Wow

I have been doing an incredibly poor job of posting. And of taking pictures of Maggie. The family is complaining :( In the fall, I was in school, teaching school, and Maggie was not as independent but yet I found more time to write. Maybe I needed the stress release more. Now that I have finished school and I finally feel like my feet are under me at school, I seem to have less time. But to catch anyone up... Maggie is pulling up and can stand very briefly on her own. Her favorite things are baths and meals. She loves to splash in the tub, anything within a 5 foot radius gets a bath when she does. Having Daddy's undivided attention during tub time might have something to do with it too. She isn't so fond of being fed these days by someone else. All she wants is big people food. Her favorite one is black eyed peas. Dana introduced her to these (had it been up to me- that wouldn't have happened- I dislike them). Put them on her tray with a bunch of other items, she is going straight for the black-eyed peas. On another note- school is crazy. Budget cuts stink. Government running education- ha! They are clueless. I'd like to see them do their jobs within the restrictions they place on us :) But hey- I love teaching, I love my kids, and I love education!

Fun Times...

Maggie had her 9 month check-up on Monday. We were glad that this was scheduled because we spent all weekend barking like a seal. Sleeping through the night was a thing of the past. Her cough was pretty bad so I stayed home with her Monday. Visit to Doc leaves us with 2 medications and a diagnosis of croup and an ear infection. Yes, ear infection number 2. A round of steroids down the hatch- the cough is minimal. The ear infection- who knows. She isn't pulling at it but, she wasn't pulling at it before we went to the Doc. Hmmm.... On the other hand... school is full of fun and exciting times these days. The BOE voted to not offer contracts to anyone that had been retired and rehired. That means 5 principals and 6 assistant principals won't be back next year. I completed my master's degree in educational leadership for a reason. I wanted to be able to change schools for the better. Well, here is my chance to put my name in the hat for a that possibility and I am not sure. I just don't know. This year is my 6th year teaching. I don't think I stand much of a chance against those that have been in the biz longer. I am going to talk to my principal tomorrow. I guess part of my fear is this- I am an overachiever. Yes I know, if I can acknowledge it- I should control it. Anyway- I have never applied for anything I really wanted and not gotten it. I am not sure how to handle that form of rejection. Such high expectations for myself! Ahhh... the internal pressure for excellence.

Little Personalities Emerge

Maggie celebrated her 9 month birthday on Sunday. She has now been outside longer than she was inside :) To ring in this special date- she has a runny nose. A very runny nose. We now know what the bulb syringe does too. Runny nose + bulb syringe = Unhappy Maggie. She has learned how to fight it- hands up pushing, turn head back and forth, arch back. I am so proud. She is getting pretty stubborn. Hmmm... I wonder who she gets that from?

Busy Week

I started this blog with the intention of posting regularly for the benefit of our families however when my mom asked me today what the address was so that she could finally go see it, I realized that I was doing this more for myself. I find blogging therapeutic. I get to celebrate, complain, whine to no one in particular. No one gets jealous or mad, no feelings get hurt, and I feel better!!! However, when life is norm- it leaves little to write about. There were a few small things worth mentioning this week.... On weigh-in day for team lean, Bucky has lost a total of 10lbs! :) I, on the other hand, have lost- just not as much (1.8). But hey- it is better than gaining. Maggie has decided that she likes to wake up once a night for a paci reinsertion and a back rub. Budget cuts stink. MAP test scores are overrated and overemphasized (that is for another day though). Science Fair Projects done at school have aged me AT LEAST a decade.

Cooking

Bucky and I both are doing Team Lean sponsored by the Family Y. We have signed up, had our initial weigh-ins, and are now on the road to lighter, healthier us. With Maggie watching EVERYTHING that goes in our mouths (and trying to grab it for that matter), we figured it was time to get some better eating habits. We have had grand discussions about what to and not to eat, what kind of foods to buy, how to cook things. I LOVE cookbooks, I have read every recipe, tallying up calories and fat grams in my head. We are ready. Full speed ahead. SPEED BUMP! Wait... to do this, someone actually has to cook these nice healthy meals. What?!?! Cook?!? Something other than tacos, spaghetti, meatloaf, and potatoes? Huh? I have spent today creating this weeks menu. After much thought and reading, I am no where. I have been to food network, facebook, and everywhere else I could think of looking for recipes. (Bucky is turning out to be a pickier eater than I would have thought.) Everything looks so daunting! Long list of recipes with soooo many steps. Have you ever tried to stir constantly or add something slowly while whisking with your toes being run over by a kid in a walker? Who has the time or the patience? Not I. But... GREEN LIGHT! I was led to the following blog crockpot365.blogspot.com ! She made a recipe in her crock pot everyday for a year. Jackpot! They don't have many ingredients and I am set. I am going to try a soup recipe tomorrow. I think that will battle the cold nicely. I have owned by crockpot since I got married and can probably count on one hand the number of times I have used it. But here goes... wish me luck!

Our First Illness

We can check off another 1st. Maggie had her first "illness". She woke up around 11:00 Thursday night sick. I do mean sick. She continued to be sick until the wee hours of the morning. Nothing has ever broken my heart more than to not be able to do anything to make her feel better. It was sooo pitiful! She ended up in the bed with us (which seems to be happening more and more these days) so that we could keep an eye on her. As pitiful as she was when she was getting sick, not 30 seconds later she would look at us and smile like nothing was wrong. After about 5 loads of laundry and Pedialyte later, she was back to her old self. But not before sharing her illness with me! Fun!

We have take-off!

For weeks we have been waiting... anxiously anticipating... those first few motions... Success! As of yesterday morning, Maggie can crawl forwards (she had backwards down a couple weeks ago). Look out though- there is no stopping her now. We all need to offer a little prayer to Dana who is going to have her hands full. :) I am going to try and post a video- we'll see how technological I can get- wish me luck!