(Summer) School's out for Summer!

^A spin on Alice in Chains :)

After 3 weeks that crept along yet flew by so fast, I'm now officially done teaching summer school. It was a fun experience. My co-teacher and I (who also teaches 1st) got to meet a few of our next years' students (unbeknownst to them!), and we got to "practice" some intervention and progress monitoring stuff we're implementing next year. It was academic, but it was easy to teach and it was laid-back. I even liked teaching this type of summer school better than teaching what I did in the past (knitting, play dough, tye-die, etc.) And best of all, we got a nice little check yesterday which, I hope you know by now, when straight to our credit cards. I'm hoping our first credit card in our snowball can be paid off in September or October!

I almost regret not teaching the entire 6 weeks. Had I done that, that credit card would be completely paid off. But I know this sounds funny, it wasn't even a choice for me this year. So it's fine.

Now I need to make up a rest-of-summer bucket list!

Life Lately

I'm utterly exhausted.

We had Ben's baptism last weekend. It was good. I need to post pictures of it, but by the time I'm sitting on the couch, I have a baby on my lap along with my laptop. Like right now Ben's sleeping and my arms are reaching over him to type.

Work has been crazy. The kids are absolutely off the wall. Spring sprung early this year, so the unruly behaviors we usually see in May have already started in March and we still have more than 2 months to go. Ugh. Add to that high school drama with co-workers who whine and don't put on their big girl panties and do their job (that's all I'll say about that!), and it makes for some stress.

Colin has been sick the last few days and might have Whooping Cough. He's up to date on his vaccines, but one of the girls at daycare was just diagnosed with it. She went to the doctor on Tuesday and JUST got diagnosed with it today, four days later. She's been at daycare all along. And then Colin decides to put his mouth on the toys that the little baby also puts in her mouth, and germs are spread. I took Colin in for a Whooping Cough test to see if he has it, and got antibiotics as a precautionary. We won't know if it's positive until Tuesday. Last night, I "medicated" him all I could. I gave him honey cough syrup, wrestled him down and shot saline up his nose, rubbed Vicks BabyRub on his feet and chest, and plugged a Vicks vapor plug-in thing into the outlet in his room. He slept a lot better last night than he did the night before, so we'll do the same thing again tonight and hope it works. Now I can only hope that Ben doesn't get it. He has gotten one DTaP vaccination and is 100% breastfed, so I'm hoping that helps. It's hard to keep Colin away from him though.

Ben has slept through the night 3 nights in a row. I probably just jinxed it by writing it, but that's okay. I nurse him around 8:30 or so, and after he has a full belly, Kevin walks around with him and he dozes off and sleeps until we have to wake him up at 6:30. It's heavenly!

I'm going to win a half billion dollars later tonight, so if you don't hear from me for awhile, just assume I'm getting all my financial ducks in a row. I'll be back. Don't worry :)

Back to the ol' grindstone

I went back to work yesterday. I was ready to get back into a routine, after falling into a pit of laziness. Towards the end of maternity leave, my days looked a lot like this:

• Wake up, shower, get dressed.
• Take Colin to daycare (unless we have a playdate, then he stays home)
• Come back home, sit on couch
• Get on computer, refresh facebook every 5 minutes.
• Get disappointed when people aren't posting anything on their facebook walls
• Realize that's because everyone else is working
• Eat lunch
• Refresh facebook some more
• "Window shop" online
• Refresh facebook some more
• Make documents in Word, like my shopping list document that is laid out using the Aldi floor plan
• 3:00. Go pick up Colin.

*Nursing/caring for Ben interspersed throughout the day, of course.
**An occasional trip to Aldi/Target/Walmart once or twice a week.

I needed some routine in my life.

Monday morning, we left the house on time. Drop off went incredibly well. I didn't cry. It's different when:

• It's your second kid, and your oldest is there to watch over your littlest
• You know your daycare provider
• Your kid has hung out with your daycare provider
• You're only 5 minutes away
• You have 3 months of work until summer and you're off

I unlocked my door and walked into my quiet classroom and immediately felt overwhelmed because

• I wasn't sure what routines were still in place, and which ones had been changed
• I didn't know what to teach
• Although I know it's my classroom, it didn't feel like "my" classroom.

