Thursday, August 30, 2012

TTT!

Thanks to the gorgeous Laura Belle we have Ten Things Thursday!!

1. I have teacher hell inservice tomorrow. Yuck. Double yuck. I would much rather be with the kids than the adults. The adults aren't nearly as much fun.


2. I love 3 day weekends!


3. I have been drinking Early Rise flavor (Great Value version of Crystal Light) drink in the mornings. Some times I add fresh pineapple or orange slices to it. I like it!

 
 
4. I think I am going to treat myself to an hour massage this weekend. It has been way too long since I had a massage (back in May I think).
 
 
5. Usually I don't even pay attention to what The Rockstar is doing on his laptop, but when I walked by last night he had a really guilty "I've been caught" kinda look on his face. Porn??? Nope, a puppy. He was looking at a Malti Poo for sale online. I am NOT ready for another baby. I told him no way...and I will be mad if he doesn't listen.
 
 
6. I saw a couple the other night in Walmart carrying on a conversation in sign language. I know quite a bit of sign language, but most of the kids I have had in the past have just used simple signs (more, eat, no, bathroom, drink, etc). Sign language is kinda like a foreign language...if you don't use it, you lose it. There are some signs that I certainly never forget...like the cuss words. And even though I don't know what the couple was arguing about, I did catch that he told her to kiss his ass...and then she said eff you!  It reminded me of this video. If you can't handle potty words, don't watch it.
 

 
 
7. It's almost September...that means Grey's Anatomy will be coming back on soon!
 
 
8. I accidentally took a fluid pill last night instead of one of my bp medications. I was up over 10 times going to pee. I WON'T be making that same mistake tonight.
 
 
9. The teacher next door to me said many of her kids said they wanted to be in my class...they heard the music we have dancing to the last few days. One of the science teachers heard our music today and came in and danced with us.
 
 
10. Tomorrow is Friday...woot, woot!

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Shake Your Groove Thang

Lately I have been so tired after I get off work. I really couldn't figure out why since I have been going to bed at a decent hour and I feel like I have been sleeping pretty well. Then it dawned on me...I have been sitting way too much at work lately. Sitting all day makes me super tired. I don't do a lot of whole group instruction up in front of the class because my kids are on very, very different levels from each other...it's the nature of a special ed class. My kids sit at tables in pairs of two, so I roll in my chair from table to table to work with the kids.

 Making kids who are hyperactive sit in a chair for more than 20 minutes is just down right torturous (in my opinion anyway). This week I decided that we all needed to move around more. So, we spend no more than 20 minutes on a given lesson/activity (like say, Math) and then we do something where we have to move.

I did several lessons outside this week. One day were were working on basic graphing, so we made a graph of the different colors of cars in the parking lot. That meant that we had to walk all the way around the school since there is parking all the way around.

The other day I realized that many of my kids don't know their left from their right. So I used this opportunity to not only teach them left from right, but also to get up move. We moved the tables, I made all the kids stand up. I turned on the Smartboard and I played this video...



 


We all did the Cha Cha Slide! It was so much fun! And yes, even my kid in the wheel chair had to participate.

I also have this on my desk....



When you press it it plays Shake Your Groove Thing. We had a spelling pre test today. The pre test is usually on Thursday and the test on Friday, but since the kids are out on Friday our pre test was today.  Anyone who scored a 100 got to press the Boogie Button and dance with me. Six of my kids got a 100...so I had to shake my groove thing six different times.

Who else can say they have a job where they do the Cha Cha Slide and shake their groove thing...AND get paid for it.

Man, I love my job :)

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Ten Things Thursday!!

Thanks to the gorgeous Laura Belle we have Ten Things Thursday!!

1. I have got to get myself a plan for the weekends. I do great through the week and then blow it on the weekends. This could be is the reason I have stalled a bit on weight loss. Or maybe this is the reason...

 
 
2. Why is it that I can never get completely caught up on laundry??? I begged my family to go around naked for just one day so I could say that I had every bit of the laundry done for a day. They were having none of that.
 
 
3. This is what Austin does while I am trying to get the laundry done...
 
 
As soon as I lay down any warm towel or piece of clothing he thinks it's his job to keep it warm. He has his own electric throw blanket, but I haven't had it out since winter.
 
