Same Ol' Same Ol'

Well, let's see here. I haven't sat down and wrote a blog in a few months! That means life is super busy, and boy is it! Except right now. Right now Lilly and I and Mike are watching Peter Pan. One of her (and my) favorites. She keeps calling me "mom" tonight instead of "mommy". I can't decide if this is cute or heartbreaking. 

So, here's what we have been up to! School is great and exhausting. I love Deep River and everybody I work with. My students are way to sweet and they have some awesome parents. We had a pumpkin day today where we counted and sorted pumpkin seeds. The kids brought in 15 pumpkins! 15!!!! It was a fun day. But one thing I didn't expect was how different it would be to teach in a new county. In some ways I feel like a first year teacher all over again as far as staying late and getting everything done. But that's slowing down now that the first quarter is over and things are starting to feel a little normal. 

Except that we still live with my parents. Which is fine and they are super helpful. But I never knew how much I would miss my own bed. Holy moly I miss that bed. We have had lots of people look at our house, which is great, but no bites yet. I hope we have our own place sooner than later. And I know we will. Just putting my faith into Gods plan for us! But I wouldn't mind if you said an extra prayer for us tonight. I would love to have a new house for Christmas! Maybe I'll add that to Lilly's list for Santa. 

On more exciting news, Lilly is 99% potty trained!!! She is in panties full time, even during naps, but diapers at night. This is all because of her wonderful teacher at school. I was going to try and potty train her over the summer, but I was too lazy and didn't have a clue what to do, so thank goodness for her teacher that picked up my slack. Now she won't have to go to kindergarten in diapers! Score! 

So, overall things are good :) We get to see Cole, Lindsay, Addison, Aunts, Uncles, and Grandparents anytime we want. And that has made everything else totally worth it. Even not having our own king bed to sleep in. Excited about our future :) 

If you can read this, thank a teacher.

It's here. The night before the first day of school. I'm excited and nervous and anxious. I probably won't sleep well. I have my backup alarm set. And at 7:40 am I will be greeting my new bunch of 2nd graders with a big smile on my face and a warm hug. There are thousands of teachers out there tonight who are laying in bed right now finalizing their plans, rehearsing their day, making their lunch, laying out their clothes, and adding their students into class dojo. This blog post goes out to you. You are the reason why learning about decimals is fun. You are the reason why children can't wait to check out their next library book. And for some, you are the reason they even come to school. 

Teachers are powerful. 

Think back to your favorite teacher. I have many, but my absolute favorite is Mrs. Fran Bradely. She was my first teacher ever, and I remember many things about kindergarten, like our teddy bear picnic and singing songs at our Christmas program. She made school fun. I would come home and play school until it was time for supper. I told anybody that asked that I was going to be a teacher when I grew up.

 And then the time came to make a decision about college and a career path, and all of a sudden I felt nervous. That's a huge decision to make, and I didn't want to make the wrong one. I quietly cried myself to sleep a few times worrying about that decision and leaving home, even though I told my parents I couldn't wait to go to college. Did I really want to be a teacher? They didn't make squat and they had to give all these assessments. I wasn't so sure anymore. I prayed that God would lead me in the right direction. I prayed for a "sign", like many do when they come to a fork in the road. And then, there it was. Sitting in my mailbox one day that summer. A letter from Mrs. Bradely. 

As I read the letter, I learned about all of my fellow classmates from that kindergarten class in 1990. You see, Mrs. Bradely had taken the time to research what all of us were doing and where we were headed after graduation, and then found all of our addresses and mailed us the poem she wrote. She did this every single year, with every single class she taught. 

And that is why I graduated with a degree in Elementary Education. Not because teachers make the big bucks, or because they get summers off, but because they can make a difference in the life of a child every single day they enter that classroom. 

Teachers are powerful. 

God bless the teachers of North Carolina as they start their 2014-2015 school year. I pray that God gives you the patience, time, and energy you will need, and I pray that you can touch the life of a child each and every day. Let's do this! 

Through The Eyes of a Two Year Old

There have been many things that have surprised me after becoming a parent. I'm surprised how much I can accomplish with little to no sleep (basically Lilly's whole first year). I'm surprised at all the little things that gave me anxiety (I'm guilty of misusing google). I'm surprised at how FAST she is growing and changing.

But one thing that has surprised me the most is that I learn more from Lilly than she does from me. My daughter teaches me more about life than I teach her. Have you ever seen life through the eyes of a two year old? It's pretty spectacular. It's humbling. It's innocent. It makes big things seem small, and small things seem big. 

Just the other night, I was getting Lilly ready for bed after a long, hot summer day. We went downstairs to let the dogs out and of course Lilly wanted to walk outside too. My inner voice was saying "great, this is going to take longer than it should", but being too tired to fight the tantrum that might happen if we didn't go outside with the dogs, we went and stood on the porch. I told the dogs to hurry so we could all go to bed... And then the sweetest little two year old voice I've ever heard said "ohh look at the stars mommy, they beautiful". And sure enough, there they were. Hundreds of stars twinkling in the sky.. And I saw them through the eyes of my two year old. Magical. Beautiful. Breathtaking. 

