I have survived another two weeks. Wednesday was the watershed "field experience." That's teacher code for "we're going on a field trip, but not really because we're going to make the kids work some." I suppose 'experience' makes the trip sound more meaningful and learn-a-riffic. Personally, I'm a-okay with anything that mixes up the daily routine. It was a lot of work, and we got rained on for the last twenty minutes, but breaking the daily grind was priceless. I would've shown up to work sick and vomiting to make the trip and then used sick leave for the day after.
After the trip, as I was cold and wet and supervising kids, I had a craving for a drink Carrie fixed for me yesterday: Irish Coffee. Coffee is the devil, but the Irish make it in a way even I'll drink it! Specifically, when I'm cold, wet, and tired. I would've loved one in that cafeteria...especially because I was out of my true love: tea. Don't worry, tea. I haven't forsaken you..., but I may be adopting a special coffee for special occasions. Carrie's thrilled she finally got me to admit to liking a coffee. She made homemade cream and she made one for her mom yesterday to show off how she converted me to the 'dark side.'
It's been a while since I updated, so I guess I'm going to do a 'bullet dump.' That's where I throw up a 'click to read more' and drop a bunch of bullets about random crap that's been going on the past 13 days so that no one has to read it unless they click.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
The Turning Point
Maybe "veteran" parent wasn't the right word in the last post. As a new parent, it was like I didn't trust my son to survive. I read books; I watched his chest to make sure he was breathing; I counted every ounce he drank. Now, I wonder if I'll survive!
This morning, Shane woke me up at 5 AM. Carrie was still asleep, because she'd fallen into a NyQuil induced coma on the couch downstairs. The tone of Shane's cries weren't hungry or hurt, but he was definitely unhappy. I didn't go into his room at first, because his cry was intermittent and I was worried that opening the door would fully wake him if he was slipping in and out of consciousness. Truthfully, I was also dead tired and praying that he would go back to sleep so that I could follow suit. Eventually, I went in and his room felt colder than I expected. I slipped some socks on him, an extra pair of pants, and then sat rubbing his back until he went back to sleep...sort of. He would doze off and on but he'd make enough noise that I never got back to sleep while listening to him on the intercom. Around 6:15 AM I went downstairs to make a bottle and fully wake the boy up. His hands were cold, so it must be time to switch my A/C frame of mind from cool to heat.
As a new parent, I would've been panicking. As an at least somewhat experienced parent, I was hoping I could snatch five more z's before the boy needed me. Hence, the "I used to worry he wouldn't make it" to the "and now I wonder if I'll make it." I don't know when the flip happened, but happen it did!
Seriously, the boy is worth it all. Even when I'm exhausted, when he smiles I can't help but be filled with pride and a sense of accomplishment. Hopefully, I'll live long enough to enjoy many more years of it....at least until the teenage years. Then I'll really wonder if I'm going to make it through parenting sanity intact!
This morning, Shane woke me up at 5 AM. Carrie was still asleep, because she'd fallen into a NyQuil induced coma on the couch downstairs. The tone of Shane's cries weren't hungry or hurt, but he was definitely unhappy. I didn't go into his room at first, because his cry was intermittent and I was worried that opening the door would fully wake him if he was slipping in and out of consciousness. Truthfully, I was also dead tired and praying that he would go back to sleep so that I could follow suit. Eventually, I went in and his room felt colder than I expected. I slipped some socks on him, an extra pair of pants, and then sat rubbing his back until he went back to sleep...sort of. He would doze off and on but he'd make enough noise that I never got back to sleep while listening to him on the intercom. Around 6:15 AM I went downstairs to make a bottle and fully wake the boy up. His hands were cold, so it must be time to switch my A/C frame of mind from cool to heat.
As a new parent, I would've been panicking. As an at least somewhat experienced parent, I was hoping I could snatch five more z's before the boy needed me. Hence, the "I used to worry he wouldn't make it" to the "and now I wonder if I'll make it." I don't know when the flip happened, but happen it did!
Seriously, the boy is worth it all. Even when I'm exhausted, when he smiles I can't help but be filled with pride and a sense of accomplishment. Hopefully, I'll live long enough to enjoy many more years of it....at least until the teenage years. Then I'll really wonder if I'm going to make it through parenting sanity intact!
