It's swimsuit season, and for many women (especially those who have given birth) that is enough to send you into depression.  While many women can achieve a beautiful swimsuit body after having kids, many don't have that Giselle Bundchen-esque physique.  I am in the latter.  Things just didn't go back like they were supposed to.  I'm woking on it, but in the meantime I don't want to become a summertime hermit.  I want to join my kids at the pool, the beach and the backyard and not feel like a complete troll at the same time. 

I found myself in the swimwear section at Dillards today while I was doing some shopping for my daughter.  How that happened, I don't know, but I figured it would probably end in some serious motivation to start a master cleanse or juice diet or something drastic.  But, something strange happened that hasn't happened in a very, very, very long time.  I actually found a suit that I liked.  And that fit.  And looked cute and stylish and not like some 80 year old grandmother should be wearing it. 

As I was browsing through the racks I saw the SPANX label, and I couldn't believe it, but they make swimsuits!!  Yes ladies, SPANX makes swimsuits!  And they were cute!  And they had separates, which is what I am always looking for.  It seems that one piece suits are either  falling off my shoulders or riding up, so I was overjoyed to find some bottoms that were not itsy, bitsy, teeny weeny.  I always wonder if anyone making separate bathing suit pieces is thinking of anyone but a 17 year old girl who has not yet earned her womanly curves.  But, these fit and looked good (for me anyway)!  I was ecstatic! 

Then, I searched for a top that would fit and flatter and draw attenion away from the lower half of me which seems to be an eternal work in progress that I would rather no one look at.  And I'll be darned if I didn't love the first one I picked up!  It's girlie and cute with some little ruffles adorning the v-neck and had the cutest little matching skirt.  So, I spent way too much money and bought all three pieces, but any Mother on the planet knows how nearly impossible it is to find a swimsuit that you like. 

Finding a swimsuit today was a MOST unexpected happening.  I really did not think it would possible at all this year, but I'm happy to know I have something I'm comfortable in to venture out in to the pool or beach to play with my kids.  And, even though I know I still need to work on quite a few things so that maybe I can get back into a real 2-piece someday, at least I didn't spiral into a swimsuit-shopping-induced depression this afternoon.  :-)

I recently invented a very easy, tasty dinner solution while modifying a recipe I was following.  I was trying to make pita-pizzas when I realized I had forgotten to buy pita bread at the store.  And so I frantically searched around for what I could use instead of the pitas because the kids were about to arrive home from school with empty stomachs.  All children are famishingly hungry when they get home from school no matter what time it is or if they just had a snack.  So, the only thing I could find was tortillas, so it would have to do.  Most of the times I have to improvise, it is a complete disaster.  I have thrown entire casseroles away because they were awful.  Once I forgot to cook the pasta before I put it in a baked pasta dish.  Wow - that was bad.  But, finally after a million screw-ups, something actually worked!

I took put 4 tortillas and put them on a baking sheet.  I spread a little bit of pizza sauce on them, sprinkled cheese and added a few olives and mushrooms.  You can add any normal pizza toppings you want.  I stuck them in the oven at 425 degrees for about 12 minutes (you may have to adjust according to your oven), and they came out awesome.  My husband rolled them up like a taco, and I cut the others into fourths for the kids.  They ate them without complaint and actually liked them!  I could even give some to the baby.

So, next time you need something super quick and easy, keep this in mind.  Enjoy!

NO - I'm not pregnant, if that's what you were thinking!  We'd have a doctor to sue if that was the case! :-)   After months of stressing about this, grinding my teeth at night and endlessly hounding people like my Mom and husband, I have decided not to return to my teaching job next year.  I do plan to substitute when I can and do pull-out tutoring for the state test, if they'll hire me to do that (but I have a pretty good tutoring record, so it should work out).  This was an extremely, extremely difficult decision for me to make for several reasons.  I had a moment recently where the baby was sick and I was more worried about having to prepare for a sub (my desk was not sub-ready at school!) than I was about the health of my daughter.  That was a big deal-sealer for me.

First, we do not have any family here where we live (closest is about an hour away), and so when my husband travels out of town or somthing happens, it falls all on me which means my job suffers.  It also means that I am totally stressed out and exhausted.  Last week was my last test before making my final decision (husband was in Switzerland), and I truly felt like I was barely making it, especially with a baby who has had an ear infection now for 2 solid weeks (not to mention all the other stuff she's had since December).  I am sick this week because of all the stress last week I think.  My job is important to me, and my students deserve the best I can give them, and right now it seems neither my students or my children are getting anything close to my best.  I hope people who are blessed enough to live near their parents or other family know just how lucky they are. 

Secondly, my son will be starting kindergarden next year and won't be in the district in which I teach which means his days off are different in many cases than my days off.  While my husband will help by taking days off, I can't be sure he will be in town when I need that kind of help.  And with only 5 sick days per year, I would use those up pretty fast.  As it is I'm almost out this year which means I don't really have time for me to ever get sick.  I also want to be able to participate at my son's school when I can.  A regular teaching job does not allow that.

