V-A-C-A-tion! (Is almost here)

I'm not in teaching for the presents, I swear. But this time of year, right before vacation, it is nice to get some acknowledgement from the parents (and the kids who are old enough to put on their shoes themselves) that they appreciate all the effort you're putting in. And many have been bringing in gifts over the past week. However, the gifts are mostly coming from some of the really sweet, cooperative kids and parents, and not from the ones that make me lose sleep and want to put my head through a wall. But, of the ones who have already brought things in, I've been extremely surprised by the generosity of some of the parents. Some parents spent a combined $100 on the two teachers I work with and me, which was way over the top, and this sounds pretty cheesy, but the nicest gifts I've gotten between this year and my student teaching were cards with anecdotes about how the child liked or appreciated me.

Don't get me wrong though, I polished off the box of chocolates in a day and a half, and I can't wait to spend my visa gift card on a 30 pack of beer.

I got a shiny new camera from my parents for Hanukkah, so you get to see some updated pictures...like random pictures I took during the 3rd consecutive hour of sitting on my couch at home, the festive appearance of our apartment, and our new jumbo TV which has aired "Mean Girls" at least 3 times in the last two weeks.









Tomorrow is the last day of school before VACATION!!! I'm pretty excited. After tomorrow, it's a whole lot of sleeping past 6:11, sitting in PJs until noon if I want to, and visiting Molly and Kerrin! Hooray.