Is anyone still out there??

I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't.

:(

Well, hello.

It's been over a month again and I find myself wondering how I turned into *that* blogger.

You know.

The one who only blogs once every 157 million years.

Or once a month.

Whatever.

Things are going ok.  School is fine.  The weather is cold.  miss raven is as cute and snuggly as ever.  I'm still knitting.  And I'm still not eating very healthy.  Or exercising.

Sigh.

I hurt my ankle on Wednesday.  Pretty badly.  I did the same thing about ten years ago, but back then it was much, much worse.  Thankfully, although quite painful, this time wasn't nearly as bad.  No need to visit the hospital or even the doctor.  Just some ice, ibuprofen, and good friends who let me borrow crutches and an air cast.

I have a long weekend ahead of me and I am so happy.  It's hard to believe that in just a few weeks Thanksgiving will be here and then after that, Christmas.  Where did this year go??

School is going well.  I am enjoying this class but I must admit, I miss my class from the last two years.  I know I said it before but I really, really miss them.  I am always so happy when they stop by to see me in the morning or after school.  It always brightens my day.

I am teaching this year's crop of students how to crochet.  As is usual, some of them have really taken to it.  I don't know if they will end up as advanced as last year's class but it will be interesting to see how they develop.

That's all for now.  My ankle is getting sore and I am in need of more coffee.  I promise to try to be back soon.  I have pictures of knitting to share.

:)

I've got this...

I think.

Most days I struggle with whether or not I am doing a good enough job for my class.  I want them to grow, to develop, to learn, and to have the best year ever.  I (selfishly) want them to always remember me and to think I was the BEST.TEACHER.EVER.

And most days I wonder if I'm doing enough.

The day races by and I think about the times I have had to stop and count to 10, 50, or even 100 before answering someone so I don't yell/sound impatient/seem frustrated.

I think about what I could have/should have/need to have done before the next day.

I think about how seemingly short my break is and why I can't have an adult conversation during lunch...justthisonce.

I think about a lot of things.

And then I see the smiles.

I hear the laughter.

I see the looks of confusion change to looks of confidence.

I grade a math quiz and am thrilled with 10 A+'s and 1 B+!

I look around an empty room and see evidence of learning, growing, and developing.

And I think...

I've got this.

:)

so, blech...

and more blech.

When will winter ever be OVER already?!?!  I'm beyond tired of being cold.  I am SO ready for some warmer weather.  C'mon spring!  Let's get going!

Not much to report from here.

I didn't lose any weight this last week so boo on that.

I joined another swap on Ravelry.  Coffee, chocolate, and yarn.  Mmmmmmm.  :)

I went to a "yarn party" today.  Kind of like the wool festival I will go to in May but much, much, much smaller.  I did get some lovely yarn though, from vendors I have never heard of.  I love trying new things.  I was hoping to find a nice needle case, but, alas.  There were none to be found that I was willing to spend money on.

Spring Break starts on Friday.  Oh sweet mother!  I can't wait!!!!!

I haven't been sleeping well at night.  Even though I am really tired, I can't seem to fall asleep.

I found a new game to play.  It's called Ruzzle.  Think Boggle, but online.  I'm kicking butt so far.

Our Medieval Times trip was AH-mazing!  OMG!!!  It couldn't have gone any better than it did.  The kids LOVED it and that was all I wanted.  The people at the place were wonderful to us and I even got a "swag bag".  I love me some swag!!  The best thing I heard the whole time was this (from one of the kids):  "I am going to remember this day for the rest of my life!"  That made all the trips to the store, all the hot dogs, all the late Friday nights, and all the hassle worth it.  I can't tell you how happy I was and how proud I was of my kids.

And that's it.  That's all I have to report.  I am really, really going to make an effort to blog every day until the end of the month.  I have to make up for lost time.  :o/

Have a wonderful Monday!!!

:)

Not even a chance...

Here I am again!

Yea me!

:)

Not to brag or anything, but today was another good day.  To be honest, I still can't believe how good I have it.  I have the best class in the school, good parents, and a great boss.

Right now, life is good.

Football officially starts tonight.  So, so happy!  My COWBOYS play the giants in New York and, to be fair, I don't really expect them to win.  However, NO ONE seems to be giving them a chance.  Not even a wee little one.  That makes me sad.

