not a babysitter

Shortly after Taylor was born, I was finally getting out of the house to see a movie with a friend of mine. Mitchell was happy to push me out the door so he could finally have Taylor all to himself. He was on the phone with his mother, and I heard him say, "No, I'm not babysitting....How can I babysit my own daughter?!". He was pretty indignant about the whole suggestion. I recall thinking he was funny to be so upset, but he took the job of dad seriously. He did everything he could to let the girls know that he loved and supported them.

On this first Father's Day without Mitchell, I honor him by remembering all they ways he was a remarkable father.

new directions

I recently accepted an ELL teaching position at the local elementary.  This may seem like a 180 to some as the last time I was in charge of a classroom, I was fried to say the least.  But it's been awhile since I taught last, four years to be exact, and this particular situation is quite different from where I was. 

Truth is, I'm excited to participate in the adult world again.  It will be nice to meet adults who don't know my kids and aren't trying to plan a play date or sleepover or trip to the movies. 

And like I said, this situation is different.  I'll  be working mornings with a student load of under 20.  There's a good mix of instruction and paper work (you're thinking, "Why does she like paperwork?"  I don't know.  I find it soothing.)  There's tremendous opportunity for me to learn and grow, which is exciting.  And necessary to prevent my brain from becoming middle-aged mush.

Will I miss being at home with the Hay?  Of course.  Will it take a bit to adjust to the demands of the new schedule?    Definitely.  But I also realize that this is a necessary step in a new direction that enables me to have more control over my family's destiny.  I have decided to rise to the occasion.

booger nose

Hayden has been sick for a couple of weeks now. Coughing and hacking...Clogged noses...Steam showers in the wee hours of the night. Lots and lots of green clumps of mucus. Vomiting mucus...Running mucus... It's truly disgusting. And scary because, I don't know if you realize this, but babies don't naturally breathe through their mouths. Yeah...Mouth breathers are not actually BORN mouth breathers...That happens later. Who knew, right?

The traditional snot sucking method wasn't really working (you've seen that institutional green bulb they send you home from the hospital with). And after three or so nights of trying to sleep sitting up with the Hay, I was frazzled. And exhausted. Then...A revelation. My girl, Rachel, mentioned a blog she did about boogers and how she had come across this NoseFrida contraption. Really? You want me to suck snot from my child's head. GAG. Any other time, I would have made a snide comment and moved on, but you see, I was desperate.

The thing is...This sucker WORKS! Amazingly well! It is (as previously mentioned) an effing revelation in baby booger management. Granted I gag every time I have to clean the thing post-use, but it clears out her nose, and I haven't scraped the inside of her delicate little petunia of a nose raw in the process.