My mom always says she needs to start writing a book about funny things kids say and do at school, well I have a few chapters to add to her book. Thought I'd share a few humorous moments.
We have a new child (7 years old, I believe) who is beginning her second week at Aviano Youth Programs (AYP). On her second day a boy threw a wiffle ball at her "boob" (verbatim) as she yelled and burst into tears. She then proceeded to body slam the boy to the ground. Yes, body slam.
Same child, different day. It's raining outside and one of the counselors, Mrs. Andrea, is carrying a plaid umbrella while picking up the kids from school. The child says, "Ms. Andrea, your umbrella looks just like a pair of my Dad's panties!"
Same child, YET another day. She's in a classroom with one of the counselors, Mrs. Misty. The child has a question and calls for Mrs. Whiskey. Misty said, "did you just say Mrs. Whiskey? My name is Mrs. MISTY, not Mrs. Whiskey!" The child totally believed her name was Ms. Whiskey and was blissfully unaware of the humor of her mistake. Classic.
New child, new day. A boy in my class (age 9 or 10) looks at me and says, "I need to squeeze the lemon". As I am processing what he just said to me, I see Misty overheard him and is dying laughing. So I'm doing my best to hold my composure and I said, "I'm not really sure what you're trying to ask me, but I'm pretty positive you need to rephrase it before you ask me again." He then looks and says, "I need to use the bathroom". Yep, that's what I thought.
My, oh my!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Lignano
Last weekend we took a trip down to Lignano beach with a group of friends from the squadron. It's the beach about 45 minutes away from Aviano. We had such a blast down there. We got two hotel rooms for 8 of us, yes, it was a little cramped since we had 2 king size beds and a single, total! The girls took one room (the three of us shared a king) and the guys took the other (a king and a single, pushed together) for 5 of them...yeah, I didn't even ask how that went.
Here is the view outside our balcony of the hotel...cute little beach town with a park across the street.
And if you look VERY closely you can see the beach between the trees and the building. Our hotel had a pool on the roof. We were so excited to check it out and maybe go for a swim...until we got up there and realized the pool was empty. Hmmm...small detail that wasn't advertised :)
The girls on the balcony.
Hmm...yep, this is a very accurate picture to describe the night/weekend!
Ready to go to dinner and attempt to find some dancing. We weren't so lucky with the dancing, but dinner was delicious!
Another telling picture!
Trying out the Carerras (or something like that).
Anyway we had a fun weekend at the beach. No set plans coming up, maybe looking to go somewhere over Memorial Day weekend. Taylor gets to pin on Captain that Friday, so a bit of a celebration trip.
More posts soon...I'll try to be better with them!!
Monday, April 26, 2010
Blog Help
Alright, for all you bloggers out there, I could really use some technical advice. I'm having trouble uploading a picture to my header. I want to have a picture appear behind my title, like I've had in the past. Recently, within the last few weeks, everytime I attempt to upload a picture to my header, it publishes way too big so you only see a portion of the picture. I have had pictures upload there correctly in the past and I don't know what has changed, I've even attempted uploading the same pictures that once uploaded correctly, and they are messed up as well.
I go to Layout > Edit the appropriate header section > Upload from computer > and I click "Shrink to Fit" and "Picture Behind Blog Title"...and it comes out wrong.
Anyone have any advice on how to fix this problem? It's really annoying me!
I go to Layout > Edit the appropriate header section > Upload from computer > and I click "Shrink to Fit" and "Picture Behind Blog Title"...and it comes out wrong.
Anyone have any advice on how to fix this problem? It's really annoying me!
Friday, April 23, 2010
Busy Spring
So many happenings.
