12 More Days... 12 More Days... 12 More Days...

12 more days... Ahhh.... Only 12 more days in my school year, and then I can relax. I cannot even begin to describe how exhausted I am. I am so ready for a break. I love my job; don't get me wrong. However, I need a break. I need a break from the kids, parents, teachers, principals, paperwork, etc. I NEED A BREAK!!!!!

Things have been a little on the stressful side for Brandon and me lately. There's only 12 more days left of school. That means that I have to finish up screening all elementary kids in order to prevent kids from "falling through the cracks." I also have to finish and file all paperwork for the 52 kids that I serve. I still have a few meetings to hold with parents/guardians, and all of this has to be completed in 12 days. UGHHH.... I hope I can make it!

Another reason why life is a little stressful is because we are going through this house ordeal. We keep having to counter-offer the bank and then waiting to see if they will accept or counter-offer our counter-offer. UGHH... so annoying... It's almost as if I just want to stop all of it and go back to my "non-thinking" renting mind-set.

Right now, I'm just so tired of thinking. When school is finally over, I'm going to treat myself to a massage, pedicure, and a manicure! :) I deserve it!

I hope everyone is having a great week! Good night and GOD BLESS!

Lots Accomplished Today

Wow... what a day at work! Even though I only saw one kid (yes, only one kid), I was busy, busy, busy all day long! Today was basically a paperwork day. I hate paperwork. Because I work for a Cooperative, I've got double the amount of paperwork that one district slps have. I've always said I went into this field for the therapy part and not the paperwork. I'm such a procrastinator when it comes to paperwork. I know the secretary is irritated at me because I'm such a procrastinator. Oh well... I look at it this way: A true therapist concentrates on the therapy.

After work, I came home and got started cooking dinner. We had Easy Chicken and Biscuits! It was Yummy!!!! Here's the recipe:

1.5 lbs of chicken
2 cans of cream of mushroom soups
1 can of biscuits
1 16oz bag of frozen veggies (carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower)
black pepper
1/4 tsp of thyme
2 tbsps butter

Preheat oven @ 400.

Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Melt butter in a 10 in pan and place chicken bits in pan. Cook chicken evenly and thoroughly. While chicken is cooking, mix veggies, soups, thyme, and black pepper together in a 9x13 pan. After chicken is done, stir chicken in with the veggies and soups.

Cook for 15 minutes @ 400. Take out, stir chicken and veggies, and place biscuits over chicken and veggies. Cook for another 15 minutes @ 400. ENJOY!

I hope everyone enjoys their evening! GOD BLESS!

Preschoolers Give the Best Hugs

Good Evening Bloggers! I've been skippin' out on blogging lately!! SHAME SHAME ON ME!!! SOO... here are the updates:

I've officially been dieting now for a little over 2 weeks and I've lost 3 pounds!!! During the day, I'm eating about every two hours, and I still manage to lose weight. I eat HEALTHY, watch my calories/fat/carbs/protein, and I exercise. It's amazing! I haven't felt this great in a long time! If you are looking for a great way to get started losing weight and/or becoming healthier, then I encourage you to join sparkpeople.com . This website is FREE, offers amazing resources/recipes, tracks your nutrition, tracks, fitness, and tracks weight loss! AMAZING!!! JOIN NOW!!

I recently signed up to go to the Missouri Speech/Language Hearing Association's annual convention. It's going to be April 16-18 at Tan-Tar-A. This will be my first year going to a speech/language conference and I cannot wait! I'm going with great co-workers, and I know I'm going to have a blast!

As of late, there has been something that has weighed quite heavily on my heart. It's a matter of religion. For a long time now, I've prayed to GOD about my relationship with him (or rather the lacking of a relationship), and I've prayed to him about offering guidance and strength as my husband and I figure our way through life.  I've come to the realization that this heaviness in my heart IS the answer that I've been praying for. GOD has given me the answer that I've been praying for! GOD has told me the answer, and he wants to be connected with my heart just like I want my heart connected with him. THANK YOU GOD FOR GIVING ME THE ANSWERING AND SHOWING ME THE WAY!

