It begins again

School starts one week from today.

I'm not sure I'm ready.

I mean, the FarmHands have all the necessary supplies and clothing and physically we're prepared, but I'm not ready.

In the past I've looked forward to the first days of school with a blissful sense of calm. My children were leaving the house for 7-8 hours a day. I would wake them, feed them, dress them and send them on their way. Then I would pour myself a cup of coffee or a bowl of Rice Krispies, flip on Judge Judy, and breath in the silence. I would allow the peace and quite of an empty house and sleeping husband lull me to sleep on the couch for a few precious hours before heading out to pick up Bitsy for pre-school. I loved it.

Last year the excitement and nervous tension of starting a new job kept me keyed up and ready to tackle the school year. I didn't sleep. I worried over menu items I was unsure of. I popped awake at the sound of my alarm. I was out the door in record time each morning.

This year it's all different. I know what I'm doing. It's not a new job. It's not an unfamiliar routine. The excitement level isn't where it was a year ago. This year there's a tiny voice in the back of my head whispering, "no. don't do this. don't go back. just stay home and nap. there won't be any kids here. we'll be so much happier that way."

It's a lie. I know it is. It's a fantasy that will quickly lose it's shine. It's the voice of Summer Vacation begging to be allowed to live a few more weeks. A few more child free weeks. I love my job. I know that I'm past the place where I can happily stay home with no kids in the house for weeks at a time. I know I'd get stir crazy after the first few days and then The Ugly Beast would try to rear it's head. I know I need to be productive and I will not be if left to my own devices (the past 6 weeks have proven that).

But man, oh man, does 4:30am come early.

Yahoo for us!

Miss T and I work very hard.  Most of the time.  We clean- a lot.  We spend a good deal of time planning our days in advance.  We lift and tote and inventory and list and shuffle and thaw and pack and organize our days away.  And sometimes we even cook.

This week I made turkey and noodles for around 150 people.  We had carrots and mashed potatoes and home school made hot rolls and some type of canned fruit (which are becoming the bane of my existence). We cooked our rear ends off.  I kid you not- I rolled and cut out more than 16 dozen hot rolls before 7 am. I cooked and stripped down 3 whole turkeys.  We baked almost 30 pounds of carrots (ran out of stove top space so they had to go in the oven- it worked).

The day following we served fish sandwiches.  They came pre-made and frozen.  All we had to do was bake  and bun them along with tri-corner hash browns, baked beans, and canned peaches.

Want to take a guess at which meals got us a giant, community, "THANK YOU!!" from the kindergarten through 2nd grade lunch class?  Which meal resulted in no less than 10 Junior High students coming to the kitchen to sing its praises?  Which meal made the third and fourth graders debate it merits and decide it was nearly the best thing we've yet to cook?

If you guessed the frozen fish sandwiches, you would be correct.

Truth be told, my feelings were not at all hurt.  The past 2 months have taught me that something I love, the kids will dump in the trash and things I won't touch with a 10 foot pole.  I do not take their refusal to eat something personally but I do really love being told they enjoyed something- even when I have little to do with it's actual preparation.

In other good work news- Miss T and I had a visit from the health inspector this week and we aced our inspection.  Not bad for a couple of newbies.

A glimpse

I love my job.  I love seeing the kids (mine and others) walk past my line.  I like laughing with them, teasing them, hearing about their days, lives, and adventures.  I love being around them.  I should point out that I am exposed to them in rather brief intervals, unlike their teachers.  That is perfect for me.

But then there are days, and there are children, who make my job really hard.  Actually more sad than hard. There are kids you want to wrap up and take home with you because you know no one at their house pays them any attention.   Kids with potential but no one to encourage them. There are kids you know are living in households that couldn't care less about them or their education.  There are kids who aren't being parented at all and crave that adult interaction.

