Life

These little cheeks are just begging for some kisses

This poor little blog of mine has been rather neglected lately. Life has been in full swing around here. This past week was the first week of school and it was just as hectic and crazy as I had imagined it to be. And then some.

You may have heard in the news that Texas has had major budget cuts that really hit our schools hard. A lot of teachers were let go. Luckily, my school kept most of its employees because of normal turnaround. But we had to make up for it by cutting back in other ways. So this year we are all teaching six classes a day instead of five. And since we have more teachers than classrooms, most of us are sharing our rooms during our planning periods. This means that we get one 50 minutes block to prep and plan with, and we can't even use our classrooms to do so.

To make a long story short, I am busy. In ways that I've never been busy before. I made it a priority last year to not bring my work home with me. Once I come home I am Hannah's mom 100% and I simply will not give up that precious time. It's going to be extremely difficult to maintain that goal this year.

Hopefully I will get into a good routine soon and things will be a little smoother. But until then I might not be around here as much. There's just not enough time in a day, and every second I have is going to be spent making up for missed hugs and kisses with my sweet baby girl.

Thanks for understanding, friends!

XOXO

Week in iPhone Photos {8.20.11}

This week...

1. We visited my parents and let Hannah play in her old exersaucer. Her knees almost touched the bottom.
2. We got lucky and Hannah took a nap in her pack-n-play.
3. I bummed around on the couch.

4. I went to work and missed my baby.
5. We ate some yummy Chinese take out.
6. I learned that Hannah's favorite food is egg rolls.

7. Hannah put her butt on my pillow when I put it on the floor to make the bed.
8. Wytmer brought me home some cheesecake.
9. Hannah fell asleep in the car, and it was so hard not to kiss all over those big cheeks.


[I'm linking up with A Good Life!]

XOXO

Today

Well, today was the big day. I went back to work.

I'm not going to lie, I pretty much cried myself to sleep about it. I know, a little dramatic. But it's hard, ya know? Because for the last couple months I've been with Hannah all day, every day, and we're pretty much a team now. She's my little buddy and it's hard to be places where I'm not being her mom. Of course I'm always her mom, but when I go to work I can't do all the silly things that make me Hannah's mom. Like sing "there's a party in my tummy," cut crusts of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and say things like, "Don't touch your poop!"

But I went. I got through the day. I put one foot in front of the other, and it was better than I thought. In reality the hours flew by. I kept busy in meetings and working in my classroom. I remembered how much I enjoyed the structure and planning that goes into teaching. I got to see some friends, and talk about grown up things. And when I started to feel sad about being away from Hannah, I tried to look at the positives: I have a great job doing something I enjoy. I get weekends, holidays, and summers off. I get off work at 3pm (most of the time). And I work with some pretty great people. Things could definitely be worse.

Tomorrow is another day.

Here's a few pictures from today:

6AM: Coffee while I blow dry my hair.

Dressed and ready to go!

Being silly.

Had to get my desk and computer set up.

My messy shopping list.

Definitely wasn't cooking tonight. We ate pizza instead.

XOXO

Week in iPhone Pics {8.13.11}

This week...

1. We checked out Target's back to school section. Hannah was loving on her 40 cent crayons.
2. I enjoyed a yummy diet cherry limeade from Sonic.
3. Hannah took a nap in the car.

4. Hannah snuggled on the couch to watch some Dora.
5. Hannah refused to look at me for a picture (typical of her).
6. Hannah read her favorite book.

7. We shared some yummy fro yo.
8. Hannah hogged it all and yelled at us if we tried to get some.
9. Hannah sat on the ottoman to watch Gabba.

10. I snuggled my little and smelled her hair. That sounds weird, but I love to bury my face in her curls and smell her yummy baby smells. That little fuzzy mess is my favorite place in the world.
11. Hannah read her book, again.
12. I organized our closets. Yay for color-coordination!

13. Hannah tried a garden burger and was not impressed.
14. Hannah chilled in her crib after a nap and didn't want to get up.
15. Hannah snacked on some yummy fruit crisps.

I'm linking up with A Good Life!


XOXO

My Last Mama's Day Off

Can I just start this by saying that I have been insanely busy lately? Finding time to blog has been a challenge. I've been busy trying to get things done before I have to go back to work. Forgive me? :)

Since this is my last week of summer vacation, my weekly Mama's Day Off posts are coming to an end. Oh, and if you were wondering, last week's post was skipped because Hannah's sitter had surgery and I kept Hannah at home. I was planning of taking her this week, but her sitter called and said she needed an extra week to recuperate. And while I really could have used that last day to myself, I was glad to have one more day to spend with my little girl before summer ends.

And so, this post really isn't about my day off, since I didn't have one. Instead, I'm going to end this series with how I spent the day with Hannah.

First thing in the morning we filled our bellies up with yummy breakfast (egg sandwich for me, and cereal and fruit for Hannah) and cuddled together on the couch. Eventually we got our swimsuits on and headed out to Hannah's swim class at the YMCA.

After we finished swimming we came home and Hannah took a nap. Swimming always makes her sleepy. While she napped I took a shower and got dressed. My friend Amanda called and invited us to lunch, and so as soon as Hannah woke up we were back out the door. Hannah had fun at lunch waving at strangers, coloring, and gobbling up a grilled cheese sandwich.

After lunch we brought Wytmer some food and went to Target where we stocked up on crayons for Hannah, and school supplies for me. Teachers can never have too many pencils.

