Pandemic At School Week 32

 Pandemic At School

 

Week 32

 

Day 216 – Sunday, October 18, 2020

 

Another eventful day!  I started the day off by taking Elijah driving.  He drove on windy Hogue road to Boehne Camp then the Lloyd Expressway (it was 7:30am) to University Parkway, then did the loop again.  His only real mistake was he got a too close to the edge of the road on Hogue and a tire slipped off, but it was in a flat area so we didn’t end up in a ditch.  

 

I re-bleached the bottom half of Hannah’s hair and ran out of hair dye.  Leah talked her into going with the rest of us to take photos downtown.  Hannah put her hair up in a bun, so the “calico cat” look wasn’t obvious.  

 

We went downtown and took photos in Self-E Alley.  Then we walked to the old courthouse and took a few photos there and in front of the old sheriff’s residence (I’d never seen that sign before).  Hannah is a natural model, but getting good pictures of Leah and Elijah is trickier.  It’s a good thing we had Hannah because she helped pose Leah a few times.  I had to make Elijah laugh to get a genuine smile out of him.  He’s one of those who doesn’t know how to smile on command (he takes after my dad, I guess).

 

After a quick trip to Walmart for more hair bleach, I re-did the top half of Hannah’s hair.  The six inches closest to her scalp got nice and platinum.  The rest did not, I’m guessing because it had been previously dyed… several different colors.  So, she has an ombre look going on. 

 

Throw in some chores, and it was a busy day!  

 

Day 217 – Monday, October 19, 2020

 

On Saturday, Vanderburgh County broke another record for number of positive COVID tests at 140.  It looks like that may have been due to a backlog of tests since the two days previous were on the low side.  The schools look to only have few cases.  The university a mile from me has quite a few cases.  The prediction for the country for the rest of the year is pretty bleak.  

 

I had an uneventful day where I was able to work on paperwork.  I started my progress monitoring for report cards.  I like to break it down to so many students a day.  If I do 20 a day, I’ll be done by Thursday.  

 

Hannah made plans for after school, so our early voting was postponed until tomorrow.  I haven’t heard what the lines are like at the library. 

 

We had a cool, rainy, dreary day today.  I didn’t enjoy driving in the dark this morning, but once I got to school it wasn’t so bad. 

 

I made shepherd’s pie for dinner and Hannah brought home place and bake ghost sugar cookies that I had been unable to find.  

 

Day 218 – Tuesday, October 20, 2020

 

I got distracted while taking Elijah to school and missed my exit, so I took the next one and got him to school a minute earlier than usual, lol.  

 

Two out of three of the IEP meetings I had scheduled were successfully held, which is better than some days…. 

 

I got 20 more progress reports done, only 42 more to go!  

 

I finished evaluating a little kindergarten friend who I foresee being my friend for a very long time.  They are cute and sweet, so it’s all good.

 

The printer network was down at school today which was fun.  

 

After school Hannah and I voted “early in person” at the library.  It took us 65 minutes to wait and vote.  That’s about the same amount of time it took me to vote in the same location four years ago…. The voting procedure was different, and probably for the better.  You still choose all your information on a computer screen, but then it’s printed, placed in a ballot envelope, signed and sealed by the poll workers.  I’m sure they can still count the votes electronically, but they have paper backup for recounts.  I’m pleased with the system.  

 

We ended up getting Chick-fil-a for dinner since people were starving by the time we finished voting. 

 

Leah and I worked on some 7^th grade honors math which is the same stuff I did in algebra 1…. She can figure out the equations just fine, but story problems are her nemesis. 

 

Day 220 – Thursday, October 22, 2020

 

Yesterday, I had an in person (socially distanced) speech therapists’ meeting at Culver.  My friend, Michelle, who is the secretary at Culver, wasn’t there.  I was sad to miss her.  I had to leave the meeting a few minutes early so I could make it to Daniel Wertz in time for an IEP conference via WebEx.

 

Today, I finished up my progress monitoring, and the majority of my tasks for this month’s consult week.  Tomorrow, I should be able to wrap things up, and maybe even get a few things planned for next week.

 

Elijah had speech team after school, so we got home kind of late.  I threw fish sticks in the oven and a bagged salad in a bowl and called it dinner.  

 

As usual, Leah wanted my help with her homework, but she got a little critical of my help, so I stopped.  Elijah wanted help with AP physics…. I actually remembered what he needed to do, but he didn’t really believe me. Later, he came back and said he just need to change the sign, which is what I had said.  

 

Tomorrow is Hannah’s 18^th birthday.  I can’t believe it.  Eighteen years ago, I went to bed extremely pregnant and was awakened at 5am by a “pop” that was my water breaking.  

 

Day 221 – Friday, October 23, 2020

 

Happy 18^th Birthday to my sweet Hannah!  When she was about kindergarten age, she just could not remember when her birthday was.  She had a hard time with letters and numbers for a while.  So one day, I had the kids march around the house (thankful for that circular floor plan when they were little!) saying “October 23, October 23, October 23…”. It worked!  I don’t think she ever forgot it after that.

 

I had a nice day at work, and I was able to get fully prepared for next week.  I don’t feel like that happens very often 

 

When I left school, half of the sky was nearly black, and rain seemed eminent.  I went to get Elijah downtown, black sky, no rain.  Five minutes from home, the sky lightened up to gray, and the heavens opened and it POURED.  

 

I took the kids to La Campirana for Hannah birthday meal.  It was amazing, as always.  Elijah wanted tamales, but we didn’t know how big they would be, so I got him six.  He ate three, lol.  I had sopas, Hannah had flautas, and Leah had a quesadilla.  Elijah had to get a large horchata as well.  When we got home, we had brownies and ice cream.  

