I feel like I cannot get my head around my life these days. Work is draining and overwhelming and I have not been ahead of lesson planning and grading since day 1. So I work my butt off all day at work, and then I go home and do the same. There are dishes and laundry and toys and lunches to be made and bottles to be made and and and... it goes on and on.
So I am feeling... tired/stressed/sad/tired/annoyed/helpless.
I just want it all to slow down! I want to feel like, when I leave my job at the end of the day, that I accomplished something. I don't want to feel tired every time I come to work and see my desk littered with papers and totally unorganized. Being unorganized totally stresses me out.
I want to feel like I have energy when I get home to get simple tasks completed. I want to feel like I hug and love my girls enough to fill my heart back up.
I don't want to feel like life is passing me by and the things I enjoyed for my own personal, selfish reasons can be a part of my life again.
And I want my almost 5 month old to sleep through the night already!
And I want a back rub, cause my upper back totally hurts.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Empty-Head
Holy Crap, I'm busy! I know I've said this before, and you can be sure I will say it again, but working full time and raising two babies is a helkofalotta work!
I'm dead tired every day, which puzzles me because I'm sure I am getting a sufficient amount of sleep (hell- what does that even mean anymore!?) So, I'm going to write this post in bullet points cause it's all I've got the energy for anyway!
I'm dead tired every day, which puzzles me because I'm sure I am getting a sufficient amount of sleep (hell- what does that even mean anymore!?) So, I'm going to write this post in bullet points cause it's all I've got the energy for anyway!
- I am sooo over getting up at night to feed Avery. KK was helping me every other night- and by helping I mean creating more headache for me. Bless his heart, he would faithfully do his night-time bottle feeding every other night... but for some reason, Avery would not fall back to sleep after eating from him, and I would end up having to take over and rock her back to sleep- which completely defeated the purpose of sharing this chore. So now I am on night duty, every night, by choice. I would rather get up and feed her for 30 minutes vs. have to spend 45 minutes on top of feeding her the bottle to get her settled back into bed. That clever baby must know her Daddy is NOT a middle of the night person... but don't worry, people. I negotiated him putting both girls to bed in exchange for me getting up in the middle of the night to feed :)
- So my question is: When is Avery going to stop requiring a bottle at night? I am sure by now Ali was snoozing all night long.. and the doc said when she stops sucking down every drop she is ready- but we haven't gotten there yet.
- We have started Avery on rice cereal- and by started I mean that I force-feed the poor child a couple of runny spoonfuls, only to have her gag and spit it all back out. Her tongue movement is getting better- but I am getting the hint she does not enjoy the stuff- so what do I do now? My first child sucked everything down that was put in front of her- so I am at a loss!
- Ali has recently acquired a love of calling everyone by their first name. Case in Point: the other night, on her way to bed, I told her to "give Daddy a mooch"... she turned around and said: "Wuv You, Kris!" ...and Monday, when I walked into her classroom at school to pick her up she looked right at me and said" Oh hi, Kelli. How are you today?" I mean seriously! The kid is 2 !
- Although my bullet list does contain a good amount of complaining, I really am content in my life. I enjoy my job because I get a chance to see my friends, be an adult, connect with my students, and be on a schedule, which I so need. I also love the time with my children- and working has caused me to prioritize my time with them vs. slaving around the house.
Guest Post! ...Bilingual Learning
Emily Patterson, of Primrose Indiana child care schools, contacted me for a guest posting. As a former Spanish teacher, and a bi linguist myself, I truly do believe in the power of bilingual education.
Early Childhood Education – The Best Time For Bilingual Learning
Of course, nobody knows what the future will hold – but if current trends continue, your child will grow up to enter a workforce in which the competition for decent-paying jobs will be nothing short of cut-throat. Despite the calls for greater co-operation and "interdependence," human nature being what it is, it's a good bet that the economy of the the future will operate according to the Law of the Jungle. It goes without saying that a good education is one of the best ways to prepare that child for survival in that economic jungle of the future.
The Bilingual Future
One of the future trends that has become certain is the existence of a diverse, global society. Nowhere is this more true than in the United States. Almost from the beginning, the U.S. has been a land of immigrants, and while the "melting pot" has been an interesting theory, it has not happened in practice. On the contrary, most major U.S. population centers have become more of an ethnic and linguistic checkerboard; Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese and Chinese speakers represent some of the fastest-growing segments of the immigrant U.S. population.
