We have a swimmer!

Andy and I decided that since it's extremely hot in AZ and since we have two pools in our subdivision, it was time to take Logan to the pool. In the past, our trips to the pool have involved getting a towel for each of us, putting some sandals on, shorts, and a t-shirt, and walking our little butts down to swim. Whoa is it different when you have a baby. Before even thinking about going swimming, I went to Target to purchase some Pamper's Splashers. Note, I did not buy Huggies. I loathe Huggies and will only use them if the diapers were bought for me. I digress. So, we bought the swim pants, and while I was there I also picked up some baby sunblock, a rashguard shirt, and a blow up floating turtle to shade him while he's in the pool. With all of our goods at home, we began organizing the swimming adventure. We first put Logan in the swim pants, then the swim suit, then the rashguard. Next, we lathered the little guy up with sunblock. We were getting ready to walk downstairs when I realized I felt wetness. You see, the swim pants are not diapers. They do not soak up pee, they merely hold in the disgusting poo that may occur in the pool. Our little guy decided he would like to pee before leaving. Which he did. Which made us undress and redress.

We finally descended downstairs, bringing our towels, Logan's sun hat, the camera, packing it all in a bag, and placing Logan in his stroller. We also picked up the very large blow up raft on the way. I will note that Logan hates wearing hats and cries bloody murder when you place one on him. I tried very hard to explain to him that I was protecting his precious face so he could be a knock out for the ladies. Unfortunately he didn't care. We FINALLY arrived at the pool and were happy to see that we had it to ourselves. Although it was hot out, the water was not. We were so afraid that he would start screaming as soon as his little toes touched the freezing cold water, but are happy to say that no tears were shed. However, no smiles were shown either. He was a bit indifferent, a little confused perhaps. There was no expression whatsoever on his face. We played sitting down in the water and splashed with Mommy holding him. He sat in his turtle raft and we realized that it kind of sucks. Eh, it was only $11. Overall, I would say that Logan's first trip to the pool was a success. Here are some pics to prove it:

Back to Pre-Logan weight!

I have officially returned to pre-Logan weight. Jenny Craig, although I have never officially met you, you are my new best friend. We are told to reward ourselves every time we meet some sort of goal. The only catch is that we can't reward ourselves with food. In my mind losing ten pounds should be rewarded with some ice cream...preferably some chunky monkey or coldstone, but really, I'll take what I can get. Alas, this will not happen. Instead, I took my slightly smaller booty over to Hobby Lobby and picked up some new scrapbooking supplies. Since I've been home for summer break I've been trying to catch up on Logan's scrapbook that I started when he was born. I'm now up to my baby shower pictures, so I have a lot of catching up to do. I should probably also get back to that wedding album I started almost 3 years ago...

With that in mind, it is true, I am officially on summer break. And I'm loving it. One snafu...Logan doesn't realize it's summer break. Summer break means sleeping in. Never getting out of my pajamas. Lounging on the couch. The pajamas and couch part is easy enough to manage, but the sleeping in is the part we're still working on. And, as we all know, I LOVE sleep. Perhaps one day I'll be able to sleep in again. Even without the sleeping in, I already feel much more relaxed. It's nice to know that I don't have to complete any lesson plans for next week. I have each day open without a list of things I should accomplish. All I need to do is clean a room or two a day, feed the L man, play with him, and change his diapers. It's very doable. Do you know that in other countries around the world I could still be on maternity leave and be getting paid for staying at home with my son? We really need to get on that USA. In the meantime, I'll take my two months of summer and stop complaining.

The goal for this weekend is to take little man swimming in the fun pool in our subdivision. I'm a little scared that his little swimmers are going to be too big for him, since they don't really make his size. Updates on the swimming adventure to come!

T minus 6 days!

I love it when each school year comes to a close. Not that I don't love the students I teach, but man is the job stressful. This year I had a lot weighing down on me. I had a few students that were ahem let's say precious. They will definitely be remembered. I continued to work on achieving my Master's degree and finally finished the program! I had this big thing happening called a pregnancy, combined with a lack of a substitute teacher for awhile, stressing over sub plans, and then giving birth to the most amazing little boy ever. My team began to crumble into shambles and is still slowly falling apart. Last but not least, I was told that I was going to move schools, and then told that I'm coming back. That's a lot to take in during one year. I am very much looking forward to a summer in which I will not be stressed out about my classes, because I don't have any. I won't be stressed out about the upcoming year, because I'm staying put right where I am. The only stress I'll hopefully endure will be wondering how many items of mine Lucy will chew up each week. It's a summer full of a growing Logan that I get to spend every minute with since I'm staying home.

