Least favorite week of the year...

Excuse me while I take a break from my creative endeavors (yes, I know it is only day 2!)  I have to vent about my coming week... the least favorite week of the year for me.  It is state testing week here in Illinois, the dreaded ISAT week.

With the passing of No Child Left Behind, states are now required to create assessments that will determine if students and schools are making "Adequate Yearly Progress"  Let me put that in real speak- we have to give kids a single, week long, test to determine if they have learned anything.  Any educator will tell you that there is no way that a single test can really measure the progress a student makes in a year.  Nevermind the fact that my students are several years below grade level as documented by individual testing and are now required to take a test at grade level.

Each year I have the ethical dilemma at this point.  While I am in fact teaching to the state standards as required- I am doing it at an appropriate level for my students.  I teach to another document- the Individualized Education Plan that is also a federal document.  I choose to teach them the skills that will make them successful in life and in school and NOT teach to the test.  I have prepared them for the test in the past several weeks, but I am worried that I didn't cover everything I should have.  But I know in my heart that I have done all that I can.

So I have to step back and spend the rest of this week encouraging and supporting my kids while they take a test that I don't beleive in, but whose scores determine state funding and the success of my program.  I have to put a test in front of them that is above their reading level and tell them I can't help them read it.  I have to ask them to complete math tasks that are well above their documented ability level.  We'll just all have to do our best. 

Let's just say there are lots of treats and praise over the next week!

Creativity Project

So I am trying once again to participate in a challenge... you can find more information about the Creativity Project by clicking on the picture on the side of my blog. It will take you to Lisa Day's blog where she explains all about this project.

I have learned that I *need* creative time in order to be healthy and happy. Yes, scrapbooking and paper crafts are my hobby, but doing something creative is essential to my health. I know that sounds a little dramatic, but it is really true. Creative play time is my stress relief, my energizer, my fresh air, and so much more. Too often, I let the day to day stuff overtake my life and I don't make the time to be creative. I recently asked a friend to hold me to being creative every Thursday night. I am happy to say that I have been doing that MOST Thursdays. I am taking this challenge one step further by doing something creative EVERY day for the month of March. It doesn't have to be something big, or even paper related.

So today is the first day and I am happy to say that I have finished a baby gift for a good friend and have made a birthday gift for my assistant. I have realized that one of the greatest joys I find is creating things for other people. Creating the baby gift was actually therapeutic for me in a way. I needed to do this. I hope that the mom to be likes it! I am not going to post a photo here until I have given it to her. Wouldn't want to ruin her surprise. :)

So.. check out Lisa's challenge and try to bring some creativity into your day to day!

I love this man...

Yes, that is my husband jumping off a diving board fully clothed! I was not able to attend this meet, but one of our good friends took this photo for me. His swim team won the conference meet. It is tradition for the coach to get pushed into the pool fully clothed, but it appears Chris wanted to be a little more dramatic. :-)

We've almost been married 13. We were engaged 14 years ago. We started dating 20 years ago. It hasn't been easy at times, but I can honestly say that I love this man more today than ever before. His charisma for life and coaching is amazing. He puts 110% into everything he does. We don't see each other much in February and March thanks to the peak of the swim season and yearbook deadlines and state testing for me. This year I am making a concious effort to be kind and truly cherish the moments we do have together.

Chris surprised me with the most wonderful Valentine's day. He knew it was the last weekend he had free for more than a month. He picked me up after Saturday morning practice and we headed out to one of my favorite breakfast places. I had wildberry pancakes... Yum! Then he surpised me with a trip to the Salon I go to where he had booked appointments for a hair cut, color, manicure and pedicure! He was the star of the salon for sure. All of the stylists were impressed with his forethought... so was I! We then headed to the mall for some shopping. While I couldn't convince him that I *needed* a Coach purse, he did treat me to some new goodies. At the end of the day, we had dinner with some good friends at another of my favorite restaraunts, Melting Pot. We laughed and had a great time.

