Third Grade From HELL

I know it is the end of the year and kids are getting squirrely, but this went beyond squirrely.

I got the call late, so I didn't get to school until 9:30. Walked into the room where the principal was covering until I could get there (so of course they were well behaved!) They were good for the end of the lesson and the group bathroom break. We came back to have snack and a little free time-where they played games and talked. No big deal. The rest of the day was filled with noisy 3rd graders and lots of talking when there shouldn't have been (Of course not everyone, there were about half the class who did what they were supposed to do all day )

After school, in the car, I noticed my wallet was missing from my purse. I was trying to think if I had it in the morning or if it was at home on the kitchen table. Since I had to go to Sylvan until late, I decided I better go back and check the classroom. In the games bucket, I found my store discount cards scattered around. So, I checked desks and obvious places for the wallet. No luck, so I went to talk to the office. The secretary and I went back to search the room and I found the wallet behind a crate, under a table, with my debit card missing. Back to the office to talk to the principal and call the police.

Long story short, only the debit card was taken (luckily I had no cash in my wallet). Called to cancel the card right away and the police came out to fill out a report. The principal was going to talk to the teacher, and the class, today. I was hoping she would contact me if she found anything out, but I haven't heard anything yet. And she had the nerve to say that she hoped this didn't discourage me from subbing for them again!! At this point, I have them removed from my preferred schools list, and hopefully I will have a job for next year and won't have to worry about being a substitute teacher anymore.

Sorry that this post was a bit of a downer, but I needed to vent some more. I will keep you posted if I hear anything, but I am guessing I won't know who took it.

Whirlwind week

Boy, I feel like I have been on high speed for a long time. Let me break down what has been happening in my life in the past week.

Friday: Major cleaning day since my parents were coming up for Easter on Saturday. I think I started around 10am and stopped around 3:30, with not quite everything cleaned. That is when I jumped in the shower so we could run a few errands and head to dinner at a friends and egg dying.

Saturday: Woke up to a strange noise coming from the basement. Brian went down to check and the water pipe leading to our toilet broke and we had water shooting everywhere. So that had to get cleaned up and the plumber called. All that got finished just in time for us to take a shower and head out to meet my parents for lunch. After lunch and a few errands, we were finally back home to relax and dye some more eggs.

Sunday: Easter was at our house. My parents dog decided that he wanted to see what our bed was like, at 7:20am. So, I got up and did some last minute cleaning and preparations. After dinner, Brian noticed that the water meter in the basement was making loud clicking sounds and not spinning to register water use. So, in a last minute effort to use all the free water we could, I finished up some laundry and did the dinner dishes.

Monday: Brian got up early to call the utility company about the water meter. They came over and discovered that something was leaking in the house and struggled to figure out just what it was. It was finally found that our reverse osmosis unit was leaking. Those guys were coming over later to change filters anyway, so we talked to them about that-we are still waiting to fit them into our schedule to come and fix that. Then I had Sylvan.

Tuesday: A rainy day and I had to drive to Fond du Lac to pick up a bridesmaid dress for the 7th. Then got back here and spent an hour at the tailor to figure out how they could alter it-turns out the dress was designed for fuller figured women than me. Then came home to research cheap hotels for that weekend since we need a place to stay. I also had to tutor that night, so a quick dinner and I was off.

Wednesday: Subbed in a kindergarten classroom all day, luckily it was not raining and they could go outside to play. Then it was off to Sylvan were I had a few crabby kids that night.

Thursday: Subbed in kindergarten again. Came home and had to call WE energies to relight our furnace since they replaced our gas meter today. Then caught up on some house things, like folding the laundry from the weekend.

Tomorrow I will be back in kindergarten and who knows what Brian has planned at night. Then I have Sylvan on Saturday morning and hopefully we can rake the yard this weekend. Next week looks a little calmer, so far. Only 1.5 days of subbing and 3 nights at Sylvan. Then it is wedding weekend. I will try to post about that as I am sure that will be an interesting event as well.