Then there are the kids who've given up at the ripe age of 12 or 13.  Kids who not only have issues with authority, but have no use for it at all. Kids who would shock me if they graduate high school.  Kids who think discipline in any form is a joke and doesn't apply to them.  Kids who will look you in the eye and do exactly what they know they should not.

It makes me wish my children knew just how blessed they are but at the same time, I'm glad they're oblivious to it.  That means they have no idea that life doesn't always take care of kids their age.

Mama says to keep praying for the kids at school.  I am and I'd be happy if I knew you were, too.  It's an unpleasant eye opener.  I want to learn to deal with it without becoming hardened to it.

Deep, cleansing breaths

Today can end at any moment.  I'm done with it.  In fact, if this week would like to be over, it has my full blessing.

Work has been less than pleasant this week.  We've had real, life changing tragedies, mini-meltdowns, equipment failure on a massive level, and more than our fair share of mishaps in the past 3 days.

 Without going into details, there is a family in our area dealing with the sudden and unexpected death of their 6 month old son.  They truly need your prayers.  That is how our Monday started.

Yesterday involved a rather lengthy power outage, an overly hectic lunch prep, and a freezer malfunction.

Today we faced an early morning fire alarm on the fritz, an extra messy lunch prep, a rather unpleasant game of "find the hidden roast in the extraordinarily over stuffed second freezer," and a last minute realization that roll dough had to be made before we could leave.  In fact, we left 20 minutes later than usual because of the mess.

In fact, if it wasn't for the sincere affection I have for the people I work with (Miss T, in particular), and the honest joy I find in seeing a school full of children every day, I might be ready to toss in the towel.

I do love my job.  I do enjoy being there.  I do hope tomorrow goes more smoothly.

Two weeks down. Many, many, many to go.

My coworker and I are getting into the swing of things in our kitchen.  We've put things where we want them.  We've divvied up responsibilities. We've managed to feed 135 to 155 kids a day for the past week and so far no one has been poisoned.  I think that's the real goal.  Feed them & don't make anyone puke.

There is a serious learning curve. There have been some interesting (not really shareable on the internets) mistakes.  There has been some serious frustration.  I've even had to holler at some kids.  But I think I may stick with this one.  I may remain gainfully employed.

BabyGirl, on the other hand, might not make it out o 6th grade.  One of two things- she'll fail because she can't keep track of her homework or I'll kill her because she won't quit screaming at me while trying to do said homework.

In all reality, she's not adjusting to middle school very well at the moment.  I'm hoping a few more weeks and she'll get in the groove but I'm not entirely positive that it's going to happen.  I am a bit worried.  Her math teacher caught me in the hall yesterday and told me BabyGirl hasn't been finishing or turning in her work.  We're 1 full week into school.  I'm not ready for this kind of drama.

I'm having a hard time explaining to her that I cannot get her organized nor can I do her work for her.  She still needs nightly help with her homework.  She has to be prompted and prodded into doing each and everything at home.  I'm a bit worried about how things are going at school.  She doesn't seem to be understanding how to sift through written material to find the answers to the questions on her papers.  I'm honestly a bit worried at this point.

I'm going to give her another week or two and if nothing changes we're going to have to have some serious sit downs with her teachers to find out if this is a ploy to get me to find her answers or if she's honestly having trouble understanding.

It's really going to break her heart if she has to give up cheer, but if her grades drop, that's the first thing that will have to go- and that's not even my rule.  It's the school's (not that I disagree with it in any way).

I wonder if I'll get to keep my job if my daughter drops out of sixth grade......

The glimmer is becoming a full blown glow.

It's been a wicked bad summer. A summer I hope never to repeat.  But things are looking up.

One thing I hadn't mentioned here is that when I was in the ER with BabyGirl I called Husband to tell him her arm was broken.  He had news for me.  They're shutting down his department at work and he would be losing his job in 6 months or so.  Now to be clear he wouldn't be without a job. He could transfer in the plant where his seniority would take him, but that could mean a serious cut in pay and hours.

