You Pick the Title

I love to travel and be social. In fact I'd love to see most of the world (I have no desire to see Asia or Russia for the record). However let it be known that I'm sick of traveling and being social! Maybe it's because my insomnia is back and, although I go to bed by 9pm I wake up at 3am and can't go back to sleep.  Maybe it's because it's my first day of my "long" week (Although I couldn't have asked for better behaved Kindergartners today! I can honestly say it was a treat being their teacher today.). Maybe it's because I've been busy doing things around the house since getting home, although Rob did ALL the dishes and has entertained P with Lincoln Logs, wrestling and playing outside all evening. Maybe it's because we've had something planned every weekend in July and our calendar looks full until Labor Day. I don't know but I do know I'm ready to just chill and do nothing and go nowhere for an entire weekend. Rob's antelope hunt starts this weekend and we had talked about making it a family vacation, staying in one of our favorite (NV) towns and enjoying one of our favorite restaurants. But, after finding out he doesn't know when he'll be back on Sunday, I decided it'd be best if P and I stayed home. I haven't gotten use to working the first half of the week yet so being gone all weekend throws me for a loop when I have to get me and P ready for Monday. So MAYBE just MAYBE this will be the weekend that I just sit and sleep. One can hope!

Night in the Country

A few months ago some friends asked us to join them for Night in the Country, a weekend full of great country music and camping. Somade it a date weekend and had all kinds of fun! We got there Friday night after Rob got off work, set up camp and then headed over to the stage to listen to Lee Bryce and Neal McCoy.         

 We, along with our group of friends, spent the night dancing and singing along with the artists. Saturday we went to a little cafe for breakfast then spent the afternoon relaxing around a redneck pool. Last night we got the pleasure of listening to Curtis and Luckey (a new country band that I hopes makes it), Lonestar and Joe Nichols. It was a fun night of great music and friends! All in all it was a weekend for the memory books. We enjoyed kicking back sans toddler, being on our own schedule, laughing with friends and listening to fantastic music. I hope we can make it back again next year!

Family Fun

It's been less than 48 hours but already I miss my lil guy! There have been 2 other times that I've been away from him for several days but it never gets easier. The house is too quiet, too clean and I miss his silliness. But I know he's having a blast. In fact, when I called him last night it took much coaxing to get on the phone. When he finally did he said, "Mommy, I'm playing. I'll call you back later!" and then he gave the phone back to my mom. He's staying with my parents because this weekend Rob and I are going to a camping concert with friends. We'll camp out and listen to great country music all weekend with our friends. We knew we wouldn't enjoy it as much if P was with us because of the late nights and loud atmosphere. When we asked my parents to take P for the weekend they graciously agreed. But, since I was there last weekend and the construction is bad between here and there, I was dreading the drive again. It worked out when my brother called and said he'd make a 4 hour detour on his road trip vacation to come get P for us. My brother and sister in law showed up for a couple hours Wednesday afternoon. When they pulled away with P I thought he'd cry but Noooooo, he was too excited about my brother's new addition, a terrier named Olive. In fact, I have no doubt that he hasn't shed tears at all since he's been gone. Between playing with my brother, dad, mom, sister in law, Olive and my sister in law's nephew he is having the time of his life. So, knowing that he's having so much fun will allow Rob and I have to enjoy our weekend with friends and good music! I hope y'all have a great weekend as well!

It's Official???!

After getting an 8 month reprieve from traveling, Rob has decided to go back to the transmission crew at his company. It's something we've talked about endlessly for a few months and not our first choice. But, given the circumstances and the possible job transfer to another local crew in December/January, it's what we decided would be best for our family. He doesn't like his current position nor does he like the huge cut in pay we've had to deal with. Being on the transmission crew is a whole other ball of wax. It's hard for our family, especially since he's been home almost every night with us for the past 8 months- a huge help and support to both me and P. The being away again for long periods of time have me worried but I know that it's just for a short amount of time. He had to go back to the transmission crew in order to join a different line crew or he would've lost all seniority in that dept. If the job that he wants doesn't open in December as predicted then we'll go to Plan B. This job provides more money, making it possible for me to be a Stay-At-Home Mom once the baby arrives. It will also help us pay off some debt that we've accrued since he's taken his other position. It's not a decision that we took lightly by any means. We talked about it for hours on end, prayed about it, lost sleep over it and even had a few spats about it. But, in the end, it's what is needed at this moment in time so we'll make the best of it. In the meantime pray that the job he really wants opens so he can enjoy being a husband and daddy at home again!

