Here we go...

I. Am. Exhausted.

Most days I put in from 10-12 hours. There is so much planning, paperwork, grading, organizing, thinking, analyzing, modifying, reorganizing, and preparation that it is easy to lose sight of why I'm really doing this-summers off. No really, this teaching gig is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.

My 4th graders are hilarious, though. It is really worth it. They think it's hilarious when I speak what little Spanish I know and they love it even more when I read in Spanish (my class is filled with Spanish speakers). They are fascinated about my life outside of school. They invite me to their games, birthday parties and such. They suggested that I go on eHarmony when they found out I wasn't married. They are PRECIOUS!

I just hope that through all the chaos that is my teaching, they're actually learning. You should have seen me trying to teach division. Good laaaawwwd! I think they finally got it. Maybe. Only the standardized tests will be the judge of that. :(

I'm limiting my nervous breakdowns to once a week. Seriously. But never in front of the kids. My team leader shared a story that she totally broke down in front of her kids during her first year of teaching. I haven't done that...yet.
Self discovery is a bitch. I'm learning that I totally don't deal with stress effectively. I'm trying.



In other news...

There is $100/month cable installed in the duplex that I'm not living in yet.

I bought a big girl bed. A pretty one.

I also bought a laundry sorter. You know, the kind that has 3 compartments. If you don't already have one, I highly suggest you pick one up. It has cut down on my laundry time considerably.

We have 2 new baby goats. Yesterday when I came home, they were both hollering. I thought that was odd, since they really only cried the first day they came to the house. I went out to check on them and one was caught in the fence with his little head on the other side where our 2 emus live. I didn't panic, being the country girl that I am. I quickly tried to get his little head and horns through the fence. He wasn't really cooperating. While I'm trying to free him, the male emu has suddenly taken an interest in what is going on (he didn't really care about the goat-just me). So, I'm trying to free the goat and the emu is sort of pushing up against the fence that is between us with his feet/claws right by goat's face. So, I'm a little worried that he is going to claw his little eyes out or something accidentally. So, I'm trying to get the goat out while pushing the emu back. Then, through the fence, he starts to peck at my head. And now I am getting pissed. I am cussing at this emu and pushing him away. At one point I was tapping on his beak with a rock and clapping to get him to leave me alone. He wouldn't quit. So, I decided to feed him and he finally left us for all of the two minutes it took me to free the goat. So, I get the goat free and the emu isn't hungry anymore and all is good. So, I get some treats to feed the llamas that have sort of freaked out during all the hoopla. They each get two treats. So, they've had their two treats and I'm going to walk away and..BAM! The fucking llama spit on me.