Year in Review (Part 3!)

Onward to fall.  Usually we go to the pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins, to the circus, and to the mountains.  Again, none of these activities took place.  I felt so guilty all fall.  These are things we all look forward to as a family and I felt I was letting my family down by not feeling up to doing them.  I wasn't as tired as I had been in the first two trimesters but I still had the heartburn, and I spent a lot of extra time at school trying to keep and get ahead for when I was off on leave. 

Here are the highlights.

My beautiful sister, with the help of our family gave me a wonderful shower to help welcome Caroline to the world.  We are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.

 

My boy did a lot of playing outside this fall.

This picture was taken toward the middle of October and made me realize how big I was getting.

He also loves to go to the play areas at the mall on cold or rainy days!

My work family threw a shower as well.

Gymnastics at Tumble Bears on Thursday!

Yoda!

More outside playtime with the neighbor.

Thanksgiving with family. We are so blessed.

I kind of wish we had a picture from shopping on Black Friday.  Kelli and I had decided that with me being almost 38 weeks pregnant that it may be best if we did our own thing at our own pace this year instead of being out with the cousins ALL NIGHT LONG!  Well,  I ended up going with them to Walmart at 8:00 and Kelli dropped me back off at 4:30 in the morning.  We had a ball, as usual, and I got a TON of funny looks and comments such as "are you going to have that baby tonight!"  I may have been exhausted but I am so glad I went.  This has become a yearly tradition that I look forward to and save for all year long.

I think I've caught up!  Well, sort of.  I plan for the next few posts to be about Caroline's birth and Christmas.  Stay tuned if you're nosy enough! (LOL, just kidding!)

Year in Review (Part 2!)

So I am up to summer.  Honestly, I am always happy to see the end of a school year and summer break begin, but this year more so than any other.  I was about 11 weeks pregnant at the end of the school year and I was exhausted and nauseous.  I would literally come home from work and go to bed and sleep until John would make me get up to eat something then go back to bed til morning.  I was tired when in the first trimester when pregnant with Wheeler, but this could not compare.  On top of that I was nauseous from the time I would get up until I went to bed.  This lasted until the second or so week of July, and then the heartburn kicked in!  I'm telling you, even the thought of drinking water sent the heartburn skyrocketing!

Needless to say we didn't do near as much this past summer as we usually do.  I really feel bad about that for Wheeler, however, he doesn't seem to mind, nor remember, and and I know next summer will be better (and all the sickness and downtime this past summer was definitely well worth it!)

Wheeler and Daddy spend lots of time at the library.  The imagination movers from Dollywood came one day and read stories.

 

Playing with cousins!

Daddy set up the tent in the backyard and boys camped out one night.  Wheeler loved it.  This picture was taken in the dark.  I couldn't see him and just aimed and clicked.  I love it!

We went to the Fourth of July Fireworks downtown.

Wheeler went to VBS at New Hopewell and loved it.  We stayed for the festivities after the program on Sunday night.  I'm not including any pics from the program because there are other kids in all the pictures and I try to be careful about not putting pics of other peoples kids on the blog if I don't know them.

With Mamaw Lois

We made it to the World's Fair Park once to play in the fountains and at the park.  He loves going here and it's good, free fun.  We took a picnic lunch and spent several hours there.

 

We spent more time with cousins.

Mom at a Pinterest Party.  She has a Wedding/Party Planning business, A Joyous Affair.  I can hook you up if you need an awesome planner!

 

Like I said, summer flew by for me.  I slept through most of it!  The few things we did as a family, we had fun.  Stayed tuned for fall!

Year in Review (Part 1!)

So I have not been the blogger I had aspired to be.  I did the April Challenge to post each day, then I fell off the face of the earth.  This post may WILL be done in multiple parts since it will be picture heavy and I don't want you mentally cussing me that the single post won't load because of them.

I will pick up at the end of April and move through the year's highlights.

My little guy loves Dollywood and back in April we went before the morning sickness hit too hard.  Unfortunately we didn't really get to go but a couple times this year because I felt so bad during so much of the pregnancy (maybe I will do a separate post on that.)

