Good Tuesday Morning

[pigless in VA]

I am struggling not to feel like this It's a good thing that I like my coworkers, because calling in sick crossed my mind this morning. My life is a war zone on all fronts at the moment. I'm trying to hold onto the thought of the three day week-end ahead, but it is seeming unreachable.

Today's positives: I have a job. The sun appears to be shining. We have a flipped schedule today, so maybe I can be outside for awhile in my double P.E. classes. I don't have to administer the SOL test to Jack today. The teachers have been testing him in order to cover all their bases for when his dad blows his stack because he won't pass. We've learned that when presented with a test, Jack just guesses at the answers. I'm not certain that he understands that test questions even have a right answer. Maybe he does. Either way, no one can seem to get him invested in his own schoolwork. The testing will be over at the end of this week, and then he can simply enjoy being entertaining in class.

I will be looking for the humor today. Oh, that condom is still lying in the parking lot at school.

 

[Scent of Cedar *]

Pigless, I feel badly abut Jack. When I read that he might not be aware there could be a correct answer my heart broke for him a little.

As you said, pigless, after a few more days, it will be a different time. Everything will be different, then.

I hope Jack will pass with flying colors.

Education should not be this stressful for students and families.

***

It is raining, you guys. It began to rain yesterday. I am watching my garden with eagle eyes. The Weed and Feed was in dry form. Now that it's rained, it will liquefy and the plants will take it up.

We will know, soon. The astilbe do not seem to be doing well. Bleeding hearts appear to be fine. Too soon to say on the hostas.

The apple trees are flagrantly in bloom, and the white petals are everywhere in the garden this morning. It's so beautiful, against that thundery looking sky, and there is a little thunder in the background.

This past week, there have been bees in the branches. You could hear them, if you stood close.

My Book Club met last night. It was so good to see everyone after the long Winter.

So, I am feeling fortunate this morning.

I am glad it is raining. We will know soon now, whether the plants are going to be okay.

Cedar

 

[BusynMember]

Piglets, you have a good attitude toward life and your own kids and the difficult ones you likely help so much. When Sonic needed extra help I school, I loved his teacher, but I felt his para actually did most of the work to help him become such a fine, functional young man. I love paras. Eventually Sonic didn't need one...She had brought to the point of being unafraid to do his own work and to ask his mainstream teacher appropriate questions. God love her. She did more for my son than anyone. Although Sonic was pretty easy to help, she had two other very challenged kids along with Sonic and still did an amazing job.

We need a Para Day!!!

I may have gotten a real job, but don't want to jinx it. It's nothing to brag about, but with my disabilities, any job is a reason to celebrate. Then I just have to hope I am up for it. The job I have now is not really a job paid for by the employer. Rather, it is a four year work program for senors 55+ and it runs four years. The program pays
It is free labor for the workplace. I have wanted to be employed normally for a long time. Yet my past job failures of even easy jobs scares me, but I will never stop trying. I have had a few jobs I did very well at.

It may rain today.

From mid Wisconsin, have a fantabulous day all.!!!

 

[TheWalrus]

Going to be a rainy, busy day. I have several errands to run and a cat to get to the vet. It appears he tore his nails without me noticing and now they are infected. He won't eat and wants to just hide. I feel awful as he is my baby.

I keep waking up early early. I wish I could do this all year but only in summer. As soon as some daylight hits the Windows, I am awake. I could sleep my life away in winter. I hate those short, dreary, cold days. I would take the sun all year.

 

[KTMom91]

Good morning, ladies.

It might actually rain here! A noteworthy event here in drought-stricken Central CA. Today is community clean-up day, and the various trucks are already rumbling by, with beeps and flashing lights, scraping up all the junk that's been stacked in the street for two weeks. It's only 6:30 am.

I have a follow up doctor's appointment this morning that will hopefully give me some answers, or at least a direction to go in. After that, it's pedicure time with my mom. Then, the finale of DWTS. They're all good, but I'm hoping for Ginger to win it.

No other news today! Have a terrific Tuesday!

 

[Scent of Cedar *]

Not to keep harping about my garden (which I am). Here are some pics from earlier years. If you look to the left in the first picture, you can see the apple trees when they were little.

They are fully grown trees, now.

Going? If you are reading, this is Sarah.

Cedar

 

[HMBgal]

What an amazing garden, Cedar!! I mean, seriously. And I hope the garden survives the weed n feed.

KTmom, I'm rooting for Nyle, even though he's clearly not the best dancer. I think Ginger is great, but I hope her back does't end up doing her in. Everyone's back stories are amazing this year, and they are all good dancers. I'm a real So You Think You Can Dance fan, and now there's a SYTYCD-Next Generation for younger kids. Those are usually summer shows, I think, so I'm hoping they're coming on soon.

I'm seeing a lot of testing throughout our district, too, and just went through three triennial IEPS (which means a lot of testing, and some of it unnecessary). It's so hard to tease out what the special needs kids can do from they will do. I hate testing, overall, and I keep hoping that all of the high stakes testing that came about because of No Child Left Behind (what a joke) will not be replaced with other testing. It will be up to smarter people than me to figure out truly accurate and equitable ways of testing for academic competency for all kids. I was the type of learner that fit into the public school box and was a good test taker. I sure feel for those that aren't.

