The first week of school

Ru and I are have come through the first week of school with exhausted smiles.  Here are the details.
On Tuesday September 4 I went to school.  At Judson the 6th graders come for the first day, then the 7th and 8th graders come Wednesday.  So I was expecting my three new 6th graders.  I also found out I was getting a very difficult kid, with a terrible history, and I wouldn't get any help for him.  I was terrified this would upset the peace and harmony of my lovely class with its lovely kids.  When I got off work dragged my exhausted self to Liberty Elementary School for parent night.  I knew very little about Ru's school, I didn't even know what class he would be in.  The kids in the neighborhood told me there were two teachers, one yelled a lot, one was cool and played guitar.  You can guess which one I was hoping for. 

The first day of school (for the 6th graders)

The Class List for 4th Grade

 The classlist for 4th grade.  Ruben got the teacher who played guitar!  I watched him talk with other parents for a while, and I waited for Jeff to bring Ruben.  Jeff and Ru had spent the day in Newport at the aquarium.  Ruben and Jeff showed up, Jeff met Ru's teacher then we had cookies and went home.  I was glad that Ru had lots of kids in his class to be friends with, but 31... that's pretty big. We went home, and I gave Ru dinner, a bath, read him a book, and then cried myself to sleep with worry.

At morning latchkey, first day of school for Ru

 Right on time the next morning I dropped Ruben off at latchkey.  Its in the same building as his classroom which is nice.  He could eat breakfast at school, but he eats at home because he likes my cooking better. I don't know why my cereal is better than school cereal... but oh well.  I worried myself off to school, and me and my assistant teachers anxiously awaited the students.  A few of my kids from last year trickled in, and with the first hugs and smiles my anxiety evaporated.  Then the busses arrived, and the rest of the class came in with more hugs, smiles, and chit chat about how summer was.  The thing about my class is, well its just great.  The kids are all well below grade level, and so so sweet.  The student I was so worried about I met at the door and said to him "Welcome to the best class at Judson.  You are going to do great here" and for the next few days he told me every day how happy he was to be in my class.  (He's still doing great)

Mr. Finicle one of the classroom Educational Assistants leading a discussion

 We had a fun day, played a lot of games, and started with our assessments. Everything went as smoothly as it could.  Thursday and Friday also passed pleasantly. but back to Wednesday...

Sporting the teacher clothes

Ruben has two after school programs, one is latchkey where he goes in the morning, I signed him up there for Monday and Friday afternoons.  The other is called Community Corner and its at a church about 3 blocks from his elementary school.  Its for latchkey kids to go for free after school.  I like free, I wasn't sure I'd like the program.  Lots of Ruben's friends from the apartment complex we live in go there after school though, and I wanted him to be with kids he knows.  So I went there to pick him up and amidst the chaos was Ruben playing dodgeball and having a great time.  He was exhausted when I picked him up, and he said that he did a math test that was so hard it made him shake.  He also told me that it was hard. That he had to remember 34 rules at least.

Thursday when I picked him up he told me how much fun he had with the kids at recess, that they played on the tire swing and it was as fun as a roller coaster.  He also told me that he made two friends in his classroom..  What a contrast from last year when he still didn't have buddies at Christmas.  He liked the after school program at the corner church just fine.

Friday when I picked up Ru at latchkey he was tired, and so was I.  We came home to drop off stuff, then went out to our favorite sushi restaurant.  While we were eating Ruben reminded me that I had promised his friend Brett could come over for the afternoon so I suggested we invite him over to spend the night.  We called and Brett was available.  We picked him up as soon as we were finished with dinner and after an entertaining trip to the grocery store, (Brett was wearing a rainbow mohawk light up wig, and Ru was propelling the cart with fart noises) we went home for some relaxing by staring at screens.  Brett decided not to spend the night with Ru, and went home, and Ru and I snuggled to a deep deep sleep.

At our favorite restaurant about to go get Brett

Brett hanging out

Shopping helpers?  More like shopping entertainment.

 So Saturday we ate a lovely breakfast of blueberry pancakes and then made our way to an empty lot where we picked lots and lots of blackberries.  Well I picked, Ru explored. When we got home we weighed them and I had enough to start a batch of wine (20 lbs). 

Picking Ru

Picking Em

Wine to be

The neighbor kids came over to play Saturday aftenoon and were fascinated by the big bucket of blackberry slurry. I let them taste it after I had added the sugar and it was truly delicious.  It was like blackberry syrup.  Sunday morning when it cooled I pitched the yeast.  It will be ready for drinking late next spring.

We went to our new church where Ruben had an interesting time with the youth group.  They are doing a Harry Potter type lesson and it was pretty cool how they had decorated the youth center to look like Hogwarts.  Ru said it wasn't as cool as last time we went, so we may be looking for a church still.  I liked this church, the music was good, the people were friendly and it was small.  That's pretty much my list of qualifications for a church. 

