This week brought us one of the most ridiculous stories of the year. Front page news in the paper: one of our elementary school principals has been suspended for 1) not allowing a father to personally deliver birthday cupcakes to his daughter's 4th grade classroom and 2) realizing that since a verbal and generally understood policy probably needs a published side also, putting the information about the policy online on the school website after the parent had left.
Cupcakegate.
Meanwhile, Betty Boop the superintendent apparently has nothing better to do than listen to this disgruntled parent whine. And now the principal has a lawyer, the unions are involved, the district lawyers are involved, the papers are selling like hotcakes, and tax dollars are evaporating. I'm wondering what exactly it is that the superintendent would like to distract us all so much from.
Hmmmm.
Let's see. The district had to go to the town and request additional money so that they could finish the several-million-dollars-over-budget new elementary school which is 18 months months behind schedule, and also get money to clean up the mold in the modular classrooms those kids have been housed in for 3 years during construction. Oh, and let's not forget finding money to move all those kids and teachers around the district so they could finish the school year when the modulars had to be closed due to contamination.
This summer there are millions of dollars worth of renovation projects going on across the district. Using what has occurred over the last four weeks at my school as a sample, I can say definitively that there will also be significant cost overruns on those projects. Why? Here's our situation:
The projects approved for our school include removing the carpet in the media center and large meeting room, and replacing it with a combination of carpet and tile. The gym foundation has sunk past the point of no return, so they will be removing the foundation in about 4/5 of the gym (everything except the girls' locker room, where is title IX when we need it?), and replacing the foundation with one which has supports driven to bedrock, replacing the gym floor, remodeling the boys' locker room, and creating a fitness center space where the old "gang showers" used to be. Unforgiveably, they are leaving the girls' locker room, smelly, mildewy and dilapidated as it is -- ALONE. Beyond that, they are painting approximately 1/3 of the building.
Sounds good, right? Sounds like they are tackling some major issues, yes? Yes, but not well planned.
They allotted $30K to replace the carpet. Given the age and condition of the facility, they are required to test for asbestos. They did this not long ago, and the results came back predictably positive. So now we are looking at major asbestos abatement which will cost upwards of $50-60K. That doesn't include the cost of packing and moving everything out of the media center -- all shelves, 18,000 books, equipment, computers, furniture... which we are now faced with. Add to this the fact that we have ancient shelving which is not only ugly as hell, but heavy, bolted together yet falling apart, and only through direct divine intervention will all of it survive being moved out and back in. Shelving is pretty expensive -- just replacing the five wall sections in the reference area will cost at least $4K. The freestanding sections are even more expensive. All in all, we've gone from a basic $30K replacement to over $100K of costs because no one considered advance planning other than "gee the rug hasn't been replaced in over 30 years, guess we better do that because the principal's pushing for it."
That's not even starting with the gym project. They've been drilling holes to try to determine what's under the foundation (and in it) and figure out what the story is with the walls, but the reality is that they are very likely going to find some more expensive surprises once they open that all up. That happened when they built the addition to the school several years ago -- they discovered that the major outside wall supports of the original building which were supposed to be filled with concrete were hollow, rusting, and in danger of collapsing -- so if we wanted to attach the new building to the old we had to fix the original rusting supports so that the buildings wouldn't pull each other down. What's SUPPOSED to be there according to the plans ain't necessarily so. And this is what you get when you go with the low bidder on a job.
All in all, I think Betty Boop downtown has better things to do that deal with Cupcakegate. Either that, or if she really does think that bullshit is important enough for her phenomenally expensive time, then the board needs to tell her "don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out."
I think quelling the mass exodus of talented people from the district, turning around the despicably toxic atmosphere of mistrust and mismanagement, and being responsible about the major projects being undertaken all far outstrip the needs of somebody who's pissed off about 9 year olds and cupcakes.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Thursday, May 08, 2008
The Mama's Lament
I am still damnably tired. It's Thursday, for heaven's sake, and I am still TIRED! I think I'm getting old. This sucks.
I went to Washington with the 8th grade last week, Tues - Fri. Last year, I loved the trip. We had a busload of fagioles (dipsticks) but we made it work and we had a wonderful time. This year, I was on a bus with different teachers, and that went better than I thought it would. We had the Boss, who organized the whole trip, but relaxed as soon as he got on the bus, my Roomie, who was awesome, and Miss Cruise Director who kept getting on the bus microphone to catch up on all the 8th grade gossip, hookups and breakups. We had a lot of fun the first two days, even with the Midnight Runner who got caught traipsing around the hotel barefoot in her pjs (and we couldn't send her home because her mother is bipolar and her father is a schizoid unmedicated artist). Anyway, Midnight Runner got transferred temporarily to our bus and got summarily velcroed to my right leg for the day, with the Asst Principal's instructions "just make her miserable today." Lovely. You can imagine how long that lasted for me. We spent the day at Arlington and the Capitol and the Archives (lunch at Air and Space which was McDonald's and Rolaids). We got back to the hotel an hour before we had to leave for the dinner cruise, and the kids were berserk. The girls were just in the halls loudly comparing clothes and skipping between rooms. The boys were doing dumbass things upstairs (like ramming skulls into doors). Unfortunately, hotel security got called. Not good. The dinner cruise was fun, got lots of adorable party pics of the kids. Decided the flash on the Nikon needs a boost, though. Thursday was the day the shit literally hit the fan. I got grabbed in the hallway by a couple of girls saying "Mrs. B, O. doesn't feel good." O. had been barfing all night, and hadn't gone out after the first volley or sent anyone out to tell the all-night security guard on our floor. She looked awful. Another one barfed in the hallway outside the breakfast room, and the third one just came down and shook like she'd been in a freezer all night. The AP was hemming and hawing on what to do. Good GRIEF. Put sick kids in front of me, and what's a Mama to do? I stayed at the hotel and took care of sick kids all day. We had barfing, diarrhea, fever, chills, panicky phone calls from faraway mothers, and by 12:30 I was telling the tour management guys in the hotel that I was either going to be making a trip to a hospital or walk-in place. What I didn't know was that they have a contract with a group of ER docs at George Washington University hospital, and they MAKE HOUSE CALLS. Right to the hotel. And they bring all the necessary shit with them. The doc who came was young, single and cute, so Miss Cruise Director and Roomie were wishing later that they had been the ones to stay with the sickies! O. got two bags of IV fluid in her collapsed veins, and everyone got imodium and prescription anti-nausea. The doc said O had gastroenteritis complicated by severe dehydration, and the others were either strictly dehydrated or had mild stomach bugs complicated by the dehydration. They brought me another victim after the play that evening, same shit, different kid. I spent $60 on Gatorade at the hotel gift shop. I had several more with milder symptoms later in the evening, but they were all just somewhat dehydrated and exhausted (and freaked out that they didn't feel well given the rumors flying around the grapevine) more than anything else. I gave them my cell number in case they got worse in the night (and we got some calls). Every time I was on my way back to the room that night the guard would say, what's up, and I'd say "another one just needs her mama to pet her on the head, calm her down and tell her it'll be better if she goes to sleep!" The guard that night told me she had four kids, so she knew just what I was talking about. Just exactly what I do with Sadie when she gets up in the middle of the night with a bad dream or a fall out of bed -- you sit, smooth her hair, talk soft to her and tell her she's just fine, everything's all right, she just needs to close eyes and go on to sleep. Not an entertaining evening by a long shot. Between that and my own personal freakout, I didn't sleep hardly at all that night. That was the result of a grab on the part of one adult who had no idea what reaction that would elicit from me. Don't ever grab my wrist and refuse to let go. I ended up twisting my arm out of his grasp without hollering or causing the scene I both desperately wanted to and also desperately wanted to avoid since I was in a public hotel hallway full of colleagues and students. I needed that emotional baggage resurfacing at that point like I needed a goddamn five-inch hole in my skull. I'm still having issues with control now. I hate finding myself checking for exits when I walk into rooms or discovering that I have once again placed myself where I can see all doors with my back to the wall. I hate feeling like I have to put physical barriers (tables, desks, counters) between me and certain people in the building so they cannot come close to me. I have one friend in the building who knows what this is all about, and I know there is one room where I can go if I absolutely have to, and no questions will be asked as to why I am there or whether it is okay if anyone comes near me. BUT I DON'T WANT TO. I have worked for a lot of years to find happiness in my life, and to feel safe and in control. I hate this irrational terror. I hate having the bottom of my gut drop out when I pull into my usual parking space. I hate finding myself grinding my nails into my left palm -- when I don't realize I've started doing that again. I know damned good and well that nobody in my building would ever hurt me. But I haven't got this back into its cage and locked the door yet. I'm working on it, though. That sumbitch doesn't get to win this war. Can't tell Hubby. He knows the long, ugly version of the past, and we've had a few events in our time together where someone has grabbed me or otherwise set me off. He has a long fuse, but at the end of that fuse are two hefty fists and a lot of bottled-up anger that he doesn't have a problem turning loose on assholes. It won't matter that it was unintentional -- it will only matter that I no longer feel safe and I was grabbed. Period. And I don't want to bail him out of jail.
