OK, so it's not officially summer yet. And it's not even summer by the definition "school's over for the year." I do still have a couple of papers to grade, a manuscript to review for a journal, at least four more meetings, and a graduation and reception to attend. However, I do not have to walk into a classroom again until September.
And now I'm sitting on the couch because I can. It's probably not the best thing I could do, but I need a bit of a break. Yes, I watched the Glee season finale last night, but that was after I cleaned the kitchen and washed some toys our lovely neighbors pulled out of their shed and gave to our kids (how much does it rock that our neighbors give our kids all their old toys? I don't think I'll have to actually buy toys any time in the foreseeable future).
But I'm not going to sit on the couch all summer, oh no! I have big plans. BIG plans. And, yes, I am making fun of myself just a little bit because I'm sure my plans are probably too big. But for the record, here they are:
1. Potty training. The potty training book I ordered on Amaz.on (because I ordered it TWICE through interlibrary loan, and both times my order status says "in transit" for weeks and then goes away) will arrive tomorrow. Nick is very close to being potty trained already, and Sarah likes to do what he does, so we'll see how that goes. If she's not there yet, we'll go back to diapers and try again later.
2. Getting rid of half the stuff in our house. I am so not kidding. I feel like I am drowning in a sea of STUFF. I also ordered the Joy. o.f L.ess and should be getting it tomorrow. I don't see myself turning into a minimalist any time soon, but some kind of middle ground would be really good.
3. Writing some grant applications. I have to get myself some research funding for work. It will make life (and working with small children) a million times easier, and I am just plain scared to start. I'm going to line up babysitting for a couple of mornings a week to get on this, because it has to happen this summer.
4. Working out. Unfortunately, the exercise video Mr. X ordered me for Mother's Day (IT'S OK! I asked him for it specifically and even sent him the link to buy it) got lost in the mail. The guy gave us a refund, but I'm bummed out. It's made by the woman who taught my prenatal exercise class, and I own her prenatal workout video, which rocks. So, I wanted this one specifically, but they're sold out, and I found one on At.omic M.all, and that was the only copy I could locate. Argh. But I will exercise, video or no video!
5. Praying. Must ramp up prayer life. No excuses! It's so much better than it was last fall, but I see now how critical this is to everything else.
6. Getting the rest of my life in order. You know, the little stuff. Having friends over regularly, getting our finances in better order, buying a car (long story, which I will fill in soon), etc. Not really, though. These things have to get done, but the first five are critical.
And, yes, maybe two years is a better time frame, but I am fired up. This summer will be it!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Free!
I taught my last class of the school year today. I am celebrating with a glass of wine and the Glee season finale. That is all for now. :)
Monday, April 18, 2011
Whirlwind
Oh my goodness. I'm sooo ready for summer to be here. I have a post to put up about my big epiphany (still needs some work, and don't have time for that tonight, for reasons that will soon become clear), and in that I talk a lot more about work than I ever have on this blog. So, as a little preview of that, I'm a professor at a secular university. Right now, I have about six weeks left until I finish teaching for the summer and can be at home with our kids.
Things were going along pretty well, with our kids attending a little preschool/parents'-day-out program two mornings a week (and then I pick them up, take them home for naps, and work while they sleep), and our beloved nanny caring for them all day on my teaching days. Short of grandparents living next door, I couldn't hope for better childcare when we can't be with the kids. And then our nanny was injured in an accident last week! She'll be fine, but has a lot of recovery and healing to do. She's been such a tremendous blessing to our family, and I'm so sad to think of her in pain. I'm sad for us, too, because she's a wonderful influence on our kids, and on Mr. X and me, too--and we just plain like being with her.
So, with great trepidation, I set out to find childcare for the rest of the school year. Mr. X was wise in suggesting that we make plans for this week first, and then worry about finding a more permanent solution for the rest of the school year. He asked the wonderful couple who sit with the kids during mass (while we sing up in the choir loft), and they graciously said they would watch the kids during my classes this week. The teenage daughter of another couple in our spirituality class is going to babysit in the evening so we can go to class. That gave us some breathing room.
I called the preschool first, and they were very helpful. They said that they could take the kids for the other mornings for the rest of the year. That's really my top choice, because the kids love it there, and we're very happy with the program and the teachers (they have a parent helper every day, and we've been really impressed on our helper days). I'd rather stick with something the kids know and like, rather than spring something new on them. Unfortunately, the "school" day ends in the middle of my teaching schedule. I've been trying since Friday to figure out a solution, hoping that I could find someone to pick the kids up, bring them home, and tuck them in for naps. While working on that angle, I also ran searches on all the child care centers around our home and around my campus. My heart was just sinking at the thought of bringing my kids to a new daycare center or hiring a stranger, wonderful though that stranger may turn out to be. It's just too much when our resources and nerves are stretched thin.
