Standardized Testing

Last year, in third grade, Caitlyn took the first of many standardized tests in her academic career. She took the ISATs. To say that she was nervous about them is an understatement. The teachers really impressed upon the students how important these tests were. They also "mentioned" that any child who did not meet the standards on the test could be held back, to repeat third grade, as it is a "benchmark" year. I insisted that Caitlyn was ready and that she would do just fine on said test. However, she was still pretty nervous.

The tests are taken in the spring, and the results are sent home until the fall of the following school year. Which is now. We received Caitlyn's test scores yesterday.

Before I go on to say how she did on them, let me state for the record that I am not a big fan of these tests. They just don't give an accurate impression of who the child is as a whole, in my lay person's opinion. That's not to say that I don't think they are valid. I think they give a vague snapshot of how a child is performing at that very point in time, however, I don't feel that they give a good impression of what a child is truly capable of. I also think that many parents are mislead when it comes to reading the results of these tests. If a child scores extremely well in reading, let's say they score at the 8th grade level of reading, that does not mean that the child could succeed in an eighth grade classroom. It simply means that they are able to read and understand material (to an extent) that an eighth grade student who is performing at the lowest acceptable level of eighth grade could also read and understand.

Additionally, while I don't believe in using the test scores as a true indication of a student, I know as a parent it is the first thing I look at when exploring different schools and their level of success, so to speak. For example, prior to moving in to our current house, one of the first things I did was look at the school's ISAT scores in comparison to those at neighboring schools. So while I can profess to not "believe" in them, I also fall victim to thinking they are a good measure of a schools success as a whole. So, yes, I am a bit of a hypocrite. (It makes it okay because I can recognize that, right???)

When I looked at Caitlyn's results, I was pleasantly surprised, to say the least! Not that I didn't know my child was intelligent, I did know that (personally, I think she is borderline genius =P). But I was actually surprised at how well she did perform in some areas. For example, I have always thought that Caitlyn struggled in writing. And I say struggled for lack of a better word. Caitlyn has always disliked writing and the writing process. She is always looking to write the minimum amount necessary, to the point of asking me "How many paragraphs/sentences do I need to write to get an A?" Yet, she scored quite well on that portion of the test.

Without further ado, or ramblings, here are her scores:

National Comparisons:
Reading: 97th percentile
Math: 79th percentile
No surprise there. The kid loves to read, is a reading machine, and is not the biggest fan of math. However, in both of these areas, she has "exceeds standards."

The most amazing thing about the reading score is not the percentile that she fell into. The report also lists the number of items as well as the number correct. There were 50 items on the test, Caitlyn answered 46 correct.

Extended Response for Reading (students had to read a passage and write a response to a prompt.)
She scored a 3 out of a possible 4 on this section.
Again, surprising me with the writing ability here.

Writing
Overall Writing Score: 28
Focus: 6/6
Support/Elaboration: 5/6
Organization: 5/6
Conventions: 2/3
Integration: 5/6

I am so unbelievable proud of the scores that she got on these! I think what makes it so amazing is the fact that we were told that she would more than likely have some sort of disability for so long. Not that I fault the doctors for that, cause I don't. They were doing their job and giving me information based on the research. But every time this kid does something amazing like this, I am left in awe of her abilities and her strength. Never in a million years would I have thought that she would be as smart as she is. Granted, she really enjoys school and it seems to come very natural to her. Nonetheless, it is still beyond anything that I could have imagined she would have been capable of given her dangerous start in life.

We celebrated in true Walsh form by going out to dinner. Where you might ask? Pizza Hut of course. Where else would we go? There is no food on the planet more beloved to Caitlyn than Pizza Hut.

And not only is my girl brilliant, she is also pretty stinking cute too :)

Silly Girl

Caitlyn has finished her first week of school and she is really enjoying 4th grade and says that her teacher is really nice. Her favorite part of her classroom....the reading area in the back of the room. Not surprising at all when it comes to my kid. She said she loves to sit on the comfy pillows back there and just read.

