Friday Night Leftovers

It's been a rough couple of weeks, so rough, in fact, that it is hard to not feel like we have some sort of black cloud of doom hanging over us...

Somewhere around Memorial Day I got sick. Actually, a number of us at work got sick. Unfortunately, while everyone else quickly kicked their illnesses, I only got sicker. And sicker. My sore throat morphed into a sinus infection (which the doctor refused to give me meds for until I got much worse), which in turn turned into an ear infection, which then led to a ruptured eardrum. In the middle of all of that, I was diagnosed with a UTI, because hell, why not go all out, right? Sigh.

Two antibiotics later, and I am still getting over it all. My energy levels are still not back up to where they should be.

It has been brutal.

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It was at about that time when the boys' school sent home notices from the county health department that they had been exposed to Pertussis. Now, yes, they are fully vaccinated. Still, I don't exactly want to test their immunity by having them (or us for that matter) directly exposed.

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Is.aac also got a notice from the un.employ.ment office that he had been overpaid back in January of 2014. He was required to pay back $350 immediately or go to a hearing. It's a convoluted story that would take forever to explain, but in the end he was not overpaid. Still he lost the hearing and he has to appeal the finding. Now we are fighting to contact the un.employ.ment office. It has proven to be nearly impossible because it looks like they don't actually want to talk to anyone. (Seriously, they work 4 hours a day, have an automated phone system that reroutes you over and over again without any option to actually speak to someone or leave a message...it's awful.) We will see where this goes. It feels a lot like they are trying to break us so we just pay them the money to stop the headache. I hate bureaucracy.

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We had to call the electric company because we kept losing power to half of our house. Apparently that happens when the connection that leads from the power lines at the pole to your house get corroded. It took them 10 days to make it to our house after repeated calls. It took the guy 10 minutes to fix the issue. While we were waiting, our television quit after one of the outages. Awesome.

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We had a series of issues with the boys' teacher. She has repeatedly angered me in how she treats Sh.awn. The latest examples included her giving out "yearbooks" she created to the class. It had all of the student ID pictures, as well as a few pages of snapshots from the things the class did throughout the year. Sh.awn wasn't in a single picture outside of the ID picture. To top it off, she wrote a note in Ja.son's yearbook but didn't in Sh.awn's. I asked Jay if he asked her to write in his book. He said no, she just came over on her own and wrote in it.

I can't tell you how angry I am. I am so glad we are done with her.

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Is.aac and Jack dropped my laptop and broke the heads on the hard drive. The hard drive is now unreadable without replacing the head, and that gets pricey. And no, I hadn't yet backed everything up. And yes, I will have to pay (probably a lot) to have the data recovered. This is after having to replace the hard drive. Awesome again.

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Sh.awn lost another therapist. Sigh. He is not good with change, and I fear there are going to be some transition pains. Here's hoping the new one is decent and the transition goes smoothly.

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All of the above is on top of some stressful things happening at work. I am hoping with the onset of summer vacation that things will get less crazy and stressful. Fingers crossed.

Stop by Danifred's for more Leftovers. I'd link to her blog, but I lost all my bookmarks when my hard drive died and I am not feeling the whole searching thing right now.

Speaking of dead hard drive, I need all your blog addresses again. :( You could leave them in a comment and I won't publish them if you would rather me not...

This and That

The end of the school year is upon us. Like every other year, I am under intense stress with the unshakable feeling of having way to much to do yet not enough time to do it.

I am dragging myself toward the finish line, Just 15 more days. I hope I can make it.

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I went on a field trip with my boys this week. Watching my boys' teacher AVOID her eager and fun first grade students while we were at the zoo for the day truly shocked me. It was an eye-opening experience that spotlighted that she is really just not very good with kids at all. This revelation is simultaneously a relief and a major disappointment.

Now I know the issues we've had this year had less to do about my kid and more to do with her struggles as a teacher/person in general.

Less Than 7 Weeks

I get out of school in less than 7 weeks.

More importantly, the boys get out of school in less than 7 weeks.

I am back to being frustrated with their school. Sigh.