1) CARS
We finally picked up our new car that we ordered in December!!! It's a 2010 Volvo XC60. It is their crossover SUV...a bit smaller than their regular SUV, the XC90. We absolutely love it! Taylor is driving it until June and then it becomes my car! I have to admit, I will be a little sad to turn over my Accord to Taylor. I really love that car too, and I'm so proud because it's the first car I paid for by myself and I have taken care of it the last 5 years. At least it's still in the family :)
While it is so nice to drive a brand new car, there's a little thing that comes with it called insurance. This little thing turns into a huge thing when you're in Italy, with the world's highest insurance rates. I'm just going to add this bit of info to the blog for those of you feeling bad about your rates, thinking your insurance company is ripping you off, or mad about an increase because of a wreck or ticket. On our car insurance through USAA (who by the way have excellent deals and I'd highly recommend if you have military affiliation) we have a paid off 2003 Accord with ONLY liability insurance and full coverage for the Volvo. Taylor has nothing on his record and I believe I may still have 1 ticket on there from 2007. We are paying 3200 dollars a year! Can you believe that? We were around $4500 a year before we took the Accord down to just liability! It's ridiculous!!!!! See, don't you feel better about your insurance and driving in a country where traffic laws are enforced?
And this is my favorite part of the car, the panoramic sunroof that goes all the way back to the back seat!!
2) DEPLOYMENTS
Since I last wrote, many of you know Taylor was tasked for a deployment to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar (it's a country next to Saudi Arabia and a main transportation hub for troops deploying to Iraq/Afghanistan). He was set to leave the beginning of June for a 6 month deployment. In true military fashion, the deployment has since been cancelled, shocking. I am a bit disappointed it got cancelled, while I of course do not want him to be gone for six months, I know a deployment is inevitable and I was very happy with the location of this one...but now, who knows where he'll go!
And speaking of deployments, Taylor's twin, Thomas, is leaving this week for a year deployment to Afghanistan. He has 3 months of training in Louisiana and then will spend 9 months over there. So please, please keep him in your thoughts and prayers for a safe deployment.
3) TRAVEL
Let's see, about two weeks ago I went on a camping trip to Slovenia with a big group from work. It was in the mountains on Lake Bled, just outside Lublijana, the capitol of Slovenia. We really had a fun weekend, didn't do much but eat, a little hiking around the lake, a bit of drinking, and lots more eating! There were 17 people and 9 dogs!! Taylor didn't get to go because he had to work. Andrea and John let me ride up with them and Chasey (their adorable Golden Retriever), so I was thankful for that! In a matter of one day we were in three countries, Italy, Austria, and Slovenia...that's what is so beautiful about Europe!
Last weekend Taylor and a couple friends went to Casablanca, Morocco. I opted not to go because of the length of travel and brevity of the trip (along with the steep flight price for a one day trip!!) They left Friday night at 6pm, spent all day Saturday there and then left at 11am on Sunday to return home, and arrived home late Sunday night. I received an email from him on Saturday night that said, "this place reminds me of Iraq, you won't believe some of my pictures".
Not only was the city not quite what they expected, when they left they got stuck in Rome, due to airports closing down because of volcanic ash. They got super lucky to hop on a booked EuroStar (high speed) train to Venice and played the dumb American role when confronted by the conductor about being on the wrong train (they bought tickets for the regional train that stops every 5 minutes and would have taken 5 hours to get back to Venice!!) Due to the craziness of travel with all the airports being closed down the conductor allowed it! When he finally got home, I asked how the trip was, he responded, "it was a good experience, but I won't go back." I think I made the right decision to stay home!
While at home I went on a hiking trip with my friend Jennifer, who lives in San Quirino too, and her husband Josh, and their 4 month old baby, Luke! We went about 15 minutes from base to the mountains and hiked from Gorgazzo to Mezzamonte, a town half way up the mountain. Although apparently we took the wrong path, because this dang thing zig zagged straight up the mountain. We seriously were huffing and puffing our way up that mountain! We were thinking the Italians were all about getting to the destination as soon as possible instead of enjoying the scenery on the way up. We later found out there is a second path that lengthens the journey a bit, but allows it to be less steep, which makes a bit more sense. Oh well, live and learn!
Our next trip planned is for next weekend, we're heading down to Lignano, it's a beach in Venice. We're going with a group from the squadron for Monique's birthday. Spending the day at the beach and going out at night then spending the night, should be fun!
4) VISITORS!!!
