There are times when I wonder what I was thinking by making this career change. I am so excited about the job, but there are so many other things that I will be doing and those make me nervous. Today, I was able to meet with the staff for the first time. I think it went well. It's my first year of teaching all over again. I sure hope that they understand that concept and it will take me time to fix the problems.
Anyway, enough about work. I am going to focus on more important matters. M still has a cold. Here we go again with the illnesses. Back to daycare is hard on everyone. She cried yesterday when I dropped her off and then so did I. I know she loves it there, she is just so tired and it is so hard to not let her sleep in. We even put her to bed no later than 7:30 and getting up at 6:45 is hard. Now remember, all summer she was up at 6:30 every day wanting to play, watch TV, not sleep when Mommy does, etc. Now it's the opposite. It's like she's a teenager already.
R's work's AC broke down today so he left early. It is so hot there with all of the machines running. His brother is furious with the heating/cooling company. That's a mess. R's mom had minor surgery on her ear this week. For the most part, she seems to be doing well. I haven't spoken with her, but R saw her today and thought she looked good. She can be a bit downtrodden when it comes to anything medical.
Who out there hates high gas prices? Yep, thought so. What the heck? I hate the fact that just because it's a holiday, they beef up the price. I need gas to get to work, not holiday plans. We are going to my parents for the weekend, but it's only Wednesday and the price is super high, $3.09 here in town. It's too bad we can't bottle "natural gas" ;-) and use that in our cars. My brothers could supply enough to run all of our cars, the tractors, and then some.
Anyway, have a super day/night/week/weekend!!!
LOL,
CDR
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Who was that man?
I have been to my new media center/library now for a few days and I am wondering what happened. Who was my predecessor? I am amazed at what I'm finding. Fortunatly, I have had some really amazing help and have been able to weed through the collection. I have filled dumpsters with so much stuff, including books. I know,you're asking how could you? It is essential to weed the collection in order to build the collection. The items discarded were so old they were falling apart, had actual bugs living in them, and some were as old as 1920. These are not materials that students are going to use. I can't figure out how or why these things were on the shelves, but we are making room for the new and improved. I can't wait to get this party started. It is so awesome to work there. People are really excited for change and I'm excited to know what they want and expect. Fun, fun, fun!!!
Some other techy news. I created a WebQuest for my class this summer and I'm going to use it at school to teach the kids some really cool research methods. I FINALLY was able to get it posted online. Here's the site if you want to check it out. I would love to hear what you think and if there are any mistakes that I need to fix. My WebQuest.
M has only been back in daycare for five days and she already has a cold. At least we think it's a cold. She does have allergies, but we never know for sure which it is. We give her both medicines hoping that one will work. Not to be gross, but you moms know this, her snot is clear which tells me she's fine and it's probably allergies. She was so sick last fall because of daycare, I just don't want to go through that again. I know it builds up her immune system, but it's so hard to watch, listen to, etc. Poor little thing.
I guess that is all for now. Teachers out there, have a great first week back to school. Wish me luck and good luck to my friends Things My Beagle Knows and KT in their new jobs too.
LOL,
CDR
Some other techy news. I created a WebQuest for my class this summer and I'm going to use it at school to teach the kids some really cool research methods. I FINALLY was able to get it posted online. Here's the site if you want to check it out. I would love to hear what you think and if there are any mistakes that I need to fix. My WebQuest.
M has only been back in daycare for five days and she already has a cold. At least we think it's a cold. She does have allergies, but we never know for sure which it is. We give her both medicines hoping that one will work. Not to be gross, but you moms know this, her snot is clear which tells me she's fine and it's probably allergies. She was so sick last fall because of daycare, I just don't want to go through that again. I know it builds up her immune system, but it's so hard to watch, listen to, etc. Poor little thing.
I guess that is all for now. Teachers out there, have a great first week back to school. Wish me luck and good luck to my friends Things My Beagle Knows and KT in their new jobs too.
LOL,
CDR
Friday, August 24, 2007
Very frustrated
I am taking this online course. It's three weeks and three credits for way less than WSU is offering. Anyway, everything started out dandy. I am always online checking the discussions, etc. I have created a webquest to be posted online as the final assignment for the class. This is not happening. I have spent countless hours trying to post to various hosting sites with no luck. I truly believe that the version of FrontPage that I'm using is the problem. If I have to redo this thing, I cannot explain how utterly angry I will be. Why would the professor not share this knowledge with me? Don't you think that would have been handy? Also, every time I tell him it won't post, he suggests a new host. I may need to drive to Indiana and slap him. If any of my two or so readers know how to post using FrontPage from Office XP, feel free to share your wisdom. My patience is gone, gone, gone!!! Please help my sanity if I have to redo this.
