So this week has been pretty typical at our house. It actually started last Friday (the 11th) when I got a call to interview for a position that I wasn't sure I wanted. I am a math and science teacher and I am finishing my Master's degree in Education Administration next month. I have no desire to be an administrator however. Seem crazy? Have you read the previous posts? Anyway, so there was a Math Coach position posted for our district and I really think I would like the position. It deals with curriculum and working with teachers to help them improve instruction (or anything else) in their classroom to increase student achievement. So I would be acting as a resource for teachers and would be able to help many more students than just those enrolled in my classes as a classroom teacher. I've been super excited about the position ever since I learned about it. But it's not at my current campus. Not really a big deal except that I love love love my principal! Did I mention I love my principal? She is so supportive and has great staff development sessions where we actually do something worthwhile and get ideas and even make lessons to take back to our classroom. It is amazing, I've never seen such a thing before. Well, being the INCREDIBLE teacher and candidate that I am, I got offered the job on Wednesday. (Actually I imagine it has more to do with the fact that it is the middle of the year and it's really crazy for someone to switch positions mid-year so I may have been one of a very few candidates...and because I'm so fabulous.) I talked with my principal about it and a lot of friends and family and I decided to take the job. Now I'm really excited about it and I can't wait to get started! I have no idea what to expect but I'll find out soon enough. Or maybe a little later. I really don't know when I'm supposed to start. So just like with everything else, my job situation is a little crazy right now. It's uncomfortable at my current school because I'm leaving and I haven't told hardly anyone yet and I don't want them to feel like I'm deserting them and my students, the main reason I took the job is the chance to affect MORE students and I think I may be able to make a bigger difference with the students at my new campus. It will be interesting to see how this works out. So oddly enough, it's not this job that I'm thinking of quitting!
The interview for this position was Monday afternoon and I had no idea how long it would be (or where, I couldn't really hear the message she left on my voicemail!) so I had to take a half day Monday and missed my afternoon classes. Then on Tuesday, I had to address a problem at Michaela's school. She had been acting out and Monday morning she threw a huge fit about going to school and so Jake fed the cat for her (her job in the mornings) and he packed her a lunch to help things go a little quicker. She was FURIOUS with him for "doing her jobs" and screamed at him and threatened him. A little over the top I believe. Ed finally got them to school 26 minutes late but she was still crying and upset. So I spent all day Tuesday talking with the teacher, the counselor, the nurse, and the assistant principal to see what I could do to help her and help manage her outbursts. I felt a little better after talking with everyone, they were really understanding. Wednesday, I actually got to go to work all day. I was hoping for a nice normal, routine day. And that was when I got the call offering me the new position. So much for routine. I had that decision to make and I still am torn about it but am focused on being excited for the opportunity. No point in debating it now!
Thursday morning, I got up and got ready to go to work, packed up the baby in his carrier, and was picking him up to head out the door and he projectile vomitted all over the carrier, his clothes, the floor...you get the idea. He had been coughing and congested for the last several days but mostly right after he ate. I think the formula thickened the drainage in his throat (yuck!) but he got a little worse on Wednesday. We were trying to hold out until Friday because he already had a doctor's appointment scheduled for a check up and there was no fever. As I was cleaning up the aftermath, the pediatrician called asking to move the appointment from 9:20 to 9:50. Tomorrow right? No, not tomorrow, today. Today when I was just walking out the door, when Ed had meetings and work scheduled specifically from 9:00 to 11:00. Today, when I had already missed 1 and 1/2 of the 3 days I should have been at work this week. So I called in. Nevermind the new job, I'll be lucky to keep the old job if I don't go! Fortunately, Joey was ok. No flu, no RSV, no ear infections or pneumonia. Just congestion. Oh, and now immunizations. So Thursday night he ran a fever. Great, AFTER we just went to the doctor. It wasn't high though so I told Ed he was going to have to stay home with Joey tomorrow. I had now missed 2 and 1/2 of the 4 days of work this week. Ed was supposed to meet with new people from a company merger that were concerned about keeping their jobs. I thought having the baby with him might soften the blow for them. I think he ended up rescheduling.