One night at dinner last week, I was asking her about the kids that she sits by. The desks are arranged in groups of 4, and each group has 2 boys and 2 girls (in most circumstances). Two of the kids that sit in her group are polish speaking students. And they are quite fluent in the language as it is what is primarily spoken at home. One of the girls is a good friend of Caitlyn's. When I asked her how things were going in her group, this was her response:

"Well, sometimes A and J start talking in polish and me and M can't understand them. For all we know, they could be talking smack about us all day long."

Nice. I am sure the 2 kids are most certainly not "talking smack" about her. And furthermore, where in the hell did she learn this phrase????

Well....

So much for me be better at blogging more huh? I would love to find something to blame it on, but alas, there is no excuse. Other than I just haven't felt like blogging much anymore. Not sure why that is? I still read most of the blogs in my sidebar and a few others that I have found along the way. And every time I read someone's blog, I think, "I really need to post something on mine." I open up my blog, click on new post,....and nothing happens. I tell myself I will do it later, and then the same thing happens a couple of days later. Not sure what that is all about. So here is a little bit of an update if there is anyone that still reads this thing.

Caitlyn....
She is, in a word, amazing! At 9 years old (yikes!!) she is funny and smart and caring and any other positive adjective you can think of to describe a 9 year old. She had an exciting summer that consisted of going on vacation to the lake, going to Great America, swimming in my mom's pool, playing out front, sleeping in, hanging out with friends, playing softball, and just all around really enjoying summer. She goes back to school on Tuesday and is crazy excited! She has met her teacher and likes her (and tells me that I will too!). It scares me a little that she knows I have a tendency to be a little hard on her teachers. We went to the doctor last month for her annual checkup and she weighed in at 60 pounds and is 4'7". I can't believe how big she is now. She hasn't gotten much taller this year, but I am waiting for the growth spurt that happens every October. She is waiting so very patiently for 4'9" to come so that she can get out of her booster seat in the car.

Matt....
Football season is in full swing again. I love watching how excited he gets about practices, games, cutting up film, scouting other games, etc. It's amazing how much he truly loves what he does!

Nancy....
I finally finished school and officially have my Master's now! Thank God! Besides earning a new degree out of the program, I was offered an adjunct position to teach at the university as well. Which is fan-freaking-tastic! I would love to teach at the college level full time and this is my foot in the door. The position will also allow me to acquire my doctorate for free...should I choose to do so. I am not sure if that is in the near future, but I do think it is something that I will seriously begin to consider in the next year.

Cats....
We have a new addition in the Walsh household....by the name of Friday. Friday is one of the cutest little maine coon kitties I have ever seen in my life. She joined our family in June on the last day of school as a gift for Caitlyn. She has been wanting a cat of her own for some time now and Matt and I finally decided to give in to her. Marten isn't so sure about her, even after 2 months. But he is tolerating her even though he is now a crotchety old man.

Wordless Wednesday

This is our neighbor's son Connor. He is 3. And we think he is a little in love with Caitlyn :)

I am that Bad Mom you have heard about

Some time in the fall, I broke the news to Caitlyn that there was no Santa. Not because I wanted to be cruel on that particular day, but because she was asking about it and began doubting it a little herself. To spare her the embarrassment of being the only child in her classroom that still believed in him, I fessed up and told her the truth. In true Caitlyn format, there was drama. Tears and all. She threw out comments like, "It just seems like a little bit of the Christmas spirit is gone now that I know." OK? Well, there will still be the same amount of Christmas spirit under the tree as there was when you believed in Santa. She also learned the truth about the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy during that same discussion (which, by the way, lasted a good 24 hours). Despite her knowing the truth, we still play the game of Santa and the Bunny and the Fairy. All in jest of course, she makes air quotes and all when she says their names.

