I was so happy when the end of the year came.  Don’t get me wrong, I loved my job!!  I had so much fun with the gals I worked with, and really, the staff as a whole.  It was a great teaching community.  And when the kids weren’t driving me a little cuckoo, they were pretty cute too.  I couldn’t have asked for a better job…it was part time, on the same campus as my kids, and with people I genuinely liked.  That being said, the past few weeks had been rough on Emma.  And when it’s rough on a kiddo, it’s rough on a momma (and Daddy) too.  She was having daily meltdowns before school started, crying “I don’t want to go to school!”  We asked why.  We asked if there were people saying mean things.  We asked about teachers.  The thing with Emma is that she has very little ability to recall.  She could never tell me what happened during her day.  That’s why I relied so heavily upon the wonderful journal her aide sent home every day.

So anyway, hard time for Em.

The last day arrived, we were all happy because everyone knew that once that school bell rang, our family was headed to California!  That bell couldn’t “ding” quick enough.  About an hour after school started, I was out and about on campus running my typical errands.  I stopped by our boxes and noticed a sheet in mine, which is very rare.  As it turns out it was an employee evaluation.  I didn’t even think about receiving one; it just never crossed my mind.  I read through it briefly.  Basically there were 3 scores: 1= below expectations; 2= as expected; 3= above expectations.  I got 2′s in EVERY field except for two.  In two fields I received scores of 1.  Yes, 1.  Below expectations.  I was floored.  Those fields were “attendance” and “attitude”.  Attitude?  Really?  Under “comments” the principal wrote “poor attendance”.  And at the end was the statement “Recommended for continued employment” that was checked “NO”.  To say that these low scores came as a shock is a complete understatement.  I asked one of the teachers I worked with and she kind of brushed it off.  Yes, they had spoken with the principal, but only briefly.

I was floored.  I took my position seriously.  I wracked my brain trying to think of a time when I had a bad attitude with any students or staff.  Never.  I handled myself very professionally.  I went home after school let out and immediately emailed the principal asking for clarification.  I CC’ed the two other teachers I worked with as well.  Yes, I should’ve spoken with him after school let out.  But I didn’t for 2 reasons: I DO NOT like confrontations; and I was very emotional.  Want to read the email I wrote him?  Okay!

Dear Mr. Principal,
This morning I received my employee evaluation in my box.  I was very surprised to see that I received only “2′s”  (expected) for most of the categories and two “1′s” (less than expected) under the category of “attendance” and “attitude”.
If my attendance and my attitude were ever an issue, I was not made aware of the situation, and therefore I wasn’t able to positively change those.  I recall, in my interview, letting the hiring committee know of my October trip to L.A. for my daughter’s eye doctor appointment.  And, when in January I made reservations for my family reunion in May, I made it immediately known of my absence of that time.  In both situations, I made sure to request substitutes to cover my position.  Other than those two trips, I believe I only missed 3 days of school for illness.  I don’t believe my absences were excessive.
I am hurt by the “1″ in the category of attitude.  I had a wonderful time working with both teachers.  I enjoyed coming to work and I enjoyed the students I worked with.  I am very surprised that my attitude was viewed as “less than expected.” And if my attitude was poor, I wish it was brought to my attention when it happened, so I could correct it.
As someone who was employed and received these scores, I would love to get some clarification on my poor performance, so that it is something I can work on for future employment.

Very sincerely,
Jessica Crozier

Two things should be noted here: This evaluation was dated on the day before school let out, even though the teachers spoke with him the morning of.  And secondly, as you’ll find out, my score of 1 should’ve been in the category under “Job Safety”.

We left for California that afternoon.  And, sadly, my evaluation was the only thing I could think about all weekend.  And I had no answers to all of my (many) questions.  I didn’t receive an answer from Mr. Principal until Monday morning, the day after I sent my second email.  In my second email, I had specific questions for him:
-What instances did my poor attitude affect my job? (dates and times, please)
-Why wasn’t my poor attitude brought to my attention when those incidents occured?
-Who was/were the main contributor/s to the evaluation?
-Why weren’t my low scores explained to me in person?
-ARE THESE NEGATIVE SCORES RETALIATION FOR MY ADVOCACY FOR MY DAUGHTER??
Of course that wasn’t my exact email and I didn’t use caps for the last question. But I was very disturbed by all of this and it was really affecting our vacation.

I’ll let you know his response…tomorrow.

Every fall, Emma and I head west.  Ultimately, our goal is LA where we visit Emma’s awesome neuro-opthalmologist, Dr. Borchert.  But, along the way we always manage to have some fun.  And for the third year in a row, we’ve hit up Disneyland for a day or two.  This year I was wise and we stayed in Anaheim.  Years past, we have stayed in West Hollywood, which is close to the hospital (and, an awesome area to stay in). This year, looking outside our hotel door we saw this.

