2 weeks into the school year

So, I've just started my 4th year teaching at my current school.  I couldn't be happier.  The students I have this year are wonderful.  I'm a little concerned about my 4th hour only because it's such a BIG class, but they are great kids and they try really hard.  I think it'll be ok.  I'm super excited about the exchange this year and I know it's going to be fantastic.  

I think my biggest concern right now is that I'm still having issues with my sciatic nerve.  I've ended up with Piriformis Syndrome which is causing major sciatic pain down my right leg.  I'm stretching like crazy, doing my exercises and trying not to overdo it, but I'm so over this.  I wanted to be WAY better by now.  I guess the good news is that my back feels amazing!!!  I know that I'll get this figured out and it'll all be ok.

We've had a crazy week with illnesses and injuries.  Last weekend Jake had a temp of 102, the next day seemed to be fine.  Monday night Ellie injured her thumb at gymnastics and it was still hurting on Thursday - so I ended up taking her to children's mercy and she's got a splint that she's supposed to wear to school and at home for the next 5 days.  So then Saturday morning she woke up with a fever of 101.5 and was feeling like crap - she ended up with strep throat.  So now I'm praying that I don't end up with strep since I've been on steroids for my Piriformis Syndrome.

It ended up being a relaxing Saturday and mostly relaxing today so that Ellie can get better.  We watched a ton of Doctor Who prepping for the new episode last night.  Today so far we've played video games, cleaned out my closet so that James can put a new closet organizer up, and hopefully will relax the rest of the day.  

I have really bad Sunday night blues and so I have to take care of myself to not get overwhelmed about going back to work - it's not that I don't like work.  I don't even have to worry as I already have lesson plans written for this week, but's just that it goes back to not being with my kids and my husband all day.  I love having family days.  I love my time with everyone at home.

My summer 2014

So, it seems like this blog was dead, or at least I just hadn't had time to deal with it, but I wanted to come back to it.  I'm trying to decide what direction I'm going to take it.  I'm considering keeping it about my life, family, etc and then creating a new one for my teaching.  

At any rate, this last school year was amazing.  I was at Chrisman only and I had a full schedule of amazing students.  I really loved all of them.  I felt like this was my best year teaching ever.  I'm hoping that every year I'll get better and more effective.

The worst part about this year is that my back had decided to become awful.  Some of you know I've been dealing with some back problems for a while now - since I was pregnant with Ellie so like almost 11 years.  At any rate, in March it got so bad that I could barely walk.  I ended up going to the doctor, getting X-rays and other scans and eventually an MRI.  I had a bulging disc and it was putting pressure on my sciatic nerve.  It was causing severe pain and also tingling down my right leg.  I ended up getting 3 epidural shots in the nerve and while they helped some, they didn't help enough to make a difference.  I ended up going to a neurosurgeon and they got me into surgery almost a week later.  So, I've had a microdiscectomy and laminectomy on my lower back.  It was amazing - when I woke up from surgery the pain was gone.  Now I had surgical pain to deal with and am still dealing with, but the original pain was completely gone.  I feel so much better now.

So, I'm spending my summer recovering from surgery.  I feel bad for my kids, they are stuck in the house with me.  I'm thankful for my friends and family who come to visit and bring meals.  They have truly made life a lot easier during this time.  

Tomorrow is the 4th of July - this is my first real outing since my surgery on June 17th.  I'm excited to get out but nervous about being sore and dealing with pain.  Luckily everyone is very understanding about what I'm dealing with.  

I'm hoping to post some pictures from tomorrow and update soon.  My goal is to really keep track of things here because my goals now are to get in shape and lose weight.  I need to keep myself motivated and be held accountable.  So, I'm looking to you all out there in Internet land to help me with that.