A New Sign

Ever since the baby came, we posted a sign on our front door:
"No Soliciting, Please."

It doesn't work. It is time for me to revise that sign. My thoughts, especially after today, are for my new sign to say:

"No Soliciting, Please.

If you insist on disregarding this notice

I will have no choice but to waste your time

as you are wasting mine.

We will call you if we desire

Magazines,

Vacuums,

Alarm Systems,

Meat,

etc.,

Now go away."

Happy Birthday to, dare I say it...

Happy Birthday to the most influential writer EVER!

The Bard's birthday is tomorrow. Help us celebrate by tuning in tomorrow! Click this link to find out more information. Regardless of whether or not you agree with me, you cannot deny the impact he's had on the world, especially the English speaking of us. He's coined more phrases than any one - ones we use to this day.

Happy Birthday, William!

Senior "Aphorisms"

You wouldn't know unless you'd been there!

It's not my fault.

They were on the moors!

It's an onion.

For those of you who follow...am I missing any?

Spring Pics

Heading in to the TRULY hectic part of the year, thought I'd lighten your day by showing updated pics of Syd... Here, he's helping Daddy push the cart housing our new lawn mower to the car!

And, once we get the mower home, we must watch every boustrophedous line.

Daddy and Syd on a beautiful spring day.

Mommy and Syd somehow manage to take a picture of themselves!

My little leprechaun.

Daddy and Sydney play airplane!

Sydney and his best buddy, Zane (also known as Nennnnn!) play together. Daddy and Syd play under his new Cars kiddie table.

Sydney really loves his new Cars table and chair set. And the best part is, since the store was trying to get rid of excess stock, we got the whole thing for only $9!

Syd tries out his new sandals.

Growing so quickly. It's almost difficult for me to remember what he was like before he could run, climb, and reach everything in sight! Sometimes, I think he is from Elastigirl, not me!! Nothing is safe...

Riding the Wave

Image from here.

Although I find the water very relaxing, comforting, medicinal, and therapeutic, I am not much of a swimmer. I nearly suffocated as a child - a very odd story...ask me about it some time... And for that reason have always struggled with losing control, especially when the waves of the ocean are buffeting me. I've also had some serious sinus trouble in my life - 3 broken noses, a 2-year stint with a sinus infection, all culminating in surgery my senior year of high school and acute knowledge of every pressure change Mother Nature throws at me (rain is coming for this weekend...). Surgery on my sinuses reduced/eliminated my ability to close off my nose while swimming so, yes, I hold my nose when I swim. For that reason, although I admire surfers and swimmers, I've never been much of one, myself. But today, I heard an analogy from Dr. Robert Schultz, a professor at a local college with whom I am working closely on a project with my juniors. We were discussing the classroom, how to maneuver through course-work for the project, and he stated, "Teaching is surfing - the students are the waves and we have to learn to balance, to swerve, as their needs and digressions are discovered." I don't think I could put it more clearly myself. I've always described teaching as a duck on water - on the surface, I am calm, I know what I'm doing (HAH!), and I can manage most situations, but underneath the surface, my legs are pumping at a hundred miles a minute and flailing in many different directions. Can it be both? Can I be a duck who is surfing? I think that best describes this year - I joked with my evaluating supervisor that the year has been great because I've lost about 15 pounds in baby weight by scrambling for my next classroom. She laughed but then in a very serious tone said they were going to try to fix that for me next year. A surfing duck - I scramble for everything, lose papers, forget to eat, but still manage to pull off lessons that seem to work, show that I have some semblance of knowledge, and still manage to veer to the right or left, depending on what is happening with my students and in the classroom. I think I just found my new mascot.

A Few Thoughts

I've been swamped the past week, and the pace is only going to speed up until graduation in June. But in the meantime, here's a few things that have been floating in my mind, and in no particular order...

1. My kid has huge feet. I knew Daddy had wide feet, but thought that was mostly because of his broken ankle when he was a teenager that he walked on for 3 days before seeing the doctor. I knew his grandmother had wide feet, too, but thought that was because she grew up on a farm and didn't wear shoes until absolutely necessary and never in the summer. But it appears that Sydney is going to have large feet, too, and since they are wide, we are unable to obtain the cheaper Target/Walmart/Kmart brands that are more logical, since they grow out of them so quickly.


2. Steve and I have been carefully dolling out our tax refund dollars for things that have been on the 'need' list, either for the family or for the house. Our list is beginning to pare down, but it's been a while since I've felt a bittersweet satisfaction at being responsible, yet wanting to indulge and knowing we shouldn't...


3. My student teacher's time is nearly up. I've enjoyed having her in my class a tremendous amount - we are very similar in personality and teaching style - so much so that our students actually asked if the schools deliberately pair up CTs and STs by personality. That made us laugh a great deal. I love teaching, even if that means teaching the next generation of teachers how to handle the classroom. But I also wonder if she's gotten me spoiled - I've heard horror stories about CT/ST situations that went wrong and hope my next experience doesn't make me rethink the whole situation.


4. Though my STs time is nearly up, she is also a long-term sub at school for another teacher, so she'll still be around. I've gotten accustomed to just walking out to make copies, go to the restroom, make phone calls, etc. - things I never have time to do these days as I bounce between rooms and preps. I told her she is still required to 'audit' my teaching so I can run out when needed!


