Spring Break's Over

I hope everyone had a joyous Easter! We had a wonderful time visiting with my sis in Virginia, and my parents loved spoiling Abbi some more! She took a few steps behind her walker and tried pushing her cousin Allison's Pooh car around the dining room. My dad was so proud of her; in fact, you would have thought it was the first time he's seen a grandchild take a few precarious steps! Of course, Charlie also received plently of love! His grandma happened to buy him a Tshirt with a Triceratops on it! He wore it even though the temps were only about 50 degrees. He looked so cute in it with his cool, new blue jean jacket that his aunt Veneicia bought him. He even dragged us to the National Natural History Museum for the Dino exhibit! My little niece wasn't to be outdone by her older cousin and demanded a souvenir dino as well. Except, her's was a large TRex and she kept calling it her "dinaho"! LOL!
Yet, despite a restful week, the stress of going back to work is pressing down on me. I have a million things to do, like grade, since the quarter is ending this week. Plus, I still need to find a closer OT and our PT just left and there's no replacement yet. And, I really need to address Abbi's sleeping issues with our Pediatrician. She's so restless at first and she never self comforts. She's sleeping better now that we're using Melatonin, but she's still up every four hours or more often if she loses her bink or jerks awake! Will we ever sleep thru the night? Will Tim and I ever sleep in our own bed again? Well, those questions will remain unanswered for now, and I'm off to bed. We have our first soccer lesson tomorrow and I've got to email the guest list for Charlie's party. I can't believe he's almost 4! By the way, I finally gave in to my overwhelming exhaustion and perhaps utter laziness, and ordered his birthday Dino cake. But, I'm still planning to make cupcakes for preschool! I had planned to make his and Abbi's Bday cakes from scratch until they're five; but, I think really cool dino cupcakes should still count for something!:)

Thank goodness for spring break!!!

I haven't posted for about a week, so I thought I might update everyone before we head out to the D.C. area for Easter. I can't wait to see my sis, parents, and my cute little niece Allison! I'll post some new pics next week since my mom' s bringing my camera to me, which I left in WV over President's Day weekend!

This last week has been hectic. We had a busy weekend with Easter Bunny photos, a big egg hunt, and of course shopping for an Easter dress! Needless to say, I was tired before Monday even arrived. School was busy with OGT practice tests to grade and parent/teacher conferences both Tuesday and Wednesday night. I feel like I've barely said hello to my husband and the kiddos the last few days! So, I realllly can't wait to leave for our trip!!! Seven hours in the car with two small kids- Yeah!!!

Anyway, I had a cool moment today when a coworker asked about the kids. I was relaying Charlie's 4 going on 16 attitude and how obsessed he is with dinos when I decided to share Abbi's diagnosis with her. After she listened intently for a few minutes, I noticed how she seemed to know about WS. That was odd! Then she shared that a girlfriend of hers had a son with WS! What's the odds of that with the rarity of this syndrome? Anyway, he's now 25 years old. He does live at home, but drives and works an independent job. She went on for several minutes about what an awesome kid he was ( he grew up with her daughter) and how much she loves him. She described him as being the type of child that everyone wishes their child could be like: kind, thoughtful, respectful, hard working, etc....! I was so psyched!

On that note, I'm going to attempt to finish these reading projects and update my gradebook before heading home for the evening! I hope everyone has a joyous Easter!

Blessings

Thank you to everyone who said a special prayer for Abbi. She had echogram today, and we heard nothing but good news. She's stable and the condition hasn't progressed any since birth. Therefore, we don't have to go back for a year!!:) Of course, if we experience any changes, we're to call. What a blessing!! Plus, it was almost 60 degrees today and the sun was shining. I was able to tour the MMRD preschool today, and we're considering enrolling Abbi next year for two half days per week. I think she'll progress even more with their focused training. In addition, daycare today mentioned transitioning her to the pre-toddler room. My baby girl is growing up!
Plus, I was able to take a walk to the nearby Walgreens with my Charlie Bear for some much needed Easter eggs and candy. We really enjoyed the outing and had a picnic in bed before going down for the night.
This has truly been a beautiful day!!

Enjoying the little things

Well, I think we've finally dug out from all the snow! It was a record snowfall with a total of 20.5 inches in a 24 hour period! Charlie tried to play outside,but we only lasted a about 30 minutes on Saturday because it was too deep. It was up to his waist in places with the drifting snow. Anyway, we enjoyed being snowed in and making snow cream. It was also nice to get a day off from school on Monday!
Abbi continues to do well. Today, a child was crying and she told him "No, no,no.." That's her latest word. She also ate her first chicken nuggets and some avocado. What a weird combination. I'm praying all goes well at the echo gram on Thursday. I believe she's still stable, but I'm always apprehensive before one of those. I believe I hear my little princess, so I'm off to soothe her once again.
Good night!