In addition, with the rise of China, English may very well lose its preeminence as the international language of business; at best, it will have to share that top status with Mandarin in decades to come.
Getting Ready
Traditional wisdom has been to start teaching a second language in middle school, or even high school. Yet numerous research studies clearly demonstrate that the optimal period in a child's life for multilingual education is during the preschool years – at exactly the same time they are learning their first language. Yes, it is possible to learn a second and third language later in life, but it is more difficult, because that neurological "window of opportunity" – when the brain is most malleable – has passed.
According to Dr. Fred Genessee, Professor of Psychology at McGill University in Montreal, it's as easy for young children to learn two or three languages as it is for them to learn one. He's not alone; educators throughout the world (in countries that often have two or even three official languages) have understood this for decades.
The way a child learns a second language is by actually speaking it in a total immersion environment. You may recall an episode of the animated series The Simpsons in which young Bart gets trapped on a farm in France – and by the end of the episode, finds he's actually speaking the language. While this was a fictional scenario, the phenomenon is real; anyone who has taken young children abroad to stay with relatives in a foreign country for any length of time has observed this happening.
Enrollment in a preschool program that offers immersion in other languages is the best way to get your child started. This investment will make him/her much more competitive in the job market later on.
Co-written by Emily Patterson and Kathleen Thomas:
Emily and Kathleen are Communications Coordinators for the network of Zionsville child care facilities belonging to the AdvancED® accredited family of Primrose Indiana child care schools. Primrose Schools are located in 16 states throughout the U.S. and are dedicated to delivering progressive, early childhood, Balanced Learning® curriculum throughout their preschools.
Early Childhood Education – The Best Time For Bilingual Learning
Of course, nobody knows what the future will hold – but if current trends continue, your child will grow up to enter a workforce in which the competition for decent-paying jobs will be nothing short of cut-throat. Despite the calls for greater co-operation and "interdependence," human nature being what it is, it's a good bet that the economy of the the future will operate according to the Law of the Jungle. It goes without saying that a good education is one of the best ways to prepare that child for survival in that economic jungle of the future.
The Bilingual Future
One of the future trends that has become certain is the existence of a diverse, global society. Nowhere is this more true than in the United States. Almost from the beginning, the U.S. has been a land of immigrants, and while the "melting pot" has been an interesting theory, it has not happened in practice. On the contrary, most major U.S. population centers have become more of an ethnic and linguistic checkerboard; Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese and Chinese speakers represent some of the fastest-growing segments of the immigrant U.S. population.
In addition, with the rise of China, English may very well lose its preeminence as the international language of business; at best, it will have to share that top status with Mandarin in decades to come.
Getting Ready
Traditional wisdom has been to start teaching a second language in middle school, or even high school. Yet numerous research studies clearly demonstrate that the optimal period in a child's life for multilingual education is during the preschool years – at exactly the same time they are learning their first language. Yes, it is possible to learn a second and third language later in life, but it is more difficult, because that neurological "window of opportunity" – when the brain is most malleable – has passed.
According to Dr. Fred Genessee, Professor of Psychology at McGill University in Montreal, it's as easy for young children to learn two or three languages as it is for them to learn one. He's not alone; educators throughout the world (in countries that often have two or even three official languages) have understood this for decades.
The way a child learns a second language is by actually speaking it in a total immersion environment. You may recall an episode of the animated series The Simpsons in which young Bart gets trapped on a farm in France – and by the end of the episode, finds he's actually speaking the language. While this was a fictional scenario, the phenomenon is real; anyone who has taken young children abroad to stay with relatives in a foreign country for any length of time has observed this happening.
Enrollment in a preschool program that offers immersion in other languages is the best way to get your child started. This investment will make him/her much more competitive in the job market later on.
Co-written by Emily Patterson and Kathleen Thomas:
Emily and Kathleen are Communications Coordinators for the network of Zionsville child care facilities belonging to the AdvancED® accredited family of Primrose Indiana child care schools. Primrose Schools are located in 16 states throughout the U.S. and are dedicated to delivering progressive, early childhood, Balanced Learning® curriculum throughout their preschools.
Monday, September 20, 2010
A short story
One day, long, long ago, there lived a beautiful woman who did not whine, nag or bitch.
(That would be me...)
...But that was a long time ago and it was just that one day.
