Last day of Freedom ;)

Tomorrow morning, after my doctor appointment, I report to school for the first teacher workday of the school year. In many ways, I'm ready to get back into the routine that school provides, but I am also not looking forward to leaving my 3 babies at home while I am gone for 8 hours. My hubby does a wonderful job raising our children while I am away, and I never make it through a school day without talking about them with my students - but I miss them just the same.

Today is being spent doing a little prep work at home. I have a few new resources that are being integrated this year so I'm continuing to peruse those. Right now the two big girls are napping (I think - hubby is monitoring that) while Sweet Pea is laying on her playmat using my finger as a pacifier and I am typing one handed. We are listening to lullabies in the hopes she goes back to sleep. It is quite peaceful here now.

More on Me

Since Sweet Pea's birth I've had a few painful moments that I've attributed to backaches related to the birth of 3 kids in just over 4 years. Last Sunday, while my parents were visiting, I had another attack immediately following a delicious supper of pan-fried chicken breasts and homegrown corn on the cob. Just as our dessert of ice cream was being served, my back and belly began to ache. I tried a heating pad and backrubs which were no help. My parents convinced me to go to the ER and my dad drove me. On the way, I continued to be sick to my stomach, but once my stomach was empty, the pain went away. ER doc thought it could be gall bladder related due to recent pregnancy and the amount of fat in my meal. Today I underwent some testing (ultrasound and HIDA scan) to determine if it truly was the gall bladder or if further testing must be done. The testing was unpleasant, but not unbearable - mostly due to the fact that I needed to eat fat free for the 24 hours prior to the test and could have nothing to eat or drink for the 8 hours prior to the test. I was dehydrated enough to make the necessary IV very difficult to place. After 4 attempts by two separate individuals, we had success. Then I simply laid mostly still for over an hour while the medication did its thing and the machine took all of the necessary pictures. Now I wait for results on Monday.

Back to School - already?

Loved Back to School shopping with my girls! I always loved back-to-school shopping and enjoy shopping for office supplies in general. It made my years working at an office supply store very enjoyable, and being a teacher ensured that I would always get to do office supply shopping at BTS time :) even if it is just for myself.

Because Pumpkin Pie's preschool provides breakfast and lunch at no extra charge, a lunchbox is not needed, and we had a small backpack on hand that will be the perfect size for a change of clothes - just in case of accidents - and any notes home. That just left shopping for school clothes and shoes. I went to my favorite local department stores on two Saturdays to find the best deals. We were able find some cute short sleeved shirts, skirts, and capris on clearance as well as long sleeved shirts and longer pants on sale. We added in a new pair of shoes are are set. If we find that eating school lunch is not an option, we'll purchase a lunchbox of Pumpkin Pie's choosing and start packing a lunch instead. We're hoping that she'll eat a variety of foods well due to the peer pressure and encouragement of someone other than Mommy and Daddy.

We have a back to school picnic for my school this evening and then teachers have workdays Monday and Tuesday with students at school for a short day on Wednesday. I am amazed that the last 7 weeks have gone so quickly with the Sweet Pea. She is eating well straight from the tap and tolerant enough of bottle feeding that I think she'll be ok :) She had a nasty diaper rash a couple weeks ago, but that has cleared up as well. She woke me 2 times last night, which is a schedule I can live with for now since she's getting so well at sleeping in her bed.