Random Thoughts and Catching-up

I just got back from an end-of-the-year teacher luncheon at my old school. It was so good to see my old friends again. It's strange to think how that was my life not so long ago. It seems like ages ago though. Sometimes I wonder if this is how soldiers who are home feel. They're happy to be home but then your fellow soldiers are still out there on the front lines and part of you feels like you should be there too, helping somehow.
Some things never change though which is comforting in a way. There's still the same challenges and still many of the same jokes. There will always be that student that everyone talks about: "One more day with that kid, and I would have strangled him..." But also the made-it-all-worth-it kids. I've been going through my stuff, trying to get organized, and I came across some of my old notes from students (I save everything, to the chagrin of my husband). It was good to read through some of the notes and remember the good times. It helped me to realize that I did make a difference for some kids. Sometimes I wonder if in eight years of teaching, if I really did make much a difference. The notes helped me to see that I did make a difference in my own way. It's like the starfish story where the grandpa and his grandson are walking along the beach and the little boy keeps throwing starfish back into the ocean. When the grandpa tells the little boy, "Look at all of the starfish on this beach. You're not going to make much a difference," the little boy responds by holding up one starfish and throwing it into the ocean and saying, "Yeah, but I made a difference for that one."
Anyway, life is good. It certainly isn't boring. The main reason I've been organizing lately is because my office flooded. Apparently a new rain gutter we had installed last year empties right into our window well. With the really wet weather we've been having, the window well has been filling up and emptying into my office. Thus, we had to empty out my office and will probably need to get new carpet and re-paint it. I wanted to re-paint my office anyway, but it was not good in that it looks like my office exploded across the basement and a little upstairs. What was once tucked away in my office, is now on Hub's radar. "Man! You have a lot of stuff!" is what I've been hearing, and then, "You need to clean out your stuff..." And I have to admit it, he's right. I have so much stuff. Don't be surprised if you see me on the next episode of that show about hoarders! So little by little, I've been cleaning, organizing, DI-ing, and throwing things out. Fun!

As for our big news, Hubs just graduated with his MBA last month. I am so proud of him. It has been a crazy two years with school, work, church stuff, every-day life stuff, and then our wonderful new addition. Hubs had finals shortly after Baby arrived. Now that was fun! The result was the lowest grade he had ever gotten. But as a good friend said, "C's get degrees!" But Hubs worked hard and now is a mighty graduate! I tease him that I'm going to get my doctorate so that on the Christmas cards I can write Dr. and Mr. J. That would be awesome. Plus, there is this doctorate program in Creative Writing that I would absolutely love! Sometimes I also want to go back to school and get a Master's in social work and do some counseling. For now, we're just glad to have our daddy back. Though it's crazy that once you take something off of your plate, how quickly that spot fills up again! But like I said, I'm so proud of Hubs. He is a good example for our little boy!
Notice the maniacal look of Hubs. This is how you look after finally getting your MBA!
Baby S, Hubs, and Papa J.
As for Baby S. He is growing and learning by leaps and bounds. At his 6 month dr.'s appointment last week he was in the 10th percentile for weight, 40th percentile for height, and 94th percentile for head circumference. Who is this skinny, tall baby? If it weren't for the big noggin' and Fred-Flinstone feet, I would wonder if he had been switched at birth. Well, and he is an exact replica of Hubs! Baby is totally into solids now. Among his favorites are green peas (surprising to me for some reason), carrots, and sweet potatoes. He still has a milk allergy, so he's still drinking soy formula. Whenever I try to give him milk based formula, he breaks out in a rash and pukes it all out. Just today I put a little bit of vanilla ice cream on his binky and he instantly broke out in a rash. But, the doctor says he'll probably grow out of it eventually. I'm starting to get used to the smell of soy anyway. He really packs it in with the solid food though. The first couple of times, I would just give him the small jars, but he would polish those off and still want more, so now we're eating entire big jars of baby food plus 4-5 ounces of bottle afterward. He's a skinny baby but he does have a little belly pooch going on!


I am amazed at how smart he is. Before the appointment, he would go to bed around eight and then wake up around 4:30 or 5:00 a.m. to eat. The doctor told us that he should be fine to go all the way to six and to push him towards that time. Well, he must have heard the doctor because he slept until six that next morning and has pretty much been sleeping in until six or later since. It has been so nice to get a full night's sleep again. Though before when he would wake up at five and eat, he would go back to bed until eight. Now he's up for good when he wakes up. Oh well, I'll take it! And he's an awesome napper. He usually takes pretty long morning and afternoon naps, 1-3 hours, and he goes down for a nap really well. I just put him in his crib after he's been awake for a couple of hours, and he goes to sleep. How did I get such a good baby? I'm wondering if this is a bad omen for the toddler years though...can such goodness last? He is so inquisitive and loves to explore everything around him. The other day, I had him on the floor while I was working on the computer. I had dumped out all of these toys for him to play with. Pretty soon I could here all of these noises. I looked over and he had rolled closer to his crib and was trying to lift the box to his Baby Einstein activity center. He had more fun with that box. Later on, I think we'll make it into a rocket ship or a race car or a ship or something. And I don't care what people think, I'm just giving him cardboard boxes for Christmas this year. He'll love it!

Baby S in his Baby Einstein activity center, which, for the record, requires an Einstein-IQ to assemble. The instructions are all of these stick-figure drawings. What?! I kept wishing that they would just use their words!
A few weeks ago, we went to a old-school rock crawl competition in Delta. This is our friend Clay competing.
This is what Baby S did while Uncle Clay competed:
(No offense, Clay, but maybe you could turn up the excitement a notch...) =)
Baby S being Baby S! He is such a character. By the way, the adorable Winnie the Pooh outfit was purchased for him by his grandma and mom while mom was still in high school. To say I've been wishing for this little guy for awhile is an understatement! =)
Last weekend we took Baby on his first camping trip. It was kind of impromptu--we weren't planning on staying the night, but we ended up crashing in Aunt Holly's motor home along with everyone else in the family! It was crowded but a fun adventure. Baby loved being outside. His cousins even caught horny toads for Baby S to pet. He liked that, though I think he wanted to eat them! It was a fun little mini-vacation! I'll see if I can get some pictures posted from that soon (once I get them downloaded off of the camera).
Anyway, that's about it for now. Every day is an adventure, that's for sure!