In other frustrations, I went to work in my new MC yesterday and whew, what a mess. I'm so lucky that I had someone there to help me clean and throw away stuff. That's right we threw away stuff. In order to build a collection, it must be weeded. The retired person must have shut down quite some time ago because we found just a mess of things. You would think that the library would be organized, not so much. Another thing that is frustrating is that this particular MC is not really its own room, it's more of the central hallway. This could be good, but it really isn't. Kids pretty much can go where ever after hours and we found a used tampon in the stacks. You read that right, go back and have a look see. Would a used condom have been better or worse? I guess the good news is, it was old. I still have a ton of sorting to do and it will take time to get things the way I want them. I cannot change everything over night.
In other news, my co-workers from my old school met today for brunch with me. It was their idea and it was super nice to see everyone. I am going to miss them more than I can say. They have been my family for seven years. I cry every time I think about it. I know that this change is good and in order to grow, I must take a chance; it's just so hard to leave them. A new guy was hired to replace me and that's hard to know. I've been replaced and with a guy. That's weird.
Only a few more days before the official first day of school. Wish me luck.
LOL,
CDR
In other frustrations, I went to work in my new MC yesterday and whew, what a mess. I'm so lucky that I had someone there to help me clean and throw away stuff. That's right we threw away stuff. In order to build a collection, it must be weeded. The retired person must have shut down quite some time ago because we found just a mess of things. You would think that the library would be organized, not so much. Another thing that is frustrating is that this particular MC is not really its own room, it's more of the central hallway. This could be good, but it really isn't. Kids pretty much can go where ever after hours and we found a used tampon in the stacks. You read that right, go back and have a look see. Would a used condom have been better or worse? I guess the good news is, it was old. I still have a ton of sorting to do and it will take time to get things the way I want them. I cannot change everything over night.
In other news, my co-workers from my old school met today for brunch with me. It was their idea and it was super nice to see everyone. I am going to miss them more than I can say. They have been my family for seven years. I cry every time I think about it. I know that this change is good and in order to grow, I must take a chance; it's just so hard to leave them. A new guy was hired to replace me and that's hard to know. I've been replaced and with a guy. That's weird.
Only a few more days before the official first day of school. Wish me luck.
LOL,
CDR
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Change is good!
So many things have happened in the last week. I am a year older, one class ended and another began, and I went to my new school today. I am so excited to officially be a media specialist.
I knew that I was going into a position that many people don't take seriously and I'm not sure why that is. I am still a teacher. I will still be teaching very important skills to our future social security contributors. I am the district media specialist and that is a BIG deal. It is so important to schools and I get so frustrated when people think I am less of a teacher because of this particular teaching position. I am VERY excited to say that my new place of employment feels that my position is very important and they can't wait to see what I can do. They have given me lots of hats to wear and I glady accept the challenge. I took this position because it is my passion, but I am still nervous about seniority. The hats that I will be wearing will help to secure my position and that is a very good thing. But, whew, I have a mountain to climb.
When the former librarian retired, another teacher wanted his desk and took it. That's fine, but the one I have doesn't have drawers. What kind of a desk doesn't come with drawers? Also, there is no stapler, no tape, no pencil, no scissors, notta! I just thought that was funny. I also discovered that there are these amazing books on a shelf that students can't see. Why might you ask? Apparently the former librarian didn't want kids to steal them so he had them hidden. It's a library, shouldn't they be able to see the new and cool things to check out? I'll be moving them where they belong next week.
Anyway, I am very excited about my new job and the school district. There is so much enthusiasm in the staff already and I have only met a few. I can't wait to meet them all. This year is going to be very busy, just like the very first year of teaching. It will be so worth it!!!
(CB, remind me of this post in February when I get frustrated.)
LOL,
CDR
I knew that I was going into a position that many people don't take seriously and I'm not sure why that is. I am still a teacher. I will still be teaching very important skills to our future social security contributors. I am the district media specialist and that is a BIG deal. It is so important to schools and I get so frustrated when people think I am less of a teacher because of this particular teaching position. I am VERY excited to say that my new place of employment feels that my position is very important and they can't wait to see what I can do. They have given me lots of hats to wear and I glady accept the challenge. I took this position because it is my passion, but I am still nervous about seniority. The hats that I will be wearing will help to secure my position and that is a very good thing. But, whew, I have a mountain to climb.