I'm not gonna lie.  I won't be watching the game (I get too frenetic and it totally FREAKS miss raven out) and I am not going to be all "I have to turn on the TV to see how badly we beat the giants" tomorrow morning.  If (and that really is a big IF) we win, I will hustle to the nearest convenience store and purchase a paper to take with me to school tomorrow morning, but I won't be setting the alarm any earlier, if you know what I mean.

Don't you hate it when someone gets something you kinda really wanted and then does nothing but brag about it?  Kind of makes you want to....

Never mind.

I don't have a Yarn Along post today mostly because I haven't been reading much.  I did get a copy of Mockingjay (the third in the Hunger Games trilogy) yesterday but I haven't started listening to it yet.  I may put the first disc in a little later since, you know, I'm not watching the game.

I am knitting and still loving it.  Why didn't someone tell me how much fun it is sooner?  I haven't crocheted in a while and, to be honest, I don't miss it.  I am working on my Striped Study shawl.  Sorry, if you aren't on Ravelry, you won't be able to see it (I don't think...)  I love this pattern but my wrap-and-turns aren't so great.  I also need to learn how to carry the yarn up the side for color changes because:

• all those ends to weave in are going to be a youknowwhat
• the stitches on the side where the ends need to be woven in are kind of loose--I an hoping I can tighten them up a bit after I block the thing.

I am hoping to have a progress/almost completed picture for you soon, but for now...

Good night!

:)

Don't you hate it...

When you follow a blogger and they never blog?

**crickets**

**hanging head**

**crickets**

I write a million posts every week in my head and then never get around to actually WRITING them.  I was determined that, even though I had stuff to do tonight, I would blog.

Things are going well.  I love my class, the new math curriculum is frustrating me (but today was a MUCH better day), the weather is ridiculously humid, I signed up for another knitting class, football starts tomorrow night.....

Really.  Things are going well.

I did, in fact, sign up for another knitting class that I am REALLY excited about.  I will be learning how to knit a raglan sweater from the top down.  There is a really cool leaf pattern down the middle of the back.  I chose a really pretty blue-green yarn.  Not really turquoise...slightly more blue than green.  The pattern scares the bejeezus out of me, though.  My teacher is the same woman that I had for the lace knitting class and that semi-scares me, too.

And there you have it, folks.  My last week in a nutshell.  I will leave you this evening with a few pictures of my classroom.

Don't say I never gave you anything.

:op

 one side of the room

 oops!  how'd she sneak in here?

 comfy chairs, new floor pillows in the back, and a basket of blankies

 OMG!  I *love* this board!

monsters!

 hehehe!  there she is again!!

 can you tell i love my monsters?

last monster pictures, i promise.

 she is *not* a monster

 cool idea for hanging papers...clothespins hot-glued onto ribbon

front of the room

good night!

:)

Sorry..

there is no way my brain is coming up with a witty post title tonight.

I'm so tired! I've been up since three with a sick little puppy.  I'm not quite sure what the problem was, but we had two puky episodes between three and five.  I gave up trying to go back to sleep after the five o'clock  episode so I came out into the living room and knit for a while.  The little one followed me out, walked over to her food bowl, and chowed down.  I wanted to cry just a little.  She seems to be fine now and I am hoping for a restful night.

I HAD to mow my lawn when I came home .  It was just THAT bad.  It took me a while and I'm not even finished with the weed-whacking part.  I have an electric weed-eater and it ran out of juice halfway through the whacking.  I'm gonna have to come home tomorrow night and finish up.

Fortunately for me, the kiddos were good today.  We had a fun day and they don't hate school...so far.  They did have homework tonight, but just a little.  I am trying to ease them back in gently.  They think that is pretty cool of me.

I was able to get my hands on a couple of CD ROM things that I needed for school.  I just spent the last three quarters of an hour printing out stuff that I need for the rest of the week.  I was supposed to take an apple to school today for a demonstration but I forgot.  Most likely because I was too busy remembering to take my coffee.  Coffee was more necessary for survival today than the apple demo.  In my opinion anyway.

Short one again tonight.  And no pictures.  I'm a blogger fail.  :(

Goodnight!

One would think...

that I am trying to freak my BFF out by posting THREE days in a row.

;o)

Today was a good day.  I completely finished my classroom (and promptly forgot to take pictures) and I must say that it looks good.  Even better than last year, perhaps.  The parents come tomorrow and all I have to do is plug in the air fresheners as soon as I get there in the morning so that my room smells pleasant.