The day went well. I felt the love from my kids. My long term sub stuck around for 2 "reverse shadow" days so I could slowly get back into it. That was awesome. I became reacquainted with my "stuff" and my space. I got a chance to establish my pumping schedule.

I left school as soon as I was contractually able. I picked up the boys and Sandy told me Ben had a great day. He drank his milk without issue. He slept for an hour and a half, with some catnaps thrown in (he usually sleeps a lot more than that, but it's ok).

We went home. Ben was asleep for the night by 8:30 (usually it's more like 9:30). He did wake up last night, but still just once, and woke up for the day at 6:30, which is when he has to wake up anyway.

Today was good too. I felt more comfortable with my students. I have a list of things I need to do to get my kids back to where I expect them to be. I have 3 days before spring break to get some footing.

Ben did well at daycare today. The kids went outside twice today since it was so nice out. He took a 3 hr nap and some catnaps, which is more typical of him. He didn't drink a lot of milk, but when we got home he drank a 6 oz bottle and nursed, so I'm sure he's fine. We went for a walk tonight and he seemed happy but tired. He fell asleep at 7 pm, and almost 2 hrs later he's still sleeping. I'm sure he's just overdosed on fresh air and vitamin D :)

So yeah...back in the game. Feeling good. Feeling motivated. Although I am counting down to summer. 58 days to go, and it's going to go quickly!

Hodge Podge

Not much exciting is going on around here. So just a quick little hodge podge of news for you...

Ben is good. He takes a 3-4 hr nap every day, which allows me to either be hyper-productive or anti-productive (sadly, I've been choosing the latter recently). He's been sleeping pretty well at night. Not all the way through, but just waking once to eat and going back to sleep right away. Once he starts "snacking" vs. eating, we'll try to wean him off of waking up altogether. Although I'm hoping he'll just do that on his own :) We've set a goal to get him to drink from a bottle once a day for these next few weeks because he starts daycare on the 5th and he's not so much loving the bottle. We're working on the details (like a date!) for Ben's baptism. That's my goal before maternity leave is up--to get that on the calendar and the people in place for it.

Colin is good. He's had jumping beans in his pants the last few days. Cabin fever or something. We're struggling with him getting down from the table and jumping around rather than eating. We've threatened to get the booster seat back out and strap him in it during supper time.

I'm good. My maternity leave is coming to a close quickly. I go back the 5th (less than 2 weeks away!) and I'll do a "reverse shadow" for 2 days. It will help me ease back into it, Since, you know, I can't just leave 20 6 and 7 year olds unattended to pump for 15 minutes! It might be rough those first few days having to hold out until lunch or prep, so if I need to leave my long term sub will be there for back up. Whew! Spring break starts the 12th so working just 1 week will be good way to ease into it again. I'm ready to go back. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is being so goshdarn tired and working through it and pretending to not be tired. Not that I nap a whole lot at home anyway. Ben will do great at daycare, Colin will enjoy having him there, and I know he'll be in good hands.
My decluttering frenzy has died down a bit because I decluttered a lot already! Right now I'm working on the basement storage room. My mom came up over the weekend and helped me get rid of some stuff. I need to find the right organizers for some things, and then I'll be ready to tell you about it.
I'm going to hold another introductory session to recruit one more class of piano students. Hopefully I'll get a few more kids. I'd love to have 3-5 more.

Kevin is good. He's starting up a blog :) No, it's not about his adventures in fatherhood, although that might be...entertaining. It's work-related. When it's up and running I'll share the url with you and you can visit him.

Rocket's good. I think he's ready for spring. He misses lying in the grass basking in the warm sunshine. Aren't we all?

We're all good.

You good?

