Year 10 in the Bag

A couple weeks ago I finished my tenth year as an educator. And I feel tired, oh so tired. Seriously, I could nap right now (which is hugely inappropriate because I slept in until 9 this morning...thank you husband.)

Now, I have other reasons to be tired besides work, though work looms large. But allow me to catch us all up (since I just realized my last post was in April...wow.)

At the end of April, after a big Easter blow-out at our house, I returned to work. I'm not entirely sure why I did, but I survived okay. Right when I got back, I started working on a grant application. Writing grant applications is pretty terrible, but at least I had one main thing to focus on...at work that is.

At home things were certainly not simple. It took us awhile to develop a two-kid-plus-work routine. Justin and I swapped baby duties at night, so whoever woke up with Eliot (he was still getting up at 3 or so) would dress him for the day. The other parent was responsible for getting Em ready for daycare. I took the kids in and picked them up.

Luckily Eliot has done really well at daycare. We have a wonderful daycare provider, and the kids at daycare were super excited about having Eliot to play with. It was nice to not have to one less thing to worry about.

The evenings proved to be rather labor-intensive. Here was a typical evening: I'd get off work at 5 or so, pick up the kids, and head home. First it would be Eliot's turn for a bath. Then we would have dinner, followed by Em's bath and book. Within that time Eliot would need one to two bottles. By nine o'clock Justin and I were pretty much wiped out.

School finished on May 20th for me and the following week for Justin. I am so happy about it, especially since my job was reinstated and it looks like Justin's will be soon (fingers crossed.)

I had a couple weeks of work to finish out my contract, which turned out to be really boring. It's not super interesting to work without teachers or kids, and it was hard for me to stay focused. But I finished up on Friday, officially, even though I have a couple projects to work on.

Justin attended a conference this week in Vegas, and I am still recovering from mommy-only duty. I had a lot of fun this week with the kids--Emerson started her first dance class and Eliot is just dang adorable. :) But it was exhausting to be the one to do everything. Needless to say I was very happy to have Justin home.

Now we have a relaxing summer ahead of us. We have planned some family visits and we are considering taking a small trip somewhere. I am really looking forward to spending time with my family. :)

A California January

It's January 22nd.

It's 65 degrees.

I'm sitting on my bed in short sleeves with the window open. Birds are singing.

I love California.

This week was pretty good for a couple reasons. For one, it was only four days long. For another, the weather was fantastic. No ice patches to worry about on campus. No rainy lunches to deal with. Vice Principal bliss.

Those who are familiar with middle school students know that nice weather is not necessarily a nice thing. Sunshine can bring out the wild side of pre-teens. There was a fair amount of giggling and sneaky hand holding this week at my school.

However, I imagine that this nice weather is temporary and that we will be back to cold and wet soon. February and March tend to be rainy months here in Sac, but we get a little break in January, which tends to be dry and sunny.

I'm not sure how much of the pleasant weather we will get to enjoy today outside, as we have been cleaning up around the house and we are about to work on the baby's room again. I am hoping to take Em out at some point today or tomorrow, but we'll stay close to home. I cannot express how much I love the weekends and our quiet time at home. Work is fine, but the break is entirely necessary.

Next week should be a challenge. First, there's five days of work. Sigh. Second, I really need to get a move on with my second round of observations, and I need to get my office ready for my replacement. I have a doctor's appointment this week and my first non-stress test. I'm not pleased that from this week forward I will begin twice-weekly non-stress tests. I really wish they would just have me do one a week and build up to two if they are necessary. It's ironic that something with the word "non-stress" in it can cause so much stress. :)

For now, Em and I will continue bird watching from my bedroom window. Ahhhhhh....

I Heart the Weekend

I really do. Especially the three-day ones.

It's not that I don't like my job. I have an interesting, challenging, ever-changing job as a school administrator. I have worked very hard for this job, and it is the realization of a dream to have it.

However...

It is quite literally kicking my ass right now.

I'd like to blame the pregnancy. Yes, I feel huge. Yes, my feet hurt. Yes, the CONSTANT doctor's appointments in Roseville hamper my ability to get things done.

