It's weeks like these that make me wish I had a 'REAL' job...

For those of you who didn't realize, I have had a banner two weeks here in NC. 

Last week, Logan was hospitalized with croup for two separate nights.  That's right, he went to the hospital Sunday night, seemed better, went home Monday, and was readmitted Wednesday!  Then yesterday, I got a text at 2 am informing me of my grandmother's death.  She had been sick for a while and hospitalized over the weekend.  We were expecting her passing and she was ready to rejoin Pop Pop in heaven, but it's always painful to lose someone that close. To top it off, Logan has surgery to put tubes in his ears this morning, we are leaving in 30 - 45 minutes.  It's been a busy fortnight.

It's times like these that I wish that I had a REAL job.  Most people can take off for major events like these rather easily.  The work will be done by someone else or it will be there when they get back the next day.  Such is not the life of a teacher.  I missed 2 full days and 2 half days for Logan's croup/hospitalizations last week and I am missing 1 today for his ear-tube surgery.  Because of this, I can't afford to take off another day to drive the 10 hours for my grandmother's funeral.

It's not neccessarily the money that makes me unable to afford the trip, it's the intangible 'damage' that will be done to the progression of my lessons.  When I am absent, I have 86 kids to think about.  What will they do when I am gone?  Will they behave?  What work can I give that will keep them on track for when I return?  I know that some of my students appreciate me now, and some will appreciate me later, but few realize how much I agonize to be away from them and put a halt to their learning.

In truth, I could probably make it to the funeral if I drove through the night without really stopping and got only a couple hours of sleep, but my father, Aunt Debi, and mom have convinced me that Grandma would not want me to jeopardize my son who has just had outpatient surgery and my unborn child to attend a ceremony for her body.  She would tell me that it's not really her in there and that I can say goodbye from anywhere now. 

So, goodbye Grandma!  I love you.  Have fun with Pop Pop.  Eat a steak, have some cake, and just enjoy being with him again.  I will do my best to pass on the values you taught us to my kids, both natural and adopted (students)

My son, the shy one...

So, I picked up Logan from school yesterday and asked him to say Bye-Bye to his teacher Miss Kaycee.  He politely waved and he teacher made a comment like, "We'll get you to talk soon."  I was SHOCKED!  My son has been talking for over a year!  He speaks very well for his age.  Just this morning he reached for my hand and guided me into the kitchen saying, "eat buh-fast" (toddler translation = eat breakfast).

Well, apparently not at school!

I had to inform both of his teachers that he can say several words, including Grampa, Nana, Ball, Duck, and Casey!  With this new found knowledge, both have said they are going to work on getting him to talk at school.  Who knew my son was so shy?!?!

Random thoughts that have filled my head over the past few weeks...

• I miss my brother and sister-in-law.  It's not like I saw them that often, but it was nice to know I could drive a couple of hours and be at their front door.
• Logan is growing up way to fast.  He's already 18 months old.  Yesterday, the nurse soothed us with the fact that he was receiving his last immunization before kindergarten.  KINDERGARTEN!  He will start kindergarten in 2015....it seems all too soon.
• I want another baby.  I would love a baby girl.  My own little Ryleigh Jane to join her big brother.  Soon enough, I guess.  We'll start trying again this fall for our 2nd and final child.  Boy or girl, they will be greatly loved.
• I miss Europe.  I just went with some of my 'kids' and had a blast!  I miss the trains and the scenery.  Learning a new place.  It was horrible leaving Mike and Logan behind, though.  Sadly, with the economy as it is, I can't see us going over anytime soon.  Though I'd love to try Germany and visit Dave and Case.  They'll be there through at least 2014, so maybe if people start chipping in now, we can see them before they leave!

Breakthroughs...

Logan ate a green vegetable on Saturday.  He devoured an entire package of the peas from sugar snap peas, leaving Mike and I the hulls to eat.  This is only one of many changes we've been going through in the last month. 

Logan is loving daycare, especially Art and Water Play.  He still cries sometimes when I drop him off, but Ms. April and Miss Kaycee assure me that he never cries for more than a minute.  Mike definitely gets the better end of the deal, though.  Until recently, he has always been the one to pick Logan up...I was missing out.  You get to see him play and have fun and when he sees you there he just RUNS as fast as he can.  HE lunges himself into your legs to be enveloped by Daddy's or Mommy's loving arms.  It's great!  More updates to come...

