Now I know I couldn't work in an office!

I spent today pushing papers. I had 4 IEP's to write for a meeting on Thursday. I got a sub, a woman I used to work with. She's a sweetheart, but, well, uh, isn't a real go-getter. She brought her guitar. I knew she would so I wrote in the sub plans specific times she could play it. One of my paras came to find me to tell me that she was playing the guitar, not working on dioramas. I told her to just get all the stuff together and start grabbing kids and work on them. The sub will be back on Thursday, so I'll make sure she only has time at the very end of the day to play her guitar.
I took Bindi to the vet yesterday to get a hematoma on her ear drained. She came home in an Elizabethan collar. The poor old girl doesn't see all that well to begin with. Now she's running into doorways and walls. She has no depth perception at all.

Breakthrough at work yesterday!!!!!!!!

I sure wish I could share a picture of my little 4th grade student who decided that she needed to "talk" yesterday. I guess a picture of my classroom is going to have to suffice. This little girl usually points at what she wants. Yesterday she had finally had it with another student who is able to communicate using a Picture Exchange Card System (PECS). She started grabbing at the other girl's cards. So, I got her a set of simple cards of her own. I showed her some emotion cards and asked her how she was feeling. She grabbed the "mad" card. I asked her what she wanted. He took the "tired" and "beanbag chair" cards. I told her she could get in the beanbag after worktime and snacktime. She then grabbed the "Happy" card. I was so excited! I talked with the speech therapist today. We are going to make her a communication board that will fit on her wheelchair tray. She'll be able to take it home and bring it back to school. This is a little girl who we never thought would be able to communicate efficiently. She is nonverbal and in a wheelchair. Now the sky's the limit!

HEEEEEEEERE'S TRIXIE!!!!!!!!

Here's my new puppy, Trixie. She's 17 weeks old and absolutely adorable. My mom is calling with hourly updates on what she's up to. It's pretty funny. I get to go get her in 7 weeks. Hopefully it will go very, very quickly.

I need a revolving door!

The dogs cannot seem to get their potty schedules coordinated. One comes in and the other wants out. I'd love a doggy door, but sometimes the gate gets left open when meter readers come into the yard. I don't dare give Bindi any chance to escape. So, I'm getting my exercise getting up and down off of the couch to put them out and let them in.

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Katie, my mom's yorkie/shih tzu mix

It's a girl. She's a 16 week old Yorkshire Terrier puppy that lives in Florida. She's my mother's yorkie/shih tzu mix's half-sister. I'm so excited. The only part that is tough is that I can't get to Florida to get her until June. TWO MONTHS! It will go by quickly. I need to send my mom a check to pay for her and buy a harness, leash, and all of the trappings. She'll have my mom's one year old mix to play with so she won't get lonely. I'll take Hogan, the lhasapoo, with my when I drive down to Florida so he can meet her off of his turf. That ought to take some of the wind out of his sails. He needs a puppy to play with. Bindi, the dal, is getting really old and rarely plays anymore. He tries to challenge her, but all they end up doing is wagging their tails and barking at each other in the puppy play crouch.

What's that yellow thing in the sky?

It started out as a cold, damp, and drizzly morning. Now that it's late afternoon, the sun has come out. The temps are cooler than normal for the area and they are calling for snow showers/flurries later on this week. At least we had a taste of spring this last weekend.

My students have been awesome this week. They continue to amaze me with their abilities to push past their disabilities to gain skills that many felt they would never achieve. One of my students is moving up to Middle school in the fall. We went to a meeting yesterday. One of the people at the meeting remembered him from Early Childhood. I reminded her that we had been told that he would never have functional speech. She was amazed when I told her that not only does he talk, but he rarely is quiet. This boy can tell stories that are so believable, that one would think his family life is very exciting. Of course his favorite tv show is "Cops". Today I had a boy who can take about 8 steps independently get up and walk all over the classroom, then down to the library and back. WOW!

are all things I should be doing instead of sitting on this couch with my laptop. I should have never bought this thing!

Beautiful day

It was a perfect and beautiful spring day. The temperature got to the mid-60's. It was sunny and breezy. I got errands run and most of the leaves out of the pond. I also found my brown goldfish. It sure has gotten huge over the winter. I'll clean the filter and pump tomorrow and change out the water. My son and I will also put the bridge together that my mom got me for Christmas. That ought to be entertaining! I can't wait to put it out by the pond. I am re-energized, which was really needed. So, tomorrow will be a work in the yard day as well as a laundry day. It's supposed to rain out later in the afternoon/early evening, so I can work on the inside of the house then. I also need to run to the local pet store and see if they have tadpoles. We are learning about the life cycle of frogs and butterflies over the next couple of months. I ordered the butterfly larva today, so should get them in the next couple of weeks. The kids will love it!

First week back at work

Well, I've almost survived my first week back at work after Spring Break. I've been so overwhelmed lately. I did finish my Illinois Alternate Assessments on my students. I have to get them scored online by tomorrow afternoon. I know what I'll be doing before school tomorrow.
Yep, I'll be scoring tests online. I also have to get ready for a meeting next Tuesday. I also have to get a meeting set up before the following Tuesday (the 15th). I have another 2 meetings to schedule before the end of April. I also have the final 2 meetings on May 15th. My head will be spinning by then. I'll deserve my summer vacation.

We only have 8 more Mondays of school. The last Monday will only be a 2 hour session with students. We then have the rest of the day to work on closing down our classrooms. I want to head for Florida the next day. We'll see how things go.

I have a podiatrist appointment tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get a full release to go back to my regular exercising and activities. I need to really work out to speed up the weight loss. I also need to work on toning up. Summer is quickly (I hope) going to be here.