Oh, the baggage these kids carry...

The student I have previously mentioned that had the issue with his pants ripping when he passed gas has had a lot of issues lately. I don't know if he's just really unlucky or trying to get attention or not cared for enough at home. It's hard to say. Today, he ran to the bathroom twice, stating that he needed to throw up. Yesterday, he had an emotional breakdown when another student made fun of his math skills. Two days before that, he came hobbling up to me on the playground, with a twisted ankle. His eyeglasses broke one day during class, and he had no way of repairing them. Another day, he brought a can of pork and beans for lunch. A can. Without a can opener. And the can looked like it was from 1970. The label was so faded and peeling that it made me wonder how long that can had been in his family. And his drink that day was a tea bag. Oh and he has asthma but never has his inhaler. I'm just saddened by this poor boy. And ontop of all this, he has serious attention and academic problems, perhaps associated with his ADHD. His handwriting looks like that of a first grader. He can't spell nor can he write in cursive or perform most math skills. We are in the process of getting him assessed for special education, but that wouldn't fix it all. I don't know what the solution is, but I just wanted to share the baggage a child can carry around at such a young age. And he's actually a pretty minor case, compared to others I've seen in the past.

I'm off to read Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (the latest book), because I've been slacking lately, and I love those books!! Nighty night.

My son's ready to eat steak!!!

Okay, not really, but he's on his way. I've been trying Mason on this baby finger food called Gerber Fruit Puffs (they're these little cereal-like stars that dissolve in their mouth--weird, I know. But it's supposed to prepare them for chewing) and he's getting the hang of it. I introduced them to him yesterday with his dinner (Sweet Potatoes and Turkey--Yum!). It was pretty humorous to watch him try to manipulate these little things. He barbarically grappled at one on the high chair tray and stared at it through his tight fist. Then, he slowly tried to stuff it into his mouth, but darn that fist for getting in the way! He sucked on his fingers and palm, until he eventually got that little sucker into his mouth. He mouthed it quizzically, slobbering and babbling about it. "What in the world are you trying to feed me, woman?" is what I truly think he was saying in babytalk. Then, once he swallowed it, he smiled and grabbed for another one. I guess he decided that the fruit puff was edible and perhaps somewhat entertaining. Tonight, I tried again. This time, he was much more eager and interested in actually eating them. Like a pro, he snatched up one in each fist and proceeded to alternate between Left Fruit Puff and Right Fruit Puff (testing if they tasted the same?), seeming fully enthralled by this new texture and experience. I think after a week or so of practice, he'll begin to recognize the container with excitement. I shall keep you updated...

On to my ever-so-changing teaching position. Now, I'm staying in the resource room. For now. Until things change. And who knows when that will be. Yesterday I was told that things were DEFINITELY changing, and that I would most likely be removed from the resource room. Then I get to work this morning, and KABLAM!! nothing is changing and the principal acts like she'd never heard this issue before. Sigh. I guess I should just learn to go with the flow, eh? Ah well, it's Mason's bottle time and his patience is wearing as thin as a Kleenex. Will write tomorrow.

I'm a human yo-yo

So now it looks like I won't be in the resource room at all now. I guess they (and when I say "they", I mean THE ALMIGHTY POWERS THAT BE THAT MAKE THE DECISIONS, WHETHER RATIONAL OR NOT) have decided that Special Education is not as important as regular ed, so they feel I would be better utilized by being in the 6th grade all day. And although I agree somewhat because the one aide in the 6th grade is still very hesistant and needing direction in order to help the class, I still feel bad leaving the resource room shorthanded. Plus, I actually enjoyed working with those kids. It was small group work and with younger kids, which is a totally different experience than the second half of my day. And I really like the main Special Ed. teacher. She's so sweet and easy to talk to. The lead in the 6th is hard to get to know, which drives me nuts. I try and try to make jokes, share parts of my life and ask about hers, but she still seems uninterested in socializing to much of a degree.

The principal was supposed to approach me sometime today to inform me of the official decision, but all she ever said to me today was in passing, when she asked how my day was going. I wanted to say, "It depends on what you've decided about my fate," but of course I didn't. I'm timid like that. I sure hope something is said to me prior to my scheduled time in the resource room tomorrow. We'll see if that happens. Gotta love it...

