Week by Week

November is going to come quickly, but right now it seems like to me that the weeks are dragging on because I have so much work to do that I really don't feel like doing! I really need to at least get brief sub plans done for when I go out on maternity leave however it seems like just when I get the current week's lesson plans completed, my lesson plans are due into my Supervisor for the following week (they are due the Wednesday before).  I also have 4 IEPs and one Reevaluation to work on- for those familar with Special Education, you know what those are.  Pete complained that all I do at night is work on the computer, it is sadly the truth and there is nothing to be done about it.  The one night I didn't, I cut out and designed a bunch of activities to be laminated and guess what?? The next morning I discovered that the laminator was broken- I had not used it all year.  So yes, sadly Pete will have his wife with her nose buried in the computer each night for a long while.  When there comes a time that I don't need to do that, it will likely mean that I have a baby attached to me!!  So I am complaining about the workload, but I am enjoying my students.  I had a very aggressive student last year and my assistants and I are enjoying a much needed break from that.  Although my classroom is not "easy" we don't have extreme behaviors and the kids do follow our behavior management program- for the most part!!

So enough complaining.  I need to post a current pregnancy photo, I am not that big as with Celia- infact I am measuring exactly where I was at this point with Celia.  I went in for my 2 week midwife appointment and found out that I am measuring 29 weeks when I was 32 weeks.  So we looked back at my chart from Celia and funny thing, at 32 weeks with Celia I measured 29 weeks and from then on I grew only 2 cm the rest of my pregnancy.  Really the fundal height (when they measure your preggo belly) is a very poor judgement of baby's size and growth, but all doctors and midwives measure anyhow.  So I am not too worried since we went through this with Celia and honestly this baby feels very substantial and is extremly active- far more then Celia ever was.  Celia saved up all her energy for when she got out, hopefully this little girl is doing the opposite!!  As for being ready for this little girl, that is getting there very slowly!  I haven't found the time to work on her room or make sure that we have what we need (which we don't have). 

Celia is definately 3 although she told us that we told her that 3 was more fun then 2 and so far she hasn't been having fun.  That was said durinng a time when we asked her to do something and she didn't want to.. but it was funny.  She is having some issues listening lately, well choosing to comply and listen.  She enjoys school depending on the day.  She has taken interest in singing and is cracking us up with some made up songs.  We are not impressed with her independent streaks as they involve arguements over who is going to do what and then randomly she evidently just can't do anything.  You know, she gets dressed one day and the next day she "just doesn't know how..."  Oh and as far as dressing goes, she is all about sparkly shoes.  She has these dressy sparkly shoes that she loves but are not so appropriate for school.  So I bought her some sparkly sneakers and they are her new love.  It hasn't been cool enough to introduce her to the sparkly jeans that my Mom got her.  I am not sure if I am going to do that anytime soon.

Okay will post with pictures another time.

Seriously???

Please read this

If you like to grow your own food, buy fresh produce, or enjoy buying from Amish markets it could soon become illegal.

I am wondering if that will change Produce Junction around here??  Or our local growers market.

It is ironic that this was posted today as we are going into a super veggie week.  It was honestly just coincidence honestly that we are having a lot of veggies!!  We are having grilled veggie and chicken wraps tonight.  No noodle lasagna tomorrow night (cooking away in the crockpot today though).  The following night Hawaiin Chicken with Butternut squash as a side (sweetened with brown sugar as a treat).  Tacos on Wed, with not as much veggies that night I guess... but you get the point.  I did a Produce Junction run.  Where else can you get a bag of 12 peppers for $2.00???  Honestly?  I also got a bag of about 12 or 14 plum tomatoes for $2.  3 lbs of peaches for $1.50.  2 lbs of grapes for under $2 and I forget what else.  I was dissapointed with the eggplant I got.  It is actualy the first thing I have bought there that has not been decent produce, I had to throw an entire one away.  
My appetite lately (almost 8 months preggo) hasn't been the greatest but my love of veggies recently has reached a peak.  It is funny, it did my last trimester with Celia too.  Maybe it is just the season.  I don't know. 

