Thoughts for this week

Is it possible that my little sweetie is turning into the diva child? I think so. She woke up with an a-t-t-i-t-u-d-e!!! The day didn't get much better. I've decided that I love her tremendously, but there is a reason why I'm not a stay at home mom. She is a ball of energy and all I want to do is enjoy my cups of coffee and watch GMA for just 30 minutes. That's it. Also, I would prefer to not be up before 7am. I did get her to sit in bed with me and watch some show on the channel with the mouse, but she was still awake. Also, why does R cave each and every second she demands something? It doesn't matter what it is, he jumps the second she wants it. I'm really peeved about that. It totally leaves me on the bad side of evil when I say no. I think what I need to do is get her out of the house on some expedition of sorts. It must be cheap or free and not too far away. I'm thinking about the museum, the zoo, and water park that aren't too far away, but I'm up for any suggestions.

Also, as a person who loves books, would it be absolutely awful of me to remove books from her bedroom? She ends up with 20 or so in bed with her. She has no room to move and now is starting to overuse them into little paper bits. She isn't being destructive necessarily, but she is reading them so much that the covers are falling off. While one side of me is so excited that she loves to read, the other wants her to sleep without the books. Thoughts there?

In other news, I went to see my new potential place of work last week, the actual room. Holy man, do I have A LOT of work to do. The room is huge, which can be both good and bad. Also, there are several entrance points, two from the hallway, one to outside, and 3-4 from classrooms. This is bad. There is no desk in "my" office. One storage room is being turned into a virtual classroom. The collection is outdated and very small. It is quite possible that due to the size of the room, the collection looked small, but I don't think so. I know for a fact that the fiction collection was almost non-existant. I was also told that no more than 300 books are checked out per month, ever. WHAT??? That's not good. I guess on the positive side, whatever I do will be sure to be an improvement. It just makes me so nervous. Only two weeks, three days before I know the test results to know for sure if I will be movin' on up. The superintendent went to the board meeting last night with my name for the job. I really hope that the inside person doesn't file any grievance. This is hard enough without that issue to deal with.

Class this summer is going pretty well, considering all of the horror stories that I had heard about this particular class. It is a ton of work, but I really think she cut out some things. I have purposly waited to take this class because I knew how troubling it would be. I am happy to say, knock on wood, that so far things are going well. We are half way through and it's good. The funny thing is, and I have to share, it amazes me how some people get as far with their education as they do. My group is great and we are all working hard, however, there is this one lady in class who is just stupid. I know that is harsh, but OMG she is several fries short in the happy meal. I just don't know how she can be in the program let alone how she finished her undergrad work. Every time she speaks, I can see the prof. just wondering how, why? We as a class just look down and don't make eye contact. We know that we will just explode in laughter.

I guess that's all for now. I hope all is well with my fans and readers!!

LOL,
CDR

Time warp

About 12 years ago I stood in the same line that I stood in this past Saturday, the state teacher certification test line. First of all, they made us wait outside in the blistering heat. We coundn't take our purses in. Anyone who had a cell phone had to check it in and leave it at the door, like a coat check. It's top security. That was the only difference.

While waiting in the blistering heat, it was so funny to be standing there again, only this time with teaching experience and only there for an endorsement. There were these two girls in front of me discussing their summer etc. It was like a time warp. They chatted about how they were planning their student teaching and that they had these part time jobs for the summer. They were both married, recently I presume, and they discussed how their husbands wanted this and that. It was surreal listening to them talk about this. I was there 12 years ago. I was standing in that line taking my tests for the first time, about to student teach. The process is the exact same and the thoughts of those two young women were the same that I had all those years ago. It was quite the experience. After finding my seat, I made small talk with the girl next to me. Bless her, she asked if I was taking my subject area tests. I either look young or she was blind. She was taking her elementary test. Anyway, I think I did pretty well on my test, but I won't know until August 3rd. That is also the date that things may or may not be official at my prospective new employment. I have so many ideas as to what I want to do at the new place and can't wait to get started, but I'm not allowing myself just yet. I don't want to get my heart trampled on if I didn't pass the test. I hate tests. At least it wasn't in German!!