And other updates

Aside from finishing the triathlon, here's what else has been happening:

Colin's in a big potty training regression phase. {insert sarcasm font} It's pretty awesome {end sarcasm font}. He has more wet pants than dry pants these days. He gets so busy he forgets to tell one of us. Or I ask him and he says no, and then 5 minutes later he pees his pants. It's so frustrating I want to scream and cry. But I don't. I just have to have scheduled potty breaks built in the day I guess.

We took one side of Colin's crib off. We did this for a few reasons.
1) I heard a story about a 2 year old who climbed out of his crib and started having seizures. He was admitted to the hospital and died a few days later.
2) I thought it would be easier for him to use the bathroom at night if one side was off, so he didn't feel like he was trapped and his only option was to wet the bed.
3) He wasn't sleeping well. I've learned that when he's being a stinker, it sometimes helps if you challenge him. Then the problem goes away.

Well, a week later after completely unsuccessful weekend naps, the side is back on. We did this for a few reasons.
1) He fell out of his bed at least once a night, which didn't seem like a big deal to him, but we'd have to go and put him back in bed.
2) He still had the same amount of accidents, if not more.
3) He's sleeping better now with the side on.
Thus, the experiment was a dud. Try again later.

One of my best high school guy friends, Troy, who lives 20 minutes away from us, had a baby on Saturday. Well, technically he didn't have a baby, his wife did. I got to see sweet little Lauren and I look forward to hopefully spending some time with them this summer. Troy is a teacher too so it shouldn't be too hard to find a time to meet up.

7 more student days until summer starts! On Thursday we're going to Como Zoo so it's not even a real school day!

My wordy thoughts on this whole Wisconsin Anti-Union Bill thing.

Take a bathroom break, get a glass of water, and possibly a meal before you start reading.

First and foremost, I hate politics. I just want everyone to get along. While that is not realistic, it's how I am. And politics is the epitome of not getting along. Two sides that were created to disagree with each other. Happy mediums made.

As you are probably aware to some extent, Scott Walker, the Governor of Wisconsin, wants to pass a bill that would help the state get out of its $3.6 billion debt. The bill includes making public employees (teachers, highway workers, correctional officers, UW system employees, etc.) pay 5% of their income toward retirement (as opposed to their employer paying all of it) and pay 12% towards their health insurance. These figures are in-line with other jobs. The bill also would do away with collective bargaining (unions). It's a big deal when you're in the midst. If passed, the bill will take effect on April 1st. The bill was supposed to be voted on today, but none of the Democrats showed up to vote. They're hiding somewhere. At school I'm bombarded with varying degrees of liberalness (I probably made that word up), and at home I get one degree of very-conservativeness. So here I am in the middle with arms being pulled in two separate directions. Join my co-workers in protest (especially over the loss of collective bargaining) or listen to my husband's "there's nothing you can do about it/it won't be as bad as you're hearing/etc." ???

Here are my random thoughts. You are entitled to your own thoughts and I'll still love you just the same.

1. Teachers have a sense of entitlement. I can't speak for every school district or employee. But...personally, in my school district, I get paid pretty well for only working 10 months out of the year (because honestly, I'm 95% checked out of work at the end of June, all of July, and the first half of August). We get a raise every year, guaranteed. Plus the school district puts in money for our retirement and we have good health insurance. These benefits are privileges, not rights. I went into teaching because of the JOB (and, I admit, the summers off. I'm not one that likes to be cooped up inside when it's nice outside), not because of the benefits. It just so happens the benefits that go along with the job are pretty darn good.

2. It wouldn't suck so bad if we didn't have all this debt! The money that will be "taken out" of my check will still be going towards stuff for ME. It's not like it won't be mine anymore. And Kevin says school districts may even allow you to keep the 5% in your check as opposed to putting it towards retirement.

3. Many districts have held "sick-outs" in which enough teachers call in sick that there aren't enough substitutes to cover and school is canceled. Our union encouraged us ("without encouraging us") to call in sick tomorrow. I will not call in sick, therefore, unless it's canceled, I will be at school. It's not the kids' fault that adults can't come to an agreement. They don't understand nor do they care. They just want to go to school and learn and be with their friends.