Carrie

Fall

It feels like Fall here, at least to me.  I start back to school and that is my mind set, however the 90 degree temps that actualy were with us no less then two weeks ago have been replaced by the 70s.  Tomorrow it is going to barely make it to 70 and be rainy.  I am not even sure when Fall officially starts honestly.  Ahh.. Wikianswers say Sept 22, so 11 days from now.  I enjoy summer because I have off and get paid, nice!  I get to spend more time with my little girl and not stress about school work the whole time.  But I do love the Fall weather, except right now I don't have much to wear for the cooler weather so I am hoping it just stays in the 70s!   8 to 10 weeks likely to go for this peanut, this nameless peanut!  We have to work on that.

Going back to work has proven exhausting as always but also stressful.  We are in a new building and my supervisor is super stressed and honestly taking it out a bit on all of us.  He needs a vacation, all of us will agree on that!  We have no windows in my room, we aren't allowed to go outside, there is no cafeteria/kitchen so the kids are hating cold sandwiches, and we basically feel secluded in our little area.  As the weeks go on I think it will improve, it can only improve.  My students so far are great, I almost wish there were more behavior issues to make me really want to leave!!   When I was pregnant with Celia, I questioned if I would be able to forget my students and really enjoy staying home.  I thought that I would still worry about what was happenning and if things were going okay.  But when she was born and I started hearing about different issues in my classroom, I didn't really care!!  I suspect it will be the same this time around.

In anyway, back to Fall.  We went to our local growers market this morning and I actualy bought a few things.  Typically I think their prices are just too high and choose the local produce section at our grocery story.  But today somehow things were cheaper.  So I got a butternut squash, some apples (should have bought more), an onion, and peppers.  I discovered that I had the ingredients for my crockpot butternut squash soup and it is cooking away as I speak.  I even used homemade chicken stock and am hoping it isn't too strong.  It made me think about one thing I am hoping to accomplish while on maternity leave- baking and cooking from scratch more.  It is so much cheaper and healthier to bake from scratch and I have wanted to do it so much.  Celia has started to become more helpful in the kitchen.  I can leave her for a second to stir something without worry that the bowl will go on the floor or hands will be deep in them.  I wouldn't put it past her, but it isn't as much of a worry as a few months ago.  So I can enlist her help in my project!!  Bread, rolls, and bagels are high on my list of things from scratch.  Beyone that at this time, I don't have any goals for things to be done on maternity leave as I will be learning how to juggle taking care of two kids!!

Birthday

This was the DW cake (from Arthur).  Look on pbskids.org if you want a true picture of her.  This was the second year I made Celia a cake.  Last year it was a garbage truck cake.  This year didn't take me quite as long but still awhile.  What would have made it much easier would have been if I had thought ahead of time to get chocolate icing for the hair!  I experimented with marshmallow fondant.  It was surprisingly easy to make and work with but not all that yummy tasting, just very, very sweet.  But it served it's purpose.  The eyes are made out of fondant covered white chocolate circles, they were easy to make and had a good effect.  The letters and number 3 are also fondant, as well as the pink part of the ears, tongue, nose, and mouth, oh and some of the hair.  Mixing the colors was likely the most time consuming part.  But next year, maybe Celia will want a button, or a happy face, or even a flower- something easy!!  At least the baby's first cake will be easy- most of the grocery stores give you want free if you present a birth certificate.  I am all for homemade, but free tops that.

Celia is not super into having her picture taken.  So I only got a few.

The gifts included sparkly shoes, high ho cheery-o, a new electric toothbrush, and two number/math dvds from Pete and I.   The number/math dvds were not truely part of her gift.  I ordered them hoping to supplement some number work we are doing but she did really enjoy the leapfrog math one.  The sparkly shoes were to replace her ones that are almost bare in the toes, sadly these are a different brand and bigger so we need to wait a short time.

