Oh yes

I know I'm the worst blogger ever, as evidenced by the number of people that have called to let me know I have not updated my blog!!  I have been focusing on managing day to day life and sleeping, rather than posting on here!  I'll try to catch you up, and not let it go another month before I post again.

After the party, Mdx started walking and school started for me.  We have taken a few videos since then, trying to capture some good walking, but mostly we get a lot of talking from her! Mdx still loves going to Kris's house on Mondays and Tuesdays, while I'm still adjusting to handing her over.  It's also infinitely more difficult to get ready for work, but I'm learning a few shortcuts.  I don't have many outfit choices, so that narrows down some dressing time.  I also put stuff in the car BEFORE taking the baby out, so I'm not juggling a bag, a violin, a computer and a baby on my way out the door.  Marshall has just switched to nights, so that will add a whole different complication that we haven't figured out yet.  I think basically it means we won't see each other much Saturday night through Wednesday afternoon. 

Here is a video of what poor Macy deals with on a daily basis.  Mdx thinks she is petting her, and luckily we have a tolerant dog.  The other day we were leaving for school and I said "Say Bye-bye to the puppy" and Mdx said "Bye-bye Pup-pup"!  I couldn't believe it!  She has said "pup-pup" since then, but not the two words together.  So cool.  Other than that it all still sounds like Chinese.

My students are all turning out to be really neat kids.  I had one problem child, but after dealing with her for 4 weeks I kicked her out of the class, with the full support of the Administration.  I don't want it to seem like I can't handle discipline, but when an 8th grader has decided that they hate you, they hate playing viola, they aren't going to do a thing you say, and they are going to do everything in their power to distract and entertain the rest of the class....in my opinion there is nothing to do but kick them out.  Now that she is gone my Advanced class is such a lovely group.  They listen, interact, smile, and work hard every day- whereas when she was there the attitude varied from cautious and skeptical to downright disrespectful.  Now my main challenge is to find music that challenges all the different levels of players in that group, since they are 8th-10th grades.  I asked the 10th graders to be patient while I help the 8th graders catch up (and paired each of them with a younger student), and I asked the 8th graders to not get discouraged and just do their best, and before they know it they'll be just as good as everyone else!  I feel like our December concert is around the corner and we have a lot of work to do!

My 7th grade class (I call them Intermediate) are my smallest class, but the hardest workers.  Each one of them is so stubborn- I love it.  They see everything I throw at them as a challenge, and they are competitive with each other.  We've already had a few lessons on being respectful to each other, and saying things like "Good job" when another person finishes, even if they messed up.  I can tell that a few of these students are better than some of the kids in the Advanced class, which is awesome.

My 6th grade class  (Beginners) makes me feel schizophrenic.  They are sometimes so immature and need a lot of direction, so during those moments I have to be super-strict and a task master all the time.  Other times they get really frustrated, or are even in a funk when they walk in the door.  During those times if I stay a task master and strict I will push them away and not form any sort of relationship.  So sometimes we take a few minutes of our 70 min. class to just talk and tell stories and get to know each other.  I learned at my last job that moments like this are so valuable and must be grabbed when you get the chance.  They are learning to trust and respect me, and once I have THAT- I can get them to do just about anything.

Here is another video of Mdx talking up a storm while she watches football with Marshall.  She also loves sitting in her new chair that I got at a yard sale for $5.00!  It reminds me of an Ikea chair.

Here is another video that shows her trying to get in the chair!

I'm trying to upload pictures in addition to video, but it is not working quite right, I'll try and post again and see if that works.