Busy Life

I love my life.  I will start with that.

I have 3 awesome kids who make me proud to be a mom. They learn new things daily and amaze me at the amount of love I see in them.

I love my job.  I love teaching preschool - nothing makes me prouder than seeing 4 year olds "get it".  When things click in their brain - when they get the lightbulb turned out.  I love it.  I'm shocked to be saying this - but I love it more than teaching middle/high school kids.  It's exactly where I need to be.

I love our church.  I love the family we have there.  Our small group - I cannot tell you the difference this has made in our lives.  Tuesday nights make me happy because I know I'm going to spend time with a wonderful group of people (and our kids will too!).  I love serving in our worship ministry.  I love being a part of that amazing group of talented people.

I love bags.  Y'all knew that already.  :)

And most importantly I love my husband.  He is such an important part to making things work.  He is a piece of our crazy life puzzle that just doesn't work well without him!

Now - having said all that, I have to find some time in my days for me.  Not sure what part of the above needs to suffer, because it would be hard to choose from any of those to pull back on, but it needs to happen!

I have found a 5K I would like to do on December 7th.  It is September 7.  It is exactly 12 weeks away.  I am literally sitting on the couch right now.  So this will be a couch to 5K scenario.  I can do this.  I will do this.

So, if you see me out and about and have read this I hold YOU accountable for asking me how its going.  I am going to fill out the paperwork and send in my check this week to do this race.  I am committing financially.  Now I just need to commit my time and focus to this.

Here's to new and healthier beginnings.

MJ#1 Birth Story

I had a friend ask if I had birth story's for my kids....had never thought about it! I started with the most dynamic birth, MJ #1.  It's definitely an entertaining story.  I'm glad I got this down for when she gets older I can have her understand the misery she put me through! Haha :)

MJ #1’s birth story

March 8, 2010

I had been having some increasing contractions, but they were still very irregular.  I started to chart them to make sure I wasn’t missing anything.  With Jackson my water had broke so I knew that labor was starting.  I went to work that day and sat down most of the day in front of the overhead projector.  Nothing was out of the ordinary so I just kept writing them down and keeping track.

March 9, 2010

I went to school just like normal.  I was continuing to track my contractions throughout the day.  They weren’t terribly strong, but they were there.  Still irregular, with the shortest between them around 7 minutes.  I packed up my bags and remember looking at the clock as I was leaving – it was 3:32pm.  On my ride home I called the nurse on-call and asked when I should head to the hospital (my original due date was March 14^th).  She again told me what I knew, that they needed to be 5 minutes or less apart before I went.  Our home was 30 minutes from the hospital where I was to deliver, so I wanted to make sure I gave myself plenty of time.  I told her they were inconsistent and all over the place, so she said just wait until they get consistent and then head that way. 

I arrived at my house and went inside to see JJ and my mom (JJ was 3 at the time).  I had some presents from friends/family that had arrived that day in the mail.  As I opened the presents, my contractions started to intensify.  I started to write them down again – and at this point I decided that my husband (who worked about 15 minutes away at the local university) should start to make his way home.  By the time he would arrive we should be ready to start heading to Dover to the hospital.  Only problem was my mom had our car, so she had to go pick him up.  She loaded JJ up and started heading that way.

Once my mom left things really picked up steam.  I went and laid down on our bed to hopefully relax.  The contractions intensified more.  I started to feel light headed, so I got up and got a drink that had some sugar in it.  This is when I felt the urge to go to the bathroom.  I walked into the bathroom, sat on the toilet and had a BM.  The contractions were really strong at this point. My husband called to check on me – which I could barely talk.  He tried to get anything out of me – and I really could not say anything.  At this point, still on the toilet I felt like I needed to go to the bathroom again.  After about 10 seconds I realized, this was not a ‘go to the bathroom’ feeling.  This was a ‘need to push this baby out’ feeling.

I was still home alone – and at this point terrified.  Brandon was trying to still talk to me on the phone as he was making his way back from work.  I still was pretty much a mute because I was in so much pain, and also holding the baby in. He made the decision to get off the phone with me and call an ambulance.  He called me right now to let me know they were on the way.  Only problem was there was no way I was getting up to walk to our door to unlock it.  I was laying on my bed, two cats curling up next to me, just scared to death I was going to be alone in our apartment having our second child.  Brandon stayed on the phone with me the whole time just talking me through it.  It took about 10 or so more minutes before he finally made it to our house – still beating the paramedics.  When he got there he instantly went and found towels, scissors, and started to get water going to boil on the stove.  Yea – TERRIFIED.  Haha.

