Big Boy Bug!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now my nephew Bug's hair had always been a sensitive subject. First of all shortly before his first birthday he had a shunt placed in his head to help drain the extra fluid. This made his head very sensitive. Second Bug's father had long hair and what little boy doesn't want to be like their father?
  His mother and I tried to talk him into a haircut numerous times after Dad was out of the picture only to have him tell us, "no thanks" or "maybe next week momma." Then on the fourteenth I received this picture from Sissy.

My first reaction was, "Oh my, my Bug isn't a baby anymore!" Followed by, "Oh my, I love it!" So Buggy Auntie just wants to say you look so handsome big boy!

Welcome Back!

One of the many perks of working for a school district is the days off. We got two weeks off. Now that doesn't mean I got to sleep in and do absolutely nothing. Ah the joys of also helping at Heidi's school. It was great to get up and open the school in my comfy clothes. No lesson planning, just good old fashion playing and taking care of the twos-threes class.
  Getting up on the seventh and knowing I had to dress nicer for work and spend the week doing the dreaded dibels testing made me want to climb back in bed! By Wednesday afternoon we'd tested all the elementary schools in the district. After hearing the same story over a hundred times I felt like we could've recited it in my sleep. By the end of the week I just wanted to stare at the wall and sit in complete silence.
 My groups resume next week and I cannot believe how little change some have made in their reading. Some even regressed. So as a group of paraprofessionals we've made the decision to push more reading to help build their frequency and move their levels up. I've also made some personal goals to help with my lessons and making the groups fun as well as educational. Here's to hoping the second half of the school year is far more successful!

New Year, New Discoveries

I never knew so much could happen in a matter of four days. I rang in the new year with a sinus and ear infection as Heidi and I watched season three of Downton Abbey via amazon prime. It may sound crazy but I rather enjoyed the quietness of being home on New Year's Eve. (and yes by home I mean Heber City where I now live)
  My biggest change for the new year will be going gluten free. Since mid September I've had what I believed to be a peptic ulcer. They put me on a strong dose of omeprazole and it seemed to calm it temporarily. I tried cutting fried foods as well, but my belly still seemed to cringe no matter what I ate. By late November I noticed it didn't matter what I ate about a half a hour to a hour later I would be folded over in pain.
 I also began to notice other strange things. I had scaly rashes on my forearms and sores everywhere in my mouth. I knew when my brother was diagnosed with celiac disease two years ago that there was a chance that my siblings or I could have it as well or be gluten intolerant. I also knew that I had many of the symptoms. So I did what most people do who presume they may have an allergy. I removed the allergen.
Within days I noticed a difference. My gut didn't ache after I'd eaten. My rash on my arms stopped spreading and slowly started to disappear. More than anything I myself felt better. So I still wonder why I never took the time to get the blood work done to test for gluten intolerance while I lived in Ogden. I had a roommate whom was sensitive to wheat and one whom couldn't have it at all. Maybe it was just God's way of preparing me to do the switch on my own. All I know is that transition has been a bit rocky but my body feels so much better!

Shan's 2013 Review!

So this year has had so many changes. January started with my final semester at WSU. The last leg of the journey to my bachelor's of art in Creative Writing. I learned in those last four months in Ogden that I can do anything that I put my mind too. My roomies taught me that I could trust others and that  I'm strong.
  Walking across the stage in the end of April made me realize that I had earned my bachelor's with all those late night editing of papers and photos. That sometimes the strictest professors are sometimes the reasons you don't give in to late night freak outs.
Graduation breezed by and soon I was back under my parents roof and job searching at the ripe age of twenty-eight. In my spare time in May through July I helped frequently around the house as well as watched my nieces and nephew for my Sissy.  Dad had been diagnosed with a rare form of arthritis that left him unable to do the simplest of things. They wouldn't put him on a medication until August.
  I found the job market in Salt Lake very frustrating. I had half a dozen interviews only to be told that my resume being very impressive it lacked experience. I didn't mind helping my father but I knew that I needed to start applying in other Counties.
 So I called Heidi and asked her if I could put her address as my place of residency when I applied to the school district. In a matter of a month I was hired and my emotions were high. I never thought I'd move to a place like Heber City. I was worried about dad and Sissy and the kiddos. The hardest thing ever was knowing that I'd now be sixty miles away from my bff and her kiddos. My job has been a huge blessing in my life.
  When I started my search for a job I wanted a set schedule and weekends off. I never expected to find my answer in Heber City. Heidi and I have been exactly what each other needed. As 2013 comes to an end I look forward to seeing what 2014 has in store!