Light day for me today, thankfully. Finally got one of those IEPs done, one more to go for that family. And another parent has challenged me on the testing results for her child. She says he can't do what I clearly saw him do, and was witnessed by two other people--his teacher and instructional assistant. She has a lawyer and is bringing him the meeting next week to dispute my report. Whatever. I'm going to stand by my report, but since I didn't videotape it, it's her word against mine. She has been nothing but trouble for every teacher and specialist with whom she has met, so she can have her own way and I'll have to waste my time next year standing around with the this kid delivering adapted PE services which he will refuse to participate in. We can't make him do anything, which he well knows. I've known him for 5 years and it's always been the same. This kind of thing takes me away from kids that really could benefit from my help. I'm the only adapted PE teacher for a large district and I protect my time. And when it's deliberately wasted because of things like this, it really makes me mad. All of us teachers and specialists are being so bullied by these parents and their lawyers and the district doesn't support us at all. We are losing some amazing teachers this year, once again, for exactly this reason.

Yup, time for this school year to end! My daughter is still pregnant, thankfully, although she's scared to death I won't be up to Seattle in time for the birth. If she hangs on and doesn't go early, I'll be there. I have to be otherwise she'll be all alone. Her husband is not interested in being labor support for her, and isn't good at it, as judging by the birth of their son. Nice guy, good provider, great dad, but childbirth just isn't his thing. He's the pacing-in-the-waiting-room kind of guy.

Have a nice day beautiful ladies!

 

[Lil]

Well yesterday was 80 and sunny. Today begins 5 straight days of rain. I'm sitting at my desk watching it get blacker and blacker outside. That's okay...I've been wanting a big thunder booming storm...but I would like it to do it and end...as opposed to going on and on for a week.

Had my yearly physical today. Blood sugar and triglycerides both too high. So...back to paying attention to what I eat, instead of having ice cream every day. Jabber thinks it's got its own food group.

Well, the boomers are starting in earnest...I best start actually working before the power goes out. It might be the way it sounds out there. I think I might raise my blinds so I have a view of the lightening rods on the other buildings around me.

 

[Jabberwockey]

LOL!!! Sorry, I know he's hanging by his feet but between rope placement and the expression on his face and how his arms are, it looks like you have the second gnome hanging by his pecker!!!!!

 

[Scent of Cedar *]

What?!?

I will go check.



Cedar

 

[Scent of Cedar *]

Huh.

You are right, Jabber.

What to do, what to do.... I will never pass that tree again without wondering what that little pervert-gnome is doing.

His expression is very intense.

But Jabber?

I will wonder about him in your name.

:O)

Cedar

 

[Lil]

Only my hubby and his perverted sense of humor....

 

[ksm]

DGS (19) has been here for two days and getting ready to head back to his home town about 200 miles away. I guess two days is enough for him to be around his sisters. Sigh... I really enjoy him. Such a delight, and so appreciative, and helpful. I had mentioned in an earlier post how the first night he was here that older Difficult Child got mad and left the bowling alley. Not sure what happened, I think Difficult Child was in a bad mood from something else and took it out on little sis. All he mentioned was they were both calling each other B-witches.

Older Difficult Child is kind of officially out of the house...wish her things were out of her room!!! I am ready to box up everything and just let her go thru it some place else. And take the stinky fish tank. She did change the water... But left the two gallon jugs in the front lawn. Sigh... Some things never change. KSM

 

[Tanya M]

Today is my Monday. It sure was nice have 4 full days off.
I'm so glad the weather was nice for those days off, now we are supposed to get some rain.


@pigless in VA
I thought this might make you laugh.

 

[Jabberwockey]

Been there done that. Would rather clean the bathroom at Taco Bell than in a convenience store!

I assure you Tanya, there was nothing funny about cleaning feces from drunks off of the wall.

 

[Tanya M]

I assure you Tanya, there was nothing funny about cleaning feces from drunks off of the wall.

I dealt with similar situations at a bar/restaurant I worked at. Not a fun job but at the time was grateful to have even that job.

 

[Jabberwockey]

Not a fun job but at the time was grateful to have even that job.

I was working full time in corrections, part time at a convenience store overnight. I didn't need the job. It sucked. Still, not as bad as cleaning the cell after the inmate "painted" it. He had two color choices, brown and red. Thankfully he went with red.

 

[HMBgal]

Had my yearly physical today. Blood sugar and triglycerides both too high. So...back to paying attention to what I eat, instead of having ice cream every day. Jabber thinks it's got its own food group.

It should be a food group. You mean it isn't? And chocolate. Oh, this is devastating. I ate nothing but twigs and stems for a year and it had zero effect on my high cholesterol. But, my ratio is crazy good, no inflammation (that C-reactive protein test tells the real tale), and it runs in my family, so they aren't treating it with statins or anything.

Okay, the comments about the gnome and his unorthodox tree-climbing made me laugh out loud. In public. With a mouthful of tomato soup. You guys are the best. I didn't see it, but I don't have the wherewithal to climb a tree in that particular manner. It took a man to see it, right?

 

[Jabberwockey]

I didn't see it, but I don't have the wherewithal to climb a tree in that particular manner. It took a man to see it, right?

No man does! To use a language vernacular, it looks like he is dangling by his participle!!

 

[pigless in VA]

There's also a guy who has to suction out the port-o-lets. My friend and I dubbed him the sh![HASHTAG]#sucker[/HASHTAG]. We decided decades ago that that HAD to be the worst job of all.

There are a lot of belly laughs on this thread for sure!

We had fun at P.E. today. We took the kids out to the incredibly soggy baseball field to play a confusing round of kickball. The kids don't really understand the rules and even with 5 adults coaching them along, it was an unmitigated disaster. But it was hilarious! Kids were running the bases when they were supposed to be in the outfield. Kids forgot to run at all. Kids were upset when they got someone out because they thought they were out. Kids watched balls fly past them without moving. Kids kicked balls instead of throwing them. The ball rolled through mudpuddles. One kid ate sand. I got so tickled that I couldn't stop laughing. If only we had videotaped it.