I'm tired of Cindy Sheehan

She's the lady that's been camped out near President Bush's ranch, protesting the war and claiming that her son died in vain. It just infuriates me to hear someone say that any soldier has died in vain. It makes her son look stupid for joining. He joined out of his own free will, knowing that there was a chance that he would be sent to war. My husband is ex-military and he will tell you that they don't train them and pay them the big bucks to sit around on an American base. They're trained to go to war if necessary. I will say that I HATED having him deployed in Afghanistan for 6 months, but I knew he needed to do what he was trained to do. I got to the point where I wouldn't watch the news, because it made me fearful and paranoid that one day a car would pull up in front of my house and the Chaplain would get out. But if my husband had died in war, I would have been devastated and inconsolable, but I would have been proud of him. The troops are defending our country and busting their butts to help out strangers. How could you not support that? Cindy Sheehan's own family has made the statement that they do not agree with her and they are very proud of the military. Damn right...

Anyways, I'm off my soap box. On a lighter note, I think my dachshund is determined to continue to outweigh our baby Mason. Not too long ago, we took the dog on the scale, and he weighed about 16 pounds (and he's supposed to be a "miniature", which means he should weigh between 8-12 pounds!), which was already a lot. The vet even told us that he was "losing his waistline". We put him (and the cat, because let's face it, she never has had a waistline and she only uses energy when she's chasing the air and heading to the litterbox) on weight control food, hoping that would help. And we thought it did. Mason weighs 16 pounds, so we were sure that he had to outweigh the dog by now. But today, just out of curiosity, we weighed the dog and if our scale is accurate, he's now 19 pounds!! Holy Obese Canine, Batman!! What in the world is happening? He is lazy, I'll give you that, but it's not like he's started a diet of donuts and cake or something. We really don't give him people food. His only treat is yogurt. Whenever I finish with a cup of yogurt, I let him lick the inside of the container before I throw it away. And unless yogurt is now made with cellulite and chicken grease, I just don't see how he could have gained 3 pounds!! I'm sure the next time we go to the vet, they'll tell us that he needs more exercise or maybe Doggy Fat Camp. That would be pretty funny...

So my weekend has gone pretty well. I spent most of yesterday at my friend's house who has the little girl. We had a good time, as always. My husband joined us after work and then we watched "Baseketball". What a funny movie. It's stupid and a little twisted, but if you look past that, you just gotta crack a giggle. Today, we cleaned and cleaned, just because we avoid and avoid most of the time. It's so nice when the house is clean. It's just too bad it won't stay that way for very long.

Here's a picture I took yesterday. Mason was really entertained by the mirror, as you can see. :)

Well, Malcolm in the Middle is coming on, so I have my priorities. See ya Monday.

Can I tell you how much I'm glad it's the weekend??

Yeah!! I am so glad it's Friday and I get two days off. Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying my job and actually like going in everyday, but who doesn't like the weekend? Plus, this week has been so crazy with the testing I mentioned and being sick and the aide being out and all that, it's a relief to be home. Plus, I don't see much of Mason during the week, so it's so nice to be home with him.

Speaking of work, I like the new aide a lot. Although she's still very much involved with helping our Spanish speaker, she's so very nice and helpful when asked to do something. She even took work home for the weekend, by choice!! Yeah, I used to do it every single night and pretty much every weekend when I was teaching all by myself, but as an aide I say no way am I taking anything home. I don't get paid enough nor do I feel it's my job. I do my job from 7:30-4 and I do it well, but when 4 comes, I'm out of there. I don't know if that's right, but that's my theory. I'm just an aide, so I'm a helper, not the one who should be bearing most of the load. Plus with having an 8 month old at home, I don't want to spend the time I do have with him grading papers. No thank you.

I'm meeting a friend and her 5 month old daughter Riley (the little girl who is Mason's future prom date) for lunch tomorrow, which I'm looking forward to. Should be a good weekend...

I bought shoes today!