Fast forward to this past week. On Wednesday, Caitlyn's tooth fell out while we were at Family Night at her school. She was at another table with her friends and excitedly ran up to me with the tooth in her hand. (Side note, I hate the idea of teeth falling out. Grosses me out.) On the way home, we joke about the tooth fairy leaving her some money under her pillow. On Thursday, when we got home, she was very careful to tell me that she was surprised this morning that the "tooth fairy" didn't leave her any money. Yep, that's right. I totally forgot about it. I know that she knows the truth, but she still looks forward to it. I just completely forgot about it and went to bed. Instead of trying to talk my way out of it, I simply asked her if we could just forgo the formalities of putting the money under the pillow and I could just hand over the money to her. Naturally she agreed.

Yesterday, she was at a friend's house, and apparently she swallowed the other tooth that was loose. Either that was a really crunchy piece of chocolate or my kid doesn't chew her food well enough. Either way, I needed to give her money. Of which I had none on me. She woke up this morning and quickly asked if we could make the trade, tooth for cash, this afternoon.

Wordless Wednesday

You can't see her very well, she is in the back corner wearing a white shirt and dark pants.

I'm Slipping Again

I know I said I would be better at generating updates and fun posts. But life gets in the way and things get crazy and all of the sudden, I am a month behind again. However, busy is good! I think about all of the things that I imagined being a parent would be like. And to be honest, 90% has been true. I love that Caitlyn is involved in so many extra curriculars. I love that I have to have a calender in hand when someone asks me what we are doing this weekend. And I love that I get to watch her enjoy ALL of it!

Caitlyn seems to be testing the waters when it comes to activities to determine what it is that she likes. And in order to determine that, she has joined all sorts of things. She is in her third year of girl scouts, and probably enjoys that the most. She looks forward to every meeting and trip and is constantly looking for ways to earn new badges when we are home. She is also enrolled in Hip Hop again this year. The park district has a new instructor and he is, in a word, AMAZING! He has gotten these girls to do things the instructors in the past have not been able to do. She has mentioned her desire to return to ballet though. And personally, I think that is probably the better choice for her abilities and body type. Whichever she decides to continue with in the fall, I am fine with though. She also signed up for softball this spring. She has attended 2 clinics and absolutely loves it. If you know my child, you know she is a "girly-girl." So I fully expected her to shy away from the ball or complain when she gets hit with it. To my surprise (and this kid always surprises me), she runs full speed ahead for the ball when it comes at her and barely flinches if she gets hit with it. (Yes, she has already gotten hit in the face with it and kept right on going.) She has also signed up for the knitting class that the school is offering once a week. I don't know where this came from, but she has always loved "creating" things. Hopefully she will enjoy this. And very soon, cheerleading registration is coming up and she has expressed an interest in that as well.

All of that on top of school work, and busy parents, and it's no wonder we don't have a minute in our day to spare. But like I said, I wouldn't change a minute of it. There were so many times from her birth to toddlerhood, to just a couple of years ago that we didn't know what the future would hold for her. To say that we question it anymore would be a gross misrepresentation of what actually happens. I don't doubt that she will be able to do anything that she attempts. Or at least decide whether or not she wants to pursue her interests.

Every so often, when she is riding her bike, or picking up another Harry Potter to read (she is now on Book 5), I look at her and think, "My God! You don't even realize just how far you have come and the odds that were stacked against you!!!" And then I take a moment just to be thankful for being able to witness that miracle and be part of it. When I think about all this kid has been through in her short little life, I am in complete awe of her will and strength. She is such an amazing kiddo. She has an incredible sense of humor, has just a touch of sarcasm, and is as smart (if not smarter) than most kids I know, and has a heart of gold!!

