Sweet Summertime Update

Ready for Tinley's beach party!!

I am so excited to be on summer break! Maybe the biggest plus to being a teacher?! I have big plans for the summer such as cleaning the house thoroughly, organizing rooms and closets, and preparing to move back into a second grade classroom! I am beyond thankful that I have finally landed a classroom job at Westside. I am excited to be on a team with two wonderful ladies, and I can't wait to soak up as much knowledge from them as possible. I have taught second grade for three years at Salem, but public school is a lot different. The demands are heavier, a classroom has more students, and many other obligations. I have loved my position as a Title 1 aide and am so thankful for each and every student I was able to work with. I don't know what I will do having to stay in one room all day, and not making laps around the building. The road to this job hasn't always been easy but God did have a plan.

Mike is still liking his job, I guess he has been there about 9 months already. He started in the warehouse but took the initiative and asked to be moved to sales a few months ago. He is now making commission pay on top of his hourly rate. He liked the warehouse work better, haha, if you know Mike you know phone sales isn't exactly his "thing." If you don't know him, let's just say that he doesn't even like to talk to me on the phone, let alone talk to customers face to face when they come in to order something. I can't put into words how much I appreciate his desire to step outside of his comfort zone to provide for his family. So I guess financially we are healing, slowly but moving in the right direction. I am putting in place a strict budget for when I start getting "real" checks again. It will be nice just not to have to worry about gas money, or if eating out one night is a bad use of money.

Josey and I are having a blast so far. We plan to sleep in late, go to the splashparks whenever we want, cuddle watching movies, play dinosaurs, run through the crazy daisy sprinkler, drive his truck all over, and just enjoy every minute together. I can't even begin to say how much I need our time together. There is just something very healing in this little guys' smile. He has begun to tell knock-knock jokes and they are hilarious. He has such a great personality and makes me laugh a hundred times a day. I am trying to teach him some "school" things in preparation for half-day preschool in the fall. He is not much for sitting still too long but he does love to play the memory game, and color pictures. As far as letters and numbers, I think he knows more than he wants me to know sometimes. As a teacher it is very frustrating that he doesn't want to sit and do flashcards, but he is a three-year-old boy afterall. I am in denial that he will be with non-family members at school, but Tiny Tots has a great reputation. I guess it is time for Mommy to let him grow up a little :(

As for me, I have declared a "no baby" summer. No fertility treatments for a few months, after five failed cycles. I have to stay on some of the medicine just because it is horrible to go back on it each time. I plan to just enjoy our summer and spoil Josey as much as possible. I feel like I didn't really get a summer last year with everything that happened. I was exhausted the first month (unknowingly carrying triplets), in the hospital or on bedrest the next month, and a mess the rest of the summer/school year. I plan to go back to the Dr. before school starts and see what the next steps are. I am not sure but I expect that to be injections, and a much more involved process. It is actually a relief to not be counting days right now. I had a hard couple of days when it was time to start a new cycle and I let that time come and go without taking the medicine. I have said "this is the last cycle" several times, but this time I was determined to take a break. I know I shouldn't have jumped back on the baby-making train so fast after everything, but at the time that is what I needed to do. I have decided to lose weight and get in better shape this summer. So far I have lost 18 pounds. I have lost 8 pounds in the last week and a half. My goal for the summer is to lose a total of about 40. Guess we shall see if that is possible. I am really excited to fit into smaller clothes and just feel better about myself. Overall, I am doing better. I have been sad the last few days but my Mom pointed out that since I have slowed down being out of school, I have a lot more time to sit around and think about the boys and all that happened. I had kept myself really busy for months now, so I think it is only natural that they would cross my mind more often now. I really feel that the Summer of 2011 is going to be a great one. I know I am definitely going to enjoy every minute.