keeps getting crazier....

Someone who was looking at my Instagram mentioned to me the other day that they had read my most "recent" blog post. "Oh, that old post?" I felt like replying. It made me think about how much has happened since I logged in here and I felt like I should update.  I guess blogging has gone by the wayside as an uncool form of social media, but I have been blogging here for so long it feels weird to let it go altogether.

It has been a crazy month or so.  I did survive September.  One of my students with significant behavior concerns ended up being placed out of district, which I think was the best thing for him.  That took a lot off my plate.  We were also able to get another one of my students who wants to harm herself hospitalized, which was a huge relief for me.  I had literally been losing sleep over her situation.  So things at work are still rough, but improved from September when I was so discouraged that I had not been able to get a new job.

Another exciting piece of news is that I am expecting another baby!  Total surprise!  I had chalked up my late period, weight gain and total exhaustion to the craziness and stress of this school year.  I finally said to Ryan as I dozed off on the couch at like 6:30 one night, "I have not been this dead tired since I was pregnant with Hannah" and that was when things started to click. The Saturday the Pope was in town I took a pregnancy test to "rule that out" and spent the rest of the weekend in total shock.  Shock and terror continued as I went to the OB/GYN expecting them to give me a due date of, like, July, and was told my baby is coming mid-April as an ultrasound revealed a perfect little profile with a waving hand.   I pretty much missed the whole first trimester, so I have had to squeeze in some appointments for blood work and what not to make up for lost time. We will have the anatomy scan/gender reveal a week from tomorrow.

I feel pretty good (people's favorite thing to ask you when you are pregnant-- how are you feeling?).  We have had so much going on lately that I haven't even really had a chance to think about being pregnant, so I guess that is good; so different from my other two pregnancies where I obsessed over every little thing.  Once in a while when I am laying still at night, I can feel the little fluttery movements.  Anyways, I think that is part of the reason I didn't end up getting a new job.  It would have been awkward to start in a new district and then go out on maternity leave.  And now I only have to hang on until mid-April, instead of the end of June. We don't have any room in our house for another baby, or really any money to pay for him or her, but we are excited now.

The other big thing that happened is a lot of health concerns.  My mom was hospitalized for about a week after she became ill as she returned from a trip to Canada.  Then Ryan began to have stomach pain and digestive issues.  He left work early one day and went to the ER where he ended up being admitted for ten days.  Turns out he has ulcerative colitis. They also helped him acknowledge and begin to deal with the fact that he is diabetic.  It was so hard without him around-- I have always appreciated how hands on Ryan is as a dad and how much he helps out around the house, but I was reminded again of how well we work as a team when half of that team was missing for so long.  Thankfully, he was able to come home last Thursday.  He is still on a restricted diet and he has a visiting nurse checking in with him for the next few weeks, but he is definitely on the road to recovery.

Then, literally the day after Ryan returned home, I had Hannah with me at the grocery store as I was picking up a few food items.  Hannah has been fussy and refused to ride in the cart, only wanting to be held so I had her on my hip as I loaded our groceries onto the conveyor belt.  Suddenly she threw her head backwards.  I turned to her to scold her and saw that her eyes had rolled up into her head and that she was stiff and shaking.  I just began shouting out "My baby is having a seizure!  My baby is having a seizure!" and screaming hysterically.  A man came running over and urged me to put her on the floor.  I didn't want to but he helped me put her down and cradled her head as she continued to convulse and shake.  Suddenly a crowd had formed around me.  A lady in neon green pants crouched beside me rubbing my back and telling me that it would be okay.  The cashier in the lane next to me took out her cell phone and called 9-1-1.  She was asking me questions about Hannah and I could barely think straight to answer them ("How old is she?"  "What's your name?"), because I was so sure that I was going to watch my baby die right here on the floor of Pottstown Giant.  Another woman ran up, handed me a string of light blue rosary beads and told me to hold them against Hannah. Then she began praying and chanting in Spanish.  I continued to crouch over Hannah and wail as the manager of the grocery store tried to clear people away from me.