Kitty getting loves.  She never looks happy, but her purr betrays her.

 Monday was another busy day at school, I started reading groups and training my new assistant.  We are working hard to get down our new class routines.  Ru was happy about school, he joined a club called the secret six, and they spy on other kids on the playground.  Sometimes its only the secret four, but I don't care as long as he's having fun and playing with other kids.  He says he's making friends and that some girl wants to come over and play but she always says her phone number too fast for him to write down. 
After school Grace (our neighbor girl) came over to see how the wine was doing, and declared it stinky.  I am helping her with her reading. I diagnosed her problems with reading as needing more practice, and to follow with her finger.  Its cool to work with kids without disabilities sometimes.

Tuesday went by in a flash. After school Ru had a headache, so he had a medicine and when he felt better we played a game of chutes and ladders. Ru took a bubble bath and I started a new book. Early to bed...
So today (Wednesday) a week since Ru started school, and really all is well.  We had a little party at school today for the two kids and one teacher (ME) with September birthdays.  One parent brought huge delicious costco carrot cake muffins.  Mmmmmm.  What a treat.  After school Ru and I went to a barbecue at the church down the street.  They had games like a dunk tank and water balloon toss.  We had a good time.  We were all cozy in bed till Ru realized he forgot to do his homework. 

Oh well.  Its just nice that we are on the up side of life's ups and downs for now.

Ru playing water balloon bungee at the church barbecue. His babysitter Kelsey is holding the bungee on one end.

New Church/Disc Golf/Berries

This morning we got up, had blueberry-apple pancakes and went to church.  I haven't been to church since Easter.  I've felt disconnected from my faith ever since I moved to Salem.  The parish we've been attending is huge, and although not overtly unfriendly has never seemed welcoming to me.  We are now auditioning churches to find one that meets our spiritual needs.  I joked with Jeremy that since I've been Tibetan Buddhist, and Roman Catholic perhaps we should look for a Synagogue... Anyhow, Jeremy attends Unity of the Valley in Eugene and says its great so we tried the Unity of Salem.  It was fine, they have a kids church which was cool for Ru, but I don't think it was a perfect fit.  The church was small and casual, and seemed very new-agey. The music wasn't that great, and Jeremy said that's what attracted him to the Eugene Unity church.  Perhaps next week we'll find something that suits us even better.

After church we tried out a new disc golf course in Keizer at Keizer Rapids Park.  It was like a jungle in there.  We had to spot each throw and by the end of four holes we were so hungry and discouraged we left to find some lunch.  Finding lunch was an even greater adventure than the disc course.  Ru was having stomach cramps because his little tummy was so empty and Jeremy was having dizzy spells from his blood sugar being so low.  I spotted a Thai food place on my gps, but upon entry we saw the lunch special was $16 so we revisited the car to find something more affordable.  Just down the street Jeremy spotted a $4.95 lunch special so we had Mexican food, only to be charged dinner prices anyway.  At least our bellies were full and the whining had turned back to laughter. 

Jeremy drove home to get ready for a date and Ru and I  packed up to head to Cottage Grove.  We drove down to Grove with the top down singing, and the cool breeze was a reminder that there weren't too many more top down drives in our immediate future.  I got to have a nice chat with Jeff when I dropped off Ru, He's sad because his band lost their bass player and gigging plans are on hold, but he was excited that he gets to take Ru to the Newport Aquarium this Tuesday.

So I drove to moms house to keep the chair warm and the dog company for the night so they could escape their monumental painting task for a night at the casino.  I picked some blackberries, I need 20 lbs to make a batch of wine.

Disc Golf

Jeremy about to throw his mid-range disc.

Jeremy has recently become addicted to disc golf so he came up to Salem to throw some discs with me and Ru.  Ru's last experience was frustrating, but he was much more enthusiastic today.  We used some of Jeremy's discs that are specially designed for disc golf.  They are heavier, smaller, and go much farther than the type of flying disc we play catch with.  After a day and half at my desk walking in the park and throwing things hard sure felt good.  When we were done we went back to our apartment on Boone Rd and had the best hamburgers in the world.  Really. I mean it.  And root beer floats.  Mmmmm.  Then popcorn and two comedies.  We also watched the man burn (Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert) on the live webstream.  Our good friend is there and we wanted to see a bit of what he was experiencing.

Ruben has got it down!

Back at School

Well a miracle (of hard work) happened and Bob and I got the classroom all put together, and I spent the majority of the day at my desk working on reading and math assessments. Ruben spent the day working on new high scores on his favorite online games.
I brought some plants from home, and the room is really looking good.  I'm excited to see what the students think about the newly remodeled school, and our classroom in particular.