 

Hannah got her present last week, a new phone, from her dad and me.  

 

Day 222 – Saturday, October 24, 2020

 

I got up and made a menu for the week and created a shopping list.  I made it to Walmart at 8am, even though my goal was 7am.  It was fine.  I opted to not get the Christmas Oreos just yet.  I feel like we need to get through Halloween first, but no judgement to others.

 

During the drive, I was enjoying the beautiful fall leaves, and they made me think about looking for the good.  I love fall, everything except the early sunset which only gets earlier after the time change.  However, the leaves were beautiful, and the air was chilly, and that’s the part I love.

 

Hannah went to lunch at Manna (one of her favorite places) with some friends for her birthday.

 

When she got back, Hannah, Leah, and I went to a Halloween store to get a costume for Leah.  It was sensory overload.  Leah panicked and couldn’t make a decision.  Thankfully, we had Hannah with us, who was able to find a cow costume, which is what Leah originally planned on.  

 

I made chili for dinner which we ate with Fritos, cheese, and sour cream.  Leah opted for just Fritos and cheese since she doesn’t like chili.

 

We had movie night.  Elijah wants to watch “real” movies like The Godfather and Terminator which are totally inappropriate for Leah.  We opted for The Nightmare Before Christmas, which Elijah skipped entirely, and Leah left halfway through…. If I’d known that, Hannah and I would have watched Hocus Pocus.  Neither of us have ever seen it.  

 

 

 

Pandemic at School Week 31

 Pandemic at School

 

Week 31

 

Day 209 – Sunday, October 11, 2020

 

Yesterday was a normal Saturday full of grocery shopping and laundry.  I took Leah to Target and somehow got roped into buying her earrings and a sweater.  I was under the impression she was spending her money, lol.  

 

For movie night we continued our Studio Ghibli streak and watched The Wind Rises.  Leah was bored halfway through and left me (again) to finish on my own.  It was an extremely placid movie with beautiful animation.  The story was sweet if not exciting.  

 

Today, I took Elijah driving on the roads for the first time.  He did well, and we stuck to mostly country roads.  I also taught him to pump gas.  He’s not one to notice things on his own…. I’m pretty sure that no one had to teach me how to pump gas, but we are all different.

 

It was nice to have a third weekend day, and I think we should every week should be like that.  

 

Hannah applied to Indiana State University today, it was super simple.  She said University of Southern Indiana was similar.  She waiting on one letter of recommendation for The Common App, then she’ll be all done with applications.  

 

Elijah is off school until Wednesday, and he will take the PSAT that day.  Hannah will be at home on Wednesday, because the high schools don’t want Seniors at school during the PSAT, lol.  

 

Next weekend, I plan to take all three kids downtown to take pictures of them for their “school pictures”. 

 

Day 210 – Monday, October 12, 2020

 

It was nice to have a normal day.  I got to work early since Elijah is on Fall Break, so I didn’t have to take him to school downtown.  I was able to prepare for a new-to-me virtual student for an 8:15 session.  The day went pretty smoothly, though 2 of my 3 virtual students didn’t show up for their sessions (the new one did).  We have yet to get any guidance on how many missed therapy sessions are allowed before a change is made to the IEP.

 

Leah had band practice after school, so I had just enough time to stop at Aldi to buy bread.  The kids went through an entire loaf over the weekend…. Hannah called when I was halfway home, and her boyfriend had gotten into a wreck.  She and her car were not involved, but she was driving right in front of him when he hydroplaned into the barrier on Ray Becker Parkway.  Since he was okay, and was getting things sorted out, I told her to come home since there was nowhere safe for her to wait in her car (there’s no shoulder).  She was pretty shaken up.  

 

A cold front moved through around the time I picked up Leah.  It was warm and muggy all day.  The AC in my office has been out for a few weeks, but today even having the window open did nothing to help.  Now it’s nice and cool, fall weather.

 

Hannah’s favorite teacher, the one she visits daily after school just got back from having COVID.  I don’t know if he was sick or not, but he definitely had a positive test.  Hannah found that out today…. So, around the time that I took her for a test was likely the time she would have been exposed.  That was fortuitous since we were not notified of the close contact.

 

Day 211 – Tuesday, October 13, 2020

 

It was one of those days where all the little, annoying things added up to really push me to the brink of losing my cool.  There are a lot of difficult things to deal with right now and absolutely no good answers. 

 

I got to see my “middle aged”, lol, (1^st-2^nd grade) self-contained kids with autism today.  I have some favorites in that group.  I had a successful virtual session with a student who was previously in that class.  It kind of went downhill from there.  

 

A previously dismissed from speech therapy for lack of progress student is back from an out of district school which put him back in speech…. In middle school. 

 

One of my virtual middle school students, who has yet to show up for his therapy, replied to my WebEx invitation email during the scheduled time saying “You didn’t send me the speech stuff”.  If he’d just clicked the link…. I know there is no one at home who can help him, and he needs the help.  

 

On Thursday, we have a faculty meeting to “see what a virtual schedule would look like this year”. 

 

At home, Hannah’s new phone (18^th birthday present) arrived, but her old SIM card wasn’t compatible (it fit!), so I had to order a new one.  It will be here in two days.  Her phone case and Pop Socket arrived… so, everything is ready except the one thing that makes it a phone.

 

Leah’s black and white copy of a diagram of a cell didn’t look anything like the full color picture she had to label it with.  Too many small, plain circles on the line drawing.  The lysosomes and the ribosomes and the vacuoles all looked the same.  

 

At that point I got the Switch and played Animal Crossing for about an hour.  I needed the mindlessness.  