We have a new online grading system this year and, I have to tell you, the thing has me stymied!  It is really hard to figure out and the lesson plan part of it is complicated.  I am not going to stress out about having plans done by Friday.  We have Friday off (have I mentioned how much I LOVE my principal?!?) and I am going to work on my plans then.  I am so excited about this bonus day off!  The weather is supposed to be nice so I am going to do some work and then maybe go out for lunch at a place where I can sit and knit for a while....with a good cup of coffee.  I'd love to go into the city but that would be WAY more fun with someone else.  Hint, hint, BFF.  ;o)

I'm literally in the middle of typing a "Welcome Back" letter to the parents and I am stuck.  I feel like it sounds kind of phony even though it is totally sincere.  I need to finish it tonight, though, so I can put it in my packet for tomorrow.

I have been pretty diligent with my eating this week.  I don't know if I have officially lost any weight because I refuse to get on the scale right now.  I am trying to focus more on making healthy choices rather than a number on the scale.  I did try on a blouse that I bought last Friday, though, and it felt a little looser.  That made me feel better and gave me a little more willpower.  I was so proud of myself on Monday...I bypassed the Danish and other sweets that were provided for us for breakfast.  I happily ate my Greek yogurt and didn't feel like I was missing out on anything.

Ok.  I have to get back to this letter!

Goodnight!

:)

Day two...

Second day back and thankfully I'm not quite as tired as I was last night.  By the time I went to bed last night I was so tired I couldn't fall asleep.  I hate when that happens.

I worked hard again today but it was worth it.  My classroom is pretty much ready except for a few things I need to finish up tomorrow morning.  I am hoping that, after our morning meetings, I will be able to start working on my lesson plans.  That's one thing I'm not looking forward to.

Hopefully I'll remember my camera tomorrow so I can show you what my room looks like.  I didn't change much around in the way of furniture, but I do have some new things up this year.  I LOVE my "Welcome Back" board this year.

I still have a few final things to pick up from Target, too.  I am hoping I can leave a little bit early tomorrow so I can get to Target without being stuck in a lot of traffic.

My knitting is going well.  I am still loving the shawl I am working on but there are a few oddities to it that I can't figure out.  I am sure that I am doing something wrong, I'm just not sure what.

I should do some laundry tonight but, well, that's not going to happen.

This post is getting seriously disjointed so I am going to wrap it up for now.

Two days in a row.

You're welcome.

:)

Zzzzzzzzzzzz...

O Holy Night...I am so tired!

Today was my first day back at work since the end of May.  While I had a wonderful summer and while I was ready to start this school year, I have to tell you...I am SO tired!

We had meetings this morning (of course) but they weren't awful.  My principal really is a good guy and he tries to make meetings as profitable and "entertaining" as possible.

The afternoon was dedicated to working in our classrooms.  And when I say working, I mean WORKING! I moved all my furniture from one corner of the room back to where it belongs.  In doing so I pulled a muscle in my chest.  I have to be careful how I lay down because, sheesh, the pain is intense!  Fortunately, I have some staff kids (who will also be my students) coming in to help me tomorrow so I won't have to move anything heavy.  I am anticipating soreness beyond my wildest imaginations tomorrow!  :o/

Good news!  I am getting all my kids back this year!  All the kids from my class last year that are returning this year requested to be in my class (plus two from the other class).  Whoo-hoo!  According to the registrar, once word got out that I was moving up to 5th grade the phones "lit up" with parents who wanted their kid in my class.  That was a nice ego-booster.  :)

And now, I am going to retire for the evening.  Did I mention that I was tired?

:)

p.s.  I never thought these words would come out of me but, Go Pats, clip those eagles' wings.  Because really, anybody but the eagles (or the redskins)!  Oh...and that's not passive-aggressive.  That's just out-right blunt.  ;o)

Crying myself a river...

I'm kind of a mess right now.  I've been crying since about 11:30 this morning and, with graduation only a few hours away, I will be crying until about 11:30 tonight.

Today was the last day of school for us and some of my babies aren't coming back next year.  When the first one left at 11:30, her mother practically had to pry her off me because she didn't want to leave.

Things went downhill from there.

To the point where even the boys were crying.

As was their teacher who is a BIG baby.

I received several gift cards today which was so nice.  I won't have to buy my own coffee for quite some time and I will also now be able to take a few follow-up knitting classes should my first one prove to be successful.

