Summer Recap in Pictures

It's hard to believe summer is over! To commemorate the end of another exciting summer, I thought I'd celebrate by doing a little picture recap of some of the moments I haven't included in the blog. Even though they haven't gotten a full dedicated blog post, they have still had a huge impact on my life. Without further adieu....

Even though we didn't do near the amount of boating this summer as we normally do (I'm blaming that one on building Dan and Theresa'a shouse!), our summer boating trips with Garrett and Emilee, and usually a few more great friends, are something I look forward to every summer. You really can't beat a fast boat, a sunny day, and the best of friends. 

One perk of being home is that all those holidays that fall on Sundays, like Father's Day, are now holidays that Eric and I get to go to and enjoy! So thankful I got to spend father's day with the best daddy I could ask for.

I miss this little big guy so much! For those of you who don't know, this is Jonah. I was his babysitter throughout grad school and really grew to love both him and his family. After all, I did see them more than my real family. So when his mom told me that her husband got a new job in Florida and that they were moving, I had to go see them one last time! Here we are doing his favorite thing- playing Wheel of Fortune on the Wii. 

We are so blessed to have one of the few remaining drive-in movie theaters so close to our hometown. Eric and I didn't take advantage of this like we should have, but we did go once this summer!

Here we are at the Wolf Family Reunion! It was so much fun seeing some family that we haven't seen in a long time, and catching up on all the exciting things that our family members are up to. 

Teutopolis, Illinois celebrated its 175th birthday this year! I have never seen a town with so much pride and love for their hometown. The birthday celebration lasted well over a month, with the Keystone cops, Kangaroo Court, a First Lady Coronation, time-period garments, and of course beer. Lots and lots of beer. Don't think it would be a T-Town celebration without it! 

A new weekly tradition around here is Justin's Wednesday night visits. We were so excited when Justin told us that he was moving home (to Altamont), and even more excited when he told us that his job was in Newton. Every Wednesday after work, Justin comes over to hang out, shoot bows, play with the puppy, go on a jeep ride (like we are doing above), stop in at the Muddy, or anything else we can conjure up to do. We sure are lucky to have him as a friend. 

Woo! After 6 years of schooling I am finally able to add CCC-SLP after my name! In case you are wondering, CCC stands for Certificate of Clinical Competence, and you'll have to take my word for it that it is a huge deal for speech-language pathologists like me. 

Finally, we have swimming with Bailey. Mom and I decided to get in the pool one afternoon, and as soon as Bailey heard us, she started whining. This dog wants to do whatever you're doing, and if she can't, she's gonna complain about it. So we let her try out the water. She wouldn't jump in by herself, but she would let me hold her and get her wet. She even practiced her doggy paddle! Bailey wasn't all that fond of the water though, so I doubt she'll do much more swimming.

There it was, all the extras of summer rolled up into one post. I hope you enjoyed! I promise that I will get you an update on Dan and Theresa's finished shouse soon, you just have to be patient. 

Summer is Over!

Well folks, my summer is officially over. In the past, the start of a new school year marked the end of my summer. Whether it was myself attending school, or last year when I was the speech-language pathologist for the Sparta, IL school district, summer ended on that first day back in the classroom. 

This year though, the end of summer was marked by something new, my new job! (Well, technically one of my new jobs- in the next few weeks I will be starting in the Early Intervention system. We will get to that later.) Meet the newest speech-language pathologist of Integrated Therapy Services: me!!

I've come to learn that opportunities arise when we least expect it. While on the job hunt earlier this year, I had emailed the owner of Integrated Therapy Services, Sarah Weiler, asking about her private practice and if there might be room for just one more speech-language pathologist. Unfortunately, she wasn't ready to add on another SLP, but told me that she would keep me in the loop if she heard of any openings in the area.

Meanwhile, I came in contact with Progressus Therapy, who had an opening in the Effingham area for an Early Intervention SLP. I immediately knew I wanted to pursue that opportunity further; after all, I have wanted to do early intervention since graduate school. Things started falling into place and before long, I had accepted the position and Eric and I began the process of getting our Schackmann family home.

Fast forward a few months, and Sarah tells me some fabulous news- she will be needing an SLP this fall! She wanted me to help her with some after school clients throughout the week, and I couldn't say no. Helping the children in my hometown grow and reach their full potential through individualized, client-centered speech therapy has been a dream of mine since I started on this career path, and now it is coming true. 

I've been observing Sarah and some of her clients all summer. From day one, I could already tell that I liked loved the private practice side of speech therapy. Now don't get me wrong, there is definitely a time and a place for school-based SLPs. But, a school SLP can only do so much, as everything they do is mandated by law. There must be an academic impact before services are warranted in a school district, and with increasing caseloads and paperwork, not all children can qualify, let alone get individualized therapy services.

And that's where the private-based SLP comes in. We are able to pick up those kids who might not qualify in the school district, or the ones who need something more than what the school district is able to offer. We can see kids one-on-one, and provide truly individualized therapy services for them.

I have already learned so much from Sarah, and I've only "officially" been at Integrated Therapy Services for one day. There's so much more to learn, but with Sarah as my mentor, there's no doubt in my mind that my abilities as a licensed, ASHA certified speech-language pathologist will continue to grow and evolve. I can't wait to see what the future holds for me at ITS.

As a sidenote, did any of my SLP friends notice that I put ASHA certified in there?? That's right, after 6 long, challenging years I am finally able to add all those C's after my name (as of Monday!). Signing my name as Sharon Schackmann, M.S., CCC-SLP on my client's SOAP note never felt so good! 

A Trip to the Vet...

While I was having fun with Kaci on Thursday at the Illinois State Fair, Bailey was with Eric at his parents' house helping to dig trenches for the gutters. You don't even have to tell me that I ended up with the better deal on that one!

