Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label school. Show all posts
Sunday, August 21, 2011
I regret not saving the hands.
When Sebastian started pre-school, he had a biut of separation anxiety. His teacher suggested I give him something of mine to keep in his cubby or backpack, so he would know I was always near. Sebastian and I couldn't really come up with anything he wanted to take. He just said he wanted to be able to hold my hand. So we traced our hands on construction paper, cut them out, and taped them together like we were shaking hands. Every year on first-day-of-school eve, we'd make a new pair. I thought for sure he would not want to do it this year, but he does. And now I'm sad that I didn't think to save all the paper hands :( That would have been something great to look back on when he graduates from high school :(
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Tons O' Updates
I was feeling Irish when I wrote my post title!
I've been a busy little beaver, with work and preparing for the school pumpkin fair. Being in charge of commercial sales had me all in a bundle of nerves because it meant I had to make phone calls to all of the businesses that bought from us last year. I don't do phones! The thought of calling someone makes me want to throw up. So when the PTA handed this assignment to me, I went back and forth between dry heaving and assuring myself that I could do it. This past week was crunch time, and I had no time to really stress about it. I had to make those phone calls - 600 kids were depending on me to help raise money. So that is what I did. I sat down one afternoon when we got home from school/work and I pounded out all the phone calls. I wasn't nervous at all. I just did it. I still have to call a few people, but only because they've been unavailable every time I call. I will finish that up tomorrow, then all I have to worry about is the setting up of the actual pumpkin fair, the fair itself, then the delivery of the fall decor. So really, even though most of the long hours and heavy lifting are still ahead of me, the hard part is over. And as soon as all that is over, I get to start on the cookie dough fundraiser. I think that will be easier.
Work is going well. I'm still not officially hired for the position, and still just a sub, but I absolutely love this job, and I've told my manager that I am definitely interested in further training. I think I have finally found something to do with my life. I'm not insanely passionate and knowledgeable about child nutrition, but I am very, very interested and I do think that passion will come. Along similar lines, I'm getting involved in a children's fitness program at the school. They started a Go Far Club, and our first meeting is Tuesday. I have volunteered for that (along with my manager) and we're going to spend 8 weeks training for a 5K. And so this gets me thinking (again!) about getting my Turbo Kick certification, and teaching TK to kids! How fun would that be??!!!
Let's see...what else? My father-in-law came to visit for Labor Day weekend and took us off-shore fishing. I had horrible seasickness. I'd never had a problem on a boat before, but I'd also never been 40 miles from land before. The waves are different out there. The choppy, fast moving stuff didn't bother me. The slower, longer waves did. The only time I didn't want to puke was when I was lying down with my eyes closed. Also, when I was doing actual fishing (which I did!!!), I was okay, but as soon as the excitement of the catch was over, I had to lie down again. Which was a shame because the mate was shirtless and sofa king sexy!!! OMG, no words. It was amusing though - after we got off the boat, my husband made some comments about how he just knew I'd think the mate was hot. Sam even said, as soon as the mate took his shirt off, he knew what would go through my mind. I didn't get to see the shirtless mate until well after he'd taken it off, because I was just trying everything not to hurl on his feet. I did notice that it didn't look like he was wearing underwear though. Ah, the memories.
My 11th wedding anniversary is next weekend. I got a Kindle. I always said I'd never get one, but the new 3rd generation Kindles are so light and thin and cute. I had some Amazon gift cards that I'd earned from SwagBucks, so that helped pay for about half of it. The rest of it was a "gift" from my husband. I first thought about getting it before my father-in-law got here, and at that time, any e-reader would have worked. I just wanted one. I'm so glad there wasn't one available locally. It gave me time to research more and see if I really did want one. Then I couldn't decide whether I wanted a Kindle or a Nook. Most of the ebooks I have are Kindle format (thanks to all the freebies Amazon offers), so I went with that. And of course, they were backordered so I had to wait. It took about 2 weeks from the time I ordered it until it arrived. It would probably have taken another week but I didn't cheap out and sprung for 2-day delivery. I love it. I absolutely love it! I named it Lasher, after the Anne Rice character/book (which gave me nightmares). I can access the Internet and read my blogs and message boards. I can put all of my fitness and nutrition PDFs on there and read whenever I need to. It's very convenient. My first "for fun" reading is the Sookie Stackhouse series. I just finished watching Season 3 of True Blood and OMFG!!!!! I am a total werewolf girl. Total.
