Fab Five Friday

I totally swiped the idea for todays post form upward not inward, but I had to because I just love it. I think their five question questionnaire is an excellent exercise in self reflection. You can do it too!

1. This week I am grateful for- My awesome hardworking husband and my sweet kiddos. The love I get at home helps me survive the roughest days at work.
2. This week I enjoyed- Getting to see the Seniors get ready to leave for the graduation duty. I didn't have to actually go to graduation this year (alright, I'm grateful for that too), but getting to help them get ready and seeing them all dolled up was exciting. 
3. This week I learned- I am done with speculating. Life is interesting enough without playing the "what if ..?" game. I need to trust in God more and work with the challenges I already have before me. 
4. This week I accomplished - Getting my classroom packed up and my sign off sheet done early! It only took five years for me to figure out how to get on top of that.
5. I am looking forward to - AP Human Geography. I will be teaching it next year for one class period and I am thrilled. It is a great opportunity to work with student who are eager to learn and for me to approach the material in a new way. I normally teach regular World Geography which is different.

You can check out How the ladies at upward not inward answered their questionnaire by going to their site here. What is going on in your world this week? You can share your own reflections there or in the comments here. I hope everyone has a blessed weekend.

Take care,

Mrs.PJ

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Mrs.PJ

Reasons I am kicking myself.

3. I signed up to teach summer school and now I totally wish I hadn't.

sensible me: It's an extra three grand, great way to make up money I lost on my maternity leave.
not so sensible me: Yeah, but that was last year. I'm ready for a break now.
sensible: It will be easy. It's initial credit, so the kids will all be nerds.
not: But summer won't start until July now.
sensible: It's just a few weeks, besides, there will still be the whole month of July and most people don't even get a month of vacation.
not: Why? Whyyyyyy? I want my summer!

2. I forgot the diaper bag.

My daughter had her nine month checkup today. So I had to speed pump milk, quickly resolve an issue in the parking lot (lady bumped into my car just before I pulled out but only damaged her car, so we parted ways), speed home as safe as possible (30 min drive), put pumped milk in fridge, feed dog, speed to day care, grab baby, go to pediatrician (25 min drive), go to get out of car and realize I don't have any clean diapers or wipes. We cloth diaper and the only thing I have with me is the bag of dirty diapers sent home from the daycare.
 I felt like everyone in the waiting room was staring at me like I just kidnapped this baby because I had no bag or other baby accessories. I was sure they were going to call child protective services because my baby was in a wet diaper when she had her exam. Then the nurse says, "Oh that's nothing, my sister left her baby in a restaurant when they left once." So I guess by comparison it wasn't that bad, but I still felt negligent.
Little Miss PJ handled the whole ordeal with a smile and didn't even cry when she got her vaccine.

1. I missed the boat.

If you have been reading R&R for awhile now you know I love my job teaching, but I wish my school was closer so I wouldn't have to spend such a huge chunk of my day on the road. Last week I saw that the school district I live in had an open position. I hesitated to fill out the application because it was already 11:30 at night and the application is loooooong. I left right after school let out on Friday rushed home to fill it out before I went to pick up the kids and, drumroll please, it was gone. I guess they filled the spot that fast. Maybe it was posted for a while before I saw it. I e-mailed the principal to let them know I'm interested in case anything opens up, but I still feel like I let my family down. Totally kicking myself.

What was I thinking? Anyone else out there wondering where there mind is?

Take care,
Mrs.PJ 

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Our Puppy Dog

me: Hey, you wanna come help me get dinner ready in the kitchen?

son: Um........no.

me: Why not? You love helping in the kitchen.

son: Um...I'm getting comfy with my puppy. 

me: You know she is not a pillow pet.

son: Yes, she is my comfy pillow. She is my puppy.

Big dogs are comfy!

She is not really a puppy anymore. Our sweet little puppy is eight or nine years old, which is way older than our three year old. She has loved him since the day he was born though. 

On guard the first day.

She was our practice baby before we had our real babies. When she was a puppy Mr. PJ would carry her around in his arms all day. She has adapted without hesitation to new homes and both of our babies.   Most importantly both of our babies adore her. 

"She is my Clifford!"

We have taught him how to be gentle with her. He doesn't try to ride her like a horse anymore. His only chores are to feed her and let her outside to go potty. He takes this responsibility very seriously and loves out puppy dearly. Really she is already an old girl and I worry about what will happen when she is gone. She is smart and sweet and for now I will tolerate the white fur on everything because we love her.

Boo!

This past Sunday the baby was sleeping between Mr.PJ and myself. She is nine months and trying to talk a little, not doing more than "mamamama" and "dadadada".  Anyway, I was watching her wake up and she smiled with recognition when she saw me and her daddy. Then she sat up and saw the dog at the foot of the bed. She let out a gasp and said, "A puppy!" It was too darn cute.

Pretending to be a jackrabbit.

On a completely different note, you might want to know that I have added a new Frequently Asked Questions page to the Sharing is Caring section on the left over there. Hopefully that will clear up a few questions people have asked. I don't get tons of free time to work on the old blog since I am a working momma, so I do appreciate your feedback and support. How can you support this blog? Super easy, just share links with your friends by e-mail or on your facebook page. If you have two seconds to click on the squares below it would be much appreciated.

