Never Boring

Yeah, our life is never boring. Some of my much-needed humor for the week was very appropriate:

Work has not lightened up. I was trying to figure out why I had the April burn-out when it's only October. Then I took a look at my caseload. I knew that my numbers were too high - my caseload is at 368 and climbing, but then I looked at the number of reports that I had written already this school year - 186. What.The.Hell???? No wonder I'm losing my mind! That is a LOT of reports for me to have written and meetings that were held. Sadly, most of those are 30-Day Interim Placements meaning it was just to transfer the student to our school, so I'm going to have to write another report for that student sometime during the year. 

I don't think that I have actually talked about what it is that I do, so here it is: I'm a Transition Specialist. I have a Special Education credential and have spent years teaching mild to moderately disabled children over the years, but I landed in a role that I really love. I get to smash the dreams of children and smack them in the face with reality. It's actually really fun. Most Special Ed students are working so hard for a Diploma that they forget to plan for the "after" part, and it's my job to be sure to have them go through the steps and decide on a Plan A and a Plan B. The Plan A is usually something stupid. I have seen Music Producer, NFL/NBA Player and other decidedly "cool" jobs as the hot list of jobs for these kids to have. This year, it's "Video Game Designer or Tester." Yep, you have to love it. So, I get the students to look at what it takes to gain that employment and the educational/vocational requirements. They usually learn quickly that there's no way it will work for them, so then we buckle down and look at what they may actually do well in. I also help them to realize how to gain part-time employment during high school, how to look at getting that first apartment, etc. 

It never fails - the first impression of me is that I'm a "Bitch" who is trying to kill their dreams, but eventually, the students realize that I'm a total wealth of information, and they usually still contact me a couple of years after they graduate for additional help. 

My reports are a collection of assessments, the assessment result data, interviews with the student and parent or guardian, and sometimes a probation officer or court liaison to best serve each student. Yes, this is a mandated part of the IEP forms, and it's my job to be sure that it is complete for each and every student. So, with our school trying to enroll as many kids as possible, I have been kept very, very busy!! 

In order to manage the other role I have as Wife and Mother, I make sure to stop working after my hours are done each day, and then somehow transition quickly back into the other roles.  Despite the non-stop headache, we went to Ken's ex's house on Friday night for an 18th birthday party for Justin. 

Yes, that's right, Sheryl was in town and she hosted a party for Justin - we attended and somehow, I managed to stay totally polite. Her friend, Sandy, is completely snotty and has no problem bitching in the presence of the one who is pissing her off, but I managed to keep a smile on my face anyway and not verbally rip the bitch to shreds. Seriously, if you're going to ignore my presence and pretend to not hear me, then do not complain that I wasn't helping out with the preparations. Lady, I asked 4 times if you and Sheryl needed help, but you played like you were 5 and that I didn't exist. I quit offering after that, so complaining later that I was "rude" and "didn't even offer to help out" was completely childish and stupid. The fact you whined about it specifically so I could hear you was utterly pathetic. Oh, and bitching about my daughters was seriously the wrong thing to do. You are SO very lucky that I promised to behave! 

OK, rant over.

I had a ton of fun watching Justin open his gift from us. Of course, we supplied him with an iTunes gift card, but the Maybe You Touched Your Genitals Hand Sanitizer was an awesome gift, and the fun was not lost on Justin. Everyone laughed about it, and it was the hit gift because of its craziness.

Sheryl went out of her way, and we thanked her for being a good hostess. She thought ahead and had activities and gift bags for the girls which was very thoughtful. The girls were able to carve pumpkins for the first time - we had them paint them before but never carve, so she found it cool to be able to do this for them. I know she was frazzled having us over there, and she and I  are still tip-toeing around each other, but we managed to pull it together for Justin. Having her over last Christmas to our house was really a great way to start this process, and Ken and I discussed that it was pretty cool that she was making the effort this time.

So, the supper went well with Justin and his friends and family, and then the girls were able to carve after supper was over. I thought it very ironic that Mandy was the one who loved scooping out the guts more than any of the girls. Taylor didn't finish carving because she was helping out to clean up - what a great girl!!

I relieved to learn that the silly string in the girls' gift bags was to be used at her house. She wanted the girls to spray Justin, and it took Sean AND Ken to literally pull Justin out of the house so he could be sprayed.

Saturday was spent with me doing some stitching, and the girls pretending to clean their room. 

 I just realized that November was going to be here within a week, and I hadn't started the November project!

Taylor did the most work, so I rewarded her with heading to Victorville to use her Kohl's gift certificate and the money she had earned from helping Linda next door. Because of the huge sale going on, Taylor was able to purchase one full outfit for herself. I was happy to help her learn how to use the sales, and she was totally stoaked that she could buy herself ONE FULL OUTFIT and she purchased exactly what she wanted. Taylor has managed to lose one full size, so I was happy to help her out with some added shopping especially because of the sale. It's tough keeping her in clothes, but she seems to have stopped growing, it will get easier from here. She loved a sweater but couldn't afford it, so Mama and Dad bought it along with another pair of jeans.

After shopping, we stopped at Mimi's Cafe for supper. She chose a Bleu Cheese and Walnut salad for supper so she could "splurge" on the pumpkin spice cheesecake for dessert. You have to love how she's growing up and thinking clearly. (So far and fingers crossed!!)

Today, Ken was up early to go to the Apple Valley Defensive Pistol shoot. He hasn't played in over a month because of all his travels and hunting, so he was very much looking forward to this morning.