I just can't keep up with this Blog

I said it was my new years resolution to keep up this blog.  But, I guess I have broken that resolution.  I'm not sure why it is so hard to keep this blog.  I guess, my life isn't that interesting anymore.  The boys are still growing and doing well, but there isn't the big changes now that they are getting older.  I don't know what it will take for me to keep this up.  I thought getting off Facebook would, but not really.  Who knows?

I'm a year older

Thursday was my 38th birthday.  Whoop-d-doo.  I was not that into my birthday this year.  I didn't want a party, not even a dinner out (unless you consider bringing home Taco Bell as going out).  I guess as I age, I just don't care anymore about my birthday.  But, I found out that MY birthday is a big deal to my children.  Ok, will remember that for next year.  Oh, and thanks to the boys, they gave me their cold and I've been sick for almost a week.  I am ready to start feeling better. As for work, Monday is a teacher work day.  As a media specialist, the "teacher work day" takes a whole different turn for me.  No more report cards, no more grading papers, and I also don't have to worry about all the stuff teachers have to worry about.  I may not be the happiest in my position, but at the same time, there is a lot less pressure to do things.  Let's hope that next week can see the entire family healthy and happy.

Is it Friday yet?

This seems to be a very long week.  The kids are doing fine, with the exception that William has gone and caught himself a cold.  Luckily, it is just a cold and not flu or strep or anything too bad.  However, the kid is still miserable with a runny nose, cough, and sneezing.  So far, the rest of us have been fine, but I bet one of us will catch it next week.  I have had a pretty nice week so far (even though it is lasting forever).  On Monday, I conducted my first video conference using our Tandburg unit at school.  We connected with NASA for a presentation for our second graders.  It was totally awesome!  I know those kids would not have had that experience if I wasn't the media specialist.  It made me proud to be the media specialist.  I have other NASA video conferences coming up, and am looking forward to them.  Then, Tuesday was my evaluation for work.  But, our school ended up in lockdown about an hour before my lesson, so the principal was tied up with all that stuff, so it didn't happen.  We have rescheduled for Jan 19th.  It is my birthday, so I wasn't sure if I wanted to have my eval that day, but the secretary told me it would be a lucky day and to go ahead and schedule for that day.  So I did.  Yesterday I also received my new teaching license that now includes endorsements in Instructional Technology Teacher (K-12) and School Librarian (K-12).  Tomorrow, I have a 1/2 day PD, so that will be nice to get away from school for a while.  Also, Thursday is the dreaded school board vote on whether or not they will close our school.  No matter what they decide, I will just be happy to know.  Friday, is a normal day, but during early release we will have a staff meeting to debrief our school closure.  Whew!  What a week.  I'm already looking forward to Sat to rest up!

New Year's Resolution

My 2012 resolution is to get back into blogging. I blogged for a total of 7 times in 2011. I think it is because I keep everyone up on Facebook. However, that is a sentence here and there. So, I'm going to try to Blog at least once a week during 2012. I hope I can keep up with it because my boys are growing up so fast that in a blink, they will be all grown up and I will have this blog to keep up my failing memory! So, since I haven't blogged since July, let's do a year in review...

2011

January

-Had my birthday - turned 37.

-Had a good snow storm.

February

-Mikey got his first hair cut.

March

-William had his 4th birthday

April

-Took the boys to a Rockies game.

May

-Benjamin had a birthday - 31!

-William graduated from the 3 year old preschool.

June

-Benjamin and I went to Las Vegas as part of my PLC training.

-Took the boys to their first ever Renniassance Festival.

July

-First 4th of July in years where fireworks were banned because of drought.

-Had a new round of allergy testing and found out I'm not allergic to everything I used to be!

August

-Started back to work with my new position - Media Specialist

-William started preschool at his new school - South Park

September

-Benjamin and I celebrated our 7th Wedding Anniversary - and went to an Avs game (my first).

October

-Took the boys to their first football game. The Cannon Game - South won!!

