Some good news!

I am going back to work! Yes, you read that right. I found out about a month ago that the school district wasn't going to allow me to substitute teach. Well, that was a terrible blow for Benjamin and me. Our whole plan was to have me sub a few days a week to still bring in some income, yet have more flexibility than a permanent position. Because the district wasn't letting me sub, we wouldn't have enough income to afford a house - even a much cheaper house than we had! We met with the mortgage lady, and found out based on Benjamin's salary alone we could only qualify for $70,000! I know this will sound snooty, but the houses in that price range are not where I want my son to grow up! So, my options were to #1. Resign from the district and sub, but I would lose all my experience steps (about $20,000 a year) and be probationary when I go back!! #2. End my parental leave and go back to a full position. We decided #2 was a better option, but coming back off of my leave was by no means easy! I had to meet with the "Superintendent of Human Resources" and I found out that no one had ever returned from parental leave after only a month (it is a full year of leave). It was a BIG mess (too long and complicated to include all the details). Anyway, I was finally allowed to interview for open positions. I interviewed several times, but hadn't gotten a job yet. It was a big blow to my ego. Why didn't anyone want me? However, I had an interview yesterday for a resource teacher position for 3rd and 4th grade and got the job! YEA! My first day is Friday! I tell ya, it really gives me a sense of relief. I won't be a "stay at home mom" now, so that is kinda sad, but I think this is going to be a better choice for my family. I have to admit, it was a very hard transition to stay at home. I will personally be happier back at work. We have found a really nice daycare for William (MUCH better than the one we had before). She has an in-home daycare, and I feel William will be much happier there. There are only about 6 kids and a range of ages. It will be Mon and Tues, and then William will be with my Dad on Wed, Thurs, and Fri. What a crazy month this has been. Since I will be back to work, we have decided to build another house. This will make 3 homes we have built in 4 years! Hehehe! I sure hope we will live in this one for more than 2 years!!

William LOVES to take a bath!

Letting all of you in on our secret

Our secret...

For those of you that didn't know, in August, Benjamin and I tried another cycle of IVF to have a second baby. Unfortunately, it didn't work. We used our 2 frozen embryos from the cycle where we got pregnant with William. Even though I am still pretty sad that it didn't work, I am feeling a lot better; not as bitter. I guess time does heal at least some wounds. So, here we are in a holding pattern. I am currently trying to go back to work. I am not allowed to sub while on parental leave, and Benjamin and I can't afford to get a house just on Ben's salary. So, I think the best thing is for me to go back to work. I'm sad I won't be able to stay with William, but part of me is missing some adult interaction anyway. I have a meeting with the HR department tomorrow to see if I can come back. Our plan (if I can go back to work) is to start building a new house. While the house is being built, we will stay with my parents and save the money I make. By the time the house is complete, we should have a good chunk of money, half to pay for some of our IVF (we will try one last time in the summer) and the other half to pay for future maternity leave when the IVF works! I am allowed to take 12 weeks off for maternity, but it is not paid leave. However, another cycle of IVF would be dependent upon good cycle day 3 hormone levels. We had my levels checked back in 2005 (all was normal), but the fertility doctor wants to make sure my levels are still ok. If they aren't, that might explain why our last cycle didn't work and it would also mean no more IVF (we would have to look into adoption for a second child). If I can't go back to work, then I think we will go ahead and do IVF in January and just borrow money from our 401K and then start building in the summer. Who knows? I guess we are in the "Just Wait and See" part of life right now. We didn't want to tell anyone about doing another cycle of IVF because we wanted to surprise everyone with good news. However, that didn't happen. For now, we will just go with the flow and see where God takes us next.

18 months old

The 10 things that I love that William is doing at 18 months...

1. I love that William smiles all the time! (Well, not all the time, but almost!)
2. I love that William is feeding himself more and more with less spills.
3. I love that William knows what happens when Mommy gets his binky and his teddy bear! (nap or bedtime)
4. I love that William will give me a hug and a kiss without even asking for one.
5. I love that William loves books and being read too.
6. I love that William loves to get baths. He squeals whenever I say, "Do you want a bath?"
7. I love that William likes to dance! He is soooo cute!
8. I love that William whispers to me.
9. I love that William is getting more teeth. He looks so grown up.
10. I love that William understands so many things when we talk.

William's first parade

The state fair Kid's Day parade was this Saturday, so we decided to take William. He really enjoyed it (and so did we).