This post is from from my other blog here

Sorry it's taken so long! Zaeden has had every kind of sickness and we've been juggling our time off. It has been harder because Brian has had to move his schedule around when I travel too. Z's had roseola, rotavirus and now he's just getting over some nasty croup stuff. He's had to do breathing treatments and steroid treatment again. Rotavirus was just the worst. I won't even describe it here! He's doing really well in his daycare and we love his primary teacher. Ivy's doing great in school. She had her first spelling bee and made it into the 6th grade words. She's reading 6th grade books and we will most likely transition her into public school next year. Her teacher used to be in traditional school and thinks she will do fine. She suggests we don't try to skip her ahead, but just have them send her to a higher level class for reading time. That sounds like the perfect solution! Brian's been pulling a lot of overtime with all this airline stuff going on. He's a structural engineer and does stress analysis and such. He's been working a lot of Saturdays also to make up for time missed taking care of kids. His kids are doing well. Anina moved to Oregon with her fiance and Brittany has been on a bike tour in CA. Alex is working for a snowboard company. We are finally getting things together to sell the house! It is absolutely impossible to get anything done with Z around. He climbs on everything. It is so out of control. We hope to have the place staged within the next few weeks so we can put it on the market. We will move closer to my work, but we aren't sure where. There are 60 miles or so between my work and Brian's, so there are many options. We may rent first, just in case the location doesn't work out. Sorry to be such a stranger! I'm working on hiring a new person at work, so I should be spending less time doing work things in the evenings and on weekends. I really don't have to do what I do, but I enjoy supporting our instructors. I will be helping a high school student with her senior project this summer and expect that to be fun! I told her she will have the best portfolio in her class!

This post is from from my other blog here

I know I have been scarce, and I apologize and make the usual excuses! I think I have been spreading my online identity a little thin since I joined the edublogger (basically educational bloggers) community a year ago. I seem to be more involved with the educators, than the mommies. It has been nice to transition into topics that aren't as messy, but I do miss the laughter and tears of the mom stories! I started to write this post with the intent to update you on my family, but some things just really hit me. I used to stay connected to conception and baby communities all day, and that activity has been replaced by social networking with other educators. Many of them think I'm a "hyper-networker," but they don't realize how connected I was with other communities before I discovered them. I have now been involved with this educator group for a year. As I began this post, I reflected on my previous online activity. I was feeling guilty for dropping out of mommy-world, but I realize now that I am in such a better place now, emotionally and socially. I think I needed this change. With my history of losing the baby at 8 months, I don't think it was healthy to cling to the fertility and conception communities. After the loss, I clung to them because they were my friends for so long. I supported them through pregnancy and loss and checked in throughout the day to give support, laugh, ask questions and socialize. I don't think I realized until this morning, how unhealthy a connection that was. It was completely unrealistic! When I look back and remember that right after I lost the baby, I built a web site with photos and birth information for the other mommies in my birth club. I don't know how I did that without completely breaking down. I am in a totally different place now, and it isn't because I am too focused on my career, it is because I am connecting with people who share the same goals and values, but enjoy lively debate and discussion. We are a group of mostly isolated educational technology enthusiasts. In the past, we would have no way of building regular connections with others in our field, because there just aren't enough of us. Now, technology has enabled international collaboration on an amazing scale. Sometimes I will be in conversation with people in Australia, Scotland, Korea, Canada and the US and not even think about the borders. I used to be so shy and social events would scare me. I still tell myself that is true, but then when I'm at an event in person, I shine! I am fine standing up in front of a crowd, even without advance notice. I say "yes," a lot more frequently than I used to and I think I have much more self confidence. Brian has noticed the difference and has responded positively. I think it has helped our relationship and our family. Wow, this post is nothing like I expected to write, but it just flowed. I need to carve out more time for MR and give you guys what you want from this site! I'll try to work on that more.

This post is from from my other blog here

This week I discovered one secret to household peace. We've been so overloaded lately, that a massive pile of clean socks has accumulated on the couch, Under normal circumstances, this would be unacceptable. However, with the chaos in our schedules lately, it has been a blessing in disguise. No more rushing around in the morning trying to find socks. They are all right there where we hang out anyway! The pile has been shuffled around, mixed up, tossed and scrambled. It has consumed the TV remotes more than once and has served as a pillow a few times. When my feet have been cold in the kitchen, I didn't have have to run upstairs. The pile was right there. Today will probably see the end of the pile, either because I finally decide to clean up, or they will all have been worn. Long live the pile!

This post is from from my other blog here

I am sorry it has taken me so long to blog. I have been swamped with so many exciting things lately. I'm busy, but not in a bad way. It's thrilling! I spend a lot more time working on my personal/professional blog, and I know I owe you guys more activity! I will post the family updates in the groups where Stacey got things started. I wanted to share with you a project that just melts my heart and puts the biggest smile on my face. One of the bloggers I follow, recently posted about being a mentor to a child blogging in Australia. I am very active in the "edublogosphere" and just had to find out more. I visited the teacher's site and was just blown away by what they are doing. At first, I thought it was odd to have to select your student. I worried about kids not being picked. Then I saw little read-haired Connor and knew he was the one! I am so excited to participate in this and learn more about this project and how it engages the children. I can't wait to share things about life in the US with Connor and to introduce him to my kids. If you look at the thread of responses to the teacher's blog, you can see how amazing this project is. There are far more mentors volunteering than there are children to mentor! I can't wait to share our progress with you all!