I went to Washington with the 8th grade last week, Tues - Fri. Last year, I loved the trip. We had a busload of fagioles (dipsticks) but we made it work and we had a wonderful time. This year, I was on a bus with different teachers, and that went better than I thought it would. We had the Boss, who organized the whole trip, but relaxed as soon as he got on the bus, my Roomie, who was awesome, and Miss Cruise Director who kept getting on the bus microphone to catch up on all the 8th grade gossip, hookups and breakups. We had a lot of fun the first two days, even with the Midnight Runner who got caught traipsing around the hotel barefoot in her pjs (and we couldn't send her home because her mother is bipolar and her father is a schizoid unmedicated artist). Anyway, Midnight Runner got transferred temporarily to our bus and got summarily velcroed to my right leg for the day, with the Asst Principal's instructions "just make her miserable today." Lovely. You can imagine how long that lasted for me. We spent the day at Arlington and the Capitol and the Archives (lunch at Air and Space which was McDonald's and Rolaids). We got back to the hotel an hour before we had to leave for the dinner cruise, and the kids were berserk. The girls were just in the halls loudly comparing clothes and skipping between rooms. The boys were doing dumbass things upstairs (like ramming skulls into doors). Unfortunately, hotel security got called. Not good. The dinner cruise was fun, got lots of adorable party pics of the kids. Decided the flash on the Nikon needs a boost, though. Thursday was the day the shit literally hit the fan. I got grabbed in the hallway by a couple of girls saying "Mrs. B, O. doesn't feel good." O. had been barfing all night, and hadn't gone out after the first volley or sent anyone out to tell the all-night security guard on our floor. She looked awful. Another one barfed in the hallway outside the breakfast room, and the third one just came down and shook like she'd been in a freezer all night. The AP was hemming and hawing on what to do. Good GRIEF. Put sick kids in front of me, and what's a Mama to do? I stayed at the hotel and took care of sick kids all day. We had barfing, diarrhea, fever, chills, panicky phone calls from faraway mothers, and by 12:30 I was telling the tour management guys in the hotel that I was either going to be making a trip to a hospital or walk-in place. What I didn't know was that they have a contract with a group of ER docs at George Washington University hospital, and they MAKE HOUSE CALLS. Right to the hotel. And they bring all the necessary shit with them. The doc who came was young, single and cute, so Miss Cruise Director and Roomie were wishing later that they had been the ones to stay with the sickies! O. got two bags of IV fluid in her collapsed veins, and everyone got imodium and prescription anti-nausea. The doc said O had gastroenteritis complicated by severe dehydration, and the others were either strictly dehydrated or had mild stomach bugs complicated by the dehydration. They brought me another victim after the play that evening, same shit, different kid. I spent $60 on Gatorade at the hotel gift shop. I had several more with milder symptoms later in the evening, but they were all just somewhat dehydrated and exhausted (and freaked out that they didn't feel well given the rumors flying around the grapevine) more than anything else. I gave them my cell number in case they got worse in the night (and we got some calls). Every time I was on my way back to the room that night the guard would say, what's up, and I'd say "another one just needs her mama to pet her on the head, calm her down and tell her it'll be better if she goes to sleep!" The guard that night told me she had four kids, so she knew just what I was talking about. Just exactly what I do with Sadie when she gets up in the middle of the night with a bad dream or a fall out of bed -- you sit, smooth her hair, talk soft to her and tell her she's just fine, everything's all right, she just needs to close eyes and go on to sleep. Not an entertaining evening by a long shot. Between that and my own personal freakout, I didn't sleep hardly at all that night. That was the result of a grab on the part of one adult who had no idea what reaction that would elicit from me. Don't ever grab my wrist and refuse to let go. I ended up twisting my arm out of his grasp without hollering or causing the scene I both desperately wanted to and also desperately wanted to avoid since I was in a public hotel hallway full of colleagues and students. I needed that emotional baggage resurfacing at that point like I needed a goddamn five-inch hole in my skull. I'm still having issues with control now. I hate finding myself checking for exits when I walk into rooms or discovering that I have once again placed myself where I can see all doors with my back to the wall. I hate feeling like I have to put physical barriers (tables, desks, counters) between me and certain people in the building so they cannot come close to me. I have one friend in the building who knows what this is all about, and I know there is one room where I can go if I absolutely have to, and no questions will be asked as to why I am there or whether it is okay if anyone comes near me. BUT I DON'T WANT TO. I have worked for a lot of years to find happiness in my life, and to feel safe and in control. I hate this irrational terror. I hate having the bottom of my gut drop out when I pull into my usual parking space. I hate finding myself grinding my nails into my left palm -- when I don't realize I've started doing that again. I know damned good and well that nobody in my building would ever hurt me. But I haven't got this back into its cage and locked the door yet. I'm working on it, though. That sumbitch doesn't get to win this war. Can't tell Hubby. He knows the long, ugly version of the past, and we've had a few events in our time together where someone has grabbed me or otherwise set me off. He has a long fuse, but at the end of that fuse are two hefty fists and a lot of bottled-up anger that he doesn't have a problem turning loose on assholes. It won't matter that it was unintentional -- it will only matter that I no longer feel safe and I was grabbed. Period. And I don't want to bail him out of jail.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Hurrah and HOOWAH!
Lots of rampant rowdy cheering this afternoon!!
John Sullivan's been drafted by the Minnesota Vikings, 6th round pick. Congrats, dear heart -- Mama Ball is waaaaaaaaaaaaay proud of you!!
John Sullivan's been drafted by the Minnesota Vikings, 6th round pick. Congrats, dear heart -- Mama Ball is waaaaaaaaaaaaay proud of you!!
Draft Day 2 and Getting Ready to Hit the Road
Draft starts at 10 today, and DQ has a party from 11-12:30, so there is a chance I will miss my fella getting drafted. But then, that's what Tivo is for! Plus, UM agreed to call me on the cell when it happens, so I will know which round to skim through the Tivo for. Dallas picks 29th in the 3rd and first and 27th in the 4th, Steelers pick 25th in the 3rd, 24th in the 4th and 21st in the 5th.
Beyond the day's entertainment, I'm doing mountains of laundry and getting things ready for my absence this week. Looking forward to the 8th grade trip, though it looks like the Best Western they have us staying in is in a somewhat sketchy neighborhood. I had thought it was the hotel across the street from the Hyatt where The Boy and I stayed, but I was wrong -- that was the Holiday Inn. There are 2 Best Westerns, one a few blocks from the Hyatt, and then there's the one where we are staying, on the opposite side of the Mall, about 6-7 blocks from the Capitol. At least we are closer to the monuments and such.
