The week, in pictures...

Well, my week began with a huge furniture move onto the non-carpeted flooring areas of our house. Suffice it to say I've spent the last few days with a double bed mattress, boxsprings, and bedframe in my dining room, a changing table in my front entry, a file cabinet blocking my front door, and crap EVERYWHERE. The upside is, well, my carpets are clean.



While waiting for the carpet to dry, Avery and I had some fun with her stuffed animal friends. I sure hope her attachment to stuffed animals is normal. Here we were having a tea party, minus the tea, but WHOA, what a party.


Later in the week we ventured out to meet up with our friends Candice and Austin. We had lunch with them and did a little shopping. Austin and Avery flirted the whole time. Trollups.



On a different day we met up with Danielle and Alina and did more lunching and more shopping. Actually, we only had coffee and muffins and I only bought one $8 dress for Avery, but still.




Avery also got to shower in the big people shower this week, mostly by herself. It was time to get out, but Avery protested with every fiber of her being, so I figured there wasn't any harm in letting her sit under the shower as it mostly just dripped down onto her as I sat by and watched. I did leave the room for a moment to get my camera, but Avery lived. Poor judgement, I know.


It's safe to say she loved every moment of the danger I put her in. Terrible picture, I know, but they all came out blurry because I had the flash off and she was on the move.


Lastly we have Little Red Stocking Hood. Avery found this pair of red stockings in the Great Furniture Shift of 2006 and since they're hideous and I'm not sure why I have them, we made a hat out of them for a while. At first she wasn't into it, but then she saw herself in the mirror, and OH, that made a big difference in her willingness to be photographed.


Oh, and as a side note, all of the work we did this week was apparently worth it for Jed. Not just because we have clean carpets once again, but because I've finally allowed him to absorb my monitor and break down my docking station for my laptop, and now he thinks he's like a NYSE day trader or something at that desk. It's actually pretty cool to be able to see two windows simultaneously, but alas, I must have wireless internet with a toddler. Otherwise I wouldn't be on the internet at all.


Sorry for the lapse in VERY important updates.

Well, we don't need pictures for this...

Here is just a sampling of the many things I've had to tell Avery today. Bear with me, she's only 20 months old.

"Avery, please do not color on your clothes."
"Honey, please eat something."
"No, you cannot play with that cable wire."
"Sweetie, did you really poop again? Already?"
"Don't lay on the dog beds! Yuck!"
"Avery, please do not color on the TV."
"No, don't rub banana in your hair."
"You just told me you didn't want any milk -- now you do?"
"Did you just rip a page out of the library book? Nooooo!"
"Avery, you can't color on the highchair."
"Honey, please don't rub milk all over the couch."

Yes, you're right, it's exhausting. The poor child can't do anything destructive. We're so mean!

Because I just KNOW you're wondering...

My blog is going to be a little neglected this week... we are moving all kinds of furniture around in our house and our PC is currently disconnected, which means I can't download any pics. We're having our carpets cleaned today and we'll put back the furniture tomorrow(ish)... so stay tuned!

Bathtime, revised

I can no longer put Avery in the bathtub and actually give her a bath. My knees hurt, I can't lean onto my stomach, and I'm just too awkward. So, bathtime for now is going to happen in the sink. I'll still have Jed do it in the bathtub a couple of times a week just to keep her used to getting a bath in there, but when I bathe her, it'll have to be this way. She doesn't seem to mind.

Video of us just hanging out...

Avery takes a stab at the alphabet and other silliness.

View it here.

A girl and her dog

Winston will let Avery literally do just about anything to him. And she adores him right back. Murphy doesn't like to be used as a horse, but he's so gentle with her too. We really lucked out!

