummer that that is what this world has become. Today is a new start, right!

Kerry- drink lots and lots of warm beverages and water. And Big hugs....hope you feel better. I have heard of lots of nasty colds out there(seems awfully early in the year for all this nonsense.) Take care of yourself. Hopefully today will be better for you too!

Up to my eyeballs again.......Saw Dm last nite, she picked up dramatically during my visit (no, it wasn't cause of me, the anethesia wore off). She called this am (6!) asking for some items today........hopefully I can bring her home. See ya later.
Hi to Robyn and Mouse.....
Ginny

Evening folks,
I felt much better today. I am still having to blow my stuffy nose but not as much as yesterday. So I think the Nyquil was the right thing to do. I am going to take another dose of it here in a few minutes.
Tonight when I was working out at Curves the owner kept commenting on how great I looked. This made me feel really good. Since I just had a few cookies at school before leaving. So I worked even harder to work those few cookies on. LOL She said that it looked like I had lost a ton of weight since she saw me last month. But I have only lose 2 or 3 pounds since then. I think I have lost several inches though. We will find out here in a week or two about the inches.
SUmmer hope your Open House was a huge success. Hopefully you didn't get feeled up by students or parents tonight.
Robyn how is your DH? How did he get hit by the branch in the throat area anyway? That sounds very painful. Hope he is feeling better. SOrry to hear about your problem with your son. Keep pushing for what is right for him.
Ginny hope you were able to see your mom today and to bring her home. Hope you had a nice day driving your little angels around.
Mouse did you ever get your grad school figured out? How is your week going so far.
Well it is off to take some medicine and go to sleep.
Have a great Thursday everyone!
Kerry

Kerry- glad you are feeling better.........
Robyn- how are you feeling.....and how is Dh?
Sorry this is so short.....I was gonna get gabby here and the phone rang, so I have to scoot. My mom is doing great. Sounds like her normal energetic self.
Gotta go.
See ya! Ginny

Just another shortie.....waiting for Dh and Ds to get home from bball practice so I can to to open house tonite.
Robyn- my mom had a large patch of basal cell carcinoma on the top of her head. According to the surgeon, it was a challenge to remove and still leave her with some scalp......but she is ok, and sounds like her usual self. Yesterday she looked much better than the night of the surgery (still groggy). Thanks for asking.

Mouse- a most blessed Yom Kippur to you and your family (got it right this time!)

Summer- how did it go with the surgeon?

Kerry- how you feeling???
I am out of here.......Dh just came home.
See ya later!
Ginny

Well, I saw the surgeon today, and he agreed with everyone else that I need a biopsy. What they found was not a lump, it is a lesion. I finally saw it on the films myself. It is only about an inch long. The doctor's office will make an appointment at the hospital for me to have a core biopsy. It will only take the pathologist about 3-4 days, and then the doctor will let me know the results. So, if I get an appointment next week, I may know before my birthday. I just want this weight lifted off my shoulders. I hate living in limbo. My eating habits are horrendous, my house looks like "who did it and ran," and I feel really disorganized at school. I need to know either way. Even if it is cancer, I just need to know so that I can get on with my life...keyword being, "LIFE."

Open House went well. I had parents thanking me for getting their kids in line. They can't believe that after one month with me, they are starting to clean up after themselves, behave more independently, and do what they are told. I wanted to tell them that it was within their power all along if they were consistent with discipline, but I didn't want to hurt any feelings. They think this is good, just wait till June...we've got a long way to go!!! I've got all sorts of plans for these little nuckleheads. My aide showed up to school on Wednesday and even stayed for Open House! But, then the a**hole called out sick again today. So out of 4 days, she has been out 3. And, I was counting on her to cover my class with an assistant while I was at the surgeon this morning. I wanted the kids (some of which still cry every morning) to see at least one of our faces when their moms dropped them off. However little miss selfish decided to take another day off when the kids and I really needed her to show up. To make matters worse, we had a student transfer from the PM class to the AM class because the schedule conflicted with her nap and she cried all through class. So, today was her first day with the AM class, and I was counting on my aide to be there for her so she would feel secure. But, no, my aide opted out. Apparently, the little girl did cry, but thankfully, the aides who took over were sensitive enough and helped her transition. By the time my appointment was over, she was done crying and was playing with the kids in the centers. So, tomorrow is Friday. Who wants to lay bets that my aide will shoot for the long weekend and take tomorrow off too?!

Kerry, feel better girl. Get lots of rest. Take supplements...echinacea, garlic, and vitamin C.

