Well. This sucks. I thought we were pretty much out of cold and flu season. Turns out, flu season hasn't even peaked yet! BAH!
Nash was fine all day Friday. I had to go to work from 5:30-11:30 pm and Sam was suppose to go to a birthday party across the street. I left my phone home so if Nash needed something he could get a hold of me at the store. I got the kids two Redbox movies and headed off to work. I tried to call and check on them around 7:30 pm while I was on my break. I didn't get an answer so I figured they were downstairs watching the movie and didn't hear the phone. Around 9:30 pm my mom stopped at the store. I was a bit nervous about things since no one answered earlier and they hadn't called me back so I asked my mom to stop and check on them. I never heard from my mom so I assumed all was well.
About 11:20 pm I got a call from Sam telling me "Nash is DYING!" (That girl so dramatic it kills me!). Our conversation went something like:
Me - Why are you still up?
Sam - Nash is DYING! Come home!
Me - How do you know he's dying?
Sam - He's on FIRE! He says he feels like he's DYING!
Me - Give him some ibuprofen and have him get n a cool bath.
Sam - He says he's cold though.
Me - Yes, he's cold because his fever is high. Have him get in the bath.
This conversation continued for several minutes before I told her I was almost done and I'd be home soon. Just help him out and go to bed. I got home about 11:45 pm. Nash was fully clothed, on the couch, with the heaviest blanket he could find wrapped around him and shivering like a frozen puppy. There was an empty ibuprofen cup next to him so I knew he'd at least gotten some meds in him. I tried to wake him up to get him to change into pjs and go to bed. He wasn't super coherent. He told me that it hurt to breathe - at which point I kinda went, "Ah, crap. We might be visiting the ER in the middle of the night." He told me it hurt in both his chest and his throat when he took a breath. He also kept telling me how much his throat hurt. I started wondering if maybe it was strep. But, he's had his tonsils out so I'm not sure how likely that is. I finally got him changed and moved to his bed and I went to bed.
I had a 9 am appointment in Logan. Nash came in my room about 7:45 am. He told me again how much his throat hurt and how much it hurt to breathe. I told him he could either stay here and just wait it out. I could take him into the dr. when I got back. Or, he could go with to my appt and sleep in the car and then I could take him to the dr. He told me he just wanted to stay put and that he was freezing still. He was out cold again not long after that so I never got any meds in him. I left and went to my appointment and didn't think too much about it other than to wonder whether I should bother taking him to instacare later or not. I was suppose to work a 5:30-11:30 pm shift that night so whatever I did needed to be well before that.
I went to my appointment and kept debating about what to do. I finally decided I'd stop at JoAnn's and talk to mom to see how he had been Friday night when she stopped. She told me he hadn't been doing well at all when she got there. In fact, he'd been asleep on the couch (asleep at 9:30 pm for that child is unheard of - unless he's seriously ill). She said he'd had a decent fever then and that she had tried to move him too but he kinda just wanted to lie on the couch and die. She said she left about 10:15 and went home. Sam called her at 11 pm. She said she thought about just coming up then but knew I'd be home soon. She walked through the same conversation with Sam that I had. Apparently she had gone through which med was the best for him, put a cool washcloth on his forehead, etc. Sam must have listened to one of us bc Nash told me later Sam did put a cool washcloth on his head and did give him meds. After talking to mom I decided to call the Kids Care at our regular pediatrician to see if we could get in. It was 11:30 am by the time I decided to call. They had one appointment left at noon so I took it. As I was heading home I called the neighbor and asked her to go make sure he was awake and had shoes on so we could leave as soon as I got there.
When I got home I found Nash on the couch with one shoe one, trying in vain to use his hands to get the other one even close to his empty foot. He was still in his pjs and mostly just wanted to lay on the couch and die. He told me he had to use both hands to open the door to my room so he could even get out. I'm surprised he didn't just lay back down and say screw it, it's too much effort! I helped him get his shoes on and we took B and headed to the Dr.'s office.
