Monkey See, Monkey Do

You may have noticed I did a little changing up with the blog page. First, I'd like to thank Beth for changing her blog and motivating me to make a few changes of my own. She was right, the banner idea is a good theory, but takes FOREVER to perfect. Thanks for the website in the corner of your page.

Second, I'd like to thank a certain little monkey of my own who inspired the new look. His name is Taylor. He has been in the habit of jumping on our bed lately and singing "Five little monkeys jumping on the bed . . ." I thought the new blog would be perfect for my gang of monkeys. I mean after all, I do have to buy a big bunch of bananas every time I go to the grocery store.

Enjoy the new look and I won't say a word if you are monkeying around at work.

So, you wanna be a teacher?

I teach students who are "at-risk." This means that these students may have several things batting against them like being a teenage mom, only having one parent or no parents for that matter, living in poverty, or maybe even homeless. While I was working on my Master's, I told one of my fellow classmates(who is a teacher) that I teach at-risk students. She guffawed and told me "all students are at-risk." I'm pretty sure she never had a student come to school the next day who had been shot the day before because he was just walking by. I also bet she never had a student come to school to turn in a research paper even though her little brother had just died due to gang violence. I highly doubt that she has had to come up with six weeks of homework for 3 teenage moms who were on maternity leave. Did I happen to mention that she worked in one of the upper class districts in the area? I was very put off by her attitude towards my job and quite frankly I didn't really spend that much time talking with her as the class went on. My students might fit into her general category of "all students," but it takes some dedication and definite commitment to be a student where I work. The school they attend is pretty much their last chance to prove themselves to all of those who have given up on them. They definitely would benefit from prayer.
I will admit that I had my doubts about my job when I signed my contract. I thought that these kids wouldn't be that much "at-risk." I mean, after all, I work in the Northland. Nothing that bad happens around here, does it? Apparently, it does. Last year was probably one of the toughest years for some of my students. Several of their friends died by accident. By accident, I mean too much of an illegal substance was involved. I'm hoping this year doesn't claim any more.
I've been working with high school students for 2 years now. This has been a very dramatic change from my elementary days, but every once in awhile my days in elementary school reappear as needed-not so much the academics, but the attitude. There is one student in particular that keeps me on my toes. He came to the center due to suspension because he did not get along with a teacher at all. He has been enrolled since the first day the center opened and this is the year he graduates. He can have his up days and his down days, but I make sure that I say something to him everyday. He is also one of the brightest students that I have(along with the most talkative). He is pretty much the reason why I am still teaching at the center. I don't know why I'm so concerned for this student, but for some reason I don't feel that I can stop teaching high school until I see this kid succeed.
So, yes, I may complain about my job, but I like what I do. The hours are good and the vacation time is better than most. Of course, I would really like my job a whole lot better if I could sit at home and teach from my living room through the TV or computer. Any suggestions?

One Last Hurrah

So, this is it. My last summer night for the year. What better way to go than pack it with a bunch of stuff to do. It all started Friday when Taylor, Josiah and I packed up our swimming gear and headed to the Springs with Aunt Shan and the boys. Taylor had a blast!

He's a social little bugger. Here he is "making friends" with an older woman. I'm definitely going to have my hands full!

This was his favorite thing to do. Go up and down the "marshmallow slide" as he called it. Does this look anything like a marshmallow to you? Good, it's not just me. He probably got that from the same place he named fruit juice "pop goes the weasel juice" and honey buns "boo boo buns." Did I tell you he was creative?

Josiah had so much fun jumping and splashing that he had to take a breather. Yes, even with the excitement of the water park, he still fell asleep! Definitely following in his grandad's footsteps on that one

So, Josiah and Taylor had so much fun that Taylor asked Brad if he wanted to go to the water park the next day. He asked so nicely and sweetly that Brad gave in. So, the next day we went to the Springs in the evening. (Much cooler then and a little bit cheaper, by the way). Taylor got to ride on the "tubas" with Grandma Dee and Grandad. For those of you following along, that would be inner tubes in the lazy river. He also was brave and went down the orange "ice cream cone" slide.

Since Taylor got to the play with Treven the day before, Josiah thought it would be fun to bring a friend his own size. Cousin Max and Josiah kept Dee and Grandad occupied while Taylor checked in and Brad and I went down one of the big water slides. (You might be surprised to know that Grandma Dee went down the big waterslide, too . . .even after Brad teased her).