What really matters?

For the first time this week, I feel a real sense of calmness. Perhaps, it's because the weekend is finally within sight or I'm too tired to whine, moan, or complain one more day. Either way, I feel at peace tonight. After bickering last night with my hubby over stupid household chores & overreacting to my almost 4 year-olds accident (yes, on my bed), I woke up and felt terribly tired, sad, and still frustrated. I wanted to kick something! Why did I fuss so much at Charlie over wetting his pants? Yes, he's too old for accidents, especially when I had just changed him into his PJs and told him to go potty. But, more importantly why would he sit down to a favorite show on Noggin and wet himself (and did I mention on my bed)? Who was I really angry with, myself or him? A little of both, but really myself. Why has he had two accidents in the last week or so? Is he trying to tell us something? Is he mad at me for taking a class on Wednesday nights? For being too tired (grumpy) lately? Does he feel neglected or jealous over Abbi? Is he mad that Daddy is taking classes? WHY? Then, already feeling this stress, I realized that we had missed the bulk trash pick-up by minutes! At this point, I wanted to just kick my husband. Somehow it was his fault that the trash was piling up and my life was filled with chaos. Yes, it would take several hours and a little " Where for art thou, Romeo?" and some upper classmen's laughs about a video on Utube before I'd realize that the problem is really me. Yes, my life is chaotic at times. Yes, my husband can be a slob and forgetful. Yes, my son can throw tantrums and have accidents! Yes, my princess can be demanding. But, overall, what really matters? I smiled thinking about my son Charlie's recent fascination with dinosaurs and mastery of his alphabet. He loves to tell us what different things begin with, like cat starts with C. Abbi is doing remarkably well. She's crawling so well and pulling up on everything. I think she's said a few words like "No" and "Yes" in addition to Mama and Dada. She's resting better. She's starting to play with toys!! What's my problem? I'm forgetting to focus on what really matters! Who cares if the house is a mess or if the laundry/trash piles up? I'm reminded that I've been blessed with two beautiful children and a husband that truly loves us. The rest doesn't matter. At least, not for tonight!

Back to work

I went back to work today, which is always hectic after having a substitute. Why? Not because they do a poor job, but rather your students want to reassure you that everything you do is the right way and everything that the sub did was CRAZY! Yes, every class must give you a replay of the day before and assure you that the sub was CRAZY! Anyway, my Charlie bear is feeling somewhat better. But, Abbi isn't eating well this evening. That doesn't bode well for the night! I hope everyone enjoys the pictures. I'm hoping to add more recent ones this weekend after we visit the EASTER BUNNY!!! I can't wait!

Absent Again

We had a wonderful weekend. Tim & I enjoyed a "date" on Saturday afternoon, and then had friends over for dinner and a playdate that evening. Abbi & Charlie both enjoyed visiting with their grandparents on Sunday. Abbi went for her first ride in the push car with grandpa! She traveled well this trip, but it's only a short drive (a little over an hour). So, with such a great weekend behind us, I was looking forward to a good week! Did I mention I also went shopping and the Easter bunny is ready for our house!
Of course, nothing ever goes as planned. Mondays are so hectic, with Tim's night class and the added appointments we had for eye exams, the evening was chaotic. Charlie was whining more than usual and Abbi was ready for bed before I even finished bath time. This should be a good thing, except when I'm by myself on Mondays. She's exhuasted and Charlie still needs to finish his bath, pjs, and story time. She's wailing and by the time you get her to sleep and actually in her crib over an hour will have passed. Needless to say, Charlie looks like a prune on Monday nights!
Anyway, Charlie was up at 2 a.m. with a high fever, chills, and vomitting. Needless to say, I didn't get a lot of sleep after that. But, as for Abbi, she finally slept for almost five hours straight!!!!! She hasn't done that in over five months!!!! We're trying melatonin and perhaps that along with a lot of prayers is working. Plus, she's doing so much lately. She's crawling all over the place and she's pulling herself up and trying to cruise the furniture as well. However, she usually cries after she realizes that she's been standing for a few minutes. On Friday, she even climbed two stairs!
Oh, yeah, my blog title- Absent Again. Yes, I'm taking another day off to care for my sick son, who can't go to preschool while Daddy goes on a job interview. I was shocked to look at my absence history and realized that I've missed 9 days of school this year. And, only 2 of those days were due to my own illness or personal business! I can remember missing less than five days of work in an entire year! But, that's not going to happen after two kids. Luckily, I have great students and a supportive principal.

Well, I'm off to drop off lesson plans. Lucky sub, he/she will get to make masks for Romeo & Juliet today!
I hope everyone else is well!