2/23/17- Happy E-Week: Where Does Time Go?!

The last time I posted to this blog was almost a month ago, holy shark (batman)! And here's the cliche, where did the time go?! I guess most of it went to Jack, Bobby, friends, family, work, the usual stuff. Although, some not so usual stuff happened too. I went to a conference! I gave a presentation at that conference! I did an author visit to Jack's preschool! I had to cancel another school visit because Jack was sick! Jack spent 2 nights in a row coughing!

So the last one is not fun for anyone, but especially Jack. He got some kind of nasty cold, although colds this time of year are not unusual for our household. He has had a hard time sleeping, with hour long cough spouts at 2 am. We've done humidifier, Vick's, Zarbee's, Tylenol/Ibuprofen (only when fever was present, which was once theses past few days thankfully), essential oils--the only thing that works for his night time coughing fit is waiting it out. The doctor said this illness appears to be viral, so we can't antibiotic it (I want to reassure you  and myself that the doctor verified that his lungs sound fine and ears look clear). The 2 am wake up calls feel like infancy all over again, where we are all walking, sleep-deprived zombies the next day.

Don't despair too much for our little guy though. During the day, he plays, eats, etc. like there's nothing wrong. Just a little runny nose, so he still wants to go run around on the playground and ride his trike and all the normal 2 year old stuff. I wish I had more sick time off from work or no work deadlines (a report is due to our customer by end of month, got it done though!) because I fully want to dedicate myself to Jack's healing. Reality is I can't. I have to remotely log in and get shark done (as well as not burn all my vacation/sick time) while he naps or watches "Cars" for the fiftieth time.

Poor Kid

It's a little stressful, as most working parents know.  In fact, I think any parent, whether they work in (ie stay at home) or outside of the home, knows just how stressful a sick kid is. We know the cold will end, but the time between contracting it and it going away, well, it makes life more interesting. And like I said early, I want nothing more to do than to fully commit myself to Jack's recovery, but this week was bad timing for a cold. I was supposed to go to a middle school and give a speech on how awesome engineering for Engineers' Week (E-Week), but I had to cancel to take care of Jack. I will always put Jack above giving a speech, but I do feel I let down a lot of students yesterday. Although, they're middle schoolers, so there's a chance they don't care. Still, cancelling an obligation like that, well it's hard.  I feel like I let down those kids, their teacher, and my profession.

In uplifting news though, I got to do my first author visit (where an author goes to a school, reads their book and/or gives a presentation)!  And the best part of my first visit was that it was with Jack's preschool!  Most of the preschoolers seemed to enjoy me reading "Annie Aardvark, Mathematician", and when I got to Jack's class (the last class of the visit), Jack was so confused as to why I was there. He was like, oh it's time to go? Cool, let me just grab my blanket. Wait, why is everyone sitting down around my mommy? Why is she starting to read Annie? But he sat down right next to me and helped his class start of the counting (which is in the book). It was so funny and cute. And now he asks for me to read Annie all the time. :)

Look, I'm Presenting at a Conference

I also went to my annual engineering love-fest conference the weekend of February 10th, and I presented there too!  My presentation went really well, at least that's what my engineering friends told me. :) And I sold a couple of books! Mostly, I had a really good time, and this conference always renews my interest to remain in this gosh shark profession (engineering)! I want to be an engineer when I grow up (for the most part; I'd really like to do so at a new company, see previous BAW posts)!

I'll be at E-Day (at the Arizona Science Center) this Saturday, which also does a good job of renewing my interest in the profession, as part the Greater Phoenix Area's E-Week Celebration. Tons of engineering organizations will be at E-Day, doing lots of cool hands on STEM experiments. I'll be at the SWE booth, and SWE will be making slime with the kids who stop by our booth.  If you live in the Phoenix area, please stop by the SWE booth, say hi, and make some slime!

Also, just in time for E-Week, check out my Goodreads Giveaway (below)!  It starts February 26 and ends March 5. You'll have the chance to win 1 of 5 signed books!

Happy E-Week everyone!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Annie Aardvark, Mathematician

by Suzie Olsen

Giveaway ends March 06, 2017.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway