It's a Great Life

Crazy Week

2009-01-25T09:07:00.000-08:00

Last week was just crazy! Gracie had been coughing for a little over a week, so on Tues, I called to make her an appointment. While I was on the phone with the nurse I also mentioned that she had not gone to the bathroom in 3 days(sorry TMI). They told me a couple things to try and that we could talk more at her appt. On Wed. we went to her appt. She had a sinus infection-that is why she had been coughing. The Dr. then told me to try Miralax to help her go to the bathroom, only give her juice, lots of fruits, vegetables (we had already been doing most of this). Well Wed. night she woke up screaming and continued for 4 hours, her stomach was definitely bothering her. We finally called the dr. at 1:30 in the morning. He told us a bunch more things to try and if she continued to cry he would meet us at the hospital. Well she never went to the bathroom but finally fell asleep around 2:30, just to wake up again at 4:30. During this time I had to type my sub plans, knowing I wouldn't be going to work. She finally went back to sleep from around 7-8:30. so, I basically only got 1.5 hours of sleep that night. The next day she continued to be in pain and I was on the phone with the dr. about 4 times. They were wanting us to try everything we could here because if we went to the hospital she would be put out for a sleep enema and he said it wasn't very pleasant. Finally, after giving her 2 suppositories and having Miralax all day she finally went to the bathroom-it had been 7 days.
This weekend she is finally back to herself and I'm praying that this will not be a continuous problem. It was a rough week...and to top it off now Tim is very sick..he probably needs to see a dr., but is refusing right now.

Yesterday, we met my Uncle Jeff for lunch. Then Gracie was invited to her friend Ellie's birthday party. She has a really good time. Today we are going to the north side of Indy. Our friends, Jen and Hans, that we met in Aruba decided to get married while on vacation in Miami. So, today they are having a reception.

We have been going to mommy and me gymnastics. Gracie LOVES it. She goes right in and sits down. She can do a front somersault, hang on the uneven bars, walk on the balance beam, and jump on the trampoline. She has learned so much in only 3 weeks. We are going to continue in the class. We are also still attending Story Time at the library and she loves to go and listen to stories and play.

More new words....mess, jump, animals, gorilla, pretty, pretzel, apple juice, purple, kids, and GRACIE!! She is finally saying her name! She also has really started getting into Elmo-I'm thinking this might be our 2nd birthday party theme.

It's time to get serious..

2009-01-05T17:50:00.000-08:00

I'm going to get in shape and stick with it this time. Tim is going to do it with me. I have had too many excuses for too long! So, today for breakfast I had a special k drink, for lunch a salad and water, and for dinner a banana and a lean cuisine pizza. I also ran on the treadmill for 30 minutes and got a workout in a the mommy and me class. So...this is what I have to continue. I'm also going to try a Zumba class on Thurs night. Everyone has great things to say about it and apparently you burn 1000 calories in an hour. So, I'm very excited...if I like it I will be doing it on thurs and sat every week. If anyone has tried Zumba already let me know!

Tonight we had the mommy and me class...it was some work! Gracie loved it-much more than the dance class. She ran around screaming "yay". She even busted her lip and still cried when we left because she didn't want to leave. We worked on using little hula hoops, walking on balance beams(she did amazingly well with this), hanging on an uneven bar and kicking up and walking your hands across it, going through tunnels, jumping on a trampoline, doing sommersaults, and climbing a rock wall. This is where the problem came in.. Gracie has no problem climbing and she climbed the wall (I was soo nervous) and at the top is a big twirly slide and she followed the other kids down...well she did a sommersault down and landed on her head and she busted her lip a little bit. She is not scared of anything....and she was the youngest in the class. She really had a great time! Mom was wore out!

I remembered a few more things...

2009-01-03T10:33:00.000-08:00

Gracie got a fish tank from Tim (daddy) for Christmas and she loves it. She ask first thing in the morning to go and see her fish. She also likes to help feed them. It is a 20 gallon tank and we got 3 kai fish that all look different. Hopefully it won't be too hard to keep clean!

Also a few more words I thought of....juice, minnie, mickey, please, thank you, pretty, mouse, and open.

Only 2 more days of break, I'm not wanting to go back!

Very behind..

2009-01-02T17:14:00.000-08:00

in keeping up with my blog. Before christmas there was just so much going on at home and school that I lost track of keeping my blog up....so there has been lots that I have not posted. We all came down with the flu in early December and that wiped us out for a week. Me and Tim did enjoy his company work party and went to a Colts game in early december.

