Jan/Feb 05 chat - Thread #3

[sedona314]

Hi all, and welcome to the couple of new "faces".

I am feeling a bit down and needed to share this with you guys.
  We were supposed to be in Sanibel, Fl for our very much needed week vacation starting today,  but instead we are home, here in Ft. Lauderdale preparing for another hurricane.  I had everything ready for this trip, even bought a portable DVD player and DVD's to take with in the car for Matty!  And I had lined up the sitter to come over for  a few days so my dh and I could really relax, and still have Matty with us.  This is so crazy.  Dh is really down because today instead of relaxing on the beach we were home putting up storm shutters.  I also had filled my freezer with homemade baby food over the past few weeks, thinking that the storm season was over!  We ALWAYS lose power, so that is probably all going to go to waste.  When Katrina hit florida (it wasnt bad here, we were lucky) we lost power for 6 days, even though the winds were very mild.  So Im just ticked off and down.  Of all the weeks I pick for our vacation!!!

Thanks for listening.  I'll probably check in tomorrow to catch up and then may not be on for awhile if no electric.  I also worry more now about the storms cause of the baby. 

Anyway, Michelle, hope you are feeling better, and welcome back Branwen.  Congrats on dh's job Tarri and hugs to everyone!


Julie

[Jaime]

Deb - great new avatar!  reminds me that i should change mine too one of these days.  i think luke was only 5-6 months in this one!  i sent you a pm responding to your earlier comments (i was afraid my response would get too long & it did  :oops: )  yay olivia for crawling!!

JulieG - that stinks about the hurricane & your vacation.  i wish the darn thing would just decide what to do and be done with it!!!  though i hope it doesn't roar through here again... i can't afford another new roof.  hope you all stay dry too.

Julieb - will we be seeing a pumpkin patch avatar soon??? 

Welcome Amanda!  glad you found this thread!

[Jaime]

hi ladies,

i have a prayer request (or a good vibe request if you don't pray  :wink: )  i will probably be posting in the News forum when things shape up more, but i may not be posting on much more than the boards i moderate for a whle.  (though i will still be reading this thread so i can keep up with everyone!)

WARNING - this will be long

you may have seen my thread about minimizing a budget on the Home Management board.  i started it cause dh & i are going broke - and we don't spend money on much of anything and are very financially responsible.  following some great suggestions, we have improved things a bit, but not enough yet.

i started looking into my salary... and am coming to the rapid conclusion that my school has been underpaying me the entire time i have worked there.  i am realizing how naive i have been - but in my defense, i have also been pregnant twice and had a bit of ppd inbetween the 2 kids, so i was a little distracted!  :roll:

i've been asking many (hopefully) discreet questions, and it seems that there is no standard salary schedule in place at my (private) school.  also seems that the higher ups are paying folks whatever they feel like paying them, with no regard to experience or education.  unethical?  yup.  illegal?  not sure  wrong?  absolutely.

after staying awake most of friday night worrying & praying about this, i have come to the conclusion that i am indeed the one to be dong something about this.  i love my job, but my job is not worth sending me to the poorhouse.  i also realized that i am an extremely hot commodity (all science teachers are, but one that can teach chemistry & physics?  priceless).  i am waiting for 2 more pieces of information, and then i will start going to many key people, asking to see a salary schedule to determine how my salary was even calculated, ask for daycare reimbursement (since i'm not getting free tuition!) and ask for a fair salary next year.

i think i am very good at my job (though i have asked others just to be sure!  :oops:  :lol:  ) and am hoping that this fact will help me retain my position even when this is all over.  i'm scared though - the whistle-blower never seems to keep their job  :cry: but am comforted in the fact that it shouldn't be too hard to find another one.  i hope.

anyhow, if you made it this far you're a star!   

[Daniel's mummy]

Jaime-Haven't much time but just had to write and let you know that I'll be praying for you.  That is so difficult for you.  I understand that it's not going to be easy getting to the bottom of everything. But you're doing the right thing.

