Taking Things for Granted

I've been struggling this weekend. In the last 2 weeks friends of mine have been bombarded with terrible news. Two weeks ago one of my best friends, Sally, found out that her dear sweet mom had an obstruction in her bowel.  Sally's mom has been fighting ovarian cancer off and on for 5 years now. What seemed at first like no big deal, quickly changed to "it's the cancer" and "if you don't do this surgery you should contact a hospice". Of course the surgery was done and it went as well as it possibly could, only to give her mom "more time".  A week later (Friday), they were told that she has an infection in her blood.  I don't kow a whole lot more than that. I've been texting Sally almost daily to let her know we're thinking of her and her family.  I don't want to bother her and take away any more of her time away from her mom than I need to. Her family has definitely been on my mind a lot lately and my heart is breaking for her family. Her mom has been such a fighter with this cancer and has time after time "kicked it", but the cancer is a fighter too and it just.keeps.coming.back.  From what I understand, now it's just down to waiting...

I can't help but think about my dad and the scare that our family had with cancer almost 8 years ago now. My dad's diagnosis came as a complete shock to my family as well as the severity of his cancer. Fortunately for my dad, he was able to "kick it" and it's not fighting back. That experience alone was the second scariest experience of my life after having my daughter in the NICU for a week when she was born. 

Seeing the struggles and heartbreak that Sally is going through has made me realize how easy it is and how much I take things in my life for granted.  This Friday was another reminder of that.  One of the kids I went to high school with and graduated a year after I did, died in Afghanistan on Thursday.  He was 26-same as me. His batallion was ambushed and he was the sole casualty.  I wasn't best friends with him, but I remember talking to him off and on throughout his school and even having an occassional class here or there with him.  And now he's gone. My heart breaks for his family.  Being a mom now makes me believe that no parent should have to bury their children. That's not the way it's supposed to work. He was just a kid still...7 years out of high schoool...fighting for our freedom (yet another thing I take for granted). I am thankful for his courage and sacrifice, but I wish it was not at the expense of his family and his life. You will be missed but never forgotten Sgt. Kyle Osborn.

And as if it didn't seem like there could be any more heartbreak, some mutual friends of ours are expecting their second child, a girl named Scarlett.  Earlier this week, she was admitted to the hospital at 22 weeks pregnant due to bleeding. She has been diagnosed with some sort of serious pregnancy condition and will be staying at the hospital until delivery, which they are hoping will be past 24 weeks.  24 weeks!!! I keep hoping and praying that that little Scarlett can hold on and stay inside her mommy as long as possible and continue to stay healthy and grow.  Any baby before 36 weeks automatically goes into the NICU. She is coming up on the 24 week mark this week.  Please pray that things will get better for them and that precious baby girl can continue to grow in her mommy's belly and not fight for her life in a NICU.

I know this is all just life, but I'm struggling.  I've spent a lot of time in the past 2 weeks reflecting. Things I have done, things I haven't done, things I should've done, things I should do.  Do me favor-be sure to tell everyone how much you care about them.  We all know that in a moment's notice things can change.  These past couple of weeks have confirmed that. No matter how "boring" or simple our lives may seem at times enjoy it. It's a privilege to be here...to have the things we have....to be with the people we love. Our time is limited. Make the most of it.

So to my mom who will be reading this at some point-I love you more than you'll ever know. I am so grateful for you and dad. I'm so grateful that we're all healthy and that we still have more time.

To my best friend Jackie in Chicago-there's not a day that goes by that I don't think of you and wish you were still here in L-town with me, but I know L-town can't handle us both. I know we don't talk as much as we wish or we should, but I still love you more than ever and am thankful to have such a wonderful friend in you.

September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. There is the annual walk in Indianapolis on Saturday, September 22nd.  You should think about joining.  In honor of Sally's mom, please say a prayer for her and her family.  Pray that God will give her mom peace and strength in what lies ahead for her.

 

Kindergarten Common Core

Okay so this is my first post totally devoted to work and my classroom, but I have got quite a few low kiddos this year and I am struggling with how to accomodate for them.  So tonight while I was blog stalking all of my teaching blogs I came acoss one for getting a free copy of the Kindergarten Common Core book. I was somewhat intrigued so I clicked the link to see if maybe there was a deal for the first grade one-not so much.  So I reluctantly pushed that thought aside.  However, I'm back to my teaching blog stalking and I just keep seeing all of these posts about it (you have to post to get the free copy) and I got curious again. So I looked at the free preview on the website and realized that even thought this is for the Kindergarten Common Core and I teach 1st grade, this is exactly what I need for my low kiddos, who might I note some of which should still be in kindergarten!!! So...here I am posting about this great deal. I would be even more excited if they were running the same deal for the 1st grade bundle, but beggars can't be choosers and I'll take what I can get.