Today he interviewed for a new position at work and much to my surprise, they've already called and told him he got it!  I think the pay will be comparable to what he's currently making and it is in a much quieter part of the factory than he was expecting.

He will probably be losing the overtime he's been working since BabyGirl was born, but what I'm making will cover that.  I truly believe God put me in the job I'm in fill this gap.

In other wonderful news- #1 Son's 10 days of blood sugar readings were so good the doctor said we could stop checking.  I called the office and asked after looking over our log & realizing nothing on it came even close to the numbers we were worried about.  And on top of that, his rash that caused the diabetes scare in the first place, is nearly gone.

Yesterday was a tough day at work.  I was worn out and discouraged when I got home.  It was one of those days when nothing went as planned and we spent the entire day trying to get caught up.  Today was the polar opposite.  Today was a day that should have been difficult and drawn out.  It was not at all.  It was easier than expected and things went very smoothly.

Today I feel like I can breath.  Today I know that the good can outweigh the bad. Today I can praise God with a happy heart instead of praising Him in the midst of heartache.

Have I really thought this through?

I've just realized that I'm a little over a month out from starting my new job.  This is going to come with some serious changes in the FarmFamily house hold.

First of all, I'm giving up my morning duties and Husband will be taking over.  He will be in charge of getting the FarmHands up and ready for school. He will be making breakfast, brushing hair, and running them out the door to the bus stop.  He will be kissing good-bye and making sure everyone has their back pack & lunch box.

While he's doing that, I will be making breakfast for 20-40 children.

I'm going to have to re-work when  and how I cook at home.  For the past 15 years lunch has been our big meal of the day.  I've cooked what most would serve for dinner at noon so Husband would have a good meal before he left for the day and there would be leftovers to send in his "lunch" to work.  Now I'm going to have to cook of an evening or make serious use of my new, uber-fancy crock pot Husband got me for my birthday.  I cannot leave the poor man to live on frozen pizza and pork burgers for weeks on end.

With BabyGirl in cheerleading, we'll have to accustom ourselves to numerous trips back in to school to pick her up after practices or drop her off for games.  She'll have to learn to get her homework done in study hall.  Late nights after basketball games will become her norm.

But the thing that concerns me most (at the moment) is how I'm going to adjust my sleep schedule.  I'll still have to accomplish everything I've always had to do in the few hours after the FarmHands get off the bus before they go to bed plus some extras what with cheerleading tossed in the mix, but I'll need to get my self to sleep hours earlier than normal.  I can't be up until 11:30 folding laundry and still be at work by 5:30 the next morning.

Things are going to be different.  It's going to happen rather suddenly.  We'll all have to make serious adjustments.

I guess it's not just Mom who's returning to the work force.  It's a family affair.

Drum Roll Please......

I got the job!!  Next year I will be the new head cook at the FarmHands' school.  Both of the cooks are retiring at the end of this year so I thought I had a pretty good shot at one of the jobs.  I'm a bit nervous about all the paper work involved, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it.

Thank you for all your prayers and good wishes.

The day I found out was one of those days when any piece of good news is not only welcome, but necessary to one's mental stability.  My laptop (that we bought in January) wouldn't let me get on line.  I'd been on with tech support for our ISP for hours the day before & they assured me the problem was in the lap top.

After work on Monday I called Walmart to find out what to do with the computer.  I talked to a woman in electronics and she told me I had until Friday (that would be 90 days from our original date of purchase) to return the lap top for an exchange.  I had to take #1 Son to the lab in the hospital to have his cheek (and never ending case of impetigo) cultured, so I was going to take the computer back during that trip to town.  I spent the next 40 minutes frantically dumping any kind of information we had put on the computer- programs, photographs, pass words, music- not knowing I could just restore the computer to it's factory settings.  All the while, I was furious because it took me hours to get all those photos loaded and tagged and edited the way I wanted.  And it took almost as long to get all my music transferred (and I really don't have that much music on my Zune).