Okay, you may be thinking, "big freaking deal!" and I have two things to say to that, IT'S MY BLOG SO I CAN SAY WHATEVER I DAMN WELL PLEASE, and that it is a big deal these days. There was a time not too long ago, when buying shoes was like breathing to me. I bought them even if I wasn't all that fond of them. It's a sickness I think. Unfortunately (or fortunately, my husband will tell you), our funds have prevented me from feeding into my obsession. It is a very rare occasion these days. So, today I was at Target and found some cute calf-high boots and I said, "why not?" Okay, I didn't really say that, but it was a "why not?" moment. They are very similar to a pair I already have (so now you see the depth of my sickness), but the old ones were really stiff (they actually stood up on their own, like there was a ghost wearing them. I wouldn't think that black calf-high boots really coordinate with the chains that ghosts rattle at night though) and the boots were dangerously close to cutting off the circulation to my legs. The new ones actually have soft, bendable leather (or pleather or whatever it is) so, they are much more flexible. They're actually a little girlier too. Not that the others could be worn by a man (or a man that preferred wearing men's clothing anyway), but they were "clunkier", as my mom would say. Anyhow, that was my story. I just wanted to share the joy.

So, we got our new aide at work. She seems nice, but hasn't done much "aiding" yet. She's been focusing on helping our non-English speaking student, because she is fluent in Spanish. That's great and all, because we had serious communication problems with this student up until now, but that still leaves me to deal with all of the needs of the other students, and grading papers and such. I hope her role will change as time progesses, otherwise she's borderline useless to me.

Oh and I somewhat solved the issue I was concerned with, at Mason's daycare. I bring him there around 7, which means the girl I was dreading to hand over my only son to is already out of the room by then. So, it all works out. I was actually offered an earlier shift at work to help with the students that arrive before school starts, but I turned it down for the single reason that I do not want to deal with the girl that opens Mason's room. S0, problem solved.

Mason's pink eye is gone and he wasn't suffering from his teething pains today, so all is good. And TA-DA! I'm actually getting over my cold (knock on wood)!!! That's it for tonight. Tomorrow's Friday! Yippee!!

Chocolate always makes things better.

Sorry for not writing yesterday. This cold has taken control of me the past few days. Yesterday I was tired all day and felt like crapola, so I went to bed early and didn't want to write.

Today was a busy day at work. I was helping with this project where we test EVERY STUDENT in the entire school on their reading skills (there are other things tested as well like Math and Writing, but that's all I was responsible for), by having each student read three passages and I mark their accuracy. The morning consisted only of 2nd grade, since there are 38 little kiddos in one class!! Three hours of hearing the same 3 stories over and over and over and did I mention over again. It was interesting to observe the range of abilities in one classroom. There were kids that could read maybe 8 or 9 words a minute (with much struggle and stumbling) and others that could read over a hundred words a minute, barely taking a breath. Some of the lower scoring kids are already identified as special ed, but others will be targeted for reading help. It's just sad that some of these kids have slipped through the system without getting help already!! The 5th graders did pretty well, with most students reading their passage with very little problem. I think their stories were pretty simple for their grade level though, compared to what was expected of the 2nd graders. I mean, isn't "important" a pretty large word for 7 year olds? I thought so. Anyways, that was the jest of my day. By 3, I was pretty burnt out and if I never heard those stories again I would be perfectly happy.

My 6th graders missed me today. When I walked back in at the end of the day, a bunch of kids (Girls especially. Boys wouldn't notice if a dinosaur was teaching their class) asked where I was. One girl in particular, Claudia said, "Where were you? I was all alone today!" Now of course, she was far from all alone, since she was in a class of 26 other kids and had a teacher, but it was nice to hear her say that. It was Kendra's birthday (another student) and she actually came and found me when I was testing earlier in the day, and brought me the yummiest, gooiest, tastiest fudge brownie I had ever eaten. Gotta love it when it's a kid's birthday-food is always involved! It sure helped make my day.