Gracie will be 20 months in 2 days...I can't believe it. Her vocabulary has exploded recently...a couple of her new words are Elmo, Pooh, cookie, ice cream, christmas tree, ho-ho, lights, Ella (her friend Ellie), sit, grandma..I know there are more but I can't think of all of them. She is starting to put short phrases together. She is really into pointing at things in pictures and naming them, she says 2, 6, and 8 when counting, and tries to see the ABC's but you can't understand it. She has taken an interest in drawing, painting, etc. She is also using a fork and spoon most of the time now and loves to drink out of straw like mom and dad. She is also getting a bit stubborn and says no alot and is getting frustrated when mom and dad don't understand her. However, I can't complain because she is very good most of the time. Her hair is getting long and I can now put it in pig tails. She is getting really tall (not sure how this is). She is also really getting into pretend play. She likes to dress up, play with dolls, and cook in her kitchen.

We stopped taking the dance class because I couldn't watch her and she would cry for me. We went to an open gym today at a gymnastics center and she LOVED it. So we are starting a mommy and me class on Monday. I met another mother(who is also a teacher) at gymboree last summer and her daughter Ellie is just a little older than Gracie. Ellie and Gracie really got along and so I have kept in touch with her mom. We met today at the center and they are also going to join us in class. We think they will have a great time.

Christmas was fast but great! We were headed to Loogootee the Tues before Christmas, but got stuck in Bloomington with all the ice. Thanks goodness Uncle Jeff lives there. My poor mom was trapped between 2 hills for 2 hours. It was bad! So, we headed to Loogootee on Wed. morning. We had christmas with my mom and then went to my grandma's. Gracie got lots of clothes, dolls, a stroller, a train, and more baby stuff. We headed home on Christmas Eve. Tim stayed up putting Gracie's kitchen together from "Santa". Gracie loved it! She didn't even care to open any other presents, all she cared about was the kitchen. It took us over 2 hours to get through the gifts-guess I should enjoy it now! She has played with the kitchen everyday! We also had Christmas at Tim's sister's house. Gracie got lots more clothes and more baby stuff. She had fun playing with Quincy.

We didn't get to do anything on New Year's Eve because Gracie developed pink eye. Poor girl-her eye was all crusty and red. Sad to say that me and Tim were in bed before midnight-we are old. Hopefully next New Year's will be better.

My christmas break is coming to an end and I'm very sad. We have had so much fun and I know it will be difficult for Gracie to go back. She has enjoyed having mom and dad around. Tim took off the full 2 weeks with me, so we have been together everyday. I guess I just need to be thankful for this time.

Well I will stop writing for now and will try to update more often!

Dance Class-Round 2

2008-11-08T12:21:00.000-08:00

Well we attempted dance class again on thurs night. As you read before, I'm unable to go in. Gracie was fine until all the other kids started crying when it was time to go in the room, then she was pulling on me and screaming. I almost didn't leave her but then as soon as the music stopped all the kids stopped crying. They said she got down and did a lot that night. The funny thing is....we have been singing "The Wheels on the bus" at home and she has been turning in circles and stuff...it is soo cute...so I asked the teacher and sure enough that is what they do. So...I get to view next week and that will give me a chance to see if I feel she is read y for it. She is soo cute in her little dance outfits!

A couple more words to add to the list....Whoa, towel, Mia(a little girl at daycare-she calls her "ia"), and the phrase "I do"...today she also said "dada go bye bye"...the talking just keeps on coming.

On another note...Im trying to figure out how to do a slideshow on here....hopefully can get it figured out soon!

18 month stats

2008-11-06T04:00:00.001-08:00

Gracie had her dr. appt. yesterday. She is 24 lbs(40-50%) and 33 inches long(70%). She didn't get any shots, we are still waiting a little while to get the MMR-she is caught up on everything else. She is done getting teeth for awhile-yeah! When the dr. was looking in her ears, eye, etc. she kept telling him "all-done", it was soo funny. Developmentally she is doing great! She still gets a little splotchy rash sometimes and he says it is excema. We just use aquaphor a couple times of day and give her anhistimine if needed. Overall, it was a great dr. appt.-nothing much to report!

4 more words to add to the list she knows- bug, boo, look, weeeee (she does this when she is swinging or excited about something.

Words at 18 months

2008-11-04T17:55:00.001-08:00

Gracie has started trying to say a lot of new words and I've been trying to write them all down. She has about 40-50 words...this is what she is saying....

dada, mama, dog, cat, duck, up, out, uck, "huh". all done, up above (for twinkle, twinkle little star), bus, ball, bubble, this, that, hi, hello, bye-bye, yes, not, yeah, Dora, backpack, truck, shoes, cheese, eyes, moo, quack, foot, toes, okay, hot, baby, night-night, book, bird, off, see, fish, yum-yum, open and she says Webus, Webus for wheels on the bus....it is soo cute to hear her try to sing it!