By the time I threw Bitsy in the van and headed in to school (at the very last minute) to get the FarmHands, I was frazzled far too near to my breaking point.  At the hospital we had to wait for 20 minutes to get registered (normally we wait less than 5 minutes) and with 4 kids in an environment that demands calmness, that is not fun.  Finally got done there and headed to Walmart where they proceed to tell me they don't exchange computers after 15 days from the time of purchase.  I explained that I called at 2 o'clock and spoke to a woman who assured me I could even after I gave her the date on our receipt.  Everyone was baffled (including the woman working in electronics who said she hadn't spoken to me) and since I didn't get her name, I was out of luck.  The did give me a warranty page so I could get a hold of HP (since there wasn't one in the computer box at all) and apologized profusely for the misunderstanding.

I loaded the FarmHands back up & warned them that I needed a totally silent ride home or I might just fall apart.  For the most part, they listened.

As soon as I got home I called HP's warranty hot line and spent the next TWO HOURS and FIFTEEN MINUTES on the phone with my new Indian bff- Samantha.  After trying 75,000 different things and eventually returning the computer (that still held a bit of the personalizations I'd stored) to it's factory settings, it still did not work.  I finally had to tell Samantha I couldn't work on it any more.  It was 7:35 and my children still needed to be bathed, fed, and sent to bed.

That night was the school board meeting that would decide if I would have a job next year or not.  I spent the next 2 hours nervously fidgeting and waiting for a phone call that might not come till morning if it came at all.  By 9:45 I was about to snap like an over tightened guitar string.  I decided a hot bath was in order.  I had no more than stretched out in the tub than the phone rang.  Sure it was Husband calling to see if I'd heard anything about the board meeting, I answered from the tub.  It was the principal.

He congratulated me and told me who got the other job then told me they'd let me know about a training schedule as soon as they get one worked out.  I called Husband, Mom, and Art to let them know the good news then finally decided I'd better get out of the bath.

As I was getting ready for bed, I noticed the light was still on in BabyGirl's room (it was 11 o'clock at night by this point).  When I got on to her for still being up she said, "But Mom, I read the end of the chapter and had to find out what was going to happen next!  I just couldn't stop reading!"  Since BabyGirl doesn't read willingly, I couldn't really get on to her.

Then I told her I was going to be a cook at her school full time next year & that's when the best thing that happened all day occurred.  My daughter- willingly and of her own accord- hugged me!  She not only hugged me, but she hugged me and said, "Awesome!"

It was a good day after all.

Being Marcy

The school where the FarmHands attend and I work on occasion, is a part of a county wide school district.  There's only one other school in the entire district, though.  It's a k-12 in the town where Husband works (about 20 minutes south of us).  Since I'm subbing for the entire district, I can be called into either school.  Tuesday of this week was the first time I've been asked to work at the K-12 building.

I didn't like it.

OK, I guess I should expand on that.  I didn't like it Tuesday.  Since then, it's been fine.

First of all, every time I've worked at the FarmHands' school I've known the night before that I was going to work.  Tuesday I got a call at 6 am asking if I could be there as close to 7 am as possible.  Rushed shower,  thrown on clothes, super fast/simple make-up, not quite all the way done blow dry, and grab a pop tart as I'm running out the door is not the way I like to start my day.  Then I spent the next 7 hours working in an unfamiliar kitchen with unfamiliar people doing an unfamiliar task (they have a salad bar & ala carte bar because of the high school).  Top that of with a particular co-worker who was making me 18 kinds of crazy and it was not a good day.

Much to my chagrin, the head cook asked if I could work again Thursday and the Monday and Tuesday of the next week.  I reluctantly said yes (but kept the reluctance entirely to myself).  This is the lady who will decide how much & where I work.  Don't want to get on her bad side.

At 6:30 Wednesday morning she called again.  Could I work 10 to 2 that day?  Yeah.  Sure.  Love to.  Groan.

