So I forget if I mentioned that the new sub caller quit already and we have one now who is filling in temporarily. She seems to prefer the morning calls, and she called again this morning, but the job was from 12-3, so I agreed to go. It wasn't really fun. I had to cover a Spanish class and they were supposed to work independently. The fifth grade class was fine, but the first graders were enough to make me want to just walk out of the room and find a new career. I think I had three or four of them in tears because I wrote their names down, or said the class was horrible, or whatever I did or didn't do.
I was so glad to see them go, although I felt bad for their teacher. I know they got in trouble. One of them actually said to me, "were we good?" WHAT? My salvation was a special ed class they sent me into for the last 45 minutes. They were all well behaved and there were three good paras in the classroom as well. This wasn't at my regular school, which also makes me feel more incompetent. Every school has a slightly different way of doing things.
Megan is still coughing, and she said she feels pressure between her eyes now, so I filled the prescription for the biaxin that we got at the doctor. Hopefully this will knock out the cough. My doctor mom instincts tell me this is not allergies at all, and is a sinus infection from being run down and catching a cold then swimming right through it. She has to do her mandatory six practices with the high school team this week too, so she can't afford to be weak and sickly.
Kevin, meanwhile, is in some flying go-kart somewhere over Kentucky, an hour after he texted me that they couldn't start the plane and they were going to have to jump start it. Someone was outside the window manually rotating the propellers in an effort to get the thing to start. Of course, at that moment the Doll called so now she will worry about it too!
In other news, E is going to a concert tomorrow night, some strangely named group I have never heard of, and then on Friday afternoon she will have a special visitor in the evening. Megan is going to see her friend in the other high school's play across town on Saturday and some of us may accompany her. She has a swim meet on Saturday but won't be going, because she has to make that mandatory practice for the high school team that day. she skipped yesterday because of her sickness and her other practice at the Y.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Weekend Update
Well, I took Megan and E to the premium outlets today. It was a bit of a disappointment for me, the traffic was UNREAL. Unreal. I have never driven in anything like that to just shop. It was like traffic for an event, with backups stretching for miles on all roads that approached the shopping center. Once there, of course there wasn't a spot to be found, so you had to stalk walkers in the parking lot and just be lucky enough to find one, which we were.
The shops themselves were fairly crowded, but not what I would have expected given the number of cars in the lot. Two stores, Ugg and Juicy Couture, actually made shoppers wait on lines just to browse inside the store. I waited on the line for Ugg, and was sorry to find they didn't have the Tasmans that I wanted, so I looked around a little and then left. There were no lines at the register despite the throngs of shoppers. It did look like Juicy had a good line going inside as well as out, but I didn't go into that one :-) Some other stores had some good sales, but it wasn't like I would have hoped, with bargains at every turn. It will be interesting to see how their opening weekend sales compare to their projections. If it's always going to be that much of a hassle to shop there, I'll be happy just to go to the mall and hit Macy's on a sale day.
Yesterday was a wet one. Brian said the test at SJV was a lot easier than the one he took two weeks ago. We'll hear from both of the schools in January, so now it's a waiting game, although we are first waiting to see the report card, which is due to arrive on November 25. Now he is leaning again towards SJV, because he felt the school seemed more modern on the inside, and he can't wait to get his hands on the laptops they use in their program. Afterwards, M & B both had meets, but neither was remarkable. Megan and E went to a party last night, and Kevin, Brian and I tried a new restaurant, CJ Montana's. I don't think we'll be going back there. Most of the staff was friendly enough, but my food, a pricey entree from the specials menu, was drowned in pepper, to the point where I couldn't even taste the food.
Still no work on the horizon for me. I am not going to complain for a day or two, I'll have some time to get myself back together from having had all the steady days of work and business on the weekends, but as a few more days go by, I may become agitated without the prospect of income so close to Christmas time. I guess I'll just have to put in a call and request work if I don't hear anything in a day or two. So we'll see.