My heart was heavy today, and before I started working, I knew it was going to be a long day. However, my preschoolers proved me wrong. I ended up having one of the best days because of them! They know exactly what to say to me to make me smile, and they give the best hugs around! They eased my mind, my spirit, and heart.

That's the updated version on our lives! Good Night and GOD BLESS!

Typical Day

From Kelly's Korner, Show Us Your Life topic is "What Is Your Typical Day Like?" So to answer this question, like so many others, I am going to divulge into this topic! 

• My alarm clock goes off at 5:15 am just about every day work day. I'm a morning person, so this really doesn't bother me. Right when my alarm goes off, I'm up and at 'em!

• After waking up, I hop in the shower for about 20 minutes. I get out, lotion up, put make-up on, and get dressed. By the time all of this is done, it's approximately 6:00 am.

• Before I start my hair, I go and make COFFEE!!! I have a love affair with coffee! That's all there is to it. I then turn the tv in the living room on to KY3. 

• After I start the coffee and turn the tv on, I go fix my hair. That is an ENTIRE PROCESS! Before I brush my hair, I spray in a leave-in conditioner. After I brush all the tangles out, I run gel through my hair with my hands, spray my hair with a spritz gel, and then hair spray it. With a diffuser, I dry my hair for about 5 minutes, spray with more hair spray, and then finish drying it. All in all, it takes me about 20 minutes to do my hair. By this time, it's pushing 6:30 am.

• I then go into the kitchen, eat breakfast (always cereal), and drink my coffee while I watch the morning news and forecast.  I watch tv for about 20-30 minutes (depending on how well I'm getting around that morning).

• Between 7:15 and 7:30 am, I go start my car, make my lunch, and brush my teeth. 

• By 7:30-7:40 am, I'm out the door and headed to work, which is only 10 miles away. At work, my actual day begins at 8:30 am and finishes at 3:00. I see kids all day long, except for my lunch break at 11:30-12:00. Depending on the amount of paperwork, calling parents, talking to teachers, it varies what time I'm home. Usually, I'm home at least by 4:30, but sometimes, that doesn't happen. 

• At home, I start dinner, and Brandon is usually home by 5:00. We eat dinner together and usually will either watch tv, a movie, or play video games together for a few hours. If we are going to work out that evening, we wait until after dinner (around 6:30-7:00) to go and work out. 

• Between 10-10:30 pm, I'm in the bed. I wake up the next morning and start my day all over again! 

That's my typical day! Crazy, hectic, and it's my life! I love it and wouldn't change a thing about it. Where I live, the sun is shining on the bright and glorious Saturday! Thank you GOD for giving us the amazing day! Have a great day and GOD BLESS! 

Hello Friends...It's Been Awhile

It's been an entire week since I last posted. What can I say, except, "I'm slacking!" Not much went on this week. I'm adjusting very well back into the contacts world. I love my new contacts! It was a bad choice to stop wearing them in the first place. 

Here's a brief review of my past week:

• No school on Monday because of President's Day. YAY!!!! Even though I may not agree with everything each president has done, I appreciate their hard work. I pray every night for the President, Senators, Representatives, Judges, etc. that they lead us and this country in the right direction so that one day our grandchildren will not be disappointed in us and our decisions.

• Tuesday and Wednesday were rough days. I had a teacher(s) complain about me because she believed that I was not getting my speech kids enough. My response to that was the following:
• I serve approximately 50 kids for speech and language services.
• I serve these (approx.) 50 kids in a matter of 3 1/2 days. Normally, this is conducted across 5 days. One day a week is devoted to helping test kids in the 12 school districts that we serve. The other 1/2 day is devoted to meetings in Houston. Because of my crazy schedule, I don't have the luxury or flexibility to make-up for missed sessions. I would if I could. 
• I don't see kids just because I don't want to see them. The ONLY reasons I "skip" sessions are because of IEP/Evaluation meetings, assemblies, and/or class parties. 
• Recently, I was gone for an entire week because my grandpa died and because one of Brandon's grandpa died. 
• We've missed an INSANE amount of school because of snow. 