I have yet another IEP meeting on Monday. It's looking like I get to go back and fight. Again. Over the same damn thing.

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This week was Teacher Appreciation Week. The boys made cute little vases and candy flowers to take for theirs. I have to say that it was a challenge for me to be excited to make a gift for the boys to take to their teacher this year.

I am less than fond of her.

Like not fond at all.

There have been a things popping up all year long...and I have the strong feeling she doesn't like one of my kids. You can feel any way you want about the students in your class. Sometimes, there are even kids who are challenging and not your favorite, I suppose.

But you NEVER let them know you don't care for them. And you better make sure the parents don't get that sense. In our case, all of us know. It's obvious she likes one boy; it's even more obvious she doesn't like the other. Sigh.

Anyway, I wouldn't have sent anything to her and feigned forgetfulness, but there are some support teachers who I do like and wanted to acknowledge. So I sucked it up.

Let me tell you, finishing up gifts for a teacher I don't care for while knowing that my own students will likely not even acknowledge T.A. Day for me was like pouring salt on the wound.

The boys were happy. The teacher responded in an appropriate manner. The support teachers were thrilled and made sure we knew it. In the end it was okay.

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We have started our testing at my school. We have blocked four weeks of testing for students. They are going to take somewhere around 10 hours of tests (they are untimed) on the computers and approximately two hours of the standard bubble in tests.

It is ridiculous.

The worst part is that I'll only have a few weeks after testing to finish all that I have to teach. There is not enough time! I always feel the crunch for time at the end of the year, but this time it feels even worse than it has in the past.

~~~

Less than 7 weeks left.

Bring it.

I'm done.

#Microblog Mondays - Work Woes

My room at work is near the center of the school at the end of one of the main hallways. Most teachers pass by my room to get to the office or the lunch room, and nearly half generally pass my room to get to their cars in the parking lot.

What this means is that a lot of people end up "stopping by" my room to chat.

This on the surface shouldn't be that big of a deal. In theory they'd stop in, say hello, and then head on their way. Unfortunately, what happens in reality is that people stop in, unload all that troubles them, and then (far too long later) merrily go on their way.

Sigh.

I know there are worse work woes to have. I mean, it should be kind of nice that people are so friendly. Hey, they like me! And I guess that it is nice to an extent.

But, it occurred to me today after the eighth--YES EIGHTH--person popped in to chat that this can't go on any longer. Not only am I too nice to do my work while they talk, although I was less interested in being nice as the afternoon worn on, I've decided that I need to not take on the added weight of other people's problems.

I do not want to know if so and so made them angry.

I do not want to know about students who didn't do what they should have.

I definitely do not need to know every nuance of their relationship with their husbands.

I do not need anything more than my own life to worry about nor do I need to inherit extra frustration or stress. I have enough of all of that without them adding to my everyday load.

Let's face it, I barely have enough time for my own life crap; I don't need to deal with theirs.

Besides, I am not the school's personal therapist.

Sheesh.

Now I just need to figure out how to get the message out...I've found working in a room with the lights off sounds a whole lot more appealing than it is in practice.

Anyone else ever been in a similar position? Any tips for how to handle this without making work miserable?

~~~

Stop by Mel's for more Microblog Monday posts.

Weekend Leftovers

Today was my birthday. I got to sleep in a little, and there was a huge chunk of time in which I was sent to my room, ALONE, so they could decorate the house. It was wonderful! :)

Is.aac also took the boys to the store to pick out gifts for me. lol. Sh.awn chose a Goofy figure. Jack selected a harmonica for me. Ja.son decided I was in desperate need of two construction cars. They also made me a picture frame.

We had cake and ice cream and spent some time with my mom, too. It was a nice day all around.

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Yesterday my 92 year old grandmother in AZ called (here in CA) and told my mom she wasn't feeling well. Long story short, my mom ended up calling one of her neighbors who in turn called 911. Grandma was taken to the ER where she has been since. Some of the scarier possibilities have been ruled out, but they weren't exactly sure what was going on last I heard. She is on oxygen at the moment because she was SATting low. We're worried about her because let's face it--she's 92 and lives alone.

