The end of March, finally

Well, I've almost made it through March. It's been a rough month. We started with McKenzie getting sick, moved through to FCATs (also known as Hell Week) and since then have been dealing with major budget cuts and union business. I'm so ready for Spring Break.

There has been lots of drama at work. The district has decided that they want all teachers to have their ESOL certification, pronto! Like yesterday! Nevermind that they state Department of Education gives you six years from your hire date to get all of your classes done. Our district says four years, or else! Only they didn't tell any of the teachers. Oops. Major headache.

So I've been scrambling to get all my ducks in a row. Because I'm in my fourth year of teaching. Yeah, major panic. In the end, I think I'm okay and have everything done that I am supposed to have done. It gets so confusing because everyone you talk to says something different. There are five classes to take for some teachers, others need one or two. As a reading teacher I have to take five. I have taken two but then some of my reading classes count toward this requirement. How many and which ones vary depending on who you talk to and when and which orbit the moon is in. Crazy. Or you can take the ESOL test and only take two of the classes. Some websites say two specific classes, some say any two classes. Ugh.

So on Friday morning it really looked like my job would be in jeopardy. But then someone from the state apparently said that if you pass the ESOL exam and you have a reading endorsement, you're good. And this morning I got an email that said my paperwork was on it's way to the state and should be approved by the end of next week. I'll believe it when I see it.

Thursday night the girls and I went grocery shopping for the first time in weeks and filled up two grocery carts and spent $400. Whoa. Had a quiet weekend. Laundry. Cleaning. Shopping. Friday I went out to dinner with Michelle for some much needed girl talk and venting (about school stuff) time. Later that night Gonzaga lost to a very good UNC team. Saturday Becca went to a spring training game with a friend down in Jupiter. In the evening the girls and I went shopping for a dress for me to wear to a wedding next weekend. I found two and I couldn't decide so i got both. I think I have decided to wear one of them to the eighth grade dance in May and one of them to Marissa's wedding. I got a new haircut and highlights on Sunday afternoon and had many compliments today. I guess I look good as a blonde. Also on Sunday I made two dozen cupcakes for Marissa's surprise bridal shower at lunch today. I used marshmallows to make flowers for the tops. Very cute. And of course I didn't even take any pictures!! I've been bad about that lately.

So there you have it. Tons of stress at work as the budget nightmare goes on. And lots of chores at home. Fun. Fun. Fun.