Occupational Wellness

I am not a teacher but I am blessed to be able to work in the schools as a speech language pathologist. I am itinerant and work in three different schools: a private classical school, a preschool-6th grade elementary school, and a residential psychiatric treatment facility.

 I am currently working on a college class for my job about finding balance between work and the rest of my life. One of the course assignments is to create a blog to help others working in education to find balance in their lives.

Teaching is in the top ten of the most stressful jobs. Working with trauma, class size, heavy workload, challenging relationships with other teachers, administrators, students or families all impact a teacher's stress level. We all know that chronic stress causes health problems. Stress can negatively impact the climate of our homes and classrooms as well as the qualities of our friendships. It is important that we take care of our bodies, try to keep our classrooms or offices tidy and pleasing for our students but also for our own enjoyment (for example, if you like the sound of water you may want a small water fountain in your room), and find ways to increase your joy outside of school. Some ideas might be listening to comedians (as we all know laughter is good for your soul!), going for hikes, going out for coffee or grabbing a bite to eat with a friend, reading a book, taking time to get away and pray or journal your thoughts.

Today I got to read a book called "The Well-Balanced Teacher" by Mike Anderson. Mike talked about making sure we meet our basic needs such as nutrition, hydration, exercise, sleep and getting emotionally and spiritually refreshed. We all know that these things are important but when we feel stressed we need to examine our life and make sure we are doing what our mind and body need. The other day my youngest had woken me up three times in the night. I was sleep deprived and was very grumpy trying to get my two oldest out the door to school. On the drive, I had to apologize to my oldest girls for snapping at them. Sleep deprivation can impact our whole day and all of our interactions with our family, students and colleagues. Some of us might need to try and set a strict schedule that allows time for exercise, devotions and sleep. We may say these things are important but if we are not doing them and allowing other things to creep into our schedule it shows what our true priorities are.

Finding a good balance isn't just about things away from school. Obviously eating healthy needs to carry over into your school day. Take snacks to school that are healthy and try to minimize taking junk food....it will just tempt you in the late afternoon when you are hungry. If you don't have it, then you can't eat it! Another area that needs to be important in your school day is building positive relationships with the staff in your school. I will be the first to admit that I eat at my desk most days. I have so much to get done that I try to squeeze in more while I grab a quick bite to eat before I dash off to another building to see more students. I apologize up front to my peers at my primary building! I do recognize that having at least one colleague with whom you can connect positively can make other challenges that arise in the school seem easier to deal with. Taking time to eat even just once a week with another colleague can brighten your week and maybe their week as well! Make time to talk to your peers. We have lots of work to get done which can be overwhelming BUT life is better with FUN! So make sure you laugh with your colleagues some too.

There are times that we just have to say no. A teacher's school day extends way past the 8-4. Besides IEP paperwork (for special education staff) and grading/planning, there are lots of committees, service opportunities with PTA, booster clubs, school fun nights, and extra curricular events (e.g., band, drama/debate, sporting events) where teachers are asked to give of their time. There are times when you have to admit that you have limits. When you take care of yourself, you are less likely to burn out.

Lastly, I want to say thank you to all the teachers and speech language pathologists out here who might be reading this. What you do is very important. There are very few thank yous but remember to enjoy the little things like when a student's eyes light up from learning something new or a simple smile that is offered when you have helped a student with something or even when you pass them in the hallway. When we focus on simple joys we can flood our lives with gratitude. We can't look to others for affirmation for all of our hard work, we need to be confident that we are effective at our jobs and just do the best we can do.

Weekend away

I am so thankful to have this weekend away. I have gotten to scrapbook, watch movies and go for strolls in a small town (feels like I have gone back to my roots!). I have gotten to laugh and cry with my girlfriends. I am so incredibly thankful for the blessing of these wonderful girlfriends that I just had to blog about it. Count your blessings! Make sure you share the wonderful moments of life with others.

pics

I am not a very organized Mom of two. I was great at sharing pics when I had one child but now that I have two, well I share them but it takes me several months but hey, I figure at least I am taking them so my kids can see themselves later! Lauren turned one the end of January. We had some pictures taken that day and some several months later of both the girls and Levi. Levi won a saddle the other day and standing with tradition it went on the quilt rack for a while. Jocelyn got her picture taken with it when she saw it the next morning.

Merry CHRISTmas!

Merry Christmas from the Taylor family! We have had an eventful year. The birth of our second daughter Lauren last January has kept us busy. Jocelyn has been a great big sister and is very helpful. Things are getting more interesting though as Lauren starts to crawl. Lets just say Jocelyn's patience has been tried!

Levi went antelope hunting in Wyoming and also got a big buck this year (that will be his third deer to get mounted). They are however banished to the basement! Levi went to Nationals again this year. It was a fun trip to Oklahoma City and a bonus for me was that I got to see one of my best friends from high school.

