Hooray for not having swine flu! (probably TMI)

Yesterday morning I was feeling pretty gross when I rolled out of bed, but my carpool was coming to get me in like 10 minutes so I just pulled on clothes and went to school anyway. The entire car ride I'm saying, "I wanna throw up and get it over with, then I can feel better!" So I proceed to throw up in the school parking lot (Sorry, TMI) but unfortunately I don't feel better.

Things start to really go downhill over the next hour or so and when the bell rings and my students come in I feel sooo horrible that I go to the principal and tell her I have to go home. I called Jay who rushed in to pick me up. Yesterday was spent in bed and in the bathroom with vomiting, diarreah, fever, dizziness, headache, bodyaches... basically I felt like I had been hit by a bus. Then I started to worry... what if it was swine flu and I just exposed everyone at school?? Oh no!

I called my drs office and they said to come in to instacare to get checked. When we got there I slumped in a corner as we were told it would be a 45 minute wait. After an hour of waiting, Jay got up to ask how much longer only to be told it would be another 30 to 45 minutes. ARGH!!! So we left and figured I could hang out in bed at home and we'd call in a few hours and maybe go back later when it wasn't so busy. I fell asleep and Jay didn't wake me up so we didn't go back.

I slept until 2pm today! WOW! Now I'm up, still feeling woozy and weak, but otherwise a lot better. Must have been some 24 hour bug or something. I'm just SOO glad it wasn't more serious! I quaranteened myself to my bedroom and Jay's been taking care of Topher so hopefully he won't catch anything.

The last 24 hours have been awful, but at least it's almost over and it wasn't more serious!

Ladies First!

I have a little boy in my class that is going to be the death of me.
Sooooo needy!
Every 5 seconds I hear:
"Mrs. Dixon, can I go to the bathroom?"
"Mrs. Dixon, can I fill up my water bottle?"
"Mrs. Dixon, I don't have my crayons."
"Mrs. Dixon, I don't know how to do this spelling paper."
"Mrs. Dixon, I didn't get my planner signed."
"Mrs. Dixon, I need a new gluestick, my other 4 are all gone."

GRRRRRRR!!!!

But... here's the silver lining of today:

As I'm walking to the front of the classroom, he's walking to the back. We meet face to face, he steps to the side and says, "Ladies first, Mrs. Dixon!"
CUTE!

Maybe I'll survive after all... we shall see.

School is...

...good.

I have some cute pics but I'm too lazy to get them off my camera. Maybe another day.

I have 27 kids. I'm not one to stereotype kids, but if I were I would say I have one class clown, one know-it-all, one constant teacher suck up, three that never ever shut their mouths, and two shady troublemakers. Other than that they're pretty well-behaved. Academically pretty low, but that's the entire 6th grade. Besides, that just means we've got a lot of work to do.

I'm happy. Things are good. I'm still bummed about not staying home with Topher, but I really do love teaching so I'm okay with it all.

Sorry this is a lame post but just wanted to say I've survived my first 2 weeks of school and everything is great.

Tomorrow is the first day of school...

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!




(is this even considered a blog? It's only one word. Actually I'd consider it a scream. An anxious, excited, exhausted, frustrated, hopeful, on-the-verge-of-insanity scream.)

The Reason I Teach

Today I got my class list. I have 31 students. After having 25 or so the last few years, 31 seems like a ton! For those of you who aren't teachers, big class sizes are NOT a good thing.

As I looked over the names of the students I would have in my class starting next Wednesday, umm... honestly? I was a teensy bit disappointed. Don't get me wrong; I have some great kids that I'm excited to have and a bunch that I don't know yet. But I was kinda bummed... there were a few kids that I REALLY wanted in my class that I didn't get. Also there were a few kids that I would prefer NOT to have in my class that I got. I'm sure it'll all be great, but still...

So I'm walking though Costco today, not even paying attention because I'm stressing about school, when I bump into this lady. She's staring at me, that look when you're trying to figure out how you know someone. Then this happens:

"What's your last name?"
"Dixon."
"As in Mrs. Dixon who taught in Cedar City?"
"Yeah!"
"My son Cody was in your 5th grade class! Cody Marshall!"
"Oh my gosh, I remember Cody!"
"Yeah, he's in high school now."
"No way! How crazy! Has he gotten any taller since then?"
"Haha, not really. He's still the shortest of all his friends."
"Oh no, poor kid. I remember he was the shortest one in our class!"
"I believe it! He still talks about you. He always says you were the best teacher he's ever had."

We talked for another minute, then as we went our separate ways I told her, "tell Cody I say hi and that I definitely remember him" and she says "and he definitely will always remember you."

(((((Tears in my eyes)))))

There are lots of reasons why I am a teacher. But that's another blog in itself.

The main reason above all others is so that I can have moments like that.

Cody. I was his 5th grade teacher. He's in high school now. And he still talks about me. I'm the best teacher he's ever had. Wow.

So all the stress, all the worrying about who's in my class, who's not in my class, big class sizes, prepping for school to start, yadda yadda... it all melted away thanks to a 2 minute conversation in Costco.

I am a teacher... and I thank God for it every day.



P.S. Cody is in the picture above. He's the little one in the navy blue shirt with his mouth wide open, middle left.

A Few Cute Pics *part 2*

We gave Topher a teething cookie to chew on. We didn't realize what a mess it would make! The top picture shows how Topher reacted when we tried to take it away from him before he was finished. BIG mistake!





He was so confused by the camera. I love his cute confused face. He's like, "What's that blinking red light??"





I love this little outfit that Auntie Kristy bought him. It says "Mommy's Lil Monkey".




Also we took Topher to his 6 month dr appt this week. His dr was very pleased with his growth and development. He has made a lot of progress since his 4 month checkup! Here are the stats:

Weight: 28th percentile (up from the 8th percentile at 4 months! Not a scrawny chicken anymore, YAY!)
Height: 55th percentile
Head Circumference: 70th percentile (he needs a big head so his big brain will fit!)

The dr was saying how at 6 months hopefully he's reaching and grabbing objects and at that exact moment Topher reached and grabbed the doctor's stethoscope around his neck! We got a good laugh out of it. Also, Topher is teething again and should have his top 2 teeth in another week or so. My baby will have 4 teeth!!!

A Few Cute Pics *part 1*

I have a bajillion cute new pics I wanna post, but I figure I'll post a few every couple days for the next week or so. Here are today's pics, enjoy!



It's too hot to wear clothes!


I swear my kid makes the funniest faces!


His 2 year old cousin TJ "shared" his candy necklace with Topher. Problem is, Topher didn't wanna give it back!


Grandma bought this mini chair at a yard sale. The woman has become a yard sale queen!




This is definitely one of my favorites. He is such a funny little guy!



He can hold the smaller bottles fine, but he has trouble sometimes with the bigger ones.


The rocking horse Grandma brought him. He's still a bit too wobbly for it, but soon.


Oh my gosh, this was the funniest thing ever! He kept trying to attack the monkey on his swing chair. He'd grab it and try to bite it! I was laughing so hard!