The newest update on my 6th grade class getting an aide to replace the one who left is still wishy washy. Apparently one has been hired but pending some paperwork. So it may mean that I cannot do my duties in the resource room next week, because that would leave the 6th grade very short handed. Although I really do love my 6th graders, I don't want the kids in resource to get behind. It's hard to please everyone and I know someone will be at a disadvantage either way. I just feel that the 6th grade can be run smoother without me, than the kids in resource not getting their pull-out time. We'll see what happens.

I think Mason has another tooth breaking in and he's not happy about it. He's sitting on the floor near me, making whiny, fussing noises. I guess that's my signal to get off the damn computer before he goes into the next phase, which is also known as Screaming Bloody Murder In A Pitch Only Dogs Can Truly Interpret Phase. So, that's it for today.

I need good drugs...

Yep, you guessed it: I'm still sick. I had a rough night last night, with my non-Sudafed Sudafed. My throat feels like I swallowed a tumbleweed, attempting to breathe through my nose is pointless and I'm either already going through early menapause or fighting a fever. Yay. It made for a fun birthday, I tell ya. On top of that, the aide that's been out may not be returning at all, so that's great. There's talk that she's moving to Texas asap. THEN, Mason's got pink eye and had to be picked up from daycare. Luckily my husband could go get him since I'd be leaving work high and dry. What a stressful day. I'm glad it's over. Maybe if I go to bed early, I'll have a better day tomorrow...

Apparently you CAN live without breathing...

I knew it was going to happen either now or in the near future. It's inevitable. I'm down with the nasty junk that spreads like wildfire in a classroom--a cold. I suppose it was my turn, since the other two teachers have already had it and most of the kids have at one time or another sneezed, coughed or blown their nose near me. I can't imagine what a typical classroom would look like under a microscopic lense. I bet it's like a crowded mall of bacteria and germs in there. We do our best to keep the nastiness contimination to a minimum by having the students wash their hands regularly and we designate jobs such as cleaning the desks, counters and bookshelves. But I think even if you had a power washer full of Lysol and drenched the room each and every day, you'd still end up with some hardcore viruses that sneak past the radar. It's just the way of the world, or at least the way of a class full of kids. So it shouldn't surprise me, which I guess it doesn't. But even with having a cold (and strep throat, sinus infections and upper respitory infections) multiple times a year each year I have taught, I never get used to it. My face feels like I'm trying to hold back the contents of the Hudson River with a styrafoam wall and I'm taking Sudafed (but not the good Sudafed because I guess enough jerks have tried making crack or whatever drug they snort or smoke or shoot up out of pseudophedrine and it's been taken off the shelves of a lot of stores around here so I can't buy the cold medicine that actually works!!) but it's not helping. I just hope I don't give it to Mason, because there's nothing sadder than a baby suffering with a cold. Well, okay there are sadder things, but as a mother, it ranks pretty high up there to watch your baby try to breathe and get frustrated.

So that's my day. I hope I feel better by tomorrow (by some miracle. Hint hint, God!) so I can function in the classroom. The aide that's been gone the past two school days will be gone at 11, so I cannot miss tomorrow. And on top of that, it'll be my birthday!! I don't want to feel lousy on my birthday! Yuck! Kay, I'm done whining now...

An eventful day

So, today was Mason's first visit to a park. A nearby housing subdivision has a baby playground with infant swings, so we decided it would be fun to see how he does. He really liked the whole event. The swing was still a little too big for him (he looked more like a baby doll in a basket), but he still laughed as the swing whooshed back and forth. We also rode with him down a slide and crawled into the tunnel. Although he won't remember it and didn't really enjoy it to the fullest extent, I think it set the pathway for many park visits to come. A smile comes over my face whenever I imagine him as a toddler, running around on the playground, pretending to be a pirate on the bridge or Superman on the slide or a cowboy on the horse.

Later today, my husband and I went on a little date to celebrate my birthday early, since we both have to work Monday. We saw "War of the Worlds" (very intense but good. That Dakota Fanning is an amazing little child actress, isn't she?) and went to dinner. It was nice to get out as adults. We don't go to the movies much at all anymore, so that was a treat. Most of our movies these days are from our living room, interrupted 5 or 6 times for bottle feedings, diaper changes, baths, relocating Mason to a more entertaining part of the cramped living room, etc. A two hour movie turns into three or four. So, watching a movie in a theater is kinda nice. Seeing consecutive scenes is quite an extravagant event around here.

