Always on the go

So you know you are a grown up when your weekends and spare time are no longer spent planning fun things for you and your special someone to do, but instead shuttling your child(ren) from commitment to commitment.  It seems like all I do each weekend is watch Isaac play sports.  I have most everything in the calendar in my phone, which syncs to my email and to Ryan's calendar, but I have taken to posting this on the fridge each week to give all parties a quick visual of each day.

Our days are jam-packed and we are always on the go.   I honestly don't know how moms with multiple kids in various activities don't lose their minds. It's hard enough with just one.

Anyways, here are some highlights:

Isaac continues to enjoy baseball a lot.  He is mostly in the outfield or occasionally short stop.  He is getting better each week and really looks forward to practices and games with his team the Riverdogs.  He likes to chew sunflower seeds or Big League Chew gum in the dugout to make himself feel like a pro.

I'm not going to lie, I find Little League Baseball to be mind-numbingly boring.  I think Hannah does too.  She always looks around with an expression on her face like "Oh man, we're HERE again?  Let me fuss myself to sleep now." I like to watch Isaac, of course, but the games are so slow.  They tend to start late, and go long. Yesterday Uncle Joe joined us for a game, which definitely helped pass the time for me and meant a lot to Isaac.

game face

  

 Yesterday was also team pictures which was almost a mini-crisis when we could only find one of his uniform socks.  We ended up driving to Dick's Sporting Goods ten minutes before the picture and picking up another two pack of socks.  Hopefully it was money well spent as I seem to spend an inordinate of time before each game locating baseball socks.  Isaac talked me into buying a special baseball with his picture printed on it.   I can't wait to see how they turned out.

We have also been getting back into the swing of soccer which is definitely more exciting for spectators: action packed and time bound. He had tryouts for the new season of travel and last week participated in a 4 v 4 tournament.  His team took second.

 The Philadelphia Union were there which was exciting too.
 

In non-sports related happenings we have been able to spend some time with all of Ryan's kids. For a while there is seemed like we could never coordinate schedules to take them. We had a beautiful weekend day when we played in a local park and even had a random lady ask if they were ALL ours, which made me smile.  Allison and Gabby love Hannah and are so good with her.  We have them again this coming weekend and are hoping to take them all swimming with our family membership to the YMCA.

There has been a lot going on with Isaac at school too.  My dad was able to drive in to be with Isaac on grandparent's day.  They visited the book fair together and Isaac got two books, one that he picked out that was Star Wars related and one that my dad picked out about George Washington "one of Grandpa's heroes".  Dad e-mailed me this picture of Isaac and his homeroom teacher Miss Hoyle. 

I was also pleasantly surprised to check my e-mail and find this note which couldn't have made me any prouder:

This is Mr. Lamison, Isaac’s Social Studies Teacher.  I am writing to you today to tell you what an amazing job Isaac has been doing in my class.  He has been working with great focus and attention to detail.  I am very proud of Isaac, and I wanted to take a moment to let you know. 

Have a great day,

We also managed to get over to the Art Show one evening after baseball practice.  Isaac had several pieces in the show.  

We are starting to come down the home stretch of the final marking period of school.  Soon summer will be here!

Finally Friday!

So I guess once a week is about as often as I am going to be able to update the blog.

 So one big change was my in-laws have sort of come on some hard times and have moved in with us for a few months while they prepare to move to Florida.  They have moved into what was Hannah's room and now Hannah is back in our bedroom which I am not too crazy about.  I have to admit, I was expecting things to be a lot harder than they have been.  They leave the house very early in the morning (like 5 am) and return home between 8-9 at night, so I haven't seen too much of them.

Isaac's football party went well.  The Sportsplex provided me with a high schooler to assist and he was great with the boys.  As much as I was dreading a birthday party, it was actually very easy and I know he had fun.  Isaac has been a such a trooper through the past few months that he deserved a party and some fun.

  He got several gift cards as well as some cash from the tooth fairy and he was so proud to go to the mall over the weekend and spend it.  We were having Hannah's picture taken at the Picture People so we let him go on his own to a few nearby stores.  Suddenly I have a child who is old enough to go to the mall.  Crazy!

