Where have all the swings gone?

We went to CB Smith Park today so that E could ply with his RC truck and the baby could ride on the swings.....but when wepulled into the playground part there was no playground. now, a few weeks ago it was there, with swings and slides and stuff to climb on, now it is just sand. ? very strange. So we went over to the other playground area but it is not very good for little kids, just some stuff to climb on, so weplayed in the grass instead, which as far as i could tell, was just as good!!

Maybe we'll have better luck finding swings somewhere else.....

La Salle it is....

So I talked to Sister Pat this morning and apologized that I couldnt make it and blah blah blah....and before I could finish what I was saying she said "we did have another candidate scheduled for an interview but we want to offer you the job, are you still interested?" um, yeah. So I said yes, without even thinking twice. I liked it there and Sister Pat is awesome and Monica the department chair is super nice, and it's on Biscayne Bay which is beautiful, and easier to get to and from my mother in laws since I dont have to travel up and down Le Jeune Road which is a disaster and takes FOREVER. and even though it is not run by the same people i'm a little sentimental that it has the same name as my alma mater, La Salle Academy......so yeah, i have an official job, I dont sign the contract until monday so its not super official but i'm happy. it made me even happier when Sr. Pat told me to call COlumbus and tell them I'm going to be working at a better school. :) cute. they pay 2K less than Columbus but they give a 2K stipend if you dont take their health insurance, which I wont. so it evens out. the only scary part is that I have to drive a short way on 95 here and 95 is the WORST to drive on in Miami. I avoid it AT ALL COSTS. but thats ok, i usually leave early enough in the am where I dont hit any any major traffic, and the same in the afternoon, so its all good. hooray, i have a job!

Job Hunt

so gulliver finally called. the headmaster of the middle school decided he did in fact want to return to the classroom, therefor he STOLE my job. what sucks the most is i know the job was mine if he didnt want it. oh well. and from what i've heard hes a real.....um......jerk.
and i was supposed to do a demo lesson today at la salle but i am just to tired of interviewing an waiting and dressing up i told them something came up at school i had to take care of. if they want to hire me without a demo lesson by tomorrow great. if not it looks like i'll be teaching at columbus next year. which is fine. its not southridge and there is no FCAT.

Who needs toys when you have a laundry basket! It was great fun holding onto it and falling inside, crawling out and doing it all over again! And he looks a tad drunk right here but i swear it's just avocado he's smushing all over hte high chair. After this picture he smushed it all over his face too but the battery on the camera went dead....i am sure there will be more opportunities for pictures while covered in food.

A Beautiful Mind

...so has anyone seen it? Its good, its really really good. Russell Crow is awesome and whatever, but this is the 10th time I have seen it. It is really one of the few "math related movies" there are that I will show to my kids (even though I am not supposed to). So I saw it 7 times last year (7 different classes I showed it to) and now today and I saw it when it cae out, so aybe that only adds up to 9, close enough.

I spoke with Gulliver today. The department chair said the Headmaster was out yesterday so she was unable to find out what happened at the big "meeting" and she would ask him today and get back to me in an hour. That was 2 and a half hours ago.....sigh.....

Pictures

Not much interesting to write but I thought i would share some pictures. He was wearing his red sox onesie and i put his red sox hat on, for some pictures. :)
And today our friend Abraham came over so they could work on their remote control trucks....and the baby decided he wanted to help Papi.

update

so gulliver called. well, the school itself didnt call, Alina the department chair did. apparently there was a huge meeting today with the headmaster of the school and teh headmaster of the middle school who may want the position and some other important people to discuss where he wants to go next year. ........and the results??? the headmaster of the high school had left already when Alina called him to find out. sigh. more waiting. at least its not a no. what sucks is that the position is totally mine if he doesnt want it, and that is sad. and she made it sound like she wants me there except he has priority, obviously, and she has no control over that. sigh. and its a long weekend (thank god) and that means an extra day to wait....and wait.....and wait.

