Goooood morning!!!
     I made it to my track out!! WHOO HOOO!!! I am so excited to have three weeks of vacation! My last track out wasn't three weeks (it was shorter) so it's awesome to have three long weeks. I have a lot to do this track out, but it's going to be wonderful.
     Today Steve and I are going to the DPAC to see Wicked. We're meeting two of Steve's friends (mine too) Pam and Tim for lunch at Tyler's Taproom before the show. They have season tickets too and we just found out last night. HA! I'm excited to see Wicked-- I read 3/5 of the book and just couldn't get into it, so I'm hoping the play will be easier to enjoy.
     Last night we went to dinner at The Pit (my favorite) with Jen, Rebekah, Kim, and her husband Dave. It was a lot of fun and very enjoyable. There was definitely a lot of laughter coming from our table.
     I've been doing more things with my Scholastic Teacher Advisor role. I received my first book to read and review. It was called Umbrella Summer and was about a little girl who was afraid of doing anything because it might kill her. She had an abnormal fear of death because her twelve-year-old brother had recently been hit in the chest with a hockey puck and while in the hospital, they discovered he had a rare heart condition, which then caused his death.
     Anyway, I have been doing a few surveys for them and have really enjoyed the things they've asked me to do.
     I've been working on a very special project for my students. Every year I make them each a very special gift for the last day of school. It takes me all year to make it and endless hours, and I've been collecting items for one portion of the project. Over this track out, I have to start pulling it all together, and getting it ready to give to them.
     We found out last week that our EOGs are now a week sooner than expected. Now we're giving the EOGs June 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. I have not even finished teaching the curriculum, and now I'm expected to start preparing them for the test. I hate EOGs. Parents don't understand that I teach each objective a little at a time, then come back and do them some more. Their child is graded based on just focusing on one or two objectives. The EOGs measure their knowledge and understanding of the concepts for the ENTIRE year.
     Each year (it never fails) there's a child (or two) who don't pass and the parents flip out and want to know why their child can get 3s on their report card, but fail the EOGs. It's because they practice and practice and then are assessed in class... then we move to the next objective. This repeats all year. The EOGs are all the concepts jammed into one test and that's a lot of information!!
     Anyway, I'm hoping that my kids do well. I have a few that I know probably won't pass, but we'll see.
     No news on the adoption front. I'm just trying to not think about it too much. I check the website often and we've been moved to the second page because they added another couple. I've been checking the blog as well and there haven't been any babies posted for over a month. So, maybe it's a dry-spell.
     I'm just hoping that someone wants to meet us. I think we're great people, but it's so scary to put yourself out there and be at the mercy of others. I like to be in control of my destiny and this whole process has changed all of that. I'm learning to let go and be more open and really focus on what God wants for us. It's been hard... and I pray each day for patience and that God will help us find the right baby. Please keep us in your prayers!!

Until next time...
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Where has the time gone???
I've started the 2009-2010 school year and so far I really like my class. I've had a lot of positive things said to me from the parents and even got a standing ovation after I finished my Open House (it was a first!). This is my tenth year of teaching, and yet it doesn't seem possible.
My business, Cat's Custom Classroom Creations has started to take off! I've had four orders placed online (from all over the U.S.) and then many people that I work with have placed orders for various items. It's been really exciting and fun, but a little stressful at the same time. There's only me working on this stuff, and I make everything by hand, so it takes a while to actually complete an order.
I'm about to track out on Friday!! WHOO HOO!! My mom and dad are coming down on Saturday and are staying for a week and then Steve and I are heading to Carolina Beach for a week. We've rented a beach house and are SO excited to get away for a week for our third anniversary.
Scott and Christie asked Steve and I to be the Godparents for LilyAnne... and we're super excited!! We're going to be going to the mitten in October for the Baptism and to visit Steve's family. His dad's wife Sue Ann was just diagnosed with breast cancer (again), so we're going to go up and see them and hope that by October things are better for her than they are now. We ask that you keep them in your prayers as they go through this ordeal together.
Enough from me for a while... I'll write again soon but I need to go to bed!!
Until next time...
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Where does the time go??? Thankfully I received a comment from my good friend Kate saying that she needed an update... it's been two months since I last wrote! AHHHHHH!!! SORRY!!

It can be rather difficult to keep up with three blogs. Yes, I have this one that's just mine and I can use the words I and me, and then there's the Walker Blog that's the blog for me and Steve. That blog was updated last month with information about our trip to Michigan and Indiana. Then there's my teaching blog, and I try to update that one each week. AHHHH!!!

So anyway, for the last two weeks I've been doing well. I've been getting really excited for this track out- it's been much needed. I had to move classrooms this time, but it was okay. As much as I hate taking everything down and moving, it's a nice change and it's a great way to reevaluate what I need and what can come back home.

This past Friday I moved out of my room in record time. Seriously. I had about 8 kids helping and then two parents. We started around 4:05 and the kids and parents were gone by 4:45. It was amazing to think that it only took 40 minutes to take it all down and move it into Ms. Allen's room for the 3 weeks.

When I go back I'll be in the best room ever... room 600. I am excited because it's the biggest room and it's down the hall from everyone else. I can play my music and not have to worry about it being too loud for anyone!!

This track out is exciting for me because I've got some things going on! Today is my first day for my mentor training. It's class for teachers that want to become mentors to new teachers. I have class every Monday and Wedensday from 4:00-7:00 for the next 5 weeks or so. I had to buy things for class and it made me feel like I was back in college. Thankfully I am done with that!!

I have Jury Duty on October 30th. I am pretty excited to be apart of that since I've never had Jury Duty before! Not that I want to get picked and have the rest of my track out sucked up by a court case, but I think it'll be interesting to see what it's like.

Lastly, I volunteered to work the polls on Election Day. I have to attend two different trainings and then I am good to go. I actually had one scheduled for this morning that I was not aware of, so I called to see if I can do it on Saturday instead. Not sure if they'll allow it, but it is what it is.

That's about it... if you want to see what else is going on, read the Walker Blog because I try not to write the same things on both blogs.

Until next time...

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