Packing -- I'm taking the larger suitcase this year as the weather looks like it's going to be iffier. That will also allow me enough space to bring the appropriate evening beverages and opener. Aside from that, I have to remember the ethernet cord (free internet access at the hotel) and charger for the laptop, and to repack the camera bag so I can fit the other basics in as well.
Home prep -- have to go to the grocery store and get enough snack/lunch stuff for the kids for the week, and write Hubby some basic instructions on what to pack for each kid each day. Might have to do daily tear-off sheets for him.
Beyond the day's entertainment, I'm doing mountains of laundry and getting things ready for my absence this week. Looking forward to the 8th grade trip, though it looks like the Best Western they have us staying in is in a somewhat sketchy neighborhood. I had thought it was the hotel across the street from the Hyatt where The Boy and I stayed, but I was wrong -- that was the Holiday Inn. There are 2 Best Westerns, one a few blocks from the Hyatt, and then there's the one where we are staying, on the opposite side of the Mall, about 6-7 blocks from the Capitol. At least we are closer to the monuments and such.
Packing -- I'm taking the larger suitcase this year as the weather looks like it's going to be iffier. That will also allow me enough space to bring the appropriate evening beverages and opener. Aside from that, I have to remember the ethernet cord (free internet access at the hotel) and charger for the laptop, and to repack the camera bag so I can fit the other basics in as well.
Home prep -- have to go to the grocery store and get enough snack/lunch stuff for the kids for the week, and write Hubby some basic instructions on what to pack for each kid each day. Might have to do daily tear-off sheets for him.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Draft Weekend is Here!
My favorite ex-student likely won't be drafted until tomorrow, possibly round 4 or 5. If I remember correctly, watching the draft on TV is like watching paint dry. Good thing Hubby is cooking and there will be plenty to munch on.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
A Day With Wonder Woman
Today, I went to quite possibly the worst reading workshop I have ever been to. It was billed as a workshop on working with boys and reading, so I was thinking I would get a list of good titles to recommend to my fellas and some strategies for the teachers. The side benefit (which became the reason the day wasn't a total loss) was that I got to spend the day with Wonder Woman, Miss Congeniality and MamaWTF (two other beloved teachers from the vicinity of my favorite Rabbit Hole).
The workshop was a disaster because:
1. the presenters were so concerned about being politically correct that every time they mentioned something about boys, they had to immediately follow it up with a five minute explanation of how this is also applicable to girls and they are athletic and isn't Title IX important. We spent a good bit of time listening to that.
2. We spent time reading a disconnected group of handouts and being told to apply our own reading strategies to them. Uh-huh. I know what works for me. I want to know what works better for boys.
3. We heard about what a group of overprivileged boys at a Greenwich private school told their librarian about reading. That same librarian actually flinched when she came to our table and heard me discussing some of the edgier books I give to my 8th grade boys (Rash, Inexcusable, Twisted). Right. And I thought I taught in Lala Land --- compared to her I teach in the 'hood, baby.
4. We got to see some nice pictures of all the books those boys donated to a school for abused boys from New York foster homes.
5. We sat through a disastrously bad PowerPoint presentation that included all kinds of small text, limited images, and basic design errors that my 6th graders wouldn't commit.
Sigh. At least I had time for a Dunkin run before the workshop and they provided real Cokes as one of the drink options with lunch, which wasn't bad (wraps, salad, drinks and brownies).
I sat there and added to my summer reading book list edits. and had a lot of trouble paying attention because I kept getting annoyed. One of the presenters kept making up her own words. Miss Congeniality was keeping track of every time one of the teachers we know from Another School kissed up to the presenters or sounded like she was in church. MamaWTF was our good Catholic-school doobie, taking copious notes, shushing us when we got too stage-whispery, and whacking me on the back of the head with a folder when the presenter called on me and I wasn't paying attention.
On the up side, Wonder Woman and I got to catch up on all of the interschool gossip and stories, bemoaned our different staffing/administrative issues, wished we were still in the same building (even though she knows I wouldn't go back to Wonderland no matter what just because of the admins there). All four of us went out afterward to Margaritaville (aka TacoLoco in Fairfield), and that was fun. I miss her much grand much.
I got home to find Hubby, Boy and DQ immersed in watching Alvin and the Chipmunks on dvd. If hell has a soundtrack, this thing is ON IT.
DQ laughing hysterically every few minutes is the only thing preventing me from ramming barbeque skewers into both my ears.
Where the hell is my drink?????
The workshop was a disaster because:
1. the presenters were so concerned about being politically correct that every time they mentioned something about boys, they had to immediately follow it up with a five minute explanation of how this is also applicable to girls and they are athletic and isn't Title IX important. We spent a good bit of time listening to that.
2. We spent time reading a disconnected group of handouts and being told to apply our own reading strategies to them. Uh-huh. I know what works for me. I want to know what works better for boys.
3. We heard about what a group of overprivileged boys at a Greenwich private school told their librarian about reading. That same librarian actually flinched when she came to our table and heard me discussing some of the edgier books I give to my 8th grade boys (Rash, Inexcusable, Twisted). Right. And I thought I taught in Lala Land --- compared to her I teach in the 'hood, baby.
4. We got to see some nice pictures of all the books those boys donated to a school for abused boys from New York foster homes.
5. We sat through a disastrously bad PowerPoint presentation that included all kinds of small text, limited images, and basic design errors that my 6th graders wouldn't commit.
Sigh. At least I had time for a Dunkin run before the workshop and they provided real Cokes as one of the drink options with lunch, which wasn't bad (wraps, salad, drinks and brownies).
I sat there and added to my summer reading book list edits. and had a lot of trouble paying attention because I kept getting annoyed. One of the presenters kept making up her own words. Miss Congeniality was keeping track of every time one of the teachers we know from Another School kissed up to the presenters or sounded like she was in church. MamaWTF was our good Catholic-school doobie, taking copious notes, shushing us when we got too stage-whispery, and whacking me on the back of the head with a folder when the presenter called on me and I wasn't paying attention.
On the up side, Wonder Woman and I got to catch up on all of the interschool gossip and stories, bemoaned our different staffing/administrative issues, wished we were still in the same building (even though she knows I wouldn't go back to Wonderland no matter what just because of the admins there). All four of us went out afterward to Margaritaville (aka TacoLoco in Fairfield), and that was fun. I miss her much grand much.
I got home to find Hubby, Boy and DQ immersed in watching Alvin and the Chipmunks on dvd. If hell has a soundtrack, this thing is ON IT.
DQ laughing hysterically every few minutes is the only thing preventing me from ramming barbeque skewers into both my ears.
Where the hell is my drink?????
Sunday, March 16, 2008
The Last Hurrah for The Boy
Well, not really for him, but definitely in the "let's spend a shitload of money on a bigtime birthday party" department. The Boy turns 7 tomorrow. Because he was born in mid-March and the weather is always a total crapshoot, we have for the last few years scheduled a party for him at SOMEPLACE -- read: some expensive kids' gym or "kid-friendly environment." I left things up to Hubby two years ago and he scheduled a bowling party. This wasn't because anyone we know is into bowling -- it was because the bowling alley would serve beer. At the party. Although this made him the hero of every other father who had to drag his 4 or 5 year old to this party, it made me crazy because that was THAT much more I had to pay attention to.