Last but not least, the third baby really increased the laundry, cooking, errands, doctor visits, and just general Mom duties.  I am so tired from my job that the house is suffering, and I just can't keep up with everything right now.  Teaching is on of the hardest jobs there is - especially teaching at an at-risk campus (see pevious post about what at-risk means).  We are like 2nd parents to the kids oftentimes, and it requires an unbelievable amount of energy and effort that I just can't give right now.  They deserve the best from their teachers, and I don't like not being able to do my job at my best.

Like I said, I am planning to continue working through subbing and science tutoring, and there is always a need for qualified people.  One of the hardest things about leaving is that my school is small and we are like a little family.  Having moved here and knowing no one, it has been one of the sources of my friends and adult interaction, and I will miss that terribly.  But, hopefully I can be at my school enough to see everyone.  And, I know I will be less stressed because my schedule will be so flexible that it will allow my kids' stuff to come first.

I know it is the right choice, and I feel good about it.  However, that does not mean it will be easy for me.  I had to tell everyone yestrday, and that was hard.  The choice is real now, but it does feel like a weight lifted off.  No more grades, no more calling parents, no more endless documentation and lesson plans (well, after the end of the year - it's a long 6 weeks ahead!).  Please don't get me wrong - I LOVE teaching, and I LOVE LOVE my current job, but I just can't do it all well right now.  My kids need to be my priority without anything else in the way, and I will definitely go back when the time is right. 

So, I'll be entering a new chapter, and hopefully will have lots to wr

As a teacher, parent and citizen of Texas, I thought I would share some highlights of the effects that the current House Bills will have if passed.  Politicans are saying that they aren't hearing from people, therefore the people must agree with how they are voting.  Read below and please send an e-mail to your local congressman and state senator.  When education is not a priority, we have more people on welfare, more uneducated people who do not have jobs, and we cannot compete with the world.  If you have ever complained about foreigners taking many of the jobs in this country, here is your chance to stand up and say something so we can make education in this country an actual priority.

1.  We ended up in this terrible situation after the 2006 property tax relief (House Bill 1) went from $1.50 to $1.00.  Not so much of a relief now that we are in major crisis.  We have also lost property values due to the poor economy. 

2.  The House pased legislation on Sunday which calls for more than $8 billion in cuts to educatin.  The House budget bill will now move to the senate - not sure when.  Probably soon.

3.  House Bill 2485 does this: eliminates per-student funding cap and replaces it with a flat allotment of $4730/student.  This is a $610 loss per student in my district ($30 million total); eliminates allotments for GT, Technology, CTE; delays pament to school year. 

4.  The effects of several bills (HB 2485, HB 500, HB 6) will drastically effect education in the following ways:
    a.  LARGER CLASS SIZES: creates less time for teacher-student monitoring & relationship building, more difficult to identify student needs and provide differentiation, less control over larger groups of students would create discipline, safety and management issues, and as a result many students will fall behind.
    b.  COURSE ELECTIVES AND PROGRAMS CUT: electives and special programs are important for students to explore their interests, become well rounded and help decide how they want to pursue a career path.
    c.  CUT IN FACULTY:  Less administrators, librarians, teachers, counselors, custodians, etc. decreases safety and protection for students, and teachers end up even more overworked with less energy to focus on actual teaching and learning as they will be dealing with discipline,  management and paperwork.
    d.  CUTS IN RESOURCES:  Less money means less technology and instructional resources. Students cannot compete with the rest of the country, nor are they adequately prepared for college when teachers do not have proper resources for teaching.

We must advocate for education and stand up for what we believe.  I know I am being preachy, but everyone always says how important education is.  If it is, please write a letter to your politicians IMMEDIATELY!  It is possible that voting will begin next week (April 18).  I am worried for our state and our country - we are falling behing in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and many other countries are educating themselves and taking our jobs.  QUALITY EDUCATION HELPS DETER CRIME, PUBLIC ASSISTANCE/WELFARE COSTS TO CITIZENS AND KEEPS PEOPLE OUT OF PRISONS - SOMETHING WE HAVE ALL COMPLAINED ABOUT.  WRITE TODAY AND ENCOURAGE YOUR FRIENDS, HUSBANDS, WIVES, AND NEIGHBORS TO DO IT!!!!!!!!!

Find out who represents you HERE.  Email them ALL!!!!!!

My husband is in Switzerland this week.  He was invited to participate in a special meeting for Mars geochemists, and I'm excited for him.  I am less excited about being a single Mom this week.  I don't even really mind that he's in some fabulous country, although if it were Italy I would be throwing a major pout party.  Either way, I'm here feeling like I"m barely keeping my head above water, and have no idea how single Moms do this every day.  God bless them.