Nash pretty well fell asleep in the car, in the waiting room and in the room where we saw the dr. It was a dr. I hadn't seen before so I wasn't sure how this was going to play out. Turns out I really liked her. I explained everything that had happened and asked what the possibility of strep was. She looked in his throat and said it didn't look bad at all - in fact looked pretty decent. She said that everything I was describing was influenza. She said she isn't a fan of Tamiflu because it's so expensive and it tends to nauseate her patients. So, you pay $80 to be sick to your stomach and it only lessons the symptoms by about a day. She said to keep him on ibuprofen and Tylenol every 3 hours. Lots of rest and lots of fluids.
So, we headed home with nothing more than a "sucks to be you" diagnosis. We got home and Nash was hungry so he ate a little. Then he asked if he could get in the tub. The dr. said his temp was at 102 at the dr.'s office so we also got some meds in him. He wanted some Gatorade too so we got him some of that. He went back to bed about 2 pm and didn't wake up until after 5. I sent Sam to my in laws house with her cousin for a sleep over (it was suppose to have been at our house). I needed to go in to work from 9-1130 so I sent Caleb and Brooke to my parents' house for a sleep over. I was hoping Nash would just crash and sleep the whole time I was gone.
I didn't clock out at work until a little after midnight. I got home and Nash was WIDE awake watching TV downstairs. Apparently he had had too much sleep. He ended up staying awake literally all night long. When I woke up this morning I asked him how long he had been up and he was like "eh, I couldn't sleep, so I just watched tv". Awesome dude. His appetite has been so-so today. He keeps asking for soft foods because his throat still hurts so darn bad. We're keeping him on the ibuprofen and Tylenol so his fever is mostly staying down. After picking up the other three kids today I came home and started disinfecting everything in the house. Tomorrow I think I'm going to bust out the carpet cleaner too. I'm crossing my fingers no one else gets this. The dr. said it typically lasts 5-7 days. I got my shift at work for today (Sunday) covered and I canceled school for Monday/Tuesday. Wednesday will be day 5 so I'm hoping he's doing better enough by then that even if he isn't back to school I can at least have preschool. He hates missing school too so for his sake I hope he heals quickly!
After church let out today I had a knock on my door. It was a couple I don't know super well. He said to me, "I understand your son is sick. Would you like me to minister to him?" It caught me so completely off guard. I hadn't expected that at all. I told him Nash had just gotten into the tub so could he come back in 30 minutes? He said he would and left to find another brother to come help him give Nash a blessing. 30 minutes later, they were back and gave Nash a nice blessing. Come to find out, they are our new home teachers! I'd say that's a good start to getting to know them better! I was sure glad that he had stopped by. My phone had rung and I'd been downstairs and missed the call. I didn't recognize the number so I didn't call back. A few short minutes later he stopped by the house. I'm very thankful to be a part of a ward that looks out for members like that. People who know us know Trav works out of town. We've had offers of help here and there but we've never really needed to take anyone up on their offers. It is nice to know that even in a ward that's brand new (December our ward boundaries changed and we got put into the new ward) people will still look out for you - even when they hardly know you!
Monday, March 14, 2016
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Fun tidbits
Exciting news!
**Nash's robotics team at Canyon Elementary took 2nd at the STATE competition! While his team didn't qualify for Nationals or Worlds, the school's team with all first timers did! They will be making a trip to TEXAS in April. Nash won't go this time, but I have a feeling his day is coming soon!
**Also, this past month I've helped my mom set up an Etsy store. She's not got 2 sales under her belt! We are pretty excited here and can't wait to see this business really take off for her!
Upcoming events we are looking forward to:
**Caleb is singing with Billy Dean and Eli Barsi on Saturday at the Cache Valley Cowboy Rendezvous!
**Brooke & Nash have birthdays coming up in just 2 months. I've already been hearing about what kind of cakes Brookelyn wants (since Christmas actually). Should be an interesting challenge and must more difficult than last month's cake adventure!
