A broken toe

Unbelievable! that's what you'll say after you read this post.

Last Wednesday I was getting the kids ready for bed and we were all in the bathroom. Kids sitting on the countertop, brushing teeth. The kids had their drinks, all in stainless shell bottles. For some reason Carlita's starting to roll off the countertop. As it fell, I tried to move my feet but wasn't fast enough since I was holding the kids on the countertops. And next thing I knew I was on the ground in pain. Carlita fell on me and she was crying. Luke was crying because everyone else was crying. It was just a hot mess. There was some blood and after 5 minutes of Carlita yelling "get up Mommy!!!" and me trying to figure out what happened, I finally got the kids to bed.


The next day I put a bandaid on the toe to attach it to the next as I thought it was just a bruise. Then I tried putting it into a shoe. OUCH!!! But I had a conference I was attending in Philly and I wasn't going to be stopped. So spent all day Thursday at a conference and when I got home I took my shoe and sock off and saw the different colors of my toe. hmm.... could it be broken? My lovely husband encouraged me to go to the doctors but I had one more day of the conference. So Friday back to the conference. Lucky Temple has a foot and ankle clinic near the Philadelphia Convention Center so I called and got an appointment in at noon.

It was a great clinic, and great service. I had a wonderful intern that x-rayed my foot. He didn't think much of the smoky areas of my toe but he consulted with the doctor and the doctor came in and told me I had not only one but two fractures in my toe. TWO!!!! And because he knew I was so active and was a trouble maker he was putting a stint on my toe AND a boot! for four weeks. Plus gave me medicine to avoid any inflection. And no working out! No running, nothing!!!! for four weeks. Really four weeks! Otherwise he was going to put a screw into my toe.  Did I want that? No Sir.

So I'm not allowed to be on my feet too much (really that won't stop me) and can't teach aerobics classes or run. That really ruined my plans this month for 5k and working out at MACUHO conference (this upcoming week). So beware of flying zippy cups - they might just take you down.

 my sexy boot

 my poor toe

the Culprit

July 15 - Moving day

After we settled on the house on June 22, we couldn't move right away into our new house. First, our rental lease went to July 15th. Second, Househunters was coming to film us (more on that in another post) and we couldn't move into the new home.  and third, we wanted to get some things done before we moved in.

So my sister and husband and baby surprised up by coming up the weekend of the settlement. They bought a Little Tykes house, bookshelves, and tools to help us get our yard under control. We spent the weekend weeding the heck of the back yard and front yard. Once finished, we can see how beautiful and spacious our yard is. The kids ran around, playing hide-n-seek, and we ate off our porch. Everything we imagined how we want to live in this house came true!

Fourth of July came and went (we simply went to my sister's for the weekend), HouseHunter filming (another post to come) and then finally Moving Day. We did spent these weeks working on the house. I had a family member come and help with a long project list. We went through our home inspection report and fixed as much as possible that wasn't done through settlement. We fixed up all the electrical outside and in the basement (that we should had them fixed since they had installed it poorly and it was a safety hazard). We fixed holes here and there and made a long list of more projects to get done.

For Moving day, we were so luck to have Sandra and her family come up again and our friends Steve and Alfred, and our real estate agent, Tiffany her her fiance Craig, come help us move from Elbow Lane, PA to Boothby Drive, Delaware. We rented a truck (which only came out to be $200) and the loading began. Lucky everything was already in the garage since we have been living simple and within two hours we were ready for the trip to our new home. Lunch time and the unloading began. That box goes there and that one goes there. Wow, there's a lot of binder boxes here. O I forgot I had this - put it in.... After 3 hours it was done. We were moved in!!! Crib was set up, our bed was set up, and we were in our new home!

Thanks everyone who helped with this move and helping us start our new journey as homeowners.

New schools for everyone

Along with the purchase of our new home, we also started new schools for the kids. Luke is now attending Edgemoor Community Center, 2 minutes down the road from the house. Since we moved to our house in July Carlita and Luke attended there for a month before Carlita started kindergarden.

And yes our first born has started kindergarden. She is attending Las Americas Aspira Academy, a bilingual school back in Newark, DE. She could attend Mt. Pleasant Elementary, right next to Luke's school but we wanted her to have this experience. It is a new school and there's been some growing pains. Karl has to drop them all of and twice a week we have a sitter pick up the kids since I get home right at 6pm from work. Carlita stays in an after school program run by the Latin American Community Center (LACC). She really loves it and her teacher. 

The first day was rough for me, some tears. Carlita hated putting on an uniform but once she saw the other kids she loves wearing it. I did have to bride her with a Barbie (yes I bought her the only Barbie I even bought for her) but it was a special gift for her first day of school. Now she comes home every day and we review her "sight words" and talk about her day. It's amazing how big she is getting and how much she is learning. She can sign and dance in spanish and english.  

Check out this video and the pictures. I'm so proud of my kids but miss the baby-stage. O well life goes on

EDUCause conference

Right now I'm at EDUcause national conference here in Philly, PA. EDUcause is the leading association for higher edcuation IT professionals. From teaching and learning, to new technology such as clouding and mobile applications, this conference omly renewed and excited me on the potential technology has in enhancing deeper learning. Some of it was way over my head and other sessions were right on Key with my philosophy and approach with education. The opening session speaker was Seth Godin, the former CEO of Yahoo, Inc. he really challenged us to think differently of our impact on the future and our profession. We are artists and must create and have the freedom to do so. I now have a long list of books to read with Seth's books at the top. I was exposed to rising leaders such as Keith McIntosh, who talked about rising leaders and residing leaders. He talked about growing your staff, developing your staff, and loving your staff. This theme came on through other sessions such as one by Lydia Cureton, the CIO of NASA. She spoke of failing over and over. Take a risk and encourage your staff to do so.

Another great aspect of this conference was the exhibitors. I have never seen an exhibit hall like this one. I'll post pictures soon but eveything was 3d, technology everywhere, and great food. Almost every vendor was giving away an ipad (I never won). It was great to learn about new technology and systems. Almost overwhelming for my mind. I sepnt most of the conference reflecting and mulling on the impact of technology, not only in my work but in my life. It has opened new doors and concepts to me and has shown me really what is necessary to truly impact learning.

I don't know if I'll get another chance to attend EDUCause in the future, as it's not the typical conference student affairs professionals attend but I think everyone needs to attend a conference not directly related to their work. This allows you to be exposed to new thought processes and opens new possibilities. I surely got this and have new ideas and methods on how to achieve my goals and aspirations.

M.I.A.

As you may have noticed, we've haven't been writing blogs for agos. With the move into the home, summer training, new academic year, kindergarden, etc. The family blog fell off to the side. Life is hectic learning how to be home owners, getting our kids adjusted to their new schools, and managing all the craziness at work. I am re-committing myself to this blog and getting back on the ball with the prioritizes in my life.

So be prepare for a whole bunch of new posts to come to update everyone on our past three months of transition and our future.