It is official, in 38 days my brother Drew, and my cousin, Megan will be coming to visit for three weeks! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! We're going to Venice, Rome, Florence, Bologna, hopefully Croatia, and maybe Slovenia?? So many great places to see, we're going to have so much fun!!!
And on top of that, Mama, my grandma just booked her Mediterranean cruise with her girlfriends for September! She has a list of fabulous stops on the cruise (many of which are on my "To See" list over here)Afterwards, she's going to stay with me for a week and we're going to Milan and Lake Como and I'm so flippin' excited!!!! I think it's a bit too early to start a countdown to her visit, but I seriously considered it!
Alright, as of now it's bedtime for me. All I have to say is TGIF!!! Maybe heading to the Pordenone market tomorrow morning, if weather permits! Have a wonderful weekend!
Ciao, bella!!
1) CARS
We finally picked up our new car that we ordered in December!!! It's a 2010 Volvo XC60. It is their crossover SUV...a bit smaller than their regular SUV, the XC90. We absolutely love it! Taylor is driving it until June and then it becomes my car! I have to admit, I will be a little sad to turn over my Accord to Taylor. I really love that car too, and I'm so proud because it's the first car I paid for by myself and I have taken care of it the last 5 years. At least it's still in the family :)
While it is so nice to drive a brand new car, there's a little thing that comes with it called insurance. This little thing turns into a huge thing when you're in Italy, with the world's highest insurance rates. I'm just going to add this bit of info to the blog for those of you feeling bad about your rates, thinking your insurance company is ripping you off, or mad about an increase because of a wreck or ticket. On our car insurance through USAA (who by the way have excellent deals and I'd highly recommend if you have military affiliation) we have a paid off 2003 Accord with ONLY liability insurance and full coverage for the Volvo. Taylor has nothing on his record and I believe I may still have 1 ticket on there from 2007. We are paying 3200 dollars a year! Can you believe that? We were around $4500 a year before we took the Accord down to just liability! It's ridiculous!!!!! See, don't you feel better about your insurance and driving in a country where traffic laws are enforced?
Already a bit dirty!
2) DEPLOYMENTS
Since I last wrote, many of you know Taylor was tasked for a deployment to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar (it's a country next to Saudi Arabia and a main transportation hub for troops deploying to Iraq/Afghanistan). He was set to leave the beginning of June for a 6 month deployment. In true military fashion, the deployment has since been cancelled, shocking. I am a bit disappointed it got cancelled, while I of course do not want him to be gone for six months, I know a deployment is inevitable and I was very happy with the location of this one...but now, who knows where he'll go!
And speaking of deployments, Taylor's twin, Thomas, is leaving this week for a year deployment to Afghanistan. He has 3 months of training in Louisiana and then will spend 9 months over there. So please, please keep him in your thoughts and prayers for a safe deployment.
3) TRAVEL
Let's see, about two weeks ago I went on a camping trip to Slovenia with a big group from work. It was in the mountains on Lake Bled, just outside Lublijana, the capitol of Slovenia. We really had a fun weekend, didn't do much but eat, a little hiking around the lake, a bit of drinking, and lots more eating! There were 17 people and 9 dogs!! Taylor didn't get to go because he had to work. Andrea and John let me ride up with them and Chasey (their adorable Golden Retriever), so I was thankful for that! In a matter of one day we were in three countries, Italy, Austria, and Slovenia...that's what is so beautiful about Europe!
Andrea and I in front of the castle on an island in the middle of Lake Bled.
Some goofy fun, yes, we take care of your children :)
Last weekend Taylor and a couple friends went to Casablanca, Morocco. I opted not to go because of the length of travel and brevity of the trip (along with the steep flight price for a one day trip!!) They left Friday night at 6pm, spent all day Saturday there and then left at 11am on Sunday to return home, and arrived home late Sunday night. I received an email from him on Saturday night that said, "this place reminds me of Iraq, you won't believe some of my pictures".
