Or not...
At our school, it has been expressly stated that there are to be NO costumes, NO dyed hair, NO face paint, etc. The 8th graders are even doing some state testing in the morning! I know that kids will be riled up (thank goodness it falls on a Friday at least... coming back the day after is always horrid), so it's one of those days that I'm glad I'm not a classroom teacher. I am giving out fruit snacks. Yes, I'm one of those people. Last year I handed out stickers. One little kid was like, "Daddy what ARE these?" : )
Daddy, Mommy, Big Sis, Big Bro, and baby #3!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Refusal
I have a kiddo with severe ED (emotional disturbance) who is quite the character. Tuesday he came to school a bit late and since we are in the middle of testing, was asked to wait in the Media Center (new term for library). He refused. The secretaries just weren't quite sure what to do, so they called me in. Duh duh duh duuuuh! (like trumpets, not doomsday) Like I'm some superhero or something. Ok, I roll up my sleeves.
Me: "What's up bud?"
Student: "Nothing."
Me: "Did you get here kind of late this morning?"
Student: "Yeah."
Me: "So, where are you supposed to go?"
S: "I don't know. I'm not going anywhere."
M: "Oh, Hmm, well, that's not really a choice. The testing is over for the morning, so now everyone's in period 1. Ready to head down there?"
S: "No. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not doing any work today."
M: "Again, not a choice we have in school."
S: "I can make my own choices. You're not the boss of me."
M: "I can tell that you are frustrated. Here are your two choices right now, Student. 1) You can take a minute to yourself and we can head down to 1st period. 2) We can go talk to Mr. S. (VP) about why you are choosing to be insubordinate."
S: "Mr. S."
Mr. S.: "What's up Student?"
S: "I want ISS." (in school suspension)
Mr. S.: "Kids don't get to choose that. And frankly I'm a bit surprised. Kids usually try to avoid ISS. What is it about class that you don't want to go?"
S: "I just don't want to go today."
This continues for quite some time. Then, Mr. S. in a stroke of pure brilliancy: "What is frustrating you?" S: "Nothing. I don't know." Mr. S.: "Well, I get frustrated some days too, but I can point to what's happening. For example, when the Vikings lose, I get really frustrated."
S: TOTAL CHANGE IN ALL POSTURE, WORDS, EVERYTHING! "I get frustrated then too! What's up with their QB?" and he was all chit-chatty and then said, "Well, I'm going to get to class."
NOTE TO SELF: TALK ABOUT VIKINGS!
Me: "What's up bud?"
Student: "Nothing."
Me: "Did you get here kind of late this morning?"
Student: "Yeah."
Me: "So, where are you supposed to go?"
S: "I don't know. I'm not going anywhere."
M: "Oh, Hmm, well, that's not really a choice. The testing is over for the morning, so now everyone's in period 1. Ready to head down there?"
S: "No. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not doing any work today."
M: "Again, not a choice we have in school."
S: "I can make my own choices. You're not the boss of me."
M: "I can tell that you are frustrated. Here are your two choices right now, Student. 1) You can take a minute to yourself and we can head down to 1st period. 2) We can go talk to Mr. S. (VP) about why you are choosing to be insubordinate."
S: "Mr. S."
Mr. S.: "What's up Student?"
S: "I want ISS." (in school suspension)
Mr. S.: "Kids don't get to choose that. And frankly I'm a bit surprised. Kids usually try to avoid ISS. What is it about class that you don't want to go?"
S: "I just don't want to go today."
This continues for quite some time. Then, Mr. S. in a stroke of pure brilliancy: "What is frustrating you?" S: "Nothing. I don't know." Mr. S.: "Well, I get frustrated some days too, but I can point to what's happening. For example, when the Vikings lose, I get really frustrated."
S: TOTAL CHANGE IN ALL POSTURE, WORDS, EVERYTHING! "I get frustrated then too! What's up with their QB?" and he was all chit-chatty and then said, "Well, I'm going to get to class."
NOTE TO SELF: TALK ABOUT VIKINGS!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
No sleep till...!
Hmm, not really sure when I guess. Hopefully not Brooklyn because I don't plan on going there any time soon. I have really been struggling with sleep issues lately. Boo! I even try to go to bed a bit later so I am really tired. I usually fall asleep fine, but then I wake up in the middle of the night (this morning 3am) and can't get back to sleep. I hope this is a phase that will soooooon be over. There are a few factors (that I know of) that I can point to for this:
1) Baby kicking me (so sweet! I love it! But it's a new and different experience for me!)
2) Having to go to the bathroom (a necessary evil with my new drinking liquids needs)
3) A cold (I wake up with a raw throat and runny nose)
4) Job stress (we are in the midst of state testing [yuck!], I have IEPs coming up and Quarter 1 progress reports are due ASAP just to name a few things on my list of things to do with work)
I was a bit crabby this morning and hope I didn't project it onto any of my kiddos!
1) Baby kicking me (so sweet! I love it! But it's a new and different experience for me!)
2) Having to go to the bathroom (a necessary evil with my new drinking liquids needs)
3) A cold (I wake up with a raw throat and runny nose)
4) Job stress (we are in the midst of state testing [yuck!], I have IEPs coming up and Quarter 1 progress reports are due ASAP just to name a few things on my list of things to do with work)
I was a bit crabby this morning and hope I didn't project it onto any of my kiddos!
Friday, October 24, 2008
THE ULTRASOUND (Long Version)!
Words canNOT express how exciting that was! So here's a thorough recap:
I drank a ton of liquids all day (and had to go to the bathroom quite a bit!), and prepared my bladder for the big ordeal. I didn't "go" starting an hour until my appointment. We get there and get checked in and find the ultrasound area. We waited for maybe five minutes... it was great! Because seriously I had to go to the bathroom pretty badly. I told the ultrasound guy, "I'm so thankful you guys are running on schedule!" He was a pretty nice guy and asked us if we wanted to hear what was going on as he was doing it. I enthusiastically told him I wanted to know everything. He said some people don't, which I found interesting. He left the room to get something and I told JJ I was going to cry I was so excited. He was such a good husband and held my hand the whole time!