He continues to be busy, busy, busy with sports and other commitments.  I just spent 30 minutes inputting all of his practices, games and tournaments into the calendar on my phone, so that I can keep on top of everything.   His soccer schedule was very easy with games and practices on set days and times.  Baseball is so sporadic, it is kind of making me crazy.  Plus when it rains they move practices to random indoor facilities at more than 10 bucks a pop.  It is worth is though because he seems to truly love baseball.  He has the biggest grin on his face during every practice.

We have filled up our entire huge trashcan with things we have gotten rid of, have several bags to go off to charity and I have sold quite a few things on a local yardsale site.  Ryan can be very sentimental about keeping things, so it is great that we are on the same page with decluttering the garage and basement.  It's nice to have some spaces cleared out.

Little Hannah Banana has had a nasty cold this week.  She has still been pretty pleasant all things considered but her sleeping routine has totally disintegrated.  She hasn't even wanted to eat much, which is how you know things aren't quite right.  She is still lucky enough to spend most of her weekdays with grandma.

Still alive... barely

I have survived my two weeks back at work. The long, cold days of hibernation during my maternity leave are officially over.  I am putting on real clothes, and packing a real lunch and going back to my real job.  And it's going all right.  Last week I was absolutely exhausted physically and emotionally overwhelmed.  Most of the days I got up with Hannah to feed her at 4 and then my mind started racing and I never fell back to sleep so by the time Friday rolled around I was in total zombie mode.  Thankfully I have gotten more sleep this week.  There were a few mishaps (a forgotten bus note for Isaac, misplaced car keys) but overall, things have been going fairly smoothly.  This week was definitely easier than last week, so hopefully that trend continues. 

The actual work part wasn't so bad-- my substitute was really good and stayed on top of everything very well, so it was an easy transition back in that sense.  So far things went well for Hannah staying with my mother and Ryan during the day also.  I miss her very much when I am away but I do feel good knowing that she is in great hands with my mom.  Bonus is my mom tends to bake cookies and other baked goods, which is always nice to come home to.

Ryan had an interview for a transfer to a store with his company that is much closer to home than the Center City location where he works now.  We are waiting to hear back.  I know he will miss the colorful characters of North Philly but it would be nice to have him spend more time at home and less time commuting.  

Isaac has been busy, busy busy.  He is playing Little League for the first time this spring and even though this is the soccer "off season", different soccer commitments keep popping up.  He ended up getting called to be a sub for a game in the winter league, since they were short a few players.  We brought Hannah along to cheer him on.

 

 Her first of (probably many) soccer games.  We declined an invitation to play in a travel league for spring since we are committed to baseball, but he is playing in a one day tournament, and he does have a few scrimmages.   He is still keeping up with Cub Scouts and viola and seems to have a lot of invitations for playdates, so he is always on the go.  He is having a football themed birthday party tomorrow, which should be really fun. 

 Last night he begged me to take him and Hannah to open swim at the YMCA. Ryan was working, so my initial reaction was "Ugh, not tonight" but I couldn't bring myself to say no without a good reason and so I agreed.  It took about 30 minutes for me to prep everything and get us out the door but it was actually relaxing and fun once we got there.  Hannah was unimpressed with the pool. Maybe because they only had large swim diapers and hers went about up to her armpits.

 

 She didn't fuss or cry but she didn't seem especially interested in splashing or water play.  We did watch Isaac go down the water slide over and over which was nostalgic.  When he was a toddler his favorite thing to do stand and to watch the big kids on the slide and now he is the big kid.  CRAZY.   He ended up having to retake his swim test and he passed with flying colors.  I really would like to get him back into swim lessons.  Maybe in the summer when we have more time.

 

 As usual, Isaac was super sweet with Hannah.  He pretended to be a shark and swam around her, gently splashed her and interacted with her.  Sometimes I am amazed at what fabulous kids I have been blessed with.  They really are the best.

Hannah continues to be the sweetest baby ever.  She is pretty reserved but she has a great smile she will flash, especially for Daddy.  She will look around the room for us and then grin when she spots us.

