(2 of 2) side and I end up squished and this keeps me from sleeping. When she is in her bed she snores and keeps us from sleeping.

(1 of 2) Dilemma. The dog has a dog bed but prefers our bed. Under the covers. The problem: when she is in our bed she is warm and snuggly but takes over my

1-24-11

1-24-11
Originally uploaded by musicgirl816

Meet the family. The string family. I brought all of these instruments in to my school to demonstrate for the kids. Guess which one I am missing. Guess which is the kid's favorite.

1-23-11

1-23-11
Originally uploaded by musicgirl816

Charlotte in the car while we drive to see the grandparents!

1-22-11

1-22-11
Originally uploaded by musicgirl816

Went to a friend's birthday party but we only took pictures of the kids. Not the best shot because the kids kept moving. But, they are too cute.

1-21-11

1-21-11
Originally uploaded by musicgirl816

Pasta ala Genovese for dinner. Yummy!

1-20-11

1-20-11
Originally uploaded by musicgirl816

Still working on grades. Almost done though. Inputting the final numbers into the spreadsheets while watching NCIS on the couch with Charlotte.

1-19-11

1-19-11
Originally uploaded by musicgirl816

My grades are running my life!!!!

defending my passion

Tonight I sat through a meeting where people talked about numbers and figures about how much it costs to educate a child. Until the point where the floor was opened up to the community, there was little mention about children or why the people there were sitting and waiting. We, the community, sat and waited for someone to talk about why it was proposed to make many cuts to our budget and why this was thought of and why it is ok. I don't think we really ever got our answer tonight. If we will ever get an answer is the real question now. So after over an hour of listening to things we already knew and numbers we can all read, the people waiting spoke their piece. Tonight, I heard some community members talk, parents speak their piece, and my colleagues defend their passion and careers.
 I am proud to call these people my co-workers. They stood up and defended why the arts, libraries, and early childhood education are important and vital to our children. They said things I wish I had the guts to say clearly.
So, I also joined them. I quickly wrote what I thought I wanted to say. Then, I mustered all I could, stood up, and invited the attendees entire forum to come to my second grade concert. I stated my name, where I worked, and what I taught. I then asked if everyone present would come to one of the four concerts my second graders will put on. I gave them the dates and times and reminded them that these are the days before the board decides what to do. Then, I said (the only thing off the cuff by the way) that I wish for them to see what our second graders are capable of. I sat down and then realized I just did what scares me the most. I talked in front of people.  A bunch of people. With out a word for word script and I wasn't about to sing something.


I will always fight for children to receive a quality arts education. Especially in the area of music. It scares me but, I did it and will do it continually.
I love my job.

1-18-11

1-18-11
Originally uploaded by musicgirl816

This is Stas. His mom works with me. He had to come to a school board meeting tonight until his daddy came to pick him up. He was a good little doodlebug. Also, I made his hat.

1-17-11

1-17-11
Originally uploaded by musicgirl816

MLK jr. day. No school today. I needed to grade a lot of papers today. I camped out on the couch with all of the grading and Kyle delivered me snacks to stay on track. Charlotte kept me company.

1-16-11

1-16-11
Originally uploaded by musicgirl816

After a strenuous day of sitting around together. Charlotte and I visited my Great-Grandma. Then we went to my parent's house and read through my new cookbook to find delicious things. This was while my mother was actually doing all the cooking. My mom rocks. Especially at making dinner. Without a recipe. I on the other hand, require my plethora of cookbooks and subscription to food network magazine.

1-15-11

1-15-11
Originally uploaded by musicgirl816

I went up to Madison, WI on Saturday to celebrate my best friend and her boyfriend's birthdays. We went to the roller derby and then made pink panthers. Fun was had by all.

1-14-11

1-14-11
Originally uploaded by musicgirl816

This is our friend John. John loves to dance. He is also very tall. This attracts attention. I don't think he minds.