And then I called the kids' first babysitter, a very kind woman to whom I haven't spoken in a while. I thought there was no way she'd be available, but thought I would just ask on the off chance she'd be interested. It turns out that the timing is perfect! She's available, and it sounds like it will work out just as well for her as it will for us!
I've been praying and praying that God would send us the right solution. And I think this is it!
OK. Now I'm off to do a little more work . . . and then shovel out the house, because OH MY GOODNESS, we have a new babysitter who's tied in to our social network, and she's going to be here tomorrow night! But I'm going to sleep well tonight, because my babies will be in trusted hands while I finish out the term.
Things were going along pretty well, with our kids attending a little preschool/parents'-day-out program two mornings a week (and then I pick them up, take them home for naps, and work while they sleep), and our beloved nanny caring for them all day on my teaching days. Short of grandparents living next door, I couldn't hope for better childcare when we can't be with the kids. And then our nanny was injured in an accident last week! She'll be fine, but has a lot of recovery and healing to do. She's been such a tremendous blessing to our family, and I'm so sad to think of her in pain. I'm sad for us, too, because she's a wonderful influence on our kids, and on Mr. X and me, too--and we just plain like being with her.
So, with great trepidation, I set out to find childcare for the rest of the school year. Mr. X was wise in suggesting that we make plans for this week first, and then worry about finding a more permanent solution for the rest of the school year. He asked the wonderful couple who sit with the kids during mass (while we sing up in the choir loft), and they graciously said they would watch the kids during my classes this week. The teenage daughter of another couple in our spirituality class is going to babysit in the evening so we can go to class. That gave us some breathing room.
I called the preschool first, and they were very helpful. They said that they could take the kids for the other mornings for the rest of the year. That's really my top choice, because the kids love it there, and we're very happy with the program and the teachers (they have a parent helper every day, and we've been really impressed on our helper days). I'd rather stick with something the kids know and like, rather than spring something new on them. Unfortunately, the "school" day ends in the middle of my teaching schedule. I've been trying since Friday to figure out a solution, hoping that I could find someone to pick the kids up, bring them home, and tuck them in for naps. While working on that angle, I also ran searches on all the child care centers around our home and around my campus. My heart was just sinking at the thought of bringing my kids to a new daycare center or hiring a stranger, wonderful though that stranger may turn out to be. It's just too much when our resources and nerves are stretched thin.
And then I called the kids' first babysitter, a very kind woman to whom I haven't spoken in a while. I thought there was no way she'd be available, but thought I would just ask on the off chance she'd be interested. It turns out that the timing is perfect! She's available, and it sounds like it will work out just as well for her as it will for us!
I've been praying and praying that God would send us the right solution. And I think this is it!
OK. Now I'm off to do a little more work . . . and then shovel out the house, because OH MY GOODNESS, we have a new babysitter who's tied in to our social network, and she's going to be here tomorrow night! But I'm going to sleep well tonight, because my babies will be in trusted hands while I finish out the term.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Three in Diapers (Not a Pregnancy Announcement)
Gaaah! This is what happens when I go back to work. All my good intentions about keeping up with the blog go out the window. I wrote a big, long post about an epiphany I had, but it's not ready yet. In the meantime . . .
All is not well with Wonderdog. She's a 13-year-old shepherd mix, and she's been having some issues for about two years. At that point, I was pregnant, she seemed to be having some problems with arthritis in her hind legs, and she suddenly started peeing on the floor in her sleep. We took her to the vet, thinking maybe she had a UTI, maybe she was weirded out by pregnancy pheromones . . . we didn't know. Because we're not vets. The vet had no good answers (but wanted to run many hundred dollars' worth of tests). We have had her in a couple of times, but the answers were about the same (long-term anti-inflammatories not a great idea . . . but her heart skipped a beat . . . maybe she needs a pacemaker . . . how about we run many hundreds of dollars' worth of tests?).