Thanks for reading about my whirlwind week!!

As much as I enjoy sleeping in....

...it does not get the bills paid. I haven't gotten a wake up call in 3.5 weeks!! I have subbed a few days in those 3.5 weeks, but they have all been pre planned. All this free time is allowing me to get my classes done in order to renew my teaching license, but that is not bringing in any money either. I have just started class 2 of 2 this morning, with hopes to finish it this week and get the paper done, and have everything mailed in by Easter. If the lack of subbing keeps going this way, there is a good chance that will happen.

We had some storm action here last night. Just before 8pm, the tornado sirens went off. We grabbed phones, flashlights, lighters for the candles, and headed to the basement to continue watching the storm coverage down there. After over an hour and 7 sirens, the storms had passed and we went upstairs. There was a tornado touchdown in Kaukauna, a few miles from our house, but surprisingly no one was injured. Today is going to be a big clean up day around the city. Luckily nothing happened in our neighborhood, even though we were hoping for some damage to the roof (we could use a new one), or that the wind would knock our already leaning fence down. No such luck, and everyone is safe.

Hopefully you stayed safe in all the storms that rumbled through WI last night.

Off to do some more classwork!!

Renewing my teaching license

Two posts in one day!!! Wow, aren't you lucky!!! And there is only one day left of the month to get my 2 posts in (and i am subbing tomorrow so I know there will be no time for posting)

I am not sure if this would qualify as procrastination, but I am pretty sure it does. My teaching license expires at the end of June. I have to take 6 credits and get graded, before then. So, last week I finally ordered my video courses, so that I could get those credits in. I am halfway through my first class, after a week, which I am thinking is pretty good. (Course, not subbing at all this week has helped me to push through them)

The classes I am taking have to do with choice theory and the 5 basic needs that all students have. It shows how to incorporate those needs into teaching lessons and your classroom to help prevent behavior problems. Now i only wish I had a classroom to try some of these activities. It is giving me great ideas in case I get a classroom next year.

I will switch to that thought, a classroom for next year. No, don't get excited, I don't have a classroom for next year yet, but things are looking promising. I know this whole collective bargaining thing with Walker is causing a lot of teachers to seek early retirement, therefore creating openings if the budget allows. Well, I have my application in to 2 districts already and I just found 2 more postings yesterday that I have to send my stuff into yet. I am sure there will be many more postings to come, I only hope that I have something that all the other teacher candidates don't have :)

Lent

I know Lent is half over, but since I never got around to posting about it before I thought I would do it now.

I was lucky enough to be subbing at the Catholic school on Ash Wednesday so I didn't have to try to squeeze church in somewhere between subbing and Sylvan (which would not have happened if I were subbing in a public school that day, there would have been no time). So my day started with mass and then I spent the day teaching the 4th graders. I also spent the day thinking about what to give up for Lent. I decided to give up soda ( I have done chocolate in the past and that was just too hard. I know that is the point, but why torture myself) I have been doing well with not drinking soda-it is harder when we go out to eat then it is at home-since we have no soda in the house. On the positive side, it is forcing me to drink a little more water. (I am still about a glass or 2 a day with that on though)

So, with about 24 more days to go until Easter, I am confident that I can keep my promise to give up soda for Lent.

Randoms

I haven't posted in week and I need to keep my goal of 2 posts a month, so I thought I would write something-as boring as it may be!

*My 2011 goals are coming along. I can see the top of my kitchen table, end table, and printer. (And most of the desk.) I am still drinking at least a glass of water a day, some days more. All this free time has lead to great time to read. It is only Feb. 16 and I have already read my 2 books for the month. At this rate, I will have no problem with my A to Z list. (Be sure to check it out once in a while, if you haven't already). With this being my second blog entry for Feb, that goal is coming along too. Still working on the comfort zone one and some tutoring possibilities are in the works. My dishes are getting done nightly (with the exception of this past weekend, when my brother was here. We were having too much fun playing the Wii.) I am still working on the positive attitude, building the relationship with God, and not sweating the small stuff. I haven't started any of the craft projects yet, but we have bought some of the supplies to get going on them. And I would hope my facebook friends think I am making meaningful comments.