 

Day 212 – Wednesday, October 14, 2020

 

Wednesdays are always a little crazy for me since I’m at three schools.  Elijah was back at school after his fall break and had the PSAT.  Hannah had the day off because of the PSAT.  Poor Leah just had to go to school like normal.  

 

I had a high schooler for virtual therapy at 8:15 this morning.  I was shocked that he actually showed up.  Then I went to Perry Heights and saw three students.  Then back to Daniel Wertz for a group lesson, a preschooler, lunch, and some articulation student before heading to Reitz for my Life Skills group lesson.  Then back to DW for a few more students and the end of the day.  Everything went pretty smoothly today.  I have a feeling that when the next grading period starts, I may have to completely re-do my schedule with students coming back to in person school.

 

Leah had a Wednesday night church activity with Libby.  I hear she gets a little rowdy with that group which is pretty hilarious.  

 

Not much else going on.  We had chicken bacon ranch quesadillas for dinner with homemade guacamole.  Yum!

 

Day 213 – Thursday, October 14, 2020

 

We have fall weather that looks like it’s here to stay.  The only drawback is the distinct lack of sunlight in the morning and evening.  

 

Today was a busy, but good day.  I started off the day with one of my preschool students, and she literally refused to make any sound for me, lol.  She’s a little stubborn.  I don’t know if she won the stubborn game, but I do know that she didn’t get to play with my toy farm that she loves to play with…. I have a feeling that she might not be feeling well.  

 

It started raining late in the morning, so the kids had indoor recess, maybe for the first time this school year.  That’s a bummer any time, but especially during COVID.  Poor kids are stuck at their desks nearly all day.  Poor teachers!!  

 

We had a faculty meeting to discuss what a virtual schedule would look like this year.  There was some speculation about that, but for now, we literally just have a virtual schedule with no plan on using it.  The rumors are flying around town and in the schools, but we know nothing.  The schools are definitely getting their “just in case” plans together for virtual.

 

Elijah forgot to tell me that he had a speech team meeting today, so I waited for him for an hour that I could have been at school or home.  I finally just put it on the calendar.  He brought home papers to sign, and apparently, they will need parents to be judges.  That could be fun.  Also, I need to get him some “formal” attire to wear.  

 

I made chili for dinner, and it is definitely chili weather today.  Leah opted for chicken nuggets, lol.  

Day 214 – Friday, October 16, 2020

 

It’s Friday!  

 

The highlight of the day was Hannah got some college acceptance texts/emails and was offered a nice scholarship.  Her Common App was completed yesterday, so those schools will be starting the process.  She has some personal things weighing her down, so it was nice to get some positive news.

 

Next week is Red Ribbon week at Daniel Wertz.  It goes back to Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No”, right?  I think it is truly ridiculous to think that dressing in silly clothes will keep kids from one day having a drug problem.  It reminds me of the “Drug Free School Zone” signs that were/are(?) posted around OKC schools.  When I was in high school, we just made fun of them and said It was more like a “school free, drug zone”.  Keeping kids housed, fed, clothed, educated, and their parents earning a living wage seems like a more effective way to keep kids off of drugs.  Anyway, there are different, crazy ways to dress each day for Red Ribbon Week, but our principal said teachers can wear jeans all week, so that’s fabulous news.  

 

Day 215 – Saturday, October 17, 2020

 

It was a busy day!!

 

I got up and went grocery shopping.  When I was in the baking aisle, I decided that I should get a brownie mix for Hannah’s birthday on Friday (OMG, she’ll be 18!), she prefers brownies to cake.  Then I decided to get birthday candles.  I picked up a 1 candle, an 8 candle, and some that spell out “Happy Birthday”.  When I got to the check out, the 8 was nowhere to be found…. Weird.  Did it fall out of the cart?  Did I fail to actually pick it up?  No idea.

 

Hannah went out to breakfast with a couple of friends at Kite & Key.  A toddler thought Hannah was her aunt, and kept waving and saying, “Hi Holly!”.  

 

After I got groceries unloaded, I took Elijah to get a haircut.  We go to a kids’ haircut place, and have for the 15 years we’ve lived in Evansville.  For the first time ever, I witnessed a small child who was convinced the haircut was going to kill him.  It was impressive, and reminiscent of being at work.  On the way home, we got Starbucks.

 

After lunch, I took the girls to the mall so Leah could get some Doc Marten’s boots.  She needed to try them on, so I couldn’t just order them.  Thankfully, she has tiny feet, and I was able to buy kid size boots.  They are cheaper.  The sales clerk recognized me for the sucker that I am, and got me to buy Leah some socks as well.  I did turn down the Doc Marten’s leather balm kit, lol.  On the way home, we stopped at Walmart to get a #8 candle, and some hair dye for Hannah.

 

When I finished the laundry, I bleached Hannah’s hair…. She bought two boxes in case one box wasn’t enough.  It didn’t take evenly, so I’ll have to do it again.  So, while Leah and Elijah will get their photos taken tomorrow (by me), I think Hannah will wait until another time.  She might have decided on a different hair color by then.  

 

For movie night, we watched another Studio Ghibli, My Neighbor Totoro.  Wow!  Another good one.  It was so funny and sweet and SO Japanese.  

 

 

 

 

 

Pandemic at School Week 30

Pandemic at School

 

Week 30

 

Day 202 – Sunday, October 4, 2020

 

After 200 days of writing every day, I forgot to write last night.  

 

Saturday morning, I started the day like every Saturday, with grocery shopping.  The difference in mask wearing compliance was like night and day.  Absolutely everyone was wearing a mask, and I only saw one nose.  Also, about 75% of the people shopping were Grocery Pickup shoppers.  Walmart had shelves full of cleaning wipes, something I haven’t seen since the first week in March, or maybe February.