So this year I saw that "Horton Hears a Who" was opening the weekend of The Boy's birthday. Thought that would be a relatively easy shindig -- get tickets, buy some popcorn and fruit punch and have pizza delivered. The theater made it sound really easy -- they provide the room, rope off the seats, deliver the popcorn and drinks right to the kids in the theater, and the party host handles all games etc for the duration of the party. Except that the party host we were expecting got the flu, and we ended up with some chick who could barely read your ticket and say "Theater 6." Out of the 2 1/2 hours she was supposed to be managing our party, I think she was there for maybe 40 minutes. She kept wandering off, and given that it was a weekend, the theater was pretty busy, so it was hard to spot her once she was more than 30 feet out. The theater manager will be getting a letter about how disappointed I was in how the party was described to us and how little services we actually received -- and I will be expecting a refund of the party host charge. I'm usually one to punt in any given situation, but this was ridiculous even by my standards.
The end-all of this is that next time I will just tell The Boy to pick four friends and I will take them all to see a movie. Hubby and UM can meet us there with DQ and the cousins. And I will take them home after or their parents can pick them up -- and we'll be done with it. It'll be about $300 cheaper.
That being said, the movie itself was phenomenal. I highly recommend it to everyone!! Loved Jim Carrey, Steve Carrell, and Carol Burnett doing the voices, and the animation was incredible. Very, very good stuff!! All of the kids loved it.
So this year I saw that "Horton Hears a Who" was opening the weekend of The Boy's birthday. Thought that would be a relatively easy shindig -- get tickets, buy some popcorn and fruit punch and have pizza delivered. The theater made it sound really easy -- they provide the room, rope off the seats, deliver the popcorn and drinks right to the kids in the theater, and the party host handles all games etc for the duration of the party. Except that the party host we were expecting got the flu, and we ended up with some chick who could barely read your ticket and say "Theater 6." Out of the 2 1/2 hours she was supposed to be managing our party, I think she was there for maybe 40 minutes. She kept wandering off, and given that it was a weekend, the theater was pretty busy, so it was hard to spot her once she was more than 30 feet out. The theater manager will be getting a letter about how disappointed I was in how the party was described to us and how little services we actually received -- and I will be expecting a refund of the party host charge. I'm usually one to punt in any given situation, but this was ridiculous even by my standards.
The end-all of this is that next time I will just tell The Boy to pick four friends and I will take them all to see a movie. Hubby and UM can meet us there with DQ and the cousins. And I will take them home after or their parents can pick them up -- and we'll be done with it. It'll be about $300 cheaper.
That being said, the movie itself was phenomenal. I highly recommend it to everyone!! Loved Jim Carrey, Steve Carrell, and Carol Burnett doing the voices, and the animation was incredible. Very, very good stuff!! All of the kids loved it.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
NFL Draft 08
I usually dismiss the whole sports draft process as a couple days of testosterone-fueled nonsense that take over our garage and mean that Hubby will completely ignore me until it's over and analyzed to death. However, this year, I am actually planning to watch the draft with all the fellas because one of my first 6th grade students is going to be drafted (probably not the first couple rounds but maybe rounds 3-5?). He's generally posted as one of the top five centers, or at least he is in all of the sports blogs I've checked lately. UM tells me that the Steelers have a need for a center and might draft him... unfortunately that will mean that I have to turn traitor on Hubby's beloved Cowboys and root for the Steelers. UM has announced that if my draftee actually goes to Pittsburgh, he's buying my first Steelers jersey with my draftee's name and number. Very sweet offer, but it may cause a few garage fights!!
Friday, December 28, 2007
Looking Forward -- Goals for 08
Here's a top ten list of prioritized goals for 2008:
1. Hug Hubby a lot more.
2. Restructure the end of the debts to minimize number of payments and interest rates.
3. Do all bill paying and budgeting online so I can keep track of exactly where my money is going.
4. File the bills as soon as they are taken care of.
5. Put away money each month toward birthdays and Christmas expenses.
6. Set aside cash each month for fun stuff.
7. Take kids to at least one free event every month at the library/park/whatever.
8. Bring my lunch at least 4x a week to minimize $ spent there.
9. Eat more vegetables.
10. Figure out how to work some exercise time into my week.
Obviously time with Hubby is the most important thing I can add to this year. It's hard with two jobs, two kids, our crazy extended family, and the seemingly 9 billion things we have to do every month, but I want to make sure he feels loved and taken care of. He's been last on the list many times before (especially when the kids were babies), and he deserves a lot more.
You can tell that paying off debts and managing the budget are two big priorities also. I've never been very confident with managing money or doing budgets, but now that I'm using the online bill paying service and watching my accounts online, I can tell a lot more easily what's going on with the bills and the bank. Not that I'm ever going to be any kind of raging genius when it comes to this stuff, but I at least don't feel like I'm a totally incompetent moron.
Seems like we spend most of our weekends cleaning the house and doing laundry rather than getting out and doing fun stuff as a family, so I'd like to do more of that. Not sure how that's going to work with the laundry schedule, but we'll live. Last on the priorities is basically improving my eating and exercise habits as always... I do okay on those for a while but not consistently. The exercise one is my biggest bugaboo. Maybe someday the basement will be finished, the toys and a tv down there, and we can get an elliptical machine. More good ideas -- but Hubby's got to put those Home Depot cards to work buying the materials to finish off the basement first.
The only thing I haven't put on the list is trying to figure out what kind of spiritual time I want to have in my life. I think that's going to end up being some kind of separate list for the coming year. I've been sorely lacking in that department, and I do want the kids to participate in some kind of spiritual activities. I've been extremely offended by the kinds of shenanigans that have been going on in the local Catholic and Episcopal churches here -- am thinking about making a trip to the neighborhood Lutheran church with Miss Emma next door. We'll see.
1. Hug Hubby a lot more.
2. Restructure the end of the debts to minimize number of payments and interest rates.
3. Do all bill paying and budgeting online so I can keep track of exactly where my money is going.
4. File the bills as soon as they are taken care of.
5. Put away money each month toward birthdays and Christmas expenses.
6. Set aside cash each month for fun stuff.
7. Take kids to at least one free event every month at the library/park/whatever.
8. Bring my lunch at least 4x a week to minimize $ spent there.
9. Eat more vegetables.
10. Figure out how to work some exercise time into my week.
Obviously time with Hubby is the most important thing I can add to this year. It's hard with two jobs, two kids, our crazy extended family, and the seemingly 9 billion things we have to do every month, but I want to make sure he feels loved and taken care of. He's been last on the list many times before (especially when the kids were babies), and he deserves a lot more.
You can tell that paying off debts and managing the budget are two big priorities also. I've never been very confident with managing money or doing budgets, but now that I'm using the online bill paying service and watching my accounts online, I can tell a lot more easily what's going on with the bills and the bank. Not that I'm ever going to be any kind of raging genius when it comes to this stuff, but I at least don't feel like I'm a totally incompetent moron.
Seems like we spend most of our weekends cleaning the house and doing laundry rather than getting out and doing fun stuff as a family, so I'd like to do more of that. Not sure how that's going to work with the laundry schedule, but we'll live. Last on the priorities is basically improving my eating and exercise habits as always... I do okay on those for a while but not consistently. The exercise one is my biggest bugaboo. Maybe someday the basement will be finished, the toys and a tv down there, and we can get an elliptical machine. More good ideas -- but Hubby's got to put those Home Depot cards to work buying the materials to finish off the basement first.
The only thing I haven't put on the list is trying to figure out what kind of spiritual time I want to have in my life. I think that's going to end up being some kind of separate list for the coming year. I've been sorely lacking in that department, and I do want the kids to participate in some kind of spiritual activities. I've been extremely offended by the kinds of shenanigans that have been going on in the local Catholic and Episcopal churches here -- am thinking about making a trip to the neighborhood Lutheran church with Miss Emma next door. We'll see.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
End of 2007
It's been an eventful last couple weeks.
