It's that CRAZY time of the year!!

It is crazy for EVERY mother of school-aged students, but when you add both parents who are teachers to the mix, and it gets downright hairy!!

Chris went back to work for part of the week the first week of the month. We sent Robbie back to daycare that week so he could start to get re-adjusted (as could I) and not have the major change the same week as I was having to go back to work full time. That turned out to be a GREAT idea! By last week, daycare was 'old hat' for him, and he would gladly march on in each day! That made it so much easier on me!!

Last week Chris and I both went back full-time. We had county wide meetings Monday through Wednesday and then went to our schools on Thursday and Friday. My niece kept Isaac and Adam the first part of the week, and then they went to work with us each one day on Thursday and Friday.

Then we ALL went back full force this week! I find it really hard to believe that I am the mommy of a fifth grader! Wasn't I just in fifth grade a few weeks ago?! How time flies when you're having fun! Isaac (as you probably figured) is a big fifth grader now, and Adam is a second grader. Adam is excited about going back to school because he gets to go upstairs this year!!! They each are in the classroom with their best buddy, which makes going back to school lots more fun! They seem to be adjusting well!

And in additional news, Robbie is FINALLY sleeping better! He is sleeping in his own bed the majority of the night, which is a H-U-G-E relief to me. I am still not quite used to it! After 16 months of jumping up and getting him when I hear him for all this time, I did it out of habit last night instead of listening and giving him the chance to calm himself back down. Adding a fan in his room for some white noise seems to have done the trick! I'm really wishing I had done that months ago, but hindsight, like always, is 20/20!! We're still not completely there, but there is definite improvement and I feel tons better already!!!!

So there is an update on what is going on here at our house! I'd love some comment love if you happen by here!! :) C'mon, you know you wanna!!

Boy Mom Blog Hop!

I'm definitely qualified to participate in this! :) The Mob Society is sponsoring a Mom of Boys Blog Hop today where we can all share about our boys and our blogs! How cool is that?!

So where to start? First, to introduce my handsome boys!!



Here's a picture of my oldest son, Isaac, and my youngest son, Robbie. Isaac is 10 and is SO super helpful with his baby brother! He is super responsible and I'm probably guilty of expecting a lot from him for his age! He went to 4H camp last week and that was the longest I've gone without being with him or talking to him in his LIFE....boy, did I miss him, and not just cause he helps out so much! :) I was honestly elated when we went to get him. I felt like one of my appendages had been missing all week and my heart was re-filled when he was back with us! AND...he got camper of the week for his cabin! Very proud mama here....



Here is my middle son, Adam, who is 7. He was very much the baby until Robbie came along, and has had to adjust to not being the youngest. He is SO smart, and I'm not just saying that....he really is. He was reading at 4, and we didn't teach him...he picked it up on his own! He has a gift! He also is very good with his baby brother! He went to day camp where the older boys and their daddy take TaeKwonDo last week (cause we knew he'd be missing big brother so much) and they went to an activity where kids were trying to catch mini-beach balls. He said he was determined to catch one for his baby brother! He said it was hard to do with so many big kids there, but he just kept trying til he did! <3



And here is the best surprise I've ever gotten, Robbie! He will be 16 months old tomorrow! Time is flying with this lil firecracker around! He is full of life and LOVES his family! He is walking like a champ now and is so fun to be around....most of the time! LOL Now if I could get him to sleep all night without mama that would be ideal! I'm proud to say that he is still nursing, and though we've recently had a rough time with thrush and have dealt with both my primary care physician AND my gyno encouraging me to wean, I have stuck to my guns and decided that he and I will make that decision with the Lord's help! He's a joy to have and really is an easy child.

Well now that I've shared all about my pride and joy, about me?? I am a reading specialist by trade, and teach at two rural elementary schools helping students who are struggling with reading. I am active in our local church where I help with children's ministries, Vacation Bible School, sing in the choir, and give the children's moment in the 11 am service each week!