 

For movie night, Leah and I watched Princess Mononoke, but it was too gruesome for Leah.  She baled about ¾ of the way through.  It was okay, but I didn’t like as much as Howl’s Moving Castle.  

 

This morning, I took Elijah driving at Wesselman park.  It’s just a loop, so I figured it would be pretty easy.  However, he had to maneuver around unleashed doggos, cyclists, walkers, and a kid on a tricycle.  I wasn’t exactly expecting all that.  He did a fantastic job, and strangely, I wasn’t the least bit anxious while sitting in the passenger seat.  

 

Leah and I went to Target, and we got stuff to make 48 Trick or Treat bags for Halloween night.  I figure we can set them out on a table and instruct kids to only touch the one they take.  Pandemic Halloween, who knew.  Leah was so excited that she went ahead and put the bags together.

 

I finally got around to sewing some Halloween themed fabric masks.  I only made three, but I have enough fabric to make maybe six more.  The thread I got last week didn’t play nice with my machine.  I wanted a large spool of Gutermann in black and white; however, I got cotton thread instead of polyester… and it’s THICK.  

 

All the chores finally got finished before we ate supper, but just barely.  We had a highly enjoyable weekend!  We have a four day week of school, so it’s bound to be a great week, right?

 

Day 203 – Monday, October 5, 2020

 

Leah walked across the room, and I had to ask, “Are you taller than me?”.  Almost.  She’s only ½ inch or so shorter.  

 

At school, I saw my little bitty guys with autism, then I took Leah to the orthodontist for an hour-long appointment.  They put brackets on her back molars and gave her rubber bands to wear.  It’s amazing how much her front teeth have straightened in two months!  Cosmetically, her teeth already look great.  After the ortho we got lunch.  Leah wanted a Happy Meal, so I went through the McDonald’s drive through.  They were super-fast which was nice.  We don’t go there often, but the last few times I’ve been it’s been very slow.  I prefer Chick-fil-a (obviously), so we drove across the street and I ordered curbside pickup.  Then we ate in the car in the Schnuck’s parking lot.  Chick-fil-a gave me a free brownie, so Leah got that.  I got back in time to see a few kids before the end of the day.  During kindergarten dismissal, I helped wrangle a student who’d had a difficult day.  She’s really something, lol.  

 

I made potato soup for dinner and it was delicious!  The kids and I sat around for a bit and watched some ridiculous SNL skits.  I helped Leah with a couple of math problems, but she seemed to understand what they were doing (algebraic inequalities with number lines).  I can’t help with ELA because I haven’t read the book (darn, lol).  

 

Trenty had a rough night last night, so I had a rough night.  He puked every 20 minutes from 2:50 – 5:00am.  Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep.  

 

Day 204 – Tuesday, October 6, 2020

 

Today was the day of seven IEP conferences and two virtual speech sessions.  I wouldn’t call it productive, but it had to be done.  Most of the conferences were not for my students, but I was the second special educator that is a requirement for each conference.  I was able to get a lot done on my computer while I sat in on WebEx meetings.  

 

Teaching virtually takes more time, effort, and planning than teaching in person.  I now have nine virtual students, and I’m likely to get two more tomorrow…. I’m over it.  I’m also over the virtual kids who just don’t show up, especially when you know they are unlikely to show up.  

 

Leah’s teeth are killing her today, and she’s unable to eat real food.  I did send her a thermos of chicken noodle soup for lunch, and I had one more frozen mac & cheese in the freezer that she had for dinner.  She doesn’t like most mushy foods (mashed potatoes, yogurt, applesauce, etc), but she did eat a bowl of ice cream.  Poor kid.  Hopefully, they’ll be a little better tomorrow.

 

I played a little Animal Crossing because HALLOWEEN, but I just don’t have the time to waste like I did while quarantined.  It’s a bummer, lol.

 

We have Friday off for a mini Fall Break.  Originally, we were supposed to have Friday, Monday, Tuesday off, and we were going to OKC for my dad’s 75^th birthday…. But due to COVID…

 

I started wearing my scar reduction bandage yesterday, and I feel like it already has made a difference.  It definitely seems flatter.  

 

Day 205 – Wednesday, October 7, 2020

 

Today was an interesting “due to COVID” day.  

 

Elijah, who started the week with what we assumed were allergy and acid reflux symptoms, was visibly sick yesterday when I picked him up from school.  When he got up this morning, he was much worse.  He has a sore throat, congestion, runny nose, fever, and added blood shot eyes this evening.  I quickly decided he wasn’t going to school, and I scheduled an testing appointment.  I wasn’t even 6am when I was choosing a time, and the earliest was 12:50, so I took it.

 

I texted the two teachers with whom I was supposed to give group lessons to their students and scheduled WebEx meetings to cover those.  I also had three IEP conferences scheduled for today.  Since I felt like I had a pretty full schedule, I decided I was officially “working from home” instead of taking a sick day.  

 

The first group lesson (which was being recorded so another student could watch it later) was interesting, but we made it work.  They could hear and see me, but I couldn’t see or hear them.  The teacher texted their questions to me, while we played a “Guess in 10” game.  What was the first question they asked?  “What happened to your face?”  Yes, it was the first time they’d seen me without a mask.

 

I had two conferences for students who are in Virtual Academy, who will almost certainly be back at Daniel Wertz for the 2^nd grading period in two weeks.  So, we’ll have that conference again, and change the IEP right back to how they were.  

 

Staying home all day made me hungry, so I ended up eating what amounted to two lunches.  

