Graduate classes and lunch ladies...

My graduate classes at Sonoma State started yesterday. Luckily we only meet one Saturday a month and the rest of the work is online. That one Saturday is rough though, I leave the house around 7 and don't get home until 5. Yesterday though I got home really early. I went to pump in between classes and realized that I didn't bring part of my breast pump, so what could I do? I had to go home. For all of you women out there who are or have breastfed, can you imagine going 10 hours? I emailed my professor, so hopefully he'll be understanding.

Now on to the lunch ladies part of the entry. A few months ago my friends and I started a Bunco group. Last night the theme was "back to school: lunch ladies". It was a riot! Hair nets, orthopedic socks and shoes, hairy moles, etc. We even themed our dinner. I made the Dugger's tatter tot casserole, and no it was not very good. Anyone who is not in a Bunco group I highly recommend starting one. Here are pictures of the ones who dressed up. I know most lunch ladies don't have Williams and Sonoma aprons, but that was all I had. I am wearing a hair net BTW, you just can't really see it.

Make your own onesie

My friend Nicole told me about this great crafting blog,homemadebyjill.blogspot.com. It is full of great ideas on how to do really fun projects. (You should all check it out). Anyway- I found a tutorial on how to make these cute onesies, it even had the templates. I thought I'd share the end result. Carson is even modeling one for you. His face cracks me up!

Big kid pears, yum yum

Yesterday I peeled an entire pear and gave it to Carson. He went to town! It kept him entertained for 20 minutes and I think he actually got a decent amount in his mouth. Needless to say he was one sticky kid.

Carson watching himself on video

This kid loves watching videos of himself. He thinks that he is very funny.

Bitter Sweet

Our district started back this past week. It has been a week full of different emotions for me. I always loved the first week of school. I loved the teacher prep days before school starts. I loved getting my classroom set up and ready. I loved getting my class schedule and list of students. The first week is crazy, disorganized, but very exciting. Each school year is a new beginning full of promise. That is one of the things I love about teaching. Every year has a definite beginning and end. As a teacher you are able to feel like you have completed and accomplished something great year after year. I was going to go back to teaching part-time for '09-'10, but decided not to last month. I've felt pretty good about my decision, but this week has been hard. I feel like I am missing out or being left behind in a way. I've been teaching for 6 years now and it is weird not doing all this beginning of school stuff. I think it is especially hard because I don't see myself returning to teaching anytime soon. I want to be home with my kids and am planning on having a few more. It is so weird to think that most likely I won't be back in the classroom for 10+ years. I mean I've been in school as a student/teacher since I was 5 years old, 23 years total, that's a long time for a 28 year old. Don't get me wrong, I am excited to be home with Carson. We have so much fun together every day! I am so blessed to be able to be home with him and not have to go to work (thanks Steve). I guess it will just take some getting used to.

(Photo disclosure: Carson would not sit still. This is the best picture out of about 20...)
I am a mover and a shaker! I crawl fast and love to climb up on everything. I am even standing on my own for a few seconds. I’ve just started to open cabinets and like to pull everything out. I also think it is really fun to pull all the books off of my bookshelf. Whenever I am down stairs I crawl as fast as I can to the stairs and start going up. Mom or Dad ends up coming right after me. It is a really fun game. They seem to think that I might get hurt and fall down the stairs if they are not there. I’ve only fallen once so far and it was just a few steps. Mom says I am fearless! I’ve started to get a little clingy to Mom. I want her to hold me most of the time. She complains that she can’t get anything done during the day because I need constant attention. I can’t help it though, because I’m just a baby! I have gotten a lot more adventurous with food. I want to eat whatever the grown-ups are eating. Lately I don’t even want to eat my baby food, I only want big kid food. I love eating lunch meat, cheerios, cut up fruit, and rice. My few favorite thing to eat is graham crackers. When Mom gives me one it will keep me quite for 20 minutes. Since all of the summer trips are over Mom and Dad have finally been able to put me on a sleep schedule. I wake up around 6:45, then a take a morning nap from 9:30-10:30. I take my afternoon nap from 2:00-3:30. I start my bed time routine at 7:30, which consists of a bath, then cuddle time and nursing. I am asleep before 8:00. This is the “perfect day schedule”. The waking up and going to bed always happen this way, but the naps are still a struggle. Sometimes they are too short so Mom ends up giving me a late afternoon nap. Sometimes I cry through my nap and miss it all together. Mom and Dad no longer rock me to sleep or come into my room when I cry. It was really hard at first, but is a lot better now. Sometimes I don’t cry at all when I am put down. I usually cry for 5-10 minutes and then go to sleep. Mom hopes that I will master this soon. It is exhausting to both of us to hear me cry and cry. I am getting much more social. I love playing with other kids, especially toddlers. I love going to the playground to play and watch all the kids play. I have so much fun crawling and climbing on them. I can’t wait to be a big kid like them!