We have had some dear friends from Nebraska move closer to us and are very excited about that. They are adjusting to being Kansans!

My brother and his wife are expecting a baby girl in early January. We are excited to have another niece. We will have two nieces and one nephew after this baby is born.

My family is going through a difficult time this year though as my cousin, Tysen, who is in his mid-thirties, was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor. We have seen some amazing support in our hometown as they raised an amazing amount of money for Tysen at a benefit. We are very thankful for the amazing community of Nortonville!

We hope that you have an amazing Christmas with your family and that you experience the peace of Christ this Christmas.

In His Love,

The Taylors

Dave Ramsey tools

I have had several people asking me about budgeting lately. It is one of my favorite topics! I found some tools I could link to my blog. They are at the bottom. Please check them out :)

Our rough day

Jocelyn and I were calling Grammie today and I was allowing Jocelyn to hold the phone to her ear and that is when I noticed a tick attached inside the top of her ear. I HATE TICKS!!!!! I freaked out and asked Grammie (a nurse) what I should do. She said to put oil on it so that the tick couldn't breathe and might let go. After having Jocelyn lay her head on the kitchen table for about 5 minutes and no luck I called Jill (another nurse) and she suggested pulling it out with tweasers. After 3 attempts at that I loaded my crying two year old and my crying (hungry) 2 month old into the car and drove to Daddy who solved the problem! Thank goodness for Daddy! Then Jill (who stopped by Daddy's work to see if we needed help) and I went out for fru-fru drinks to calm my nerves! Thank goodness for friends! I admire all of you that have dealt with ticks on your own...this is just another example of my weak stomach and the fact that I am NOT a country girl!

Potty Training

Potty training is certainly an adventure. I never thought the words "Poop Party" would come out of my mouth together but when you are trying to convince an independent 2 year old that she needs to start going on the toilet you have to come up with some interesting incentives. :) Yesterday was a break through day for us. Jocee wore panties all day long and went on the toilet the whole day! My favorite quote is: "Don't get in here Mom. Cause I need space. I need space Mom." She is definitely independent and has been going sporadically on the toilet for a long time but it has always had to be her idea to go.
The potty trained child will be a different experience for me. I can already tell that my independence will be more limited at times like when I was garage saling with the girls last week and we had to rush to Daddy's office so Jocelyn could go potty. Or when we went 2 1/2 miles from the house to watch Daddy rope and I had to tote a potty chair along with us and yes, she did need it. I just hope that I can remember to take it with us when we might need it! To a new stage in life, at least for one of our kids! We are far from being finished with the diaper stage right now but are looking forward to only buying diapers for one child! :)

Lauren's one month pictures

My friend Dana took some awesome pics of our precious

little girl. :)

Jocelyn

Recent conversation with Jocelyn:

"You potty trained Daddy?" asked Jocelyn
"yes, Why aren't you?" asked Daddy
"because I don't want to!" was her reply

Hope that desire kicks in soon! She is definitely smart enough! Today she said that she shouldn't have to take a nap because it was "too late to take a nap" and it was an appropriate comment as we were late getting home from church and were trying to put her down at 2 pm!

KIDS! Gotta love em!

Captured a smile!

Mommy's grammar lesson

The other day I said, "Jocelyn Could you take this to the trash for mommy?" She responded, "I can, but I'm tired." Nothing like getting a grammar lesson from a two year old.

a few more pics of Lauren

Welcoming Lauren Grace Taylor

Make a Smilebox free scrapbook design

We are settling into life with two daughters! We love it. I can't wait to see the sister connection develop further. Jocelyn loves her sister. She is a good helper for mom most of the time too. Lauren is a good baby. She is eating well, sleeping 4-5 hour stretches at night and is usually a very content and happy baby. She will be one month old on Friday! She is starting to track things and also turning to look when she hears a voice or noise. Hopefully I will be able to post more pictures soon but I will admit, I am spending alot of time cuddling with Lauren :)

Merry Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas from the Taylor Family!
We hope 2009 was a wonderful year for you! We have done some new things this year: home remodeling, starting a bible study group in our home, landscaping our yard, and Levi went antelope hunting for the first time. We recently got the antelope mount back from the taxidermist and will soon have a mule deer mount to add to the collection! We also became an aunt and uncle twice this year!
We are expecting Baby #2, in case you haven’t heard. Our due date is Feb 2nd but I started having close contractions at 33 weeks. Please keep us in your prayers that Baby Taylor would stay in as long as God needs him or her to! We will be spending Christmas at home this year and are thankful to have such wonderful and supportive families that are bringing Christmas to us!

Jocelyn is doing well. She is talking up a storm and absorbing EVERYTHING! I am amazed at the sentences she is creating! Jocelyn loves to ride horses with Levi and watch coyote hunting. At her 2 year check-up she called a barely recognizable cat an antelope (which was soon after Levi’s antelope hunt)! She will know her animals, well at least those that Daddy hunts! Things are a little tamer with Mommy she likes to read books, sing songs (especially The B-I-B-L-E and Away in a Manger), and play hide and go seek.

