The Author

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I am a high school English teacher, and mother of two charming little ones of my own. I teach in a high poverty urban charter school, while I live in a typical American suburb that has frequently been rated one of the safest cities in the country. It is a paradox I struggle with constantly, but it is my life.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I haven't blogged much this week. I could attribute it to the holidays, but it is half that and half that I've been sick. I was coming down with it the weekend after school got out, and it just got progressively worse during the week before Christmas. Combination of the weather kicking up my allergies and I think a cold, because Marc then got it too, although he got over it really quick. On the 23rd, I spent 2 hours of my birthday at the doctor's office with two cranky kids, trying to get seen for my sinus infection. My doctor wasn't there, and he is my asthma specialist who knows about my polyps (I have lumps in my nose, makes my nose not drain the allergy congestion) and how to treat them. This doctor only gave me the antibiotic, not the prednisone. I think she was worried about compatibility with nursing, but had she taken the time to look it up, she would have seen that AAP says it is compatible. I have some left from last time that I am debating on taking. I also have tons of it for my nebulizer, but it is time consuming to use it. By Christmas eve, I was a mess. My eyes were so watery (from sinus pressure- very annoying), I spent most of the service with head on Marc's shoulder and my eyes closed just to try to focus on the service and not on my eyes. (Incidentally, either it worked or God was working on me, but I was able to focus on the message, and it was amazing. It was about how the "wise men" were astrologers, and how astrology tells the story of Christ. If you are reading this Mark McKinney- awesome job! I'd love to hear more about it.).

Got through Christmas okay, despite feeling crappy, and it was a wonderful couple of days. Vinny loved, loved, loved all his toys and has been wanting to do nothing but stay home to play with them ever since. Tiana was an angel. My dad served the family tradition of Roger's Goulash burritos (family recipe) and they were delicious. My favorite. (It is his grandma's recipe, and you can totally tell it is a dust bowl great depression recipe- makes a lot of food for a little money).


Unfortunately, right as the sinus infection started to drain on Tuesday, I came down with the flu. Totally something separate. All the typical flu symptoms. It was a miserable night last night. Fortunately, I think it was just a 24 hour bug. Fever broke sometime in the middle of the night and I am feeling significantly better today... despite the sinus infection still draining slowly. When it rains it pours, I suppose. (Or I suppose, in this case, since we are talking about slowly draining sinuses, perhaps that is the wrong metaphor...)

I kept Vinny home from school this week so he could have a winter break. He has been loving it. He asks to get in his pajamas at like 5:00 each night. I asked him, "Right now? But it is really early," and his response was, "I want to be comfy." Well, considering I haven't changed out of my pajamas at all today, I suppose he has the right to "be comfy" too.

I am going to start working on getting Tiana in her own room after I get better. I decided I needed to start just putting her in there awake first, so she doesn't wake up wondering where the heck she is. That sounds easy enough, but considering that she spends 80% of each day in someone's arms and cries if she's not, it is somewhat of a challenge. I found a decent solution though today. Vinny has been loving being her big brother, and always wants to cuddle her, but I am always afraid he is going to drop her. So... today, I put him in the crib with her. He is small enough. He had a BLAST cuddling with her in the crib. He kept winding up the mobile for her, turning on the projector. It was so cute. After I fed her and put her in there next to him asleep, he just stayed there cuddling her while she slept for like half an hour. Adorable! This may be the perfect way to transition. If she can't get cuddled by mommy in the crib, at least she can get cuddled by Vinny, and then hopefully she will eventually feel comfortable enough on her own.

In other news, I am yearning to give her some real food (because she is yearning to eat it!). Lately, when we eat, she sits there and watches the path of the fork from the plate to our mouths. Monday night at dinner she kept trying to sneak pieces of pasta off our plates. She was even trying to stick them in her mouth. Not yet baby, not yet.

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