I'm just sayin'...

I'm getting really tired of seeing celebrity moms' bikini-ready bods mere weeks after they've given birth.

Long week, long weekend

Forgive me, my 6 or 7 readers, for not blogging this week. I was doing well just to get to bed by 11:00 each night, so it left little time for blogging.

Besides, Monday and Tuesday I was in a FUNK, so you probably wouldn't have wanted to hear from me anyway. These days were just rough, not for any big reason, but for lots of little ones. On top of that, Amelia did this thing for a couple of days where she cried (yes, cried) when I picked her up from daycare as though I was the last person she wanted to see. While the logical side of me said it was just a phase, the mother part of me was a bit hurt that my daughter wasn't thrilled to see me. Wednesday, however, I was apparently back in her good graces and all has been well with her since (except she is teething with her top teeth and is cranky off and on).

Wednesday was much better overall, and I had a couple of experiences with my students that made me remember how much I really can love what I do. These are experiences that probably would lose their value if I retold them here--you know, those "had to be there" experiences--and I desperately needed them. (However, Jen, you'll appreciate this...my students were reading The Crucible the other day, the student playing Abigail was absent, so this goofy guy with a deep voice said he would read it...and it was the "sweating like a stallion" part. Hilarious!! The students were rolling, and I was, too.)

Amelia also had her 9-month appointment at the doctor Wednesday; she's already 25 pounds and is off the charts in height. She did very well at the appointment, though...I think she cried over her shot (just one this time!) for about 10 seconds. Brave girl!

Yesterday was a half day at school, and teachers had a potluck lunch. Yum!

And now we're to the long weekend, thank goodness. While I do have papers to grade, I fully intend to enjoy some peaceful down time with Darryl and Amelia.

TGIS

Thank goodness it's Saturday.

I'm not going to sugarcoat--this school year has been kicking my rear so far. I told Tim (fellow teacher) yesterday that in many ways it feels like my first year of teaching.

For starters, I have more students than I've ever had. I've been a little, oh, whiny about this, but I guess I need to put on my big-girl pants and accept the fact that my classes aren't going to get any smaller. Unless I can convince a few to drop out of school...but I don't think I'm supposed to do that. :)

Our new principal is also big on consistency between classes, meaning that if two teachers teach the same class, our tests should be the same and they should be given on the same day. Now, I don't think that is a bad thing, but the person who also teaches American Lit (not Tim, someone else) has a tendency to "lolligag," and I'm more of a "let's cover it and move on" kind of teacher, especially for some of the lesser-known works. I spent an hour and a half meeting with him yesterday discussing our Crucible unit and trying to talk him out of some projects that would have eaten up days and days of class time. My goal is to get this guy to the Postmodern period by the end of the year, come hail or high water. (It is hail, isn't it? Not hell? In this case, maybe both.)

I won't even get into the grading. I made a plan at the beginning of the week that I was going to stay after school TWO hours and spend the first hour planning and the last hour grading. That was a great plan until I had a collaboration team meeting one day and a parent meeting the next and then my Crucible meeting yesterday. But after putting in 50 hours at work during the week, I really don't want to take time away from Darryl and Amelia this weekend, but alas, I have a bag full of tests to grade. In short, I'm struggling for that balance of personal life and professional life.

But I like teaching. I can't imagine doing anything else. I'm trying desperately to find a system that works and that doesn't take away from sleep or family time. Any suggestions, fellow English teachers???

I'll end on a happier note. Here are a couple of recent Amelia pics. She is now 9 months old. I can't believe it.

A bit of this n' that

I'm taking a quick break from typing up a test on Native-American and Puritan Literature.

Thrilling stuff, I know.

I love American Lit, but I cannot wait to get out of the pre-Romantic period phase. Students hate to read as it is. Anne Bradstreet is really a tough sell, people. So is Jonathan Edwards. And that's after we've read Native American poems about the voice of the grasshopper.

Here are a few random bits of info:

--I was digging through our big "outdoor" trash can this morning at 5:15 in an effort to rescue an Anne Taylor Loft coupon I realized I accidentally threw away. Fortunately, it was in last night's trash, so I didn't have to plunge head first into the can or anything. It was also fortunate that it was still safe in its plastic shopping bag and didn't fall prey to the gross coffee grounds that surrounded it. My rescue mission was successful, thank goodness. I'd hate to know I picked through those coffee grounds in vain.

Those $25 off purchases of $50 or more coupons are gold, people. Gold. And now, after all that effort, I'm obligated to spend it.