**Spring Break is at the end of March! We'll be going to Manti to visit Grandma and Grandpa Butter for Easter. Not sure what else we'll do, but Travis is home so there SHALL BE ADVENTURE!
**We just had our first NYC meeting! We talked about places we'd like to visit and which Broadway shows we'd like to see. We'll have another meeting in May!
**Dance competition season officially kicks off on March 19th. I WILL master this year's hair by then! I actually practiced on Brookelyn on Sunday. I didn't do it upside down and backwards like I do on Sam - but it looked super cute and she loved her "Elsa Braid". We are also looking forward to the END of dance competition season. This season with a new studio has been very difficult. We've learned a lot of hard lessons. Sam will be switching to a different studio in August and thankfully, she's excited about that! I sure hope it's a better experience than this year has been! Brookelyn is looking forward to getting to go back to "fun dance" instead of "boring dance" too :)
I know it's not anything super marvelous, but at this time of year it's easy to get the winter blahs. We are looking for fun things to be excited about!
**Nash's robotics team at Canyon Elementary took 2nd at the STATE competition! While his team didn't qualify for Nationals or Worlds, the school's team with all first timers did! They will be making a trip to TEXAS in April. Nash won't go this time, but I have a feeling his day is coming soon!
**Also, this past month I've helped my mom set up an Etsy store. She's not got 2 sales under her belt! We are pretty excited here and can't wait to see this business really take off for her!
Upcoming events we are looking forward to:
**Caleb is singing with Billy Dean and Eli Barsi on Saturday at the Cache Valley Cowboy Rendezvous!
**Brooke & Nash have birthdays coming up in just 2 months. I've already been hearing about what kind of cakes Brookelyn wants (since Christmas actually). Should be an interesting challenge and must more difficult than last month's cake adventure!
**Spring Break is at the end of March! We'll be going to Manti to visit Grandma and Grandpa Butter for Easter. Not sure what else we'll do, but Travis is home so there SHALL BE ADVENTURE!
**We just had our first NYC meeting! We talked about places we'd like to visit and which Broadway shows we'd like to see. We'll have another meeting in May!
**Dance competition season officially kicks off on March 19th. I WILL master this year's hair by then! I actually practiced on Brookelyn on Sunday. I didn't do it upside down and backwards like I do on Sam - but it looked super cute and she loved her "Elsa Braid". We are also looking forward to the END of dance competition season. This season with a new studio has been very difficult. We've learned a lot of hard lessons. Sam will be switching to a different studio in August and thankfully, she's excited about that! I sure hope it's a better experience than this year has been! Brookelyn is looking forward to getting to go back to "fun dance" instead of "boring dance" too :)
I know it's not anything super marvelous, but at this time of year it's easy to get the winter blahs. We are looking for fun things to be excited about!
Monday, February 15, 2016
February
Can I just say that I'm not a fan of the snow? It can go away any time. No joke, the snow piles along the sides of the road are a good 3+ feet deep. We haven't had this much snow for a few years. It was fun at first but this mama is over it! Good thing all the kids got snow stuff for Christmas so they can make good use of it all!
Since my last post I've decided not to put in for the sixth grade teaching position. Why? Simply, I don't feel that at this time I have the support I would need in order to do a good job. That's ok. I'm perfectly happy running my own preschool and being my own boss. When I was in high school owning my own preschool was my dream. Here I am living it! I did find out in talking to another lady the other day that in a few years (when all the neighborhood non profit homes are built next to the school) that there will be some openings for the lower grades. So, even though I'm not applying now, there will be new opportunities in the near future.
Since I'm not applying for the open sixth grade position, I've begun preschool registration. It always gives me a little anxiety when I try to figure out a schedule. For this next year I've decided I will only teach one four year old and one three year old class (I know, I said that last year but this year I intend to stick to it!). I've decided to just teach Tue-Thursday. I'll put the three year old's in the morning on Tuesday and Thursday and the four year old's in the afternoons on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. This means I have all Mondays and Fridays off and won't need to teach until 12:30 on Wednesdays. It also leaves me an hour gap on Tuesdays and Thursday to get B to or from Kindergarten (that was my biggest stress). I've already got three kids registered and haven't opened up registration to the public yet. I'm only putting 10 kids in each class so I anticipate that I'll fill up soon. The good news is that since Nikki is starting her own preschool this year I can refer all my overflow to her!