With Dad at Dollywood

At the end of April my school had a Spring Carnival and we took Wheeler. He loved it!

Playing in the bounce house.

Cheesing with Mom!

Playing a game.

In the firetruck.

More game playing.

In May Daniel turned 6 (how is that!?!  Where did the time go!?)  I made him a monster truck cake.  While he loved it, I wish I hadn't been so nauseous because I know I could have done better!  Looking back, I don't think I liked my fingers once during the making of this cake! LOL

Opening gifts!

In May I was also asked to make a cake by my cousin.  I had to watch an episode of Phineus and Ferb to find out how to make this guy!

Not too bad, I guess.

Side view.

And Daniel graduated Kindergarten!  They did a cute little program.

With Grammy after performing.

Wheeler with Papa Allen after Daniel sang and danced his heart.

Overall, the Spring seemed to fly by!  We didn't do as much as we usually do in the spring, or if we did I just don't remember it now.  

I will leave you with this and start working on another post.

Long time no blog

So I know I've been away for a while.  Summer flew by, but I was miserable for most of it.  Little girl here has been kicking my tail.  Morning sickness finally ended about 16 weeks and the massive heartburn started at 17 weeks.   I have never had heartburn before (well, that ONE time after eating a Krispy Kreme doughnut almost 10 years ago rarely enters my mind, because Krispy Kreme hasn't given me heartburn since!)  Oh.  My.  Heartburn.  It keeps me up at night.  I chase my meals with Tums (and take a couple Zantac a day!)  Even water seems to trigger it.  But she's worth it (and I keep telling myself that this too shall pass!!!!)

So while I was in survival mode for the summer, I got waaaaaayyyyyy behind in everything else.  I started school more behind than I've even started and I've still not caught up.  Lucky for me I have a wonderful husband who takes care of most everything at the house, so I can concentrate on trying to get caught up, and hopefully ahead soon, and baking baby girl.  My blood pressure stays around 100 over 60, so at least that is going good for us.

Wheeler has (mostly) been a joy.  He is still sooooooo excited that he is going to be a big brother and have a baby sister.   I kisses her when he sees me, he prays for her every night, and talks about how he is going to help out.  He can't wait to help change a diaper (we'll see how many he helps with!)  We found my Jenny Lind doll cradle in the basement this weekend and he asked why it wasn't in her room yet, I told him because she can't use it yet.  He has insisted she needs a doll to put in it and we have to bring it upstairs soon.  I finally satisfied him by telling him he could get her a doll for Christmas.  I love hearing him talk about her and seeing the excitement in him.

Ok, there is a quick update.  Hopefully I can get back on soon to update on the room and some other things.

Thank you followers for not unfollowing me!!!!!

Wheelerisms

This pregnancy has been so much fun with our almost four year old!  He says the cutest things.

Wheeler can't wait to be a big brother.  We started talking to him about being a big brother long before this little one was in existence.  We were afraid to tell him too early because if something were to happen he would be heartbroken, however, we knew if we didn't tell him and something happened, he would know that mommy and daddy were very upset and then how would we explain things?  We decided after the first doctor appointment, at seven weeks, to tell him.

For the most part, Wheeler is convinced this baby is a sister.  When asked if he would be upset with having a baby brother he just says something like "well, no, but when my baby sister gets here....."

He has named the baby chicken little.  He is chicken big.  

A couple weeks ago I told him that in a few weeks he would be able to feel the baby kick by touching mommy's belly.  He immediately put his hand on my belly and hollered "kick me, baby!"

In the morning, Wheeler comes up to my belly and asks "did you sleep good baby?"  Then in a high pitched voice he will answer himself " yes, did you sleep good Wheeler?"  He answers the baby and then asks "what did you dream about baby?"  In his high pitched voice he answers "about space and animals."

I'm sure there will be more Wheelerisms in the next few months.  As I said before, he is so fun.  And he is so excited. 

Summer-post 1

So we have alrady been busy this summer.  Really, it never got that cold this past winter.  The boys went to the park throughout January and February.  We played in the yard at least a couple times a week.

