Back to Work!

Wednesday was my first day back to work after what feels like a very long maternity leave (I only went back for 10 days at the end of the school year). I got up at 5:45am and rushed through a shower and getting ready so I could be done before Tanner woke up. Luckily he slept until 6:30am so I finished just in time and then I fed him his bottle before putting him in bed with Noah and heading out the door. I treated myself to some Starbucks for breakfast and got on the road! Summer school was finishing up and they use my classroom and office as the summer school office so I spent most of the day hanging out in the library. I got to meet our new principal briefly and spent most of the day catching up with everyone who was there. I went through tons of mail, paid the bills that had been sitting in my mailbox all summer, prepared for next weeks conference and my meeting with my AP (assistant principal) the next today. Then I headed over to Phoebus for a meeting with the marketing teacher there. My AP wanted to meet with me to discuss how I evaluate the students on their jobs and I needed to come up with a more consistent grading form that could be sent out to parents and employers so the marketing teacher at Phoebus helped me figure that out. Then I headed home to pick up Izzy and Tanner and head out for a playdate which I'll discuss in my next post! By the time we got home and I gave Izzy a little snack it was 8:30pm. By the time I got Izzy down, fed Tanner, did the dishes, packed everything for the morning, and got myself ready for bed it was 11:00pm.

Yesterday morning Tanner decided to wake up at 4:30am! I just laid down on the couch with him and tried to get him back to sleep. He finally went to sleep about 5:15am when I heard Izabel laying in crib saying "mama, mama, mama, mama, mama..." so I got up and got her back to sleep. By the time I was done it was time to get up and get ready. I spent a lot more time actually working. I just about finished a whole unit plan, met with my AP, developed some officer training materials for my DECA officers and finished getting ready for my conference. I didn't leave until after 3:30pm and I picked up Ann on the way home and dropped her off so it was 5:00pm by the time I got home. By the time I was done with dinner, baths, getting them to bed and cleaning up it was 11:00pm again!

Don't worry, I'm not planning on blogging about everyday at work! People are always asking me why I go back so early so I thought highlighting a couple days might be nice. Right now I am just trying to adjust to working, taking care of the kids and getting everything done around the house...and get some sleep of course! At least today starts my weekend!

Going to Jump! (Updated with more Pics)

Yesterday our playgroup went to Kangaroo Jac's to jump! Izabel loves this place and whenever I ask her if she wants to go jump she gets a big smile on her face and starts jumping up and down. This time as soon as we got to the road that the place is on she started giggling. My sister Amy came along with us to help with Tanner so I could jump with Izzy and we had a great time. She did really well and is starting to climb up on her own. She didn't want to leave but didn't cause a big scene. We went home for a nap and then played in the backyard for a while. It is so nice to be able to walk right out the back door and play! Today I am back at work (obviously working very hard) and I am hanging out in the library until summer school is over and I can have my room and office back! It's nice to be back but I am already missing the kids and missing the extra sleep! Today we have a play date after work with a new play group. We are excited about this one because all of the mothers work and their playdates are in the afternoons and on the weekends. Now that I am back at work we won't be able to meet with the other play groups very often so we're really hoping we like this one! I'm sure I'll be posting about it tomorrow. I hope everyone has a great day!!!

She loves how fast she goes down the slides!
Running and jumping at the same time!Sitting on the big dinosaur, she bounced off a second later!Tanner hanging out wishing he could jump too!
Watching Izzy do all the fun stuff is getting kind of old!!!

For Sale!

I am trying to clear all of the things we don't use out of here so I am starting to sell some things to friends that are having babies and I've been posting some of them on craigslist. Now that Tanner is on formula we could use a little extra cash so I thought I would post a couple of the items that I haven't sold on here in case any of you or your friends might be interested! Email me if there is something you want and I'll be posting new things soon!

Baby Papasan Infant Seat by Fisher Price
It vibrates and plays music and the
fabric part can go in the washer and dryer

Medela Pump In Style Advanced Breast Pump

plus tons of extra accessories and bottles

Extras Include:
*2 extra breast shields and connectors (a total of four)
*2 extra membranes (a total of 6)
* a hands free strap (works really well)
*2 boxes of pump and save bags
*14 2.5 ounces medeal pump and save bottles
*3 extra pumping bottles (a total of 7)
*3 medela 5 ounce bottles
*3 evenflo 5 ounce bottles
*quick clean micro steam bag from medela
*quick clean wipes from medela

She LOVES It!!!

