It's been way too long since my last post and there is just so much to cover! So instead of going into details about things I thought I would just do small bullets. So here we go...
- Since my last post Ryan came home and is back to work! He came home Labor Day weekend and started back to work with odd jobs for a few weeks. He now is working at Palisades Nuclear Power Plant in South Haven. He is part of the cooling tower rebuild project and has a pretty easy job. Most of the job is carpentry work so he is there for support in case they need assistance with the piping aspects. So far they haven't, which means he is getting paid for ten hour days, seven days a week to sit in a trailer and play games with the other fitter and electrician. I guess it is payback for being on the road and we will take it all :)
- Matthew went to his first dentist appointment a few weeks ago and had mixed feelings. He loved the water squirting tool and the polisher/cleaner, but HATED the suction tool.
- Matthew went to his first game at Spartan Stadium with Ryan in early September and then to another game & tailgate with me yesterday. He loved the food at the stadium, the bus ride to and from the parking lot, the band, the kickers and punters and Zeke the wonder dog!
- Matthew's speech continues to get better. So much so that he is now down to once a month for a few months and then hopefully once every three months after the the first of the year. We couldn't be happier!
- Speaking of talking, Andrew is a talking machine. Basketball is still his favorite word and he will still find every darn hoop around town and show it to you! He also likes to say the usual Mama, Dada, Hi, Bye Bye and has added Mine, No, sock, shoe, Matthew (to some extent), Papa, sucker, thank you, bless you (in context and to strangers), please, Yeah, Deah, doggy, more, and so much more that I can't think of right now.
- Andrew's asthma is under control for the time being, but we had some difficulties a few weeks ago when the weather couldn't decide if it wanted to be cold or hot or dry or rainy. He was up to four breathing treatments a day and is handing them like a pro. We are ready for what winter has to offer and hope he can stay healthy through it.
- My class this year is a good one, but a large one. Again, I have 24 kids, which is far more than previous years. Gotta love our crappy governor! Due to student funding cuts we now have larger class sizes. Our 24 is small compared to the 30 our upper ele. has and the 30's our middle and high school have. We are still without a contract and I highly doubt we will have one before the year is over. Our district has no real reason to settle with us and by not having a contract they are saving large amounts of money. Under new state law if we are without a contract we cover the costs of increased health insurance. Also, the district does not have to pay staff for classes they took (grad classes), nor do they have to pay our steps and if we ever get a contract they do not have to retro the pay. Those are just a few of the areas they are saving, there are many, many more!
- We just recently had to put Norm to sleep. He had a dog version of a stroke last Saturday night. We knew something was wrong when he couldn't get up and wouldn't eat. We honestly didn't think he would make it through the night. He started to hobble around on Sunday, but really could only walk a few feet before falling down. He was walking on his knuckles, peeing inside and not eating. I took him to the vet on Monday morning (Halloween) and upon their exam they found a large mass (tumor) in his stomach. At his age we had already decided that we weren't going to do anything if he had cancer. We had the option of taking him home and loving him up some more and bringing him back in a week or so, but we had already prepared ourselves and the kids said their final goodbyes so I made the decision to do it then. If we took him home it would be for us and not for his quality of life. He was not happy and couldn't get up or walk nor did he want to ear. I couldn't do that to him. So, after work I went to say my final goodbyes and it was almost as if he knew. He didn't get up or wag his tail, he just rested his head in my lap. My mom and dad also came to say their goodbyes. I couldn't be there for when they actually put him to sleep, so Dr. Stucki did it at the end of the day. We should get his ashes back in a few weeks and plan to bury him in the garden under his favorite tree that he often peed on. He was almost 12 years old and had a wonderful life with us!
- I will try to do a better job of updating in the future. There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day right now! On a side note, I put up a ton of photos to our site if you are interested in looking at them. Click here