Speaking of the little man, we took him to JC Penney to take some 3 month pictures, and here are some of the faves:




Logan decided to be fussy during the photo shoot, which may have had to do with the growth spurt we're pretty sure he's going through. This resulted in mommy being a little bit upset about the resulting images. Oh well, there's always the 6 month ones. He's getting to be such a little man though! The curl is back, which we all love, but I know I'm going to hate as I try to comb his hair when he's older. He's officially fitting into 3-6 month clothes. The adorable outfit you see in his pictures was purchased by his Aunt Lauren during her trip to AZ. Good thing we both have the same taste in clothes. He loves to "talk" to us and we talk back. Never too soon to build that vocabulary. He's also been able to grab things on his own, and sit in his bumbo while holding his head up. Next thing we know this kid is going to be crawling! I love seeing his silly smile everyday and hearing his adorable laugh, which sometimes results in a bit of a scream. Who knew being a mom would be this much fun. More importantly, who knew I would like having a little boy this much?

P.S. I have officially dropped 8 pounds and am FINALLY able to button my pre-pregnancy pants. Thank you Jenny Craig!

Two milestones in one!

I love when there are two celebrations in one day! Today is my very first Mother's Day. As a present, Andy let me sleep all night long without having to wake up and feed Logan. As an added bonus, I got to sleep in until double digits. That means at least 10:00. I can't even remember the last time I did that...probably around February 7th or so :). I was given a wonderful card with a cute message inside from my little guy, and 6 more coupons that will allow me to sleep without being bothered. Oh, how I love sleep. I also have another present coming, let me give you a glimpse:
Except mine says "Logan" of course. So adorable. I sent Andy to The Vintage Pearl for this cuteness of a necklace. I can't wait to get it in the next week or so.

Celebration number two comes in the form of a little chubby man turning 3 months!
This week has been pretty hard for him. I'm a bit impressed with the height of his projectile vomit, but I know he hasn't exactly liked it. We ended up going to the ER on Friday because he continued to vomit and have diarrhea like no other. Apparently he's caught a bit of a stomach bug from one of the kiddos at day care. But, as you can see in the picture, he's feeling back to normal. Baby vomit at 3 months of age is not fun. Thank goodness it's over for now. It's amazing to see all of the new things that Logan is doing every day. He smiles like crazy and we've even heard the beginnings of laughter. He loves to splash in the bath tub and is kicking and hitting toys all the time. Everyday brings something new and amazing to us.

Happy Mother's Day!

Just when I was getting used to the idea

Let's back up a few weeks and take some time to reflect upon the craziness that has been linked to my involuntary transfer to a new school. As I have mentioned, many feelings have come over me when think of this transfer. First anger, then sadness, acceptance, curiosity, and finally some excitement. I turned in my preference sheet to the principal Tuesday and was somewhat excited on the prospects of moving to a K-3 school, perhaps still teaching 2nd grade. The grass was looking greener, I was in a glass half full type of mood.

Today I answered my phone and was asked to come to a meeting after school. I of course am wondering what I did this time. As I arrive at said meeting I realize there are five of us, the same 5 who were asked to involuntarily transfer. Hmmm. We are quickly pulled into the conference room and told that instead of moving 5 wonderful teachers to another school, only 3 have to leave. Two positions were being opened up again, a 2nd grade position and a 3rd grade position. Awkward silence ensued as we were asked if any of us would like to volunteer to leave. Now, I'm all for helping my fellow team mate, but there was a little bug in the back of my head screaming that MY 2ND GRADE POSITION WAS BACK! So I kept my mouth shut. Luckily, three teachers did volunteer, which means....I get to stay! I'm extremely excited. Not only do I not have to pack my room up, but I get to teach the grade that I love teaching. I get to stay in a school in which I know the students, parents, and have a group of friends I love. I now feel a little less stressed out and content with life.

Night Feedings are a trip

Sometimes my brain can't decide if it's awake or asleep. I used to sleepwalk as a kid. I'd fall asleep on the couch and wake up on the recliner. Or start in my bed and end up downstairs.

