a blended life

Is anyone else celebrating that February is over? I know I haven't posted much this month. I'm barely keeping my head above water with student teaching. Overwhelming doesn't really describe the stress I feel everyday. Luckily, I love what I do and still want to be a teacher. I had my final evaluation this week, will turn in a portfolio in a few weeks, and finish out this crazy adventure by April 26th. This month I've been teaching exponential growth and decay and will finish out my last weeks teaching  how to factor polynomials. Try to not fall over with shock--I still can't believe someone is letting me teach this stuff either. Here's a conversation I had with one of my students: Sophomore girl: What are we doing today? Me: Word problems with exponential growth. Girl: Yeah, well boys suck exponentially. High school issues are rough and the drama gets pretty thick sometimes. I've already dealt with kids being suspended, sent to juvenile detention, ...

She turned 6 last week.  Wanted overalls. I finally found some at H&M at the last minute. Likes Bruno Mars. Kissed a boy on the playground. Is the boss of everything. Is disappointed that she didn't lose a tooth when she was 5. Takes ballet and tap dancing lessons.  Always ready for adventure.

The second worst month of the year has been a mixed bag. I spent all of last week taking care of a sick Hannah with the flu, then all of this week taking care of myself (barely) with the same illness. I didn't have it nearly as bad as Hannah, but it was enough to put me in a seriously foul mood for several days.  But I can't be too grumpy about life. There really have been some sunny spots in our otherwise dark, cold days.  For example, the sun came out today for a few minutes. I think it warmed up to 40 degrees. I basked like a boss: School is both stressful and fabulous. I go to work happy, excited that I have found a profession that I love. It can be incredibly difficult--I feel like being a Resource teacher is akin to being a behavioral/emotional disorder counselor. I really love the students and honestly, truly enjoy working with them. One of them wrote a little note on my white board: Maybe I should have kept my shoes on for this one. Whatever...