It was a day of simple discoveries for Ya as he played at Oma and PopPop's. Tav and Megan left Bleu with the parental units for the weekend (they went to a mini truck show).
Showing posts with label Week In Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Week In Life. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
A Week In the Life: Day Seven
Saturday: May 22, 2010:
It was a day of simple discoveries for Ya as he played at Oma and PopPop's. Tav and Megan left Bleu with the parental units for the weekend (they went to a mini truck show).
Ya loves dogs, so he was stoaked to get to play with Dorado and Bleu!
He jumped and slid and jumped some more.
He also practiced his burgeoning spitting skills (thanks to a lesson during teeth brushing).
And Chi made herself scarse, as she often does...
It was a day of simple discoveries for Ya as he played at Oma and PopPop's. Tav and Megan left Bleu with the parental units for the weekend (they went to a mini truck show).
Week In the Life : Day Six
Wait a minute... there are 7 days in a week? It seems like even the short term projects aren't completed in a timely fashion, huh?
Friday: May 21, 2010:
Work was oh so fabulous. I mean who doesn't like to hear a student say "Are you pregnant? I like to rub bellies"? Wait a second. I may have gained about five pounds (pure stress, I tell you), but I'm certainly not looking like a pregnant woman. I took the comment in stride, but it still stung.
In the last period of the day, a distressed student decided to use his JROTC star pin as a cutting tool. He sliced his arm with three 1 1/2 inch stripes and a few smaller scratches. Another student reports in a whisper, "There's some dangerous activity in here," and nods in the direction of the cutter, who is slowly waltzing across the room saying "Can I have a bandaid, the desk cut me." I insisted he go to the nurse to have it sprayed to avoid infection and penned a quick e-mail to her to let her know I thought the wound self-inflicted intentionally, as the desk had no splintering or sharp edges. The student returns in less than five minutes. He flips out about the star pin being removed from the clear cover of his binder (he did it) and then sits with his hands raking through his hair. The nurse reports to my classroom, having read the e-mail a bit late, and escorts student away. She calls his mom and sends him home. I e-mail the school's social worker and the psychologist. Never did get a reply. Another student inquires, "How exactly are you suppose to handle students like that [indicating his troubled classmate]?" I still don't know.
Chi was scheduled for a make up gymnastics class, so we (Ya and I) did what we always do - we trotted over to the Boys and Girls Club. The court was locked up again, and so our only option was to hang out at the playground (which clearly says intended for ages 5-12).
I looked forward to diverting my attention to a little fun.
Little driver...
Contemplation...
Total amusement...
(journaled a whole month after the fact... how's that for prompt?)
Friday: May 21, 2010:
Work was oh so fabulous. I mean who doesn't like to hear a student say "Are you pregnant? I like to rub bellies"? Wait a second. I may have gained about five pounds (pure stress, I tell you), but I'm certainly not looking like a pregnant woman. I took the comment in stride, but it still stung.
In the last period of the day, a distressed student decided to use his JROTC star pin as a cutting tool. He sliced his arm with three 1 1/2 inch stripes and a few smaller scratches. Another student reports in a whisper, "There's some dangerous activity in here," and nods in the direction of the cutter, who is slowly waltzing across the room saying "Can I have a bandaid, the desk cut me." I insisted he go to the nurse to have it sprayed to avoid infection and penned a quick e-mail to her to let her know I thought the wound self-inflicted intentionally, as the desk had no splintering or sharp edges. The student returns in less than five minutes. He flips out about the star pin being removed from the clear cover of his binder (he did it) and then sits with his hands raking through his hair. The nurse reports to my classroom, having read the e-mail a bit late, and escorts student away. She calls his mom and sends him home. I e-mail the school's social worker and the psychologist. Never did get a reply. Another student inquires, "How exactly are you suppose to handle students like that [indicating his troubled classmate]?" I still don't know.
I looked forward to diverting my attention to a little fun.
