A Quadruple Threat

Okay, Here's My Deal...

A multicategorical deal tonight, actually.

#1: Ever notice how some people's initials say it all? There is a high school teacher in my district that demonstrats that point wonderfully. His initials are BS...very fitting for a person who is stubborn and an a** Here are some other adjectives that work for him: control freak, anal retentive, pushy, chauvanistic, elitist, you get the picture.

#2: My husband was disappointed in my last post about going under the knife for my tonsillectomy. He thought I would have much more to say about the whole thing. I assured him I probably did, but I was just tired and couldn't think of anything else to say.

#3: Irony is a wonderful thing. A while back, my assistant principal threw around the phrase, "Well, teachers want a plan? How about I start writing some of them up...there's the plan!" So, the irony? She's been written up by our principal for not following district procedure...or, plan, if you will. And I do...and I am smiling.

#4: What is it about certain TV shows? You have seen them a bajillion times (trust me, I am a math teacher) but yet, when they come on, you are glued to the TV like it was all brand new. I am that way with M*A*S*H* Movies are the same way...We own many DVD's and "Shawshank Redemption," is one of them. When it comes on the TV we stop and watch it and then say to each other, "Why don't we ever just put in the DVD and watch this?"

I guess that is all I got tonight.

Going under the knife.

Okay, Here's My Deal...

February 10th I am going under the knife...the tonsils are coming out. I just hope that all of the pain that I will go through is worth it in the long run.

And you are...?!

Okay, Here's My Deal...

It was beautiful. Almost made me cry. It was one of those teacher moments that come all too unoften.

I have some students this year that are on their third year with me. That in and of itself does not happen too often...so I have really gotten to know some of them really well. Some I have seen grow by leaps and bounds intellectually or socially or both. Some I have seen regress and some I have seen plateau. That is what is amazing about 6th, 7th & 8th graders. I love this age, I really do, or I would not still be here after almost 15 years.

For a couple of weeks now in my Algebra I class we have been working on somethings that have the majority frustrated and a minority that got it right away who are frustrated with the others who don't. Yesterday, I began to see the light at the end of the tunnel when I saw hands in the air that I have not seen in a while and they seemed toreally be getting it all together.

Today, well, let's just say I thought we'd have a little trouble and as I start to explain things, I see that as predicted, there were some furrowed eyebrows and pursed lips. It took us a few minutes to get through the first example and then I went on to the second...one I thought would really throw them for a loop.

I braced myself and dug in ready to anwer the questions I knew I would get. Before I even uttered the question, JM said, "Why can't you just multiply everything by 24?"

I know I must have looked like a deer in the headlights as I stood there thinking...was that JM?!?!?!? The kid that has been struggling since the second semester of 6th grade because he doesn't always pay attention and doesn't always do his work despite being highly bright?

I just smiled, went over to him, put out my hand and said, "I'm Mrs. H...and you are?" He looked at me like I was from Mars and said, "J." "Where have you been? Out of nowhere you get it right!" "I did? Holy crap!"

It was great. Those moments are too few and far between in a teacher's career.

WRONG number!!

Okay, Here's My Deal...

I am what you call a traveling teacher in my building. I have a room of my own...it is an old storage closet. That is where I teach my small groups of gifted education kids. I also teach three larger math classes and I travel to other teachers' rooms those hours.

When the phone rings, I never know if it is for me or for the teacher whose room I am invading. Sometimes they are in there and sometimes they run errands...so if they are not in the room, I answer the phone and I take a message for them if necessary.

This happened yesterday. The orthodontist called, returning a call from the teacher. They said they would leave their toll free office number for her to use. I wrote it down, repeated it back and left the message on her desk.

She came in, made the call, hung up and made another call. When done, she came up to me, smiling and got really close to me so that the studetns could not hear. This is our conversation, I am in purple and she is in green:

"I just wanted you to know that this was not the doctor's number."
"Did I write it down wrong?"
"Oh, yeah!!"
"Who was it?"
"When they picked up, I heard heavy breathing and then a woman said, oooooh, my mouth is soooo wet for you..."
"SHUT UP!!" after which we both started to laugh hysterically, cauing the kids to perk up, so she moved in closer.
"It gets better."
"Oh, no..."
"Then she said, I can't wait to get my hands on your hard...to continue this call, you will be charged $3.99 a minute. That is when I hung up."
"I am SO sorry...I swear I repeated the number back to her."
We laughed some more and of course the kids are going nuts...I just said to them, "Let's just say I wrote down the wrong number for Mrs. S. to call back." Which of course did not satisfy the curiosity of eighth graders...luckily there were only a few minutes left in class.

I don't think I would make a very good receptionist.

Creeping Crud and Enormous Tonsils

Okay, Here's My Deal...

PART I: The creeping crud has hit our house.

It began with our son two nights ago. Projectile vomiting...across the room and then all over Daddy. Once he emptied his stomach, he was fine.

Last night, I continued the drama. I had the "backdoors" as my babysitter calls them, for a while and then I proceeded to throw up every meal I had eaten for the last 20 years (or so it felt). Once I got past the dry heaves, I was fine.

Finally, tongiht my husband comes home having dealt with the "backdoors" at work. I asked him if he felt pukey yet and he said no...ten minutes later, he ralphed up his stomach contents and then felt better. His unique symptom was the chills.

Hopefully, this will be the end of the creeping crud for a while.


PART II: Enormous tonsils...

About two weeks before Christmas, I got a sore throat and an earache. The nurse practitioner looked in my throat and said, "My, you have enormous tonsils!" To which I replied, "I bet you say that to all your patients!!" She gave me antibiotics to clear it all up. They did...

Until right before we came back from NC, when my sore throat was back. I go back to the NP and she says, "They are just HUGE!" Come to find out the speckles I saw were NOT infection spots, but rather scar tissue that has built up over time. She gave me different drugs to make my sore throat go away.

It hasn't, so next week I get to see an ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialist to see if they need to come out. Great. Buy, hey, on the bright side...we'll meet that insurance deductible really quiclky this year if they do have to come out!

Have to go gargle with salt water...goodnight.

It's Great to Find Fake!!

Okay, Here's My Deal...

Afew years ago we flew on ComAir, which is now part of Delta. The in-flight snack were these Bischoff cookie things that were almost as good as sex. I have been jonesing for some ever since. They are expensive as heck from the company. However, I have found fake ones!!

My husband was in the grocery store and he overheard a woman say, "These taste just like those airplane cookies!!" So, we bought some and I'll be...they are close enough!! It is so great.

Home Again Home Again Jiggedy Jig

Okay, Here's My Deal...

All four of our Christmases went well. My son is in toy & book and clothing heaven.

Holy buckets, though!! His vocabulary increased by several words for the not quite two weeks we were in NC and he got his first real haircut. Tomorrow will be college... ={

But we are home. And, our luggage arrived too...just 24 hours later than we did. But at least it was found and all accounted for and safely home.

I brought home tonsilitis...possibly strep. We'll know after the culture grows a little. Second time for tonsilitis in as many months. If it happens again or if it does not clear up, I get to go to an ENT specialist to see if they need to come out.

Too tired to be any more funny or annoyed or anything more tonight.