*We had a gas leak last week. Thursday there was an overwhelming gas smell in the back room of our basement. Brian called WE energies and sure enough, a leak in 3 places. Brian called a heating guy and they came out and replaced the entire pipe. (We are still waiting for a bill on that one). This spring we are also going to be getting a new meter, outside, since ours is like 50 years old. This will supposedly involve digging up some of the lawn (which we just replaced last summer), but the are supposed to replant any grass they dig up. So we will see how that goes (I'm sure I will have a blog post about that one!)

*Subbing is really slow. I have subbed 3.5 days this MONTH and only have half a day scheduled for this week. I was expecting to be busy today with all the teachers going to Madison, but only got one call, while I was in the shower, and they didn't leave a message. Oh well. Hoping that March/April will bring lots of job postings which will lead to a full time job!!

*I seem to be losing hours at Sylvan some weeks too. Some days I am only there for 1 hour. I know, I know, I should be grateful that I have a job that provides some steady income. It just seems like a waste some days to drive 12 miles (one way) for only an hour, especially with gas prices on the rise. But, I am helping kids, and luckily I like most of the students I work with. I am just waiting and hoping that tutoring picks up a little so I can drop a few more days from Sylvan.

*Tutoring is going well. We are finally on a once a week schedule. Mostly I just listen to her read and help with sounding out words. I think we are both getting a little bored with that, and since I am not sure that we can convince her to bring home her Science or Social Studies textbook when she doesn't have homework, I may have to find something more exciting for us to work on in order to practice fluency.

*No news to report from the neighborhood. We are pretty sure that some people down the street are involved with dealing drugs (this was mentioned to me by a cop that talked to me one day while I was shoveling). This is nothing new, we always though they were strange and had strange people coming and going at all hours of the day and night.

Thank you for reading my random ramblings. Hopefully next month (or later this month) I will have something more exciting to blog about. I am sad to admit that my life simply is not that interesting.

Punxsutawney Phil v. Green Bay Betty

So, who do I believe? Phil, who didn't see is shadow and is predicting and early spring. Or Betty, who saw her shadow and is predicting 6 more weeks of winter.

Granted they both ultimately mean the same thing, shadow=6 more weeks of winter, no shadow=6 more weeks until spring. I guess it is all in your mind. With much of Wisconsin being buried by Snowstorm Connor, I am sure that an early spring is sounding great to everyone!!

I am not sure what I prefer. I like the snow, even though I don't do any winter sport. I think it looks pretty on the lawn (before any animal footprints get to it), and on the branches of the trees. I also like the way it sparkles in the sunlight. I don't even mind a few new flurries every once in a while because it covers up the dirty snow by the side of the roads. On the other hand, spring is nice too. You get to wear less clothes (or at least ones that are not so heavy), the days get longer (which means I can come home from Sylvan in the light!), and you actually WANT to go outside.

I don't mind the shoveling, or even the snow blowing, as long as I am not on a schedule to get it done. I also like the planting and preparing the yard for spring.

I guess it doesn't matter to me when spring gets here, as long as it gets here. I do know that I am not looking forward to the melting of all this snow. Hopefully it does not happen all at once!!!

It is good to have it back

I am talking about my computer. We were without a computer for a week while it was having some parts replaced. I felt so very out of touch with everything, but got some organizing done around the house. I have spent much of today on the computer, just catching up on everything, including all my Facebook games :)

I thought I would include a little update about my goals for this year, and I figured another post for the month wouldn't be a bad thing either.