 

We left for Elijah’s COVID test at 12:25 so we could be downtown by 12:40, the requested ten minutes early.  The line was much longer than when I took Hannah ten days ago, and finding the correct entrance to the parking lot was interesting.  I ended up squeezing the car between a cone and an empty chair to get in the line.  It was a double line of cars, and there were easily 40 cars in the line.  I’m not sure how many tests they schedule in each 5-minute appointment slot, but I’m guessing each tester can probably swab one person per minute.  We waited in line for 45 minutes, and they didn’t even give an estimate for when the results might be posted.  I’m guessing a couple of days.  

 

Because we waited quite a bit longer than expected, I missed my second group lesson, but it’s been rescheduled for tomorrow morning.  

 

After school was out, I went to my office to pick up some things that I need to do virtual therapy from home.  I saw the self-contained teacher for the little bitties, and we decided to try a group lesson tomorrow as well.  That ought to be hysterical.

 

It’s the end of Elijah’s grading period so he had tests and quizzes scheduled for all of his classes.  He’s kind of beside himself about that, but he’s also really sick.

 

Day 206 – Thursday, October 8, 2020

 

The big news of the day is that Elijah tested negative for COVID.  The results took 27.5 hours, which really isn’t too bad, especially considering the line.  He’s still sick, but improving.  He’s on Fall Break until Wednesday, so he has time to recover.  

 

Yesterday, I opened the blinds in my room to let in some light since I had WebEx meetings.  There was an older car parked in my neighbor’s backyard.  It seemed a little strange, but I assumed that it had expired tags or something.  This morning, the car was gone, so the story I told myself changed.  Clearly, someone was hiding at my neighbor’s house yesterday.  Whether they were hiding from the cops or a domestic problem, I may never know.  My neighbor is a kind man who “takes in” friends and relatives who are struggling, so I guess it’s just par for the course that one of them needed to hide for a bit.

 

I had a busy morning of work with two group lessons and an individual lesson.  I have to say that our internet certainly was not at its peak today with three of us doing online school.  The afternoon was lighter, and I’m glad that I can work from school tomorrow.  I’ve come to count on using my document camera for online therapy.  

 

With the end of the grading period only two weeks away, I’m thinking that a few more of my online students will head back to the school buildings.  Virtual school really does not work well for students in special education when they are tied to a strict, state mandated curriculum.  I may have to completely re-do my schedule again…. This is a crazy year!

 

Elijah and I watched the vice-presidential debate last night.  Neither candidate answered any question that they didn’t want to answer.  We need a different debate structure for sure.  I was mostly listening, and not watching much, but I looked up at one point and pointed out the fly that had landed on Mike Pence’s head.  That fly sat there for more than two minutes.  I thought maybe it had gotten stuck in his hairspray.  I said, “SNL is going to LOVE that”.  The Facebook memes were IMMEDIATE.

 

Leah really enjoyed these “remote learning” days.  Sure, she likes to see her friends, but she really enjoys doing her school work in whatever room I’m in (and not just to get help, lol).  I enjoy it too.    

 

Day 207 – Friday, October 9, 2020

 

We had today off of school for Fall Break.  I slept in a little bit.

 

Leah and I got haircuts.  I got my normal haircut.  Leah got about 8 inches cut off, and now it’s shoulder length.  It wasn’t exactly planned to cut off that much, but she had considered getting it cut that short, so it worked out.  She requested 3 inches off, but it had been over a year since her last trim, and there was about six inches that needed to come off.  A little more off here and there to even it up… then because it’s wavy, it shrunk as it dried.  It’s super cute, and she’s happy with it.

 

We drove home, and ate lunch.  Then we found out her friend was available to go the pumpkin patch with us.  Hannah decided we should take some of her senior pictures today since we were going to the pumpkin patch anyway.  So, I loaded up the girls, drove hither and yon to get Penny then drive to Mayse Farm.  We had a fun time taking pictures, getting lost in the corn maze, drinking cider slushies, and going on a hayless hay ride out to the pumpkins.  The weather was warm but cloudy and quite pleasant.  

 

On the way home, we got stuck in traffic behind people trying to buy Half Pot tickets (it’s a raffle where half the money goes to the winner and half the money goes to charity).  It’s up to a million dollars, so people want to buy tickets!  We ended up taking the back roads home.

 

We had our normal pizza night for dinner, and when I went outside to bring in the “contactless delivery” of pizza a neighbor asked me where I had gotten my political yard signs.  We had a nice short chat, and I felt like my neighborhood is a better place.  

 

Hannah’s photos turned out great!  We plan on taking some photos in other locations as well.

 

Pandemic at School Week 29

Pandemic at School

 

Week 29

 

Day 195 – Sunday, September 27, 2020

 

Parenting young adults must be difficult.  A bestie of mine has two young adult children who have both moved far away.  One is several hours away, the other is several states away.  The out of stater has a roommate who has tested positive and they have symptoms as well.  Will they take their mom’s advice?  Nope…. 

 

Hannah will be 18 in less than a month.  She is a great kid who makes good choices most of the time.  I’m not ready.  Right now, she’s driving home from her boyfriend’s house, and I have to distract myself because I worry about her driving in the dark.  I’m excited for her, but I’m not ready.  

 

Today, Leah spotted a fast moving, dark colored critter in her room.  I’m assuming it’s a lizard.  We’ve had a lizard in the house before…. I was startled by a lizard in the bathroom at school last week.  She left the door to her room open all day in hopes that the cats would be interested in said critter, and help us find it.  Nope.  She won’t go in her room even though she’s “not scared of lizards”.  I told her I’d make sure it wasn’t in her bed…

 

I made chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, and gravy (Leah made salads for us) with gluten-free flour.  Little to no gluten seems to help me not gain water weigh, and I’m hoping it will help with some arthritis I have.  I was impressed that the gluten-free flour made a pretty good gravy.  I wasn’t sure how much to use and I could have added a little more, I think.  It was a good dinner.   