In other news, this will be a full week of school, the first in several weeks in NJ, and the last before the Thanksgiving holiday. I'm hoping to get to the gym a time or two, and also to cook some actual nutritious meals. I have been slacking off on that lately. I'm trying to plan some activities, including a trip to Medieval Times at the end of the month; we also have another exchange student party to attend in early December, which should be interesting as some new students have joined the group since last we met.
The shops themselves were fairly crowded, but not what I would have expected given the number of cars in the lot. Two stores, Ugg and Juicy Couture, actually made shoppers wait on lines just to browse inside the store. I waited on the line for Ugg, and was sorry to find they didn't have the Tasmans that I wanted, so I looked around a little and then left. There were no lines at the register despite the throngs of shoppers. It did look like Juicy had a good line going inside as well as out, but I didn't go into that one :-) Some other stores had some good sales, but it wasn't like I would have hoped, with bargains at every turn. It will be interesting to see how their opening weekend sales compare to their projections. If it's always going to be that much of a hassle to shop there, I'll be happy just to go to the mall and hit Macy's on a sale day.
Yesterday was a wet one. Brian said the test at SJV was a lot easier than the one he took two weeks ago. We'll hear from both of the schools in January, so now it's a waiting game, although we are first waiting to see the report card, which is due to arrive on November 25. Now he is leaning again towards SJV, because he felt the school seemed more modern on the inside, and he can't wait to get his hands on the laptops they use in their program. Afterwards, M & B both had meets, but neither was remarkable. Megan and E went to a party last night, and Kevin, Brian and I tried a new restaurant, CJ Montana's. I don't think we'll be going back there. Most of the staff was friendly enough, but my food, a pricey entree from the specials menu, was drowned in pepper, to the point where I couldn't even taste the food.
Still no work on the horizon for me. I am not going to complain for a day or two, I'll have some time to get myself back together from having had all the steady days of work and business on the weekends, but as a few more days go by, I may become agitated without the prospect of income so close to Christmas time. I guess I'll just have to put in a call and request work if I don't hear anything in a day or two. So we'll see.
In other news, this will be a full week of school, the first in several weeks in NJ, and the last before the Thanksgiving holiday. I'm hoping to get to the gym a time or two, and also to cook some actual nutritious meals. I have been slacking off on that lately. I'm trying to plan some activities, including a trip to Medieval Times at the end of the month; we also have another exchange student party to attend in early December, which should be interesting as some new students have joined the group since last we met.
Friday, November 14, 2008
TGIF
So, another week down. Why is it that the longest weeks are always the short weeks? When there's a holiday mid-week, I always anticipate a fast week, but it always seems to drag by. This has just been a long week for some reason. Today I only have to work a half day in the afternoon, standard Friday for me, it seems.
The other night I got a call from yet another sub caller. It seems the replacement for the original has had enough. She quit already. So I finally got 'in' with her where she was calling because she knew I'd go in and cause her no trouble (well, except for the time she didn't put me on the list when I was supposed to be there) and now I don't know what will happen, and with the holidays often being so busy, I don't even know where to call to let them know I want to work! So for now, today is the last day I have lined up. At least I have a good couple of weeks of pay coming in, in time for Christmas shopping.
The big news in town is the opening of a new premium outlet center. E is most excited and keeps begging me to take her. I told her we would go on Sunday, but she's afraid everything will be sold before she gets there. As a joke, this morning in the car I offered to drop her off tomorrow at 11 am before Megan's swim meet and then pick her up at 6, after Brian's. She didn't really laugh. I think it seemed perfectly logical to her. I don't doubt that she could use that time, and was only half-joking, in fact. I am also excited to go. I'm just afraid it's going to be really crowded there this weekend. The economic downturn doesn't seem to have hit our area so much just yet.
Meanwhile, Brian received a postcard with his room assignment for the Catholic Schools Entrance Exam that he is taking tomorrow. Or should I say, 'Brianne' received her card. I'm wavering on this school because I've heard a couple of things that lead me to believe it may not be much different from the public school in terms of cliques and drugs/drinking. A stupid mistake like that one also makes me think they have incompetent staffers. I'll probably run an application over to the smaller school today, just so they will have it on file before he takes the test. I already missed their deadline of November 7, but I don't think it will matter. They take up to 125 freshmen, and I have a feeling they don't usually get that many applicants per year.
