You've come a long way baby!

November was a rough month for me, and December didn't seem to be turning out much better until just recently. No news on Jaime's visa, but I feel that I've reached some major milestones as a mom and as a teacher.

As a mom, I am extremely proud and excited to finally be weaning Oliver at the ripe age of two years and two months. I had planned to do this much sooner after arriving to Kansas, but once my new full time teaching job was in full swing, weaning was quickly put on the back burner. Knowing that we would be in Mexico at the end of December was what really got me excited about the idea of weaning Oliver. Jaime and I are hoping to leave him with his abuela or tia for at least a few nights while we're in Guadalajara for Christmas. Now that he's weaned, that shouldn't be a problem.

My parents have been absolutely fantastic since we've been here. Last week, when I first started working on weaning Oliver either my mom or dad would drive him to sleep at night since the whole weaning thing totally messed up his perfect bedtime routine of breastfeeding to sleep and I was simply too tired to drive him around myself after a long day at work and an early morning awaiting me. They even babysat him a week ago, Friday, so that I could have an evening out--something I hadn't done in ages and thoroughly enjoyed. I went to our staff Christmas party, which was fine as staff parties go, but then my co-worker and fellow Spanish teacher invited me out with her and some other language teachers. That was wonderful; we went dancing! This week, I am proud to say that I've gotten Oliver to sleep on my own without the use of the car or num-nums. I'm sure my parents are happy about that too!

As a teacher, I am happy to say that I am actually feeling happy. Teaching Spanish to self-centered, moody, American middle schoolers in a diverse public school has been quite a culture shock for me after years of teaching English to polite, motivated adults in Mexico and New Zealand. Deep thought for the day: Being happy has a big effect on my teaching. I was a lousy teacher in November because I let the long slow visa process get to me. This month, I have hope. Knowing that I'll see Jaime in just a week certainly helps.