Roach races and rodent wars

Alright, alright, twice in the same week....don't get your undies in a bunch, it's just been one helluva week. Let me preface this story by saying that I REALLY dislike bugs or any animal in the house that does not use a litter box. Even at the age of probably 20 I would wake my mom up in the middle of the night to kill a spider in my room. I was sitting on my bed on Sunday night getting some work done when I thought I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I leaned over, and sure enough saw something move again. Well, at this point it was moving so fast that I wasn't sure if it was a mouse or a roach...but it didn't appear to be black (like most roaches). None the less, I sat on my bed screaming for my roommate. I pointed in between some boxes, she started kicking them and I saw the rodent race around the outside of my room. I kept screaming and pointing, and Lois was always about two feet behind. By this point I am standing on my bed screaming bloody murder. Finally it runs into my closet/laundry room. To make a long story short, we have a brilliant idea to barricade the door with plastic tubs, rags, cardboard, tag board and a broom (thinking this thing couldn't get higher than 5.5 feet). We were on our way to Wal-Mart to get a trap (at 9:30 on Sunday night). Luckily Ballard had some sticky traps, so we saved ourselves a trip. We baited it with a peanut butter glob the size of the rodent itself and let it sit. In about 2 minutes we heard it squeal. Lois was brave and stood on the chair we had drug into my room and peered over our barricade only to see the mouse stuck on the trap. PHEW. Well, we are wimps...and she sort of practices Buddhism (aka she doesn't like to kill animals) so we decide to leave it for the night and we'll take care of it in the morning.

Morning: right before we are about to leave...we go to get the mouse and decide we could just leave it outside and let the cats have their way with it. We (Lois) peer over the barricade only to find....nothing. The mouse AND trap are gone. WTF...how is that possible. I spent the day in disbelief, thinking that mouse was in my room and probably in my bed. That afternoon our landlord called in a pest person who laughed at our barricaded closet...and told us those sticky traps will catch mice but they can also get out of it easily. He put out little bags that will attract the mice and somehow makes them so thirsty they HAVE to go outside in search of water and will die out there....perfect. However, less than an hour after he left, I was doing work (again on my bed) and I heard that friggin mouse eating at the bag...HE WAS STILL IN MY ROOM. Like a bad song on repeat, I screamed for Lois and we listened to the mouse eat the bag, both highly disturbed. I wanted to open the door and chase it out with a broom, but the chances of that being successful were probably slim to none with our luck.

Anyway...here it is 4 nights later, I'm still sleeping on the couch...I wear shoes AT ALL times...and the mouse ate from the bag two separate times but the bag hasn't moved since. I HATE MICE...and the idea of one in my room, ick, ick, ick, ick, ICK. My kids learned about mysteries this week, since the fact the mouse and trap were gone on Monday morning was a definite mystery (don't worry, we found the trap under the dryer).

To top it off, I went to school on Tuesday morning and saw a roach scamper past the door when I opened it. Sick...but it went behind some shelves so I wasn't too concerned. However, a few minutes later I walked over to get copy paper out and the darn thing was rushing after me. I turned and hopped to the rug and it followed....ick, ick, ick...how on earth am I getting chased by a ROACH. I BRAVELY took off a shoe and dropped it on him...luckily I had good aim. Normally I go to the cafeteria and get a kid who will come kill it for me :) I guess I'm getting to be a big kid, huh?!

Today was supposed to be our first soccer game, but my principal didn't want all of those kids in the damp grass...what? Have I mentioned that I coach soccer nowadays? Well, I'm not sure if you call what I'm doing "coaching." But, I don't know if you call what these kids are doing "playing soccer" either. I mean really they are in 1st-3rd grade...it's nothing major. My team is full of high-strung boys that I have to scream at to stop fighting over the ball...but I think once we start games they can run off all of that energy! These kids just aren't used to anything being organized...therefore when they try something new they go crazy with new found freedom. I really just want games to start because I know NOTHING about soccer and run out of things to do to keep them entertained at practice!

Don't worry, I made it until May 1st without turning on my air conditioning! Some teachers have had theirs on for several weeks. EVERYONE that came in my room yesterday complained that it was hot. Even the stupid people that come to test my kids for this pilot program about vocabulary. WHAT ON EARTH, I'VE NEVER EVEN MET YOU! Our therapist told me she couldn't breathe because it was so hot in my room...I think if I were wearing a pink wool suit I would feel the same. To tell you the truth, I'm afraid to turn on my AC for fear that a GIANT cloud of dust is going to come out of it. No.joke.

Quote from my kids referencing my sunburn on Monday, "muh Ward, what's that red stuff all ova yo neck?" Or "lemme touch that." PS, I saw my first armadillo the other day, granted it was dead on the side of the road, it was an armadillo none the less. PPS, the movie Steel Magnolias is much more real to me now that I have lived here...and much more witty than I ever remember it being! LESS than a week until WINONA :) :) :) :)

Happy May Day tomorrow...it will forever remind me of the Grover's and living in the country.