We got our taxes all turned in and done. The bad news was that Halliburton didn't take out ANY taxes for the state of UT for the ENTIRE year last year. This made me an upset lady. It meant that at first look we owed the state of UT about $3K. Did I mention I was an angry lady? Since our tax lady is amazing, she did her magic and managed to get us a decent federal return which we can use to pay the state and still have some left over. Travis got an earful about calling HR first thing Tuesday in order to straighten it out so we aren't in the same boat next year!
Speaking of Travis, even though he's 2000 miles away he still managed to pull off Valentine's Day. Without my knowing anything about it he went and bought myself and the kids valentine gifts and hid them in the house. He called via Tango today and led the kids on a hot/cold chase until they found their gifts. They were pretty excited to say the least (mom was an epic fail and hadn't produced anything yet).
We celebrated Sam's birthday while Travis was home. She started out wanting FIVE birthday cakes. That's right, FIVE. And I entertained the idea. I ended up only making three but that was more than her dad felt she needed. Good thing I like her. They were fairly simple so it wasn't a big deal. She got to open her envelope that told her we're going to NYC in June. She about had an aneurysm. It was pretty funny to watch her be so excited. Her grandma and grandpa Bown gave her new PURPLE luggage. She now has nicer and newer luggage than I do! Grandma Terri gave her her porcelain number doll that she gets every year. She got a new purse from Bradshaws that she loves and I'm SURE will be making a trip to NYC with her. I can't believe the kid is 13 (or will be on Friday). She sure keeps me on my toes and makes me feel old on a regular basis. Can't wait til she has one do the same to her so I can sit back and smile! I will say that I can't wait for her to have her sweet 16. Why? Because I will FINALLY get my life back once she can drive herself and her sister to dance lessons! I'm even willing to pay the gas for it! She sure is a fun girl though. She made her own valentine cards this year. She gave Grandma Terri one that says "I don't think you're terrible." She had an original one for each of her friends. Mine says "Thanks for putting up with me." She gave one to one of her brothers that said, "You're my favorite pain in the butt." What a kid. She has some Reeder blood in her for sure! She's also super kind and thoughtful of everyone around her. She's always trying to do something for someone or help this friend or that out. She loves going to her Young Women activities and she was even made a counselor! I can't wait to see what this girl becomes!
Since my last post I've decided not to put in for the sixth grade teaching position. Why? Simply, I don't feel that at this time I have the support I would need in order to do a good job. That's ok. I'm perfectly happy running my own preschool and being my own boss. When I was in high school owning my own preschool was my dream. Here I am living it! I did find out in talking to another lady the other day that in a few years (when all the neighborhood non profit homes are built next to the school) that there will be some openings for the lower grades. So, even though I'm not applying now, there will be new opportunities in the near future.
Since I'm not applying for the open sixth grade position, I've begun preschool registration. It always gives me a little anxiety when I try to figure out a schedule. For this next year I've decided I will only teach one four year old and one three year old class (I know, I said that last year but this year I intend to stick to it!). I've decided to just teach Tue-Thursday. I'll put the three year old's in the morning on Tuesday and Thursday and the four year old's in the afternoons on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. This means I have all Mondays and Fridays off and won't need to teach until 12:30 on Wednesdays. It also leaves me an hour gap on Tuesdays and Thursday to get B to or from Kindergarten (that was my biggest stress). I've already got three kids registered and haven't opened up registration to the public yet. I'm only putting 10 kids in each class so I anticipate that I'll fill up soon. The good news is that since Nikki is starting her own preschool this year I can refer all my overflow to her!
