Oh my...it's been weeks and months since I have posted. Why? Because after a long day at school dealing with students who are learning disabled, emotionally disturbed (actual disability category according to IDIEA...not my own, I swear), autistic, or generally disorganized and not a fan of the whole "school" thing, the last thing I want to do is sit down in front of the computer and type about my day. Also, for legal reasons I can't or shouldn't write about the countless stories I have from my job. As a parent, if I found out my child's teacher was blogging about my kid after hours..I would be pissed. Unless it was a story that portrayed my child as some sort of a genius! So why start a blog you say...not sure right about now. I think it has something to do with keeping me intellectually stimulated over the summer while I was home with my kids! So without much to write about today here is a list of memorable moments from this fall:

1. Chad took his annual college football trip to Clemson, SC this year. No one was arrested, but there was one "chipped tooth" incident and one waterlogged cell phone.

2. Chad acquired a new Black berry as a result of this trip, paid for by his company. Meanwhile I still have to use this outdated, sad looking phone which I really hate.

3. Cameryn's hair is now long enough to put into pigtails. But now I have thousands of small colored rubber bands all over my house!

4. I spent hundreds of dollars so that I could dress up myself, Ian, Cam, and Katie (dog) as Star Wars characters for Halloween. Katie (dressed as Darth Vador) received the most compliments from friends and family. Really? Didn't anyone like my cool Princess Leia Wig? Side note: Chad refused to participate in this. Loser!

5. I must have no immune system because I have had every known virus/cold this fall.

6. Chad rented a cherry picker to paint our 100 year old house because he refuses to pay someone else to do it. After almost physically killing himself one entire weekend scraping/painting, the house is still not completely painted. But I did get some good pics of my husband!

7. I am no longer the young teacher that I still think I am in my own mind. This year I have some parents who are younger than me, but have a 13 year old. There is also an employee at my child's daycare who called me by my maiden name and said she had me in summer school. She told me it took her a while to figure out who I was because I looked so different....hmmm....is that a compliment? I didn't press her for an explanation.

8. I have managed to finish some really good books....including the Hunger Games trilogy, Sarah's Key, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Nothing like a good book..it beats cleaning the house or watching your kids any day!

9. We joined the local YMCA as a family with the intentions of getting into shape. Needless to say I am about 5 pounds heavier than I was over the summer AND the Y is pretty much making money off of us. Not sure how much longer we will stay members.

10. I am working with a new team of teachers this year (new to me, not to the building). And it is going really well. It's the right amount of fun, sarcasm, and professionalism. I also have student who needs a one on one aide and by luck my old buddy from years past was available. She is awesome, a fully certified teacher in her own right, and makes my job 1000 times easier! It's awesome to feel "in the groove" every day at work. Not to mention I implemented some new interventions with a few of my low readers...and their fluency scores have shot way up. I can't tell you how rewarding this feels!

That's all for now...be sure to stay tuned. Next post will hopefully be before Easter.