Oh the gold ol' days

This is one of my fav pics of my sister and I. Bet you can't guess which one I am! Isn't my sister darling? She has such precious baby pictures. I don't really remember this buggy, but it looks like it would've been a lot of fun. I think we upgraded to a red wagon, and that became our main transportation till I turned at least 11 or so. Now the red wagon is something I remember! :D Love you sissy. You were such a great playmate, till evidentally I became a pesky upper grade schooler and you decided reading books was more fun than entertaining your much younger sister. Not much to blame there. ;)

Anyway, hope you enjoyed my little flashback. I had to share since Mumsie had it on her desktop this week in honor of our cuteness.

First sub job cont.

So, I only taught two classes, and I just administered a test for both. So, a really easy way to get paid, imo. But, it has to be done. :P The first period I had was a little more challenging. It was clear that they did not have many rules they had to follow and it was challenging to make sure they were all sitting far enough apart so they wouldn't cheat. It was obvious that many of the students did not give a rip about whether they passed or not. Evidentally, listening to music and using electronics was "ok". Many were not pleased when I banned them for the test. Blah. There weren't enough calculators to go around, and I wasn't even sure they were supposed to use them. I let them use non-graphing calculators, just to makes sure. But, some had to use their cell phone calculators since I had run out. Not ideal. I had to do a lot of class wandering just to make sure that none were being used for other purposes. They were noisy, disrespectful, the usual. Anyway, not my fav. experience, but I finally got them quieted down and then I got some respite.

The second class was worlds better. It seemed like the teacher cared a little more about whether they learned, or she just didn't give up on this class like she may have for the other one. They were all very motivated to study for their test, working problems on the board, etc. They were eager to start the test, so they could finish on time. When I asked how they felt about the class, they said that they didn't learn nearly as much from the teacher as from youtube videos. Hmmmmm. Great. Anyway, they were quiet and respectful and motivated, so I was happy.

I really hope none of my students says "oh she's nice, but I have to learn from the internet because she doesn't actually teach". I have no idea who the other teacher is (besides her name), but perhaps she's sort of given up on her profession? Ah the realities of the real world . . . .

Subbing today!

Well, it's my first day subbing. My students are in the middle of a rather long and grueling test, at least that's how it appears. So far so good, but more updates later. There's been some good, and some not so good.

Some Kittified and hubbified Cuteness

 My husband will most likely NOT appreciate me posting this picture. Ah well, beat me hun! ; )

Oh my goodness, aren't they precious? Gosh, just imagine the look on the hubby's face when he holds our future baby. That is, if we have kids, like in 10 years, maybe.

*Yawn*

Look mom! I founds your blanky! It's so nice nn sooooft.

Gosh, life is juss soooo harrrrd sometimes!

Foooood!

We had my father over for dinner as well as a close friend for the first time. So, we had to go all out and make an awesomely gourmet meal. We made Mac and Cheese, a special recipe from Food and Wine magazine:

Yes, we did bake it in the skillet in the oven. I forgot to take a picture before we dug in, therefore is no longer looks like it did. :P

Then, Martha Stewart helped us with the mushroom, tomato, spinach, and parmesan salad as well as the mini chocolate cakes that we had for dessert. I overcooked the chocolate cakes, because I didn't want there to be any chance of raw egg whites (dad's allergic). But, he assured me that he doesn't require that much cooking to make it ok. Therefore, next time it will be cooked less and not look like an exploding volcano (hopefully):

It cracks me up just to look at it. My guests assured me it was plenty edible, but I thought it was way too dry. Ah well.

So, for everything including the broccoli on the side (gotta get lots of greens) here's a picture:

I think we did a pretty good job. I couldn't have asked for a better husband, who washed practically ALL of the dishes as we were using them. I quote from him "It's the one thing I know I can't mess up" and "All good chefs clean as they go". He's been watching lots of Ramsey shows, so he would know. ;)

Anyway, it was a success. More pics later from tonight. We're having an informal mexican feed for my parents to celebrate halloween. Hopefully it'll turn out well . . .

Oh the Hecticity!

Yes, I did just make up a word. But it describes the last couple of days at school. Yesterday I was informed that I needed to find a sub for Mon. the entire day because I have some professional development meeting to attend (all day). Ugh. For one, I don't wanna leave my kids, for two, I've never had a sub before, so I didn't know how to get one, for three, it was kinda short notice. Anyway, so I'm rushing to try and figure out how to sign up for a sub and get one that actually knew French and then I'm informed that I need a sub for Thursday next week as well! So, I had to ask someone in the building who was free that period to cover for me. Double Ugh. THEN, I found out that they needed me to move classrooms to a completely different building, by MONDAY! This I found out after school Thursday evening, meaning I had to go in today and try and get my sub plans set up, everything in order for my sub on Mon. When I got to the school where I needed to change classrooms, the office people had already left so I had to track down a janitor to let me into my new room so I could set up for my Sub. Geez. Thank you high school and middle school, for springing all this on me last minute and at the same time! Like, how often do you make a teacher get a sub AND make her move her classroom in one day??? As if my life wasn't hectice enough.

On a positive note, I got paid! YAY, after working over a month, I finally get paid! Also, I'm out looking for a furry companion. I think I've found one, if she's still available. A friend of mine found a previously owned stray who is a sweetie. I'm thinking it's pretty promising. More news on this later . . . .