Take care,

Mrs.PJ

Money is dirty

Seriously people, money is filthy. I don't mean in a hippie dippie socialist let's go back to bartering way. I mean money carries a lot of germs. Why is that you might ask? Basically because toddlers and other gross people handle it. Let me explain. Our house should be under quarantine right now because the little dude and I have a bad stomach virus. Apparently it is very contagious because lots of people we know have had it. How bad could it be you ask? Every time the poor little dude passed gas yesterday we had to change his underwear. So he was wearing just his underwear and a t-shirt for most of the day. At one point he walks through the room and quarters start falling out of his undies. They were coming out of the leg hole every time he took a step. It was like we won the jackpot at a toddler casino. He had been going through his easter basket and found the quarters in some of the plastic eggs. He explained that he put them in his "pocket"(the flap on the front of his undies). So these quarters were jingling around in what is probably the most germ contaminated spot in our house. Where are those quarters now? Who knows. They are probably in a piggy bank, waiting to release their evil stomach bug germs on the next unsuspecting victim. It reminds me of when I used to work in retail and people would use the waistband of their spandex bike shorts or their bra as a wallet. It is pretty gross being handed cash soaking wet with sweat. Remember when you were a child and your classmates carried their lunch money in their shoes? Bottom line, money is dirty, so wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after you handle cash. Don't try to blame it on my toddler either.

 Don't forget to wash those hands,
Mrs.PJ

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Happy Easter!

      Happy Easter Weekend!

Just wanted to share some of the egg dying fun we had yesterday.

Most of our eggs ended up with little dents in them, but I think they turned out pretty cute.

     Our school district gave us Good Friday off and I am totally enjoying the three day weekend.  Mr. PJ only had to work a half a day so he got to help dye eggs. We always eat dinner together, but yesterday was special. We had crawfish and deviled eggs. I totally cheated and picked up the crawfish from a local restaurant, but we made the deviled eggs. Little Mr.PJ had chicken tenders because he wasn't sure about eating "those crab things".  Little Miss. PJ had a jar of organic baby food of course. It was a nice dinner. I am looking forward to the Easter service tomorrow. Actually, I am really excited about getting to watch all of the little kiddo's hunt eggs. 

     Yesterday also brought some potentially good news. I heard a rumor that the high school close to my house (really close to my house) might be hiring a Geography teacher next year. This roumor was from a pretty reliable source that knows I want to work there. Currently I have about half an hour commute to work. In the afternoons that drive can turn into forty-five minutes. I love the school where I am at, but I would really love to be closer to home. If a spot does open up I am definitely going to apply for it. Then I am going to pray that God puts me where I need to be, because I know that sometimes what we want isn't always what God wants for us.  Have a happy Easter!

Take care,

 Mrs. PJ

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You say it's your birthday......

     I feel like declaring working mom victory right now. We had a successful toddler birthday party today despite the fact that all of the outdoor activities were canceled because of rain. His friends were there. Everyone got fed lunch (thank you Momma PJ). Everyone had cake. He passed out goodie bags, opened his presents and played some more. Thank you cards were written within two hours of the end of the party. Most importantly, he somehow managed to save the explosive diarrhea for after the party. Success!
      It now feels like spring break is actually here and I can get some rest. Hopefully the diarrhea was just something he ate yesterday and not a stomach virus. I have to say that I'm pretty proud that he was very well behaved at the party. When you are away from your kids because of work all the time you sometimes wonder how they are doing. They just seem to grow so fast. Anyway, it was nice to see him playing with other kids, having a great time and being polite to everyone.

Take care,
Mrs. PJ


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Mommy, you feed the baby?

With your boobies?   If reading about breast feeding makes you squeemish then you can stop reading now.  I think that if more women openly talked about nursing, the ups and downs, then more women would be open to nursing. Just like every pregnancy is different, so is every nursing relationship. I nursed my son until he was just over a year old. The little girl is almost seven months old and we are still going strong. Well, sort of. She has an ear infection and I have a sinus infection and we both feel like poop. Over the past week my production has dropped drastically. Literally I was producing half of what I needed to. We had to supplement for the first time with formula while she was at daycare Thursday and Friday.
I felt guilty and stressed which I think just made the situation worse. Mr. PJ started complaining that the formula was making the baby smell funny. I went to my midwife, got on antibiotics for the sinus infection, and she loaded me up on herbal remedies to increase the milk output. The four fixes you see pictured above with the advice to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. My nose is still runny, but the milk is back!  I won't know how much for sure until I have to pump tomorrow at work, but I can tell the difference just nursing her. Hopefully it is not just my optimistic imagination.
It is not easy being a nursing mom and working mom all at the same time. I feel like if I can't be with my baby during the day, at least I can send her to school with milk made just for her. That means I have to pump three times during the day. On my conference period, lunch and after school you can find me locked in a little conference room, hooked up to that crazy pump. It can be a hassle, but it is totally worth it.


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Sick Days

  I'm out of them. The state I live in dumps whatever days you have accumulated when you use FMLA. Being on maternity leave earlier this year means that I don't get to be the one that gets to stay home when one of the little one's is sick. Working Mom guilt to the max. Not doing to hot on giving up on the TV for lent. Tried to make loopholes by telling myself that Netflix isn't TV, but it is. Anyway, here is something decent that I did do, even though it was months ago. This is our nursery.

The reading and rocking corner. The two hampers on the changing table sit on the floor usually. 

Little dude figured out how to get in there with her pretty quickly. Gotta watch that boy close.

Here you can see more of the feature wall. I love hearing our son say, "That my octopus."