Little driver...
Contemplation...
We stopped breifly at Oma's and played peek-a-boo (pretend you don't see him).
Ah, there he is!
(journaled a whole month after the fact... how's that for prompt?)
Sunday, June 6, 2010
A Week in the Life: Days Four & Five
Wednesday: May 19, 2010:
Today is a blur... we barely made it out of the house.
My stairs proved a boobie trap and Ya did what he always does - - slid down right where the most "stuff" is in order to watch it cascade down to the bottom.
I fully admit that the staircase is not the best place to keep notebooks and folders, but if I put the stuff anywhere else, I'll never remember to snatch it and take it with me.
Work was the usual. Students are working on projects and reading novels. They don't like the audio books. One student's justification for not turning the CD on? It's boring, and I don't want them to take naps, right? Right. But I also don't like reading (and acting out) a novel two to three times a day. It's difficult on my voice. It stops me from catching up on grading the crazy stack of papers I have on my desk.
PopPop should be in the Bahamas now... guess that means he's not watching the kids? Chi elects to snack at McD's (so healthy). We invade Oma at the dentist's office where countless fresh Florided kids drool over the smell of greasy French fries as they will the clock to jump forward thirty minutes.
At the evening job, a colleague went a little nuts. Her tact and ability to use appropriate language went out the door. Yes, our students are difficult and non-traditional, but we have to model better behavior than usually seen these days and we have to maintain our professionalism even when the kids don't reciprocate. I think my mouth dropped as she went into her tirade. Thank goodness I wasn't facing her and she couldn't see my shock. I know trouble is coming from this episode...
Thursday: May 20, 2010:
The kids and I went to the park after we finished with work and school.
We played.
We admired nature.
I love Thursdays. It's one of the only days we're home before 5 p.m. and we can relax, play, talk, enjoy.
Then I read the mail.
Yes. I now know what hopelessness feels like.
I have less than two weeks to get out of Wonderland. But how? The Mad Hatter isn't offering any advice (must be busy dealing with the Sleepy Mouse who's afraid of cats) and the elusive White Rabbit I chased (that got me into this mess) is not planning to cross my path anytime soon. Oh and the Chesire Cat? He's full of riddles everytime I call, but no solutions and nothing in writing.
Today is a blur... we barely made it out of the house.
Work was the usual. Students are working on projects and reading novels. They don't like the audio books. One student's justification for not turning the CD on? It's boring, and I don't want them to take naps, right? Right. But I also don't like reading (and acting out) a novel two to three times a day. It's difficult on my voice. It stops me from catching up on grading the crazy stack of papers I have on my desk.
PopPop should be in the Bahamas now... guess that means he's not watching the kids? Chi elects to snack at McD's (so healthy). We invade Oma at the dentist's office where countless fresh Florided kids drool over the smell of greasy French fries as they will the clock to jump forward thirty minutes.
At the evening job, a colleague went a little nuts. Her tact and ability to use appropriate language went out the door. Yes, our students are difficult and non-traditional, but we have to model better behavior than usually seen these days and we have to maintain our professionalism even when the kids don't reciprocate. I think my mouth dropped as she went into her tirade. Thank goodness I wasn't facing her and she couldn't see my shock. I know trouble is coming from this episode...
Thursday: May 20, 2010:
The kids and I went to the park after we finished with work and school.
We played.
***
I've fallen through the Rabbit's Hole. I drank a potion because it said "Drink Me," I shrank, and now I cannot find an anecdote to make me normal. I tried to make it better with that "Eat Me" cookie... it didn't work either. And it was not free. Now the Queen is mad. I painted her roses red, as per instructions, but she preferred them white, instead. It's off with my head.I have less than two weeks to get out of Wonderland. But how? The Mad Hatter isn't offering any advice (must be busy dealing with the Sleepy Mouse who's afraid of cats) and the elusive White Rabbit I chased (that got me into this mess) is not planning to cross my path anytime soon. Oh and the Chesire Cat? He's full of riddles everytime I call, but no solutions and nothing in writing.
