A Friendly Visit

THIS POSTING IS FROM 6/14/06--When I went to add pictures, I had to repost it...so this one is out of sequence...so sorry....

Things have been crazy. I finished up my student teaching last week, but remain in the classroom to now complete the arduous task of grading 170 final projects, 170 final tests, and at least 50 test review posters.
Good times.
How a teacher ever has a life is beyond me. I know teachers who don't bring grading home. I can only assess that they don't assign anything for students to do. I haven't been assigning lots of homework, rather fun projects and activities...sadly however, this means I have to grade them all. How does one accomplish such a task without hunkering down into the late night and forgoing any and all weekend fun in order to grade?

We had Khris and Marty staying with us for the past two weeks, which was fun. We are now rather lonesome, as we don't actually have any friends our own age here in the Harbor.
We had a great time with them, and were lucky enough to have Luke and Holly come down to visit for a weekend. Sadly, it was cold most of the time, but we were able to go down to the park for some bonding and fun.

Also, my pregnant belly continues to grow exponentially on a daily basis, which is cause for concern as I am allegedly only 2 months along, but have been told by many that I look closer to 4 months. Twins run in the family- God help us. :-)
Morning sickness has not been horrible. However, my "turbo nose" is in full force. I had to place a food embargo in my class last week when the students arrived with hotpockets and doritos. Bad news.
Also to add to the fun, I'm sick. Yesterday I left school at noon to come home and go to bed. I was sent home actually, my mentor teacher did not like the look of my greenish-white face.
I think I have a nasty bout of the flu- not stomach flu, mind you, but headache, body ache, low grade fever, can't breathe through the nose, terribly painful throat flu. And of course, being pregnant, I can't just drink up some nyquil and go to sleep.
I have an appointment w/ the doctor at 11 today. Not because I am on my deathbed, but I guess they want to check me out as I'm preggo. Maybe they'll have a wonderful something to give me to help me breathe and sleep.
Well, I need to shower I suppose, and then lay back down. I'm actually in bed now, with the laptop in bed w/ me. Oh sweet sleep, how I miss you.

Dear Lord, please bless my child with coordination- Today's hospital visit.

After church today I drove down the road to the local high school where I commenced to coach our Church Softball Team in our weekly practice. Since I'm in the family way, I am refraining from playing on the team this year, however they were lacking a manager and asked if I might be willing to coach as I won't be playing. In an interest to meet some people from our church, I obliged.
Now I am sure that from the title of this blog, you are assuming I hurt myself once again. This would be an incorrect assumption. My husband on the other hand, was not so lucky. While I was helping out with batting practice, out of the corner of my eye I saw Bryan walking up to the field. He was green, sweating and clutching his arm as if it might fall off if he let go. He waved me over and I asked "are you hurt?" He winced and said, "I just broke my arm."
I looked at him, looked at his swelling purple arm, and told the team to fend for themselves, I had to go.
I hopped in his car, already running, which he had somehow driven to the field, strapped him in, and drove him over to the urgent care. I had to roll all the windows down and turn the air on full blast, because he was sweating so badly, and was on the verge of loosing his lunch.
We got to the urgent care, they took one look at him and ran him back to do take some x-rays.
10 minutes later, the doctor came in to show us the damage. "you'll need to go to the hospital," he said. As he held the x-rays up to the light, we saw the carnage- pieces of his elbow were missing, and he had a couple little fractures running a few different directions. The doctor explained he had severly broken his humerus, the big bone that runs from your shoulder to your elbow. The tip of it, the part that connects in the elbow to the forearm, was broken off.
They called the hospital to consult w/ an othopedic surgeon, who agreed he would need to be admitted. So, off to the hospital we went. I just got home, he wasn't admitted until 10pm.
He'll be having surgery tomorrow morning; they will have to reconstruct his elbow, and pin the little pieces back in place. He's not a happy camper.
So how is it exactly that my husband shattered his elbow? He apparently had planted a tree in the front yard, but needed some soil to fill the hole. He went into our garage for some miracle grow and topsoil. You must understand, the state of our garage is major bone of contention between us-as he has a large collection of stuff filling it, disallowing any parking of cars within.
Anyway, he went into the garage for the bag of topsoil, crawled around or over the lawn mower, and when he stepped back, he tripped over the lawnmower, flipping his body and the mower completely over. He reached out to break his fall and shattered his elbow in the process. I will try to scan in a picture of his break tomorrow night.
The devastation on his face when he was informed he would need surgery was heartbreaking. He had big plans for waterskiing, camping and general sporty merriment this summer, before the baby comes. The ER doctors predicted traction instead.
I am sad for my husband. He is in lots of pain, is going to have a really horrible surgery tomorrow, and his summer is basically over.
It is because of his fall, and my own propensity to injure myself that I am praying to the Good Lord to please bless my child with some coordination. If the kid gets our genetics, we may as well just build a bubble now...at least we have decent medical insurance.

