Weekend Update

My brother's wedding went off without a single hitch on Saturday. Other than the fact that it started snowing and was really cold (which resulted in my developing a lovely cold), things went really well. My sister won the award for the most messed up wedding gifts. She found some really tacky goblets covered in bling that said, and I quote, "Pimp" and "Ho". Good thing Roy and Jen have a sense of humor. At least they laughed in front of us when they opened them up. Don't worry, that wasn't the only thing she gave them. We all gave them money for their honeymoon. They are currently in the Smoky Mountains and from everything they have said, they're having a lot of fun.

Kenny and I left Malden after the reception on Saturday night. We made it back to Washington in the wee hours of Sunday morning and I got up and left for the Show Me Professional Development Conference at Tan-Tar-A. It was a very informative conference. There are several topics that Triola and I want to present to our faculty here at Clark-Vitt next year during PD days. Unfortunately, the chances of them listening to us and actually trying out our suggestions are slim to none. I think it's really sad that even though we take the kids they don't want to deal with off their hands for a considerable chunk of time everyday, most of them have the attitude that we're not "real teachers", therefore what we have to say has little to no value. Luckily, what I'll be presenting on, the better answers formula, has data to back it up from schools that are actually using the formula. I made quite a few contacts with principals and other teachers who said they would be most happy to share their data to help me get my point across. I find it's always nice when you can come at people with numbers from teachers in the field who are actually practicing what they preach. Hopefully some people will be willing to try it out.

My parents have come up this week to help pack up my apartment. I tell you, all of the boxes stacked everywhere are starting to stress me out! I am eternally grateful to my parents for coming up and helping. When we offered for the house, we were sure they would counter, at least on the closing date, and we'd have plenty of time to pack. Oh wrong! With the wedding, my conference, coming home feeling like I've been run over like a truck, parent/teacher conferences, and tutoring this week, I haven't had time to get all of the packing done that my parents have managed to do this week. As they said, it also gave them time away after the wedding. They have been a huge help. Big thanks go out to the folks! I'll just be glad to be in the house where we'll have plenty of room for visitors.