I would have to say that my organization is pretty good. I can't see the kitchen table at the moment, but I can see the top of my printer, most of my desk (I just paid bills), and my end tables. I would say that is pretty good.

I am drinking at least a glass of water a day. I know that I should be drinking more, but for someone who is used to not drinking any glasses a day, one is a good place to start. Perhaps by the end of the year I will be up to the 6-8 they say you are supposed to have a day.

I have read 1 book and am in the middle of 2 others. I am going to try the A to Z and hope to have a link up soon.

I am happy to report that so far, my dishes have been done every night!! They sit in the drying rack for the rest of the next day, but at least they are clean, right?

I guess those are really the only goals I have anything to report on. The others are still very much works in progress as they will be all year.

11 for 2011

As promised yesterday, here are my goals for 2011. Some of them are the same, but I have added a few new ones. So, in no particular order:

1. Stay organized. I want to be able to see the top of my kitchen table, end tables, computer desk, and printer at all times. (At the moment I cannot see them all)

2. Drink more water.

3. Read at least 24 books this year-which works out to 2 a month. I would like to try Rae Ann's A to Z reading list, so that would give me 26 this year.

4. Make at least 2 blog entries a month (guess my 2 for January are covered!! JK) I can do more, but unless my life gets more interesting, 2 a month could be boring for you readers!

5 Do 2 things out of my comfort zone. (Rae Ann, this is where you come in again :)) Perhaps add more students to tutor.

6. Do dishes daily/nightly. I usually wait 2-3 days in between doing dishes and then spend so much time on them. (I currently have a sink (kitchen) full of dishes at the moment.) Also, this way the food may be easier to get off!

7. Keep a positive attitude. This one will be a tricky one, but I know it will make me a better person in the end. I will find a job and/or win Publishers Clearing House!!!

8. Build my relationship with God. I have recently started trying to have daily conversations with him (sometimes forget). Perhaps I could add a scripture reading a few times of week and reflect on that.

9. Put all my craft ideas into action. Possibly get into a craft fair by the end of the year.

10. Don't sweat the small stuff, especially at home.

11. Make more meaningful Facebook or blog comments. Something more than just "liking" a post or saying sent when I gift an item.

And there you have it, my new goals!! I am going to go work on those dishes now!!!

Reflection on 10 in 2010

I decided it was time to look back on 2010 and see how I did with my goals. I will copy the original goals and then comment after each one in a different color and you can decide how well I did or didn't do.

1. Get organized and stay organized. (almost done with the get part) This lasted maybe a month. I have a very hard time keeping things off the kitchen and coffee tables. However, now that our coffee table is being used as a TV stand I may have less of an excuse. I ended up taking time once a week or so to go through all the clutter on the tables and computer desk and putting it in the appropriate places. So I would have to say that this goal was not accomplished. (It will be on the list for 2011!!)

2. Drink more water. (when I am not subbing, I drink much less water. Maybe if I put it in the same water bottle I use for school, it will help) Another fail. I am not sure what I need to do to get myself to think water. I know that it is good for me, I just can't get it in my mind to actually do it!!!

3. Spend less time on the computer and more time reading. (This doesn't mean less blog or facebook status updates, but less "time wasting" activities) I am not sure that I have spent less time on the computer-although I do have less blogs, I think-I did do more reading this year. I decided to keep track, and I read 21 books this year. I would have to say that is pretty good, as I really have nothing to compare it to. Always looking for recommendations for any good books. ( I might have to steal a page from Rae Ann and look for a book for every letter of the alphabet!!)

4. Do more random acts of kindness. (I generally hold doors open for people behind me and smile at strangers, but I think I can do more) Did the smiling and door holding and think that I was more conscious of people entering or leaving a building behind me. I did let someone go in front of me in the grocery story. They only had 2 things and I had a cart full.

5. Be more tolerant. (Not sweat the small stuff) An ongoing goal, but I tried to remind myself that it really is not worth being upset over. I need to do this more often though.