A Little bump...

Here I am at a little over two months (according to our calculations). Notice, my wedding ring is on a chain around my neck- my fingers have already swollen up to the point that my ring was cutting of the circulation. I fear what the future might bring.

Pickles and Mustard

Okay, I am allergic to vinegar, and subsequently cannot eat pickles or mustard. I never have liked them either, the taste or the smell, so really this was not a big sacrifice.
However, lately, I keep wishing I had a cheesburger with some pickles and mustard on it. I can't eat them however, so I just sit here, thinking about mustard and a crunchy pickle, wishing I had some to enjoy.
Every BallPark frank commercial drives me to drool too--I sit here thinking about how tasty a hotdog would be with some onions and mustard on it. I usually can't stand hot dogs. And onions and mustard? Sick. However, right now, nothing sounds better to me.
McDonalds always sounds and tastes so very delicious. I have tried to only eat there once a week however, so as to not cause my body to go into liver failure. However, if it weren't such a bad thing, I'd be eating a Big Mac every single day.
Oreos are the other thing I can't get enough of. I have never disliked Oreos, but I could eat a couple, and be satisfied for a year. Now, I want to eat them all the time- I don't, but I'd like to.
Finally, homemade lasagna is quite possibly the best thing in the world. I can't get enough of it. I make it with fat free cottage cheese, lean ground turkey or beef, and wheat-free pasta, so as to try to cut down on the fat and cholesterol...but it is still oh so good.
This does not bode well for my child's future...I blame my husband and is propensity to eat sweets and meat in large quantities.
My sister couldn't get enough fruit when she was pregnant, but I just want the junk food. I'm trying desperatley to be healthy, eating at least one big serving of pears (one of the only fruits I can eat) every day.
I don't really want to gain 100 pounds with this child, so I'm trying to be very dilligent about what I eat, however, would some one please give me a ball park frank with some pickles and mustard on it?!?

I Am Not a Total Loser!

I am happy to report that this last week of student teaching, for the most part, went much better than the previous one. The students are starting to accept the fact that I might actually know a thing or two about what I am talking about, and they are starting to realize that when they try to cross me, they face my wrath. :-) Only four students got the boot to the hall this week, which I consider great progress.
I am also very happy to report that I now have a university supervisor! I had heard rumors of said supervisor, but only Thursday was the news confirmed when she herself made contact. She came to meet with me on Friday, where we met during my planning period, and then she observed the following class. She is a lovely and very knowledgeable woman who seems most interested and invested in helping me become a great teacher, and survive this process. What a blessing and a relief to have someone from the outside come in and see where I am and offer me some outsider validation!
During our meeting, I expressed my frustrations, and difficulties, as well as my triumphs (few as they may be,) but then when she observed, she was observing my one really good class, so after she looked at me and said "I don't know what your talking about, they seem like a dream." Well of course- this is my one good class! the one with all the "highly capable" kids in it!
She did say however that she thought I was doing very well and that it seems like I have a great lesson/unit plan in place. So in fact I'm not a total loser after all! Woo hoo!

As soon as she left, everything went to pot; as is to be expected I am sure.
The day ended when a student said "spank you" instead of "thank you" to me. Twas not the time nor the place for him to say such a thing, and as my mentor teacher jockingly pointed out, he may have become my sacrificial lamb. I was quick to point out to the student that I am in fact a teacher, not his "friend" and to say such a thing is neither cute, nor acceptable. I continued by asking if he would say such a thing to the other teachers...he said he was just kidding. To which I said..."would you kid like that with the other teachers?" He responded, "no, but you're cooler than most of the other teachers" I said, "I'm not that cool"
I needed to go home. So did the students. Thank goodness it was Friday.
Tomorrow I teach about Antietam, Gettysburg, the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg address in 80 minutes or less, all while challenging them, stimulating their minds, and differentiating to each student's learning levels and abilities. This outta be interesting.