Our meeting with his guidance counselor went pretty well, I don't think I posted on that. We told him about how he gets picked on, about the blackout episode, and about the gum in the hood. The counselor was sympathetic and agreed that in Brian's case, a fresh start might do him good. He actually wanted to intervene but we said no, Brian doesn't want to name any names and that wouldn't help him in the long run anyway. We just wanted him to understand why we have all these applications in for the other schools. Yesterday was the last day of the marking period, so grades will be due in a week or two and report cards come out on the 25th. After that, they submit the grades to all the high schools. At that point, we'll have a better idea if Brian actually is improving in school or if it's been a smoke-and-mirrors act up till now.
In other news, Megan and E both have a big chemistry test today and neither one of them studied much. They are both confident, but that worries me. This seems like the type of teacher who lulls them into a false sense of security and then writes a test to trip them up at the last minute. But I guess we will find out soon enough. I have finally gotten rid of those 637 directories, but the post office made a mistake and undercharged, which has resulted in a comedy of errors and another project that won't quite go away. Oh, and I received an email that the Fresh Air Fund was looking for local area volunteers, and I sent an reply and may be taking that on in the spring. It sounds like a fun and good thing to do, but I am nervous about having to go into people's houses alone to interview them as prospective host families. I have little faith in humanity, I guess. I'm afraid.
The other night I got a call from yet another sub caller. It seems the replacement for the original has had enough. She quit already. So I finally got 'in' with her where she was calling because she knew I'd go in and cause her no trouble (well, except for the time she didn't put me on the list when I was supposed to be there) and now I don't know what will happen, and with the holidays often being so busy, I don't even know where to call to let them know I want to work! So for now, today is the last day I have lined up. At least I have a good couple of weeks of pay coming in, in time for Christmas shopping.
The big news in town is the opening of a new premium outlet center. E is most excited and keeps begging me to take her. I told her we would go on Sunday, but she's afraid everything will be sold before she gets there. As a joke, this morning in the car I offered to drop her off tomorrow at 11 am before Megan's swim meet and then pick her up at 6, after Brian's. She didn't really laugh. I think it seemed perfectly logical to her. I don't doubt that she could use that time, and was only half-joking, in fact. I am also excited to go. I'm just afraid it's going to be really crowded there this weekend. The economic downturn doesn't seem to have hit our area so much just yet.
Meanwhile, Brian received a postcard with his room assignment for the Catholic Schools Entrance Exam that he is taking tomorrow. Or should I say, 'Brianne' received her card. I'm wavering on this school because I've heard a couple of things that lead me to believe it may not be much different from the public school in terms of cliques and drugs/drinking. A stupid mistake like that one also makes me think they have incompetent staffers. I'll probably run an application over to the smaller school today, just so they will have it on file before he takes the test. I already missed their deadline of November 7, but I don't think it will matter. They take up to 125 freshmen, and I have a feeling they don't usually get that many applicants per year.
Our meeting with his guidance counselor went pretty well, I don't think I posted on that. We told him about how he gets picked on, about the blackout episode, and about the gum in the hood. The counselor was sympathetic and agreed that in Brian's case, a fresh start might do him good. He actually wanted to intervene but we said no, Brian doesn't want to name any names and that wouldn't help him in the long run anyway. We just wanted him to understand why we have all these applications in for the other schools. Yesterday was the last day of the marking period, so grades will be due in a week or two and report cards come out on the 25th. After that, they submit the grades to all the high schools. At that point, we'll have a better idea if Brian actually is improving in school or if it's been a smoke-and-mirrors act up till now.