We got the new swing set up and Izabel got to go out and play a little today before nap and she loves it. She couldn't stop smiling the whole time and she kept running around trying to decide if she wanted to climb, slide or swing! She wanted to do it all at once :) I'm so glad we got it for her! We still want to fix it up some. The swings need new rope and we're going to get some of the spray paint for plastics and make it look new again but it's great even as it is and I know Izabel will get some outside time everyday now! We LOVE it!!!

A Friendly Visit and Weekend Updates!

Last Tuesday Noah's Aunt Deb and cousins Maverick and Gage came to town to visit for a few days and pick up Maegan. We haven't seen them since last summer so we were excited for them to come. They got in early Wednesday morning and headed straight to the beach while we took Maegan and went to the zoo. We got to hang out for a while with them in the afternoon and then they headed back down to the beach for dinner and we headed home for bed.

On Thursday they headed back to the beach while we went to the Pretlow Library for a playdate. After nap we headed over to Auntie's house to visit with them and have a great family dinner. Noah went over to play cards after he got off work so he could have some time as well.

Tanner playing with Aunt Deb and Maverick
He smiles so much we can't wait for him to laugh out loud!
Izzy didn't take her nap so she crashed on Auntie's couch for a while
Theresa and Kate decided to have a photo shoot with my camera!
I think this one is my favorite :)

On Friday we all headed to Ocean Breeze and we had a great time. Then we came home while they went to see Harry Potter. They came over after the movie to play pool and cards. We had a nice time but we called it an early night since we were all so exhausted from the long day at Ocean Breeze.

They spent a good part of the day Saturday getting Maverick a new tattoo so we didn't see them but we ran a bunch of errands and then all four took a nap! In the afternoon I went to visit my sister who is recovering from gallbladder surgery and she is doing very well. Then Laurie called and asked if we wanted a babysitter for the evening! Of course we did! We were so excited to go out and she was so excited to spend time with the kids so it worked out perfectly. The kids were great for her (although Tanner was crying pretty hard when we left) and everything went smoothly. Noah and I went to dinner at Lonestar (I wouldn't recommend the shrimp and crab gratin) and then to the movies to see The Ugly Truth. I thought it was hilarious and Noah liked it enough but it was definitely a chick flick! We stopped by Aunties to say good-bye to everyone and then headed home to bed.


Today I was browsing through craigslist and came across a swing set that looked pretty good for Izzy. I called right away expecting to already have been sold like usual but to my surprise it was available so we headed straight over to see it. It is pretty faded but in great shape so we paid for it and went back later with my brother and dad to bring it home. Izzy is so excited about it but I want to get it cleaned up before I let her play on it so that will be tomorrow's project and I will post pictures of it then. For now here is a picture of a new one from the manufacturer's website so you get the idea. I'm thinking about buying the spray paint for plastics to clean it up and make it look nice and pretty again but we'll see if it actually gets accomplished! I hope everyone had a great week/weekend. I go back to work in three days!!!

Fun in the Sun!

We're not really beach people but we still love the water and the sun so Friday we headed down to Ocean Breeze with Aunt Deb, Maverick, Gage and Maegan. Noah actually had the day off so he got to come with us too! I figured we would stay until about nap time and then head home but I would just let her play until she completely melted down. Well she did so well! She only had a few bad moments but for the most part she was having too much fun to stop, cry or sleep and we ended up staying until 4:00! We did all the kiddie rides and even took her in the wave pool and on one of the bigger (but still little) slides on the other side of the park. Aunt Deb watched Izzy for a little while so Noah and I could ride a few big rides which was fun too. Aunt Theresa came down and hung out for a little bit. I think everyone had a really great time and we can't wait to go back again! I think we'll be getting season passes next summer when Tanner can come too!

Coming down the slide with Daddy

This chair was just her size

This is so much fun Mom!Coming down the slide with Mommy!At the top of the big slide with Daddy, Auntie and MaeganFirst she came down with Daddy...then again with Auntie...and a third time with Mommy!Maegan challenging a boy on the log roll...I think they both fell off!

Gage challenging and winning over and over on the log roll!