Lots of stuff

I have been inspired to write. I've been thinking the past few days about things I wanted to write about. Yes, in the middle of giving a professional development to teachers, I am thinking about things I want to write about.

Work
The past two days I, along with my two co-workers, have been presenting professional development to content area teachers. Monday we had a session with science teachers, and today we had a session with social studies teachers. Do you remember how I had problems earlier in the year with my co-workers? Yes, these are the same ones. I am working with English and social studies teachers, and the co-workers are working with science and math. Also remember that originally I was supposed to be working at 3 schools, but the one co-worker basically said that was not going to happen. I expressed my concerns over her having too much on her plate, but the boss left it. Well, she hardly ever comes to the main school I work at. I was quite pleased that I got a total of 13 teachers at the social studies session. They only got 5 science teachers between the two of them. Next week is math and English. I have about 20 or so teachers coming. The math session only has a handful- probably around 5 or 6.

The sessions have been going well and the teachers- even ones who have been resistant in the past- are quite open to these ideas. It's been great.

I came to a realization the other day. Ive been doing a lot of thinking about what I might do next year, and had been thinking of going back into the classroom. As I thought about it, I realized that at any job there will be political crap. That's the part I hate. But any job you have there is that political side. I think it is inescapable. Therefore, I need to do the job that makes me happy. Honestly, teaching students as well as teaching teachers makes me happy. If I teach teachers, though, I can have a larger effect of students. I had been frustrated by my first two years of coaching experience. I was not put into the best situation and I did not have the support I really needed. This year is different. I feel more comfortable coaching, and it's just different than before. I think being attached to two schools helps. When you are attached to one school, they do tend to take you for granted. Plus there were other admin issues for the past two years. So at this point, I think I will continue to coach. I love helping teachers. So that is where I stand at this moment. Of course, that could always change.
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Politics

Most of you know, I care deeply about politics and am liberal. Very liberal. So of course I want to write more about the election! This is one thing I do miss about not being in the classroom. I loved election years with my students. Anyway, I found this article about the McCain campaign-Palin specifically- asking people for money for the campaign. Not directly, of course, but still asking for money. And yet, he wanted to accept public financing...


And here is a piece about Obama's legislative record:


This is the first time I have ever donated to a candidate. I just donated another $10 to Obama's campaign today. I think he will be an excellent leader.
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My favorite topic- My GIRLS!

They are doing great. Maya is lunging forward in order to get items. She is trying to place her hands so she is crawling, but she doesn't know quite how to move her legs, so she lunges. I think I caught this on video, so I will have to post it. Sofia is rocking back and forth, but she is quite content staying in one spot. She also rolls to get to items, so she has her own way of doing it.

Sofia is loving solid food. She likes everything I have given her! Maya, on the other hand, is more like me. Sigh. She now isn't always sure of the food. But she does seem to like fruit a lot more than veggies. I keep offering the veggies in hopes that eventually she will get used to them. I do not want her ending up as picky as I am. I firmly believe I ended up being so picky because my mom did not continue to offer a variety of foods. I have gotten better at my pickyness, and am definitely not as bad as I once was. But I'd rather offer lots of different flavors and textures to my kids.

Once again I will say this- I love having twins! Yes, it is a lot of work. But it is so worth it. I can't imagine just having one. I am so lucky. It is so great to see their completely different personalities developing, and they have each other. They are starting to interact more and more, and I think it is great. Growing up I never really had anyone. I was an only child until age 7, and in my neighborhood there were no younger kids around. Plus, each house had so much property that neighbors were far away. It definitely was not like a typical city, or even suburban, neighborhood. I always wanted friends who lived near me, or siblings close to my age. It is so wonderful that they have each other.