4. All week long we were told to wear red to show that we wanted to "stop" the bill. I wore red on Monday because it was Valentine's Day and made it a point to wear any color besides red the rest of the days.

5. All week long I heard talk of the bill and was told "You have to do this!" "You have to email your senator/representative!" (I did email my representative in support of his decision and got a great response back from him!) "Go to Madison!" "Go to the rally!" "Why aren't you going to the rally?" (Uh...because I have a husband and a little boy at home who I'd rather spend time with, thankyouverymuch) "Wear this sticker that says NO! on it" (I threw it away). One of my co-workers was told to forward some political email to her husband. She didn't want to, but my co-worker friend who is all involved in this practically MADE her do it, and WATCHED her until she pushed send. This co-worker and I just found out today that we're in the same boat politically. And if we were to stand up and say something that was against what the majority of the people at school would say, we'd be practically burned at the stake. At the very least, people would talk behind our backs as if we had 2 heads. I know this because another co-worker who fought in Iraq made it known that he supports the bill and now people are talking.

6. When the bill passes, unions can re-form under their own terms. A school district needs 97% involvement from their teachers in order to form a union. 3% of our staff population is about 4-5 people. If I decide not to join, people will know, and if I'm one of 4, people will be MAD. Do you know how much money I put towards the union that could be paying off our debt? Too much.

7. Something's gotta give. If Walker didn't choose this bill, he'd have to cut 6,000 jobs. I'd rather have to pay for some of my own retirement and health insurance than not have a job at all.

8. We get so angry about paying welfare. Well...isn't the health insurance/retirement benefits we get kind of like welfare? The taxpayers are paying for it.

9. For people who work in such selfless jobs, some are just being plain old selfish.

10. I just want to teach instead of dealing with all of this crap. I felt sick to my stomach all day being around it. Or maybe it was because I've been eating a whole lot of Valentine candy and a cupcake.

All of these thoughts being said, I'm still scared poopless about what the future holds.
My #1 fear is being in debt FOREVER when we were just getting rolling.
My #2 fear is not being able to afford FB2 (future baby #2).
My #3 fears are job-related: prep time, maternity leave, work hours, what will happen to my banked sick and personal days etc. etc.
My #4 fear is what if working conditions suck donkey and I hate teaching in general? Then what will I do to earn money? Although, I never pictured myself retiring as a teacher, so...

I also know that things always have a way of working out, and somehow we'll make it through. Sometimes HUGE change creates the BEST surprises. I stole this from Leah...(credit) with the utmost amount of hope and trust and optimism.
Brownie sundae if you made it this far. Thanks for listening. Come again!

Today's Wish List

1. Margarita (Chi Chi's tequila rose version)
2. Massage
3. Tropical vacation for about 2 weeks (heck, I'd take tonight through Sunday!)
4. All the right answers

Numbers 1-3 combined in one so I can clear my head and get to number 4. Why?

I've said before I have the sweetest, albeit s p a c i e s t class this year. It's true. But now there's a wrench in it. Without going into too many details, it all revolves around one particular student (it's always just 1, isn't it?), named G. His home life is not ideal...parents together/not together/move out/move back in/etc. Currently, his mom moved out and he's separated from his twin sister. There's SO more to it than that, but you get the jist.

Which means.... he misses his sister. And when she wasn't at school today, he was not well-behaved.

Laundry list:
1. Didn't do ANY academic work. Instead he...
2. Drew a picture for his sister (perfectly okay option in my book) that said "I love you K-"
3. Ran away from me and other adults
4. Kicked another teacher
5. Talked and talked and talked trying to get attention from the class (they're so good at ignoring him, bless them)
6. Bullied other kids
7. etc.

And then there's my super sweet student C. I love that kid. And he's sensitive, and when G pushed him, he cried. Which only makes things worse you know. G knows he can get to C now. So I had a talk with C about not crying in front of G and instead to show him that he's tough by not responding to him.

