Today is a "post day" as I have shifted from posting daily to posting every other day and commenting on my "off-post" days.
Today at school was a hellish kind of day as I was attacked verbally by one of my EAs at 7:30am. I'm not going to bore you with the details because it's the same old story - kids with autism who can be aggressive at times shouldn't be allowed to come to school! That's her version, not mine. I'm getting a little tired of fighting this battle and the next two years can't pass quickly enough. It's not enough to quote the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to some of my EAs (the old school female EAs), they are only concerned about themselves. Do they bother to upgrade their skills, try different strategies, adapt to different types of students? NO, they just want these kids removed so that they can have a cushy job.
The End
Moving on...this week was a week of wins and losses:
- my dear friend Maureen awarded me with the lovely Liebster Award!! Thanks Mau - here are five things you may not know about me: a) I was the "after thought " baby - my parents had 2 girls then 2 boys.....then 4 years later I showed up :) SURPRISE!!! b) I started turning grey in my 20's and dyed my hair til I was 40, then gave up. I have had more compliments about my salt and pepper 1/4 inch long hair now than anytime previously c) I have a weakness for candy; especially black licorice and dark chocolate with sea salt d) my best girlfriend growing up is now a man (that should be it's own post don't you think??) e) when I was little I wanted to be a ballerina in the worst way, but in my little village the only lessons available were skating lessons or piano lessons...I chose the piano and can still play some of my childhood songs by memory:)
- I won a gorgeous set of purple coasters from Debby - I can't wait to get them in the mail. I have decided to take them out east with me this summer. I'll use them on my idyllic front veranda!
- I also won a $25.00 gift certificate from Little Lamb. She recently became consumer debt FREE! and celebrated by encouraging everyone to participate in some form of physical exercise. I vowed to complete a 25km bike ride so my name was entered in her draw. I told Little Lamb that I would use the money to make another Kiva loan so she sent me a Kiva gift certificate. I made my 16th Kiva loan with that $25.00 gift certificate. I am thrilled that I could put my winnings to such good use.
- I DID NOT complete the 10 Pound Challenge successfully. However, I did lose 11 pounds since last September. BUT, since this challenge began in January I've only lost 8 pounds. I'm very pleased with where I'm at weight wise though I will continue to watch what I eat. This is one challenge that I'm not too upset about losing- my clothes fit so much better and I feel I have healthy eating habits well established. That's not to say that I don't ever indulge! Why, just tonight we went to Swiss Chalet to continue our heart to heart talk and then indulged in icecream. BUT the majority of the time I'm very conscious about what I eat. I'm just not completely RIGID about it.
- I have joined the Tasmanian Minimalist in her NO FRIPPERIES APRIL and until tonight I was doing really well with many no spend days under my belt. But tonight, Michael and I were having such a great heart to heart talk no one was making supper so we decided to go to Swiss Chalet and continue our talk. I unloaded about my day and it continued on to discussions about our kids, our previous relationships and so on. Well worth the $$$!! I don't call heart to heart talks FRIPPERIES!!
So there you have it. You win some, you lose some. But...Oh What a Night!! Now I'm off to continue the 3rd book of the Hunger Games trilogy. These are the best books I've read since the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series. Run, don't walk, to your nearest book store and buy these books!! Actually I bought the second and third books via Amazon as a download to my Kindle as they were around $7 and $5 respectively. Considering my daughter paid about $20 for the first book at Chapters the downloads were a BARGAIN!! Michael's starting the first book tonight...when he's done we'll go see the movie - can't wait!!
Tomorrow's FRIDAY!! WOO HOO!! I love short work weeks! Hope y'all have had a better week than me!!
The movie is AMAZING... and now I'd like to thank you for have Oh what a night running through my head... I'll be singing it tomorrow morning when I wake up for sure!
ReplyDeleteI lost 13 pounds since September but now I"m stuck :( I exercise a few times a week and drink tons of water but the weight is not going anywhere :( I think you had a great week, more wins than losses, that's what's important!
ReplyDeleteSorry for the flack you're getting at work.. :( Hope things get better there! Congrats on winning the GC & losing the weight! You look great to me though, Jane!!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry you're getting flak at work Jane :(
ReplyDeleteLove The Hunger Games, we hope to see the film next week.
Congrats on your award and not killing the EA!! Your coasters are in the mail and on the way to your home. I too am ready for the weekend!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's rather ironic - if those kids didn't come to school those EAs wouldn't have jobs! Hurrah for Friday!! I look forward to my treat in the mail :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Laura! I am SO looking forward to the movie!
ReplyDeleteThanks Carla! TGIF!!
ReplyDeleteOur weight has "plateaued" Lena so either we exercise even more and/or eat even less - neither of which appeals to me LOL!
ReplyDeleteI know LOL - I've had that song in my head all night too!
ReplyDeleteSo wonderful that Michael and you can really 'talk'. Such great friends...One of the first things that attracted me to Mr Sft was his listening skills.
ReplyDeleteI think I too have educated myself more about eating, certainly want to continue this at school which begins again next week.
Enjoy your reading. I've just started Cold Mountain. It's great.
Sft x
I think sometimes you're skipping more than one day LOL! ok your blog and judy's (whos' missing forever it seems like) are the 2 I read almost daily so I miss the pots! I don't know what the 'rule' are for violence proned students here in the US - I know forums I've been on have argued back and forth and I have to admitwithout having any experience I've been zero tolerant of dealing witha kid who has turned violent but since a coworker has been dealign wtih his autistic son who also is prone to uncontrollable behavior I have to say I've been thinking more along the liberal more tolerant lines and trying to understand. If I worked with this group I would definitely be learning ways to deal with differnt behaviors or get another job. bless everyone who has the love and patience and skills to reach those society seems to have little use for and I hope I can continue getting to where I want to be. I have sympathy but empathy seems to drag behind in areas I'm not proud of.
ReplyDeletelove the picture of confederation trail!
Allow me to second the "congrats for not killing this EA"!! This attitude drives me crazy! Where do these EAs think these kids should be if not at school? Institutionalized? Sedated and left to wither? They deserve to learn too! And as you say, if they weren't there, the EAs would not be employed... What would they say if it was their kid who had these issues? I imagine you've thought all these thoughts and more over the years. I can see why you're counting down the days til your retirement when you have to deal with "professionals" like this!
ReplyDeleteHugs
ReplyDeleteIt's Friday!!!
YAY!!!
ReplyDeleteThere's been a few EAs over the years that I'd "like to kill", or at least slap around a little bit lol! The majority are great but one bad apple really can spoil the whole bunch. Negativity can be contagious unfortunately or at least sour the environment for everyone. Yes, I'm counting the days.
ReplyDeleteToday is a "post" day so I'll be writing one soon - just catching up on my email first. So...stay tuned.... :)
ReplyDeleteI hear ya on the EA situation! some people working in disability just need to move on.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like The Hunger Games trilogy :)
Yes, they think it's an easy job but nothing could be further than the truth!
ReplyDelete