Finally, on Sunday, we had one last summer time family reunion to mark off the list. So, we packed in the car and took the two and a half hour drive to Centralia, Kansas aka Munchkinland thanks to my grandma and her sisters. The tallest one of that crew is five foot flat.

We played. . .

We ate . . . .

and then we came home to kiss my summer goodbye. I can say it has been a very relaxing summer for me. I didn't have any classes to write papers for or a little boy to potty train. I didn't even have to wait out the sweltering heat to pop out a kid this summer. I really enjoyed my summer of nothing.

There are a few things I won't miss about this summer: watching Imagination Movers every morning, being asked over and over and over again to watch Horton EVERYDAY. Listening to Taylor have a meltdown when he doesn't get to watch Horton everday. Saving the lamp from Josiah as he tries to continually make it fall. (Only fell once and broke one light bulb all summer long.) Removing Josiah from pulling the Wii off the coffee table. Looking for Josiah in various places when I don't put the baby gate up. Those are the things that I won't miss.

Of course there are two things I will miss from this summer: Taylor and Josiah. Things like walking to the park down the street at 10 in the morning. Going to the sprayground in Liberty with Shannon and her boys just about once every week. Watching Josiah learn how to drink from a cup and kissing the bottle goodbye. Watching Josiah pull up and cruise around everything, but just not wanting to take those first steps.(He better do that when he's home with us and if Tracey sees it first, she promises not to say anything.) It was definitely a fun and eventful summer, but alas just like Taylor had to say goodbye to the ocean . . .

I have to say goodbye to summer. So, goodbye, summer. I'll see you in 186 contract days(or sooner. The jury is still out on that).

Confessions of a shoe-aholic

Ok, so I have a confession to make. I love shoes. Now, I'm not as bad as someone I know that has 2 of the exact same pair of shoes(and you know who you are), but I do enjoy shoes. I especially love fun shoes. My closet is full of "fun shoes." I have a pair of leopard print shoes, shoes with butterflies on them, sandals with a cut out of a star that I accosted from a friend. She said she kept tripping when she wore them. Too bad for her, more fun shoes for me. Someday I'll wear them all summer and get a really funky tan line. So, needless to say, I like unique kinds of shoes which leads me to my indulgence I'm about to let you in on, worthy reader.
When I was in Florida, the girls went to this little downtown boutique store in Port St. Joe. They had all kinds of stuff, but what really caught my eye were the "Switchflops." Flip flops that you can change the band on. They came in brown, black, and cork and there was a selection of different bands to choose from. They were a little pricey and didn't quite fit the vacation budget, so I let them stay at that little boutique in Florida. Poor shoes, they needed a home. They would have been great for my "no sock summer" policy I partake in every year.
Well, vacation came to an end and I was perusing the Internet while the boys were napping and I just happened to type in switchflops in the search engine. Guess what? Apparently, there is a whole site deveoted to these cute little shoes(switchflops). And what's more, there was a link that said locations. So, I click on locations, thinking there is no way that these switchflops will be anywhere in the Northland anywhere. They just had to be for Floridians since flip flops are pretty much required to wear when you live by the beach, right?It's Florida law or something. So, I type in my zip code and lo and behold there IS a store in Liberty that is supposed to carry these unique shoes.
I'm still not convinced that the switchflops are at the store in Liberty(rhymes with Vette's Wallshark, by the way. Just changing the name to protect the innocent), so I pack Taylor and Josiah up in the car and drive the 15 minutes to this store. I mean, we were going to Target anyway and that other store was on the way. Sheesh, its even in the same parking lot for goodness sakes. I walk in the store expecting to be let down. Summer is almost over around here, so there's no reason to have flip flops. Oh, but there is. I'm pretty sure I heard the Hallelujah chorus when I turned to my left and saw the display of the cute little shoes I found in Florida. They had way more selection than that boutique. So, I got some. I had to,really, the shoe style's name was Taylor. So, now I have black switchflops with a removable black band. I bought a purple band, too. (I'll probably go back and buy more bands later . . . maybe even a different color shoe. Can you tell I'm a shoe-aholic?) And of course, I probably spent a little too much for the shoe, but it is my "going back to work in a week" present to myself. And quite frankly, I didn't get just one pair of shoes, I got two! I won't tell you how much I spent, because well, my husband reads this and I don't want him keeling over at work because I spent more than 10 dollars on a pair of flip flops. Besides, I bought him something at Target that he wanted, so there. I'm redeemed . . . maybe? I love you, Brad.
If the shoe fits, look for it online, drive to the location it says and wear it!