Great Balls of Mercury

Okay, Here's My Deal...

Anyone else old enough to remember mercury thermometers? You know, the glass ones with silver tips? Hard to read? They don't make them anymore for home use, but we had one in our house.

HAD being the operative word here. We had one until this morning when I went to take my temperature and proceeded to drop it on the floor. Do you know what happens when you drop mercury?!?! Here's a hint: ever seen the second Terminator movie when the bad terminator shatters into a bjillion (trust me, I AM a math teacher) litle silver balls that just roll around until they all glom back together? Yeah, that is what happened on my bathroom floor. Any why exactly don't they make mercury thermometers anymore for home use? It is a POISONOUS substance that affects the human nervous system via vapor, which, of course is completely odorless.

Which I conveniently remembered AFTER a couple of attempts to clean it up with just some tissue, spreading it out everywhere into more litle balls. So, I panic...get to the computer and look up "mercury spill" and get the ba-Jesus scared out of me--ventilate and seal off the room, get some latex gloves, goggles, face mask...AAUUGGHH!!!!

I decided that since I have a two year old in the house now (well, not NOW, he is at the sitter thank God) that I better call the local Health Department to see what I should do. Now, let's put this into more personal perspective: It is 9:40 in the morning, I just woke up and am home sick with a UTI and have not showered or brushed my teeth and am in my nightgown...with my bathroom sealed up tight like Fort Knox until I know what to do...and now I am worried the health department will have come and cover my house like they did in ET!!!!

They were not sure as they did not remember anyone doing this in their home for many years (which made me feel even more stupid) so she took my information, told me to triple wash my hands and she would call me back after contacting the State Helath Department. Great. In ten minutes she calls back and said she had to call the poison control center to find out what to do.

Turns out, not that big of a deal becasue of the small amount there was. Take a piece of paper and "corral" the little balls into one big ball and then use duct or packing tape to pick it up and then double bag it in a ziplock bag and throw it in the regular trash. Sounds easy, right? Do you know how many microscopic balls of mercury there were?

Anyway, I think I got them all and the world is now safe. All this beofre 10:30 in the morning. And I thought another day home sick from school would be boring. What was I thinking?

Who's the Doctor Here?!?!

Okay, Here's My Deal...

I had to go to the emergency room lat night. I had started feeling yucky on Saturday and by Monday I was even worse. Low grade fever, chills once in a while, a bad backache right below my kidneys...all symptoms of a urinary tract infection, which I have had before, besides, I know my body and usually what it is trying to tell me.

So, I go and give my sample and they take my vitals and I wait in the little room. The doctor came back and asked me all the routine questions and I tell him my symptoms. He says, "Well, the story you are telling doesn't quite match up with a urinary infection, but the test will tell." He leaves and I think, "the story I am telling? what is his deal?" About 15 minutes later, he simply pops his head into the room...doesn't actually come into the room, but pops his head in..."Well, the test did come back positive. The nurse will be right back with your instructions."

He actually sounded a little irritated that I had an infection when he thought I didn't. I jsut sat there, smugly smiling to myself. Goober.

Dead Rabbit and Birthday Cake

Okay, Here's My Deal...

My family, parents, brother and SIL, came Friday and Saturday for my son's second birhtday celebration this weekend. While my huaband was still at work on Friday evening, my parents, my son and I were outside. My son was playing in the dirt in our backyard...there is a small "pit" where the prvious tenant's son played backetball...I saw him trip over a small mound and hten began to play in that particular dirt. I went opver to see what he was doing and as I looked down said to myself, "Gee, what is that?" I focused and saw it...a DEAD RABBIT barely buried in the soil!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I grabbed my son's hands so he could not get them in his mouth and took him to my Dad and went inside and got a container of germ-x and basically immersed his hand in it. Then I got a trashbag and a shovel and unburied the rabbit and put it in the bag and proceeded to twist the bag and wrap again and twist and wrap and twist and wrap until I couldn't anymore. GROSS. The only thing I could figure was that a big dog killed it and semi-buried it to come back and get it later. It was just so weird.

Good thing the birthday lunch and cake wasn't until Saturday!!

Monday, Monday...Ba-Da Ba-Da-Da-Da...