Saturday, October 15, 2011
You know when you're a veteran parent when...
You know when you're a veteran parent when you hear your son gag on a baby puff and you're first reactions are to pat him on the back and cup your other hand in front of his mouth. I caught a handful of throw-up.
Hands are much easier and quicker to clean than carpet.
In other news, my son is working out! He likes to climb up the stairs with Daddy shadowing him. He's tackled four stories worth today! Shane is quite the trooper. He just keeps on trucking.
Hands are much easier and quicker to clean than carpet.
In other news, my son is working out! He likes to climb up the stairs with Daddy shadowing him. He's tackled four stories worth today! Shane is quite the trooper. He just keeps on trucking.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Early Thanksgiving
The whole house smells of sweet potato pie. Carrie's sick so she's using baking as a means of distracting herself. Everyone who eats her cooking will benefit from her illness. Sorry, Love!
Tomorrow is going to be an early Early Thanksgiving for my family. Jama flew up from Texas to visit and meet my son, Shane. Since she won't be able to be here in November, we're having a whole turkey, stuffing, and pie-o-rama tomorrow! I get two Thanksgivings this year! Good food, and it's greatly convenient, because my mother-in-law wanted to have Thanksgiving down at her house this year because my brother-in-law's family moved nearby. The bash for Jama prevents a schedule conflict for me, so I feel extra blessed.
Shane's got a sore nose at the moment. He was at Nana Day Care, and Nana had to run to another room for a moment. Jama was with Shane, but he's getting faster and faster by the day. Megan just happened to open the front door, arms full of groceries, and step through when Shane was closer to it than Jama. The little tyke raced over there and before Jama could get him had a little spill. His nose is a little scraped up, but he's not much worse for wear, the poor kid. Bumps and bruises are a necessary part of the learning process. He's getting old enough that he's capable of learning these sort of things, but I'm just happy it didn't happen on my watch. I always feel super guilty when he gets hurt around me like I'm a failure as a parent. Well, at least until I see if there's a mark or not and I'll have to fess up to my wife!
My SMART Board came in at work today. It's awesome. I'm looking forward to learning how to fully use it. I just need spare time and energy. Oh wait... That's the rub in my life nowadays. There's a lot of things I want to do or learn more about, but without spare time and the energy to do something in that spare time it's hard to innovate. It's almost counter-intuitive that I could be a better teacher if I did less at work, so that I could have more spare time to think and reflect.
Life has been moving quickly over here. It was a three-day weekend where I got to catch up on a lot of laundry on Columbus Day. I didn't get much done on Sunday, because Carrie had four riding lessons. She was gone for nine hours, and Shane requires more attention nowadays since he can go out and find trouble faster and faster. He's napping less, too. He's down to two naps a day, and sometimes he tries to go for a one nap marathon (he's extra cranky by bedtime on those days). I'm still working, tutoring, and I'm going to wake up extra early tomorrow to go with the science teachers and tour the watershed field experience site before school starts.
Tomorrow is going to be an early Early Thanksgiving for my family. Jama flew up from Texas to visit and meet my son, Shane. Since she won't be able to be here in November, we're having a whole turkey, stuffing, and pie-o-rama tomorrow! I get two Thanksgivings this year! Good food, and it's greatly convenient, because my mother-in-law wanted to have Thanksgiving down at her house this year because my brother-in-law's family moved nearby. The bash for Jama prevents a schedule conflict for me, so I feel extra blessed.
Shane's got a sore nose at the moment. He was at Nana Day Care, and Nana had to run to another room for a moment. Jama was with Shane, but he's getting faster and faster by the day. Megan just happened to open the front door, arms full of groceries, and step through when Shane was closer to it than Jama. The little tyke raced over there and before Jama could get him had a little spill. His nose is a little scraped up, but he's not much worse for wear, the poor kid. Bumps and bruises are a necessary part of the learning process. He's getting old enough that he's capable of learning these sort of things, but I'm just happy it didn't happen on my watch. I always feel super guilty when he gets hurt around me like I'm a failure as a parent. Well, at least until I see if there's a mark or not and I'll have to fess up to my wife!