As far as my son's favorite books....you're talking to a reading specialist here, so remember it is hard to narrow 'em down! I'll go with what the big boys like the best right now. Isaac has just started reading the Harry Potter series and I've had to make him turn out his light at 11 the last few nights! Both boys love the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, as well as the Big Nate series. Robbie just loves to be read to right now, he doesn't care what I'm reading! :)

So there we are! I hope you have enjoyed your visit to my blog, and will come back soon! Be sure to check out my teacher blog, Reading's The Thing!

Wordless Wednesday: Adam's First Tomato

He's so proud of himself!! :)

Oops, I did it again....

get yer mind out of the gutter....LOL

I started yet another blog, this one related to my work! I'd be honored if you'd go check it out! It is called Reading's the Thing! There isn't too much exciting going on there...yet...but I'll try to link up to posts, etc. I find interesting and highlight strategies and products that I think are worth mentioning. There are TONS of great school-related blogs out there and I'm having all kinds of fun looking at them! I might get a chance to look at them quite a bit this week with my oldest son gone to 4H camp for the first time (sniff, sniff...I cried dropping him off, I'll admit it!) and my middle one going to day camp at KHK Martial Arts every day day this week! It is gonna be quiet around here with just me, Chris, and Robbie during the day! Chris and I are thinking about tackling painting the kitchen with less people in the house this week....we are going to look at paint here in a bit when we go out to lunch for our ANNIVERSARY!

Yes, 13 years ago we tied the knot! I can't think of a better spouse for me and daddy for my sons. I'm truly blessed and don't thank the Lord enough for him, but I really DO love him and think he's 'the bee's knees'!

So there is an update....hop on over and check out my blog, especially teacher friends, please?!

Have a great week!!

Wordless Wednesday: Christmas Picture

NaBloPoMo: Can I Do It?

Can I honestly post each and every day of November?? Or in my world the question is better put: can I remember to?! I can tell ya one thing, I'm much less likely to do so if I DON'T try and commit myself to this! I'm having a hard time getting one post in a week, but this might get me back in the swing of things. I LOVE writing and love blogging, and it is one outlet that I think is important that I do. Here's one way I look at it: my children do see my love of reading and see me reading each and every day in some way, even if it is only reading emails or Facebook. But I haven't been as diligent in showing them my love of WRITING! I know that they both have the potential to become great writers, but I they haven't developed that love yet. What better way for me to show them how I value and love writing than doing it myself?! So in their honor, I'm going for it! Look out November and National Blog Posting Month, here I come!!

Post -It Note Tuesday: Last Day of My Summer Edition

Shew! Glad that's over!

I am officially on summer break! :) I went back to school for the last 7 days and 2 workdays. Mom and Dad kept Robbie while I was at work, and that went well. Work went just fine..I did lots of my homework since most of the time students were on field trips, having parties, field days, graduations, etc. I have two class sessions left and then I'm FINISHED with my Master's! Wooooooo hoooooooo!

Robbie is growing like a little weed! He loves to play on his little Infantino gym, and enjoys swinging in his swing. He also does well being carried around in the sling. He even went on a shopping/errand trip with me yesterday and did wonderfully! Isaac made advanced on all his standardized tests....actually made a perfect score on 3 of 'em, and only missed 1 on the 4th! He is now in the Honor Society at his school! Adam finished up his T-ball season and Kindergarten, and is raring to go for 1st grade! Chris is working at the day camp at our Tae Kwon Do school this summer, so the big boys will be going with him on the days he works. Though I didn't love the idea at first, I think it is gonna work out well.

So there's a little update from us! We're off to Annual Conference tomorrow at Lake Junaluska for a few days. Can't wait!

What a beautiful Christmas!

It has been wonderful! We started off on Christmas Eve with the celebration with Chris' family. We were all spoiled and filled up with good food, then came home and got ready for Santa. We usually go to our church's 11 pm Christmas Eve Candlelight Service, but for reasons I won't go into here, decided not to this year. Instead, we read the Christmas story to the boys and sang some hymns....and Jingle Bells and We Wish You a Merry Christmas, for Adam! Santa came, and we were all up at at 'em around 7:30 Christmas morning!