Highlighted toys also included a new cabbage patch doll from her grandparents in which she has stripped naked (every single doll she has is naked) and brought in for her special show in tell at school.  She is currently the preferred doll.  My Mom gave her a beauty kit including a pretend hair dryer and hair straightener in which she has often set up shop in our powder room to fix herself up.  I have also gotten many make overs.   Aunt Susie gave her this number puzzle in which she absolutely loves to "pop" the numbers out because they are individual foam puzzles.  She will then put them bag but the fun part is popping them out evidently.  Everyone gave her at least one Arthur book I believe, and she loves them.  So she was very well taken care.

She is having a hard time adjusting back to school, at least in the area of sleep.  She is overtired.  Yesterday was bad because for whatever reason she didn't nap.  She fell asleep on the way home- we walked home with the BOB and was not to be woken when we got home.  Believe me, I had a limp child in my arms, trying to wake her and she wasn't having it.  Finally when she did wake up- I totally regretted waking her up.  This morning she was so, so tired.  But she also isn't getting 2 hour naps at school and basically Celia needs her two hour naps.  So the poor kid is tired.  But she will adjust, she always does. 

Dungeon

Well I survived my first week back to work, it really wasn't a true reality check.  I can't say that I absolutely love our new school.  It is likely the most nice looking school from the inside that I have seen in awhile.  This isn't saying a great deal though.  The trend of many special education centers is that we typically get the schools that regular school districts are literally discarding.  They don't need them anymore, so we move in.  Yes that is right.  This one is different, this was actualy our building that we were renting out.  So it has been gutted and is being renovated into a new school.  It will look nice when it is completely finished.  Our wing is just about finished, with some minor glitches.  One thing that I don't get though is why I ended up with no windows and the tiniest room of the bunch.  Wouldn't you think that if you are going to have the tiniest classroom that you should have a window???  So some assistants have nicknamed my classroom the dungeon.  Fun!!  We have decorated it nicely and tried to not make it look overcrowded, between the full size fridge that my school that was needed and the oversized handicapped accessible bathroom there isn't a whole lot of room.  Oh and they decided to hang my Promethean board in the far back of my classroom, not in the middle where it would make sense- in the very back.  I do have a regular white board, however ventilation is reccommended when using the white board markers... We have none.
I will likely have 5 students to start out with, that is an awesome number.  Of all years.  I can't remember the last time I ever started with only 5 students.  Of course I will be leaving in 10 or 11 weeks.  4 of the students are returning students, so that is nice.  We will see if my 4 even notice that it is a new school.  Last year we decorated the entire hallway for Egypt, not a speck of wall was uncovered.  None of them noticed, none...  So a new school, we will see.

Celia started her first week in the 2/3 room this week.  She is adjusting well but it has tired her out and when Celia is overtired, she gets up at least 1x at night.  That has been every night.  Of course last night she fell out of bed so I guess I can't really fault her for that!  She was fine, landed on her butt.  She was on the edge of it when I last put her in there and it crossed my mind prior to the wake up!  We did away with her bedrails after she didn't use them at the beach.  So far that is our only fall.  She was super sleepy a couple mornings this week but didn't give me too hard of a time.  This morning she was very grouchy and was insistant that she did not want a class party at all.  But I did bring in soft pretzels and party favors (sidewalk chalk and playdoh) for her class.  Half the class was missing today!  Oh well.  It was fun, I got to hang out for them to sing her happy birthday and then walk to the park with her.  I have never seen the park that her school uses.  So now I can visualize it.

Celia on her first day

The playground

Her crew- I have introduced them all, new baby (white body) is her preferred.  The yarn haired one is new baby's Mother currently.

This is dark, but this is Celia's new room. I will try to get better pictures another time!