Much to my surprise and delight, I enjoyed myself Wednesday.  I was separated from the particular co-worker and found out I'm not alone in my deep seated irritation when ever she's around.  Because of the minor amount of familiarity, today went much better, too.   Happily, I do like working there now.  I'll be happy to get back to my small kitchen and small school, but it's no longer an unwelcome change.

This is a much larger school so instead of there only being 2 of us, there are 5 for most of the day & 2 more come in shortly before lunch.  Since I'm the newbie, I get to make salads- a simple task.  But the person I've been replacing is not the salad girl.  Today the break down went something like this:  I was Marcy.  Marcy was Missy.  Missy was Sherry.  Sherry was gone & I was taking her place.  Oh, and Tara was gone too so Tanya was Tara.  At least I wasn't the only one seriously confused.  Everyone had trouble remembering who they were supposed to be today.

I was happy to get off work and just be FarmWife again.  But the bosco sticks weren't bad.

And Now We Wait

I took my State of Illinois Food Safety and Sanitation Manager exam last night.  Today my instructor had to be sure to mail our test sheets so the State would have them by Friday.  Now it seems, the State gets to take it's own sweet time.  I have to wait four to six weeks for the results to come in the mail.  Can't check on line to find out if I passed.  Don't have a phone number to call.  Just have to sit & wait.  I didn't realize it was that taxing to feed a Scantron sheet into a computer and read the results.  That's ridiculous.

If the state wants you to do something you'd better get it done by their deadline.  But apparently, they can dawdle about for months at a time before dealing with you.  Ugh.

But I'm certain I passed.  The exam was 75 multiple choice questions (filling out all those little bubbles with my #2 pencil made me feel 15 again trying to stay awake during achievement testing) and we only have to get a 75% to pass.  That means we can miss 18 and still pass.  There were only 4 or 5 questions I wasn't totally comfortable with.

I can say, I'm glad my class is over.  It was interesting, but I'm tired of having things like Listeriosis and Bacillus Cereus rolling through my head all night while I'm trying to sleep.  I would like a day or two where I'm not worried about the proper temperature for cooking eggs for hot holding as opposed to the temperature for cooking eggs for immediate service.

Instead I want to think about pretty shoes and finding a new hairdresser and I want to watch a chick flick without feeling guilty because I should be studying.  I think tonight calls for Breakfast at Tiffany's and the remainder of the Ben & Jerry's I've been hiding in the freezer.

You really don't want to eat that.

In order to work full time at the cafeteria at school (something I hope and pray is in my future), I need to be certified in Food Safety and Sanitation.  It's a 16 hour long class.  I go 2 days a week, 4 hours a night, for 2 weeks.  I'm half way through the course as I write this.  All I can say is that if you're looking for a way to prevent yourself from eating out with any regularity, take one of these classes.  The list of things that can kill you in a restaurant setting is longer than my arm.

We all know about Salmonella and Botulism, but have you ever hear of Hemorrhagic Colitis?  How about Bacillus Cereus?  And Vibrio Gastroenteritis?  Yeah, it's all nasty.  Most of them cause diarrhea and severe abdominal pain.  Listeria can actually cause miscarriage.

It's all a bit overwhelming and more than a bit disgusting.  Especially the lemons they put in your water or iced tea.  But then, the good Lord made our bodies to withstand amazing amounts of abuse and microorganisms.  I only hope he made my mind elastic enough to store all the information I'm going to have to recall for my certification exam on Wednesday.  Any prayers offered would be more than a little appreciated.

I did have 2 days of work this week.  Monday was President's Day and Tuesday, MJ, the cook I've been filling in for, decided to try out her wrist at work.  I called halfway through the school day to ask her a question & she said, "By the way, do you want to work this week?"  Apparently she'd come back a bit too soon.  She's supposed to be off work for 3 weeks but decided it would make her stir crazy to sit home all that time.