Santa was very good to the boys, and Isaac got the game he had wanted more than anything, so he was thrilled. Adam was pleased with all his toys and spent the day going from one to another! We went and had brunch at Waffle House, which was delicious and fattening, as always! We came back home for a relaxing afternoon, which included me taking a nap beneath my new down comforter that Chris got me for Christmas! Then it was time to gather with my family at my sister's house. We got to meet my niece's new beau who is REALLY nice! Again, we were spoiled by lovely gifts and delicious food, and enjoyed sitting around and visiting.

Today we head to celebrate with Chris' extended family on his mother's side. His mom has 4 sisters and each sister had at least 2 children, each of whom have families of their own now, so this is a BIG crowd! This is the one time a year we all get together, so it will be nice to get to see everyone!

I'm more tired than usual, but I guess that is to be expected! I'm already experiencing a lack of room for food, so that is an adjustment....last night my family was laughing at me because I wouldn't let them throw out my plate til I had digested some food and had room for the rest of it! LOL I was NOT going to let those yummy potatoes and bread my sister fixed go to waste!

All in all, it has been a very relaxing holiday. I need to get myself in gear and finish up some school work next week, but I've decided to give myself through tomorrow to relax and just enjoy being. God has blessed us so much that it is truly overwhelming. We're all given much more than we deserve! I pray that each of you who might read this have also been blessed til your cup runs over, and that you take the time during the hustle and bustle to thank the One Whom has given you more than you can fathom!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.....

yep, we're covered in snow, and loving it! It started late yesterday afternoon, and we have about 6 inches here at the house. This is the most snow my children have ever seen! We went out like crazy people last night, to get a battery for the van and to go to a Christmas dinner with our TaeKwonDo school. Our power has flickered off a few times, but we've never lost it for more than a minute, thank Heavens! (I have a serious phobia of power outages....another story for another day!)

I've been neglectful again....so sorry. I really don't mean to be! I had a while there that I was concerned because my heart rate is running higher than 'normal'. I wore a 24 hour monitor and the report came back as basically normal. I still wish it wouldn't run quite so high, but hey--such is life, right?

My ankle is feeling better, so that is certainly welcome news!

Adam has walking pneumonia. He complained of a sore throat for 2 days but ran no fever, and was coughing some at night. This child does NOT complain, so I took him to the doctor on Thursday afternoon. He's taking some yucky antibiotics, but otherwise seems no worse for the wear.

Well, I'm sure I could write more, but I think we're gonna finally decorate the tree now!

Time for an upity-date!

Hi!! I'm Christi, Remember me?! So sorry that I've been a lame blogger as of late. I really don't mean to be. I just don't have the energy to post!

BUT today I do!

So. How am I doing? I'm doing okay! I'm tired much of the time, but I guess that is to be expected. I don't sleep the best already. I am excited if I sleep more than 2 hours at a stretch before having to get up to pee. That gets old, and I know it has only just begun!

My ankle continues to give me trouble. By the end of the day it is often swollen and itchy under the aircast. I know that in the scheme of things it really isn't that big of a deal, but it is just one more bothersome irritant that I'd rather not have to deal with, ya know?

I'm finally starting to feel some relief from the antidepressants. I remember with Adam that it took about 6 weeks to get them fully back into my system, and I'm right around that point now. I had a minor breakdown the other day and ended up coming home early. It just all got to be too much! I did feel better after just having some lazy me time here by myself. It hasn't been the easiest fall ever, even if I weren't hormonal and pregnant! But God will see me through, I know. The semester is almost coming to an end, and that will be a RELIEF! Though I won't be totally done with one of my classes and the tutoring that is required for a while longer. But that is okay, I can deal!

How is everyone else, you ask? They're fine! Isaac is having a tiny bit of anxiety about the baby....worried that we won't have time to help him with his homework, worried about sharing a room with his brother, etc. He didn't mention it specifically to me, as is often the case when something is on his mind. He knows that Mommy worries, so he goes to Daddy with his concerns. He felt better after I told him that when the baby first gets here, he/she will pretty much eat, sleep, poop, and cry, and that we will still have plenty of time for him. He's growing SO FAST! I can't see the top of his head standing beside him now. I won't be surprised if he passes me up within this year!