4. I have been trying my best to get in bed before 10 this week. I start making my way there by 9, but I swear I am worse than a 2 year old about wanting to go to bed. I hate bedtime. I have alwyas been a night person.
 
5. I love that Honey Boo Boo show. It cracks me up.
 
6. I need to know something from the BOOBs...how much spending money do you usually take with you??
 
7. Both of my boys were off work last night and they hung out at the house just being silly boys. I ordered pizza for them and listened as they goofed off, played music, and laughed. I love, love, love those moments.
 
8. Looks like it will only be an 8 things Thursday because it is almost time for me to leave for work...and I haven't even packed my lunch yet.
 
Toodles!



Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Hello there white girl

The weather here is crazy. Several years ago on this day the school district I worked in was on half days (mornings only) because it was so hot (like 109) that they didn't want kids on the bus in the afternoons. Big change from this year. This morning my little piggies were actually cold on my way to work (yes, I still wear flip flops every day). It wasn't even 60 degrees out.

I haven't been in the pool in over 3 weeks. Because it is getting so cool at night the water is already too cold to enjoy. I am getting so pale I had to change my makeup this week to a lighter shade.

Speaking of cooler weather, I really wanted it to stay warm well into October like it did last year. For one reason, y'all know I hate to put shoes back on my feet. The other reason is that I have not even 1 pair of long pants that fit me. I wear capri's and flip flops (or sandals) every day so I haven't had a need to go buy any pants yet. I hate long pants almost as much as I hate shoes.

I had a cute day today. I had on a new shirt that was oh so cutesy on me. I should have taken a pic, but I didn't think about it. I have been wearing things that in the past were out of comfort zone (like that belted shirt last week). I used to NEVER try on clothes before I bought them. Now I do because as my body is changing I have no idea what I will like and what I won't.



Happy Tuesday y'all!

Monday, August 20, 2012

Magic Lips

How could it be Monday again already?? Why is it that Friday is soooo close to Monday, but Monday is sooo far away from Friday????

I had a great weekend, but I tend to get off schedule when I am not at work. I don't drink enough water and I eat stuff I wouldn't normally eat through the week. Monday's are hard for me. I have to get back on track. And it's Monday...and all the things that come along with that.

I did not want to get up this morning. The Rockstar said I had t get up.


Today was Monday for sure. Most of my kids were either sick, crabby, or both. Not a good time to introduce anything new. On days like this, I try to keep things light and fun.

My kids love playing Bingo. I have Bingo games for math, reading, community/survival signs, food, household objects, and a few others.

One day last week my little Ms. Sassypants almost had a melt down because she had not won even once that day. Neither had 3 other kids, but she didn't care about that, because the world revolves around Ms. Sassypants (in her eyes any way).

I told Ms. Sassypants I would give her a new Bingo card and I would kiss this one for good luck. Well guess what?? She won that round.

So then little Mr. Ray of Sunshine wanted a new card and he wanted me to kiss his (he had not yet won either). So I gave him a new card and kissed it. And guess what??? He won that round.

By this time I had the kids convinced that I had magic lips. Since it was time to go to lunch, they couldn't test my magic lips theory any further.

Fast forward to today. We had played 4 rounds and little Ms. Sassypants had not won any of them. She was not a happy camper. She asked for a new card and wanted me to kiss it. We didn't have much time before lunch so I said "nope, no new cards or magic lips today...but I wish you good luck".

Ms. Sassypants was NOT happy with me. She had a meltdown. I told her she needed to step out in the hall and get herself together. Then (and only then) she could return to classroom and play the final round with us.

Wouldn't ya know right after I sent her out there the principal walked by?? He said "what's wrong Sassypants? Why are you crying?"

Sassypants replied (through her sobs): "because Ms. Barbie won't kiss it with her magic lips!!"

Yes, that was the extent of her explanation for crying.

Yes, I was called to the principal's office.

No, I will not be using my magic lips at school any more.

Happy Monday y'all!

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Lick me once shame on you, lick me twice shame on me

Is it only Tuesday??? I feel like for sure it should be Thursday. Things are always hectic the first few weeks of school. Trying to get into the swing of the schedule is not always. Just when I think I have it we have an early release day (we have one every week) and it throws my whole schedule off.