My SMART Board came in at work today. It's awesome. I'm looking forward to learning how to fully use it. I just need spare time and energy. Oh wait... That's the rub in my life nowadays. There's a lot of things I want to do or learn more about, but without spare time and the energy to do something in that spare time it's hard to innovate. It's almost counter-intuitive that I could be a better teacher if I did less at work, so that I could have more spare time to think and reflect.
Life has been moving quickly over here. It was a three-day weekend where I got to catch up on a lot of laundry on Columbus Day. I didn't get much done on Sunday, because Carrie had four riding lessons. She was gone for nine hours, and Shane requires more attention nowadays since he can go out and find trouble faster and faster. He's napping less, too. He's down to two naps a day, and sometimes he tries to go for a one nap marathon (he's extra cranky by bedtime on those days). I'm still working, tutoring, and I'm going to wake up extra early tomorrow to go with the science teachers and tour the watershed field experience site before school starts.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Shane - 10 months
Has it really been this long? My boy is almost a year old? It's hard to believe sometimes. I remember dealing with Carrie's pregnancy, or sitting upstairs on a January afternoon with a 1.5 month Shane sleeping on my lap, and a laptop playing Zulu, Sanjuro, or some other random flick on Netflix streaming. Now, Shane weighs more than a small barbell, sleeps less, poops more, and is standing up! The days are long, but the months are short. I was frustrated this morning, because the boy woke up crying and then wouldn't take his bottle! I bolted out of bed in boxers, tore downstairs, came back up, and I got no cooperation. He's ate like a trucker after a long haul since then and is napping peacefully behind me (How else do you think I'd get time to type?).
Parenting is a lot of work, but I've learned a lot:
1) No one was kidding when they said "your whole life is about to change."
2) Grandparents are even cooler when they're your child's grandparents than when they were yours.
3) Any time you think you've got the routine down pat, you're already a step behind. It changes that quick.
4) Which is probably why everyone always says "they grow up so fast" and I've always shrugged it off thinking old people like to reminisce.
5) I'm officially one of those old people now.
On to the Shane-annigans:
Parenting is a lot of work, but I've learned a lot:
1) No one was kidding when they said "your whole life is about to change."
2) Grandparents are even cooler when they're your child's grandparents than when they were yours.
3) Any time you think you've got the routine down pat, you're already a step behind. It changes that quick.
4) Which is probably why everyone always says "they grow up so fast" and I've always shrugged it off thinking old people like to reminisce.
5) I'm officially one of those old people now.
On to the Shane-annigans:
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Great Teaching Moment
After a talk with my co-teacher today, it was decided that I would kick off the lesson on Observations today. I have a PowerPoint I made for my self-contained kids, and I figured I could breeze through it with the team-taught class in half the time.
The lesson kicked off really well. The kids liked the PowerPoint, my colorful word signs, and really appreciated the chance to yell in school (I like to do some 'call and answer' techniques to keep kids awake). I think my co-teacher liked it too, because she got to see a different teaching style than her own.
I was high on a lesson gone right when we hit the practice examples. The first of which, is a picture of a squid attacking a piece of bait. The kids ooh'd and aah'd and thrust their hands up eager to participate. The first couple gave me good Qualitative examples (color, etc), so I asked for a few Quantitative observations next (counting and measuring). One girl in the front of the class almost bounced out of her seat trying to volunteer, so I called on her.
"IT HAS EIGHT TESTICLES!"
The class was silent. I stood there for a blink or two, processing.
"You mean tentacles."
The lesson kicked off really well. The kids liked the PowerPoint, my colorful word signs, and really appreciated the chance to yell in school (I like to do some 'call and answer' techniques to keep kids awake). I think my co-teacher liked it too, because she got to see a different teaching style than her own.
I was high on a lesson gone right when we hit the practice examples. The first of which, is a picture of a squid attacking a piece of bait. The kids ooh'd and aah'd and thrust their hands up eager to participate. The first couple gave me good Qualitative examples (color, etc), so I asked for a few Quantitative observations next (counting and measuring). One girl in the front of the class almost bounced out of her seat trying to volunteer, so I called on her.