Okay, Here's My Deal...

The title is a reference to a Mamas and the Papas song, "Monday Monday", but if you are too young to have a clue, that is okay...anyway...

Today was the last Monday with the kids this school year!! Whooooo-hoooooooo. Now there are two of every other day left, though. However, the last Friday is a 1:00 out and we are doing an all-school thing outside at the high school track and it really does not count.

That's my story.

Not Coordinated ENough

Okay, Here's My Deal...

This guy reminds me of the rub-your-head-and-pat-your-stomach thing we all try to do at one time or another. Well, if I am ever able to do that, it is just for a brief time and then I am so through it's pathetic.

That is how I feel right now...except add to the mix of rubbing and patting hopping on one foot and reciting the alphabet backwards. Everything is coming at me at once and I am not coordinated enough!!

Part of it is feeling the pressure of getting everything done at school that needs to be done in 9-count them-9 days (actaully only 8 if you don't count the last day, which is an all-day school-wide outside Olympic type games day...yeah, looking forward to that...well, yeah, I guess I am because no kids to dela with in a classroom. Never Mind.)

Part of it is feeling the pressure of when on Earth am I ever going to get the hang of this being a mom thing? He will be two years old in a week and I still feel like he is brand new and I don'thave a clue what to do with him. Sometimes I feel my husband is a better Mommy than me...I just don't seem to have the patience or understanding it takes to be as good with him as my husband is. You'd think by now I would have that down.

Part of it is feeling the crunch of being close to 40 and wanting another baby...or do I? YES, but read that last paragraph again. If I can't get it together with one, how will I manange two?!?! And, if I would get the different teaching job, I won't have the sick days enough for a fully paid maternity leave if I do get pregnant and would be due during the school year...

Which leads me to part of it is feeling the crunch of getting everything ready for the bankruptcy and coming to terms with going through with it.

Anyway, those are some of my assorted deals right now...which presents the last part of it...feeling like I am not trusting God enough to give Him "permission" to deal with some of my delas--like I need to give Him permission. But I know that He won't intervene on things unless I give them completely to Him. What is my deal aobut not being able to do that right now?

We've Got the Pink Eye Blues

Okay, Here's My Deal...

I actually uttered those words to my principal this morning, to which he said, "You sound like one of my boys who cmes to me and says, "Okay, now, Dad, don't be mad..." I told him my son was sick and that even though I knew we were short on substitute teachers that I wanted to go home. I aksed if I would cancel my TAG pull-out classes and then take care of getting my classes covered by other teachers during their preps if he'd let me go. He agreed and I got three very gracious and understanding colleagues to give up their prep time to watch my math classes.

So, now we are home from the pediatrician and my son is sleeping and my husband went on into work. Anyway, he has some viral thing going on and also has PINK EYE on top of everything else...so since it is viral, we just basically have to let it run its course and use drops for his eyes.

Just Not Clever Tonight

Okay, Here's My Deal...

I sat here forever trying to cme up with a clever title for tongiht and nothing came to me...oh, well.

I really have nothing too exciting to report, either. I would give an update on how many school days there are left, but since I just posted last night, I figure you can subtract 1 from 13 all on your own...right?

Anyway...what is my deal tonight exactly? Not sure. So, is my deal that I have no deal? That would be quite a deal, huh? Okay, enough with all of the word play...you probably want to scream, "STOP...I can't deal with this anymore!!"

Get it? Deal with this? Deal? Yeah, I know it wasn't funny. Better go befreo I do more damage than I already have.

Am I Swimming or Drowning?

Okay, Here's My Deal...

I used a Jesus fish today because I want to remind myself that even if I feel like I am drowning...I have the ultimate life preserver to save me!!

So many things are just hanging in the air right now and I guess part of it is because there are now 13...count-them...13 days of school left and I feel that crunch.

• Will I get the new job or not?
• If not, will a new assistant principal here make it better?
• Are we actually going to go through the bankruptcy?
• Does the fever and the crabbiness of my son mean he' sick again or is he just teething?
• Will I ever get my house presentable before the family descends on it for my son's second birthday?
• Will my husband get a different job or will this one calm down enough for him to get back to flying?
• Will I survive the next 13...count-them...13 days without killing a middle school child?
• Am I ever going to fnally have enough faith to believe all of this will work out how God wants instead of me continuing to worry worry worry?

