The Latta Family

When they were infants it was so hard.  We were so overwhelmed.  If we held them too much, they'd be spoiled.  If they slept in their crib- they'd feel abandoned.  But if they slept in our bed- we could roll over and squish them.  Or what if they never learned to self soothe.  You think when they're older it's gonna be so much easier.  It's not.  It's different and still hard.  Alexa has been really struggling to manage her emotions lately.  It's been driving me nuts because I know there's a reason for the emotions, but I haven't been able to figure out what.  Alexa talks constantly, but she rarely says things that are indicative of what's actually going on.  I have to listen carefully for patterns in her topics.  It can literally take weeks to finally figure out what is up.  Thankfully I made a change to her bedtime routine which led to some meaningful discussions and finally, finally, finally I figured out what's ...

Today is mine  and Doug's anniversary.  We've been married 18 years.  I thought it would be fun to do a list of random memories from our 18 years.  I asked Doug to contribute.  He said, "That's dumb (except he used words that aren't family friendly, so I censored him).  Well Doug- now my memories will not be so Doug positive.  I'll bet by the time this list is finished, you'll wish you would have participated.  I don't get mad.  I get even.  1. I think in 2003 or 2004 we decided to paint the exterior of our house over Spring Break.  I'd never worked so hard in my life (not even the time we put in a 50 foot long rock bed, and we had to haul at least of a ton of rocks in the wheel barrow from the driveway to the back, in July, in North Carolina). I was physically exhausted.  Actually doing the job wasn't awful, we had good food.  We enjoyed our time together.  We worked well together.  But my body was so tired by...

For my birthday I asked for a FitBit.  I had done some research and determined that it was the best for my needs, intentions, and price range.  I have suspected for awhile that I actually move a lot less than I assumed.  I was/am correct.  Some of you are saying, "How can that be?!  You're a teacher!"  It's actually not that hard to sit a lot.  #1 the classrooms are a tad crowded, and it's hard to get into the rows and help kids without my rear-end being in another kid's face.  Or I squat next to them, but getting up is a challenge and I groan because I'm an old fart.  I usually make kids come to me- we can sit in desks next to each other  where I can concentrate better on what they're asking me, as opposed to being in the rows where I am inevitably distracted by someone.  #2- having computers with slide shows, or some other type of presentation on them- makes it hard to move too far away from the keyboard, where I have to hit a but...