I Survived!!

When I blogged last night I wrote that hopefully today I could say that the first day of Kindergarten went 1000% better than anticipated.....and I can!! I did not sleep a wink last night and I'm not exaggerating when I say that. I stared at the clock from 10:30 until 5:30AM, thinking of everything I needed to do. Although my teaching partner and I are very different in many ways, I wouldn't have made it through the day without her. She was the biggest help! We did have a few criers. One was a little girl that cried for about a half hour this morning before Kim (my teaching partner) finally took her out. When she came back she was an angel. 2 little boys cried in the afternoon, one because he's so young and one because he had a rough weekend (He found his grandma dead in the bathtub from a heart attack Saturday night) and because he's never been away from mom. But, I'll take that first kind of day over all the rest because we didn't have any "runners" (the kids that bolt from the room). Nor did we have any vomit or temper tantrums. And we didn't have to physically restrain any kids who were attempting to bolt, bite, kick, etc. Yes, believe it or not, these things are very common the first day of Kindergarten (Now do you see why I was worried??). Tomorrow I fly solo so I pray that it goes just as good as it did today. But if not, it's my last work day of this week so I'll manage. Thanks for all the thoughts, prayers and encouraging words. It meant a lot and I'm happy to say that today was an answer to prayer!

Insecurities

For as confident as I am in most areas, I definitely struggle with some insecurities that date back to my childhood in other areas. My brother was the one that was always good at EVERYTHING where I was mediocre at best. I couldn't play a musical instrument to save my life but yet my brother is a talented musician. I couldn't play sports no matter how hard I tried yet he was the soccer superstar. I studied for hours to scrape by with a C on a test and he wouldn't pick up a book yet ace the same test. Unfortunately those insecurities have followed me into adulthood to some extent. I question my ability to make it as a writer or photographer. People compliment me yet I take it as a grain of salt. I wish I had more confidence in my talents because I would quit teaching in a heartbeat to pursue a different career.
I can't remember ever being so anxiety ridden about a new school year! Nothing about this year is going as planned so far, which only adds to my stress. Without going into detail, let me just say that this is not my dream job by a long shot. I did apply to 7 other schools in the district just so I wouldn't be put in this situation but nothing panned out for one reason or another. After having a lengthy conversation with my new teaching partner, I tried retail therapy earlier this afternoon and it did calm my nerves....until I left the store. Rob, P and I took the dogs to the lake across the highway and while I was there I was in a peaceful state of mind. But, once again, as soon as I left I got knots in my stomach and a headache brewing. I'll be lucky if I get any sleep tonight but that's common the day before school starts. Hopefully tomorrow night I'll be able to blog that the day was 1000% better than I imagined....hopefully!


Here are a few pics from our time at the lake. The boys went swimming to cool off but I enjoyed sitting on the beach, taking pics and reading.

Family Time

July has been a ridiculously busy month for us. Out of the entire month we've only been home one weekend and that was to have P's birthday party. But when Rob signed up to take an out of town job I decided I'd head to my parents' cause I didn't want to spend 10 days in the new house by myself. I've been working a lot lately, with the start of the new year, but I had Thursday and Friday off.

