Spring Break

We are all on spring break this week! There aren't too many years that we all end up with the same week off, but this year it worked out that way. You would think we would take advantage of the opportunity and hop on a plane to some lovely tropical vacation. Well, that won't be happening this year. Probably not next year either. Maybe in 2020. Luke will be 10 and Ben will be 20. Whoa.

We're enjoying some laid back time at home and plan to visit Grandma and Opa for a couple of days in South Dakota. It will be nice to change things up for a few days.

The boys have really been in to all things Star Wars again lately. I had never heard this song before, but my sister introduced the boys to it, and they love singing along! They're playing lots of Star Wars legos & guys , Star Wars Wii, reading Star Wars books, and having light saber wars. At lunch today, Brian came up with the idea of all of us, including me, watching all 6 movies in order. I think I'm going to give in and do it over break. One movie a day. I think I can handle it. I still won't understand it, but I'll try to enter their world!

Just some of the guys we own...

The movie marathon is set...

The Latest On Luke

• 5 months...it's going so, so fast!
• Sleeping ~10:30 pm - 8:00 am
• 9:30-11:00 morning nap
• The STINKER will not nap in the afternoon at daycare! We're lucky if he gets a 20 min catnap. Kari says he's not fussy while he's awake, so I guess that's good.
• No more issues with bottles!
• Nursing well and exclusively except for the daycare bottle
• Can sit for a few seconds on his own
• Rolling over from stomach to back
• Super chatty & smiley
• Happy & healthy

We're starting to use the tub-ring rather than the baby tub.

Rolling over

Job Security

Brian and I have both been teachers since the late '90s. Throughout the years as we watched friends and family members in the private sector sweat through rounds of lay-offs and budget cuts, we've been grateful for the job security that comes with being a tenured teacher.

Some of that security is being shaken lately. My district is going through some major budget cuts. One of our 9 elementary schools is closing. Our superintendent is leaving. Tenured teachers are being let go due to seniority. Programs like art and band in the elementary are being cut. It makes me sad, especially thinking about my own kids. Fortunately they don't attend school in the same district, but I'm not naive to think this same type of thing won't happen in their district before long.

For now, I have a teaching position in the district, and for now, they've still granted me a part-time position with a part-time leave of absence. What I don't know is what building or grade level I might be in next year. With all the shuffling and bumping of teachers and class sizes increasing, it is a very real possibility that I'll have no choice in where I am next year. I'm okay with that under the circumstances. I'm grateful that I'll have a job.

Brian's district is also making some big changes due to money issues. There's talk of reducing PE time, doubling up PE classes and therefore cutting PE teachers. He's pretty sure he'll be safe, but nothing is guaranteed and no one is able to share specific details. He permanently removed his special ed license from his teaching license, so PE is all he's able to teach. He doesn't regret that move, but it does make it a little scary when there's talk of cutting PE.

Neither of us is likely to know specifics until late May or early June.

Go Figure

Luke has slept through the night (~ 10:30-8:00) for the past nine nights! It has been wonderful. I'm feeling fairly rested. Last night I decided I was going to get up early and get some exercise in. No more excuses. I actually woke up before my 6:30 alarm and could hear Luke stirring. I quietly went to the bathroom, changed clothes and was ready to get my sweat on. By the time I was heading downstairs, he was crying loud and hard. It was 6:35. I waited a little bit to see if he'd settle down on his own, but he wasn't going to have any of that. So, another workout that didn't happen.

Tonight I don't think I'll bother setting my alarm. : )

Fun With PhotoBooth

A Good Day

I had a few rough days last week. Still feeling overwhelmed with everything, continuing to adjust to school, some stressful budget cuts happening in my district that will have some big impacts on everyone, and on and on.

Today however, was a good day! Saturdays often are, but this was the kind of good day that you slow down and appreciate. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but on the heels of a tough week, it was nice to have an enjoyable day.

*For the past 5 consecutive nights Luke has slept 9+ hours!
*Today was a relatively warm (upper 20s) and very bright and sunny day.
*Brian took Ben skiing for the second time and they had a lot of fun.
*Luke was a textbook baby today. Up for two hours, sleep for two hours, up for two more hours, and then another 2 hour nap.

*During the first nap I ran on the treadmill and lifted some weights while Matt & Adam played Wii together.
*During Luke's second nap I took Matt and Adam outside, had the monitor in my snowpants pocket, and we had a great time sledding in the backyard, building a snow castle and just enjoying being outside in the sunshine.

*I'm okay letting the school work and the housework wait until later.

I'm enjoying my boys today!

The Latest

Nothing too exciting to report in the last week. Luke's bad cold is about gone and the last two nights he's slept from about 9:00-7:30 with a forced wake-up call from me at 10:30 to feed him. I'll take it!! He hasn't been napping well in the afternoon at daycare, and I feel badly for Kari that he's awake so much, but she says he's not too fussy, just not sleeping. Hopefully he'll get into a good napping routine soon. He's babbling a lot and has his fingers in his mouth all the time. He is very laid back, but can wail when he's upset or needs something.

4 month appt stats:

17# 6 oz

27 inches

Our little infant seat for him is good until 26 inches, so we'll need to put him in the big carseat facing backwards. This baby stage is already flying by too fast, as crazy as it may be!

The other boys are doing well. Ben had a fun project to be working on recently. His 4th grade class was assigned to research a midwestern roadside attraction to coincide with their study of the U.S. regions. A list was provided and he chose to research the world's largest tire in Allen Park, MI. He learned some fun details and had even more fun creating his own 3-D version. We are both such suckers for school projects. We always have a good time working on them together.