[Kinlagh's Folks]

First of all, thanks to all for your well wishes.  DH stayed home on Friday so I had 3 days to get better.  It is loosening up a bit, but I am dreading tomorrow when dh goes back to work and I'm on duty again with Kinlagh.  He's been such a big help.  I haven't lifted her once! 

But it looks like it's time for me to send {{HUGS}} back to a few of you. 

Jaime - Good luck with your discussion.  Hope all turns out for the best.

Julie - Big time bummer on the trip.  But more then a bummer, I really hope you guys don't get hit hard where you are.  It's so tough to be without power with a baby.  We're supposed to be in Miami in 2 1/2 weeks so I'm hoping for a different fate and our trip goes as planned!

And prayers to all others in Florida!!

[Schae]

Good luck Jaime!! You know how much you're worth... go get it!!

JulieG: I'm so sorry about your vacation I can only imagine how disappointed you are. I hope that the hurricane doesn't affect your area too much and that eventually you can go on your vacation.

Tarri: I'm so happy for you and your dh. Glad he got a better paying and closer to home job... that's fantastic! We've also just bought a car, so I completely understand the broker than broke sentiment!  :wink:

Us: well, the 'words' remain "Aww Gaww" lol!! Too funny. I have another job interview on Wednesday for a job I wouldn't mind doing.. it involves lots of driving around but that's okay isn't it?

[Leah's Mom]

Jaime- Uggg, sometimes school districts are such pains!!!!!!!! Are you working full time? You said for a private school? We have a union in our school so we are at set salary schedules with increases every year plus increases for credits. You should definitley check things out. There must be some leagalities. OOhh, it just makes me so mad! They do all they can to get by cheaper!!!! I'm praying for you.

[Samanthas mum]

Hi,

I'm a bit late on the intro but I thought I'd join in if thats ok. Have seen quite a few of you around on the forums generally so you are familiar faces already  

Anyway I'm Sarah, Samantha's mummy. I am 30 years old (just  :wink: ) and live in Nottingham, England. Have just gone back to work 2 days a week as a Commercial Property Lawyer  - not sure if it is the right decision but will give it a chance before deciding either way.

My dd is heading towards 10 months old having been born right at the beginning of January. Should have actually been a Christmas baby but she decided to stay put for an extra week. She is totally adorable and a happy little soul. Never stops moving which keeps me on my toes, loves her food and absolutely loves reading books.

Have attached a couple of pics taken back in September when we went to Cornwall for our holidays

[diyasmom]

Sarah(sam's mum): She is a cutie pie.
Jamie and Julie: I feel so sorry for you. You are in our thoughts and vent as much as you want.
Us: Diya seems hungry even before 3 hrs for the past 4 or 5 days.  Could it be a growth spurt? She is going to be 9 months this Tuesday. She always had her growth spurts one week earlier. Should I offer the breast more often or give her solids now that we have established solid feedings. I am scared to go back to the 3 hr EASY but at the same time want to have enough milk for her after her growth spurt. Please help me out again!
Thanks
Vidya

[thitz]

Julie, that ULTRA sucks about missing your vacation.  Espescially since you were super good with all your planning.  I hope the storm doesn't affect you guys too much.  I'll be thinking of you and hoping your freezer stays frozen!

Jamie, I didn't realize you were so worried about finances.  We're especially broke right now, since dh was layed off two weeks before Emily was due and only starts a job next week.  I don't have many suggestions on penny pinching but it does make me feel better when I use coupons for baby stuff, I now put them straight in my wallet so I don't forget them :oops:  Good luck with asking for a raise.  I would try a very open discussion asking for your employers suggestions before actually bring up the question of the raise, I find you usually get farther when it's their idea.  Maybe the approach could be to ask for a performance review.

Schae, good luck on your job interview next week.

Vidya, sorry I can't help because I've stopped breast feeding.  I hope you get it sorted though.

Deb, just wanted to share that Emily is still only eating 1-2oz of her bedtime bottle (she's stuffed from dinner) and about 3oz at her df.  And she isn't crawling in any direction!  She hardly even rolls over.

