At the end of last school year I had to take down my whole room.  Our school was getting a fresh coat of paint.  So to say the least, I had my work cut out for me.  Walking into my classroom with white walls, 8 plus months pregnant, a 21 month old helper, my Mom and no air conditioning = a LOT of work to be done.  I had taken the time to have it all organized as I pulled it off the walls at the end of the year and I had a plan of where I wanted everything to go.  My husband had gone up with me the week before one night and moved all my furniture.  (that was a big help) My Mom and I got to work right away first thing Monday morning and then Tuesday morning.  We got lots done and Katie Lynn played with all my Kindergarten stuff.  It worked out pretty well.  My walls are up and my sub will be able to walk in and teach if I don’t make the first of school. 

Here is my room and I am very pleased with my calendar wall!!!

My Mom and Katie Lynn.

My wall for Calendar time.

Word wall, colors and computers

Katie Lynn and I smiling for the camera.

This is where Katie Lynn spent most of her time, playing in the kitchen area.

Library area and the kids storage spots.

I still have a little bit of work to do but I am glad that hard part of putting everything up is over.  It was really nice of my Mom to come out and help, she did a lot of the hard work on getting up on the ladder and hanging all my butcher paper and higher things.  Since I am “not” allowed to climb it was great for her to do it for me.  Thanks MOM!!!!

Once again, my wonderful husband surprised me with flowers.  It took me till last year (http://www.thesepperfamily.com/2007/09/02/wow-flowers/) to realize that he sent me flowers the first day of school since I started teaching.  I know, I know.  It is a nice surprise and this year was nothing less. 

I got a call on Monday afternoon letting me know that I had flowers in the office.  I was very excited and knew that they were from Tom.  I went to get my flowers and to read my note.  To my surprise, not only were the flowers from my wonderful husband but they were also from my beautiful daughter.  I am so lucky!

Thank you to my wonderful husband for thinking of me on my first day of school and thank you to my beautiful daughter for helping daddy pick out the most gorgeous flowers yet.  I love you both sooooo much!!!!

This week was my first week back to work, aka, working in my room and sitting through new orientation things.  I am really excited about this up coming school year and look forward to my new school.

Tom is at work, as normal.

Katie Lynn went to her first week of Day Care at her new school.  She had a great first week and seems to really like the school.  We are very excited about the school and can tell she loves it there.  This is the most important thing.  She has done all kinds of things this week.  She made a new friend, they play on the play mat together.  She finger painted a brown monkey and her teachers can’t seem to say enough about how happy she is.  They have something planned every week and she is learning things.  Very exciting, we feel this is more of a learning enviorment and not so much as just baby sitting.

On the crawling front…not just yet but she is getting closer everyday.  She is really getting the hang of reaching and pulling. So much fun!!!

Here are some photos of her in her Lady Bug outfit with a matching bow for our Katie Bug. 

She wants to crawl so badly……soon

Bows can be bought from Andi (http://www.thebow-dandthebeautiful.com/) I sure do miss my Babineaux’s!!!

On Friday afternoon, I had several contacts from principals and several job offers for the next school year. Tom and I have talked about what I should do if this were to happen. I have prayed and thought about it a lot over the last several weeks. I had several really great schools that I would love to work at and in the end my heart was telling me to stay in Kindergarten. This helped make the decision for me. I had an offer for 1st or 2nd and then an offer for Kindergarten. Each school is excellent and either would have been a good place to be. I called Tom immediately and told him the great news and that I would be taking the Kindergarten job.

I was very excited to say the least; I then called back and accepted the Kindergarten job.

Now I have to wait for the school board to approve me. Then the HR department will be calling to set a time for me to come and sign my contract. I am hoping this will not take very long.

In the mean time, I am looking forward to the last 7 weeks of school. I have a wonderful class this year and I will miss getting to see them in 1st grade next year. The next couple of months will fly by, I am looking forward to the summer. I am ready to be home with Katie Lynn and ready to be back in Dallas.

Reason #10 – Most Of Your Accomplishments Are Invisible

The computer guy never hears anyone tell him, “I just want to let you know … everything is working fine!”

The reality is that people call the computer guy when something is wrong.

As a computer guy, if you work really hard to make everything work the way that it should, and things work fine, then people believe you don’t do anything. Everything you manage to get working correctly or do perfectly will forever remain unnoticed by computer users. They’ll only ever notice that you do anything when something isn’t working correctly, and you are called upon to fix it.

Reason #9 – Every Conversation You Have Is Roughly The Same

When the computer guy dares to mention what he does for a living, the typical response is, “I have a question about my home computer…”

Or when the computer guy first hears about a widespread problem within the computer network he’s responsible for, he can barely begin to assess the problem before a dozen other people call to report the same problem.

