Visiting Mommy's Work

Last Friday I took the boys back to my school for a special event (more about that later this week). Nick, especially, loved going to "Mommy's School." He especially loved my dry erase board.

That's a self-portrait he drew on the left. I love how the eyes are huge and appear to be peering down at him. I asked him, "Who did you draw?" and he replied, "Nick!" (Yup, he still refers to himself in the third person quite a bit. Then he drew an "N for Nick!" He's getting rather good at it, I think.

And Henry? He loved crawling around the classroom floor looking for dangerous things, like my extension cords and these unstable chairs. They were still good enough for him to use to pull up to a stand, though.

You would be surprised at how much damage two small children can do to one elementary-age classroom in about 30 minutes. Or maybe you wouldn't be surprised. I suppose it depends on whether you have small children yourself. I had to practically tear Nick away from my desk, though.

Do you see the giant "H for Henry" he drew right behind the chair? He didn't want Henry to be left out.

Several times this weekend, Nick has been asking me, "Mommy, are we going to your school again?" I think he really enjoyed it.

Dry Erase Markers, Being Too Busy, and Kicking

Last week one of Nick's pee-pee prizes was a little dry erase board and marker. Because I was naive, I let him take it with him to nap time. Frankly, I was exhausted and not thinking straight. The sudden, random tiredness that hit me all the time in the first trimester of this pregnancy has started returning with a vengeance, right on schedule in the third.

Do you see those cute little knees? Yup. Dry erase marker. Everywhere. He's been doing pretty well with potty training. He has even had several days without wet man panties. Nick has not, however, been able to go #2 in the potty. I have no idea why. I hope he figures that one out eventually.

Today Nick used his first urinal--Greg took him into the men's room at the Kohl's, and held him up, and low and behold, success! This does present a problem for me, though. You see, Nick is afraid of public toilets, and the ladies rooms never have urinals. Hmm. It was hilarious when Nick came running out of the men's room. He announced to everyone at the service desk, "I went pee-pee in the potty!" They were duly impressed.



Pardon my absence lately--the last two weeks have probably been my busiest in years. I have a part time freelance writing job and I am under deadline, so I've been spending lots of time researching and typing like a madwoman. I have 5,000 words due by Thursday, but I got a lot done yesterday and today, so now I only have about 2,400 left to go. I'm trying to earn some extra money for all the diapers we're going to be going through very soon. I seem to remember an average of 8-10 diapers per day--I shudder to think.

Then, I have two teacher friends working on their National Board Certification. It's the highest honor a teacher can get in this country, and the only way to get a Master Teaching Certificate in Illinois. I became a NBCT in 2008, and now I help mentor other teachers working on their portfolios. I remember how excited I was when I got my new IL Teaching Certificate, and it read, "Master Teacher." Can't beat that feeling.   :)  Anyhow, I've spent the last few weeks reading their papers and giving them suggestions. Their final portfolios were due last Friday.

To top it all off, I had to make a little visit to the hospital. The little boy inside of me was being kind of lazy, and my doctor had warned me to call if I didn't feel movement over a 24 hour period. This kid has never moved very much, and maybe it's because I was so busy, but I couldn't feel him at all for well over a day.

My obstetrician had me go in to radiology to get an ultrasound and have the baby pass some tests. He started moving right away on the ultrasound, though I still couldn't feel it. My placenta is in a weird spot, in the front, and I think that's why movement is so muffled. I guess he passed all of the test with flying colors. Aw, he passed his first test. The doctor said that with this good of a test, the chances of anything being wrong are practically Nil. Plus, especially in the last two or three days, the baby has been dancing a jig. His movements have become stronger and I'm having less trouble feeling him.

Anyhow, the trip to the hospital was just a precaution, but now I've been extra careful with tracking movements. We found out that Greg can usually feel him with his hands, even when I feel nothing. So he is now in charge of kick counts. Seems like a fair deal, seeing as I have the responsibility of carrying the baby 24/7. Oh, and apparently dark chocolate and caffeine help--this little guy dances when I indulge.

Speaking of dancing a jig--here's Nick dancing in his crib. This is probably the last week he'll be sleeping in the crib. Greg got the toddler bed together, and we're just waiting for the new crib mattress to arrive. (The original one we ordered was the wrong size.) Nick is thrilled, and every time he passes his toddler bed, he announces, "That's my bed! I gonna sleep in there!"

One Full Year of Blogging!

Exactly one year ago today I began this blog, with few expectations. I wanted a way to remember my life as a new mom, and I thought a blog would be a good way to keep me accountable. (I kept losing actual paper journals, and I figured that you can't lose the internet! I also wanted a way to share photos and updates with my family. Exactly one year and 204 entries later, I figure I haven’t done too badly. My subject matter might always be enthralling, because I write about things like what my cats are doing, what vegetables my son flung at my head, and what I made for dinner, but I definitely have a record of my life.

I don’t know if my writing has improved at all as a result of writing for an audience, but I'm pretty sure it hasn't gotten any worse. I’m just proud of myself for actually sticking to it. Some months I wrote more than others, but I managed to write a few times a week for a whole year. I feel that blogging has been a good outlet for me—a way to express myself and tell my story, my way.

Goals for my second year of blogging:

1. Organization. I like when I read other blogs and there are topics that go by the day. I’ve always done Wordless Wednesdays, but I think I can take this further. For example, I might write a book review every Tuesday, and share a recipe each Monday. Any ideas? Share them with me in the comments section.

2. Food. Speaking of recipes, I’d love to get more of mine up to share. I really do love to cook, and documenting some of my favorite recipes might help me to remember them. It also forces me to measure, at least somewhat.

3. Teaching. I’d like to share a little more of what I do at work with my students. Perhaps I can share some teaching tips and lessons.

4. More videos of Nick. When I look back at the blog entries I did in the past, some of my favorite ones are when I included short video clips. My favorite is the one where Nick was scooting backwards on his butt. I want to make sure I post more of those videos to track his development.

5. Guest posts. I’ll have to ask some of my family members and friends if they’ll do a guest post for me, just to highlight different points of view. Anyone want to volunteer?

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Thanks for reading! I've had a great year, and it's been so much fun sharing my life with you. Here's to another year of blogging.  : )

My little copycat

Nick has already figured out what to do with a pen and a notebook. He immediately opened up the book and started moving the pen around on the page. It's funny how he copies what we do. He sure sees Greg and I writing enough. For years now, Greg has kept a daily journal, and he never misses a day. I'm always writing lists (that I promptly lose), composing letters to my 2nd graders, drafting lesson plans, and editing papers for people. I write all sorts of boring things, such as my food journal, which Nick hijacked when I took this picture. It seems to help me to write down everything I eat. It's funny that I could look up what I ate on this day last year, or the last, but I can't remember anything else about those days.

Speaking of Nick copying what we do, he did something hilarious yesterday. If I'd had my camera, I certainly would've taken a picture. . . but that's another story. I was doing a Pilates Bodyband workout. Sounds wimpy, right? Well, I dare you to try one. The bodyband is like a long rubberband that you use to stretch and work your muscles. You will barely be able to crawl up the stairs to bed after the first workout. I'm still following the senior citizen in the video. Maybe after five years or so I'll be able to do the motions with the young pilates instructor. Anyhow, Nick was walking around watching me do the exercises. He kept coming and snapping the bodyband and then laughing. He also kept looking at the tv and then back at me, confused. But then, when I was stretching my hands above my head, he decided to copy me.  He put his hands over his head and started laughing. It was pretty funny. I had to pause the workout when I was trying to do pushups and he sat on my legs. What a funny little man.