it's been a month...

...and I already feel like I am running out of things to say - well, at least positive ones anyway. Maybe it's because the last 2 weeks have been so chaotic at home AND at work!

We are FINALLY on the LAST project in this property (well, there is the backyard to deal with yet, but that is optional) and that is our kitchen. Those of you who have been through kitchen remodels know the drama and chaos that it becomes! So, we have been "dancing" our way from one end of the apt. to the other for the last month (I say "dancing" because you have to shuffle from side to side to get past all of the furniture and cabinets), and I'm not exactly sure when the end will come. The remodeling is made a lot more difficult because we already have the cabinets. Why did we get the cabinets before the rough-in was complete? Well, because God is good - we got the cabinets for free, so we couldn't determine when we got them! And, we got a corner cabinet and a nice Kohler sink from the Habitat Re-Store, and we just picked up a stainless steel stove hood from Ikea for 85% off the original price! This kitchen will be the cheapest remodel yet! (If I can only find a place to get cabinet handles for less than $4.00/handle!)

So, there is chaos at home...and now there is chaos at school as well. We are being remodeled/ rebuilt in the next couple of years and they are starting with removing the asbestos floor tiles. I found out last Wed. that we have until June 13 to have EVERYTHING packed up and ready to be moved out of our rooms. Now, I have been purging items from my massive closets for years, but yet I still have so much stuff! I have already filled 14 giant trash bags, sent home at least 5 bags worth of stuff with my students, and packed two boxes just of my own professional books. And I have barely made a dent! Just today I found a stash of old 45RPM records!! Records!!!!! From the 1950s and 60s!!!!! Who knows how many teachers ago some of the things that I am finding are from!! (the one songbook had the teacher's name inside it with the date 1959 beside it!!!) My room now has boxes all over it, waiting to be filled. I think I might finally be finished with the purging and can now begin the daunting task of figuring out how to pack a kindergarten classroom into boxes that can be moved many times! (Next spring is when the real fun begins - shuffling classrooms!) Plus, I am still doing the end-of-the-year assessments (which are 99% of the time done individually) and trying to keep some sort of routine/structure to the class and completing the normal end-of-the-year paperwork (transition folders and cumulative folders)! I don't know if I am going to be finished in time!!!!

Thankfully, this past weekend, hubby and I were able to spend some time with his mom and step-dad in NJ. Seriously, all we did was eat and sleep. It was great! Although I am still exhausted, I don't feel nearly as drained as I did last week. I leave you with some video of my classroom. Until next time...