surprise guests

I have been very fortunate, as a working mom, to be able to have my kids in the same building that I work.  I get to bring them to school with me every morning and every now and then I get to see them during the day.  This will really come in handy for breast feeding in just 6 to 8 weeks!

Today, the whole pre-school class came to visit me!  They adorned their hand-made witch masks and sang a cute witch song to me.  It was super cute.  Then, Tessa showed them the way to my treat jar and passed one out to everyone. 

I guess that if I have to be a working mom, at least I have about the best job in the world for it. 

A Farewell to Mandt

Mandt is a course on learning how to manage people in escalated states. As some of you know, I’ve been a Mandt instructor for nearly 12 years, and have been trained in it for about 15 years. 

Well, the time has come to say goodbye to good old Mandt and hello to Safety Care.  The school district has decided to save some money and go with this new program. 

Although I was getting a little tired of Mandt, I still hate change.  It was very hard to learn a new way of doing things and it will be even harder to actually “do” and teach the new stuff….but I guess I’ll have to get over myself. 

On the last day of the instructor training, my fellow Mandt-ers and I wore our Mandt t-shirts that wer tie-dyed with love by our leader, Glenn.  On the back of our t-shirts it read, “Building Relationships…one hug at a time”.  Well, so long, Mandt.  I will miss you dearly. 

a trip down the red carpet

We held our third annual Viewmont Best Buddy Ball on Saturday.  It’s an event that all the kids really look forward to.  This year’s theme was “hollywood”…and you know how I like a good theme. 

We started with really cute invitations with a picture of the “hollywood” sign on it.  They were instructed to come dressed as their favorite movie star or character…..and boy did they!  They all looked so cute in their outfits.   

 

 

We decorated using a giant “hollywood” sign, lots of stars, balloons, and movie posters all around the room…all in red, black, white, and gold colors.  And, of course, we had a red carpet.  When the kids arrived, we had them make handprints on their stars for our own walk of fame.  Then, they enjoyed dancing, music, and food. 

 

 

For food, we served “movie” food:  popcorn, candy, hot dogs, and nachos.  I also made some rice crispy treats in the shape of stars. 

 

 

 

 

 

Near the end of the evening, a few students were awarded with their very own “Oscar”…also made of rice crispies.

It was a very successful “Ball” and I wish that I could take all the credit….but the officers of the club really did most of the labor.  I just gave them the ideas.

But…they were great ideas!

Memories

We went to El Matador for lunch for a “community outing” for my class.  Even though we attended the Bountiful location instead of my favorite Ogden location, it still stirred up a lot of fond memories for me. 

When I was young, it was one of my favorite restaurants because it was “dark” and mysterious and they had chickens on a fake straw roof.  I remember the big mural of a Matador and even a faux Alamo.  My favorite part was the lion fountain that “spit” water.  I could’nt leave before throwing a penny or two.  One particular time, I through a penny and wished for a baby brother…and it came true!!  I was convinced that the fountain was magical.  I also really enjoy their salsa served warm with a side of grated cheese to mix in.  It is the bom diggity, yo!

free bee

If it’s free, you know I’ll be there.  It was free pancake day at IHOP and I took my whole class for a field trip. I sat with Jan and had a good time showing her how to make “lemonade” with equal packets and a lemon.  It was very enjoyable.  We were seated within two minutes and outta there in twenty.  Much better than the Denny’s fiasco.  If you’re interested in free pancake day for next year….it’s always in February on “fat tuesday”.  Check their website for details.

On the bus home, we had a great conversation with our bus driver, Renee.  He offered himself as a free dating consultant to find Alicia (my co-worker) some dates.  It sounds promising.

rocking provo

Jana and I had the opportunity to rock provo Thursday night as we attended the augmentative conference at the Marriott.  I couldn’t care less about the conference part, really….I was just excited to get to stay in a hotel and to get a break from my sometimes mundane life. 

I was excited and had big plans for us.  I expressed to Jana how it would be just like in college.  I even invited the “boys” over to play poker in our room and brought all the supplies for margaritas.  When we actually got to the room, this was Jana’s response to my enthusiasm…

The “boys” were equally excited and needless to say, we didn’t play poker, or anything for that matter.  We watched a little Seinfeld, went to dinner at BrickOven Pizza, and then I talked her into a little hot tub action. 

And then, we crashed on some really nice beds.   Don’t get me wrong, I am happy to share my bed with Joey, but boy is it nice to sprawl out and take up the whole bed sometimes.  We both woke up happy girls.

Two Shay

Alicia, LaRae, Nate and Jan paid Jana and I back by cooking us breakfast this morning.  I have to admit, their breakfast was better than ours….but they did blow a fuse in the kitchen, something that Jana and I didn’t do.

Breakfast duo

We’ve had “late start” days because of testing and so Jana and I decided to make all of our staff breakfast.  I made the pancakes and Jana made the eggs.  Aren’t we the nicest and funniest “bosses” in the whole world?  I think so.

Before coming to Viewmont, I had to carry the burden of being the “only” teacher in the program.  I was actually a little wary of having to share with another teacher, but after getting to know Jana, my worries were no more.  Jana is a great person to work with and we compliment each other nicely.   She’s funny and she’s got my back.

