Family Day

We finished another week as happy and healthy as we could manage.  What a relief!  Jackson still has a bit of a cough left and I still have to hold my ribs when I cough or sneeze, but it seems our illnesses are fading away slowly but surely.

This week, my school had its parents' evening (parent-teacher conferences).  Unfortunately, the day before the night to meet all of my students' parents, I lost my voice.  Go figure!  At this point, I wasn't surprised, but the show must go on.  So even though I had to strain to get every word out, I met with all of the parents and finished by 6 o'clock (it only took two-and-a-half hours).  Parents' evening is really different from my memories of conferences in Ohio.  When I was little, our teachers spent an entire week meeting with parents every night for at least 15 minutes each in their classrooms.  Sometimes, the teachers even provided snacks and drinks like cookies and coffee for parents who may have arrived early to their appointment so they had something to eat while they waited in the hallway.  In England, parents are allotted a 5-minute time slot and all of the teachers sit around the perimeter of the hall (gym) while the parents sit in the middle of the room, waiting to be called over to their child's teacher's table.

As a parent, I would appreciate the 15-minute meeting much more than a quick 5-minute update, but as a teacher, I really like having all of the meetings done in one night.  To be clear, parents can request extra time for their meeting or can ask to talk to teachers before or after school at any time if they feel that they want more details about their child's progress.

With all of the hours I've been putting into work, little has been getting done around the house, but today, Lee and I had a productive day of rearranging our living room furniture, dusting, vacuuming, ordering new flooring for our kitchen and entryway at a local shop, eating out and trying a new pub, and putting up new Christmas decorations.  Best of all, I also made our Thanksgiving dinner and it only took me two-and-a-half hours!  Admittedly, the glazed carrots took three hours, but they were prepared in the slow cooker (crock-pot), so they don't really count.  Needless to say, we are all tuckered out and the boys are both in bed now.  It was great to have a day completely devoted to family without any school distractions.  Because we were so productive and we got to spend so much time playing with Jackson, it also makes the day feel like a success.

Next week, Jackson will get to meet Santa for the second time in his life.  Last year, he was only two-months-old and he would let anyone hold him, but we're not sure how this round will go since he is getting more selective about who he lets pick him up.  Tune in next week to see how it goes!

Walking back and forth between Mommy and Daddy

Happy Thanksgiving!  We celebrated today with a big meal of chicken (in place of turkey), creamed corn, glazed carrots, stuffing, Brussels sprouts with bacon, and green bean casserole.  Jackson liked everything besides the stuffing and we don't know if he likes Brussels sprouts because he started falling asleep before he could finish his meal.

Go OSU!  O-H-I-O!  Jackson didn't actually stay awake for the end of the big game today, but he certainly showed his excitement when we brought all of the food to the table.  After he went to bed, Lee and I enjoyed watching the game--what a nail-biter!

Developmental updates:  Jackson began pointing at things this week, other than at pictures in his book.  He points out new things he notices or wants to bring our attention to.  He is doing really well with his walking technique and today, he even walked across the room, stopped to clap and then roll his arms one over the other, and then continued walking toward his toys.  Besides stopping to do a few dance moves, Jackson has also started standing and bouncing to the beat of songs (mostly to his current favourite Rockin' Robin) and bracing himself and stomping his feet to the music, too.  For the past two weeks, Jackson has slept through the night and has only woken up a few times because he didn't feel well (usually he had a temperature and needed Calpol).  At nursery, he is also only drinking milk--no more formula--and only needs to drink out of a bottle if he's feeling unwell or a little cranky.

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.

Thanksgiving

We finally did it!  We made it a week without going to the hospital!  Although there are still two hours left in the week, I am feeling hopeful that we will make it to Sunday morning with only the lingering signs of a chest infection and upper respiratory virus.  As soon as these are gone, we will all be 100% healthy again--I have almost forgotten what that feels like.

On another happy note, our hallway, stairs, and landing are all beautifully lined with paper and painted.  It only took three days for everything to get fixed from the debacle that was left by the first guy and we can finally rest easy knowing that our house looks presentable again.  If anyone in the Southport area needs a handyman and decorator, then please check the comment section below and I will advertise our decorator's contact information.