5. I have Jean Auel's book, The Land of the Painted Caves, sitting on my banister out of Syd reach. I've had the book since the day it was released, and I've only gotten one chapter read. I am torn about this - I so want to delve in to this last segment of the Ayla/Jondalar story, but after one chapter know that I won't be able to focus on the book and teaching at the same time. After one chapter, all I could think about after finishing it was the story, where it's headed, what I may see, and reflecting on what had happened in the past in an attempt to remember the main characters' history. But what I need to do is grade papers, plan for my next units, prepare for SOLs and AP tests. Not to mention mothering... What do I do - suddenly become very ill so I can sit at home and read? Try to do the 'one chapter a night' method that will keep me endlessly attempting to remember where I was in the story or needing to refocus on which paper I was in the midst of grading? Or put the book off until spring break and beg forgiveness from Steve when I ignore him after Syd goes down so I can read it?? Decisions, decisions...


6. Syd went through a growth spurt this weekend - he was up for 3 hours on Friday and I didn't get to sleep until after 2am. And he ate everything in sight on Saturday and today. All of it going to his feet??


7. I still have unsuccessfully eradicated our cacti from the front yard. When we planted it - 5 years ago - we never thought we'd be having a child. And now, after allowing the beauty and wildness to spread nearly unhindered, I am terrified that Syd will trip and fall in to it. I've slowly been removing it, and had planned on doing it during the winter, when the cacti 'dies,' like a deciduous tree. But the weather is warming, and the arms are beginning to stand again, and Syd wants to go outside. I may be pulling a few late nights soon just working my way, ever so carefully, through the spiny pear.


8. I've met my new match in zumba. Lots of fun, but just call me Zoolander.

Lots to do over the next 2 months, and lots to keep me distracted. I look forward to the ever-increasing warm weather, to my freedom at the end of this month (spring break!), and to a summer with Syd. In the meantime, I'm still trying to keep from letting my own thoughts and concerns spill out for all to see, which is a double-edged sword...when I keep it in, I'm scolded for being 'in a bad mood,' and when the levees do break, I'm scolded for pulling a 'woe is me' attitude. I'm human, but I do my best.

A Scare & A Blessing

We were eating lunch today, getting ready to leave for a birthday party. Daddy ate lunch and was feeding Sydney while Mommy showered, and then we switched. Syd wasn't eating much - his molars are coming in and he wasn't feeling all too well. I made the mistake of trying to get him to eat something, SOMETHING, and in this attempt, gave him the smallest of bites of my sandwich. It truly was no bigger than a pinkie fingernail. Teeny, tiny piece of bread, jelly, and peanut butter. Syd has eaten peanut butter before. A tiny bite here, a taste there. I didn't think twice about giving him a smidgen, just to see if he'd eat it. He played with it, and I removed it from his tray before he made a mess out of it. Yes, a mess - he's 18 months, and anything can become a mess. So, we're talking, singing, and waiting for Daddy to finish getting ready. He took a 2 hour nap, so I know he was ready to get down and play. But then he started rubbing his eyes. And I thought to myself, "What on earth? I KNOW you can't be sleepy!" But the rubbing continued and when he removed his hand this time, there was a bubble under his left eye. And welts were starting on his forehead. And a bee sting looking welt on his left temple. I've been in emergency situations many times before. And as much as I know I want to panic, something inside won't let me, which is a good thing. It's come in handy over the years - the time I slit my thumb knuckle -to-knuckle when a dish burst on me in the sink; the time a bound tent collapsed on a student athlete's shin at a track meet, or when a relay team decided to dance with the pavement, or when the hurdler did the same, or when a student went rigid then passed out in class... Today was no different, except it was my son, not someone else's. I turned him towards the light, saw the increasing welts on his face, and ran to get the Benedryl. We give him a 1/2 teaspoon at night on nights when his teething really bothers him. I didn't want him to overdose on the medicine, but I didn't know how much would be too much, so I gave him a bedtime dose. Then called the on-call nurse. After speaking with her for a few minutes, she determined that he was severe enough to need to see the doctor. We packed him up and flew for the hospital. His swelling continued to worsen as we drove, but he was in such good spirits - saying hi to all the emergency room patients, blowing kisses at the nurses, making the noises of all the animals drawn on the walls in the pediatric waiting room. And though he seemed to be getting sleepy in the car, no doubt due to the Benedryl, he was wide awake once we got there - so many new sights to see!! The hospital visit went very smoothly. Things went quickly, which was a blessing, and since the swelling started to subside, he was given the 'ok,' which Daddy said he wouldn't relax until he received. Thankfully, the doctor who saw him said the exact same thing happened with her son 2 days earlier - he is 17 months, and apparently, she'd done the same thing - gave him little bites of her granola bars until one day- BAM - it had an effect on him. So - no nuts or nut products until after age two, and then, as she said, "You can try them in small doses with lots of Benedryl nearby." We also received a prescription for a baby epi-pen. I'm both thankful and terrified at the same time. I loathe the idea of slamming a needle in to my son's chest, but if absolutely necessary, I know I'll be able to do it. Thank goodness it is a long weekend. Thank goodness I was home with Syd and Daddy, so Daddy could drive and I could keep an eye on Syd. Thank goodness I am home tomorrow with him to administer more Benedryl and make sure this is all behind us. And thank goodness I have a husband who understood that once Syd was down for the night, I was probably going to break down, knowing that he was safe.