When the former librarian retired, another teacher wanted his desk and took it. That's fine, but the one I have doesn't have drawers. What kind of a desk doesn't come with drawers? Also, there is no stapler, no tape, no pencil, no scissors, notta! I just thought that was funny. I also discovered that there are these amazing books on a shelf that students can't see. Why might you ask? Apparently the former librarian didn't want kids to steal them so he had them hidden. It's a library, shouldn't they be able to see the new and cool things to check out? I'll be moving them where they belong next week.
Anyway, I am very excited about my new job and the school district. There is so much enthusiasm in the staff already and I have only met a few. I can't wait to meet them all. This year is going to be very busy, just like the very first year of teaching. It will be so worth it!!!
(CB, remind me of this post in February when I get frustrated.)
LOL,
CDR
Monday, August 06, 2007
The change
It's official, I resigned from work today and signed the paperwork at the new school today. It was very odd to resign. I cried a lot when I was delivering my letter. I have been there for seven years and I wouldn't know what I know if I hadn't been there. I take that knowledge with me as I move on and am grateful for that. I will miss my friends so much. It's so strange to go to my classroom and pack up my stuff. I couldn't do it. R is going with me later to help. He'll keep me focused. I debate my decision regularly even though I truly believe I am doing the right thing. When I go to the new school, I am overwhelmed with how nice they are and how willing they are to make this easy for me. They are so welcoming. I can't wait to get started and I know that I am going to love the job. It is what I want to do. I feel like a kid going to school on the first day without any friends. I know I will adjust, but it is so odd to leave my comfort and friends. I'm also worried about the kids. I don't want them to think I left with hard feelings. I will miss them so much. I have adjusted to them and them to me. New kids all over again, yikes. It is bitter sweet this decision that I have made. I can't wait to get started though. I'm just nervous. Once I get my old room cleaned out and can face my new work, it will all be OK. Still sad though for a bit.
By the way, we moved the books back into M's room. She kept getting out of bed and leaving her room to get the books. We felt it would be better for her to just enjoy them.
As you can see, I also decided to change to look of by blog. Sometimes, change is good.
LOL,
CDR
By the way, we moved the books back into M's room. She kept getting out of bed and leaving her room to get the books. We felt it would be better for her to just enjoy them.
As you can see, I also decided to change to look of by blog. Sometimes, change is good.
LOL,
CDR
Friday, August 03, 2007
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Two more days....
to wait for the blessed test results. Why in the world does it take so long? It's simple, scan the score sheet and send me the score. Now I realize that there are potentially thousands of people taking their certification tests on the same day, but really is all that hard to score a multiple choice test. I've done over a hundred in just an hour or two and I don't have a machine to do it. Being in limbo and not knowing exactly where I will be working in one month is really taking its toll on me. I just want to know and get to work. I have things I could be doing for either position and can't because of this test. This test is the end all, be all of crap. I've been in this position before and have lost out and I know I was devastated then. I know that I will be this time as well even if I've been telling myself not to get my hopes up. It will happen and I will be crushed and crying for days again. The first three weeks of waiting weren't as bad as these last few days. It's just overwhelming and unthinkable that we should have to wait for test results for so long. I know people in other professions who take the test at a site online in a structured environment and know when they leave if they passed or failed. Why can't this happen for the teaching profession? Are they so worried that we will cheat? It amazes me the lengths the state has gone to to deter the cheating and the fact that the reason for these deterants is because someone probably cheated. How and why would they cheat? The waiting game is taking over my mind and I don't know how much more I can take. Both schools want and need to know what I'm doing. I have paperwork to fill out to resign and paperwork to fill out for the new school, but I can't do either because I don't know which to do. This brings me to why is each little city/village its own school district? Why not have a county school district? This would be beneficial in so many ways. First, I wouldn't be worrying about changing districts. Second, they would only have to pay one superintendent instead of 10-20 depending on the county. Third, school's of choice would not be an issue. The county district would simply get the money no matter what. Fourth, teachers and students would be able to work harder with and for each other with smaller class sizes. I'll stop there, but mostly it is about me for now. What a pain in the !@#% this is!!!