When tech guy got back, he asked before he did anything if we wanted to know the sex of the baby. He was also sure to inform us that he couldn't diagnose anything or give us any information on that side of things. Tech guy put towels above and below my tummy and put the gel on my tummy. It was very surprisingly warm. It actually felt pretty good! Then, we were off!
First some boring stuff, there's your bladder... oh, looking pretty full (yes, thankyouverymuch), there's some other stuff and blah blah blah oh! There's our baby! Oh my word! Our baby was sleeping and just floating around. It was so cute! The first things we saw were the baby's bum and legs. The way the baby was positioned, the baby was basically sitting on the ultrasound wand thingy. SOOOO next, he said, "I can clearly see the sex, are you sure you want to know?" Yes, yes please! "What do you think? Any guesses?" I said I had a wild guess it was a girl. He said I was right! D said, "Oh man!" (But he was so excited too!) Yup, our little girl is no shy cookie. He labeled one picture, "Looks like a girl!!" Then, we were on to the feeties and tootsies. So cute! Then, some organs. It is so cool how well we could see things. The tech guy was so great to go through things with us. We could see her heart beating, too. Then, he tried to get some other shots, but needed baby to move. So, he began kind of poking her with the ultrasound wand. All of a sudden - movement! Tons of it! She was touching her toes, and waving around and turning and twisting. I could feel it and see it! So amazing! Then, he tried turning her again so he could get a frontal picture of the heart. Baby was having none of it. He had me lay on my left side and was trying everything - was up in my ribs and around and all over, but he could not get a great shot of the heart. He said that it was nothing to be alarmed about, but the cardiologist would probably want to see better shots of the heart, so we would probably have to come back. Also, since our little one was all up and about, it was hard for him to keep it on the heart to get a good rhythm of the heartbeat, but I think he did accomplish that one. I kind of surprised myself in that I didn't cry! I was absolutely amazed and shocked and so in awe of this technology, but I was just so in the moment, I guess it just did not happen. The guy asked if we had any questions several times and the last time I did have one: "Where is the closest bathroom??!"
Yay for little B! We got to take home some great shots of her feet, hands, face (looks kind of like a creepy alien!), profile (my favorite! She's so cute already! It looks like she has chubby little cheeks!), and of course the "Looks like a girl!" shot.
I called quite a few people and JJ texted a whole bunch of people. He started getting incoming texts, so I looked at a few. Some were a bit weird and I got confused until JJ told me what he sent for a text: "We had our ultrasound today and we're having a baby girl monkey." Yup... that explains, for example, his sister S replying, "Jungletime! Yay!" So no more "its" for us -- it's all pink! : )
I drank a ton of liquids all day (and had to go to the bathroom quite a bit!), and prepared my bladder for the big ordeal. I didn't "go" starting an hour until my appointment. We get there and get checked in and find the ultrasound area. We waited for maybe five minutes... it was great! Because seriously I had to go to the bathroom pretty badly. I told the ultrasound guy, "I'm so thankful you guys are running on schedule!" He was a pretty nice guy and asked us if we wanted to hear what was going on as he was doing it. I enthusiastically told him I wanted to know everything. He said some people don't, which I found interesting. He left the room to get something and I told JJ I was going to cry I was so excited. He was such a good husband and held my hand the whole time!
When tech guy got back, he asked before he did anything if we wanted to know the sex of the baby. He was also sure to inform us that he couldn't diagnose anything or give us any information on that side of things. Tech guy put towels above and below my tummy and put the gel on my tummy. It was very surprisingly warm. It actually felt pretty good! Then, we were off!
First some boring stuff, there's your bladder... oh, looking pretty full (yes, thankyouverymuch), there's some other stuff and blah blah blah oh! There's our baby! Oh my word! Our baby was sleeping and just floating around. It was so cute! The first things we saw were the baby's bum and legs. The way the baby was positioned, the baby was basically sitting on the ultrasound wand thingy. SOOOO next, he said, "I can clearly see the sex, are you sure you want to know?" Yes, yes please! "What do you think? Any guesses?" I said I had a wild guess it was a girl. He said I was right! D said, "Oh man!" (But he was so excited too!) Yup, our little girl is no shy cookie. He labeled one picture, "Looks like a girl!!" Then, we were on to the feeties and tootsies. So cute! Then, some organs. It is so cool how well we could see things. The tech guy was so great to go through things with us. We could see her heart beating, too. Then, he tried to get some other shots, but needed baby to move. So, he began kind of poking her with the ultrasound wand. All of a sudden - movement! Tons of it! She was touching her toes, and waving around and turning and twisting. I could feel it and see it! So amazing! Then, he tried turning her again so he could get a frontal picture of the heart. Baby was having none of it. He had me lay on my left side and was trying everything - was up in my ribs and around and all over, but he could not get a great shot of the heart. He said that it was nothing to be alarmed about, but the cardiologist would probably want to see better shots of the heart, so we would probably have to come back. Also, since our little one was all up and about, it was hard for him to keep it on the heart to get a good rhythm of the heartbeat, but I think he did accomplish that one. I kind of surprised myself in that I didn't cry! I was absolutely amazed and shocked and so in awe of this technology, but I was just so in the moment, I guess it just did not happen. The guy asked if we had any questions several times and the last time I did have one: "Where is the closest bathroom??!"
Yay for little B! We got to take home some great shots of her feet, hands, face (looks kind of like a creepy alien!), profile (my favorite! She's so cute already! It looks like she has chubby little cheeks!), and of course the "Looks like a girl!" shot.
