When did we get to Disneyland??

I didn't fall off the face of the earth. I I didn't have a life threatening disease or have traumatic surgery. I didn't go on an exotic vacation or attend a work related convention. I didn't get lost and not find my way home. I did, however, lose a week's worth of time, somewhere between my parents visiting, working, tending to my little dumpling, maintaining my idea of a clean and organized house and running errands. So deal with it.

My head's been on the Tilt-A-Whirl this week and I'm just now being able to slow the ride down and view the scenery for what it is. Work, as always has kept me on my toes. For you dedicated readers, you remember awhile back when there was some grand confusion regarding my position at the school. There was talk of me leaving the resource room and being in the 6th grade all day. When I had confronted the principal about it, she looked at me like I was speaking Slavik. Then yesterday, she says casually, "So you will continue doing the resource room and then after lunch you'll be in the third grade. " WHAT?!?! Needless to say I didn't see that freight train coming. There is some musical classroom action going on at work, and one of the aides in the 4th/5th grade class will be taking a 3rd grade class after next week and will need an aide. And guess who was nominated? Yeah, without my approval or input. Apparently they wanted me in there because I was a strong and experienced teacher. I say ptooey to that! I was outraged when I heard this tidbit of news yesterday, being that I had no warning. I didn't want to leave my 6th graders. I love my 6th graders. They make me crazy and want to bash my head into a wall at times, but regardless, I love them. And I was crushed to think I wouldn't be in there anymore. Plus, what about Disneyland? I was promised a fun-filled day of weaving through a chaotic crowd of strangers with other people's children and I demand that promise be fulfilled!

After much deliberation (and a bit of pouting on my part, I am not ashamed to add), there was a compromise. Monday thru Thursday I will be in the resource room in the mornings and 3rd grade in the afternoons. Then Fridays, I will be in 6th all day. I feel like a human yo-yo, but at least I get to see my teenage basketcases at least once a week. I will be focusing on writing and Language, which is my passion. So I have that going for me. Plus, because there will be a 2 hour block in the middle of Mon-Fri where I am teaching without the lead teacher, I am getting a slight pay raise. That's something. We could use any moola possible at this point. It's a step closer to my husband not having to pull two jobs every day. So, now that I've had some time to reflect and evaluate, I am warming up to the idea of the change. I despise change as you may already know, so it's still hard for me to let go of my current situation. But, I do really like the guy who's gonna be teaching 3rd grade and I'm getting extra money out of the deal. So, I guess I'll survive.

On a side note, my parents' visit went well. My aunt got to meet Mason for the first time, so that was nice. I of course could not go a single visit with them without the criticism or "I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but..."speech, so this visit's topic was the fact that I don't heat up Mason's baby food. I took it out of the kitchen cabinet (gasp!) and fed it to him just like that, as I always have and my dad almost had a coronary. "Shouldn't you heat it up in a pan?" A pan? Yeah, I'm gonna pour a teeny 4 ounce jar of baby food into a huge pan and wait for it to heat up, as Mason screams bloody murder, flailing around in his highchair. I think not. He eat is at room temperature, so I don't see what the problem is. Plus, it elminates the problem of being out somewhere and not having a pan to heat up his food. Whatever. They're from the old school and it's hard for them to see that sometimes there are easier approaches to parenting.

So yeah, we'll see them again next weekend when we go down for a weekend visit and they have a chance to babysit. I love them and love every chance they have to be with Mason, but it still makes me tense. Ah well, you can't pick 'em, eh?