Anyways, that was my day. Had a pleasant morning with our baby and a nice evening with that man that I sleep next to but hardly spend one on one time with. Hasta la vista.

Yippee, it's Friday!!! :)

Sorry to all you "Princess Lionhead" blog addicts, but yesterday was a long day and I didn't write an entry. So, think of this one as a combination of 2 days. Okay? Okay. So here we go...

Yesterday was a bit stressful to begin with, because the other aide in my classroom didn't show up. No call, no anything. We tried calling home and calling her husband on his cell but she was nowhere to be found. The kids were of course asking where she was, and we didn't want to frighten them (trust me, they are easily spooked. I once had a group of 6th graders in tears because of a lightning storm!! Rain and thunder and they're breaking down, afraid for their lives!! So, you can imagine what an M.I.A. teacher would do to them. They would be inconsolable), so we said she was sick. Later in the day, the office secretary said that the aide wouldn't be in, but we still didn't know why. Needless to say, I did not do my duties in the resource room, because I had to stay and help out with the 6th graders. Although I'm used to having a classroom all to myself and taking care of all the necessary jobs and responsibilities that come with it, this year things are different. There are 3 of us in the room, so the load is divided and significantally lighter than I'm used to. So, I think I did a pretty good job yesterday of taking up the slack. Things went pretty smoothly I would say...well, except for one memorable incident.

We were getting ready to dismiss the kids at the end of the day, and one of the boys said he had a problem. Apparently he had passed gas (which of course had caused a wave of giggles and snorts, especially from the girly girls) and had actually split his pants AND underwear. Yikes!! I didn't know what to do, and neither did the other teacher. We tried to suggest some things, but nothing seemed to be feasible. He was going to the Boys and Girls Club, so he couldn't just get in his mom's car and ride away. He had to WALK with a group of kids with this predicament. After much dillemna, he ended up just carrying his backpack really low on his back and pulling his shirt down as far as it would go. That was a new one for me...

Today, the aide that was missing came in, but didn't stay. She's 5 months pregnant and having marital problems, so she was an emotional disaster. I tell you from experience, being pregnant is enough to keep you on the verge of tears or a verbal takedown of anyone nearby, you certainly don't need personal problems to ignite the flames. I feel for her, but she left me yet again to take on her part of the day. Once again, it went well. And today, no ripped pants. And on Fridays, the kids get out an hour early, so it was a good day.

I feel dumb that I've been parking in the wrong area at work for the past 2 weeks. Ooops. But I'm not a mind reader, and no one told me, so it's not my fault. I guess the fact that there were plenty of empty parking spots every morning and people were parking somewhere else should have been a clue, but ya know, my elevator doesn't always go to the top, I'm not the brightest crayon in the box, I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, you get the idea.

Mason's good and not much to report. He's having problems having a bowel movement, if you really want to know. You want to know all the little details of my day, there ya go. So, it's causing him to be a bit irritable. But he slept 11 hours last night!! He went down around 7:30 or so, because he was really fussy and didn't wake up until 6:30 this morning!! I guess that's what he needed. I'm certainly not complaining.

And that's my day. Happy Friday and I hope you all have a great weekend. Don't forget my birthday is Monday!

A whole new world...

So, after work, my husband and I took Mason to the grocery store. That in itself isn't very interesting, because it happens all the time. But today, we actually put him in the cart without his carseat. My sister-in-law gave us one of those colorful covers that you put over the seat in the cart and it works really well. We strapped him in and he couldn't stop moving his head from side to side. He was just in awe of every little thing he saw. I guess when you're used to only seeing what's on the ceiling and the little bit you can see out of the sides of your carseat, it's a much more interesting world when you can see it all. It's weird to think that there was a time when I found the grocery store interesting and even enthralling. All the colors, shapes, sounds, and moving objects, it's a baby IMAX movie. So that was the thrill of my day.

