HAVE SOME SPARE TIME?

If you have some spare time today and want to Flog Yo Blog, checkout wanderlust's blog and join in:)

DO YOU KNOW WHAT BATTEN DISEASE IS?

Ok so do a little ranting on here, and I vent about my sometimes difficult days or moments with my kiddies. However, I do have humbling moments. I work at an SSP school. SSP stands for Schools with Specific Purposes which basically means children with disabilities. These kids have hearing and visual impairments and mental disabilities that prevent them from being able to attend mainstream schools. A lot of the children at our school are tube fed, have medications throughout the day and need to be monitored. We teach a lot of children who are autistic in all its different forms.  This year I will be taking a class with a student that has been diagnosed with Batten's Disease. We have another student who is older with this disease already at the school, but the student in my class is new to the school. She has been transitioned to our school from mainstream as her condition is deteriorating. Some children who have been diagnosed with this disease can be eating drinking, talking and doing a lot of regular functions and then, brain cells begin to die and these functions slow down and eventually and sometimes suddenly stop. I want you to take a look at this clip from YouTube, its a little long but do you best to see it through, or if you skip a little stop at the mother's interview because it really pulls at your heart strings and makes you appreciate what you have but also empathise as best you can with her and what she takes on each day in her life.
I love my job and learning about the students that I teach and come into contact throughout my day. Working with children with disabilities gives you a new way to look at life and your own family but also how we can serve others. All the kids at our school just want to feel cared for and have fun, its a great experience and if any of you out there are looking to volunteer for anything, please consider going down to your local SSP school and doing a day or two of service they would really appreciate it I'm sure, but I will guarantee, you will go home with a different perspective on life and if you are a mother, on motherhood too.

2011, a year for me?

So I got a gym membership for my christmas present, don't worry I did ask for it!! So my goal is for the school holidays to go every day and so far I only missed one day, so I am kinda proud of myself. I so badly need to get myself back into shape and be happy and proud of myself to do something for me, for a change. I actually enjoy going to the gym, I didn't think I would. I like wanting to be clearer in thought and in my life. Don't get me wrong here, it doesn't make me want to be a better house cleaner, in fact some of that has fallen by the wayside, but I get away with it, because I say, "I either go to the gym or I fuss about the mess" and it is working for the now!!!

Anyway, I just felt I was ready to take on the whole getting fit thing. I also accepted the challenge to take part in the Breast Cancer Triathlon in October this year. I figured, why not, I want to get fit, why not have a goal and try and see what I can do with it! Wish me luck, I shall need it. If I get around to it, I might even post some pics of my progress. Hang on, who am I kidding, when I go back to work I won't have time to do much of anything, my goal then will be to squeeze the actual exercise in!!! Anyway, take care and hope you have something big planned for 2011:)

So my Kids think I am a bad Mother!!!

So I woke up early today and headed off to the gym, got home had a shower got everyone up and got them organised for the day. We headed off to the cousins. Picked himMrE up and then we went off to my dad to go swimming. We spent most of the morning there until it got too hot and there was no more shade. I got everyone organised went back to my sister-in-laws and hung out there as the kids played on the slip and slide and other fun activities. Then I gathered my kiddies up swung by hubbys work so they could scooter around the parking lot and so I could pick up my little man from daycare. We got home, I organised them dinner, let them watch TV and watched them organise a skateboard/scooter ramp for a little while and then jumped on the puter to check out some blogs. Now apparently, because I have taken an hour or so out to do something for me, I have my 9 year old in my ear telling me I'm a bad mother because I am on the computer! What? How does that work? Moral of this story, you can never win with kids!!!

WISHFUL THINKING.......

