has it really been over 10 days?

So sorry that it's been so long since I've checked in here. Not quite sure what has happened to December. I heard a rumor that Christmas is this weekend. I'm teaching through Wednesday, and I'm kinda in denial that it seems to be rolling along with or without me. Guess I need to do something about this...


Had a good laugh today when Emerson told me to "Just text Santa, Mama. Tell him 'Purple bike, please,'" with regards to what she'd like him to bring me.

That kid cracks me up!

ho ho ho

Here's some eye candy to go along with all the actual candy I'm gobbling this Christmas season.

I present to you...Emerson and Pete :)

These two are from the tree lighting ceremony in our town on Thanksgiving weekend. These two sure do love their headgear.

Nanook of the North hamming it up at Bass Pro Shops.
LOVE this one. She just told Santa her wish ( a Buzz Lightyear talking toy), and he asked if there was anything else, anything at all that she wanted. Her reply? "Hmmmmm..." Classic.
The Big Moment for 2011. 2 smiling kids- victory!
She even had a hug for Mrs. Claus. This is a huge step for her, because she's been apprehensive of women since she was a tiny babe.

new tradition

I recently came across an idea that I LOVE (totally can't remember where- so sorry!) and wanted to share with the 13 or so of you who frequent this blog ;)

As the Christmas cards start rolling into our mailbox this year, we're going to open them together as a family at dinner and then say a prayer for the folks who sent them. We've already thanked God for several friends and family (who were really on the ball!), and Emerson asks me everyday how many cards came in the day's mail.

I LOVE this idea, and it's a way to remind our kids that we are called to intercede in prayer on behalf of others. Looking forward to many years of praying for you all!

this morning...

As Jeff and I were getting ready for work, Pete padded off down the hall and disappeared into the living room, in quest of the cat. I was getting dressed, and could hear him speaking with Jiko, but didn't hear any of the usual screeches and yelps that usually ensue when he's alone with her. After about a minute, I took off to investigate this new found peace. Here's the ensuing conversation:

P- "Uh oh. Uh oh, Mama. Jiko stuck." (said Pete, who was about 3 inches from the as-yet-undecorated-but-erect Christmas tree.)

M- "What do you mean 'She's stuck?' "

P- "Jiko stuck tree. Stuck. Uh oh."

M- "Pete, what are you talking about? Jiko, where are you?" (as I walked in for a closer look)

P- "Ohhhh dear. Jiko stuck tree. No no Jiko. Gooown upz, Jiko."

(That last bit is "Grown-Ups," as in "No Pete. We don't put coasters in the DVD player. No touch, Pete. The DVD player is just for grown-ups.")

When what do my wondering eyes see. Jiko, in the Christmas tree. NINE years we've had this cat, and she's never, ever considered climbing the Christmas tree. That is reserved for other people's cats. Not mine. But she's a cat at her breaking point. Pete tries to squeeze and pull and hit the life out of her on a daily basis, and she's losing her mind. So when he was on the warpath and she saw a tree in the middle of the living room, she did what any cat would do...climb for safety.

This year, our Christmas miracle will be surviving with all the ornaments in tact. Between Thing B and my fur person, I've got my work cut out for me...

mark down this date

11/25/11-

Emerson just read a word.

We're watching the Iowa game and she said "Why does the football field say Big?" (We're in the Big 10 conference, and the logo is the letters BIG (and the G looks like a zero. Sort of. If you really use your imagination.)

Anyways, no one said anything about it saying Big, but my smartie girl read it. Read it. READ IT.

Wow. Totally floored and smiling and all warm and fuzzy inside.

Adding it to the list of things to be Thankful for.

buh bye

Know what I did tonight? C'mon, just guess.

Give up?

I put away all of our baby bottles. Pete had his last bottle over the weekend and we haven't looked back. Well, some of us haven't looked back. Pete, for his part, still asks for his "badow" every night, but he's getting over it.

These bottles are gonzo. Like in ziplock baggies and in a box headed for the basement. Cleared off the counter where the drying rack has lived for the past 20 months. Cleaned out the cabinet where the bottles have been since 2007. Smiled BIG the whole time. Felt the teensiest, tiniest twinge of sadness, but not for the reason you'd think. You see, I felt bad because I wasn't feeling bad. Didja catch that? I felt absolutely no uterine contractions whatsoever, and then felt bad because I'm over the the whole baby phase.