--I was watching the Olympic trampoline jumping competition last night right before I fell asleep. (Seriously, trampoline jumping???? An Olympics-worthy sport??) Y'all, those people were getting some serious air. It was a bit freaky.

--Amelia is apparently Miss Charm at daycare and Miss Crankypants when she gets home. This evening she cheered up, however, when I gave her a graham cracker...her first one. Does that mean she's an emotional eater?

Well, back to typing up the test. Yawn.

I'm still here!

Before I get into my week...did anyone see Michael Phelps win that race last night be 1/100th of a second??? I practically had to pry my eyes open to stay up to watch it, but it was worth it.

You can tell this was the first full week of school for us. I've had no time to blog.

So far, things are going pretty well except for the overwhelming exhaustion that comes with the first full week.

For the most part, I really like my 10th grade honors classes. I have one class of almost all girls, and they are wonderful--focused, smart, sweet. At first, I was concerned they would be all chatty and dramatic, but they're not...at least so far.

My juniors are pretty good. There are three boys I could do without, but I'll just have to make the best of it.

Here are some non-school-related things that went on this week:

--Monday evening, I met my friend Jessica for coffee. She was in town for work, and I haven't seen her in probably almost two years. Since we've seen each other last, she's gotten married, and I've had a baby. It was great to catch up!

--Darryl and I also got to see the proofs of the pics I had made of Amelia a couple of weeks ago. They're too cute. If there's a way to scan a couple of them to put them up here, I'll do that. We won't get our "real" pics probably for a month or so.

--My parents are here this weekend getting their Amelia fix. Darryl is in Florida with his family, and I didn't feel like making a quick trip to Florida this close to the beginning of school, so I invited my parents to come up here. They're going to watch Amelia today while I grade lots of stuff. Isn't it sad that I'm already behind on grading?

Well, I better go. Have a good weekend everyone!!

School, the Olympics, and More

I started this post on Saturday and finished it Sunday night. Oh, well.

This has been an exhausting week, to say the least.

We have a new principal at our school, and he has required a lot from us (the teachers) over the past couple of weeks. I'm not really voicing that as a complaint because, in reality, these are things that we probably should have been made to do years ago, but no one actually made us do them. Regardless, the process has been exhausting, but I'm optimistic that it will pay off.

Thursday, the students returned to school. I have three Pre-AP English 2 classes (10th graders) and three "regular" English 3 classes (juniors). I think I'm going to like my 10th graders--I can tell I have some great personalities in those classes--but I'm not too sure about two of my three junior classes. I definitely have some potential troublemakers. Anyway, two days are behind us now, but those two first days wore me out. The teachers in my lunch group were all joking that we have the scratchy throat that comes with adjusting to talking all day again after a summer break from it.

Friday night, I met my friend Lisa for Mexican food. It was a nice way to end a busy week. I needed a little girl time. Lisa and I used to work together when I took a break from the academic world and worked at a law firm; she's one of those friends I wish I could see more often than I do. My jaws literally ached after dinner from laughing so hard. Definitely a good way to spend the evening.

And on to the Olympics...anybody watching? Why can't the Olympics come on during summer vacation when I have time to watch it? I can get seriously sucked in to it. I Fake Tivoed the Opening Ceremony, but I made it home in time from my dinner with Lisa to see the awesome-cool-freakin'-fantastic lighting of the torch. I hope to watch the rest in bits and pieces this week.

Well, I think there was more to tell, but my mind is drawing a blank. I'm sleepy, but I need to fix bottles, straighten the kitchen, prepare my lunch...the list goes on.

Exhaustion

I haven't blogged lately because there has been too much going on. Too much. This is going to be a fairly short post because bed is looking a bit better than Blogger right now.

On the Amelia front...she has her first tooth. I noticed it Sunday afternoon. (This info is partly in here for when I finally get around to writing the date in her baby book. Baby book updating is so not happening this week.)

School pre-planning has consisted mostly of one meeting after another with little time to work in our rooms. Today was an exception--we pretty much spent all day in our rooms--but the downside was that it was also Open House day, so I was at the school from around eight until six this evening.

Oh, and here's another kicker: three people asked me if I was pregnant this evening. I'm HOPING it was the dress that I was wearing, which had an empire waist. Another teacher who was also wearing an empire-waisted dress was also asked by a parent if she was expecting, too. Still, this was a blow to the ego that I didn't really need this week. (And what happened to that etiquette rule that you NEVER ask a woman if she is pregnant unless you are 100% sure she is???? Hello?)

I'm going to bed now. I've had enough of this day.