House Arrest

Wow, it's been awhile since I've blogged, and I really don't have any reason why! Generally I would talk about how busy I've been, but the last few days I've done anything and everything possible to KEEP myself busy! You see, Charley has been sick since Sunday, so we've been pretty much home-bound. If you know anything about me, you know I'm a total busy-body, so being stuck in the house for several days is like torture. Not that I mind staying home with Charley, but staying home for 5 days?! I have been itching to get out of the house, that's for sure! Anyway, it's been so long, I don't even know where to start! I guess I'll just start with last weekend...

Last Saturday, Charley and I had a busy day. She had swimming lessons in the morning, and we went to an open gym for some gymnastics practice that afternoon. She was so excited to put on her leotard and wear her hair up like the big girls. When we got to the gym, she was stretching like the big girls, trying to do her splits, and doing her best to push up to a bridge. At one point, she came up to me and said, "Mommy, I can't do the splits like the big girls," as though she thought I expected her to do what they were doing. "You're doing great!" I told her. She really was. I mean, she hasn't been in a structured class for close to a year, and when she WAS taking class, she definitely wasn't working on her splits. But it kind of shocking to me that she really looked like a little gymnast. She's actually at the age that I used to start with pre-competitive classes, when I lived in Kansas City. It's hard to believe she's such a big girl! With that said, she still has a mind of her own, and had no interest in doing what I asked her to do at the gym. Except for bars. She loved bars. And she was sore for the next two days. Ha!

Sunday morning, Charley woke up sweating. She was really warm. It was obvious that she had a fever, but she didn't seem to feel that bad. I told her that we were going to stay home and rest, which she was okay with, but she wanted to play all day. It was like she'd never had a fever at all. Anyway, I put her to bed Sunday night, and she seemed fine when she woke up Monday morning. So, I took her to school, thinking it was just a 24 hour bug, and she'd gotten over it. That is, of course, until I got a phone call around noon. "You've got a sick kiddo," Charley's teacher told me. It turns out she had been running around on the playground, having a great time. When the kids sat down for lunch, Charley said her stomach hurt, then threw up everywhere. Nice. She'd also spiked a 102 degree temperature, so clearly she wasn't feeling well. When I got to her school, Charley was in good spirits, but snuggled right up to my shoulder when I picked her up and hugged her. We got home, I set her up on the couch, got her a popsicle, and got to work writing lesson plans for the next day at work. I always know what I'm going to teach my different groups, but writing lesson plans for a sub is way more work than just showing up and teaching myself. Anyway, Charley took a nap on the couch, while I got some work done. She went to bed early, and I stayed up a little bit later than usual, knowing I wouldn't be able to go into work the next day.

On Tuesday, Charley woke up and she still had a fever. Ugh. Poor kid. She was acting normal, and of course, wanted to be entertained all day. But she still had a fever. I took her in to the doctor's office, and basically found out that she had a virus. Figures. So, we went home, and I put in for another sub, knowing I wouldn't be able to go back to work on Wednesday either. While people in most jobs would probably enjoy a day off, for teachers, taking a sick day is a giant pain in the butt, particularly because you never know what kind of sub you're going to get or how your students are going to behave. But, I didn't have a choice. So, I started writing another set of sub plans.

Wednesday morning, Charley woke up fever-free. "Yes!!" I thought to myself, "She's finally on the mend!" And she really appeared to be. She was smiley, playful, and said she felt better. She was pretty with-it most of the day, so I was confident I'd be able to return to work today. Then, around 5:30, she crawled in my lap, whimpered,"My ear hurts, Mommy," and started to tear up. I'd taken her to the doctor less than 24 hours prior, but she' d had a bath earlier in the day, so I just figured she'd gotten some water in her ears or something. I gave her some ibuprofen, and put her to bed, hoping she would sleep it off. Unfortunately, she slept pretty restlessly, and woke up with a fever again.  Poor kiddo started to panic when she realized she wasn't hearing right. "I'm talking funny, Mommy! Why am I talking loud, and you're talking quiet?" she asked. Ugh. I realized I'd have to put in for a sub again, and called her doctor. We went up to the school to print out some lesson plans, because I really didn't know what my classroom would look like, considering I haven't been there all week. I was pleasantly surprised to find everything neat and tidy, and very positive notes from both substitutes. Both subs commented on the staff I work with, and I really am fortunate to work with wonderful people. Thank goodness for them! Anyway, Charley got into the doctor, and we found that she had an ear infection. It's her first ear infection since she had her tubes placed when she was a baby. The doctor prescribed an antibiotic, and I was relieved that it would finally get taken care of. As we left the doctor's office, Charley looked at me, confused, and asked, "Why am I still talking funny?" Ha! I'd told her earlier that the doctor would help her ear feel better. Apparently, to her, that meant the doctor would magically make her earache disappear. It didn't cross her mind that she actually had to take medicine, in order to start to feel better. It was very sweet.