I'm sure I'm missing some, but it is just amazing what all she has started to say. Can you tell we are proud?!?

Story Time

2008-11-04T17:30:00.000-08:00

We have been attending toddler storytime at the library on tues nights. They sing songs, use puppets, read books, etc. Usually Gracie runs around the room, but tonight she was much better. She clapped and sang to the songs, danced around the room, kissed the puppets, and listened to some of the stories. Hopefully she will continue to enjoy it.

Tomorrow is her 18 month appt. I can't believe she is already 18 months...where does the time go? I will post her new stats when we return.

Check out our new fall pictures. We loved our photographer. If you are ever looking for someone, she is fantastic especially with kids. You can go to:

http://www.rachelvanoven.com/
Click on website
Click on clients
In the password section type "kauble"

I promise to get Halloween and other pics on here sometime soon!

Dance Class

2008-10-30T17:44:00.000-07:00

I started Gracie in a dance class tonight. I know she is kind of young, but I found one that starts at 18 months, so we did a trial class tonight. I was very nervous because she is just 18 months and they do not allow parents to come in (due to the fact that the kids would always run and cry for them). We are only allowed to view once a month. I waited right outside the door on a bench and listened the whole time :) Gracie walked right in with the other kids and they said she did really well until about the last 5 minutes when she realized that she hadn't seen me in awhile and then she started to cry and look for me. Overall, a good first time. We are going to try it out for a month and see how she does. I just wanted to look into something for the winter because she is so active and I'm afraid she will be bored not going outside as much. I have to say she looked adorable in her leotard. I will post pics this weekend. I will also update on how she continues to do. They did tell me she did much better than most kids on their first night, especially for her age.

Tagged

2008-10-14T03:55:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged to post 6 random things about me...so here it goes!

1. I am in my 8th year of teaching and have taught a lot of grades. I have taught special education, 1st grade, 5th grade, and 2nd grade. I'm pretty sure I will finally be stable in 2nd grade because I took over a retirement position.

2. I have only talked to my dad 2 times since my wedding over 3 years ago.

3. I have always wanted to be a mom, but didn't think I would love it as much as I do. I truly enjoy everything about it. It is absolutely amazing how much they learn and how much they love you. I never knew how much joy it would bring me. We plan on probably only having 1 more and in some ways that makes me sad.

4. No one really knows too much about this.....but, before I got pregnant with Gracie I lost 3o pounds. I was down to a size 2/3 and in the best shape I've ever been in. However, I was becoming obsessed with losing the weight. I didn't have an eating disorder, but would limit my calories to 800-1000 a day and was working out for at least an hour everyday. I even got up early on Thanksgiving and Christmas to workout. I just make some really stupid decisions, now all I want is a little of that motivation back.

5. I have a cleaning lady that comes every other week. I have had this now for about 6 months. It is wonderful to come home to a clean house. Not sure if I will be able to do it forever, but for right now I'm enjoying it.

6. Sometimes I think I would like to live out of Indiana. However, I know that I would be homesick and may not enjoy it. I just really don't care for the winters here and would just like to experience something new. It will probably never happen because I would be too chicken to move, but sometimes it's a nice thought.

I had lots to post about, so read below for other topics!

Gracie's rash

2008-10-14T03:54:00.001-07:00

For the time being Gracie's rash is pretty much gone. She has a couple of splotches, but not much of anything. Cross your fingers that she does not break out head to toe again!

Eagle Creek Park

2008-10-14T03:50:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we went on a field trip to Eagle Creek Park. It was soo much fun! The kids had a blast. We did 4 rotations: nature hike, amphibians study, nocturnal animals study, and leaf and tree study. The nature hike was everyone's favorite and it was definitely a workout, but lots of fun. We also got to see a turtle, snake, frog, skunk, and opposum (the kids got to pet them all). We had lunch in the park and let the kids play for awhile. This would be a great place for families to go and visit.

The only negative side was the bugs. I ended up getting bit or stung by something right underneath my eye and it started to really swell under my eye. I had to put some stuff on it (not sure what it was) and take Benadryl, which makes me soo tired.

Weekend

2008-10-14T03:44:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went home to Loogootee for my cousin Mandy's wedding. It was very nice and she looked beautiful. We only went to the reception because we knew that Gracie wouldn't make it through an hour church service. She did very well at the reception, but we only stayed about 3 hours because she was on the move and running everywhere-just like a toddler! We planned on staying at my mom's house but I forgot to kennel the dog. I didn't remember that I forgot to call until I was already packed. So, we had to drive home that night, but Gracie slept the entire way and until 8:00 the next morning.