I called quite a few people and JJ texted a whole bunch of people. He started getting incoming texts, so I looked at a few. Some were a bit weird and I got confused until JJ told me what he sent for a text: "We had our ultrasound today and we're having a baby girl monkey." Yup... that explains, for example, his sister S replying, "Jungletime! Yay!" So no more "its" for us -- it's all pink! : )
Can't sleep... so I'll blog...
JJ recently told me, "I sleep better when you're not there." Oh jeez honey, thanks! Up until, well lately, I've been a solid sleeper. I pride myself on being able to sleep anywhere and at any time. Some factors for not being able to sleep recently include being pregnant and having a head cold. I decided to come out to the living room since I don't have school tomorrow and JJ does. Last night I came out here at about 6:30ish because my head felt so stuffy and ouchy and I thought sitting up would help relieve some pressure. It did after roughly an hour and I woke up at 9:30 with a soreish back from sleeping in a chair. I just don't really have strategies if I can't sleep because I've ALWAYS been able to sleep. I'm pretty sure surfing the internet isn't a good idea because it gets my brain active. I should bring a boring book out in the living room with me. Hmmm...
So in my last post, I wrote about things I was hoping to accomplish on my two days off. Here's an update of what I've gotten done and what I have left to do:
*Finish a book I've been reading Check - now new item on to do list: go to library
*Do some stamping
*Finish a page or two of scrapbooking
*GO TO MY ULTRASOUND! Check - I'll blog more about this later!!
*Make some updates to our registry depending on results of above
*Meet with buddy LC who has three adorable kiddos and will be in town for a few days Check - oh! Her three kiddos are so, so cute! Little "Baby O" is even cuter in person! LC seems to be doing really well, too! So nice to catch up and get some inside stories on being a Mom!
*Meet with buddy MA who is going to be in town Fri. am
*Possibly meet with buddy LC who has one adorable kiddo and said I could borrow some preggo clothes! Check - they even had us over for supper! We got to hang out with the whole C crew. Oh my word, IC, their daughter, is so cute (and hillarious!). She was so entertaining with her animal noises and little chatter! She is going to be a chicken for Halloween, complete with the noises, flapping of her own little "wings" and of course a great costume! LC even let me take her whole tub of maternity clothes with me so I could go through it and try stuff on! We get to host next time and know we can lure NC over with our wii! : ) We also learned that SL and KL (known, as long as I've known him as "one of the twins") are expecting and are actually due in like November! Wow! I believe that brings our grand total to 16 preggers we personally know!
I probably should:
*Finish my "organizing" project I did some more, but well, I suppose, I'll never really be done with this one!!
*Do some laundry Check
*Sweep/Swiffer/Vacuum/Dust (but c'mon doing those things on a DAY OFF seem sooo much easier!) Check... oh wait! I haven't dusted yet. Boo...
Oh, and I do actually have SOME work related blah, blah, blah -- I stayed over two hours on Wednesday evening and still took some stuff home. Buuut, I haven't gotten to it yet... hmm... I don't know if I'll do my best CBM (Curriculum Based Measurement) data collecting at 1:30 am...
So in my last post, I wrote about things I was hoping to accomplish on my two days off. Here's an update of what I've gotten done and what I have left to do:
*Finish a book I've been reading Check - now new item on to do list: go to library
*Do some stamping
*Finish a page or two of scrapbooking
*GO TO MY ULTRASOUND! Check - I'll blog more about this later!!
*Make some updates to our registry depending on results of above
*Meet with buddy LC who has three adorable kiddos and will be in town for a few days Check - oh! Her three kiddos are so, so cute! Little "Baby O" is even cuter in person! LC seems to be doing really well, too! So nice to catch up and get some inside stories on being a Mom!
*Meet with buddy MA who is going to be in town Fri. am
*Possibly meet with buddy LC who has one adorable kiddo and said I could borrow some preggo clothes! Check - they even had us over for supper! We got to hang out with the whole C crew. Oh my word, IC, their daughter, is so cute (and hillarious!). She was so entertaining with her animal noises and little chatter! She is going to be a chicken for Halloween, complete with the noises, flapping of her own little "wings" and of course a great costume! LC even let me take her whole tub of maternity clothes with me so I could go through it and try stuff on! We get to host next time and know we can lure NC over with our wii! : ) We also learned that SL and KL (known, as long as I've known him as "one of the twins") are expecting and are actually due in like November! Wow! I believe that brings our grand total to 16 preggers we personally know!
I probably should:
*Finish my "organizing" project I did some more, but well, I suppose, I'll never really be done with this one!!
*Do some laundry Check
*Sweep/Swiffer/Vacuum/Dust (but c'mon doing those things on a DAY OFF seem sooo much easier!) Check... oh wait! I haven't dusted yet. Boo...
Oh, and I do actually have SOME work related blah, blah, blah -- I stayed over two hours on Wednesday evening and still took some stuff home. Buuut, I haven't gotten to it yet... hmm... I don't know if I'll do my best CBM (Curriculum Based Measurement) data collecting at 1:30 am...
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
I Heart Teacher's Convention
No, no, I don't actually go to NDEA (Teacher's Convention) because I am not actually a part of NDEA. Wayyyy too liberal and political for me. Anyways, I love NDEA because TODAY we have kiddos until 1:00 and then Thursday AND Friday we have NO SCHOOL! Woohoo! I thought maybe that I'd just sit and do nothing for most of it, but it turns out I have a lot already planned.
*Finish a book I've been reading
*Do some stamping
*Finish a page or two of scrapbooking
*GO TO MY ULTRASOUND!
*Make some updates to our registry depending on results of above
*Meet with buddy LC who has three adorable kiddos and will be in town for a few days
*Meet with buddy MA who is going to be in town Fri. am
*Possibly meet with buddy LC who has one adorable kiddo and said I could borrow some preggo clothes!