6. Do something out of my comfort zone. (I am not sure what this is going to be, but it seems like something good to strive for) I think I accomplished this one 3 times. 1. I went to a food pantry in Milwaukee, with Rae Ann, and sorted and handed out food. 2. I have started to privately tutor the daughter of someone Brian works with. 3. I have started to write a story/book based very loosely on what happened that led to the end of my job at the Catholic School.

7. Write more comments on friends blogs or facebook pages so they know that I care about what they have to say. Have done this, even if it was a simple as "liking" a Facebook post or simply saying sent when I sent a gift in one of the games.

8. Stay on top of house cleaning (This could be a never ending goal, but it seems that since I have more "free" time lately I should make the most of it.) Nope. Always ended up doing a big cleaning at the end of the week, or when we were having people over (which doesn't happen often) Guess I need more local friends so I have reasons to clean, or my far away friends need to come visit!!!

9. Start some sort of craft project that can be sold at craft fairs (Everyone could use extra money and again, with all this "free" time I might as well put it to good use) Did not start this one, but have some great ideas. Have even bought a few of the supplies, so I am hoping that this one will be accomplished in 2011 as well as the years to follow!

10. Help all of you to reach your 2010 goals!!! (Whether you want me to or not!!!) Well, I know I helped Rae Ann with her volunteering goal. Not really sure if I helped anyone else, but I would like to hope so :)

And there you have it, my reflection on my 2010 goals. I did accomplish some and there are others that will continue to be worked on.

Other 2010 happenings in the Burns' household include:

*continued to stay healthy and employed (even if mine is only part time)

*I taught another year of summer school-finally in the same school as last year!!

*enjoyed a TimberRattler game on Brian's company

*saw Dave Coulier (Joey from Full House) live in Neenah

*went to Wisconsin Dells for a few days, and spent very little money but enjoyed lots of attractions-thanks to WIXX (local radio station)

*had some sleepovers with our godson and his sister :)

*got rid of awful landscaping in our yard and planted grass

I think that about covers it.

Stay tuned tomorrow, when I post my goals for 2011!!!!

Tutoring

I had my 2nd tutoring session yesterday and I would have to say it is going well. The first session was to get to know her, what she is doing and to find out what we will work on. Then she did some reading out loud to me so I could see where her fluency is. That went well and I discovered that she does need some help, mostly with decoding words (which slows her reading down and causes her to loose comprehension) So I left with my information and went to think about activities I could do to help her reading improve-in case she didn't have specific homework to work on the next time.

Last night was session number 2. She was having a science test today, so we studied for that. I quized her from her study guide, had her read aloud some passages from the book for confusing topics, and had her do some sample questions from the end of the chapter. All in all, I think she is ready for the test. I was also able to see, again, areas of decoding that need work. Looking at her study guide I could also see that spelling might be an area to work on (or she was just writing in a hurry)

So, I am waiting to hear how she does on the test. Mom and I are hoping for an A!!!

I will not have another session until the new year, due to break and days she spends with her dad, so I have plenty of time to find more activities we can do (since I am not sure how much homework she will have 2 days after returning from break)

Out of my comfort zone

Since this was one of my 10 in 2010 goals, I decided to dedicate a post to it. I have technically already accomplished this goal back in May when I volunteered at food pantry in Milwaukee, with Rae Ann (I was able to help others, help Rae Ann meet one of her goals for the year, and meet one of mine)

Well, there are a few other things that I am starting that I would classify as out of MY comfort zone. Those of you who know me well, know that I am pretty shy and will not necessarily go out of my way to start a conversation with someone I don't know. Well, Brian is the complete opposite. So he was talking to someone at work and they mentioned that their daughter could use some help in school. Brian told her that I was a teacher and would possibly be interested in tutoring her daughter. So on Tuesday the mom and I talked and I am going to meet them on Monday and see if this is something that will work for me. I think that it will, it is just a matter of figuring out a schedule that will work with my Sylvan one as well. So I will post more about this out of my comfort zone experience later.