I've worked the past 2 days on top of going to my night class.  For a girl who's been a serious homebody for the past 10 years, this has been a massive change.  I'm not sure I've adjusted to it just yet.  Especially not being at work at 6:30 am after getting out of class at 9:50 pm the night before.  I've still got a lot of catching up to do.

But the good news is, I haven't had time to miss the satellite dish being disconnected. The one day I was going to have to sit & do nothing ended up being the day Husband, Bitsy, and I had to go pick up my text book and make a run to Menards so bored was not an option.

So if you're trying in vain to get in touch with me, you'll just have to wait.  I'm a career girl now.  Well, at least for the rest of this week.

After all these years

When Husband and I were dating, we both worked second shift at C**** where Husband is still employed.  Husband (then FarmBoy) got off work 20 minutes before I did.  A few nights a week he would wait for me in the parking lot after work so we could spend a few minutes together before heading to our respective abodes.  Quite a few nights when he couldn't wait, he would make a quick trip to the gas station down the road, pick up a bottle of soda & a package of Reese's Cups and leave them in my car seat sometimes with a note scrawled on a post-it.  It was a sweet little tradition that lasted until we got married & started riding to work together.

This morning I headed out to my van to go to work & much to my surprise, in my driver seat, there was a bottle of Coke and a package of Reese's Cups.

Who says romance is dead?

If you're ever feeling a bit bad about yourself, I fully suggest hanging out with some 4 year old girls.  This week the kids in Bitsy's class have been fascinated by the fact that I'm at school all the time.  A few of them eat breakfast there, but none of them eat lunch at school.  After serving breakfast to the students, the other cook & I sit in the cafeteria & eat our breakfast while we wait for a student from each class to bring us the list of children eating that day.  Today, Bitsy's class hadn't left the gym when we sat down.  They all peeked out the doors & I heard lots of little voices saying, "Hi, Bitsy's Mom!"

One little girl ran up & asked, "When am I coming to your house?"  This seems to be the thing that needs asked by most kids from Pre-K to 1st grade.  Some I would be fine with coming over for a play date.  Some, I'd rather their mother's not know where we live  This little girl was in the first group.  I told her maybe when it warms up outside she could come over to play with Bitsy.  "OK.  I asked my dad & he said maybe sometime."    As soon as she got her answer, another little one pops up and says, "When do I get to come?!"  I told her the same thing.  She quickly responded with, "Well, then you have to call my mom."  They both came running to give me hugs on their way to class.

Now I'm left wondering if they want to come play with Bitsy, or is the draw just getting to come to my house.  One way or the other, I'm very popular with preschoolers....they're not old enough to realize Lunch Ladies aren't really considered cool.

Speaking of Lunch Ladies, I owe my husband a public apology.  He had been suggesting I become a lunch lady for quite a while before I ever called the school to ask if they needed any help in the cafeteria.  When he initially suggested it (and the next 10-15 times following) I blew him off thinking I'd hate to work in a school cafeteria.  Turns out, he was right.  Not only did they need help (I was sure they wouldn't), but I actually enjoy it.  I like the work.  I like the fact that I can keep a bit of an eye on the FarmHands.  I like the limited interaction with the students (I can talk to them if I want but I don't have to if I've had too much "kid time").  I like that I know most of the faculty and teachers after being there 7 school years.  I like that I don't have to get the kids up & ready for school in the morning (an exercise in torture).  And I really like that the hours are flexible enough that if we get our work done 15 minutes early, it's no big deal if we leave.

So, Husband, I am officially and publicly apologizing for ever doubting your insight into my professional future....and thanks for the soda.  Love you.

Proving, once again, that it is possible to be asleep on one's feet.

I worked again today.  That makes 2 days in a row.  A first for me in over 10 years.  And I get to work tomorrow & Monday as well.  One of the cooks is having problems with her wrist and will be off at least until Tuesday....possibly longer depending on what the doctor says about it.