Robyn, I'm glad you are okay. I did PM you. If you can't find it, let me know.

Ginny, I hope your mom heals well from the surgery. Just stay very aware of her healing process, and make sure to report any sign of infection.

Hi Mousie!

Hi ladies,
I am getting a little better. The infection is breaking up and coming out of my system slowly. But atleast I am not as stuffy and sounding like I am going to lose my voice at any minute.
Not much new here. Just had to get ready for a new sub on Monday. I am going to an inservice to learn how to restrain unruly children. Should be interesting. Time will tell.
Hope everyone is doing great.
Summer glad to hear that you are finally getting somewhere with your health issues. I will keep saying my prayers for you.
Ginny glad to hear that your mom is feeling much better. I will keep you and her in my prayers too.
Robyn and MOuse Hi hope all is well with you.
Talk more this weekend, Starting to fall asleep.
Take care,
Kerry

Hi all. I kinda disappeared last week. It was a very long week. I finally reached my advisor Monday. Went to the gym, and all.
Tuesday we had the mandatory TB testing done... and last year I developed a reaction to the serum or whatever they use... My arm swelled up and the space they injected turned red. But they weren't sure it was the test AND they didn't write it down, so I had to have it done again this year... same thing happened. After work, I had a dentist appointment... just 6 month tooth cleaning. My dentist goes to my gym, too, with her husband who is the computer guru/receptionist. By the time that was over, my arm was swollen... and I just wanted to go home, so I did.
My computer died that night, and Gateway decided that it had to go in for service again instead of just replacing the case/motherboard. So I'm using my old laptop that my father has somehow managed to kill. I am using my dial-up ISP, and had to buy an external keyboard for the laptop. When I get my computer back, I'm going to get the IT students at school to dump the harddrive on this, clean it off, and see if they can't clean the keyboard and make it work again. Its a good, heavy system and should take Windows 2000 if we can clean it up.
Gateway picked my system up Thursday, so I hope to have it back Tuesday or Wednesday with luck. They say 3-5 business days including shipping back... so Friday, Monday, Tuesday...
On Wednesday I met with my advisor, and he had a good idea... he told me to through the catalog and pick out classes that sounded interesting. I'm not missing anything for certification, I'm fully certified, so I'm taking classes because I want to take them... so take what I want to learn about! He said I could take anything in the school, including counseling classes... so I'm going to take the intro class, and a vocational counseling class in addition to other things.
On my way out of the parking lot, though, I had a flat tire! Fortunately, I turned left to go toward the gym instead of right, or I'd've been in a really bad neighborhood just outside of Hopkins. The left isn't too bad: its a park and an art museum. But it took the emergency road service people 2 hours to respond, and it wasn't even rush hour! The dispatcher kept telling me that he didn't know where Johns Hopkins University and the Baltimore Museum of Art were! Two of the major landmarks on East Baltimore, for pity's sake! He sent them over to Johns Hopkins HOSPITAL! Which is clear on the other side of the city!
I spent $160 on new tires... but I have 4 new tires now... And my tuition reimbursement is gone.
My TA was also out on Tuesday, and we did okay till last period when a kid threw his work across the room. I always feel bad when stuff like that happens even though I usually don't have any control over what happened.
On Friday, I had the whole day off, since I used comp time... and went to see yet another plastic surgeon. Oh, wow... this one was worse than the one at Hopkins. He insisted that gastric bypass surgery was the only way I'd ever lose weight and he hoped that I'd find the truth somewhere and find somebody to ehlp me. He said my endocrine disorder isn't the problem... the problem is that I eat too much and don't do enoguh. I tried to show him the exercise log the gym printed out for me and he didn't want to see it. I told him he was just like everybody else, making assumptions that I sit and eat all day. I tried to tell him that I track my food and could show him months and months of logs... he wasn't interested in that either.
I don't know what to do now, though. I know that I don't think I have enough courage to go see anymore surgeons. I had one left on the list, with an apointment in October. I know that I haven't lost any weight since July... even with all the exercise. I did loads more in July and August... Its been hard this month with school starting. I feel so busy all the time. And the gym is closed for the Jewish holidays as well because they're ina Jewish neighborhood and have lots of employees that are Jewish.
I'll be scarce, because of the computer issues...

Hey ya'll.........
what a week! (BUT much better than the week's at my old school! )
I've been busy, running, working my butt off...

Today our youngest had baseball, the oldest had a band car wash...and when
all that was over, DH and I spent 4 hours picking (pickin' LOL) a 1/2 bushel of crabs!