I've been a busy little beaver, with work and preparing for the school pumpkin fair. Being in charge of commercial sales had me all in a bundle of nerves because it meant I had to make phone calls to all of the businesses that bought from us last year. I don't do phones! The thought of calling someone makes me want to throw up. So when the PTA handed this assignment to me, I went back and forth between dry heaving and assuring myself that I could do it. This past week was crunch time, and I had no time to really stress about it. I had to make those phone calls - 600 kids were depending on me to help raise money. So that is what I did. I sat down one afternoon when we got home from school/work and I pounded out all the phone calls. I wasn't nervous at all. I just did it. I still have to call a few people, but only because they've been unavailable every time I call. I will finish that up tomorrow, then all I have to worry about is the setting up of the actual pumpkin fair, the fair itself, then the delivery of the fall decor. So really, even though most of the long hours and heavy lifting are still ahead of me, the hard part is over. And as soon as all that is over, I get to start on the cookie dough fundraiser. I think that will be easier.
Work is going well. I'm still not officially hired for the position, and still just a sub, but I absolutely love this job, and I've told my manager that I am definitely interested in further training. I think I have finally found something to do with my life. I'm not insanely passionate and knowledgeable about child nutrition, but I am very, very interested and I do think that passion will come. Along similar lines, I'm getting involved in a children's fitness program at the school. They started a Go Far Club, and our first meeting is Tuesday. I have volunteered for that (along with my manager) and we're going to spend 8 weeks training for a 5K. And so this gets me thinking (again!) about getting my Turbo Kick certification, and teaching TK to kids! How fun would that be??!!!
Let's see...what else? My father-in-law came to visit for Labor Day weekend and took us off-shore fishing. I had horrible seasickness. I'd never had a problem on a boat before, but I'd also never been 40 miles from land before. The waves are different out there. The choppy, fast moving stuff didn't bother me. The slower, longer waves did. The only time I didn't want to puke was when I was lying down with my eyes closed. Also, when I was doing actual fishing (which I did!!!), I was okay, but as soon as the excitement of the catch was over, I had to lie down again. Which was a shame because the mate was shirtless and sofa king sexy!!! OMG, no words. It was amusing though - after we got off the boat, my husband made some comments about how he just knew I'd think the mate was hot. Sam even said, as soon as the mate took his shirt off, he knew what would go through my mind. I didn't get to see the shirtless mate until well after he'd taken it off, because I was just trying everything not to hurl on his feet. I did notice that it didn't look like he was wearing underwear though. Ah, the memories.
My 11th wedding anniversary is next weekend. I got a Kindle. I always said I'd never get one, but the new 3rd generation Kindles are so light and thin and cute. I had some Amazon gift cards that I'd earned from SwagBucks, so that helped pay for about half of it. The rest of it was a "gift" from my husband. I first thought about getting it before my father-in-law got here, and at that time, any e-reader would have worked. I just wanted one. I'm so glad there wasn't one available locally. It gave me time to research more and see if I really did want one. Then I couldn't decide whether I wanted a Kindle or a Nook. Most of the ebooks I have are Kindle format (thanks to all the freebies Amazon offers), so I went with that. And of course, they were backordered so I had to wait. It took about 2 weeks from the time I ordered it until it arrived. It would probably have taken another week but I didn't cheap out and sprung for 2-day delivery. I love it. I absolutely love it! I named it Lasher, after the Anne Rice character/book (which gave me nightmares). I can access the Internet and read my blogs and message boards. I can put all of my fitness and nutrition PDFs on there and read whenever I need to. It's very convenient. My first "for fun" reading is the Sookie Stackhouse series. I just finished watching Season 3 of True Blood and OMFG!!!!! I am a total werewolf girl. Total.
