Drama

Flea Update: I think we've gotten Futty's flea problem under control-ish.  I cleaned all of her favorite spots to rid them of potential flea eggs and larvae and we got her some monthly medicine.  So far so good.  

In other news.  I received two surprises on Friday:

1) I was offered a full time teaching job at my favorite school

2) My dear sister Mandy went into labor (finally!) 

Surprise Número Uno: The Job

I've been helping out in the 2nd grade with some reading groups every morning.  I've enjoyed getting to know the kids a bit and getting to know their teacher as well.  It turns out that the teacher is planning to take a school wide position (School Improvement Specialist or something to that effect) and her job would be available within the next month.  I'd heard rumors about this, but didn't give it much thought, until Friday morning when the principal approached me in the hallway.  He walked up to me and said (more or less) that he couldn't bear the thought of losing me in the Spanish position, but that a full time 2nd grade position would be available and he would be remiss if he didn't offer it to me.  

Needless to say, I was pretty flattered and shocked.  After I found my "footing" again, I started to mull it over.  I've never seen myself as an "elementary" teacher, and am still not sure I have what it takes to be in a classroom of 20 some odd tiny people who are still trying to get the hang of school, though I'd definitely be up for the challenge.  But there was one thing holding me back from saying yes to the job. At the beginning of the school year, the Spanish students asked me if I'd leave them like "all the rest" of their Spanish teachers (according to the other middle school staff, they'd been through about 5 teachers by November last year...most of them scared out of the building by poor student behavior).  I had told them that unless I had some injury that precluded me from teaching, that I planned to be there until the end of the school year.  I can't go back on that promise to them.  It's not fair to them.  Plus, they're all doing REALLY well!  So, I had to tell the principal that I couldn't take the job.  

Surprise Número Dos: 

This one wasn't much of a surprise.  We've been ready for this to happen.  Mandy was starting to get pretty darn uncomfortable with the last few months of the pregnancy.  I got a text on Friday night that they were headed to the hospital.  I didn't realize what a harrowing night they were experiencing until the next morning.  Mandy was admitted to the hospital with labor pains, but was not experiencing much progress.  They discovered that the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby's neck.  Twice.  They rushed her into an emergency C-section (all of which I learned after the fact, while sitting on my sofa drinking coffee).  They operated and got the baby out.  Luke says it was a total of 9 minutes between the time they rushed her into the operating room and when they delivered the little man.  

Luckily both Mandy and baby are doing just fine now.  I'm still having a hard time dealing with not being able to be there and hold the little dude right away.  I did get a chance to video chat with both of them and my mom's been sending me tons of adorable pictures.   The photos below are courtesy of a super proud grandma:  

Meet Ezra David.  He's the handsomest little dude in the midwest, that's for sure.

A proud big sister.