BREAK TIME

SIIIGGGHHHHH......AAAHHHHH... I've actually sat down to not only blog for the first time since school has started, but to also let off some steam. Holy moly guacamole, I had no clue that having a full time job teaching and having a baby at the same time was going to be this hectic! So many people told me that I wouldn't have as much time; but SERIOUSLY!? No time whatsoever for myself. I get lucky to have a shower everyday. 

So now that I'm done with my tantrum, I'll fill you in on the happenings of the Skeltons. With the schedule change of Alex's job, we basically tag team everyday. He gets to spend time with Everett in the morning while I pick him up from Nana's around 4-5 everyday. He's such a happy baby that it doesn't bother him much at all. The next couple of months will truly show how he likes it or not. 

Yesterday was Everett's 4 month check-up. He's doing fantastic! With height he is at 50%, with weight he's at 75%. Let's just say, he has no problems eating. I fed him with a spoon for the first time last night and he was very confused. Haha. Alex fed him carrots today and it was his first taste of real food! Tonight we are trying them again for supper. 

He's going to be fully on formula probably by the weekend. My decision to stop pumping at school and breastfeeding him was basically due to me feeling overwhelmed balancing job/home. I felt like I wasn't getting my work done at school like I needed to be. He's doing great with the transition. His poop is definitely different that's for sure. 

School is going well. I'm very blessed to have such a fantastic class this year. They're so sweet and respectful. This year is going to be wonderful. I just pray that I will be able to keep up with it all and not stress out.

It's still warm outside but it's going to be feeling like fall pretty soon. I can't wait! 

Last Day of Summer

Well we've come to this, the last day of summer. It's going to be so hard going back to work tomorrow! Students come on Thursday and fiasco begins! I'm excited about this year though. I've heard that I have a wonderful class that will do great.

Yesterday was so amazing! Having the afternoon to spend with a good friend, Holly, was well worth it! We left the little men at home with Dads and not only did we get pedicures, we went to El Torero's and had a drink and cheese dip. AHHHHH....lol!

When I got home, it wasn't much time until it was time for church. The message was unbelievable. Ron, our pastor, got text messages in in the form of questions and a few volunteers chose questions for him to answer. Many of the questions were about adultery, divorce, suicide, homosexuality, etc. The discussion was informing and intricately engaging. Personally, I learned a few things that I didn't know. For example, did you know that the Bible never mentions suicide up front? Many people "take their lives" in the bible but it never refers to "suicide". Interesting. Ron mentioned every time how we as Christians need to lead with GRACE. So true.

After service, Alex had to work; so Nathan, Holly, and their little boy Finn went with me to Beef's! It was a very lovely dinner and good conversation. They had never been there before so it was an honor to introduce them to it.

When I came home with the little man, we were bum tired. I put him to bed and I sat up piddling. I found out that there was a meteor shower happening!!! I texted Alex to wake me up when he got home so we could watch it. I've never seen one before. Well, too bad we are two exhausted parents and want sleep over experience. Ha. I guess we will just have to wait until the next one.

As for the last day of summer, I've got a to-do list. No surprise there. Looking forward to the start of things tomorrow and seeing my school family. Let 2012-2013 begin!

Mommy Time

Well it's Saturday. T-minus 4 days left in my summer until school officially starts. I've gotta do what I can before students soak up all of my time. Today, Alex is working in the morning as well as after church. Little Man and I vacuumed, hung up laundry to dry, and folded clothes. Everett had a bath (which he loves) and then he's take two naps already today and it's 1:15 pm. He's such a good baby!

When Al gets home from his first shift, I'm meeting up with a friend Holly Moran whom I met through small group this summer. She has a little boy who is about a month older than E. Her husband is a lot like Alex so we decided that we should just start having Mommy time together. Today we are leaving the babies at home with Dad and getting pedicures. We've talked about maybe in the future: massages. That is music to my ears!!! I've also thought about maybe wine tastings, winery trips, StL trip, etc. So much to do when you have a few hours to yourself. It's essential to take care of yourself when you are so busy taking care of others.