PS, sorry for those of you that read the Jeannie-un-edited version....who knew I had grammer critics....

"And then she be says."

I'm not sure if it is a result of living here or teaching kindergarten, but my english is going to shit. The title, TOTALLY said by yours truly. When I want to ask someone what time it might be, I often have to stop and think about how to ask it. "what time is it?" or "what time it is?" I used the later one in a joking manner all too often and now I forget which way I'm supposed to say it.

Well, Easter with the parentals was sufficient. After spending 5 hours driving around Memphis on a Thursday night (looking for Target that my GPS swore existed but didn't) and finally heading down to Beale Street by myself...the folks landed at 11:39 p.m. Minor problems with weather in Dallas, resulting in a missed flight, flight times changing, sitting on the runway...all leading up to their grand arrival in the DELTA, womp, womp, womp. On Friday, after touring Ruleville (it took 5 minutes), I put them to work...we hung curtain rods (curt & rod if you like puns like Bruce does), cleaned my fans, set up the fire ring, Jeannie slept, dad found all of the things wrong with my house and made a list for the landlord, baked some treats. SOS...I need someone to teach me how to make rice crispy treats...I'm a failure. 0/2. We went for crawdads and shrimp that night at a place called Crustaceans....they had a big ole crawdad painted on the side of the building, it was a ritzy establishment. Saturday and Sunday were spent in Jackson with Mike and Gretchen enjoying the gorgeous weather, egg bake, and mildly-intoxicated neighbors having an easter egg hunt for their kids the night before easter. Don't worry, I found 10 eggs that the kiddos missed (I MIGHT or might not have taken part in hiding them extra hard so they would be more of a "challenge"). It was a fun weekend and actually felt like a vacation.

We have LESS than one month of school left...omg. We are officially done on May 22, but that last week is going to be consumed with testing. A little bit nervous....I met with my program director the other day and in order for my kids to have advanced 1.5 years in reading, I need to push them these last couple of weeks and hopefully have each student moved up one reading level. TFA is all about data, sometimes it's good, sometimes it blows. Of course I want my kids reading well into a first grade level, but not at the expense of the lowest learners who need as much of my attention as I can make time for. We'll get close, I'll tell you that much.

Last week I got sent home from school. It was 7 a.m....I was wearing a dress with leggings under it. Apparently, you can't wear leggings to school. My principal said it was in the handbook, but someone else disagreed. Either way, an hour later I was walking back into my classroom in a new outfit. It was pretty hilarious but highly annoying at the same time. I wish I had my handbook here so I could verify if that were true or not. This week we had a meeting with our superintendent...it was the entire district crammed into a cafeteria in Sunflower. The moral of the meeting, "do not hit children." Well, like that was ever a prevalent message before. Let's say this, people have paddles, it's not uncommon. Some people go as far as to NAME their paddles. Some people have multiple paddles. Many people have paddles that have been broken. My kindergartners get into fights. They swear at each other. They use the finger sign (give the middle finger). People are yelling ALL.OF.THE.TIME. Welcome to my life in the delta.

Last weekend some of my friends and I ran a 5K in Cleveland, MS. All I have to say about our performance is that we weren't last. This weekend we grilled out last night and helped my friend get ready for the Ruleville prom tonight. We frosted 150 cookies, blew up 200 balloons, made the backdrop for pictures, you know, typical Friday night stuff. Tonight we're supposed to be having a bonfire but I realize that finding firewood around here is darn-near impossible. Although I think we have enough sticks and whatnot in our yard and abandoned shed to suffice for a couple of fires.

GUESS WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTT?!?!?! I'll be in Winona in 11 days!!! EEEEEKKKK! First I have to write a letter to the superintendent asking for Thursday and Friday off. If he doesn't give me those days off I will be calling in sick. Ridiculous. As of May 1st our two measly personal days are converted to sick days and no one can take personal days in May. Well...you better believe I'm taking two days and they can call them whatever they'd like. It's not like my kids are missing out in educational material. Friday is the annual May Day and from what I hear is a major cluster ****. They play games, eat snacks, there is another pageant, an assembly in which all classes do something for. Speaking of, the theme this year is China. What on EARTH can my kids do that is at all related to China. Usually they sing songs or something, I'm dumbfounded on what my class is going to do, I obvs. can't teach them anything in Chinese. Last year it was Africa and they sang "in the jungle." The May Day committee MIGHT be on crack this year. If you know of any songs or things they can do, PLEASE call me ASAP!!!

Okay...better get busy on grad school work....it's crunch time. Enjoy the weekend....even if it isn't 85 there ;)

y'all fixin' for some crawdads?

I think I can honestly say that it is becoming easier to use the word "y'all" I never thought I would admit this day came, but it has. Really. I'm sorry.

Anyway, thank you grandma black for the nice Easter card (and guilt trip for not positing a blog since March 16). Kidding...I keep thinking about things to say, but feel like my life is so mundane, yet annoying chaotic, I don't know what to even write?!