 

I cut out some masks from Halloween print fabric that I bought back in August.  Then I realized that I didn’t have any decent black thread, so Leah and I took a trip to JoAnn for thread.  For the life of me, I can’t figure out why all the craft stores are within a mile radius of each other on the opposite side of town.  I didn’t get any masks sewn, but I got three cut out.  Maybe tomorrow I’ll feel like sewing them.  

 

I had my EVV/ICT book via Zoom tonight where we discussed Black is the Body (an excellent book).  It was my turn to pick, and I wanted light and fluffy, so I chose Howl’s Moving Castle.  Everyone was pretty excited which made me happy.  Everyone has so much going on, that it’s hard to read a book that is emotionally taxing.  

 

The state has a color-coded metric for COVID.  Blue is best, then yellow, orange, and red.  My county is currently yellow.  We may narrowly miss moving to orange this week (our positivity rate is currently less than 5%, but barely).  With all restrictions now lifted, I don’t see those numbers getting better.  People are still required to wear masks, but local folk are truly terrible at that.  

 

Day 196, Monday, September 28, 2020

 

 

I saw all the students on my schedule today, except for those who were absent.  My virtual student for the day did not show.  It was a good, busy day.

 

There was a bit of a kerfuffle at school, but I can’t go into details.  That got me a bit riled up.

 

I think I may have a patch of fungal rash near my facial scar.  I’m sure the antibiotic ointment is to blame.  You just can’t win some times.  So, I’m putting antifungal on one spot and antibiotic on the rest… ridiculous.  The whole thing is itchy.  

 

I made Chrissy’s chicken and noodles for dinner, but my chicken and sauce were over riced cauliflower which is definitely not as tasty.  There  were leftovers, so I guess we will need a leftover night this weekend.  

 

Elijah’s school has another positive case, their second.  The student is a freshman, so Elijah is unlikely to have had any direct contact.  I’m not all that concerned about Elijah bringing it home.  It seems pretty clear that the girls and I are a LOT more likely to come in contact with a positive person at school than Elijah is.  

 

 

Day 197 – Tuesday, September 29, 2020

 

This morning at school was spent on a WebEx conference with a parent who seems to believe that the world revolves around her and her child.  It was so frustrating, that I turned my video off for 99% of the meeting because I couldn’t make nice faces.  There was so much eye rolling on my part that I’m surprised they didn’t get stuck that way!

 

After lunch, I was very busy seeing my students.  It was a good kind of busy.  I had one great virtual therapy session and one no-show.  I’m asking for guidance on how many no-shows are allowed before we stop scheduling them.  I did a “what am I” activity with several groups, and “backpack” is one of the answers.  I had two boys, in back to back groups who said, “packpack”.  Of course, one of them likes to have “smowball” fights, lol.  

 

During kindergarten dismissal, when we were down to about four kids a little guy had to go to the bathroom.  When he came back 30 seconds later, he said, “I peed all over the place, even on my mask!”  LOL!!  His mask was on a lanyard, and not on his face…. Only in kindergarten. 

 

Elijah had Business Club after school, so I picked him up around 4:15.  We had appointments for a drive-through flu shot clinic downtown at 5:45, but we had to pick up the girls.  Leah was freaking out about getting a shot, so I bribed everyone with dinner at Chick-fil-a afterward.  Four nurses surrounded the car and gave us all shots simultaneously.  Elijah had been talking up how much the flu shot didn’t hurt so Leah wouldn’t freak out (even though his memory was of a painful flu shot…).  My shot really burned, and I actually teared up.  The kids all said theirs didn’t hurt!  So, that’s done.

 

After dinner, Elijah pulled out the Josten’s class ring information that he got at school yesterday.  He did a good imitation of the sales pitch, lol.  Neither Elijah nor Leah had ever heard of a class ring (I certainly never had one), so they thought the whole idea was ridiculous and comical.  

 

Day 198 -Wednesday, September 30, 2020

 

Vanderburgh county has officially moved to level orange (blue is best, yellow, orange, red is worst).  School superintendent claims there is “no spreading in the schools” so they will remain in person.  

 

I did not put a bandage on my face for the first time while at school.  I wasn’t sure if my mask would irritate it, but it was fine.  I think I may have a fungal rash surrounding the scar, so I need to get that taken care of.  I can’t really start wearing my scar reduction bandages if I have a fungal rash…. Fungus would love that.  

 

Today was my travel day, where I saw kids at the middle school and the high school along with a group lesson in one of my elementary self-contained class rooms.  That was fun.  I saw one of my preschoolers who is a spitfire.  I had to get her to fake cough to try to teach her the /k/ sound.  I’m sure her parents and teachers will love that during a pandemic, lol.  

 

Leah is at a Wednesday night church activity with her friend, Libby.  After I dropped her off, I drove across town to pick up Hannah’s prescription (it’s $100 cheaper at Meijer… so worth the drive).  Now, I’m sitting in the car in the church parking lot waiting for the activity to finish.  It seemed pointless to go home when I’d have to drive back 30 minutes later.  I brought my laptop, set up a hotspot on my phone, and paid bills.  

 

It was a pretty good day.

 

Day 199 (!!) – Thursday, October 1, 2020

 

The school day was busy but pretty uneventful.  I did get stopped by the principal so he could inform me that he’s changing the master schedule…. Starting Monday.  So, my schedule will need some tweaking, but hopefully, not an entire overhaul.

 

Elijah had speech/debate after school, but he failed to tell me beforehand, so I waited for him for the better part of an hour.  

 

We got home around 5pm, and I threw some frozen burger patties under the broiler for dinner.