One of the small things that makes me happy

I love new bedding. I love the feeling of getting into bed with crisp new sheets tucked tightly. I love snuggling under a new comforter. I love how new bedding completely changes the look of a room.

Happy Birthday to Me

Yep, that's right the big 2-8 is here. Thanks for all the phone calls, emails and Bath & Body Works items (that was a popular one this year!) We had a really fun night last night, and of course I forgot to take any pictures. First we had a babysitter. Going out is so much more enjoyable now without a baby. Steve and I met 14 of our friends for dinner at Red Robin. I don't know what it is, but I love Red Robin. The free flowing Diet Coke with Lemon, the delicious sandwiches, and garlic fries...It is hard to beat! We even were able to all sit together. After dinner we played a few rounds of laser tag at Scandia. It was a lot of fun, even though we were probably the oldest ones there. Thanks everyone for making my birthday so fun.

Mom's in charge now!

Sleep scheduling...how is it going you might ask? Sometimes he only whimpers for a second when I put him down and I think, yes, I've done it!! Look at me, Carson knows how to put himself to sleep now, yippy! Then all the sudden after a few successful naps in a row I go to put him down and he cries for 40 minutes before finally conking out. To make a long story short, we are still working on it. It is getting better, but we are not there yet. He is a very stubborn kid. When the crying goes on and on I put earphones on and go on the treadmill, otherwise I wouldn't make it. I do have to say it is very liberating to know that when I put him down that is it and I don't have to keep going in there to comfort him and try to get him back to sleep. I had had enough- There is only so much a mom can take. To all the moms/moms-to-be out there here is the best advice I can give you. The only book you have to read is Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. I went through a plethora of books before I learned this. You're welcome

Life is so unfair for a 12 year old girl...

January 31, 1994-
Last night I spent the night at Julianne’s. We talked on the phone with Marc and Anthony until 9:00. We wanted them to come over, but Sister Reynolds said no. Julie asked her mom if we could meet them at Mc Donalds in the morning and she said she said she thinks that would be fine. Then I asked Mom and she said no! She says I am too young. I’ve got to figure out some way to show her that I am mature enough. I know she’d let Regan go if she wanted to. We are just friends with them so it doesn't matter if they are boys. Guess what? There is a stake Valentines dance for ages 12-18! Mom thinks I am not mature enough to go, but I know I can convince her. Julianne and I dressed up for some church skit.

Bigger and Better Things

Out with the old...

And in with the new! Watch out world. Carson is in a big boy car seat now.

Campin' With the Ladies!

This week 6 of us girls packed up our 16 kids and went camping. That's right- tents, sleeping bags, camp fires- the whole 9 yards- all without the help of men. We camped at a KOA not too far from home. I'd never been to a KOA before. It was pretty fancy as far as camp sites go. Showers, a pool, clean bathrooms. They even had cool blow-up jumpy thing for the kids. We all had a great time. I think it will become a yearly tradition. Carson loved camping. He crawled around in the dirt most of the time. The big kids were great at entertaining him and making him laugh. He slept in the Pack-in-Play in my tent, with me on the air mattress. He slept a lot better then I thought he would. My trips are now done until the end of September, thank goodness! Carson's sleep schedule starts tomorrow, which means crying out for naps and bedtime. I'll let you all know how it goes. Wish me (and him) luck!
Carson's dirty back
Ty and Carson I turned on Baby Einstein for Carson and all the kids gathered around
Us at the camp fire
Anissa and Derek at the camp fire The kids playing Red Rover on the bouncy thing

Thank you President Obama and the tax payers of America

Steve and I had a car that qualified for the "cash for clunkers" program where you can get a $4,500 rebate from the government when you trade it in and buy a brand new fuel efficient car. We were toying with the idea of a new car so I decided to go to a Kia dealership while I was in LA. One of my Dad's clients is the 2nd largest Kia dealer in the nation. After test driving a few models and learning how much we could get each car for we ended up buying a '09 Kia Sportage. With the government rebate, factory rebate, and money taken off because of my Dad it was a deal we couldn't turn down! I ended up forfeiting my plane ticket and driving it home. We love our new car. It's really cute and has a ton of bells and whistles. The dealer tinted the windows and installed blue tooth for us- which is amazing. I don't think I can live without it now. I especially love the IPod USB port. We have satellite radio for 3 months as well. You can't beat Kia's warranty either. I love having an SUV. It is so much easier getting Carson in and out of the car. We've never had a brand new car before. Loving it!!!