Last week's pics

I forgot all about these -- I was waiting to get Windy's approval first since she was pictured in her bikini in a few shots, but she forgot that I was in my bikini too, and there was no way I was putting any shots of me in my bikini on the internet for all the world to see. So no worries, Windy, no bikini shots will follow :)

Windy, Marylin and Trinity (Marylin's cousin) came to visit at my mom's house last week before my mom had to leave on a business trip. We went swimming and had lunch and just hung out in general. It was a nice, sunny, relaxing day. The only thing that would have made it better would have been a sexy cabana boy bringing me bloody marys -- but alas, that didn't happen. Maybe next summer we'll work on hiring one.

Before the girls arrived, Avery needed to be distracted from the pool (my fault, I talked swimming up in the car quite a bit to keep Avery from whining on the drive there). First we trapsed through the flowers, with the Dora and Boots pool toys in tow. Then we visited the horse, like usual, and pretended to drive the tractor.




While visiting the horse, Avery suddenly got brave and crossed the Sahara alone... though she did have Zoey, her trusty sidekick along for the trip. She went all this way without looking back and with no fear.


Afterward, our friends arrived and we went for a swim.


Trinity and Marylin wanted to visit the horse too, so we made the trek out again to see Summer.


After a few hours, Windy, Marylin, and Trinity had to say "Goodbye," and Avery had to take a nap. When she woke up, she harrassed the cat for a while and we just loafed around trying to stay cool. We can't wait to see our friends again, and Grammy Gigi, please come home soon.

It does take dedication...

to remember to do this every couple of weeks, but I started it with Avery and knew I'd have to do it this time too.

Here are belly pics of both pregnancies, since I know you all can't hardly get enough of seeing my sexy mom belly. Ogle away.

Watch me get fat
Watch me get fatter

Busy day today...

GramZ picked us up this hummingbird feeder...


... so this morning's task was the make the sugar water to put inside. I figured it was a simple enough task to have Avery help me, so I pulled her up a chair and away we went. Her favorite part was the stirring part -- though her idea of stirring unfortunately involves some splashing here and there. We'll work on that, Auntie Jodi. Good cooks don't splash like Avery did this morning. She got a little peeved with me when I took the pot away. See picture number three below.


After the stirring came the boiling. Apparently boiling water is fun to watch. Just ask Avery. Thankfully it only required two minutes' worth.


Last we hung the feeder and waited for patrons. So far we've seen none. The bird seed feeder go a lot of action, however, so much so that it's fresh out of seed and I am fresh out of refills.


Later we headed to our friends' house (Brad, Vickie, and Jacob) for some swimming and fun. On the way there I wanted a swig of Diet Coke so badly, so I actually broke down and stopped at a fast food restaurant to buy a soda. I rarely do things like that, but I really only wanted a swig. I ordered a medium, and here's what I got. It's amazing to me that THIS is a medium. No wonder why over 30% of Americans are obese.


Avery and Jacob had a blast in the pool together and Avery even told Jacob "No splashing, Jacob!" at one point. It was pretty funny. Later she kissed him goodbye and Vickie pointed out that Jacob hadn't ever purposefully kissed anyone on the lips -- until Avery. I guess they're a match made in Heaven.



For dinner we had pasta primavera, and I let Avery make a mess everywhere. I took her tray away when we were done and gave her some red Jello as dessert... brilliant me let her use a spoon thinking she might be able to feed herself while I did the dishes. Turns out that wasn't the best idea I'd had all day. It didn't take long for her to ditch the spoon and dig in with her fingers. I'm sure they'll still be red tomorrow.

My latest belly shots...

I feel like such a moose, yet I have NINE more weeks to go. Wah!

Borderlining Obsessive

For a child who is still kind of bald, Avery sure does have a lot of embellishments for her hair. Since I'm the one buying them, I guess I have the obsession, hah?

Apparently I find long haired men attractive...

or at least I do in my subconscious. Last night's dream's featured guest was, of all people, Jack Black. The pregnancy dreams are great, but why Jack Black? Blech. Maybe it's got something to do with my love for the musical stylings of Tenacious D. There's GOT to be an explanation.

