A Glimpse- Day 2

As always, my alarm went off at 5am this morning  (502am to be exact) and as I rolled out of bed I thought, 'Great, it's Monday and Damn, it's gonna be a busy week'.  My morning routine is the same every morning:  get out of bed, get dressed (I take showers at night), do face and attempt to do hair.  This last attempt usually is successful once or twice a week.  However, today 22 mins. after I got out of bed, I was dressed and my hair was fixed!  Record!

My hair really is fixed, that's just a stray piece...ha!

I go downstairs to make Gage's milk and get his/my breakfast together before I get him out of bed.  I figured out long ago the more I get ready before he gets up, the easier things will go....especially these days since he's gotten the memo he's a Terrible Two Year Old.  This morning, I packed Gage cereal and yogurt and myself a breakfast bar and applesauce.  I know- a healthy meal!  Trust me, I wish I had time for something better.

At 535am, Luke comes down the stairs to ask what he can help with.  He's right on time every  morning and 90% is done.:)  Unless of course he oversleeps and isn't even ready himself until I get Gage up.  At 550am I get Gage out of bed, this morning he's sleepy since he talked for an hour last night before going to sleep and Luke gets him dressed before we come downstairs.  He gets his milk and plays for a few minutes while I finalize what needs to get out of the house and since it's Monday, that means a blanket for him and usually, the journal (not needed today b/c last week was a short week).

We try to leave every morning at 618am, it's the perfect time to get out of the house and to get to daycare 1-2 mins. after they open.  Lately though, Gage has fit pitched in the morning and it's a struggle to even get his coat on.  This morning we are good to go and end up leaving right on time.  Today went really well for a Monday. We show up to daycare 7 mins. after we leave the house and I sit him down to eat breakfast with his friends. Today he chooses to sit by himself (the 1st time ever) and he is happily eating his cereal when I leave.

This morning I pull into the parking lot at 7am on the dot.  No traffic for some reason.  Typically I spend a good few minutes sitting in the bus traffic leading into the parking lot.  Today is my easy day where I only teach 2 classes instead of 3.  But during my LONG planning period today I have an IEP meeting with a translator and ESOL teacher, which will make it twice as long.  Of course because I'm a teacher I can't disclose specifics about my day due to confidentiality reasons so I'll speak in general terms.  I get into school and realize my phone is dead and I've left the only phone charger at home....great!  No phone today- hope daycare doesn't need me.

715-830am-This is my planning period and this morning I get everything done that I need to.  Copies for my meeting, a few things straightened up.  hah....did I say straightened up?  Look at my desk- I have a bit of a problem with organization.

This is the top.

This is underneath!

And before you judge, no, I do not teach kids in this room, I don't have a classroom so we're all in an office together.  I look in my purse for my coffee mug and realize I left that at home too.  Always something.  That means I get to drink coffee out of the Dixie cup size cups the school has.

830-10am- My most dreaded class of the week.  Nothing of note today, but my gosh are those kids lazy.  And I don't use that term lightly, I am not one who assumes every kid who doesn't do work is lazy, but I have never had kids quite like I do this year.  Lazy and disrespectful!

1015am- IEP meeting- Student and parents don't show.  What should've been 1hr+ meeting just turned into 15 mins.  Good for my planning period, but not good because they didn't show.  It's so frustrating after we called Mom and asked her twice and she said she'd be there.  The kid has an attendance problem anyway, so this wasn't too promising.

By 1045am I'm free to do other work.  However, somehow I manage to do so many things that I work through lunch and am having a convo with my AP when I realize I have 10 mins. 'til my next block.  I grab a handful of pretzels and a Coke.  You'd think in a 2 hr and 10 min planning period I'd have time to eat....but grr...I hate to stop working to eat.

1230pm-2pm- Another one of my least favorite classes, but at least it's the end of the day.  This class is GOLDEN compared to my 2nd period.  It's not so bad, I get a little work done while they work as well. And did I mention, email the girl who is going to do my new blog design!  Finally!

I am busy this week and have appointments EVERY day after school.  Today is Gage's tube check for his ear tubes he got last January.  This usually takes all of 8 mins. and I get the 'looks good, see you in 4 months' speech.  Kind of annoying that I have to leave work before I get everything done to take him for such a short check up.  However, who can complain when this is the time and temperature when they get out of work.

It's the end of November people AND we live in VA!

That's right ladies and gents, my contract hours are over at 220pm everyday.  Can't complain about that.  But explains why I get up so early

So I speak too soon.  Usually we're in and out of the ENT- today we had to wait 20 mins. before we were even taken back.  Thank God Gage behaved himself and we got through it with no meltdowns.

Gage loves this toy at this doctor's office, he looks so big for it now!

Also thank God they had books to read, Mommy forgot to bring anything in with her, because the appointments are usually so fast.  We read a strange Eric Carle book, a Berenstein Bears book, Wocket in my Pocket and a Dora book. They finally called us back.



That's when the appointment proceeded as normal, the NP looked at his ears for 4 mins. and sent us on our way to come back in March when they will probably have already fallen out.  Gage got his scarecrow sticker and we were on our way.  That's when something noteworthy happened.  Gage walked out holding my hand and walked the entire length of the parking lot (probably 100 yards or so) by himself and didn't ask ONE time to 'get up'.  It was crazy.  See, Gage can't even walk out his classroom and out the door of day care without asking me at least 3 times and then most of the time has a meltdown when I won't pick him up.  I was actually pretty proud of him!  Since we went to the dr. and waited AND he was good AND walked, we went to CFA to get a special treat.  Ice cream and a brownie!

He also got to play in the play area which he never gets to do because there are so many big kids trying to run him over.  There was noone there and he really enjoyed it.

Following CFA we headed home to hopefully have enough time to get a walk in before dinner, but it gets dark SO early here now that it just didn't happen.  So we played some more until Daddy got home.



As soon as Daddy walked in (early tonight!) I headed out to Toys R Us. We had a return AND I had a $13 coupon that expired today and damn if I'm not my mother's daughter, I will.not.let. a coupon expire...not one for that much anyway!  So I returned a gift Gage got for his birthday and picked up a Cars drum pad from Santa Claus.  I got home just in time to read Gage a few bedtime stories before putting him down. 

7pm- Gage is in bed and Luke is out the door (I know, it's like a revolving door around here).  Which means I'm by myself for dinner and the chicken in the fridge is not getting any younger so I throw something together real quick with ingredients I have.  Nothing special- spicy garlic lime chicken, rice and brocoli and cheese.  I sit down to eat and start to realize it's already 745pm and I have SO much to do tonight before bed.

I still have to pick up the house, plan for tomorrow and review a text book for Thursday.  I kinda detest picking up for the cleaning lady to come, then again, it's better than actually doing the cleaning.  I always feel like a chicken with my head cut off every other Monday night.  I have to pick up everything I can so she can clean as well  as she can and usually I end up making piles places, which is not good....but it will do the trick for tonight. One of these days I'm going to REALLY clean so that she can REALLY clean.

I shower, do more laundry and start to think about plans for tomorrow....at 930pm....awesome!  I'm tired and I want to go to bed and I didn't get any of the textbook reviewed.  I have 2 more nights, now of sessions hours long to get through the book before Thursday.  It's fine though, I'll have more time tomorrow night when I'm not running around trying to get things picked up.  The Saints are beating the Giants! Yay!  Signing off for me.  Good night!

Now if you're still with me, don't forget to enter my giveaway!