Finally, things have become much worse. She's having a lot more trouble with stairs, her hind paws slip a lot, and now she's been pooping a lot in her sleep. And this week it was once in her sleep and twice while awake--and it was a TON of poop those times, and it was all over the place. So Mr. X took her in, and he finally got to see the good DOG vet (as opposed to the BIRD vet), and she did some simple neurological tests and said she's most likely got cani.ne deg.ener.ative myelo.pathy. Basically, it's a progressive neurological disorder common to shepherds (and some other breeds). She has a lot of muscle atrophy in her legs and behind, she can't tell where her hind legs are in relation to the rest of her body . . . and, when she's sleeping, she loses bladder and bowel control because of muscle atrophy and lack of sensation. Ugh. The poor thing! And the symptoms can mimic arthritis, incontinence is a typical symptom . . . so I'm betting she's had it for at least two years.
She's been such a wonderful dog! And I know dogs don't live for ever, and big dogs in particular don't live forever, but what a bummer that she's suffering with this. So now we have doggie diapers for night, she has booties on her hind paws to give her more traction on the wood floors and stairs (which seems to help), and we got a harness that will make it easier for us to lift her and help her on the stairs. She still loves to go for walks, and yesterday she chased a bunny in the back yard (briefly, but she did it), so she's not down for the count yet. Nonetheless, we'll be making some tough decisions in the not-too-distant future.
All is not well with Wonderdog. She's a 13-year-old shepherd mix, and she's been having some issues for about two years. At that point, I was pregnant, she seemed to be having some problems with arthritis in her hind legs, and she suddenly started peeing on the floor in her sleep. We took her to the vet, thinking maybe she had a UTI, maybe she was weirded out by pregnancy pheromones . . . we didn't know. Because we're not vets. The vet had no good answers (but wanted to run many hundred dollars' worth of tests). We have had her in a couple of times, but the answers were about the same (long-term anti-inflammatories not a great idea . . . but her heart skipped a beat . . . maybe she needs a pacemaker . . . how about we run many hundreds of dollars' worth of tests?).
Finally, things have become much worse. She's having a lot more trouble with stairs, her hind paws slip a lot, and now she's been pooping a lot in her sleep. And this week it was once in her sleep and twice while awake--and it was a TON of poop those times, and it was all over the place. So Mr. X took her in, and he finally got to see the good DOG vet (as opposed to the BIRD vet), and she did some simple neurological tests and said she's most likely got cani.ne deg.ener.ative myelo.pathy. Basically, it's a progressive neurological disorder common to shepherds (and some other breeds). She has a lot of muscle atrophy in her legs and behind, she can't tell where her hind legs are in relation to the rest of her body . . . and, when she's sleeping, she loses bladder and bowel control because of muscle atrophy and lack of sensation. Ugh. The poor thing! And the symptoms can mimic arthritis, incontinence is a typical symptom . . . so I'm betting she's had it for at least two years.
She's been such a wonderful dog! And I know dogs don't live for ever, and big dogs in particular don't live forever, but what a bummer that she's suffering with this. So now we have doggie diapers for night, she has booties on her hind paws to give her more traction on the wood floors and stairs (which seems to help), and we got a harness that will make it easier for us to lift her and help her on the stairs. She still loves to go for walks, and yesterday she chased a bunny in the back yard (briefly, but she did it), so she's not down for the count yet. Nonetheless, we'll be making some tough decisions in the not-too-distant future.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Two minute update
Still dealing with the after-effects of the stomach bug (i.e., giving the kids probiotics and very gently adding foods back into their diets). Went back to work yesterday. Realized today that I missed the deadline for returning the used potty to A.ma.zon. Argh!!! I could just cry about that. My first day back was fine, except that I forgot I wore a coat in the morning . . . which would not have been a big deal if my car keys weren't in the pocket. Forty minutes, two ransackings of my office, and a twenty minute walk to check whether they were in my car out in the parking lot later, I remembered that it had been cool in the morning. I got home 45 minutes late. Thank God for our heaven-sent babysitter!
And now I will crash!
And now I will crash!
Monday, March 14, 2011
Round three
We're back for round three of this stomach bug. Three times in a month! Sarah had it last week, and Nick came down with it this morning. No fun. I'm praying that we'll be done with it this time. I go back to work on Monday. Thank goodness I took my belated maternity leave when I did--the kids have been sick ridiculously often, school was cancelled due to cold (that's a first around here), the sewer backed up twice, and we had the whole mercury-thermometer fiasco. I'm so glad I wasn't trying to really work during this whole time!
And hallelujah, we're having our sewer line replaced tomorrow! It's been a huge problem for years, but it will be fixed tomorrow! Mr. X went to C.ost.co today, and I asked him to buy a case of toilet paper--the cloggier the better. We've been buying RV toilet paper for years in the hopes it would be easy on our temperamental sewer pipe.