"IT HAS EIGHT TESTICLES!"
The class was silent. I stood there for a blink or two, processing.
"You mean tentacles."
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
A Few Notes on Teaching
There was an article thrown up on CNN stating teachers had 49% of their rank and file leave the field within the first three years. Every job has it's difficulties, but some are more physically strenuous (not teaching) or just more asinine than others (definitely teaching).
Thankfully, they make for some hilarious stories. From severely handicapped children pulling fire alarms, ("Well, it does say 'PULL!' At least he was reading!"), to a kid asking me if "there are special classes for special kids" when he's quite special himself, it feels like I always have something I can laugh about if I can just survive long enough that it becomes funny. Some years, so much stuff happens that it all blurs together and I lose more unique moments than some careers have in a lifetime.
Then there's the parents. Ah, yes. Those silly parents. A math teacher I used to work with still walks around quoting me whenever she runs into a 'special parent ("Appletrees!").
Three misnomers about being a teacher:
1. You don't get paid for summers. I'm on a 10 month contract. I have to go out and find work over the summer if I want a paycheck. No, my job is not some sort of dream job where I get paid for two free months. It's a job like any other - you only get paid for what you do.
2. You don't get respect. You get blamed for everything (especially by the parents). I'm not even going to mention all the things I've been accused of, but they range from racism, to purposely ignoring a parent's emails (because I didn't reply within an hour) and withholding textbooks. I love when I tell a parent what a kid did in my class and then they turn around and ask their kid "Did you do that?" like I'm making the whole thing up for my own nefarious purposes.
3. Yes, there are bad teachers out there, but there's a lot more good teachers that never get any credit. I'm sorry you didn't like a teacher you had as a kid. I hated plenty myself. However, a good teacher isn't always a kid's favorite and a teacher who's "cool" sometimes doesn't teach jack because they let the kids run the classroom. It's like parenting: the kids don't always want what's best for them and they're not happy to hear otherwise.
That sounds close to complaining, and I guess it is! On the bright side, teaching is a gold mine for comedy. If you can't laugh off some of the crap you're put through, then you don't belong in the field. Teachers certainly aren't in it for the money. I want to write funny anecdotes, but since I'm a special educator, I'm supposed to keep things confidential and try my damnedest.
That means I can write stories from waaaay back when! One time, I had a blind girl threaten to bring a gun to school and shoot the principal(the principal replied "Good luck finding me!" - True story!) Another time, I had a kid wear the same shorts to school for a week with a giant wet spot over his crotch (though I guess it was more crusty than wet by the end of the week). His mom thought he was a genius and that he belonged in more challenging classes. At another school, I had another student who was terrified of flies, because she thought they were poisonous. I had one student call me Stalin because I wouldn't let him wear a hood over his head with the drawstrings pulled tight, and another student who I had to have a serious talk with about picking his nose in public and why he couldn't get a date.
It's sad, but so many of those stories happen they blur together and fade from my memory like I mentioned earlier.
I don't know where I was originally going with this post, but it's past bedtime.There will be plenty to do in the morn.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Congrats to Cammy and Erwen!
I actually had a life this weekend.
I went to garage sales, Section 8 housing to do some computer work, church, a bar and my parents on Saturday. Then, I got to go to Cammy and Erwen's wedding celebration Sunday night! A big congrats goes out to the two of them. They've been together since I first met them some 7 or 8 years ago. Technically, they were already married before Sunday. The two of them ran off to Aruba to get married back in March or April if memory serves me. Sunday was supposed to be the more traditional Chinese wedding for their families.
The wedding was awesome. For one, it wasn't a wedding. It was a nine course Chinese dinner at the China Gardens! I came home stuffed to the gills with authentic Chinese food for the first time in my life. There was no sweet and sour sauce or General Tso's to my initial dismay. Instead, there was some sort of fried crab meatballs, lobster, chicken, duck, and some other things I'm really not sure what I was eating. Most of it was superb, and anything I didn't like just caused me to reach for one of the other courses. I couldn't help but laugh when they brought out the 'traditional' Chinese food takeout boxes for food that was clearly above and beyond anything I'd normally stuff into them. The only wrenches in the works were when Cammy told me the wrong time to show up (I was early to being an hour early), and then the interstate was going through massive construction on my way home.
