Carbon Neutral & Sad Day.

Do you see my new button over in the sidebar?  I got the link from Debby over at Just Breathe.  This is actually pretty neat.  This  was started by a German company; 1 tree is planted in the Plumas National Forest in Northern California  for every person who puts this on their blog/website.  The goal is to reforest the forest, so to speak.  The forest was destroyed by fires 3 years ago.  Planting the tree neutralizes the blog’s/website's carbon footprint for the next 50 years.  I figured it is worth a try. 

Yesterday was a very sad day:  It was my intern's last day.  She did such an amazing job with my students.  When I think back to the first day she came in until yesterday, I realize how much she grew professionally.  She came in kind of meek (especially with the behavior management) but finished very strong.  She was a delight to get to know, and it's nice to know that I helped someone coming into the profession get a good, positive start. Now I have to get back to work and pick up where she left off!  I forgot didn't even think that I had my camera to take a picture before she left.  She is looking at working in a hospital setting in a big city about 2-3 hours away from here.  She is from that city, although I tried to talk her into staying with us since she has a boyfriend in this area.  But, no dice.  She's ready to go home.  And she'll do great, because she is going to be an amazing Speech Pathologist.  But, I'm going to miss her.

Only 1 more Bus Duty Day and I'm done for the year!  YEEE-HAW!  It's probably a good thing, too, since I was late (again) this morning.  But, I didn't have to be in the gym last, which means no little children were crying.  I am very, very thankful that I don't have duty the last week of school...talk about cruel and unusual punishment!  I am, however, really glad that I have the schools that I have.  Both of them are very laid back, but are so caring about the students.  There may be 1 or 2 teachers that I wonder how much they like their job, but for the most part they are there for the kids.  And, they all know how to laugh and have a good time!  It definitely makes it a lot easier to go to work when you have those people with you in the trenches!  Yes, God is good!

Have a fun Thursday!

Hodgepodge Thursday

It's just after 11:00 p.m. on Wednesday night, and I'm sitting here posting on a blog.  WHY?  I usually blog at night, revise after I've slept on it, then post first thing in the morning.  I can't help  it; I'm obsessive a perfectionist that way.  It's been a busy week, and it's just Wednesday.  Monday was the easy day...no after school activities.  MS did have a soccer game, but it was an away game, and it was quite a distance away, so I chose not to go.  So, what did he do?  He scored his 2nd goal of the season.  And I missed it...again.  Tuesday night was a Reunion Meeting.  What a blast it was to look through old pictures and realize that I either didn't go on the senior field trip, or I completely don't remember it.  I'm pretty sure  I didn't go, although I have no reason why.  One of my friends said if she hadn't been in the pictures she wouldn't have believed it!
Tuesday morning I took a Double Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake (Thanks, Paula..as in Deen!)  to school for the teachers in celebration of the end of TCAPS.  It must've been okay...it was all gone by 9:30!

If you've ever tried that cake, you know it's "Slap your grandma" good!  When I got to my room, this beautiful sight was waiting on me:

My heat/air is finally fixed!  HOORAY!  It only took 5 months, but it finally got fixed!  I had a meeting during the day, and, y'all, the view outside of the principal's window is amazing.  There's just a big ole hill with trees all over it.  I had to snap this shot as I was leaving school Tuesday afternoon:

You have to look past the wires, but the view from this school just takes my breath away!  The clouds are incredible.
Which brings me to Wednesday.  I get a text from my intern...she can't find her keys.  She thinks maybe she locked them in her car, and she doesn't have a spare.  After a while she texts me again...still can't find them.  I tell her it's no big deal, just take her time.  I'll get started on the kids and she can jump in when she gets to school.   I finally get a text from her after I get to school:  she found them...in her bathrobe.  She wasn't very late, but I think she felt badly about it.
It's the lovely time of the year when we're running around, trying to get IEPs done  before school's out.  Another meeting Wednesday afternoon, but it didn't take very long.  As I'm leaving  the school, I get a text from MS:  I need to make baklava for him for school tomorrow...a school project.  Great.  I've never made baklava in my life.  My nephew's  wife makes a mean baklava, but I don't have her recipe.  So, when I get home, I look it up on the 'net, and print off the recipe.  When I asked MS why he waited until the last minute, he said that he didn't think I had anything else to do!  HA!  Guess what...I had a band booster budget meeting at 6:30.  And, I still needed to go by Home Depot to see if I could find a couple of ceiling fans I liked.  (More on that in a future post.)  The meeting lasted until 9:10...we closed Panera down.  Then, off to Home Depot for the quest for ceiling fans.  As I'm going in, I get a call from MS saying he's changed his mind...Persian Raisin Cookies would be easier and faster.  I tell him that I'll call  him when I go into the grocery store so he can tell me what we I need to get.  Find a couple of fans I like, then off to Kroger.  That's one scary place at 10:00 at night, let me tell you.  There was a high school boy who was harassing   asking the bag boy where he went to high school, then proceeded to tell him that one of the city schools  was better.  Then, the high school boy looks at me and asks which one I like better.  I tell him I went to the other city school (which is a huge rival  of his school.).  As I'm getting in my car, I look at the car parked next to me...bad mistake.  Really weird looking people.  Not that I have anything against people who look different...I  just don't want to cross their paths at 10:15 at night in a dark parking lot when I'm alone.
I finally make it home, make the cookies (in all fairness, MS did help), and now here I am.  Can barely keep my eyes open, but I'm going to finish this post!  5:30 is going to come awfully early.  I don't think the cookies turned out exactly like they're suppose to; I don't think they were suppose to flatten out like they did.  But they're done.  And I don't care what they taste like.

