Quick Update

I wanted to give a quick update on my last two posts. First, Michael had a great first day of school! He seems to love his teachers and is getting up, ready to start the day. (There was a time I had to drag him out the door to school so this is great!) My start has been good but hectic. There just doesn't seem to be enough time at school when I need it but that is routine for back-to-school time.

The second thing I wanted to update is the health scare I had. The vitamin E and cutting down on caffeine seems to be working. The place is already smaller. Yea! I will write a longer post later but I wanted to write something positive before the whining starts as the school year progresses!

More coming soon.

Time For School!

Tomorrow is the first day of school. Wow! We have had a good summer and I promised a friend to not start looking for a snow day for at least a few months! I wonder if students realize how nervous teachers are standing in front of a classroom of students? The first day is always a little scary because I don't know most of these kids and it makes it really hard when you have three Cody's and two Cindy's in a class AND you have to learn everyone's name. Now, multiply that by five. Yep, I have five classes with anywhere from 22 to 30 students. That's a lot of names to learn! They act offended when I can't tell them their name on the second day. Sorry! There are over 100 of you and 1 of me! I hope it is a good day tomorrow for me and my students.

As for Mr. Michael, he will be in the 5th grade. That just seems impossible! He has a new regular teacher, a new resource teacher and a new assistant. Whew! That's a lot of changes for my autistic child so I hope he has a great day tomorrow. At least he is not doing the "no school" whine that he has done in the past. He went along really well for registration and seemed to like everyone. I will let you know how I first day goes.

Slight Health Scare

I tend to avoid talking about my health. Who wants to hear it?! But I decided to share this with you. A month ago, my left arm brushed against my left breast and it hurt. I touched my breast and and felt a pretty big place, what I will call a mass. (When I say pretty big, I am saying the length of my finger and as wide as two fingers.) It didn't hurt much. I would say that sore is the word. I was lucky because I was already scheduled for my annual mammogram and ob/gyn visit at Murfreesboro Medical Clinic. I told the mammogram tech and she did the mammogram then I was called in for an ultrasound. I was told I would get the results "either today or later." I about screamed! I went upstairs to my wonderful ob/gyn and she called the radiologist and he said everything looked fine. She said, "Let me see what I think." She felt the place and confided that she had a similar place and was seeing a surgeon to get a second opinion. She wanted me to go. She told me she thought it was benign and probably a cyst but we'd just make sure. On Monday, I went to the surgeon and she did an ultrasound and felt the place. She said it was fibrocystic and that I should reduce my caffeine and start taking vitamin E. I will see her again in two months.
Why am I sharing my personal business? Because I wanted to share my disgust with myself that I have not been doing self-exams and we all should be doing that! I wanted to share what my ob/gyn and surgeon told me. Both women said that cancer usually doesn't hurt. Now, that is scary! By the time we feel something, it could be too late. Let's promise ourselves to start checking, to get annual mammograms and to know our bodies. I an thankful that all I need to do is drink less Diet Pepsi and take a pill. We all have known ladies who were not as fortunate. Thank you, Lord, for my good report!

Nice Weekend

This was such a nice, relaxing weekend. We went to Murfreesboro Saturday to try and find Michael some shorts. He is built so funny and it's hard to find clothes. Also, he is at the very end of the kid's sizes so I am having to get some adult clothes. (Now that I think about it, he is about as tall as me!) We went to Target and had success in the men's department for shorts and kids department for shirts. We next went to Sam's Club so I could get my huge pile of Kleenex's for school. (School kids can go through lots of Kleenex in a year!) After I got through looking at some clothes, my guys surprised me with a present. Thanks guys! Last, we went to The Outback where I tried my new favorite thing: Alice Springs Chicken Quesadilla. Oh, me! It is so good! It is a big deal that the three of us can go out to eat. For a long time, Michael just couldn't sit that long but he is more patient and he is content to watch his portable DVD player and wait for his food. I'll need to starve for a few days but it was worth it!
Sunday was nice, too. I love our church family and the song lyrics Sunday were so beautiful and that just puts me in a thankful mood.
I hope all of you had a nice weekend, too.

Getting Ready

I attended in-service Tuesday and Wednesday and it was so nice to see everyone. We had two good days and got a lot accomplished but it is hard to get back in the swing of things. Isn't that awful?! I have been used to sleeping "late." (Late means past 5:30 but never past 7:30!) I do love staying in my pajamas and hanging out with Michael. I wonder if he will be ready for school to start. We never know until the day it starts. I hope he has a good year like last year. His new teacher seems really nice and his resource teacher is such a sweet lady. Positive thoughts help, right? :)
So, let's see what we have accomplished:
-Michael's school supplies bought
-posters put up in my room
-new grammar books unpacked and put on shelves
-table tops cleared and desk cleared
-lesson plans made
I feel a little better. I have not been totally worthless!
I think it will be a good year. We still have a few days of vacation left to enjoy. Yea!

Heavy Heart

As a teacher, you are able to get to know your students pretty well. It is up to the student, however, because some just won't let you in. I was able to get to know three young men in the last several years when I taught them in class. Two of the boys I had twice for different classes. My heart is heavy because all three boys have passed away in recent months. I know none of us are promised tomorrow but it hurts my heart that young men under 25 years of age are gone. Their life was just beginning. So, this is in honor of Robby C. and Colby T. who passed away in automobile accidents and Jeremy B. who died while fighting for our county. Boys, you made me laugh and you made me frustrated at times! All of you were very macho yet always had a twinkle in your eyes. You were loyal to your friends and they love and miss you. It was my honor and privilege to be your teacher.

Catching Up

Let's try this again and see where it goes! Thank you Paige, Ge-Anne and Jane T. for the encouragement.

Let's see. Where were we?! The last time I posted was in April 2010. Since it is July, I guess I need to tell you what's been happening. Not too much really. We finished school and Michael had the best year ever! He had two fabulous teachers and just loved going to school. He will be in 5th grade this year. I just can't believe it! Where does the time go?! I had a great group of seniors and I will miss them. I have seniors again this year so there will never be a dull moment, I'm sure.
We went on vacation in June to St. George Island, Florida again and had a great time. We were worried about the oil but we saw none. We did see a Coast Guard helicopter, men on ATV's from the DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) and a few National Guard members looking for oil but they remained pretty low key. We also saw boom being place in Apalachicola Bay. It is so sad about the coast! I am glad the oil stayed away from us, though.
Here are a few pictures from the trip:

We had pretty weather for two days then Hurricane Alex whipped up clouds, rain and stormy surf for several days. Oh well! It was still a great trip. This is the view from our beach house.


See, it rained and rained! The birds didn't seem to mind!


On St. George Island, it is mandatory lights out at 9 pm so the turtles are not disturbed while they are laying eggs. We saw this turtle nest on the second morning. Volunteers and scientists block off the area so they are not bothered. (It is a HUGE deal if you bother the turtles!) I read last week that the turtle eggs are being moved by Fedex to another area to get ahead of any oil. Cool!

This is the lighthouse you see right when you cross that ridiculously long five-mile bridge to get to the island. The original one was destroyed in a hurricane, I believe, so this one was build in its place. I love this picture!

Michael in his favorite place: underwater! We had a private pool with the beach house and it was wonderful.

Other than vacation, Michael and I have been staying in our pajamas way too late in the morning, making yellow cake with chocolate icing, surfing the Internet and just being worthless! I love summer! I have been working on lesson plans and will have to put up some posters in my room soon but I do love being a teacher for so many reasons and one of them is being able to spend time with my child.

Anyway, this is my update! I will try to keep it updated. Thanks again for the encouragement, ladies!