Friday, May 28, 2010
A Week in the Life: Day Three
Tuesday, May 18, 2010:
The schedule at work is all coo-coo due to End of Course exams. I have the classes written on my board, but it's so mixed up that my structure is disheveled and the students are confused...
I'm staying after for about an hour (no more!) to work with my student editor on the literary magazine. Surprisingly, I pulled enough poetry from my students to fill a nice size anthology with only a few supplemental pieces from other students in the school. Nope, that's not ideal - - I'd love to have more diversity, more advanced contributions, simply more. But that never seems to happen for the publication. It's the nth hour and I need to speed up the layout process or I'm in big trouble.
Tuesdays are gymnastics days, so I have to take Chi out of class early and book it down the highway. Tuesday is also taco day. As Chi says, "if we're early" we can stop for a second and grab a snack.
Notice a trend toward the unhealthy?
I knew we'd made a routine when an older employee at the fast food joint mentioned to her boss, "They come every week." I think she enjoys our visits, as she always comes by the table to say hi to the big cheese.
I can only hope this is an almost-end-of-the-school-year trend that is extinguished as soon as summer officially begins.
We head to class with enough time for little gymnast to find herself a cubby and shoot in to the gym for her warm up set. Most of the time Ya is so crazy at the gym, that we head toward the Boys and Girls Club to play basketball (it was only locked that one time) or enjoy the playground equipment. We did just that as soon as he started to scream with ... I don't know ... life.
When he got bored, quickly, we headed back toward Chi's class. That's when Ya decided to gather every rock he saw. Some he handed to me. Some he tossed. One he bit (ouch).
Luckily, we returned in time to see Chi making her way to the top of the ropes.
I was sure to keep my flash off, because last time two parents insisted it could injure the kids on the balance beams. Seriously? If they were in competition, flash bulbs would be common place. As would noise.
The schedule at work is all coo-coo due to End of Course exams. I have the classes written on my board, but it's so mixed up that my structure is disheveled and the students are confused...
I'm staying after for about an hour (no more!) to work with my student editor on the literary magazine. Surprisingly, I pulled enough poetry from my students to fill a nice size anthology with only a few supplemental pieces from other students in the school. Nope, that's not ideal - - I'd love to have more diversity, more advanced contributions, simply more. But that never seems to happen for the publication. It's the nth hour and I need to speed up the layout process or I'm in big trouble.
Tuesdays are gymnastics days, so I have to take Chi out of class early and book it down the highway. Tuesday is also taco day. As Chi says, "if we're early" we can stop for a second and grab a snack.
We head to class with enough time for little gymnast to find herself a cubby and shoot in to the gym for her warm up set. Most of the time Ya is so crazy at the gym, that we head toward the Boys and Girls Club to play basketball (it was only locked that one time) or enjoy the playground equipment. We did just that as soon as he started to scream with ... I don't know ... life.
When he got bored, quickly, we headed back toward Chi's class. That's when Ya decided to gather every rock he saw. Some he handed to me. Some he tossed. One he bit (ouch).
Did I mention Ya was potty training? Well, sort of. Gram has him in pull ups during the day. Every once in awhile at home, he begs to be freed of his clothes and diaper to go to the "ba-roo." I oblige the request (even though he sits on the toilet just long enough to yank down toilet paper and flush, then he promptly wets the floor...but not tonight).
Just another day...
Thursday, May 27, 2010
A Week in the Life: Day Two
Monday: May 17, 2010
Uneventful. Mondays always are. I woke up with the alarm at 5:20. I hit the snooze. Five minutes later, I hit the snooze again. Fifteen minutes later I begrudgingly got out of bed, released the hounds to the back yard, and checked to see if there was any laundry I was supposed to switch from the washer to the dryer. Routine, mundane, whoo hoo.