OK, enough of the sappiness, will save that for her birthday post ;)

I have finally finished my classes. Well, at least those that I have to actually be in class for. I am currently doing a narrative research project as my last course for graduate school. It is easy going, and because it is narrative research, it is not anywhere near as intense as qualitative research. Which gives me some freedom with the final product. I was really worried about what this last quarter would look like and now I am so relieved. There is light at the end of the tunnel; in just over a month I will be completely finished. For how long? Who knows. There may be some opportunities on the horizon which I will mention later on. Suffice it to say, it is something that I would love to do and I think it would really "round out" my career.

On the work front, things are starting to slow down now, which is nice. We are approaching the point in the year where people just don't want me coming in and changing things up. There are only 40ish days of school left and summer can't get here fast enough! I am starting to think about our trips to the lake and all of the other fun things that summer brings.

Until next time......

Looking Back

I was browsing through my pictures on photobucket yesterday, and I just can't believe how much Caitlyn has changed in just a few short years!


For example, look at how crazy long her hair is in this picture


Then, there's the pictures where she just looks so much younger. Her face was so much fuller than it is now, and her nose was so much more "buttonish" (I know it's not a word, but it's what comes to mind when I think of a way to describe it)


And then in this picture, I couldn't believe how short she was. She comes up to my chest now!


She really was one seriously cute toddler!


And an even cuter "big kid."


And has managed to turn into such a pretty little lady.

What a Week!

As if my week wasn't rough enough with everything going on at work, I came home to absolute hell on Friday. My mom called me to tell me that Kelly went to get her hair cut, only to be sent home again because the beautician said she had lice. Caitlyn had spent the night there on Sunday, which meant that she probably had it as well. So I pick her up from dance and go to Walgreens to purchase the shampoo and special comb to get rid of it. Once that was done, I had to strip all of the beds, and towels and most of the clothes and begin washing them. Then bagged up all of the pillows that can't be washed and all the stuffed animal she had on her bed and put them in sealed bags. Luckily, my cleaning lady had been at the house on Friday. Why is that lucky you ask? Because the woman vacuums EVERYTHING!! And from what I have read online (and I have read a lot this weekend), that is one of the most effective ways to make sure they are gone from your house.

It took over an hour to comb through Cait's hair with that comb. And while doing it, I didn't find anything that I thought could be nits. However, that's not to say there weren't. The reason it was so difficult for me is because Caitlyn has a very dry scalp. Add to that dryness, the harshness of the shampoo, and you end up with a lot of flakes. So when you are looking for small white things in a head full of hair, it can be a grueling task to say the least. I did the best I could, crossed my fingers, and hoped for the best.

When we woke up on Saturday, I checked her hair again and couldn't really see anything other than flakes. So I took her to CCD. Naturally, she walks in the classroom and tells her teacher she might have lice. Mind you, this teacher is a freaking lunatic!! Because I haven't blogged in a while, I haven't shared the crazy things she has said to these kids. Things like, "God only forgives 50% of your sins." Looney tunes!! The teacher immediately sends her to the office. Rightly so. I would have done the same thing. The director calls me, and I tell her that I didn't see anything in Cait's hair, and I used the shampoo mostly as a precautionary measure. I assured her that I would not have sent her to class if I felt she was a threat to the other children. She agreed and escorted Caitlyn back to the Church where they were going over the stations of the cross.

I picked Caitlyn up and as we were driving home, I asked her how class was. She proceeded to tell me that this crazy bitch of a teacher, upon returning to the classroom, told Caitlyn that she needed to sit in the back of the classroom because lice can jump. Um, what???? First of all, the damn things don't jump, that is not how lice are transmitted. Secondly, if the director brought her to class, then clearly it is safe for her to be there. Lastly, if she had any issue with it, she should have called the director again and had me pick the kid up. How dare you ostracize my kid and make her sit in the back of the classroom?? Does she not realize just how cruel kids really are? They are kids, they make fun of other kids. It's their job I think.

I was so shaken and upset, I couldn't even speak. I called Matt and told him what happened (he was at a clinic all weekend), and he tells me to call the director back. I told him there is no way I could call her, as I was crying because my heart was broken for Caitlyn and the embarrassment she must have been feeling. He said he would call her and discuss this incident and the sin forgiving incident. And that he did. The director was absolutely mortified and said that she would be discussing this with the teacher. Now let's see how things go next week.