On Sunday after Gracie's nap we headed to Appleworks in Trafalgar. It was AWESOME! I had never been there before, but we had sooo much fun. They have 3 huge pumpkin patches, 50 acres of apple picking, train rides, mazes, tractor rides, a playground, petting zoo, etc. I highly recommend it. We were there for over 2 hours and Gracie would have made it longer, she loved it. We had to leave because they were closing. We are hoping to go back before the fall is over. I will post pictures of it later.

Lots going on..

2008-10-05T19:38:00.000-07:00

I made a post last weekend, but somehow only the heading showed up and I haven't had time to update again. It's been a crazy couple of weeks. Gracie has now been to the dr. 3 times for a rash that keeps coming up. The first time she was covered head to toe and they said it was viral, then she got another one(it looked different) on her arms, neck, and back and they said this one was excema. But, she also had such horrible diaper rash that she had an infection, so she was put on amoxicillan and an anhistamine. You know it's bad when you walk in to find her with her diaper off in her crib and she is just scratching everywhere in the diaper area....poor girl. Well the rash and diaper rash went away and then came back on Wed. so back to the dr. I went. I'm not giving up. Well the time they thought viral again (it's on her back, neck, and stomach) because it was more under the skin, but also mentioned it could be bacterial (but not likely). So they don't know either. I'm not completely convinced it's viral because yesterday it was horrible, this morning you could hardly tell and then it flared again in the evening...so to me it seems more like an allergic reation or severe excema...but I can' t figure it out. Also, it is not under the skin anymore, it is bumps on her skin. We haven't changed anything, introduced anything....I'm just at a loss. On top if it she has 4 teeth all coming in (dr. did say this could have something to do with it) and she has a horrible cough and runny nose. However, ears, chest, everything is fine. So, I have been a nervous wreck washing and cleaning things everyday.......We had to cancel our family pics yesterday because she has just not been herself and I didn't know if I could cover up all of the rash or not....I just feel so bad for her. Who would have ever thought motherhood would be sooo hard. It is just difficult to see them go through anything. Well I have to get to work, will try to do better catching up this week.

Had to go to the dr. again...

2008-09-27T16:45:00.000-07:00

I'm going green...

2008-09-15T18:41:00.000-07:00

not really...but since we found out that Gracie may have an allergy to diapers, I went and purchased dye/chemical free diapers. They are nothing to look at but I'm hoping the diapers will help keep her from having horrible diaper rash. I'll update you tomorrow on whether or not they work the same.

The rash is about 90% gone now...it appears it was a viral infection. We didn't go anywhere over the weekend because we didn't want her to get sick, since it seems her immune system is down. I'm just so happy to see the rash almost gone, I can't even explain how awful it was to see her all broke out. She is also almost done with all of her teeth. In the past month she has had a tooth explosion and now we are just waiting on 3 more.

She started saying 2 more new words over the weekend. She is now saying "duck" and "yes". Today I had my first incident when I told her "no" and she looked at me and said "yes". Oh the fun I have to look forward to.

Dr. doesn't know what mysterious rash is

2008-09-13T05:59:00.001-07:00

So, I had a dr. appt scheduled for Gracie yesterday afternoon because her rash had worsened. Well, yesterday morning when I went to go get her in the morning it was everywhere and her eye was swollen. I just lost it! I ended up call in for the day. We went to the dr. (my dr. was out, but they had a pediatric endrocrinoligst in his place). He was very nice and took lots of time. He said that her rash didn't match any particular childhoold illness. She has some clear raised dots, some red patchs and some red/pink dots. So, he said when it doesn't match anything in particular they just say it is a viral infection and to let it run its course-which could take 2 weeks. I was so emotional all day because it is just everywhere. He said that he would take it easy and not go anywhere this weekend becaue if it was viral she might be more suseptible to getting a fever, etc. He did also say that he does see some signs of allergies too and things the rash might be a combination of things. She gets horrible diaper rash and when he looked at it, she says there are many signs of her being allergic to something in diapers. What? Who is allergic to diapers? He said the answer was to potty train, while laughing. Funny thing is, i think she could be easily potty trained. Everytime she has a wet/dirty diaper she says "uck" and goes and gets a new diaper. So, it was an eventful/emotional day with no real answers.

Good news-she woke up this morning and the rash is much better-it is still everywhere but much better! I might be able to sleep more tonight!