Student teaching lament

Student teaching has proved to not be all that it is cracked up to be. Or perhaps it is everything it is cracked up to be. I'm feeling very inept and frustrated most days. I have spring, 8th grade hormones, WASL and my entering the class "in a rush" as they say, working against me. (Not to mention the fact that these kids are very privileged and subsequently feel they have license to argue and talk back over every single little thing.)
As such, by the time I arrive home every night, usually after 6pm, my brow is placed in a permanent scowl.
I have been trying to be very diligent about not being a "drill sergeant" and using active listening, and trying to give them choices, as opposed to just saying "SIT DOWN AND SHUT IT!" (they frown on this in the schools of education) However, I have found that asking questions only places me in more trouble...when you say "What do you need to be doing right now?" to a kid who is wandering around the room aimlessly when he's supposed to be working on a project, the usual response is "I don't know, why don't you tell me?" Or, "I'm doing it” To which I respond, "Why don't you try again," or, "It seems to me you should be working on your (fill in the blank here- homework, project etc.) right now" to which they say, "I don't feel like it," or, "nah, that's stupid, I don't do anything that dumb," or, "why don't you make me?"
So then I'm left to the whole, "well, you can either chose to go be on task, or you chose to go to the office and explain why you don't feel like being in class today," conversation.
Meanwhile, another kid is pulling someone's hair, someone else has taken a student's colored pencils and she is now chasing him around the room, and I think to myself- "I never wanted to be a kindergarten teacher, and yet here I am." :-) I stop the chase, say the hair puller's name sternly which gets them to let go, and I'm back dealing with the lazy, mouthy one, who has yet to return to their desk.
It's like herding cats I tell you.
When I was in California student teaching, I was told I had a great handle on the classroom, that the one thing I was good at was classroom management. Here, I feel like I'm standing in the middle of a forest fire with a squirt gun- I get one little fire out, and another fire starts up behind me. All the while, I'm being evaluated by my mentor teacher.
Anyway, it's not such a great feeling. I remember being very confident, feeling like this was my "calling," like I had finally found the job I was supposed to do. Now, I keep wondering if my time and money would have been better spent working on a political campaign, :-)

Puck's First Day of School

Today was Puck's first day of school- obediance school. He is finally of age where he is allowed to be in obediance classes- hooray! (For those of you who have not met Puck, he is the darker shepherd- husky mix in both pictures- the first picture is him at Christmas, the second is one month ago. He is now 6 months old. The Other dog is Portia, who has adopted him as her baby.)
In Puck's class are three pitbull mixes, a pomeranian and a large generic mutt; it's quite the menagerie. Today upon arrival the teacher told us to keep the leashes loose so that the dogs could meet each other without feeling stressed or, have to face each other head-on (apparently taboo in dog world). So I walked right into the middle of the pack with my loose leash, and allowed Puck to say hi. Well, my dog promptly began to bop every other dog on the head with his paw, and try to gum them with his mouth. Everyone grabbed their dogs back and held them with tight leashes...which caused every dog to freak out and start barking. So there I was in the middle of a pack of dogs, all trying to lunge at my dog, who was just trying to say hi in his badly behaved puppy way. The instructor yelled at the class, told them to loosen up on the leashes and I remained. I asked if my dog was really bad, she told me that in fact he was doing better than the rest...I don't know if this is saying much, but I was happy. I guess a puppy running up and pawing or play biting another dog is to be expected, and easily fixed.
Today he learned how to heel, and how to sit and stay in public. We had it mastered at home, but with the distraction of the pet store and all of the other dogs, any and all skills he may of had when right out the window.
Fish seemed to be the most exciting item for him. I have no idea why. He kept getting distracted by the fish tanks, and the fish food. He's a weird one, this dog.

The Irony of American Politics

I remember not so long ago when the country was up-in arms when our president conducted himself in a less-than gentlemanly fashion whilst in the Oval Office, and then in a moment of pure idiocy, lied to the American people about the definition of the word "is." The masses were outraged- the torches were lit, the pitchforks hoisted, "Impeach the president!" became the new slogan of the GOP, (which means "Great Old Party," by the way.) We had to listen to the testimony of a bright-eyed intern, and lest we forget the most crucial piece of evidence, that wonderful blue dress. As the circus unfolded, the question was asked whether a president should be removed from office for lying under oath about whether or not he received a happy ending from a college intern--for most on one side of the house, the answer was unequivocably- YES!
In fact, representative Tom Delay explained it this way:

"This nation sits at a crossroads. One direction points
to the higher road of the rule of law. Sometimes hard,
sometimes unpleasant, this path relies on truth,
justice and the rigorous application of the principle
that no man is above the law.....No man is above the law,
and no man is below the law. That's the principle
that we all hold very dear in this country."
Rep. Tom Delay (R-TX)

Ironic...isn't it?