Adam is.....well, he's Adam! We had been having some issues with his negativity and whining, but it seems to have resolved itself some with prayer! It gets worse when he is overly tired. We're trying our best to keep both of them from being over scheduled and therefore overly tired. Easier said than done sometimes, as you know!

Chris is fine! His latest project was smoking barbecue for our church's annual barbecue cook off, which was held last night. He didn't win, but he had fun trying! He knows I think his cooking is always the best, hands down! He tried a new white barbecue sauce that I really like! He's such a great husband and Daddy...I have been so blessed by him, and I thank God for him every day! I don't know what I'd do without him! I'm amazed that he puts up with me, and so thankful that he does.

Now that both our dogs have gone on to Doggie Heaven, we've been more lax on letting the cats come in and spend time with us...now that it is chillier and they WANT to spend time indoors! I don't know what I'm gonna do when something happens to my Francie. I have had her since before Chris and I met. She is much more feeble now. I pray that nothing happens to her soon!!

Well, that pretty much covers it for us right now....update me on how YOU'RE doing, and I promise to try to come by and get caught up on your blogs, too!

OH, we have an ultrasound on Wed.! I'll be sure to update then!

When it rains, it pours...

Here's how our week has gone....

Chris was very sick but stayed at school all day on Monday. He went to the doctor on Tuesday and has a bacterial infection. He's still not feeling too well.

Tuesday they sent me home from school because there were several cases of flu in both of my schools. That evening I started coughing, and Chris insisted I go to the doctor yesterday. I don't have walking pneumonia, so they started me on Tamiflu. I think I had a stomach bug on top of that, because I couldn't keep anything, not even water, down yesterday. Thankfully that part is better today, but I still feel pretty cruddy.

2:00 today the school nurse calls and Adam is running a fever. I rush up there to get him and the ped's office says they'll work us in. Then at 3:30 the nurse calls my cell and Isaac is there with a 103 fever. Chris rushes to get him, cancels his basketball practice (Chris is the coach) and rushes him to be worked in at the ped's office too.

So now they both have Type A flu.

Just lovely.

My mil is on her way down here to keep them at her house here in the county so they are away from me, even though I've already been around them....hoping maybe between that and the Tamiflu I won't get it full blown.

Calgon, take me away!!!!!!!!!

If you keep up with me on message boards, sorry if you read this more than once. I didn't have the strength to write a new witty post!

We survived, and other good news!

The first day is done! We all survived with very little damage!

I dropped the boys off early and walked them to their rooms where they deposited their bags. Then I walked the to the cafeteria and choked up as I told them goodbye and that I loved them. I know this wouldn't have been nearly as difficult had I not been leaving the building to go to another school! But I did it, and it will get easier from here on out, I'm sure.

Both boys had a great day! They were competing to tell me about things that they did or saw or said on the way home. I helped out in Kindergarten all day, and am again grateful that I was never asked to be a Kindergarten teacher. Even though it wasn't MY classroom, I still came home exhausted! My hat is off to those of you who teach Kindys day in and day out!!

Chris had a somewhat stressful day, but it was nothing he can't handle. He and the boys have gone to TaeKwonDo to release some energy and get some exercise while I stayed home for a while hoping that the OTHER good news would be delivered!

AND IT WAS! Check out what I got from my new best friend, the FedEx man!



SQEEEEEEEEEE!! He tried to deliver it on Thursday and Friday--Murphy's law that it was the first week I wasn't home all day, every day--my new vacuum! I can't wait to give it a spin!! And another shout-out and THANK YOU to the lovely ladies from whom I won it--the Wii Mommies!

All in all, it was a pretty good day!!

Today's the big day!

Wish me luck! Off to take my boys to their school...Adam's first day of Kindergarten...and then to help out in another teacher's Kindergarten classroom at one of my schools. I'm fighting tears, and really hoping I don't throw up!

Hopefully, with God's help, I'll be back this afternoon to tell you how it went wonderfully and it wasn't that big of a deal! :)

Fingers crossed and prayers welcome...