My little angel (poop slinger) is still testing boundaries. Today he came right up to me like he was going to whisper in my ear. I didn't think much about it because he will sometimes whisper in my ear when he wants something (a drink, go to the bathroom, etc). Well, he did not have any big secret to tell me today. He leaned over to my face and licked right up the side of it!

You would think I would have learned my lesson.....but, nooooooooooooooo. Later in the day he was sitting right beside me and leaned over and licked my hair. You would think by now I would certainly learn....but, noooooooooooooo. He was sitting on the floor as I was standing in front of the class. He leaned over and licked my foot.

Good thing I am not a germaphobe. But I did come home and take a shower and wash my hair.

In unrelated news, I had a clothing NSV today. For the first time in.....well, I don't remember when...I wore a belted shirt. No it wasn't a tucked in shirt with a belt. Baby steps people, baby steps :)

Sunday, August 12, 2012

The Perfect Weekend

I have had an almost perfect weekend. Nothing real special about it, but it was wonderful in my eyes.

Friday night I decided to go ahead and knock the out the grocery shopping. This was the not so perfect part of my weekend. I HATE grocery shopping. It is filled with way too much temptation for me and I usually spend way too much money.

My big temptation this week was this...




These aren't just regular Mountain Dews people, they are Mountain Dews in a glass bottle. You can say what you want, but everything tastes better out of a glass bottle. Just like in the good ole days. All you youngins reading this probably don't know a thing about drinking cokes out of a glass bottle.


As you can see, the liquid crack is still on the shelf and not in my buggy...which means I avoided temptation. Yay me!


After The Boy got off work Friday night we all sat in the living room just talking and watching tv. We don't get to do that much any more since we are rarely all home at the same time.


Saturday morning The Rockstar and I got up and drove into the big city (well it is big compared to my town). We went to the mack daddy, super big teacher store. We spent way too much money, but had so much fun talking about ideas we both had for our classrooms.


After the teacher store we went to Ross and Steinmart. We both got some new clothes and a few things for the house.


By this time we were both hungry, since neither of us had eaten breakfast. We stopped at Red Robin because neither one of us had ever been to one (which I can't say without hearing the commercial..."Red Robin, Yummmmm") I didn't know it was just a hamburger place. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger (sans bun) and sweet potato fries. I was only able to eat 1/4 of the burger and a few fries (maybe 5) but it was really yummmmm (in my best Red Robin voice).


We went back to town and I had to go to Kohl's to spend that damn Kohl's cash. And guess what??? They gave me more!!! I am not falling for it this time. I only get $10 this time so I may just have to let it go to waste. There's no way I can go in there and just spend $10.


Finally we were back at home...and we were there alone (bow chicka wow wow). Things must have gone good in The Rockstar's mind because he even laid on the couch with me and watched a Lifetime movie.



Today we had lazy Sunday and I cooked a big meal just for the The Rockstar...fried pork chops and gravy, mashed potatoes, fried apples, and biscuits. And no, I did not eat the fried pork chops or biscuits...chicken breast for me (not fried, of course).


The Big Boy came over and spent some time with me and visited for a bit. Nothing special, just hanging out.


Now we are sitting down to watch Big Brother then get ready for the work week.


I told ya, nothing really special, but I spent time with all the men in my life and didn't have an ounce of stress all weekend. For me, that's a damn near perfect weekend :)

Thursday, August 9, 2012

TTT!

Thanks to the gorgeous Laura Belle we have Ten Things Thursday!!

1. I totally missed my 8 month bandiversary on Tuesday. I have lost 68 pounds from my highest weight this time last year. It could have been much more, but I was total slacker this summer. Doesn't matter though, I am completely thrilled with my progress so far.


2. I have been at Walmart every day for the last 3 days...not because I love it so much, but I keep having to go back for various things. I am quite sure that the people of walmart site frequently features people from the Walmart closest to my school.




3. This whole work thing is doing nothing for my tan. It is fading fast. I may have to use the rest of tanning bed minutes so I can maintain a little bit of color until fall. I'm sure the people at the tanning bed have missed me. If you haven't heard about my tanning bed shenanigans you can read about them here

And in case you really wanted to know how I looked in my stylish solar cap...here ya go...



