ARGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH

I feel sick to my stomach.

I got offered a great job with a great school district with the caseload I was looking for - elementary-school aged kids.

So what's the problem?

They pay nearly $17,000 less per year than the district in which I live. That district also has a job open, but in a mild-to-moderate preschool class. Since I see preschoolers in my private practice, I was kind of looking forward to working with older kids again.

But I had a problem with getting paid $17,000 less per year. For nearly the same job.

Of course, since I'd only be part-time, the difference is less than $17,000 per year. But it's still a major difference.

I couldn't put off a decision any longer, so I called... and got HR's voicemail. So I left a voicemail and explained that the job sounded like a WONDERFUL fit except for the fact that, since my children were of daycare age and not school age, the amount offered to me wouldn't cover daycare for two kids each day. Another district could pay significantly more, so I had to consider that. I hoped, perhaps, that when my children were in school, I might re-apply if they had an opening at that time.

So I guess that's it.

(sigh)

Good Preschools: Every $1 invested yields a $3 return

Or so I read today in a magazine.

Yesterday, I went through Colin's bag after school. I found a construction paper house that was one of his art projects in his pre-preschool class. On it, the teacher had written:

"House: A habitat for people."

Habitat?

I guess this partially explains the watercolor painting he made yesterday. We asked him to describe the picture, and he said, "That a cave, and that a tent, and that an area."

My post-tax dollars at work!

And then there's this....

SOOOOOOO......

I've been communicating by phone with the mother of one of Colin's little friends at school. Apparently, the Giardia situation is way out of control there.

A group of parents (including those of this little boy) were in the office a week ago Monday, demanding more answers about the outbreak. They also did not agree that it was okay to keep the kids who tested "negative" separate from the untested kids, but let all of them play TOGETHER on the playground. (Said one mother who is a pediatrician: "Giardia can live in the water and mud puddles on the playground, and you're not really keeping the kids segregated if they're playing together, anyway!")

The school has set up a meeting, run by the Department of Health, for tomorrow at 4 p.m. Hubby is considering leaving work early to attend. Especially as I passed on the info (that I got from aforementioned mom) that another of Colin's little friends just got his test results back today: *positive*. AND she mentioned something that just blew me away: the teachers are NOT CHANGING GLOVES BETWEEN DIAPER CHANGES FOR EACH KID. If they have three kids lined up for diaper changes and two kids on the little potties, they will wear the SAME GLOVES for all of the diaper changes.

I told the mom, "I can understand that you wear glove for your own protection, but what about preventing communicable disease BETWEEN the kids." She said, "Well, they have kids lined up, so they're just using the same gloves. I know [teacher's name] doesn't change gloves." I said, "If you go to a lab and there are three people lined up for blood tests, the phlebotomist doesn't keep the same gloves on for each person! Oh my God!!!!!!"

My husband said, "Does the Department of Health know about this?"

They might by tomorrow morning, if I have anything to do with it.

Speaking of that, what about OSHA?

Now our big decision is whether Colin should go back to this school. Granted, he's been there 2.5 years and this is the first major thing that's occured. We can either switch him to another daycare, or just have me work only one day per week (with my MIL watching the kids) until he goes to preschool in the fall.

Oh, and the mom also mentioned that a letter was clipped onto the sign-in/out sheet this morning: during an inspection, there was a code violation in that a child (who must've been five or younger!) was walking in the outside corridor on the way to the bathroom, without a parent escort or line-of-sight supervision by a teacher or other staff member. The letter must be signed and returned to the school, showing that we've read it.

Let's not neglect to mention that all of the letters re: Giardia have NOT been sent to our house while Colin's been at home. I wonder if that letter will show up or not.

PEEVED!!!!!

What I'm listening to: Nothing - saving my eardrums for "American Idol"
I just: Ran Colin's bathwater (hubby is watching him)
Now I'm gonna: Get Colin's PJs out of the dryer

You should've seen what she did to the potatoes!

I was tortured all day today as the smell of turkey and pumpkin pies wafted from the kitchen area into my office at school. A couple of the classes were preparing for a grand meal on Friday. One teacher, Martha, led her class into the kitchen to look at the turkey roasting. Now, mind you, this was the same class in which the boys were re-enacting shooting each other (and me) with arrows while wearing rudimentary construction paper Native American headdresses. Then I hear:

Martha: There's the turkey!

Boy: You shoot it?

Martha: Did I shoot it? No!

Boy: You have gun, you shoot it!

Martha: No, I do NOT have a gun. I got the turkey at Safeway!

When speech therapy gets down and dirty

Eight-year-old student making a sentence from a picture of a bed:
"My mom and dad kiss in the bed."

Three-year-old student, when shown an ear of corn:
"Porn!"