Getting the kids together every morning is... interesting. If Ya is asleep, his dressing process runs smoothly. Unfortunately, he always seems to wake up when I try to pull his shirts over his head. Once Chi is really up, she gets her clothes on relatively quickly. I check her for too small remnants found from the depths of her closet, new play clothes (fresh, permanent stains or tears), and double check that she has clean socks.
It's the second consecutive "Flex Day," which means I see all five classes during the seven period day. I complete a Wasabi Suduko puzzle in pen during first period and give up trying to convince the students to get working on the multigrade project due in a week. Procrastination is not a friend... Somehow these 45 minute classes flow quickly by. My usual avoidance of disciplinary referrals is tested, but crisis is averted in a bousterous Seventh period. The day subsides.
While waiting for the turn light to finally signal green... I consider whether or not to pick up Yadon early. It seems to mess up his schedule when I do, so I delay a bit by stopping at the Club House computer lab. Hello Facebook, I'm addicted. Current hook? "My Tribe." I collect stardust, moon dust, seashells, stork feathers, and crates washed ashore. I consider entering I ♥ Faces flowers contest, but instead post a link for others to enter and take a pass. Again. Hmm, no messages. What now? The teen sitting next to me smells like phys.ed. His music is loud and vulgar. Time to get Ya? You bet.
I drop the kids off at MomNDad's. And it's off to job number two...
Uneventful. Mondays always are. I woke up with the alarm at 5:20. I hit the snooze. Five minutes later, I hit the snooze again. Fifteen minutes later I begrudgingly got out of bed, released the hounds to the back yard, and checked to see if there was any laundry I was supposed to switch from the washer to the dryer. Routine, mundane, whoo hoo.
Getting the kids together every morning is... interesting. If Ya is asleep, his dressing process runs smoothly. Unfortunately, he always seems to wake up when I try to pull his shirts over his head. Once Chi is really up, she gets her clothes on relatively quickly. I check her for too small remnants found from the depths of her closet, new play clothes (fresh, permanent stains or tears), and double check that she has clean socks.
It's the second consecutive "Flex Day," which means I see all five classes during the seven period day. I complete a Wasabi Suduko puzzle in pen during first period and give up trying to convince the students to get working on the multigrade project due in a week. Procrastination is not a friend... Somehow these 45 minute classes flow quickly by. My usual avoidance of disciplinary referrals is tested, but crisis is averted in a bousterous Seventh period. The day subsides.
While waiting for the turn light to finally signal green... I consider whether or not to pick up Yadon early. It seems to mess up his schedule when I do, so I delay a bit by stopping at the Club House computer lab. Hello Facebook, I'm addicted. Current hook? "My Tribe." I collect stardust, moon dust, seashells, stork feathers, and crates washed ashore. I consider entering I ♥ Faces flowers contest, but instead post a link for others to enter and take a pass. Again. Hmm, no messages. What now? The teen sitting next to me smells like phys.ed. His music is loud and vulgar. Time to get Ya? You bet.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
A Week in the Life: Day One, Part II
Sunday May 16, cont.
While at the circus, Chi and Ya killed a cotton candy cone. A great sugar rush for both, believe it.
On our way out of the Big Top, this festive fellow was selling balloons... If I'd changed lenses, I might have actually gotten his whole persona in the shot. The positive? I kind of like that his hand is sharp and he is slightly blurred - a happy accident, as I shot while being pushed forward by the exiting masses. It's my week's Sweet Shot, for sure.
When we got back to MomNDad's house, Oma helped Chi into her "wig" - a deflated spiky ball. Chi channels her inner clown quite well.
And here, a more serene spiky head. (Oh how I love the way you look, my angel.)
[Photobug confession: I used my CoffeeShop PowderRoom action in post process. Love it!]
Little man discovered that being dizzy as a result of a good twirl is awesome.
