Update on Life

Warning: This post doesn't have any good SLP tips. I just wanted to share a little about myself for my friends out there who've been reading my blog. Sometimes it's fun to get to know a little more about our blogging friends.

Life is crazy and so fun right now. Here's a little picture of what my world revolves around.

New Job:
Having the summer off with my baby boy was so fun. There's just no way to describe how amazing it is to watch a baby discover life, how things feel, what they sound like, what they do. I went part-time last year so I could be home with him more. But working part-time for the district is not a good bargain. You don't get benefits, you have to attend meetings without getting paid for them, you don't get any prep time, and let's face it without benefits our pay is not worth it.

As the new school year approached those thoughts just kept running through my mind. "It's not worth it, it's not worth it." But I LOVE working with the kids and I LOVE the ability to collaborate with teachers and the opportunities of working with kids in the context of schools. I knew there were better situations out there. So I started researching. After a lot of thought, paperwork, applications and networking I started my own business.

I am contracting my SLP services out to charter schools. It's basically the same as when I worked for the school district except a few major changes like: having to pay my own taxes, do my own book keeping, find my own continuing ed, buying private mal-practice insurance, and other business type stuff. Why do it then? Well, the pay is better because instead of having to pay a bunch of district overhead the school's speech budget goes directly to the SLP! Also I am able to negotiate the details of my contract like hourly rate, amount of prep time needed, and a caseload limit. It just makes more sense to negotiate those details on a school by school basis instead of the district's one-size-fits-all contracts. I was offered a number of opportunities, so I was able to pick the environment that I felt was the best fit for me.

The particular school I am working with right now is AMAZING! I love the kids, teachers and staff. It is a really unique school with different teaching philosophies than any of the public schools I've worked in and it has a friendly and inviting feeling when you walk in. So far it has been busy but I am loving it. Here's a little picture of what my "office" looks like so far. I had to buy all my own furniture so I went simple.

My life in General:
Running my own business and being a Mom is pretty busy, but I wouldn't trade it for anything! Other details of my life include teaching 14 & 15 year old girls at church (constant drama but so fun), trying to maintain some sort of order at my house, and other normal everyday fun. I began jogging to take off some of that extra baby weight and relieve some stress. At first I thought I was going to die, I was so out of shape. But now I have found it to be a really fun hobby. I've run in 2 5Ks in the past few months and I'm running another next week. I'm not fast at all! But I'm improving and that's always fun. 

The Kid:
My little buddy just started walking on Sunday. AHHHH!!! So exciting! We're in for some fun. He looks so grown up since he got his first haircut yesterday. I feel like it's all happening too fast. He is 14 months old, and is a really happy little guy. He loves trying to figure out how things work, and he talks non-stop! (go figure with an SLP mommy)

The Husband:
Love this guy! He is so smart and funny and handsome it kills me. Guess that's why I married him huh?! He's feeling stuck in his job and wants to start his own business. He'd be brilliant at it but it's just so risky to leave the steady job he has right now. I keep expecting him to come home and tell me he's finally quit. But he's too responsible to do something like that. I want him to love his job as much as I love mine. We're working on saving up the capital to start his own business. Someday babe! He is an avid biker (road and mountain) and is loving the cooler weather.

Mountain Adventures:
The fall in Utah is gorgeous and this year is particularly beautiful. We spend a lot of our evenings in the mountains. My husband loves mountain biking, but I am a little more cautious (okay, okay I'm a wuss) so I prefer hiking. Our baby LOVES the mountains so he and I explore the trails, while daddy "goes fast fast fast" on his bike. It's so fun to hear him say "tree!" or "bird" or "wow wow wow!" behind me in the hiking backpack. Fall is hands down my favorite season.

Well that's about all I have for now. I made a little pamphlet for teachers that discusses the types of services SLPs provide in the schools and what red flags teachers could look for. I'll write a post about that in the next day or two. Also I'll update you on my attempts at starting a new data log system.