We got our taxes all turned in and done. The bad news was that Halliburton didn't take out ANY taxes for the state of UT for the ENTIRE year last year. This made me an upset lady. It meant that at first look we owed the state of UT about $3K. Did I mention I was an angry lady? Since our tax lady is amazing, she did her magic and managed to get us a decent federal return which we can use to pay the state and still have some left over. Travis got an earful about calling HR first thing Tuesday in order to straighten it out so we aren't in the same boat next year!
Speaking of Travis, even though he's 2000 miles away he still managed to pull off Valentine's Day. Without my knowing anything about it he went and bought myself and the kids valentine gifts and hid them in the house. He called via Tango today and led the kids on a hot/cold chase until they found their gifts. They were pretty excited to say the least (mom was an epic fail and hadn't produced anything yet).
We celebrated Sam's birthday while Travis was home. She started out wanting FIVE birthday cakes. That's right, FIVE. And I entertained the idea. I ended up only making three but that was more than her dad felt she needed. Good thing I like her. They were fairly simple so it wasn't a big deal. She got to open her envelope that told her we're going to NYC in June. She about had an aneurysm. It was pretty funny to watch her be so excited. Her grandma and grandpa Bown gave her new PURPLE luggage. She now has nicer and newer luggage than I do! Grandma Terri gave her her porcelain number doll that she gets every year. She got a new purse from Bradshaws that she loves and I'm SURE will be making a trip to NYC with her. I can't believe the kid is 13 (or will be on Friday). She sure keeps me on my toes and makes me feel old on a regular basis. Can't wait til she has one do the same to her so I can sit back and smile! I will say that I can't wait for her to have her sweet 16. Why? Because I will FINALLY get my life back once she can drive herself and her sister to dance lessons! I'm even willing to pay the gas for it! She sure is a fun girl though. She made her own valentine cards this year. She gave Grandma Terri one that says "I don't think you're terrible." She had an original one for each of her friends. Mine says "Thanks for putting up with me." She gave one to one of her brothers that said, "You're my favorite pain in the butt." What a kid. She has some Reeder blood in her for sure! She's also super kind and thoughtful of everyone around her. She's always trying to do something for someone or help this friend or that out. She loves going to her Young Women activities and she was even made a counselor! I can't wait to see what this girl becomes!
Number doll from Grandma Terri
New purse (above) and luggage (below)
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
NAET Update
Caleb is still working with JanaLee at the Peterson Wellness Clinic. He hasn't been on a scale since about 3 weeks after he started working with her (he went with for Nash's med check at the pediatrician). The last time he was on a scale (November) he was up 1.5 lbs. This was exciting for me because it took him 3 yrs to gain 5 pounds previously. When we went to his appointment in mid December we learned he was finally balanced and could start the NAET process.
NAET for those that are unfamiliar stands for Nambudripod's Allergy Elimination Technique. Travis refers to JanaLee as "The Shadow Woman" and what she does as "voodoo". Apparently, my uncle Todd works with her husband and he too refers to it as voodoo. At least we know it isn't the first time JanaLee has heard it! :) NAET uses a combination of Chinese acupuncture or acupressure (depending on age - Caleb is using acupressure) and several other methods of medicine. It's a little difficult to explain, but I'll try.
When we go to an appointment Caleb sits on my lap by JanaLee's computer and testing equipment. She sprays his left hand with water and hands him a copper tube to hold in that hand. Then, she takes another, smaller copper tool and applies it to various meridians on his right hand. By placing her tube on his meridians she gets a computer read out of what his body is telling her. Depending on what she is testing him for will depend on what viles she has sitting on her testing equipment. Right now we are working on vitamin c so that is one of the three viles she sets on her testing equipment. Once JanaLee determines if he body is responding well to the viles on her testing equipment she can move forward. If his body is not responding well to the viles on the equipment, she will test to see which of his internal organs are not "liking" the current viles. With the two that we have done, it has been ALL of his internal organs not liking whatever it is we are testing. Once she determines which organs don't like the viles she uses acupressure to open the meridians and clear the energy blockages. She then retests to see if his body is responding better to the viles on the equipment. If his body is responding well, she uses acupressure to close his meridians and then we wrap the viles on his arm and his waits in the waiting room for 20 minutes. Depending on what he is being tested for will determine which foods he must avoid for anywhere up to the next 25 hours.