Even beyond these grand gestures, he takes care of things in our daily life that show me that he cares. He works from home during the week and often does all the laundry or dishes so that when I get home from work, I come home to a clean house. He takes care of the maintenance of our VERY old home and has saved us thousands of dollars over the years by being able to take care of things himself. He built me the wonderful studio that I am sitting in now. He supports my hobbies and my desire to go back to school. He takes care of our finances and has worked to get us in a stable place.

So today, I know that I am blessed to have this amazing man in my life and to be able to call him my husband and best friend.

History...

I witnessed history today along with the rest of this amazing country we live in.  I don't even know if I have the words to express my emotions today but I know that I want to take the time to try.  I really feel this will be a day that will be marked in history.  One of the days where people say, "I remember where I was when President Obama was sworn in as president."  What an amazing moment in history.

When the campaigns first started a friend and I were talking about how we really wanted a president who moved us, who made us proud to be an American, who made us want to do more and be more.  Today I feel just that.  While I know that change will not come quickly, and we have a long road ahead of us, I am proud to say that President Obama is the leader of this country.  I haven't been able to say that for the past several years.  While I proudly will say that I did in fact vote for our current president (and did not for the outgoing president) today is about so much more than seeing "my" candidate take office.  It is about feeling that we once again can hope that our country will be a place where EVERYONE is truly respected and accepted for who they are.

 I recognize that I will never truly understand the hardships that many African Americans have faced in history or even in cities around America today.  I understand that President Obama represents so much to those who lived through segregation, racism, and other forms of prejudice.  He also represents a sense of hope and change to many of us who have struggled over the past several years, regardless of the color of our skin.  He has overcome much adversity and become the man he is today- the President of the United States of America.   I am not naive. I know that he is  in fact a politician and will not be able to make all of the changes that he promised during his campaign.  But I do believe that he will  incite change.  I feel empowered as an American citizen.

I was fortunate to watch the inauguration at school with my students.  I don't think that most of the students understood the magnitude of what they were watching.  But I do feel that they will be able to look back as adults and remember that they were able to watch the events live.  For me, one of the greatest hopes I have for this president is that our children will really be given a better future through education, a strong economy, and a country that is respected by the world at large.  I shed a few tears as I watched the ceremony and listened to President Obama's speech.  I could only take it all in and soak up the magnitude of the events.

President Obama is a moving speaker, and today was no exception.  I am looking forward to taking the time to read the transcript of the speech.  As I said above, I felt empowered after listening to President Obama.  I feel like we, as a nation of individuals, can turn our nation around.

Today I witnessed history... and I look forward to seeing what the future holds!

ICK

I am officially sick.  I fought hard all week to fend it off, but it is here and winning the war.  :(

Germs are an occupational hazard for teachers.  Especially teachers who have students whose home life is less than ideal.  Especially teachers whose kids come to school even when they are sick beacause they know they will get more care at school than at home.  Especially middle school teachers whose kids are big and have lots of germs.  Especially me...

My first few years teaching I was sick all the time.  You have to build up an immunity to these little germ carrying beings.  Now it seems that I have a pretty good immune system for the most part.  I always seem to get sick after breaks as if my immune system let down its guard while I was away from the kiddos and then forget to turn back on.  The few worst illnesses over the past decade have all come right after a break.  And this one is raring up to be among them.  :(

This one seems to be different, it has taken up residence in my chest.  I keep thinking about those HORRIBLE mucinex commercials- you know the ones with the mucus family?  That nasty icky image is stuck in my head- and in my chest apparently!  Ok, enough details.  So now I am trying to balance between getting enough rest to heal and getting enough done so that I can get on with my life when the mucus family finally moves out.

To make things even more fun... we just had blizzard number 2 of the winter.  I am sure there is over a foot of snow on the ground.  Thankfully dad is coming over later to snowblow the driveway.  Chris is at a meet all weekend so I called dad to see if he could come and do it so Chris didn't have to worry.  Even healthy, there is no way I could do it myself.

Off to pretend to get something done...