• On Friday, my SLP Supervisor came to observe me. He looked over my nicely charted week with all my kids and times on there that I serve. He was in shock. He told me that he would talk with our boss about letting me devote my Mondays to serving kids. YAY!!! I hope this gets approved by our boss! That would be amazing! 

• On Saturday, we went to West Plains and did some errands. After awhile, I went to my Grandma's house and spent some quality time with her, my mom, sisters, and nephew. It was nice spending time with them. 

• Today, we did absolutely NOTHING, and it was nice. We've decided that we are going on vacation this year to Carolina Beach, NC. We looked at a few different condos that we might stay at. I can't wait for July to come around so I can spend an ENTIRE week on the beach just relaxing! 

So that was my week! I know...BORING! But, hey, it's my life. I hope this week is better than last week. Last week was a bit of a downer. I plan to listen to upbeat songs while getting ready in the morning. Hopefully, that will charge me and put me in a positive mood before going to work! Good night and GOD BLESS!

A Better Day

Today has been a much better day. I don't know if it's because it was a new day or for the double fact of: A.) It was a half day of school; and B.) I only saw 5 kids in a matter of 1 hour. HAHA! Well, whatever the reason, today has been a much better day.

Even though it was a half day of school for Parent-Teacher Conferences, I stayed for a full day (I don't directly work for the school district I serve; therefore, I go by the program's schedule.) I was supposed to have an IEP meeting this afternoon, but the parent never showed. So, I ended up organizing and cleaning my room, and I must say, my room looks SPECTACULAR!

When it was 3:30, I packed up and left for Sprinfield. In Springfield, I met up with my husband, and we went to the mall to do a little shopping. Well, I did a little shopping! :)

I know I've went on how these past two weeks have been a horrible roller coaster, but once again, my roller coaster feels like it's going up hill. Also, it was nice to spend a relaxing evening outside of our home. I hope things continue going well. I'm tired of feeling sad/depressed/numb. Please continue to pray for me and my family, especially my Grandma. We are still healing from the loss of our famliy member. Thanks and GOD BLESS!

Just a Blah Kind of Day

I woke up this morning bright eyed and bushy tailed. It felt like it was going to be a good day. I had my morning coffee BEFORE I left for work, and I actually got to work on time. Then, people started talking to me. Everyone just kept telling me how they were so glad that I was back. I totally started losing it. The tears were flowing and not stopping.

I went ahead and started seeing my kids. However, by 9:30, I was ready to go home. I told myself that I wasn't going home today because I couldn't continue "hiding out" at home. I had to persist and push myself. Even though I didn't want to, I knew I needed to. I kept seeing my kids, hoping that things would change and turn around. That didn't happen. After lunch, I decided that today was just going to be a "relax day" with the rest of the kids. We were just going to play games and have fun. I was still monitoring their speech and language, and actually, it gave me good insight on new things that some kids needed help with.

Once the 3:00 bells rang to let school out, I was out of there! I packed my stuff up and headed home.

I haven't done one thing tonight. Came home, took a nap, ate at Dairy Queen, and now blogging! I plan on taking a HOT BUBBLE BATH soon after Biggest Loser is over. I deserve a bubble bath. Hopefully, it will help me relax and be able to rest tonight. GOD BLESS!

Back to the Grindstone...Well, On Tuesday

My Grandpa's funeral was on Saturday. His service was at Elijah Church of Christ in Caulfield, MO, and he was buried at Sweeton Pond Cemetary in Dora, MO. Even though it was difficult sitting through his service, my dysfunctional family found some way to have some laughs. For starters, there was about 6-8 inches of snow on the ground; therefore, people weren't going to dress up; however, I didn't know how true that was going to be. A man, apparently, thought it was appropriate to come to the funeral in his converalls. Not just any coveralls, but coveralls that were so worn out that he had to use duck tape to cover the holes up. That's not all or the best. The best was an Elvis impersonator. Yes, Elvis impersonator. I'm talking hair, glasses, gold rings. Excluding a white, sequence jump suit, that man sought to embody Elvis Presley.