 

After dinner, Hannah I (almost) finished up The Common App.  There are some school specific essays to write, but none are too long.  We had Parchment send her transcripts to The Common App with no hiccups.  THEN, I filled out the FAFSA.  SWEET. FANCY. MOSES.  I’m pretty sure that anyone without a college degree would need help with it.  I got it figured out, but it’s ridiculous and confusing.  Through The Common App, Hannah is applying to Butler, Indiana University (Bloomington), University of Evansville, and Notre Dame.  We will start regular applications for Univ of Southern Indiana (a mile south of my house) and Indiana State another day, but soon.  

 

Day 200 – Friday, October 2, 2020

 

Wow day 200 of my pandemic journal.  That’s crazy.  President Trump announced that he and the First Lady tested positive for the Novel Coronavirus.  This evening, he was transported to Walter Reed Hospital via Marine One.  Of all the things 2020 has thrown at us, this is the biggest yet.

 

Leah has a sore throat and is congested.  I’m starting to feel something coming on tonight as well.  I will see how we are doing in the morning, and make a decision about testing then.  Maybe, I’m just “Friday evening tired”.

 

It was another busy, but good day at school.  I was sent home with homemade applesauce courtesy of Jan Wolfe, kindergarten teacher extraordinaire.   Normally, the class makes applesauce, this year she made it at home, but peeled a few apples at school.  …due to COVID…

 

There was some puking at school, and I know another student was home with the same.  COVID barfing or regular barfing?  

 

Today, Vanderburgh reported its highest number of positive cases in one day, 86 new cases.  That breaks our record by 12 cases!  Holy Smokes!

Pandemic at School Week 28

 Pandemic at School

 

Week 28

 

Day 188 – Sunday, September 20, 2020

 

Oliver thought I needed to get up a few times during the night, so he had a couple of trips to the laundry room.  I slept in a little bit.  

 

My wound feels pretty okay, and the bruising is turning yellow, it’s very attractive.  However, it swelled a little more around my eye so the corner of my eye and upper eyelid were a bit swollen today.

 

I finally got to wear contacts with my new prescription.  My far vision is much better now.  

 

I made a quick trip to Aldi because I forgot to buy paper plates yesterday.  I picked up a few other things as well since Cocoa Rice cereal is far superior to Cocoa Krispies…. They still have one way aisles, fewer carts available, and the cashier wiped down the handle of the cart before switching my cart with the previous person’s.  

 

Vanderburgh county had their highest number of new cases yesterday at 70.  I don’t think our county will move from yellow to orange this week, but if this continues it could next week.  

 

I got the rest of my weekend chores done (washing towels and vacuuming).

 

We went to Moe’s for dinner, which we fully enjoyed.  Since we were practically in the Target parking lot, we stopped to look in the “no longer a dollar” section.  Leah and got a couple of things.  

 

Day 189 – Monday, September 21, 2020

 

Two more case conferences for virtual students (it’s never ending).  One will get virtual therapy, the other I will email worksheets to because virtual isn’t working out all that great for them…

 

I got lots of paperwork done (it’s a paperwork week, not a direct therapy week, thank goodness for those!) and I have lots more paperwork to get done…. 

 

One of my kindergarten friends noticed the 1mm of bandage peeking out above my mask.  She exclaimed, “OH! IS THAT A BAND-AID? WHAT HAPPENED? ARE YOU OK?’  This is the same kid who gushed over me on my birthday six months ago.  I love her!  

 

When I got home, I put together a shepherd’s pie (Leah asked what kind of meat, so I told her “shepherd”, of course).  Then Hannah and I worked on her Common App for 3 of the 5 colleges she’s applying to.  ACK!!  My baby!!  Her SAT score came back and it was higher than mine was…. However, it wasn’t so high that she would be better off using test scores.  She is an excellent writer and has perfect grades.  Essays and transcripts will definitely go in her favor.

 

I’m tired and my eyes hurt (at least partially from my face being swollen).  I’m tired of my face being swollen…. It does look better every day, and it doesn’t hurt.  It is a little itchy, which I suppose is good, just annoying.  

 

One of the local Catholic high schools is moving to virtual for a week.  They have 6 positive cases and enough close contacts in quarantine that 20% of the school is out.  However, they still played football tonight.  I guess we know where people’s priorities are.  

 

Day 190 – Tuesday, September 22, 2020

 

Thanks to my teacher friend, Amanda Payne, I’m now making my homework assignments on JamBoard, and it’s kind of fun.  I can take screen captures and make interactive worksheets for the computer.  I got this week’s assignments scheduled for posting tomorrow afternoon.  My hope is to get the whole month ready this week.  

 

I had three more virtual meetings today, one had a no show parent, so it had to be rescheduled…. Story of my life.  I got to see one of my students on my computer screen that I haven’t seen since March.  He was entertaining during the IEP meeting with his dad.  

 

I’ve been trying to figure out the easiest way to get flu shots for all of us.  I can get mine at work, but the kids are trickier.  I just saw that Deaconess was doing drive through flu shots, so I’ll probably do that.

 

Leah has her first orthodontist appointment since getting her braces on.  I guess I should prepare for sore teeth… It’s amazing how much her front teeth have already straightened out!  

 

I’m ready to get my stitches out on Thursday, they really started itching tonight… Or maybe they start itching this time every night.  

 

Day 191 - Wednesday, September 23, 2020

 

I started off my day meeting with all of the speech therapists (in person!) at Culver.  There are 30 of us, spread out in a large auditorium, with the majority of us wearing masks.  It’s nice to be able to meet in person.  There were, of course, some new things we will be required to do.  Always.  Some ridiculous.  Some not.  I need to look over the notes our boss sent out since I don’t even remember what some of those things were, lol.