Weird rash

2008-09-09T18:21:00.000-07:00

So...my babysitter called today to tell me that Gracie woke up and had a rash behind her ear, on her neck, arms, and legs. I hadn't seen it yet but panicked and called the dr. and then left work. Behind her ears it was really bad and she had scratched it raw. Other than that she seemed perfectly fine. I guess I should also state that a couple of weeks ago she had a spot on her face (beside her ear) that looked like really dry skin. I called the dr. on it too and he said to use hydrocortisone cream on it. We have been and it is going away, but it is still there. She also has really bad diaper rash (gets it everytime new teeth are coming in) and where here diaper hits in front and back it looks very irritated. So, after freaking our and reading about everything, I've come to my own conclusion that I think she has eczema. It runs in my family and she seems to have it in the locations they say you can get it. My dr. told me to give her a cool bath without soaps, put hydrocortizone one her and give her some benadryl. Well the thought of benadryl also freaked me out, because she has never had anything except tylenol and zantac. She never gets sick. So, I talked to the nurses about appropriate dosing and then also to the pharmacist, because I just wanted to make sure they said the same thing :) I gave it to her tonight at 6:00 and she was out by 6:40 (must affect her like it does her mom). She also didn't nap well because of the itching of the rash though, so I know she was exhausted. I'm still nervous about things, so I will probably check on her multiple times tonight, but hopefully tomorrow it will look better. The dr. said if not we can make an appt. I was emotional tonight because I hate when there is anything wrong, especially when I'm not the one that discovers it.

One a different note...she is now saying yogurt, but says "gogur". She loves yogurt and will now go to the fridge and say "gogur". It is too cute. She is also putting words together. She will say "Mama night-night" and "dada bye bye". Also over the weekend when she got up, I had told her "shhh dada is sleeping", so now we we get home she says "shhh dada" thinking he is in bed. It just amazes me on how much she picks up on.....I just love it!

The Circus

2008-09-07T18:12:00.000-07:00

So...we headed to the circus on Sat afternoon. My brother and his girlfriend (Shannan) went with us. My incredibly active child, actually sat for 2 hours at the circus. We couldn't believe how well she did. We really figured that we would have to take turns leaving with her, but the only time we got up was during intermission. We were in the 4th row and she just took everything in. She loved seeing all the animals and spent lots of time clapping, singing, and dancing. We were also impressed that she didn't get nervous or scared at all when the lights went out or when people shot out of the cannon. It was soo funny. I ofcourse have pics I will post later. Afterwards, we went to eat at Champs. They gave her a balloon, so she was entertained the whole time. We had a great time! We hope to make this a family tradition.

It's back to work tomorrow...I'm sure it's going to be another busy week. Dump the Plump starts tomorrow...so that means eating healthy and working out 5 times a week...not quite sure how I'm going to fit this in yet, but I will have to figure it out. Tues night we are starting a program at the library with Gracie. They have story hour for kids who are under 2 and they do it with puppets, bubbles, etc. It should be fun! Well, I will update more this week!

Updates..

2008-09-04T17:40:00.000-07:00

Well life has been crazy...it always is at the beginning of the school year! I have had lots of work each night to keep me very busy, and I've had to go back to work a couple of nights a week and during Gracie's nap on the weekend. I know it will settle down sometime soon, but right now it is just crazy. This week (Blue) the Colts mascot was at our school for a program. The kids loved it and I have to say he was pretty funny doing the running man!

We had a good long weekend last weekend. We had a cook-out with my family on Sat night and Gracie had a great time playing outside. Sunday we went to church and cooked out at home. This weekend we are taking Gracie to the circus. I love the circus! Even though she is soo busy, we figure that she will love it and be able to handle it....my brother and his girlfriend are going, so that will help.

Gracie is busy as usual...but sooo funny! She has such a personality. She is now running everywhere and has absolutely no fear-none whatsoever. She is trying to talk all the time and we are really having to watch what we say. The other night Tim came home and told me that he ran outside and that it was so hot. Gracie looked at me and said "mama, hot". She tries to say whatever she can, it is just to cute. She has also become very independent. She can pretty much put her own shoes on and is trying to put her clothes on. I know she is going to be the type that will probably want to dress herself in stripes and polkadots. She has become fascinated with trying to do a somersault and she almost has it down. She is quite the entertainer. She has also got 5 teeth in the past 2.5 weeks...crazy...she now has 3 molars through! Luckily, it has not interrupted her sleep and she has not been cranky. Well that is it for now, will update more later.