4. Did any of y'all watch that show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo last night? If not, you missed a great chance to crack up. Of course y'all know I love me some reality tv. This family is redneckilicious. They crack me up. They are from Georgia. You know reality tv always has to pick the ones that truly fit in to stereotypes. I swear not all people from the south act like that. Our precious Sandra lives in Ga. and I know she doesn't act like that. God please don't let those people be her kin folk.


5. I have to go to Kohl's this weekend. I went last weekend because it was tax free weekend AND I had some Kohl's cash. They keep sucking me back in with that damn Kohls' cash. They gave me $40 this time. They know I can't just go in there and spend my little Kohl's cash. I end up spending way more...then they give me more Kohl's cash and know that I will have to come back the next weekend. Yes, I have suckerrrrr written across my forehead.


6. I have sworn to myself every night this week that I would go to bed early. I haven't made it there earlier than 11:00 yet. I suck at going to bed early. I am worse than a 2 year old about wanting to go to bed.


7. On the second day of school (with kids) I brought my aides a little basket filled with lots of good candy (Reese's pb cups, white chocolate kit kats, nestle crunch, Dove chocolate, and Snickers) with a card that said" thanks for helping to make the first day a sweet one...here's to many more". One of my new aides said "I guess this would be a good time to tell you that I am diabetic."  Great. I tried to kill the man on his second day at work.


8. I have a ton of laundry that needs to be done and I am sitting here blogging like I don;t have a thing in the world to do.


9. Can someone please tell me what those big brown patch things on the backs of the divers in the Olympics are???


10. School is back in session. Summer is over. I am ready for my regular shows to come back on...come on Grey's Anatomy!

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Unintentional Workout Wednesday

Whew, I am as tired as a mood ring on a bipolar person.

 I am beat up from the feet up.

I didn't "plan" to exercise today, but I guaran-damn-tee you I have had my fair share of it today.

My sweet little poop slinger kept me on my toes today. Apparently the second he is not receiving direct attention he decides to take off running out of the room at lightening speed. And guess who takes off running after him??? Yep, you guessed it...me. You runnin' rockstars didn't have shit on me today. And y'all know I had on some flip flops. Have you ever tried running full force in flip flops? I'm sure I was a sight to see.

I know he can be mean as the dickens when he wants to be, but I love him to pieces any way. He is so stinkin' cute you can't help but fall in love with him.

When this precious angel baby wasn't running he was hitting, slapping, kicking, and head butting. I felt like I was training for to be the next karate kid. Paint the fence, wrist up, wrist down. Wax on, wax off. Don't forget to breathe Daniel-san.

Aside from my marathon and karate training,  I also lifted a child (roughly a hundred pounds) out of his wheelchair several times (for the restroom and for physical therapy).

Lord only knows I didn't have time to drink enough water today. Trying to make up for that now.

Can we please have "Take a break Thursday"????

Monday, August 6, 2012

Watch out for the flying poop

Today was the first day back with kids. One of the things I like about having the same kids for several years in a row is that you really get to see how they grow and mature over the course of those years. I was excited about switching from high school to middle school because I would no longer be the shortest kid in class (I am only 5 ft tall). So this year I am still not the shortest one in class, but I am certainly not the tallest either. What the heck are these parents feeding these kids??? Some of them grew nearly a foot over the summer.

So I got several new kids, up from the elementary school and/or transfers. Now remember I am a special ed teacher, which means it is not uncommon at all for me to have to deal with drool, poopy diapers, nonverbal kiddos, and some pretty quirky and at times, even disgusting behaviors. I read each student's IEP (education plan for the year) before the school year, but trust me...it doesn't tell you everything ya need to know.

Before 9 am I had been kicked, slapped, bit, and pinched. This stuff was in the IEP...so I wasn't too surprised, but I did think I would get a little bit of honeymoon period before he showed out. Nope. Didn't happen.

This oh so sweet child started smelling a little stinky, so I sent one of aides to take him to the bathroom. I told one of the other aides to go too, in case help was needed. Less than 5 minutes later she came running back in my room and said "hurry, call for a custodian in the bathroom!" Apparently, this angel baby pooped in the potty (yay...not in the pull up) but then proceeded to stand up and quickly grab what he had produced and threw it at the aides!!!!