Just from the small snippet from the free preview I can tell it is a fabulous resource for any kindergarten teacher and also 1st grade teachers looking for some additional support for some of our low kiddos. It obviously relates to the common core, it has meaningful activities, and has very cute clipart (which is always helpful). I'm still going to keep my fingers crossed that they will run the same deal for the 1st grade book.

 

 

Regardless, I am still ecstatic to use this resource in my classroom. I think many of the ideas and activities can crossover to 1st grade in many ways also.  I guess my laid back Sunday will not be a busy Sunday of browsing through this book and seeing what I can use this upcoming week.

 

You should take a look...it'll definitely be worth it.

 

Kayleigh's 1st Birthday!

A lot has happened since my last post in...cough cough....April.  The end of the school year wrapped up and I could not have been happier. I can't say that I loved my class this year as much as my class last year, but then again...I think it'll be awhile before I get a group that beats my 1st class ever. They were a good group, but I'm not gonna lie-I was ready to see some of them out that door for the last time. 

Since school got out, I've been busy off and on. I have spent many days sitting around the house not doing a stinking thing AND IT FELT AMAZING! Is it bad that deep down I still felt a twinge of guilt because I wasn't doing anything? It must be the teacher in me. I really struggled to get myself into relaxation mode and not feeling guilty about doing nothing. I guess this is something I am still struggling with and I honestly don't think is going to get better since school starts in....wait for it....5 weeks!!!!!

Summer is officially half over and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that. Don't get me wrong-I've had a blast sleeping until almost 9 o'clock everyday (yes, Kayleigh sleeps that late too!!), but I think Kayleigh is getting to the point where she almost misses being at daycare and playing with all of her friends. I take her every Thursday because let's face it, I need some me time and that is really the only time that I can get stuff done and do something for myself. I'm not complaining, but it is nice to have that time. She comes home on days that she goes to daycare and is worn out! Bedtime is no issue. However, when she's at home all day with me I don't think she gets as worn out and so bedtime has ranged anywhere from 8-9:30!!!! She always sleeps through the whole night and in until about 8:30-9, but I have always loved that 8 bedtime. Hopefully when school has started and she's back to daycare full-time that problem will solve itself. One can only hope.

We celebrated Kayleigh's first birthday on June 16th, even though her real birthday is the 17th.  We had tons of family and friends over and had a great time. I don't feel like I got to sit down, relax, and enjoy her party as much as I would've liked to, but then again that's probably the OCD perfectionist in me. The important part is that I think everyone had a great time, especially the kids. We had tons of activities and things for them to do in the back yard so they would be entertained despite the extremely hot weather we've been having. We are so blessed to have such great family and friends that came to celebrate our baby girl's big day! I can't believe how fast time has gone and it seems like yesterday we were spending our days in the NICU praying for that week to fly by so we could take her home. 

What a difference a year makes

 

Such a big girl

Her adorable smash cake

Our world 

 Her actual birthday morning-1 ballon for 1 year!

Tonia's birthday was in June, but Jessica and I took her down to Indy a couple of weeks before to Wine & Canvas. I had never been or even heard of it, but we had a blast. I have never been artistic or a fan of art, or wine for that matter, but we had a great time and I'd actually love to take some of my other friends down sometime soon. Here are our finished products:

On the 30th, Sally, Abby and I ventured up to the Chicago area to do some outlet shopping in Aurora and at IKEA in Bolingbrook. We stayed in the Allegro hotel in downtown Chicago Saturday night.  Jackie met up with us Saturday night for dinner and some fun out a bar to celebrate Sally's birthday (it was Sunday).  On Sunday we left Abby since she was meeting up with her new boy toy, and met up with Jackie to go to the Tory Burch store (for Sally), and then went to the Magnificent Mile. We didn't do much shopping, but found a nice pub to eat a late lunch at. They had some great food. I'd like to take Kyle back sometime if I can get him to go to the big city again.  Before Sally and I made the long 2 1/2 hour drive home, we went to a tattoo shop so that she could get a tattoo supporting her mom's ongoing battle with ovarian cancer. She was a champ and her new tat looks awesome. I think it's an amazing way to honor and show love to her momma!