Arts & Crafts

At Viewmont, we have a once a month class called “Advisory”.  It’s when the students meet in a “home room” for twenty minutes and have a touchy feely kind of lesson.  The purpose is to help the teenagers feel a “part” of their school and such. 

Some of  “our” students have a hard time attending a regular ed.  advisory, so we have our own.  This year, we decided to have an art project during this time.  It’s been fun to watch all of the staff get more involved in the crafts than the students do…myself included.  Some of the crafts have been difficult for the adults to master, let alone the students.  I don’t know what I was thinking. 

Here is a Alicia with her work of art.  She was very proud.  Alicia is also single, in case any of you were wondering.

Hawt Tub

We took the students swimming for this year’s class Christmas party.  Despite the huge snow storm and trouble getting all FIVE wheelchairs over to the rec center, the kids had a blast.  It is a very fun thing to see these kids having fun in the water.  It was especially fun to get some of my non-mobile students in the water and to see their expressions of pure delight.  It must be very fun for them to feel so weight-less in the water. 

Of our 13 staff, only FOUR of us got in the water.  Kenzie is allergic to chlorine, so she gets a pass.  The rest of them, however, are LOSERS.  We made the non-swimmers go get the kids dressed while we enjoyed a little hot tub action. 

functional party

We got together, all 13 of us functional skills staff, and had a pot luck party.  It was a lot of fun and the food was very yummy.  We drew names to bring a “real” present and then also brought a white elephant to exchange.  White elephant presents are my favorite!  I love giving and getting very funny presents.  This year, I brought a very shnazzy swim cap which Jana picked.  It was the second funniest gift, in my opinion.  The funniest was Nate’s washable briefs that Kenzie was so lucky to receive.  I laughed till my tummy hurt. 

There was some discussion about having a talent show, but I was just as entertained with these gifts.  The funniest part came later with the “real” gifts.  We were wondering if some of the people mixed up the two presents.

I have to say that I love the people that I get to work with.  They rock AND roll.  They’ve also built a shrine unto me, and laugh at all my jokes.  What’s not to love?

pay back

 

I’ve got him right where I want him.

weakling

We had a Best Buddies “thanksgiving” on Friday.  After the potluck, everyone enjoyed themselves with a little karaoke.  I was chillin with a few of the parents when I heard them call my name.  They were challenging me to an arm wrestle.  The student they wanted me to arm wrestle seemed skinny and scrawny enough, so I agreed. After all, I had been lifting weights.  Surely I’d be able to waste him.  I’d go easy on him, I thought,  make it look like a struggle at least.  I wouldn’t want to embarrass the poor boy. 

Well, turns out that I didn’t have to “act” like it was a struggle because it WAS a struggle.  I was able to keep it up for a little bit, but he finally slammed my arm down.  I shrugged it off and told everyone that I let him win.

Diaper-Rama

Working in a special education program for students with profound disabilities, we change a lot of diapers.  The diapers have become overwhelming this year, however.  To combat the diapers with a little humor, we decided to have “Diaper-Rama”.  We kept track of how many diapers we changed in one month and then got to spin the Diaper-Rama Wheel to get a prize.  Some of the spaces included, candy/pop coupon, prize basket, steal a prize, give a prize, poopy prize, and diaper royalty.  If you landed on diaper royalty, you had to wear a diaper on your head until the someone else landed on it.

I realize that this game may seem strange to outsiders, but it was fun for us.  You HAVE to have a sense of humor about these things.   We mean no disrespect to those that wear diapers. Special educators just wanna have fun.  They just wanna.

And the shrine grows on…

Just a little update on my shrine.  It has become quite the place to worship.  I’m not sure whether to feel complimented or insulted.  In case you cannot see the intricate details in the photo, RF has plastered the ceiling of his box with the Sistine Chapel painting, installed several crowns, one flickering candle, two Sarah Palin paper dolls, columns, and lots of people praying.  On the side door, he’s made a collection box and a folder for all of the “hyms to her”.  The song they will be singing is “Praise to her”. 

Shrine

There’s something that everyone should know about me.  I am extremely funny.  My funny-ness is exasperated by the fact that I tell people that I’m funny all the time. 

Whenever a student is absent, it gives me a bit of free time at work.  I use this extra time to play practical jokes on my co-workers.  Usually these jokes are not funny to ordinary people.  It takes people working in special education to truly appreciate my humor. 

Every faculty member is expected to get their photo taken for the year book.  For some strange reason, they (the photo people) provide each member with a full “package” of photos.  This has always seemed strange to me.  People order packages of their family portraits, or of their kids….but is it normal to have an entire “package” for an adult?  I think not.  So….what to do with all those photos?  Give them as gifts, of course.  I decided to give every staff person a small token of myself, accompanied by a funny note such as, “Just thought you might like to have a picture of the cutest teacher at Viewmont”. 

Much to my delight, my co-worker RF promptly put my picture to good use and built this “shrine” to my existence. In case you can’t quite make it out, that’s me in the middle of a cathedral-like picture with people bowing and angels praising.  It’s located in the back of his work “cubby” so that he can bow to it several times a day.  We are funny.  We are very very funny.