My dear friend is in Stuart Florida...which is right above West Palm Beach.... which is
getting pounded by yet another hurricane. My inlaws went back to Florida this week...and are spending their first weekend back in the state in the basement of a church. Did I tell you about my friend's school? Frances ruined it. They are doubled up in a school that was set to be demolished. Ann and her dh had planned to be out of the state this weekend to attend a wedding.... so they carried on with their plans... She is pretty much a basket case from all the stress ....... anyway...

Ginny, how is mom? I read your note...and it made MY scalp hurt. Please give her a hug for me! YIKESSS...what a place to have a skin issue!

Summer, you continue to be in my prayers and thoughts! I can't begin to know how you are holding it together! Hang in there!

Kerry, hope you are continuing to get well! I KNOW what working sick is like!

Mousie, DARN surgeon. I'm sorry that you can't get a decent doc. What a headache! What a heartache. What a butthead! Hang in there. Keep the appointment in October....THAT might be the one that "gets it"! Keep up the great work at the gym!

I'm heading to bed....at 9 pm on a Saturday... WhooooHooo....I'm such a big party girl! LOL
take care....

Mousie, that doctor is a f*cking a**hole. How dare he treat you like that. Shame on him. It makes me sick how you are being mistreated. Please don't give up...maybe your appointment in October will be the answer.

Kerry, glad you are getting better. I'm sorry you got so sick so early in the school year. Those darn cooties!

Robyn, I can't believe what these hurricanes have done to Florida, and now there is another one on the way. Have a great weekend, and take it easy.

Hey Ginny girl!

Today was my nephew's engagement party. It was such a wonderful and joyous day. Let me give you a little history...He was my DS 2nd born child. Her first was a girl with developmental disabilities resulting from loss of oxygen at birth. Out of a sense of guilt, the girl was shamelessly spoiled and turned into a monster. She is now a very bitter, unhappy, and difficult mildly handicapped adult. My nephew was her polar opposite...gifted & talented, athletic, popular, and as kindhearted as could be. He always got the raw end of the deal because of his sister. My mom (until she died) and I always watched out for him and made sure he didn't get the short end of the stick. I babysat both of them all of the time, and after my mom died, I moved in with my DS for 3 years while I completed college. My nephew and got very close. I eventually moved out and got married. During high school, he became depressed and made some bad decisions getting involved with drugs. He lived a risky lifestyle for quite a few years and really scared all of us. He eventually went to school and became a chef. My DS and he argued and he up and moved across the country to Colorado. He met his fiancee and they moved to Oregon. Well, he has grown up and straightened out. He finally has everything he ever wanted. He is marrying the girl of his dreams. (I never thought he'd actually get married!) They are coming east for the wedding, and plan on eventually settling down on the east coast so that they can be near their families because they've realized that family is important. (WOW!) She is from Long Island, so they've decided to have the wedding in May/June at a vineyard on Long Island. They asked my DD to be the flower girl! I am so excited. I spent the whole day smiling and weeping simultaneously. I am so relieved that he not only straightened his life out, he is HAPPY. That is all I ever wanted for him...to just be happy. My heart is so full right now. I guess I will be doing a lot of happy crying over the next several months. God is good.

Evening Ladies,
Boy what a day it has been for me! I had to go workout at Curves this morning. Then I rushed home to get a shower and get dressed for the day. Paid the bills and walked right out the door without them on my way to my MIL's. We went shopping for a baby shower gift for my good friend's shower tomorrow. She is having a baby with my dh's nephew, so his mom is givng the shower. And of all places to have it, they are having it at our house. So I had to clean the house this afternoon. By the time I got to the kitchen, I was pissed because my sil was to come over and help me clean the house. So I just swept the floor and said the **** with mopping it. It just burns me that we offered to have it at our house to save them some money and they just abuse our gift. She promised me that she would come over to help clean the house. I just hope that I can be a nice hostess tomorrow and not get into a fight with my in-law's. This evening to burn off my stress and anger I did do a 4 mile walking video. So that has helped. I just might have to do it again tomorrow mornign before everyone comes over for the shower. LOL.
Mouse I am so sorry that doctor had to be such a sh@#head. Don't you just want to hurt them back like they have done to you. Keep your appointment in Oct. God might just be saying the best one for last. I hope you continue to believe in yourself and don't take in what these idiots are saying about you. (((hugs))) Keep up the good work with your working out!
Summer, I am glad that you had such a wonderful time at your nephew's engagment party today. You have been under a lot of stress lately and needed a day like today to cheer you up. Keep smiling and crying those tears of happiness.
Ginny, how is your mom? So how are you doing with taking care of your mom and doing your everyday living tasks? Hope you have found the time to go for a few walks.
Robyn, sounds like you really enjoy your new school. I am glad to see you smiling this schoo year. Keep it up! How is your dh? I hope he isn't sore anymore from the tree branch hitting him in the throat. How did that happen?
Well I am off to bed to catch some zzzz's. Have to have my beauty rest for tomorrow.
Have a great Sunday.
Kerry