Not only was the city not quite what they expected, when they left they got stuck in Rome, due to airports closing down because of volcanic ash. They got super lucky to hop on a booked EuroStar (high speed) train to Venice and played the dumb American role when confronted by the conductor about being on the wrong train (they bought tickets for the regional train that stops every 5 minutes and would have taken 5 hours to get back to Venice!!) Due to the craziness of travel with all the airports being closed down the conductor allowed it! When he finally got home, I asked how the trip was, he responded, "it was a good experience, but I won't go back." I think I made the right decision to stay home!
The second largest Mosque in the world, Hasan II. Taylor said it was gorgeous on the inside.
A pic from inside the Mosque.
They took a wrong turn into a rough neighborhood. Yes, those are bags of trash and the tarps are homes.
Please notice this is Alabama Bakery in Morocco...niiiiiice.
Their stop sign, as Taylor said, "three men in a canoe!"
While at home I went on a hiking trip with my friend Jennifer, who lives in San Quirino too, and her husband Josh, and their 4 month old baby, Luke! We went about 15 minutes from base to the mountains and hiked from Gorgazzo to Mezzamonte, a town half way up the mountain. Although apparently we took the wrong path, because this dang thing zig zagged straight up the mountain. We seriously were huffing and puffing our way up that mountain! We were thinking the Italians were all about getting to the destination as soon as possible instead of enjoying the scenery on the way up. We later found out there is a second path that lengthens the journey a bit, but allows it to be less steep, which makes a bit more sense. Oh well, live and learn!
Our next trip planned is for next weekend, we're heading down to Lignano, it's a beach in Venice. We're going with a group from the squadron for Monique's birthday. Spending the day at the beach and going out at night then spending the night, should be fun!
4) VISITORS!!!
It is official, in 38 days my brother Drew, and my cousin, Megan will be coming to visit for three weeks! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it! We're going to Venice, Rome, Florence, Bologna, hopefully Croatia, and maybe Slovenia?? So many great places to see, we're going to have so much fun!!!
And on top of that, Mama, my grandma just booked her Mediterranean cruise with her girlfriends for September! She has a list of fabulous stops on the cruise (many of which are on my "To See" list over here)Afterwards, she's going to stay with me for a week and we're going to Milan and Lake Como and I'm so flippin' excited!!!! I think it's a bit too early to start a countdown to her visit, but I seriously considered it!
Alright, as of now it's bedtime for me. All I have to say is TGIF!!! Maybe heading to the Pordenone market tomorrow morning, if weather permits! Have a wonderful weekend!
Ciao, bella!!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
My Not So Green Thumb...
On this beautiful Sunday while Taylor was at work I temporarily turned into Susie Homemaker. Seriously, I cleaned the house, did about 5 loads of laundry (and I'm only half done), worked in the yard, went to the store, and made homemade lasagna...I'm not sure who I thought I was...but it was nice to have such a productive day. It's amazing what some good country music and gorgeous Spring weather will do to you!
While looking at my yard, that has begun blooming dandelions in this nice weather, I decided something needs to be done with it. I'm not quite sure what to do...but I've got to do something. This is my first yard (thank goodness it's tiny) and I'm trying to remember what my parents do in their yard. Since I own no garden tools, I decided to start pulling weeds that are sprouting up EVERYWHERE. As I'm pulling along, disrupting the ants and earthworms that call my yard home, I'm consciously looking for prickly weeds before I pull them. After pulling for an hour I've found no prickly weeds and I get careless. I reached under a hedge to pull the weed and the stinkin' prickles attacked my hand!! It stung so bad! My mom said, "you know they have these things called...gloves...they're very useful". I mean, I don't even own a shovel, let alone some garden gloves, but those very well might be my next purchase!
Anyway, it felt like I still had the pricklies (I may have just made up a word) in my hand even a few hours later. But after examining my hand closely I couldn't see anything, so I had to just get over it. But the whole situation reminded me of a story that my family knows well...especially Mama, my grandma.
