Back to work :(

So its been a while since my last post...well not even a week but I usually post at least every couple of days. The truth is I haven't even taken a single picture of my sweet baby this new year! Can you believe it!?!?! I've known for a while that I would return to work on January 4th. January came so quickly this year! Instead of taking bunches of pictures of my girl, I just wanted to spend lots and lots of time with my sweet baby the last few days before I returned to work. I tried to just savor every moment with her. Monday, January 4th was my first day back at work. It was an inservice day for teachers so no students. I got a warm welcome back and it was nice to see my co-workers. I hadn't seen most of them since Jane Baird was in the hospital. While I worked, Jane Baird stayed with my inlaws. Luckily, I was able to leave school at lunch time and pick Jane Baird up and bring her back to the school with me. I had lots of work to do in my classroom so Jane Baird came to "help Mommy." I had her exersaucer in my room so she was able to play while I worked. She was so good despite the fact that she was so tired from not having a nap (she usually has 3-4 per day). She crashed for 3 hours when we got home though! Today (Tuesday) was the day the students returned from Christmas break. I was nervous to meet this group of students b/c I had heard some stories. Well, I just love my class. They are precious! I have a few that will probably exhaust me, but I think this will be a great school year :) I just love teaching 1st graders!!! When we got home from school today, we played and played until dinner time. I fed her and we played some more and by 6:45 she was ready for bed. She used to go to bed at 8:00 and she would sleep 12 hours, but now that she get up at 6:30, she needs to go earlier. I really miss her when she goes to bed, but I have lots and lots to do around the house now that I am working again. I can no longer leave Jane Baird unattended in a room...not even for 15 seconds. She is pulling up on everything and she thinks she can stand by herself so she lets go of whatever she was holding on to. She can stand alone for a few seconds but then crashes down and has fallen on things that hurt her. She likes to live dangerously and play near furniture with corners and such; we are always having to chase her around the room to keep her out of danger. Everyone has asked me how I was handling the separation between Jane Baird and myself. Well, to be quite honest, I'm doing ok. Its hard to leave her but I know she is in good hands and is being taken care. As much as I wanted to stay at home with her forever, I knew I needed to go back to work. Although my time at home with her was the most wonderful thing for the both of us, I always knew why I was at home with her and it was because she was so sick and needed to be protected from the outside world so her lungs could heal. Going back to work means that she is well enough, and that is what's most important to me. I still have to be careful about bringing germs home with me, but I will do everything in my power to protect her even if it means taking more days off work during outbreaks of strep, H1N1, RSV, etc. I will always be a mother first, and then a teacher.