1-13-11

1-13-11
Originally uploaded by musicgirl816

Stuffed animal mayhem in my co-teacher's classroom.

1-12-11

1-12-11
Originally uploaded by musicgirl816

A line at Dunkin' Donuts makes for a grumpy Katie. Especially when I really need my morning coffee.

1-11-11

1-11-11
Originally uploaded by musicgirl816

This one here is my fur covered baby. Except she refused to get in her crate this morning. This made me late out the door. The snow was already causing problems. I was late to work. Luckily, so was everyone else.

1-10-11

1-10-11
Originally uploaded by musicgirl816

These were droopy and dying when I got them on Saturday. They are beautiful now. I love plants. I can't wait for spring and planting.

1-9-11

1-9-11
Originally uploaded by musicgirl816

I did not feel like cooking today. This is what lazy people eat. i.e. me

1-8-11

1-8-11
Originally uploaded by musicgirl816

Moving my best friend's piano into my grandmother's house.

1-7-11

A dusting
Originally uploaded by musicgirl816

The snow on our deck after the dog has gone out.

My Turn

Today I found  out that it is very likely for me to be RiFed at the end of the school year.
There was a proposal to the school board in my district and the cuts involved my department. Of course, they don't name names yet, just positions. They always talk like that. "We are cutting positions, not people." Well board, if saying that helps you sleep better at night, then thanks. Because when you cut positions, you are in fact, cutting people. The reason they say this is because of seniority in the district. The cuts come from the bottom up. So, if your position gets eliminated and you have seniority over someone at a different school, you can bump them out of their spot to stay employed. I am at the bottom of the pile where I work. Everyone below me has already been cut from last year's round of RiFs. It is pretty much inevitable that I will be receiving a letter on March first. My only hope is that in the next month and a half (before the meeting that decides on this proposal) people come to the forums, petition the board , stand up for children and a quality education, and convince the board that the ideas put forth in this proposal will be too detrimental to their children's learning.

If you know of cuts going on in your area, GO TO THE SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS and the FORUMS. Speak up for your children. Tell your schools that we cannot lose any more of our educators. Tell them that the arts are not an expendable thing. The arts are as important to learn as math and reading. Do not hide and hope that someone will just come to their senses.

I miss winter break.

I liked my winter break too much. Can I have it again?

1-6-11

1-6-11
Originally uploaded by musicgirl816

One of my students decided that writing their name in Popsicle sticks was a better use for them. We were actually using them to make rhythms. Then the whole class tried their names. This same class also led me down a 5 minute tooth fairy discussion.

1-5-11

1-5-11
Originally uploaded by musicgirl816

I hate this light. We were up very late fixing it and I then got no sleep. I don't do well with no sleep.

1-4-11

1-4-11
Originally uploaded by musicgirl816

When I cam back to school after winter break, this is what I found. My entire faux bulletin board had fallen to the ground. Intact though.

Yes, I did take this photo yesterday. But, I could not post last night due to some technical difficulties.

I sat all day

Whoever thought that an all day inservice for teachers was crazy. Better yet, an all day long, listen to someone talk inservice. Now, I do not mean to diminish the merit of what today's speaker talked on. Very important stuff. But really people, you have several hundred very smart people who know that our kids learn best when they get movement breaks and need some running around time. We as adults also tend to learn better this way. We cannot sit and absorb for several hours. In college, I had to get up and walk from one class building to another. This helped burn off the pent up energy of sitting for an hour +.

1-3-11

1-3-11
Originally uploaded by musicgirl816

Tonight, Kyle and I went with my friend Anna to see another friend, Andrew, at his show at Second City in Chicago! We laughed very very hard.

1-2-11

1-2-11
Originally uploaded by musicgirl816

Went to visit Kyle's Grandparents!

1-1-11

1-1-11
Originally uploaded by musicgirl816

My pots from saving stickers at Jewel!