Remember how I started monthly menu planning? This week has sucked for following it. I didn't take into consideration the fish we might catch (50 mahi mahi) or the deer Sam would get on opening day (about 30 pounds of meat - all ground). So my freezer is full of those two things and I haven't been able to buy any other meat in preparation for the menus. Hopefully, my October menu will be better executed. I am planning a lot of venison & fish quick or Crock Pot meals because...I'm now a sub for the after school enrichment program. That runs until 6 PM every day, and I never know when I'm going to be called to work. I wouldn't call it "babysitting" but more like facilitating and monitoring the kids in whatever grade level I am working with. They play outside, have a snack, do crafts and other activities, do homework. The best part is, Sebastian gets to go on days I work and play with his friends. I'm not available every day because on Mondays Sebastian has his allergy shots, on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the next 8 weeks we're doing to 5K training, and one Wednesday a month, I have Green Team.
Green Team keeps me busy too, and I'm not even a main leader!! Our first meeting was last week, and I wanted to have the kids make scarecrows out of recycled/recyclable materials. I had to do a lot of the prep work before hand, and I still have to put everything together into the final product before mid-week. The scarecrows are going to be decorations for the pumpkin fair. I was a bit nervous before the first meeting because, though I volunteered last year, I wasn't a team leader. This year, I am.
So basically, I'm all about the elementary school these days. I like the kids (probably because I don't have to deal with them all day) and the teachers and admins are mega-awesome. I'd like to do more in the classroom but my work hours kind of suck for that. Oh, and I'm in charge of making salads! I like that. I don't feel guilty making those. I think it is kind of dumb to have different types of chicken salads three days in a row each week, but no one I work with directly has the power to change that.
I know I'm probably forgetting something. I love being busy but I feel like I'm doing enough in terms of contributing around the house. Yes, I'm working but it's only part time and I could probably get a full-time job and help out more. I spend a lot of time on the volunteer stuff, which is great, but I feel like some things are already being shoved to the back burner. I'm trying to keep to a schedule for keeping up with the house cleaning and I've been doing weekly To Do lists that has helped out tons. I'm keeping all my stuff organized and accessible. I hope I can stay on top of everything. The new TV season starts tomorrow and there's so much I want to check out but I have a feeling that I just won't have time. I have it on my To Do list to update my DVRs before tomorrow night. That item is not crossed off yet.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Recipe Links for Monthly Menus
Breakfast (muffins, bars, pancakes & waffles)
Dinner
Side Dishes
coconut red beans & rice
cream of winter squash and tomato soup
crash hot potatoes
crock pot brussels
easy vegetable risotto
firecracker beet slaw
my favorite coleslaw
savory onion rice
sweet & spicy coleslaw
Tex-Mex corn & bean salsa
Snacks
Miscellaneous
Dinner
beef & vegetable soup (recipe to come)
beef stroganoff
boneless chicken hot wings
broccoli, ham & pasta salad
buffalo chicken meatball subs
boneless chicken hot wings
broccoli, ham & pasta salad
buffalo chicken meatball subs
crumb-coated chicken (also shrimp) - I use the coating only (on boneless, skinless chicken or fish or shrimp)
Side Dishes
coconut red beans & rice
cream of winter squash and tomato soup
crash hot potatoes
crock pot brussels
easy vegetable risotto
firecracker beet slaw
my favorite coleslaw
savory onion rice
sweet & spicy coleslaw
Tex-Mex corn & bean salsa
Snacks
Miscellaneous
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
School Breakfasts/Lunches - Ideas for this year!
I may work in a school cafeteria, but that doesn't mean I want my kid eating what I serve. Sebastian took his lunch most of the time last year, and ate school lunch the year before (in pre-school, and I have no idea whether home-brought lunches were allowed or not...unless there were allergy issues [none in his class], I think everyone got school lunch, and I do know the teachers were very good about making sure the kids chose fruit and vegetables). I wanted to jump on the bento lunch bandwagon but I am what you call a lazy parent. We were extended breastfeeders and co-sleepers because I was too lazy to make formula bottles or pump or quiet him in his own bed. I'm so glad he was a comfort nurser, too. He was so clingy, I managed to watch
AND
before we were all finished.