Girlfriends

I am a blog stalker of the scrapbook "celebrities."  There are a few that I try to visit almost daily.  One of those is Cathy Z.  She has a clean style of scrapbooking and a refreshing view of life itself.  :)  I hadn't been on her blog in a few days and was touched with this video she shared that had been shared with her:







It made me really think about my life and all of the amazing women with whom I have shared my life.  I have never had a large group of friends, and I was actually pretty shy in high school.  I still hate new social situations (working with the social workers at school on that one... LOL) but over the years I have been truly blessed to have some amazing women come into my life. 

Even in high school, I had strong group of girlfriends who supported me and were a big part of my life.  Several of them are still a part of my life today... even those who move across the country.  We may lose touch for years at a time, but when it matters most we are together in spirit.

College was a tough time for me.  I had Chris back and home and didn't really enjoy the college "scene."  While I made friends and have recently made contact with a few of the girls, I just never invested in these relationships since I was so committed to getting home to Chris.  That is one of my regrets today... I wish I had taken the time to really experience college life and develop deep lasting friendships.  I've made up for that in my career, though!

Education is a female driven field.  This has its disadvantages some time for sure!  :)  However, I have also been blessed to meet many women over the years who have become a part of my daily life.  There are weeks that I spend more time with coworkers than I do my husband.  My coworkers have become some of my closest friends and confidants.  They have been there for me professionally as well as personally over the years.  There were a few tough years where I was so very blessed to have a close group of girlfriends who would have done anything for me. They have all moved on from my school, and we chat once in awhile.  I know they were in my life just at the right time.

I've moved on from jobs and lost touch while others have moved on as well.  It's hard to stay in touch... even in our society of constant communication, but we manage to do the best we can.  While I may not talk to the girls each day, I still feel a strong bond to each and every one of them.  

There are amazing women who I call close friends at school today who help me get through each and every day.  They were there for me when the IVFs failed, surgery, and even the fail of the adoption.  They've carried my pain when I couldn't do it myself.  They've cried as they've told me their joyous news of expecting a child themselves.  They have made me a better person.

Swimming has brought many families into our lives.  We spend a great deal of time with families during the season.  Many of these families have truly become our extended family.  These women have been mentors and friends to me in so many areas... from decorating, cooking, entertaining, shopping, and so much more.  Each one has come into my life just when I needed it most.

Scrapbooking is my passion and with it comes message boards and scrapbook websites.  I was blessed several years ago to cross the path of an amazing woman who started a "sisterhood" of scrapbookers.  At one time we were focused on scrapbooking and had a large membership.  Now there are just a few of us, but our bond is strong.  We've seen each other through so very much.  These women are closer to me than many of my "in person, real-life" friends.  We were so blessed to actually meet up a few years ago and it was as if we had always known each other.  Looking forward to getting together in "real life" again soon!

I am feeling blessed as I sit and reflect on the women who have been a girlfriend to me.  So... THANK YOU to each and every one of you.  :)

Hump Day!

Well here I am... more than half way through the first week back!  I had to do a little cramming for class tonight since I really did in fact take three weeks OFF from grad school and didn't do any homework.  :)  I am just as bad as my students I suppose...except I am able to get things done when I really need to!

It is snowing again tonight, and I must admit I am happy about it.  The snow had mostly melted from the blizzards before Christmas and the yard was just looking dirty and icky.  Now it is all covered in pretty white snow again... that is until the dogs start playing in it.

In my grad school class tonight we talked a great deal about writing and I know this is the area where I struggle the most as a teacher.  It is an area I am not very confident in both personally and professionally. I am hoping to get some new tools to be a better writing teacher through this program.  I used to write daily in a journal and felt that I was building my skills as a writer.  I think that has always been one of the underlying goals of keeping a blog- not only keeping a log of my daily life, but also working on my writing and vocabulary.  So... for now I am going to try to write here every day. I am hoping that I will have some enlightening things to say some days... but I am guessing that most days will be like tonight when I really don't have much to say.  :-)

Ok... off to do some homework for next week (or play on facebook!)  I have included a photo of the dogs the past two days... so here is our kitty, Simba who is a Cubs fan of course!