Feh. I've come down with a doozy of a cold. And just in time for Thanksgiving, too, unless some miracle occurs and I wake up tomorrow and can taste things again. And talk. That would be nice.

"Wait, wait", I can hear you thinking, "but won't tomorrow be too late for Thanksgiving? Didn't you have to be well for that *today*?" Turns out that, courtesy of the ice outside our house and Mom's, we opted to have our Thanksgiving tomorrow. We had lasagna today.

Real world problems. Or at least, real classroom problems.

Not only have I been told that my unit of study (social studies) started too late to cover everything I'm supposed to, I found out yesterday that I'll be giving up half of my time twice a week to fit something else in. And I just realized that I need to give still MORE time up this week to make sure that the kids have wrapped up their previous science unit in a fashion that will let them show their parents what they've accomplished during conferences next week.

Welcome to the real world of teaching! ;-)

I had it pointed out to me in a very nice way the other day that I haven't been posting lately. My excuse is that after the FIL's death and our trip to Detroit, I've been scrambling to get caught back up, but that's really only just that, an excuse. Time to get back on the wagon, or at least, on the keyboard.



I found out last night that lemon echinacea** tastes really good with my cocoa mix*, a spoonful of Hagen-daz mint ice cream and a dash of cinnamon. Lemon, chocolate, cinnamon and mint. Not a taste combination I would have normally put together, but it worked. I do have to add a caveat here. I also find that when I need the echinacea, the tea tastes pretty good to me; when I don't (i.e., when I'm not sick or getting sick) it doesn't.



Which does bring up the next question: why am I drinking echinacea? Yes, being in a classroom does expose one to a whole variety of bugs. I've learned early on (during one lunch recess study hall) that it's pretty gross to think that a kid has breathed on your sandwich (ewwwww). I've also learned that it's probably a better idea to skip having a bite than to eat around the kids. I also wash my hands. A lot.



But probably the most important thing here is to make sure you keep up with your sleep. I know I've declared that "You're not old if you can still pull an all-nighter", but it's one thing to come in and drag yourself through an 8 hr. day of class without any sleep. I'd never try tackling a 4th grade classroom in that condition!



And this has turned out to be a Good Thing for an other reason. When I get tired, I get an ache at the back of my throat. Being around the kids makes me that much more susceptible. I've noticed that warning ache for the last few weeks and I've been staving it off through not-so-short nights of sleep and lots of echinacea tea.



4 weeks to go (and a pinch). I'm keeping my fingers crossed and my bedtime early.



** Boy! the blogger spell-checker sure had problems with that word!

* powdered milk, cocoa, cinnamon and powdered vanilla - no sweetener!