okay husband...
i get it. i get that you need some me time. i even get that you want to watch the football game(S) all alone, without interruption.
i even get the need to close the door to drown out the noise of two children and a wife busily cooking a (ahem, delicious) dinner for you.
BUT
giving the kids musical instruments, showing the boy how to make a drum, and then going into the bedroom to watch football while your wife cooks dinner, while being seranaded by this....
and then shutting the door to enjoy the game?
not. okay.
(he knows i am kidding, but that really is what happened at our house tonight. the video is a whopping 30 seconds. the singing along with their own music actually lasted closer to 30 minutes.)
i am out. i am going to lay down to get rid of this headache.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
not RIF'd...but still chaos!!!
well, i survived. the RIF, that is.
unfortuantley, one of my friends, colleagues and teammate did not. she taught second grade math.
now i do. i got "transferred" to teach math and science (at my own campus). and i had to move into her classroom, even as she was still moving out. that wasn't awkward or uncomfortable at all.
so here i am, ten weeks into school, and starting over. i guess one positive is that i already know the kids, but i am still moving, unpacking, and learning to teach a new math curriculum (in two days...with no notice!)
things are still a little chaotic as we all adjust. but lets face folks, that 30 million dollars in "saved" salaries...thanks to the feds...that isn't gonna happen. they aren't gonna grant us special waivers because we are incompetent. and NOR SHOULD THEY. so when the next round of layoffs...my guess to the tune of 300 more teachers/instructional coaches/specialists occurs...yours truly may not be so lucky.
in fact, with Christmas past (at that point), a baby due in two months, and a three-month salary for quitting....yours truly might just volunteer to sign those papers!
unfortuantley, one of my friends, colleagues and teammate did not. she taught second grade math.
now i do. i got "transferred" to teach math and science (at my own campus). and i had to move into her classroom, even as she was still moving out. that wasn't awkward or uncomfortable at all.
so here i am, ten weeks into school, and starting over. i guess one positive is that i already know the kids, but i am still moving, unpacking, and learning to teach a new math curriculum (in two days...with no notice!)
things are still a little chaotic as we all adjust. but lets face folks, that 30 million dollars in "saved" salaries...thanks to the feds...that isn't gonna happen. they aren't gonna grant us special waivers because we are incompetent. and NOR SHOULD THEY. so when the next round of layoffs...my guess to the tune of 300 more teachers/instructional coaches/specialists occurs...yours truly may not be so lucky.
in fact, with Christmas past (at that point), a baby due in two months, and a three-month salary for quitting....yours truly might just volunteer to sign those papers!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
happy birthday boys!
both the boys in my life had birthday celebrations this weekend.
on friday night, i actually planned ahead....and with a little help (and some babysitting grandparents) we went out on the town! i took husband to morton's steakhouse ( i know...we even had a small table in the bar on texas-ou weekend!) and to the stars season opener against the blue jackets! dinner was great (if you go...i cannot suggest the mac n'cheese enough!) and the game was a lot of fun. we had some great seats, just to the side of turco....and even though the stars lost, it was still a lot of fun! we thought about staying for the concert after the game, but it was crazy in victory park with all the fans....so we headed home.
saturday was a crazy fun day....we had family and friends over for the boy and husbands party that evening....stretching into night....but it was also a great time. it is so hard for me to believe my little boy will be two this week. (ok, not hard to believe, given his propensity for temper tantrums...but hard to accept.) we had a pinata, and a cake...and later hot wings, dominos and this bizzare dance.....
you just never know what will wind up hapening after (most) of the kids are asleep.
happy birthday daddy and "matman"!the fair
ok...so life isn't all tragic and doom and gloom.
we have been to the state fair of texas twice now in two weeks. daddy and i went all alone on friday, and then the next thursday we took the kids (even the boy) with us in the evening. we had a really good time. and both of the kids were sooooo much better behaved than i could have guessed. it was a great evening, with the execption of the boy's fit about getting his own corny dog (which , really, i can understand...just not afford!)
and yes....we tried some of the new and exciting fair food. we had the standard corny dogs, pizza, lemonade and fried pickles. BUT we also tried the fried grilled cheese sandwhich (it was so good), a fried praline (husband loved it), and waffle balls (strawberries, dipped in chocolate, coated in funnel cake batter and fried, served covered in powedered sugar...on a stick) and they were wonderful. we stayed away from the chicken-fried bacon....but we heard from some who loved it. and others who hated it. certianly not worth five bucks or so to find out!
and yes, that is husband on a mini-nascar ride with the boy can't ride, and he hates to ride alone or with little mama! isn't he a great daddy!!!!Wednesday, October 8, 2008
no news yet
hey
i know there are a lot of people out there pulling for me. pulling for me to keep my job. pulling for me to stay at my school. and just sending good thoughts and prayers my way. i really appreciate it. it helps to know that people care about you, and how you are doing.
there has been no news yet. we went for our sonogram the last time my boss called a meeting. the gist of the meeting is that we won't know anything before oct. 15th, and everything will be said by the 17th. so it stretches on.
