Keep it secret, keep it safe

Being back in the mitten has been outstanding. Despite some major adjustments on the homefront for all involved, things have gone rather smoothly. Dave is back at work at Sears, and I have begun working part time at the crew again. Jack has adjusted nicely and is a very happy boy most of the time. And we've gotten to reconnect with many of our friends and family already.

I am keeping up the job search, although postings have been few and far between. I had an interview yesterday for a job share position at a school that's 45 minutes away. This is certainly not the ideal situation, but it's a start. I won't know if made the cut for the 2nd interview until after the 4th of July. I also have an opportunity for a full time position at the crew. Decisions, decisions! I do love being back there, it's a great place to work. And I love the freedom it offers...if I want to go out on a Wednesday night, I can.

For now, I'm just happy to be home. It doesn't hurt that it's summer and I get to spend more time with my Bubba! And I'm loving this weather...bring it Michigan!

Happy Easter

Hope everyone is having a nice Easter. Here, it's just another day. Maybe if Jack were older. Definitely if we were around family. I feel like I've been vacuum sealed for three years. Like life just stopped and here we've been in perpetual summer. But so much has happened in three years...it's kind of crazy. I'm so glad to be coming back home. There are many things we'll miss here...well, some things we'll miss here. Mainly Zac and Teresa and Mr. B. I guess I'll also miss having a job...but let's hope something materializes for me back in GR! I should be working on cover letters. It's so hard to sit down and do these things. It needs to be so perfect and I don't know where to begin. You have to sell yourself and I'm not good at that. I don't like sounding arrogant. I guess you have to start somewhere, right? So here goes:

To Whom It May Concern:

You need to hire me as a teacher at your wonderful school. I'm awesome. No one else will do. I care about my job and am darn good at it. I work tirelessly and obsess about doing things the best way possible for my students. So if you care about them, hire me.

I know it seems like I'm not taking this seriously, but I am. It's just that the whole thing is so silly. I could write whatever I want. Just check my references, they'll tell you.

Anyway, hope the Easter Bunny was good to you!

Is this lump out of my head?

In my teacher induction program we're working on what's called the Teacher Supervisory Process. We have 8 professional goals that we analyze and collect evidence for. It's all about looking at what we do and reflecting on how we could do it better. So of course this also makes me reflect on my personal goals. My most important personal goal right now is to spend as much time as possible with Jack and Dave. Now this ties in with my professional life too because I need to be a much better time manager at work. I've always been a "set-asider"...I set things aside when I don't want to deal with them and I "get back to them" later. In reality I don't get back to them at all or I wait until I can't ignore them any longer. Lately, I've been forcing myself to take care of things right away. It's amazing how much more I get done. Usually, I'd throw something in my crate, intending to do it at home. Then, I get home and don't touch anything. Now, I take care of those little things before I leave, they take me 5 minutes, and I'm done. No more back burner, no more hanging over my head, no more to do list.

#6 on to do list (write blog post) completed

What happens when Daddy dresses me...

My name's Jack. I like to punch bad guys and kiss girls.

I love weekends. Today was great. Jack, the blue ninja as Dave's taken to calling him, got me up at 6:00 which is okay because I'm usually up at 5:00. We watched Daddy do his wii fit then we all took a short walk before he left for work. We hung out and played all day, he took some naps, I played some Zelda, we did some Baby Einstein. When Dave got home we took a big 3-miler to the park and back. After that we checked out the inflatable movie screen that had been erected at the pool for the "Dive-In Movie Night" (no, they did not name it that, but they should have). We decided we'd rather have taco-night and watch Fast Times at Ridgemont High. The tacos were delish (it's a word, I saw it on the cover of Good Housekeeping), the movie had a good nostalgic vibe, and you can't beat the snuggling with Dave and Jack. I only wish Dave didn't have to work tomorrow.

February

Wow...things get busy with a little Jack around now! We had a great time at Zac and Teresa's wedding, it was very beautiful. It was Jack's first overnight trip and I think we brought everything we needed (and more) for him. Unfortunately I was so focused on remembering everything for Jack, that I forgot to pack my own undies! Jack got to meet his Aunt Jenna and Uncle Brett for the first time. He thought Brett was hilarious.

School's been busy. I feel like I'm in fast forward all the time because I get there later now in the morning and leave earlier in the evening. I have to be (or at least attempt to be) a lot more organized. I never feel like I have enough time to accomplish what I need to do. In addition, I need to start job hunting, which means getting my resume and cover letters ready. My resume was ready...and then our hard drive bit the dust. Hopefully we can recover our files.

We're very excited about coming back home. I'm ready to move now! I just wish we had our jobs and a home in place. It's so hard to think about leaving a good job for so much uncertainty...but we know it's the right thing to do.

It's been a crappy new year

I don't know how to write this post...but I feel like I can't post anything else until I do, so, here goes.  I was so excited for Christmas this year, Jack's first and my parents were coming back out.  Not to mention the two full weeks I could spend with Jack.  On the Monday morning before Christmas my mom woke me up with a
 phone call.  My grandma had had a stroke the night before.  They were supposed to have their family Christmas party, but it was cancelled because of weather.  I couldn't believe it, it didn't seem real.  She survived and was breathing on her own and even communicating in small ways.  On Friday they had to decide whether or not to put a feeding tube in.  The doctors said she would never speak, eat, or be able to take care of herself, so the decision was made to let her go.  She lived on for 10 days and passed away on Sunday, January 4.  We were very close and it was hard for me not to be there, even though it was very hard on the people who were there.

I went back to work for a week plus I had to take a writing class on Saturday.  On Monday I had a class after work too, and didn't get home until 7:30.  I was exhausted, but Dave, who was home all day with Jack, looked worse.  He said Bishop bit someone, again.  The guy who lives above us was going up to his place while Dave, Jack, and the dogs were going down.  The guy waved Dave on, Dave said, "They're going to bark and get aggressive," the guy told him it was okay because he worked at a kennel.  Dave passed him and the guy stuck his hand out for the dogs to smell.  In Bishop's world this means "I'm going attack you" so he bit the guy.  Dave apologized and the guy just scampered up to his apartment.  We've been worried about how Bishop would be around Jack, and so far he's been fine.  After two bites in 3 months, we couldn't ignore our concerns anymore.  

We had a hard decision to make, and Dave was strong enough to make us make that decision.  We didn't feel comfortable asking friends to take him, it's a big commitment and Bishop has special needs.  We thought about a shelter.  When we boarded Bishop, he barked and growled at all the handlers and wouldn't come out of his cage.  They would never find Bishop a new home, he wouldn't let them.  So they would end up putting him down.  We didn't want him to be scared for weeks and then be put down, alone.  We decided we needed to put him down so we could be there with him.  Thankfully, when Dave told Dan what happened, Dan said he would take Bishop.  Then he discussed it with Zac and Teresa and they thought they would take him.  They have a house and a backyard and Daisy, who Bishop gets along with (when she stops licking him long enough for him to think about it).  It's been a really hard week.  Thank God we didn't have to put him down.  But, he's still not our dog anymore.  We miss him, Hudsy misses him.  We know he'll be happy, and Jack will be safe, but we're all so sad too.