Week in Pictures!

The kids are sleeping at 7:40 on a Saturday night, and we are listening to the beautiful sound of rain.  It just doesn't get much better than this:-)  We've been busy, so my picture taking hasn't really been a priority this week, but I caught a couple of moments of fun!

Isla standing on the dock fishing!

Rowan loves to fish with Grandpa (and Grandma)!

This girl loves her daddy!  Alex was headed off to the truck, and she was just 2 steps behind.  Melt my little heart!

We caught a fish!  Proud little guy!

This was the scene one night after supper.  It cracks me up!  Isla just pushes buttons, but she sure thinks she needs a phone:-)

We were all in the kitchen getting supper ready, and Rowan did this!  Dixie is loved~

We bought Rowan some "light up" shoes today in Kansas City.  He wanted to sleep with them.  When I went to check on him, this is what I found.  Boy loves those light up shoes;-)

I went painting last night with my Momma and 2 great friends.  We laughed, painted, they fixed my painting, and we had an amazing time!  It is so calming to paint, even though I am really not talented at it:-) You should go to www.painttherapyuncorked.com to see what you can paint!  Photo courtesy of Margie Mudge~

It's a Wednesday~

It's been a rough couple of weeks at our house figuring out this whole schedule thing with school, daycare, volleyball, and Alex's work meetings.  Last week I was at school 60 hours, and this week I'm on target for another 48-50.  You know the saying, "A normal teacher works more hours in our 10 months than the average 40 hour a week employee works in 12."  Well,I feel like it's correct.  We're not even counting the hours I've spent emailing, creating, and lesson planning at home.  Ugh.

The positive is that I absolutely love what I do.  The not so positive is that my eyeballs are so tired that I'm fighting the urge to go to bed at 7:46.  Both kids are asleep, so maybe I'll make it until 8:00.

Here's to hoping we hit an easier groove, and my eye balls aren't so tired tomorrow:-)

Rowan Goes to Preschool!

Rowan started back at school this week with his friends!  We are very blessed to have two moms who have offered to help us get him to and from school since he only goes half days.  I can't even explain what a blessing this is and how much we love the skills he learns in the program.  Rowan serves as a peer model in his classroom for children with special needs.  There are currently 5 students total, but I am sure the numbers will increase as the year progresses.  I can only hope he will continue with the kind attitude he is learning now for all of his friends.

Alex took Rowan out to breakfast the first morning to "Pardee's."  That's Rowan's word for Hardee's and also the place Alex took Rowan for breakfast last year on the first day.  I think we have started a tradition;-)  We've tried to get him to say it correctly, but he just can't.  It has kind of become a family joke in our house now, especially since "Pardee's" is not exactly my idea of fine dining, but it is always Rowan's request.

Rowan eating like a "beast."

 Then Alex took Rowan to school and dropped him off!  My heart is sad that as a teacher, I will never see his first day, but I know it is a sweet bond that Alex will have with him.  Alex assured me that the teacher was nice, and Rowan chirped about school for most of the evening!  Success!

Big Guy

Rowan figuring it all out!  He looks pretty confident~

First Week of School!

Our house is just plain exhausted this week.  Rowan and I both started school on Tuesday, (I have pictures, but I haven't the energy to put them on yet).  We are finding our groove in the mornings for sure, and I'm doing a pretty good job of getting up at 5:30.   I'm coaching volleyball this year, and I'm going to end this week spending right at 60 hours at school.  Can we say exhausting??  Alex gets a great big hug this week, though.  He has been on drop off, pick up, feed, and bathe duty much of the week.  I think he may just win husband of the year, because he has also done it without complaint:-)

Hopefully, next week will be easier since we will be back on schedule, and I won't have to be at school so much.  I'm thinking this weekend will consist of some family naps;-)

We're Rolling Along~

Week one of work is done, and we all survived.  Actually, the week went WAY more smoothly than I imagined, and everyone got their groove back pretty quickly.  The kids had great reports everyday except Friday, but come on, it was Friday, and they were tired;-)

We bopped down to Wichita on Saturday morning to see some good friends who had a baby in April ( I know, I'm not friend of the year on that).  We played through the afternoon, cuddled a baby, and headed back home about 3:30 to get Rowan to a birthday party in the neighborhood!

Today has been a whirlwind with Sunday School, church, lunch, 4 loads of laundry, the painting of a bathroom, the mopping of the floors, balancing of the checkbook, and so on.  I forget how when I work, I end up doing pretty much all of the household chores on my weekend, and since we ran to Wichita yesterday, the majority of the chores have fallen on Sunday;-(

This week actually marks the start of the first week of "real" school, and we are going to be hopping.  I start coaching 8th grade volleyball tomorrow.  I loved playing volleyball back in my day, and I'm ecstatic about this challenge!  Alex has been supportive of it, and it certainly means that he will have more responsibilities with the children while I'm at school late.  The volleyball season goes through the first week of October, so it is a manageable season!

