Teacher No More

I guess 'once a teacher, always a teacher', right? That may be but today I officially resigned from my current district. After having Easton I decided that being a SAHM is way better the second time around! When I stayed home with P the first year of his life I did not enjoy it very much. Not that I didn't enjoy him but I didn't enjoy the solitude. I had very little social life and was stuck on top of a mountain with a baby that needed quite a bit of medical attention at the time. OK, maybe 'stuck' isn't the right word but it was a rough year. Being a SAHM wreaked havoc on my marriage and our finances. So I guess God knew what He was doing when he made us wait and space the boys out 3 1/2 years because now I love staying at home. Maybe it's because I don't just have a baby to talk to every day (The conversations get a little one sided when it's just a baby and mommy). Maybe it's because I have a social life and have adult interaction pretty much every day (other than Rob). Maybe it's because we have so much less debt than we did 3 years ago. Maybe it's because I'm more secure. Maybe it's because Rob and I have a stronger marriage. Maybe it's because I have my photography so I don't feel like I'm just a mom (Not that there's anything wrong with that). I don't know what's different this time but it did feel good to submit my letter of resignation to my principal and the district this morning. Once the boys are in school full time I'm sure I'll go back to the teaching profession because I do enjoy it but for right now I am more than happy being a teacher to 2 young boys that are my world!

Anger to Laughter

It's amazing that a 3 year old can make me angry one minute and have me laughing the next. Both happen, ironically, when he's overly tired. Today was a perfect example. This morning I was inputting info into the computer. P is obsessed with computers, remotes, electronics, etc lately. So I purposely told him not to touch the computer (I saw him eyeing it when I first stood up) while I ran up to get Easton from his bassinet. When I came back downstairs P had indeed touched the computer, messing up the page and making me have to redo it. I was livid because we were on a time crunch and more importantly because I had specifically told him not to do it. He had been in the middle of playing games on my Kindle, which I quickly grabbed out of his hands. His response was to pick up his toy sword, swing it at me and tell me he was going to cut me because I took him games away. Needless to say the sword went in the garbage and P threw a wing dinger of a temper tantrum. Fast forward to this evening. We were over the computer/sword fiasco and P had me laughing. Rob was holding Easton while I was preparing dinner. P was in the kitchen with me and asked if he could have Cheetos. I told him no because it was dinner time. A few minutes later I heard Rob ask what P had in his hands as he ran to his room. Lucky for us, P is still a very honest kid (99% of the time) so when I followed him into his room and asked what he had he was quick to show me the stash of Cheetos he had hidden behind his toy bins for later. I literally had to bite my cheek to keep from laughing because that's something I so did as a child. Although I don't think I was quite smart enough to start doing it at 3 years old. Later I was running on the treadmill and he was upstairs with me. He picked up his binoculars, pointed them at me and then yelled. He said, "Oh, I thought it was a monster but it was just you Mommy." Well played son, well played. To top off the night I was helping him get ready for bed. Rob and I were talking when P walked out of the bathroom, crying. I asked what had happened and he said he wasn't paying attention and had fallen in the toilet. I looked down to see his PJ bottoms wet and I couldn't help but to bust up laughing because, again, that's something I would've (ok maybe still would) done. It's nice to know that he may look like his daddy but he inherited my gracefulness. I know we are blessed with a good boy. A strong willed boy? Indeed, but a sweet, funny boy none the less.

Spring is in the Air!

 

Spring seems to be here and I love it!! The boys and I have been taking advantage of the warm weather by getting together for park play dates and taking lots of walks around the property. This morning we went to our friends' house because she wanted pictures with the lambs. P had a blast playing in their backyard with all the kids and Easton loved being held by everyone. Here are a few pics from our morning....

 

Small Places??