For the record, I don't know that Caitlyn ever really even had lice. I didn't see anything on her head, she hasn't scratched her head at all, and now she has the shampoo on her head that supposedly protects her from future infestations (yuck) for 14 days. Me on the other hand, I can not stop itching my head to save my life. I know it's completely psychological, but I can't shake it. I'm hoping it passes in the next couple of days or I am going to be driving myself crazy!

On a much happier note, Caitlyn had her first softball clinic this morning and absolutely loved it. She was a bit nervous about it the last few days. But once she started playing with the high school girls that were helping out, her confidence grew immensely and she had so much fun. She is counting down the days until the next one!

Vent Time

So I mentioned a while back that the person who works with me wasn't that spectacular at her job. Well, it turns out that she decided to turn in her letter of resignation a couple of weeks ago. She did so because she felt she wasn't going to be asked to return next year. I can accept that. However, when she began looking for jobs, she came upon one that starts around the time that we go on spring break.

....you see where this is going right?

Yep, she is probably going to accept the position and leave the school at spring break. Leaving myself and the intervention specialist to fend for ourselves. Between the 3 of us, we make up 3 full time positions; I am 1.0 as AT, IS is 1.0, and this coworker is .5 in AT and 0.5 in IS (this sounds crazy, but it works). So now, the IS and I will have to do the job of 1.5. Unfortunately, based on the number of hours that we work, there is no way for us to fill a 1.5 position each.

I understand that people have to do what is right for them and their families. Really. I get that. But why on earth would you even tell a place that you are available immediately, when in theory, you really aren't? It just proves to me the lack of accountability people have for their jobs these days. It also goes to show that she really doesn't care about the kids she is leaving behind as there is no way that their needs can be met until we find someone to fill her position.

And the kicker of it all....I came in to a message on my phone this morning from her prospective place of employment regarding a reference. Nice. I do hope she understands that while I will be honest about her abilities, I will also be honest about her short comings. She really should have thought about this prior to putting my name down on that application.

I Did it Again

Crap! I suck at this these days. I know it's because I spend way too much time on Facebook. It's the devil!

Let's see, what has happened in our world in the last month? After the cheating episode, Caitlyn managed to pass her multiplication test on her own, without cheating. She also got her report card and managed to get straight A's again. Her goal for the year was to get straight A's one quarter and get perfect attendance for the year. She has modified that goal and now wants straight A's for the year. So she is halfway there and she also hasn't missed a day of school yet! I couldn't be more proud of her. On her report card, her teacher commented that she "is a little bit of an overachiever and demands the best out of herself." Let's be realistic Mrs. C, she is not a "little bit" of an overachiever, she is a lot of one. That comment pretty much sums up the kind of person that Caitlyn has become. She DOES demand the very best of herself. And when she doesn't achieve something she is aiming for, she is very hard on herself. I know that can be a bad thing, and I try to help her understand that achieving the best and giving it your best are two very different things. While she understand that, she still demands more of herself. And I will be honest in saying that I think it will work out well for her in the future. Provided she can balance the two and continue to understand that, regardless of the outcome, I will be proud as long as she puts forth her best effort.

Caitlyn has signed up for softball. If you know my child, she isn't the most athletic kid on the block. She is more of a fan of sports, than a player of them. But she really wanted to do it, so we are going for it. To help her get started, we have signed her up for some fielding and hitting clinics. Just to teach her the basics, since she has never played the sport. To be honest, I don't think she has ever even seen a softball game played. We'll see how it goes. Either way, I know she will look fantastic in her uniform =P

She is still enrolled in dance classes. She decided to do hip hop again this year. The park district has a new teacher and he is, in a word, amazing!! These kids come out of that room dripping with sweat when he is done with them. Their routine looks great so far and I can't wait for the recital in May.