When I was about 5 or 6 I was staying with Mama and Papa, my grandparents, in Siesta Key while my parents were in Naples. As I was playing outside at the condo I was chasing a lizard and ran right through a cactus garden, barefoot. Inevitably I got the pricklies all in the side of my foot. I had to go to the foot doctor to have them pulled out of my foot because my grandparents couldn't get them out. Now anyone who knows how well I do at the doctor's will understand what a miserable experience this was for Mama and Papa. I freaked out, I threw up all over the doctor...twice. They really loved me there. Anyway, they got all the pricklies out after two visits, as I cried and moaned for my parents and meanwhile they enjoyed a great trip to Naples...poor Mama and Papa.
Needless to say, I didn't need to go to the doctor today and my hand is just fine, but I couldn't help but be reminded of that lovely story! Just thought I'd share.
Alright, back to the VOLS game, half time is over! V-O-L-S, GO VOLS, GO!!!!!!!!!
While looking at my yard, that has begun blooming dandelions in this nice weather, I decided something needs to be done with it. I'm not quite sure what to do...but I've got to do something. This is my first yard (thank goodness it's tiny) and I'm trying to remember what my parents do in their yard. Since I own no garden tools, I decided to start pulling weeds that are sprouting up EVERYWHERE. As I'm pulling along, disrupting the ants and earthworms that call my yard home, I'm consciously looking for prickly weeds before I pull them. After pulling for an hour I've found no prickly weeds and I get careless. I reached under a hedge to pull the weed and the stinkin' prickles attacked my hand!! It stung so bad! My mom said, "you know they have these things called...gloves...they're very useful". I mean, I don't even own a shovel, let alone some garden gloves, but those very well might be my next purchase!
Anyway, it felt like I still had the pricklies (I may have just made up a word) in my hand even a few hours later. But after examining my hand closely I couldn't see anything, so I had to just get over it. But the whole situation reminded me of a story that my family knows well...especially Mama, my grandma.
When I was about 5 or 6 I was staying with Mama and Papa, my grandparents, in Siesta Key while my parents were in Naples. As I was playing outside at the condo I was chasing a lizard and ran right through a cactus garden, barefoot. Inevitably I got the pricklies all in the side of my foot. I had to go to the foot doctor to have them pulled out of my foot because my grandparents couldn't get them out. Now anyone who knows how well I do at the doctor's will understand what a miserable experience this was for Mama and Papa. I freaked out, I threw up all over the doctor...twice. They really loved me there. Anyway, they got all the pricklies out after two visits, as I cried and moaned for my parents and meanwhile they enjoyed a great trip to Naples...poor Mama and Papa.
Needless to say, I didn't need to go to the doctor today and my hand is just fine, but I couldn't help but be reminded of that lovely story! Just thought I'd share.
Alright, back to the VOLS game, half time is over! V-O-L-S, GO VOLS, GO!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
March Madness
Wow, I know I said it last time, but my job just isn't good for this blog! Sorry for the lack of updates lately! I really don't have anything TOO exciting. Just day to day life. Things are going great right now. We're in the middle of our volleyball season, I won't mention our record, but I will say we're still having a ton of fun!
Below, I'm including some pictures of some recent events. Monique's mom, Sandy, was in town for about 2 months and they had us over and taught us how to make salsa and guacamole. It turned out delicious! The secret ingredient to the guacamole? A spoonful of mayonnaise, it made it perfect!
Here are a few of the officers in the squadron: Eric, Greg, Chris, Chris, and Taylor. We have one deployed (Monique's husband) and there were 3 missing that night...I think that's everyone. It's a fun group :)
Below, I'm including some pictures of some recent events. Monique's mom, Sandy, was in town for about 2 months and they had us over and taught us how to make salsa and guacamole. It turned out delicious! The secret ingredient to the guacamole? A spoonful of mayonnaise, it made it perfect!
Monique also held the St. Patrick's Day party the weekend before St. Patty's. Taylor had to work on Sunday and so he only stayed for a little while. I fully planned on going back home with him because I had a busy Sunday, but a few mojitos later I changed my mind and stayed the night with everyone else! For some reason my mind got confused and temporarily thought I was 21 again...but don't worry...my 26 year old body took over in the morning and fiercely reminded it why we don't regularly act like that! Boy I paid on Sunday!