I probably should:
*Finish my "organizing" project
*Do some laundry
*Sweep/Swiffer/Vacuum/Dust (but c'mon doing those things on a DAY OFF seem sooo much easier!)
Oh, and I do actually have SOME work related things that I really should get done. Boohoo. I'm going to try to stay late at school today and just finish them all... we'll see how far I get...
*Finish a book I've been reading
*Do some stamping
*Finish a page or two of scrapbooking
*GO TO MY ULTRASOUND!
*Make some updates to our registry depending on results of above
*Meet with buddy LC who has three adorable kiddos and will be in town for a few days
*Meet with buddy MA who is going to be in town Fri. am
*Possibly meet with buddy LC who has one adorable kiddo and said I could borrow some preggo clothes!
I probably should:
*Finish my "organizing" project
*Do some laundry
*Sweep/Swiffer/Vacuum/Dust (but c'mon doing those things on a DAY OFF seem sooo much easier!)
Oh, and I do actually have SOME work related things that I really should get done. Boohoo. I'm going to try to stay late at school today and just finish them all... we'll see how far I get...
Monday, October 20, 2008
Oddities
I think we all know that I could spend just hours and hours going through all of my oddities, or personality quirks, but I'll just limit this post to two of them.
1) Sticker Anxiety
Ok. You know how you get a sheet of stickers, or maybe a pack of paper for crafting, or something of that type? I HONESTLY, SERIOUSLY have trouble using the last sticker or last sheet of a certain kind of paper. I used to just buy multiple sheets and save at least one of them. This is evidenced by the amount of crap I have stored. Now that my sticker sheets, namely Creative Memories used for scrapbooking, have gone up in price, I have tried not to continue this habit. Actually, lately I have tried to use everything I have. I have not bought new stuff in quite some time for this very reason. Wierd anxiety, right?
2) Taste of Water
I hate the taste of water. JJ thought this was like the oddest thing about me when we were getting to know eachother forever years ago. I think now he just chalks it up to one of the many, many wierd things about me. There are times that I drink plain water, but they are far and few between. Since I've been pregnant I've been really trying hard to get more pure water going through my system. The early weeks were especially hard for this to happen because it seemed that whenever I drank water, I threw up. I fell into a heavy habit of putting lemon (like Real Lemon in the bottles or TrueLemon packets) into my water. This seemed to help. Also, I have become quite addicted to popsicles. Mmmm. Even now, the thought of plain water makes my mouth water like I'm going to throw up. Seriously. I KNOW this is all in my head, but I haven't gotten over it. It doesn't help that the water out of our faucet tastes pretty icky (even with lemon). But, anyways, just another wierd thing about me.
1) Sticker Anxiety
Ok. You know how you get a sheet of stickers, or maybe a pack of paper for crafting, or something of that type? I HONESTLY, SERIOUSLY have trouble using the last sticker or last sheet of a certain kind of paper. I used to just buy multiple sheets and save at least one of them. This is evidenced by the amount of crap I have stored. Now that my sticker sheets, namely Creative Memories used for scrapbooking, have gone up in price, I have tried not to continue this habit. Actually, lately I have tried to use everything I have. I have not bought new stuff in quite some time for this very reason. Wierd anxiety, right?
2) Taste of Water
I hate the taste of water. JJ thought this was like the oddest thing about me when we were getting to know eachother forever years ago. I think now he just chalks it up to one of the many, many wierd things about me. There are times that I drink plain water, but they are far and few between. Since I've been pregnant I've been really trying hard to get more pure water going through my system. The early weeks were especially hard for this to happen because it seemed that whenever I drank water, I threw up. I fell into a heavy habit of putting lemon (like Real Lemon in the bottles or TrueLemon packets) into my water. This seemed to help. Also, I have become quite addicted to popsicles. Mmmm. Even now, the thought of plain water makes my mouth water like I'm going to throw up. Seriously. I KNOW this is all in my head, but I haven't gotten over it. It doesn't help that the water out of our faucet tastes pretty icky (even with lemon). But, anyways, just another wierd thing about me.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Just an update...
Organizing Monster has struck again. And this time, I have boxes. Yeah, those great boxes that paper comes in at my school. Yeah. Lots of them. Good thing JJ is at a lecture right now!
T-bay is the best thing ever. (Well, maybe next to the two cinnamon rolls I just snarfed down.) I sold three things for my upstairs neighbor (you know, the B's) today -- and I posted them at about 7:30 am. By noon three items were claimed and the B's have $150 in their pockets.
The kiddos are wacko. Completely nuts. I guess that's why I almost had a mental breakdown Wednesday evening. Other teachers are noticing. We're not quite sure why, but THANK GOODNESS next week we have Thursday and Friday off. Because really, our sanity depends on it.
I broke out the preggo outfits. Today I only wore one item of preggo-fashion (a tank top.... many of my shirts are just pulled up a little too far by my belly) today but yesterday it was all maternity all the time. And I was like, "Why was I putting this off? It feels great. Let's do this again." Of course my limited maternity selection will get old after a while, but for now it's all new (to me) and exciting.
I watched another Jane Austin last night -- Sense and Sensability. Cute. I only fell asleep for about 10 minutes. C'mon it was getting past my bedtime! We're Netflixing some more later. Oh -- did you know that at Blockbuster all "favorites" are free -- 1 per night per member! Take advantage of that!
T-bay is the best thing ever. (Well, maybe next to the two cinnamon rolls I just snarfed down.) I sold three things for my upstairs neighbor (you know, the B's) today -- and I posted them at about 7:30 am. By noon three items were claimed and the B's have $150 in their pockets.
The kiddos are wacko. Completely nuts. I guess that's why I almost had a mental breakdown Wednesday evening. Other teachers are noticing. We're not quite sure why, but THANK GOODNESS next week we have Thursday and Friday off. Because really, our sanity depends on it.
