Resourceful

What a resourceful daughter I have! She cracked me up tonight when she came up with this one. Dave has been doing some major renovations in our master bathroom. The tile job around our tub in there was hideous, and the space for the tub was too small but originally they squeezed it in. So Dave moved a wall 5 inches and is going to redo the whole tub. Right now it is a complete mess as the pictures prove.
But, anyway, we have told Haylie she can't go in that bathroom without shoes on because there is insulation and such on the floor. Tonight both Dave and I were in there, I was going to help him move the tub. All of the sudden the door opens and in walks Haylie with a doll sleeper (like a little bunting) on one foot and the shoe pictured below on the the other foot...the wrong foot I might add. She couldn't find the other shoe so she improvised! I wish I had taken the picture while she still had it on. It was so funny. Then, when I went out into the other room, there was the other shoe. She probably had to search longer for that bunting than she would have for the shoe. You gotta love three year olds! Hopefully not too much longer and I can post pictures of the completed bathroom!

By the way... thanks for the doll sleeper, mom! Do you recognize it as the one you made for my cabbage patch kid when I was little?

One year old!

These are some shots from last Friday on Zander's first birthday. We had a small celebration but it was fun. Haylie was dissappointed that we all didn't get to eat cake with our hands. Somewhere along the line she had the impression that we were all going to eat like a one year old baby. I am amazed at how fast time flies as you get older. There is no way that a year has passed already! We have had such a great time with Zander in our home. He is still laid back, but is getting more and more adventurous. I feel like I am missing everything while I am away at school. This week he has started sitting up from a crawling position. That is my favorite thing for babies this age to do. I think it is so cute for some reason. So when I got home and noticed he was doing it Dave was like, "Oh, yeah, he has been doing that, and he also went all the way up the stairs on his own today!" What?!? I am missing everything!
Here are some of things about Zander. He weighs 20 lbs 8 oz. He has 5 teeth. He doesn't eat baby food anymore, although sometimes you can trick him if you take it out of the jar. He loves to cruise around in his walker. His favorite game to play is to throw a ball and then crawl after it and throw it again. He is pulling up to things and thinks it is hilarious when he does it in his crib when we lay him down. He is growing up so fast, and Haylie is starting to enjoy playing with him too. They entertain each other quite a bit. I am blessed to be their mom. The teaching job that I have has reminded me how lucky I have been to take care of them every day and I had been taking that for granted. What a wake up call!! I hope that when Dave is back at work and I am back at home when I am feeling the stay at home mom blues I can remember the way my heart aches everyday when I walk out the door to go to work and count my blessings!

Justice was served, and I still got ready to teach!

Last week was a very interesting week for me. As luck would have it, I was summoned to jury duty and when I called to see if my number had to report, of course it did on Monday, the first day I was supposed to be reporting to the school that I am teaching at. I went to the courthouse, kind of excited and curious. I have been summoned several times before, but never have been selected for a jury. Well Monday, I got my chance. Fortunately, I was selected for a one day trial so we heard the evidence, deliberated, and the verdict was read right at 5:00. Here is some advice. If you are selling prescription drugs, make sure the buyer isn't an undercover cop! There isn't much of a defense for you in court.

So, my civic duty fulfilled, on Tuesday I headed out to Caldwell to tackle my new classroom. I am very excited because, the last classroom I had was in a school that I think should have been condemned. I had mice in the closet there and everything was just yucky. This time, the school is only 5 years old, so all of the furniture was functioning and clean and I didn't find any signs of mice. I didn't even get the willies when I ate my lunch in the room! I used Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday to set everything up and write some lesson plans, then since it was parent/teacher conferences for the other teachers on Friday I got to spend some time with Dave and the kids. I sure miss those little guys that I am so used to caring for day in and day out. Dave is doing a wonderful job as Mr. Mom. It will be a nice chance for us to appreciate each other and our roles in the family. I just had to laugh when Dave was complaining that the family room was all clean once that day as he was looking around at the toys and books and everything strewn about. I don't know how many times I have said that exact same thing!

I will meet my new students tomorrow, I am excited. I think it will be a good experience, and help me to keep my teaching skills fresh. Even if they are a handful, it is only for two months, I can handle that!! Here are a few pictures of my new, clean classroom. We will see if I can keep it clean after the students come!