Anyway, that is my deal. Did I menation that there are only now 13...count-them...13 days of school left?!?!?!?!?!?!

No--Now Wait Some More!

Okay, Here's My Deal...

15 days until school is over!!

Now, Okay, Here's My REAL Deal...

I got the call tonight from the high school principal thanking me for the interview and although I really stood out as a canidate, they filled the postion with another person...but to keep them in mind for future openings. The middle school job is still posted in-house until the 16th, then it is open to the public for a certain amount of time... Yeah, at first, I was a little bummed that I did not get this positon, as I actually preferred it, but I'd like to think I didn't get the nod for the HS job because they'd prefer me for the middle school...but what I think doesn't matter--it is what God has destined for me that matters.

Let the Countdown begin...

Okay, Here's My Deal...

Today's magic number? 18. That is how many days of school with the students there were left after this day was completed.

I know, to you non-teacher folk, 18 sounds like a relatively small number of days that should fly by quickly.

Oh, but how wrong you are...they will be 18 of the longest, stressful and grueling days. Ask any teacher...the last few weeks of school, no matter how good your students are as a whole, are just absolute CHAOS.

Lets' examine 18 more closely...two full weeks and two weeks of four days, with luckily, two early out days sprinkled in there to break the monotony. Now, if you teach any of the "Big Dog" grades...in my district they are 5th, 8th and 12th grade...you have what is called the -itis syndrome. Senior-itis...8th grade-itis...5th grade-itis. You are the big dogs, the oldest in the school, you have worked hard to get there and now, in 18 days, it's over...if you are going to leave a mark...any mark, now is the time.

And, well, even if you like a kid, by this time of the year, you almost can't stand to look at them anymore. Now, I know that swounds cruel, but teachers, back me up here--it's true.

I ahve had the "opportunity" to have about 22 kids for three straight years now in my math classes. Three years in Iowa schools is 540 days...and we are down to the final 18. I will miss some of them, would honestly not mind teaching them in the high school. Others, well, I am about ready to volunteer to clean out their lockers for them--in order for them to be able to leave the building on that last day as quickly as humanly possible.

Hurry Up and Wait!

Okay, Here's My Deal...

My interview went well.

I was interviewing for 9th grade Algebra I...and also, 7th grade math.

I will know about Algebra by Tuesday or Wednesday. It is one prep with kid who have the ability, but lack confidence or have difficulty.

The 7th grade math could take up to four weeks...it just opened up and it has to be posted in-house for anyone in the district to decide if they want to tranfer into it--if they don't, then it has to be posted for 10 days publicly. The middle school principal just watned to get a head start on interviews as a just in case deal.

Then ,as if there was not enough to be excited about...during the interview the middle school principal asked me, "So, I understand you have a TAG background." Come to find out, his TAG perosn just told him she wants to get into regular ed elementary again...and there are three jobs she might get in the district, so they need to see how the dominoes fall with that deal.

So, in essence, I am being considered for three different positions on three different time schedules...how crazy is that?!?!

That's a Tough One...

Okay, Here's My Deal...

Tonight I had my husband take me through interview questions to prepare for tomorrow. Considering it has been 15 years since my last interview for a teaching position (and that happened to also be my ONLY interview) I thought it would be a good idea.

I had printed some commonly asked teacher interview questions off from the internet and he just read through them at random and I answered them...some were pretty tough to answer. Not that I didn't "know" the answer, but thinking of the best way to word it so I didn't sound like a dork. And it was also tough because I was in a relaxed atmosphere. Tomorrow will be the test.

I found out there are three of us interviewing for two positions...one of the other two is a teacher from right here in my district, but from the high school!!! How weird and/or ironic is that?!?! How bad would it suck for my district to lose both of us to a neighboring one?

The one position is 9th grade algebra, which is the one I applied for after the other one fell through. The second is a 7th grade math position...which became available when the teacher currently teaching it was NOT given a contract for next year. And, ironically again...she was the substitute my district hired when I went on maternity leave two years ago. Crazy.

Well, time for night-night. Big day tomorrow.