I broke out the preggo outfits. Today I only wore one item of preggo-fashion (a tank top.... many of my shirts are just pulled up a little too far by my belly) today but yesterday it was all maternity all the time. And I was like, "Why was I putting this off? It feels great. Let's do this again." Of course my limited maternity selection will get old after a while, but for now it's all new (to me) and exciting.
I watched another Jane Austin last night -- Sense and Sensability. Cute. I only fell asleep for about 10 minutes. C'mon it was getting past my bedtime! We're Netflixing some more later. Oh -- did you know that at Blockbuster all "favorites" are free -- 1 per night per member! Take advantage of that!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Autism is fascinating
We have an autism room at our school where all middle school-aged kiddos with autism go. It's a pretty busy place, let me tell you, and it seems to be growing. A doctoral chemist (adjust glasses on nose) friend of mine said there's a possible corrolary between immunizations and autism, but that's just one theory. I had two of the students in my foreign language class last year. One kiddo, in particular, (we'll call him A) was just so "interesting". I don't know if using that word is appropriate, he is a child for goodness sakes, but still... For example, he would recite the French alphabet every day at the beginning of class, and then go on to other pretty patternized routines. If he was having a bad day, he'd definitely be sure to let us know: "It's not ok to spit! It's not ok to spit!" (while he was spitting around the room and heading for the door). Or: "Bad day! Bad day!" (as he tipped over desks and chairs)
I saw him this summer at a bowling alley and he made a reference to having a picture. I must have in some way showed a positive reaction, because every. single. day. he asks me if I have a photo. It's such a cute, crisp voice, "Mrs. J, do you have a photo?" It would be easy if it was just any old picture, but he has certain kids he wants in this photo, and certain things they will wear, and certain eye color, and certain hairdos. I wish I was a miracle worker, because every single day, several times a day, it's: "Mrs. J, do you have a photo?" And if I happen to circulate around the room and he sees me several times, each and every time he sees me he says, "Mrs. J, do you have a photo?" You see how this is becoming a problem...
I tried being really firm. "No, A, I don't have a photo. And I never will. It won't happen. I can't take a photo of those children." I tried to redirect: "A, when you see me, you can say, 'Hi Mrs. J.'" The very next morning, when I saw him in the hallway, he said, "HiMrs.J,doyouhaveaphoto?" It was like, I know what I'm supposed to say, but I just want to make sure I get it all out! His autism teacher has tried to do a social story with him: "I like pictures. Photographs are nice to have. I can ask a teacher for a photo once. If a teacher does not have a photo, it is not ok to ask again." Or something to that effect. I thought all this would either help, or else, he maybe would even just get sick of asking. I have ignored, also, by the way, but he just keeps getting louder until it's, "MRS. J, DO YOU HAVE A PHOTO???"
Friday, on my way out of work, a van is going through the parking lot. All of a sudden the window rolls down, and I hear, "Do you have a photo?" from the passenger side. His mother (JJ is convinced she was teasing me/joking with me), backs up so he can more clearly ask me the question.
I could write about his patriotic song stint with Mrs. W, but I may just have to save that for another post.
I saw him this summer at a bowling alley and he made a reference to having a picture. I must have in some way showed a positive reaction, because every. single. day. he asks me if I have a photo. It's such a cute, crisp voice, "Mrs. J, do you have a photo?" It would be easy if it was just any old picture, but he has certain kids he wants in this photo, and certain things they will wear, and certain eye color, and certain hairdos. I wish I was a miracle worker, because every single day, several times a day, it's: "Mrs. J, do you have a photo?" And if I happen to circulate around the room and he sees me several times, each and every time he sees me he says, "Mrs. J, do you have a photo?" You see how this is becoming a problem...
I tried being really firm. "No, A, I don't have a photo. And I never will. It won't happen. I can't take a photo of those children." I tried to redirect: "A, when you see me, you can say, 'Hi Mrs. J.'" The very next morning, when I saw him in the hallway, he said, "HiMrs.J,doyouhaveaphoto?" It was like, I know what I'm supposed to say, but I just want to make sure I get it all out! His autism teacher has tried to do a social story with him: "I like pictures. Photographs are nice to have. I can ask a teacher for a photo once. If a teacher does not have a photo, it is not ok to ask again." Or something to that effect. I thought all this would either help, or else, he maybe would even just get sick of asking. I have ignored, also, by the way, but he just keeps getting louder until it's, "MRS. J, DO YOU HAVE A PHOTO???"
Friday, on my way out of work, a van is going through the parking lot. All of a sudden the window rolls down, and I hear, "Do you have a photo?" from the passenger side. His mother (JJ is convinced she was teasing me/joking with me), backs up so he can more clearly ask me the question.
I could write about his patriotic song stint with Mrs. W, but I may just have to save that for another post.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Nesting
AKA "Organizing" -- my new fav. word.... AKA Finally getting rid of stuff.... AKA JJ: "Hey! What are you doing with my stuff?"
My new dreams are of how I can rearrange the whole apartment. Poor JJ because I'll get an idea, and explain it to him and he's like, "You lost me at put that couch there and that couch there and take out the cabinet and put it in the spare bedroom (baby's room)....." Before I was preggers I would've just maneuvered an item until I got it where I wanted it. Now I'm at least a bit more careful about how many pounds I lug around. These last few days I've attacked our clothes. My new rule (which I think is quite generous): If it hasn't been worn in three years, it goes to Goodwill. I've already taken three boxes of "stuff".
Right now I have the whole top shelf in the closet in our bedroom open. I'm just absolutely giddy with anticipation of what will go up there. I also cleaned out a whole big drawer that is now filled with maternity clothes. Who knew I had accumulated so much? I also bought four more pairs of pants (on t-bay) for $10 total! The bathroom cabinet has undertaken an overhaul as well. I finally threw away any makeup or cream or whatever that I haven't used --- ESPECIALLY the stuff that was only used for say, Halloween. I even organized the box I store my period supplies in (won't be needing those for a while!).