We'll start in April.  John and Wheeler came up to my school for our spring carnival.  Wheeler had a blast!  He wasnted to stay n the bounce house!

In early May we celebrated Daniel's sixth birthday.  I made the monster truck cake.  I would have done so much more had I felt better, but he seemed to like it!

In late May we celebrated Daniel finishing Kindergarten!

Daniel and Grammy 

Wheeler and his Papa Alan

There's the first few weeks of our summer in a nutshell.  Much more to come.

My Absence Explained

So I apologize profusely for my absence after the April A to Z Blogging Challenge.  I did not intend to fall out of the blogesphere.  There are two very good reasons for my absence.

First, I am married to a man who uses both the laptop and the desktop to complete his homework for his online classes.  I completely understand why.  He has to read blueprints, we've tried printing them and they print microscopic.  It's easier for him to have the prints pulled up on one computer and type on the other.  Most of the time I don't mind. Most of the time.

My second excuse for being absent is probably the better excuse.  We are expecting our second child.  Since 4 weeks 2 days (April 4th or so!) I have been nauseous and exhausted.  I am now 14 weeks pregnant and I'm starting to feel a little human again.  With Wheeler I was not this nauseous, nor do I remember being so tired so early (I was tired toward the end of the first trimester last time, but I had mono!)  

So there you have it folks.  My excuses.  I apologize to all my followers, hopefully my absence will not be so long next time.

A to Z "Z"

Z is for zillions of kisses. My boy is a daddy's boy. If daddy is around, momma is beneath chopped liver! When daddy isn't around, though, momma is queen again. That's when the fun starts. He will come up and give me zillions of kisses. I love it, of course. I also know this won't last forever. I know as he grows up I'll be lucky get a "good-bye mom" as he rushes past. So I will treasure the moments he gives me zillions of kisses an imprint the memories on my heart.

A to Z "Y"

Y is for yyyyyyyy, I'm almost done! I may make this challenge after all. Maybe I should have looked to see if I've been deleted from the list! Lol. I feel,like I'm running out of words, though. I know it's because I've waited until the end to play catch up. I hope I've not bored you and make my few followers leave! On that note, I also want to take. Moment to say thank you to all who have commented. I truly appreciate it! I have tried to comment back, but it's not been easy.

A to Z "X"

X marks the spot! X is the only letter Wheeler can consistently identify right now. And it's only because of Jake and the Neverland Pirates that he can identify it. We now make X's with everything.....pencils, cracker sticks, our fingers and legs. I love it! I love the spontaneous learning. Wheeler isn't really interested in sitting and learning letters and numbers. He's all about rough play, bugs, and the like. It only slightly bothers me he doesn't know the letters. I think for him it's more important he be a kid. He learns so much through his play. He knows what a specimen cup is (for collecting bugs!!!) He can name planets and other objects in our solar system. He recites his favorite books and "reads" the Bible to us. I look forward to more spontaneous learning moments, like when we find that "x marks the spot!"

A to Z "W"

W is for words. I'm not very good with words. I hate that I've gotten behind with this challenge, I feel like my words aren't very thoughtful, or thought provoking. Unfortunately the strep last week got me down more than I knew at the time and I got behind on a lot of things. I often wish my writing were more eloquent. I usually feel like my writing is like that of my first graders. When I really have time to sit and think, I can usually muster up something pretty decent. Times like tonight, when I'm playi g catch up, I feel like a babbling idiot. Hopefully I can get more into this blog and truly sharing my thoughts and feelings.

A to Z "V"

V is for vitamins Our obsession with vitamins kind of follows our obsession with underwear. We started out with Flintstones then he found the Superhero vitamins. Apparently the Superhero underwear and vitamins make you more like your favorite Superhero. You can fight crime better. You're stronger, more agile, and have more superpowers! Too bad this isn't true in real life. Too bad you can't have superpowers just by eating all your veggies or remembering to take your vitamin, I'm sure more of us would be inclined to make sure we had our daily dose.