So...With nearly 5 whole days at home, what did I do with my time? Where do I start.... On Sunday, I started going through boxes that have been sitting in my garage, that I haven't even looked through since we moved in. I got rid of a lot of papers, and organized a bunch of papers, condensing my things considerably. I didn't realize how many boxes of curriculum I had sitting in my garage. I've got a lot of good stuff that I didn't even know existed! So, I sorted through it, and it felt great. Monday, I worked on re-typing some conditioning plans for the gym. Tuesday, I finished all the paperwork for the school that I possibly could. Wednesday, I choreographed a conditioning routine for the girls at the gym (I was bored!)...and by the way... while I was coming up with the choreography, I did the routine probably 15 times, and I am SO sore today. Ha! After that, I realized it was only 11:00, so I did some more work for the school. Then today, I went back to my garage task. I've had a bunch of boxes in my garage, and I haven't necessarily wanted to get rid of them, because I will be moving in a couple of months. But some of the boxes are broken, and I hate looking at my messy garage. So, I rearranged some things, again condensing my things, and I'm relieved to find that I'll have a lot less to move this time around! So, basically, I've kept myself busy, but I'm SO ready to go to work tomorrow and I know Charley can't wait to go to school.

On that note, I hope everybody has had a great week and an even better weekend!

Finally Winding Down

It's been awhile since I blogged, mostly because I've been otherwise occupied. With Charley now taking both swimming lessons and dance class, I find myself busy almost every night of the week, and now Saturday mornings, too! With that said, it's kind of exciting watching Charley begin to take interest in new activities. Things were busy around here, even through last week, but starting on Thursday night, we finally seemed to slow down a little bit.

It was a three day week for students and a four day week for teachers, in preparation for Easter weekend. Three day weeks at school should be easy, but that just never seems to be the case. It was a busy, long, few days. On Thursday,  I got a text from one of my girlfriends, who happens to be Charley's best friend's mom, inviting us down for dinner and a trip to the park. Normally I'd be too wiped out to be social after work, but I decided to make the trip down to Minneapolis, and I'm so glad I went! Charley and her friends played for hours, I got a chance to catch up with a friend, and by the time we got home, Charley went straight to bed. It was the perfect, relaxing evening. On Friday, I didn't have to go to work, but Charley's school was open, so I dropped her off for a few hours. That gave me an opportunity to clean the house, and run my errands kid-free! It was amazing. I picked her up from school early, and from there, we headed to another friend's house for an Easter egg hunt. My friend watched the kids for a few minutes, while I hid the plastic eggs outside. When the kids came out to search for the eggs, they were SO excited. They took off running, Easter baskets in-hand. Charley and her friends found the eggs, sorted out their loot (and there was a lot of it!), and played for a bit, while I again, got to catch up with a girlfriend. I definitely did a lot of catching up over the last few days, that's for sure!

Yesterday, Charley and I didn't have much planned. We dawdled around in the morning, and finally got moving around ten. We ran to Target, and when we got home, found our neighbors playing outside. They have a two-year-old, and Charley absolutely adored him. We stayed outside for several hours, while the kids played. At some point, one of the neighbors fired up his grill and made hot dogs for the kids, and cracked open a beer. It was honestly the perfect afternoon. The weather was beautiful, and the spontaneous get together with the neighbors reminded me of the neighborhood I grew up in. When we finally went inside, Charley was just about ready for bed. She was asleep by 7, and I took the opportunity to do a little bit of work...

 I know I'm a bit of a workaholic, and that's not necessarily by choice. It's more due to necessity. Seeing as I am raising Charley on my own, it's important to me to be able to provide for her the best I can. Which means I have to work. A lot. The job I was completing last night, though, was actually a writing job. Several months ago, I was hired as a contractor to write lessons for community college students. Quite frankly, I'm not sure how I'm qualified for the job, but I had to submit writing samples, so I suppose they were more concerned with my writing style than the fact that I don't have a Master's Degree. Anyway, I basically write about teaching methods for general and special education students. Writing lessons can be a little bit time consuming, but I'm finding that I really enjoy what I'm doing. It's nice to challenge myself to put my strategies and experiences into words, that others might find helpful. It's also a nice change of pace, which allows me to combine my teaching and writing abilities. When I took the job, I was just looking to make a little bit of extra money, but it seems to be a good fit for me.

Speaking of a good fit, I know I mentioned there was some chaos at the gym, just before state meet. Well, I've been working with some really wonderful people, and I'm excited to say I'll be moving with them to a new facility in Forest Lake. No Boundaries Gymnastics Center is setup for a grand opening on April 20th, and I can't wait! The new location is closer to home, and the facility will allow the program to grow the way it should. It's a private facility too, which means I can teach private lessons again... Any of my dancers interested in making the drive from Edina? Ha! With that said, I've been out of the gym for a week and I genuinely miss the gymnasts I work with! It might be difficult for me to be out of the coaching realm for another week, but I'll be busy helping get things together for the new space, so that'll keep me occupied (because obviously I'm not busy enough, right?).

Today, my sister came up to visit Charley and me for Easter. We really didn't do much, other than relax on the couch and hide Easter eggs. Kelsey was kind enough to watch Charley for a few minutes, while I took a nap, though. That was greatly appreciated. Charley played outside while I grilled dinner tonight, and I have a feeling she'll be asleep within the next hour or so. We both need to get a good night's sleep, too, because we're going to Frozen on Ice with Charley's best friend (be prepared for dozens of photos) on Tuesday, and I have a feeling it'll be a long night. With that, I've got to get my kiddo to bed. Happy Easter!