Blessed

It's no lie that I've been going through a rough patch lately, but despite it all, my husband has been by my side 100%.He has been there when the crying won't seem to stop and when I feel like there's nothing more that I can do except for lie on the couch watching tv to drown out the horrible things I've been feeling.Throughout all of this, he has been so supportive and helpful. He even took off of work last week to talk to my doctor about how he can help me get through this. He has been such a blessing to me.

I have been presented with a great opportunity to go to Mexico for a week and nanny for a family that I used to work for. One of the boys that will be there was the little boy that I watched back in 2005-2007. He was, by far, my favorite. I now get the opportunity to watch him, his adorable little sister, and two friends of the family (whom I watched on a different Mexico trip in 2007). My husband has done everything possible to make this trip happen for me. He has made sure that I could get my passport renewed (with my new name) and expedited in time so that I could go on the trip because he knows how much this will mean to me.

He has also gone above and beyond what he should have to do at home just to make life easier for me. He packs up my laptop everyday for work, makes sure my car keys are on the table by my purse, puts the laundry away, does the dishes every night, and makes sure that we are spending time together when things get hectic.

He is amazing and I feel so blessed to have him in my life. I don't know what I've done to deserve him, but I thank God every day for my husband.

Can you tell I teach?

I had a *brief* meeting today with my principal and the middle/high school lead teacher about next year's English curriculum. We have decided to make a few changes in what the middle school grades are using for grammar and I couldn't be more excited!

We are meeting over the period of three weeks in June to discuss next year and I can honestly say I'm looking forward to it. In addition, I will have a Teacher's Guide for the 11th grade American Literature course! This year was difficult trying to teach the 10th grade class without it.

I am so glad to have this year under my belt and am really looking forward to preparing over the summer for next year.

Hard Decisions

I have a hard time saying "no" to people. So many times I find myself wanting please others by going out of my way to do whatever is needed or asked of me to do. Of course, this can be a good thing,  but sometimes, being a people-pleaser is not always the best thing.

I tend to take on too many responsibilities. For some reason I am the "go-to" person on many occasions. I'm guessing that this is because I don't know how to say "no"! The main problem is that once I say yes to something, I don't always enjoy doing it and sometimes realize that it is not the best fit for me.

I am working on being more upfront and honest with people and learning to say no in a way that people hear me and understand.

If you have any suggestions, let me know!

Taking it Back

Way back.


To the times of the Nintendo.

My husband picked up his old Nintendo from his parent's house last weekend and we've been reminiscing by playing all of the old games: Duck Hunt, Mario Bros. (the original), Mega-Man (his game), some weird bubble-game, and Mario 3.

We've really been bonding with the old games and how we used to play them when we were kids. We both loved our Nintendo games and have been having a lot of fun playing all of the games again as adults.It's funny to see how each of us reacts to the different levels and games. My husband is (of course) super calm and is way more subdued. I, on the other hand, get really freaked out at certain levels and will even scream if the ghost gets too close to me. Yes, it freaks me out and my husband laughs at me then wonders if the neighbors are going to call the cops.

I just love the extra time we have been spending together this week. It's been so good for both of us and has been so much fun!

Managing Priorities

 

Photo Source 

Every day I struggle with what to do. Should I do housework? What about all of the extra organizing that needs to be done? What should I make for dinner? Should I pick up one of my crafting hobbies and take some time for myself? What should I do?

It feels like no matter what, there are always things that need to be done. Laundry, dishes, vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom, kitchen, etc. But what needs to be done right now is what I struggle with. Of course I make sure that my apartment is clean and sanitary, but it is not always "picked up" if you know what I mean. 

My husband and I have a very difficult time with the concept of prioritizing. From the time he gets home from work until the time he goes to bed, he is pretty much busy with either his chores, getting things ready for work the next day, or getting ready to go to bed. He doesn't get a lot of down-time. This weekend it really hit us that even though I see him every day, we don't always get time to really spend together without distractions. 

That fact really bothered me us and it got me thinking of ways to make it so that we can spend more time together in the evenings when he gets home.

One of the things I have done over the past couple of days, is to make sure to get most of the dishes out of the way so that there aren't many left after dinner. This saves him time (even though I do an extra chore) and makes it easier to have some extra time that night. 

The one thing that we disagree on is how long it should take to get things done. For example, if I do the dishes, I can have them all washed in 20 minutes or less. My husband, on the other hand, will take upwards of 30-45 or more minutes to do the same amount of work. It seriously takes him 20 minutes at night to brush and floss his teeth...no joke. This, obviously, can be a bit draining when I'm ready and waiting to go to bed and he says, "Honey, I just have to brush my teeth really quickly. I'll be there soon." Ummm, not really, but ok. It also takes him three times longer to shower than I do. Seriously.

With this little problem, we have talked many times about time management and he is often asking for advice. Unfortunately, it hasn't really taken affect yet, but hopefully soon we'll get into a routine that works for both of us and allows us to get things done in a reasonable amount of time.