Eventually I grew out of it and got really spoiled for a few years on what it meant to get all my sleep in one big chunk. Recently we brought home a trial version of a tiny human and I've gotten acquainted with interrupted sleep. It's a shock when he starts crying and you experience the jolt of going from the land of super powers to poopy diapers. Sometimes my consciousness doesn't pick a side.

The latest time was last night when I got up around 3AM to give the L-Man his Nighttime Deluxe: bottle, diaper, back to bed. He was finishing up his bottle (which was only a half portion because of the illness) when he starts screaming for more. I'm sitting there, wide awake, and for some reason I had it in my head that he was a Baby Lawyer and we were in court where he was prosecuting a case. I know he wants more juice but I have to give it to him from the Evidence compartment which doesn't actually exist. I'm not moving because I don't know what button to push to select the juice from the Evidence category. I know I can just fill his bottle back up in the bathroom like normal but he'll be mad because I'm blowing his case!

All of a sudden I'm rescued by a crack of logic: babies can't be lawyers! I have this conversation with myself and realize that no baby can make it through law school at this age and they wouldn't be a baby when they are done. Plus, who would hire a baby to try their case?!?! They can't even talk yet! You can't convince a jury with just smiles and uncoordinated flailing!

I start to guess that I'm really just crazy but I still feel uneasy as I fill up his bottle and give it to him. To clarify, I wasn't sleepwalking. I was wide awake but my brain had its worlds colliding.

Logan got me back for all this by not going back to sleep until 4:30 AM.

almost forgot...

Tomorrow is Teacher Appreciation Day. Make sure to thank a teacher! And, just so it is known, I do accept gifts :)

the secret is out

A student came up to me today and said that they heard I was going to a new school next year. I was a little taken aback since I had made a point not to tell my students. I was planning on telling them on the last day of school when I wished them goodbye. I was afraid that announcing the news early could possibly lead to less respect coming from those that feel they are being left by their teacher, or perhaps those who think they can get away with murder since I won't be coming back. Instead of lying, I told them that it was true and that we would talk about it at the morning meeting. So, the dreaded talk came and I had to to explain about redistricting. A huge part of me wanted to scream THIS IS NOT FAIR! I'm a good teacher and I don't deserve to be leaving. Complain to your parents, tell the school board. HELP! But I knew it would do more harm then anything else. As the days go by, I've actually been having happy thoughts about leaving. Sometimes a fresh start is good. Please note, this is coming from me, the girl who HATES change. But, to be honest, I haven't been happy where I am. I've hated coming into work. I've wanted so hard to put in 110% effort, but have been so frustrated/stressed out/angry/tired/the list goes on this year, that I haven't been able to. I think back to my first year of teaching and remember how I loved it. It was honestly my favorite year and I'm hoping that my first year at a new school will be just as wonderful. I still don't know how my students found out. I guess gossip travels and it's kind of surprising that it took them this long to get the news. Hopefully I keep finding new things to be happy about. Only 16 more days and this chapter will end.

When it rains it pours

You know the saying, and boy was it true this weekend. Logan had been acting kind of funny this week, not eating as much and being really fussy. I got a phone call from Tricia on Friday saying that he had pooped 4 times within a 45 minute period. This coming from the little guy who has one poop a day ::apparently we're getting paid back in ten fold for that::. Andy set up a Dr. appointment for him and promptly reported that Logan had an ear infection. Nothing too horrible, and we could still send him to day care the next day. Or not. Friday morning comes and the vomiting begins. So Andy stayed home with him. I figured we were just going to have to deal with a sick baby all weekend, but we're a good team. We could get through this.

Saturday morning arrived and Andy began to throw up. Now, sometimes Andy is a bit of a drama king when it comes to being sick, so I told him to get over it and help me out with Logan. Except every time he tried to drink some water, he ran to the bathroom. Finally, he went to the ER and was told he had strep throat. Not good. Strep throat is evil. It infects everyone. If we lived at home with family around us, it probably wouldn't be such a big deal. But we live in AZ where we are pretty much on our own. So, Andy was quarantined to the guest room, only being allowed to come out of the room if he was wearing a mask. That left me alone with Logan. The baby who is going #2 every time he eats. And only sleeps for 20 minutes at a time. So, I took care of the little guy all night. Thankfully he slept for most of it. And then I had to take care of him for most of the day, trying to finish my lesson plans in between rocking him and putting him down for naps. I'm crossing my fingers that Logan doesn't get sick from Andy, or that I won't get sick from him. Ah, the joys of being a parent.

There was a highlight to the weekend: I've lost 6 lbs total!