I was going to make it a long weekend with my parents until Rob called and said he'd be home several days sooner than anticipated. To be honest, at that point I had regretted asking my parents if we could come visit. Not because I didn't want to see them or because I thought we wouldn't have fun but because I have had 1 day this entire month that I've been on my own agenda. With the new school year coming up, I wanted some time to relax at the house, get things done and just mentally prepare for a school year that I'm already dreading. But, needless to say, once we got there we had a blast and I was glad to make the trek to see them. Like always, we got spoiled, ate good food and I got a little bit of a "mommy break". I love being a mom more than anything in life but sometimes it's nice to be the 'child' again if only for a few days. We rode the Lightrail train downtown to visit my dad's work and play at the state capitol park. P spent countless hours playing outside with the dogs and I got to see a couple girlfriends sans P, which is always a plus. After all the fun with my parents, P and I headed out this morning so we could actually have some mellow family time tomorrow before getting busy with the new week.

As much as I've enjoyed July and so much time with friends and family, I'm really looking forward to when the month is over so life will slow just a tad and we don't have to make time for family time.

Rough Day for the P Man

When I had gone to pick P up after work his teacher met me at the door, never a good thing. She informed me that another student had thrown a block at P, hitting him smack in the nose. Apparently that set off a nosebleed and there was blood everywhere! He still had a tissue stuck up his nose when I got there and I'd even be willing to bet that it'll give him a little shiner. While running a quick errand he rubbed his nose because the dried blood itched, causing it to bleed a little all over again. Once we got home we were walking around the property. I headed back toward the house and soon he was running after me, screaming and crying. You see, P is fully potty trained. But when he's outside having fun he forgets to stop and go to the bathroom. So he had gone. In his underwear. And it wasn't #1. By the time he and I tag teamed his undies there was poop on the garage floor, on my foot, down both of his legs.... Talk about disgusting! I promptly put him in the bath tub and then made the executive decision to plop him in front of the TV for the rest of the evening. I figured he'd had enough for one day and deserved a much needed break. Hopefully tomorrow will prove to be a better, more clean, day for him!

(Keep scrolling down to see my next blog. It's a double whammy kinda day!)

Forgive Me if I Ramble

Last week I was in a foul mood. Don't believe me? Just ask Rob! But I woke up Friday morning and decided I need a huge attitude adjustment when it came to my job. Since that revelation I see how God is potentially going to use me this year. You may recall that several months ago-8 to be exact-I blogged about a teacher whose husband was killed and she is dying of cancer. Well, she is teaching Kindergarten again this year (right next door to me) for as long as she can. Our 2nd day back at work she was a basketcase and she told me that that was the first time in 8 months she had gotten out of bed on the 13th of the month because that's the day her husband had died. I felt like she needed a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on, both of which I provided. Today, our Kindergarten aide (whom I just met yesterday) unloaded about her life. How the father of her children left her when she was 4 months pregnant for a younger girl that he had gotten pregnant as well. Now she's a single mom trying to make ends meet and is finally able to move out of her parents' house. Then, towards the end of the day, I met a sweet, sweet little girl that had been molested by her uncle. There's a good chance she'll be in my class this year so her mom told me all about the situation. I had to bite my tongue from telling the mom that she should've shot the uncle instead of having him sent to jail. (Yes, I know that 2 wrongs don't make a right but when it comes to a child I think the only punishment is by death) Am I trying to get you down? No! But I want to share the things I'm up against this year, the ways I get to "bloom where I'm planted." Is full day Kindergarten (something I don't believe in) my first choice? Not by a long shot, but that's where I was put so I plan to make the best of it to the best of my ability. Hopefully the adorable kids I've met this week will provide me with some humorous blogs to share with you.

Busy Bee Life

I vowed not to blog until I was in a better mood because I didn't want to be so negative. That took a couple days to accomplish and by the time I was in a better mood I was busy with work and getting last minute details taken care for P's birthday party. After work on Friday my parents came into town. Between them, Rob and I, we were able to throw the best birthday party P's had to date. It was low key, very little stress, included a fun group of friends, just enough food (but not too much) and lots of Cars stuff. Everyone kept going on and on about how much fun their child had and I know P had a blast!
Yesterday was spent hanging out with my parents, church, housework and getting things ready to start my first week back. Usually I toss and turn the night before the first day of school. However, between being exhausted from being on the go so much lately and knowing that I was only assessing new students today, I slept like a baby (except when P woke me up at 12:30 to tattle on Ruby....really???). Today I got to meet some adorable new Kindergarten students. It wasn't a busy day for me but I'm still tired none-the-less. Next Monday, however, I foresee being exhausted because it's the first day for the Kindergartners and with students that young you always have to be "on". So, I will try to blog but please forgive me if I slack a bit until I get into my new work routine. Until then, enjoy a few pictures from P's birthday party.....

