Big Boy Bed

Sunday was a big day at our house. At least Lukin would probably say so. On Sunday, we put together the "big boy bed" for Lukin. You would have thought that Lukin had eaten 10 Pixy Stix for how jacked up he was running around. We decided that he was so excited about the bed and that was why he was so full of energy.

After much "teamwork" (Lukin's word) in the assembly process, the bed was completed. Lukin couldn't wait to climb into the big boy bed to go to sleep.

At bedtime, he climbed in and gave his hugs and kisses and was more than happy to have us leave so he could sleep in his big boy bed.

If you have children of your own, you know that this is not where the story ends.

Night #1: We probably had to redirect him at least five times before Sonny just went to lay on the futon next to his bed so he could go to sleep. I went about my nightly after-the-boys-go-to-bed routine, coming back to check on them at 9:45. Lukin was sound asleep...on the futon next to Daddy. So I picked him up and put him in his crib. My thinking was that if he didn't go to bed in his crib, he didn't get to wake up there.

At about 4 am, the crying started. He had woken up and realized that he was in his crib and not in the big boy bed. Daddy got up and laid with him on the futon until I got up for work and then they moved to our bed.

Night #2: I think Lukin was a little more bound and determined not to end up in the crib on this night. We told him when we tucked him in that he would get five chances, if he got out of bed five times, then he would end up in his crib. And like the night before, he got out of his bed repeatedly. So off he went to the crib. He cried. Hard. It was like he had watched a dog get run over or something. He was so sad. So, reluctantly, Sonny and I caved and told him that if he got out of bed one more time, he was going back in the crib, and the big boy bed was leaving. He stayed in bed the rest of the night.

Night #3: I am assuming that the memory of night #2 was still fresh in his mind and that was why this night went better. He got up once, rushing out of his room saying "pee. pee" and pointing to his diaper. Daddy took him up to pee and when he came back down to put him to bed, we didn't see the door open again the rest of the night. That is until this morning at 6:30 when he came bursting into the bathroom while I was getting ready, saying, "Wakey wakey."

I am hoping that nights #4 and beyond go as smoothly as night #3.

Almost bedrest

So today I had a dr. appointment and my blood pressure was up. The dr. asked me if that was why I was put on bedrest during my last pregnancy, and I believe that it was. I jokingly said, "darn. not high enough to mean bedrest." My dr. then asked me if I wanted to go to work (and after today, I can't say yes very confidently). She said that it was important to eek out as many weeks as we can in this pregnancy amd with it still being early (only 32 weeks), this would be something to keep an eye on.

I had it there. It was so close that I could taste it. But then I went on to explain how there are only a few weeks left in this position and then the job would change and when that happens, it will be better. I don't know if I say that to reassure her, or to reassure myself.

Anyway, I "get" to go to work tomorrow. Hooray for me. Maybe I will have my BP checked at work a couple times to see how it's going. Here's hoping for the best, whatever that would be.

A-2

So, when we were at Applebee's last night, I had ordered a steak, and when they brought it out to me they asked if I needed any steak sauce. I asked for A-1. A few minutes pass while this news gets transferred from the lady that brought our food to our actual waiter. He comes out with this little dish of sauce (much like when they bring you ranch or something). He kind of chuckles a nervous chuckle as he tells us that they are cheap and have to portion out the sauce.

I think about this comment as he is walking away and look at Sonny and say that I think that they probably do save some money doing it this way. I mean some people may go crazy with the sauce and this is a way to regulate it.

To which Sonny says, "Or maybe it's A-2, the generic brand and they don't want you to know that."

Boboli Bread

So, tonight we went to Applebee's for supper and I had the garlic mashed potatoes, loaded up. I don't really like the sour cream on there, but I've been charged more to have the cheese and bacon bits without the sour cream than to get all three, so I just get the whole loaded bit.

Anyway, I was eating the mashed potatoes and they were soooo good, and I thought to myself that I would enjoy a meal of just those mashed potatoes and the boboli bread (anybody remember that stuff). Yum. Then as we were driving home and I was thinking about that, I thought about the fact that some people say that if you crave certain types of foods, you are going to have a baby of a certain sex. Like I have heard people say that if you crave salty foods, you are having a boy, and if you crave sweets, you are having a girl. So what am I having if I am craving carbs?

Hercules

So today the Mythology assignment is, and I am not even kidding, to watch the Disney movie Hercules and answer some questions (20) about the movie. The first group had no problem with this. The next group threw a fit. They couldn't do questions if the questions weren't in order with the movie.

