Bring it On...

I'm hacking horribly from my current chest cold but by golly, I'm ready for flu season thanks to my wonderful local Target pharmacist.  

Hi Ho, Hi Ho...

...it's off to work I go.  

I had my first substitute assignment on Thursday, Oct. 17th.  I was extremely anxious the entire week but as soon as the class began arriving my nerves settled.  They were a very energetic 5th grade class who definitely kept me on my toes (one boy in particular .... 'nuff said) but all in all, I think it was a good day.  

This past week I was scheduled to work on Monday and Friday for two different 3rd grade classrooms. My class on Monday was phenomenal.  Awesome group of kids.  On Tuesday evening I received a phone call from my girlfriend, the first grade teacher for whom I volunteer.  Three days into her maternity leave she needed a sub for her sub who had fallen ill.  So for Wednesday and Thursday, I graduated from Teacher's Helper to Teacher for my little group of first graders. Great kids but when you get 18 six/seven year olds together (some of them on the autistic spectrum), it is quite the experience.  I was literally drop dead exhausted both evenings.  

By Thursday evening my throat was a bit scratchy but I assumed it was from all of the talking I'd done this week.  Friday morning I awoke to an undeniably sore throat (and a tad bit of stuffiness) but felt fine and headed in to my scheduled 3rd grade assignment.  Another awesome group of kids.  (So far I'm finding 3rd grade to be the best age!)  At about noon I was suddenly hit (and I mean SUDDENLY) with a wave of nauseousness, clamminess and shakiness.  I tried my best to shake it off but finally had to call the office to let them know that I needed to go home.  I got home around 1:00 on Friday and have spent the entire time since in bed with a fever/chest cold.  *sigh*

Yesterday my teacher girlfriend informed me that her reading specialist, who comes in for an hour each morning, is now sick with a fever.  Bottom line....those cute little first graders have managed to bring three teachers to their knees in the span of five days!  

So far my upcoming week is free from assignments and I need to keep it that way for at least the first few days.  I have a feeling that the school is going to be very short staffed but they'll have to find some fresh blood.  *wink*

With all of that said, I really, really enjoy subbing.  The hours are great, the staff is great, the students are great (mostly, LOL!) and I really love my time with the kids.  I just hope that my immune system can keep up them.      

I'll leave you with these ...

Made by one of my third grade students on Friday morning.  

and this one, made by the same student later that day...

Birthdays

Randy and I are both October babies.  This year we celebrated our individual birthdays with dinner dates while Meg was at cheer practice. (Sneaky, huh?) His choice of restaurants was The Olive Garden while I opted for Carrabba's Italian Grill.  We had two really nice meals, with uninterrupted adult conversation, and have decided to make dinner dates a much bigger priority in our house.

While at Carrabba's I discovered one of the best cocktails I've had to date (and trust me, I am a very good taste tester *wink*).  It's called a Razzamatini (raspberry martini) and it was absolutely delicious.  I've done some online searches for the recipe and will definitely be do some experimenting at home.

My birthday also brings something that my entire family looks forward to each year...home canned goods from my dear friend Catherine.  Below are her tried and true favorites in my household.  Bread and butter pickles (she is so kind as to send two jars which I share with my dad), peach jam (to die for) and good old fashioned peaches which my daughter has now claimed as her own.  As you can see by the empty jar, she had polished off an entire pint before I could even get the photo taken.  LOL!!!  To quote Meg, "they are better than candy!"

I've dreaded birthdays my entire adult life so it's really nice to have something to look forward to.   Many thanks again, Catherine.

The Results Are In !!!

The local competition was held yesterday.  The girls did AWESOME!

First place in their division!!  Off to the Regionals on Thanksgiving weekend.  

Go Falcons!

My Project for the Week

Meg's cheer squad has a competition against other local squads tomorrow. They've practiced EVERY night this week so it's been a very busy week.  I've spent the last six days making spirit sticks for the girls. As with most projects, things always take longer than you anticipate.