This evening I'm bumming out. I was supposed to go downtown for my friend Amber's birthday to celebrate. At this point, no babysitter. I also want to spend as much time as I can with E before school starts. He needs to stay on schedule!!! We've been heading to bed between 7-8 each night. Now, give or take a couple of nights we've gotten home late from parties or family functions. He's sleepy today so I'm guessing that he's catching up from lost time with sleep.

I will post tonight how Mommy time was! Very very very excited!!!

Fridays Are So Bittersweet

As I'm snacking on my breakfast (cinnamon toast) and sipping my chocolate milk (yummm), I'm preparing for an outrageous day finishing my classroom and preparing for Open House next Monday. YIKES! What has happened to the summer. I will SO be ready for a break once school starts. What a challenge it will be to go to work everyday to be with kiddos when I won't be with my own. Everett is such a good baby though, I do believe that I can handle it.

Today is the last Friday of Summer (meh....). It's so bittersweet and so exciting to know that this is my third year teaching, to know that Alex has been blessed with a job, to know that I have 29 students as of yesterday (grrr), and to know that I can wake up everyday in this country being free to do what I want and when I want.

At the same time, I need to "get with it!" Rolling out of bed at 7:00 is hard right now. What am I going to do next week when I need to get up at the butt crack of dawn?! I'll make it. I've done it before, I'm sure I can do it again. It will be very interesting getting through that first week of class. Most likely I will be living off coffee and sweets.

Headed to my second home (room D1) at West Lane. Pics coming soon!

Survival Vs. Prevailing

Out of both words in this title, which one means more? If you chose survival, you're wrong. Prevailing is the correct answer. Why? I'll tell you why. Today I experienced one of the best trainings I think I've EVER been through. It helped give me perspective not only in my workplace but also in my home, at the mall, out in public, etc. Many other teachers joined me as well as we learned, "Strategos". It is a training on what to do if an intruder comes into the school building, or any building for that matter. 

In the morning, the instructor gave us so much information to process and talked statistics about school shootings that date all the way back to the 1700s. This is not new knowledge people. The guy gave us the real facts. Sugar coated? No way. We were told that we are the first line of defense whether we like it or not. We also learned that it may take up to 15 minutes for first responders to come upon the scene. Needless to say, we found out the truth about what "could happen". 

This is the book that he recommended us to read. It's the facts and the whole story about Colombine. It discusses how the two young males had been planning this for months. They had their targets and their plan in place. It even goes into detail about the security videos and the weapons/explosives they used. 

 

Lunch was served at noon and then the afternoon was the "scenarios". I'm not talking about walking around the school just talking about what to do. This guy only showed us three rooms and discussed what we could do to protects ourselves. The second part, he came around with an air gun and pretended to actually come after us. IT WAS SCARY! The first two times, he told us to just hide. He reassured us that he would find us. This is the natural instinct to do in a matter of emergency and feeling frightened (We talked many times about the Colombine shootings and how a women called 911 and just hid the entire time when she could've been doing something, she was also in the library). The hard part was that we couldn't run or hide until the first shot went off. Man oh man, talk about adrenaline! We hid and tried to be out of sight. It was hard because when other people came into the room with us (a couple of teachers and I stuck together), we almost didn't want them coming in because we were trying our best to be out of sight. 

The second scenarios that we ran through, we could lock and barricade the door. This is called Lock Down. Many schools are doing this now and it's the best thing to do to use up time. My group did GREAT! It was still suspenseful before we were called out. 

All I can say is that after that training, I feel better knowing what to do in case of an event like that ever taking place wherever I am. I recommend anyone to take this course whether you are a teacher, janitor, volunteer, etc. at a school. Safety is the most important thing first and foremost.