The multiple reason that I'm freaking out

If I can laugh about it, it helps, right?!

1. I'm all torn up about the fact that my baby is very obviously not a baby anymore and is going to Kindergarten. I have sat and cried,"I don't want to go backwards, I don't want another baby, so why am I crying over this??!" Never did I think it was gonna be this hard, and it isn't HIM, it is ME! I think that the following have everything to do with why I'm having a hard time....

2. I've gone back up to the boys' school--my former workplace--twice over the past week or so. The first time, I cried after I left the building. The second time, I didn't cry, but even thinking about heading down the hall where I taught for 12 years brings fresh tears. I feel like I don't really 'fit' anywhere right now, cause I don't know my new coworkers, but I don't feel as though I'm part of my former faculty either. It is a very lonely place, actually.

3. My oldest nephew is leaving for college Wednesday. This is the child of my oldest sister, so I worry about and feel for her, too! Though he's not going far away to school, and I'll be on campus myself once a week starting Sept. 1, it is just a big change, yk? Every time I think about how Adam going to school is affecting me, I think about how much harder it must be for Bren! I'm THRILLED for him and so excited that he's gonna be experiencing the same college as we did because we all loved it so much, and hope that he does as well!

4. I've been having my bout with insomnia again this week. I *think* that I've figured out a pattern that it happens approximately every 2 months. I'm gonna try to better document when it is happening to see if I'm right. So sleep deprivation is contributing for sure.

5. Going back to work is always hard.

OK, well that should about do it for today! LOL

Wanna see Adam in his new glasses??

Sure ya do!! Not the best quality pic ever, but it is what I have on hand! I went to a Facebook party last night for Tricia Goyer's book Blue Like Play Dough, and we were encouraged to add pics as party of the party! Adam was hanging out with me, so a picture with him is what we took!

What do you think? Do you agree with me that he looks handsome and smart?!

Boy, what a day!

Adam and I left the house before 10 thinking we'd have an easy morning/day. We had to go get his Kindergarten shots, but it didn't turn out to be nearly as easy as we thought!

Everything started fine....typical checkup, with filling out paperwork and HIPPA agreements and such. We realized that in '06 we had put off him getting his Chicken Pox vax, so we ended up having to get that in addition to the MMR, Polio, and whatever he other one was...I can't remember! Dr. F decided to go ahead and do a urine and blood workup as well, not only for a lead test for him to enter Kindergarten, but also to check for anemia, which he has had in the past. He weighed 42 pounds and was 45 inches tall.

So....we proceed to the shots...4 of 'em! Then I had Nurse V. to look at a place on his leg that was suspicious, and I'm glad I did since it WAS poison ivy! I also talked to Dr. F about the fact that Adam did not read 20/20 on his vision screening. He said that we could either wait or go ahead and get him checked out. Since we have a family history of vision problems, I opted to go ahead and get it looked at. More about that later.

So after the shots, we proceeded to the lab, where a very small amount of blood was drawn from his finger. Adam was brave through it all!

Until.....


I was signing out, and he started leaning toward me. I said,"What are you doing?" and he didn't answer me, and the receptionist tells me,"He's passed out!" So 2 nurses assisted us in getting him sitting in a chair, and he quickly came to. He was not sure what was going on, and was very pale. One nurse went ahead and laid him down in an exam room again, and laid a cool cloth on his forehead. He was also saying that his mouth hurt. So we waited for a few minutes to make sure he was okay. I stayed calm, but truly....it scared me to death!! I wanted to cry like a baby!!

I had promised Adam that we'd go get him a toy since he'd done so well at the shots and blood draw, so we went to Target to get him some anti-itch for his poison ivy and he picked out a toy. He wanted to go ahead and visit the optometrist before lunch, much to Mommy's growling stomach's dismay!

We saw a nice doctor, who told us that Adam has an astigmatism as well as being slightly far-sighted. We decided to pick out some frames since they were running a special (buy some frames and get the lenses free for anyone under 17--check out Lenscrafters!) The frames we picked out were more expensive than I normally would have allowed, but given the special, I let him get them. We're gonna go get Isaac's eyes checked, too, while they have this deal on so if he needs a pair, we'll get 'em cheaper!

