Jason~Hospital

So Jason's been struggling with kidney stones for a couple of years. Since we've been together I think he's gone to the hospital a dozen times for them. He underwent a small procedure about two years ago where the urologist blasted the stones to small pieces so they would pass easier. It seems as though they are going to do the same thing this go round with one exception. He has one kidney stone that is 5mm wide. This has made its' way down his urinary tract but is stuck.

Jason has never been one to complain about pain. He hurt himself at work pretty bad and forgot to tell me about it. Only I'm observant and called him out on it. But that's not the point...I'm merely saying even though it was a scar worthy injury he didn't think twice about it. So needless to say I know something is really hurting him when he says something is bothering him or hurts.

I will pray that his procedures go well...he'll be having a stint put in tomorrow morning and then all 5 of them will be blasted on Tuesday or next Tuesday.

Rainbows

I love rainbows. Many years ago my grandmother, dad, and brother went to the beach in Florida to spread my mom's ashes in the ocean. As we drove back we saw a double rainbow. I thought it was a totally awesome sign from above that my mother approved and was watching. Everytime I see this awesome work of nature I am reminded of this day and a sense of happiness comes over me. I think rainbows are such a wonderful natural thing that occurs, an awesome end to a not so pretty event.

Lazy Days

I've been enjoying my summer! It's so nice not having a schedule but at the same time I enjoy having things scheduled to do. I need to get out of the house at least once a day. I hate sitting at home all day long. I get very bored. So whether it be a trip to a store or just to my in-laws I feel getting out of the house gives me sanity. Today we went to a place called PlayWise Kids. It's in Columbia and was a big indoor park. They had an old fire truck and ambulance for the kids to climb all over and in. They had a grocery store section with plastic fruit, kid-sized grocery carts, and old food boxes. They had a gigantic sandbox which Liam absolutely loved so I think Jason is getting on the bandwagon and going to make him one out back. There were also a couple of train tables, Lego tables, and Little Tikes climbing equipment. They had a TV set up with a video camera attached and Liam loved jumping around and watching himself on the TV. They also had a plastic castle with two chairs and a pretend sink in it. He loved sitting in the chair and pretending to wash his hands and have me wash mine too. It was a fun 2 hours and I think it would be a perfect rainy day activity for an active little boy.

Potty

For some time now Liam has been talking about poo poo and pee pee. It's been at random times, mostly in the car that he'll talk about these words. Last weekend he was very interested in his cousin who is potty trained going to the bathroom. His cousin is a girl but nonetheless we let him watch her. So Monday night rolls around and we're doing his bedtime routine of bath. He starts fussing, "Potty, potty". "Bud, you're all wet, we'll sit on the potty when you get out of the bathtub." So he starts playing again and a few minutes later starts fussing again, "Potty, potty". "Ok, let's wash you up and dry you off, then we'll sit on the potty." After I dry him off and go to sit on the potty with him he starts stamping his foot, "Book, book" so I go get him a book as I chuckle, come back and darn if we weren't sitting there for about 2 minutes he peed in the toilet. So here's the most impressive part, the potty thing has continued now for the Tuesday, not Wednesday because he went in the tub, and Thursday. I am so impressed by this :)

Ants!

I am so sick of ants invading my house. My husband, neighbor and father-in-law have sprayed and THEY'RE STILL COMING IN MY HOUSE! I just don't get it. My mother-in-law said she had success with washing her floor every night, however, not only do I not have time to do that right now but the ants are literally IN EVERY ROOM of the house. I'm sorry this is a ranting entry but I have felt like I've been living in the dirtiest house in the world with all these ants. The other day there was a steady line of them coming from underneath the baseboard downstairs in the front of the house up the stairs and underneath the baseboard in an extra bedroom on the back of the house. Absolutely ridiculous. I really think they're living in our floors. So I finally was able to vacuum the floors and that made me feel a little bit better. I'll feel even better when they stop coming in the house completely.