Pictured: Sharity, Monique's landlord, Monique, and Eric. Monique had glowing green glasses for everyone. And please notice the pots of gold she put on her wall! Such detail!
Our St. Patty's picture :)
The girls, we were missing Jenni and Courtney. There aren't many of us!!
We had a fire pit outside we sat around all night. Or in Chris' case, jumped over. Oh the wise decisions a few drinks inspire!
Last weekend we went on an Outdoor Rec ski trip to Corvara, Italy to go skiing. It was a day trip on Saturday. We left at 6am and returned around 7pm. It was a 2 hour drive to the slopes in the Dolomites, part of the Italian Alps. There was a big group from work who all went and we had a ton of fun! Minus the bus ride. We rode in big vans and the road was straight up hair pin turns the whole way up the mountain. Our driver drove like a bat out of hell, I'm not even kidding. We were flying around the turns, I at first thought we were on a one way road because the road was so small and we were all over the place...nope, it was two way. We luckily took a break half way through because a kid in another bus got car sick. We stopped just in time because 3 people on our 11 person bus got sick outside when we stopped. Yeah, it was that bad! But we made it, all in one piece...sort of.
The place we skiied was HUUUUGE. There were so many slopes interconnected all over the place! We seriously decided you could spend a week there and never take the same run twice. The slopes were WAY easier than Austria and I was a big fan of these mountains! Here are a few pics from the trip.
Taylor and Greg. We skiied down a slope...notice the road. Yep, cross the road, then you can keep skiing! Talk about a ski town, huh?
I'm holding Flat Brian in this picture. I'm sure most of you have heard of Flat Stanley, well we had Flat Brian with us for a week or two to visit Italy and take some pictures. He got to go on a few adventures. Anyone who is not familiar, Flat Stanley is a book character of a boy who gets flattened by a bulletin board and then can fit in an envelope and go on cool trips. So the kids create a Flat Stanley and send it to someone to take pictures with him and then mail him back and teach the class about the place he visited. A cool way to learn about different cities, countries, etc.
The preferred pose for a bit of rest. Crazy boarders...Taylor and I stuck with skiing!
Flat Brian enjoying the scenery again!
A few other places Flat Brian got to visit...the market. He hung out with the fruits. The person behind the produce stand gave me some funny looks and got a good laugh out of me taking pictures of a paper boy!
And the cheese guy really thought I was crazy! I did buy some formaggio from him. There's nothing better then some fresh grated parmesan...yummm.
And Brian hung out in our town square, piazza, in San Quirino.
And this might be my favorite picture with Flat Brian :)
That's all for now! Yay for spring time...had our doors open for the first time today, hope to do it tomorrow as well!
Ciao, bella!!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Who's Ms. Katie??
Let's see, I haven't been posting much on the blog, my house isn't quite as clean as usual, I haven't made it to the grocery store lately, I'm much more worn out, and I actually have to set an alarm.
What does all this mean?
I've started my job!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm now 30 hours a week busier then I was last month, and boy does that make a big difference.
I am working in the Youth Center with the School Age Program. My job is pretty much an official hall monitor :) But I actually stay very busy besides the rare 2-3 minutes here and there when everyone is in a classroom! The School Age Program (SAP) usually has around 58 children age 6-12 we pick up everyday after school. We walk them to the Youth Center and they meet with their counselors in the classrooms. My job is to verify we have every child and if we are missing anyone I go through a list of sources to try to find them. 2 weeks ago we couldn't find a child and the school had no record of him in an after school activity and the mother had no alternative plans for the child. So I went with my boss looking for the child around the base (a very small portion of the base where the schools are located), but I seriously felt like the Trunchbull from Matilda on a search for a run away child...searching through the rows of the library, the school, etc. We did find the child, he walked himself over to the Youth Center (bc he's not a regular and didn't know) and was playing in the gym until his karate lesson.
But anyway. After everyone is accounted for and signed into the program we begin opening classrooms for the kids to go in and out of as they please. Each child has a magnet with his/her name on it and they are free to move between classrooms whenever they want by putting their name on a board designated for that room. I stay in the hallway and open and close rooms, allow a certain number of spots in each room, ensure counselors are in the rooms, handle hallway issues, keep an eye on the older kids (9-12) who are allowed to hang out in "Big House" without a counselor, call parents about accidents, deal with issues between children if a counselor is having trouble, and speak with parents when they arrive to sign out their children.