These behaviors were very rare up until mom moved out. Now it's every day.

You want to love on him. He needs so much love right now, but he doesn't even respond to hugs, praise, or other good things. When you give him those things, that's when he starts the undesirable behaviors. He doesn't know what to do when someone is kind to him. Isn't that sad?

If only I could be whisked away to a tropical isle so I could relax on the beach in my bikini soaking up the sun's warm rays with my little family and a margarita in my hand.

"I'm AJ. Nice to meet you. I'm 30."

^That's how I feel I need to introduce myself to people these days. Weird, right? And not that I actually have, but I feel like everyone's wondering, "Is she in her 20s or her 30s?" Eh, c'est la vie. We all turn 30 sometime.

We celebrated by going to Brady's Brewhouse. It's in town, but when you walk in, you feel like you're somewhere in the Twin Cities. The atmosphere is awesome. The food? Not so much. I ordered a cheeseburger stuffed with Ellsworth cheese curds, which I expected to be ooey gooey goodness. Instead, the bun was pretty crispy and the burger didn't have much taste. Kev had a hamburger with peanut butter inside it, and Colin noshed on some Goldfish-encrusted chicken fingers. I also had a glass of wine. Moscato d'Asti, of course :)

On Thursday, my co-worker teammates treated me to a lunch which was pretty tasty. They gave me this book (notice the dog's name is Rocket and the guy's name is Jake):
Which reminded me that(in regards to my first graders, half of whom are checked out at any given time, but are perfectly capable of what I ask them to do)

On Friday, I got to hang out with some of my co-workers and drink some fuzzy navels and down a few jello shots. I called it an "early" night at 11:30. The rest of them stayed out much later. My excuse for leaving was that if I left right then, I'd be able to get 7 hrs of sleep. That didn't happen! Colin's not sleeping well again, and that night I probably got about 4 hours of interrupted sleep.

On Saturday we had a busy house! My friend Stephie came up and we got pedicures, which was so nice in the cold weather. In case you're curious, my nail polish color is "No Spain, No Gain." (dark plummy purple). Then we ate lunch. Thanks for the girl time, Stephie!!

My parents, bro, and his girlfriend came up as well. We had dinner (grilled chicken veggie tortellini of course!), chatted, and did the present thing. I got some cash to buy some much-needed work clothes with. One of these days I'll take a picture of my sad closet to show you all why my clothes are on a week-long rotation. I also got this:
Yes, it's a baby carrier. But it's best for bigger babies and toddlers. Colin likes to be carried.
Annoying? Yes. But it's just the way he is. He likes to see what's going on. If I have to have him up high, I'd rather wear him and be hands-free than hold him and not get anything done.

Does he like it? I think so. He was being a crab.ster. tonight and just wanted to be carried around the house, so I put him in it and after he realized he'd be okay in it, he succumbed to the coziness of it and calmed down.

1 more day left and I am a free woman for 11 days! Christmas break is here! Just in time, too, because while I really do adore my class this year, a few of the boys are starting to wear on each others nerves. Let's hope a good, long break from their classmates will do some good!

Life's Little Updates

It has been awhile since I did a grand ol' life-in-general update that doesn't include the happenings of the boy child, so here goes:

Running: I haven't run since Sept. 25th due to my cough/ribcage pain/bronchitis I've had since Sept. 19th (not that I'm keeping track). I finally went to the chiropractor a week ago and I feel like $750,000. That last $250,000 will come when I'm finally done coughing. I'm just glad I can read a story to my sweet first graders without coughing through it now. I should have gone to see Dr. S. a long time ago, and I'm considering seeing him another time to really knock the crap out of my system. I do want to start running again once this cold is gone. I'm just nervous about running outside in the cold weather. Part of me thinks I should join Snap again, and actually go 3x a week so I can get my Health Partners discount.