We had our first NAET appointment on New Years Eve. The first test we did was for a mix called BBF (brain, body formula). Because he was balanced, he had a positive response and we were able to skip this one. At the same appointment we moved on to Calcium. Now, we've been told he does have an allergy to cow's milk so we knew there was going to be some treatment needed for calcium. He was a bit bummed he had to avoid all dairy for 21 hours but he survived and at his second appointment he was cleared of his calcium allergy. JanaLee did tell me that if he continues to have an allergic like reaction to the dairy foods that it's possible he's got an allergy to lactose (which will come up with the sugar test soon). Friday I had him in for another round (when we learned he had cleared the calcium allergy) and he was tested for vitamin c. I had planned to drop Sam off at dance and go straight home after this appointment. Things did not go that way and we ended up at my in laws for about an hour and a half. I didn't have my workbook with me that says what he can and can't have when he's been treated for the various allergies. I ended up letting him have one soda and a bun with melted cheese. My bad. Wasn't suppose to have soda (artificial sweeteners) or the cheese (in my defense, the workbook only says cows milk so I did clarify when we were there today). So, when we went back today I wasn't surprised that he didn't clear the vitamin c allergy test. However, he did pass about 75% of the test - just not enough to be considered cleared of the allergy. And, she had to treat him twice before his body accepted the treatment. So, here's to hoping that when we go back in a week he will have cleared the vitamin c allergy. She said that based on him passing 75% and then having to treat him twice today it's likely that the vitamin c allergy was a fairly significant allergy for him. Good to know.
And, in more good news....I went to buy the boys new pants today. I bought Caleb a size 6 slim. This is a big deal. He wore a size 4T until AUGUST of 2015 (he was 7 yrs old). I bumped him up to a size 5 at the beginning of the school year because the 4's were starting to become floods. The 5's were still big but not so much that it was worse than wearing the 4's. So, in just 5 months (3 of which we have been working with JanaLee), he's finally grown enough that I have to bump him up a size in pants! Wahoo! We are on the right path, finally!!
NAET for those that are unfamiliar stands for Nambudripod's Allergy Elimination Technique. Travis refers to JanaLee as "The Shadow Woman" and what she does as "voodoo". Apparently, my uncle Todd works with her husband and he too refers to it as voodoo. At least we know it isn't the first time JanaLee has heard it! :) NAET uses a combination of Chinese acupuncture or acupressure (depending on age - Caleb is using acupressure) and several other methods of medicine. It's a little difficult to explain, but I'll try.
When we go to an appointment Caleb sits on my lap by JanaLee's computer and testing equipment. She sprays his left hand with water and hands him a copper tube to hold in that hand. Then, she takes another, smaller copper tool and applies it to various meridians on his right hand. By placing her tube on his meridians she gets a computer read out of what his body is telling her. Depending on what she is testing him for will depend on what viles she has sitting on her testing equipment. Right now we are working on vitamin c so that is one of the three viles she sets on her testing equipment. Once JanaLee determines if he body is responding well to the viles on her testing equipment she can move forward. If his body is not responding well to the viles on the equipment, she will test to see which of his internal organs are not "liking" the current viles. With the two that we have done, it has been ALL of his internal organs not liking whatever it is we are testing. Once she determines which organs don't like the viles she uses acupressure to open the meridians and clear the energy blockages. She then retests to see if his body is responding better to the viles on the equipment. If his body is responding well, she uses acupressure to close his meridians and then we wrap the viles on his arm and his waits in the waiting room for 20 minutes. Depending on what he is being tested for will determine which foods he must avoid for anywhere up to the next 25 hours.
