Time to catch up

Whew! This has been a busy few days! In my last post, I had said we were leaving on that Thursday to go to the lake, but that didn't happen. John called about 5:00 and said they were having problems with the PACS (Picture Archival Communication System) and he'd be home as soon as he could. He called again about 7:30 and said he was about to leave the hospital, so by the time he got home, it was almost 9. When he called the second time, he told me that the pups and I could go ahead, but we didn't. It would have been 10:30 or so before we got there, and I just didn't want to be that late getting there by myself. We left on Friday about 8:30, though, and then John came up as soon as he was able to get off work. Nope, he didn't get to take Friday off like we'd originally planned. They were still having a few problems.

We had all the "kids" there Saturday. Katy and Sam got there about 11. Phillip was at a football camp in Cullman, so about 12 John left to go pick him up. Jess and Lance got there about 12:30. We just hung out, which was really nice. I did sneak off to the swim pier for a while. Katy was trying to get Sam to nap, so I figured the fewer people making noise, the better. Bless his little heart--he was getting sick with croup and wouldn't nap at all. After dinner, they bathed him and put his jammies on so that maybe he'd sleep on the way home. Katy sat down with him in the recliner, and within minutes he was zonked. He woke up when they got up to leave, and he was SO wheezy! She called Sunday morning and said he didn't sleep well Saturday night, so they were going to take him to the doctor. She called later that afternoon and said they were going to admit him to keep an eye on him. He did get to go home late Monday afternoon, so that was good. She sent me a text about 5:30 and said he was already asleep. Poor sweet baby! John talked to her a while ago, and she said he was doing better. He had yogurt smeared all in his hair and was wiping his hands on her. LOL

It has been a MARVELOUS week at school so far! Even though there have been some complaints from kids about the dress code, they have--for the most part--complied. Some have been sent home, but that is to be expected. For way too long, they rules haven't really been enforced, and they didn't think we'd carry through this year. The halls have been so much quieter, too. I know it's only day 3, but if they get into the habit, at day 103 it won't be any different.

Every morning this week, I've been up at 4:45 and have been at school between 6 and 6:15. I love that extra hour+ in the morning when it is still so quiet. That's when I get my mind focused on what is on tap for the day ahead and make sure that I have everything ready to go. Around 7:15-7:20, Karen, Don, and Kristen will come in to my room or we'll go to Karen's room. We have coffee (or Diet Coke for Karen most days) and talk. Until lunch at 12:32, there isn't a whole lot of adult interaction. :)

My classes have been tremendous! I think I posted once before about my schedule being the only thing I don't like because I have to shift focus from English 12 to English 11 and back to English 12. The Eng 12 to Eng 11 isn't so bad because there is time during advisement to forget about Beowulf and think about Ezra Pound, but the Eng 11 to Eng 12 shift is a little harder. There are only five minutes between classes, and we're supposed to be at our doors during class change. As long as the technology is working as it should, it isn't a problem because I set my Eng 12 up on one laptop and my Eng 11 up on the other. Today, however, was one of those days of technological difficulty. My LCD projector kept kicking off, and I'd have to get it going again. Finally, I just swapped to the hardwired laptop and used it. Of course, that meant have to swap out flash drives between classes. It got done, and the day progressed as planned.

As far as my class numbers--I have 29 in my first block Eng 12, 28 in my second block Eng 11, and 30 in my third block Eng 12. Of the 30 in 3rd block, I have taught all but 6 of them in a previous level. One of the girls has me for the third time. I had her for Eng 10 and 11. At least she knows what to expect from me, and I know I can rely on her. :)

Y'all, I am about to fall asleep, so I'm gonna call it a night. Take care, and have a GREAT Thursday!

Love,