First of all....my trip to Hawaii was frickin' amazing. I know I ended the last post on Wednesday night. On Thursday, Ambjor and I went to Pearl Harbor, hung out in Waikiki, then I drove back to Waianae (I had Maggie's car while she was in school). Friday I went to school with Maggie for the morning, got to see her class and Brianne's class...it was crazy to see what Kindergarten is like in another state (quite possibly felt like another country). Makes me feel like Mississippi isn't as far behind as I thought...or isn't the only state in which public education is downright terrible. Her school had such a different atmosphere, I mean, yeah, it's in the middle of an island in the pacific ocean, how much better could it get? But really, it felt welcoming and friendly...not the hostile feeling I get walking into school each and everyday. I spent exactly two hours that afternoon on the beach and fried my shins....whoopsies. Hey, I got a WICKED tan out of the deal! That night we went to Waikiki and went out and then everyone met on Waikiki beach to spend my last day doing my favorite thing of life...laying on the beach reading Harry Potter. Okay, I was the only one reading, whatever. Our flight left at 9 p.m. that night...got to LA 5 hours later (but it was 5 a.m. their time). Slept on the floor at our gate until Cody woke me up saying we were boarding. Flew to Chicago, sat there for a couple of hours. Flew to Memphis, drove two hours home, went to bed. Was at school by 6:55 a.m. the next morning ready....or at least pretending to be. None of my students really commented on my tan although they all gave me a quizzical look...one student in another grade said, "mannn, all the white teachers came back orange."

Okay...school. I have been FREAKING out since break because we are in our last quarter. I feel like I have some kids that are so low...I don't want to retain THAT many...I don't know what to do to get them to where they need to be...ahhh! Grades were due right after break and report cards went out...so, I had several meetings with parents saying, "uh, unless they get it together and we practice EXTRA hard both at home and at school...I'll be seeing them again next year." It kind of makes me feel like a failure thinking I can't get these kids to where they need to be. However...today I had a meeting with my literacy coach...just me for once...and she basically told me that my kids are doing fine. I am pushing them plenty far this year, they are learning more than enough to adequately be ready for first grade, etc. I had some kids struggling with the word "important" in their books today...really all they need to be able to read are words like "made, bug, truck, gave." Holy hannah...we might get there. Because of a new goofy rule, all teachers have to stay after school until 4:00 now...so that gives me perfect opportunity to tutor one girl who is really on the fence...and hopefully I'll only be retaining two...fingers crossed.

Big weekend coming up. If you only understand how much I like egg bake.... ;) Kidding...the parentals are coming. We're going to get dinner on Beale Street in Memphis, tour Ruleville (that'll last 5 minutes), eat crawdads, spend Easter with Mike and Gretchen in Jackson, fix my car:), hang some curtains, you know all of that fun stuff! They have no idea what they're in for in the middle of frickin' no wheresville!

AH....let me tell you about my day yesterday....it was 9:30...I went to use the sketchy teacher bathroom/closet. I walk in, turn on the light, instantly turn around flipping out because there are two cockroaches on the wall. GROSS. I ran into the janitor in the hall who knows how much I love cockroaches. They were laughing at me. Anyway, I used the kids bathroom which is equally as scary. As I walked past the cafeteria I noticed that there was a strange smell coming from that direction of the school but didn't think much of it. About 20 minutes later, the lead teacher who was in charge because my principal was out of town came in. She tells me we are evacuating the building. To get the children's coats on, bring work, get out the back door and head to the counselor's room. WTF, this is not a joke, right? We spent an hour in the counselor's room watching Peter Pan (it was my planning period, I'm allowed to show movies). Turns out...the maintenance people were annoyed with the sewage smell coming from the janitor's closet. So, first they poured bleach down it. That didn't suffice. Then they poured liquid acid. Thus resulting in an acid cloud INSIDE the janitor's closet. The man who did it definitely inhaled it as well. Once word got out what the smell was, we had to evacuate. Smartie-pants maintenance worker didn't think it would be a problem for children to be inhaling these fumes. He was told to get himself to the hospital and get checked out. Oh the things that happen at JCRE. By lunch the smell was gone and the school was freezing, all of the windows and doors had been open to get the smell out and it was about 49 degrees yesterday.

Last tidbit....the new superintendent of my school district just started in January and has been changing things up ever since. The latest rumor is that both principals and teachers may be moved from school to school. Therefore, we'll sign a contract with the district, but are not guaranteed our same school if they decide to change something. Some people are freaking out. I'm not...I'll worry once I actually see something happen. Plus, I'm a short-term teacher...what's the purpose of moving me knowing I will not be here forever.

SHOUT OUTS....yay to Cassie for not getting lost in New York. Go feed the pigeons in central park like Kevin in Home Alone! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to aunt Jackie for the box of books...we've already read most of them since getting the package!! Happy Belated birthday to Grandma Davis and Ingrid.

.....PS, this is the week I'm supposed to be on spring break in Florida with the crew :( Miss you, all!