Yowzers, This is Some Ride

Well, as part of our increased attack on our debt snowball, I am working full-time this quarter. It sounds impressive, but really working full-time as an adjunct faculty member just means I am teaching three classes. And they are all the same class, so really I am prepping for one lecture/lab combination, and teaching it twice (one lecture and 2 lab sections, then one lecture/lab combo--yes it's confusing).

I wasn't slated to teach 3 classes this quarter, but I got a call from the dean on the Friday before the quarter started (on Monday). They had a long waitlist for another section of this class, and wanted to know if I would be interested in teaching another section...which oh by the way would bump me up to full-time pay from the adjunct payscale, including benefits. Um, heck ya! For reference, it's more than DOUBLE the pay of the adjunct gig, to add that one class...sure makes sense from a math perspective. So DH & I figured out if the schedule would work for us, and once we determined that we decided to go for it.

The downside is that I have put the kiddos in daycare for a few hours every day. The normal section of this class is offered daily, so I have to be on campus for about two hours every day. They are old enough to enjoy playing with other kids, but it's still not optimal. DS is adjusting slowly, but the teachers are amazed at how well he does since he's never been in daycare before. Today when I picked him up he was singing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and doing the hand movements with his teacher--so cute! DD is just fine with it--she views it as her second school (after preschool) and she is quite happy to be there. Still, knowing they are only little once, I am sorry to miss out on any time with them. I am selfish that way, I suppose.

My students are great so far, which is helpful. It's far harder to motivate oneself to do a super job of explaining things if you feel like the students are totally non-engaged. I believe I have just described the reason that I am not a public school teacher! However, most of my students are older, coming back to school to retrain for a new career. They are motivated and they are paying their own way, which makes a huge difference in how they handle the coursework.

I am in the second week now, so I've got eight more to go. It's going to be a tough slog, especially the beginning of the week. I have lectures and labs each day, and it's tiring. Of course it doesn't help that we are expecting our third child, so I've been battling pregnancy insomnia and fatigue. Fortunately I am into the second trimester now, so I can hope I will get my energy back like I did with the other two pregnancies. And I am just starting the grading grind...lab data and quizzes, plus homework! Plus writing my first exam in a few weeks. Phew! It's going to be a busy eight weeks.