On another note, M started potty training one week ago and, knock on wood, things are going very well. She was ready and we were more that ready to get rid of stinky diapers. She even goes in by herself, shuts the door and tell me to wait outside. For some reason, she must strip completely from the waist down to do the job and she needs new undies when she is finished, no matter what. She has had few accidents and even caught herself today. She immediately jumped up and shouted she had to go. We rushed in there and she had actually stopped a number 2 and went on the potty. WHOO, HOO!!! My baby is a big girl, next step, bink fairy.

LOL,
CDR

A change of venue

Well, there have been some changes in our lives this week. It has been a whirlwind of events that have led to the possibility of a new job. Let's keep this a secret for now, but I just had to write about it.

I was encouraged to submit my resume and application to a nearby, very nearby, school district for an opening of a job that my Master's degree will be in this December. I thought, what the heck, it's good practice and I'll get my resume updated. I dropped off the paperwork on Monday afternoon. 10 minutes later, he called to schedule an interview for the next day. I missed the call, but was able to get in touch with him first thing Tuesday morning. I went in half an hour later for my first interview. Before I left he told me to come back on Wednesday for interview number 2 with the committee. I went to that and really asked some serious questions about job security, pay, tenure, etc. I thought they would offer the job to the in house person for sure. One hour after being home, they called and offered me the job. After some serious thought and discussion with R, I called today to accept. AHHH! It's all tentative and I have not resigned from my current position, hence the secrecy, but it looks like it's going to happen. I won't know until early August when I get my test results. I knew I should have taken that in April.

Here are my fears:
I have seniority where I'm at and I'm tenured. Will they value me or cut me out like so many other places are doing with this position right now?

I'm taking a pay cut that is pretty significant. However, they are not starting me at the bottom and will move me up mid year when my Master's is complete. Should I do it and take less?

Will the person who works in house file a grievance and win, leaving me jobless?

Is this the only opportunity for this job that I will have?

Will where I work figure out how valuable this position is and reinstate it in the near future?

And the big one, what if I fail the test? :-(

I LOVE the job and can't wait to do it, but it's so scary to not know what will happen. I get to recreate the job as I want it to be. I also get to fully use anything technology wise that I want. They really want me to reinvent this position as I want it to be.

Let me know what you think and/or send some positive thoughts our way.

LOL,
CDR

Random thoughts

I was checking out the last date that I wrote and thought I should at least write something.

Life has been very busy over the past three weeks. I have been working on my practicum which, to those of you not in my program, it's my internship. However, I don't like to call it that because people automatically assume that I am working on my undergrad degree. I guess it's a good thing that people think that, if they they think I look young, but I really think that they think I'm some old lady trying to get some degree late in life. Several people at the place where I'm doing this have given me some quizzical looks, but hey, oh well. I'm making some really good connections there and in fact am applying for a job as a media specialist tomorrow. I'm not finished with the program until Christmas, but it can't hurt to apply. We'll see how that goes.

I went back home this weekend with M. It's a four hour drive and she does really well in the car. I have the world's smallest bladder and had to stop three times on the way there to use the girls room. She was a bit annoyed with me that we weren't at Bumpa's house yet. I didn't stop once on the way home today. I chose my drinks carefully. Anyway, we went there to visit family and to go to a baby shower. One of my cousins/good friend is having a baby in December, but she lives in Arizona. The shower was now because this is when she would be here. It was so nice to be able to visit with her and my other cousin. I don't get to see them often and we were really close as kids. Also, my little M was really good. She just requires a lot of energy and I'm exhausted. She was so sweet in her party dress and really was a trooper all weekend. She did finally take a nap on the way home today, which was great. Traffic was a bear though.

I can't remember how much of my brother's life story I've talked about so I'll be brief. My oldest brother is married and has two boys, twins. They are seven. Anyway, three times D has ended up in jail or rehab for a serious drug problem. She recently got out, again, and is home with her family. My brother made this decision and I want very badly to support him. I have this feeling though that the problem will happen again. What then? What about the boys? They have been through so much and all I, or anyone in the family wants, is for this to be OK. Trust has been lost and is very hard to gain back. I saw them today in church, which is a good start, but I just don't know what to say to her. Do I just ignore the problem? Do I talk to her like it never happened and move on? Do I pull her aside and tell her what I really think? I want to make sure that kids don't hear me, but I also don't want my brother to be mad at me. It's a weird situation.

