Bite Log

Today we had our annual Thanksgiving feast in the English pod. The food, which was of course delicious, is one of the many reasons I love my department. Plus, we know what we're doing and we do it damn well :-)

I did my Thanksgiving shopping today. Suprisingly enough, Walmart wasn't overcrowded and there were cashiers just standing around so I got in and out without a fussy Colby. Actually he was great tonight. He ate some veggies and fruit while I ate veggies and chicken, he played for a while (I can't make him understand that the VCR is not a toy, though), he took a bath and went right to bed. Lately at bedtime he's been walking straight to his bed with no problems.

However...there is the bite log. Last week I didn't have to sign the log at all, so I thought that maybe we were on the right track. Then today happened. I had to sign for three bites! She said it was right before nap time, so maybe he was just cranky, but I'm sure nobody has as many entries in the bite log as Colby and it's terribly embarressing to have to sign it! But, on a positive note he hasn't bitten Brandon and I in a long time.

My Saturday

This weekend we are hanging out with my parents. As we speak I am typing on my mom's brand new laptop. I guess we're just a laptop family because between me, Brandon, my parents and sister we have four laptops :-) Almost one for each person! Today we spent some time cleaning up my parents' back yard. During the storm a couple of weeks ago, all the trash and every single stinking pine needle from around my parents' house ended up in their yard. Their neighbors have a six foot privacy fence which stopped the debris right in my parents' yard. It smelled rotten and we made two huge piles at the road of pine needles and trash. My parents also have a boat that floated off the trailer which we had to put back on, but that was much easier than I expected. After cleaning the yard for a couple hours, I went to get my hair trimmed and then my mom, Michele and I went shopping. I discovered that I am offically getting old. I didn't like anything that was in the juniors section of JCPenny, which is where I used to live when I was in high school and early college. It all looks either grungy or ghetto-fabulous. Who really wears that stuff? I also noted that all the maniquins at those teen stores in the mall had some really skanky outfits for sale. But I wonder if they're really skanky or if I'm just old. Maybe both. I just know that if I have a daughter in the future, we will have differing thoughts on clothes. Maybe by then the trend will go toward covering everything up? Here's hoping.

Diaper Rash :-(

Colby has this crazy diaper rash that I'm not sure is diaper rash. It's in the diaper area, but a lot of it is on his leg, so I'm taking him to the doctor. Lets just say he's been super cranky lately and diaper changes are like I'm battling Conan the Barbarian, screams and all. I hope the doc can tell me whats wrong and more importantly tell me how to fix it.

In other news, I'm heading home this weekend to visit my parents. I don't know if they're heat will be on or not, though. Since all the ductwork got wet last week, they have to get it replaced, but I'm not sure if it will have been done by then. But that's okay. It's certianly not going to be as cold there as it is here in Radford. Lets just say in Radford, more often then not I have to scrape my car windows before I leave in the morning, which I'm sure is something my parents haven't done since the dead of last winter...maybe :-) I'm supposed to go shopping with my mom and sister, so I'm excited about that.

Also, halfway through Romeo and Juliet in class. We're right at Act III where crap hits the fan and all that lovey-dovey mush that my boys hate so much flies right out the window. Fun times!

Week in Review

I finally have time to leave a post...amazing! This week has been a bit of a whirlwind. I had class on Monday, bible study on Tuesday, parent/teacher conferences on Thursday and Friday. I only met with 8 parents, which is disappointing because I have about 55 students. But the parents I met were fantastic and very much in tune with what was going on. And because I didn't have many parents visiting me (the average was one an hour) I had plenty of time to make copies and organize my desk. You should have seen the massive craziness that was my desk. Now I can actually see my desk and not be overwhelmed when I look at it.