Logan's 1st Day at Preschool (5/2/11)

When I feel that I'm a success...

As many of you would probably agree, we criticize ourselves more than anyone else ever does.  I often find myself questioning myself...as a mother...as a wife...as an educator.  Am I doing all that I can?  I know that it will all be 'OK,' but who wants to settle for just 'OK'?

There are sometimes when I feel successful.

When I bake, I feel like SuperMom!!!

Zucchini Bread for the men at home.

There are, of course, other times when I feel the sweet taste of success...When Logan smiles at me.  When a student says thank you (yes, it has happened more than once!).  When Mike holds my hand in the car.  I'd just thought I'd share my simple joy.

Aimee :p

The Dryer is Innocent and Other Random Facts of My Day!

• The  refrigerator is a thief...especially when you have a young child!  Logan pushed his phone under the fridge on accident this afternoon.  I did what any mom would do and got on the floor with a flashlight.  I saw it...gleaming red...over half of the way under the massive appliance.  Of course it's not on the floor, though.  It's on some kind of plate that can never be reached!  I am now convinced that all those socks that go missing are really under the fridge.  THE DRYER IS INNOCENT!!!
• Adults are worse than children when it comes to following directions.
• It's truly depressing when strangers speak to you with pity in their voices after you tell them what you do.
• The most adorable thing ever is to watch your child dance.  Logan has started shaking his little tooshie! :)

Short but sweet...gotta go bathe the booger.

Frustration!

So, I know you were all on the edge of your seats to see if I could get through the massive amounts of papers I had to grade. Well, I have! All but a single project for my smallest class, I was planning on grading it tomorrow morning. (It's computer based and I don't have the program on my laptop.) Why am I frustrated, you ask? Because the geniuses that work for our online grading system put an unannounced maintenance weekend in place. That means, no grades for me until 6 am Monday! Now this is normally not a problem, but Logan is up by 6 am and I have a meeting which I will miss most of my planning period for. Oh, and grades are due at noon! FUN! Why would they have an unannounced weekend? Click the link on their 'We are down' page and it says maintenance for April 2011 is from the 22-25. Apparently, they just figured out that it was EASTER and they don't want to work on that weekend...you know, when they could actually have it from Thursday to Saturday and possibly bypass screwing over the teachers and students and still have a holiday. So, I head to my email and try to find out if there is anything that can be done. To my dismay, there is an email from NCAE (NC Assoc. of Educators) stating that, though it has not been approved, the motions are on the table in the General Assembly to cut the extra pay that teachers with Masters' Degrees and National Board Certification receive. Ummm, those both pertain to me, and that would be at least a 20% pay cut! I know I shouldn't worry until it's passed and that I should be thankful to have a job, but OMG!

At that point, I might as well leave the profession. I hope it doesn't come to that.

The life of a mother/teacher....

Who knew how difficult it would be to keep up with my grading with a little one? Ok, so, I'm not stupid. I totally realized that it would be a struggle, I guess I just never thought I would get so far behind. It probably doesn't help that I have 3 different courses that I teach daily, including one with no book and no true curriculum. At the moment, I am buried under the last paper of 3rd quarter...the Honors Anatomy Research Paper. As I read, in an attempt to dig myself out, I am amazed at the lack of writing skills in our youth today. Those of you who know me may wonder why I assign papers to begin with. "You're a science teacher. What does that have to do with writing?" I've heard this so many times...from parents, students, administrators, and fellow teachers. It doesn't even suprise me anymore. My simple response is, why wouldn't I write with my kids? So, as I spend the wee hours of the night and Logan's 2 hour afternoon naps grading papers this weekend, think of me and my fellow mother/teachers. Being a mother is hard enough without having to bring home work as well.

Yes, Miss Aimee, there is a God...