So what's THAT all about?

photography tips (from someone with a clue)

I'm not a huge fan of using the flash on my camera. In fact, I hate it. It makes everything look plastic, and gives a blue hue to the photos. I usually only use it outside on a sunny day (I know, opposite of conventional wisdom, right?)

That being said, I've accepted that with my wiggly, giggly kiddos, I'm the not-so-proud owner of a large stash of slight to outrageously blurry photos. But not any more. I've always wondered how to take great action shots without using my flash. And now I know.

Enjoy this article from The House of Smiths blog.

Man, I LOVE the blogging world.

pinterest

Hi all~

You may have noticed the new banner on the top of the page...do you know about Pinterest? It's an online bulletin board where you can "pin" pictures or videos from almost ANY website. It's like folding and dog-earring your favorite magazine, but online. And you can "follow" friends and strangers alike to get inspiration. Like this fun little idea that we cranked out today.

I like to call this the starbox. Emerson quickly turned it in to Starbuck's, and made a sign selling coffee for $.25. Pete just wants to crawl into Emerson's box and torment her. I saw it on Pinterest last week, and we made them this afternoon in about 4 minutes. Oodles of fun. ( I even got to watch one quarter of the Iowa game- woo hoo!)

{as a side note, she had her face painted today at the zoo, so ignore strange markings on her cheeks :) }

Anyhoo, check out Pinterest. You need to be "invited" to join, so just leave me a comment with your email and I'll send you a link. Happy pinning!

great hydration tip

I absolutely adore Disney Family Fun Magazine. It's loaded with great tips for parents of kids of all ages, and I can read the entire thing in the time it takes to dry my nails. Truly. This is great, because I barely even have time to pee right now. I'd love to share a quick one that I read last week.

We've been having a hard time getting Emerson to drink water...she's obsessed with juice and Gatorade and chocolate milk and all the other things-that-started-as-irregular-treats but have turned into Bad Habits. (I blame summer) She tends to go "on strike" and will hold out all day until you cave and give her some juice out of fear that she'll dry up and blow away.

One of the tips in the October issue suggested putting rubber bands on the bottom of your child's cup or glass. We're using some of our massive collection of Silly Bandz. Em starts the day with 3 bandz on her cup and is able to remove one each time she finishes a cup of water. Once all three are removed, she's free to choose her own drink. So far, it's working like a charm. Score one for Mama!

Woot Woot!

october, so far

since we've last chatted...

• I have turned 34
• I've attended as many teacher's work days as student attendance days. It certainly seems that way...
• I've hit somewhat of a stride with teaching and it feels good to be in the classroom
• Pete has gotten wicked sick with a respiratory infection and has needed a nebulizer and steroids to keep his airways open. Hoping that we're not going down the Asthma route
• Friends have given birth to Piper, Jack, Charlie, and Isabella (all in a 4 day span!)
• Emerson has matured into an awesome, sweet, precocious 4 year-old. Well, she was probably already all of those things, but I have a new appreciation for her.
• I signed up for a 9 mile race in just a few weeks. Now THAT'S motivation!

On a serious note, I'd love for you to take a few minutes to read this blog, called The Ekwall Expansion Project. It's written by a woman named Erin Ekwall, and details the amazing story of her son Jack's first tempestuous week of life. Erin's husband Johnny is a good friend to both Jeff and myself, and their family has been in our prayers since hearing Jack's heartbreaking birth story last week. I'll warn you that the first post that I linked is tough to read, but a week later, things are looking up. However, the Ekwalls could use your prayers, so please read and add them to your list :)

i’m so thankful

…for these smiling eyes. Some of the best stuff on earth, right here in my own front yard. It’s good to be me!

she did it :)

After months of reading every book that the library had on the subject, hours of debate about wearing the fluffy white dress, and a solid week filled with "I won't do it!," Emerson completed her duties as a flower girl. While most girlie girls would jump at the chance to wear a fab dress and be fancy, my shy gal prefers not to stand in the limelight. So when she realized that her purpose was to a.) look cute and b.) be noticed by everyone , she expressed her displeasure at the whole process.

And while she was a total PILL during pictures and had a breakdown (not MELTDOWN, mind you, but a serious attack of nerves) just before she set off down the aisle, at the end of the day, she did enjoy herself. And although she told me for months that I shouldn't have said yes and that she'd never, EVER do it again, she ended the day by say

ing "And the next time, I'm a flower girl..."

Well done, Big!

dumped

Can I just say that I was dumped by my nanny on Sunday. Via text. Effective immediately.

