September 18th - Back To School

Been a few days.

Let's see, I survived the setting-up of my room, but only because I had major help from Bobby on Saturday.

This weekend was a Bobby Birthday weekend. I made a cake for him - layers and everything - and made a blue layer and mixed up some blue icing. Cause I'm all freakin' Betty Crocker. It was very good, and I'm dying for it to be 7:15 so I can test my post-dinner sugar and have a piece.

We had a very nice dinner at Bob's parents house, Bob's choice: tortellini! Mmm I want more of those right now, too. Bob's brother gave him a car stereo that hooks up to his Zen, and they hooked it up. It's pretty cool, and it's better than the rig he had before. Computer speakers in the back seat. Don't ask.

I feel really bad that his birthday itself kind of stinks - he has back-to-school night tonight, so we couldn't go out, and I already gave him his present on Saturday, and he's getting stuff from my family, but not till next weekend, when my mom, sis, and grandmother come here for the baby shower.

*squeal* baby shower!

So today was the first day back w/ kids for me. Not too shabby. At least, kid-wise, it wasn't. Had one decent 2nd grade, one decent 3rd grade, one pretty darn good 5th grade, and one terrible 1st grade. Seriously, this 1st graders were both dumb and bad. Bad combo. Their teacher dropped them off and literally asked me how many more days we have left this school year. 179, for the record. She's got some doozies, and no real shining stars to speak of. Sorry, that sounds mean, but you didn't see this class.

I did have some issues that were non-kid related. Oh, just 'small' ones. Nothing serious.

At least that's what I'm telling myself so I don't have a preggy hormone fueled melt-down.

1. My room was gorgeous, ready to go and set up exactly the way I needed it for my first class (which I had very little time to prepare for this morning). I came in and there's half a dozen desks and chairs just shoved in there. Nobody asked me, nobody bothered to make sure they weren' t in the way, my room is now just a glorified closet, apparently. And by the way, moving desks is NOT on the list of things you're supposed to do at this stage of the preggy game.

2. An aide dropped off a package of stuff I'd ordered and said, "that's your last package". I was like, "no, I don't have the recorders for the 3rd graders. And I'm supposed to give them out and start the kids on them in 2 weeks!" I don't order them, my principal does, since they come out of the student activities budget. And she never did. She apparently thought that despite the fact that she's been the one ordering them out of this other budget for 3 years, this year she didn't think she had to. So they're not ordered. Gotta deal with that tomorrow, and who knows when they'll be in, and I already told one class of 3rd graders that they're getting the recorders the week after next. Such fun.

3. Remember how they had hired my substitute, and she was all board-approved and ready to go? Yeah. Well my principal tells me TODAY that some time ago, said sub got a real job. And they have NO ONE lined up. And I'm supposed to go out in 33 days. For 4 months. Right, cause they're REALLY going to find a sub for me now. I'm not even expecting a half-decent sub. ANY sub. What's gonna happen to my chorus? Hello, holiday concert from Hell. My principal even went so far as to say "If you know anybody who would take the job, let me know ASAP."
...just freakin' great.

SOO if anybody within the sound of my voice knows someone who would like to be a long-term substitute teacher for K-5 general music and 3-5 chorus, let me know! How sad is this, I'm begging for a sub on my blog.

And I know that in a few weeks I'll be too big, bloated, and baby-crazed to care. I won't give school a thought to school or Chorus or whatever. But for now, as immersed in all things school that I am, I'm trying not to let it get me too upset. Yet. If we hit October and nobody's lined up, I WILL be trolling local colleges for student teachers about to graduate.