We stood outside for a very long time that night, just looking at the stars. 

Life is busy, and life is short, so thank you Lilly Bug for showing me how important it is to appreciate the simple moments in life. Thank you for showing me how every day things can still be beautiful. But most of all, thank you for allowing me to see life through your precious little eyes. 

Every Summer Has A Story

Sheesh...This summer needs to get a speeding ticket it's been going so fast!! We have been having so much fun. Our upstairs palace in my parents house is slowly becoming home for us and everybody has adjusted pretty well (yay!)... Even the dogs have become best friends. 

I spent the beginning part of this summer keeping my nieces while they were out for summer. That consisted of many pool days (yes, I mastered putting sunscreen on 3 kids and myself! Where's my trophy?), golf cart rides through the woods, ice cream, dress up, going to the park, and watching old school Disney movies. Lilly is obsessed with her cousins and they are actually very helpful with her too. They even like changing her diaper (score!!!). The girls started school last week (year round) so now it's just the two of us. We loveeeeee our visits with Ella Charles (aka the cutest baby in the world). Lilly loves her so much that she even tries to act just like her when we visit.. Stealing her paci's and everything... 

We have also spent some much needed time at the beach with our families. Lilly and Cole had a "friendly" competition to see who could pee pee on the potty the most! I think potty training is right around the corner. Oh boy! 

Lilly has really been enjoying her weekly gymnastics class! It's way too cute. They even play the Frozen soundtrack which takes it to a whole new level. She has mastered her front roll and pencil roll! 

Operation toddler bed didn't go over as planned... So Lilly is actually in the big queen bed in the room beside us with a bed rail. Our rooms are connected with a jack and jill bathroom which is the only way she can get to our room since her door is closed off. I have woken up twice to her staring at me in the face, even though the video monitor volume was on full blast. That has freaked me out so we are working on teaching her to yell out to us if she wakes up instead of getting off the bed. 

I spent a glorious girls weekend with my best friends in Wilmington this past weekend. It was so relaxing! We decided to venture out to a roof top bar Saturday night. You know you're a mom when they play "I'm Sexy and I Know It" and all you know is the Elmo version of the song. Such a fun weekend! 

http://youtu.be/dme9clldFts

So now we are just going to enjoy our last few weeks before I start work (teaching 2nd grade at Deep River Elementary!!!) and Lilly starts daycare. Maybe I won't cry this year..!? Yeah right, I'm about to cry just thinking about it. 

Slow down summer!! :) 

Daddy To The Rescue

We are officially all moved in with my parents! And it only took a little bit of blood, sweat, and tears! :) 

My mom came down last Wednesday to stay with Lilly and me. I used her car to get the last little bit of what was left in my classroom since it's a lot bigger than my car. She kept Lilly and cleaned the house which was a HUGE help. Then she drove my car back to Sanford on Friday so I could pack the rest of our stuff in her bigger back seat. I went to work for about an hour to finish up some last min things and to say goodbye to my fabulous coworkers. That was hard and so bittersweet. I am really going to miss Grifton. 

Mike came on Friday and once again Lilly was SO happy to see him. I am so so so glad that phase 1 of moving back home is over. Being away from Mike for 4 weeks was the hardest thing ever, and he absolutely hated being away from Lilly. 

We spent all day Saturday getting the house ready. Mike put the "For Sale" sign in the yard and spent the whole day outside cutting the grass and hauling off stuff to the dump. Lilly and I stayed inside and finished cleaning/packing. By 3:00 we had packed up both cars and were ready to hit the road. But there was one problem..... 

I couldn't find my moms car keys! I started searching every single place that I thought a toddler would hid keys (trash can, toilet, couch cushions, all the bags in the car..) until I decided that they were nowhere to be found. A quick phone call home confirmed my worst fear... The keys to my moms car were in her pocketbook.. Which was with her.... In SANFORD! 

Thank goodness Lilly was staring at me, because I probably would have NOT kept my cool as good as I did. And besides... How mad can I be at the lady who is letting me move in to her house with a husband, toddler, and dog... For free! She's lucky she's so great! 

Daddy to the rescue!! My wonderful dad jumped right in his car and drove 2 hours to deliver the keys so we could go home. I have never been so happy to see the Lee County sign in all of my life... And wine! 

We got home around 7 and I unpacked everything into our new room. It feels so good to not have to be apart from Mike anymore! We celebrated Father's Day on Sunday with both of our daddy's and didn't have to drive 2 hours back to Winterville. I could get used to this :) Life is so good. 

Home Again, Home Again

I've been waiting a while to write this blog! The short version is that Mike got a new job, our house is on the market, and we are moving in with my parents. Yes, you read that right! Operation move closer to home is in full swing! 

