Challenges-mainly BIG ones

It's Monday, again. I think we are the only school in America that is actually present at school today. Kinda sucks. I am really not complaining, after my kids took a benchmark our district created last week that is supposed to be similar to the new STAAR test, I need as many days possible to get them ready. I teach 4th grade self contained. That just means my kids stay with me all day. It is tough because my kids take reading, math, and writing STAAR and I don't have anybody to collaborate with or help me get these kiddos ready. We only have one 4th grade class.  My principal caught wind that I was looking for jobs closer to home since passing my Special Ed test and told me last week I could just teach Reading/Language Arts next year. Why does it take leaving before they offer you the good stuff? HA! With a new house in the very near future I will be working wherever they can give me a paycheck. I wouldn't mind a bit staying here another year if nothing comes up closer to home. Jake LOVES it here and our Kindergarten teacher is probably the best I have ever seen. I never knew my sweet babies' education would be so stressful.  I come across people all of the time that say,"oh, you re a teacher, that's why Jake does so well." Um no. I think any teacher can agree and say it is sooo much different working with your own kids versus the ones you teach. I read with Jake everyday but that is about it. We have been so very blessed with such an awesome program and great teachers here. 9 times out of 10 when I sit down to work with him it ends with him crying and me needing a drink. It's never good! I know God put me here for the sole reason of Jake, and him needing a structured, strict environment and I trust he will find me something closer when the time is right. He always does.

I have gone off the deep end. REALLLLY far off the deep end. I haven't dared to mention anything about this subject that has taken so much time in my life lately.  I wanted to set a goal for myself to get back in shape. I don't have many options out here. There is no Golds, 24 Hour, Curves, or even Weight Watchers meetings for that matter. I have known since I moved here that I would have to just run. And probably run by myself. It has actually turned out to the best thing ever. My mom mentioned something to me and my sisters about running a 5k in September. I started running in January and shortly after I was already running 3 miles. I needed a bigger challenge to keep me going. I am not the kind of person that is disciplined to run a few days a week and be done. I would never do it. So, I started talking to Brooke about it and she mentioned that she would be running a half marathon in March. I told her she was nuts and had completely lost her damn mind. I could never do that. I kept running and the thought crossed my mind again and again. Could I really run 13 miles? I finally decided I would try it. I chose not to blast it all over the Internet or Facebook because up until last week I have been scared I would back out. I signed up and paid my money. No backing out now!  This is huge for me. Yes, I have always been an athlete but in very short distances. A basketball court is not very long, and you get a break about every 30 seconds. It's not the same by any means. Finding the time to just go out and run has been the hardest part. After getting home at 5 the last thing I want to do is be gone another hour away from my family. But it has helped me find me again and I think definitely makes me a better mother. It is so hard after having a rough day to come home happy and not vent about how terrible my day was. Running has been a stress relief for me and I LOVE it. I am sure just one mile has the same effect. Why I chose 13 miles I will never freakin' know!! 

I told Cody a few weeks ago when I bought Luke's can of formula it would be the last one before we took his bottle and tried to make the switch to regular milk. On Sunday after church Luke was getting sleepy at his usual nap time so I decided to make him a bottle and put him down for a nap. I opened the can and there was a tiny bit of powder left scattered on the bottom. It was not near enough for a whole bottle. After panicing, I gave milk a try in a sippy cup and of course it didn't work. I ended up just rocking him to sleep and he slept for a total of TEN minutes. Sunday night was not bad, he did the same thing. He fell asleep on his own.  He slapped the cup away and would not drink the milk. Monday night is when it went from bad to worse. He screamed for 3 hours straight. I tried everything possible and thought about giving him a bottle so many times. We stuck it out and he finally fell asleep until the next morning. I decided Tuesday morning to try formula in his cup terrified he would get dehydrated if he wasn't drinking. (I know it sounds so stupid now) He took the cup like a champ Tuesday morning and went straight to sleep last night with his cup. I did buy more formula yesterday and will try half and half for the time being before he makes the complete switch. I never remember Jake being this hard but I try to block the hard stuff out! I called my mom the night he was screaming and she told me to just give him the bottle. I am so glad I stuck it out and I am sure I am not totally in the clear but I think we are on a better path!

I started this post Monday but it is almost impossible to get one finished in a day. Today is Ash Wednesday which also starts the wonderful season of Lent. I had decided to give up Facebook and add in a few nights of bible study for Jake and more prayer time for Cody and I together. This morning Cody suggested I give on line shopping and that is exactly what I need to do. We decided to choose a charity at the end of Lent and make a donation using some of  the money I would have spent on necessities I thought we needed. I am pretty excited about this because as always, I love a challenge. This will be exactly that!