Is This Thing On?

Is anybody still out there?

Do I still have any readers?

Have you missed me?

Life has been pretty crazy since I last blogged. August and September have pretty much been a whirlwind. On August 4th I was offered a position as a junior high self contained teacher and was mentally gearing myself up to teach older kids. However, on August 6th I interviewed over the phone (while at the salon for Miss N's bridal prep) and was offered an elementary school autism position at the school I was hoping to be hired by. I got lucky. I officially started working at Desert Springs Elementary school August 19th, four days into the new school year. On that day, I learned that I would not be teaching 3rd-5th grade kiddos with autism, but would for a variety of reasons, be switching with the K-1 autism teacher. The first few days were a crazy mix of observing, transitioning, moving rooms, unpacking, getting acclimated, etc. The class was officially mine August 24th and I haven't sat down much since. :)

I have spent the last 5 weeks or so tracking down materials, working on a functional system for my kids and my classroom, figuring out school policies and obligations, prepping and planning. In addition to my new job, I am still finishing up my teaching cert, working on my Master in Education degree and seeing 3 therapy kids. Life is crazy. Most days, I get to school early to get things done in my room, spend 6 hours managing a VERY active group of 5 and 6 year old children with autism, eat lunch in my classroom while prepping activities or answering emails, stay for another hour or more after school and head home for a quick dinner and an evening of lesson planning, material prepping and lots and lots of my own school work. My current grad school class, Philosophy and Ethics in Education, just might be the death of me.

I haven't done much else. No scrapping, no paper fun (except for my monthly Simply ArTistiC card), no knitting, no long conversations with friends, little reading, magazines, tv, internet surfing, etc. My personal email often reads 200+ new messages. I have no clue what's going on in the world, save the little bits I catch on NPR to and from work. My house is a disaster. Thankfully, things are lightening up a bit. I have managed to have a couple quick chats with a few friends, have a lunch date with my sister, watch the first season of The Tudors with Shawn, shop and buy a new dishwasher and play some Words With Friends on the ipad. This past weekend, I completed two classes and took the midterm for a third. There is progress being made and my mile long to do list has had a few dents put in it. Bottom line though, its going to be a busy year. Exhausted might become my status quo. Blogging may or may not happen. I'd like to get back into a routine of at least posting my Tuesday 10 and weekend updates (though it might get old to hear about how I cut, colored, glued and did lots of school work all weekend long). I'd like to start watching some fall tv, preferably before 10 pm, since I tend to fall asleep during my shows at that time...

Thanks to those who have checked in on me via blog comments or emails. I appreciate it. I am still here. I'm doing fine, just a little overwhelmed. As exhausted and overwhelmed as I am, I am loving my new job. It's been a positive switch and I feel like I'm where I need to be. I miss music therapy a little, but use a lot of it in my classroom. I've already seen a change for the better with my kids and am getting lots of positive feedback from other teachers. Things are good, just busy. Here's hoping I can at least provide weekly updates. Now, I'm off to enjoy a must needed glass of wine.

Happy Weekend.