Dinner at Tavern on Rush



This past Saturday we went to Brandon and Tonia's house to celebrate Landon's 2nd birthday. We had a great time spending time with that cutie-patootie.

Summer weekends are definitely proving to always be busy with something. We have something to do every Saturday until school starts. Unfortunately I think that's going to make the rest of summer break go even faster. This weekend our neighborhood is having their annual garage sale, which we will be taking part in. Jackie and her mom, Diana, are coming over so I'm excited to spend some more quality time with her. The 21st, Kyle and I are going to go up to the Dunes-not exactly sure where yet, but that's going to be our mini vaca this year. The 28th we will be heading down to Indy with Brandon, Tonia, Jessica, Phil, Lauren, and Ryan to see Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw. Can you say excited?!?!? I can't wait to see those hunks of hotness shake their thing on the stage for me! From there on it's a trip to the lake with friends and a weddding and school will start the next week. CRAZY!

I'm going to try and enjoy the rest of break, but thoughts and plans for school are already starting to overtake my mind. Stay cool in this freak heat wave!!

10 months, 10 steps

So Kayleigh is officially 10 months old as of yesterday. So on Saturday in prep for her 10 month birthday she apparently decided that she was ready to stand all by herself and give walking a go. She would get a couple of steps in and crash to the floor-still enough to make this momma a little bit on the emotional side ( I know, I know-I'm a hot mess!).

So Sunday Kyle and I took her upstairs to try to get her to walk around her room. It's a lot easier for her upstairs because it's carpeted where the downstairs is hardwood. Plus it gives her a little more cushion when she does fall. So Sunday she does even better walking back and forth between Kyle and I getting about 6 or 7 steps in. She was starting to slow down a little bit, so I headed downstairs to start making dinner when Kyle yells at me to hurry upstairs. Now I consider myself a pretty laid back mom, but I shot up those stairs as fast as I could thinking she fell and got hurt or something. No-she just walked from her crib to the door which is at least 10-12 steps. I didn't see it and of course she wouldn't do it when I was up there.

Fast forward to Monday night. We take her back upstairs to "practice" walking (which I'm sure in about 2 weeks we will wonder why we encouraged the walking so much). I think we're as excited to see her walk as she is. She gets SO excited that she's standing all by herself and taking steps that her little arms just go in little circles so fast. Monday night is when it hit me. My 10 MONTH OLD is on the verge of walking....all by herself....like a big girl....AHHHH!!! And the waterworks begin. Those 10 steps I told you I missed...well I saw them Monday night....numerous times. It's so hard to believe that she is finally at this stage in her life. It is so rewarding as a parent to see your child accomplish something so big. I'm already so proud of Kayleigh. We will continue to practice with her each night until she's walking all the time. Her confidence has already grown so much just in these last couple of days. I can't wait to see her continue to grow.

No Good at Resolutions

So I realize it's been over (cough, cough) 3 months (cough, cough) since my last post. So I've basically failed miserably at one of my resolutions. I would like to think I have a really good excuse but I really don't think I do. So what's new? I guess I'll try to put 3 months into as short of a post as possible.

Kayleigh had her first tooth (bottom right) poke through on New Year's Day. Two weeks later her bottom left came in. Her top left one came in about 4 weeks ago when I was on Spring Break and the top right one poked through about a week later. The first two did not phase her at all. She was still her usual perky, happy self. The top two however were a different story. I think the fact that they were both pretty much coming in at the same time, coupled with an ear infection and an upper respiratory infection (we think RSV), and needless to say I spent my spring break with a sick and unusually unhappy, needy baby. I felt so bad for her. I literally wish I could've taken all the aches and pains away so that she would be happy and healthy again. It was not fun at all to see her like that. Luckily, we had her 9 month appt at the end of the week so we were able to get her some meds and see what the doctor had to say. Her growth continues to be on track for the most part. She slipped a little in weight this time, but nothing to worry about. She weighed 17 llbs. 11 oz. (has gained 10 lbs. since she was born now!) and was 28 in. long. She is all over the place now! She did not crawl for very long and before we knew it she was pulling herself up on things and cruising around. She's a lot faster than she used to be so it's been a big adjustment for Tucker and Zeke. I think Zeke finally gave up on trying to run away from her all the time, so he has become her jungle gym. She literally crawls all over him, eats his tail, and pulls at his ears. He doesn't budge! I LOVE IT! Makes my heart smile! Tucker on the other hand...well he growls, gets up and move away. Kyle has definitely let him know that it's not okay for him to growl at her and that he just needs to get over it. So now he growls when he sees her coming and gets up before she gets there. We think it's his way of telling us he's not happy that he's got to get his lazy bum up. It's so fun to see her personality start to come through. She definitely lets us know when she's not happy about something, but mostly when she likes something or thinks it's funny. Her favorite things to do right now are climbing on us or the dogs, opening and closing doors, and playing with my hair while I hold her. We've officially began the transition to eating actual foods. I'm excited for this part, but I can honestly say that I'm ready for it to be over already because it makes me so nervous that she's going to choke. So far so good, so hopefully that continues and we have no problems.