The paramedics got there, examined me and told me I was nowhere near having a baby.  I about ripped the guys head off.  My contractions were varying from 1 minute apart to as short as 20 seconds apart at this point.  Never regular.  They put me on the gurney and wheeled me to the ambulance.  Two awesome paramedics stayed in the back with me and talked to me the whole time we traveled 8 miles to the closest hospital (not the one I had planned to deliver at).  When they were timing them they were trying to make me laugh – they had just gone through OB training the day before and thought my call was a practice run.  So they knew exactly what to do. 

The ambulance driver blew through lights and got us to the hospital in about 10 minutes (mind you – this was all in the I-95 corridor of Delaware.  HEAVY traffic). 

When they pulled me into the L&D triage, the nurse listened to MJ #1’s heart to make sure all was good.  It had not occurred to me until this point that she could have been stressed.  Glad I didn’t worry until then!  She then checked me – and when she did I screamed.  The nurse’s face was priceless.  She quickly removed her gloves, threw up the sides of my bed and started yelling down the hall to the nurses station.  They were going to have to move fast because MJ #1 was ready to be born – probably on the next contraction.  She got at the head of the bed and Brandon was at my feet.  We pick up a nurse on the way to the elevator, just incase something happened while we were on our way to the delivery room.  We were literally sprinting as fast as you can with a hospital bed down the hallway.  We got in the elevator, made it out to the delivery floor and right when they pushed me into my delivery room a contraction was coming.  I was in the hospital and I was not waiting anymore!  I warned them, to which all the nurses started telling me to hold on because nothing was ready – they were still getting gloves on and there was no doctor there to deliver.  I wasn’t waiting though – the 1^st year resident literally walked in the room right when I started to push and caught MJ #1.  No lie – caught her.  And then the pain was gone.  MJ #1 was born at 5:14pm on March 9^th, 2010 – 39 weeks, 4 days, 6 pounds, 8 ounces, 19 inches long.  Girl had a schedule to keep! She was perfect – but the doctor told me that the next time, if there was one, that I needed to plan my delivery.  I delivered way too fast! There were no pictures in the delivery room - things happened so quickly we had nothing of her first hour.  

JJ and baby sister.  One of the first pictures of MJ #1.

Homemade Advent Calendar

I decided earlier in the fall that I wanted to make my own advent calendar this year.  Since Thanksgiving was on the 22nd this year, I knew I'd have a bit of time after the holiday to create my calendar.

I didn't do anything too complicated.  Here's what I used:

Christmas themed scrapbook paper
Red/green scrapbook paper
25 envelopes
Mini-clothes pin clips (found in the scrapbooking section of your craft store)
Twine
Wood dowel rods
Christmas lights

Obviously there is a lot of room for variation here.  The only thing we bought to complete this project was the dowel rods.  Everything else I had at the house.

The hardest part was coming up with the list of activities for my kids to do.  I wanted to make them really specific for them - stuff they'd enjoy.  Here are the activities they'll be doing everyday, starting with December 1st (which was Saturday):

Dec. 1: Attend the our local Christmas Parade of Lights
Dec. 2: Go see Santa on the KC Southern Train
Dec. 3: Paint Christmas ornaments
Dec. 4: Make grandparents a special Christmas card
Dec. 5: Make the official Santa letter
Dec. 6: Celebrate St. Nicholas day - read the story of St. Nicholas
Dec. 7: Family Game Night
Dec. 8: Go for yogurt after MJ #1's dance recital
Dec. 9: FaceTime grandparents and sing Christmas carols to them
Dec. 10: Make snowflakes out of paper and decorate the dining room with them
Dec. 11: Take your list and go see Santa!
Dec. 12: Write a Christmas card to a friend we won't see
Dec. 13: Build Santa's workshop in the foyer
Dec. 14: Make your teacher a Christmas card
Dec. 15: Family Christmas Movie Night
Dec. 16: Wear your Santa hat - ALL DAY
Dec. 17: Bake and decorate Christmas cookies
Dec. 18: Turn on Christmas music and have a dance party!
Dec. 19: Transform our hallway into the North Pole
Dec. 20: Read the Christmas story in the book of Luke from the Bible
Dec. 21: Drive to find Christmas lights (after they've had a bath in their Pj's!)
Dec. 22: Decorate a gingerbread house
Dec. 23: Watch the Polar Express and have a Movie Night in our Pj's
Dec. 24: Bake cookies for Santa and read Twas the Night Before Christmas
Dec. 25: Christmas!

Here's a picture of what our calendar looks like :)

Here's an up close of the envelopes

Here's how I clipped them to the 'tree'

The final product.  The kids have been super excited about it so far this season!  Yea me! :)

Christmas gifts

I have been working really hard on getting all my shopping done this week - for the kids and Brandon.  And my other big goal this year is to purchase 99% of the things online so I don't have to deal with the stores.

