Happy 8th Birthday, Owen!

Eight years ago today I went into premature labor. I remember well how it was so hot in my bedroom that morning, as I tried to sleep in. I was off work for the summer as a teacher, and I was enjoying those last few weeks as I was trying to get my classroom moved to a different building and get lesson plans written out for the substitute who would take over at the end of August for the rest of the semester.

Stuart had already left for work when I woke up. I stayed in bed, lazily flipping channels and then called my good friend Kathryn who was a stay-at-home mom. By the time I actually got up out of bed to take a shower, it was almost 10:00 a.m. Ah, those were the days before kids!

I remember the fear and panic as I went to the bathroom and realized I was bleeding heavily. I hadn't had any pain or contractions that were out of the ordinary, so this was my first sign of problems at 35 weeks. I immediately called my doctor's office who said to come right away, without even showering. Luckily, I lived 5 minutes from Baptist Hospital in Little Rock, and I felt that I could drive myself since I didn't feel any pain.

I knew it looked serious when I walked into the doctor's office to check in. I was told to go back immediately with no wait, and one of my doctors was already waiting for me in an exam room. No nurse. No waiting. I began to get scared. I had tried to call Stuart on the way over, but I had only gotten his voice mail. I had left him a message that I was on the way to the doctor's office.

The doctor performed my first internal exam to check for dilation, and almost simultaneously Stuart burst into the room with a worried look on his face. The doctor informed us that we were going to have a baby today. I was dilated past a 3 and almost 90% effaced. What???

I went to the hospital with no bag packed, no shower, and no breakfast. I got the IV, and the doctors watched me and checked me to see if I progressed. They did some ultrasounds to rule out a placenta abruption, and the bleeding seemed to slow. I dilated pretty quickly for a first pregnancy, and I really didn't feel much pain . . . until my water broke. Before my epidural.

I went through transition while trying to hold still to get the epidural, and I was shivering uncontrollably and thought I would vomit or pass out from the pain. At that point, I was dilated between a 7-8. Note to self -- don't wait that long to get an epidural, even if you think you don't need it yet.

Owen came out quickly with just a couple minutes of pushing, and was born around 9 p.m. He weighed 5 lbs, 9 oz, which was impressive considering his prematurity. He then spent 9 days in NICU for breathing, feeding, and heart issues. He came home on heart medication and a heart monitor for four months due to a diagnosis of SVT.

Now, he is 8 years old. We have only had one other instance of a heart issue with his SVT when he was in kindergarten. He is smart, funny, sensitive, and silly. You'd never know he was a preemie now! He made me a mommy for the first time, and it was a day I will never forget. On July 23, 2001, my world was forever changed.

Happy birthday, Owen!

Now the answer is "Maybe"

Maybe God and I are getting our wires crossed about the whole teaching issue! Just when I had put it to rest and blogged about how the answer was "no," a phone call changed everything.

The 9th grade English job which I had applied for was filled internally by a district teacher moving up from the junior high. Well, last night the English department head from that junior high called me and wondered if I was interested in their vacancy.

So, I interview tomorrow morning, and they should be making a quick decision in just a few days since school is just around the corner.

I feel a peace about this opportunity, and it offers some benefits with the teaching load over a high school position.

So, God is keeping me on my toes!

The answer is "No"

God seems to have given a definitive answer to my quest for teaching jobs, and the answer is "No." I applied with three of the major districts in my area who had all posted new openings for a high school English teacher, and I did not get a call from any of them for interviews. Now, the openings are filled.

It is discouraging since I felt that my renewed desire to go back to the classroom was a sign that God was directing me towards that goal, and obviously it was not. I am now praying that my sections at the community college will fill, so that I can resume the same online teaching assignment there. Right now, enrollment is low, but I have until August 14 until a decision is made to close a low section.

I am disappointed that my dreams of "the perfect job" didn't materialize, but it will be less work this year and more time with Arden. It was suggested to me that I would have a better chance of getting a job in the local high school here if I start subbing, so that I can make more connections with administrators at the high school. That is not exactly my dream job. Been there. Done that. However, it might be something that I will eventually have to do in order to use my degree. It would entail moving Arden to another childcare program for 2-3 days per week (at an increased cost) instead of using mother's day out. The mother's day out programs usually end by 2 or 2:30, and the high school doesn't get out until 3:35. I will spend this year praying about what to do for next year as far as changing Arden's childcare to possibly sub next year on a part-time basis. Until then, I'm just leaving my application on file with the district in "active" status.

I know that God is the one who opens and closes the doors, and we have had many jobs close with Stuart in the past which were huge disappointments. Later, we realized that it was because something else came along which was a much better fit. I am trusting God to provide for our family's financial needs and use me as a teacher where and when He opens the door.

