BACK TO WORK. . .BACK TO REALITY!

WHAT A DRAG!!!!

Well, it's true, I had to go back to work. My school district was great to me while I was on bedrest. . .they even continued to pay us (I was kind of on disability leave) and provide insurance for us. . .so. . . .I have to finish off the school year. I have been working for about six weeks now (full time) and I just have to say that I have a new found appreciation for working moms. . .I don't know how they do it! William doesn't have dentist appointments or school plays, or ball games, or anything--and it still seems pretty hectic working full time and being a mom. But luckily, he gets to be watched by both grandmas and his dad, so it really doesn't get much better than that. . .and I only have to work until June 10th, so it is very doable (if that is even a word).

I must say being back at work is quite the shock to my system, since I haven't worked since last June! For those of you who don't know, I'm a speech therapist. . .this year I am working a couple of days in the preschool for children with disabilities adn then with grades k-6 in another school with kids with various disabilities (i.e. autism, down syndrome, etc.) It has been crazy getting back into the swing of things, but things have gone pretty well so far, the kids are cute and everyone is cutting me slack and so it is working out just fine. And, even though I would much rather be with William, the kids at school definitely keep me entertained. . .Here's a list of some of the funny things that have happened thus far this year. . .

1. On my first week back I had a little boy run away from me and hide in the boy's bathroom. . .I had to make sure no one else was in there and go in and get him out of the stall. . .he thought it was pretty funny. . .me, not so much (I need to work on my discipline skills)

2. That same day that same little boy was in my office and I turned my back for one second and turned around to find him triumphantly standing on top of the table. . .I was not in the mood to play king of the mountain/hill/table so I made him get down and go back to class. Since then he has run away from me several times and I have had to physical pull him out from underneath my table pretty much every session. . .and he's not a small kid by any means!!! That being said, he is probably one of my favorite students!

3. One of the kindergartners I work with was using her /k/ sound in conversation and decided to tell me all about serial killers. . .interesting topic for a 5 year old. . .but at least we got a bunch of good /k/ sounds!

4. My little first grader told me all about how he chased 'real' girls (not fake ones) on the playground. . .and he even caught a few (does that bring back any gradeschool memories. . .I wonder if he ever pointed his milk carton at any of them)

5. While walking down the hall, one of the boys I was working with pointed to a picture of Yoda (from Star Wars) and said. . ."Look Kim, it's you!" (What a self esteem boost!)

6. That same boy asked me this week if he could fix my hair. . .what does that say about a person when a little boy sees the need to fix your hair. . .maybe I should wake up earlier and put in a little more effort

7. The other day one of the little girls in preschool informed another little girl that she needed to share. . .she said "You need to share because God says so". I've decided to use that line with William whenever we want him to do anything. . ."you need to brush your teeth because God says so", "you need to make your bed because God says so". . .I love these great parenting ideas I get from these 4 year olds!

8. While getting a kindergartner from his class last week, he looked in the other kindergartner class and said to me: "I wish I was in that class". When I asked him why he said. . ."Because I hate this ABC stuff!" I didn't have the heart to tell him that switching classes probably wouldn't fix his problem!

Well, in other news, William is doing great. . .he is now 5 months old and cute as ever. He is rolling over now (although he still doesn't love being on his stomach) and he laughs and smiles all the time. Roland just finished a rotation and has the next six weeks off so he will be Mr. Mom during that time, while I work. . .William is a lucky little boy. . .they are going to have a great time!

Here are some pics:

Roland got an ant farm for Christmas (his favorite present by far!) and here he is showing William all the tunnels the ants are making (I don't know if William was as into it as his dad!)

Ready for his first walk OUTSIDE!!! He is obviously pretty excited!

Taking a bath in his whale tub! He loves the bathtub!

MR. SMILEY PANTS!!! (Look how big he is in his car seat now!)

A trip to the park with mom and dad. . .he slept through the whole thing!

Yes, he still has red hair. . .

He is now trying to shove both his hands into his mouth. . .he gets pretty close. . .he has a big mouth!