Today = Fail

Today has felt like a big fail in both my professional and personal life. I am having a terrible time with one of the other middle/high school teachers. Granted, there are only four of us total at our school so the fact that I only have to work with three and one is unwilling to do their part really sucks.

Example #1: My planning time is during homeroom. I have no students to account for and it's my time to get prepared for the day. Every.Single.Day this teacher allows their students to come into my room (which isn't really "my" room since I teach in every room, but it's where my desk is and is in that room). The students are loud, disruptive, and are using the internet for non-school related things. They are the responsibility of the homeroom teacher, but instead, they are in my room doing whatever they darn well please. 


Example #2: Each teacher takes a turn in the high school lab (where the students take courses via DVD) for one period during the day. The students are not to be playing games or on the internet and are only allowed to be doing school-related activities. This one teacher not only allows the students to play games and go on the internet, but actually encourages it by playing games WITH them. Oh, and sometimes this person leaves a few minutes before lunch and the kids are just left hanging out in the room by themselves.

Example #3: I have had a major problem with things coming up missing from my cart and desk for a few months now. I was informed to send an email to the other three teachers to have them make sure that the students are not left in that room unsupervised and to make sure that the students are not going in the desk without permission. Well, lo and behold last week and this week two students were sitting at my desk, in my chair with no teacher in there supervising. Seriously?

Basically, I'm tired of it. I sent out another email today asking the teachers not to send their students over during homeroom (again). And, I put a sign on my desk saying "No students are allowed to sit at this desk. Thank you." It's ridiculous that I would have to put a note there, but I can't handle my stuff being taken anymore.

As for my personal life, things are just crazy. Our apartment is in a constant state of clutter and our laundry card is missing. I have two loads that need to get done, but can't and my husband has no clue where it is either. On top of that, I went to open the windows in the bedroom and saw a huge wasp in between the window and screen...lovely. That's when I noticed that the screen is not the correct size and that there is a one inch gap at the top that allows bugs to get in there. Basically, I can't open the bedroom windows to get air in. Awesome.

Sorry for the rant, but I just can't handle this today. I'm exhausted and need a break, but there's too much to do. Help!

School

With only three weeks left of school, this week has been super crazy! Two of my classes are writing cross-curricular research papers and they will be due right before finals. I have completed all ten of the study guides that my students needed for the final and the rubric for the research paper is ready to go.

If it's one thing I've learned this week it's that teaching research papers is hard work! Since the projects are cross-curricular (meaning they write the paper for content in another subject and they get a grade in English for format, grammar, spelling, etc.) it makes it all the more difficult to coordinate.

One of the teachers I'm working with has been fantastic. I make the copies needed for what we're doing and she makes sure that the class is doing their work so they come to my class prepared. Unfortunately, it's not going as well with the other class. It's just been disorganized and the communication doesn't flow as freely. At this point, I'm really hoping we can get the papers written well and have it done and out of the way.

This year has been such a learning experience. I now have some great ideas for next year and will be adding another grade level to teach! I know that English isn't most people's favorite subjects, but I really enjoy teaching it. It's challenging and has a lot of fun activities that can be done with it.

Now, I can't wait for the summer! I'm planning to work on some things and to have some down time to relax and get things done around the house. Three weeks....only 3 more weeks...

What's Going On?

I've been feeling a little "under the weather" today. I've had a few dizzy spells and have been feeling a little nauseated this afternoon. I've also been a little more moody since this weekend and a little crampy. Normally I would say it's PMS, but I usually don't feel nauseated or dizzy. Oh ya, and I've been having more heartburn...hmmm.

I'm really trying not to jump to conclusions, but it's hard not to....What could this be?

Rant

I am so overwhelmed right now. There's only a few more weeks until the end of the year and it seems like the more I put in effort, the more that situations arise. The end of the year is obviously crazy anyways. Kids are tired of doing work and we are starting our last big project before finals...a research paper. On top of that, the study guides for the finals are due tomorrow and even though I teach three classes live, I get to do five study guides with a literature and grammar portion each....so that pretty much makes it more like ten.

I'm also being mentored now and it will continue through the summer. Hopefully this will be a big help for next year. The current thing we're working on...being more diplomatic. You know, it's when you are trying to say something and you have to say it in a way that will not offend anyone and still get your point across. Ya, that's a really hard one for me. I'm all about being direct and clear, but that's not going to work. I'm doing better with my emails to parents (although I have to think twice as hard on how to properly word it).


There's also a lot going on at home. I've been very up and down since Saturday afternoon so I'm not feeling too well. On top of that, the maintenance team is coming by tomorrow to inspect the heating/cooling system in everyone's apartment. Yep, we're going to have to pick up a few things here and there...and I think it's safe to say there is a fat chance that we're going to the gym tonight with all of the school work that still needs to be done.

I'm tired. Like, really tired and can't take a break. Maybe next week?