Ruben in the newly refurbished hallway outside my classroom.

No more boxes!

Half of what I do. Sit here.

Jealousy

Perhaps on Friday, while I was sitting at my desk drowning in lesson plans and a to-do list that was a mile long, I felt a little jealousy.

Ruben was invited on a play date. His friend Brett's mom Sarah picked him up and took him on a grand adventure.  They played in the fountain at riverfront park, they jumped on a trampoline, ate at a diner called Rockin Rodgers, and in general had a great time.

Freddie had left on his grand adventure to Burning Man, southern California, and everywhere in between.  He'll be back around my birthday.

At the diner.

Yogoman Burning Band on the way to Burning Man

Unpacking / Interviews/ Baseball

My school principal Lara Tiffin getting ready for the ribbon cutting.

 Tuesday morning at 7:30 am found me in front of Judson Middle School, clutching my coffee and mumbling greetings at my coworkers. Our school was refurbished over the summer which meant in June we were boxing up everything in every room and storing them in the gym.  My room was a pile of boxes when I left.  After the ribbon cutting ceremony I wandered around, enjoying the bright colors and newly opened spaces.  In my room I found... a pile of boxes.  Bob and I started unpacking a few, and I unloaded some personal belongings from my car, but I couldn't even begin to make a dent.  I had to interview potential staff members all afternoon.
Earlier in the summer one of my educational assistants quit to stay home with her young girls.  Over 110 people applied for the job, 30 within the school district who wanted to transfer to my classroom.  Partly this is because of the economy and scarcity of jobs, partly because my room is an awesome place to work.  The assistant principal and I interviewed seven people, and had a terrible time choosing between the top three.  In the end we decided on a pleasant woman who although she had less experience she made up for it in sincerity and warmth.
Wednesday I attended a special education meeting at West Salem High School, then drove back to Judson for an afternoon of unpacking. 

Thursday started with staff meeting, at which it was announced free Volcanoes tickets were available.  I snagged them for the game that night. I dug into boxes and deskwork, then went home and made fettuccine alfredo with garlic chicken.  We had 5 tickets to the baseball game so we invited our neighbor kids.  One was able to go. 

What I walked into. 

New, double paned windows should keep the room warmer.

Unboxing in progress

Progress

Ru and Grace

Baseball may not be the most exciting sport, but the kids entertained themselves.

At Home

Taking kitty home

 We were busy this week, moving things from Grove to Salem, Kitty was not so excited about the move but settled in nicely.  We bought school supplies, rearranged the items in our apartment, I organized my desk, made a new budget for fall, and we swam in the pool and laid in the sun. It was a week of errands, funny movies, snuggling, and sunshine.  Life is good.

The morning television watching position.

Cheyson and BettyLisa, our free lunch companions

Silly boy at free lunch

Wishing he could play the piano

The perfect hamburger

Cuddling new Kitty in my bed.

Good morning kitty

My garden at its peak

Lane County Fair / Weird Al

Ru and I had a terrific time at the Lane County Fair!  We ate corndogs, went on rides, and talked with my uncle Don Leach.  My uncle Don was at the Oregon Concealed table selling his new book.  I got an autographed copy! 

Jeremy joined us after a while with his kids and we all had a blast on the rides.  I took the kids on the tilt-a-whirl which is my personal favorite, and Jeremy took them on the huge boat thing that goes high back and forth.  Nobody got sick or damaged so it was a successful day.

The main event was the Weird Al concert.  We should have gotten to the stage sooner to get a better view, but we listened to most of the show, and was able to see parts.  We love the Weird!  It was a tossup who had more fun, the adults or the kids.

Ruben Jeremy and Aerielle

Our back row concert view.  The sound was great though.

Silver Falls Revisited

After our brief visit to Silver Falls back in July we wanted to have another longer visit, and do some hiking.  The entire loop was over 8 miles so we did the shorter version and walked 6.5.  Ruben and I were joined by our friend Freddie. We walked slowly and joyfully the entire way, and at the end we were a little footsore, but very happy we'd made the trip.  It was a 100 degree day, and we were happy to be hiking next to flowing water for most of it.
The highlight for Ruben was stopping by one of the smaller falls to play in the water, look for rocks and crawdads, and climb up any available rock surfaces.  The highlight for me was the delicious picnic, napping by the water, and my encounter with the witch.  I'd detail my encounter with the witch here, but its a better story in person.
Here are some lovely pictures.  If anybody is interested in going to Silver Falls, Ru and I would be happy to be your trail guides... if you hike slow.

The spot we stopped for lunch, naps, and Ru took an impromptu swim.

crawdad

I wouldn't have posted the blur pic, but it was the only one of me...

The trees here rivaled the redwoods.  Huge.