Mommy's day....

Oh boy...what a long day. I really ought to be in bed right now and will be shortly. I thought I'd blog about my comedy of errors day, though, for posterity of course.

I was EXHAUSTED getting up this am. Yesterday I felt icky...so tired I couldn't move for about 2 hours straight. Literally. Could not lift my arm....worried I may have strep throat as a teacher at school had it and was in school for a bit before she FINALLY went to the doctor. Anyway, I chalked it up to pregnancy and ragweed being awful.

Then today, my school nurse *advised* me that I should call my OB and tell them I've been in contact with some illnesses that would require treatment. I don't want to cause panic, and I doubt anything is going to come of it, but after talking to my OB, she said to go straight to my primary care doctor and be tested for a few things. So...though I feel a bit better today, I still am not 100% and my primary care nurse told me to come in tomorrow at 10. I have to see someone, for CDC purposes, and can't just get blood taken or a swab done. Lovely. As I said, I do not feel that I have anything other than sheer exhaustion and allergies, perhaps strep. In any event, since every medical professional I talked to today told me that it was better to be safe than sorry, I'm going to go along with them.

So...tired as I am, I stayed at school longer than I should have to get some stuff done before the long weekend (which will be really long since I have my wonderful friend Jenny coming to visit and I am psyched!) and I'll probably be there long tomorrow. As I drove home, John told me that mom's dog Lola had a *pooplosion* when she got home. This on the heels of us coming home the other day to Dixie having the same issues...for days. Nothing more fun than cleaning up poopy-butt all night long. So, I called mom to apologize for Dixie getting Lola sick and immediately knew something was amiss in MY house when I walked in. Apparently Dixie's flu-bug is not over. Hooray! More *pooplosion* to clean and poopy-butt too! Not to mention, more pepto to shove down her throat and more rice to cook for her for dinner.

I cleaned ALL things needing cleaning up and then while her rice was cooking, I started to clean my Spot-Bot (the BEST little carpet cleaner EVER!) out by filling the sink with hot, soapy water to suck it through the tubes and clean them out. Yeah...well, that didn't work so well. What instead happened was the little rubber filter on the dirty water container popped off and flooded the floor. The rugs bled. The water fled. Dixie came to check it out. It was a fiasco.

Long story short, I cleaned it all up, fixed it all, finished her rice, cleaned her up AGAIN, and FINALLY sat down with some of mom's beef stew she made for me before she left. Thank GOD for homemade beef stew. It makes everything better. Mostly.

I'm now going to bed and it is barely 8:00. About 2 hours later than I wanted, if you ask me. Matthew, I realize that I'll have many days like this with a wee one like you. The thing is, with you, at least at the end of pooplosion or something to that effect, there will be some snuggling involved. Dixie's pretty leery of me because I keep shoving pepto down her. Honestly, I can't blame her.

First Day...

Matthew, your mommy is TIRED! (And Lord help me if ONE MORE PERSON tells me to "Just wait until the baby comes" because I *so* get that I will be tired...hearing it over and over does not cement it for me.) I was so frustrated with yesterday that I couldn't even talk about it....well, except for my love of Walm*rt. Open House for this school year was a fiasco. I can't even begin to explain it, save that I am just shocked at what things I heard, shocked at behaviors I saw, and SHOCKED that I kept my mouth shut (mostly) since it was Open House and I was *trying* to be positive. I will say one of the highlights of the day was being told (by somebody clearly aggravated that I was pregnant and would be taking time off) that at least it was "only 6 weeks or something in your contract, right?" that I would be out of school. While that statement wasn't as bad as another colleague who once heard, "Couldn't you plan this for the summer?" when she was pregnant, I was not happy. Trust me, I completely understand walking into a classroom and seeing the teacher is pregnant and wondering how that is going to affect my child...I assure all out there I would feel the same way. In fact, for EVERY (and there were lots) parent who asked me when I was due and how long I'd be out for, I was very honest and told them that I would have to play things by ear after the baby is born and that is the truth. Just as their main concern is certainly their child and not me, my main concern is my child. That's life, and to expect teachers to be any different in their desires and lives is just ONE MORE nail in the "Teachers aren't supposed to have lives" coffin.

ANYWAY...I sweetly assured that lovely parent that I could leave tomorrow if I chose to, but my love of my students is the reason I came back and I will work until I am no longer comfortable or able to. I also assured him I was well aware of my contractual obligations, as well as the law with regard to how long I will be out, but that the long-term sub was fully qualified and would do a lovely job should I not return.

On that note, I have to say that I am so truly in awe of women who are pregnant and have no option BUT to work because their livelihood depends on it. Granted, whether people realize it or not, being an elementary school teacher is VERY physically demanding and I realize that lots of women have jobs that allow them to sit more, relax more, HECK...GO TO THE BATHROOM WHEN THEY NEED TO. But I also know that there are a lot of women who have no choice but to work and they are in demanding jobs also. I have been so stiff and sore and uncomfortable for the last few days, and I just hope that it's because of the intense amount of time and work I've been putting in the last few days for the start of school. As I limped into the chiropractor this afternoon, he asked me if I had talked to my OB about when I had to stop working. I told him that she said she could tell me to stop because of blood pressure or something measurable like that, but the amount of discomfort I was putting up with was my call and she'd go by that. He then looked at me and said, "I have a feeling you'll be talking soon." Super. PT said that yesterday. I hate to say it, but they may be right. So, I'll be in prayer for the guidance to make decisions I need to make. I can't wait for John to get home...he'll be able to really give some insight.

