I Can't Believe It's Almost Over

Tomorrow starts the first day of the last week of this school year.  I say this every year, but this year it seems like more than ever it just FLEW BY!!!  This time last year was very hard for me.  Like so many people have experienced over the last 10 years or so our school district was experiencing some budget cuts and therefore had to lay off a ton of jobs.  Basically any teacher that was in their first year did not get their contract renewed.  Then, there were other teachers who signed a contract, but were not sure where they would end up... like myself.  Our math department (which is what I taught) had to be cut in half.  We were going from math being double blocked to being single blocked, so you only need half the teachers.  I was devastated... The year before I had taught 6th grade math.  Last year I taught 7th grade math.  So, I wasn't going to be able to see my kids in their last year of middle school.  I had made so many teacher friends that I wouldn't see on a daily basis.  And, I worked with my mom... I wouldn't be able to see her every day!  I figured it would all work out for the best, but at the same time... it was just hard.  Well guess what?  It all worked out.  I ended up at a great school.  I have made many new friends.  The kids are awesome (except for a couple toots who haven't matured as much as they should).  And, the best part is that I was able to switch subjects.  I am now teaching the subject I originally wanted to... SCIENCE!  I was always better at math in school, but I wasn't too shabby in science.  And I really just thought that teaching science would be fun.  And it is!  It turns out that the kids enjoy science so much more, and it really helps out with behavior issues.  I mean, I have plenty of discipline issues, but they seem to be not as major or many.  


So, in all honesty, I can't believe this is the last week of school.  Having had such a great year makes me really look forward to next year!

And We've Reached the Single Digits!

We officially have 7 days left of school!  So exciting!!!!  Just wanted to share that :)

My Three Favorite Things About Teaching...

1.  June

2.  July

3.  August

We have 11 more school days until summer... AND I CANNOT WAIT!  I started my countdown over 2 weeks ago!  I think I am more ready for this break than the kids are.  Then again, with the way they are acting... maybe not.

I don't like having to have a substitute, but sometimes you have to.  I am going to be part of our AVID site team next year at my school.  AVID is a program that is supposed to get kids ready for college even at a middle school level.  Well, the site team had to meet yesterday to plan for next year.  (I am in charge of the ice cream social, by the way.)  Our meeting was on campus, but it was an all day thing, so I was required to get a substitute to cover my classes. The last time I had a sub, two of the three classes that she covered were A-W-F-U-L!  Like, she was crying at the end of the day.  Poor lady... Anyway, I had made my kids feel pretty bad the last time they acted up, so I warned them that if they did not behave I would not be happy.  GUESS WHAT?  Not only did my kids not behave, but my sub didn't behave!  I mean, I know that subbing is a hard job.  The kids don't always respect substitutes, and I know that they give them a hard time.  But, the answer is not to try and become their friend. 

My first instruction that I left said to make sure the kids were sitting in their correct assignments.  He told the kids to sit anywhere they wanted.  My second instruction was for them to watch a Bill Nye video and answer questions.  Someone in my 6th period broke my VCR.  (Yes, I said VCR.)  They ran behind my desk, where they are not allowed, and got caught on the cords.  Two of the three prongs are stuck in the back of it now.  My 3rd instruction was to complete a worksheet that had two sides.  The front was a word search.  The back was a drawing.  I said they could talk quietly, but if it got too loud they would lose their talking privileges.  I had 2 teachers complain about the noise level coming from my room through their closed doors.  He told them they could get out their iPods and listen to music.  He cussed at 2 of my classes.  AND HERE'S THE KICKER..... Someone in my 6th period dialed 911 and left the phone off the hook!  The most insulting part is that he left me a note and told me all of my classes were good!  He even said he would be happy to come back and cover my classes again!  He said, and I quote, "They were good.  Most of the kids didn't try the work.  They be talking, but it was under control."  WHAT?!?!

Needless to say, I asked that he not sub for me again.  I even gave all the info to our administration and ask that he not be allowed to come back to our school.  Keep your fingers crossed.  

The rest of the year should be easy-breezy as long as the behavior issues stay at a minimum.  I mean, out of the 11 days I have left, 2 are used for semester exams, 1 is the awards assembly, 1 is the 6th grade field trip, and 4 are going to be movie days.  Educational of course!  Finding Nemo is ALL about ecosystems!

I hope everyone has a great week!  

Looking forward to the weekend!

T.G.I.F.

It was such a long week at school!  After testing Tuesday and Wednesday, I really felt like yesterday should have been Friday, but it wasn't!  I'm just so tired... So I'm glad it's the weekend.

And I feel good about this weekend... even with my dentist appointment tomorrow :)  I am going to see the Rangers this Saturday kick some booty!  They are giving away bobble heads!  I don't remember who it is of (maybe Beltre?), but it will look good in my Rangers memorabilia collection (which has a Nelson Cruz? bobblehead, a Elvis Andrus? figurine, a good-looking Texas Rangers hat that I will never wear, the replica ring from when they went to the World Series the first time, the replica trophy from when they went to the World Series the second time, an autographed miniature bat signed by Derek Holland, and a couple of t-shirts... not to mention my Derek Holland jersey!)!  