I guess that's it for now.

LOL,
CDR

It's been awhile

Sorry for the delay in writing. It has been very busy here. I'll try to keep it brief, the two people who read this have lives.

My beautiful little girl has hit the terrible twos and she is almost three. She really has a temper. (I don't where she gets it.) She has been fighting us mostly at bedtime and tonight really pulled a bad one. She tore up a library book, Angelina Ballerina. A library book!!! She did this just because and she knows better. Not a good move for her. She ended up falling asleep from crying. I hate that more than anything. I cannot express in enough words my extreme love for her, but this is hard. Harder than anything ever. R and I are just trying to be consistant which, I'm told, is the best thing to be. Other than the fits she has, she is so awesome. She is in a big girl bed and later this summer she will be potty trained, even if it kills me. She finally has hair and let me braid it today. That's right, I could braid it. One year ago, I couldn't get a velcro barrett to stay in, now braids, yeah!!

School is out for the summer which is so good. I'm going to start my practicum on Monday at the LISD media center. I'm really looking forward to it. For those two people who don't know what my Master's will be in, it's library and information science with a focus on school media. About a month ago, we were informed that our district is elimiating our only certified SLMS. She will be going to teach 7th grade language arts. She will be great at it, but that's not the point. I have gone through all of the necessary channels and am on the June school board agenda. I simply plan to inform the school board of what this decision will mean and how it will impact the students. I have to be very careful because of my current position and I will. I simply want them to have the accurate information about this and that's all I plan on doing. What they do with that information is up to them. At least they will have the accurate information.

That leads me to grad. school. I am doing very well with classes. It's just very busy. I'm taking a children's lit. class, grades 4-8 right now and it's very fun to read these books. The practicum is also a part of this summer's credits. I will then be in another lit. class, followed by a tech. class, and then research. Done my Christmas is my new mantra.

Finally, but definitely not least, my lovable R. He is the most supportive husband. I have class two night a week, plus all of the other stuff and he doesn't say one negative word. I am not so cooperative sometimes and he doesn't flinch. I only hope other girls get one that him. Don't get me wrong, he still does the weirdest things and doesn't get some very common sense things, but he makes up for it in other ways.

I'll try not to be gone for so long this time.

LOL,
CDR

News...

hah, got ya. We are officially leasing a new car. Didn't think that was coming, huh? Anyway, my Buick's lease was coming to an end and we were over many, many miles. We decided that since the gas price is OUTRAGEOUS, we would get a smaller, safe car. We went with the Ford Focus. It really is safe, smaller, and gets great gas mileage. I loved being able to fill it up with $30.

Tomorrow is our 12th anniversary. I can't believe it. It goes so fast. M found a present under the bed this morning which is apparently for me. She thought it was Christmas and wanted me to open it. I told her to play hide and seek with it until tomorrow and this has worked. I feel bad though because I didn't get R a present, just a card. I thought we were trying to save some bucks and he cheated. Gotta love him!! He may have his faults, but he does remember dates and such.

Only three more weeks until SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER! Of course then I will be working at the ISD library for my practicum. That's great though. I'm really looking forward to it and a change in the day's routines.

I hope all is well with everyone out there. D, I saw your twin today at the Kid's Day think downtown. It was really wierd and I almost went up and talked to her.

LOL,
CDR

Whew!

Sorry, it's been so long. I figure this is more therapy for me than for the two people who read this.

Life is pretty busy. I am taking five credits from now until the end of June, working full time until June 8, trying to find time to clean our house, grading, reading, grading, reading, etc. The good news is that I will have my Master's by Christmas and then my focus will totally be on R and sweet little M.

Today was a very weird day. I was literally screamed at by a parent and I actually hung up. This isn't the first time I have been screamed at by said parent and I wasn't going to let it happen again. Then, after feeling like dirt, a former student came in and told myself and another teacher that she just graduated with her Associate's in Art and would be going on to an art school for further study. She came in to say that she really learned from us and was even crying. I was so happy to see her. I hadn't seen her in years and knew that the last time I saw her, she was very sad for a whole bunch of reasons. She is a success story without a doubt and she made my day.

