Four stages of missing your baby while on vacation

This weekend the hubby and I travelled to Puerto Vallarta. We were celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary and it was our first time we left the baby (who is now 20 months). I feel like I did surprisingly well as I said goodbye to her. I only lingered for a few minutes to catch that baby smell. Moms, you know what I am talking about.

We had a great few days in the sun and sand.

For moms who are leaving their kids for the first time, I have decided the vacation excitement has peaks and valleys and can be divided into four levels.

Level One-before you leave--Stress and Excitement of what's to come. You are stressed and excited. You need this vacation. You may not sleep the night before, or you may need a little Tylenol pm to help.

Level Two-Annoyance and Tears--Once you arrive at your destination--You may already be annoyed with your husband. You have looked at pictures/videos of your baby. Maybe you have even shed a few tears? You are looking forward to your vacation but need something to do to forget about being a mom.

Level Three-Panic--Does my baby know I an actually coming home again? Does she think I moved away and forgot her? You seek reassurance from your husband.

Level Four--Reality--your vacation is ending. You have missed your baby so much and now your vacation is over.

Armed with souvenirs for the little one, have one last drink and head home.

Your baby will be in your arms in a few hours.

(Any grammatical errors can be attributed to my Miami Vice and the internet in Mexico.)

An open letter to my students: a huge thank you!

Dear students of Lab 199, 

Thank you so much for making this year so great. (Sans one class from time to time.) This year was hands down my favorite. Maybe it was because I wasn't out for maternity leave? Maybe it was because I love our STEM content and it just gets easier each year as we grow our programs? 

I loved that I got to have you in my class two years in a row. Getting to watch my 6th graders turn into 7th and now 8th graders--has been completely rewarding. I can see how much you have grown and how much you have learned about STEM. I enjoy watching you create projects and seeing them through to the end. I even enjoy watching you struggle and work through your trials.

Thank you for taking my class.  I feel like it is a huge compliment to me that you picked to stay with me for multiple years. Sometimes I feel like your mother--sometimes you even call me "mom." I don't mind. 

I hope you have an amazing summer. Even if you don't take my third year (or second year) class, please stop by and say hello. Otherwise, I will see you at your games, concerts, fundraisers, etc. 

See you soon, 

Mrs. Campbell

Are we really going to be homeless?

On May 2nd we decided to put our house up for sale. We found a house about 12 miles south of us and we signed the paperwork in April. We were hoping to sell our house by the end of June as houses on the market were lasting about 60 days.


That week, I came home from work and a huge news station truck was parked in front of our house.
I thought they were doing a story about the weather and just happened to be in our neighborhood, but no--they were doing a story on the housing shortage in San Marcos.


http://www.kvue.com/news/local/San-Marcos-home-sales-booming-258546861.html


One week after putting our house on the market--only two showings later, we got a call from our realtor. There was an offer on our house! It was what we wanted, so we accepted. We have to be out of our house by June 13th.


Our new house won't be done until the middle of September at the earliest. So, we will be homeless until then. My parents have said we could move in with them. I am thankful that they are around and offered to let us stay with them.


Its a little bittersweet to look around this current house--especially knowing we will be moving soon. I loved it here, we met some great neighbors who watched out for us. It was our first house in Texas. It was the house that we brought our little girl home to.


I hope that the new people will love this house as much as we did. I know they have a little girl about our daughters age, so I bet that their little one will love playing the in backyard as much as our daughter does.


In the meantime I will be packing boxes and getting ready to move in with my parents...

Accepting a new job? Advice from my dad

It's that time of year….as the school year ends, some teachers are looking to move up and into different positions. My dad is a wonderful, successful businessman and he has some great advice for anyone looking to accept a new job.

He always tells me, "Never stay in a job for five years that you could learn in two."

The advice below is for someone not seeking an entry level job. I have found that entry level jobs don't have as much room for negotiation. (Dad would disagree.)

Advice from my dad about accepting a new job:

1. If your potential employer makes you an offer--don't accept right away. Let them know you need to think about it…try to get a few days to mull it over.

2. Things like time off, flex time (if you work more than 40 hours), working from home, mileage--they are all negotiable. Don't be afraid to ask.

3. When they ask you how much you are looking for as far as compensation, do NOT state the amount. State a range. It is ok to say, "I would like to be fairly compensated for the job given my skill set."

So, whatever your skill set may be--I wish you good luck if you are looking for a new job.

It's time for this Mama to get in shape

During spring break I decided it was time.

Time to lose the baby weight.

Granted she's 17 months old.

So I thought back to the last time I was skinny. How did I do it? What kind of exercise did I do? How did I eat?

