There is just two more weeks left to school. This is very good, as it is VERY obvious that the school year needs to end.

My daughters teacher has been out the past three weeks and will not be returning. She fell at school and broke a toe and fractured a foot, so she is in a wheel chair. Plus, it’s a work man’s comp issue, so she isn’t being allowed to return to school while still injured.

Because of a substitute teacher shortage, and good subs getting booked far in advance, and a large number of teachers calling in sick (we had 14 call in one day last week!), my daughters class is getting some crap subs. They had one sub who spent the entire day texting and talking on her phone. Then they kept getting the sub who brought in a microphone in order to yell louder at the class. Of sixteen. After half the class parents complained about her we got rid of her.

But now some of the parents are super irate over the whole situation. And now that they are irate, every little thing is setting them off. One saw some mosquitos in the class and went straight to the Principal to complain and said she is ready to put her kid in private school next year. Cause she saw mosquitos in a class in South Florida during rainy season. It’s a good thing her son didn’t go to our school in Tucson. I saw a gila monster in the parking lot there one time. A poisonous gila monster.

The biggest sign, though, that the sub situation is bad and that people are no longer thinking rationally is evident by the fact that the Principal told me that I should get my certificate and become a sub. Me! Has she not heard my tales from the cafeteria? Including my new one from last week?

A boy had brought play dough into the cafeteria, which he promptly smashed it into another boys head. I was trying to get it out, but wasn’t totally successful. And then as luck would have it, that boys two older siblings came to get him as they needed to leave school. So I told the older boy – who was probably in 6th or 7th grade – that his brother had play doh in hair, that I got out as much as I could, let the parents know, etc. I also told him that the kid who did it was being reprimanded.

Now, I had moved the kid to a different table, and I planned on telling the teacher. However, I didn’t really believe anything would happen to him. Cause this kid acts up all the time and I tell the teacher about crap he pulls every few weeks. And yet he is still pulling it. Which makes me think he doesn’t get in that much trouble. So when the older brother asked me who did it, I pointed out the kid. If I was a teacher I wouldn’t be able to do that. Although my friend who is a teacher said she would be like “I can’t tell you that, but I also can’t stop your brother from pointing him out.” I love my friend.

The cafeteria has been extra crazy the past couple weeks. Not helping the situation is that more kids are buying lunch as their parents are over packing lunch. Two weeks ago I started letting Averi buy more often too. And then I realized that so many kids were buying that the lines were getting too long and kids were spending 25 of their 30 minute lunch in line, giving them only five minutes to eat. So I’m back to making her lunches. Luckily, as we have discussed, she loves soup. Make one batch and I’m set for week.

This week I made a Potsticker Soup, as I wanted to use up a bag I had in freezer. The recipe I found on allrecipes called for onions and frozen stir fry veggies. I had neither, but I did have a can of mixed veggies and one of lima beans. I don’t actually recommend the mixed veggies cause the potatoes were weird. So either get the stir fry veggies or just use a can of peas or corn.

Otherwise the soup is great. The potstickers heat up nice in the broth, which has a great nutty taste from the sesame oil. I also added Chile paste and Sriracha to my bowl, to give a kick to the broth. Delicious. Just the jolt I will need if I have to deal with kids all day. 🙂