A to Z "U"

U is for underwear Because underwear is the only word that came to mind that I don't remember reading about. We've had a fascination with underwear in our house since potty training. First it was Toy Story then Cars. Now we are on to Super Hero. You can see the progression of the obsessions through the boy's underwear. I never thought we would care so much about it.

A to Z "T"

T is for tasty I love making tasty treats, as if you couldn't tell from this blog. Last week I made a French vanilla cake with Chcolate buttercream icing. Oh my word, I didn't know you could buy boxed French vanilla cake mix, but it is good. I still haven't tried the Oreo cheesecake bites but plan to do so soon. On the menu for next week is a lemonade cake a friend of mine found in a Better Homes and Gardens magazine! I can't wait to try it!

A to Z "S"

S is for Smoky Mountains I am just realizing the majesty of the area in which I live. Last summer and fall we took several trips up to the mountains to roam around. We live in an absolutely amazing place! Wheeler loves going for "hikes" as well. He has been asking for weeks to go to the mountains, unfortunately we haven't made it lately. I have promised him we will go soon. I have some beautiful pictures from last fall, however, I also have a husband who is in the middle of finals, and he uses both computers, so I can't access the pics from the IPAD. If you scroll back to the fall I the blog, though, you can find a few.

A to Z "R"

R is for rewind! If I could rewind the clock to March before the challenge started I would. I would have made sure to prewrite more posts so I wouldn't get so far behind, like I have. I knew this would be tough for me when I signed on. I'm not a natural born writer and I definitely get mental blocks on what to write about. I am glad I signed up for the challenge, though. I have had blast scrolling through blogs and meeting other bloggers. I have also enjoyed writing. Hopefully next year I will plan ahead a little better. And I do intend to finish the challenge with Z on Monday!

A to Z "Q"

I have no idea what to write for Q.  I've thought of many things, such as quintessential (I'd have to look it up, though, it's not a first grade word!), questioning (which is what Wheeler does all day, every single day!), quest (for the perfect cupcake), quiet (which I have been requiring more of lately), and even qualms (what are some I have.  However, none of those struck my fancy.

I read through what some of you in the challenge wrote about for the letter Q, none of it struck my writing fancy either (although there were some really good Q blogs last week) so I decided to leave this day with this.  All the Q words I though about writing about.

I sure hope I don't get a block with the letters X and Z, too!

A to Z "P"

Can you say behind!?!?!?!

I think I am supposed to be on U.

I've been going to bed early lately.  I shall try to catch up by the end of the month.

P is for Priceless.

That's what time is right now.  Every day that I get to enjoy the laughter of my little boy, his sweet smile....it's priceless.  I know he's not going to be this age for long.  I also know that each stage of his life will be priceless for one reason or another, but I need to cherish where he's at right now.  He is so curious, mischievious, independant, fierce, and loving.  He's also still my cuddly little boy (when daddy's not around!!!)  The moments when I don't want this time to end far outweigh the moments when I think "If he were a bit older."

A to Z "O"

O is for Oreo Cheesecake Bites

I just found these tonight and I am making them as soon as I can.  John has a love of Oreos (double stuff only, of course!)

I found the recipe at Six Sisters Stuff.

Don't they look wonderful!  And sweet!  And delicious!  And rich!

A to Z "N"

N is for nonsensical!

Is that a word?  If not, I just invented it and I'm using it!

I have gotten behind on the A to Z Chalenge because of a nonsensical project I had to accomplish for work.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE teaching.  I just wish they would leave me alone and let me teach.  For my evaluations I had to complete a profesisonalism portfolio.  Over it took me about seven hours to get the typing done and make sure I had all the "documentation" and I'm not done.  I still have about another hour of collecting items and putting it together.  I completely agree that teachers need to be held to high standards, but making me complete this portfolio is not how you do it.  Especially when I don't even know what you want until over half the school year is through.  I don't have a choice but to complete this at home, because I don't even have time to complete all the required school paperwork, during school (or during the 30 minutes I have when I arrive early, or the hour I stay late in the afternoons.)

Who knows, I may regret this rant later.  I try to keep this a personal blog and keep the professional stuff out.  It's just gotten to me today.

A to Z "M"

M is for mom.

