Off to Wordpress......

Okay, I have officially moved my blog over to Wordpress. It is at www.takeactionforafrica.wordpress.com and some posts will be password protected.
If you want the password, shoot me an email, tjones6575@gmail.com.

Silvia is being kind enough to blog moderate for me this trip!!! So plan on visiting and hearing about all the adventures!!!

BLOG MOVE....

Hi,

I am moving this blog over to a wordpress account.. I don't know if once I do, if this stays up.. I think is might.... but in case it doesn't... please email me at tjones6575@gmail.com if you are interested in continuing to follow.. I will be able to send you the password-- as some of my posts will be password protected.

www.takeactionforafrica.wordpress.com

This will be the new name.. but nothing is up yet.

Baggage....

I'm slightly hyperventilating here!!! Okay... so crafts, donations etc.. were overtaking my house, so I thought I would start packing one suitcase.. so I decided to go online and check baggage requirements.. Now, I was planning on paying the $55 or so for a third bag on Air France and hoping that I would be able to get Ethiopian Air on my second leg to waive their fee but once again, another $50 doable. Well, I go on Air France.. and they now only allow one bag for Economy!!!!!! The second is $55 and the 3rd is $200!!!!! Holy Crap!!! But then there is some language about when your ticket was purchased and of course, these restrictions literally went into effect the day my flight was purchased.. I mean the actual day, March 28th!! But when I go on Air France and put in my flight info, it says I can take two pieces under each of my itineraries.. I don't know how you get a hold of talking to someone and I don't know who to ask!!! I can not do this trip in 2 bags!! I am going to two orphanages and am bringing a lot of stuff!!! I don't know what to do.. plus I purchased my flights through a cheap air place... and so I'm on a ton of different carriers!! Bad move on my part!!

Crafts.... Yea!!

Last night my friend Shannan invited me over to share all the craft she has made for me... She made me examples, got me all the supplies and even wrote up little directions!! She is awesome. In addition to all of this... she made dinner and sent me home with leftovers for lunch the next day. You can't pay for service like that!!! Oh and I loved when her daughter Talia(age 5) handed me one extra craft(a paper Hula skirt) just in case no one liked the crafts her mother picked!!!!

Still collecting crafts... especially any ideas for the big kids!!!

Collecting...

So, it looks like I am collecting children's gummy vitamins, sterile gloves, craft projects... toy cars, ABC stuff..... and planning on purchasing clothes, shoes, bedding in Ethiopia!!

Oh and in a couple of funny coincidences, I met a new friend who adopted twice from Layla and an acquaintance who is #2 on the referral list for her agency for a baby from Ethiopia. Small world!!

Evaluation...

As I am attempting to pick up my little house which seems to look like a tornado hit it... which if anyone has been to my house, you know that it's usually quite tidy... I came across my evaluation that my principal just did... in schools, you get evaluated every two years once you are tenured.. It is quite simply my most glowing evaluation to date... and this is the final paragraph....

"Ms. Jones demonstrates a work ethic paralleled by few. She tirelessly collaborates with staff and administrators to meet the needs of every one of her students. As an expert in her field, she is able to draw on an extensive repertoire of resources and strategies to address the problems and concerns of her students. As a reflective individual, she patiently listens to others to determine possible alternative strategies. Her wisdom and understanding of others belie her age. Additionally, she makes a substantial contribution to the school with her Earth Day, Needy Families and Ethiopia Reads projects. Everyone values her as an indispensable social and emotional standard bearer of the school."

And as I go to bed, with a yucky summer cold or sinus infection... and am stressing about all the groups and paperwork I still need to get done in the next two weeks... this is what I'm going to choose to focus on. G'Night!!

A small difference....

Okay, so it almost the end of the school year. We are done June 4th. So that means that there are 13 school days and 1 hour.. holy crap I have a lot of work to accomplish!!

But as much as we are stressing about the end of school, so are many of the kids. There is one little guy who was new to our school this year. When you look at his records, it is clear that he may have ADHD.. and his mom has finally secured an evaluation for him this June.. but with about a month of school left, he was driving his teacher slightly insane and she said the worst was that he couldn't stay in his seat.

So, I made him a little envelope that said "I will stay in my seat." and taped it to the side of his desk. Every time she sees him seated, she gives him a little ticket that says Caught being good. If he has 10 tickets at the end of the day, he gets a prize from this bag of prizes I left(stretchy animals, little dinos, crayons etc.)-- well he has been struggling a bit but today on my way into school.. early, like about 30-40 minutes before the kids were due and he is already on the playground playing catch with his sister and some of her friends.. he comes running towards me yelling 10, 10, 10 tickets.. so I said, "Oh, did you get ten tickets yesterday?" "Yes!" "Well, high five! What prize did you pick?" "A dinosaur." and then he ran back to play. It was a nice way to come into school and to one small person, I think I made a small difference today.

Did you??