In other news, Megan and E both have a big chemistry test today and neither one of them studied much. They are both confident, but that worries me. This seems like the type of teacher who lulls them into a false sense of security and then writes a test to trip them up at the last minute. But I guess we will find out soon enough. I have finally gotten rid of those 637 directories, but the post office made a mistake and undercharged, which has resulted in a comedy of errors and another project that won't quite go away. Oh, and I received an email that the Fresh Air Fund was looking for local area volunteers, and I sent an reply and may be taking that on in the spring. It sounds like a fun and good thing to do, but I am nervous about having to go into people's houses alone to interview them as prospective host families. I have little faith in humanity, I guess. I'm afraid.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Taking a Moment
Another quick update on not much of anything. I managed to finish off my directories today, but now I have to go and pick up the form that I need to mail them, and I have to figure out how and if I'm supposed to sort them. I got all 637 labels and sealers stuck on, working through a throbbing headache. Thankfully, after lunch, more advil and coke, and the eventual completion of the task, the head has improved.
I have now completed my stretch of three days for one teacher, three days for another. Aside from one kid yakking on his desk the first day, and then my leaving a girl in the bathroom and taking the other 22 outside for recess (they told me that they were all there when I got back from lunch, and that the count of 23 included their teacher), I have survived the days. I am off tomorrow, but plan to go in to see the guidance counselor to perhaps get some, er, guidance on the high school front. Then I have a different assignment on Thursday.
Kevin took the girls and Brian to play golf this morning. I'm not so sure E was terribly excited about it, but she went along anyway. Megan has swimming this afternoon and I have a few more errands to run and things to do, so I can get these stupid pink directories mailed out by tomorrow.
In other news, I also have to get my hair color fixed. I put these things off because I hate doing them, and now I have to go again, one week later. I had to get my hair colored on Tuesday and cut on Thursday because I didn't make the appointment in time, but the girl was rushed and either mixed the color wrong or didn't leave it on long enough, and she only did the roots. So I am like a badger, with a lighter stripe right along the part. I also had a one inch border around my hairline from where she left the dye on my head afterwards, and that's still slightly obvious; now it will only become darker tomorrow. But I can't go around looking like a badger any longer.
I have now completed my stretch of three days for one teacher, three days for another. Aside from one kid yakking on his desk the first day, and then my leaving a girl in the bathroom and taking the other 22 outside for recess (they told me that they were all there when I got back from lunch, and that the count of 23 included their teacher), I have survived the days. I am off tomorrow, but plan to go in to see the guidance counselor to perhaps get some, er, guidance on the high school front. Then I have a different assignment on Thursday.
Kevin took the girls and Brian to play golf this morning. I'm not so sure E was terribly excited about it, but she went along anyway. Megan has swimming this afternoon and I have a few more errands to run and things to do, so I can get these stupid pink directories mailed out by tomorrow.
In other news, I also have to get my hair color fixed. I put these things off because I hate doing them, and now I have to go again, one week later. I had to get my hair colored on Tuesday and cut on Thursday because I didn't make the appointment in time, but the girl was rushed and either mixed the color wrong or didn't leave it on long enough, and she only did the roots. So I am like a badger, with a lighter stripe right along the part. I also had a one inch border around my hairline from where she left the dye on my head afterwards, and that's still slightly obvious; now it will only become darker tomorrow. But I can't go around looking like a badger any longer.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Quick Update
Just a very quick entry. Not much going on today, Kevin took Brian out to play golf, Megan went to see the Favorite Boy, and I had to work on my directories for school. I went through and marked off the labels that have to be affixed, and in so doing discovered a multitude of mis-alphabetizements. Also two kids who have different last names than their guardians but I failed to list this in their cases. I guess I should have marked up the labels before having 660 copies of the book printed, but ... sigh. Too late now. Hopefully everyone will be able to find their friends' names anyway! Most people use cell phones these days even in middle school. I hope.
Oh, and I had some help while I was doing the work, too.
Otherwise, one more day off from school, which will be Tuesday, and then we go straight through till Thanksgiving! That will be nearly a full two and half weeks, by the way!
But right now, in other news, Megan is rewriting her essay for English because after she wrote it and I edited it three times, she found out that she had answered the wrong question. Lucky she found out tonight and not tomorrow, but now she is having to do the whole thing over again. I am about to go up and catch the end of Desperate Housewives while Kevin watches the Giants and the Iggles play. I am afraid to look, last time I even talked about it the lead switched from Philadelphia to New York.
Oh, and I had some help while I was doing the work, too.