For several weeks and months, R and I have been trying to figure out what to do with our current lease vehicle. It's due back next month and we are over by 7,000 miles, ouch, I know. The guy at the dealership really wasn't willing to understand what we could afford, so we decided to go with something smaller and more economically fitting. We have gone from a Buick Rendevous to a Ford Focus hatchback. Quite a switch, right? We needed to have a safe, good MPG, less expensive vehicle and it's really cute. Now, we have to figure out how we're going to pay for the miles over. Things always work out. I'm trying to be a more positive person. It helps my stress level and I'm not nagging R nearly as much. It works for me.

A HUGE congrats goes out to D and family at Family4Peace. New baby is just beautiful and D, you look amazing for having just given birth.

LOL,
CDR

SLMS and stuff

Things have settled down a bit at work, but everyone is pretty much down in the dumps due to the changes that will be happening. I met with my boss and explained how things were not good and were not being done for the betterment of the students. He was not very supportive and later came to me to cover his tracks. I made an appointment to meet with the super**intendent next week. I am taking a friend with me so as to have a witness and some support even though I don't think he'll support me fully. They really want me to just let it go, but I can't. I can't explain how important having a certified school*media*specialist really is without going into great detail so just trust me on this one. We'll see what next week brings.

On the home front, the basement is FINISHED. Super hooray!!! It looks great and so far no cat accidents. If he makes one mess, it's bye, bye kitty. M is doing great. R is doing much better after the sinus infection in his eyes. That was so gross!!!

I am offically registered for my last class next fall. I am super busy, but it will be worth it in eight months when I will be totally done. To my friend with the Beagle, have fun at graduation. I hear over 2000 graduates are walking. It's going to be quite the day.

That's all for now.

LOL
CDR

OMG!

It has been a crazy couple of weeks. We just got M better then I got a horrible sinus infection, then R had what we thought was pink eye, but was really a sinus infection in his eyes. That's right, yuck and double yuck.

It's been a crazy week at work as well. We found out on Tuesday that our one and only certified school library media specialist's position is being eliminated next year. She is being put back in the classroom full time. I am outraged to say the least over this for a multitude of reasons. First of all I know the negative impact this is going to have on student achievement because I'm studying this for my degree. Secondly, the administration is handling it very poorly and I mean POORLY. Third, other staff members have a very noncaring attitude about it. Fourth, and most importantly, my mentor/role model/friend is leaving and the administration is very cold about it. I have decided that I need to fight for this in the most professional way that I can. I went to the principal and spoke with him regarding the situation and didn't get much support. In fact, he basically told me that I needed to be careful with my words, he didn't want to have to file paperwork for insubordination. What? I can't speak my mind for the betterment of students? Hello, isn't that my job? Isn't that why we teach? I'm just going through the channels that I'm supposed to go through to get myself on the school board agenda for May and I'm either warned or threatened about insubordination. I'm not going against my boss and doing something I shouldn't or not doing something I should. I'm doing what is right for the students. Without a certified school library media specialist, there will not be any competent work going on in the library. We will have aids in each building and that's it. I know other districts do this and money is tight. But is it really that bad that instead of promoting our academics, we diminish them by lessening the worth of the library? We should be adding on to the library and making it a feature of our school, not shutting the doors.

There are people out there who believe that they can get anything they want from the Internet. I'm person who does use the Internet often. However, did you know that only 10% of the world's information is online? Where else might someone get this information you ask? That's right, the LIBRARY!!! Aids can't order books, weed collections, do book talks, budget items, run technology systems, reference materials for teachers, trouble shoot other various needs of students and staff, etc. Aids can check in and out books and some other basic things. I feel great passion in fighting for this and I was shut down and dismissed. I'm not totally surprised by what happened, but it felt like I couldn't be trusted. My principal is worried that I will say something to anger the super. or the board. Granted, in the past there was one incident in which I felt great passion about something and called someone an a**hole during a staff meeting. However, that was years ago, I was provoked, and I was not the only one thinking it. I just happened to be the one stupid enough to say it. Why is it that everyone remembers the one time I messed up? I've been a good teacher for seven years for this district and now I feel I should move on. The only light at the end of the tunnel is that we have just hired a new superintendent and I figure he can't be nearly as bad as what we have now. Can it?