870

870. Yes, in pages that is. Owen just finished the longest book that he has read to date -- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. (This is book 5 in the series which he has read since book one). This is my child who is not even quite 8 years old! He bought it the week that school got out in early June and finished it yesterday! I am so proud of him since that is such a large, heavy book. It looked intimidating to him, but I told him not to worry about how long it took and just enjoy it one page at a time. He finally began to see the end last week, and he has had his nose in the book every spare minute since then. In the car. Before breakfast. All afternoon. Before bed. When he was supposed to be in bed . . .

So, congratulations to my little reader on finishing this very huge book! Yes, now you can watch the movie based on it!

18 Months

My little monkey is now 18 months old (on June 27). Time has flown by so quickly that I just about missed that milestone. We've been sort of off schedule on our pediatric checkups after the move. We ended up getting our 12 month check up at 15 months since that was the earliest we could get in as a new patient. The doctor said she didn't need an 18 month checkup since we had been in at 15 months, so the next time she returns for a well-child visit will be at age two!

Arden is still as strong-willed as ever, but she is also extremely funny and sweet. She loves playing with her brothers and running after them saying, "tickle, tickle, tickle" as she tries to tickle them. She is very tall for her age, but we haven't gotten a measurement since she was 15 months, and it was already 33 inches then! She is now into size 6 1/2 shoes! I have been randomly surveying all the little girls around her age, and she has the very biggest feet . . . by far! She is wearing the same size shoe as our neighbor's little girl who is three years old. Oh my! I am hoping she will slow down, so we don't have to order her prom shoes from the "big foot" catalog of special order women's shoes. Once you wear over a size ten, there just isn't much selection at local shoe stores.

Here are some things Arden is doing now:

• sleeps really well for about 12 hours at night (8-8) and then another 3-4 hour afternoon nap from 12-3:30 or so.
• feeds herself and is starting to spear her pick up foods with a fork
• drinks milk three times per day and likes diluted apple juice which I limit to one cup per day
• she is saying a lot of words. I think she is talking more than the boys did at the same age. She probably says 75+ words that I can understand. Stuart doesn't understand as many as I do because some don't sound exactly right, but I know what she means.
• she is putting two words together now and saying phrases like "all done, " "no more," "my book," "more waffle." Pretty amazing.
• she is wearing size 18-24 months and some 2T clothes.
• she is in a size 4 diaper -- which already seems tight
• she can tell me when she has a wet or poopy diaper, so I think she'll potty train earlier than the boys did (they were almost 3 when fully trained).
• she has all her teeth except her 2 year old molars
• she can take off her own clothes and her diaper
• she can climb onto the kitchen table, our tall bed, and over the couch
• she has just started playing with her doll and doing things like rocking it, feeding it, etc. It's so cute!
• she loves baths and gets very wild in the water. She goes all the way underneath and tries to slide down the back of the tub like a waterslide. It is like washing a wiggly seal! She hoots and hollers like it's a water park, and I have a hard time keeping her safe!
• she refuses to wear her shoes unless she is walking. If she is in the stroller, she just takes them off and drops them along the ride. I have spent countless hours going back and looking for the missing shoe, so for now she is riding barefoot!
• she can point to her head, ear, eye, nose, mouth, elbow, belly, and foot when asked.

We love her so much and so thankful that God allowed us to have her in our family!

VBS

This week the boys are attending Vacation Bible School at First Baptist in Bentonville. My local church doesn't do VBS but has a week-long adventure camp in June that is all day from 8-5 at a lake. They offer water activities, archery, a ropes course, derby cars, crafts, etc. Hudson was too young to attend that camp, and Owen was reluctant to go from 8-5 since he is new to the church and didn't want to stay all day by himself. So, we opted to go to First Baptist's VBS instead since both boys could attend from 9-12.

Today was a great day! I am always a bit nervous as I wait for them during the first day of a new activity, as I hope they make friends and have a good time. The theme was Crocodile Dock, and the boys seemed to really enjoy it. The church had over 600 kids attend VBS today, and it was by far the largest VBS program we've ever attended. They are looking forward to going back tomorrow. Arden wasn't too happy that she didn't get to stay with her brothers and was grumpy all morning, so I'm hoping that will improve tomorrow.

Parenting Help

There it was. In print in my church bulletin. "Parenting Conference with Dr. Kevin Leman." He is coming to MY church! Yes, this is one of my favorite Christian authors whose many books I have read. I laugh all the way through them because his anecdotes are so familiar to my own house, and I can relate so well.

Stuart bought the recent book Have a New Kid by Friday in hardback -- which we never do because I am too frugal. However, it remains unopened. Our kids are too much work and too out of control for us to read a book about how to control them! I think Dr. Leman might change his book title to Have a New Kid by Next Year if he met all three of mine, but the theory is intriguing nonetheless.

Anyway, Dr. Kevin Leman is holding a two day parenting conference at my local church next March 2010. When I reread the date, I was a bit disappointed. That's . . . next year. What I am supposed to do with my kids between now and then. I need help NOW! Okay, so maybe I should read the book he wrote in the interim. Then, maybe I won't be so desperate to attend his conference because my children will be new kids by March 2010.

Then again, I'd better sign up for advance purchase tickets . . . just in case.