 

When I got to Daniel Wertz, I had a little bit of time to get some work done before lunch, then I had a normal Annual Case Review (not a virtual student) via WebEx.  I did a little bit of testing on a kindergarten student.  Planned some homework for next week.  Homework that will have to be re-planned since tonight it became apparent that none of the kids using iPads or ThinkPad (old hand-me-downs that the self-contained classes have…) could do the assignment I made.  It’s a little frustrating that they want us using tech, but an awful lot of the tech is too old to be super useful.  

 

I took off work an hour early to get Leah to her orthodontist appointment.  They put colored power chain on, but nothing else.  She has to go back for a longer appointment next week to get brackets put on her back teeth…. I’d forgotten how much sick time I used getting Hannah to orthodontist appointments.

 

When I got home, I noticed there was grass all over my driveway.  My neighbor mowed my grass!  He yelled at me from his porch, “Are you mad?  I was bored!”  I told him that he could mow my lawn any time.  I will never be mad, lol.  

 

My stitches get taken out tomorrow!

 

Day 192 – Thursday, September 24, 2020

 

I’m not sure how I failed to mention It yesterday, but Elijah went on a cleaning spree.  First, he started cleaning his room.  He gave Hannah some jeans that no longer fit him.  She was happy for baggy jeans, and he has some bigger pairs on the way.  After dinner, he started rinsing the dishes, and he even took out the trash.  He swears that he wasn’t procrastinating something else.  It was weird, but appreciated.

 

Between 12:30 and 1:30, I went to the dermatologist’s office and had my stitches removed.  I had never had stitches removed (I’d only had stiches after having kids, and those were dissolvable, thank goodness).  It went better than I expected, but there were a couple that were really tight, and were a bit uncomfortable to have removed.  My jaw definitely has a greater range of motion without the stitches!  It’s easier to eat now!  I think I can start wearing the silicone scar bandages now.

 

I was supposed to have a virtual student this afternoon, rescheduled from this morning because they were taking NWEA (low stakes standardized testing).  I have a feeling there might have been a meltdown… or maybe they just forgot.

 

Elijah decided to try speech (and debate) again this year.  He wants to try radio broadcasting this year, which I didn’t even know what a category.  He thought he would be done at 4, but it was 4:30, so we stopped at Chick-Fil-A.  The parking lot where the curbside pick-up normally is located was being resurfaced so I had to go through the drive through (the horror!).  After I was in the line, I saw they had moved the curbside spots, but it was too late…. The order wasn’t exactly taken correctly, but it was close enough.  We certainly enjoyed it.

 

When we got home, Hannah had brought leftover donuts home from school.  Her English teacher often sends extra treats home with her.  No complaints here!

 

Elijah’s school had their online Open House posted tonight, so I watched videos from all of his teachers.  He has 7 male teachers, and 0 female, which I find highly unusual. I don’t think I’ve ever had an English teacher who was male.  

 

After dinner, Leah and I did some math on the deck.  That was a nice change, and it was almost chilly out there.  

 

We had a pretty fantastic day!

 

Day 193 – Friday, September 25, 2020

 

Tomorrow, Indiana moves to stage 5 of opening back up.  Vanderburgh county is doing worse than ever, but restaurants and everything else will be able to operate at full capacity.  Ohio is going to allow visitors inside nursing homes.  Florida is opening up everything including amusement parks.  I guess this COVID show is just getting started.  

 

We have three hospital campuses in the area, one is on diversion because so much of their staff is out sick that they can’t take any more adult patients.  I know of positive cases in the schools I work at.  I know someone in the hospital with COVID.  I had a local acquaintance die from COVID a few weeks ago.  

 

The kids and I are getting flu shots on Tuesday.  I’m not normally pro flu shot, but by golly, we are getting it this year.  

 

I went to lunch at Panera with a speech therapist friend (we ate outside).  It was nice to be able to rant a little to someone who is dealing with the same stuff.  She moved to a new school this year, so she is extra busy trying to figure out a new case load, schools, etc.  I hope I never leave my schools!  

 

I still have a few meetings next week, but I’ll be seeing my full schedule of kids.  I added my RtI kids and virtual kids to my schedule for next week.  I’m not sure there will be time to breathe during the school day.  I should probably take bets on how many virtual students show up for their time slots.  I doubt they realize just how tight my schedule is.  There is NO wiggle room.  Just today, I had a mom try to get me to reschedule a session that was missed yesterday (after I rescheduled it to fit their needs).

 

Day 194 – Saturday, September 26, 2020

 

I was awoken in the 3-4am hour by Hannah in and out of the bathroom several times.  She had been having some stomach issues Thursday night and Friday morning.  Clearly, they had gotten worse.  I made an appointment for an 8am COVID test.  (yawn)

 

I was able to schedule at the downtown location which is much closer than where I took Elijah.  I don’t think the downtown location was previously open on the weekends.  So, things have changed with more testing being needed.  We were the fourth car in line, and we got there just a few minutes before 8am, when they opened.  Hannah said the test burned, but it didn’t make her cough or sneeze.  A young adult named Hannah gave Hannah the test and apparently the young adult in the car in front of us was also Hannah.  Lots of Hannahs!  Anyway, she said it would be about 24 hours for results.

 

I went ahead and ordered groceries for pick up since we were waiting on a test result.  It was a pretty boring day of laundry and waiting around.  I did go to the library to pick up some movies for Leah, fill up the car with gas, and pick up food from Sonic.  My interaction with humans outside of my family was a few seconds with the Sonic car hop.  

 

We had leftover pizza for dinner, and Leah decided which Studio Ghibli movie to watch (I picked up four).  She ended up choosing Howl’s Moving Castle.  She got out her pop-up tent, and some snacks and is enjoying her movie night.

 

Hannah’s test results came back (negative!) in 10 hours, which seems pretty quick.