...and he has answered our prayers! Logan is now eating MUCH better. He will actually eat chicken now! Chicken Soup - YES! Chicken Nuggets - YES! Chicken Tenders - YES! He's also eating mac-n-cheese again. On the vegetable front, I can say that I am truly thankful to live in a world with V8 Fusion. With vegetables and fruits, I have replaced his plain grape juice with it and he loves it! That's a good thing, especially since he won't consume many vegetables. He'll eat sweet potato and carrot (lightly honey/sugar glazed). However, if it's green, then you can count him out! He'll try them...Into the mouth they go...swirl it around a bit...then out it comes again. Oh well. I'll settle for whatever I can get. Our next goal is fish (like simple fish sticks first), then beef.

HELP!!! My son is a lacto-fruititarian.

Logan will NOT eat meat!

Feed him vegetables you say...but he won't eat that either.

He will eat grilled cheese and PB&J...no pasta or hot dogs or ravioli. He is even refusing our go to soups now. If you have any ideas, please let us know!

They grow too fast...

We signed Logan up for preschool on Thursday. He begins his studies on May 2nd. They has a whole curriculum set up for the kids...March is 'Up in the Sky' month. It is actually quite cool.

Before I know it he will be walking and talking on his own. He's had simple words, like ma-ma, da-da, uh-oh, and ball, down pat for a while. In the past week, however, he's picked up 2 new words that are the cutest. First, he has learned HOT. Of course with the 13-month old accent it sounds more like, 'ott', but we know what he means. The newest addition to his repertoire is to pick up a phone...it could be your cell phone or one of his toy phones or just his hand...and place it next to his ear saying, 'eh-oh'. The child is saying hello.

I know this may seem trivial to some. I have personally heard stories of my own childhood where I was 14 months old saying, 'Ducky ow-side, momma.' But I think it's exciting!

What are they thinking?

So, most of you know that I am a teacher. Before Logan was born, I was often given the 'wait until you have kids' look. Well you know what? I am a parent and I STILL honestly have to say, what were they thinking?!?!?! I would like to pass on some tidbits of wisdom from a veteran teacher, yes I am now old, to fellow parents.

1. Your child will lie. All animals are born with a self-preservation instinct. Children are no different and will tell you that their teacher only gave them 1 day to do a major project. Realize that your child may be stretching the truth and try a novel idea...Contact the teacher!!

2. Laws apply to your kid too! Just because your child has enrolled in a course that involves them leaving campus, does not mean you should give your un-licensed driver the keys to your car. Just because they are stressed at school, does not mean that they must do drugs.

3. Adults are NOT out to 'get' your child. Most of us just want your child to succeed. Now, I'm not saying that there aren't bad teachers out there, because there definitely are. Just remember the old verse, "You reap what you sow." Odds are that a paranoid child/parent is also a slightly defensive and or combative child/parent.

4. It is NOT ok to swear at your child. Children learn by example. They are not born with a filter. If you routinely swear at them, they will not know when it is inappropriate to curse themselves. This is especially true when you come to the school and swear at teachers and principals.

5. Read to your kids. I don't care if you read the racing form, the TV guide, or the back of your beer bottle. Just expose your kids to reading. It will increase their vocabulary and they will actually do better in school and in life.

Welcome the Toddler

So, Logan has officially reached toddler hood. The boy slept for 11 hours last night...8:30 -7:30. We have reached the 1 nap a day stage and I can truly say I'm excited! Now all we are waiting for is the toddle, or for him to let go.

Where does he get that from?

My son is stubborn. Now I don't know where he could have gotten that, but he needs to quit! I am lucky, it is usually with regards to food and so far we have been able to trick him.

If it's a new food...nope he won't try it! If it's even the first bite of something he's had before...NOPE! You have to literally force the 1st bite in and then he'll eat! Our newest farse is to mix avacado with some of his favorite yogurt and put it in the yogurt container...he he he!

Just keep us in your thoughts and prayers and imagine Logan eating meat/protein that isn't smooshy.

I'll do better, Ma, I swear!

So...it's been like 3 months since my last post. Sorry!

Life is good. Logan is growing like a weed. Mike and I wonder where the time has been going. At last official check he was over 24 lbs, but still in the 60th percentile for weight and height...so average for kids born over 8 lbs.

Now we are fighting the teething battle...pray that they come in without us having to get up every morning at 3:45.