I will leave you with the following note that I received yesterday (and yes, it made me bawl like a baby):

Dear Miss Olsen,
Thank you so much for everything you have done.  Thank you for teaching me well.  Thank you for loving me.  I want to thank you so much for believing in me in English cause that really helped.  I love you so much and I don't want to leave you but I hope you teach 5th grade next year.  Hopefully we can stay in touch by writing each other.  I love you so much and I'm going to miss you.
Your Student,
M** H******


sniff, sniff.....

It's raining, it's pouring...

oh, wait.  No it isn't.

Sweet mother am I tired!

It was *supposed* to rain ALL DAY TODAY.  It *was* raining at 7:00 this morning.  We made the call to move the picnic from the park to the school about seven-ish this morning.

And then the sun came out, the humidity was UNbelievable, and nary a rain drop was to be seen the REST OF THE DAY.

Sigh.

I had prepped the kids yesterday for the fact that we would probably be at the school today for our end-of-the-year picnic and I worked hard to get them to see that it wasn't the end of the world.  I had them finally convinced and they came in this morning with relatively good attitudes.  I was so proud of them.  :)  Even when the sun came out and they realized that we probably could have gone to the park they still didn't complain.

We played games in the gym all morning and then ate.  And ate.  And ate.

As an aside...I will be starting Weight Watchers again this coming Monday.  I am serious and will be blogging about it.  I have goals set and am getting everything in order for the big day.


After lunch we went back to the classrooms.  We designated one room as the movie room and the other two rooms as the "gaming" rooms.  Fortunately, my room was the QUIET gaming room.  This pleased me greatly as I was working on getting rid of a headache.  Towards the end of the day we handed out the awards to the winners of the contests and then went back to our homerooms to await the blessed arrival of the blessed end of the blessed day.  Can you tell I was more than quite ready to go home??

So.  I am TIRED tonight.

I just finished an extremely satisfying glass of homemade iced coffee.  The recipe I used is a total keeper (from the Pioneer Woman) and I will be using it ALL summer.  I am currently deciding if I can eat a Popsicle  and count it for dinner.

One more thing before I go.  Last week was Teacher Appreciation week.  I did get a few lovely gifts that I neglected to share:  gift cards to Target, Old Navy, Dunkin Donuts, Barnes and Noble, and Olive Garden, a lovely bouquet of flowers, and a very unique set of colored pencils.  I also received some wonderfully sentimental handmade cards from a couple of my kids.  I will cherish those forever.

I wish I could show you pictures of my class so you can see the little urchins that stole my heart this year.  I have a thing about posting their pictures on my blog, though, so you are just going to have to believe me when I tell you that this is, by far, one of the best classes I have ever had.  I am going to cry a river this Friday when I have to let them go and have already informed my principal that I am MORE than willing to teach them again in fifth grade.  :)

Have a great night!

Have I ever told you...

that I loathe Mondays?

Oh?

Sorry.

I also apologize that my blog has been rather "list-ish" of late.  I am sorry, but, well, here we go with another list.

1.  I made a bee-line to Dunkin Donuts after work today.  Today was the third in my series of six free iced coffees.  I intend to claim EVERY.SINGLE.ONE.  I think the guy there knows me by now.  I am anticipating being able to drive straight up to the drive-thru window next week without even having to bother to order.  :)

2.  I have mice...again.  Sigh.  After dinner tonight I re-baited and reset all the traps.  I am not looking forward to having to empty them but I hate those little buggers.

3.  I had a completely fabulous dinner tonight.  I have been pretty lazy about cooking of late but tonight I had half a strip-steak, cooked to perfection, half a potato, and a handful of sauteed mushrooms.  Very tasty, if I do say so myself.

4.  To celebrate the end of the third quarter of school, I treated my angels to lunch.  I made hot dogs and bought chips, pickles, and popsicles.  Everything was going wonderfully until the end of the day.  I walked down the hallway to the restroom to shoo out a few girls who were chatting away.  The closer I got to the restroom, the clearer their conversation became.  Turns out, they were talking about me, and not in a nice way. My first thought was.......well, I won't tell you what my first thought was.  I stood there and waited for every single one of them to exit.  Two of the three that I heard had the graciousness to at least look embarrassed, but the other one, who tells me all the time how much she loves me and how I am the best teacher ever, just breezed right past me like nothing was amiss.  Long story short.....One of the girls apologized right away on Thursday.  She was so upset and genuinely sorry.  This morning I laid on a thick, thick layer of guilt (my mother would be proud) and got two more apologies.  Interestingly enough, one of the apologies was from a girl I didn't even think was involved but she felt guilty enough to confess.  We will see what tomorrow brings with the other girl.