Sleeping Baby!

As I sit here typing Liam is sleeping away in his crib. Why he chooses a day I have to work to sleep in instead of a day I have off, like tomorrow is beyond me but I hope he's having sweet dreams. This past Sunday he took a nap and I was getting some schoolwork done. After about 2 hours he woke up and was visibly still tired. He was rubbing his eyes and fussing. So I brought him into the bedroom and laid down with him. He slept for another 2 hours! And I had to wake him up...It was such a precious moment that I hadn't been able to enjoy in awhile. It was so comforting having him lay on my chest in such comfort for the both of us. I'm going to miss this...as I know soon he'll not want anything to do with naps or laying with me, but for now I'll soak up what I can get.

Birds

I saw the most beautiful birds yesterday when I was driving home from work. First I saw two red-wing blackbirds chasing each other, then I saw a bluebird. I think my dad has given me the love of looking at birds. Their beauty is so great and reminds me of God's awesome gifts he gives us each and every day.

I am so grateful for my health, family, and friends. Thank you, God, for giving me all of these wonderful gifts.

New Color Pens

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. Our PTA has been so wonderful in organizing special things for us each day here at school and has also organized the children bringing in things each day for us. Today is school supply day.

Here's the teacher in me:

I Love New School Supplies!

I got these new colored pens that I am so excited to use all day long :)

I'm such a dork!

Parachute Balls

Yesterday evening we were out in the yard. I showed Liam the dandelion parachute balls and how fun it was to blow them as it was quite windy out. I didn't expect the hysterical laugh that erupted from him as I blew. It was so cute and as soon as I can figure out how to get the video from Jason's phone onto here I'll post it. I love the simple things in life that children happy.

Problem Solved

I'm moving to a new classroom at the end of the year. It's my choice and I think it will help the current situation with DQ. Things today have been just as bad as yesterday with a crappy attitude so I think this move will be good. I can have my own space and be left to do my own thing without being bothered.

Rain

I think I could literally sit and stare at the rain for hours. I love the rain when I don't have to be out in it. I love listening to it run off the roof and pitter-patter on a skylight or tin roof.

Success & MIL

Today was an awesome wedding shower, put together mostly by my sister-in-laws and my mother-in-law. Things came together so nicely and so many people made wonderful comments about the many little details. I am so proud to be part of a fantastic, supportive, group of women. I felt like my mom was here today, cheering me on and in some little way I felt the warmth of her heart in my mother-in-law.

My mother-in-law is the the most amazing woman you would ever meet. She gives and gives and asks only respect in return. I believe God has put me in this family because she fills all the holes that remain with the loss of my mother. I love her dearly and couldn't ask for a more heartfelt, caring person to look up to and take care of my son.

Fussing

So I have a fussy baby. I've known it since it began early in his life. I've just now gotten to the point of annoyance and am trying to figure out how I can stop it and what is causing it. I experimented tonight with eating in another room to see if I am the cause of his fussing. Well, guess what?! He sat for 20 minutes eating and talking to Jason. So my experiment worked! I am going to eat in the other room for a few more days and hopefully it'll keep working then I'll ease back into eating at the table. At the first fuss I'll get up and eat in the other room. I'm hoping that Liam will realize that his fussing will cause me to go away from him instead of pay attention to him. We'll see

It's been awhile!

I wish I had a valid excuse for why I haven't written but I really don't. After work each evening I come home, make dinner, play with Liam, get him ready for bed and then I myself get ready for bed. I have become a little bit of a Facebook junkie, checking multiple times a day since we've gotten connected to the Internet here at home. I've been enjoying the nice weather when it's here and am geared up for Easter and playing Easter Bunny. Hopefully soon I'll get back to writing about the New Zealand trip and I'm going to see about getting those pics up ASAP!