Confused

i thought i would have a better picture of where i would be teaching next year but not so much. gulliver hasn't called. i called the department chair (she said to call her if i hadnt heard from her as its the end of school and she might forget) and left a voicemail. no call back. ugh. i hate that, not knowing. and i went to an interview at North Broward Preparetory School. I figured it was going to be an elitist feel and stuck up and totally not my style but i felt very comfortable there and the department chair was really nice, as were all the other teachers she introduced me to. the campus is beyond nice and the resources and technology is a far cry from where i teach now ( i would expect nothing less for 20K a year). the open classes for next year include BC Calculus, Algebra II, statistics, and physics(not math but i told them i can teach that too). its beautiful and nice and a possibility but its as long a commute as i make now at 30 miles from my house and tolls on the way, and the salary is less than what i make now, not by much, but still. more to take into consideration. oh, and there is a teacher who used to teach there who is considering returning there, and of course she teaches math and has priority over me. (sound familiar?) sigh. at least columbus is still a possibility. :)
although a current 10th grader of mine is transfering there next year. not a good thing for me but i dont feel like going into details at the moment.

keep your fingers crossed...

Fire #2

I was asked for more detail on the previous post.....so, yes I'm ok, the room was ok, all the studetns were ok. it was a small contained fire in the trash can. I was more aggravated and really really really pissed off at whatever student did it, although we still dont know. And I was really upset that someone would put everyone in danger like that, especially since the trash can was by the only escape route (the door). So everyone was fine, i got the fire out before the alarms went off and now we are waiting for someone to crack and tell us who the culprit is....hhmmm, we'll see if that actually happens. :)
2 more weeks of school left, and then no more Southridge! yay! I officially got a job offer at Columbus, so even though it is not my first (or second) choice it is a definate way out!
yay!

FIRE

A 7th grader set the trash on fire in my class this morning. I have an idea who it was but am not totally sure. And my supervisor, whom I called in after I put out the fire, looked like an idiot when she's like "Well what should we do?" Are you serious? You are asking me? Like I have a history of students whom have set fires in my classroom and have a procedure I usually follow....that doesnt even explain the extent of how unprofessional she was about the whole situation but I am too aggravated to explain fully. What a wonderful way to start the week. Lets hope it improves from here.

Little Red Wagon

For fun last night before the baby went to bed we put him on the miniature red wagon that my step-father gave us. He had lots of fun as E pushed him around in circles in the livingroom holding on for dear life at times......also shaking the handle if we stopped asking for it to go some more. And then he got upset when I was trying to take pictures so he decided he had had enough and attempted his dismount :)
E left today on a buisiness trip until friday...a whole week without Papi. I supposed we shall survive, although that does mean that I will have to wake earlier and not only get myself ready in the morning but also the baby and all his stuff. sigh.
I got an email today from North Broward Preperatory School asking if I was still seeking employment for next year. Yay, another possibility. Boo, it's farther away than where i teach now, but for the right salary i guess it wouldnt be too bad driving 33 miles up to Coconut Creek (as far north in Broward as you can get before reaching Palm Beach County). Hmmm, however, I am not sure how well I would fit in there. Its a oober expensive prep school located on 70+ acres boasting a nicer campus and ammenities than my college or anywhere I have probably ever been, including 4 residential houses for those international students whom wish to live on campus (for a grand total tuition of like, 34K or more) and that doesnt include food, uniforms, books, athletics, laptops..etc. oh, and every wednesday is dress up day where instead of wearing the "normal" uniform you must wear extra dressy uniforms with school blazers with the crest of whatevr stitched in the pocket. so, if they want to talk i'll go talk and see what its like. i wonder how uncomfortable i will be driving in that campus! :) haha.