It's Time to Lose this weight

2008-08-29T04:02:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago (before Gracie) I lost 30 lbs. by working out and eating right. Since I've had her, my habits have just gone down the drain because I don't know how to fit it all in. But, its time to lose all this weight, it's pretty sad that I am 8 lbs heavier than what I was when I left the hospital. Johnson County has this challenge called "Dump Your Plump" they challenge local organizations and workers to form teams and lose weight. I did this 2 years ago and lost 18 lbs in 10 weeks and won $400. So, I got an email again the other day and I sent it to my co-workers at school. So many people wanted to join that we have to make 2 teams. I'm excited! I know I won't lose as much as last time because I don' t have an hour to work-out every night, but at least I'm challenging myself to something. It starts on the 7th, so I better enjoy my food this weekend :) Then it goes all the way until the week before Thanksgiving-just in time to put a little back on with the holidays! Hopefully this will get me motivated to keep going...wish me luck!

25 Random Things About Me

2008-08-22T18:05:00.000-07:00

I got this idea from a friend's post...so I'm going to try it too!

25. I hate the snow...pretty much everything about it, especially driving in it.

24. I worry all the time and if there is nothing to worry about, I find something to worry about.

23. I met my husband in college-we were neighbors. We have been together for 9 years and married for 3. We have never broken up.

22. I have a heart for kids with special needs and enjoy working with them.

21. I grew up in a Catholic church and my husband grew up in an Assembly of God church. We are now attending a Christian Church and love it.

20. I'm not the best at staying in touch with people. I have good intentions but just get busy and don't do all that I should. Thank goodness I have understanding friends.

19. I have lived in Greenwood for 7 years and I really like it here, but sometimes I miss certain things about a small town.

18. My hair is naturally curly and I have finally learned to accept it and hope maybe Gracie will have some curls too.

17. I don't have a relationship with my dad and I was secretly very excited when I found out I was having a girl because I couldn't wait for her to have a relationship with her dad. I guess I'm hoping to live vicariously through her. My husband is completely opposite my dad.

16. I wish I could have stayed home more with Gracie, however I had over 5 years of teaching experience and never would have been able to get back into teaching.

15. I HATE the neighborhood we live in. Can't wait until we are able to move.

14. I wouldn't mind to have another baby sometime soon, but my husband is not quite ready.

13. I really enjoyed being pregnant and actually enjoyed the labor/delivery too. However, I was in labor for a very short period of time.

12. I enjoy reading, but never have time.

11. I have an obsession with buying new clothes for Gracie.

10. I'm not happy with my body at all right now. But, I would rather spend time with my family than work out, so I'm having a hard time losing weight.

9. I talk a lot and way too fast.

8. I absoultely hate doing laundry and will procrastinate forever.

7. Me and my brother have a 7 year age gap, but we are extremely close.

6. I have a dog and she drives me nuts, if I could do it all over again I would not get a dog.

5. I'm still friends with girls from high school-we are all in different places, but know we can always rely on each other.

4. I call my mom almost every single day!

3. I still go in and check on Gracie in the middle of the night when I wake up.

2. I drink coffee everyday.

1. We usually go out to eat throughout the weekend, every weekend! I know that will probably change if we have more kids, but for right now we enjoy that time and it gives me a break from cooking.

It has been a busy week!

2008-08-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

Well..I started back to school on Wed. That was our teacher work day and the kids came on Thurs. So, it was a nice short week. I think I'm going to have a good class. I have 9 boys and 9 girls and they all seem very sweet. I have some talkers-but I was one myself :) The start of the school year is always busy....lots of planning, preparing, open house, etc. So, after Gracie goes to bed, I have lots of work to get done. I'm sure this week will be very busy.

Gracie adjusted to going back to the sitter just fine. The first day she didn't nap well, but the other days she did fine. We have had to change her schedule a little because she was going to bed around 7:15-7:30 and not getting up until around 8:00 AM...but now she has to be up by 7:15 to get to the sitter. I just feel I can't move her bedtime up anymore because I will get no time with her. I leave school as soon as it is over to pick her up...this is why I have a lot of work at night...but it's worth it!

This weekend we took Gracie to the park to play and we had a cook-out with some people from Tim's work. It was fun! Everyone brought there kids...there were 7 boys and Gracie was the only girl. but, she didn't care she can hold her own!!!! Today we are going to be heading to church and then I have work to do for school during her naptime. I wish the weekends were just a little longer!

Back to School

2008-08-13T03:40:00.001-07:00

It's back to school today...wish me luck...more on the part of leaving Gracie :(

Funny things with Gracie....