The next area under attack was the refrigerator. My grandma (bless her heart) volunteers at a thrift store in my hometown. Grocery stores give them all sorts of foods that are close to their expiration date. So, if things aren't bought right away, Grandma brings them home. And then goes on to complain that they'll never be able to eat all the (fill in the blank) -- yogurt, crescent rolls, butter, cookie dough, baked goods, you name it! I shouldn't tease her, because, really we have received some great food from Grandma. The only thing is, we have to eat it right away or it gets too old. Well, some things must've been shoved to the back of the fridge because I found a few things dating to 2007. Yikes! Oh, and a taco sauce from 2005 (but JJ's pretty sure that one came from his mother's fridge).
So, as I sit at the computer, I just have visions for where this baby (the computer this time) could be better placed. Oh! And JJ's selling his XBOX 360 -- any interested parties can just reply to this post and I will maybe even give you a viewer's discount! : ) It is priced to SELL people!
My new dreams are of how I can rearrange the whole apartment. Poor JJ because I'll get an idea, and explain it to him and he's like, "You lost me at put that couch there and that couch there and take out the cabinet and put it in the spare bedroom (baby's room)....." Before I was preggers I would've just maneuvered an item until I got it where I wanted it. Now I'm at least a bit more careful about how many pounds I lug around. These last few days I've attacked our clothes. My new rule (which I think is quite generous): If it hasn't been worn in three years, it goes to Goodwill. I've already taken three boxes of "stuff".
Right now I have the whole top shelf in the closet in our bedroom open. I'm just absolutely giddy with anticipation of what will go up there. I also cleaned out a whole big drawer that is now filled with maternity clothes. Who knew I had accumulated so much? I also bought four more pairs of pants (on t-bay) for $10 total! The bathroom cabinet has undertaken an overhaul as well. I finally threw away any makeup or cream or whatever that I haven't used --- ESPECIALLY the stuff that was only used for say, Halloween. I even organized the box I store my period supplies in (won't be needing those for a while!).
The next area under attack was the refrigerator. My grandma (bless her heart) volunteers at a thrift store in my hometown. Grocery stores give them all sorts of foods that are close to their expiration date. So, if things aren't bought right away, Grandma brings them home. And then goes on to complain that they'll never be able to eat all the (fill in the blank) -- yogurt, crescent rolls, butter, cookie dough, baked goods, you name it! I shouldn't tease her, because, really we have received some great food from Grandma. The only thing is, we have to eat it right away or it gets too old. Well, some things must've been shoved to the back of the fridge because I found a few things dating to 2007. Yikes! Oh, and a taco sauce from 2005 (but JJ's pretty sure that one came from his mother's fridge).
So, as I sit at the computer, I just have visions for where this baby (the computer this time) could be better placed. Oh! And JJ's selling his XBOX 360 -- any interested parties can just reply to this post and I will maybe even give you a viewer's discount! : ) It is priced to SELL people!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Totally random
We went to a wedding this weekend. The bride, a college (undergrad and grad) classmate of mine, looked absolutely stunning in a strapless dress with a loooong beaded veil. The wedding was beautiful, with all of the bridesmaids in different dresses with different fall hues. At the reception, which JJ deemed was the best wedding meal he's ever eaten, we somehow ended up sitting next to some teachers she taught with in the small town she did her resident teaching at. We struck up a conversation and came to find out that one of the gals is expecting her first granddaughter in December. Well, that just gave us even more to talk about, and she started talking about her son-in-law, R, and some of the names he was picking out. Also, she kept mentioning my hometown -- her daughter and SIL got married there and were living there. It was too, too random, but I had to ask if it was a certain R, a RH to be exact and she was stunned to find out that I went to senior prom with her SIL! : ) Such a small world!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Sweet, sweet slumber
I woke up at 9:00 this morning! Nine! Woah! Actually, I did wake up at about 6:30, wide awake, and forced myself to sleep just a little bit more. Then, when it seemed futile, I got up, went to the bathroom (because seriously, that's what I do all the time now) and brought a banana back to bed. I ate it and fell blissfully back to sleep. Then, check the clock, 9:00! I woke JJ up, because that's also what I do in the mornings, poor guy, and told him I had to go feed the baby. Yes, the baby is still in my belly, but I like referring to him/her like he/she is already with us, you know, in out-of-the-womb form.
Speaking of the baby, many, many people told me yesterday that they could finally tell I was pregnant. So, I have officially pooched out. TWO people went on to touch my belly. I'm not 100% sure how I feel about it. I mean, I touch my belly all the time. And JJ touches my belly all the time -- he likes to squish it around and tell the baby he/she is getting a carnival ride. But it was kinda wierd when other people touched my belly--especially now when it's still mostly my own fat and especially because they weren't close friends or relatives. And also one of the ladies kind of caressed my belly. Hmmmm... kinda wierd. I thought it was kind of special in a way, though, too. This is one of those things that just would never normally happen, except when someone is pregnant, so I'm trying to take it as one of those pregnancy milestones, and leave it at that.
Oh, also, I went on a maternity clothes buying rampage -- don't worry -- it is all second hand. A lady on t-bay was selling all of her maternity clothes, and they were all my size! I went to her classroom at a local high school and tried on a ton of stuff. The only thing is, the prices were not very hot. I have found some whole outfits for like $5 at rummage sales, and for example, a pair of black dress pants I bought from this lady were $10. It definitely made me scale back on my buying. But, the clothes really did look almost brand-new, and I do need some staple items, especially since I'm growing out of quite a few of my normal clothes.