The Matterhorn, probably Emma's second-favorite ride.

Emma was so excited to get through those Disneyland gates!  I think I was just as excited.  In fact, Monday morning, I woke up first and was dressed and ready to go before she even stirred! (granted, a lot of that sleeping has to do with her ADHD medication, but still)  I asked her which ride she wanted to go on first.  If you know my girl, you know her answer was Thunder Mountain.

First, we stopped at City Hall.  I had a chat with one of the cast members there and explained a bit about her disabilities.  They handed me a guest assistance pass, which to me was like paper gold.  If a ride had fast pass, we went directly to that line.  If the ride didn’t have fast pass, we went through the exit to get on the ride.  This cut down or eliminated waiting in line for Emma.   oh.my.gosh.  Hello…why hadn’t I tried this before? The longest we waited for a ride was probably 15 minutes.  And that was for Space Mountain; a ride we won’t be going on again anytime soon.

And, I might add that using the guest assistance passed probably allowed me to walk at least 2 miles more. (note to self: get a pedometer before next trip to DL)  Anyhoo.

So our two days in Disneyland were awesome.  Granted it rained the second day.  A lot.  As in, we were both drenched when we got to the hotel.  But she didn’t want to leave!  In fact, that day during the rain, we went on Thunder Mountain 4 times in a row, 7 times total. A personal record. You can see the evidence of humidity in her hair.  Wish I had those curls!

So excited to meet Tinker Bell!

Only it wasn't Tinker Bell, but two of her friends. Who, I might add, didn't look overly-enthusiastic about being there.

One of Daddy's favorite rides!

Emma loves her some Winnie The Pooh!

And finally, life can go on after that re-opened Tea Cups! It was too rainy most of the day.

I’m ready to go back already.  I seriously can’t get enough of that place!  And Emma’s taking after me.  Never once did she want to stop or slow down.  Even when we grabbed a bite of food, she was always wanting to go! Even though I will gladly head to Disneyland with anyone, this fall trip will always be “our thing”.

It’s been too long.  Way too long.  And for that I apologize.  To be honest, I’ve been so busy and so stressed that this blog fell to the wayside.

Let me rewind.  On October 1st, Emma and I made our way westward to California.  Our favorite state (after Arizona, of course).  We had a fun mother/daughter trip planned and to be honest, I couldn’t get us out of here quick enough!  We spend Friday through Sunday in Oceanside.  We hung out with family for dinner, and saw our cousin play in his roller-hockey game.  Saturday we met up with some friends for a slightly noisy and chaotic dinner (sorry, Shauna!). The food was good and the company was great, even though we had a hard time hearing each other!

Sunday was a great day, as Emma got to go sailing on a real sailboat in San Diego harbor.  It was soooo cool and she had a great time!  We met up with Marshelle and Emily, our friends who live there.  I’ve talked about them quite a bit.  Emily is 11 and has SOD just like Emma.  And she’s an absolute doll.  Love that girl!  Marshelle is her grandma and such a huge source of support and strength to me.  Love that girl, too!  The girls were absolutely adorable (as they always are) on the sailboat.

Check out some of our sailing pictures.  Please excuse the quality.  My nice big camera decided not to work right before we got on the boat.  So I was left with my iPhone!

All secure and ready to depart!

Captain Emily sailing the high seas!

It took Emma a little while to warm up to it…

…but once she did, she didn't let go!

These two girls were adorable together!

We went sailing through a non-profit charity called Heart of Sailing.  I couldn’t have been more impressed.  They were awesome and so accommodating.  Our captain, Jamey, was awesome.  He was in the Coast Guard, was once a special education teacher, and had a daughter with special needs as well.  He was wonderful.  I would definitely recommend other families who have children with special needs to look into this.  It was awesome and Emma and Emily had a blast.  I’m  positive we’ll see them again next time!

After our trip to San Diego, we headed north to Anaheim…Disneyland was next on our agenda!

I don’t know that she’ll ever join the Joffrey Ballet, but I love watching my girl dance!  She’s got a lot of soul that she puts into her moves and grooves.  It’s the cutest thing to watch!  And man, is she musical! When we were in California, my friend Marshelle suggested we hit Corvette Diner in San Diego.  What a hit with everyone!  The food was super-yummy and diner-ish.  My turkey burger was delish.  And I even tried fried pickles (one word: yum).  After dinner the kids got to go into the arcade and spend their coins.  Emma and Emily (who, by the way, look like they could be sisters) jammed on Dance Dance Revolution.  See for yourself!