The one possible date I had to go over to The Boy's school and do an official lunch duty with his class -- I left my school, crossed the street, slipped on the fucking wet leaves and did a total face plant in the road (chipped a front tooth, bit through lower lip, general mess and mayhem). I walked back into the office where my principal didn't even recognize me for all the bloody mess, spit chunks of my lip into the nurse's sink, and ended up in the dentist's office and the oral surgeon's office (read -- drop a grand and wait for insurance to reimburse). This with the Drama Queen in tow, whose teachers thought she had symptoms of pinkeye (she didn't have it) which necessitated pickup immediately after naptime and just before dentist appointment, because Daddy was in Florida and wasn't due back until midnight, and Pop-pop was in St. Marten with his GF -- which left me with UM as the only other person on all the emergency forms, so had to call him and see if he could take an early train home and pick up the boy at the Y for me since I had no idea how long I would be getting stitched up. Fortunately DQ had an amazing afternoon and was quite happy to sit with a coloring book, a cute receptionist, and a juice box while I was having needles etc jabbed in my face.
The worst part? My teeth hurt so much drinking wasn't really an option, with or without a straw for a couple DAYS and they gave me NOTHING. Tylenol and Advil on alternating 2 hours put a decent dent in it, though. Went back to the oral surgeon at the end of the week, and he said he was impressed at how well it had healed since "it looked like hamburger on Monday." Lovely. I pretty much had no other options -- get the fuck well was it. Welcome to motherhood. If this shit doesn't work in your book, then don't bother getting knocked up.
Next up on the hit parade we have UM's court date, which fortunately went well for him. Apparently the Murphinator's lawyer is about as unorganized as she is, and according to UM the judge was less than impressed with the histrionics and drama being offered up. Once that and the Mouth Trauma were both over we set the date for doing the final Christmas shopping for FIL as he announced he didn't want to do it this year.
That turned out to be the date of FIL's combo colonoscopy/endoscopy which discovered a large and needs-to-be-removed weird mass in his colon. Therefore -- surgery the day after said evening shopping trip in which UM and I rationalized everything but our emotional reactions to FIL being in the hospital for major surgery. Needless to say, surgery went well given the nonsense at the hospital, but reactions by all were less than good. GF didn't call from the hospital for hours, snowstorm/icestorm prevented the rest of us being there, and basically communication broke down and no one handled it well.
Just before Christmas Eve, we have FIL asking GF to marry him with giant diamond ring (I'm guessing at least 6 carats on the center stone, the thing is as big as my fingernail). She of course said yes, but there's no date set as they have a lot to work out in terms of their businesses and such. UM was okay with it. Hubby was not, but at least he was polite. He wouldn't be okay with this if they'd done it five years from now, though... sigh. RainMan he is, and there's nothing going to change that. Christmas Eve other than that was fun with the kids. The Fantastic Four were quite happy with all the gifts and stuff.
Lastly, Hubby's beloved and favorite cat Chester went down for the count two days ago, so FIL took him to the vet. They ended up putting him to sleep that night. Hubby had gone to the animal shelter with his mother 17 years ago and the two of them had picked out two kittens from the same litter -- Chester and Madeline. So it was more than a little sad for him to lose Chester.
Hopefully 2008 will be somewhat more manageable. Guess we'll find out!
The one possible date I had to go over to The Boy's school and do an official lunch duty with his class -- I left my school, crossed the street, slipped on the fucking wet leaves and did a total face plant in the road (chipped a front tooth, bit through lower lip, general mess and mayhem). I walked back into the office where my principal didn't even recognize me for all the bloody mess, spit chunks of my lip into the nurse's sink, and ended up in the dentist's office and the oral surgeon's office (read -- drop a grand and wait for insurance to reimburse). This with the Drama Queen in tow, whose teachers thought she had symptoms of pinkeye (she didn't have it) which necessitated pickup immediately after naptime and just before dentist appointment, because Daddy was in Florida and wasn't due back until midnight, and Pop-pop was in St. Marten with his GF -- which left me with UM as the only other person on all the emergency forms, so had to call him and see if he could take an early train home and pick up the boy at the Y for me since I had no idea how long I would be getting stitched up. Fortunately DQ had an amazing afternoon and was quite happy to sit with a coloring book, a cute receptionist, and a juice box while I was having needles etc jabbed in my face.
The worst part? My teeth hurt so much drinking wasn't really an option, with or without a straw for a couple DAYS and they gave me NOTHING. Tylenol and Advil on alternating 2 hours put a decent dent in it, though. Went back to the oral surgeon at the end of the week, and he said he was impressed at how well it had healed since "it looked like hamburger on Monday." Lovely. I pretty much had no other options -- get the fuck well was it. Welcome to motherhood. If this shit doesn't work in your book, then don't bother getting knocked up.
Next up on the hit parade we have UM's court date, which fortunately went well for him. Apparently the Murphinator's lawyer is about as unorganized as she is, and according to UM the judge was less than impressed with the histrionics and drama being offered up. Once that and the Mouth Trauma were both over we set the date for doing the final Christmas shopping for FIL as he announced he didn't want to do it this year.
That turned out to be the date of FIL's combo colonoscopy/endoscopy which discovered a large and needs-to-be-removed weird mass in his colon. Therefore -- surgery the day after said evening shopping trip in which UM and I rationalized everything but our emotional reactions to FIL being in the hospital for major surgery. Needless to say, surgery went well given the nonsense at the hospital, but reactions by all were less than good. GF didn't call from the hospital for hours, snowstorm/icestorm prevented the rest of us being there, and basically communication broke down and no one handled it well.
Just before Christmas Eve, we have FIL asking GF to marry him with giant diamond ring (I'm guessing at least 6 carats on the center stone, the thing is as big as my fingernail). She of course said yes, but there's no date set as they have a lot to work out in terms of their businesses and such. UM was okay with it. Hubby was not, but at least he was polite. He wouldn't be okay with this if they'd done it five years from now, though... sigh. RainMan he is, and there's nothing going to change that. Christmas Eve other than that was fun with the kids. The Fantastic Four were quite happy with all the gifts and stuff.
Lastly, Hubby's beloved and favorite cat Chester went down for the count two days ago, so FIL took him to the vet. They ended up putting him to sleep that night. Hubby had gone to the animal shelter with his mother 17 years ago and the two of them had picked out two kittens from the same litter -- Chester and Madeline. So it was more than a little sad for him to lose Chester.
Hopefully 2008 will be somewhat more manageable. Guess we'll find out!
Monday, November 19, 2007
Halfway Through My YA Lit Religious Experience
I went into NYC today to attend the ALAN workshop, "Helping Teens Discover a Sense of Self and Place Through Young Adult Literature." When I walked into the Marriott Times Square and went up to the 5th floor ballroom area to check in, they forked over a good-size cardboard box full of books -- hardcover, paperback, both brand new titles and older titles, and even some pre-pub reviewer copies of the newest books. All told it looks like about $250-300 worth of books! What a great "thanks for coming" gift! There were different book combinations in every box, so you weren't guaranteed to get any particular authors or books, but everyone got enough to get autographs from the authors who were there. (I got a bunch!)
Talk about heaven!
I sat with a couple hundred other English teachers, librarians and media specialists to hear a host of YA authors talk about their books and what they see as important with kids and reading. There were some new authors I wasn't familiar with, like the keynote speaker, Sherman Alexie. He was hilarious and a phenomenal speaker. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to him. His book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was awarded the National Book Award for the YA category last night. Chris Crutcher came up next, and had me in tears one minute and cheering like hell the next. All day, we had Brian Selznick, Peter Sis, Christopher Myers, Jacqueline Woodson, Patricia McCormick, Ben Mikaelson, Gloria Whelan, Holly Black, Lauren Myracle, Helen Frost, T.A. Barron, David Lubar (who came to speak even though today is his 30th anniversary -- he has quite the understanding wife!), Pete Hautman, and many other new authors, poets and playwrights. It was an amazing, exhausting day, and I loved it. And tomorrow is equally promising (but will be less exhausting as I will only be hauling in the books for the authors who are speaking tomorrow). Tons of notes, lots of great quotes on reading and writing. The ALAN presenters were also great -- went to a breakout session on encouraging reluctant readers that was a lot of fun.
