The Home Stretch

Sorry I have written in so long, but there has been absolutely nothing going on in my life and/or my household all week long.

Here is a cute little pic of my little ones...

I am approaching the home stretch of my schooling as I only have two full terms left. I should have my degree somewhere around the 24th of June, 2008. I have been looking through all the Help Wanted ads to see if there is anything out there in my field of study. I'm extremely interested in the one that I found a couple days ago for the Head Start in a nearby town. Here are the requirements for the job:

Job Title: Assistant Teacher Head Start

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Assist in implementing the NTCAC Head Start plans pertaining to the teaching staff.

2. Be prepared to assume the duties and responsibilities of the Teacher in the event of absences.

3. Arrive at the classroom well enough in advance to have the room prepared for the children's arrival - no later than one hour before the children's arrival.

4. Assist the teacher in providing an environment conducive to the positive social, emotional, intellectual, and physical growth and development of the children.

5. Assist in preparing written plans two weeks in advance of implementation.

6. Participate in all required training and meetings as requested, including on-the-job training.

7. Provide input into the monthly newsletter.

8. Prepare breakfast menus, and submit them one month in advance. Shop for groceries to comply with prepared menus.

9. Assist the teacher in completing the developmental profiles on all children.

10. Observe and record each child's behavior twice weekly.

11. Assist in performing a detailed inventory at the end of each school year.

12. Attend the second local Patent Center Committee meeting of the year and explain the education component with the teacher.

13. Make an initial home visit and at least one or more additional home visits to all children with the teacher.

Wish me luck. I talked to the teacher that held this position previously and she told me that I have a good shot at the job because Head Start hires those with more education, no matter if someone from within with more experience applies as well. I am 1 of 3 people that have applied for this position so far and I have the most education. I REALLY need this job so that I can provide for my children. They are the ones suffering...

Stay tuned for more...

Oh, Come on now...

Is Amie the only friend I got that is actually reading this thing???

Does Anyone Have...

...a good apple crisp recipe? I have been really craving a nice, warm bowl of this for quite some time now....especially since the weather is turning colder. I haven't had any since before my step-mother, Linda, passed away. She couldn't make much (without burning it), but apple crisp (and fudge) was a different story. So, if you have a recipe for this (that's fairly simple...seeing as how I'm a first-time maker of this) that you wouldn't mind sharing, please let me know. I'll be eternally grateful!!!

The kids are doing pretty well in school. They love it. Hannah is now able to count to 10 and say her ABC's up to G. This is NOvember 6th and they've only been going 3 days a week since October 1st, so I think that's a HUGE improvement on her part. Jacob is really trying. He is still talking with somewhat of a lisp when it comes to his "S" sounds (sissy is thithy). He's trying to count out loud when Hannah does, but he misses a number here or there, but even that is a major improvement for him. Dan's mother is worried that Jacob is going to feel inferior that Hannah is learning at a quicker pace than he is. I don't feel that way. I work with them both when they get home from school. I show no favortism towards one or the other. They both know that I love them as EQUALS!!!

Dan is really liking his job. He's learning some new parts to it today, which he was pretty excited about.

Me? I'm still in school and looking for work. I start my 5th term of college tomorrow. That's a good thing because I get bored when the kids are in school and I have nothing to do. You can only do so much housework or play so much Pogo, ya know? I have 3 more terms to complete and then I will have my Associate's. Time can NOT go fast enough.

Stay tuned for more...

Who Knew...

....that I had married a Daniel Boone? Today, Dan went out hunting and came home with 2 grouse. He shot them with a 20 gauge. Although this was not his first grouse kill, he said that they come very few and far between.

He jumped 4 more after this, but you are only allowed to get 2 per day. He said he also saw a turkey and a 4 point buck, but not one sign of a squirrel, which is what he was looking for. He's looking for another black squirrel to replace the one that he got a few years ago and his nephew's dog chewed up. He was so upset over that.

Not much other news to talk about today. The kids and I just stayed home and played games and read books today. Hannah watched some of "The Backyardigans" and Jacob watched some "Dora the Explorer" and "Bob the Builder".