Part of the reason we went back to California a second time was to get in some beach time that June Gloom took away from us when we were there last time (in July, mind you).  Was that a run on sentence? Anyhoo. Oh, the fact that it was like 109 here helped push us westerly too!

So on the last afternoon that we were there, the sun finally came out and we decided to ditch the zoo (which was fabulous and quickly became one of my favorite zoos) and head to Coronado Island for some beach time.  Here are some pictures from that afternoon!

Today we’re on our way back home. We left early. Very early. Why, you ask? I found out Tuesday that I have a job interview today at 1:30.

I don’t want to tell you much about anything yet. But for a little background info, consider this. I haven’t worked at an “outside” job in 7 years. Not since I had kids (or was even pregnant!). I haven’t been to an interview in 9 years. I don’t even have a resume! Ouch.

The position I’m interviewing for is part time. But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous to re-enter the working world. How do working moms juggle it all?

Back to the present: we had a great time in California though it was shorter lived then I hoped. We got in what we came for. Playtime, fishing, and the zoo!

More pictures to come, but here’s one from our fishing adventure!

**Post Edit: This didn’t go out yesterday as I thought I had scheduled! Anyway, the interview went well, and here’s their response:

Good day, Jessica,
Congratulations! The interview committee was extremely impressed with you and would like to offer a KG aide position working with Mrs. H and Mrs. P. Please “reply to all” and let us know that you will accept this position.
You will need to attend HR orientation on August 5 at 9:00am. You will need your ss card, driver license, and a blank check.

Thank you,
Mr. B, Principal

WOOOOOOHOOOOOO!!

We’re on our way to California.  Yes, again.  Why?  Because it’s miserable here and I have precious few days to escape before school starts again.  2 weeks from today, to be exact.  Can you believe it?  This time, it’s just me and the kids.  And it will be more low-key.  I plan on the beach a lot.  Our Uncle will take us pier fishing, too!  I can’t wait for that…Emma is SO excited!  (Note to self: bring extra hand sanitizer and baby wipes)  We will go to the San Diego zoo also.  That’s it for the outings though!

Right now the plan is to come on Friday very early in the morning so we can meet up with Emma’s (old) kindegarten class for a mini-reunion at the movies!  I really want her to see everyone and get “reacquainted” before school starts back up.  She’ll be so excited!

Pelican hanging out on the pier

Any last minute plans before your kids start back to school?

First of all, Happy July!  Is anyone else finding it hard to believe that July is here already?  Already? Holy cow this summer is going fast!  Today I’m trying something new…Thursday 5 from mannland5.  I just started following Keely, and I’m liking what I read!  Not only is she pretty creative, but she’s pretty creative too!  Check out her Etsy Store and fall in love with her adorable jewelry! To play along with the Thursday 5, simply list 5 things that make you happy, delighted, grateful, totally stoked, or thankful.  Seeing as how I’m in California…one of my favorite places, this should be easy-peasy!

My 5

1. I am soooo enjoying this beautiful California weather!  This weather beats 105+ temps any day!

2. What amazing experiences we are sharing!  Disneyland (just me and my boy), a baseball game, the Midway and more!  Who says you need to travel to far off places to experience new things!

3.  I’m thankful for the help of my Mother In Law who is with us.  She’s a wonderful grandma and gives me the help and support when I need it!

4.  I am stoked about the WordPress app on my iPhone.  Yay for posting without a computer!  (I do have a netbook, but this is almost as easy!)

5.  I love this weather…I don’t want to leave.  Wait– did I mention the weather already?

Come play along with us!  You can link up to her Thursday 5 and read other blogger’s entries too!

Saturday was the day Brett and I headed north to Huntington Beach.  It’s such a beautiful drive up the 5….love it!  However, it rained on us the whole time.  That didn’t do well for my nerves!  It stopped once we got there, and we were able to check into the hotel, meet up with my parents (did I tell you my mom ran this half-marathon with me?), and head to the running expo to pick up our bib and race packet. I also got some fun stuff for myself for the race!

Fast-forward to race day.  What a  BEAUTIFUL day!  It couldn’t have been a prettier morning.  There wasn’t a cloud in the sky.  There was hardly a breeze blowing.

I will include my iPhone photos…I think they turned out great!

At the Start Line!!

Taking it in before the race starts

Going uphill...see Arrowhead in the background with the snow?

Around mile 10...the view was amazing!

I’m not sure if I’m ready to do another one quite yet.  It was really hard…especially the last 3 miles.  And I underestimated how steep 6% really is, and that I ran uphill for 1 1/2 miles!

I’m still really sore, and I have 2 toenails that I will be losing.  I wonder if I’ll get a discount on my pedicures?!?