Good Morning!
Sorry to be MIA for a few days......been so darned busy here.
Lots to catch up with here, and I am glad to see that everyone has had a chance to check in and say hello. I start worrying about each of you if we do not hear from you in a day or so.

Kerry- you get my award for getting your workout in!! Good job getting to Curves, with all that you have going on. I hope that the shower is a wonderful event and that you get some time to enjoy it too! Sometimes it is hard to really enjoy having big parties at your own home. Rise above the crummy inlaws and smile!!!!!!! Show them what a class act you are, ok? Glad you are feeling better too, is that cold still retreating?

Mouse-I want to know what happened to doctors with bedside manner!!!!!!!
Ok, so that does not totally apply here, but you know what I mean. It seems as though most you have encountered are just such total creeps,, hey be thankful you found out they were creeps before they did anything to treat you! Hang in there for your October appt, I agree with Kerry, the Lord might just be keeping the best for last here. Lets see~ with your car, at least you are facing winter with 4 new tires! (you were going to need them sooner or later). Hope your computer woes end soon. When do you start your new classes? Now that sounds exciting, being able to take whatever you want!

Robyn- what you gonna do with all those crabs!? Sounds like you had a busy day! And I am so glad to hear that the new school is treating you well and that you are happy there.

Summer-well, first of all your aide needs a major league kick in the can. Nuff said about that! Glad that Open House went well for you and that the parents noticed all your efforts with their children. Bet that made you feel good! Hang in there with your health concerns- I am no expert- but if they are looking to do a core biopsy, well although it is not great news then it does sound to me as if there is still a very good chance that this is not malignant. I'll keep praying for you..... What wonderful news about your nephew! Focus on that......yup, you are so right, God is good. Keep your eyes on His goodness!

As for me, just been so busy. I did sneak off Friday (between am and pm runs) to go apple picking with Dd and her class. I was almost too tired to appreciate it, but it was fun. Yesterday I went to a dairy farm for an Open house (the local extension service has a farm open house every year, this year it was at the son of the teacher who both Ds and Dd had for second grade, so we went in support of her and her son). Then after that Dd and I went to Ds's baseball game. Dd spent most of the time there bellyachin' about sitting thru another ball game (I do not blame her, she has spent far too many hours keeping busy at siblings ballgames). Dh left at 6 am this morning to see Dd play at a tournament on Long Island. Won't be back until 9 tonight or so....... I will be taking Ds and Dd (8) to church this am, and then probably off to see my Dm late this morning for a few hours. She is doing very well. My sister is in from Ohio to take care of her. Problem is, my sister has done little to help at all.....Dm has done all of the cooking since she has gotten home from the hospital (except for the food that I had brought down for her when I picked her up on Wednesday). My mother has done the laundry......cooking......and my sister spends the day on the computer. What a life. Guess I'd better not blast her too much, she knows that I post at this site, and it would not be too difficult for her to figure out who I am. And if she is wasting all day on the internet, she could be a "lurker". Who knows. Anyway, tomorrow she is taking Dm back to the surgeon (who did not want Dm alone for the first 5 days post op, and Dm did not want to stay up here with us for that time). My sister returns home Tuesday.
Guess I have babbled enough. I have been a good girl and gotten my walks in. This morning I am going to try out the Leslie Sansone tape with the stretchie (picked up on ebay). On that happy note, I'll go get my walking shoes on and burn some calories! Hope everyone has a great day.
Ginny

Kerry, don't let the turkeys get you down! What goes around, comes around...your sil will get hers. Enjoy being the gracious hostess today and rise above everyone.

Ginny, sorry your sister is dropping the ball. Your poor mother. I hope she doesn't overdo it. Try to find a minute for yourself between ballgames etc. How is college girl adjusting? How is DH adjusting?

Mousie, don't forget that we all know just how hard you are working. We are all proud of your accomplishments. Think of those of us who "get it" when some ignoramous disregards what you say. There has to be a surgeon out there who will believe you and do what you need.