We ended up getting rid of Kyle's truck last weekend and going back to a car. With gas prices continuing to go up, it was just way to much gas for such little mileage. We traded his dream truck in for a 2011 Hyundai Genesis. I had never heard of these cars before we saw ours, but man am I glad we found it. It is such a nice car and Kyle and I are actually going back and forth as to who should drive it and who should drive the Outlook. Right now Kyle is driving it, but we will see what happens. I drove it yesterday up to Chicago to see Jackie and it is such a smooth ride. It doesn't hurt that I got 26 mi/gal. yesterday in comparison to the 11-12 mi/gal. that Kyle was getting in his truck. Definitely a smart decision for us. If we need a truck down the road both of our parents have trucks so we'll just have to borrow. Hopefully one day he can get his "dream" truck back, but for now it's just not realistic.

We had Thursday and Friday off for 2 built in snow days that we didn't use this year. I am SO glad too because I needed one last break before this last 6 week stretch until school is out. Kayleigh and I got up bright and early to head up to Chicago to see Jackie. It was Kayleigh's first time to the Windy City and she did great. It was a very relaxed day. We just hung out at her apartment and had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. She took us over to the American Girl Doll store. If you haven't been there, oh.my.word-the place is so unreal. Very cool, but definitely hoping Kayleigh doesn't ask for one until she's like 10. It will be fun to take her up there when she gets older. It was so nice to just hang out with her like old times and catch up. I definitely miss my bestie being 2 hours away and only getting to see her once every couple of months. Hopefully that's something we can get changed.

Here are some pictures of sweet, precious doll baby. She will 10 months old in 10 days and I have absolutely no idea how this happened. It just does not seem possible. I guess I better get into planning her birthday party.

Happy Easter!

11 in 11

So I thought it would be a good idea to record some of the big things that happened in 2011 so that I can go back and look back on them in the years to come.

Here goes...

11. Favorite Movie You Watched

This would definitely have to be the Twilight Breaking Dawn movie. I totally feel like a little teenie bopper again when I say that I am totally on the Twilight bandwagon, but I just love me some Edward and Bella. I honestly can NOT wait until the final movie comes out later this year.

10. Favorite TV Series

Well I am still super in love with some of my oldies like Survivor, Grey's, One Tree Hill, Bachelor/Bachelorette, so I'll go with a new TV series-cough cough, Terranova, cough cough. I know, I know. You're probably thinking Terra what? So if you know me, you know that I have always been an avid lover of dinosaurs. I mean I think I broke the VHS of The Land Before Time from watching it SO much probably every weekend when I was a kid. Kyle gives me such a hard time for watching this show, but it is my guilty pleasure and one that I looked forward to every week. Basically it's set in the future but also the past. In the future scientists have figured out how to time travel to any time period and there is a time portal to go back to when the dinosaurs lived (possibly on another planet hence the name Terranova). There is a lottery and very particular selection process as to who gets to go to this "new" place. The goal in sending people to this new place is to go back and do things the right way as far as the economy and taking care of/respecting the planet because the current one is all but rotten now. So they get to this new place and there are dinosaurs and all sorts of drama going on. Again, you have to have a creative mind to enjoy something like this. Probably why Kyle does not like it-if it's not black and white/real or fake he doesn't watch it.

9. Favorite Restaurant

Being pregnant this past year definitely opened me up to eating some new and different foods that I typically wouldn't have ever gone near. My new favorite restaurant is Bluefin, or more specifically The Patio at Bluefin. We went there for dinner on New Year's Eve. We get the crazy rolls there and they are absolutely to. die. for! Mmmm....mmmmm....mmmm!

8. Favorite New Thing You Tried

This would definitely have to be using teaching blogs to help me at work. I was first introduced to these last February or Marchish from one of the kindergarten teachers and they have changed my life as far as teaching goes. There are such great, amazing teachers out there that are SO willing to share their work and ideas(mostly for free or a small fee). It makes my life so much easier and more fun. I now blog-stalk a ton of teaching blogs for ideas and changes to make in my classroom. Too bad there's just never enough time (or money) to do it all.