2008-08-10T17:53:00.000-07:00

So...lately Gracie is really trying to vocalize things with us. She knows some signs we have taught her (more, all done, thank you, rain) and uses them all the time. She also is trying to say lots of words. She really likes the song "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and her favorite part is when you say "up above", so now when she wants you to sing the song she will say "up aba" and she tries to sing....it is sooo cute! She also has learned that I always wash my hands after changing her diaper, so now she thinks she has to do it too! She rubs her hands together and points wanting me to wash them for her. So, anytime you say "Gracie wash your hands" she will rub her hands and look for a sink. She has also decided that she does not like to have a wet or dirty diaper. As soon as she goes to the bathroom she comes and tugs on her diaper and says "uck" and wants me to change it. It is always RIGHT after she goes. The dr. says she is too young to verbalize if she has to go before, but that I might as well start working on potty training if it bothers her that much...so we will see.

We are just amazed at everything she is learning. She is truly amazing!

Gracie's Dr. appt.

2008-08-10T17:49:00.000-07:00

Gracie had her 15 month checkup on tues. She had to get 3 shots :( but she did really well! We have delayed the MMR and will probably do it around 2 years. She is now 31 inches (80%) not sure how this happened and 22 pounds (40-50%). She has grown 2 inches and gained 2 pounds in 3 months. The Dr. said she is currently getting 6 teeth in (Yeah) and we noticed today that 3 of them have now popped through. Luckily she is still sleeping great, just occasionally fussy during the day, but not really a lot. She has all 4 molars coming in and a couple up towards the front. She didn't get her first tooth until almost 11 months and now they are all coming in!!!

Tim and Zach's birthday

2008-08-10T17:48:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to Tim(husband) and Zach(brother). They share a birthday and it was on Aug. 7th! We celebrated today with my family.......

Feeling grateful..

2008-08-10T17:44:00.000-07:00

that I decided to take the job in 2nd grade this year. After registration last week enrollment was low in 1st grade and they had to cut a teacher (would have been me) and move the person to 3rd. So, she only had a weeks notice. I would never have got it all done. So God must have been leading me in the right direction.

Speaking of school we start on Wed. I love my job and always look forward to the kids, however I would be lying if I said I was really excited to go back. I just hate leaving Gracie. Last week I left her at the sitter while I went to work at school and I just bawled when I left her. Reality hit me that it is coming up quickly and that I will have to leave her everyday. Last year was a little bit easier because she didn't realize it, now she does and doesn't want me leaving.......so wish me luck!

Jill's Wedding

2008-08-10T17:38:00.001-07:00

I'm really far behind in blogging, so I will be making a couple of posts. Last weekend was by friend Jill' s wedding. We left on Friday for the rehearsal and left Gracie for the first time. The rehearsal went well. The only thing was the dinner was outside and I ended up with about 20 mosquito bites on my legs and feet...not pretty when you have a short and dress and you are in the wedding! The ceremony was one of the most emotional one's I have ever been too. Jill was beautiful and sooo happy! The reception was soo much fun and it was great to see all of my old college friends.

We did have one disaster...right before we were leaving for the church my zipper on my dress busted and we freaked out. Luckily one of the mom's there is a seamstress and she had to sew me into my dress with fishing wire. It was crazy. However, it lasted for a full 12 hours and never came out. We had to ask the front desk of the hotel for scissors to cut me out of the dress.....pretty crazy.

It was hard to leave Gracie all weekend but we managed. My family stayed at the house with her and she really had a great time. Although, I had Tim up early Sunday morning to head back.....

Busy!

2008-07-30T16:34:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy week! Tim is on travel in Cleveland, OH so that leaves me basically doing everything. Yesterday, I left Gracie at the sitters, so I could go into school, go tanning, and shop for wedding and birthday gifts. Today, I have been trying to organize things in the house, since we are leaving this weekend. I have been so tired at night, luckily Gracie has been going to bed by 7:15 and sleeping until 8:00-she must know mommy is tired!

This weekend I'm in my friend Jill's wedding and it will be the first time that I will be leaving Gracie overnight. I'm a little stressed! We have had a hard time getting things figured out with who is watching her and the animals, but we finally have it figured out. We are leaving her with my brother and his girlfriend at our house. They are very excited and I'm sure they will spoil her. I'm excited about the wedding, just nervous about leaving her for the entire weekend!

Tomorrow is my mom's birthday and next week is Tim's and Zach's birthday....so much going on.....and 2 weeks from today I start school...where does the time go!

Feeling like a bad mom...

2008-07-28T16:32:00.000-07:00

So, today is one of those days where I'm just feeling like a bad mom....I know things happen, but feel like bad things happen even when I'm right there. Last week Gracie found a cup that she had hid in her play mailbox and took a drink of it. Well it was milk from the day before...gross! I didn't see the cup the night before because she had hid it. She never got sick, but I felt horrible. Then today I was playing with her on the floor and the phone rang, I went to go get it and she pulled a glass off of the bar and it broke and she stepped on a piece, so I had to pull glass out of her foot. She is fine, but the dr. probably thinks I'm nuts because I call worried all the time. Just when I think we get things baby proofed she finds something to get in. We have locks on the cabinets but now she knows how to get the oven and fridge open, so they now have locks on them. She is just an incredibly active child and when things happen I feel like the bad mom!

