Time Marches On...You know you are old when you have to have knee surgery

I have been having some crazy knee pain for the last 4 months and when school ended I had decided to try to get it checked out. 

This summer I have had X-rays, an MRI, and a cortisone shot (which hurt more than my knee pain). My doctor determined that I have some issues with my kneecap. It sublexes (dislocates) and does not stay in the groove like a normal knee. This causes swelling and pain. It used to come and go, but for the last six weeks it has been really swollen and I have not been able to walk without a limp. 

I asked my doctor to write down my symptoms so I could google my options. 

After doing some research and talking to my doctor, I decided that surgery might help. My doctor will be performing a lateral release on Wednesday. He says I should be able to walk on it after 3-4 days and drive after 3 days. 

I hope so. 

I am nervous. I need to be able to take care of my little girl. I really can't do that on crutches. I also need to walk my dog. I can't do that on crutches either. 

At the same time, I figure my knee can't get any worse than it already is. 

Also, we have met our deductible for the year and met our out of pocket maximums too. I guess that is an advantage to having a baby in the same year. 

Keep your fingers crossed for me. 

I have got to get this knee back to "normal." 

Slow down...you are growing too fast!

It is hard to believe that our little baby girl is now 9 months old. 

This month has been the craziest in terms of her growth/developmental milestones. 

At nine months old, she has two teeth in the front. (So far she has handled teething like a champ--a teeny bit of crying, but it really hasn't slowed her down.)

She can wave. She loves to wave at herself (or the baby) in the mirror. She also likes to wave at random people she encounters and inanimate objects. 

She can go to a sitting up position from her belly. 

She can drink out of a straw. 

She has gone from an army crawl to a real crawl. 

Because of her crawling...nothing is safe. She loves the dog and his water bowl. She is constantly on the move. 

She can pull herself up using a little assistance. 

She does nap....typically two short naps and one long nap during the day. 

Sadly, she has been waking up about 2-3 times a night this month. We have been out of town for most of the month, so her sleep schedule has been off. She has been waking up in the middle of the night, she will sit up and then doesn't know how to lay back down. Then she starts crying. I usually go get her. I rock her and put her back to bed. 

I really don't know what is the answer to her sleeping issues, but I am pretty exhausted. We may try the cry it out bit, but we are also suckers for her crying.  

She is such a happy baby, we hate to have her cry. (Don't I sound like a first time mom?) 

Although I am tired, we are so amazed by these changes we see in our baby girl each day. 

Hard to believe in less than three months she will be a year old. 

Slow down baby. 

Learn to Grow...Getting my Master's Degree?

For a long time I had been debating...should I or shouldn't I get my Master's Degree?

In Texas it doesn't really seem to pay off for teachers...whereas in Michigan my mom made a lot more money having an advanced degree. 

But, on the other hand--if I want to get a promotion of some sort or work for a bigger organization/district in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math), it seems like I have to get my Master's. I have been talking about it and debating for almost a year. 

I love school. I love being in school. I love writing papers and since it's been over ten years since I have been in academia, I miss it a bit.  

After doing some research I found the University of Texas at Tyler has a STEM cognate with their Master's in Curriculum and Instruction. It is all online. It also appears that they are quite reasonable. I could get my Master's for less than $6500 as a Texas resident. So, if I decide to teach until I retire--it will only take me 6 years to move up the pay scale enough to pay off my Master's. 

Plus, I have actually been to UT Tyler. I have stayed in their dorms and eaten their dorm food. I lived on their campus for a month while I attended Project Lead the Way training. 

So, I took the plunge. I just applied. I am excited and a little nervous. I am fairly sure I will get in, but I am nervous about how I will be able to do all my mommy tasks and all my "me" tasks + work full time and teach 3 preps. 

I will be ok...right?