Some of my favorites are:

1-The Inspired Apple

2-First Grade Parade

3-Step into Second Grade with Mrs. Lemons

7. Favorite Gift You Received

This may be far stretched, but I think Kyle would agree with me on this one-our daughter from God. She is truly such a blessing and the best thing that has happened to the two of us. Things started out a little rough for her and our "new" family, but life has been nothing short of pure bliss since she came home. There never will be a better gift than her. I will be forever grateful.

6. Favorite Thing You Pinned

Pinterest is another one of those things that has changed my life this year and made teaching SO much easier. Need an idea for a lesson plan, skill, or holiday-check Pinterest. It is so addicting and I do it all the time, mostly from my phone. It's gotten to the point where Kyle will see me on my phone and he will say-"What are you pinning now?" 99% of the time he's right in that I am on Pinterest. To try and pick on favorite pin, I don't know if I can do that so I'll choose my favorite board-the baby and photography boards. I'm really trying to learn how to take better, more professional pictures (I'd love to quit my teaching job and be a photographer), so this is great for tips and picture ideas. If you want some pictures taken, I'd love the practice!

5. Favorite Blog Post

Probably the one I typed right before my water broke. I love going back and reading that post. It literally takes me right back to the day and makes me feel like it's happening all over again. The number of emotions that are in that post is unbelievable and to know that my water broke literally almost an hour after I wrote it just makes me realize how little we are in the grand scheme of things and how out of our control our lives are sometimes. Definitely one I will cherish and love to show Kayleigh someday.

4. Favorite Accomplishment

Oh boy-there were many accomplishments in 2011. I finished my master's program and my first year of teaching, but my favorite one that I am most proud of is becoming a mom. It's all fun and games until reality strikes you and you're in the labor and delivery room pushing your brains out to meet this little person who is going to depend on you as their source of love, support, and guidance for the rest of your life. It's all sorts of scary and exciting all wrapped up at once. I remember finally being able to bring her home from the hospital, laying her in her pack-n-play, looking at Kyle, while my head is screaming WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?! AM I GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS? WHAT IF I DO SOMETHING WRONG AND IT HURTS HER?! I'M NEVER GOING TO SLEEP AGAIN! WHEN WILL I GET MY OLD BODY BACK? CAN WE AFFORD THIS?! And on and on and on... 6 months later and I look back and laugh at all of those things.

3. Favorite Picture

It's the one up top-I could not get it to be where I wanted it to be for some reason. Will try to change it soon.

It makes my heart smile every time...

2. Favorite Memory

Seeing Kayleigh look at me, recognize me, and smile at me for the first time. There is just something simply so amazing when your child looks at you, recognizes who you are, and smiles because they are happy to see you. I know it won't always be this way sometimes, but her precious little smiles are SO contagious and I can't help but smile every single time I see her do it.

1. Goals for 2012

Oh boy-where to start? I've never really been one for resolutions. I thought they were silly and pointless because most people never stick to them anyways. However, in my efforts to turn over a new leaf I have made a few for myself this year.

*Lose 20 lbs. I gained 50 lbs during my pregnancy. I've lost all but 10-but have hit a roadblock, plus my eating and working out habits (which have been zero!) are probably not helping. I'd like to lose the rest of that baby weight and an additional 10, which I gained in college. I know it's a long stretch and maybe wishful thinking, but I would like to see if I can do it. I've never really had to lose weight before so this might be pretty hard for me. We'll see if I can do it.

*Be a better domesticated wife for Kyle. Once the newness of moving out and living in our own house wore off, so did my desire to clean, do dishes, fold the laundry, etc. Let's just face it-these are all things that I do not enjoy doing nor ever will. I tend to overlook the fact that Kyle does really help me out A LOT with these things and I don't give him enough credit for it. I need to get back to not being so lazy and pull my weight around the house.

*Eat at home more. We ate out A LOT last year due to my pregnancy cravings and lack of motivation to cook at all. Eating out comes with spending way more money than necessary. I would love to get back in the habit of eating at home every night and taking my lunch to school every day. When I taught at Hershey I had to take my lunch because there was nowhere to go if I didn't. Now that I'm on the west side, there are restaurants and fast food joints galore. Time to implement some self-discipline.

I hope that if you made new years resolutions you are able to stick to them and hopefully so can I.

Happy 2012 everyone!