The guys came by and dropped off the trackhoe (according to Mr. X--the kids and I just call it a "digger truck") this afternoon. I had taken Sarah for a walk before lunch while Nick was napping on Mr. X's lap this morning, and we kept an eye out for the truck, which was supposed to arrive at any time. I asked her, "Do you see the digger truck yet?" She said, "No! Scary." I just love that she can tell me how she feels now. So we talked about how trucks can be kind of scary, but we'd just watch this one through the window inside our house, and she seemed to feel a bit better about it. When the truck finally arrived, the noise woke her up from her nap, and sure enough, she insisted that she didn't want to look at the truck. About a half-hour later, she decided to look out the window, and then when Mr. X got home from the store, he took her outside to touch it. Then she was just beside herself with delight over the truck, and she was thrilled to show it to Nick once he woke up from his nap.
And my neighbor and I walked our dogs together tonight! Oh my goodness. I think this was the third time I've hung out with a friend alone (without kids) since Sarah was born almost 20 months ago. I think I need to do that much more often.
So, tonight I get my first hCG injection since October 2008. I can't BELIEVE how much less expensive it was to order it through Kubat Pharmacy in Omaha than it was to buy it from a pharmacy in town. Seriously, it was a third the cost at the cheapest of the six places I tried here. Back in 2008 (and 2007, and 2006) our insurance covered it, but now we changed insurance plans, and so I have to pay full price.
Anyway. Enough of my rambling! (Note to self: work on writing skills. It is bad to end posts like this.)
And hallelujah, we're having our sewer line replaced tomorrow! It's been a huge problem for years, but it will be fixed tomorrow! Mr. X went to C.ost.co today, and I asked him to buy a case of toilet paper--the cloggier the better. We've been buying RV toilet paper for years in the hopes it would be easy on our temperamental sewer pipe.
The guys came by and dropped off the trackhoe (according to Mr. X--the kids and I just call it a "digger truck") this afternoon. I had taken Sarah for a walk before lunch while Nick was napping on Mr. X's lap this morning, and we kept an eye out for the truck, which was supposed to arrive at any time. I asked her, "Do you see the digger truck yet?" She said, "No! Scary." I just love that she can tell me how she feels now. So we talked about how trucks can be kind of scary, but we'd just watch this one through the window inside our house, and she seemed to feel a bit better about it. When the truck finally arrived, the noise woke her up from her nap, and sure enough, she insisted that she didn't want to look at the truck. About a half-hour later, she decided to look out the window, and then when Mr. X got home from the store, he took her outside to touch it. Then she was just beside herself with delight over the truck, and she was thrilled to show it to Nick once he woke up from his nap.
And my neighbor and I walked our dogs together tonight! Oh my goodness. I think this was the third time I've hung out with a friend alone (without kids) since Sarah was born almost 20 months ago. I think I need to do that much more often.
So, tonight I get my first hCG injection since October 2008. I can't BELIEVE how much less expensive it was to order it through Kubat Pharmacy in Omaha than it was to buy it from a pharmacy in town. Seriously, it was a third the cost at the cheapest of the six places I tried here. Back in 2008 (and 2007, and 2006) our insurance covered it, but now we changed insurance plans, and so I have to pay full price.
Anyway. Enough of my rambling! (Note to self: work on writing skills. It is bad to end posts like this.)
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Tired
That's it. Just tired.
I've been meaning to post all week, but I'm just feeling wiped out!
I need to write some adoption-related posts (timeline and the story of my failed attempt to get a social security card for Nick), but it will have to wait for another day.
But we got a ton done today! I went to a kids' consignment sale at a local church and came home with 30 articles of clothing, two winter coats for next year, two booster seats (for the kitchen), and a big blackboard easel for $61.25. Score! We had a play date with friends we haven't seen in too long. I had a meeting to get up to speed on the lent music at our official parish so that I can start cantoring there again. I went to confession while I was at it. Mr. X and I went to the organizational meeting for a new couples-with-young-kids group at our unofficial parish. And now I will crash!
I've been meaning to post all week, but I'm just feeling wiped out!
I need to write some adoption-related posts (timeline and the story of my failed attempt to get a social security card for Nick), but it will have to wait for another day.
But we got a ton done today! I went to a kids' consignment sale at a local church and came home with 30 articles of clothing, two winter coats for next year, two booster seats (for the kitchen), and a big blackboard easel for $61.25. Score! We had a play date with friends we haven't seen in too long. I had a meeting to get up to speed on the lent music at our official parish so that I can start cantoring there again. I went to confession while I was at it. Mr. X and I went to the organizational meeting for a new couples-with-young-kids group at our unofficial parish. And now I will crash!
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