We are watching what the girl eats these days and how much she is eating. Not because she needs a diet or anything, if you have seen this child, you know that has never been the case, nor is it now. But she fainted a few weeks ago in the mall cause she hadn't eaten anything. Needless to say, that really threw me for a loop. It was absolutely terrifying to see her go as pale as she did and just fall into my arms completely limp and lifeless. It's amazing how the human psyche works. Cause as soon as I laid her on the floor and looked at her face, pale with lips as white as a sheet, I was immediately taken back to the times in the NICU and when she first came home that she would stop breathing. Even though she was breathing, it was as if I was looking at a tiny baby fighting to breathe again. Horrifying doesn't even begin to describe it. So, we are watching to make sure that she constantly has food in her. We have gotten the teacher to agree to allow her a snack in the afternoon as well. As long as it doesn't take more than a few minutes for her to eat. (I know I could fight with the school to allow her more than a "few minutes" and the teacher can't say if it's longer she can't have it. But I don't feel it's necessary as Caitlyn can consume a small snack of a cereal bar in under 4 minutes.

I am more than halfway through my final two classes for my master's and will start my collaborative project at the end of March. I will be done in June and ready to graduate. Thank God. Cause I am at my wits end with school at this point. While I love being a student and learning, I need a break. And with everything Caitlyn is signing up for and wants to sign up for, it's getting too difficult to manage all of our schedules. There just isn't enough time. And I want her to be able to do all of those things that she wants to do. In order to do that, I need to be more available to her. So school is ending for me at the right time!

That's about all for now. More to come "soon." LOL

Cheating

So we had to go to a wake yesterday. Which meant that I was picking Caitlyn up from school so that we could hurry home, start homework, and then head to the wake. I get there a few minutes early and hang out waiting with a few other parents. I see Caitlyn's class come out, but I don't see Caitlyn. My eyes start searching all over for her, and then I see her standing by the doors of the building. So I think, "Maybe she didn't see me standing here?" So I give her a little wave, then another, and then a third when there is no response. Then I see the look on her face and realize that she is standing with the teacher. So I start to head over to the doors to see what the problem is. I figured maybe she hurt herself or was upset about something. Either way, it was evident that the teacher needed to talk to me.

It would appear that Caitlyn thought it was a good idea to attempt to cheat on her math test. Not a huge test, like on a unit of skills, but on the multiplication test that they take a few days a week. The students have 45 seconds to answer 24 multiplication problems. All of the problems are in the same number family. So each kid could be on a different number depending on what their individual skill level is. Caitlyn is currently on 4's. She has created so much anxiety within herself over this silly little quiz. See, for every family they complete, they get to add a piece to their ice cream sundae on the bulletin board. Caitlyn has a dish, a spoon, and a banana (she has completely 1's, 2's, and 3's). When she completes her 4's, she gets her first of 3 scoops of ice cream.

Needless to say, she is dying to get that scoop and will apparently do ANYTHING it takes to get that scoop. Which includes taking out one of the quizzes from last week and turning it in as yesterday's quiz (she is one of those kids that completes it even when the 45 seconds is up to practice, so she has many completed ones). When the teacher called "time" on the test, she decided to pull out an old one and turn that one in as opposed to the one that she didn't finish.

And she wasn't even slick about it. Got caught immediately after.

And she prompted the student across from her to do the same. And get caught as well.

The teacher immediately pulled them out of the room and made them wait in the hall....ON THE BENCH!!! (There is a bench in the hall for students who are waiting to get a firm talking to.) It was there that Caitlyn began to cry uncontrollably.

So, the punishment from school is that an incident letter is written up and sent to the assistant principal, who acts as the dean and deals with most of the discipline. There is a possibility that she will have to talk to him. And this, I can honestly say, scares the ever living shit out of her! She is terrified of this man, and I have no idea why. I think she is just terrified of what he represents, she just can separate the two yet.