Where would I be without my mom.  She says we grew up together since she was 19 when I was born.  I wouldn't have thought that.  She's always been there for me and my little family.

As we are raising Wheeler, I often wonder how my sister and I turned out the way we did.  I want to do what she did in raising us.

I want Wheeler to know how much I love him, that I would lay my life down for him, just as I always knew this from my own mom.  I want him to be independent, yet know I am there for him for anything!!!! Just like I knew my mom was there for me yet let me live my own life and make my own mistakes.

I don't think I could ever put into words everything mom has done for me throughout my life.  I can only pray that I can be the type of mom to Wheeler that she was and still is for me.

I love you mommy!

A to Z "L"

L is for ladybugs and spiders and snails, oh my!

Wheeler is in the insect stage. He loves looking at bugs (and stomping them when he finds them!) It's so interesting and tons of fun having a little boy around. For Christmas he got some safari gear for catching and hunting bugs. For Easter he got a bug sucker (not sure what else to call it) that will suck a bug up into a specimen cup with a magnifier on one end. He gets so excited when he finds a bug. He will look a it, tell me about it, and dump it out and squish it.


We have been talking about how insects help us. We talk about catch and release.

Little story.....one day he found a worm. He stepped on it, as he usually does. John and I hollered not to step on it as he was lifting his foot, but he did anyway. We talked about how the worm was one of God's creatures and worms are important. He picked up the worm, petted it and say "I sorry little worm. I take care of you. I put you right here and I come back tomorrow to see you." He put the worm on an anthill. Needless to say, the worm wasn't there the next day.

A to Z "K"

Still catching up.

K is for Kelli.

Kelli is my sister and one of my best friends. I am so lucky to be able to call my sister my best friend. She puts up with my nonsense. She brings me back down to Earth when my head is stuck in the clouds. She listens and offers advice, even when I don't want it, but need it. I couldnt have picked a better sister if I had picked her myself.

A to Z "J"

I sure hope I haven't been kicked out of the challenge. I'm a few days behind. Again.

J is for jail.

I am happy to say that I have never been to jail. Not even to visit someone.

What brings this up, you may ask? On Monday, Wheeler and I went to Kohl's. When we pulled in the parking lot there were several cruisers, officers, and a man in handcuffs. Immediately the cruisers drew Wheeler's attention, being the boy that he is. Being his father's son (inquisitive) he began asking questions. "Why that man there with the police officer, mommy?". "What that shiny thing on his arm, mommy?" "Why he take something, mommy?" I tried my best to explain what was happening in a way a three year old might understand. Man, it's hard, though. I want him to know that police officers help, but that they will take you to jail if you break the law. I want him to know that there are people in this world that will hurt you, but I don't want him to be scared of living. I want him to know the importance of helping people, but watch out for youself.

Every time we have seen a police car since Monday, Wheeler will say "that man in his car going to jail" even when there is no one else in the car. Tonight he even saw an officer and he hollered "that police man gonna take someone to jail!"

I've asked him this week if he wants to go to jail and he will tell me "no, jail is for people who steal, I won't steal momma."

Ok, I'm rambling, now, so I shall stop. Just a little something that happened around here this week.

A to Z Blog "I"

I is for ice cream

Ice cream, oh how I miss thee.

Ever since my son was born, I've had an intolerance to dairy. I miss it! I had never had to limit my food choices until a few years ago. I know how hard it is for me (and I eat it sometimes and suffer the consequences) but I can't imagine how hard a food allergy/intolerance is for a young child. Wheeler had an intolerance that he outgrew and I'm so glad he did. I don't want him to have to grow up feeling singled out because he can't have a snack his friend brought for a birthday. It has made me more sympathetic to allergies, though. I try to make sure there are no allergies in Wheeler's class if we send food. I also make sure in my own classroom that students with food allergies are remembered.

I don't remember kids having food allergies in my classrooms growing up. Maybe I was completely oblivious (which is very possible!) or maybe there were fewer. It makes one wonder why there are so many more food allergies/intolerances these days.

So I got off the topic I started with. But I really do miss ice cream!