Hannah fell asleep in the car on the way home, so I stopped to get a diet cherry limeade from Sonic, and parked the car while she finished her nap.

Once Hannah woke up we headed inside. We were both still feeling a little lazy, so we relaxed on the couch while watching Yo Gabba Gabba.

Eventually we ate dinner, Wytmer came home, and Hannah took her bath. Then my little girl went to bed and I spent the rest of the night watching Big Brother with Wytmer (Rachael is crazy, by the way).

I'm going to miss my weekly day off. But I'm going to miss spending entire days with Hannah even more. I'm not going to lie, I'm kind of dreading next week. It's been wonderful spending so much time with my baby and she has grown so much this summer. I feel like we are closer than we ever have been, and I'm pretty bummed that it's coming to an end. I'm just going to focus on how lucky I am to have summers off with her, and try to stay positive.

But that's another post for another day.

XOXO

Wordless Wednesday: We Love Fro-Yo

...and instagram. Eventually I will take real camera pictures again. But for now, my iphone is my weapon of choice.

[linking up with the paper mama]

XOXO

Week in IPHONE!! Pictures {8.6.11}

This week something very special happened.

I finally got an iphone! I've been wanting one for so long and this week my upgrade finally came up. And do you know what that means? No more awful quality pictures for my weekly recap! YAY!


Can you tell I'm excited?

Okay, on to the goods. I didn't get that many pictures since I just got my phone on Thursday, but here's some of what we were up to this week...

1. I ordered this pretty Cath Kidston iphone case. It's not here yet though.
2. Hannah ate her crayons.

3. My friend Betsy and I searched for Thai food in our area. It was super strange, but every place was closed from like 3-5.
4. I am getting closer to finishing White Oleander.

5. Hannah snuggled in our bed again. She loves pulling the covers up and laying back on our pillows. Silly girl.
6. I sat around a lot. Playing with my phone.

7. Hannah finger painted with her yogurt.
8. I made chocolate chip cookies. They are all gone now.

[linking up with A Good Life!]



XOXO

Feelin' Thrifty.

Today Hannah and I hit up a local Goodwill to search for some new-to-us books. Here's a few photos of the goods:

All this for less than 14 dollars!

This was my favorite find of the day! Vintage Wizard of Oz.

Original illustrations!

This right here is my new addiction.

XOXO

Wordless Wednesday: Bun Biting Baby

Hannah likes to eat buns.

The picture quality sucks (these were taken with a phone) but I thought they were just too funny not to share!

XOXO

"Kid Leashes"

Before I had Hannah my head was full of things I'd never do as a parent. But then life happened. And you know what? A little sugar, an episode of Yo Gabba Gabba, or a few minutes of crying at night wasn't going to kill anyone. And as we entered each new stage in parenthood our expectations and realities changed.

Now that Hannah is completely mobile, our lives have changed again. Everyday things like going to the grocery store are a challenge. Once upon a time we'd put her car seat on top of the cart while we did our shopping. Eventually she was big enough to ride at the top of the cart. And now my little mobile toddler wants to walk like the big girl she is. Except she doesn't understand that she can't run down aisles, knock down displays, and walk out in front of people's carts. So we have to make our adjustments and try to find something that works for us. What about a harness? It was one of those things we thought we'd never consider. But if it means getting through the store safely and without tantrums, then maybe it isn't so bad after all.

Yesterday Wytmer and I went to the grocery store with Hannah. When we got there we decided to get one of those monstrous kid carts with the car in front so Hannah wouldn't get too bored and have a melt down. And it worked, until we were almost done. Somewhere around the frozen vegetable section, she started wiggling out of the seat belt and pulling herself out the door. We were shopping in a grocery store that carried a lot of baby items and we decided to see if they sold child harnesses. We'd talk about it before and were both willing to give it a try. "If they have them, then we'll get it," I told Wytmer. And sure enough, they did. As I held Hannah who was now out of the cart and thrashing in my arms to get down, Wytmer opened the package and strapped the little brown monkey to her back.



We set her down and and watched her walk slowly ahead with a huge grin on her face. Okay, I thought, we can do this. We headed down the next aisle, full of people shopping, and Hannah ran in the opposite direction. The leash caught her and she twisted and fell, hitting her head on the bottom of our cart. I immediately scooped her up and covered her in kisses while everyone in the aisle turned to look. She stopped crying after a minute and I told Wytmer that the harness was a bad idea and I didn't want to get it after all. He agreed and we started walking again while I held Hannah in my arms. A woman down the aisle was standing there without moving and staring us down. When we passed she asked how old Hannah was and said she had pretty eyes. As we left the aisle she turned to watch us. I thought it was just strange until Wytmer told me that she watched Hannah fall and was giving us dirty looks.


We eventually checked out and headed home. But I kept thinking about that woman. Why was she giving me dirty looks? Because my child fell while attached to a harness? It really bothered me that this woman, who knew nothing about me, could be thinking I was a bad parent. I told Wytmer how I felt and he just said that people who don't have kids just don't get it. It's easy to judge someone when you aren't in their place.


We both agreed that the child harness just wasn't for us. Although they may keep Hannah safe while letting her have a little more freedom, I can honestly say that I can't handle the idea that someone will look at me and say I'm a bad mother because of it. Is that silly? I know I shouldn't care, but I do.


What do you guys think about "kid leashes"? Have you ever felt like you were being judged as a mother by strangers? This is new territory for me because up until recently my parenting in public had been limited to toting around a cute and squishy baby. I have a feeling like I might be dealing with judgement like this more often now.


XOXO