While I do not spend my days lounging on the couch watching soaps & eating bon-bons, I'm also not used to being on my feet on a concrete floor for 7 hours a day.  I'm also not used to getting up & starting my day at 5:30 in the morning.  I'm much more comfortable with my routine of getting the FarmHands up around 6:30/6:45, getting them fed & clothed & out the door, then crashing back on the couch for a nap before picking Bitsy up from school (there's other things that happen during that time, but the main event is my nap).  Now my nap has to be postponed until 2 o'clock or later.  I'm not sure I'm OK with this.

If I'm going to do this very much, I'm going to have to work on my stamina.  Otherwise we'll have to hire a nanny to care for the FarmHands every night while I attempt to recover from my stint in Lunch Lady Land.

At least I learned how to make peach cobbler.

An actual post with a little bit of fluff at the end.

Yesterday Husband and I made a life changing decision.  We had our television satellite disconnected.  This may not seem like a big deal to a lot of you, but it's a really big deal around here.  We had it turned on 2 years ago and I wasn't truly thrilled with the idea.  Husband was tired of Netflix & wanted to watch local channels without the disruption we constantly battled with our antenna.  The only problem was, once we get more than 3 or 4 channels at a time, all our brains shut off & we become giant couch slugs consuming hours upon hours of mindless trash television every day.  During the summer it's not a big deal since we spend so much time outside, but during the winter months we watch enough television to give the Nielsens a heart attack.

It was also costing entirely too much each month.  We were paying nearly $70 a month to have mindless garbage pumped into our home.  That's not OK.  Especially when you figure up that the same amount over the course of the year could pay 6 months car insurance- something you have to have in exchange for something you really don't need.

Everyone keeps telling me, "You don't really need satellite when you've got Hulu and streaming Netflix, and YouTube," but we don't have those things.  If we're lucky we might have an antenna that will pick up local channels every once in a great while.  I'm hoping for just enough signal to get me Downton Abbey on PBS and some Curious George for Bitsy every now & then.  If not, no big deal.

But this major change is going to have a serious effect on the FarmHands (am I using "effect" properly?  I always get effect & affect confused).  Last night, when they discovered the change, the boys burst into hysterical sobs.  "You mean we can't watch Phinneas and Ferb anymore?!  Why did you turn it off?  When is it coming back on?  This is No Faaaaiiiiiirrrrrr."  But once the immediate heartbreak was over, we sat down & read 2 chapters in The Magician's Nephew and a few Bible stories from the coolest Bible Storybook EVER (thank you, Inkling).  I'm pretty sure they'll survive, but it may be a hard few weeks as we readjust.

So far it hasn't bothered me, but then I spent most of today at work.  (Here's where the fluff starts.)  I haven't had a chance to feel the loss.  Give me a few days & a few more missed episodes of Glee & check again; I may take up drinking.

You may remember that I've been subbing as a cook at the FarmHand's school since just before Christmas. Today was my fourth day on the job.  I really enjoy it but it's going to take some serious getting used to-being on my feet all day.  My biggest issues is the dress code.  You can wear any kind of shirt you like (preferably a t-shirt) but you have to wear white or light khaki pants.  If you've ever spent a great deal of time in a kitchen, you know white is not a good idea.  And personally, I think white pants are a mistake period....unless you're name is Heidi Klum and you have legs that go on for years.

Let's add to this the fact that the one pair of white pants (stretch jeans) I've found have a black tag & front pockets that stand out through the fabric like neon lights saying, "Look at my upper thighs!  Look at my upper thighs!"  Oy.

Next order of business (yes, this may be the post that never ends):  my lower back has been out of wack since Saturday.  It needs to pop just above my tail bone but flat out refuses to do so.  At times I'm pretty sure a nerve gets pinched because I'll have a sharp pain that runs down to the back of my knee.  It's driving me crazy.  I've tried hot baths, heating pads, yoga, ibuprofen, muscle relaxers, and laying in every possible position.  Nothing has worked.  BabyGirl & Husband, on the other hand, can pop their lower backs with a simple twist.  Since mine's been bothering me, I'm pretty sure they've conspired to drive me crazy by showing me over & over & over & over again just how easy this task is for them.  And today, after I got home from work, Bitsy turns to me & says, "Look, Mommy.  I tan pop my back," and starts wiggling in all directions.