When my husband saw the Elvis impersonator, he turned to me and started to chuckle. He then said, "Elvis has entered the building." I couldn't help but laugh.

Tomorrow, Monday, February 1, 2010, I should be going back to work. However, I'm so exhausted (emotionally, mentally, & physically) that I would be useless. I know I'm going to have to go back to work eventually, but I also know that it still hurts too bad to go back to work. No matter what, I will go back to work on Tuesday. GOD BLESS!

The Life of an SLP

If you have read my "About Me," you know that I'm a speech-language pathologist (SLP), or in laymen's terms, a speech therapist, for a school district. I absolutely LOVE my job! I feel truly blessed to be able to make a difference in children's lives. Some may think that the work in schools is a little monotomous, but the kids make the job fun and exciting! Here's just an insight on my job:

• I have a caseload (or the # of kids I see a week) of 48.
• I help kids with a wide variety of disabilities (Articulation, Language, Autism, ADHD, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation, etc.)
• I serve these 48 kids in 3 1/2 days. One other day a week to devoted towards testing kids for initial/re-evaluating eligibility. The 1/2 day is devoted to meetings with staff members of the program I work for.

The saying, "Kids say the darnest things," is SO TRUE! Here is just a few of the "sayings" I've heard this year:

• "Boy, I sure could use a good ole hamburger right about now." This was at 9am, and this child had eaten breakfast maybe a hour before his session.
• A 5 yr old girl reaches and squeezes one of my breasts and says, "You have boobies." I told her, "Yes, I do have boobies. All girls have boobies, but we don't touch."
• "For speech, can we just sing our words? I would rather sing our words today."
• When playing with farm animals, a 3 yr old boy picks up a horse and says, "whore, i a whore." He deletes all his final sounds in words. He meant to say, "Horse, it's a horse," but that's what sounds like.
• "Mrs. Reed, picking nose gross?"
• "Mrs. Reed, you're so funny!" The way this kids said it made it what it is!
• Ohhh.... and for kids who have difficulty saying their r's, they say my name like "Mrs. Weed".

A Cold Day In My Room and Apples

In my room at the school I work at, the only type of ac/heat comes from this rinky-dink device that is mounted on my wall. The device works 50% of the time. I usually don't mind and just dress for the weather. However, today was FREEZING!!!!! I borrowed someone's "old-as-Methuses" electric heater. The electric heater had seen better days because it really wasn't doing much for me. Needless to say, I made up my mind and decided I couldn't see kids in my room. I was productive today though; I managed to complete and mail out all of my progress notes! In a way, I'm kinda glad I have a faulty heater because it helps me catch up on all of my paperwork.

I just got word that school is cancelled for tomorrow because of ... Duh Tuh Duh Dah ... MORE SNOW! :) This little speech therapist is happy because I, now, need to get caught up on my house work. You would have thought I would have got caught up on housework over Christmas Break and the extra snow days, but I'm a procrastinator! So, tomorrow, I AM going to clean my house and wash and fold all of the laundry!

Over the break, I visited an aunt of mine that I hadn't seen in a long time. I expressed to her my frustration with my weight gain. She told me a secret involving apples. She said, "Mannie, if you are serious about losing some weight, just eat 2-3 apples a day. Don't eat anymore than 3 but don't eat less than 2, and that will help you lose weight." I've been following her advice, and I can say that her advice has made me feel a whole lot better. I don't notice any bloating or excessive eating! :) Now, I need to do something about my physical activity. My husband and I are still planning on joining the "Y" after we get paid on the 20th. Hopefully, by the end of March, our physical and spiritual bodies will get in better condition!