My mom is heading out there for the next ten days to be with her.

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We got these...

How cute are my boys in their spring pictures? :)

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Decided to potty train Jack over this break. He's four. It's time. (Mostly because he has his 4 year appointment on the 23rd, and I was dreading having to say he wasn't trained yet. Sigh) He's proving to be a tough case.

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I think I mentioned some time back that Sh.awn was diagnosed with AD.HD. We started him on a very low dose of medication, and he was doing so well...until recently. Ugh. He We all were really struggling.

We ended up increasing his dosage of medication. It has made a WORLD of difference. I am so relieved that we were able to help him return to the sweet boy we know and love. The best part is that he has been so much happier since we've changed his dosage.

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This is the last weekend of my spring break. I am not looking forward to going back and starting all of our S..B.C.C testing. My eighth graders are looking at somewhere around 14 hours of testing over a ten day period. Sigh. It all just frustrates me.

~~~

Stop by Danifred's for more Leftovers!

8 Years

8 years ago today I started blogging. I was just starting my third IVF, the one that brought me the boys.

It seems like a million years ago.

It seems like it was yesterday.

It is cliche to say so much has happened.

So much has changed--some for the bad.

So much more for the good.

The me of 8 years ago was so hopeful and excited. She was ready to conquer the world and have her dreams finally realized.

I'm a bit lot more jaded now, a bit lot more leery of the twists and turns of life. What wasn't battered by infertility was beaten by everything that has happened since.

I'm definitely a lot more tired.

But I've survived.

And I do think the hope and excitement is there.

They might look a little different than they did 8 years ago. I would say pretty much everything about me is different than it was back then. But if I push away the rough edges I can see them shining in the background, waiting to work their charm.

I am thankful for that.

Oh these 8 years.

I can't think of a way to end this post, probably because the story isn't over. I guess I'll end this by saying thank you.

For being here.

For reading and commenting.

And for your support during this journey.

Good Things

Jen at Here We Go Again had a post about things she loved. She asked her readers to post in the comment section about things they love, too. I think this is such a fun idea and a great way to learn about new things I might like to try, so I thought I'd do a similar post here. (I hope you don't mind, Jen!)

These are the things I left in the comment section of Jen's post:

• The first is a different type of snap hair clip that actually stays in my fine hair. Rather than the usual one prong, this clip has three prongs. My Target sells them in black, which is how I found them. I love these things.
• The second thing is something I got to solve an issue my boys have drinking from a plastic bottle (water bottle, etc) whenever we are out and about. Essentially, this is an adapter system that fits on most juice/water bottles that converts the opening of the bottles to noless-spill drinks. Plus, the adapters are small enough for me to keep in my bag without taking much room. We've used them a lot. :) 

Those two things immediately popped into my head that day, but I've been thinking about more things I love ever since I read her post. 

• The CoverBot External Battery - We are a techy family, and Is.aac and I use our phones a lot to take pictures, text each other when we divide and conquer or crew, and yes, sometimes to distract our children when we have various appointments to attend. This little gadget has saved us many a time when we need a quick recharge while out. I love that it has two USB ports and can easily charge the phones or  iPads (or LeapPads) if needed. I loved these things so much that I gave a bunch of them out as Christmas gifts two years ago!

• 4 Port USB Wall Charger - One outlet. 4 things charged at once. Love.

• Eggsact Egg Timer - Stick this thing in the pot with the eggs when you start them cooking and leave. Take them off the stove when the color has reached the appropriate level of doneness. I've had it for years, and it works every time. (Been cooking a lot of eggs lately.)

• Laminator - I'm a teacher, what can I say? lol. I have one at work and one at home because you just never know when something will need to be laminated. :) This year I'm also giving one of these to the boys' teachers at school. (Only I paid less than half of the price I linked. Watch this product, it goes on sale fairly frequently.)

Now it's your turn. I know not many people comment here any more. Heck, maybe they never visit either? Still, if you're out there, I'd love to see what things you're loving right now.