 

She is a pretty good sleeper and has had a few nights where she has only gotten up once, which has afforded me some longer stretches of heavenly sleep.  She also loves to sleep late (8:30 or 9:00) which is also a treat. Isaac used to be up for the day at 5 in the morning when he was that age. I always feel a bit sad when my alarm goes off at 6, knowing she will be sleeping for at least two more hours.  She is also my cuddle bug.  She is happiest in your arms, or in the Moby wrap and she will wiggle her body in to be closer and cuddlier.  She is starting to reach for things more and her movements seems more coordinated.

I am looking forward to a fun weekend.  I don't have much going on myself, besides shuttling Isaac to various commitments.  Happy spring!

updates

Ryan and I went and registered at the hospital finally. We also finally got registered for a breastfeeding class: two major things that have been hanging around the to do list forever.  I watched them print off all of the bar codes for my hospital bracelet and all of a sudden it felt very real. This baby will be here soon!!

In other baby news, I receive about 4 comments a day about my waddling.  Yes, I am waddling.  I am aware.  I am carrying this baby so much lower than I carried Isaac.  With Isaac I felt like I was choking on him, he was so high, but not so with this one.  I don't know how I can be expected to walk with a four pound baby in between my legs and not have any sort of waddle.

Ryan's store was the top performer in his region again and the vice president sent out a company wide email giving Ryan and his manager a shout out.  It has been nice for him to have a job where he makes good money and his talents are appreciated. 

I started in on Christmas shopping and I am getting our Christmas cards done next Monday.  I am stuck with the annual dilemma of what to get Isaac's daycare workers.  There are about five of them, and I want to recognize them, but also don't want to spend a ton of money or just get them something silly that they don't even want.  Suggestions?

I have been having phone issues the past few weeks.  My camera stopped work completely and I went to get it replaced (I paid extra for the appleCare warranty when I first bought the phone).  After nearly three hours in the store I walked about with a new phone, and the screen stopped working TWO DAYS later.  I have really been unimpressed with the iphone and am ready to try a droid when I am ready for an update. 

It's almost my birthday weekend and Ryan is full of secret plans.  I don't think he can top last year's surprise Justin Bieber concert (and 30 was a pretty epic birthday also) but I am looking forward to him having three days in a row off from work and also a big family dinner on Sunday at my parents.  I haven't seen either of my brother's in a while, so this should be nice.

That's all for now.  Happy Wednesday!

Life Update

That was what things came to this week.  I have been SLAMMED with work, and can't seem to get my head above water to get caught up.  My work laptop has been on the fritz, so I couldn't work from home.  My mother so sweetly agreed to drive in and watch Isaac so I could work late.  Thank goodness for moms.

Things have been good around here but so busy.  Ryan and I surprised Isaac with tickets to a WWE event in Philadelphia.  Isaac is obsessed with professional wrestling.  I have tried and tried to squash his interest in it, to no avail, so I finally figured, if I can't beat him, join him.  I tried to convince Ryan to just take him, but Ryan insisted on making it a family event, since we don't get very many evenings together.

Ryan got us box seats, so we had our own bathroom, which I enjoyed.  Isaac was proud to bring his wallet with his allowance and bought himself a t-shirt from a random parking lot guy (Ryan helped him haggle the price down to 10 bucks).  He has changed into that shirt every day after school since. 

Ryan wanted to document that I actually came.  I tried to be somewhat open minded, but I was unimpressed.  Professional wrestling is not for me.

He was excited to see one of his favorite wrestlers, C.M. Punk.  I think he really enjoyed himself and I loved that I was finally able to scrape together enough money this time to take him, even though Ryan and I probably won't be able to afford a date night or anything fun until November. 

In other family news, we also spent quite a bit of last weekend at a soccer tournament.  Due to rainy weather earlier in the week, what was supposed to be a two day tournament got smooshed into one super long day.  The weather was chilly and overcast and I was reduced to tears because I had no choice but to use a portapotty.  Isaac played really well though and kept his team alive in the tournament when he got close lined earning his team a penalty shot and he was able to follow up with a goal of his own.  I honestly love to watch him play.

