Tuesday, March 09, 2010

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.

Sunday, March 07, 2010

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!

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

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.