The weather this week was bitterly cold and extremely wet.  This may sound like a bad thing, but for the past two days, we have had hail in Southport and signs of a little bit of snow in Preston (where I work).  I am grateful for this because for five years, I haven't seen snow--bar 5 mm two years ago--in this country and if the weather has turned wintry this soon, then that could mean a snow day may be in our future.  And seeing how our luck is on the upswing, a magical snow day might very well happen this year.  Fingers crossed!

Work has been very hectic lately with assessments and deadlines that had to be met for data analysis.  In the past week, I've clocked about fifteen hours of sleep.  Teaching seven-year-olds really shouldn't be this hard.  And it isn't the teaching that is difficult--it's the behind-the-scenes requirements of paperwork that really doesn't affect the children's learning at all.  But, I am really thankful to have my job and to be working again.  A year ago, I was so tired and delusional from not getting any sleep that I could barely put a sentence together; and now, I'm teaching a class of Year 3 students to use adverbs as sentence starters and the correct use of 'a' and 'an' determiners in their own writing.  What a difference a year makes!  Teaching is a really competitive field because there are hundreds of applicants for one job, as I've seen recently at our school.  So even though it is extremely demanding, I am grateful for the time I am teaching and working with my class.

To all of my family and friends in The United States:  Happy Thanksgiving!  I am thankful for all of you and I miss you.  Enjoy your turkey with stuffing, creamed corn, dinner rolls, Macy's Day Parade, time with family gathered around the table, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, deviled eggs, yams with marshmallow topping, and pumpkin pies with a dollop of Cool Whip on top.  We will have our own little Thanksgiving meal next Saturday to celebrate everything we have and everyone we have in our lives.

Our little bibliophile 

Reading From the Day You Were Born

Our hallway after the old wallpaper was torn down, but pre-drunken decoration by the irresponsible decorator

Our hallway after the reliable decorator fixed everything

 

This photo shows the true colour of the paint a bit better (Valspar State Secret)

Developmental updates:  Jackson took his first steps today!  We were so happy to both be in the room to see him let go of a stool and then take three steps across the living room.  (Thank you, Jackson, for waiting to do this at home with your parents instead of at nursery.)  Today he uttered the words, "Hubba, hubba," about six times.  We aren't sure where he picked that up from.  At mealtimes, Jackson is averaging an adult-sized portion of food (or two toddler servings at nursery) and gets very impatient if we are slow with the spoon.  When Jackson reads his books now, he points to the animals or other characters and laughs.  He points to the same ones every time and his favourites are a badger, a rabbit, and a little painting on an easel in one of his books called Best Friends Forever.  When we read with him, sometimes he just points and waits as if asking what the name of the thing is at which he is pointing.  Slowly, we're building his vocabulary, and we're waiting with great anticipation for the day when he reads his first word!

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.

Election 2016

We only had two trips to the hospital this week!

On Monday, I pulled a muscle in my ribs so badly that I couldn't walk or stand-up straight.  Unfortunately, this happened at work so I had to ride in an ambulance to the Royal Preston Hospital in the middle of the day and see yet another doctor.  After a few hours, I got to leave with some really strong medicine that takes away the pain for about two hours at a time.  The doctor said that the pulled muscle stems from the chest infection I had and that for the next four weeks, I will have to keep taking medicine to dull the pain because every time I sneeze or cough, it pulls the muscle again and again.

Then, on Thursday when I picked-up Jackson from nursery, I noticed that he had developed a strong cough and had some green gunk coming out of his eye.  Half-way home, he started crying after every cough and it sounded like he was getting a sore throat.  Lee and I gave him some cough syrup when we were all home, but that didn't seem to stop the coughing or make it any less sore for him, so we headed to the hospital in Ormskirk.  The doctor said that he has an upper respiratory virus and conjunctivitis!  We just can't catch a break.  The medicines he need are the basic paracetamol and ibuprofen doses and then a gel for his eye that goes on three times a day for five days.

Because of this, I had to take Friday off of work to administer his eye medicine and keep him from spreading the conjunctivitis to the other children at nursery.  However, all of the materials were not ready for my class for Friday so Jackson and I trekked in to work at 5:40 A.M. and at 6:45, we were strolling into my classroom to lay out the plans and work needed for the day.  By 8 o'clock, everything was done and we headed home, but we made a pit-stop at his nursery to have my first parent conference to get updates on his progress.