Summer is Officially Over

I thought with being back from our camping excursion that I'd be blogging more but I've been pretty grumpy the past few days. I'm grumpy not because my Summer break is over (but that does suck...sorry mom!) but because I was told one thing and found out yesterday that the person isn't sticking to her word, which chaps my hide. At the end of the year I was told I could teach ELL next year, which made me so excited. I was excited to try something new, to get out of the classroom. Well, yesterday I get an email from the principal saying that she converted the other half time position so I have to stay in Kindergarten where she had originally put me. I could get into all the long conversations and politics surrounding this but I don't want this to come back to bite me so I'll leave it at that. Today I went into work because I was told it was mandatory but after being there a couple hours I was told that today was optional (GRRRR!). Then, as nice as my teaching partner is, I didn't have any say in who was hired and I gather that we are very different. She told me that she's unorganized, lacks behavior management skills and is a hoarder....something that doesn't work well with a job share (The hoarder part would be ok if I was like that but I purge almost to a fault!). If all goes well then Rob will get a contracting job where he can still be home every night but make more money. Then I can be done with school from Christmas break on. I want to be a stay at home mom now so I can deal with my job situation for a few months, knowing that I can have my cake and eat it too come December. :) I think I can....I think I can....

(One of) The Best 4th!

The 4th of July has long been one of my favorite holidays. It's about family and friends and good food without all the commercialization. This 4th of July, however, will be hard to beat in the future! We drove to Bridgeport, CA on Tuesday to camp for the week with some of our good friends. We played horseshoes, mud volleyball, had a huge campsite potluck, went to the 4th of July parade, enjoyed the firework display, ate good food, fed rainbow trout, went on hikes, lounged around, visited  an old ghost town, roasted marshmallows, spent A LOT of time outside, enjoyed nightly campfires, and went to the lake. P was in his glory with all the dirt and kids to play with! I could go on and on about ALL of the wonderful memories we created but I'll let the pictures tell the story this time........

Happy Birthday!!

3 years ago today, at this very moment, I was begging for an epidural. 9 hours and 6 minutes later our little world would be rocked with our precious son! He has brought us joy unmeasurable in every way possible. He makes us laugh on a daily basis with his great sense of humor. He has started challenging us on a daily basis the close he's gotten to 3, keeping us on our toes. He is such a compassionate soul, thinking of others and being kind hearted. Our world will never be the same now that he's entered it and we wouldn't have it any other way. We are truly blessed! So, today I'd like to wish my baby boy a Happy 3rd Birthday!!!!

Fun Weekend

Rob worked all weekend and P and I took a rather impromptu trip to visit my parents. We got to start P's birthday celebration a few days early. He's really into Cars right now so my mom had bought him Cars cupcakes (All he wanted for his birthday was cupcakes, balloons and binoculars....easy kid to please!).

He got 2 pairs of Cars swim trunks, Cars movies and a Jeff Gorvette car that he has played with nonstop. It was nice to spend some relaxing time with my parents. It was also nice to see some childhood friends at my parents' church yesterday that I haven't seen in awhile.
When he got home yesterday Rob was anxious to spend some time with P so they played outside for quite awhile. Rob filled P's pool and they had fun splashing each other and getting into a "hose war". After dinner they went out and finally got the kite high in the sky. For all the wind we have it sure is hard to get a kite up but they were successful with it last night.







I'll be MIA for a few days because of 4th of July festivities but look for fun pictures when I do return.