The Leichty Life

We had a rough weekend.  Jon decided to take Conner sledding on Saturday afternoon (which Conner was SO excited about), but soon after they started, Conner started throwing up.  And he kept throwing up for the next hour and a half.  It was awful.  Fortunately, he gave us enough warning that we were usually able to grab a bucket, but the poor guy was so scared – he just screamed and screamed and tried to push the bucket away.  It was rather traumatizing for all of us.  We are assuming that the fluid in his ears caused him to feel a little dizzy, but he may have had a bug, too.

He did okay the rest of Saturday evening and Sunday, but then this morning he started crying at 5:30.  Jon started to go in to his room to get him, but then paused at the door. “Oh boy…it really stinks in here…”  Sure enough, the poor boy was laying in poop that spread from his neck to his feet.  I walked in to see Jon holding Conner at arm’s length trying to figure out what to do.  We finally took him downstairs to give him a bath.  Let’s just say that he does not enjoy early morning bathing.  And neither do we.  I’m starting to lean toward it being a virus, but he’s been fine since then.  I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

In other news, I had my first pre-natal appointment today.  Unfortunately, it was still too early to hear the heartbeat, so they scheduled an ultrasound to verify the due date and to make sure everything looks okay.  It’s interesting to me how much more relaxed I am this time around.  If we hadn’t heard Conner’s heartbeat at this stage, I would have been a basket case, but I’m trusting that all is well and the heartbeat will be heard when it’s time to be heard.  I’m still feeling pretty rough, so the doc gave me a prescription for anti-nausea meds.  I don’t know if I’ll end up taking them or not, but Jon would really like me to.  I think he’s getting tired of late-night cheerio runs when I’m feeling like throwing up.  He’s been very patient with me, but a guy can only take so much before he snaps.  Especially when he also has to clean up poop at 5:30 in the morning.

We’re going to Michigan this weekend to spend some time with my dad.  We’re really looking forward to getting away and relaxing in the great town of Pigeon.  I love that place.

It’s true – we’re going to welcome another Leichty into our home some time in mid-September.  We’re excited, freaked out, anxious, thrilled and wondering how in the world we’ll go back to waking up every few hours during the night.  But, we survived it once and we’ll do it again!  So far, I’ve been feeling pretty rough, but I’m hoping that I’ll get back to normal in the next few weeks.  It didn’t help that Jon and I were both sick with sore throats/congestion, etc for a good two weeks.  It was a nasty bug and now Conner is dealing with it.  We took him to the doctor over the weekend because his fever was too high for my comfort (103) and it turns out he has an infection in both ears.  The poor guy has been miserable.  Fortunately, the antibiotics have kicked in and he’s slowly returning to his normal self.  Words can’t express how thankful I am for modern medicine, patient and grandfatherly doctors, the power of fluorescent pink Amoxicillin and the sound of little feet running once again.

I’m officially sick and tired of winter.  We have had so much snow over the last few weeks and I’m finding myself longing for spring like I’ve never longed for spring before.  I’m dreaming about gardens, flowers, birds and sunshine.  And walks in the park.

Conner has a new obsession: Fruit Loops.  He gets so excited when he sees the box come out of the cupboard.  He dances, claps, wrinkles his nose and laughs with anticipation.  Jon often has the same reaction.  They’re quite the pair.  Contrary to what many of you may think after watching Jon pull Conner on the sled, he is also obsessed with sledding.  He has often been known to bring me his mittens and gloves hoping that I’ll take him sledding.  Unfortunately, I leave the sled-pulling to his father.  I’ve never been an avid outdoorswoman (shocking, I know) and sledding is no exception.  I hate it.  But, I do enjoy watching father and son playing outside from my living room window.

You’d think that after my many weeks of silence, I’d have lots to say.  But, between our sicknesses and my almost constant nausea, things have been pretty low-key around here.  Thanks for checking in on our lives.  I’ll try to keep you all posted if something exciting happens…other than Fruit Loops, of course.

My nieces stayed the night at our house while Conrad and Vicki were on a 24-hour retreat.  We made pizza, had a picnic in our living room and enjoyed some wonderful conversation.  Here’s a sample:

Lydia:  “Aunt Kimmie, if you could be any wild animal, what would you be?”

Me: “Hmmm…that’s a good question.  Let me think a minute…”

Bryn: “I know what I’d be!  I’d be a lion – a male lion.  Male lions don’t do as much as the females…”

Lydia:  “Yeah!  The male lions lay around all day while the female lions go hunting.”

I said I’d be a monkey so I can swing from trees all day, but somehow that couldn’t quite top what they had said.  You’re doing well,Vicki.  Very well.

Ellie:  “Hey Aunt Kimmie!  I pooped!  Wanna see it?”  I think I’m going to give Conrad the credit for that one.

Okay, so there are many things about life that I don’t understand, but today I would like to focus on the things about middle school that I don’t understand.  (Can you tell that I’m subbing for a 6th grade science teacher today?  I’m typing this during my “planning period.”)

1.)Why is every Latino child named either Juan or Maria in spelling bee sentences?

2.) Why do science teachers think it is important to have guinea pigs in their classroom?  I have one known allergy in this world and it happens to be to guinea pigs.  I’m high on Sudafed as we speak.

3.) What is it about really sweet and kind 6th graders that gets me all weepy?

4.)  Why can’t kids understand the importance of personal hygiene before starting 6th grade?

5.) What’s with all of the really cute boots?