5.  I have grading to do so....

Good night!

:)

ps.  pray the mice die tonight.  all of the mice.

Confirmation...

If I didn't know it before, I know it now.

Let me set the scene for you:

The last several weeks (yea, even months) I have been dreading this coming Saturday.  You see, I am about to turn forty.  I will admit I am not handling it well.

I thought I was handling it well at school and just breaking down (completely) at home but apparently not.

A few minutes ago I received a call from my principal's assistant.  She called to tell me that he contacted her to have her get in touch with  me so that I could contact him.  (Awkward sentence, anyone?)  I asked her if she knew what he wanted and she said he just told her that he wanted me to call him.

So.....my stomach was a little nervous but I called.  Turns out, he just wanted to make sure that I was ok because he thought I looked a little off this week.  He asked if it was because of my birthday (he knows it is my birthday because his birthday is the same day.  Birthday twins!).  I told him that was pretty much it and we talked for about ten minutes.

I thought it was really nice for him to call to check on me and I told him so.

So that confirms it.

I have the best principal in the world.

Annnnnddddd......I am again ETERNALLY glad that I am no longer in that job!

:)

Call me Vesuvius...

cause I'm about to blow.

OMG!

We had a parent meeting tonight at school.  I wasn't looking forward to this one because a huge change was made last week (a much needed change!) that the teachers were beyond thankful for but that I knew the parents would be ticked about.

Please believe me when I tell you that is was SO hard for me to keep my mouth shut tonight.  (For the record, I am rewarding said quiet mouth with chocolate right now.  SO. WRONG. I know.  :(  )

I wanted to stand up and tell all those ridiculous parents off because they have no idea what was really going on and the board couldn't say what really happened in the interest of protecting everyone involved in the situation.

UGH!  I can't really say anything more except to say that so, so, so many lies were thrown out tonight by some of those parents.  I am sick to death of the sense of entitlement that some people have and how they want to hide behind their version of "religion" and "God" to justify what they are saying when, in reality, they have NO IDEA what they are talking about.

They complain about disrespect shown to them but then they are unbelievably disrespectful to the people who are in the front speaking.  I had parents all around me griping and complaining to the people around them.  I had to choke back some pretty terse comments when one parent started running down the very person THEY ELECTED TO BE ON THEIR BOARD as he was trying to explain things to them.

My absolute favorite is when the very ones that act so spiritual and holy are the ones that are standing around gossiping and complaining and acting like they know what happened.

UGH again!  And now I am so wound up that I can't go to bed yet and I am really tired.

Grrrrrrrr...........

and grrrrrrrrrrrr again.

It's like Deja vu all over again...

I know it is hard to believe that I am blogging TWO whole days in a row.  Try to contain your excitement.

Update from yesterday's post:

My little darling, who has now taken to calling herself the "Love Doctor" asked me first thing this morning is I had  given any thought to the tips she gave me yesterday.  When I told her that I had, she was pleased and informed me that there just might be a quiz over them on Friday.

If anyone (male) would like to be my study-buddy, please let me know.  I would hate to disappoint her by failing her quiz.

We received some interesting news this afternoon at the semi-impromptu staff meeting that was called.  It was good news and something that most of us have been praying for over the last several months, but it is going to cause some fur to fly and we may end up losing some good students because of the perceived instability.  If you are the praying type, please keep my school in your prayers.  There are many faithful and dedicated teachers there who have sacrificed a lot to teach at a small-ish school.  We do it because we truly love the school and the students, not because we are in it for the money.  The last several years have been rough but God is good and I really feel like we are finally turning a corner.  We just need the good parents to stick with us for just a little bit longer.

And yes, if you have been reading here for about two years or so, this will sound a little familiar to you as we just went through this in 2009.....

It's like deja vu all over again...

:o/

What will they say next....

