The last 3 months and the next two (by Jenny)

I apologize for taking so long to finish writing about my Venezuela trip. I don't mean this as a pity party or as an excuse, (Well, maybe I do kind of mean it as an excuse!), but I think a brief over-view of the last 3 months might be helpful to catch you all up on what's been going on in our lives, and why it's been so difficult for me to get time to write.

• January 2nd - Alexina was diagnosed with bronchitis while we were in Montana
• January 5th - we got stuck in Denver for a day when our flight to SF was canceled
• Rest of January - Alexina was in and out of school since she couldn't quite get over her cough after having bronchitis I was working on filling out both the InnerChange application and the school district application to be a sub, both of which are very involved.
• February 7-15th - I was in Venezuela - Tim was home with the kids - Alexina was home all week with stomach flu.
• February 17th - Alexina's teacher was put on bed rest in the hospital at 28 weeks of pregnancy. (40 weeks is full term. She was in the hospital until the baby was born at 32.5 weeks. He's doing fine, but she's out for the rest of the year.) By coincidence??? I was getting my fingerprints done to work as a sub in the same hour she was getting rushed to the hospital.
• February 19th - Alexina's 7th birthday party sleep-over Anne of Green Gables bash. (Yes, we did it on a school night - they stayed home the next day - we didn't have an open week-end night for a month and she really wanted a sleep over.)

• February 24th - my fingerprints cleared and after many hours of phone calls, I got my pin number so I could start subbing in Alexina's class to replace the semi-competent non Spanish speaking sub they'd been having. I subbed 12 of the next 20 school days in Alexina's class while juggling my Tuesday literacy class I've been teaching for years and John David's half-day pre-school schedule.

• February 26th - took JD in for a check-up and shots, but they couldn't give them to him because he had a fever.

• March 23rd - I took JD to urgent care with an eye infection.

• March 25th-29th - We had a wonderful vacation in Napa with the Rundle family (a family from the InnerChange LA team). While we were there, Alexina and the Rundle's daughter Zoe both had terrible allergies, which for Alexina means a cough.

• March 31st - Alexina's cough didn't get any better when we got home, and it was joined by a fever, so I took her to urgent care where they diagnosed her with pneumonia. Her fever's been up and down all week, but finally seems to be gone. Now she just has the cough which they say could last 3-4 weeks!

• April 6th-10th It's Spring break this week! Which is wonderful, but between our Napa trip, Alexina's pneumonia, and Spring break, I'll have had 2 1/2 weeks with out almost any kid-free time. Today Tim's taking the day off work to give me a break.

• April 15th - We found someone for me to job share with, so starting the 15th, I'll be teaching Alexina's class every morning and another teacher will be doing the afternoons. We'll do that for the last 8 weeks of the school year, finishing June 9th.

Ok, enough of the pity party! The wonderful thing is that we have so much help from our church that I've been able to keep subbing and stay sane through most of these illnesses, and none of them have been serious. It's worked out really well to be able to work half days for the end of the school year, and a woman in our church will be taking over my literacy class. Also, my mother-in-law will be coming down for a week and 1/2 to help with the kids while I'm working and Tim's gone to Venezuela. (He'll be in Venezuela April 18th - 30th.)