Today is day 5 of Husband's trip, and the kids are finally catching up on their sleep and returning to normalcy after a week of no daycare and hanging out with their grandparents.  The first few days after everyone left (grandparents and Dad all left on same day) the kids seemed to be on some kind of massive sugar high with a major case of the super-sillies with a side of overtiredness.  But, that passed and they seem to be back to their normal.  Have I mentioned that single Moms must be some kind of awesome superhuman?  It's only been 5 days and I feel like collapsing in total exhaustion.  And my weight watchers has gone to complete hell this week.  Hopefully I still fit in my pants at the end of this week.

Except the baby, of course.  Just as her ear infection cleared up, she started getting fussy again (basically the day everyone left).  She poked at her ear and had a hard time getting to sleep.  The next day I noticed she was slobbering alot, so I figured she is probably teething.  I felt all around her gums to no avail, but I think her major agony comes before the teeth break through the surface.  Last night she cried on and off for an hour just after I laid down and closed my eyes to go to sleep, and I finally gave her some tylenol and she calmed down.  But, this just enforces my hypothesis that every time Dad goes out of town one of the kids gets sick or something.  I'm just thankful for ibuprophin and acetomeniphen.  Seriously.  What did people do before?  Rubbed lots of whiskey on gums I guess. 

Other than that the week is going surprisingly well considering no major emergencies have occurred (knock on wood . . .).  I hate not being able to talk to my husband at all, but there's not much we can do about that.  I have to get up earlier, which definitely sucks, but I can also go to bed earlier although that is also tough because I love having some evening quiet time.  I've been a bit lazy getting take-out instead of cooking anything, giving the kids pop-tarts in the morning instead of something healthy, and running the dishwasher if it's only half full because I don't feel like hand washing anything.  I'm pretty sure no one cares as long as we make it through the week unscathed and we return to healthiness next week.  Oh, and I still haven't put away the laundry from the laundry fairy's visit last week.  Only four more days . . . 

My parents were just here visiting, and although I still had to go to work every day, the kids had a blast hanging out with their grandparents.  Even though the baby was battling her ear infection and my son came down with a 104 fever on the 2nd to last day of their visit, a good time was had by all.  There is something really special about grandparents and grandkids, and I think it's good for them to spend time together without those pesky rule-following parents hanging around.  They went to the park, made cupcakes, ate treats and played lots of games, and everyone was sad when it was time for them to leave. 

No one was more sad than me, though, because selfishly, one of the best parts of when my parents come is that my Mom is like a little busy home-making fairy who can barely stand to sit down.  She cooks, cleans, organizes, and does the laundry!  She collects it all, cleans it all and folds it all, and then puts all the kids' stuff away neatly.  Laundry is my absolute worst enemy.  I hate it to the depths of my soul, but my hands are tied since we all enjoy wearing clean clothes, using clean towels and sleeping in clean sheets.  So, laundry must go on, and I must continue to do it.

I would rather clean toilets, mow lawn, pull weeds, take out the garbage or even clean the garage than do laundry.  And somehow, the third baby increased laundry by what seems like magnitudes.  It's never ending, and I think part of the problem is that it is a multi-step process.  Collect, wash, dry, fold, put away.  It just take so ridiculously long, and if you do anything like run an errand, feed children or sit down to eat, you run the risk of not hearing when one load is done and it throws the whole process off.  As a result, it takes FOREVER to do laundry, and just when you're done, it's time to do it again. 

So, when the laundry fairy arrives at my house, I rejoice with great joy and happiness that I get one week off of laundry duty!!  Now, I just have to put all the clean clothes and dream of the next time the laundry fairy arrives.

Well, the baby has yet ANOTHER double ear infection, and she's probably had it for a little while.  She's been totally fine during the day - laughing, playing, happy as a clam.  But, she was waking up at night, but I just thought she was thirsty.  Sunday night she screamed as we put her down and had a terrible time sleeping so we called the doc Monday morning.  Sure enough her ears looked terrible again.  Ugh.  More antibiotics, and possible tubes in her future if she gets more. 

I really should have trusted my instict.  Last week when she started waking up again at night I thought to myself that maybe she was getting sick again.  But, then she would wake up and be so happy all day.  My gut instinct was that I should take her to the doctor, so I guess I need to trust my gut in the future.  I think every Mom can relate when I say you don't want to be that Mom who's taking her kid to the doctor every day when you don't really need to.  But, there really is nothing like a Mother's instinct!

I intend to do some reading on ear infections to see some possible alternative solutions, so we'll see what I can dig up.  I'm going to ask my chiropractor about it because sometimes certain adjustments can help chronic ear infections.  But, in the meantime, it's just plain hard to have a baby who's miserable in the middle of the night.  Thankfully the other two kids haven't struggled with ear infections.  I'll state the obvious when I say it's just  not fun at all.

So, this poor baby has had 3 double ear infections, congestion and breathing trouble that landed her in the ER, a febrile seizure, pink eye, some fevers here and there, and more congestion all since December.  No wonder I'm so tired!!