Heard recently from the mouths of my students:

• "You know, Miss Olsen, when I first met you (a year ago), I thought you were only in your twenties...even with all that gray hair."
• "Will you all please be quiet!  She is trying to make a pronouncement."
• "Miss Olsen!  You are wearing (with an audible gasp) MAKE-UP.  Everybody!  She must have a date!  She has MAKE-UP on!"
• "He had one too many circumcisions."  (Please, please don't ask me where that came from or what it was in reference to.  I couldn't even begin to tell you.)
• (When they found out I am taking a day off in March)  "WHAT?!?  You can't leave us!  No one understands us like you do!"
• (On my plans for next year)  "No arguing.  You will be our teacher next year.  We can't not be your kids anymore.  Besides.  You know you don't want those third graders."  (They speak the truth on that one.)
• "I think I might cry at the end of this year.  I didn't last year but I am pretty sure I will this year.  Will you cry, Miss Olsen?  Will you cry when we leave you for the summer?  You will cry, right?"

Sweet Lord.

What will they say next?!?

It's Electric....

I know that, by now, you must be getting tired of me saying this but,

I love my class.

Yes, they drive me crazy.  Especially around 2:53 when I can't wait for 3:40 to come around.

Yes, they ask me a gobzillion questions a day.

Yes, they frustrate me when I have to say something again.  For the gobzillionth time.

Yes, I love them.

They are funny, sweet, caring, kind, sensitive little souls.  They act without thinking, they sometimes speak without asking.  They would be thrilled to never have to leave the classroom at lunch time and spend the whole of lunch with me.  They freak if I'm not there and panic if I don't pick them up on time from music.

Speaking of music.  Today, when I went to pick them up from music class, I found that the teacher had let them finish class by doing the Cha-cha slide and the Cupid shuffle.  I half-jokingly told the teacher that I wish I would have known because I would have come up early and joined in.  That was all my angels needed to hear.  They begged and pleaded with the music teacher to play the Cha-cha slide again so that I could do it with them.  I couldn't back out so Cha-cha I did.  And then I made them do the Electric Slide.

hehehehe

I'm still sore.

Oy vey.

I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.

I love my class.

Today...

will be bulleted for your reading pleasure ease.

You're welcome.

:)

• Today was a good great day.  We had an all school assembly and, since I knew it would be Christmas-themed, I went all out.  Santa hat, Christmas pin, and ornament earrings that flashed on and off.  Oh.  The kids L.O.V.E.D.  it.  I so rock and am the coolest teacher on my hallway.
• SS was there today.  This is the second day in a row which means that she will probably be absent tomorrow.
• I found out after school that SS's mommy complained about me (again) to the principal.  Yesterday I was in a generous mood and gave out candy in math.  I rarely do that because I don't want to deal with the sugar high so candy in my classroom is a BIG treat and a BIG deal.  Anyway.  I made them wait until the end of the day to eat their candy (remember...I don't want to deal with the sugar high).  SS got a lollipop and had it in her mouth when mommy came to pick her up.  Mommy asked where she got it and SS told her that I had given it to her.  Mommy said "Oh, that was so nice.  I hope you told her thank you."  They met the principal on the way out and he made a comment about her having candy.  He asked where she got it and SS told him that I gave it to the class.  Before he could say anything, Mommy says, in a very sarcastic tone, "Yeah, she gives them candy and then sends them home for us to deal with."  Um.  Yeah.  I have no words.
• Totally random.....I am currently eating dessert....Pumpkin spice pudding.  O.M.G. so amazingly delicious.
• My babies are just about finished with their picture frames.  In case you didn't know, they are all painting/decorating unfinished wooden frames (from Michael's) for their parents for Christmas.  I took all of their pictures and printed them out at Walgreens.  I have six kids who need to finish up tomorrow and then they will wrap them on Thursday.  They are pretty excited and have done such a good job.  I'm really proud of them.
• I got my first Christmas present today!  One of my students gave me a gift card to Target!!!!  Whoo-hoo!!!!  You know how much I love me some Tar-jay!! :)
• As you know, the scarves are FINISHED!  As promised, here are some pictures!  Enjoy!

 The NINETEEN scarves

 redskins fans

 eagles fan, packers fan, um... origami fan

 for the girls

 more girls

 the last of the girls

 the two jumbled scarves pictures, just because

I really, really hope the kids like them! :)

Good night!

It occurred to me...

that I should provide you with a photo of the scarves that I am making for my students.  Sadly, I am too lazy to get the camera and snap a few.  Plus this light in my living room isn't all that great at night.  You are probably going to have to wait for the weekend.  Which will enable me to whip up a few more.