If any one out there knows where in the NCLB or AYP or Education Yes! documentation where it states schools won't be accredited without an SLMS, please let me know. I am getting myself ready to present to the board and I need it to be as professional as possible with tons of research to back me up.

That's all for now. Prayers out to Virginia Tech and congrats to Sorting the Baby Stuff.
CDR

Spring Break is already over...

and it's not fair. I had planned on going into the library to get some hours during break, but that didn't happen. Poor little M had strep throat with a very high temp. all week. She is finally better and now it's time to go back to work. I didn't mind staying home and I know I'll get the hours in later. I'm just glad she was sick when I was home. No one had to miss work that way. Of course now, I don't feel well and have a sinus headache from H***. Before the sickness started, we were able to get some seriously cute pictures taken. They are for Easter, but also because she's 2 1/2. I can't believe she's so old already. When I get the pictures from the website eventually, I'll post here. For some reason I can't get her pictures online as promised. I'm working on that though.

Guess what? The basement is only two steps away from completion. We need to clean so the carpet can go down, yeah. Now, we have to get the naughty cat to use the litterbox. I punished him today just like I did when he was a kitten. We'll see if it works. I bleached the floor and he still crapped in the middle. We put him out, he comes in and craps in the middle. Fortunately, R is not threatening to shoot them right now.

That's all here. It's back to work I go.
CDR

My life as of today

Our new computer is beautiful, but the disc drive doesn't open. Therefore, R is currently in A2 taking it back to get this fixed or replaced. We spent a lot of money on a new computer and it better work well, not jacked up.

Things are still pretty busy. I have a project due every Saturday from now until the end of April, plus the class I'm not officially in until May, has stuff to work on. It's my practicum and if I don't get hours now, I'll never finish. When the state decided in its infinite wisdom that we need 90 hours of experience and it CAN'T be where we work, they were really thinking. Yeah, with their heads up their butts. How in the world can anyone complete 90 hours outside of their school in another school during the off hours? Let me say that I have to be very creative. I can't and won't use sick days; those are earmarked for, yep, illness. Plus, if I do use them, I'll get caught not being sick and they would dock my pay just to be mean. They really are that mean, just ask D and G about that one. School's are very infrequently in session in the summer which leaves me with piddly little one hour stints after school twice a week. I'm going into the library during spring break next week just to get some hours and to work on my weeding project. What was I thinking with that one? It sounded easy, but there is a lot of work to do. Then I found out last week that our media specialist is possibly going to be in the classroom part time next year. She is the districts only certified media specialist and they want her to only be there part time with aids in each building. THAT'S INSANE! She is spread too thin now. There may be people who don't think so, but they have NO CLUE what she does in her job or for the district. She is irreplacable and they are treating her like this. Plus, when she wants to retire in about five years and I'm supposed to take over, there won't be anything to take over. What a mess!! There were about 20 teachers in our district who received letters concerning next year. That's 20% of our staff. Fortunately, I'm not one of them, but who knows what might happen.

M has been doing some business on the potty. It's not regular yet, but we're getting there. She is so funny and has the most beautiful curly hair. She doesn't get that from me. I was told by a hairdresser that I had the straightest hair she'd ever seen.

The cat thing is getting better. We bought collars and tags for the cats and today, the big Franklin spent the entire day outside. He came back unharmed. R couldn't catch Kazzy to put her out, but the day will come. Funny thing is, Franklin spent the entire day outside, came in and crapped on the basement floor. So much for that plan. I thought it was funny and so did R. We'll see how things progress from here.

That's what is happening here.

