Working MOM

I went back to work a week ago Friday. It was so great... the students couldn't wait for me to return... the sub couldn't wait for me to return... and let's be honest, I was excited too! I work at Metro High School- the #1 school in Missouri and 22nd (or something) in the nation- my kids are brilliant and I love them. I missed their sassiness, spontineaty, energy, and drive to do whatever they had to in order to get a good grade. The only thing about going back to work that I wasn't excited about was leaving Dennis. I was very blessed to have a friend who I trust very much offer to watch him, making it easier to return to work. The first couple of days were great. Then the routine set in... Dennis would wake up, I would feed him, then we would go. Dennis would enjoy his morning playing with his new best friend, watching baby einstein, and exploring the world while I was at work. I would pick him up after school was out, feed him again and he would crash... until dinner and then crash again for the night. I was missing out on his life, a reality that I have to get used to. With our financial situation, I have to work... and I love my job... But, I love my baby. It's a no win situation. Today (Saturday) I have a whole day full of surprises! I finally see the improvements that Dennis has been making all week long. He can spit up tons, and his strength and alertness are so much more. I love this boy.

About a week ago, I noticed Dennis's belly button was looking wierd (see below), we called the doctor and found out that he has a hernia that is pushing out his belly button. Luckily, its not painful and the internet doctor said that it is really common in premiees and usually goes away on its own. So, for now, Dennis looks funny under his shirt. Thank goodness its winter. :)

Here are a couple of pictures of my handsome little one.

Enjoy this video.

Privacy

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For the love of.... frisbee

Ryan took a hard one playing ultimate on Saturday. He was playing defense and got in the way of a wild follow through. About 15 minutes after the hit, his vision had gotten so bad that he was only able to see light and dark... nothing else. Never having such an extreme hit in the eye before and knowing all of the worst-case scenarios from medical school, I took him to the ER. He spent the whole afternoon there and found out that he had an infra-orbital fracture. For those non medical people like myself, that means he got a fracture in the bone that surrounds the eyeball. Because there is an open communication between his nasal sinuses and orbit, he's on a lot of drugs to keep it from getting infected and to reduce pain. Poor boy.

I'm just glad that it was an innocent attack. We had a friend who got jumped walking home from school last year and got a shiner like Ryan's. I feel much better about our story.

all smiles

On Holloween, Dennis showed us his smile. And, he discovered his hands.

FLORIDA

Dennis and I went to visit my parents is Florida for a couple of days. Dennis was such a good traveler. We flew down there and drove back with grandma Robyn and grandpa Ron.

We did a little shopping...
He enjoyed the sunsets with grandpa.
took a couple of good naps... We thought he was so cute... we had to do a little photo shoot. Here are a couple of them.

This is as close as we got to the water. It was quite cold there and Dennis is a little young still to enjoy the water.

We celebrated Holloween! Dennis was a good sport and wore his costume all day long. He also had a pumpkin hat that was adorable.

We were practicing rolling over onto our stomach and back again with a little help from gram.

Don't you just love that face! I can't get enough of it.

We are now back in St. Louis working on finishing a room in the basement.

BIG BOY CLOTHES

This past weekend, Dennis has had a couple of occasions to dress up in real outfits not just pj's. The first one is his first day going to church... he wasn't so happy that we left early. This second picture was right before his "Welcome to the World Party". He is totally decked out right down to his shoes.

Dennis and I are going to Florida tomorrow...We will miss you, daddy!

Obama

With the elections coming soon, I have been doing some research on the candidates (very much inspired by Andrew Marshall) and found this interesting article that I thought I would share with all of you. I have a hard time gathering all of the information and forming my own opinion so I think this article sums it up as good as I ever could. I also have a tendency to not talk about politics with people mostly because I generally lean left and most people I interact with lean right. I am not a good debater and lots of times I am unable to support what I think with those around me, but this rarely changes my views. One of my biggest pet pieves is when people vote party and not person- its like saying, "I'm catholic because I was born catholic" or "I'm mormon because I was born mormon".

http://thinkinginamarrowbone.wordpress.com/2008/02/08/why-mormons-should-consider-backing-obama/

With this article in explanation, hopefully I will not hear any responses like I have in the past when talking of politics, "are you mormon? and you lean left?" Yes, and I am not the only one. Like Andrew, I totally respect you and your views as long as you have done your own research and picked the best candidate for you.