Needless to say, it's been a fun week.

Being a working mom is awesome.

photos

So I just saw my August Picasa collage of photos and realized that I have not taken One. Single. Picture. This month. Not one!

I guess the bright side is that at this rate, I'll get my scrapbooks all caught up.

Although I would suppose that would require having the time to scrap.

Sigh.

hello? is this thing on?

Um, I need to start off with an apology. I have been massively absent from the blog world. Really from life in general. As you can imagine, I'm trying to juggle my new full-time teaching gig with being a mom (which has turned into a part-time job. How is THAT right????) AND travel planning. I'm sure that by now, there are literally crickets chirping on the other end of the screen, and that's just fine. I'm just going to keep on blogging when I have time and I'll consider it to be like a diary of sorts. If no one reads it, it's still therapeutic for me.

So far, I'm not doing the greatest job with the balance aspect of my life. But it's still early in the game. I have hope that I can get this thing figured out before school ends in June.

I did have a sad revelation tonight though and I need to get it off my chest.

Any stay-at-home parent, really ANY parent will tell you that 5:00 pm is the Witching Hour. Kids are getting bored and moms have to start thinking about dinner and this is usually where trouble ensues. There were countless days in my Mommyhood where we'd be fine until 5:00, and by the time Jeff showed up for dinner, one of the kids or me would be collapsed in a motionless heap, beaten down by the madness of the 5 o'clock hour. Can I get an Amen?

Imagine with me for a minute that said Witching Hour was basically the ONLY time you get to spend with your kids on a daily basis. Sad. Super sad. I HATE that. Neither the kids nor I am at my best at this time of day. I need to find a teaching job that goes from noon-7pm so that I can be with them in the morning when they're fun and happy and generally less sucky. In the meantime, I need to learn to deal and make the most of the time that I DO spend with E & P.

What am I moaning about, you ask? Aren't you out of the house ALL DAY and ready to face the 5:00 hour head on when you get home, you may wonder? Um, well, sort of. I mean, I really do want to spend time with the kids and play and read and cram 8 hours of mothering into 2 hours before bedtime. But sadly, someone does need to make dinner. We can't eat out of the crockpot EVERY night. It's just really hard to come home to kids who've missed me all day and tell them "Mama can only play for a few minutes before I need to start dinner."

Still working this out. Open to any and all suggestions that you may have.

reaching out

I have read over and over again that when we pray, God always responds in one of 3 ways: yes, no, or now right now. I have seen countless examples of this in my own life. Sometimes, prayers are answered literally the same day. Sometimes, it's a clear "No." (Still haven't give up hope on that purple Corvette that I prayed for when I was 5...) Lots of times, it's a "Not now." My teaching job, for example. God had a plan and His timing was the right timing for us. It's so reassuring that He's in charge, and all I have to do is to trust Him!

Recently, I reached out to a friend and invited her to The Alpha Course, which is being offered at our church. I was nervous to extend the invite, as we have not really discussed religion at length. I put it off for a few weeks, but finally worked up the nerve to type an email and took a deep breath as I hit "Send." I think I even said, out loud, "Now, I just wait and see."

I was struck with the thought that she'll either say yes, no, or not now. I never thought about it like that before, but I realized that in my own walk of Faith, I've done the same thing to God. I've told Him "No- I don't want to mess with religion at this point in my life." I've said "Not now. I'm too busy with ________ to learn more about Christ." And, thankfully, I eventually said "Yes, I believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior!"

If I weren't so tired, I'm sure I could think of something epic to say to wrap this all together for you, but the fact that I even had the thought at all at this point is a freaking miracle unto itself.

do you picasa?

Just made this with free Picasa software. This, in a nutshell, is our month. Cool, eh?

it's a blur

unpack boxes hang posters sit through institutes stress out hire a nanny miss my kiddos read curriculum guides learn new national teaching standards make copies laminate nametags fill out HR forms miss my kiddos plan lessons set up email attend team meetings use the crock pot get up early run before sunrise move desks around work until 9 pm wear an ID badge stress out miss my kiddos

Tomorrow afternoon, I get to meet the young minds that I will hold in my hands for the next 9 months. Yeah, I'm pretty stinkin' excited to get back into the classroom!

pics of the best day

 

Sunday was such a great day. The weather was absolutely perfect. We had lots of family time. We were able to enjoy a wonderful picnic at a local forest preserve with Grammy and Grandpa. All was right with the world, and that’s a good thing.