LOL,
CDR

Cats and Grad. School

We have two cats, one in 10 and the other is 2. Both cats like to poop on the floor. Now, I know that some of you would just get rid of the cats, but I can't do that. They only poop next to the litter box, it's not all over. R had a HUGE fit the other day because I refuse to kill the cats. He even went to the extreme of emailing close friends and family how angry he was with me. If you are one of those people, I profusing apologize. We have been married for 12 years and he can't figure out how to have a conversation with me, his wife. Yesterday at this time, I seriously wanted to kick his sorry booty out of my life for acting like an immature 10 year old with no smarts. Today, I don't feel that way, but I confronted him about the email. He didn't even tell me about it to begin with. One friend responded and I forever grateful to D for doing so. I may never have known how idiotic he was being. Instead of talking with me, he chose to vent his frustrations about me to friends and my mom and my brother. Let's gain some perspective shall we. HE'S PISSED ABOUT A CATS. There are about one million other things he could/should be mad at me about and he's pissed about the cats. I think I'm in total shock that he would even do such a thing. My sweet, loving, compassionate husband has turned into a heartless moron. And again, IT'S ABOUT THE CATS.

Anyway, grad. school is super busy. I'm essentially taking 8 credits, working full time, and trying to pull out a clean house and clothes every once in awhile. Reason to be mad number 1. I'm also working late and R has been picking up M from daycare. He's missing work, which means losing money. (He is paid hourly.) Reason to be mad number 2. I'm so behind in grading that I've enlisted R's help with the easy stuff. This is time consuming for us both. Reason to be mad number 3. I think I've made my point with that. My hope is to be finished with grad. school by Christmas. Problem is, the one class I need is full, shocker there.

I may not get back to writing soon. I hope all is well out there with everyone.

LOL,
CDR

Random thoughts

Whew, what a week. I have been playing a game of catch-up since we got home. I have TONS of grading still to do, but had to put that off for the night to focus on the mid-term that is due tomorrow. I finally got that done, but wait, oh, yeah, I may want to look over the chapters that I haven't read yet. I'm not usually so behind with stuff and it's driving me crazy.

Kids are also driving me nuts. Why don't they care? Thoughts? Today I gave them the effort speech, again. I asked them if they wanted to make money when they're older and of course all of their hands went up. I told them it wouldn't happen at the rate they were going, because they'll get fired for not doing their work. We'll see how things pick up next week.

R and M are doing well. M won't take a bath because she had an accident last week and continues to yell at bath time, "I no take a bath" and "I no poop in the bathtub." We didn't yell at her when the accident occurred, I swear. I truly think she is embarrassed. How does she know to be embarrassed? She's only two. Besides that, gas around her is normal and we laugh at it.

The basement project is coming along at a snail's pace. R's parents hired a guy to put in the drop-down ceiling, which is cool. I just want it done. R's dad told me it should be done by the end of the month. We'll see what happens there. I'm not holding my breath. July will be one year since we started. It has totally taken on a life of its own.

LOL,
CDR

My Grandpa

Grandpa decided on February 28, his 91st birthday, to go to Heaven. It's been a hard time, expecially for my dad. We spent the last few days there for the visitation and funeral. It is not typical for there to be a burial in winter, but my brother is the sexton at the cemetary and Grandpa was buried with full committal services. It was actually quite serene and beautiful. Friday's weather was horrible, windy and snowy. On Saturday, the sun was up and it was very majestic. It's like he was calling the shots from above. It's very strange to know that his house is going to be empty. I read a selection from a Hospice worker called The Dash. It talked about how on the tombstone a person's date of birth and date of death are listed and are separated with a dash. It's not the dates that are the important stuff, it's the dash, all that happened in the middle. I really believe that Grandpa led a very full life and was able to choose when he would go. He decided on his own after a month of being sick that it was time. It stinks that he's gone and he'll be missed more than he knows, but I know that it was his time. He will always be in my heart and I will NEVER forget his laugh and smile. He was truly a great person.

Waiting game

It has been a long week and next week will be even longer. I returned home last weekend to see Grandpa after his surgery, all was well. Now he has multiple things wrong and it doesn't look good. I dread the sound of my phone ringing. My mom calls with worse news each time. I hate the waiting. I keep praying, but know that things are not good.

I am in a horrible mood and can't be calmed down. R is doing his best not to piss me off, but M doesn't understand that mommy is not good. She doesn't mean to act like a two year old in church, she's two, duh, that's how it will be. I should expect her to act out and whine when church goes over. She was super for the hour, but when it goes over one hour, she's done. She didn't throw a fit, but she screamed a little. What I don't get is when the heads crank around like owls to see who made the noise. Our pastor could care less, he's used to it, but the stares from the others just does me in. Why do people stare? I try super hard to never look that direction because I know how it feels. I just think it's rude.