 Here's some of our week in pictures~

Rowan was being goofy and thought he was so funny with his jammies pulled all the way up to his chest:-)

This was on Wednesday night.  He is facing the wrong direction, but he just looks so peaceful!  He has stolen my  quilt a group of women gave me at Royal Family Kids Camp when I helped there.  If only he knew the love that went into the making of this quilt!  It melts my heart that he sleeps with it!

Don't ask me why there is a trashcan in the living room, but apparently it makes for a great foot stool!

This is how we roll!

Sassy was a trooper headed down to Wichita to meet baby Colton! 

The trip was exhausting, though!  I love the faded tattoo on her arm and her little hand in her snack cup as she snoozes:-)

Rowan helped Alex paint their bathroom.  It looks better:-)  This kid loves to paint!

Summer in Pictures-Last Edition 2012

The carefree days of summer are literally gone from our house on Tuesday.  This is the last set of pictures from my summer at home with the kids, and I absolutely love that I get to spend time with them during June and July and experience life as a stay at home mom.  My heart smiles to see the changes in the kids throughout the summer-particularly the tan lines;-) 

Isla really has taken to books in the last month,  She LOVES this book right now!

We sent Rowan to my mom's house for 3 days, and this is what happened to Sassy.  She got a terrible cold, and we spent much of our time rocking in this chair.  (I apologize for the fuzzy pic, but I think she looks so pathetic in this picture.)

Here she is reading that book again with a little more spunk!

We went to the zoo and a local radio station was interviewing the director of the zoo about this python.  If you know me at all, you know I would have preferred to be on the other side of this parking lot.  But thanks to my friend, Lindsey, Rowan LOVES snakes.  He ran right up to it, and he touched it.  It took every ounce of my being not to save him!

Pure Delight!

We rode the train at Gage Park and this was the best pic of 6:-)

Picnic in the Park!

Yum! Yum!

Alex took Rowan to a local game-playing kid-pleasing establishment.  It is a rare treat for him, but he had fun!

Smile, Rowan!

Driving!

This series of pictures cracks me up.  Sassy can now unlock our phones;-( 

Pushing buttons!

She is talking on the phone.  You should have heard her!  This girl has a social calendar~

Alex had left us for 5 days to go to San Diego.  This was the afternoon he got back.  Do you think the kids missed him;-)

We had our last North Pool trip of the summer.

This is what Isla prefers to do at the pool.

Oh, don't forget the snacks!

Now Rowan is part fish.

Look at her foot!  She eats like this every single time.  We try to have her put it down, because, well, it just isn't very eloquent table manners to put your feet on the table.  She must be comfortable!

We went to the Discovery Center.  This is Isla and her friend, Owen.

This was near the end of the trip.  Rowan's heart was sad.

What a blessed summer of memories we had!

Almost to the Starting Line~

I'm almost there.  Almost.  It is the day that marks the beginning of a new school year.  You see, in my world, I live August to May, and then June and July don't actually count as time on my calendar.  Those are fun months with few responsibilities outside of my husband, the two little creatures I birthed, and my home.  That's stress-free stuff (most days)!

For the last 8 years, I have relived 7th grade each and every day.  This marks year nine of 7th grade.  I LOVE my job, and I think 7th graders are some of the funniest human beings alive.  Seriously, I should blog about the quips they tell me each day.  One of the reasons I love my job so much is that they make me laugh, and they are honest!  Brutally, seriously, honest.  I've had them tell me necklace is tacky, my dress looks like a rain coat, and even that they thought I was just getting fat when in fact they realized I was 8 and half months pregnant!  So sometimes they aren't so great on my self esteem, but we always use it as a learning tool.  You know the rules, "Is it necessary to say, does it make someone feel better about themselves, or does it improve the situation."  They just don't always have the edit function yet, and I love that about them:-)

With their blessings, they also bring me utter and pure exhaustion.  I always equate the school day to being on a hamster wheel for 8 hours.  I typically end my day by driving to daycare to pick up my beautiful children in complete and total silence often staring out the front windshield with a glossy look over my eyes.  I've made the drive many times when I have absolutely no recollection of the trip:-0  It is this exhaustion that rules my world, and I hate it.

I'm making a resolve now to not jump on the hamster wheel, but to find peace and content with life outside of school!  I'm going to make some goals to help me stay focused.  (Alex is in a leadership class, and he said they told him 90% of people who write down a goal will actually achieve it.  That's pretty good odds in my opinion).  Hopefully these goals will help me find the balance I so desperately need to keep my stress level in check:-)  Here we go!

1. Go on one date a month with Alex!

2. Read 1 book a month for pleasure.  (I love to read, but I am often so exhausted during the school year, that I really don't read much at all.)

3. Post at least 4 blog entries a month. (I love looking back at the pictures, so I'm hopeful I can keep up with this one).

4. Go on a long weekend after both parent/teacher conference weeks.

5. Get up at 5:30 a.m. to start my day ahead.  (At the end of the year last year, everything was a rat race to get out of the house by 7 a.m.  I must be more intentional about this, and I think it may improve my mood;-).

6. Run at least 2 times a week.

Small, simple, but focused.