Finally Hannah's body relaxed and she opened her eyes and began to cry.  This was right as the EMT's arrived.  They took us both in an ambulance.  They put the siren on, which scared me because Hannah and I have actually ridden in an ambulance together before, when I started bleeding heavily after she was born and they didn't turn the siren on then.  They put an IV in her foot and took her vitals as we raced across town.  I called Ryan, but he didn't know what to do.  He was stuck at home with no car.  (We had to leave his car behind at the hospital because one of the medication he is on leaves him too dizzy to drive.)  He ended up calling our good friends the Hilberts who brought him to the ER and then eventually took us back to the grocery store to get my car.

When he got to the hospital, they discovered that Hannah had a fever of 104.5.  This high and sudden fever had caused the seizure, which the doctor assured me was nothing to be too concerned about. They gave her some Tylenol and let me hold her until her fever came down and then they sent us on our way.  She was groggy but her sweet self by the time we got her home.

Anyways, all of these scares has really made me so grateful so my own good health, for the fact that Ryan and I both have good jobs with paid time off and good health insurance, friends, family and ward members who helped with babysitting, offered to bring meals and helped with rides.  We are so fortunate.

hello

Oh, hey blog friends.


I have had this post in draft mode for probably six weeks.  I just can't seem to wrap it up.  Or add pictures.  And who wants to read a post with no pictures?







Summer was a whirlwind and is suddenly over and going back to school was harder this year than ever before.  I miss being with Hannah.  I am not excited about my assignment (massive understatement).  I interviewed for jobs that didn't pan out and I put in for an in-district transfer that didn't happen.  There were a lot of tears the first few days (from me, not from Hannah, she is doing great).  It's been really rough and I fantasize about putting in my notice and walking away forever on a daily basis.  This has been my hardest September yet: a caseload twice as big as other years, an onslaught of beginning of the year meetings and paperwork, parents requesting meetings, a student with significant behavior problems.  I have literally been working round the clock, but September is almost over, and things are starting to look up for October.  I am hopeful that Ryan will continue to do well at his job at Comcast and maybe someday I can work part-time or at a job that doesn't require so much of me. 










One major thing I haven't mentioned yet on the blog was that Hannah is now doing speech therapy two times a week.  I began to be concerned at the beginning of the summer because Hannah really only says a few words and she they are the same few words she has said since she started talking-- no new ones.  At her age she should have a large vocabulary of more than 50 words and combining words into phrases.  When I wrote out all of the words she said there were only five words on the list.  We are also seeing an increase in her tantrums and frustration as we are unable to understand or guess what she needs and wants. So I took her in for an evaluation and my suspicions that she is delayed were confirmed.  She is doing well at speech for the most part, but still prefers pointing, gesturing, dragging us around the house and signing as her primary means of communication rather than speaking.   They recommended 12 weeks of therapy and then looking at her progress, so I am anxious to see what her therapists recommend next. 




My sister and brother in law were in town for a visit and it was so fun to see them.  Ryan and I took a day off of work and joined them, my parents and quite a few members of Drew's family in D.C. for Jen's graduation. We all had a nice lunch as a family and then we went to the National Zoo.  It was a really great day to play hooky and have some nice family time.  It's always sad to say good-bye to Jenny as it will be such a long time until we see each other again.


Isaac has been busy with travel soccer again.  His team has had a few losses and a few ties but so far no wins which is discouraging.  Tonight he is being a "ball boy" at the high school jv and varsity soccer games.  He loves doing that.

and July is over..

Hello out there in blogland.  Do I even have any readers anymore?  Who knows.  It seems like the blogging community has really petered out the past few years.  I guess with Instagram and Facebook it is just an easier way to keep people updated.  Also a lot of the blogs I used to read regularly have either turned into giant advertisements (Beach Body!  Essential Oils!) or again just sort of faded away.  If anyone has any recommendations for honest, parenty blogs that don't fall into those two categories.  We have really been enjoying our summer and I haven't taken much time to sit down and update.  

Summer highlights so far include:

Putting our hair in pigtails!  Seriously, could there be a cuter hairstyle for a 18 month old?