Time to go crash... it's back on the train and the subway tomorrow. This is one of those things that is fun for a day or two but If I had to make that trip every day I would be miserable. Glad I don't have to!
Talk about heaven!
I sat with a couple hundred other English teachers, librarians and media specialists to hear a host of YA authors talk about their books and what they see as important with kids and reading. There were some new authors I wasn't familiar with, like the keynote speaker, Sherman Alexie. He was hilarious and a phenomenal speaker. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to him. His book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian was awarded the National Book Award for the YA category last night. Chris Crutcher came up next, and had me in tears one minute and cheering like hell the next. All day, we had Brian Selznick, Peter Sis, Christopher Myers, Jacqueline Woodson, Patricia McCormick, Ben Mikaelson, Gloria Whelan, Holly Black, Lauren Myracle, Helen Frost, T.A. Barron, David Lubar (who came to speak even though today is his 30th anniversary -- he has quite the understanding wife!), Pete Hautman, and many other new authors, poets and playwrights. It was an amazing, exhausting day, and I loved it. And tomorrow is equally promising (but will be less exhausting as I will only be hauling in the books for the authors who are speaking tomorrow). Tons of notes, lots of great quotes on reading and writing. The ALAN presenters were also great -- went to a breakout session on encouraging reluctant readers that was a lot of fun.
Time to go crash... it's back on the train and the subway tomorrow. This is one of those things that is fun for a day or two but If I had to make that trip every day I would be miserable. Glad I don't have to!
Friday, November 16, 2007
The Drama Queen and the Shopping Deity
Drama Queen is still sick today -- worse than yesterday, so I was glad I took the day off to stay home with her. The Boy's class went to the bookfair today, and I had promised him earlier in the week that I would come and meet him there, so as DQ seemed to be perking up a bit, we bundled into Big Bertha and off we went to the bookfair. She was good for about 20 minutes there, and then we came home, where she had a few sips of warm apple cider and promptly passed out on the sofa for a couple hours (definitely not normal at 10:30 am). While she was sleeping, I was twelve feet away, doing over a grand's worth of damage to FIL's Mastercard. Or, should I say, earning him all kinds of gambling bonus points by using his card... Figuring out what went with what to create outfits for the kids was the most pain in the ass part, beyond the fact that they had no pink snowpants to go with Beloved Niece's jacket so had to get her cream ones (jacket is pink and cream colored). Why in the hell does ANYONE make white or off-white snowpants for kids??? Ridiculous, but nothing else came even close to coordinating.
Anyway, the Fantastic Four are taken care of for outwear and clothes and pjs for Christmas, and all but two of the rest are taken care of (didn't hear back about sizes for the twins yet, so that's on hold). All that's left are stocking stuffers and toys for the girls, but UM and I will head off to KidMecca (aka Toys R Us) one weeknight sometime soon and get that squared away.
Anyway, the Fantastic Four are taken care of for outwear and clothes and pjs for Christmas, and all but two of the rest are taken care of (didn't hear back about sizes for the twins yet, so that's on hold). All that's left are stocking stuffers and toys for the girls, but UM and I will head off to KidMecca (aka Toys R Us) one weeknight sometime soon and get that squared away.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Christmas Is Coming, The Mama's Getting Fat
Well, maybe not technically fat yet, but I'm getting the "let's hibernate for the winter" vibe from my innards. Thank God for sweaters.
The annual physical is coming up the week after Thanksgiving. Have to remember to schedule that business for July next time -- having a cholesterol test five days after Thanksgiving is probably one of my stupider moves. Jimmy's going to harass me about going on Lipitor for sure now. That'll be a fun conversation.
Started the Christmas shopping with a pajama binge for the Fantastic Four. UM says he has the "boy" gifts taken care of but needs help with the "girl" gifts. FIL announced he does not want to shop at all this year and has dumped it in our laps, along with his MasterCard. I am officially in charge of all clothing gifts, stocking stuffers, and gifts for the grandkids of the four closest friends and relations (there are 14 in that category). Thats quite the arsenal of online orders -- Lands End is going to make a small fortune off this project.
We haven't discussed grownup gifts yet this year -- not sure how that's going to go.
Drama Queen is battling a cold and stayed home with Daddy today, but she was better tonight. Hopefully she will be okay in the morning and I can go to work... left sub plans just in case, though.
The annual physical is coming up the week after Thanksgiving. Have to remember to schedule that business for July next time -- having a cholesterol test five days after Thanksgiving is probably one of my stupider moves. Jimmy's going to harass me about going on Lipitor for sure now. That'll be a fun conversation.
Started the Christmas shopping with a pajama binge for the Fantastic Four. UM says he has the "boy" gifts taken care of but needs help with the "girl" gifts. FIL announced he does not want to shop at all this year and has dumped it in our laps, along with his MasterCard. I am officially in charge of all clothing gifts, stocking stuffers, and gifts for the grandkids of the four closest friends and relations (there are 14 in that category). Thats quite the arsenal of online orders -- Lands End is going to make a small fortune off this project.
We haven't discussed grownup gifts yet this year -- not sure how that's going to go.
Drama Queen is battling a cold and stayed home with Daddy today, but she was better tonight. Hopefully she will be okay in the morning and I can go to work... left sub plans just in case, though.
Friday, November 02, 2007
Last day of the first marking period, so far I have one set of psychotic parents and one student who didn't fall far from the tree, a mild sinus infection, a half-day of staff development that I seem to be fully responsible for (for the building) coming up on Tuesday, and Hubby doesn't seem to think he needs to take the day off then (when we have no child care for both children and it's been on the calendar for three months).
I would very much like to go drive off a cliff right now.
No, really.
Okay, maybe that's just another pipe dream to make me feel momentarily better, but I'M STILL HAVING IT, GODDAMMMIT.
Oh, and add that my FIL's girlfriend had surgery yesterday, he called to tell us she was doing okay, and then last night he went to the hospital with chest pains. WTF. According to the ER doc in Jersey, he has indigestion. I talked to him today and told him he WOULD be going to the cardiologist when he got home. He argued with me about that (actually made me feel better -- if he had agreed to it immediately I would have driven down there tonight), but one way or the other he will get in and get that done and go see his GP also.
I hate being the uber-mama in this family some days. Today qualifies.
I would very much like to go drive off a cliff right now.
No, really.
Okay, maybe that's just another pipe dream to make me feel momentarily better, but I'M STILL HAVING IT, GODDAMMMIT.
Oh, and add that my FIL's girlfriend had surgery yesterday, he called to tell us she was doing okay, and then last night he went to the hospital with chest pains. WTF. According to the ER doc in Jersey, he has indigestion. I talked to him today and told him he WOULD be going to the cardiologist when he got home. He argued with me about that (actually made me feel better -- if he had agreed to it immediately I would have driven down there tonight), but one way or the other he will get in and get that done and go see his GP also.
I hate being the uber-mama in this family some days. Today qualifies.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Rabbit Hill #1
Went to the Rabbit Hill Literature Festival Author Dinner tonight at the Red Barn restaurant. The travel was nasty -- dark, rainy, horrendous traffic (took me an hour and ten minutes to get there instead of a half hour). However, upon arrival, I sat down with the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts, and had a lovely bit of conversation before Eeyore showed up. Our table was graced for the evening by none other than Neal Shusterman, author of my fave twisted fairy tales/myth series (Red Rider's Hood, Dreadlocks), The Schwa, and Everlost. He lives in southern California, so we discussed the fires there (his house is fine, the ones I lived in in Poway and Escondido are gone), families, life of an author, his newest book that is just out. I think we are going to try to get him to come for a visit late this year -- there is someone from NY (around Rye) working on doing that, so if we can dovetail into that we're golden. We might be able to split him for a day with Central, and get Just Books in on it also.