Oh yeah, and I went to work and stuff, but once again, nothing all that exciting. One boy did tell a group of boys to "shut the hell up". That was fun. He had to go talk to the scary assistant principal.

It's almost Friday...

Nothing interesting happened today.

Seriously. I started this blog so that I could share the little things and fill everyone in on those everyday events, but I can' t think of a darn thing to talk about. (I know, a lot of you are shocked beyond belief that I have NOTHING to say. Well, haha, get it out. I know it's amazing that I am not yammering on, yada yada. Fine then, I'll humor you!)

I guess the only somewhat interesting thing that happened today was that a different girl is in Mason's daycare room now. I knew her from when I worked there (I told you I was crazy, and I am obviously a glutton for punishment!), and we never really got along well. She's a very cold, arrogant, emotional immature girl (I emphasize girl. I think she's like 20 or 21, but acts like totally, like 16. Okay, she doesn't act at all like a Valley Girl, but she is very immature. Stay with me here) who has her own little girl that is about 9 months old. And sometimes I think she looks at her baby as a burden. Well, she was an accident, but that's another story. ANYWAYS, the point is that she makes me feel uneasy about leaving my only son alone with her until the next staff member comes in an hour later. I sure hope things change (as they tend to do, in daycare), because I may not be a picky mother, but I want things done my way! He's on a schedule and I want it to stay that way. It's hard enough to leave your child for 9 hours at a time, you want to know for sure that they're being taken care of as well as possible. I'm sure it's fine and I'm just overanalyzing (which I NEVER do), but it bothers me. Alright, my rant is over.

It rained today. That's what else happened. I worked, but I honestly don't recall a single memorable moment about the day. I'm just tired and I think I'm boring you all right now anyways. So, I'm done. Blah.

6 days until my birthday!!!

I couldn't really think of a creative title for today, so that's what you get. And since my 27th birthday is soon approaching, I thought I'd drop a hint here, just in case anyone in the cyberworld would like to know and most importantly, want to give me a present. Cash is good.

I think I forgot to mention in my first entry that I also work with resource kids in the mornings. It actually started officially today. I'm with 2 groups, one at 2nd grade level and one at 3rd. They're real small groups, which is nice. Much easier to control 4 kids versus 30. I had to switch mental gears though, because it's a total different approach for younger kids and for kids that have mental disabilities. I think I handled it pretty well, considering. I just have to remember that young kids want to tell you about their dog, the flowers growing in their yard, their dad's car, their favorite color and anything else that pops into their minds, even if it's in the middle of something you're saying.

It reminds me to appreciate my 6th graders even more. They may be a bit braindead at times (but I blame that on hormones. I swear the brain shuts down around 11 years old and doesn't begin working again for another 10 years if it begins again at all), but you gotta love 'em. They're such comedians, especially the boys. Today I muttered to myself, "I'm tired," and Dalton (my Jim Carrey in the making) says, "Really? Hi Tired, I'm Dalton." Okay, it's not that funny, but it's one of those moments that you have to smile at him and give him a sarcastic laugh. He lives for that. His jokes aren't laugh-out-loud funny, they're more like smartass remarks, but that's right up my alley. I've always said that I have a 6th grade sense of humor, which makes me perfect for teaching them. If you can't get a laugh out of them, your days are going to seem like one bad standup comedy show after another...

I think Mason's going to be a little chatterbox, when he learns how to form words. Now, his conversations consist of "Baabaa" (which doesn't mean "bottle", so don't be impressed), "Gaagaa" and other variations ending in "aa". Sometimes he'll blabber on for 10 minutes, putting inflections in his voice as if he's actually saying something. Maybe he is. Maybe he's like Stewie from Family Guy and he's plotting our demise..."Mother, I have a present for you. I'll give you a hint, it's in my diaper, and it's not a toaster." Gotta love Stewie. If you don't watch the show, you're missing out.

Okay, I have a headache and Mason's playing the Let's-See-How-Many-Times-I-Can-Pull-Things-Off-The-Desk-Before-Mommy-Has-A-Breakdown Game. So, that's it for today. Happy Monday.