The End
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
I'm all about squeezing a penny!
I wanted to share this nice little tidbit of money-saving advice I found in my email inbox today....
Easy ways to save $$ at the grocery store
Easy ways to save $$ at the grocery store
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
She's been bitten!
My poor, sweet Ali Bananas! ANOTHER biter has revealed herself in Ali's classroom at school... and Ali is once again the chosen target! She must taste super delicious :)
Poor gal... I feel so bad that her dad and I think, while tragic, it is pretty funny that another little girl decided to chomp on Ali's forehead. I mean, c'mon! who wants to bite a boney forehead? Why not try for a juicy arm or leg? And poor Ali wears her hair in the Pebbles' Pony every day because of her funny grow out- so of course we can't cover up that terrible comp mark! Thankfully, the biter did not break the skin, so we are not worried about scaring :)
....and we are happy to report that the bite has not prevented Ali from her favorite past-time.... bottomless cooking!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
The first day of School- and 4 month check up
So yesterday was the first day of school, and my first official day back as a teacher with 2 young children at home. Needless to say, the before-school routine and first day of went over without a hitch.
....and here's where I become an idiot. So the 1st day was over, and I'm sitting in my friend's classroom, feeling like an awesome teacher because we are going to create this great teaching unit for The Secret Life of Bees. So we get all that stuff figured out, get our game plan... and I walk out the door at 3:32 to pick up my sweet girlies. And then I suddenly remember that I am a genius and have Avery's 4 month check-up scheduled for today, the 1st day of me officially returning to work, at 3:50. So I panic, drive like a maniac across town to get them, and call the doctor's office. They tell me that I have until 3:59 until they will drop our appointment, and to reschedule would be 3 weeks out. I don't want to wait three weeks to bring these girls to the doctor, especially considering that we go every 2 months anyway... so I call the daycare in a panic, inform them that I am an idiot, and ask to please have the girls ready to go for me to swoop them up.
So my daycare is awesome, and the girls are ready and waiting for me to frantically strap them in the car and try to not drive too fast across the other side of town to the doctor's office.
Needless to say, we made it with 2 minutes to spare... with me telling Ali to hurry! hurry! run ! run! across the parking lot, whilst holding a screaming 4 month old who was woken up from a nap to be slammed into her car seat and is none too happy about it. Oh yeah, and I was dropping all of our belongings all over the waiting room, whilst sternly telling my 2 year old to get out of the rocker boat and come into to the doctor's office... all the while explaining to the nurse that I look like a crazy parent right now, but I'm not really one! ha! I fooled her!
....and here's where I become an idiot. So the 1st day was over, and I'm sitting in my friend's classroom, feeling like an awesome teacher because we are going to create this great teaching unit for The Secret Life of Bees. So we get all that stuff figured out, get our game plan... and I walk out the door at 3:32 to pick up my sweet girlies. And then I suddenly remember that I am a genius and have Avery's 4 month check-up scheduled for today, the 1st day of me officially returning to work, at 3:50. So I panic, drive like a maniac across town to get them, and call the doctor's office. They tell me that I have until 3:59 until they will drop our appointment, and to reschedule would be 3 weeks out. I don't want to wait three weeks to bring these girls to the doctor, especially considering that we go every 2 months anyway... so I call the daycare in a panic, inform them that I am an idiot, and ask to please have the girls ready to go for me to swoop them up.
So my daycare is awesome, and the girls are ready and waiting for me to frantically strap them in the car and try to not drive too fast across the other side of town to the doctor's office.
Needless to say, we made it with 2 minutes to spare... with me telling Ali to hurry! hurry! run ! run! across the parking lot, whilst holding a screaming 4 month old who was woken up from a nap to be slammed into her car seat and is none too happy about it. Oh yeah, and I was dropping all of our belongings all over the waiting room, whilst sternly telling my 2 year old to get out of the rocker boat and come into to the doctor's office... all the while explaining to the nurse that I look like a crazy parent right now, but I'm not really one! ha! I fooled her!
But anyway, my doctor got a good laugh out of it and I'm happy to say that Avery is happy, healthy, huge, and all vaccinated for another 2 months of her sweet little life.
At 4 months Avery: weighs 16lbs 2.5 oz (95th percentile) and is 26 inches long (97th percentile). I have no idea where these big babies come from! But I do love me some healthy children :)
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