Hopeful

Friday is our scheduled date for DSL hookup. I am anxious to see if it is actually able to be used when I get home from work. I called Verizon yesterday to ensure that the technician scheduled to come out understands they will need digging tools for this job. The line running from the telephone pole to our house got cut a few years ago when we had some landscaping done. We have since had a very large driveway put in and the original path that the telephone line ran is no longer available because of the driveway. I really hope they are able to dig the line and hookup the service Friday but I'm not going to hold my breath.

New Zealand

I have decided to tell the long story in pieces. I'll write a little more as I get time and eventually the whole story will be told so...Part I

So the story goes...We flew out of D.C. on February 14th at about 4:30. It was a 5 hour flight to L.A. Liam's bedtime occurred during this flight which turned into an all out battle as he wanted to sleep flat in a bed, not in the carrier I had, not on my lap, etc. I tried many different things. He screamed and screamed while people on the plane tried to give helpful suggestions of a pacifier for his "hurting ears" and other advice which I appreciated but was very annoyed about as I tried to figure out what to do with this screaming child. He finally gave up and fell asleep across mine and Kristin's lap. As we landed in L.A. I tried to quickly transfer him from our laps to the carrier and book it off the plane, which everyone allowed me to do but Liam woke up and was very unhappy to be awake yet again. We didn't have much time to get to our next flight and once we got on the plane and up high enough in the air Liam was able to sleep in a bassinet. The plane was a double decker; not up and down but lengthwise. There was a set of bathrooms in the middle of the plane and we were sitting behind them. The bassinet screwed into the wall and folded out. Liam slept for most of the ride and Jason and I tried to grab a few hours of shut eye although planes are not the most comfortable places to sleep and the seats didn't lay back any further than a regular plane :(

Spring Weather!

Liam and I thoroughly enjoyed this afternoon outside. Here is a picture of Liam enjoying his new bike.








At one point, I put his sunglasses on him and he kept them on for awhile but by the time I got back up the neighbor's driveway he didn't want to keep them on long enough for me to take a picture so here's what I captured.









We also enjoyed some time playing in the car. Liam has found a new love, pretending to drive. He loves holding the steering wheel and pushing all the buttons he can.

These are some preview shots of the beautiful sites we saw.

New Zealand

Wow! What a trip! We are finally back on US soil. We had many ups and downs but for now the best part of the trip was Franz Josef. I saw a glacier to the left and waterfalls coming directly out of the mountainside to the right.

Frantic

Wow! It has been quite crazy. I am just now getting a chance to write as things wind down here at school. I've been doing lesson plans, copying and putting in 12 hour days for the past 3 days trying to get ready for our 2 1/2 week trip to New Zealand. I am excited and nervous at the same time. 24 hours on a plane sounds a bit overwhelming. Especially with a 14 month old. I know that this trip will be wonderful and relaxing once we are in the moment. The anticipation is what is causing me to be frantic.

Weekend Fun!

I had such a great weekend! Saturday Jason, Liam and I went to The Little Gym for Liam's first class. He had such a great time. My wonderful MIL came and took pics plus video of Liam exploring (I'll hopefully post those soon). Then that evening we enjoyed some time celebrating my BIL's birthday with lots of yummy food and family chatting. I'm so lucky to be part of such a wonderful family both mine and Jason's. We each have our own strengths and I love getting together with each of them.

On a different note I'm gearing up for our family trip to New Zealand in TWO WEEKS! As Jason pointed out today we really need to get packing. I've been buying and putting aside things I want to take on the trip but I haven't actually put anything into a suitcase. I think it might be important for my sanity to begin that sooner than later.

Snow Day!

I love snow days! It takes me back to when I was a child and waking up late in the morning only to find that school was out for the day! Being a teacher, I still wake up with the same excitement just a little earlier.

First Post

Well it's taken me about a month to think of an acceptable blog name and blog url name. I found an article that helped me think of one by stating that you should think of the intended audience and benefit. Although neither of these things are directly in the blog url name it definitely helped me focus my decision.