As for the punishment that is to come at home, well we haven't decided on one just yet. She decided that she needed to write a letter of apology to the teacher, which I thought was a good idea. Matt and I are trying to determine what to take away from her for a couple of days. More than likely it will be the TV. Which will torture her I'm sure. Or the Wii. There was also a loooooong discussion about why this isn't the way to go about getting something that you want in school. And I threw the honor roll and good citizenship awards that she has gotten at her. Made sure that she understands these things may not be possible to get if she continues to cheat.

As of this morning, the child was still upset over what she had done and what was going to happen because of it. Hopefully, she will be able to move past this very quickly....and just memorize her damn multiplication facts!!!

Christmas and New Year's in Review

Again, I am terrible at this now. I used to be so good about it, but lately, just don't have it in me to update as frequently as I used to. Anywho....

Christmas was wonderful this year! I will confess that I went absolutely ape shit crazy buying stuff for Caitlyn. She got darn near everything on her list that she wanted. Spoiled? Yes. However, she is an appreciative kid and would love gifts that she hadn't asked for. Not to mention the fact that we only have one kid. So what else are we going to spend our money on right? The most popular gift under the tree in Caitlyn's eyes this year was her iPod. I ordered it for her at least a month before Christmas and had it engraved. My plan was to load all of her music on it (from my iTunes) so that it was ready to go on Christmas. Do we think that really happened? You would be wise to say no, if you know me at all. But I had good intentions, really I did. We also got her the dock with the speakers so that she could use it in her room and use it without having to have ear buds in.

Next exciting gift under the tree was the plethora of America Girl Doll goodies. Thank goodness for cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving) otherwise there would have been far fewer AG items under that tree. But they just happened to have most of the stuff that she had circled in the catalog on sale that day. So she was fortunate.

Of course there were tons of pj pants, not sets, pants. Cause she is all about wearing fleecy pj bottoms and oversized t shirts now. Must be an age thing. She got a bunch of clothes from Justice/Limited Too. (The entire store happened to be having a 40% off sale the day I went.) That is the only place that I have been able to find pants and jeans that fit her nicely. They make a super skinny slim that is fantastic! And Caitlyn loves all of the "funky" looks that they have. Personally, the store has far too many 80's fashions floating around for my liking. But the girl likes all of that.

Dad got the Black Hawks jersey that he wanted. We got the Wii Fit Plus for the "family gift" and I got the INstyler. I was so very excited to receive that. That is, until I went to use it for the third time and it refused to turn on. Seems it's not a very sturdy item. And of course, you can't take it back to the store that you purchased it from. You have to contact the company. Needless to say, I haven't done that yet. And I have no desire to do so, but the thought of losing $100 is looking over me. So I will get on that.

New Year's in the land of the Walshes was very low key this year. We didn't feel like getting all gussied up and heading out to some bar. Instead, we stayed home and lounged around with Caitlyn. She was soooooo excited to count down at midnight. Then once it was over, she was sort of confused. I explained to her that as she gets older, ringing in the New Year at midnight only becomes more anti-climactic. No, I didn't really tell her that, although I thought it and believe it to be true.

We are getting dumped on with lots of snow today. Which I love. And I am crossing my fingers, toes, legs, and eyes and anything else that I can get to cross in hopes of a snow day tomorrow. I would love for this to be a 4 day work week. Not that I have anything exciting going on this weekend, but it's the first week back in school after break. And that is always a tough week. So say a prayer, do a snow dance, whatever you have to do to get me a ton of snow here in Chicago folks!

My classes start up again next week. BUT....it is the last two!!! So I am eager to get them started in an effort to get them over. Once those two classes end in March, I have my collaborative project that runs through June. I can't student teach again because I am already certified, so this collaborative project is in place of student teaching. Hopefully that won't be too painful. But I am nearing the end and couldn't be happier!!

next update.....coming soon ;)