I have also decided to start writing a story, loosely based on some things that happened leading up to my leaving my last full time teaching position. I am not sure how good it is going to be or how long it will be. And I do not know what I plan to do with it when it is done. But I have been saying for a long time that I should write a book (mostly about my neighbors or in-laws, which may come next), so I have decided to just go ahead and see what happens.

So I would have to say that I have met my goal of doing something out of my comfort zone. This may be something I will have to include again on my list for 2011.

Neighborhood Excitement

On Sunday night, as Brian and I were just getting ready to settle in and watch a little TV, we heard yelling coming from outside. At first we let it go because our neighbors across the street (S & E) tend to drink a lot with A (another neighbor) and they get a little loud. However, when the yelling continued I decided it was time to take a peek. So, as I looked out the front window, 3 cop cars sped up to the house across the street, which is where A was flagging them down. The cops ran in the house, flashlights going, in search of whatever they were looking for. Moments later, they come out with E in handcuffs and put him in the back of one of the squads.

Now, most people would probably stop watching at this point, but not me-a former culd-du-sac dweller!! I moved to the side window, and opened the window so I could hear what was being said. Turns out A was getting in E's face and he snapped. Tables, chairs, and beer bottles were thrown, mostly at A. So A finally called the cops. S & A are supposedly best friends, so it didn't sound like this was good for them. A had to write a statement, which took quite a while due to that fact that she was shaken up and intoxicated. All the while, S is freaking out, not sure what to do now that her boyfriend is going who knows where for who knows how long, and the fact that her 2 boys are inside A's house with A's son. And A is getting mad at S because she will not write a statement to support her. There were some other interesting facts that came out at that time. S was embezzling and A stood by her during that trial, and that E was already in jail for 2 months back in March (not sure what for).

Long story short, E was charged with disorderly conduct and taken to jail for the night. A finished her statement and started to verbally fight with S, in front of the officer. A's husband was present by this time, so he sent A into the house and went to have a chat with S. (not sure what was said, I stopped listening by this point.) S left early Monday morning and came home with E. E left shortly after that, assuming he went to work. I was gone all day Monday, so I don't know if anything happened between A & S, but I do know that things were unusually quite in the neighborhood by the time I did get home for the night.

There is never a dull moment on Lincoln Avenue and this confirms that Brian and I are only a few of the "normal" residents on the block.

The wake up calls have begun!!!

I got my first wake up call yesterday, at 5:10am!! I ended up rejecting that job because it was for a special ed position and I just do not fit well with those. But I selected the option where the system can still call me with other assignments.

So I decided to go back to bed and figured that I would not be getting another call. WRONG!!! At 5:34am, the phone rang again. Once again it was the automated system offering a 3rd grade position. I knew I could handle that one, so I accepted.

That class was wonderful and the school is nice too, even though it seems as though the teachers are not the friendliest, beyond a hello if passed in the hallway. (Not all of them fit this, but most of them seem to, at least they did yesterday)

Today, the phone rang at 5:55am-again the automated system, offering a 1st grade position. I accepted. And the school is one of the closer ones to my house, so that made it nice.

That class was not as enjoyable as the 3rd grade, but we still had fun. The 1st graders we a lot more chattier and I am not sure if it was because it was a Friday or because they had a substitute.

So, I have already subbed 7 days since the start of school. I think that is great and am hoping it keeps up like this.

What do you do with...

a bag of apples, a bag of blueberries, and a cold weekend?? Why you bake, of course. The apples were picked from a local orchard, and the blueberries were given to us by a co-worker of Brian's. Apples were not new to bake with, as it has become a yearly tradition to pick them and then discover that we have picked too many and then have to figure out what to do with them all. The blueberries were a new adventure for me.

