70 in a 55

Not one of my proudest moments...that speeding ticket would have HURT. What else was I to do? When I got the phone call..."I think my water broke" from my sister all I could think about was getting to her, especially since she was by herself. Her husband was at work and I was just finishing up breakfast. (My left-over breakfast casserole) I quickly got out of my (very comfy) pj's and put on my jeans and slipped on a comfy shirt. NO TIME FOR MAKE-UP OR FIXING MY HAIR. This did not bode well with me, but I quickly put it out of my mind and headed out the door with Lil' Man in tow. (Thankfully Lance was able to get Lil' Man ready) 


Then began the waiting...

                                                   Might as well take some pics!

After waiting and eating, waiting and talking, waiting and eating some more, and of course, waiting...baby M finally made his arrival. 

One of my favorite pictures.

He is so precious. All that waiting was well worth it when I finally got to hold him. 

                                             Lil' Man loves him too

After hugging and saying goodnight (and a quick Arby's run for the new parents) it was time for us to go home. What a beautiful wonderful day it had been!

Lil' Man's 2nd Birthday Party

To celebrate my little train conductor's (as trains are his new thing) 2nd birthday my husband and I decided to put together a Thomas the Train themed party. It really was an absolute blast to plan and get ready for. Our party was simple but FUN. If anyone is looking for some really cute ideas for a Thomas the Train party, my husband would be the one to ask. He made just about every decoration/game for the party. Here are some of great ideas you may want to use when planning your next train party!

The Place: Oklahoma Railway Museum  We rented out a caboose that was on a "dead track". This was really cute and, of course, it went with our theme!

The Food: Since the party was right between lunch and dinner and it was only for a couple of hours, we decided to do cupcakes and cookies. The sugar cookies we made ourselves, using my MIL recipe. We bought a train cookie cutter at Michaels and then used her icing recipe to glaze the cookies. We added blue and red food coloring to make blue trains and red trains. VERY CUTE.

                                   Sugar Cookie Recipe:

                              1/2 c. margarine      1 c. sugar       1 egg       2c. flour, sifted

                                        1.2 tsp. salt              2 tsp. baking powder    1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cream together margarine and sugar until fluffy. Blend in egg. Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add dry mix to the preceding ingredients. Blend in vanilla.  Bake on ungreased  sheet at 350° for about 9 minutes. 

                                                                                

                                                              Icing:

                     3/4 c. sifted powdered sugar       3to 4 tsp. water        Drop or two of desired food coloring   

The cupcakes were the best cupcakes I have ever had...seriously. I ordered them from Sugar N' Spice.   

                                                                                    

The Decorations: This is where the talent of my husband came in handy. I decided I would like to have a "food train" to be the centerpiece...so that is what I got. L used cardboard boxes and butcher paper to make the cutest train for our centerpiece. We used a green tablecloth for "grass" and black electrical tape to make a train track. Some of the boxes were turned upside down to hold the cupcakes and the other ones were lined with white tissue paper and filled with the sugar train cookies.

This isn't the best view of the train because of the sunlight and the time stamp, but you get the idea. 

The Games:  We played Pin the Nose on Thomas, had a bean bag toss, and of course...a piñata! Again, some cardboard boxes and butcher paper go a long way!

The bean bag toss. We used it for carrying things back to the car afterwards.

Pin The Nose on Thomas.

The Piñata (from Party Galaxy) 

The party was fun. The food was good. The setup was exactly what I wanted for my little man.

School is in session

Well, school is back in full swing. With it have come many prayers, sleepless night, tears, excitement, joy, and affirmation to my life's calling.  I have the sweetest bunch of kids. I also have some children who are in need of love, discipline, direction, and structure to go along with their sweetness. These last four days have been a roller coaster of emotions for me. I feel that I have been tested in every area possible. Tears came, but like the calm after a storm, so was the assurance and strength I needed to know everything is going to be okay. I am so thankful for Lance. He held me up when I all I could do is fall. I will say, God has been so faithful to provide me with the patience for survival, wisdom I seek, a husband who supports me, a child who brings happiness into my life like no one else can, friends who can help push me through to the next day, a principal who has my back, and I could go on and on. I thank God for his faithfulness to provide me these and many other things...especially for the last few days.

I am thrilled with my new bunch of kiddos. I love seeing the eagerness in their eyes when they learn something new and I love knowing that I helped make that happen. I love getting to know their individual personalities. I love knowing that I am making a difference in their lives.  I pray that every decision I make in my classroom is for the betterment of all my students.

WHEW

I finally have a chance to sit and think. What a whirlwind of a week! My comings and goings will be listed in order of favorite to least favorite.

~ On Tuesday, I found out my dear sister is going to have a BOY. I am thrilled! Lil' Man and his little cousin will have a blast together. I am already planning on them doing boy scouts together, playing sports, and lots of fishing/camping trips. Oh what fun! I cannot wait to see what he will look like, what his personality will be like, and how special it will be when I first get to hold him.

~ My brothers were able to come and visit us for a couple of days. I always love when they come to visit. I know these visits won't last forever, so I cherish each time they get to come. Such a double-edged sword. I love seeing them grow up into such wonderful young men. I love seeing where their lives are taking them. I just hate that growing up means less time to come and visit us. They are so special to me. We always have so much fun together.