Laura is out of town, which makes Chris nervous about where we will get our food... but I reminded him that we used to take care of ourselves when we didn't live with her, so I think we should be able to get along fine for 3 days!  I even cooked dinner last night!  Well, kind of.  I made some taco soup that we ate with the leftovers from the night before.

But, I plan on surprising her  by doing a couple of things around the house!  I would spell out my plan, but I think it would be better to blog about what I actually end up doing, not EVERYTHING I would like to do!  I'll get back on Sunday to mention everything I did!  Hope she doesn't read my blog before then. :)  

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!

Promised Pictures

Not sure why it took me so long to upload these... but here are a couple pics from my Spring Break of Sewing week.

This is the robe I made.  I wish I had a picture of the one I made for my grandma so you could see how much progress I made from my first to my 3rd!  

I had started this over Spring Break, but didn't finish it for another week or so.  It is called a baby bunting.  I have probably made about 8 of them by now.  I get better each time!  I made this one for a teacher at school for her first grandbaby.  I made one just like a week later that was SO MUCH cuter (just because of the material I chose), but for some reason I didn't take a picture!


Anyway, I hope to start sewing something new soon, just have A LOT going on!  Have a great day... I have to finish getting ready!

Back to School :(

It is sometimes hard for me to be excited about going back to school after a long weekend... and this is one of those times!  I had a FOUR DAY WEEKEND! Because of last year's awful winter where we missed over a week of school because of ice and cold temperatures, they decided to build in some extra weather days.  That way, if we ended up getting an extra long Christmas break again, we would have some extra days built into the Spring to make up for it.  Well, mother nature was much kinder this winter... actually we didn't have much of one, and I got both of my weather days to do as I wished this weekend!  

I created a to do list and wanted to get as much of it done over the weekend as possible... but that was wishful thinking :)  Chris and I had tickets to the Ranger games on Saturday and Sunday.  They were fun... good times, good people!  And, I actually did more of my to do list than I thought I would.  Laura and I did yard work on Saturday during the day (not done but the front yard looks good!), I did some cleaning upstairs (I hope to do more this week), and I got caught up on my coupons again.  It seems like every time I turn around, there are stacks and stacks!  Coupons didn't come in the paper this week, so I get a week off!  Or at least, a week to stay caught up!

But... yesterday, I had a surprise.  And not a good one.  Chris and I decided to go eat lunch, and GUESS WHAT?!?!  The dang check engine light came back on in my car!  I had picked it up from the shop (for the 2nd time in the 3 weeks I had it) last Thursday and they seemed to be sure the problem was fixed.  Well... the "Engine Power is Reduced", "Check Engine" light, "Service Stabilitrak", and "Service Traction Control" lights all came back on, so I went straight back to the dealership.  They couldn't believe it happened again.  But, the good news is I dropped it off around 1 and they called me around 4 saying it was already ready!  Apparently, a wire in the new part they had ordered was bent and not getting a signal to where it needed to go.  Speaking of my car.. here is a pic.  It's not a great one... I can't seem to stand back far enough in my garage to do it justice... but I love her.  

Well, I guess it's time to finish getting ready for the day.  I didn't sleep well AT ALL and I have been up since 3:15.  But the good news is I was able to get some stuff done!  My goal for the week is to cross off 3-4 items on my to do list every night.  I'll let you know how it goes... keep your fingers crossed for me!

So Disappointing... :(

Man, I had a busy day!  I took Chris to work this morning because I had to run errands.  It started with putting gas in the rental car... that's right, I said rental car.  We ended up having the same issue with our NEW car again and took it back to the dealership.  This time, we went closer to home... Classic Chevrolet, who seem to know what they are doing, and we are currently in a loaner car :(  So, after putting gas in the rental car, I went to Walmart and bought some new tupperware.  Long story short... We had to buy ALL NEW tupperware because ours was bad.  I bought some a couple weeks ago, to cover the basic needs, but I went back today to get the rest of what I needed.  After Walmart, I headed to Tom Thumb to get my sisters car registered (she was at a Mary Kay event and it was the last day she could do her registration without being late), and I realized I was in Dallas County... which is a problem because we live in Tarrant County.  So, after that, I ran a few errands (like 5) then went and had lunch with Chris :)  Then, I went to the Tom Thumb in Tarrant County and got Laura's registration before I went home to cut some coupons.  Yes... I am behind AGAIN!  I'm not too far behind, but I am behind.  Anyway, I cut coupons until I had to go to my hair appointment.  I get there... and she was double booked.  SO DISAPPOINTING!  I was really planning on getting my hair recolored and cut! Oh well, I was able to set an appointment for tomorrow!  


On the brighter side, yesterday at school the kids took a quiz and were allowed to draw on the back until everyone was done with their quizzes.  Here is one of my favorite pics!