We also finally found time to cross something major off of our to-do list-- taking my mother's tour.  She gives tours of historic downtown Lancaster and she is one of their most popular tour guides. 

 

I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed the tour and how much we learned.  Although it needs to be noted that my mom sets a brisk pace.  Ryan and I were chasing after my mom up a stairwell in the convention center when he turned to me and said that we should have signed up for the tour for asthmatics and pregnant people.  When we were done the tour, we met up with my Dad and Isaac to take a ride on the Strasburg Railroad, another Lancaster "to do".  

It was a really lovely day to spend in Lancaster with my folks.  So life continues to be insanely hectic around here with Ryan working long hours, my heavy workload and being basically exhausted by the time I get home from work, and a variety of family commitments (soccer, scouts, soccer, soccer).  But things are also going well.  Only a few more months until we meet our little girl! 

a few quick things

I love, love, love the blog Clover Lane.  She has five kids, ranging in age from college to 1 and I just love the realistic and uplifting tone of her blog.  She wrote today about Pinterest and she captured some of my feelings about that darn website so eloquently. I have been feeling bad that I don't have an amazing Halloween themed mantle and that Isaac isn't bringing bento lunches to school that I pack while sporting an effortlessly pattern mixed fall outfit.  I may not have those things but I do make it to almost every soccer game and practice, my house is (acceptable level of) clean on most days,  and our home has a lot of laughter. That's what's really important.

This weekend Isaac's best friend invited him to a birthday party at a bowling alley.  We went to the outlets to get him a birthday present (the made for TV store is the best place to get presents for 8-10 year old boys, I have discovered).  Isaac has been faithfully completing his chores and saving his allowance and Ryan suggested while we were there, that Isaac should invest in a real wallet, instead of a plastic sandwich bag.  We went to Wilson's leather and Ryan went halves with Isaac on a small, leather wallet.  Isaac was so proud of his new wallet and declared "I feel like a real man now.  I have so many responsibilities." It was so precious.

Happy Monday!

catch up

It was a good weekend around here.  Ryan went on one of this quarterly crazy cleaning binges, so Isaac and I really had no choice but to get on board.  Except for our bathroom, the entire house is clean, vacuumed, organized, and tidy.  It's a nice way to start off my first *official* week at school (which begins tomorrow).  Ryan also starts his first day at his new job today, so it just feels like a nice fresh start for all of us.  Isaac doesn't start until next week though.  So he is getting some good grandma time in this week.

I have been debating quite a bit about how long to keep on with my mall job.  Some days I feel like I need to immediately put in my two weeks and then other times I feel like I could do it a bit longer.  I like the people I work with.  It's a relatively easy and mindless job.  The little bit of extra cash is provides is nice (although probably mostly eaten up by the gas/food it takes to sustain working at the second job) but the discount is a really nice perk, especially with back to school and the holidays approaching.  The month of August ,despite my wide open availability they had only put me on for one or two shifts a week, which felt doable going into the school year.  However, I am not even hugely pregnant but I am starting to be really tired at the end of my shifts, just from being on my feet the whole time, so I'm not sure I can go back to working all day at school and then closing at night as I continue to grow and expand.  Then last week the schedule email suddenly had me closing four nights this week, my first week back at school.  Which, that can't happen.  September is always my insane month and I would like to see my family once in a while.  So I don't know. Opinions are welcome.

In other news, how adorable is my sister in law Deb?

 She is due the day after me and just had her big ultrasound.  Deb and Patrick are having a....... BOY!  So it will be one of each come late December for the Horne family.  I'm so excited and wish that they lived closer.

Pregnancy brain continues to strike.  This weekend alone I left my phone at the grocery store and then picked Isaac up a half an hour late from his dad's (which didn't make his dad particularly happy). It is starting to become a bad joke that I will inevitably drive Isaac to the wrong soccer field for practice.  I am starting to feel like I have early onset Alzhiemer's.  It's scary.  If I don't put it in my phone with a reminder alert I just don't remember it correctly or at all.

Happy Monday all!

10 on Tuesday

1.  I may or may not have reactivated my Netflix account to watch the first season of Switched at Birth.  I didn't start watching until the second season and so obviously I missed a lot of the backstory. It is SO GOOD!