Getting good use of our season tickets to Sesame Place.  We took all of Ryan's kids and we have gone back one more time.  Hannah's obsessed with Sesame Street but Isaac likes a lot of the rides too, especially the water park.

She actually was really excited to meet Murray despite the look on her face in this picture.

Her favorite.  She ran right to him to hug him.  It was ridiculously adorable.

Playdates and babysitting with friends.

Hannah and Alexander

We have been doing some shopping.  We have already started some Christmas shopping and did some back to school.

We all got a free dinner on Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fila.

Isaac has been doing stuff too, he is just resistant to having his picture taken.  He has done a bunch of sports camps which has kept him busy.  We both did the dentist yesterday-- NO CAVITIES!  He spends a lot of time roaming around the neighborhood with a big group of boys, riding bikes and playing cricket.  Soccer has started up again with twice a week practices.  He is in a wedding in a few weeks and my parents are taking him to Virginia to see his first real Shakespeare play.

We have been trying to limit screen time, do some cleaning and organizing and hauling stuff to Goodwill, keep Hannah on a decent sleep/nap schedule, listening to NPR

We still have quite a few things on our list left for summer and only a few weeks left until I have to head back to school.  

July!

Happy mid-July people.

It has been a whirlwind few weeks.

This school year finally came to an end.  This was my worst year ever as far as special education paperwork.  My best years I have arranged things to have no paperwork at all the whole last quarter of school, but this year I had meetings and paperwork due literally until the very last day of school. Yes, you read that right.  I had no choice but to schedule an IEP meeting on the last day.  Also, I had to pack all my stuff and move classrooms for the sixth time in seven years in the district.  I am keeping most of my kids for the third year in a row, so it didn't quite have the finality that the end of the school year usually does.

I have been applying to other districts and even had one interview.  I felt pretty confident leaving the interview, but I guess I was overly confident because I never heard back from them for a second interview.  The other day I got an email saying they decided to go with another candidate. Womp, womp.  I wasn't convinced it was the right position for me anyways but I have applied to at least 20 positions now and haven't heard back from anyone.  My mom and I did go shopping though and got me two incredible Ann Taylor suits, so when the opportunity for an interview comes, at least I will kill it in the fashion department.

Anyways, to add the the craziness of the end of the year we left for our roadtrip to Florida immediately.  Like, Ryan pulled up to the school with the packed up minivan and we started driving.  It was a little intense but better than our last roadtrip where we got on the road straight after my brother Tom's wedding.  I will write more about our Florida trip later.  Highlights including finally meeting my nephew Lucas:

Lots of relaxing pool time at the resort:

Hitting all four Disney Parks:

and lots of great family time with Ryan's siblings and parents.  It was a great trip, but it took a few days to recover from it.  It was a long car ride but the kids did great. 

The Fourth of July was a nice low key day.  Isaac was with his dad.  We took Hannah to the Pottstown Parade.  It rained off and on during the parade but really started pouring after it ended.  That derailed the plans we had for the rest of the day.  

The rain did let up in the evening and we did see some fireworks at the Reading Phils game.  Hannah watched for a few minutes but slept through most of the show.  Isaac saw several fireworks displays in Philly.

Now that we are home we have been working on things around the house (looking at new flooring and some updates in the kitchen), cooking and baking, sending Isaac to various sports camps, track club and soccer practices and having fun family times. I opted out of ESY summer school this year, so it is nice to have another summer entirely to spend with the kids.  My brother Joe met up with us and took Isaac Go Karting over the weekend.  Ryan and Isaac got to see a play in Lancaster and then we all had fun with my parents.   Summer is flying by.  

Never a dull moment...

Hello, hello!

Our life continues to be a whirlwind of sports obligations, family time, work projects, and handling minor disasters relating to our house and vehicles. I haven't been able to blog at home since I misplaced the powercord to my laptop.  I took a sick day today for Hannah's dermatologist appointment, so I found some extra time.  Here are some highlights from the past few weeks:

 We took all five kids to Sesame Place.  It was EXHAUSTING.