So this weekend was spent washing, chopping, mixing and baking with blueberries and apples!! We now have freezers full of apple pies, apple bread, blueberry bread, apple muffins and blueberry muffins. We still have some apples left that may get made into applesauce or just eaten. There are also some blueberries left, so there may be more bread and muffins in our future. Good thing the weekend looks cold once again. (Good reason to need the oven to heat up the house a little!!!)

If anyone has a good apple recipe, I am always looking for new ideas. Someone did mention apple jam, but I would not know where to start with that. Always willing to try something that someone suggests as yummy!!

Why do I do this to myself???

So, last Saturday was the Kaukauna city-wide rummage sale. They hold 2 a year and we usually participate in one of them to see what kind of money we can bring in. How many years will it take me to learn that it is really not worth it?!?!

On Friday, Brian came home early and got the garage cleaned out and the tables (which we have o borrow from my parents) set up for me, while I was subbing. Then we brought out the tubs that hold our "junk" and organized it on all the tables. We had to go out and buy more price tags, and later that night spent more time in the garage pricing things that had been neglected.

On Saturday, Brian's parents came over at 7am (the sale started at 8) to drop off the stuff that they wanted to try to sell. They had a lot more then I thought (and Brian never asked them what they would be bringing, like I asked him to do twice!!!), so that took quite a bit of time in the morning.

Luckily the rain held off, but it was a cold day. Despite the fact that is was a city wide rummage sale and the lady down the street was also having a sale, we only made $12.50. We had lots of people stop by and look, but nothing tripped their trigger. I know it couldn't have totally been the prices, because most things were priced at $.25. Our big goal was not to make a ton of money, but to get rid of the stuff.

Everything that didn't sell, and that we didn't want to store until next year, was kindly picked up by Easter Seals yesterday.

So, we still have some stuff that I just can't GIVE away, stored in the basement until the next time we decide to participate in the city wide. I am thinking that may be a while. It takes so much effort to set up and take down things. Then there is the day wasted just sitting outside mostly watching cars drive by, hoping they would stop and take some of these things off our hands.

In the end, each rummage sale leaves me asking myself "Why do I continue to do this for the little that we make?" And I also know that sometime in the future, I will put myself through all this again :)

I survived art class!!!

I spent Tuesday and Wednesday at the catholic school in the art class. I was a little nervous because I didn't know what to expect. I have been in that room before, and the kids have always been in the middle of projects and they knew more about what they were supposed to do then I did. So, this being the beginning of the year, I was hoping that I wouldn't have to START any projects because I do not have an artistic bone in my body.

I was mostly in luck. Most classes were filling out worksheets about a form of art. (I think she does a "history" before they actually start a project). And I had the answer keys, so I didn't have to know much about the subject.

I did actually have to introduce a project to the 4th grade. They needed to make leaves-I have no idea what the rest of that project will be. So, I had to show how to start with a basic shape and then add in the detail. I am no artist, so they looked very little like leaves when I was done with my demonstration. I also had the kids make 2 leaves, in case one was not to the teachers liking. I am just hoping that when she sees the leaves next week she is not wondering what the heck they are and what I showed them. But, it took most of them only a few minutes to make them, so they can always be redone if she sees fit.

I get to work tomorrow. I haven't worked a Saturday in over a year, so it will be strange to get up early and go into Sylvan, but the money will be nice. Then on Friday, I get to sub in a 4th grade class. And next Saturday is the city wide rummage sale. So I am secretly hoping that Friday is my only day to sub next week so that I can prepare for the sale. If you are in the area and looking for something to do, stop in and say HI (and maybe find something that you are looking to buy!)

Looks like it will be another year of subbing

Well, as the beginning of school is only days away here in the fox valley, it looks like for the 5th year in a row I will not be setting up a classroom. I know there are still 2 days before school starts, but things are not looking to hopeful for me to still get in. Of course, just because the school year starts, doesn't mean hiring won't be done.