Here's the long version:

We have been wanting to move closer to home for a while now, especially since having Lilly. We had our house on the market last year but took it off after 6 months. Mike looked up jobs daily around the Raleigh area. Nothing much was really happening. He graduated in December with his Masters Degree in GIS from NC State. He applied for a few jobs that caught his eye and we just waited and prayed! He got a call from the City of Durham and had an interview over Skype. We prayed some more. Then he got called for a 2nd interview, this time face to face. A few weeks later he got the call that he got the job (hubby brag: he beat out 60 people for this job!!!) And that is when we realized that life as we know it was about to get crazy! 

Mike started his job 3 weeks ago so we have only been able to see him on the weekends. He is living with his sister and commuting to Durham. Our families have been so great during all of this. Lilly and I are still here so I can finish out the school year. This part of our new journey has been HARD. Thank goodness for FaceTime. Lilly has had a hard time not seeing her daddy everyday. This past weekend absolutely melted my heart when she saw him. She just kept pointing at him and smiling and wanted lots of hugs. 

I've really upped my cooking skills. Instead of making plain spaghetti, I've spiced it up and added cheese to it. Thank goodness for my friend Amy inviting us over for dinner and playtime with Emma! That was super helpful and super thoughtful. And Lilly loves playing with her Emma. :) 

The hardest part has been getting us both up and ready in the mornings and dropping Lilly off at daycare by 7 am. She's cried a lot while dropping her off. That just makes my heart hurt so much. But just a few more days of that and then it's summer break!!! 

So the last part of this new crazy adventure is that we are moving in with my parents until we can sell our house here. When I thought about moving closer to home, I didn't realize I would be this close! But I'm sure lots of almost 30 year olds with toddlers and husbands and dogs move in with their parents... Right? They have been amazing though. The whole basement has been turned into a playroom with Lilly's toys. It's kinda scary because we don't know how long it will take for us to sell our house, but they have done so much to make sure we are comfortable during this transition. And now I get to raid my moms closet and makeup drawer whenever I want! Right mom!!? 

We have also put Lilly's TODDLER BED upstairs at my parents house. I'm sure there will be a blog about this soon as we transition her out of our bed into her big girl bed! Oh joy! 

I've also applied and interviewed at some schools and will update about that when everything is "official". 

All that's left to do is find a new daycare and pediatrician for Lilly. Any recommendations would be great!! 

So this is our crazy life right now! My mom is coming down on Wednesday to help me pack up my classroom and Mike will be here Friday so we can finish a few things at the house before we are out of here for good and can be together again. So bittersweet. Tune in for the hilarious blogs to come about living with your rents, husband and toddler. 

God is so good. 

Roots and Wings

Lilly is getting too big too fast!!! Each day I am surprised by the new words and songs she sings, but also a tiny bit sad to see the baby in her drift away. It's like one big tug-of-war match and I'm on both ends! These are some things I love right now and some things I miss. 

Love- all of this wild hair!! And the few times she lets me play with it and put bows in it. 

Miss- her peach fuzz and wondering what color it would be. For a while we thought she might have some redish hair. 

Love- her new pj's! They start making nightgowns in 2T size and she has a Minnie Mouse one. So incredibly cute. And she never wants to take it off in the mornings. 

Miss- onesies. Especially when it's hot and I could just throw a onesie on her and let her play, not to mention how cute her little tush looked in one. 

Love- all the running around the house and the sound of her little footsteps. That is a sound that makes my heart smile. 

Miss- the only form of transportation she had was the boot(y) scooting boogie. Lilly never really crawled, but instead she would scoot around on her booty. That's my Lilly! Always doing things in her own unique way! 

Love- the way she uses her imagination when she plays, wether it's cooking me some food in her kitchen or pretending to be Elsa from Frozen. Let it go Lilly, let it go... 

Miss- just sitting down and holding her, or nursing, or letting her nap on me, staring at that beautiful face and wondering how I got so lucky. I still wonder that, but 2 year olds like to go go go in case you didn't know. :) 

Love- the way she can ask for things and tell me what she needs, like milk, or a snack, or to go outside. Ok, sometimes it's more of a demand but we work on using manners everyday. 

Miss- all of those huge milestones babies have during that first year, like sitting up, crawling, walking, eating, first words. I miss the anticipation of it. I know she has a ton of things to still achieve and I'll make sure I'm her biggest cheerleader! 

Love- being her mommy. I will always love this. She is our biggest accomplishment. Bigger and better than anything else we have ever done. I pray that we continue to give her roots to encourage her to be a good person, and at the same time, give her wings so she can soar. The other day she helped put a band aid on her daddy's finger because he had a booboo. I asked her if she was going to be a nurse and she said, "Yes, I be a nurse." ... We shall see Lilly! You can be anything your little heart desires... Just slow down a little please.