Father's Day Pictures

We didn't do much today because I'm not feeling great and it's hotter than hell outside. Mostly our day consisted of laying on the living room floor, reading books, drawing pictures, and watching the freaking golf bonanza on TV. Yahoo.

Avery seems to know it's Father's Day and has layered on the kisses and charm for Daddy. I couldn't capture all of the moments, but here are a few.



And the hair was all her idea. I swear.

Feeling nostalgic already...

My first weekend of unemployement isn't even over yet and I'm already feeling a tiny bit of nostalgia for when I used to have a job. My coworkers gave me a ton of shit for only being there half of the time, and on my days off I'd send them pictures like this one for no reason whatsoever.

If nothing else, this proves that Avery knew how to offend at such a young age, AND she did it in her sleep. A girl after my own heart.

Where's Jodi?

My brother-in-law sent an email from Kazakhstan today. The subject line of his email said "Where's Jodi?" and the following picture was attached. I admit I looked and looked and couldn't find her.


So, smartass me sends this picture in return:


Yes, I know how to use Photoshop. Turns out she was in the top of that tower thing. Here's the follow up picture with the answer:


I think my answer is better. Incorrect? Maybe. Better? Definitely.

My career has been reduced to this...

And, of course, the memories.

Here are some memories and students and parents that stand out in my mind...

Little Billy, who told me (upon realizing someone had stolen his pencil), that someone had "jacked him off," instead of using the proper slang terminology of that school year 'someone jacked my pencil.'

Funny Chris who always hugged me extra tight smushing his head into my boobs.

Animated young Shoeness, whose parents didn't know how to spell the name they wanted to give her, "Shanice" or "Shaneice" or even "Shanese."

The mute twins. Still mute at age 17 -- (their younger brother was in my class this year).

Alex S's mom, who told the P.E. teacher in an IEP (completely interrupting the discussion about her son) -- "I can wax your eyebrows for you." It became clear to all the education professionals in the room at that moment that Alex had inherited his ADD from her.

Josh M. and Josh L., who were best friends, in the same class, and were both Pakistani -- they were some of my best pals and have come to visit me from time to time since leaving my school.

Veronica, who I am sure is schizophrenic, but her mother refuses testing because she doesn't want to face the truth of what's happening with her daughter.

The mother who told me (upon me calling home to discuss her daughter's foul language in class) that her daughter "says that shit at home, too."

Ester, who moved back to Hungary the summer after sixth grade, and still sends me emails with updates on how she's doing.

The year Mr. Flowers took my students into his room for a week to teach them "health science" and then quizzed them at the end of the week on what they'd learned. Trayvion answered the following to some of his questions:
1. What is the name of the female genitalia?
Trayvion's answer: the p*ssy
2. What is the name of the male genitalia?
Trayvion's answer: the peanuts
3. What is the fluid a male secretes that can fertilize
an egg and cause pregnancy?
Trayvion's answer: the cream
4. What physical changes happen when a female reaches puberty?
Trayvion's answer: she gets hairs on her p*ssy

I could go on, but I'll spare you...

My memories are mostly fond, but of course there were things that I absolutely hated about teaching, and they might end up being things that keep me from going back.

I will certainly miss my friends that I've had for so many years, but I know I'll keep in touch with them the best I can.

They did present me with this commemorative statuette yesterday at our luncheon that gave me the warm fuzzies all over.



I'm officially unemployed! Yikes!

So confused...

After school today we had our end-of-the-year luncheon. They present teachers with awards, hand out plaques and keepsakes to teachers who are leaving, and then the staff members that chose to participate in the Secret Pal exchange give their pal a final gift and we all reveal who our pal was.

My Secret Pal SUCKED this year... I got nothing but crap. I don't do it for the gifts that I get, but this year might make me not want to do it again in the future. I spent a lot of money on my pal -- it would have been nice to get something worthwhile in return.