-Halloween 2011 - my little super heros! Batman and Robin

November

-Passed my School Library PLACE test!

-Mikey had his first visit to the ER and got 8 staples in his head.

December

-Visited with Santa.

-Mikey moved to his "big boy bed"

Allergy Testing

I had some allergy testing done right after William was born. I found out that I was allergic to chili peppers, celery, basil, and sesame seeds. So, ever since then (back in Aug 2007) I have tried my hardest to stay away from those foods. I was retested in 2010 after I had Mikey. The allergist I was going to changed their tests, so I wasn't able to be retested on chili peppers or basil. But, I did find out I was no longer allergic to celery and not as allergic to sesame. Well, I thought I was allergic to something else, but I just couldn't figure it out. So, I decided to go to a different allergist. This allergist allowed me to bring foods that were not included on their regular battery of tests. So, I brought everything I thought I was allergic to. Even the celery that I wasn't allergic to from my last test. The great news is I am no longer allergic to any of the foods I previously was allergic to. YEA!! That means I can again eat Mexican food! I haven't eaten anything like that in almost 4 years!! The bad news is I still really don't know what food I am allergic to. However, the doctor I saw thought that I may be allergic to the pesticide on the food or the way it is handled from other countries. He was also thinking it may be more of an intolerance - kinda like to MSG. I was tested for MSG and did not have a reaction, but he said that I may not have a reaction to the skin test, but maybe in large doses I would. I also found out that I am very allergic to Juniper trees, grass, mold and cats (which I knew). We talked about me starting allergy shots, but I found out today that we really can't afford it. It would be a minimum of $500 for our deductible and then 20% of everything after that $500. Um, that is a lot of money. I really was hoping to get the shots, but it just doesn't seem possible. So, for now I can at least broaden my eating and just need to watch what I eat if I ever have a reaction. I am very glad to be done with the testing. Not only did I get over 40 pricks in my back, but also had 18 shots. OUCH! I feel like a human pin cushion.

The end on an era

Yes, it is the end of an era. Tomorrow Benjamin is getting the big "V". I've had such a hard time with him getting it, but I know in my heart we should not have any more kids. That being said, I still kinda wish we could have a 3rd child. What is holding us back? Well, lots of things. First, my age. I am 37 and not really at the best age to have a baby. There are so many genetic issues that come with having babies when you are over 35. Second, I don't think I want to be pregnant again. I have a love/hate relationship with pregnancy. I love so many things about it, like caring for the baby from the inside, feeling the baby move, and the labor/delivery. It is a true miracle!!! However, for both my boys I had preterm labor which I could count on for this another baby, which involves bed rest. I can't really do bed rest with a 4 year old and a 2 year old. Not to mention the morning sickness, heartburn, etc that comes with pregnancy. Third, babies are expensive. We are barely coming back from my maternity leave with Mikey, and if I had another baby, we'd be right back where we were. Having a 3rd would also mean fewer family vacations, fewer presents for birthdays and holidays, and three colleges to pay for not two. It seems weird to base a decision on that, but it is something we really have to think about. Fourth, I'm not sure how I could manage to share my time with three kids. I sometimes have a hard time sharing my time with the two I have and still having a little time for myself. It would be really stressful, which is not good for anyone in this family. There are even more reasons why we should be done with having kids, and I guess I just have to keep telling myself them, because I am still wanting another kid. But, I guess after tomorrow, we won't really have a choice. Things would be different if I was younger and we were rich. But, for now and forever, we will be a family of 4. And, when I think about it, I've really had 3 kids. I just had one taken from me too early. So, it is the end of an era in our house. No more bottles, burping clothes, swaddling, crawling, rolling, baby food, and all things baby. ::Sniff:: I will forever miss my boys as babies. They grow up too fast.

One month left of summer vacation

I can hardly believe it. Only 1 more month until I go back to work. I have been looking forward to going back to work because of my new position, but when I think that I only have 4 weeks left, it makes me sad. I better make them count!!