still here

We are still here and well! Sorry for the lack of blogging this past week;  it's been crazy! First, I (Jill) got sick. Two weeks ago I began waking up with awful earaches. However, they'd go away by the time I was able to go to the doctor in the late afternoon, so I kept putting off a trip to the clinic. I finally couldn't stand it anymore and went this past Monday; sure enough, there was trouble! I was put on antibiotics for an eardrum infection and have started to feel much better. Who gets ear infections at 25?! Quinn also had to get put back on eye paste for her pinkeye, which popped up again, but this time at a lesser degree. Thanks, Randy, for putting up with two sick girls!

I am also swamped with work. I love, love, love my job and the school district in which I work, but I feel a little overloaded this year. I'm lucky enough to work with lots of the highest level of 8th grade learners (ELP!), but that presents a ton of challenges in working with internal experts in my building, looking for extensions and differentiation for my kids, and still keep the quality of my instruction high for the "regular" kids that I have. No one said teaching was easy. :-)

After finishing my first masters I decided to take a little time off from my own educational development and am enjoying having weekends free; the two-year program in which I was enrolled at Drake took up most of my fall and spring Fridays and Saturdays! I am still thinking about what to do next and will definitely enroll in a class or two this spring or summer.

Quinn is as sweet as ever. There are new babies starting at her day care, so she is an older kid now! It is crazy to think that just a few months ago she was the tiniest one and now she is right in the middle. She's just started crawling a little bit and doesn't get too far, but we are excited about the progress she is making! She does better on Chrissy's (our babysitter) carpet than our hardwood, so she puts on the best show when I pick her up at 4:00. Her 7 month "birthday" is next week. Sounds like a good reason to celebrate!

This weekend: hanging out with R&Q, church, working from home, trying desperately to finish a few books before they're due back to the library, heading back west tomorrow for a little birthday partying....:-)