It is my wishful thinking that since I had started this blog that I would add all these posts that have been swimming around in my head! But I am kidding myself! I blog in my head more than I actually blog on my blog! I just don't have the time lately and I suppose that is my beef for the week!!! I have had an absolutely shocking time doing my school reports. I teach at a special needs school and I team teach as I work 3 days a week. I have only had to do 2 reports but for some reason it felt like 100! It seemed so straight forward. I had all the information, but it just did not work out the way I wanted it to. As all the reports are done on computer we had to use a template and it drove me batty! Nothing would do what I wanted it to do and I was constantly 'undo'ing copying, pasting, undoing! Anyway, I finally got them done and they are with my executive teacher, and I am hoping and praying she will not hand them back with a page full of corrections to make! EEEK! I don't want to know about it, I just want to keep my head in the sand and hope that this term ends quickly!!! No, I don't want to do that. I love what I do and this is a learning curve for me. Up until now I have worked casually with no particular school or class, so I have not done assessments and reports like I have done this term.  Its been a great experience but it has also been frustrating and my saving grace is that all the other teachers did too!!!
Anyway, I must get to bed, its almost past midnight, my electric blanket should have done its magic by now. I am hoping for a sleep in to at least 8am....hoping the kids will want to sleep in too!!!

SHAME ON YOU APPLE APPS STORE!!!!

Darling daughter's birthday was on Monday, she is now 9! She had been asking for a DS but our son already has one and with some dramas of 'misplacing' the console and games and games going through the washing, I wasn't so keen for her to have one. Hubby has an iphone and we love the games you can get from the app store. So we figured an itouch might be a better option. We can't stop her losing the console, but at least there is no games to lose and they games only cost around $1.20 for most. So we decided to get her an itouch. She was thrilled! She also got a itunes card, from her aunty so she can purchase some things at the Apps Store. This is were my anger began. Did you know that at the App store there is easy access to FREE apps that have ADULT material? My husband and I looked through the lists in horror and realised that there seemed to be no blocking system for these types of apps for young children. So, we had to explain to her rules and the which ones she couldn't press on. But, my concern lies with children, millions, all over the world who can easily access these types of games at a press on the button. There are frees ones just waiting there for pure minds to curiously explore.  My message to you all, is to check your kid's itouch if they have one, regularly to make sure they don't have these apps stored on them, and if you have them on you phone, make sure the kids can't access yours without supervision and making sure which games/apps they are playing/using.  I will be attempting to contact Apple to find out if they are going to do something about, but if anyone knows more than I do, about how to block such material, then I would love to hear from you.

GOTTA LOVE TARGET PRICE CHECKS!

So I was in my local Target the other day. They are renovating at the moment, they were still open but some part of the store were still unorganised. I had a bit of this and a bit of that to do. I came across the manchester as I was in need of a fitted sheet. Thankfully there was a sale of 25% off so I took the opportunity to see what was in stock. The two I liked the most didn't have prices on the shelf. No worries, they have those price checker things,I shall check the price there. Off I went. I discovered the closest one was OUT OF ORDER! Bugger! So off I went with my items, one son in the pram and my other son tagging along. I came to the next one with a bit of a line wait. The first lady scanned, no problem.The lady in front of me scanned, no problem. Then it was my turn! Both items would not scan! AGGH! I hate when that happens. I did have a lady behind me but I was determined to get my price. I put it up close and slowly bought it closer to me. I turned it on an angle to the left and the right. I tilted it back a little then forward a little. The lady behind my, with no kids in tow I might add was getting impatient. She huffed and puffed until I thought she was going to blow me out of the way! I turned to here and said, " I don't think its working". She replied. " Let me have a go?" I stepped aside she scanned her item and BINGO! IT WORKED FOR HER! " She turned back and said, " You weren't holding it right." and walked away. What a cow! I always think of good come backs after the moment and I wish I had said," Well could you try scanning mine? You know you should write a book about how to do this the professional way!"
Anyway, I figured I would try again but still, it did not scan. I tried looking for a sales person to help but couldn't. I figured even if I did, they would just tell me to use the price checker anyway. My kids had had it and I was far too frustrated to stick around. I tried one more scanner with a line of impatient women behind me. My items did not scan and as I walked away the echo of price detected peeps tore through me. I had two items and decided to take a punt and purchased the fitted sheet that had the colour i liked most. I went to the checkout and. it only cost me $13!!! Not sure what the original price was, but I wasn't expecting that!! It's just a bummer that I couldn't know the price of the other ones I wanted too. Anyway, its put me off Target for a little while, until, that is I have to go back. That will probably be soon no doubt! Bugger!
Any price scanning experiences?