Then our current president was elected under the promise that he would restore values to the White House.
While there is little doubt that he is a one-woman man, there are many more questions surrounding a little leak and a CIA operative, some missing WMD's, a small snafu on the Gulf Coast, the minor tears and shreds put into the Bill of Rights under the guise of protecting us from Terrorists, and of course there is that growing gap between the rich and the poor, and the disappearance of the middle class. Never you mind, it will all be okay. At least he isn't with an intern! Thank goodness values have been restored.

Some have argued that in fact it was Clinton who failed us and got us into this mess by refusing to go after Bin Laden in the first place. After the first World Trade Center bombing, Clinton in fact did ask Congress at least twice for the power to go after Bin Laden-per the instructions of our Consitution, (as opposed to just doing whatever he wanted.) The Republican house denied his request each and every time.
Also, I would like to point out that in the 80's there was still a threat in the East called the USSR. In order to squash Communism for good, and per the promise of the Truman doctrine to give aid to any country under the threat of communism, the great nation of America supplied weapons and training to a militia force fighting Communist occupation in Afghanistan- this militia was under the military leadership of a rich Saudi by the name of Osama bin Laden. His militia would later be known to the world as the extreemist regime of the Taliban. It was under the leadership of President Ronald Reagan that Osama came to power, and came to be initially armed and trained.
But let's blame Clinton...it was after all, his fault.

Adventures in Student-Teaching

For those of you who don't know, I am currently student-teaching in the 8th grade. I have 170 "little darlin's" under my tutelage. What a grand time. There is nothing quite like taking over a classroom half-way into the second semester of a middle-school class when most of the students have checked out for the year. What's more, there is no retention rule. This means, they can all refuse to do their homework, get an "F" in every single class, and there is no consequense. They continue on to highschool, as if middle school never happened. This makes trying to motivate a class full of privelaged 14 year-old students who are accustomed to arguing their way out of everything quite difficult.
What's really fun is when they are given an assignment, or a small project to research and present, and they simply make the information up. Here are a two gems from the most current presentations:
"John Sutter was a famous windmill manufacturer in California. His windmill company was called Sutter's mill. He chose to have all his money transferred into gold bars. Others became jealous of his wealth, and his collection of gold bars, and started doing the same. This is what started the gold rush."

"The Alamo was a church that had been turned into a military fort by the people of Texas. General Santa Anna decided he really like the land in Texas, and so he invaded the state to take it over. As his troops were marching down the road, they noticed the church that had been turned into a military fort, and decided in order to invade, they would need to take out the forts- so they attacked the fort and assasinated everyone inside. Because of the horrible assasinations of all the Texans at the fort, the people of Texas got really mad and attacked Santa Anna's men in revenge for his attempt to invade their state...they yelled "remember the Alamo!" when they killed Santa Anna."

"Jesus and George Washington worked on the Missouri Compromise together." -this was someone trying to be cute. I was less than amused.

Like I said...good times.

Gluten is Evil! Or So I am Told. -An Update on Steph's Health

After struggling with geting sick after every meal, I finally sought medical attention and was promptly sent to a digestive specialist. I had the pleasure of a colonscopy last week and a barrage of blood work; the preliminary diagnosis was "Celiac Disease."
I have since been avoiding all gluten. I would like you all to know that I have learned a few things in my short period Gluten-free. First, after spending the last few years enjoying a multigrain, whole wheat, high fiber diet, I am in mourning for the loss of wheat products. It is a difficult thing to go from a fairly carb-o loaded diet to no carbs at all.
Second, gluten-free products are not tasty--unless of course you enjoy the taste of spongy cardboard.
Bryan has been very Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on the issue. On one side, he has been very kind and went with me and helped pick out new gluten-free foods and ingredients, as well as helped me sort the pantry so that I would have safe foods at the ready, and he would have tasty foods at the ready, and the two would not be confused.
On the other side, he also made several homemade baked goods which I could not eat, including my very favorite chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, and then ate the warm gooie goodness right in front of me. It has thus been a weekend of mixed emotion.
Because the docs feel I am allergic to gluten, they think I may not in fact be allergic or intolerant to most of the foods that I thought bothered me, including tomatoes and fruits.
As such, tonight we made my mom's homemade spaghetti recipe so that I may see if in fact I can tolerate tomatoes. We made homemade sauce and served it on rice noodles, instead of the traditional wheat noodles. I have yet to be sick. This is promising news.