M is taking the longest nap ever today, almost four hours. She must really not nap well during the week at daycare. She does take a nap, but it's not home.

I have a ton of papers to grade. I'm frustrated there too. Six out of 30 turned in their work on Friday in one class. They wonder why the don't pass. Gee, let me think. No work, no grade. I spelled out effort and told them to look it up in the dictionary. I should make that an assignment, oh wait, they won't do that either. I want them to be successful and they totally don't try. They want to just pass and expect me to give them the D-. I don't give grades, they are earned. I can't grade what I don't get. My favorite thing is that they keep asking for extra credit. They don't do the assignments, are they seriously going to do extra work? I highly doubt it.

Anyway, I guess I will grade some more papers while M takes her nap and I wait for the inevitable phone call from Mom.

CDR

Home again

I went home again for less than 24hrs. to check on Grandpa. He decided that enough was enough and to have the surgery. He had a very serious bowel obstruction and his gall bladder was removed. They should have done this three weeks ago, but he was a poor surgical candidate due to the fact that he's 90. He did super well and is so far doing really well. The biggest concern were his lungs, but he's breathing on his own now, no ventilator. Let's all keep our fingers crossed. The big man upstairs really has a lot to do with this one.

R is home from his tractor pull excitement. My brothers sure made him smell bad. Boys are gross. It's like they are all still living at home and want to stink each other out. Poor R didn't have a chance in that arena. He had a good time though. The first thing he said to me when he walked in the door was "I need a shower and everything needs to be washed, coat too."

LOL
CDR

Snow days are here again...

tra, la, la, la, la!!! I just LOVE snow days. Knowing the night before is even the best of all. I know already that I don't have to wake up at 5:30. I know right now that I can stay out of the foot of snow that we are expecting. For anyone who lives elsewhere, they should be jealous. They say that kids love snow days, but it's the teachers who love them most.

In other news, M had a fever last night and all day today, AGAIN. I hate germs. Doesn't the cold kill them off? Then of all things, the ear thermometer needed new batteries. It has needed new batteries for quite some time, but it was still working. Plus, I couldn't get it open to even check to see what kind of batteries it needed. Finally, after R used his jack-knife to pry off the back, we located two large watch-type batteries. What the heck is up with that? Do you think I have any replacement batteries of that kind in my house? I have every other type. You name it and I've got it, but not the 2032 huge watch battery. I know shocking. So off I went to CVS to buy some batteries that were $6. Two, teeny, tiny little discs for $6 plus tax. They get us in every direction. I almost bought the new thermometer that took AAA batteries because I know I'll always have them on hand, but it has taken me 2 1/2 years to train R how to use the one we have. I'm not doing that again.

Super happy thoughts to everyone.
CDR

Caught up...

... for the moment anyway. Being gone is tough. I couldn't believe the amount of grading I still had to do. Plus the grad. work that had to get done. I was only gone for three days to see my family and whew, it has taken me until today to feel like I am above water. I finally have clean underwear and the house is decently clean. The make-up work is done and the tests are graded. Thank goodness for that because grades are due tomorrow.

Not much else happening here. I just seem to keep plugging along. A funny thing though is coming up. R is going with my brothers and Dad to Kentucky next weekend for a....

TRACTOR show. That's right, my city guy with my farm family at the auto show of tractors in Kentucky. Laughing yet? I was, but he really wants to get away and it looks like he doesn't care where. I think it's great that he gets along with my brothers and Dad and they all feel comfortable going to this thing. However, the last time my brothers and Dad took R anywhere, they brought him back drunk and unable to undress. They had also taken him to several strip clubs and taught him how to fold dollars for the girls on stage. Super fun. I told him I didn't care if he went to see the girls, but no wasting money.

I guess that's all that is going on here. We're good and Grandpa is doing better. He will be in the hospital a bit longer and then on to the Medical Care Facility for rehab. He really does have a positive attitude which wasn't the case just over a week ago. I truly believe that he saw all of us grandkids and great-grandkids and decided there was life to live. I just pray for him each night and somehow I am at peace with this.