Ryan and I took Hannah and squeezed in a quick overnight trip to Ocean City, New Jersey.

We made a trip out to Lancaster to spend mother's day with my parents.  My brother Joe and his girlfriend Rachel were also there. 

We went to an icecream social and got to see Isaac's artwork at school.  He wanted to play football with some friends on the recess yard and this was the face I got when I asked him to actually come in and show us some of his pieces.  We ended up spending some time on the playground to let him get some football time in before we left.

This little lady is still a happy little clam despite her continuous skin issues and teething to boot.  When we went to Uncle Tom's work, she got this balloon and it provided endless enjoyment for several days afterward.

Ryan wanted to go to the Phillies for his birthday.  They are doing so badly this season that tickets are insanely cheap.  He took Isaac on Wednesday night and then Hannah and I on Saturday when Isaac was with his dad for the weekend.  Hannah was a pretty good sport.  She loved the french fries.  The game ended up getting rained out after 3 and a half innings, so that was disappointing.



We drove out to Lancaster for a birthday dinner at Miller's, a buffet Ryan has wanted to try out for a while.  We loved the food.  They even gave Ryan a little cake to take home.  We are celebrating again tonight at Margarita's a local Mexican restaurant.

Five for Friday

ONE

 

Kind of a dark shot, but our neighbor put this gorgeous dollhouse out for trash.  It even had some furniture in it.  We snatched it right up and brought it in for Hannah.  She is a little young for it now, but she has enjoyed opening it and closing it up.  

TWO

 

A new Chick Fila is opening not far from us.  They had people nominate local schools to recieve a catered lunch for teachers as part of Teacher Appreciation week next week.  The school I work at ended up being the winner!  Packing lunches is the bane of my existance, so I am pretty excited about this, plus it is nice to feel appreciated.

 

THREE

10 days later state testing is OFFICIALLY done!  Proctoring them is the worst and it's such a stressor for students.  I am glad it is out of the way and the rest of the year can be more relaxed for the kids without the pressure of a huge testing looming over them. 

 

FOUR

 Finally nice enough weather to break out some spring clothes.  Sorry for a gross feet shot, but I was so excited to finally wear these sandals.  They are cute and comfortable-- the Holy Grail of work shoes. 



FIVE

 

 We had a playdate set to walk and play with my friend Kim and Hannah's friend Quentin.  It ended up being the most perfect spring day and we stayed out much longer than we planned because the babies were having so much fun.  Both of the them loved the slide and Hannah would shout "Wee!!!" when she went down.  Quentin is a hugger and always wants to let Hannah know how much he loves her.  Unfortunately, Hannah is like me, definitely NOT a hugger.  We had a whole series of hilarious pictures like this.  Some day he will win her over!

 

We have an especially busy weekend on the books.  Ryan is spending all day today as a field trip chaperone in Washington D.C. with Allison's sixth grade class.  The buses rolled out at 6:15.  He will get home after 9 tonight.  Tomorrow we have Isaac's baseball pictures at 8 am, then a baseball game, then we go straight from there to soccer tryouts.  My school is also having a rededication/ open house thing, so I need to make an appearance there at some point. All of this with a toddler in tow! Saturday is also a night we have tickets to the Reading Phillies.  If I make it through Saturday alive, it will be a miracle! 

 

 

 

 

Linking up with these ladies.... 

Signs of Spring

Signs of spring....

Take your child to work day with Uncle Joe.

Spring soccer.  So much better than indoor (winter) soccer.

 And of course spring means lots and lots of time spent at the ball fields.

Baseball games with family.  Dad game in for a Saturday morning game.

Joe joined us for another.  He and Hannah became best buds.

I love this time of warm weather before spring allergies kick in.

hitting the nail on the head

This has been popping up in my facebook feed today, since roughly 50% of my friends are teachers or work in a related field.  It pretty much sums up all of the conflicting feelings I have swirling around my brain about teaching in public schools in this day and age, especially in a Title 1 School*.  Give it a read if you have time. 

