So here it is my Spring Break (and I know that many people start to growl when teachers mention this week off...but please keep reading!) and tomorrow is already Friday!?!? Is this some cruel, evil trick? How can my glorious week of rest be over and it really wasn't a rest?!?! The thing that non-teachers don't know is that us teachers treat this week as a mini summer break and we quickly plan many things to do/get done since we have the time. So instead of sleeping in, enjoying my morning coffee while watching some morning talk show and seeing what the day has instore for me...it quickly turns into...the AC repairman visit, the car oil change, a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment, the grocery shopping, cleaning the entire house and organizing some closets and then you get to rest! By the time I'm getting to the resting part the week is over. I'm really not complaining because it is a treasure to have the time to make these appointments and get a lot of stuff checked off my to do list. :) But yes I have had more time than usual this past week and I have enjoyed being at home by myself as well as enjoying the evenings with Jay instead of working on something for school.
Besides all my other items on the "to do" list, my best friend's baby shower is this Saturday and I have been busy putting the finishing touches on things and getting everything set. I think it will be fine and I hope that everyone enjoys it. I had to borrow some folding chairs from my mother-in-law because there will be about 26 ladies at the shower and I finally counted all the seating space and chairs in my house and guess what? The total is less than 26! :) But that's ok. The more the merrier right?! This will be my 6th baby shower of 2011 and the second one that I have thrown. It definitely is baby fever with regards to my friends right now!
While I've started this topic of babies, I just have to apologize for my previous post. I wrote that, turned off the computer and hadn't reread or checked in with my Blogspot account until the beginning of February. When I finally reread what I had written I was mortified. I sounded like such a complainer and whiner and not like a grown woman at all. I probably offended some people, which was never my intent and I truly felt bad for what I had written and decided to post. But I know that some people might want to know what the latest news is in regards to our trying to start our family. The news is getting better. I took myself off some meds late in 2010 and really just wanted to reset my body if you will. I started 2011 feeling a lot better and even lost a few pounds. I set up an appointment and Jay and I met with our specialist (Dr. Patel) yesterday. We had a real and honest talk and made a road map of what steps are going to happen for the rest of Spring and for our Summer. I really would rather just keep our road map to myself right now...but rest assured that if there is news I will be writing about it with joy! I am feeling much better myself and Jay and I are closer than ever because we have had to be good about talking and really expressing our thoughts and feelings. I also bought him a book called, What He Can Expect When She's Not Expecting. It is for guys who are going through infertility problems with their wives. There is so much information for woman struggling with infertility but really not much for the guys! He is enjoying it and I think it has helped to keep us talking and communicating even better than before!
So it's back to work on Monday and yes my week of rest will have come to an end. But I am so looking forward to seeing my little ones. I have to brag real quick before I end this post. The weeks leading up to Spring Break are pretty crazy. We are preparing for and then taking our district Reading and Math benchmark tests, working on our big ancient Egypt unit (which we added a musical this year!), preparing for student led conferences (where students share their learning about Egypt with their parents) as well as all the regular learning in reading, writing, math, science, social studies continues. On top of all this I came down with a touch of the flu and a really bad sinus infection. We're talking three trips to Urgent Care, three different prescriptions, two nasal sprays and one really tired, worn out, icky feeling Jennifer. Not a great way for a teacher to be. I made it through February and only missed one day (on which I had a 101.4 temperature!) and the kiddos made it too. Their conferences were awesome and the parents so loved seeing all they had learned about Egypt. Our musical was a smash too and something we are definitely keeping for years to come! But the big brag was getting their benchmark scores back. These scores are the first ones in their academic record and they give me points on a rubric if my district ever has to let go of teachers due to budget cuts. My class average for math was...90% and my class average for reading was...84% (it was 88% before my really low kiddo's test scores were put in)!!! I was so thrilled! I looked back through my reading goal book for each kid and was shocked by their growth. I had one child who didn't know her letters or sounds at the beginning of the year and now she is reading an average of 21 words a minute! I have seven kids reading over 100 words per minute and my highest student started the year at 108 words and is now reading 178 words per minute! They just totally amazed me with these results and it was one of those moments that I was reminded why I became a teacher!
So if you're still reading up to this point...wow, thanks! I know I tend to ramble when I post and that's probably because I don't post often enough, so I tend to just unload when I do write! We'll see if I get a chance between now and the end of school to write again! Thanks for all of the support, encouragement and prayers that I truly can feel! I am blessed with amazing friends and it touches me more than you might ever know! :)
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