However, January and February have never been months in which I experience high levels of energy. Despite the two-week winter break, I'm always pooped. By the time I get to March, I'm pretty whiny. Then the weather starts to warm up (typically) and I can begin to see the end of the year.

The last two weeks have gone by fine, but I've noticed that my "battery" seems to wind down by Friday. Take my work arrival times, for instance. Monday--6:55 (really not sure how I did that.) Tuesday--7:10. Wednesday--7:15. Thursday--7:20. Friday--7:30 (um, yikes.)

Thursday was really the only bleak day of this week. I felt really sorry for myself and really wiped out. It was the whole typical "No one appreciates me...no one understands" bull-crap one can go through at times. Thankfully, I left at 2:30 for a doctor's appointment (yes, in f-ing Roseville), so I got to have some much-needed time to myself. I chatted on the phone with my sister, took myself out to dinner, read a book, and went to book club. It was a necessary change of pace.

Friday the sun came out and I felt much more optimistic.

Especially since the weekend had finally arrived.

Yesterday my big task was to go to Old Navy to get some baby clothes for my new cousin Andrea (so cute) and some yoga pants for myself (I LOVE them). I also too scored some cute tiger clothes for Owen. Yes, I went a little crazy with the shopping, but it was fun.

My sister and her family came up yesterday and it was great to see them for the first time since her birthday in December. We also got to see my cousin Ben and his wife and daughter, which was a nice treat. Even my aunt Linda stopped by for a visit.

Today a friend is taking me to a fancy baby store to check out strollers. Sadly, that will probably be all I do today. :) Tomorrow I think I need to head into work to get some stuff done, but I'd like to only be there a couple hours. It's a four-day week, which is nice, but I have learned that I am still expected to get the same amount of work done in fewer days.

But now it's the weekend, and I'm my yoga pants, and all is well. :)

Ahhhhhhhhh...

Today marks the second day of break and it is a blissful thing. Yes, I have work to do. Yes, the house is a disaster and needs some major attention (especially the spare room that will become the baby's room.)

But still, it's break. It's nine o'clock and the house is silent. Em and Justin are asleep. I'm drinking my one cup of coffee and blogging. Not bad.

Friday, the last day of school, was a bit of a blur. It was a minimum day, and those are interesting. One has to get the same amount of work day, especially if there is a fight, but one just has half the time.

I got home at a reasonable time, and we considered going out for dinner. Unfortunately, my sweat pants won and we stayed in and ordered a pizza.

I was in bed by 8:30.

And slept for 12 hours.

I'd like to blame the pregnancy for that, but I've been known to do that on the night before a break when I'm not pregnant.

Saturday was the definition of relaxed. I got up before everyone, made coffee, and watched a romantic comedy. I haven't done that in ages.

Eventually Justin and Em joined me, and we were pretty much couch bound until noon. We decided to go see Tangled, so I got Em dressed and took a shower. That exertion tuckered me out, so I took a quick nap.

Later that afternoon, we went outside for the first time that day and went and saw the movie. While the movie was clearly not intended for adults or boys (Justin was a little bored), Emerson LOVED it. I don't think she blinked the whole time. I love taking her to movies because she just gets so excited.

After the movie, we went out to dinner and got a little holiday shopping done. Then we were home (and couch) bound for the rest of the evening. I actually made it until 11 before retreating to my bed. Even though I'm a week away from the third trimester, I'm not terribly comfortable at night. My feet hurt constantly, I have terrible heartburn, and last night my ribs were killing me. Good times.

Today looks to be pretty quiet again. The kitchen needs a little TLC and I have some presents to wrap. Also, we will have to venture outside because we have no food. Sigh.

We aren't leaving for Redding until the middle of the week, so I'm hoping to spend some much needed quiet time at home. I will need to head to work, but that's not entirely a bad thing. I know I will feel better when my evaluations are done.

Justin and I are planning on seeing Harry Potter (finally) this week, and finishing up present buying and wrapping. We are keeping things simple this year, partly for financial reasons, partly because we are exhausted.

Well, I can hear Em babbling in her room, so it's probably time to wrap this up and see how she's doing. :)