We hope you have a wonderful time celebrating Christ’s birth this Christmas! May God bless you and your family!
Love,
Levi, Julie, Jocelyn and Baby Taylor

Jocelyn is beginning to talk alot and I LOVE it! Just last week she was outside with daddy and she was hunting for rabbits. When she came in she said "I play in the grass to find a rabbit." She has been alittle focused on rabbits since one fell into our new egress window well (We need to make a cover for it). We went out and tried to show empathy on this little bunny. Levi scooped the rabbit up with a shovel and dumped him out on the ground. Instead of running the bunny rabbit scooted off as quickly as it could. We hadn't thought about the rabbit having broken legs. So then we had to explain to Jocelyn that the rabbit was hurt and Daddy had to shoot it. She is now telling people how Daddy scooped the rabbit up with a shovel and then shot it!

We have also been working on potty training. Not very seriously but we talk about it and try to say things to encourage her to think about using the potty. She is showing more awareness of her bodily functions and sometimes asks to see the dirty diaper. We of course tell her no but one day I had the bright idea to tell her, "You could see your poop in the toilet before you flush..." Well, she hasn't chosen to go on the potty yet but she is listening because last week at daycare she told her doll: "You can see your poop in the toilet" as she was pretending to change the doll's diaper! She also has said "Oh goodness, you pooped again!" to her doll at daycare. That one must come from Vivian since I don't say Oh, goodness! It may start creeping into my vocabulary though as Jocelyn has brought that phrase home and it is sooo cute! :)

Two year pictures

My Little Cowgirl!

I had my friend Dana take Jocelyn's two year pictures and thought I would share a few. They turned out really cute!

Jocelyn has started asking questions. It is fun (at least at the beginning!). The first question was: "whatcha doing?" then "why?" and this morning we went downstairs to play with her toys. She had a baby gym that then changed into a tunnel. Last night I changed it back to the baby gym for the neighbor's family after she went to bed and this morning she said "What happened?!"

We are also experiencing the joy of getting the 2 year old molars. No potty training yet though! She turns 2 in 14 days!

lunch with daddy

We took Levi lunch today at work. After we were done eating Jocelyn crawled up on the patient's exam table and laid back then lifted her shirt and said "baby". She wanted Levi to look at the baby in her tummy! Kids are sooo funny! We did peek at the baby in Mommy's tummy again...it is so fun to see him or her grow and move!

I had my 13 week doctor's appointment today and everything is going well. I got to hear the baby's heartbeat again. It was 165 this time. Does anyone know if that is high or low for the old wives tale of guessing the baby's sex?

A Sonographers Wife

There are a lot of wonderful benefits to being married to my husband but one of which is the fact that we can peek at our baby more frequently than most people can. We got to do that last week during week 12. I had Jocelyn sitting on my legs facing the screen while Levi took the ultrasound. It lasted about 5 minutes which is a long time in a toddler's mind but Jocelyn did great. She talked about seeing the baby and I think has a better understanding that Mommy really does have a baby in her tummy and that Daddy has a special camera so we can see the baby in Mommy's tummy. She got to see her brother or sister wave his/her hand and open his/her mouth and kick his or her legs. It was alot of fun to see that through a toddler's eyes.
God is definitely preparing her to become a big sister. She loves the newborn baby at church and wants to hold him. She is becoming quite attached to her dolls and feeding them bottles. At the zoo today she wanted to push the stroller of a friend's child. She will be a great big sister, maybe alittle bossy but I think that comes with the job description! :)

Our 7th Anniversary trip

Levi and I are planning our 7th Anniversary trip to Colorado Springs. I am very excited about getting away on a vacation. We haven't taken a vacation for 3 years when we traveled to a friend's wedding in Arkansas and went to Nashville, TN (Happy upcoming anniversary Courtney and Brandon). My wonderful mother-in-law suggested she take off work and watch Jocelyn so we could get away for our anniversary. Of course we thought that was a great idea! We are now beginning to realize this is our time of freedom before we have another newborn and the demands of breast feeding kick in.

I booked a hotel room for the first night (bummer I can't use the hot tub!) and then a bed and breakfast for the following 3 nights. I am excited about trying a bed and breakfast but alittle nervous at the same time as it is definitely more personal than a hotel. In my search I discovered not all have private bathrooms...yikes! In the world of master baths, I was really not comfortable sharing a bathroom with total strangers. Rest assured we found one with a private bath. We are planning on visiting the Royal Gorge, the Focus on the Family campus, Seven Falls and a ranch that has a barbeque/show each evening in the summer. I am looking forward to taking it easy. Hoping we can sleep past our 6:30 am usual wake up call, catch up on some reading while we drive and RELAX!

Colorado Here We Come!