Otherwise, one more day off from school, which will be Tuesday, and then we go straight through till Thanksgiving! That will be nearly a full two and half weeks, by the way!
But right now, in other news, Megan is rewriting her essay for English because after she wrote it and I edited it three times, she found out that she had answered the wrong question. Lucky she found out tonight and not tomorrow, but now she is having to do the whole thing over again. I am about to go up and catch the end of Desperate Housewives while Kevin watches the Giants and the Iggles play. I am afraid to look, last time I even talked about it the lead switched from Philadelphia to New York.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Long Silence
It's been a few days without an update! My apologies. We've been going through some 'stuff' that I had to deal with, plus, Megan and I have caught colds, I was working, Kevin was off to Europe, and I had to make sure my cars had their oils changed and feathers preened.
Nothing much is going on, given all the days off from school. I had hoped to perhaps get into NYC today, but when I took the Explorer for an oil change yesterday, I was told it needs four new tires. I took it back to the place today that gave me the tires, and they told me that I have more time left. So I will wait a while. If the car keeps sliding around, I'll get new ones. But they put some more air in the tires, and hopefully that will do it. But I had to get the oil changed in the Honda just in case I needed to drive that instead. I have a free oil change coupon book but if you miss the mileage, it's invalid.
Tomorrow is a meet weekend, but Brian is going to skip his to come with me to Philadelphia. Megan can't, of course, she will be in trouble if she does, even though she only swam one event and one 'B' relay at the last dual meet. E is also going to come with us, hopefully happily. I wish the weather forecast would be better. I have to plan an interesting day, maybe I'll just do the constitution center and then Liberty Bell and Independence Hall and head up for lunch.
So, that is about all that's been happening for now. In other news, Brian and E are both at the high school football game, and Megan is at practice. She's not coming with us tomorrow, but then she has a party after swimming tomorrow night. We also have Tuesday off from school, but then that will be it except for Thanksgiving break, which of course comes just before the big Christmas holiday. Where does time go?
Nothing much is going on, given all the days off from school. I had hoped to perhaps get into NYC today, but when I took the Explorer for an oil change yesterday, I was told it needs four new tires. I took it back to the place today that gave me the tires, and they told me that I have more time left. So I will wait a while. If the car keeps sliding around, I'll get new ones. But they put some more air in the tires, and hopefully that will do it. But I had to get the oil changed in the Honda just in case I needed to drive that instead. I have a free oil change coupon book but if you miss the mileage, it's invalid.
Tomorrow is a meet weekend, but Brian is going to skip his to come with me to Philadelphia. Megan can't, of course, she will be in trouble if she does, even though she only swam one event and one 'B' relay at the last dual meet. E is also going to come with us, hopefully happily. I wish the weather forecast would be better. I have to plan an interesting day, maybe I'll just do the constitution center and then Liberty Bell and Independence Hall and head up for lunch.
So, that is about all that's been happening for now. In other news, Brian and E are both at the high school football game, and Megan is at practice. She's not coming with us tomorrow, but then she has a party after swimming tomorrow night. We also have Tuesday off from school, but then that will be it except for Thanksgiving break, which of course comes just before the big Christmas holiday. Where does time go?
Sunday, November 2, 2008
And the meet goes on ...
The meet goes on. Today will be Day 2, with Megan and me heading out to Princeton instead of Kevin and Megan. He will head for Finland after taking Brian to church for his 'pilgrimage meeting' where they will try to determine if there will be a pilgrimage, and if the pilgrimage will be again to Northern England, or if it will be someplace else. Sorry I will miss this. The last one was interesting.
Of course, some of this depends on Brian's final choice of high school. If he chooses one of the Catholic high schools, I'm not sure he'd even do a youth group at church, aside from what he will need to do next year for his confirmation. But that's separate, as we learned last year with Megan, and participation in this group he's in now is not linked to those classes.