So this week we had the remnants of Hurrican Ida paying a visit. It rained for two days straight here. And I mean, there was no break in the rain. It only cause some minor flooding around here (but not at our house - we don't live anywhere near a flood plain), but my parents got flooded out. Everything they had to replace after Hurricane Isabell, they're going to have to replace again except for the carpet in their bedroom. Thankfully the water didn't get as high as it did during Isabell and they didn't get water IN the house, just under the house where they have insulation and duct work to replace.

This weekend looks like it's going to be beautiful. Today I'm going for a walk with Renee at the park and tomorrow I'll be teaching some ladies how to crochet. Which means I need to buckle down and clean the house. I'm taking a break to write this post because I just mowed the front yard. Brandon has known for weeks that I would like the yard mowed one last time before winter, but for some reason this has not led to action. He should know by now that if he doesn't want me to do what he SHOULD be doing, he should not procratinate forever because I'm stubborn.

My Week...

So this past week has been okay. By the grace of God I got my grades done. It's always amazing that I have a few students who act so clueless when they find out that they failed the class. They always wonder how that happened. They say 'Gee whiz, I didn't know that not doing my work would make me fail.' Most of my kids did okay, though. I only had five A's, which is sort of disappointing. We have a ten point spread for each letter grade, so you'd think it wouldn't be that hard to get an A. It's so frustrating when they're happy with a D. How do you get a student in this "whatever" generation to try and to be unsatisfied with barely passing? You probably don't have any answers for me, but these are the things that run through my mind on a weekly basis.

We started Romeo and Juliet this week. I have some students that are getting into it, but I have so many boys and they're like 'Why do you have to tourture us like this, Mrs. Gill!' I have the play on CD, so we listen to it a lot especially in the beginning. FYI, professional actors do not make great readers on CD. Joseph Feinnes is the voice of Romeo (he's the guy that plays Shakespeare in the movie Shakespeare in Love) and he's terrible! His sad, mopey, over-the-top emotional voice makes it really hard for my boys to relate, which makes it that much harder for me.

Last night we went to Roanoke for a going away party for a guy Brandon works with. He's in the navy researve and is being called up for a tour in Afganistan. We went to Buffalo Wild Wings and I got to meet a lot of the people Brandon works with. They are a really great group of men, but they are the drinkingest group of people I ever met. I think Brandon and I were the only two people that didn't have an alcholoic beverage. Colby was pretty good last night. He didn't like waiting around for a table, but once he was settled in a high chair, he was good. He stayed up way too late and this morning he was extra cranky. We made him take a nap around 9a.m., which is very early for him. Usually nap time is around 11a.m. or sometimes 1p.m. Oh well, I guess that means we can go do some chores outside a little earlier in the day, though as you might notice, I'm sitting here typing a blog entry instead :-)

BTW...GO HOKIES!!

Lions, Tigers, Vultures Oh My?

I have bad luck when it comes to birds and the Rav4. Several years ago I hit an osprey or vulture on my way to work and tonight a turkey vulture came running down the road and almost hit the Rav. Yeah I said running. It was sort of crazy!

Today I voted. And tomorrow I will rejoice in the fact that I will no longer see any more commercials!! I won't tell you how I voted - lets just say my father-in-law would be suprised.

Halloween

Halloween was pretty uneventful at my house. I only had three visitors and one was a really creepy kid with black fabric over his face who couldn't even bother to say trick or treat. I couldn't figure out how to our light on. It's one of those motion sensor lights that CAN stay on, but I don't know how to do that. So people passed the house even though I had a ton of candy to give out. And no, Colby and I didn't go trick or treating. He's too little and I sure don't need the candy.

Today at school the kids had a two hour early release so that the teachers could grade papers. I swear those research papers are going to be the death of me. Just reading them makes me want to tear my eyes out. I just hope that by grading these papers and returning them with some serious (and sometimes scathing) remarks will help them in the future, otherwise I don't know why I do this to myself. Today we also started in on Shakespeare and Romeo and Juliet. I can't wait to start reading it again! I know I've taught it for six years now, but somehow it never seems to get old. Fun times!