Graduation Night

Tonight was the graduation of the first class of freshmen that I taught. They were a pretty rough group as freshmen, but helped to make me a better teacher.

I am glad to see the strides that most of them have made in four years. That being said, this was the first graduation that I have been to (at this school) that the seniors actually misbehaved. They had beach balls they blew up and passed along, fortunately, they waited until the school song to start passing them around, so it was not distracting to any of the speakers or to the overall ceremony.

Both the valedictorian and salutatorian were in my senior class, and did a great job with their speeches. The salutatorian was talking about how important it is to think for yourself, and the teacher next to me pointed out one of the seniors who was rocking his body to make the tassel on his graduation cap swing in circles. I found this more than slightly amusing - I completely lost it. I laughed so hard I was crying. The valedictorian called me out in her speech, I was worried when I heard my name, but she was very sweet.

After the ceremony another teacher and I were handing out the actual diplomas, and I got to say congratulations to almost every graduate. It is very rewarding as a teacher to see students grow up and move on. I enjoy graduation every year, (and would attend even if it was not mandatory) but this year it was especially enjoyable.

This time of year ...

As a teacher I look forward to the end of the year as much, if not more, than the students. One of the best things about teaching is hitting the restart button at the end of each year. I came into teaching high school from teaching college level labs.

That first year was tough. I thought it was the jump from college to high school, but over the past 4 years I have gathered that it was more a matter of the group of kids I had that first year. I am now thankful that first year was so rough, it made me a better teacher. I am also glad that I had the opportunity to teach a small group of them again this year in an AP class, it is good to see how they have grown up in the past 4 years.

I am also relived to have not had to reteach as much of the freshman information this year as I have in years past. In all reality this was my first year of really teaching anywhere near the AP level. If this group does not do well on their tests, I will be disappointed for them not in them, because they worked until the very end. I hope they succeed in all that comes their way, and that if they do fail, they get back up and try agian.

The Most Beautiful Girl in the World

Delilah Jewel joined our family at 10:35 on Thursday. She has a very odd birthday 05/07/09 - consecutive odds -- a good sign that she will fit in with the rest of the gang :)

This is hilarious

These mugs are awesome for teachers. The same site also had pre-chewed pencils. I have actually prevented my students from taking my pencils, by chewing on them and then trying to hand them to the student. I find myself amusing.

Puppies

My husband has been wanting a puppy for a long time. Unfortunately, we have a cat which does not tolerate other pets. So we had said that we would not get a puppy until the kitty is no longer with us. But that may not be the case.

Last year sometime we decided that when we do get a puppy we want a great dane. He actually brought one home, but it was supposed to be a puppy and was full grown. I was afraid to take it in, because ithad not been well taken care of. It was too much all at once.

Lately, I have been researching how to introduce a puppy to a cat, searching for breeders and doing general research on the breed. The more I discover the less I believe we will wait. I am still uncertain about the daunting task of training a puppy, and caring for such a big dog while we are so busy with so much else. We shall see ...

The baby's room is all bugged out!

Thus is the boy and girl caterpillars, aren't they awesome. The girl is missing the antenna on the butt, because I forgot them.

This butterfly required me, mom and stacy, but was much easier than the other which required me, mom, stacy and chelsea.

Two of the three aunts ... I mean ants. The plan is to center the crib on this wall with the baby's name on wooden blocks attached to the wall.

Yes I was crazy enough to try a grasshopper, and relied quite a bit on those grasshoppers that I have dissected for the past 3 years. And no it is not a dung beetle. You can see mom's lady bug and the 3rd aunt ... I mean ant, why do I keep doing that?

Christmas 2008 and New Years 2009

We had a crazy Christmas break. I went to Arkansas with my family to see my grandmothers before Christmas, and my husband went to Virgina Beach because his grandfather died. I picked him up on Christmas and got to spend Christmas with him and my family.

I had luch with an old friend from high school, who was a bridesmaid in my wedding. Until recently we had not been in touch for several (possibly 10) years. It was good to reunite and catch up. I regret not keeping in touch all these years. But it is hard, as we are all so busy and consumed with our friends, family and lives.

I had an amazing girls night with the usual crew. It was the beginning of a fabulous Christmas break. Fabulous food was supplied by all. It was fun to confuse/torture the only one who was still unsure of the Secret Secret Santa Society that we started up this year within our group. And hilarious to watch her night catch up to her as she became one with the floor.

Thanks to the H's for dragging me out for a spontaneous late night trip for dessert. Loy, loy, loy I say to you all. I also enjoyed the company of Hermione, her sister and her mom for a friday night, which was tons of fun, even though they passed on the squid.

I made the top of a quilt, which does not look how I planned, but after all, it is my house, craziness is the norm here. I caught up on movies, tv shows, time with the family, times with friends and kissed my husband at midnight on NYE. I am a blessed girl.

I look forward to the new year, and to my niece/goddaughter that will join us in late April. And I hope for increased luck in our own fertility. I hope for a full-time teaching job for my husand, and more opportunities to connect in any manner possible with friends and family, even those friends who I have not seen in many years. And I hope that everyone finds joy in their lives daily.