Insomia

Alright, it's going on three days now where I've gotten an attack of insomnia in the wee hours of the morning. I even gave up trying to sleep on night between the hours of 2 and 4am. Couldn't stop dreaming about work stuff and it was driving me crazy. I've been dealing with a lot of anxiety surrounding upcoming parent conferences at work. It's my first time planning them and it doesn't help that I've had to revamp many of my grading practices. Teaching definitely takes time to learn and I'm learning to accept the fact that I won't be able master everything right off the bat. I am trying my best not to get to down on myself when I make mistakes, however it is a frustrating process to go through. I want feel prepared for when the conferences start on Wednesday, but it's gonna be a painfully long road until that time arrives.

Things are getting better every week however. The lightbulb shines a little bit brighter with each new discovery. Ever the student am I. People look at teachers and assume that all they do is teach the lesson and grade a few papers. I used to be one of those people. However, I have quickly learned just how many tiny details go into making an effective classroom and teacher. My classroom neighbor is a third-year teacher and she confided in me the other day that she is still figuring some things out. I complimented her on how organized she seemed and how nice her classroom looked, she replied that she keeps the flaws well-hidden but they are there. She also said that it's taken her a long time to get used to juggling all the balls in the air, but she is getting there. I am taking that advice to heart and hoping for a restful night's sleep for once.

Warning: Graphic...

On another note, Kirsten came down with the sniffles this week among other things. Her nose had gotten crusty and gross after a couple of days. She was getting a few little red spots on her face that looked like pimples. Nicky had gotten a milder version earlier in the week, but his seemed to be clearing up. I thought the red dots were unusual, but just assumed they had eaten too much sugar. Then Kirsten began complaining that her foot toe hurt. We just assumed she meant she had stuffed it. After removing her sock, I noticed she had a bad infection on her big toe. We put some Neosporin and kept it clean, but it kept getting worse.

Luckily, the kids and I had Friday off and so I took them to the doctor. Turns out Kirsten has impetigo on her nose and a staph infection on her toe. We caught it before it got too bad. The doctor gave her some cream and antibiotics to fight off the infections. Poor little thing, but she's been a trooper. Nicky is pretty uch healed. I've been diligent with her medicine and she's been so good about following directions for the most part. Between her ailments, the house being a wreck, getting behind on grading papers, and stressing about conferences...I now understand the source of my insomnia. It's just plain o'l stress. Kirsten is now on the mend, I'm catching up on work stuff, and trying to relax and enjoy things more. Guess I just have to accept that some days will be stressful no matter what, but learning to handle things with a positive outlook helps the stress roll off my back a little easier.