Also, my sweet little toddler seems to be taking on aggressive tendancies and I don't know what to do about them. The other night she was sitting on my lap and we were watching Maisy. Maisy was singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star so I started to sing along to M. She head butted me in the face with the back of her head. I thought she broke my nose. I was crying and let out some serious naughty words. It hurt like a $%^*!!! R came in and took her so I could look at the damage, which fortunately for everyone, there was no visible damage. That was Monday and my nose and tooth still hurt. The tooth may in fact be a bit loose. Why did she do this? I was just trying to sing her a song. R made it very clear to her that she hurt me and she said she was sorry with what seemed like some sympathy. That is the one thing I can count on from him. He will be stern with her if she hurts me in any way. Later, I went to tuck her in and I started to cry again because I was just so sad that she had done this. I think she really felt bad, but it just floored me that she had done this. She has been a kicker and a pusher on occasion, but never has she been so deliberate in hurting. I have really had to be quite stern with her lately as well. She doesn't want to take a nap and instead plays or reads books. Today while she was supposed to be napping, she had blocks, book, animals, and a trash can in her bead. I also discovered that she had filled the toilet with wet wipes and had clogged it. I really got after her and she did what I told her and went to sleep, but I had to really get after her. Am I being too strict? I'm hoping that this is just a stage. She seems to have so much energy and it's so hot out that we can't really burn it off. Am I horrible for just wanting to read a book or watch the news and drink my coffee? I know my friend at LawMommy would tell me to not feel guilty and I will try very hard not to be. I feel more guilt while being home with her than I do when I work. I know that staying at home is not my gig and work will do me, her, and R some good. I don't feel guilty about working. I know that when I leave her at daycare she is eating, playing, socializing, sharing, laughing, learning, running, jumping, etc. She has a great time there and I don't worry or feel one bit guilty. I just don't know how to get her to understand that hitting of any kind is bad and when I say no, I mean no.
In other family news, my mom cracked a rib when she fell into a boat, my dad is on oxygen at night for his sleep appnia (sp), my oldest brother and his family are doing OK after the wife was released from the room of bars, my second brother and his family are finally moved into their new addition after years of work, and my third brother and his family are doing well right where they are. My inlaws insist that my two year old can ride in the car in just a booster seat and R doesn't seem to care. Hello, it's against the state law for her not to be in a car seat!!! My brother-in-law won't let his four year old run at the park, very amusing. My sister-in-law and I have a fun connection and we laugh about lots of things, usually relating to how alike yet different our husbands are and about how our mother-in-law is always discussing weird medical conditions that we just don't want to know.
Have a great whatever, since I post most irregulary.
LOL,
CDR
Also, my sweet little toddler seems to be taking on aggressive tendancies and I don't know what to do about them. The other night she was sitting on my lap and we were watching Maisy. Maisy was singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star so I started to sing along to M. She head butted me in the face with the back of her head. I thought she broke my nose. I was crying and let out some serious naughty words. It hurt like a $%^*!!! R came in and took her so I could look at the damage, which fortunately for everyone, there was no visible damage. That was Monday and my nose and tooth still hurt. The tooth may in fact be a bit loose. Why did she do this? I was just trying to sing her a song. R made it very clear to her that she hurt me and she said she was sorry with what seemed like some sympathy. That is the one thing I can count on from him. He will be stern with her if she hurts me in any way. Later, I went to tuck her in and I started to cry again because I was just so sad that she had done this. I think she really felt bad, but it just floored me that she had done this. She has been a kicker and a pusher on occasion, but never has she been so deliberate in hurting. I have really had to be quite stern with her lately as well. She doesn't want to take a nap and instead plays or reads books. Today while she was supposed to be napping, she had blocks, book, animals, and a trash can in her bead. I also discovered that she had filled the toilet with wet wipes and had clogged it. I really got after her and she did what I told her and went to sleep, but I had to really get after her. Am I being too strict? I'm hoping that this is just a stage. She seems to have so much energy and it's so hot out that we can't really burn it off. Am I horrible for just wanting to read a book or watch the news and drink my coffee? I know my friend at LawMommy would tell me to not feel guilty and I will try very hard not to be. I feel more guilt while being home with her than I do when I work. I know that staying at home is not my gig and work will do me, her, and R some good. I don't feel guilty about working. I know that when I leave her at daycare she is eating, playing, socializing, sharing, laughing, learning, running, jumping, etc. She has a great time there and I don't worry or feel one bit guilty. I just don't know how to get her to understand that hitting of any kind is bad and when I say no, I mean no.
In other family news, my mom cracked a rib when she fell into a boat, my dad is on oxygen at night for his sleep appnia (sp), my oldest brother and his family are doing OK after the wife was released from the room of bars, my second brother and his family are finally moved into their new addition after years of work, and my third brother and his family are doing well right where they are. My inlaws insist that my two year old can ride in the car in just a booster seat and R doesn't seem to care. Hello, it's against the state law for her not to be in a car seat!!! My brother-in-law won't let his four year old run at the park, very amusing. My sister-in-law and I have a fun connection and we laugh about lots of things, usually relating to how alike yet different our husbands are and about how our mother-in-law is always discussing weird medical conditions that we just don't want to know.
Have a great whatever, since I post most irregulary.
LOL,
CDR
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