BUT the good news is that baby # 3 is a girl...or a boy...hahaha....and it is perfectly healthy, and has everything where it should...so thank God for that. Children are truly a miracle and husband and I are very blessed. i will post when i learn something new, but if i am "quiet" on the blog...its mostly because i am doing everything anyone can think of to keep myself busy, my mind occupied, and my negative thoughts to myself. cause they don't help anyone or anything.
so if i am not back for a week or so, i hope you will forgive me
i know there are a lot of people out there pulling for me. pulling for me to keep my job. pulling for me to stay at my school. and just sending good thoughts and prayers my way. i really appreciate it. it helps to know that people care about you, and how you are doing.
there has been no news yet. we went for our sonogram the last time my boss called a meeting. the gist of the meeting is that we won't know anything before oct. 15th, and everything will be said by the 17th. so it stretches on.
BUT the good news is that baby # 3 is a girl...or a boy...hahaha....and it is perfectly healthy, and has everything where it should...so thank God for that. Children are truly a miracle and husband and I are very blessed. i will post when i learn something new, but if i am "quiet" on the blog...its mostly because i am doing everything anyone can think of to keep myself busy, my mind occupied, and my negative thoughts to myself. cause they don't help anyone or anything.
so if i am not back for a week or so, i hope you will forgive me
Thursday, October 2, 2008
RIF
(cue the scary music!!!)
Yes, its true. DISD has (within the last few hours) approved a large RIF (reduction in force) of teachers and other school-based, contract staff.
So what does this mean? I am not really sure, still. I mean, since this budget shortfall story broke, teachers have been having fits. First it was 64 million short, and it looked like campuses would have to cut budgets by 10%. Then, the shortfall (whoops) was actually 84 million dollars....and the sup. decided one sure way to save was to cut teachers back to "staffing formulas" (in elementary 1:24 and middle/high school 1:125) levels. But the board postponed...twice...and so life contiuned for two weeks, teachers taught, students learned, and of course, people gave credence to EVERY rumor that passed via blog, email, or word-of-mouth! And the teachers (all teachers) were stressed.
So today, it looks likt 650 teachers/counselors, etc. will lose their jobs. And they won't begin to find out who it is until NEXT FRIDAY at the earliest, and THE FRIDAY AFTER at the latest. So we are back in turmoil. I am on the block. I don't know to what degree, because the "plan" that will be followed is vague, and no one has really come forward with it. So I don't know how worried to be. But, then neither does anyone else. And it really dosen't matter.
I am not callous when I say this. I know that every campus in the district WILL be impacted by this decision. I know that some (maybe even me) will lose their jobs, due to another persons incompetence. I know that for those left standing when the dust begins to settle, they have a long road ahead of them. We will have to shift children, re-make classrooms, teach additional subjects, and say goodbye. The children have now had six weeks with us, and they will need to begin their school year again....getting used to new, different teachers....or just getting over saying goodbye.
So really, in the end, I might lose my job, and that is sad. But my students (even if I get to stay) are the real losers in this situation, because it will affect them the most!
Yes, its true. DISD has (within the last few hours) approved a large RIF (reduction in force) of teachers and other school-based, contract staff.
So what does this mean? I am not really sure, still. I mean, since this budget shortfall story broke, teachers have been having fits. First it was 64 million short, and it looked like campuses would have to cut budgets by 10%. Then, the shortfall (whoops) was actually 84 million dollars....and the sup. decided one sure way to save was to cut teachers back to "staffing formulas" (in elementary 1:24 and middle/high school 1:125) levels. But the board postponed...twice...and so life contiuned for two weeks, teachers taught, students learned, and of course, people gave credence to EVERY rumor that passed via blog, email, or word-of-mouth! And the teachers (all teachers) were stressed.
So today, it looks likt 650 teachers/counselors, etc. will lose their jobs. And they won't begin to find out who it is until NEXT FRIDAY at the earliest, and THE FRIDAY AFTER at the latest. So we are back in turmoil. I am on the block. I don't know to what degree, because the "plan" that will be followed is vague, and no one has really come forward with it. So I don't know how worried to be. But, then neither does anyone else. And it really dosen't matter.
I am not callous when I say this. I know that every campus in the district WILL be impacted by this decision. I know that some (maybe even me) will lose their jobs, due to another persons incompetence. I know that for those left standing when the dust begins to settle, they have a long road ahead of them. We will have to shift children, re-make classrooms, teach additional subjects, and say goodbye. The children have now had six weeks with us, and they will need to begin their school year again....getting used to new, different teachers....or just getting over saying goodbye.
So really, in the end, I might lose my job, and that is sad. But my students (even if I get to stay) are the real losers in this situation, because it will affect them the most!
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