More bullets from the weekend follow...
Thursday, September 22, 2011
A few thoughts
The current CEO of HP, Leo Apotheker, is getting fired to the tune of $7 million in cash and $18 million in stock options. His annual salary was supposed to be $1.2 million, plus he got a $4 million signing bonus.
Now, I'm not saying that a good CEO doesn't deserve a healthy sum for running a successful company. Their success will translate to success for the company's employees and their customers.
I am saying that I wish I could get fired for over 20x my base rate of pay. Seriously? The guy must have had some insane contract. For 20x my salary, I'd quit my job tomorrow and take a week long cruise to celebrate losing it. Then I'd look for a job in another county and hope to get fired from that too!
Second thought: tutoring rocks! The family I'm working with fed me pizza last week, and then it was spaghetti and meatballs and roast beef tonight. Back To School Night is much better when I'm not stuck at work for 3.5 hours of downtime and a commute that doesn't make going home to rest an option. Instead, I drive over to work tutoring for an hour, spend an extra half hour working and talking to the family so I don't feel guilty about eating their food, and then drive back to work to take care of business there. I'm pretty committed to making sure this family gets their money's worth out of me.
Third thought: I wish my commute home at 5 o'clock was as fast as my commute home at 8:30 PM. An average speed of 60 mph is much nicer than an average speed of under 20 mph.
Fourth thought: I've posted three times in three days. See you next month?
Now, I'm not saying that a good CEO doesn't deserve a healthy sum for running a successful company. Their success will translate to success for the company's employees and their customers.
I am saying that I wish I could get fired for over 20x my base rate of pay. Seriously? The guy must have had some insane contract. For 20x my salary, I'd quit my job tomorrow and take a week long cruise to celebrate losing it. Then I'd look for a job in another county and hope to get fired from that too!
Second thought: tutoring rocks! The family I'm working with fed me pizza last week, and then it was spaghetti and meatballs and roast beef tonight. Back To School Night is much better when I'm not stuck at work for 3.5 hours of downtime and a commute that doesn't make going home to rest an option. Instead, I drive over to work tutoring for an hour, spend an extra half hour working and talking to the family so I don't feel guilty about eating their food, and then drive back to work to take care of business there. I'm pretty committed to making sure this family gets their money's worth out of me.
Third thought: I wish my commute home at 5 o'clock was as fast as my commute home at 8:30 PM. An average speed of 60 mph is much nicer than an average speed of under 20 mph.
Fourth thought: I've posted three times in three days. See you next month?
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Role Reversal
Sometimes, I find it funny that my wife prefers to have me do the childcare so that she can attack projects.
Carrie's mom is coming up to visit tomorrow, so I took over Shane-duty after eating a quick dinner of leftovers. Carrie proceeded to attack any areas of disorderly muck that she could find for the next couple of hours.
Okay, okay, so cleaning and caring about the presentation of a house is "stereo-typically" female. My wife will hand me the baby to tackle projects for work, conference calls, painting rooms, assembling furniture, disassembling a laptop, you name it! The one thing she won't touch are the cars and electrical problems, so those remain firmly my realm. Anything from IKEA becomes a race to see who gets to put it together (because it's fun like Legos!), but I normally draw the baby duty.
Of course, there are divisions with baby duty as well. Baby baths, for instance. I don't do them. I'm not really sure how that started, but Carrie is the baby-bather. Solid food has been my thing. I was the one pushing that earlier and am usually the one to feed Shane non-bottled foodstuffs now.
Just a little insight into the weirdness that is my family.
It's after 10:00 and I should be sleeping. I have another Back-To-School Night and tutoring tomorrow, so I won't be home until later.
Update from 2012: Guess who is the only baby-bather now, Past Mike? Hint: It's not Carrie! Just a random update as I go back and tag a couple of hundred posts.
Update from 2012: Guess who is the only baby-bather now, Past Mike? Hint: It's not Carrie! Just a random update as I go back and tag a couple of hundred posts.
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