2. 

Especially working mothers.  Working mothers who barely have their lives together and now are going to throw a newborn in the mix.  I am nervous.

3. Random Isaac story I don't think I have shared on the blog yet:  a few months ago we went with my mom to a doctor's appointment.  She was back with the doctor for quite a while and this was still in my first trimester when I felt like the waking dead.  I decided to lean back in my chair and close my eyes for a bit.  Isaac, who was sitting next to me playing on his iPad, started to panic.  "Mom, don't go to sleep!  Someone could take me!" (I think all of my stranger danger talks have turned him into the most paranoid eight year old on the planet).  I tried to reassure him that this particular waiting room was filled with octogenarians with oxygen tanks and that no one there would try to take him.  His response "But I am so athletic.  Everyone wants an athletic child!".  

4. Ryan made an amazing chinese stir fry last night.  And when he cooks, there are leftovers for days.  Yum!

5. I have found a ton of Pinterest tutorials on how to turn regular old shirts and pants into maternity ones.  I may have to give some of them a try.

6.  This is so me.

7. My friend is coming over today to help me cross something MAJOR off my to-do.  I am excited.  Sometimes you just need someone else on board to give you that kick in the pants to get stuff done.

8. We got some free tickets to go to tapings of America's Got Talent, one of our favorite shows.  Unfortunately they only film on school nights in New York City, so I don't think we will be able to use them.  Rats.

9. My assistant came into school yesterday and we unpacked about 7 boxes of stuff that she had sent over.  It turns out, they were books from her old school that were going to be destroyed and she didn't want to see that happen.  I salvaged probably 100 books or so for my classroom and then we donated the rest.

10.  Well it's Tuesday, which means we are off to viola lesson.  You don't know patience until you have to listen to an eight year old learning to play a stringed instrument.  

Happy Tuesday all!

Life Update

I feel the usual sense of urgency that accompanies the end of summer.  I sense that I have to tackle all the projects, organizing, cleaning, etc. NOW because I won't be able to catch my breath until Thanksgiving break.  It feels extra urgent also because I will be hugely pregnant by the time my breaks roll around and preparing for the baby adds so many items to the to do list.  I cleaned out and organized the tiny front bedroom that used to be an office, not to long ago.  I need to do even more cleaning/organzing/throwing away to get it ready to be a nursery.  This house was just right for two people, a little cramped for three, but the walls are starting to close in as we prepare for number 4. 

I wish I knew the gender so I could start with a bit more shopping.  I am in the window now now to get the ultrasound for anatomy but I haven't able to get it scheduled due to insurance hassles.  I downgraded insurances to try to save money and that was a huge mistake.  It is a whole process now to make an appointment for something as simple as an ultrasound.  The added hassle is definitely not worth any money I am saving.  Lesson learned.

Isaac had some playdates earlier in the week.  It's amazing how just throwing an extra kid in the mix curbs the constant "I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored". 

Isaac with Justin

My parents are out of town visitng my sister and brother in law in Alaska, so that has made things seem more dull too.  Thank goodness the local sportsplex has a drop-in camp that is reasonably priced so he has spent the day there yesterday and today.  Next week is soccer camp at the local high school.  The more he is busy and out of the house, the better things go for all of us.

We also managed to get into the city to watch an Eagles practice.  Hurray for free fun!

It wasn't that interesting to me. I hate football.  I was doing it for my boys.

 And it was sooooooooooooo hot. 

After the practice has ended.  The started to POUR.  We tried to wait it out.  But there was no waiting it out.  We later heard on the news that this storm was the most rain that ever fell in a single day in Philadelphia, ever!

 

Eventually we just ended up dashing to the car... only to find that Isaac had left the window down!

 

Anyways, we are trying to squeeze in a few day trips before school starts.  Tomorrow we are taking Isaac for a day in New York City.  Isaac has been asking for almost a year now to see the Statue of Liberty, so we are going to go.  Apparently you need to buy tickets way in advance to go up in it but we can at least roam around the bottom.  Taking him to New York is one of my 101 in 1001, so it should be fun. 