We started with an impromptu jaunt through the sprinklers. This is the first time that Emerson would give it a try, and she loved it. It was Pete’s first time too, although she has a 2.5 year head start on her. I couldn’t believe that he just stood there with it hitting him right in the face. Can’t tell if he’s fearless or stupid. Going with the former on that one.

 

Ironically, these pictures represent the end of a blissful era for me. The very next day, I received a call from my old principal that he had an opening and wanted me back. So, I’m no longer a Stay-At-Home Mama. Effective immediately. I can hardly believe it, but this was the perfect way to end it.

Wish me luck in this new chapter. And pray for my kiddos as we transition. It’s definitely going to be an adjustment for them, and your prayers for a smooth transition are appreciated.

I’ll keep you posted…

she is a genius

Can I brag on Kid 1 for just a moment? Hope that's a yes cause I'm going to do it anyway.

Jeff was playing some "math games" with her at bedtime tonight. This involves him saying things like "If I have 5 fingers and add 3 more fingers, how many will I have in all?" She then uses her hands to act out the problem and then they repeat the math fact together-5 plus 3 equals 8.

She LOVES this. She's WAY into numbers lately and is always asking me how much this plus that makes. I'm happy to oblige her...we always prayed that our kids would be strong in math.

Ok, on to the genius bit. So Jeff says to her, " How much is 1 finger plus 2 fingers plus 1 more finger." And he proceeds to start to repeat it so she can act it out with her hands. But she just looks at him and says, "Four. It's four, Papa."

My mouth was on the floor. As a former teacher, I know that mental math skills usually come in sometime in the Primary grades, depending on the kid. But this was impressive, if I do say so myself.

Guess I'll go start filling out her MENSA application now...

confession

I need to get a few things off my chest. And it's not going to be pretty.

There are days that I. Just. Don't. Want. To. Play. And I don't want to go for a bike ride. And I don't want to dress up. And I don't even want to color. Some days, I just don't want to be a Mom.

There. I said it.

Some days, I just want to do my travel planning work, clean the house, read a magazine, or do nothing at all. And sometimes, that feeling grows and grows, until I am so grouchy that I can't even stand to be around myself, let alone the noisy small people who reside in my house.

Of course, I love my children. But I guess I have this notion of what being at Stay-at-Home-Mom "should" be, and quite frankly, what goes on in my house is not that picture. I read some blogs and books and magazines where Motherhood is all sunshine and puppies and rainbows and light.

This ain't one of those blogs. And it certainly ain't one of those lives.

I'm not naive enough to think that those people don't have bad Mommy days. But I do think that it's OK to talk about it. Not only does it help the Mama in question, but I think it helps others too. Don't you feel a sense of relief when you read something and think "You must have a hidden camera in MY house, because I can totally relate to that."

There is more to this story, but I can't get my words around what is floating through my brain.

scenes from a birthday weekend

We’ve been busy partying our pants off this weekend and are gearing up for Round 3…Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Craig are on their way here this afternoon. Here are some of the highlights from the big 0-4!

Some people, who shall remain nameless, got a good chuckle out of Emerson’s red and blue Star Wars cake. In fact, the lady at the bakery was completely flummoxed and thought we were ordering for an absent kid. The rest of the party was {loosely} pirate themed, and we were prepared to create a galleon out of cake and frosting, but E was emphatic. It would be a Star Wars cake, goshdarnit. And so it was.

 

Here are few more of the highlights of our great weekend.

And as we were going to bed last night, I said, “I think 4 is going to be a great year, Big. Just think, 365 days of 4!”

silent pause from Emerson, and then…

“I CAN’T WAIT ‘TIL I’M FIVE!!”

Oh brother.

four

 

It’s official. We now have a four year-old. I’m not gonna lie…I’m not lamenting the departure of 3. But I love this girl!

 

(I’ll post more pics from the big birthday weekend later tonite, I hope)

sunshine

She'll always be there to help you up, Bug.

Hope your day was a {sunshiney} as theirs was. I heart summer!

water babies

 

This summer, we’ve been living at the pool. We joined a small neighborhood bathing club, and it’s been perfect for our kids at these ages. Emerson is learning to swim but is not proficient by any means. And Pete, well he’s basically a danger to himself at any given moment. So the kiddie pool at the club is just right for us.  We love to bring friends and are so happy to spend the hours splashing in under the sun. I heart summer!