So my finale present (it's supposed to be a biggie) was a 12 pack of Coors Light Cans. I thought for a while that it was some sort of joke that I wasn't getting. I'm still confused, to be honest.

On the form that I filled out at the beginning of the year, I put that my favorite food was anything that goes well with beer. Apparently my brilliantly creative Secret Pal thought -- hey, she likes beer! I'll get her that!

Isn't there something fundamentally wrong with getting a 31 week pregnant woman a 12 pack of beer as a 'gift?'

Who are these people, and what freaking planet did they come from?

Pure Harassment

Of the baby-on-puppy kind.

Best laid plans...

My sister was kind enough to sign up for an all day Avery fest today and take her down to Orange County to go to a friend's graduation and do some 'hanging out' with friends. My plan was to work late in my classroom to get a bunch of paperwork done and continue to pack up my classroom for the big move on Friday.

I left at about 3:45 because I had to go to the post office and needed to make it there before closing. What I neglected to think about was the STUPID automatic air conditioning device that the janitor put on my a/c a few months ago to help control the temperature (i.e. save money and make me sweat...) and at 4pm, the a/c automatically turns itself off. If you're there, you can turn it back on and it'll stay on until you're done using it. If you wait longer than 15 minutes or so, it's off until 7am the next morning. I wish I could deprogram it -- trust me, I've tried.

So I got back to my classroom at 4:30ish to find it 82 degrees in the room. I realized quickly that I had royally screwed up, but 82 degress... I could work in that. In the next two hours, however, it got progressively hotter and hotter, and I was forced to leave at 6:30pm because it had reached a completely ludicrous 92 degrees. I didn't factor in the metal roof above my head and the complete lack of a breeze.

I am so aggrivated... and now of course, I'm home alone, waiting for my sister to bring Avery back so I can put her to bed. What a complete waste of time this evening has been. Meanwhile, stacks and stacks of shit for me to do are just waiting for me back at work.

I hate stacks and stacks of shit -- especially when it's work!

In the world of entertainment...

In reading a fellow blogger's blog, I discovered that there really was such a thing as a TELEVISED "Rock, Paper, Scissors Championship." I remember hearing about it on the morning radio show that Bean does in LA (or at least I think that's where I heard about it) but I guess I only half believed that someone somewhere thought that televising this 'championship' was a good idea. I guess I know nothing about entertainment, which is probably why I teach middle school.

On the other hand, I do know that I'm excited about "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," which is coming to theaters next month. I'm a little sad, however, that the rumors about Keith Richards (The Rolling Stones) playing Captain Jack Sparrow's father aren't true. I suppose it's tough to make those early morning filmings when you're busy falling out of coconut trees. The upside is that IMDb also has a third installment of the movie series listed on its website; "Pirates of the Caribbean: World's End" is supposed to be released in 2007.

Yay Johnny Depp!

Excerpt of an email from a friend...

I attached two pictures of Avery with me. I might not be cute enough to make it on to your blog, but you never know.

Just to prove him wrong, I'm posting the pictures. This is my friend Stephen. He and his family (wife and two boys) moved to PA a year ago, and he came back to CA last week to attend the graduation at the school he'd worked at for several years. We missed Amy and the boys, but we were glad to see Stephen just the same.

What he keeps forgetting is that he's Avery future father-in-law, so whether she thinks he's cute or not, he's making it onto her blog to 'butter him up.'


He also attached a picture of Avery's future husband, Severin. Avery and Severin already had their first kiss, back when Avery was about 10 months old. She'll never forget it (because I won't let her!) Oh, and Severin isn't as scary in real life as he seems in this picture.

I think I've scarred her for life...

Today I noticed that Avery's birthmark (the one on her right forearm, it's hard to miss) has little blonde hairs growing from it -- more little blonde hairs than the surrounding skin...