6.) Why is randomness so funny?  “Hey Mrs. Leichty – I can breakdance!”  Awesome.  I didn’t ask, but I was very curious…

7.)  Can someone please explain “Homeroom” to me?  Every school I’ve been to (including the one I graduated from) has a different idea of what  Homeroom is.  I just don’t understand and that has led to MUCH confusion and MANY looks from students who are doubting my intelligence.

On the flip side, I think I can now explain the difference between a chemical reaction and a physical reaction.  I think.  Don’t quiz me.

It’s been approximately 343 years since my last post (or close to a month) and since so many things have happened in the last month, I shall resort to bullet points.

• I subbed for a junior high health and physical education teacher a few days after my last post.  For those of you who know me well, you can understand how that could have been a little intimidating for me.  Fortunately, my only gym time was during lunch and I simply had to keep kids from killing each other with basketballs.  Everyone survived.
• Conner is running around the house like an Olympian these days. He swings his arms like a cartoon character to get started, but once he’s moving, he’s a flash of lightening.
• His vocabulary now includes “what’s this?, dog, duck, ball, off” (which actually sounds like ots since his top teeth aren’t in yet), “on, mama, daddy, Nana” (which also works for banana), “moo, hee-haw and bow wow” (this is what a cow, donkey and dog sound like in case there was any confusion).  Oh, and he’s beginning to tell me “stop!”  Not too sure how I feel about that.
• We had a great Christmas with my dad in Frankenmuth, MI at Splash Village.  Conner was terrified of the screaming and waterfalls, but he survived without too much emotional trauma.  We had a wonderful time and I was once again reminded of how thankful I am that I married a big kid at heart…he took my nieces and nephews down the big water slides time after time.  They all knew to ask him and not me.
• A few days before Christmas our dear friend, Matt, came to visit.  He and Conner bonded immediately and we were so happy to have him here.  We took him to Jake and Grace’s one evening and we walked to our local chocolate shop one afternoon, but other than that we stayed home an enjoyed one another’s company.  Conner, Jon and I were all very sad to see him go, but we look forward to visiting with him again some time soon.  Matt is someone we will never lose touch with.
• We enjoyed Christmas Day/Weekend with the Leichty and Neer sides.  It was nice not to travel over the Christmas weekend.  This was the first time in a long time that we were able to join the Neer get-together and it was fun to reconnect with Jon’s aunts, uncles and cousins.  And the food was ridiculous.  I ate more in that weekend than in the previous two weeks.  And I loved every bite.
• We were in Goshen last weekend for our Christmas with my mom.  Once again, it was a great time with good food and hilarious family members.  I have a crazy family, but we laugh a lot…mostly at my brother, Chad.
• While in Goshen, we shopped for a new bedroom set.  I think we found one we like and it’s possible that my mom and her friend, Bill, will bring it out to us if we purchase it.  I would love to paint our bedroom and actually have furniture that matches.  Anyone want to come paint?
• I have tried a few new recipes over the last few days that I’ve been really happy about. I think I FINALLY found a granola recipe that I can stick with.  It’s delicious, easy and halfway healthy.  I also made Peppercorn Cheese bread, a cinnamon roll wreath and baked fish with wilted spinach (tasted much better than it sounds).
• We all remained fairly healthy through the month of December.  We are officially “immune” to H1N1 thanks to the vaccine and I’m thankful to report that there were no major side effects in spite of my  personal anxiety.  We’re still walking and talking normally.
• Today we’re getting a “huge storm”…probably up to 8 inches of snow.  Seems to me that Ohioans get a little worked up about their snow just like Virginians do.  I’m supposed to sub at a junior high tomorrow, but it looks like I may get to experience a snow day.  It’ll still be just as thrilling for me tomorrow as it was when I was still in school.
• I would just like to announce that I haven’t left my house for more than a mail run since Monday morning.  Does that make me lazy, crazy or just a homebody?  It’s not clear from where I stand.

So, that’s the word on the Leichty street.  We hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday season and that you all are looking ahead to an exciting 2010!

I was the substitute teacher for a 6th grade social studies class today.  I have never worked with junior high students before, so I wasn’t too sure what to expect this morning when the tardy bell rang at 7:20 (is that not brutally early?).  I am pleased to say that the day went smoothly and I will gladly fill in for a junior high teacher again some time.  There were only a few challenging students, but they responded better to to my looks of warning than I expected and I didn’t have to warn anyone more than once.

I found myself thoroughly enjoying observing the kids throughout my day.  Here is a brief glimpse into some of the conversations I overheard today (keep in mind that these were a bunch of random lines I heard – they weren’t all part of the same conversation).

Student 1: “Let’s have a heart drawing contest!”  Student 2: “Seriously?”

“So what?  If he’s gay, he’s gay.”

“If you touch my stomach one more time, I will seriously kick you under the table.”

“Jacob, stop!  You do not have an accent.”

“We were stressed, she was stressed, but then we talked until, like, 5:00 in the morning working it out and then we had to get up early for basketball practice.”

“Why are you guys talking about church?  I don’t go to church.”

“Mrs. Leichty, he’s touching my hand!”

“Oh. My. God.”

Student 1: “No really – the name Jacob is better because it’s in the Bible.” Student 2: “How do you know?” Student 1: “Because I’ve read the Bible.”

“My bad, dude.”

“What does that say? Chicago?”  (as he was looking at a giant map of Asia…)

Ah, junior high.  It was good to be back.