Robyn, enjoy your weekend.

I think I told you guys that DD was chosen to be my nephew's (her Godfather's) flower girl in the wedding! She couldn't be more excited. Halfway through the party, she talked about how she needed to practice her part and what dress she would wear. When I told her that one was being designed for her, I thought she would burst. She is still flying high today. Actually, so am I. He is like my own child, and witnessing his happiness after so many difficult years is the greatest feeling.

Well, today is for laundry and cleaning, and then I must do lesson plans.

Have a great day one and all.

Hi!
Summer, it is so wonderful that you are focusing on this happy event in your family. A real rainbow at the end of the storm for your nephew and family. Hope your day of preparation for another week goes well and is productive for you. Nothing like starting a week out on the right foot!!! As far as my sister goes.....she has been dropping the ball for years.....maybe never even had the ball in the first place. Thankfully my mom is pretty spunky, and doing pretty well thru all this.
Thanks for asking about Dd and Dh. She was very upset last night- her Bf came to see her at school and him leaving her there was tough on her. We spoke for a long time last nite on the phone after his departure. Dh????? He still is a basket case over her not being home. What you gonna do, that is how he is.
See ya later! Hope everyone is having a great day.
Ginny

Congratulations to your nephew, summer...
I think that your aide does need a kick in the rear, but I've been there too. I always say I didn't have an aide when I was in my two inner city schools, because they were worthless until my last year there. The first aide I had thought that I was being disrespectful to the students by not teaching them about nouns, verbs, etc... they couldn't read, none of the knew their addresses or phone numbers, how to use a phone book, read a recipe, any of it. They were multiply-handicapped 9-14 year olds. They didn't need to know nouns! That was as bad as the assistant principal expecting to see me teach READING to our lowest functioning non-verbal class. These kids couldn't recognize their names... how was I going to teach them phonics? Two of the kids had functioning levels around 18-24 months.
Anyway... my second school, the TA spent the day in the back of the room putting together puzzles. In desperation, I finally started giving her lists of things that needed to be done, and she refused to work with the kids at all.
My TA when I first started at my current school was horrid too: he'd spend all day reading email.
Yet, NCLB demands that teaching assistants have degrees. The two best TAs I have had didn't have degrees. One has a credential from HeadStart... the other has just done this for 30 years. Whatever. Just like a degree doesn't make a teacher, it won't make a TA either, and if TAs have degrees, you're going to have to pay them more than $12/hour. That's the pay for more experienced TAs at my school... and while they pay teachers less, the TAs get a pretty decent salary... plus the same benefits we do, including tuition reimbursement. I mean, really, I have a master's degree and only make $10/hour more...
Robyn: I do know about MathPad Plus. What do you need to know? I also know about IntelliMathics, IntelliTalk II and III... I have both II and III on my other computer. I don't have MathPad... they offered that or IntelliMathics to me, I took IntelliMathics. I have the current version of IntelliMathics, and the previous version too.
I also have Boardmaker, and access to Boardmaker 5. I don't have Speaking Dynamically. I do have the Dynavox Software for Windows. What questions do you have? I have access to Write:OutLoud at school, and I have Inspiration at home and at school too. I think we have Co:Writer in the lab too.
Its okay about the coupons: I didn't get the Sunday paper this week because I can't scan anything... since my computer is in the shop. But I think I'm pretty nearly finished.
As for the doctor: I guess I'll keep the appointment. I'm not sure why, though. It'll be another day I can't go to the gym, since the appointment is after work at 4. I don't think I'm going to get there today... I'm pretty nauseated this morning for some reason. I don't know what's going on with me. The gym was pretty absent all last week too, and because of the appointment Friday I'm finding it hard to get going again. I'm going to go do the laundry when I finish posting... I changed the bed today, and the cat box... so I haven't exactly been idle.
It seems as if the hard work isn't worth a whole lot to me... I get people telling me at work I look good, but I have no idea if I'm really doing anything beneficial or not.
The classes start in the spring. Fall semester was all screwed up. I'll have enough paid off the loan between the tuition reimbursement and what I pay each month to take 2 classes in the spring. I think I'm only going to put one of them on my credit card though so I can still take classes in the summer. I'm not sure how that's going to work. I was originally going to take 2 in the fall, 1 in the spring, 2 in the summer... and pay for the spring class on my own so I could pay for the summer classes. I might still do that, but there are a lot of classes I want to take that don't look like they're offered often and being offered this spring. I'm afraid to miss them.

The cat is still sleeping off his stressful Friday/Saturday.