* School with a high percentage of low income students.

Hannah Sixteen Month Update

I figured it was time to do a Hannah update. She is growing up more and more everyday. She is definitely a toddler and not a baby anymore.  She is such a sweet, happy and smart little girl with a really sharp sense of humor and a mop full of curly hair.

Eating
Hannah continues to amaze us with her hearty appetite and her universal love of every food she is offered.  Her recent favorite foods include arroz con pollo, Halo mandarin oranges, and blueberry mini muffins.   Although she is easy going in terms of what she eats, she is very particular in how she eats it.  She doesn't like to feel pressured to eat and she does NOT want to be fed anymore.  She would much rather struggle through spooning herself some yogurt than let me or Ryan feed her.  Like, she becomes enraged if we try to feed her. She also really want to drink out of an open cup, but we haven't been encouraging that.  

Sleeping
Hannah has been doing pretty well with sleep, although she has had a few rough nights with some new teeth coming in.  She will usually sleep until 8:30 or 9 and she is terribly grumpy if she has to be woken up before she is ready.  It takes her a good 20 minutes until she is pleasant.  Her naps are still all over the place.  Sometimes she takes a morning nap, sometimes not, she often takes an afternoon nap but sometimes she drifts off around 4:30 or later which is the worst!!!

Words/Communication
Hannah lets you know she wants to eat by pointing to her high chair.  She will even take your hand and walk you to it.   She babbles constantly and more and more real words seem to be mixed into the gibberish. She says: no, daddy, mum, I dunno, Eesa (Lisa), kay (okay), whee! and cheep cheep (when she sees a picture of baby chicks).  She will consistently wave hello and goodbye and will also independently wave to strangers if she wants their attention.  The only sign she will do independently is "all done" but we are working on "more" and "please".  She will shake her head no and say "uh-uh" or "no" but she doesn't use a word for yes.  She just holds out her hands and makes frantic begging sounds or points to what she wants.  When she wants a diaper change she will lay flat on the ground and put her legs up in the air.  That makes me excited, like maybe she will potty train early.  If she wants to go outside she will bring you her shoes.

Although her expressive language is still rather limited, her receptive language grows by leaps and bounds every day.  Ryan bought her a little brush and he told her to go get it thinking it was in our bedroom with us.  It turns out, it was downstairs, but she found my hairbrush and brought it over to Ryan instead.  She will point to all of her family members when asked

Likes

• Isaac.  She wants to be as close to him as possible at all times.  

Good thing he is usually pretty patient.

                                                

• Sesame Street.  She watches it with rapt attention and dances to all of the songs.  
• Binkies.  She will never give it up. 

• Having her feet tickled.  
• "Singing" and dancing or when other sing and dance.  
• Her toy kitchens, her Elmo doll that sings about being a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll, and her shopping cart.
• Cheering, clapping and jumping up and down at sporting events.  It is SO cute.
• Giving kisses, sometimes aggressively, with a loud "MWAH!"
• When Ryan talks to her in silly voices.  She CRACKS up.

Dislikes

• Having dirty hands.  She comes to us over and over during Isaac's baseball games to have us brush dirt and grass off her hands.  We loves to use handiwipes to clean them off.

• Sitting still, especially at sporting events.  She wants to storm the field at Isaac's soccer games.  She want to climb up on things and immediately get back down.  She also drops out the bottom of her stroller if she is not strapped in. 
• Swings.  Our neighborhood has a small playground with a few infant swings and she HATES them.  She will scream bloody murder the whole time.  
• Open doors.  She always has to close them.  No matter what.
• Bathing.  I thought we had conquered her fear but suddenly she is terrified of it again. 

Milestones

• She has gotten really good at going up and down stairs.  She can go upstairs holding a railing totally upright, like a regular little person.  For a while she was going feet first and on her stomach to go downstairs but now she sits on her bottom and scoots down.  
• At least two more teeth have come in.
• Wears 18 month clothes, some size 4 shoes and some size 5 shoes.  She wears size 4 diapers.
• Taking off her pants and attempting to take off her diapers.