15 Days of Rest!

I am finally off for our winter break.  I don't have to go back to work until January 6th! Going to spend the next 2 weeks enjoying time with my boys and my hubby. I will not stress over the holidays like I did for Thanksgiving and end up in a major flare.

My hubby and my youngest went out and bought a monster tree for Christmas (13ft. Noble Fir).  It's finally up and the tree and house are decorated.  My hubby decorated the house yesterday during his day off so I wouldn't have to do it.  We all decorated the tree Thursday night.

I've decided that we will go to Christmas Eve service and then to my cousin's house for her annual Christmas Eve party.  Christmas Day will be spent at home with my guys.  I've invited my parents to come over and join us for breakfast and the opening of the gifts.  My mom is upset with me because I don't want to have a bigger family gathering and has said she will not be coming over.  She tried to give me guilt by saying "it's time to start your own family traditions."

I refused to be guilted into doing something I don't feel up to doing and told her the invitation was still on the table for her and my dad.  I also told my dad.  Whether they show up or not is entirely up to them.

 I'm going to enjoy my Christmas Break and rest up for the second half of the school year.  The second half is always the craziest because of statewide testing.

Gentle Hugs,
Bonnie

The Pitfalls of Being a Teacher!

I love being a teacher. I have loved it for the last 17 years. The only problem is, I catch every thing that comes into my class.  Since I'm the reading teacher, I work with small guided reading groups throughout the day to help my students who just quite aren't where they need to be when it comes to reading and comprehension. 

Not my table, but it works for my post!

Now as you can see from the picture, I am no more than 2 or 3 feet away from my students.  I meet with 5 different groups during the day.  It never fails, at least 2 of them are sniffling, sneezing, or coughing.  It's quite disgusting. I keep tissues and hand sanitizer handy, but how do you control the germs when they don't cover their mouths.  You would think that by 5th grade they would know how to do this, but I still have to remind them everyday. I have to wipe down my table with chlorox wipes between every group. 

I had built up my immunities over the years, but since my fibro diagnoses my immune system seems to be shot.  So now I get to spend yet another weekend trying to recuperate enough to go back to my germy little monsters on Monday.  They're so lucky I love them all! Do you think they would be offended if I wore a surgical mask during group?

Gentle Hugs,
Bonnie

Thanks Julie!

I want to thank Julie from Counting My Spoons for nominating me for the Dragon's Loyalty Award. 

The Dragon’s Loyalty Award is an award for the loyal fan/commenter, whether the recipient is a fellow blogger or just someone who follows and comments regularly”. 

 

There are some rules that one must follow in order to fully accept the award and they are as follows:
1. Firstly, display the Award on your site. You earned it and you deserve it!
2. Link back to the person who gave you the award in your acceptance post;
3. Nominate 15 well deserving bloggers for the Award and let them know the wonderful news by sending them a message on their site;
4. List 7 interesting facts about yourself.

7 Interesting Facts:

1. I learned to shoot a gun when I was 11 (my dad was in law enforcement and wanted me to learn about gun safety and that guns are not toys).
2. Before my fibro I was a better shot than my hubby who was in the military.
3. I have a Master's in Educational Administration and my Principal's certificate, but I prefer being in the classroom.
4. I used to have a British accent until I was about 6 because my dad was stationed in England when he was in the Air Force (we lived there from the time I was 1 until I turned 5).
5. I'm Hispanic and the only family member who can't speak Spanish (I blame England), but I can understand it.
6. I worked as a sign language interpreter while in college.
7. My graduating class only had 10 people in it (town population of 500) and I missed being valedictorian by a tenth of a point (I took all the math and science courses while the valedictorian took typing and home ec, doesn't seem fair).  The valedictorian only lasted one semester in college (insert maniacal laugh here)! 

Nominations of my loyal followers:
1. Terri from Seeking the Gifts of Fibromyalgia
2. Julie from  Counting My Spoons

Wish I had more people to nominate, but I'm still trying to develop a following!

Gentle Hugs,
Bonnie

My Family!

My Grandfather with his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and his great-great grandchildren!

My Silly Family!

These are the pictures my brother took on Thanksgiving of the 36 of us.  It took forever to get everyone organized and the little ones were getting restless.  After we took our family picture, we decided to do a silly picture of the kids.  I think we had more fun than the kids! Great memories!

Gentle Hugs,
Bonnie