P.S. There was a Weiner Dog race here this weekend!! I wanted to go, and take our little Maxie (our lazy, 15 pound "miniature" dachshund), to show him how active a weiner dog can be!! And you gotta wonder, what exactly did they entice the dogs with? A chance to lay on the couch all day long? A Temper-Pedic doggy mattress? And in our dog's case, perhaps an unlimited trash can to rifle through and chew up Kleenex and other nasty crap at will? Something to ponder...

<------This isn't actually from the race here, but I found this picture and thought it was hilarious! My husband and I have always joked about putting Max in Mason's Snugli, but didn't know people actually do it!! Max would be in heaven, not having to do ALL that walking he does everyday.

My First Attempt

Okay, I've never done this before, so bear with me. I'm a writer at heart, so this kind of thing should come easy to me, but we'll see...

To fill you in, I'm a mother of an oh-so-cute little man who is the ripe age of 7 months (and for those of you who do not have kids, "ripe" here is used as the adjective I would choose to describe the contents of my son's diapers) named Mason, I am a teacher and a wife. Well, I'm a lot of things, but those three titles take up most of my time.

Why start a blog, you ask? I suppose it's because I've had many phone calls and conversations with friends and family members that ask, "so, how's Mason?" or "how are you doing?" and I usually use the automatic "good, fine" answer, because I feel like nothing happens around here. But really, being a mother of an infant, there is never a day that goes by that NOTHING happens. But I have always thought no one would be interested in the silly little details that make up my day. Then I thought, maybe somebody would.

If you are a mother AND a teacher, your life consists entirely of tending to, loving, entertaining and caring for the lives of children. It never ends. Never. When I'm on my lunch break at work (I work in a 6th grade class at a charter school, by the way), I'm thinking about what needs to get done when I get back. When I'm at home and Mason's napping, I'm making his bottles, washing his itty bitty clothes, cleaning up the disaster that occured during his mealtime, or trying to keep the plethora of toys he's already accumulated in one contained area. I love being a mother and as a crazy as it sounds, I love working with kids as a career, specifically the middle school age. Right now you're probably thinking, "Say what? Who in their right mind would actually like working with little hormonal time bombs that are ready to go off at any second, plus try to teach them anything?" And you're right. I'm probably not right in the head. I've always said you have to be a little nuts to teach. If you were right in the mind, the first day of school when you were confronted with your class full of whining, energetic, stubborn balls of attitude, you would jump out the window screaming and run down the street like you were being chased by a mass murderer. I believe it's an unwritten prerequisite to be a teacher. Nevermind the college education, training, tests, certification and paperwork. It's all about being a bit of a nutjob. But that's just my opinion...

So, here we are. It's a Sunday, and I've got my little sweet pea sitting in my lap as I type. He's rather entertained sitting here, because there are endless forms of entertainment on the desk: fun little buttons to push, papers to crinkle and try to eat, a hard desktop that makes a great conga drum and many other items in reach. I suppose I could babyproof the desk, but then he'd be bored, and just like my 6th graders, if he's bored, he acts up.

I just finished my first week at the charter school. I've taught before, but never 6th grade in an elementary setting and never in a charter school. It's actually a pretty decent place to work. Most of the kids have been together since Kindergarten, so they're already comfortable with each other, which fastforwards past the social awkwardness that often occurs the first few days or so of school. Which is a good and bad thing. It means they already have a lot to say to each other, which means they rarely shut up. But it's a good group of kids. And guess what? I get to go to Disneyland with them!! (which further proves my point that I'm insane) They will be the first graduating 6th graders from that school, so it has been decided by the powers that be, that we will take them to Disneyland at the end of the school year, as a celebration. And I'm actually excited about it!! It's only one group (about 30 kids), unlike a middle school setting where I'd have 5 or 6 times that. Plus, being a charter school, the parents are very involved. I'm sure we'll get lots of volunteers. I just hope Mickey Mouse and the gang are ready for us...

Well, Mason's getting grunty and wiggly which is his universal sign for "if you don't put me down for a nap STAT, I will be screaming momentarily." So, off I go to tend to my motherly duties. I shall write more tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed the window to the craziness I call my life...