Us, I'm working hard on shifting Emily 15 mins later to prepare for the time change.  My goal is to do two 15 mins shifts this week and then two 15 mins shifts the week after the time change.  So far it's going really well      I started with giving her bedtime bottle 15 mins later and df 15mins later and then did all her stuff the next day 15 mins later.  It probably sounds like I'm overly focused on this but it would be completely impossible to keep her up a whole hour later on the night of the time change.  She'd just pass out wherever she was!

Happy Emily news, she made a huge laugh when the dog sneezed today!

[sedona314]

Thanks for the support everyone.

Jaime:  You are definitely on the right track.  I think it's great that you realize your worth and are going for it.  Stay positive and strong and let us know how you do.

Michelle: Hope you are feeling much better.

Schae:  Good luck on the job interview.

Welcome Sarah!  Samantha is adorable.

Tarri: thats a great idea to start retraining bedtime now before the time change.  I dont think I'm going to be able to do that with the hurricane to deal with.  Will have to wait and see.

Debra: Thats great about Olivia crawling.

Hope to see you all soon.   Keep us Floridians in your thoughts please.

Hugs
Julie

[Schae]

Hi everyone... I just need to vent a bit.

We are really struggling with naps and the nighttime sleep. He refuses to go down for naps and for nighttime.
For naps, this is our routine: I'll bf him, then we go to the bedroom and I'll bounce on the birthing ball till he's sleepy then I'll put him down. He used to make a little noise and then go straight to sleep, these days he gets up on all fours and rocks while 'singing'. It is so frustrating :twisted: The other night it took me an hour and a half to get him down for the night.

I don't know what it is. He hasn't done anything new developmentally. And nothing has changed really in our days and routine.

I've tried asking dh to do the naps/bedtime, but it just results in Luka screaming his head off.

EG: Right now (it's 10h50 here) Luka is meant to be asleep for his first nap of the day (usually from 10am till 11am) but he's wide awake and crawling around. I could feel myself getting extremely frustrated and decided that it would be better if we both just came out of the bedroom.  :oops:

Anyway, I feel a bit better after typing this.

He cant' really want to drop a nap can he? He's too young for one nap a day isn't he?

[Leah's Mom]

Julie G - I was watching about the hurricane this morning on the Today show. I'm praying for you and your family. May you stay safe!!!!! Keep us updated.

[Jaime]

well thanks to the hurricane i've got a day off from work...  :roll:   though i get to check in with you guys so that helps! 

JulieG - i hope you all stay safe & dry.  let us know when you can if you're okay...  will keep praying for you.  we're pretty much glued to the news this morning.

Schae - oddly enough, sometimes they get all wonky right before something new starts developmentally.  luka may be about to do something nifty - we can only hope, huh?

Tarri - layoffs stink, don't they?  my dh was laid off a couple months before i got pregnant with jaina, and he didn't start a new job until 3 days before she was born.  talk about timing!  i agree about the coupons... every little bit helps.

also, ordinarily i'd say your advice about asking for a raise was spot-on, but things have gone way beyond that.  my school is refusing to show me a salary schedule (so far!), and my questioning is leading me to believe that there isn't one.  there are teachers with less experience than me making more than i am.  there are teachers with masters degrees and 15+ years experience making less than what the public schools pay a first year teacher directly out of school!

i am part time, but i work 2/3 what a normal full-time teacher does.  i've been asking other schools what my salary would be if i was full time there.  from the numbers i've got so far... my salary is less than half of the LOWEST figure.   :evil: the truth will be exposed and this will be fixed or i won't work there next year.  while i won't go in with that ultimatum, i have decided that this is what will happen.  also hoping that they will not want to lose me - and truthfully, they can't afford to  :wink: 

[Schae]

Julie: I hope you guys are safe! I heard on the news that it is now a Category 2, I hope that is a good thing.

Thanks Jaime, he seems to be trying to learn how to stand on his own. Keeps lifting his bum in the air instead of just crawling properly  :lol:
Today wasn't so bad, I think the heat contributes aswell. It's very hot here and dry too.

I'm so impressed with you. GO JAIME!!