I did have one interview this summer. A few weeks ago I applied and interviewed for a 50% preschool position at the Kaukauna Catholic School. I have subbed for them many times last year, and knew the principal and staff. I was really hopeful that this year would be the year I would get to decorate a classroom again. No luck-2 days after the interview i was called and told she was going a different route. So, I was back to where I started from.

Last week, I went to get my TB test so I could continue subbing in the Menasha district. I also got a confirmation e-mail from the Kimberly district reminding me to make sure my online profile is up to date (they use an automated system to call subs). I also have to e-mail the principal at the catholic school and let her know that I am still interested in subbing for them (even if I am not good enough to teach for them!!)

So, stay tuned for all the adventures that I go through this year as a sub. With 3 districts, you would think I would be kept busy. Keeping my fingers crossed for that!! But probably not for a few weeks. How many teachers call in sick the first few weeks of school?!?!

National S'more Day

Yesterday was National S'more Day.

Now, I am not one who usually celebrates days like these, but since our backyard has a fire pit (which looks more like a tiny pond this morning), I decided that this was one day worth celebrating. I read in the paper last week about this day and the different variations that the S'more can now have. I thought that it would be great reason to have some friends over and do a bonfire.

Brian decided that with the newly seeded lawn spots, he didn't want to have the friends (with children) over because they like to run around the yard and that could get messy. Okay, so it would just be the 2 of us around the campfire. Well, when I was watching the weather yesterday morning and saw the big green word HUMID across the whole week I figured that it might just be too hot to sit around the campfire. (And Brian does not handle humidity well, so I knew the grill was out as an option)

Now, I wasn't going to let a little humidity stop me from celebrating-especially when chocolate was involved!!!! So we did S'mores in the microwave-something neither of us had tried before. I must say there are pros and cons to this "new" way of making a S'more. Pros-the chocolate melted better when it hit the marshmallow. Cons-due to the melting, it was messier; the marshmallow didn't have that crisp crunch that it gets from being lightly flame kissed; it didn't have the same taste as a marshmallow toasted over the fire.

So, is this a way that I will be using again? You bet!!!! However, I still prefer the old fashioned way of toasting a marshmallow over the open flame of the campfire. And I still have all those variations that I am dying to try. (Using white chocolate, a fudge stripes cookie instead of a graham cracker) Guess I will have to wait for the grass to grow and the weather to cool off a bit before trying my new S'mores recipes!!!

One Month???

I just realized that once again, a month has passed since my last post.

Well, summer school has ended and one of the teachers I worked with will most likely not have a summer school teaching job in Appleton next year. She was not exactly cut out to work with the kindergartners (yet teaching preschool is her full time job?? If you figure that one out, let me know) Her dress was not exactly the most appropriate to be working at an elementary school. But the session is over and we will just have to wait and she what happens for next year, but the coordinator knows that neither I or the other teacher have the desire to work with her. (I am pretty sure the site coordinator doesn't want her back next year either.)

I spent the week after summer school in Watertown, taking care of my mom who fractured her knee falling down the stairs at my grandma's house. Dad was out of town that week and with Adam's crazy work schedule, she would have been alone a lot of the day (and she had some doctors appointments to go to) so I volunteered to spend the week there. Everyone involved survived the week and she should be getting the staples out today. Hopefully all goes well there.

This weekend will be our landscaping removal weekend. We are ripping out the little bit of bushes that are dying in the front of the house, as well as all the lava rocks that are everywhere. Grass will be planted for now and we may eventually decide to add plants again for curb appeal later. So the dirt is being delivered tonight and the dumpster is coming tomorrow morning. And then the friends come to also give a had with the "demolition". (Funny how all Brian's wish list projects get done, but I am still waiting for the bedroom wall to get painted :))

Keep on the lookout for before and after pictures from the weekend. And pray the rain holds off!!!