We had our first NAET appointment on New Years Eve. The first test we did was for a mix called BBF (brain, body formula). Because he was balanced, he had a positive response and we were able to skip this one. At the same appointment we moved on to Calcium. Now, we've been told he does have an allergy to cow's milk so we knew there was going to be some treatment needed for calcium. He was a bit bummed he had to avoid all dairy for 21 hours but he survived and at his second appointment he was cleared of his calcium allergy. JanaLee did tell me that if he continues to have an allergic like reaction to the dairy foods that it's possible he's got an allergy to lactose (which will come up with the sugar test soon). Friday I had him in for another round (when we learned he had cleared the calcium allergy) and he was tested for vitamin c. I had planned to drop Sam off at dance and go straight home after this appointment. Things did not go that way and we ended up at my in laws for about an hour and a half. I didn't have my workbook with me that says what he can and can't have when he's been treated for the various allergies. I ended up letting him have one soda and a bun with melted cheese. My bad. Wasn't suppose to have soda (artificial sweeteners) or the cheese (in my defense, the workbook only says cows milk so I did clarify when we were there today). So, when we went back today I wasn't surprised that he didn't clear the vitamin c allergy test. However, he did pass about 75% of the test - just not enough to be considered cleared of the allergy. And, she had to treat him twice before his body accepted the treatment. So, here's to hoping that when we go back in a week he will have cleared the vitamin c allergy. She said that based on him passing 75% and then having to treat him twice today it's likely that the vitamin c allergy was a fairly significant allergy for him. Good to know.
And, in more good news....I went to buy the boys new pants today. I bought Caleb a size 6 slim. This is a big deal. He wore a size 4T until AUGUST of 2015 (he was 7 yrs old). I bumped him up to a size 5 at the beginning of the school year because the 4's were starting to become floods. The 5's were still big but not so much that it was worse than wearing the 4's. So, in just 5 months (3 of which we have been working with JanaLee), he's finally grown enough that I have to bump him up a size in pants! Wahoo! We are on the right path, finally!!
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
A new year means new decisions
2016 has already thrown me an unsuspected surprise. I was talking with the kids' principal today to find out if I would need to do school choice paperwork for Brookelyn before Kindergarten registration (that paperwork has to be done about February and registration begins about March). We talked about several different things (dual immersion possibilities, robotics club continuing for 6th grade, etc). As we talked she mentioned that she was still needing to hire another 6th grade teacher for next year.
Me: "6th grade huh?"
Stacie: "Yes, 6th grade."
Me: "Hmm..I've taught 6th grade you know."
Stacie: "You have?"
Me: "Yes."
Stacie: "Hmm....very interesting."
A new conversation ensued then. I explained that my license had expired due to do a previous principal not signing necessary paperwork in order for my license to advance to a level 2 license. She seemed completely fine with it (just some paperwork to deal with, no big deal).
My challenge, if I was to go ahead with this, is how to get Brookelyn to and from school and daycare. We don't have full day Kindergarten like they did the year Sam was in Kindergarten (in fact, that year was the ONLY year our district offered it that I'm aware of). My daycare person only lives a few blocks from the school but I don't know that I would dare let Brookelyn walk the distance by herself. She has too many daycare kids to load them all into the car to go down to the school to pick up or drop off B. As I'm racking my brain to see if I can figure out which kids I know will be going to Kindergarten I'm getting a sinking feeling that they will all go to different schools. And then, it hits me...one of my preschoolers has two siblings at Canyon! She goes to daycare while mom is at work and it's a different daycare, but it gave me enough of a push to continue considering my options here.
I had intended to only teach one 3 yo and one 4 yo class next year. This way I would be done teaching by noon 2 days a week, by 3 three days a week and have Friday through Monday off. However, if I was to take on a full time teaching position again I could quit my second job at the grocery store. I've also been looking at numbers as I've been prepping tax documents. I made roughly $9K (before expenses) in 2015 teaching preschool. If I took on a full time teaching position that would increase by $15-20K per year. Now, don't get me wrong, we certainly aren't hurting for money. BUT, we do have debt (a lot more than I like) and that extra money would go really far toward paying all that debt off. It would also mean that if Travis found a new job closer to home for less than he makes now, we wouldn't have to worry about drowning due to a massive pay cut in his paycheck.