Jackson's reviews were impeccable and although she didn't say it, I know his teacher thinks that he's the best baby she's ever taught.  What she did say, though, was that he is very sociable and loves to get messy.  She also said that he is on track with all of the milestones typical of a 13-month-old.

So with all of this week's events combined with the last two months, I must say that the fact that there will soon be a President Trump didn't take up too much of my thoughts or energy.  Many people did ask me at work since I am American, after all.  I gave my honest answer that I didn't expect him to win so many states, but after that, the conversation ended and we went about with our lives as usual.

The reaction was similar when the EU Referendum came about because after a day or two, no one mentioned it again and so far, we haven't seen any effects of the decision.  And that decision is something that will last this country a lifetime--not four years!  But that is one thing I really like about the English culture:  they don't worry near as much about political matters as the US seems to be doing at the moment.

From all media outlets for months and months, we have been told that Hillary Clinton was winning in the polls and that 'obviously' the American public would choose her because she was the 'smart' choice.  Perhaps out of spite of being told what to do for so long and who they should choose by biased news anchors and out-of-touch celebrities, the people chose the person who has never held a political office and who claims to be anti-establishment.  I hope that he sticks with what he promised and isn't swayed by lobbyists, but instead listens to the people who elected him.

Now, that doesn't mean that I agree with everything I've heard him promise, but as I watched a man explain why he voted for Trump and he said, "Jobs.  He's going to bring jobs to our country," I immediately had hot tears fill my eyes.  This man was about 65-years-old and he had a sound of desperation in his voice with a look of yearning hope in his eyes.  For his sake and for whomever he knows who needs a job, I hope that Trump delivers at least on his promise of bringing jobs that have been sent to other countries back to the U.S.

And for people who are 'ashamed' of the outcome and have done nothing but protest or complain for four days straight, please give yourself a break.  From the outside looking in, you don't need to ashamed for anything other than the violent, rioting protests that are only harming the people and businesses in the cities where you have to live and work with the people who probably voted like you did.  I know a lot of people think that their loud, belligerent protesting is going to change something, but I hope that they think of a different way to channel their energy and their time.  Imagine having that much time to march in the streets, repeating the same chants for four days!

If President Trump does anything illegal, then there are policies in place that will remove him from office.  If he does a good job, then maybe he will be re-elected for another four years.  It's amazing how many people think that he is going to mess-up the country in such a short amount of time seeing as these same people have complained for eight years that President Obama hasn't been able to get anything passed that he wanted to.  Eight years ago, the Democrats had a majority in the House and Senate (which is mirroring what is happening now with the Republicans), yet the elected Democratic President, didn't fulfill all of his promises while he had Congress on his 'side' so to speak.  With all of the checks and balances in place that have protected America for over two-hundred-years, I believe that it can survive no matter who the President is.

Our family photo from Jackson's photo shoot--this was the best we could get after many attempts

Dapper Jackson

Giving us a genuine, sweet smile and showing-off his big brown eyes

Developmental updates:  When I collected Jackson from nursery on Wednesday, I peeked in the window to see what he was doing and he was playing chase with a little boy who looked a little older than him.  As they 'caught' each other, they sat and clapped their hands, and then one chased the other, crawling as fast as they could across the floor.  On Thursday, Jackson's teacher told me that she heard laughing coming from the reading area as she was setting-up for lunch and as she looked over, she saw Jackson sitting by an older toddler named George, sharing in laughter, and Jackson had his arm around George's shoulder.  What a picture that would have made!  Our sweet little baby is making friends.  Wouldn't it be great to know what the two little tots found so funny?  Jackson is finding that he can climb over things instead of just around them and goes over the sides of his house like I do when stepping over his baby gate.  Maybe I'm setting a bad example.  Oops!  He's starting to want whatever food or drink we have and wait with his hand out until he gets a tiny bite to try.  Most of the time he does, but we draw the line with caffeinated or sugary drinks and salty or fattening snacks. Jackson is inadvertently getting us to re-think some of our eating habits.

If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.