Or when the computer guy explains a certain process on a computer to a user who is incapable of retaining the process, he will inevitably need to reinstruct the user of this same process — indefinitely.

Reason #8 – You’re An Expert Of Bleeding-Edge Technology Products, Aren’t You?

The computer guy often finds himself in situations where someone is asking him for advice on a pending investment of the technological variety.

“I heard about (some hardware or software product) that can do (something desirable) for me. I brought you these (advertisements/reviews/printouts) because I wanted your recommendation. Which would you buy?”

Although the inquiring person sincerely trusts the computer guy’s judgment over their own, in almost every instance the real objective of these meetings is to ensure their own immunity from making a risky purchase.

If it turns out to be a bad investment, and they cannot get (the hardware or software product) to do (anything desirable), then you will be their personal scapegoat — “But honey, the computer guy said I should buy it!”

Reason #7 – Your Talents Are Forcibly Undervalued

Thanks to the constantly declining price of new computers, the computer guy cannot charge labor sums without a dispute. If he asks to be paid what he is worth, he will likely be met with the “why not buy new?” argument.

That is, desktop computers are always getting smaller, faster, and cheaper. It’s possible to purchase a new desktop computer for under $400. If the computer guy spends five hours fixing a computer and wants $100/hour for his time, his customer will be outraged, exclaiming “I didn’t even spend this much to BUY the computer, why should I pay this much just to FIX it?”

Reason #6 – You’re Never Allowed A Moment’s Peace

The computer guy is so prone to interruption that he rarely finds an opportunity to work on his own problems. This is because:

1. Computers never sleep.
2. Computer problems aren’t scheduled.
3. Every problem takes time to diagnose.
4. The computer guy can only give one problem his full attention.
5. Each user believes their problem deserves attention now.

Consequently, the computer guy has a 24/7 obligation to keep critical computer systems running, while simultaneously juggling everyone’s problems. He’ll often need to forfeit any opportunities to tend to his own needs for the sake of others — because at any moment, of any day, he can be interrupted by someone who wants to make their problem his problem.

Reason #5 – People Ask You To Perform Miracles

The computer guy is often mistaken for someone who possesses the combined skills of an old priest and a young priest. I’ll sum this up easily by example:

“No, I really can’t recover any files from your thumb drive, even if you did find it after it passed through your dog.”

Reason #4 – Your Assumed “All-Knowing” Status Sets You Up To Let People Down

There is no common understanding that there are smaller divisions within the computer industry, and that the computer guy cannot be an expert in all areas. What makes things worse, is when the computer guy attempts to explain this to someone asking for help, the person will often believe that the computer guy is withholding the desired knowledge to avoid having to help.

This is somewhat related to the next reason:

Reason #3 – You Possess Unlimited Responsibility

The computer guy is expected to solve problems. It is difficult to determine the boundaries of that expectation.

Some of the oddest things that I’ve been asked to do include:

1. Use pirated software to undelete important company files.
2. Create an Intranet, after explaining I didn’t know how to.
3. Teach someone how to hide their pornography collection.

Solving problems can range from replacing batteries in a wireless keyboard to investigating why the entire building loses power at the same time every morning. Resolutions can necessitate weaving a 50-foot cable through a drop ceiling, or wriggling under a house on your belly to add an electrical outlet.

Reasons #4 and #3 boil down to this: no matter how often you want to play the role of a hero, there will always be circumstances that test the limits of your ability to be one. It’s difficult to judge when helping someone means doing something immoral, and it’s even harder to admit you are unable to solve someone’s problem — and chances are, that someone will view you as incompetent because you were unable to help them.

Reason #2 – A Life Of Alienation

People only talk to the computer guy when they need him to fix something. Also, when the computer guy approaches a user, they’ll hop up out of their chair under the presumption that he’s there to fix something — as if it would never be expected that he only wants to strike up a conversation.

The fact that the computer guy never gets a moment’s peace can also practically force him to withdraw into solitude. His co-workers don’t understand that he doesn’t want to hear about their computer problems during his lunch hour — he does that every other hour of the day. That’s why the computer guy eats lunch alone with his door closed, or goes out to eat every day — not because he’s unfriendly, but because he needs to escape the incessant interruptions.

Reason #1 – You Have No Identity

It’s an awful experience when the computer guy shows up at a neighbor’s doorstep with a plate of Christmas cookies, only to have the child who answered the door call out, “Mom, the computer guy is here!” He begs for an identity that is not directly associated with computers, but “the computer guy” label walks ahead of him — it simply cannot be avoided. I was given a name and I’d love to be addressed by it.