I hope they've reserved my padded cell, 'cause I'm gonna' need it.

Working Mother Takes College Course (gasp!)

As you might recall, I have recently found a new vocation- a calling as it were- a desire to fill the stomachs of children with mystery meat.  I am a lunch lady.

To be entirely honest, I'm only a substitute lunch lady & I've only subbed twice thus far....but I'm really hoping to get to work more as the year goes on....and flu season gets into full swing.  Not that I'm wishing the flu on anyone, but if they do get it, I hope I get to fill in for them.

What I'm really hoping is that this every now & again gig will turn into full time work at some point.  But for that to happen I must be certified in Food Sanitation & Safety.  That means I have to take a class.  An actual college course.  Well, sort of.  If you can call a 4 day class with a total of 1 credit hour a college class.  But it does meet at the college & I am technically a student of the college, so that counts, right?

So now, not only am I employed, but I am also a student.  Go me.  I think.

Way down in Lunch Lady Land

Ordinary Sarah has asked for more insight into the life of a grade school lunch lady and being the faithful blogger I am, I must answer. Just keep in mind that my entire lunch lady experience boils down to 2 days of subbing.

First of all, I did not have to wear a hair net. I'm not sure why, and I didn't really want to ask. I've worn them in the past & they make me CRAZY!! If it gets to the point where I have to wear something, I'm pretty sure I'll invest in some rocking bandannas or a baseball cap or two. I did pin my hair back out of my face with a giant bobby pin....does that count?

I got to wear an apron (much to the amusement of my youngest child). Unfortunately it wasn't a pretty one. Since the aprons & towels come through a laundry service, basic white is the only way to go. Guess I can deal with that & it is nice to not go home with the front of your shirt covered in jell-o or 3 bean salad.

When I got there (at 6:30 am) Friday, Mary Jane (the other cook) was cutting out rolls for today's lunch. It's normally a job done by Alice (the cook I was subbing for) and it's something I look forward to learning to do. My roll making skills are scant at best. I got to work quartering 200 + oranges for lunch that day. We also made three bean salad but the rest of the food was frozen & pre-cooked. There were chicken biscuits for breakfast & fish sticks & hashbrowns for lunch. I found it rather apropos that fish stick Friday was my first day on the job.

Yesterday I walked in to Mary Jane taking Christmas cookies out of the oven. They came pre-cut & frozen as well. She'd already been there an hour & a half & had browned ground beef for vegetable soup & had turkey roasts in the oven for today's Christmas dinner. I baked 6 jell-o cakes, helped with the soup, made toasted cheese sandwiches for 150 people, washed more dishes than humanly possible, opened cans of peaches the size of a small child, and served Tac-go's for breakfast (egg & sausage soft tacos).

In all, I'd say about a third to half of what we made in 2 days was frozen and the other half we made from scratch. It's a pretty decent balance especially when there are only 2 cooks feeding an entire pre-k through 8th grade school plus facility.

In all, I really enjoyed the work. You keep to yourselves in the kitchen for the most part. Teachers take care of the students in the cafeteria while you worry about the inner workings of the kitchen. You stay busy most of the day & have the flexibility to work in your own way as long as everything gets done. Of course I haven't had to touch the crazy mess of paperwork that comes with a state job. That may change my mind quickly.

Never in a million years did I see myself as a lunch lady, but then I never saw myself as a SAHM of 4 living on a farm with a country boy. Wonder what I'll learn about myself tomorrow?

Want to know a secret?

I have a job.

Sort of.

I've been a substitute cook in the cafeteria at the FarmHand's school two times in the past week. Once on Friday, and again today.

Want to know another secret?

I really liked it.