Seein' Spots
Life as a special ed teacher, dalmatian lover, and single mom is put into perspective.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Summer, 2011
I took a 1 credit hour course this week. That puts me at a Masters+10! Hopefully I'll be able to move over a lane in the fall. It depends on contract negotiations, though, so I'm not counting on the extra money on each paycheck. I need to take more coursework in the fall. I want to move over to the top of the payscale as soon as possible as the last 3 years count toward retirement.
The rest of the summer promises to be busy. I'm going to Springfield to work on the Illinois Alternate Assessment next week. I'm also in the middle of refinancing my house. I'd love to be able to close next week so I can put that behind me. This weekend my mom and I will be babysitting my great nephew and great niece. Sam is 9 months old and Delaney is 5 1/2 months old. It's going to be a lot of fun. Sam has started walking early, just like his daddy. Delaney is just plain sweet and cuddly. They are total opposites!
Hopefully I can get my roof repaired or redone before we go to the Dells the first weekend in August. After that I will be taking my mom back to Florida. This will be a quick trip. I'll stay there for a couple of days, but will have to return to set up my classroom.
I'm changing grade levels this year. Instead of teaching 3rd through5th graders with severe disabilities, I will be teaching 2nd and 3rd graders. I will also be moving my classroom to the 2nd/3rd grade pod. It will certainly be different.
I'll try and update as things change or happen.
Kathy
Monday, December 27, 2010
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Moving forward
I've changed the picture on my blog. It's time to move forward. It's hard to see my Bindi's picture when I log in. I really miss her. If you've ever been owned by a dalmatian you will understand that the incredible silence and lack of mayhem takes awhile to get used to.
I am done with my first semester of grad school. I think I did well. Christmas was wonderful. My mom came up from Florida shortly before Thanksgiving and is still here. She'll probably head back to Florida on Monday. I think she needs to thaw out. We've had a record snowy December with near record low temperatures. While she was here we were really busy. She helped my son dig out his "man cave" in the basement. We went to my nephew's wedding. We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas together for the first time in 23 years. She's at my sister's house right now. We are going to have a second family Christmas celebration on Saturday, so I'll get to see her one more time. The good news is that another nephew is getting married in March, so she'll be back!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Bindi
My 15 year old dal, Bindi, has crossed the rainbow bridge. I took her to the vet yesterday as she was vomiting a lot. She was happy and doing well otherwise. She had an x-ray of her stomach which was inconclusive. We started her on antibiotics and stomach meds. She got worse and worse throughout the day. My son brought home painkillers for her when he came home from working at the vet clinic. They barely touched the pain. She moaned and groaned all day and most of the night last night. So, the kindest thing we could do was have her put to sleep. Luckily, even though the clinic was closed, the vet was there this morning. We got to take her in with no other people around and spend some quiet time with her. I feel sick to my stomach, but I know she's playing with her brother, Murphy, who met her at the bridge and helped her cross.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Where has the last month gone?
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
I'M A GRADUATE STUDENT!!!!!!!!!
School starts tomorrow. We have 2 institute days, then students start on Monday. I've moved to a new classroom, so I get to be a bit more creative with the set up. My paras will help me with that tomorrow. I'm on my own on Friday. I've got most of my paperwork set up. I need to make materials for the first couple of weeks. I guess that's what I'll do on Friday.