And now it's Thurs. morning, and, yep, I was right:  5:30 did com awfully early this morning.
Oh, and:  Happy Earth Day!  In South Carolina, the town we lived in had a huge Earthday Celebration at the museum (it was a small museum, but it was a pretty good one!).  I don't think they do anything like that here.  Anyway, here's a fact from my "Little White Book":  The first Earth Day was celebrated in San Francisco, which is named after St. Francis, who is the patron saint of ecology.

Funny Day

Yesterday was one of those days when everything was funny.  Ever have one of those days?  It started out with a boy in Kindergarten:  he said "a tree suck me".  What?  My intern & I just looked at each other.  Then, it hit her:  "Oh, it stuck you?" Then, a little later, I was in the hall and the secretary came out of the office and said my name.  She said, "I'm calling you."  Uh, okay, great!  Apparently the nurse told her that I wanted her to call me.  I have no idea where she got that idea!  So, we both walk into the Nurse's office and just stand there  for a couple  of seconds.  Nurse looks up with this bewildered face and says to me (without anyone else saying anything):  "Oh, it wasn't you, was it?"  Uh, no, and I have no idea what you're talking about.  Secretary decides it was the guidance counselor she was suppose to call.  I talked to the GC later, and she laughed and said it wasn't her. Then there was the 4 year old who repeated my intern when she said, "excellent", only it came out as sounding like:  e-he-ent.  And, Intern said "excellent" a lot yesterday!  Seems like there was one kid in each of my groups who just made us laugh.  I love days like that.

Tuesday my husband's work had "Chip & Dip" day.  It is company policy that they don't have "dress down" days unless it's for a special day; one that has to be approved.  They get really creative with their "special days".  Anyway, Tues. was bring your favorite Chip & Dip day.  My husband took Tostitos and a very special spinach dip.  Here's the secret recipe:

I put it in a ziploc container and threw some bacon bits on top.  When my husband got to work, he put it in the microwave, mixed up the bacon bits, and there you have it!  He said that it was the favorite!  Yesterday he said that people were asking him for the recipe, but he didn't give it up!

Okay, y'all:  It's "Little Friday" (as a friend puts it!)!  Looking forward to the weekend!

Bus Duty: UGH!

So, here's how yesterday played out:

Those 2 dreaded words every educator hates to hear:  BUS DUTY.  Of course, I was late; I got to the school just as the 1st bus was rolling up.  And, of course, the principal's car was already there.  Luckily I have an outside door to my room (a total luxury in my field), so all I had to do was unlock the door and throw my stuff just inside, then go back out, just like I had been there the whole time!

Oh, I forgot to mention that when I left the house, there was a whole lot of "ZZZZZZ's" in the house.  all 3 boys  + my husband.  Middle and Youngest Sons are on their 1st week of Spring Break.  That is not a typo:  I did say 1st Week.  The school system they attend is on a "modified year-round" schedule.  That means 2 weeks of Fall Break, 3 weeks of Christmas Break, 2 weeks of Spring Break, and, about 7 weeks of Summer Break. It seems like every time we turn around, they're getting a break.  "What about me" you ask?  I get the normal 1 week of Fall & Spring Breaks, 2 weeks of Christmas, and around 7 weeks of Summer Break.  They are going back to school after summer the same time the teachers go back in my school system.  If I'm lucky I'll have a couple of days to myself.  I know, I know...I shouldn't say I'm lucky.  In a few years I'll be a lonely empty nester and will want those days back.  Youngest Son has had a great time taunting me with me not only having to work this week, but having bus duty 3 days.    Kids can be so cruel. Youngest Son is not my favorite.

Bus Duty:  Getting to school at 6:45 and watching the little darlin's until the bell rings at 7:30.  We rotate between "stations":  the bus outside (which means dealing with the middle schoolers who think they are still in Kindergarten and like to run from wall to wall), the cafeteria, and the gym (where the kids go after eating b'fast and before the bell rings).  I try to avoid being in the gym during the last rotation:  you have the most amount of kids at that time.  Well, since I was late this morning and started outside, guess where I was for the last rotation?  Man, those kids can be really loud that early in the morning!  I had to send 2 kids to the office because one kid went over to another one and a shoving match started, almost causing one kid to tumble off of the bleachers.  Okay, the bleachers are only 4 risers high, but I could see that one kid falling and hitting his head on the bleachers.  Didn't feel like dealing with blood yesterday morning, so off they went.  The secretary said they left as best friends! 

My intern is on her spring break this week, so I'm having to do all the work myself.  (Poor, poor me!)  While we were playing a game, one of my kids said, "Dameit".  I asked him what he said, and he told me that he didn't mean to say it, it was an accident.  I asked him again what he said (to make sure I hadn't heard what I thought I had), and he repeated "Dameit".  I said, "You mean 'dang it'?"  "Yeah", he said.  I'm still wondering if that's really what he  meant to say!  Mr. Principal said that one kid was giving him trouble, and he told the boy to stop acting like a horse's butt.  (you have to imagine this  with a heavy East Tn. accent)  He said as the kid was getting on the bus, he informed Mr. Principal that he wasn't going to be a horse's butt on the bus.Welcome to my world.  Kids are really fun to play work with,especially the younger ones.  I know my parents heaved a humongous sigh of relief when I finally decided on my profession!
Only 5 more mornings of bus duty this year!  I think I can make it!