Speaking of the baby, many, many people told me yesterday that they could finally tell I was pregnant. So, I have officially pooched out. TWO people went on to touch my belly. I'm not 100% sure how I feel about it. I mean, I touch my belly all the time. And JJ touches my belly all the time -- he likes to squish it around and tell the baby he/she is getting a carnival ride. But it was kinda wierd when other people touched my belly--especially now when it's still mostly my own fat and especially because they weren't close friends or relatives. And also one of the ladies kind of caressed my belly. Hmmmm... kinda wierd. I thought it was kind of special in a way, though, too. This is one of those things that just would never normally happen, except when someone is pregnant, so I'm trying to take it as one of those pregnancy milestones, and leave it at that.
Oh, also, I went on a maternity clothes buying rampage -- don't worry -- it is all second hand. A lady on t-bay was selling all of her maternity clothes, and they were all my size! I went to her classroom at a local high school and tried on a ton of stuff. The only thing is, the prices were not very hot. I have found some whole outfits for like $5 at rummage sales, and for example, a pair of black dress pants I bought from this lady were $10. It definitely made me scale back on my buying. But, the clothes really did look almost brand-new, and I do need some staple items, especially since I'm growing out of quite a few of my normal clothes.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Mmmm... Church Fall Supper
This Sunday we met my parents at the smalllll country Church my Mom's family attended for forever (actually my Mom's g'pa was a part of the building process). My Aunt A and Uncle L are huge parts of the Church. Every year they have a Fall Supper complete with tons of delicious food served up family style, good "catching up" time, and a fundraiser (my Mom has made a beautiful quilt to raffle off for quite a few years now).
I am so, so bad with directions that I have gotten lost several times on my way to "Grandma's house". I was a bit paranoid about getting lost again, so for one, I gave us plenty of time to get there, and two, I mapquested directions. Of course the Church is so small it was not on mapquest, but I did know the way once I could get to this other small town. I was quite proud of myself as I drove right up to the Church without any wrong turns!
We got there so early they were still setting up, but insisted everything was taken care of. We chatted with Aunt A and Uncle L until they had to get back to work. My parents showed up and we got to chat with some familiar faces -- mostly relatives of my Mom. Then, our name got called and we got to go downstairs for the fabulous meal. Mmm, mmm, mmm. There is nothing like a homecooked Church supper.
After supper we went to the farm -- the place my Mom grew up. It is such a beautiful area, chalk full of memories. It has been quite some time since I've been back and it was just wonderful to be there. Aunt A has done some absolutely wonderful things to the farm house and I am so glad they are making it their own.
I am so, so bad with directions that I have gotten lost several times on my way to "Grandma's house". I was a bit paranoid about getting lost again, so for one, I gave us plenty of time to get there, and two, I mapquested directions. Of course the Church is so small it was not on mapquest, but I did know the way once I could get to this other small town. I was quite proud of myself as I drove right up to the Church without any wrong turns!
We got there so early they were still setting up, but insisted everything was taken care of. We chatted with Aunt A and Uncle L until they had to get back to work. My parents showed up and we got to chat with some familiar faces -- mostly relatives of my Mom. Then, our name got called and we got to go downstairs for the fabulous meal. Mmm, mmm, mmm. There is nothing like a homecooked Church supper.
After supper we went to the farm -- the place my Mom grew up. It is such a beautiful area, chalk full of memories. It has been quite some time since I've been back and it was just wonderful to be there. Aunt A has done some absolutely wonderful things to the farm house and I am so glad they are making it their own.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Softball Tourney
We had our end-of-the-year tourney this morning for girls softball. So, arrrgh, I got my butt out of bed early on a Saturday so I could get out to the fields early to set up. The team I coached was a team that was seeded second only after a game to determine 1st and 2nd seeds went down to a tie with no more time left and there was a coin toss to determine the winner. Yeah, the team was pretty bitter about it. But, we won our first game of the tournament to put us in the winners bracket, and ultimately where they would've been if they'd have won that coin toss game.
Then, our next competitors were another South team. It's always tough playing against friends - but the game really came down to pitching. There was no score after the regulation five innings. We went into a sixth inning and the other team didn't score at the top of the inning. In come my girls to bat. We got two people on base all of a sudden -- it was pretty crazy considering there was hardly any batting action the whole game. THEN, NN cranks one in the outfield. As soon as one of our players crossed the bag, the game was over! Woohoo!
Our championship game was against that same team with the coin toss game. It was the grudge match. Our pitcher was on fire and they ended up scoring one the whole game. Their pitcher struggled at times and we were able to get some bases on balls, giving us more opportunities to score. My girls were aggressive base runners and it was fun to see the excitement. We even got an (unintended) bunt in there! In the end, we won 5-1 and it was sweet, sweet victory.
All in all, South ended up in 1st, 3rd and 5th - not too shabby!
Then, our next competitors were another South team. It's always tough playing against friends - but the game really came down to pitching. There was no score after the regulation five innings. We went into a sixth inning and the other team didn't score at the top of the inning. In come my girls to bat. We got two people on base all of a sudden -- it was pretty crazy considering there was hardly any batting action the whole game. THEN, NN cranks one in the outfield. As soon as one of our players crossed the bag, the game was over! Woohoo!
Our championship game was against that same team with the coin toss game. It was the grudge match. Our pitcher was on fire and they ended up scoring one the whole game. Their pitcher struggled at times and we were able to get some bases on balls, giving us more opportunities to score. My girls were aggressive base runners and it was fun to see the excitement. We even got an (unintended) bunt in there! In the end, we won 5-1 and it was sweet, sweet victory.
All in all, South ended up in 1st, 3rd and 5th - not too shabby!
Friday, October 3, 2008
JJ and the B's
JJ babysat the B's on Wednesday afternoon so their parents could run a much-needed errand. Together. Without kiddos. I have always been a babysitter and lover of children, so I was a bit jealous. Also, I was quite surprised that JJ was up for the challenge, but then I remembered how many nieces and nephews he has (I believe the count is at 15 -- of course some of them are his age, but I digress). He's been around kids his whole life!