Brandon heard a little saying last year on KLOVE (an awesome radio station - if you don't know about it, google it.  It will change your life!):

Something you want
Something you need
Something to wear
Something to read

So I have adopted this little rhyme to help me purchase gifts for the kids (plus one from SN).  Honestly, buying presents for your kids can get crazy.  And overwhelming.  Because you want them to have cool stuff, but that ends up just breaking the bank. Here's what I have so far for the kids:

JJ:
Want - STUMPED (first two things on this child's list was an iPad and an iPhone - yea, not gonna happen)
Need - Checkers game with the floor mat (so the big checkers)
Wear - A new A&M 12th Man Jersey
Read - Two books on incredible fishing stories for us to read at bed time

Currently at around $85 for those 3 items.  

MJ #1:
Want - Her very own Disney Princess Magazine subscription (she gets so upset every time JJ gets a magazine in the mail.  He has subscriptions to 4 magazines.  Yes, 4. And he's only 6).
Need - the Leap Frog Jr. Tag Pen
Wear - a cool new pair of Keen sandles
Read - 3 books to accompany her Tag Pen

Around $100 for these 4 items.  Keen shoes were sort-of free.  They were purchased with a gift card that Keen gave us for some faulty shoes.

MJ #2:
Nothing for this girl yet - I mean, what does a 2 month old really need?  Diapers? Paci's? How cheesy would it be to wrap those up!?

And then there is the stockings.  I tried to get these between JJ and MJ#1 very similar because they are two little dramas if they do not get exactly what the other one got.  Here's where they're currently at:

JJ Stocking:
Lego Christmas Tree
$15 iTunes gift card
Stuffed Scooby Doo
Scooby Doo Wii Game
And probably some random candy

MJ#1 Stocking:
Snow White Lego Set
$15 iTunes gift card
Stuffed Phineas (because she LOVES her brothers - and there are quite a few fights over him)
Dora Wii Game
And random candy

MJ#2 Stocking:
Yep - nothing yet!  Probably some teething toys or something.  Poor kid. Haha. At least I have a stocking with her name on it hanging from the mantel!

So honestly, I'm not doing too shabby!  Sort of proud of myself. I have or have placed the order for everything listed above (except candy and iTunes cards).  So I feel like I'm ahead of the game.  I also like blogging about this so next year I can remember what I did for them.  Now if I can just remember to take pictures of the Christmas decorations I've put up so next year that won't be so difficult!!!

Baking is therapy.

I hate to admit this, but I am slightly overwhelmed.  I know - the holidays are over.  What is there to be overwhelmed about?  Well, for our family, the first 3 months of this year are filled with activities. 

At the end of this month we are traveling to Florida to board a Disney cruise boat.  I am really looking forward to this trip!  It will be lots of fun and JJ and MJ are really going to have a great time.  But I'm overwhelmed by the thought of packing and traveling again in such a short amount of time.  And we're packing warm weather clothes, not what we have in our closets - so that gets sort of hairy.  Especially for MJ.  Last summer stuff doesn't fit.  And this coming summer stuff is going to be still way too big (she's in 24 months right now and all this summer stuff is 2T).  Ughhh....

My sister-in-law, Whitney and her husband, Billy are waiting the imminent birth of their first child, Mac (we'll just call her Mac because that's what MJ can say the best).  So when we return from the cruise, we will pack up and head to Texas a few weekends later to meet my first niece.  I am really excited for them and excited to get to hold a brand new baby.  But again, more packing and traveling - but this time for a short weekend (I'm not sure what's worse - a long week travel and pack or the quick turn around of a weekend).

Then in March the kids and I are planning to travel to Houston to go to the LS&R with my parents for spring break.  JJ is 5 and has never been.  I think he would get a real kick out of the whole rodeo scene.  And MJ will love saying "COW" and "MOO" over and over again.  Plus, we'll be over there right around her birthday, so what a better way to celebrate 2 years than a trip to remember.  Probably just a half a week there, but again, more travel and packing up kids.

On top of this, I'm back to working, the kids are back to school here, and the Christmas decorations are slowly and NOT steadily finding their way back into boxes.  I feel like the minute we get back into a routine we'll be traveling over the next few months.  Fun travel, but still exhausting.  I might age 2 years this year.

So, instead of doing anything relevant today, I decide to bake two loaves of cheese bread from scratch.  Why not, right?  Its better than facing reality.  My house is a disaster, I lack a grocery list, and laundry needs to get done, but at least we can eat some bread tonight.  Priorities, I know.  But my sanity is demanding that I pay attention to it. 