Well, 5 years ago I lived in Austin. I had a membership at Gold's Gym. I actually started taking a spinning class. It was great exercise. I even convinced my sister to join--we got skinny together. We spun 4 days a week--Saturdays we would always go out for a huge carb laiden breakfast after class.

Aside from the carbs, I was also a Weight Watchers member. I lost 30 pounds in a summer.

So, after seeing my reflection in a window at a children's museum during spring break, I decided it was time to do something for myself.

I found a gym close by. They have spinning classes during the week. They also have childcare. (She has been once and really liked it...she could throw rocks outside...what's not to like?)

This morning I set my alarm for 4:45. I went to the gym and got an hour spin class in. It's been almost  two solid weeks. I am to the point I can ride and my butt is almost used to the uncomfortable seat.

I will get there.

I have to. My favorite pair of jeans split this evening. It wasn't from eating sugar-free jell-o.

Parents, Don't be afraid of math

I'm not good at math. 

I hope you got your Dad's math skills. 

He is just not good at ___________. Should he sign up for your class? 

Kids can't do this kind of stuff. 

The first two statements, I will admit I am guilty of uttering. For years, I have told myself and even my students that I am not good at math. The truth is, I am good at math. I can do enough math to get by. I also know how to find the answer if I need to. I just don't have confidence in my math abilities and I had also been told at a young age (by a teacher) that I was not good at math. 

The last two statements I hear every year as I begin "recruiting"our upcoming 6th graders in our STEM classes. 

I have come to the conclusion that parents and teachers are big factors in a child's future decision of whether they will major in a STEM field/take STEM classes even as early as elementary school. 

I truly have not met a kid who isn't good at STEM. Every child has a natural instinct to inquire. They also are very good at cause and effect. If I do this, then this will happen. Sometimes the results are good and sometimes the results are bad. I see this even with my 17 month old daughter. 

Getting back to the math thing. How many moms truly think they are good at math? Is it a mom thing? Is it a female thing? Are women just not supposed to be good at math? I know my mom also has told me that she is not good at math. 

I am stopping this vicious cycle here and now. 

I won't let my daughter be afraid of math. I won't let her be afraid to fail. Females typically drop out of STEM fields because they are afraid of getting low grades or they perceive the STEM classes as hard. 

My daughter and I--we will start with simple tasks, I can't wait to buy her some Goldieblox and I have been thinking of some ways to incorporate STEM into our daily activities. She already loves Technology, and I think Math is the easy part since she is so little. We can count things and add and subtract them. 

We will scaffold to harder projects over time. Sometimes our projects won't work.

STEM is hard, but the results at the end of the day--you know things like solving world hunger, crime, water issues, etc--mean more than a failing grade, or hurt feelings. Our kids need to know that engineers are super heroes--they can solve all kinds of problems. 

I know that my hubby and I have had the conversation many times--our lives would have been drastically different if we had some sort of STEM class in high school. The only jobs we saw were in journalism or teaching or working at General Motors. We didn't know any engineers and our teachers, counselors or parents didn't encourage us to go in that direction. 

So, parents please do your kids a favor. Encourage them to keep going when things get tough. Don't be afraid to fail and don't be afraid of math. 

TX PLTW Conference just in time...

For the last two days I have been able to attend the Texas Project Lead the Way (PLTW) conference.

It was in Rockwall, Texas--on a lake just outside of Dallas. It was a wonderful setting and it was a great time for me as I got to hang out with one of my "old" friends that I met at a PLTW training 3 years ago.

The timing of the conference was perfect for several reasons.

One, I am not going to lie--I am ready for spring break, but it's now 8 days away. Only 8 days--so this conference helped break up the long wait until spring break. Plus I got to miss one day of benchmark testing, and that was an added bonus.

Two, tomorrow we are greeting our new 5th graders--who are soon to be 6th graders. I get to talk to them about our Gateway to Technology program (part of PLTW's curriculum). This conference helps to get me excited about the upcoming year--with new program updates, technology ideas, etc.

In my perfect world, I would have a girls only GTT class. Another one of my friends, actually presented at the conference and she talked about how to get girls to sign up and keep them interested in STEM fields.  I was really happy to see that one of the videos she used was one I had posted to Facebook about "Engineers as Superheros."

I am also really excited about PLTW's newest venture--creating a STEM program for elementary age  kids--it's called PLTW Launch. I hate to wish time away, and I know she's only 16 months old, but when my daughter starts school, I really hope that she can be in a school that has has this Launch program.

It's an exciting time to be part of the PLTW network.

And, with only 8 days until spring break--I can totally do this!