Yesterday's test was apparently quite difficult. Although I loved the walk through the neighbor's yard (we were there in about two minutes), he reported that there was so much on the test that he had never seen before, so I am not optimistic. He said this was the case in both math and vocabulary. There is also a form to be filled in by the guidance counselor (in whom I have very little faith) stating whether or not he recommends Brian for that school. In no place does it ask for teacher recommendation. Only guidance. So we'll see how that goes. They also ask if the student has any limitations, and what are they...this makes me very nervous, as it seems to be discrimination under cover. The last sentence says all responses will be kept confidential. So when they find out about the 504, they might use all his weaknesses and reject him based on that; when in fact they just don't want to deal with anyone with any special needs.
The final cause for concern, he told me as we walked Molly at the park, is an essay question which I hadn't been able to prep him for. They had three choices: faith, integrity, or achievement. He chose a seventh grade science project and write about that as an achievement. I'm not so sure this was quite the broad spectrum answer they're looking for. I try to coach him to use the chiari to his advantage in times like these, but he's not usually insightful enough to figure out how to do this on his own. This is his weakest area, and probably the cause of most of the problems he has had in school.
Otherwise, Megan had a good meet yesterday. She came in 6th in her first event, and swam well enough in the other two. Today she has the 500 and she's seeded 4th, but that hardly means anything, especially at this time of year. You don't know who is swimming at what level just yet, this meet is more for practice than major achievement, although of course everyone welcomes a best time at any meet.
In other news, I attended the 'murder mystery' at our church last night with a friend. It was entertaining. They're trying to do more activities to raise funds, but they really should try thinking of them as ways to foster community in the church. Our church can be so boring. It's nothing but hour and a half long Sunday services and a bunch of groups that meet during the week. There is nothing 'fun'; it's all spiritual. But then, perhaps that's the wrong gripe to have with a church? Except that I can't be the only one with the gripe. The murder mystery was supposed to be taking place at a class reunion, the class of 1957. And I would have to say, that was about the average age of most of those in attendance.
Of course, some of this depends on Brian's final choice of high school. If he chooses one of the Catholic high schools, I'm not sure he'd even do a youth group at church, aside from what he will need to do next year for his confirmation. But that's separate, as we learned last year with Megan, and participation in this group he's in now is not linked to those classes.
Yesterday's test was apparently quite difficult. Although I loved the walk through the neighbor's yard (we were there in about two minutes), he reported that there was so much on the test that he had never seen before, so I am not optimistic. He said this was the case in both math and vocabulary. There is also a form to be filled in by the guidance counselor (in whom I have very little faith) stating whether or not he recommends Brian for that school. In no place does it ask for teacher recommendation. Only guidance. So we'll see how that goes. They also ask if the student has any limitations, and what are they...this makes me very nervous, as it seems to be discrimination under cover. The last sentence says all responses will be kept confidential. So when they find out about the 504, they might use all his weaknesses and reject him based on that; when in fact they just don't want to deal with anyone with any special needs.
The final cause for concern, he told me as we walked Molly at the park, is an essay question which I hadn't been able to prep him for. They had three choices: faith, integrity, or achievement. He chose a seventh grade science project and write about that as an achievement. I'm not so sure this was quite the broad spectrum answer they're looking for. I try to coach him to use the chiari to his advantage in times like these, but he's not usually insightful enough to figure out how to do this on his own. This is his weakest area, and probably the cause of most of the problems he has had in school.
Otherwise, Megan had a good meet yesterday. She came in 6th in her first event, and swam well enough in the other two. Today she has the 500 and she's seeded 4th, but that hardly means anything, especially at this time of year. You don't know who is swimming at what level just yet, this meet is more for practice than major achievement, although of course everyone welcomes a best time at any meet.
In other news, I attended the 'murder mystery' at our church last night with a friend. It was entertaining. They're trying to do more activities to raise funds, but they really should try thinking of them as ways to foster community in the church. Our church can be so boring. It's nothing but hour and a half long Sunday services and a bunch of groups that meet during the week. There is nothing 'fun'; it's all spiritual. But then, perhaps that's the wrong gripe to have with a church? Except that I can't be the only one with the gripe. The murder mystery was supposed to be taking place at a class reunion, the class of 1957. And I would have to say, that was about the average age of most of those in attendance.
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