vista sucks

not much to say, this is what....the third blog today? its about 11:15pm, way past my bedtime. But E got his permission slip signed to go out tonight (a running joke between us, he doesnt actually need permission to go anywhere. i mean seriously, did i really have any other plans for him tonight that include a sleeping baby???). so he isout with him friends and i'm home not tired enough to sleep nor drunk enough to pass out. they were nice enough to hangout here awhile before going out, Abrahams long time girlfriend works graveyard at a hospital and randy'd wife is pregnant, dont blame either one for getting out of the house......and me being super dork momma i enjoy just the company before they venture out. i am free now to curl up in bed, watch a little tv and sleep soundly with no interuptions. Having them hang out here first made me almost feel like i was still young and full of energy to socialize and "hang out" with out having to really do either. i guess the "baby laziness" hasnt quite worn off yet.
oh, and as the title states, VISTA SUCKS. my new 'puter has vista....not exactly my favorite operating system. Seriously,i know its much "safer" when it comes to accessing undesireable sites but do you really have to ask me 15 times if i want to access a certain program...YYYYYEEEESSSSSSS, i've only been trying for 10 minutes....please let me go onthat site....

i keep thinking that maybe i'll text a friend tomorrow and see if she wants to go out tomorrow tomorrow night, but then i keep thinking she might say yes. and then i might actually have to do somekthing with my hair and make myself presentable and actually leave my house past the hour of 8pm.. holy shit i'm old. ...somone help me reclaim my youth!!!!! i'm only 26 and it seems i'd rather hang out at home (well, i'd rather be asleep!). what has happene dto me? oh....yeah....sigh....he's sleeping inthe room next door. And you know what? I wouldnt change a thing! i've never been happier!

sorry about the enormous amount of spelling errors, apparently i can't type tonight!

Gulliver

So I was actually a bit nervous today about my sample lesson at Gulliver. I'm not sure why, probably because I really really really really want this job. I did all the homework that was due so if they had questions I could answer them. E laughed at me last night doing homework and having to look up stuff that I didnt remember. Anyways, before I had that lesson I had a meeting with Brother Patrick, the principal at Columbus High School (all boys, catholic). It went remarkably well. I am not particularly interested in reaching there but its nice to haev a few backups. I really liked Brother Ptrick and the other two brothers that worked there. they were really cool and down to earth and new a lot about La Salle where I went to school (in rhode island) as my principal for 2 years Dr. Pace (and thats a capital DOCTOR, for everyone who hasnt had the pleasure of meeting him) used to work at Columbus. Small small world. So they loved me, which is great and all, but i'm really not looking to teach there...they want me to come back next tuesday to talk "important stuff" like salry and classes and specific details of my possible meployment. ugh, and then i raced off to Gulliver. Haveing an ego-boosting interview certainly made me not so nervous. the lesson went well, and remember that homework I did last night so i was prepared??? not one student did it, apparently their teacher doesnt check or grade homework, mmmm, the department chair was NOT happy. Regardless, it went well. After we sat and talked. She said she liked what she saw but she has to be open with me...UH OH.....they have another candidate doing a sample lesson next wednesday. And the Headmaster from one of the other schools is thinking about returning to the classroom, if he does he obviously takes priority over me. ugh. 2 people who could potentially hamper my chances of getting hired. sigh. so i wait. i have to wait until next thursday to know. :( thats like, almost a FULL WEEK. any of you who read this who believe in God, or even if you dont, pray........ :) maybe it'll work.

NKOTB

Then......

.......and now

so yeah, for those of you who don't know, The New Kids on the Block are doing a reunion tour. OMG, I am so excited, as you can tell by the omg text lingo. I used to be a huge fan and am really looking forward to the change to see them again, 16 years later. They will be at the Bank Atlantic Center November 1st and 8th. Tickets go on sae May 31 at 10am, I will be there for sure. As ridiculous as it is, it will be so much fun.

Nicole --

[noun]: A lewd street performer

'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Elier --

[noun]: A person who is a master of making ravioli

'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Elier Jack --

[adjective]: Similar to butter in texture and appearance

'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

We Have a Tooth!

So the title says it all. We have the beginings of a tooth...FINALLY!!!! His bottom left (or right if you are looking at him)...just a speck of white but it's something. These last few months of excessive drool and chewing on EVERYTHING finally have a result. Its about time. No pictures yet as it's not quite big enough to really see but as soon as it's clearly visible there will be pictures.