After some internal back and forth, I finally broke down and called the District Office to talk to someone about what I would need to do about my expired license. Of course, he was out of the office for the day so I had to leave a voice mail. I'm hopeful he'll call me back tomorrow or send me an email. I also got online to look at the state website to see what it had to say. It looks like it's a fairly simple process (especially since I've actually been teaching for the last five years that my license has been expired).
The thing I struggle with the most is knowing that the hiring process likely won't happen until April. This means that there's a possibility that most of my preschoolers would have found a new preschool if this falls through. I hate doing that to people. I hate the idea of starting over. I like the idea of being at my kids' school (teaching the same grade one of my kids is in). I like the idea of less debt over my head. And I like the idea of making things easier for my husband to come home again. I suppose that if I didn't get the job and my preschoolers had found elsewhere to attend that perhaps I would have to take a year off. My husband seems to think that would be good for me and my sanity anyway.
So, Thanks 2016, for taking me by surprise less than a week into the year and giving me a little ray of sunshine that perhaps it IS possible to bring my husband back home after 7 years away.
Me: "6th grade huh?"
Stacie: "Yes, 6th grade."
Me: "Hmm..I've taught 6th grade you know."
Stacie: "You have?"
Me: "Yes."
Stacie: "Hmm....very interesting."
A new conversation ensued then. I explained that my license had expired due to do a previous principal not signing necessary paperwork in order for my license to advance to a level 2 license. She seemed completely fine with it (just some paperwork to deal with, no big deal).
My challenge, if I was to go ahead with this, is how to get Brookelyn to and from school and daycare. We don't have full day Kindergarten like they did the year Sam was in Kindergarten (in fact, that year was the ONLY year our district offered it that I'm aware of). My daycare person only lives a few blocks from the school but I don't know that I would dare let Brookelyn walk the distance by herself. She has too many daycare kids to load them all into the car to go down to the school to pick up or drop off B. As I'm racking my brain to see if I can figure out which kids I know will be going to Kindergarten I'm getting a sinking feeling that they will all go to different schools. And then, it hits me...one of my preschoolers has two siblings at Canyon! She goes to daycare while mom is at work and it's a different daycare, but it gave me enough of a push to continue considering my options here.
I had intended to only teach one 3 yo and one 4 yo class next year. This way I would be done teaching by noon 2 days a week, by 3 three days a week and have Friday through Monday off. However, if I was to take on a full time teaching position again I could quit my second job at the grocery store. I've also been looking at numbers as I've been prepping tax documents. I made roughly $9K (before expenses) in 2015 teaching preschool. If I took on a full time teaching position that would increase by $15-20K per year. Now, don't get me wrong, we certainly aren't hurting for money. BUT, we do have debt (a lot more than I like) and that extra money would go really far toward paying all that debt off. It would also mean that if Travis found a new job closer to home for less than he makes now, we wouldn't have to worry about drowning due to a massive pay cut in his paycheck.
After some internal back and forth, I finally broke down and called the District Office to talk to someone about what I would need to do about my expired license. Of course, he was out of the office for the day so I had to leave a voice mail. I'm hopeful he'll call me back tomorrow or send me an email. I also got online to look at the state website to see what it had to say. It looks like it's a fairly simple process (especially since I've actually been teaching for the last five years that my license has been expired).
The thing I struggle with the most is knowing that the hiring process likely won't happen until April. This means that there's a possibility that most of my preschoolers would have found a new preschool if this falls through. I hate doing that to people. I hate the idea of starting over. I like the idea of being at my kids' school (teaching the same grade one of my kids is in). I like the idea of less debt over my head. And I like the idea of making things easier for my husband to come home again. I suppose that if I didn't get the job and my preschoolers had found elsewhere to attend that perhaps I would have to take a year off. My husband seems to think that would be good for me and my sanity anyway.
So, Thanks 2016, for taking me by surprise less than a week into the year and giving me a little ray of sunshine that perhaps it IS possible to bring my husband back home after 7 years away.
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