Call me Certifiable

I see that the state of Michigan has cashed my check for my teacher certification....now the waiting game. Duh duh duh

Watch out He Bites!

Yeah he looks sweet, but the boy has started biting. And. it. hurts. 

What should I do with a Bear that bites? I'm not quite sure that I'm ready to bottle feed exclusively. I mean, this might be my only bear. What to do, what to do...

Work It!

I do not have any new pictures to share when using this laptop. Sigh. Truthfully I haven't done much picture taking lately. WHat I have done is been working double duty. My new job as an ESL paraprofessional at a charter school here in Grand Rapids has kept me moving these past 3 weeks. My charter school comes with some sweet perks, such as;
- a "year-round" calendar which allows for several full week vacations throughout the year (including the entire week of Thanksgiving
- belonging to a Soup club which provides me with delicious soups every Thursday
- finding fun little treats in my mailbox like $15 gift cards (2 in 1 week!)
- having a firm time schedule (7:30-3pm on. the. dot.- and leaving at 3 is strongly encouraged)
- a fair hourly rate
- opportunity for before school tutoring at twice the hourly rate
- being able to add something relevant to my resume

Okay, a few things to get used to;
- NOT being a teacher technically
- NOT having my own classroom (all push-in or pull-out services)
- NOT being paid for days I don't work (this is a big duh for most jobs but as a teacher you come to expect those summer direct deposits!)

But overall it's going well, I'm enjoying using a lot of my old tricks and activities with the kids. It is actually a whole lot more diverse than IS 52. We have a bunch of languages and cultures that I'm learning more about.
I sent in my teacher certification application 2 weeks ago, last week I sent in the $210 to have it evaluated and now I wait for 30 days until I can check the status. Hold your breath and cross your fingers. IF this goes through I will be dropping down to half time as a REAL teacher and being paid double what I make now (thus not affecting the take home I'm getting currently). Plus the Bear and I will get to spend more time together during daylight hours of the week. :)

Oh, on the sleeping front, I'm happy to say we are going through a nice overnight stage where his wake ups are much less frequent thus giving us more sleep :) Notwithstanding, I still need to buy some cucumbers to help with these dark circles...

Lose All Baby Weight- Check!

Okay, I am pretty happy about this one :) I can honestly say I have no idea when and how much I lost over these past 6 months because I stopped being weighed by the doc. Anyway I do know I gained about 30-35 lbs over the entire 9 months. It's not like I've been ignoring a scale, but rather there really hasn't been one around me since my 6 week check up. And then I was still weighing about 10lbs up from my starting point. Well, Katie fixed the house's scale today and ta-da! I am -2lbs below my starting weight! Yay. The credit goes to baby walks, playing indoor and outdoor soccer and probably breast feeding. No credit is given to my current diet of whatever, whenever. :)

A Photo Montage of Bear

If you give a Bear a choice,

he'll elect to go on the merry-go-round.

If you let a Bear go on a merry go round, 

he'll want to slide down the big kids slide.

If you find a Bear in the woods,

He'll convince you to take him home with you.

If you let a Bear choose his favorite sports team,

he'll go for the perpetual underbears.

If you give a Bear some teeth buds, 

and a set of twinkly blue eyes,

he'll just demand more, maybe even a penguin!

If you give a Bear a Bear suit,

he will pass out!

Aunt Kellie is smitten

so is the Bear

Contemplating a move to a warmer climate :)

A Magic Bear Suit

Aunt Katie sent me a picture of Baby H last Thursday. It looked like he had been swallowed up by a brown bear, she bought him the cutest bear suit ever. And he LOVES it. Jon calls it his magic suit because once in said suit he almost instantly falls into a deep slumber, wherever he may be lying at that moment. Jon was getting ready for their morning walk and but Harrison down on his playmat. He came back 5 minutes later to a slumbering bear, hands up and at peace :) I'll have to upload those pictures soon.

Also he is now a 6 month old baby! He has tried the following foods: rice and oatmeal cereal, sweet peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash. He LOVES the carrots and thinks very little of the squash. Sadly that is the only one I actually prepared myself...oh dear.

So the bear starts a new adventure tomorrow. He begins day care at a center about 10 minutes from my work. It seems very nice, and I'm glad it's so so close. But I am still avoiding thinking of how it will feel to drop him off tomorrow :(

Yesterday I compiled ALL my paperwork, transcripts and such for the SECOND application for my teaching certificate in Michigan. I also added the rejection letter I got last year (complete with misspellings and my name as MR. Randall) highlighted and footnoted. Just so my friends in Lansing can understand more clearly that I should be given my certificate. I don't want to think of what happens if it is once again rejected. I am not destined to be a parapro for that much longer...

Also my friend Kathryn ran the ING NYC Marathon yesterday! She finished in style and I am so so motivated to make next year be my marathon year (for real this time). :) We'll see!

Missing Mornings

I know this picture is blurry...but I love it. This is a morning I came snapping pictures when I heard Baby H start singing his wake up song. I need to record those cute sighs and trills. Sometimes I find him playing with his little blanket monkey. A happy morning is. the. best.

This is the second day I will miss those first moments of a new day for the Bear. Even though I saw 23 and 1/2 weeks of mornings I can't express how missing them makes me feel.

Not many jobs allow for a 6 month maternity leave. I am really lucky to have had that.

So let's be positive. The Bear has been in good hands while I'm away. He's playing with his Grandma and Aunt today. My sister has learned the nuances of caring for Baby and did beautifully yesterday, even sending me picture updates of a sleeping bear.

Oh, and I have a job. A job which allows for car sharing to take place fairly well with Jon and I. Today I am trying a new thing of leaving the car at Jon's after work (3pm) and cycling home. I'm not sure how long this will take but I know it'll be better than picking Jon up in the evening.

So without further ado, I will leave my seat by the fire at Panera and venture the 5 minutes to my school. BEST thing about this location  is that a Dunkin Donuts and Panera are so so close. Sweet.