Happy Mother's Day

My first mother's day went well, uneventful, but well! E got me a laptop, which is AWESOME. I needed one, but don't have the money...thanks baby :) We went to the park this morning with the camera and tripod to try and take some nice family pictures. It was ridiculously hot (record breaking in fact at 96 degrees) and a little windy and none of us were really in the mood to pose for cute pics, so after a few shots we packed it up and headed back to the A/C. Before we left the baby decided he wanted to know what dirt tasted like so he went face first into it.....added a nice touch to the white sweater vest.....oh well, the baby and i took a nap and then this evening we went to Outback (we still had gift cards from christmas). Not the best tonight, steak overcooked, and the veggies I got for my side were a bit mushy, oh well, better luck next time.

After we got home and took off all his clothes he decided that playing with the ad circular that came in the mail sounded like fun. So we spent about a half hour flinging it around and ripping it to pieces....why do I spend money on toys? The paper and an empty gatorade bottle entertained him for about an hour, longer than any toy he's ever had!

Job Hunt...

The interview at Gulliver went well. I met with the math department chair, the Headmaster (because he is just too important to be called the principal), and some other guy (the dean of curriculum maybe??). It seemed to go well, maybe i'm just not as confident about this one to think it went well becasue i really want this position. Anyways, I loved it there. It was beautiful (of course I wouldnt expect less considering tuition for high school is an amazing 20K a year) and everyone in the interview seemed really nice, although the headmaster was tough to read, he just kind of sat there and observed. So, they also want me to come teach a lesson, which is possibly going to be next wednesday, the deptartment chair will call me next monday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Besides the fact i liked it there the salary ismore than i'm making now, which is fabulous considering private schools are usually less than public, and they serve lunch free to the faculty everyday....free food is always a positive thing. I like free, especially when it's food! :) When I left the parking lot was full of parents picking up their kids. I felt mildly incompetent getting into my Honda Ridgline in the sea of mercedes, bmw, and lexus SUVs, not to mention a few Hummers and cadillacs and other expensive rides. And while my truck is brand new it just doesnt measure up! But thats fine, nothings perfect!!

The lesson I was supposed to teach at La Salle was postponed till the end of the month due to schedule changes at the school. Thats a good thing though, I will hopefully have an answer from Gulliver before then so I know whether I even need to go teach the lesson. So yeah, i'm waiting and hoping that things work out the way I would like.

My portfolio passed!! YAY!!! That was the only thing I needed left to finish to get my professional teaching certificate. YAY!! Out of 48 points I got 33, the minimum needed to pass....not to bad for a day and a half of work on a project that was a 2 year long assignment! What a releif....

And we put an offer on a house....i'm not holding my breath but we'll see.

Wedding Pics....

oooh, the long awaited "wedding"piccs.... i only have a few that were taken with our camera. i havent gotten any from anyone else...

Not only is he crawling he is also pulling up to stand....and attempting to toddle around.....but he cant do that very well yet, although i'm sure it isnt far away....
He has however just about mastered crawling....and because of that his new nickname is speed racer...and he certainly lives up to the name! Other than getting into EVERYTHING, he is a blast to watch as he explores everything and anything. We bought a "corral" to keep him contained safely
And i think it adds a very nice design element to our dining room, especially with the choice of colors and the easy accessability it provides to the dining room table....

And then of course is the fabulous parenting skills we have expressed through the last picture...he looks so mature holding onto the beer while sitting in his highchair! Of course he wasnt drinking the beer for those who might want to think we would actually give our child beer, it was purely for a fun photographic moment... and now he crawls directly toward any bottle that might be around and the cries when you take the beer away. Good habits start young...
On a personal note...I interviewed at another private school last week - Immaculata-La Salle. For those who know I went to a LaSalle in RI although this one is not owned by the same people. I loved it there, the Principal Sister Pat was awesome and not a bit scary and the department chair was also wonderful. I have to go teach a lesson on tuesday at 1:30 to an algebra 2 honors class, hopefully it goeswell. Gulliver called (my previous top choice) to set up and interview, that has been set up for tuesday at 3:30....if i get offered both positions it is going to be a really tough choice...