A to Z "H" (a little late!)

So H is a day late. I've been working on getting things hung and priced for a consignment sale, and was beat last night. I didn't even make it on here to check out other blogs.

H is for happiness.

Twelve years ago if you had asked me if I was happy, I would have told you yes. I didn't know what happiness was back then, I just didn't know that I didn't know what it was. I don't truly believe I was happy. I was putting on a really good facad for not only others, but myself. I remember in 2003, when I finally got up the nerve to file for divorce, before I had even told anyone, people would come up to me and tell me how happy I looked. I didn't realize I had looked so unhappy. I won't go into details of what happened, but to say, as I was looking back over the seven years before that time, I couldn't remember the last time I was truly happy. I also realized life is worth so much more than that. Life is too short to live it in an unhappy state.

Since then I feel like I have grown immensely. I find the joy in little things in life. I know how lucky I am to have had so much support in turning my life around. I now know what happiness is. I have found happiness with a my wonderful husband and beautiful son.

A to Z "G"

G is for good naps.

I had one today! I don't often nap, because a nap for me is at least 3 or so hours. Anything less and I get up grouchy! My long naps don't usually interfere with going to bed later that night either.

This morning Wheeler and I got up, went to a few yard sales, visited Grammy, then came home and had lunch. By this time it was about 2 in the afternoon, and little bit was grouchy. We went to read a story, and I asked him if I could nap with him today. He was like, sure mom! Usually this is a mistake, he won't nap if I stay in there. He was tired, though. Three hours later John was coming to wake us.

It was wonderful. Refreshing. Maybe I need to nap more often.

A to Z "F"

Today is the letter F and of course it is about family.

I have the best family in the world.  I'm not talking about just my husband and son.  Or even adding to that my mom, stepdad, and sister.  I'm talking about all the family!  My aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, great aunts and great uncles, great great aunts (one or two are still alive!) and my second cousins.  I know that at any time of day or night, I could call any of them for any thing I needed.  I don't see many families out there like ours.  I know I am blessed beyond measure.

I looked up some definitions of family, just to see what they said.  I came across something that said in most societies family is the principal institution for the socialization of children.  Wow, is this true in our family!  Every member of my family loves my child to pieces and they are there for him!  I know this!

My family accepts each other for who they are.  We love each other.  We help each other!

Again, I am blessed beyond measure!

A to Z "E"

Elephantine

I decided. I wanted to learn a new word today. So I went on a search for a word that starts with the letter "e". I found elephantine. According to dictionary.com it means "characteristic of an elephant or elephants, resembling an elephant, huge, clumsy, or ponderous.".

Hmmm, sometimes I feel elephantine. In more ways than one.

Sometimes my class seems elephantine. again, in more ways than one.

There are even times our problems seem elephantine.

I think tomorrow I will use elephantine in a sentence and see if my firs ties can figure out what it means.

A to Z "D"

D is for Dad.

I wrote about my daddy here a year ago. I miss him everyday. I have so much to tell him. I wish Wheeler could have known him.  I know that he wouldn't want to leave heaven to come back to this Earth, and while I don't want to go anytime soon, I rejoice that one day, I will see him again!

A to Z Blog "C"

My topic for C is cake. Or maybe it should be cupcakes.  I love both.  Baking is my newest passion. If you've read any of my blog over the past year you know that I took a cake decorating course and I love baking and decorating. Here are a few pics of my recent yummy treats.

Above is my first wedding cake, which I did just this past weekend.  What a blast!  I loved making it!


Not a great pic, but below are homemade Red Velvet Cupcakes with the best Cream Cheese icing I've ever made.  I made chocolate H's for the top.  I did these for a bridal shower a couple of weeks ago.

Next is a homemade strawberry cake with cream cheese icing.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Icing.  

Oh.  My.  Goodness.  Good!!!

I found this one on Six Sisters Blog a couple of months ago.  It's a Neopolitan Cupcake... brownie, strawberry cake, and buttercream icing.

And these chocolate covered marshmallows were so fun and easy to make.

So these are some of the things that have been occupying my time over the past few months.  

Did I make your mouth water!