I was sitting in the backseat of the car with her, and the sun hit her arm in just the right way. Loudly, and in shock and horror, I said "Her freckle has hairs growing from it!"

Jed calmly reminded me to please not give her a complex when she's only 20 months old... she has the rest of her life to develop plenty of those.

I think it's too late, however. A few times later in the day today she touched her mole and looked at me and said, quizzically, "Hair?"

Yes, baby, hair. Don't worry, we'll find a way to shave the hair off when it starts to grow in thick and black and wiry.

Wah.

Visit to GramZ and PapaZ

We went for a visit to GramZ and PapaZ's house today (no, they no longer have real names, and yes, Jed and I call each other "Mama" and "Dada" sometimes... what happened to us?)

PapaZ barbequed some great steak and chicken while the rest of us wandered around the backyard trying to engage Avery in some photo opportunities.

GramZ handed Avery her watering can (Avery's, not GramZ's) and Avery watered some of the flowers with imaginary water. Yes, she was close to the pool, but don't worry, GramZ was just out of the picture in some of the shots. I'm sure Avery would have loved nothing more than to fall into the pool. She is officially obsessed with water, swimming, pools, and fountains. Anything a small toddler can drown in, really.


We thought that since her love of statues comes second to her love of water that she'd be enamored by this little man taking a siesta. She wanted nothing to do with him, surprisingly. Mostlikely because she immediately noticed the huge hibicus flowers growing next to him and wanted one for herself. This provided just the photo opportunity I was looking for.


Since those shots made all the subsequent pictures pale in comparison, I'll just share one more of Avery watering the tiny little dandelion with the enormous watering can she ended up finding during her search of the yard. I tried to capture the enormity of the watering can and the daintiness of the flower, but toddlers move fast, and you've got to get a shot while it's available to you.

I think I'll write a book...

and title it "The Grouchy Librarian." I'll dedicate it to the fine professionals that man the check-out and turn-in counter at my local public library. They seriously have GOT to be the bitchiest women I've ever encountered. I actually dread going to the library because of them. I go anyway, because of Avery's love of books and their awesome children's section, but I cringe every time I go because I know I am going to have to deal with one of the grouchy librarians.

The problem isn't the people who work in the children's section itself; if that section always had someone at the counter to help me, it'd be great. It has its own entrance -- I could get in and out and never have to see the main desk librarians. But the problem is, I typically go on off times when it's not very busy, and rarely is there anyone at the children's section desk to help me. I'm forced to go to the front of the library and deal with THOSE librarians.

Grrrr. I teach 6th grade and have to deal with plenty of ungrateful abuse-the-system type people everyday. They ask my stupid questions. They talk too loudly. They do plenty of things that annoy me on a moment-by-moment basis. I can assure you I am nowhere NEAR as grouchy as those librarians, not even on my worst day.

I'll let you all know when my book is published.

Avery's Joke

Well, this isn't quite the same as when she spontaneously did it, but here we are talking about it:

You want to eat what?

Local Farmers' Market

This evening, since it was cool but still very light outside, Avery and Merz and I headed over to Market Night because Merz wanted to see what fresh fruit they had. There are always lots of fruits, some of them getting fresh, but the fresh fruit she was looking for wasn't striking her fancy.

We decided to grab a bite to eat at Rubio's, where Avery fed herself her favorite food of the month, rice. She missed more than she made it into her mouth, but really, how else will she learn? Besides, someone else has to sweep it up at Rubio's.




After dinner we headed back over to the street where they hold Market Night and watched the ponies for a while. Avery desperately wanted to ride one, but she is just still too young. She wouldn't hold on well enough for me not to have a heart attack. Afterward, we walked up the block again to see the clown, which Avery ended up being TERRIFIED of, so we didn't stay long. After all, clowns ARE terrifying. I don't blame her for crying. The funniest part was once we were 1/2 a block away, she started to look back and say "Bye clown," like she was sad that she hadn't given poor old "Lollipop" a chance.