It is quite an extensive program and while there are not a lot of rules allowed to be enforced in the facility because of Air Force regulations (i.e. can't force the children to stand in a line...yes, I'm serious), the program is quite structured. We have a Homework and Science room that is for Homework time the first hour, it is also full of science experiments, computers, a pet rabbit, and all kinds of stuff. Fun Zone has legos, games, a Wii, and other toys. Creative room has puppets, instruments, a stage, "house" materials, etc. Art is full of arts and crafts stuff. Big House is for the older kids with a pool table, computer, foosball, Wii, PS2, keyboard and instruments, and an arts and crafts area, and Cafe where snack is served every day for an hour after school. Each room has a curriculum for the week with a project that gets completed at some point during the week. And the kids have free reign to move between rooms as they please as long as there are spots available on the board.
So it has been a bit crazy and my first week was tough (well, my first week on my own after the girl who trained me left) But I've now finished my third week on my own and it is getting easier and easier every day. Actually easy isn't quite the word, but it's getting better and better every day. I have learned almost every child's name which helps tremendously when you're trying to speak with them or get their attention in the hallway among 15 other kids. And I'm working on matching children with parents when they come to pick them up, I probably have a little more then half of them memorized, so not too bad. And along with that I'm working on ensuring the kids who leave for instructionals (karate, ballet, gymnastics, piano) make it to their programs on time and keeping up with the sign out sheets for kids coming and going, that's getting better and better too. So it's just a slow process and I have to give myself a bit of slack, but it's coming along.
I really love the group of girls who work in the SAP, actually at the Youth Center in general. They have all been very welcoming and helpful, which is exactly what I needed! We've all signed up for a ski trip with Outdoor Rec on March 20 that I'm really excited about. Hopefuly it goes through since our boss just informed us TODAY of a workday on that Saturday to get ready for the upcoming inspection. But hopefully we can work around it and put in our hours on another day. There are 7 of us going (out of about 15 employees in the facility!) I have also started playing intramural volleyball with the girls and we have our first game next week. We are the "Bruisers", yep our name pretty much sums us up. And it's not our opponents we're bruising :)
So things are good, I'm busy, but things are good.
Thomas (Taylor's brother) FINALLY made it in town on Monday afternoon. I'm really thinking his trip just was not meant to be. He was supposed to arrive Saturday morning, but between flight cancellations, re-routings, and delays he was 2 1/2 days late and without luggage. Taylor had to pick him up and drive straight up to Austria for their ski trip. Since being in Austria, Thomas lost his wallet (luckily he has his debit and credit cards and driver's license still with him), Taylor wiped out on the slopes and lost his wedding ring in the snow, and the next day his brand new skis he got for his birthday (in January) were stolen from outside the lodge. Yeah, this was a VERY pricey trip! They come home tomorrow, please pray they don't wreck the car, that's what's next at this point!! Phew. My cousin Megan is our next visitor and I hope her trip is a bit smoother. At least in June a snow storm shouldn't be a problem, in fact, snow won't be a problem at all since there will be no skiing :). And along with Meg my brother might be coming over to visit at the same time! I'm SUPER, SUPER excited and really hope he can make it over!!!!
Alright, over and out.
What does all this mean?
I've started my job!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm now 30 hours a week busier then I was last month, and boy does that make a big difference.
I am working in the Youth Center with the School Age Program. My job is pretty much an official hall monitor :) But I actually stay very busy besides the rare 2-3 minutes here and there when everyone is in a classroom! The School Age Program (SAP) usually has around 58 children age 6-12 we pick up everyday after school. We walk them to the Youth Center and they meet with their counselors in the classrooms. My job is to verify we have every child and if we are missing anyone I go through a list of sources to try to find them. 2 weeks ago we couldn't find a child and the school had no record of him in an after school activity and the mother had no alternative plans for the child. So I went with my boss looking for the child around the base (a very small portion of the base where the schools are located), but I seriously felt like the Trunchbull from Matilda on a search for a run away child...searching through the rows of the library, the school, etc. We did find the child, he walked himself over to the Youth Center (bc he's not a regular and didn't know) and was playing in the gym until his karate lesson.