Luckily, I've found a fantastic blog that's not all fancy bento, but it does offer great ideas and pretty healthy recipes. I cannot tell you how much I love this blog. If I had to cheat on Fitbomb, it would be with this blog.
Breakfasts:
granola/cereal bars
muffins
pancakes/waffles
toast (or bagel/English muffin) w/ nut butter or light cream cheese
cereal (Cheerios, Rice Krispies, or Corn Flakes)
with milk or yogurt and fruit, sometimes turkey bacon or sausage.
Lunches:
ham or peanut butter & jelly/Nutella on whole wheat or quick ogre bread, tortilla roll up, or mini pita
meatballs with easy vegetable risotto
crumb coated chicken nuggets (use boneless, skinless)
chicken Momnuggets
chicken/beef/vegetable soup
Tex-Mex corn & bean salsa
grilled cheese or quesadillas
Sandwich Thin or English Muffin pizza
bulgur chili
kabobs
turkey veggie meatloaf muffins
ham & cheese mini muffins
ham stuffed cheddar mini muffins
tacos
baked corn dog bites
Snacks:
whole wheat crackers w/ peanut butter, jelly, low fat cream cheese & chives
pretzels or croutons
oatmeal pumpkin bars or pumpkin nuggets
whole wheat pumpkin carrot muffins
fruit & vegetable slices
air-popped popcorn
yogurt
oatmeal raisin cookies
baked apples w/ cinnamon
I'm hoping to post a full menu for the month of September, that will include breakfast, lunch, and dinner for both of us (Sebastian and me - Sam gets whatever he gets). I have Sebastian's lunches penciled in and I need to schedule dinners. My lunches will likely be left overs, and my breakfasts the same (or not all that varied). And of course, since I have no idea what the heck I'm doing, September's menu will be very simple and not likely to include any "new" dinner recipes. I'm also trying to figure out how to present it online. I know there are menu planning templates but the once I've seen so far aren't right for my need to be in control of every single detail. I'll probably end up making a spreadsheet in Google Docs.
and
AND
before we were all finished.
Luckily, I've found a fantastic blog that's not all fancy bento, but it does offer great ideas and pretty healthy recipes. I cannot tell you how much I love this blog. If I had to cheat on Fitbomb, it would be with this blog.
Breakfasts:
granola/cereal bars
muffins
pancakes/waffles
toast (or bagel/English muffin) w/ nut butter or light cream cheese
cereal (Cheerios, Rice Krispies, or Corn Flakes)
with milk or yogurt and fruit, sometimes turkey bacon or sausage.
Lunches:
ham or peanut butter & jelly/Nutella on whole wheat or quick ogre bread, tortilla roll up, or mini pita
meatballs with easy vegetable risotto
crumb coated chicken nuggets (use boneless, skinless)
chicken Momnuggets
chicken/beef/vegetable soup
Tex-Mex corn & bean salsa
grilled cheese or quesadillas
Sandwich Thin or English Muffin pizza
bulgur chili
kabobs
turkey veggie meatloaf muffins
ham & cheese mini muffins
ham stuffed cheddar mini muffins
tacos
baked corn dog bites
Snacks:
whole wheat crackers w/ peanut butter, jelly, low fat cream cheese & chives
pretzels or croutons
oatmeal pumpkin bars or pumpkin nuggets
whole wheat pumpkin carrot muffins
fruit & vegetable slices
air-popped popcorn
yogurt
oatmeal raisin cookies
baked apples w/ cinnamon
I'm hoping to post a full menu for the month of September, that will include breakfast, lunch, and dinner for both of us (Sebastian and me - Sam gets whatever he gets). I have Sebastian's lunches penciled in and I need to schedule dinners. My lunches will likely be left overs, and my breakfasts the same (or not all that varied). And of course, since I have no idea what the heck I'm doing, September's menu will be very simple and not likely to include any "new" dinner recipes. I'm also trying to figure out how to present it online. I know there are menu planning templates but the once I've seen so far aren't right for my need to be in control of every single detail. I'll probably end up making a spreadsheet in Google Docs.
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