What I really took my camera for, however, wasn't the candids of Avery enjoying a little fresh air. It was to take a picture of the booth that I'd seen there a few weeks ago that said in HUGE letters "Are you going to HELL? Take this easy test to find out!" I'm sure the test consisted of one question -- something like "Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your savior?" but really, the scare tactics are so passe. I was both a little disappointed (at the loss of a photo op) and overjoyed that the booth wasn't there tonight. Maybe enough heathens complained?

Wrapping Paper Fun

Avery pulled out an old roll of wrapping paper today and went to town. Naturally, I didn't stop her. Of course I had to get some video of it... it was quite entertaining.

I'm trying to encourage that imagination of hers to blossom. If it means sacrificing a perfectly good roll of ugly green wrapping paper, so be it. All in the name of creativity.

Dear Avery:

You are not destined to become a hairdresser. You are, however, destined to silliness with me for many years to come.

Love, Mama

It took me long enough...

I finally watched the two-hour finale of Arrested Development, which has been sitting on my Tivo since February. Packing four 30-minute episodes into a two-hour special sure did make me realize that the show probably is over. Add to that the fact that Michael and George Michael fled to Cabo and Ron Howard appeared in the very last scene -- yep, the show is done.

The best part of the two-hour finale, however, was none of the above. It was the return of Anyang, who proudly proclaimed that his REAL name is "Hello."

That show was brilliant. If it's really over, I'm very sad to see it go, even if it did take me four months to watch the finale. I guess I was in denial and didn't want to let it go.

To clarify about my job...

A few people have asked here and elsewhere about what is happening with my job, and I'm sorry I didn't explain it better.

Since I am expecting in August, instead of having to put juniors #1 and #2 in daycare (my sister is moving on with her life) and instead of having to share a contract with a teacher whom I have grown to despise because of her inattention to detail and the sheer number of times she's given our students misinformation (like telling them when we studied the ancient Israelites that Jewish people believe in one God and they believe that Jesus is his son... I could kill her...) I've decided to take a year's leave of absence, and then renew that leave of absence for at least one more year.

With the number of years' experience I have now, after a one-year leave of absence, you're guaranteed your job back at the school you left from. After two years' leave, you're guaranteed a job back, but not necessarily at the grade level you were at and not at the school site you were at. You can take a third year, but you're not offered benefits at all, you have to do Cobra, and you're not guaranteed your job back. You also lose your tenure with the district, and upon your return you have to do this lame new teacher program (whether you're 'new' or not, you're 'new' to them) and I SOOOOOOOOOOO don't want to have to go that route.

As it stands now, I am planning to take two years' leave, during which I am offered benefits, but I must pay what the district would normally contribute toward them, which is still better coverage and a better price than through my husband's job. We haven't figured all of that out just yet, but we're working on it.

When my two years are up, if we are comfortable with me going back to work full time, then I will. I refuse to share a contract again, it has made me a crazy woman. I have the option to take a test to also have my single subject credential in English, which would allow me to teach at the high school level as well, and I could possibly still be on a half contract and only teach a certain number of classes a day. I might go ahead and take the test anyway, just to give me more qualifications.

If I choose to continue to stay home, then I will probably start to work on my Master's at that point so that I can at least recoup some of the loss of wages and loss of tenure when I return.

Another option is to never go back to teaching. I feel like I've been doing it so long now, though, that I don't even know what I'd do if I didn't go back.

So, there's the long version of the story. If anyone wants to offer me a job in a few years, let me know.

First joke

Avery told me both today and yesterday that she wanted to eat dirt for lunch. It went something like this:

Avery: "Wanna wanna eat."
Me: "You want to eat?"
Avery: "Okay!"
Me: "What do you want to eat?"
Avery: "Hmmmm.... dirt? HAHAHAHAHA!" (yes, it was a loud laugh like that)
Me: "You want to eat DIRT?"
Avery: "No... silly!"