Seriously?

I can't even imagine how we could make these assignments any easier for you, and yet you still piss and moan because its' too "hard".

I wonder if some of these kids have ever considered the fact that if they were actually mainstreamed, today's assignment would have been a walk in the park compared to the day to day assignments you would have in a mainstreamed school.

It's a very "pregnant" day. I couldn't say anything when any of them threw their hissy because I would have lost it. I'm still on the verge now.

Seriously?

So today I was talking to the speech path at my current building, and she (basically) has the job I had my first year in the district (minus the one school that I went to for .1 of my week). Seriously? How did that happen? What happened to, "We only know of this .6 available for next fall."

Now I understand why the average person gets tired of their job and changes careers 7-10 times in their lifetime.

A new job

So, Thursday, while we were waiting to board the plane to Fargo, I noticed that I missed a call. I recognized the phone number as the school that I worked at last year, but no one left a message and I thought that was strange.

Easter weekend comes and goes and then on Monday morning, I miss two calls for subbing (because I had the ringer off at Ama and Jim's while I slept). But some time after 10 or 11, I missed a call from there again, but this time there was a message.

The message had to do with picking up some sub time because a teacher decided to quit. (Don't ask me why a teacher would quit at this point in the year. I don't know. I don't care.) So, excitedly I tell Sonny about the message and he encourages me to call back and agree to help (but not before giving me the 'positive attitude makes things happen' speech). So, I do and get put into the system to cover the class for the rest of the week (and potentially the rest of the year, or at least until the LD person has her baby, since I verbally agreed to take her maternity leave back in December).

But, being it is Friday night and I have endured three days, I am having second thoughts. And I don't mean to make it about money, but in a way, that's what it comes down to. I mean, I don't totally mind the job, but it's not the job I used to have. I am not really a Mythology teacher, nor do I care to become one. But, seeing as there is no curriculum planned for the rest of the year, I am being baptized by fire on this one. And I feel like, if you want me to do all this work, (of planning a class for the rest of the year) give me a contract and don't have me listed as a day to day sub. That's BS.

The other thing, is the kids. Yesterday, I found myself in the middle of a situation that demonstrated why the other teacher quit. I got to the end of my day (I had to leave early for a dr. appt.) and was sure that my BP would be through the roof (it turned out to be 122/74: in the normal range). I have spent part of the evening last night and part of the day today wondering if this job is even worth it.

There's a student that I have been informed to stay clear off. This student refuses to do any work and I swear only knows how to yell. This individual is a loose cannon and no one is sure how to read what will set him off. They also are pretty sure that the fact that Sam and I are pregnant, wouldn't deter him from harming either of us if we got in his way, hence the warning.

This student, combined with a mouthy senior and freshman combo, along with my lack of training in Mythology and the poor pay make me wonder if the end result (a pathetic paycheck) would outweigh the possible consequences (spending time in a NICU with my premature baby that was induced by the stress).

But I can't really say it's stressful either because I don't really care. I mean, when the job that I used to have at that building was mine, I cared. It was my job to care. My paychecks reflected the amount of time I worked, and a level of caring. Again, sub pay doesn't warrant caring. The sub pay in this district doesn't really warrant much beyond a body to fill a classroom.

Perhaps I am being a snob. Perhaps because I have my master's degree and am currently working for way less than I am worth pisses me off. All I know, is that I need to figure it out because I have been entered into the system through next Friday, and I need to decide before then if I want to cover beyond that.

Happy Burday!!

I was reminded this morning while changing Lukin's diaper that it was someone's birthday. He reminded me by saying, "Happy Burday!" as he has been saying for the past few days. So, this is your birthday card on your actual birthday since you got your card from us early.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STACIE!!!

Uncle Dick

Yesterday, we didn't have any hot water so my husband called his mom to see if it was alright if we went over there to clean up. My mother-in-law said that would be fine because they weren't even home. They had left for the casino after picking us up at the airport on Monday night and were currently at, or en route to, the ER because Sonny's uncle Dick was complaining of stomach problems (apparently he had a chronic history of stomach problems).

Later in the day, Sonny called his mom to see how things were going and Uncle Dick had gone through a CT scan and ended up needing to be airlifted to a hospital in St. Paul (as they were by Turtle Lake, WI). They suspected that he had a heart attack and Sonny and I speculated that he would probably end up staying with my in-laws for a while, as he's not married, and legally blind.