Whenever I complain about how small our house is Rob likes to remind me that loves grows in small places. That may be so as I feel our marriage is stronger than ever. However, since Easton's come along I feel our small place is causing me to be claustrophobic. I do not get to enjoy alone time to unwind unless all the boys are asleep and I stay downstairs. I can't sit in my favorite overstuffed chair and read at night because it's less than a foot away from P's bed. I can't run on the treadmill at will because it's about 10 ft from P's bed. Since we only have 1 bath tub I can't even relax in our garden tub because P's toys are all over it. Although  I'm not a huge TV fan I do like to watch TV in bed for a few minutes before falling asleep. However I can't do that because Easton's bassinet is in our room. I miss my ME time. I feel like I'm surrounded all the time. (Even as I write this, P keeps coming in for various reasons.) I'm not the only one that has to deal with it. P doesn't really have his own space so I'm always nagging him to clean up. Easton doesn't sleep that well at night and I think it's because he doesn't have his own quiet room. He goes to sleep around 8 but then I have to get ready for bed as does Rob. By the time Rob is done with his bath and we're done lying in bed, talking, it's close to 10 and then Easton wakes up shortly after to nurse. Now that Winter is behind us for the most part I'm remembering things I like about this house.....but they're all outside. When I make a count down chain for P's 4th birthday (when he's magically going to turn back into our sweet angel)  I'm also going to make one for us moving. My goal is to be in another, more spacious house Memorial Day weekend. The countdown is on!!!

More From the Blog Below

For some reason I can't put all the pictures on one blog so here are the rest from our fun filled trip..... (See below for details from our trip)

 

Down South

While I took the boys down to San Diego, Rob went down to Vegas for 24 hours of fun at the NASCAR race. My weekend consisted of a science museum, lots of beach time, a rain storm, Seaworld, a treasure hunt, a birthday party, great Mexican food, a walk around my alma mater, time at the pool and a ton of memories that I will cherish. I'll let the (unedited) pictures tell the story.........

Weekend Wrap Up

When people ask me about Easton's schedule I want to reply, "Schedule? What's that?" With P I was so organized and on top of a schedule with him. He took 2 naps a day until he was about 18 mos old and my day revolved around those naps. I take for granted that Easton's such an easy, go with the flow kind of baby and make it hard for him to maintain any type of schedule. Let's take Thursday for example. After dropping P off at school I had 2 back to back appointments that went until it was time to get P. We came home long enough to have lunch and a short rest period before heading off to meet Rob for a tax appointment. From there Rob took P while I took Easton to book club. By that point Easton was so exhausted that he cried uncontrollably, forcing me to leave after a few bites of dinner and well before the book was discussed. I tried to lay low with the boys on Friday so Easton could catch up on sleep. Once Rob got home and we had dinner I left him with the boys so I could go cash in on a massage, which relaxed me after a busy week. But then Saturday was busy again. First we went to breakfast as a family and then we took the boys to their first college basketball game. We had to leave early so Rob could attend a dinner with some of our friends. By the time I put the boys to bed last night, I realized that having a go with the flow kind of baby isn't always good. His minor cold that he had had early in the week was now getting worse. He had a hard time breathing most of the night and woke up this morning very raspy. Instead of going to church I headed off to pediatric urgent care with him while Rob stayed home with P. Luckily, the doctor didn't find anything seriously wrong but he recommended breathing treatments for the next few days as a precaution. By the time I picked up Easton's prescription and got home it was lunchtime. After making P and myself lunch I laid down with the boys because I, too, was exhausted from a rough night last night. By the time we woke up Rob was getting ready to take off again for another dinner with friends. I would like to say that this week will be calmer but that's not the case. I am going to lay low with the boys again tomorrow in hopes of Easton feeling back to normal. I have a million projects to do around the house because Spring fever is hitting me and because I am EAGERLY anticipating our move in the next few months. So that will keep me busy. Tuesday and Wednesday will be a fine balance between running errands, getting ready for a family trip and making sure that my boys stay rested. And to think.....most women work outside of the house and still keep it all together. How is that possible? HA!