What a cut up she is.

Recent things that Avery has said...

and has totally shocked the crap out of me.

Yesterday, we were playing peek-a-boo. Each time I'd uncover my face, I'd say "I see you," which she's been saying in return for quite a while. Yesterday, however, when I uncovered my face, I'd say "I see you," and she'd say "I see you too!" The 'too' part kills me!

Also, at Gymboree, we were discussing up and down. She and a few other toddlers were standing up on this bridge type thing they'd constructed, and were throwing bean bags down into a bucket. At one point, she handed another little boy a bean bag and said to him, "Your turn!" I was amazed!

Now if I could only get her to eat something other than 'snacks.' That has become out newest battle. Grrr!

Splashing!

Video from today -- there aren't many other ways to entertain this child when it's already 100 degrees at 10am!

Avery's first chore...

Jed and I have joked about how we're waiting for Avery to start to wash the dishes and mow the lawn, and in all seriousness, we're serious! She can pull her weight around here when she's big enough, there is nothing wrong with that.

We thought it'd be fun for Avery to help Jed wash the truck today -- she's obsessed with water and being outside, so what better way to introduce her to the world of doing chores?


Avery, however, had different ideas. At first she didn't want anything to do with the soapy bucket of water and the sponge. She wandered around on the sidewalk for a while, and then decided she did want to help. She wanted to help waste water.

Pretending not to be interesting in the water/hose/washing the car activities:


Then she slowly warmed up to the idea of getting cooled off by helping Daddy:


By the end she was soaked, but I guess that was the whole idea.

Damnit

My feeds aren't working in bloglines and I'm too lazy to check all my favorite blogs one by one. I have all this free time and nothing to do. I am actually Tivoing (is that a word yet, and if it is, is that how you spell it?) "Memoirs of a Geisha" since it's on a PPV tonight and I'm all alone while my husband goes and plays poker, drinks beer, and chews tobaccy. But, by golly, the movie doesn't start for 20 more minutes.

Can you tell I'm avoiding washing the 423 sippy cups in my sink? Blah!

T minus 5 days

and counting.

That's how many days I have left as a sixth grade teacher. And, unlike my typical June feels, it isn't just five days left until summer. It's five days left until I'm unemployed.

Sixth graders and June and the heat don't mix well, so you bet your ass I'm counting down precisely how many hours I have left with them. My last day is actually a "Professional Activity Day," so that makes 4 days with the kids. One of those days is a minimum day (the last day).

So... I have 3 days times 6.25 hours plus about 4 hours for my minimum day. Whew, I think I can handle 22.75 hours left with sixth graders. Possibly forever.

Every Saturday for the last few weeks I've been going in to pack my room up and tear things down -- some of which have been up on my walls since I started working at this school in 1999. Don't worry about me, I haven't shed one tear ;)

So, here is the current state of things. I don't have any before pictures really -- just middle-of-the-move pictures. It's so empty and stark... I never take much down at the end of the school year because I'm usually returning in the fall.


My poor desk area has seen MUCH better days...


And here lie the contents of all these years of torture by middle schoolers. These boxes are only 5 of about 28 that I have to move into my garage and/or house. Somewhere.


So, farewell homework board.


Arrivederci marble jars, marbles, and group points system.


Goodbye lunch detentions that NEVER SEEM TO END.


Hasta la vista Extra Credit Essays that only the kids who already have an "A" seem to write.


Au revior No-Name Paper Box. I won't miss you a bit.


Adios turn-in baskets. I hope not to see you for several years.


Sayonara storage cabinet that I painstakingly painted myself. I hope someone takes good care of you.


So, my freedom from middle school hell hasn't completely come to fruition yet, but I can TASTE it it's so close. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Patriotism is growing

...in my neighbor's yard. They have flowers planted that look like the American flag. Although I'm not that patriotic, their flowers do look better than my weeds, I'll admit.