Until Chi decided that she was no longer going to indulge Mommy's request for a few pictures of our fun. She got her own twirl on for a bit, too. Then Mommy's wrists hurt and we had to rain check it for another day. (Would you believe it actually rained on the day we agreed upon?)
No day is complete without a good brother-sister craziness. Their games make little sense to anyone but them. Their bond is undeniable. And I have the pictures to prove it (of course).
Finally, we had a quick meal and headed home to get ready for the weekly grind.
While at the circus, Chi and Ya killed a cotton candy cone. A great sugar rush for both, believe it.
And here, a more serene spiky head. (Oh how I love the way you look, my angel.)
[Photobug confession: I used my CoffeeShop PowderRoom action in post process. Love it!]
Little man discovered that being dizzy as a result of a good twirl is awesome.
So we repeated it over and over... and over.
Until Chi decided that she was no longer going to indulge Mommy's request for a few pictures of our fun. She got her own twirl on for a bit, too. Then Mommy's wrists hurt and we had to rain check it for another day. (Would you believe it actually rained on the day we agreed upon?)
No day is complete without a good brother-sister craziness. Their games make little sense to anyone but them. Their bond is undeniable. And I have the pictures to prove it (of course).
Finally, we had a quick meal and headed home to get ready for the weekly grind.
Monday, May 24, 2010
A Week in the Life: Day One, Part I
Sunday, May 16
I'm starting this project with great expectations. The camera batteries are charged (and this time they're where Ya cannot get ahold of them and hide them). The motivation is there. The inspiration is likewise present. And the goal is clear: to provide a glimpse into who I am right now, right here.
Today is the last day for the circus. I know, I know, the treatment of the animal performers is of great concern. I like clowns, I like acrobats, and I like the thrill of seeing my kids experience something for the first time.
We were ushered to our seats (upgraded from general admission for only $3). And then we were moved. And moved again. It seemed that each time an usher came by, he counted the seats differently - which meant that our seats 7-9 changed with each count.
Then came the concessioners: cotton candy $5; glow lights $8-15; soda, icee or water $5; program $10. Experience? I'll give you a price, because priceless it was not.
The Ring Master assured us that the animals were "happy, happy" each time he announced something... and it hit me: this is the last time I'll be paying to see this show. As much as I saw facination in Ya's face, I was uncomfortable - terribly so - with much of the performances. The dog performers included an attitudinal terrier that tore at the mane of a pink-haired mini pony as he rode on its back.
One beautiful tiger (oh how majestic those beasts are) was limping and refused to do anything... others were so fearful of the whip hitting them even as they did what was commanded, that they hung their heads lower with each passing moment of their "performance." The camel was subjected to people who were way too heavy to ride it.
And the elephants should never have to lay down to show they're trained.
The athletes at this circus, however, were impressive. Like this lady who does her entire routine balanced upside down on a stick.
These twirlers were pretty interesting, too.
I wonder if Chi will be this skilled with her own ring routine one day...
And the clowns? Well, they weren't as funny as some I've seen, but...
I'm starting this project with great expectations. The camera batteries are charged (and this time they're where Ya cannot get ahold of them and hide them). The motivation is there. The inspiration is likewise present. And the goal is clear: to provide a glimpse into who I am right now, right here.
Today is the last day for the circus. I know, I know, the treatment of the animal performers is of great concern. I like clowns, I like acrobats, and I like the thrill of seeing my kids experience something for the first time.
We were ushered to our seats (upgraded from general admission for only $3). And then we were moved. And moved again. It seemed that each time an usher came by, he counted the seats differently - which meant that our seats 7-9 changed with each count.
Then came the concessioners: cotton candy $5; glow lights $8-15; soda, icee or water $5; program $10. Experience? I'll give you a price, because priceless it was not.
The athletes at this circus, however, were impressive. Like this lady who does her entire routine balanced upside down on a stick.
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