My husband about got robbed...

2008-07-26T07:04:00.000-07:00

Tim was leaving work last night (fri) when he was approached and surrounded by 3 bums on a street corner. They tried to distract him and started talking a lot to him and then he felt one of them take his wallet out of his back pocket. He turned around to confront the guy and they just started pulling everything out looking for cash (he didn't have any). When he told them he didn't have any cash they started pushing him around and saying"well you have a bank account". He was started to get a little freaked out (btw-people were walking by on the street) when they cops just happened to drive by. When they got the 3 guys they found drugs on all of them and they were all intoxicated. The cops said they are not REALLY bums, they are 3 guys posing as bums and they are moving state to state and robbing people. They have been arrested on multiple occasions, but with jail overcrowding, they are usually released. They told Tim he was lucky because they have stolen from a lot of people. So, he was a little shaken up when he got home because he just kept thinking "what if" they had a weapon and the police didn't come by. Seems to be soo much crime lately, makes me want to look into getting a home security system.

Oh the teething....

2008-07-25T11:03:00.000-07:00

Gracie started teething later than most babies. She didn't get her first tooth until 10.5 months old. She got her front top 2 in at the same time and her bottom front 2 at the same time. She has some of another top one in coming in right now. Well this morning she woke up CRANKY and she is never like this...She had slept 12.5 hours, so you wouldn't think she would be cranky. Nothing would work...she didn't want to play,drink, eat etc. She would want me to hold her and 5 seconds later want down. So, I checked her teperature-nothing....I started feeling around in her mouth and guess what....she has a molar coming in on the bottom. So, I gave her some tylenol and something to chew on. Today was our last day for the music class we have been taking together and I was dreading going because of how cranky she was. We did make it through it, but started to get fussy at the end. She has now been asleep for about 2 hours and I'm just praying she wakes up a little happier. We have a busy weekend, so I'm hoping the pain will ease soon!!!

Fell down the stairs....again!

2008-07-24T16:38:00.001-07:00

First let me start off by saying a couple of months ago I was going a little too quickly down the stairs and I lost my balance and fell hard. Then last night I was carrying a garbage bag of dirty diapers down and my dog went running by me. I completely lost my balance and tumbled down the stairs with the bag of diaper landing on top of me. I'm in soo much pain still today, it is hard to sit for long periods of time. I guess the next house I have needs to be a ranch.

We went out for a family dinner last night for our 3 year anniversary. We went to Johnny Carino's and had a good time. Me and Tim had already been out by ourselves to the Melting Pot over the weekend. My brother and his girlfriend babysat while we went out. Gracie apparently had a great time with them because she keeps carrying around their picture and kissing it.

Speaking of pictures...she LOVES to look at pictures. She is able to point me and Tim out in pictures and say "mama" and "dada". She is also recognizing family member and will point to them when you ask her. She has really started acting like a toddler now. She is just soo cute. If you tell her that we are going outside, she will bring you her shoes. She has also started going and getting anything we ask her. And when she is ready for bed, she will grab her blanket and pacifier, head to the stairs and say "up" and "night-night". We are just amazed at everything she is learning. I'm really enjoying this stage of her life.

Decided to start a blog too...

2008-07-23T08:57:00.000-07:00

So...after looking at Jill's blog, it kind of looked like fun. Plus, I'm bad about writing things down, so maybe this will help me document some things. I also know once the school year starts, I will have a hard time keeping up with email, but hopefully can update this every now and then.

A little about my life...I'm married to a great guy named Tim. We met and college and have been together for 9 years. Today is our 3rd wedding anniversary :) We have a beautiful, vibrant little girl named Gracie. She is almost 15 months and a total joy in our lives. She is an extremely active child, but a great baby. We never thought she would be this much fun.

I'm an elementary teacher and my husband is in graphic design and product development. I have taught 1st, 5th, and special education. However, this year I will be moving into 2nd grade and hopefully will not have to move around anymore. I really like teaching, but now that I have Gracie I LOVE to be home with her. I only have 3 weeks from today left until my summer ends and leaving her again will be very difficult. I try to look at the fact that really I work part time because I do have a lot of breaks and the summer off....but it is still difficult to leave her. We have enjoyed our summer by going to the park, zoo, children's museum and participating in gymboree classes.

Well... I guess that is all for now, let's hope I can continue to update this :)