Finally, the weekend is here! Now I just have to take down the Christmas decorations, vacuum everything, get groceries, put gas in the truck, do the kids' laundry, and plan meals for next week. So what was I looking forward to the weekend for again? Oh well, got started. Made a meal plan for next week and then a grocery list and left for the store. Forgot to take the recycling so it has to wait another week now. Got home and Ed and Jake had played video games the whole time I was gone. I had to ask Ed to help with the Christmas stuff in phases. (I know better than to just ask him to start and finish a task all at once.) It goes something like this-- "Hey on the next commercial break, will you bring the Christmas boxes in so I can get started putting things away?" 15 or 20 minutes after the boxes get in, me: "When this show is over, will you take the ornaments off the tree while I work on putting the other decorations away?" Ed: "I don't know where anything goes." me: "That's why I asked you to do the ornaments. The ones that have boxes (with pictures on them) put in the boxes and the others can just go loose. They all go in this one box. The other stuff all goes in these other boxes." He reluctantly complies. After the ornaments get put in the big box, we watch another show. "After supper will you please put the boxes back out in storage since they are all packed up now?" Notice this has been an all day event that really only took up about 30 minutes. But I've learned and it's done. Not complaining yet. Then there was the tree. The fake tree that is three pieces whose branches are prelit and just fold up against the trunk. The tree that was left standing in front of the window. Empty. So Sunday after church and lunch and a little football, "Ed, since it's halftime, would you please put the tree away. It didn't get taken down yesterday?" Ed: "I'm not gonna do it right now." Me: "Please? I really need to vacuum and I don't want to before you take the tree out because we'll just get all those little needles all over again." Ed: "It will take two minutes. I'll do it later." It did only take about two minutes...when I did it this morning. So finally all the Christmas stuff is put away. And there was very little argument.
Saturday night after the Christmas tree frustration, Michaela started in. I made chicken enchiladas for supper. They are probably my favorite supper! I made refried beans because Michaela loves them. She ate all of her refried beans and then asked for more, without even touching her enchilada. I told her she had to eat some of the enchilada. With the screaming that ensued our neighbors probably thought I had forced her to eat nails, or dirty socks or the rocks she usually has saved up in her pockets. She wanted to know why I can't make the food that she likes. Oh excuse me queen Michaela, I'll get right on your order. Heaven forbid we eat something that I want to eat...I'm only the one who makes it! So I had spent 45 minutes in the kitchen fixing supper only to be greeted at the table with "Ew, I hate this! I'm not eating it! Can I just have cereal?" No, no you can't have cereal again. Or yogurt, or candy, or ice cream. Call me a bad mom but I think you should eat some variety of food including some meat. She screamed and cried until she lost her kindle for tomorrow. So eat 1/4 of an enchilada or go to bed. Not gonna argue. So she went to bed. After supper, Ed was putting the dishes in the dishwasher (those that wouldn't fit he just left in the sink because our "dish fairy" comes every night to clean the ones that nobody else wants to do) and I asked him to please wipe down the stove and counter afterwards. We have this deal that whoever cooks dinner (usually me because he has to ask how many minutes to put on the microwave to reheat stuff) the other person has to clean up. I do a pretty good job of rinsing and cleaning up as I go but it's hard to do the stove while it's on and the counter tops just get dirty again until the food is all put away. No, apparently that is too much to ask. The stove and counter can not be wiped down because...well I don't know why but he didn't do it. Then he got mad that I hadn't unloaded the clean dishes. Sorry, one more thing to add to my list. I got out the computer and started on my homework (which is code for I surfed the web, checked out facebook, the bank account and anything else I could think of first to avoid starting my homework). Stayed up until after midnight working on a paper for my class.