Here's a pic of the frames. I'll get one of Adam IN the glasses so you can see how preciously handsome he looks in them!



We got lunch and went to do a little bit of shopping for ME while waiting for the glasses to get done. Unfortunately there was a machinery problem, so it ended up taking about an hour and a half instead of an hour, but hey--we're flexible!

However, after all this unexpected stuff in one day, I'm worn out! Adam and I took a nap when we got home, and now they're in TaeKwonDo! I realized that I can access free wifi here, so I'll be much more apt to bring my laptop and stay while they're in class from now on!

So....here we are! *insert pic of me with my tongue hanging out!*

Wordless Wednesday--Fun on the Slide

These were taken by my sister at our church's Freedom Celebration on Sunday. It was the first time in 7 years that we had to hold it indoors, but it still went well! As you can see, the boys definitely had fun!

Wordless Wednesday--Adam on the beach

Adam is such a ham....he has on his Daddy's hat here! We had a great vacation last week, and the boys LOVED the ocean! I have a feeling it won't be 5 more years before we go again!

FIRST Tour and some random thoughts

I've got a review posted over at Blah Blah Reviews! Usually I'd put up my button and link that way, but I'm using my sister's computer, so I don't have it saved! So just go on over there and check it out! While you're there, enter my giveaway for a pair of so cute Energizer Bunny slippers!

Now, some random thoughts! We are at Lake Junaluska, a United Methodist retreat center in western North Carolina where the Annual Conference of our church is being held. We rent a house with my parents and sister's family. Unfortunately, this year we're not getting to stay for as long since I am actually missing class today to be here, and have class the rest of the week.

I took the boys down to the playground for a little while. I can't believe in 8 years of Isaac's life I haven't taken him down there...what a bad mommy I am! We played, swung on the swings, and the boys built a pyramid sand castle! While we were there, Isaac asked me if he could bring his Bible with him when we go to the beach next week with Chris' family. "Of course!" was my response. We will plan on going to church on Sunday while we're down there, though the rest of the family may not. In my family, we have always gone to church, no matter where we are...if we're vacationing or driving down the road, we find the nearest church and go. I appreciate this as a mom, and thankfully Chris agrees! Silly me--my gratefulness to the Lord for dying for my sins doesn't stop while I'm away from home!

ANYWAY--back to the point, that Isaac asked about bringing his Bible. He said that when we were taking a break in the house (otherwise known as naptime for Adam and a 3 year old cousin) he could spend some time reading his Bible. What Mama wouldn't love hearing her 8 year old suggest this?

Random thought #2: yesterday the kids sang some songs that they learned at Vacation Bible School last week. They sang and did some sign language to "Friend of God" and it was SOOO sweet, it brought tears to my eyes! I'm so thankful that my children have a welcoming environment where they can learn about the Lord and express this love freely!

Random thought #3, though semi-related: The couple that had been leading our children's choir are no longer going to be at our church. He is a local pastor and has been given an appointment at a local church. This is an issue for one reason: he and his wife kind of 'took over' leadership of the Children's Choir years ago, and all the other volunteers quit except for Chris, me, and one other man. NOT a good scene. So we didn't get any warning about this move....who is going to lead the children's choir? I'll be willing to bet it will either me be or one sister. He also is the 'technology guru' of the church, but we agreed (my sister, Chris, brother-in-law, and I) that between the tech-savvy teenagers and us, we could continue to get such things as slide presentations done! We will need to purchase a projector, however.

Random thought #4: we were talking earlier about different 'obsessions' Isaac has had over the years. One such obsession was naming all makes of cars as we passed by. The first time Isaac watched Spiderman, when watching the scene where Spiderman threw a bad guy out the window onto a car below, Isaac didn't notice Spiderman's strength or the bad guy being defeated, he said, "Was that a Buick?!" We all cracked up! Isaac was also fascinated by intercoms (which he called 'hello's) and smoke detectors (which he called 'smokes'). It is fun to remember the silly things he's said over the years!

So there is your random thoughts of Christi update! Ta-ta for now!