~This will piggy-back on the previous favorite thing. Going to Claremore for the evening was great. I love when we all get to be together. I wish we all lived closer. It was so touching to me to see that Lil' Man was able to show us how he knows who "Papi", "Abuelita", "Tia", "Chu-Chu" and "Tio" are. It melts my heart. I would love for nothing more than for us to be able to live closer to each other. It always seems longer until the next time we get to see each other.

~ OUTLET SHOPPING! That was a treat. I hate to shop, but I love to save money! I had a blast shopping with Meg and Amber. We made it into an all day event. I also loved that Lil' Man got to spend time with his grandma. They had so much fun baking cookies together. I was privileged to enjoy one of his cookies; it was very good.

~Sounds of rumbling thunder rolling in was a welcome relief this week. What a huge blessing to have some rain finally. Temps today averaged 76 degrees. A much needed reprieve after the 100+ days we have had all summer. Best of all, school has not yet started. I was able to enjoy the storms from the comfort of my home.

~ Enrolled L in his first college class. I am beyond thrilled for him. I know not going to college is something he has always regretted. He had almost resigned himself to thinking it never would happen. God has opened the doors and made it possible for him to begin the journey towards getting a degree. We are so thankful. He will take 12 hours of independent study classes from OSU, then he will be entered into the BRIDGE program at SNU to finish his degree in business in administration.

~ Crafty little me, made a menu board for my kitchen. Talk about SIMPLE. I bought a frame, material that matched my decor, and letter chips from Hobby Lobby. Simply cover the cardboard from the back of the frame with the material and you have your background! I used super glue (for glass) to glue on the letter. I love it. It will help me as I prepare to go back to work next week. Yes, it is part of my "have a better year" plan. I actually got the idea off of pinterest.com. I tweaked it to suit my kitchen. Here is a picture of it...I will post a better one later.

~ Getting my classroom ready is always exciting. I love to organize and plan. So, this is a task I particularly enjoy. I am doing things a lot different this year. Centers have moved to new places, the Mimio board is going to be center-stage for my whole group. I really think the kids are going to enjoy everything this year. L has been a huge help in getting my room ready. I love him so much.

** The least**

~ Not having time to get my house clean and in order is driving me INSANE. I forgot how much harder it is to keep up with things when I don't get to stay at home. Going to school everyday this week has been a little reminder of what is to come. A little reminder to get a cleaning schedule started. Being a mom, wife, and keeper of the home is so much harder when you add working 40+ hours a week to it all. UGH. Okay, I am off my soapbox now. :)

~ Saying goodbye. I don't like having to say goodbye. This week I had to say goodbye to my family as we again parted ways. I had to say goodbye to days spent at home with Lil' Man; which in-turn means having to say goodbye to Nick. Jr. (Yes, I will miss it.). Saying goodbye to my summer of eating what I want, it is time to begin weight watchers again. Melt away those last 15 pounds. Goodbye to late nights watching Matlock with L and goodbye to staying up to 1:00 in the morning watching Golden Girls. My positive outlook on this is, saying goodbye only brings me closer to the next hello.

~ Discipline is something I pride myself in. I feel that I know how to manage children's behaviors and provide effective discipline pretty well. This was until I met my son. I feel that I have to "fake it until I make it" (as my dear WOE friends would say) when it comes to disciplining him. He is getting to that stage where "time-out" = "time for me to practice my imagination skills".   My least favorite moment is when I had to pull the car over (in a sketchy neighborhood) and get on to him because he would NOT stop sucking on the bottom of his SHOE. Putting the grossness aside, it was the fact that he was staring me down while I repeatedly instructed him to get his foot out of his mouth. After a small review of choices and consequences, he and I were able to start the car again and continue about our day. He really is a well-behaved child, but it is for those rare moments I just do not know what to do. I feel I need to end a negative with a positive. We have reached a point where my dear-to-my-heart teacher look has an effect on Lil' Man. Words cannot express what that means to me.


Too reiterate...WHEW what a week. I can't help but think, God is good. In life's ups and downs, He is good. I am so glad I have Him to lead me and guide me along this crazy thing called life. :)

Until next time.

Dog Days of Summer

These 100+ degree days are awful! Really limits what Lil' Man and I can do during the day. We are limited to going outside and playing after 7:30 p.m. Needless to say, we don't go to bed early. Good thing we have swim lessons in morning.
Lil' Man's swim lessons have been fun. Not really learning how to swim, but we are having a fun time singing and swimming together, plus we get to do it with friends, another bonus. If we can master floating on our back by the last lesson I will be satisfied. It is hilarious to watch him, he insists on keeping his feet crossed and straight up in the air while on his back. Gives us all a good laugh.
As much as I deplore the heat, I do not want to wish the last few weeks of summer away. School soon begins. I love my job, I just hate feeling like a part-time mom. This year I am determined to be better with my time-management. My kids at school deserve the best I can give them. L and Lil' Man deserve all of me and not part of me. Not an easy feat, but I am not the only one who has had to do it and I won't be the last. I have already started devising strategies that I can implement in my personal and work life. I am excited about some of them. I'll post more about them as I get closer to having to use them.
Until next time.