Thank God they both have quick reflexes. They ducked. The shit hit the fan (ok, really it was the wall, but that was funnier...I crack myself up).

Really people...I think I should get hazard pay. It certainly won't be a boring year.

In unrealted news, I am officially back on a schedule. I have routine back in my life. Greek yogurt for breakfast, Chicken breast and side salad for lunch, and 4 bottles of water. Now if I can just remember how I fit all those potty breaks into my schedule.

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Ten Things Thursday!

Thanks to the gorgeous Laura Belle we have Ten Things Thursday!!

1. I still miss Kayleigh like crazy. Austin is completely deaf, so he never hears me when I come in the door...so there is no barking and it is completely quiet when I come home from work. It feels very lonely when I don't hear my welcoming commitee as I walk through the door.


2. This weekend is tax free weekend in TN. For those of y'all who don't have tax free weekends in your state, there isn't any tax on clothes and school supplies for weekend for all items that are less than $100...so that means stuff like computers don't count. Some people (ok, a lot of people) take advantage of the tax free weekend...which is why I don't. I HATE to go shopping in crowds...it's not worth the $10-$20 I would save.


3. The good news is, I can shop online and have tax free weekend :) I just have to shop at places that offer free shipping.


4. Today I suffered through teacher hell inservice. The main reason I hate inservice so much is that it almost NEVER applies to me. My kids are not assessed through the regular state testing, my kids don't have a regular schedule, NONE of my kids are on grade level, and I have 2 degrees in special education, so I am quite sure I know how to differentiate my lessons.


5. Although #4 is a complaint, I do love my job and I am very grateful to have it.


6. I haven't eaten dinner in the last two days. By the time I get home I am to tired to even think about eating. Since most of my day is consumed with sitting through meetings, I have been staying very late trying to get my room done. Which is still not done. The kids will be there on Monday. I have to stay as late as it takes tomorrow to get it finished.


7. My underwire broke in my bra today...only on one side. So I walked around half the day with one saggy boobie. Dang it, I just bought this bra.


8. Have you ever had a day that you just keep smelling something random for no reason??? I keep getting a whiff of beer all day, even though I have not been any where close to a beer.


9. Did you know that I have never in my life even tasted beer??? Laura Belle would be appalled. But it is true. I am a beer virgin.


10. Big Brother is on, so that means I have to wrap this up. Y'all know I can't miss out on my reality tv :)

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

School food yumminess ...is that an oxymoron???

Today was my first day back at work. All faculty and staff of all the schools on post met at one school for like a welcome back and meet and greet type deal. So the General or Commander something or another (ok, it was somebody real important...I just don't remember his title/rank) got up there and talked about how he was focused on getting kids healthy and this was going to include more exercise and healthier options in the cafeteria.

I think this is awesome. Did you know that when I first started teaching I gained 25 pounds in the first year?? You know why??? Because I ate school food every day. At the time some of the things that were offered every day was : pizza, hamburgers, french fries, cake, cookies, and chocolate milk (and it wasn't the lowfat kind).

So after all the bigwigs talked they had a spread set up for us. It was all the different food that they will serve this year for breakfast in the schools. I normally don't usually like school food, but I have to say I was pretty impressed. They had these awesome fruit kabobs, turkey bacon and sausage (that tasted great!), some kind of whole wheat biscuits (I didn't try those so I don't know if they were good), cheese omelets, and waffles with fresh fruit on top. I don't like waffles/pancakes/french toast so I didn't try that. They also had some greek yogurt with this awesome crunchy cinnamon stuff on top. I don't know what that cinnamon stuff was, but it was oh so yummy. They gave us cards to score each food we tried. I was honestly impressed with all of it. I hope my school offers that greek yogurt all the time...if so, I will be eating breakfast at school.

My room is no where close to being finished. By the time I left today I was sweatin' like a whore a church. I had moved furniture, piled up 4 big trash cans, and completely cleaned out my desk. Whew...I haven't even made a dent in that mess. Back at it tomorrow. How long till fall break???