Debt: People, I've never felt so at ease about being $32,549 in credit card debt. Yes, that is the current total. Why do I feel so good about it? I'll tell you why.
#1. Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. THE best $100 we've ever spent. Should've spent it years ago. In two months' time, it has more than paid for itself in the amount of money we've saved using Dave's techniques, advice, etc. Even if you aren't in debt and just want to live feeling more at peace financially, you should check it out.
#2. A budget. We've never had one. We thought budgets stifled fun. We found out that they are a great tool, and heck--obviously we've had way too much fun in the past. It's time to get serious anyway. We don't feel deprived. We feel in control.
#3. Envelope system. We have an envelope for gas and groceries. A certain amount of money goes into those envelopes--based on the budget--and that's what we have to spend. We get $100 for groceries every week. It doesn't seem like much, but e-mealz coupled with a few coupons stocks the cupboards. I'm the dork that punches numbers into a calculator while shopping to make sure I don't go over the $100. And I always save about $5 to buy milk from KwikTrip ($2.14 per gallon!) halfway through the week.
#4. At the end of December (or maybe before!) we'll have our baby step 1 ($1,000 in the emergency fund) finished. We actually just started putting money in our emergency fund last month, so when it's all said and done, it only will take us 3 months to finish that step. In January, we can start putting that couple hundred extra dollars a month towards our debt. This is huge!
#5. We're seeing huge decreases in our debt. We keep track of our debt balances on a whiteboard in our office. If I look back to June, our total was over $35,000. Now it's down to almost $32,000! We get our statement from Family Means every month, and some balances go down by $300. My most favorite thing is when I can change a number in the thousands place :)
#6. Credit card, shred it card. We have none--we shredded them all--and never looked back. LOVE the freedom.
#7. Paying cash rocks my socks.

School: I still have the sweetest class. I don't have huge behavior issues like I did last year. They're not perfect, but they surely aren't driving me bonkers like my class (read: a certain student and all the chaos that revolved around him) last year did.

This weekend, Colin and I are headed to Roch. I'm visiting my girlyfriends, and C and I are staying at my parents' to hang out. It's deer hunting weekend, so it'll be crazyfuntimes. I haven't partook in this annual tradition for probably a decade. I don't hunt deer. I hunt craft shows and the mall. Only this time, it's only window shopping.

What a week!

I had conferences this week. All of them went just fine, especially since I have a great bunch of kids this year. Conferences are much easier to face when you have very few negative things to share.

It's just that they wear me (everyone) down. I get to school at 7:30, teach until 3:00, and conferences are from 4:00 until 7:30. So I'm there for 12 hours, and 12 hours later, I have to come back and teach again. And then the next day you do it all over again.

Needless to say, I drank some leftover wine straight from the bottle on Thursday night, in honor of being done with conferences and our 4th wedding anniversary.

The weather this week has been reminiscent of 10.07.06.

(Betsy Cole Photography)

Sunny and warm with a breeze. One last hurrah before the fall chill finally sets in. Although I'd be happy if it stayed just like this until next spring.

We're going to celebrate our 4 wedded years together later this afternoon. We're thinking Ruby Tuesdays salad bar. We're romantical like that.

But earlier today, after we cleaned the house that had been overly-neglected this week, we went to the fire station's open house to let Colin check out the firetrucks. He (and I) also crawled under some blanket-covered tables to practice crawling out of the house. And, of course, he got a plastic fire hat. He's more amused when we wear it than when he does.

"What I Learned on Summer Vacation" by AJ

[in the "spirit" of the going back to work tomorrow...ugh...I've decided to write a 5 paragraph essay]

I learned many things over summer vacation. I learned more about money, I learned an undefined amount about Colin, and learned about myself.

Kev and I started to really dig into getting out of debt. We signed up for a debt management program and we're 2 payments into it and we're seeing our balances slowly but surely decreasing. We're going to start Dave Ramsay's Financial Peace University online this week to further our money smarts and hopefully progress through the program faster. We also started e-mealz and we're loving it! Most of the recipes are pretty good. There have been a few we didn't even attempt (pecan encrusted fish), a few we regretted attempting (sausage and crab gumbo), and a few we absolutely loved (grilled chicken and veggie tortellini, chicken lo mein). We're spending less at the grocery store for good food and a better variety of dishes. We're eating more veggies and trying new things.