His new book, Unwind, sounds incredible. I can't wait to read it! A second civil war has happened (over the issue of abortion among things). The civilization that has survived has decreed that there are to be no abortions -- life at conception IS. However, between the ages of 13-17, children can legally be terminated by their parents. What a dilemma -- the Drama Queen is three and frankly I am dreading 13 like it's going to be the start of an incarceration for me. I can see why this would be a question an author would want to write about!
Neal said that he wanted to address the issue of abortion, but do it in a way that had not been done before, and do it in a way that would present both sides with an opportunity to discuss. What a thought -- delve into a violently divisive issue and give both sides a piece to argue for and against using fiction as the vehicle. His intended audience is high school, so I will be interested to read it. He said he expects it to be on the Banned Books list!
I didn't get around to the other tables to schmooze with the other authors, but hopefully I will see a couple tomorrow. Met the director of the Westport public library, and an editor for Simon and Schuster also -- will revise post tomorrow later with their names which are on a card with the book on CD that we got as a dinner gift tonight (Gail Carson Levine). :)
Lovely, lovely time. I should have gotten my favorite princess and Wonder Woman to come... maybe next year!
His new book, Unwind, sounds incredible. I can't wait to read it! A second civil war has happened (over the issue of abortion among things). The civilization that has survived has decreed that there are to be no abortions -- life at conception IS. However, between the ages of 13-17, children can legally be terminated by their parents. What a dilemma -- the Drama Queen is three and frankly I am dreading 13 like it's going to be the start of an incarceration for me. I can see why this would be a question an author would want to write about!
Neal said that he wanted to address the issue of abortion, but do it in a way that had not been done before, and do it in a way that would present both sides with an opportunity to discuss. What a thought -- delve into a violently divisive issue and give both sides a piece to argue for and against using fiction as the vehicle. His intended audience is high school, so I will be interested to read it. He said he expects it to be on the Banned Books list!
I didn't get around to the other tables to schmooze with the other authors, but hopefully I will see a couple tomorrow. Met the director of the Westport public library, and an editor for Simon and Schuster also -- will revise post tomorrow later with their names which are on a card with the book on CD that we got as a dinner gift tonight (Gail Carson Levine). :)
Lovely, lovely time. I should have gotten my favorite princess and Wonder Woman to come... maybe next year!
Thursday, October 11, 2007
13th Tale Update
Second note to WW and my favorite Princess: You should have threatened me with shovels, shotguns, whatever you could get your hands on to make me read this!! Thirteenth Tale is amazing, I loveitloveitloveit -- and of course wish I'd started it sooner. Damn real life -- it gets in the way of so many good books.
I have two booktalks tomorrow so don't know if I will finish tonight, if not then definitely this weekend. I'll post when I'm done. :)
I have two booktalks tomorrow so don't know if I will finish tonight, if not then definitely this weekend. I'll post when I'm done. :)
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Note to Wonder Woman
WW,
I have FINALLY brought home Thirteenth Tale. If my children don't absolutely drag me under tonight, I will start reading. Unfortunately the Dallas/Buffalo game kept me up late last night (yes, occasionally I do put myself through the football paces), so looks like passout time will come earlier than usual. Promise I'll get moving on it, though!
The Hundred Acre Wood was relatively calm today. Scheduled a bunch of booktalks through the rest of the month, and got my paperwork done for the two big conferences this month and next. I'm headed to Hartford for the annual CECA tech/education conference late this month, and then off to NYC next month for a two day authors and reading workshop in conjunction with the NCTE annual conference. FL told me today that I am getting expensive -- told him I am worth every nickel and he knows it! Turned in my annual TEP plan for him to approve today. Changed my description titles (the what are you going to do parts) from last year's very simple "Weed, Feed and Learn" to this year's "Duck and Chuck, Spend the Money Honey, and On to the Fun Stuff". That's basically to see if 1. anyone actually reads this, and 2. if they do, did they notice? We'll see. Not a big deal if I get told to change it -- I don't care. I just get so bloody bored with doing things the straitlaced way.
I have FINALLY brought home Thirteenth Tale. If my children don't absolutely drag me under tonight, I will start reading. Unfortunately the Dallas/Buffalo game kept me up late last night (yes, occasionally I do put myself through the football paces), so looks like passout time will come earlier than usual. Promise I'll get moving on it, though!
The Hundred Acre Wood was relatively calm today. Scheduled a bunch of booktalks through the rest of the month, and got my paperwork done for the two big conferences this month and next. I'm headed to Hartford for the annual CECA tech/education conference late this month, and then off to NYC next month for a two day authors and reading workshop in conjunction with the NCTE annual conference. FL told me today that I am getting expensive -- told him I am worth every nickel and he knows it! Turned in my annual TEP plan for him to approve today. Changed my description titles (the what are you going to do parts) from last year's very simple "Weed, Feed and Learn" to this year's "Duck and Chuck, Spend the Money Honey, and On to the Fun Stuff". That's basically to see if 1. anyone actually reads this, and 2. if they do, did they notice? We'll see. Not a big deal if I get told to change it -- I don't care. I just get so bloody bored with doing things the straitlaced way.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
and a good time was had by all...
What a weekend! The Boy and I had a wonderful time hitting the road together. The drive down on Friday was great (perfect timing in terms of traffic, except we did miss a turn in Baltimore and ended up driving around backtracking for a half hour), the weather was fantastic, and he was a trooper about walking everywhere. Friday afternoon we went to the Natural History museum (dinosaurs and meteorites were on the agenda) and we walked around the mall and the Capitol grounds a little. The brick grotto with the fountain was open and renovated this year, and he thought that was cool. Dinner was at the hotel (overpriced but convenient), and he passed out very quickly afterwards. We're definitely staying elsewhere next year -- they put us in a room facing NJ Ave and there's a fire station directly across the street. Nice for safety, but I was up every hour or so with the fire trucks wailing away. The Boy, of course, sleeps like a rock, so he didn't notice. Time to find a less expensive option sitting on or very near a Metro station!!Saturday we got up early, had the included breakfast buffet (which was a deal given the amount The Boy ate), and then we went to the Washington Monument. Claustrophobia in check for a few hours, we did the 9:30 tour, and he enjoyed it very much. I was definitely glad to be out of there, though. We found the 15th St public restrooms where the fire alarm was going off for no particular reason and the park service employees were having their coffee in a golf cart nearby. Apparently fire alarms are not enough reason to reschedule a coffee break.
The book festival got going at 10 am, so we were there just after it started. We stopped in and bought books early (not a big line yet), then made our way to the PBS Kids tent, Magic School Bus, Target tent and the information tent. Good thing we hit the giveaways early -- they were running out of a lot of things by noon as the place was mobbed with people later! We got posters and bags, polaroids of The Boy with various cartoon characters (costumed folks), a Magic School Bus book from the Scholastic people, two stuffed parrots from the PBS people, and various coloring books and activity books from other companies. The Target people were giving away what they called reading mats, but were really nice, thick, heavy vinyl-coated bags. One side of the bag has a checkerboard layout, and inside the inner zip pocket of the bag is a set of red and white plastic checkers! We had a good couple games under the trees just across from the children's authors' presentation tent while we listened to David Wiesner, Rosemary Wells, and Judy Schachner talk about their books. I was a little disappointed this year that the lines were so long to get books signed -- I gave up even considering trying since most of the authors were scheduled for only one-hour stints at the book signing stations. The Boy is patient, but he is not that patient. We wandered around the pavilions listening to various authors, though, and that was fun. Most of the pavilions were wall-to-wall people, some standing 8-10 deep around the edge of the chairs. We got to hear part of Terry Pratchett's presentation, and some of Holly Black's, Patricia MacLachlan's, and a few others. It was hard to get to hear complete presentations, not only because of the crowds and distance between pavilions, but because of the schedule! We tried getting from one pavilion to another quickly to hear one author or another, but invariably we missed chunks of the presentations. The LOC was recording all of the sessions, though, so hopefully they will finish the video podcasts soon and we can see what we missed, and I can recommend appropriate ones to teachers.
