Back to work for a day...

Back to work and I survived! OK so the day was not how will be in the fall. The kids didn't go to day care and I didn't have a class to teach all day but I got up, got showered and dressed, fed the kids, dressed them, and still got to my workshop on time. Good trial run...and I made it out of my house without stains on my pants!

It felt really good to be back. Today's workshop was for teachers changing grades and it was exciting to see what I will be teaching next year. My mind is swirling with ideas! I can't wait to get back into the classroom. When I came home and was so happy to be with my kids. I felt like I was much more present than I normally am by that time of the day. Both kids had not napped well (and Jon looked worn out from it!). And usually I would be feeling frustrated if they were crabby but I wasn't. I know it will be hard to juggle all my responsibilities. But I love my job and I am glad I had the opportunity to go back to it.

April Updates and some photos

Elaina and Vaughn watching cartoons together


Elaina in her new sunglasses


Skylar going down the big slide with Daddy


"Open", "Close", we have been working on these words with him when he plays with this toy.


Coat still on and he already climbed into the box.


Another child in a box...


Someone enjoyed her bananas and chocolate pudding

After a few weeks of all of us being sick, I think we are pretty close to being sickness free! Following Skylar's trip to the ER he has been dealing with the cold part of it and wouldn't you know, Elaina caught it too. That makes me think that it wasn't allergies that led to his wheezing but who knows. All I know is that we have boxes of tissues now in almost every room and finally purchased a second humidifier because it is pretty much a given now that both need it at the same time. Jon got over his respiratory issues and I am back to normal after getting pink eye. Yes, pink eye. Never got it while teaching but somehow I caught it now. Oh and passed it onto my mom. No one is safe who enters our house!

Today Skylar and Elaina turned 16 months old. So hard to believe! Right now, Elaina is so full of herself! Proud of all she can do and wants an audience. She is happiest when she can run free and loves to bring along her "bunny". She loves to dance and has shown some pretty interesting moves lately. And she now is into Elmo. She tries to say his name which is cute. She babbles constantly and is saying more and more words each day.

Skylar is all boy and loves anything that involves wheels or figuring out how things move. He loves to play on the climber/slide we have in our basement and to chase the cat. He is so close to walking and crab walks a lot. He seems to be more cautious and unsure of walking alone though he can do it when he holds one of my hands. Skylar, as many of you know, has not been talking and we worried about him. Well, out of nowhere he just started babbling which is a big change from his grunts or cries. Elaina got very excited and started to mimic it back to him which caused him to do it again. They were "talking"! We actually had him evaluated by a speech therapist to see if he needed help and she said he is not too far behind his adjusted age (the age he would have been if born full term). She suggested doing sign language with him to help him express himself. We had briefly done this and Elaina picked up on a few but now we are really trying to work hard on it with both of them. We will see how it goes.

I have decided to return to teaching next year and am so lucky I get to return to my same school. My district allows for a leave of absence for child rearing under 2 and while I could have stayed home one more year and still returned to the district, Jon and I felt it was a good time for me to go back. I learned I will be teaching first grade which will provide me with new opportunities to grow. I am nervous and excited all at the same time to get back to teaching. I love it so much and have missed it. But I am worried about juggling the demands of working with being a mom. I think though I am the type of person who will be more organized and more productive when I am working. Just sending back my contract has caused me to get moving on those projects I have been meaning to do!