Oh my gosh, where do I start to even delve into how much I learned about Colin this summer? Good gracious my boy is amazing. He kept me on the go all summer, and you don't hear me complaining about it. He absorbed so much knowledge this summer--about trucks, about play, about playgrounds (climbing, sliding, digging, getting dirty), about books, about so much more. He learned sign language with great interest. He's captivated when I show him new signs and loves to try them out. His vocabulary skyrocketed. He skinned up both big toes, fell down more times I can count, and got bit by mosquitoes just as much. He attempted potty training. He went to swimming lessons. He threw his fair share of tantrums, but very quickly learned that throwing them does NOT mean that Mommy will take him outside. Asking is a much better way. He's using his pacifier only for sleeping purposes. He is becoming so much more independent. At his new daycare's picnic on Thursday, he marched right inside with the rest of the kids to play a "go fishing" game while Kevin and I stayed outside with the rest of the parents. It was almost like sending him to kindergarten. No tears though :)

I also learned so much about myself as well. I learned how to handle Colin's more challenging behaviors in a calm, loving way. I learned how to stand my ground. I hope this carries out to the school year with my students. I learned that Colin can do more than I thought he could. He can help me cook by crushing crackers, he can help me pick up toys, he can put laundry down the laundry chute, and not because he has to do it, but because he wants to do it! It's fun! I learned that I can run. No more excuses--I'm doing it. I made a commitment and bought myself a pair of decent running shoes since I've been having a bit of ankle pain. I'm hoping the shoes will make a world of difference, and end up being a great investment in the long run (compared to a possible doctors appointment, physical therapy, MRIs, etc not being great investments). I'm not going to let the ankle pain become an excuse. I've even found out that there is a 5K in our town every MONTH from October through March that I may sign up for. I learned that I only want to teach summer school just through June next summer. My time with Colin is too valuable. The most important lesson I've learned about myself is that I'm doing a pretty darn good job of being a mom. It took 16 months, but I finally feel comfortable in my "mom" skin.

I am so lucky to be fortunate enough to have an entire summer to spend with Colin. What he and I learned together was incredible. Our relationship is full of more understanding and patience with each other. 301 days from now, we can start another summer together. I hope I learn more next summer than I did this one.

I'm a firefighter

These last few weeks at school have been draining! The kids have spent so much time together that they're becoming sibling-like and it's driving me batty! They whine, they tattle, they pick on each other. And here I am, fighting a bunch of little fires between friends.

First, there was K and A, a pair of seemingly sweet little girls. Well, K for the most part is. A is bossy sometimes (she's an only child), and that is not cool with K (who is sandwiched in between 2 brothers). So we had to resolve this issue, because K was scared to even come to school b/c of A's bossiness and sassiness and controlling ways. Luckily, K's mom works with me and could intervene as a mom and talk to A's mom about it. Yesterday, after K had moped around all day and stayed the bleep away from A, A took note of her mood. A approached me during silent reading time and said she needed some time to talk to K. She wanted to apologize. So I seized the opportunity, knowing THIS was the time. A was ready to admit her faults and listen to what K had to say. So they talked. And A listened for a change. And they were buddies for the afternoon. Then something happened at the end of the day again today, and K was mopey again. Ugh.

Then there's C, another seemingly innocent lass. Until you find out she's breaking pencils into tiny pieces. And before you find that out, she gives you a handful of broken pencil pieces and blames it on someone else. And that someone else says that SHE was doing it all along. This is the same C who has clawed or scratched 6 kids on the bus in the last 2 days. One of these kids got clawed AFTER I talked to C at length about the whole situation that very. same. day. She says that they're being mean to her--calling her names, bothering her--but ALL of them deny it. Who do I believe? Even her mom doesn't know who to believe any more.