About to go punch down, separate, and roll the loaves.  Really - I can't think of anything that's more therapeutic than that.

Clutter

Clutter.  What do you think when you here the word? 

I think the A&E show Hoarders.  You know, the mounds and mounds of things that people have.  Always with a logical reasoning in their head on why they have it.  Sure, that paper back from 1966 is important, but the whole years' subscription?  Is it really necessary?

Anyways, I feel like I'm dealing with clutter these days.  And I'm about to get deep here - not just the physical means of clutter, like stuff, but clutter in my life.  Things are cluttering up my daily life existence.  I feel consumed at times by just the overwhelming amount of things I need to accomplish before I go to bed.  I'm trying to evaluate everything and determine does it really have a place in what I'm here to do, or is it irrelevant and can be tossed?  Its like you're going through your Christmas decorations - do you really love that Christmas tree sweater you got as a gift 15 years ago? No.

So, looking at everything I just can't seem to figure out what I need to drop.  Work is work.  Yes, before work my life was a lot less hectic, but we need the check and its good for MJ to get go play with the kids so I think overall its worth it. 

Is selling my bags worth it?  It's something I seriously consider.  The only thing really keeping me in it is I think I'd probably buy the same amount even if I didn't sell it, so its better that I sell it so I can at least make the commission back.  But I think I'm going to need to cut back after the holidays.  Its just a multiplier to my craziness.

Well, there's one thing I can cut back.  Children - that's something I can't avoid or cut back, but brings a LOT of clutter.  Goodness - I'm constantly cleaning up, washing clothes, cooking meals for those two.  But every second of that is 100% worth it.

Church - playing piano at church seems to me the best mental break for me.  As long as I don't get frustrated.  Using that side of my brain is beyond needed and even though it does consume some time I add that time back to my mental health column. 

Hmm.....so I still have all this clutter.  I. Don't. Know. What. To. Do.

To add to the complication of all of this I agreed (and want) to run a 1/2 marathon with Brandon's cousin Tamara in April. I have exactly 186 days until the race.  Umm...I think I can probably run 1 mile right now uninterrupted in about 12 minutes.  Think training needs to start sometime.  And I know when I add this that it will also add to the mental health column, but where do I add this?

And I miss blogging.  I was on a roll this summer!  And I loved having that ability to sit down and type in recipes or other funny things that our family experiences. The last month has proven no time for that.

My goal in the next week is to write down what I spend all my time doing.  The other thing I'm considering is trying to drop all the social networking stuff.  I feel like I spend time doing that when I should be doing other things.  I'm lazy I guess.  But all media seems to make me like a deer in headlights.  I just can't look away. 

Coffee has become a must at 3pm.  This I know is not normal.  I'm hoping I can figure out in the next week where my time is going and how I can make the best of every second I'm awake without driving myself nuts. 

On that note, I'm going to go make another cup of coffee so I can get ready to cook dinner.  Hope someone else knows how this feels because I cannot imagine I'm the only one here!

School Preparation

Yea - no.  Wish this was my classroom!

So, if you hadn't heard, I got the job!  I'm going to be teaching 4 year olds in about a week and a half.

{Panic Face}

A week and a half?  Yep.  On one hand I am completely and totally ready for JJ to get back to school.  He is about topped out of summer activities.  He is ready to get back to learning and back to his teacher (he is lucky enough to get her again because I am the alternative - that ain't happening folks).

On the other hand I have not taught this age group before - the curriculum is new to me, the classroom is new to me - and I have a week and a half to prepare.  Actually a week from tomorrow to get it 100% ready because next Thursday is parents night!  WHOA.  (And what am I doing right now - blogging, talking to Anne on FB, and shopping for a new coffee pot).

So I have been reading the curriculum, looking at the workbooks and trying to figure out a POA (my abbreviation for plan of action).

I feel pretty confident that I can teach the curriculum.  Its 4 year olds, not Calculus.  But I'm more afraid that I will not occupy their time enough.  I know my child who is 4 (he'll be 5 in like 3 weeks?!?!) needs every minute of his time focused on an activity.  When I start to lose control of him is when its unplanned, unscripted, and chaotic.  This is what frightens me.  What if I lose my place?  What if I skip something?  The other 4 year old teacher has been teaching for YEARS.  She is so sweet and did an amazing job with JJ.  I know for a fact that I will not reach the caliber of teaching that she has.  It will come with experience.  But I need to make sure my students have just as good an experience and stay busy!

I'm fretting over something I know that even hours on end of preparation I will still be stressed.  I just have to go in and be me.  Smile, laugh, and teach those kids how much God loves them.

Oh - did I mention that is will be MJ's first time there too!?! {MAJOR PANIC FACE}