Got up Sunday morning hoping for a great day. No school tomorrow, MLK day! Sunday school starts at 9:45 but Michaela is adamant that we have to be there at 8:30 for "breakfast". I finally convinced her that we could get there for the fellowship time (where they have coffee and snacks) about 9:30. Then there was Jake. He was impossible. First he refused to take a shower. The boy was stinky. So I turned on the water for him, got it warmed up, and put him in the shower still in his underpants. He screamed and cried and climbed right out to get undressed. He got back in and cried because the water was getting cold. He had waited so long, he was the last one in the house and was out of hot water, so he didn't get his hair washed but at least he was rinsed off. Then he wouldn't get dressed. It took 20 minutes to get the boy into a shirt and pants! He cried because his new shirt was too small (it wasn't, he just couldn't get his head through because he didn't unbutton it), he cried because he couldn't find his black pants, he cried because he couldn't find his khaki pants, he cried because he couldn't find the shoes he had left down by the front door, he cried because he didn't want to wear the shoes he did find. He got his kindle priveleges revoked for the day too. It's a good thing we were going to church because I needed to pray about their behavior and my lack of patience! We finally got to church and two hours of quiet adult time! I may start going on Wednesdays too. In fact I could use some "church" every day! Seriously though, we hadn't gone much (at all) in 2012 and it is great to be back on a regular basis. After church we got to go out to Cheddar's. We had been trying the last two weeks but one or both kids had melt downs between church and the restaraunt so we had to get something we could eat quick or take home. We finally made it to Cheddar's without incident and had an uneventful lunch, with all three kids, and they all ate their meals! It really was a post-Christmas miracle!
And it's now Monday. The morning has been so productive! In fact, I sat down to eat lunch and realized I had been so focused on cleaning up I hadn't even brushed my teeth this morning! It's these "little things" I really miss. Michaela and I had a little "tiff" when I got her laundry out of the dryer. I called her out to the living room and started to sort her clothes. I told her she could find the clothes that needed to hang up and put them in a flat pile. She demanded to know why she had to help me! Oh HELL no, are you freaking kidding me?! So I put the clothes back in the basket and handed it to her. There's noway I'm going to work on her clothes if she thinks SHE's helping ME. I told her I was helping her but not anymore. She could put her own clothes away, by herself, and if she didn't put them away (she has a habit of leaving them on her floor) then I wasn't washing them anymore either! I told her she would have to wash them in the tub because she is too young to use the washing machine. I think I put up with a lot but that was too much. The clothes are now put away...I did not hang or fold a single piece!
So I ate lunch (and brushed my teeth!) and I was thinking how proud I was of myself for all I got done this morning...put away the Christmas tree; vacuumed, including the stairs; unloaded, reloaded, and unloaded the dishwasher again; WIPED DOWN THE COUNTER AND STOVE (yes, I was cursing my husband the entire time I did this); washed Jake's bedding, Michaela's clothes, and Jake's clothes; fixed the kids' breakfast; fed the baby; cleaned the bathroom; got both kids to pick up their toys and trash, and clean up their rooms; and in between even found time to drink my daily cup of coffee (that is really three cups but whose counting). I found myself thinking I deserved the "Mom of the Year" award! Then I realized this is just part of the job description. Being a mom I'm SUPPOSED to do all of this along with all the BS I had been through previously this week. In fact, I probably deserve the "Worst Mom of the Year" award for thinking I was so great for doing the things that should be routine. So much for being proud of my accomplishments for today. I'll just go back to ignoring the kids and watching TV now. Thanks for playing.
So why do I stay at this job? I can't tell you how many times I have fantasized about leaving for work one morning and getting on the highway and just keep driving... But before I even get to the highway I wonder, "Did Michaela do her homework last night? Is Jake going to have a good day at school or will he get in trouble? I wonder if Joey will roll over today" and I can't wait to get home and see those three sweet little faces (and yes, I suppose Ed's too!) and give them kisses and ask about their days. The hugs and the little angels that sleep in the kids' beds keep me coming back and totally make it worth it. It's definitely the pay.
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