Take care,
CDR

All's well, for the most part

My heart is super or so they believe. Good news there. The stress test was easy and they pretty much ruled out anything wrong with my heart. I just have anxiety or acid reflux, yeah.

This weekend I decided that I really needed to see my grandpa because Mom and Dad really seemed worried. M and I made the trip up on Friday and went straight to the hospital. This was a four hour drive. M only slept about 45 minutes, but was really good. She really is good in the car. Grandpa was not doing so well and that really made me upset. He even commented that he wouldn't be going home. He could have meant for the day with me, but he still made the comment and I lost it, not in front of him though, thank goodness. M and I then went back to Mom and Dad's to get some supper and ran into brother B. (I have three brothers so lettering them seems appropriate.) He commented that he hadn't gone to see Grandpa and I said he really should. He left my nephew with me and went to see Grandpa. Now, Grandpa seemed to be in better spirits which made us all feel better.

Saturday, my niece A and nephew K came over to be with M so I could ride with Mom and Dad to the hospital. The weather was wicked in Western Michigan this weekend and I'm glad I didn't have to take M out in the fridgid weather. We decided to take my dad's pickup with 4-wheel drive because of the roads. Now picture this. My mom and I are short. Mom has had two knee replacements. Neither one of us can easily get into the truck. We had to take a stool with us. My dad referred to it as the Polish running board. It was quite the site. When we got to the hospital my aunts and uncles were already there and said that Grandpa had made some progress in the morning regarding the gas and bm issue that he was having. This was good news. Brother A had also been there that morning when the initial bm happened and Grandpa asked him to check it out. Brother A called for a nurse. Can you believe we are at the age that we are asked to take care of that business? Whew!!! It was good news though. After checking in with Grandpa, we decided to go out for some lunch. I was the youngest in the crowd with the seniors. I was the only one who couldn't get the senior price for lunch. It was a hoot. I told them I would have to write in my blog about them and there was some uncertainty about a: what a blog was? and b: why would someone do one? This was a very fun lunch. Uncle N and Aunt M, Uncle G and Aunt J, and my parents with me for lunch. It was a learning experience.

Sunday brought some more news that Grandpa had some more movements but there is still blockage in the small intestine and they may need to get that out. He initially went in to the hospital to have his gall bladder out, but now this has happened. He is still having trouble breathing, but that could be partially caused from the pressure on his diaphram (sp) from the blocked intestine. They are running more tests and we'll know more later. Brother C came up to see Grandpa and I thought was a good idea too.

M and I drove home yesterday in some seriously bad weather, but we wanted to get home. She missed her daddy. It took us about 5 hours to get home, which really wasn't bad considering the roads. It's -4 outside right now and I'm going to work on grading tests and catching up on homework. I love days off from school.

Oh, and we made sure to bring back hamburger from my parents freezer. No more bad meatloaf.

LOL
CDR

Anxiety update

I went to the regular doctor today for the ER follow up. He is scheduling me for an echo-cardio gram and stress test. This sounds like fun. I'm 32 and am going through this. What the heck? I'm happy that he wants to rule out a problem with my heart, but now I have to do the tests. He thinks it could be three things: anxiety, heart, or acid relux. Acid Relux? I have NEVER had any signs of this, not even when I was pregnant. I took some Xanax and am feeling pretty good right now. R is also feeling a bit guilty about his hissy fit childish behavior because of my anxiety. It could really all be for the best on that front.

However, to add to my anxiety, my mom called with very distressing news that my grandpa is not well. He has pancreatitis (sp) which is caused by the gall stones that he has. They need to remove his gall bladder. This is normally no big whoop, but HE'S ALMOST 91 WITH A BAD HEART AND FLUID IN HIS LUNGS! He could die from the anasthetic or the gall stones or the heart trouble or the lung problems. Chances are not looking good and he's in a lot of pain. I'm also four hours away. I didn't tell Mom what was wrong with me because she has enough on her plate. I didn't plan on telling anyone until I knew what was wrong either. No need to worry the family ahead of schedule. I just need hugs. M gave me tons yesterday and today. I just love that little girl to pieces.

More when I know it.
CDR