In the meantime, the kids today were not too bad, and all in all, it was a good day, minus the exhaustion and the pain in my back. Worse, my feet are swelling some and shoes don't fit so well. I may be tennis-shoeing it for a while at the very least.

And I have to just say how excited I am for Christina and her new addition!! CONGRATS! I just am tickled blue!

Frus-ter-a-ted!

Oh Matthew....how I hate, hate, hate Walm*rt. (Borrowing from Maria, since God forbid I be libelous.) Before I start my rant, I have to say that I was really impressed with the article on the CEO of this store that was in Parade Magazine this weekend. I was pleased with the philosophy, and he seemed really down to earth. If only my store was like the ones he profiled. In the meantime, let me count the reasons why I've shopped there for the last time.

• Parking is a NIGHTMARE. People pull through parking spaces into the lanes and look at you like YOU are the one who is in the wrong. Not to mention that you have to park in another state if you plan to park at all. Or you could just sit in the middle of each lane waiting for 34 minutes for some parked car to pull out.
• The carts will NOT come apart. Period. Not to mention that if you FINALLY get a cart pulled apart it is inevitably fraught with weird-wheel syndrome. If the wheels work at all.
• NOTHING is where it should be. And finding someone to ask where to find someone is like finding a needle in a haystack. Heck, that would be easier. And when you DO find someone, they again look at you as if they can't believe you have the gall to ask them such a dumb question as "Where would I find a heating pad?"
• Find something to buy and it is not priced appropriately. Candy bar says $.50 at the end of the aisle? It says $.64 when it's rung up. Argue that and get a look. A mean, then confused look.
• People at this store think the 20 items or less checkout is a 20-ish item or less. And by 20-ish, they think 50 is ok. Or, 3 people shopping together ought to have 20 things EACH. And God forbid you say anything like, "Ummm, I think that exceeds the limit," because you will get told, "Are you the checkout police?" Do people not realize you should NOT screw with a pregnant woman? Lucky for them I was tired and reveling in the thought that I will NEVER GO TO WALM*RT AGAIN, God willing.
• The main reason that I went to this place was because a couple of weeks ago, a friend told me that I could get a gallon of the organic milk I've been drinking (and plan to continue) for $5.93 a gallon, where as it's way more elsewhere...even at the commissary, it is $3.54 a half gallon, so that's a nice savings. Couple that with the coupons that I have been diligently using on some of the lower prices I admit this place has, and it could be worth the trip. I went two weeks ago for the 1st time in a year and a half, and it wasn't terrible. Of course, I went in the morning, mid-week. I thought to myself then that I could probably muster up the courage to do that trip every now and then to save some pennies. Well. I go today to get milk and the expiration date for the gallons are in 5 days. I can't drink a gallon of milk by myself in 5 days. The last time I got milk there it was like that too but I thought maybe I caught the tail end of the shipment. Nope...that's how they roll. The half-gallons had longer dates, and I think that they just store the gallons. Shoot...if I am not even saving on the milk, there is really no reason to go. And frankly, after today, saving $1.00 is NOT WORTH IT TO ME. I doubt I am even saving a dollar because who knows how many things are mispriced and I don't bother arguing?

I could go on and on about the cleanliness, the organization and the conversations the employees have about being dropouts of the local high school and not allowed back because of the ankle bracelet they wear, but I'm just tired. And frustrated. Because I haven't even *MENTIONED* how Open House went today....

And that's all I'll say about that.

Tired continued...

I don't know what to say about my zeal for doing adoption things lately other than I am just tired by regular life and hating my lack of energy for 'extra-curricular' This week has been SO exhausting! Getting back to school after break is tiring anyway, but then this week also was the week that our county's math textbook adoption committee met--for 3+ hours, in the evenings. The after-school program I am part of is just frustrating and poor John's birthday was yesterday and I didn't have time (or energy) to do anything for it. (He says he doesn't care about fanfare for birthdays, and while I admire that --and was grateful for it yesterday-- it's not MY style! I TOTALLY love the fanfare!!) Throw in the fact that the poor little foster pup got spayed yesterday (and was coughing through the night--maybe anesthetic upsetting her??) and Dixie (the almost 2-year old Diva pup) was absolutely OBNOXIOUS from 11:38 pm to 1:47 am (last time I checked the clock) and count me as just done! I got home from school today and plunked myself on the sofa and fell asleep for several hours. I still feel so groggy, though, that I think I may head on up to bed.

My goals this weekend: Get fingerprints in LaPlata for our Statewide police clearance tomorrow am. Clean up house! Organize the adoption folders a bit better (that's the OCD anxiety!!) Get lesson plans done (and not at 8pm Sunday night) and try, somewhere, to squeeze in a nice, celebratory dinner for my poor husband's non-celebrated birthday. I'm tired just planning this weekend! Which is why I am glad that I am just doing to do what I can and not stress over what I can't.

A couple of Easter pics--lovely day! We joined our church Easter Sunday, and I was reminded again about the joy of Resurrection. Lord, continue to help me remember that, when I feel so weary. You know more than anyone about weariness on one's soul!