Met dear family friend BabyBeckie (who is now working in DC), and she wandered the festival with us all afternoon. We went back to the hotel to drop off the stuff (camera, book fest bags o'freebies, and what then felt like 85 pounds of books), and we went to Union Station. We had dinner at one of the nice restaurants there (not NEARLY as expensive as the hotel option!), and we caught the 7pm Old Town Trolley evening monuments tour. The Boy had been very excited about staying up late and seeing the monuments lit up at night, but after walking all day and dinner with ice cream, he passed out on the trolley around 8:45! He missed the FDR memorial, woke up to walk over to the Korean War memorial with me, then I piggybacked him over to the Lincoln Memorial so he could see the Capitol, Washington Monument and WWII all lit up. He liked that a lot, but he was so tired he passed right out again as soon as we got back on, so he missed Iwo Jima. Our driver/tour guide was "Mr. Map" and I highly recommend him as a guide. He was extremely knowledgeable, cracked decent jokes, and asked all of us about ourselves (and remembered it all later when he would point things out and refer to us). BabyBeckie had never seen the monuments at night either, and some of them she hadn't seen at all yet, so we both had a good time on the tour (even with the Boy passed out across my lap).
I think that next year we will 1. stay at a different hotel and avail ourselves of the Metro, 2. get a couple books for different authors who will be there ahead of time and make lists of questions on stickies for the books, and 3. just try to see those few authors' presentations and not worry about going near the signing tents. We're definitely arriving early again next year, though, as that seemed to be key for the fun stuff and freebies. The food choices were limited at best. We had ice cream more than once! I don't know if I can talk Hubby into coming with us next year (so DQ can come too), or if this is going to be a Mom-and-Boy activity for another year. We'll see. I'll be interested in attendance estimates for the festival -- it was definitely more crowded than last year.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Yes, Eeyore did the "why wasn't I invited" shit. Am going to tell FL to either invite her officially or tell her no because she is not the goddamn department head with the requisite ass on the line.
Pretty much guarantees her coming to the meeting -- not completely a bad thing, but she gets lost easily and doesn't get the jokes. So I'm annoyed afterward, and given that it's a 9:30 meeting, I can't ameliorate that easily. Maybe I'll see about scheduling my cholesterol test the same day. If I'm going to be underfed, undercaffeinated and pissed, I might as well get to take it out there.
Of course, the sensible thing would be to gently note to FL that avoidance of the issue is as easy as a reschedule to a time during her class. That would get him off the hook nonconfrontationally.
I do notice that he tends to like to notice that shit on his own, however.
So it looks like I'm screwed.
Where's Jimmy's number for the cholesterol screening appt??????
Pretty much guarantees her coming to the meeting -- not completely a bad thing, but she gets lost easily and doesn't get the jokes. So I'm annoyed afterward, and given that it's a 9:30 meeting, I can't ameliorate that easily. Maybe I'll see about scheduling my cholesterol test the same day. If I'm going to be underfed, undercaffeinated and pissed, I might as well get to take it out there.
Of course, the sensible thing would be to gently note to FL that avoidance of the issue is as easy as a reschedule to a time during her class. That would get him off the hook nonconfrontationally.
I do notice that he tends to like to notice that shit on his own, however.
So it looks like I'm screwed.
Where's Jimmy's number for the cholesterol screening appt??????
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Hundred Acre Wood Update
I miss Wonderland. Not the place necessarily, but my favorite characters, most of whom I went out to dinner with tonight. I had more fun .. need to do that more to ameliorate everything else in my life. Went to the Mirage Cafe in Port Chester, and it was absolutely delightful! The chocolate mousse and the bread pudding were SINFULLY good ... I should have just gotten one or both of those. I had a fish special that was out of this world, though. Next stop will be Coyote Flaco with the DR2B, the Dormouse and the Princess-- should ask them if we can invite Wonder Woman; miss her too. Have to attempt to get them for a Wednesday night since I don't have to teach on Thurs. so therefore a trip to margaritaville wouldn't be so bad. Either that or aim for a weekend -- Hubby has been out with the fellas so it would be a bit of equalization. Like the song says, "Girlfriends kick ass!"
The Hundred Acre Wood is coming along reasonably well given the structural roadblocks that have been thrown in our way by the district (ie budget cuts that mean we have ancient carpet for another year or more, and everything else will have to be held together with bubble gum and baling wire). The kids enjoy coming after school, and I think it's nice to have them chirping away doing homework and talking over things together for a while after school. Kanga gets a kick out of them too -- Eeyore gets a little more bent if the noise goes up and she doesn't think they are doing homework, but they don't seem to mind much when she goes off.
Fearless Leader Round 1: asked me yesterday to present to the two 6th grade parent coffees today. Not a big deal, but it sent Eeyore around the bend last night because she couldn't remember if she had to set anything up for first thing in the morning (no, I set it all up, but it took over 10 minutes to get her off the phone last night when I was trying to get the kids to bed).
FL Round 2: told me he was putting me on ShIT committee (School Improvement Team). Last time I got stuck with that I discovered that it was basically a forum for hyperinvolved parents to bitch and moan. Has it changed? Who knows -- guess I will find out. He OWES me. Like he doesn't already!
FL Round 3 will be the budget meeting next week where we ballpark what we need for next year. That should be fun given we've got a lowball amount for book $ recommendation from the district and I'll have to hit one out of the park to get more on that. I'm sure Eeyore will go ballistic and do the "why wasn't I invited to this?" crap again.
The Boy is very,very,very excited about going to Washington with me this weekend. The Dormouse is getting me the camera so we can take decent pictures from a distance of authors etc at the Book Festival, and we have a couple picked out to go listen to/see etc. We'll see what we accomplish! Actually, I think he is just excited to have room service in his near future. :)
The Hundred Acre Wood is coming along reasonably well given the structural roadblocks that have been thrown in our way by the district (ie budget cuts that mean we have ancient carpet for another year or more, and everything else will have to be held together with bubble gum and baling wire). The kids enjoy coming after school, and I think it's nice to have them chirping away doing homework and talking over things together for a while after school. Kanga gets a kick out of them too -- Eeyore gets a little more bent if the noise goes up and she doesn't think they are doing homework, but they don't seem to mind much when she goes off.
Fearless Leader Round 1: asked me yesterday to present to the two 6th grade parent coffees today. Not a big deal, but it sent Eeyore around the bend last night because she couldn't remember if she had to set anything up for first thing in the morning (no, I set it all up, but it took over 10 minutes to get her off the phone last night when I was trying to get the kids to bed).
FL Round 2: told me he was putting me on ShIT committee (School Improvement Team). Last time I got stuck with that I discovered that it was basically a forum for hyperinvolved parents to bitch and moan. Has it changed? Who knows -- guess I will find out. He OWES me. Like he doesn't already!
FL Round 3 will be the budget meeting next week where we ballpark what we need for next year. That should be fun given we've got a lowball amount for book $ recommendation from the district and I'll have to hit one out of the park to get more on that. I'm sure Eeyore will go ballistic and do the "why wasn't I invited to this?" crap again.
The Boy is very,very,very excited about going to Washington with me this weekend. The Dormouse is getting me the camera so we can take decent pictures from a distance of authors etc at the Book Festival, and we have a couple picked out to go listen to/see etc. We'll see what we accomplish! Actually, I think he is just excited to have room service in his near future. :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)