After 4 pm, my mother-in-law called to tell Sonny that "the news isn't good", in that his heart wasn't strong enough for surgery. He had had the stomach problems for years, and had been to doctors for that, but none of them ever really assessed the condition of his heart. (Why would you when the problem that he was complaining of was his stomach?)

Sometime after dinner, we found out that he had been taken off of life support. I asked if that was a good sign or not. Sonny thought not.

Then just after 9 pm, Sonny called his mom before he went to bed and was informed that Uncle Dick had passed away. It was so surreal. I cried. I felt so sad because a week ago, he was fine and going out to dinner with my in-laws and my son while we had other plans. The day before he was fine and they were going to the casino. It didn't make any sense. But I kind of felt a little silly too because he was Sonny's uncle, not mine. I hadn't known him as long as Sonny. But I was still sad for my husband, my in-laws, and their loss.

Sonny didn't cry. He did seem to be acting a little off throughout the day, and I expressed that I understood that he was worried. But when he got the news that Uncle Dick had passed away, he commented something to the effect that someday all of us, including our aunts and uncles, are going to pass away, and it seemed flippant to me. But, at the same time, it seemed an appropriate response because as we stood there in the kitchen, it just seemed like it wasn't really happening, and I wasn't sure if he was in denial or if he was in shock.

The more I thought about that statement, the more I realized that it's true. But it also made me sad. Between us we have 16 aunts and uncles, plus 12 spouses. That's 28 aunts and uncles that will someday pass away. I don't even really like to think about that, except that it was thrust in our faces yesterday as a grim reality.

The brilliance of being two-and-a-half

So on Thursday before we were going to leave for "Tammy tass", Lukin was sitting on the floor playing with his magnadoodle. He will sometimes draw things and then turn to me and ask me what they are. This was the case on Thursday.

He turns to me after drawing and asks, "What's that?"

I look at the drawing and say, "Honey, that looks like circles."

He says, "Momma, Daddy."

I think about what he says and I say, "Well, I can see how you would think that. We get up. We go to work. We come home. We eat. We sleep. We start the cycle all over again. In a way, our lives are like circles. You are so insightful, Lukin!"

Sonny gives me one of those looks. Amanda, you probably know the one I am talking about. But I can't help it if my two-and-a-half-year-old has figured out how monotonous life really is already. He is just a smart little boy! :)

Like a Duck

So last night, Sonny and I slipped away for yet another free night at our local casino. (Hey, if they are gonna keep sending us free vouchers, we are going to keep using them.) Anyway, I decided to wear the new shoes that I had bought a month or so back. I had to break them in. So, I am wearing my new shoes and walking around in my current seven month pregnant state, and I can't help but feel that I am waddling.

Great. I have entered the waddling stage. I like to think that it is because of the shoes. I like to think that when I wear my 'regular' brown shoes that I don't waddle. But I don't know what others who might be watching me when I walk 'like to think'.

Applications

I love that some of the local school districts have wised up and have gone to a centralized application system so that when you apply to one school district, and then go to apply to another one on the same system, you don't have to complete the whole application all over again.

On the flip side, I hate when school districts do not participate in this and I have to spend a second hour filling out an application that looks EXACTLY LIKE THE ONE I JUST COMPLETED for another district. But what I hate even more is filling out applications by hand. Am I applying to Starbucks? Why am I filling out an application by hand?

Just some thoughts at 11:30 pm on a Friday night.

Focus

I am having trouble focusing as of late. I am not sure why.

I can't seem to get myself to go to bed at night before midnight. I know that I should because sometime between 7 am and 8 am, I will hear Lukin yelling for Daddy, who is, of course, at work. Then I want to sleep all morning while he plays and watches cartoons. Then at nap time, I don't want to sleep.

My sleep pattern is all messed up. I don't know if that is why I lack focus. I'm tired. Who knew that being seven months pregnant and having a two-year-old would yield such exhaustion? (I guess anyone who has more than one child...but it was more of a rhetorical question.)

I told my husband that I hate not having a job. You know those email surveys that you get that have you put the cow, sheep, horse, pig, and some other animals in order, and it doesn't tell you why? Then after you do it, it labels each and tells you that it represents how you view certain things. Whichever animal is career is always up there for me.

My husband says that's good that I like to work. He is glad that I am not one of those people who don't have a job and is just content with that. Are you kidding me? Reed once told me that I wouldn't be able to handle it if I were a stay at home mom, and he was right (he thought he was right about everything, but on this point he was). Don't get me wrong. I love to be a mom, but to me, in order to be a good mom, I have to help provide for my children, and currently, that's not the case. Maybe that is why I am lacking fous.