But anyway. After everyone is accounted for and signed into the program we begin opening classrooms for the kids to go in and out of as they please. Each child has a magnet with his/her name on it and they are free to move between classrooms whenever they want by putting their name on a board designated for that room. I stay in the hallway and open and close rooms, allow a certain number of spots in each room, ensure counselors are in the rooms, handle hallway issues, keep an eye on the older kids (9-12) who are allowed to hang out in "Big House" without a counselor, call parents about accidents, deal with issues between children if a counselor is having trouble, and speak with parents when they arrive to sign out their children.
It is quite an extensive program and while there are not a lot of rules allowed to be enforced in the facility because of Air Force regulations (i.e. can't force the children to stand in a line...yes, I'm serious), the program is quite structured. We have a Homework and Science room that is for Homework time the first hour, it is also full of science experiments, computers, a pet rabbit, and all kinds of stuff. Fun Zone has legos, games, a Wii, and other toys. Creative room has puppets, instruments, a stage, "house" materials, etc. Art is full of arts and crafts stuff. Big House is for the older kids with a pool table, computer, foosball, Wii, PS2, keyboard and instruments, and an arts and crafts area, and Cafe where snack is served every day for an hour after school. Each room has a curriculum for the week with a project that gets completed at some point during the week. And the kids have free reign to move between rooms as they please as long as there are spots available on the board.
So it has been a bit crazy and my first week was tough (well, my first week on my own after the girl who trained me left) But I've now finished my third week on my own and it is getting easier and easier every day. Actually easy isn't quite the word, but it's getting better and better every day. I have learned almost every child's name which helps tremendously when you're trying to speak with them or get their attention in the hallway among 15 other kids. And I'm working on matching children with parents when they come to pick them up, I probably have a little more then half of them memorized, so not too bad. And along with that I'm working on ensuring the kids who leave for instructionals (karate, ballet, gymnastics, piano) make it to their programs on time and keeping up with the sign out sheets for kids coming and going, that's getting better and better too. So it's just a slow process and I have to give myself a bit of slack, but it's coming along.
I really love the group of girls who work in the SAP, actually at the Youth Center in general. They have all been very welcoming and helpful, which is exactly what I needed! We've all signed up for a ski trip with Outdoor Rec on March 20 that I'm really excited about. Hopefuly it goes through since our boss just informed us TODAY of a workday on that Saturday to get ready for the upcoming inspection. But hopefully we can work around it and put in our hours on another day. There are 7 of us going (out of about 15 employees in the facility!) I have also started playing intramural volleyball with the girls and we have our first game next week. We are the "Bruisers", yep our name pretty much sums us up. And it's not our opponents we're bruising :)
So things are good, I'm busy, but things are good.
Thomas (Taylor's brother) FINALLY made it in town on Monday afternoon. I'm really thinking his trip just was not meant to be. He was supposed to arrive Saturday morning, but between flight cancellations, re-routings, and delays he was 2 1/2 days late and without luggage. Taylor had to pick him up and drive straight up to Austria for their ski trip. Since being in Austria, Thomas lost his wallet (luckily he has his debit and credit cards and driver's license still with him), Taylor wiped out on the slopes and lost his wedding ring in the snow, and the next day his brand new skis he got for his birthday (in January) were stolen from outside the lodge. Yeah, this was a VERY pricey trip! They come home tomorrow, please pray they don't wreck the car, that's what's next at this point!! Phew. My cousin Megan is our next visitor and I hope her trip is a bit smoother. At least in June a snow storm shouldn't be a problem, in fact, snow won't be a problem at all since there will be no skiing :). And along with Meg my brother might be coming over to visit at the same time! I'm SUPER, SUPER excited and really hope he can make it over!!!!
Alright, over and out.
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