9 down, 10 to go.

Are we all ready for an SS update?

Alrighty then.

As you know, SS was not in school on Monday.  She came on Tuesday and was unprepared to work on a project that the class had known about since before the Thanksgiving holiday.  The excuse was that they were rushing to get out of the house that morning and that Mommy forgot to bring her things.

Ummmmmm.  Ok.

Except

1. It is not Mommy's responsibility to bring your things to school
2. Rushing out of the house is not an excuse for being unprepared.

So I explained that to the dear child, in a kindly way, and then proceeded to have her and the other two that weren't prepared work on an assignment from their book.

(Cue angry e-mail from Grandmama)

I am a horrible, insensitive, mean teacher who OBVIOUSLY doesn't have any children of my own because I don't know how to speak to children and I don't show CHRISTIAN LOVE and kindness and I call myself a CHRISTIAN but I don't act like one and she is just a little child and how DARE I talk to her precious grandchild like that and she want a meeting NOW.

Excuse me?

So, after stewing about it for about and hour and after talking to my BFF, I decided that I would need to reply because if I didn't I wouldn't get any sleep.

I sent a polite response clarifying what actually happened in class and letting Grandmama know that her precious wasn't quite as forthcoming as she should have been when relaying the story to her.  I openly copied the e-mail to my principal and told Grandmama that I would only meet with her AND the principal.

Of course I received no response and while SS did show up for school today, she left at 11:00 thereby making this her SIXTEENTH absence this year.

And yet, I would much rather deal with her than go back to the wretched job I had last year.

I came home this afternoon to find CRIME SCENE TAPE all around the house behind me.  There were police and state troopers EVERYWHERE.  I have zero idea what was going on but, from what I could tell, the house had been broken in to.  Of course that makes me a little uneasy.  Even with killer here:

I still think my house could be a target.  If you are the praying type, would you send one up for me that my house will be protected?  miss raven and I would appreciate it.

Ok.  Time to make another scarf.

blue and green tonight.

:)

Well...

So much for blogging every night last week.

Blogger fail.

In my defense:

1. We had Grandparent's Day at school on Friday.
2. This left me with a tremendous headache.
3. My kids weren't bad (weeeellllll....we did have a Speshul Snowflake incident, but....) but they were excited and even though quite a few of them left, the ones that stayed were hyped up for vacation.
4. I can't blame them.

So anyway.  I was supposed to blog over the weekend but I did not.  So now I will attempt to tell you about my weekend.  Although, there isn't much to tell.

Sunday was the highlight of my weekend for the following reasons:

1. The COWBOYS beat the redskins.  That would make TWICE this year.  In case you were wondering.  Which I know you were.  Even if you are my BFF.
2. The eagles beat the giants.  Now, under normal circumstances I would never, ever root for the eagles.  The mere idea of it makes me want to...well, never mind.  In this case, however, it meant that my COWBOYS would be tied for FIRST PLACE with the giants.  So...fly, eagles, fly.  And, they did.
3. Tony Stewart (my favorite NASCAR driver and, quite frankly, one hot man) won the Sprint Cup Championship.  Is it too much to hope that he will stumble across my blog, find out what a catch I am, and drive himself up here to declare himself my Prince Charming?  Yeah, I kind of thought it might be.  Stupid fairy tales.

All in all, it was a wonderful sports weekend.  Did I mention that the COWBOYS beat the redskins?  TWICE?

Hail to the who??

We had meetings at work all day yesterday and half of the day today.  I managed to get my Christmas tree put up (and mostly decorated) in my classroom.  It looks good, if I do say so myself.  I have a few more things to do in my room but didn't feel like staying late today.  So I didn't.  :)

miss raven and I will be by ourselves for Thanksgiving this year and I am really depressed about that.  I thought I would be ok with it but the closer it gets the sadder I become.  I am hoping that putting up my tree on Thursday will help.  I've been missing my mom alot the last few weeks and wish that I could talk to her.  She always made the holidays special.  And I really miss her Thanksgiving stuffing (or filling.  Whatever you prefer.)

I don't have to get up early tomorrow so I am getting to watch the NFL Network replay of the COWBOYS/redskins game tonight.  You know, the one in which the COWBOYS BEAT THE redskins.  AGAIN.

Goodnight.

:)

p.s.  How do you like the new look of the blog?  I couldn't resist the paw prints.  It is my homage to miss raven.  She approves.  :)