As for me, I'm just patiently waiting for Wednesday to get here to start the next term of my schooling. I have 3 more terms left and then I'll have my Associate's degree. The long term for it is Associate of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies with an Educational Paraprofessional Emphasis. It basically means that I will be a "highly qualified" teacher's aide, which is what the new laws of "No Child Left Behind of 2001" require. Then I'll have to go to an actual on-site school to obtain my Bachelor's degree so that I can be a teacher. I think that I am going to teach 2nd grade. Time will tell.

Stayed tuned for more...

Can You Hear Me Now?

Well, today I had to take Jacob & Hannah to Dr. Campbell's to get their ears checked. Their primary doctor thought that might have had something to do with their speech delay. Dr. Campbell put one of the children with the nurse and had me go in the sound proof room with the other child. First, we took in Jacob. He sat on my lap while Dr. Bob gave him a sheet of paper with some different pictures on it. He had to point at the pictures that Dr. Bob asked him to. Then, Dr. Bob put some earphones on Jacob and shut us in the sound proof room. He sat outside the room, but Jacob could still see him out the window. He asked Jacob to point at the pictures through the headphones to see if he could hear with them on. Then, we had to switch chairs in the sound proof room. There were 2 speakers on each side of us. On top of each speaker, there was a toy that made noise. Dr. Bob would play a toy on the left to see if Jacob would look left. Then, he'd play the toy on the right to see if he'd look in that direction. The last procedure he did with us in the booth was to make this 35 decibel sound. It sounded kind of like static on the TV when the channel goes off late at night. Maybe just a bit louder though. He let me know when he was going to do it so that I didn't jump out of my skin. Jacob jumped a bit when he made the sound, but didn't cry. Now, Hannah...that's another story. She named all the pictures perfectly and did great with the earphones. She liked the toys going off on either side of her, but when he did the static sound, she went NUTS!!!

After the sound proof room, we had to go into another part of the office. Here is where Dr. Bob looked inside their ears to check their ear drums. He said Jacob's was sucked in a bit in the right ear, but it was because that Jacob is a bit under the weather. Hannah's ears had a bit of a drainage and we're going to keep an eye on that. Dr. Bob said that could be why Hannah is always tugging on her ear and poking at it. The drainage could be making her ears itchy. We've been lucky so far (knock on wood) that neither Hannah nor Jacob have EVER had an ear infection, so I don't want to start it now. I hope her drainage is due to her just getting over a sinus infection and getting off of antibiotics. Dr. Bob said that could be it.

For anyone that doesn't know, we had to take our minivan off the road for legal reasons, so we put our old gray station wagon back on the road. We had it inspected while Dan and I were taking the kids out trick-or-treating and it was stickered when we were done. I get in the car and it's ticking like a time bomb!!! I asked Dan what that noise was and he said, "The oil pump is going bad, but as long as it keeps ticking, we're okay. It's when the ticking stops that we have to worry." So, the trip to Coudy was quite hair-raising this morning, to say the least. When the motor was cold, the oil was running at about 60psi, but as the motor warmed up, the psi got less and less. By the time I pulled into Dr. Bob's, we weren't registering anything on the meter at all. Talk about biting my nails. Here it is 40º weather and I'm hoping that I don't break down with two 3-year-old toddlers!!!

Stayed tuned for more...

Maiden Voyage

Well, I have decided to jump on the band wagon known as blogger. I had not started before this due to the fact that my life is such a routine day after day, that I thought that I wouldn't have anything new to write about on a regular basis. Now that Hannah & Jacob have started preschool, I think I'll be able to come up with something! Here's a picture, from October 1st, of their 1st day:I'll admit that the majority of these posts will be about the twins as they are my entire world.

Last night was quite an adventure. We took Jacob & Hannah out trick or treating for the very first time. They really had a lot of fun. Jacob was dressed as Superman and Hannah was a Dronkey (from Shrek 3). We tried to get them to say "trick or treat" at the houses, but all they could manage to get out was "treat", which the people thought was hilarious, and usually gave them extra candy for it. But I did make sure to have them say "thank you" to every single person. It was funny though....every time Jacob would tell the people "thank you", Hannah would answer him with "you're kell-come" which is her version of you're welcome. Here are their costumes:

Well, I hope that you enjoyed the maiden voyage of "Going off on a rant".

Stayed tuned for more...