Then there's J. My shortest little guy. He approached me this afternoon and matter-of-factly, without blinking an eye, said, "T called me a frickin' bitch. And a fib." WHAT? We're 6 and 7 years old, here, people! Where does a wee child find the know how or the courage to even SAY that! T's dad is a teacher at my school, so I told him about it. I also talked to T, who said J was telling kids not to sit by him or play with him. And, of course, J denies it. Meanwhile, T's telling his dad, "I swear he said that." Who to believe? (And regardless, 1st graders don't call each other frickin' bitches anyway).

And then there's the constant Class Clown Competition between H, X, B, C2and J2. Only it's not funny.

5 more days until spring break. We NEED it. We need it like a needle needs a vein, like my uncle Joe in Oklahoma needs the rain ($5 to the first person who can name that tune. And by $5, I mean $0).

It is in the times like these, I know 2 things for sure:
1. Colin will NOT be an only child. No offense to you only children out there.

2. THIS is why I'm so glad Colin is a boy. I can handle having 2 boys. If they're beating each other up, I can send them outside while I do the dishes or knit. 2 girls...no. The drama would KILL me.

Confession:
When I was pregnant with Colin, of course I told everyone I didn't care if I had a boy or a girl. But in reality, yeah...see #2 above.

::Sigh::

Painting therapy commences this weekend. My parents are coming up tomorrow morning to help supervise Colin/help us paint our living and dining room this color:
With accent walls this color:Yikes. Before and after pictures to come.

Well hello there!

Whew! What a busy week it has been. It all boils down to this:
Thursday afternoon, I left work as soon as the kids were out of the building because I was not feeling well. I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in bed...and running back and forth to/from the bathroom with the flu. By the time I was feeling somewhat functional around 11 pm, Kevin was down for the count, so I took the overnight baby shift.

I went to school on Friday, not feeling awesome, but needing to go because we had our first grade program. I muddled through the day, glad it was the end of the week.

On Saturday, the three of us checked out the daycare we *really* wanted. It's an in-home place, and Sandy was really nice. Two of my co-workers have used Sandy for their children, and loved her so much. We're so glad she has an opening in the fall for Colin (as long as unforeseen circumstances don't happen between then and now). She has a very structured day with plenty of outside time, activities, etc. She has a tiny toilet, low sinks, and a kitchenette right there in the basement.

My parents came up on Saturday, too, and hung out with us. I made some cinnamon swirl bread and some lactation cookies. My supply had dropped after being dehydrated from the flu and I was worried. I thought it was the end of breastfeeding because when I pumped, I was only producing 1 oz. at best.

On Sunday, my parents left in the afternoon and we continued to lay low. Kevin and I felt like we were hungover.

Back to work on Monday, and after downing some lactation cookies and drinking plenty of high-calorie Vitamin Water, and finally getting my appetite back (I woke up with a growling stomach!), I was so happy to find that my supply returned.

Colin's cutting the other bottom front tooth. If sleeping poorly means he wakes up every 2 hrs, and sleeping well means he wakes up every 4 hrs, he's sleeping semi-poorly. Last night, after being rocked, nursed, Tylenoled, and Orajeled, we started letting him cry it out again. It sucked. But then he slept for 4 hours. I hate letting him cry, but for the past few weeks, because of his teeth, we've been catering to him (as we should). But we're exhausted, and getting up every 2 hours isn't helping any of us.

It's another busy few weeks at school. The 100th day of school is tomorrow. I don't remember EVER celebrating it when I was in school, but it's a big deal now. Then the Science Museum of MN is coming to our school next week to talk to the kids about Antarctica, and we're going to see a small-town theater production play next Friday. The week after next is conferences. The only part I look forward to is having them done and not having to think about them again until next year :D

We found out last week that Kevin's grandma has a brain tumor. I'm not sure whether it's cancerous or not, but she does have to have it removed and she'll probably need chemo as well. Keep her in your thoughts if you get a chance.