I started off with Christmas garlands (teal from Lowes and white from Walmart) and some Halloween garland (black/silver from The Dollar Tree) and white pvc sprinkler pipes (Home Depot).  I spray painted three 30' lengths of pipes black (Krylon for plastic), taped them off in a spiral using painters tape and and added another coat of Krylon in teal.  Randy then cut the pipes in 16" lengths to make the batons.  I glued 3/4" end caps, spray painted black, to the ends of the pipe using E6000 adhesive.  The poles each then got sprayed with a clear coat to help minimize chipping.  (Krylon)

I cut the garlands into various lengths (20" - 25") and tied the ends off with ribbon from my stash to prevent fraying.  In addition, the white garlands each got 4 jingle bells, two bells attached to each ribbon end.   I tied the three garlands together with strands of white and black grosgrain ribbon using just a basic knot.  Around that knot I tied a silver ribbon with another four jingle bells, two on each end.

Using E9000 adhesive I glued the center knot to the front of the pipe and then wrapped the ribbon around to the back (adhering with glue there as well) and tied the ribbons into a tight knot.

The bottom of the base cap has their initials in white GinX rubons.  (My favorite rubons of all time and yes, I'm still hoarding.)

You can see a portion of the grosgrain ribbon that isn't visible in the first photo here.  Also the blue on the pole is photographing a wonky color.  In actuality, it's a pretty teal color that matches the garland perfectly.

This angle shows the initials at the bottom.

Easy-peasy, right?  Well, yes and no.  There's shopping all over town for inexpensive materials.  There's drying times between paint coats.   There's lots of measuring, cutting and tying.  There's threading ribbon through tiny jingle bell holes...not an easy feat with arthritic thumbs.  Then there's touch ups for paint that leaked under the masking tape.  You get the idea.  Plus.....there's 17 to make! Yeah, even assembly line fashion and a little help from Meg, the project took all week. Meg thinks they're beautiful so it's worth the effort.

So that folks was my week.  Off to another football game.  Go FALCONS!

New "Adventures"

As you all know, I have volunteered in a first grade classroom for several years now and absolutely love it. In addition, this year I am also helping out in the second grade classroom of the little boy I tutored in reading last spring.  I am so happy that his new teacher was receptive to my offer because I feel this overwhelming desire to stay close and be someone he can always count on when needed.

This past August I decided to finally do what I'd been mulling over for quite some time....I applied for a substitute teaching position in our county.  In September I received word that I was chosen to be in their first new group of the year.  On October 1st I attended a mandatory all day workshop and am now "fully credentialed."   

To start, I have decided to limit my positions to our local elementary school where I know most of the staff and am obviously quite comfortable with the daily routines.  I haven't yet worked but do have my first two assignments.  I'll be subbing for Meg's former 5th grade teacher next Thursday and have a week in January lined up for one of the first grade teachers.  Given that they all know me, I have no doubt lots of work will come my way.  (Teachers often call in their own subs.)  It will be up to me to decide how much I want to take on. 

I've always hoped that when I made the return to work it would be for the enjoyment of the job, not necessarily the money.  This position couldn't be more true. (I made more per hour in 1986 than I'm going to receive as a sub!) I'm a bit nervous for this first assignment but am really looking forward to it. 

Thirty years ago the LAST thing in the world I ever wanted to be was a teacher.  Now it's the first thing that came to mind when deciding to ease myself back into the "working" world.  Life certainly is funny.  

 

Random Stuff

Just a quick post.

I photographed this pair of sandhill cranes in our yard this week.  They are so beautiful and so trusting. They didn't even flinch when I got close, even with my little dog on leash.

It's that time of year! --- Pumpkin Spiced Lattes (no whip).

And finally, hubby celebrated a birthday yesterday.  Gotta have chocolate cake!

The junior midget football game is away this weekend.  Our team is undefeated so every game is a BIG game.  Wish them luck!