Christmas comes but once a year...

So I don't know if I'm just a scrooge this year or if its from all the stress of this year, but this season just didn't feel like Christmas to me. The month zipped by and before we knew it I was on my holiday break from the elementary school. When I'm on break I help Heidi at Sunny Day Preschool and Daycare.
The weekend before Christmas all our gifts were wrapped and we started our Christmas celebrations with the Baker family. We played games and ate a wonderful meal. It was nice to relax and visit with friends. This month has been busy for Heidi and her business. We had the fire marshal check all the safety needs and got a clear bill. Tuesday was Christmas eve so we did pajama day and Polar Express with the kids. We had plans to head to Salt Lake at two, but got stuck at the school until twenty after two. My family has a Christmas eve tradition of going bowling with my dad's sister Angela and her family. We found a hidden alley in south Salt Lake and have been going there for years.
  So Heidi and I got off the freeway and stopped by Sissy's house to drop off some important gifts. I miss my little buddies. Poor kiddos had been sick. We gave our love and hopped in the car so Hoho could drop me off at the bowling alley and head to her auntie Wendy's house. I was so tired by then that I felt like a zombie. After bowling Kevin and I headed to pick up Grandma from the care center for dinner at Angela's house. My stomach is still angry from the change of dosing in omeprazole. So I didn't eat much and headed home with Kevin shortly after 7.
  We were all home for Christmas so Davey and Becca slept in the spare room and Heidi and I in mine. We girls stayed up and chatted until almost midnight. As we lay in bed I couldn't believe that it was Christmas eve. In fine fashion Heidi and I got up around seven. When you get up at 5:30 I guess that is sleeping in. We had our usual breakfast of sausage and stuffed French toast. After we headed to the front room and began opening gifts. It was a very simple yet beautiful Christmas. We watched Despicable Me 2 and relaxed as the ham cooked.
  We were in the city a little over 24 hours but it all seem to me like a dream. I love the time with my family and wish that I could of spent more time with sissy and the kiddos. But I am grateful that it is over. Now I can have a relaxing weekend at home before Heidi and I attempt to clean out my soon to be room.

Dibels Testing

Being an aide for reading at an elementary means I get to help administer dibels testing to grades k-6 in the district. So our school is scheduled for right after the holiday break. So we made sure to test our kids in title one as well as all of JR's kindergartners. Now the school district here in Heber City is set up differently then I'm use too. The elementary schools are Preschool through fourth grade. Then all of the elementary schools feed into the intermediate school were fifth and sixth graders go.
  So all of the paraprofessionals had the joy of heading over to Timpanogas Intermediate School (whom we all refer to as T I S) to test the school. Four plus hours of the same six stories over and over as you follow on a tablet is enough to make anyone have a headache. It got to the point where each of us looked like a zombie. The rest of the week was spent testing, grading, testing and more entering. I think I have a new found adoration for teachers and the time and effort that goes into making sure their kids are on grade level. I'm looking forward to my Christmas break and the lack of lesson planning. I can sit and play with the babies at Heidi's school and spend time with my family!

Save Sunny Day

 

I would like to tell an important story about my hero. Heidi Barker came into my life when I was only a year old. She is the closest I ever got to having a biological sister and has taught me so much in the last twenty-eight years of my life. She worked hard to get her degree in early childhood development and had a dream there on to have her own daycare and Preschool.

  Three years ago my sister was able to buy her dream school through the aid of many small but precious miracles. She promised the previous owner that she'd buy the building as soon as she got the schools affairs in order. The only problem is there's a hiccup in the buying process. The school 2000 square feet located in the basement of the house she is leasing from the former owner. Over the last three years she has gone from lender to lender trying to get some type of small business loan or first time home loan. The banks, credit unions, and lenders don't see the school as a money making business. She never will make a lot of money with the school, but there is enough to pay the bills and her staff. She has faithfully paid her lenders every month.

  On the day before Thanksgiving she got a frustrating phone call. The owner of the home told Heidi that if she didn't have a decision by the new year that they'd sale the house from under her. I have watched her work her hardest and give up so much. She had 1200 set aside to restore her precious violin and donated it all to the save Sunny Day Fund. I have watched and held her hand many times as she's shed tears of fear, frustrations, anger, and hopelessness. She has brought a great change and new name and environment to the Sunny Day that has been in the town of Heber City  for over twenty-five years. The kids are her family, life and livelihood. If you could find it in your heart to donate anything to the cause or at least repost the link below. I know it would mean the world to my sister and the family here at Sunny Day Preschool and Daycare.

http://www.gofundme.com/5s5nmg