So here's the run-down of events: JJ said both kids were up the whole time (I think they were supposed to be down for their afternoon naps). And EB didn't even cry once! In fact, when JJ left, EB was whining at his leg to be picked up rather than hang out with his parents who had been gone for ~2 hours. He did, however, keep trying to jump off the couches -- JJ even had to make a leg-grabbing save once! JB was up to all kinds of mischief. She was also jabbering the whole time. She kept commanding him to sleep and then she'd jump on him to wake him up. At one point she grabbed JJ's cellphone and ran into her parents bedroom and shut the door. (Thank goodness there was no lock on it!) JJ came in and JB screamed and scurried to a corner of the bed until JJ confiscated the phone. JB managed to call TB (her Dad), so they were worried that there was an emergency with the kids and JJ was calling to report.
Later, JJ (safely back at home) was making supper (Home-made perogies in fact! Mmmm!) when he started laughing out loud to a text by TB. It read something like this. JB is running around saying that you are her husband, that you slept with her on the couch, that you played in Mommy and Daddy's bed and that she saw your panties.
Note: JJ's boxers are constantly showing just a little bit and BB and TB got JB to try out wearing big girl undies again by saying that JJ and EJ wear panties. She's been wearing them ever since!
So here's the run-down of events: JJ said both kids were up the whole time (I think they were supposed to be down for their afternoon naps). And EB didn't even cry once! In fact, when JJ left, EB was whining at his leg to be picked up rather than hang out with his parents who had been gone for ~2 hours. He did, however, keep trying to jump off the couches -- JJ even had to make a leg-grabbing save once! JB was up to all kinds of mischief. She was also jabbering the whole time. She kept commanding him to sleep and then she'd jump on him to wake him up. At one point she grabbed JJ's cellphone and ran into her parents bedroom and shut the door. (Thank goodness there was no lock on it!) JJ came in and JB screamed and scurried to a corner of the bed until JJ confiscated the phone. JB managed to call TB (her Dad), so they were worried that there was an emergency with the kids and JJ was calling to report.
Later, JJ (safely back at home) was making supper (Home-made perogies in fact! Mmmm!) when he started laughing out loud to a text by TB. It read something like this. JB is running around saying that you are her husband, that you slept with her on the couch, that you played in Mommy and Daddy's bed and that she saw your panties.
Note: JJ's boxers are constantly showing just a little bit and BB and TB got JB to try out wearing big girl undies again by saying that JJ and EJ wear panties. She's been wearing them ever since!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Update
We had a gorgeous day for the Walk-a-thon. AND guess what?? The kids totally made their goal! It was crazy! One kid commented, "Mrs. W I guess your speech paid off yesterday." (which sent her into ANOTHER tizzy about being worried if she had put too much pressure on them) Also, I made it half-way -- walking straight for about an hour and 15 minutes before I couldn't take it anymore. No, it wasn't my legs. It wasn't my heart or breathing or anything. It was my bladder. Darn you little B (current name for our baby)! Once I was safely back at school, the only event of the day happened, one of my severe kids with ED got pantsed. I don't think the kid who did it knew who he messed with, either that or he is masochistic because seriously, everyone walks on eggshells around this guy. I think this guy realized he was actually saved by being taken to the principal's office. So maybe I should actually be thanking little B because I was blissfully unaware any of this was going on.
Best. day. ever.
Right now I am sitting in a sweat-suit with my hair braided and no make-up on. One would think I'd be ready for a lazy Saturday morning. But nooooo. I am off to work! That's right folks, it's Walk-a-thon day! Yippee! Every year the 7th graders raise pledges and then walk for about two hours straight. The money goes to making food baskets for needy families in our community during Thanksgiving and making fleece blankets for kids going into foster care. Every year it seems that kids even surpass the goal and there is left over money for books for classrooms and even treats. This year, however, it seems that the economy has everyone tightening up. The kids have made it about half-way to their goal AND only about 50% have participated at all. The English teacher I work with hasn't been pushy (although she called me last night worried she had been pushy and was so worried she wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't reassure her that the kids wouldn't be traumatized for life and parents wouldn't be calling explaining that they had no extra money to give), but she has encouraged kids to raise the money by just even asking five people or offering to babysit or forego a pop, etc.
{Speaking of the English teacher I work with, have I told you about Mrs. W? She is HIllarious. Mr. B has seriously asked us to consider going in on bringing cameras into her house for a new reality show that quite frankly, would make us all rich. From stories about her son to new hunting purchases by her husband to some of her health issues that she shares quite candidly (many times to Mr. B's chagrin -- he's the only male on our team right now) -- whenever Mrs. W her mouth for a story, you know you're in for a treat.}
Anyhow, back to why I'm in my sweats. We seriously debated whether the kids deserved to all walk or not. It looks like fleece blankets may be out of the picture with the amount of money raised and really some of the kids don't get it. One kid even asked yesterday, something like, "So, we're raising money and walking for pledges, so do we get to keep half of the money since we're walking?" Nice try little entrepeneur.
{Speaking of the English teacher I work with, have I told you about Mrs. W? She is HIllarious. Mr. B has seriously asked us to consider going in on bringing cameras into her house for a new reality show that quite frankly, would make us all rich. From stories about her son to new hunting purchases by her husband to some of her health issues that she shares quite candidly (many times to Mr. B's chagrin -- he's the only male on our team right now) -- whenever Mrs. W her mouth for a story, you know you're in for a treat.}
Anyhow, back to why I'm in my sweats. We seriously debated whether the kids deserved to all walk or not. It looks like fleece blankets may be out of the picture with the amount of money raised and really some of the kids don't get it. One kid even asked yesterday, something like, "So, we're raising money and walking for pledges, so do we get to keep half of the money since we're walking?" Nice try little entrepeneur.
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