Anyways, Eric sends me a picture of something that was curled up and said that Bailey just spit it up. I couldn't really tell what it was, but then Eric broke the bad news- Bailey has worms :( After doing my own research and freaking out about all the horrible things that could happen, I decided to use my resources and text Kaci, who just so happened to graduate from vet school this year. She reassured me everything would be alright and to get Bailey to the vet tomorrow.

I think I was more nervous for her vet appointment than she was! She hopped, as best as she could with her little puppy legs, up into the car and rode on my lap all the way to the vet. 

There must be something about that cold, metal table, though. As soon as I put her up there, she instantly wanted down. 

It seemed as if she was even contemplating jumping off.

Luckily, things went smoothly once the vet came in. Bailey got a dewormer and her first shot, which she took like a champ. When we got home, she decided to take a well deserved nap. Who can blame her?

It wasn't long though, before she gave me that look to play. I mean, who can refuse this face?

I'll spare you the pictures and gory details, but let's just say I hope that no one else has to watch their puppy pass worms. Not exactly the most pleasant thing to see. Good news is that Bailey doesn't seem the least bit phased by it all. Looks like our little puppy is growing up! 

Illinois State Fair

Though Eric might not think so, I'm always up to doing new things. Especially when those new things involve one of my best friends. So when Kaci asked if I wanted to help volunteer at the Prairie Farms booth at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield on Thursday, I jumped at the chance.

And what is better than getting into the State Fair for free? Having all the milk and ice cream I can eat for free too :) I guess I can chalk that up to having a best friend who grew up on a dairy farm.

In between bites of our ice cream bars and sandwiches, we gave away tiny milk cartons to kids (and adults) who visited the Milk-a-Cow booth. In case you were wondering, yes, you do get to milk a cow. And yes, I milked the cow before we left. Having been best friends with Kaci since high school, I (and she) couldn't believe that I had never once helped her milk a cow on her parents' farm. But hey, I got to milk a cow and get a sweet button to document the moment. I guess you could say it was worth the wait.  

After our shift ended, Kaci, her parents, and I explored the fair, endulged on some wonderful fair food, grabbed some freebies, saw a cow made completely out of butter, and even met Abe Lincoln!

Days like this are few and far between, and I am blessed to be able to spend them with the best of friends. 

Meet Bailey!

On Sunday, Eric and I made a huge commitment to add someone to our lives, a puppy! I have always wanted a puppy. Some of my earliest memories involve myself and my family's dog, Junior. He was an old Beagle dog and my brother and I loved him so much. After he passed away, my family never got another dog. We have had many cats, including my parent's indoor cat, Kitty, but never another dog. When Eric and I made the huge decision to move home this summer, he promised me that we would be able to get a puppy. 

Well I was browsing the online garage sale sites on Facebook (everybody does that, right?), and came across a litter of Beagle puppies that were free to a good home. I instantly put my name on the list of people interested in one, then proceeded to ask Eric if it was OK if we got a puppy. Act first, ask later, right? Eric said we could take one as long as my parents said it was alright, since we are living with them now until we are able to buy our house. My mom agreed, or so I thought, as long as dad said yes. And of course my dad said yes! Who can resist the begging of his only daughter? (Don't worry, my mom loves the puppy now that we have her.)

So Eric and I hopped in the car and headed to Montrose to get our very own puppy. There were lots to choose from, and I picked up a couple before choosing our Bailey. I knew she was ours when I picked her up and she instantly snuggled into my neck and didn't want to be put down. It was love at first sight!

After a quick trip to Walmart to get all of the puppy necessities, we made our way back home with a new puppy in tow. 

A little mommy/daddy/puppy bonding time ensued for the next hour or so, along with getting her dog house and food bowl ready. Then it was goodnight to puppy and we were off to bed. Those little lonely puppy whimpers haunted my dreams all night. It was so hard to leave her outside and walk away. 

Luckily, she made it through the night just fine, and when Eric went out to check on her Monday morning, she came right out to him. It was reassuring that she wasn't scarred for life after we left her alone the night before! 

Monday consisted of lots of mommy/puppy bonding time, which mostly involved Bailey sleeping on my lap while I read a book. I have a feeling she didn't get much sleep last night in her new home.  

We did have our first walk, or more like me walking and Bailey following closely behind my feet as to not get left behind, and our first play session with her tug rope. She hasn't quite got the "tugging" part down yet, but we are working on it. 

We are so excited to have Bailey as part of our little family. I hope that one day my children will have found memories of their own Beagle dog, just as I do.
  

Playing Catch-Up

Ok, I have to admit I've been pretty absent lately from the blogging world. We have been SO busy getting Dan and Theresa's old house packed up, moved, and cleaned, and getting everything into their new place. I'll have a post on that in a few days, so stay tuned!

Today's order of business has to do with this fabulous woman right here.

On Saturday, August 9, we celebrated her 97th year on this good ol' planet. 97 years! There aren't too many people who can say they've lived to be 97. Not to mention, my great grandma still lives by herself! This woman truly is a blessing to our family and Eric and I were so happy that we were able to celebrate with her and the rest of the family on Saturday.

Here's Great Grandma with her kids (my Grandma is on the far right!). We wouldn't be the family we are today if it wasn't for her. 

There's a huge family picture of everyone who could make it to the celebration out there somewhere, if I can get my hands on it I will definitely post it!

Great Grandma, this post is for you. If it wasn't for your hard work, dedication, and love, none of us would be here today. You are one heck of a woman with a wonderful sense of humor. You are sharp as a tack and truly are the glue that holds the family together. Here's to many, many, many more birthdays! We love you!