Happy Friday =)

 

 

Happies and Crappies

Happy: My brother fixed the air conditioning in my car, fixed my dome lights,changed my oil, and buffed out some of the scratches I put in the side of the van (oops).  Having a mechanic in the family is SUCH a blessing!

Happy: It was SO NICE to drive home in this 100 degree weather with air conditioning!

Crappy: He also discovered that my alternator may be going soon.

Crappy: This is especially bad timing because we just replaced the alternator in Ryan's car only a few weeks ago. It's an expensive repair and a terrible coincidence that both would go within a few weeks of each other. Sometimes you just can't win.

Happy: Isaac had his first viola lesson yesterday and it went pretty well.  The teacher seemed a little skeptical at first about how serious an eight year old boy could be about the viola but it seemed like Isaac had won him over when the lesson was over. 

Happy: My friend Kim gave us a pretty huge inflatable pool for Isaac.  We had to get rid of our old inflatable pool, so this was an especially nice gift for us. 

Happy: Ryan was also able to fix the outside spigots which hadn't worked so well the past few years. (One didn't work at all, and the other only put out a tiny trickle of water).  This made filling the pool up much quicker!  And we can water the lawn again, if we ever feel so inclined.

Crappy:  We set it up, and Isaac played in it for a bit.  Then after a few hours we put it in the garage. Meanwhile, an inspector from the home owner's association came around and issued us a citation for "storing items in the yard".  WTH.  You can bet I was on the phone complaining today after I got the citation in the mail.

Happy: We leave TOMORROW for Miami to meet the Carnival Victory.  I am so excited for our cruise!

Crappy: There is still so much to get in order before then.  And for some reason, I picked up a work shift today.  What was I thinking?? 

Happy Wednesday!

I am still alive

I am still alive, just seems like there has been too much going on to stay on top of the blog.  I will do a pregnancy update tomorrow.  In the meantime, here is what is going down in the Stephenson-Horne household. 

Isaac really enjoyed his week at Scout Camp.  Tom had told Isaac about shooting BB guns and I guess he asked about it the very first day at camp.  He also seemed to enjoy swimming and archery.  I have been assigned to be a new Den Leader and thus, was obligated to go up to Scout Camp for a day.  I was pretty much terrified and forced Ryan to come along.  Those scout moms in hiking boots and frame packs intimidate the heck out of me, and I wasn't facing them alone.  It didn't exactly get closer to my comfort zone when we arrive because it turned out we were in charge of knots and... we don't know how to tie any knots...

Our first session was kind of rough, but we had an hour off after the next group and we coerced a den chief into helping us practice them over and over and over.  The second session went much better, although I never really got the hang of bowline knot.  

We had a very low key fourth of July.  Isaac had been spending a few days with my mother, so I drove out to meet them.  I mostly played with him for the morning (and worked on IEPs) and we watched an old school movie I remembered from my childhood 3 Ninjas.  Isaac was a fan.  His dad asked to change up his visitation schedule and he took him Thursday night.

This left Ryan and I to head into a neighboring town to see some fireworks.  It wasn't as fancy as Philly fireworks, but it was nice none the less.

When we got Isaac back, we decided to head up to Six Flags for the rest of the day.  It was unbearably hot (like 100 degrees) and the car even started to overheat on the way there, but we still had a lot of fun nonetheless.  Ryan was great to pick me up free cups of ice water at every concession stand we passed which helped a lot.

Jason Derulo was having a free concert there so we found a shady spot to enjoy it.  Isaac is very into dancing and choreography, so I think he enjoyed the show for that aspect.  Afterwards, there was enough time for Isaac and Ryan to hit up a few rides.  Ryan even hit up the rides that he normally avoids (like the spinning one below) so that Isaac didn't have to ride them alone, since I am out for the count on the everything except the carousel.

I randomly won a 50 dollar Sephora gift card from a blog giveaway and I went to spend my money the other day.  It has been a while since I treated myself to something totally self indulgent like make-up, so it was too hard to decide.  Among other things, I finally got a Tarte Amazonian clay blush (on my wishlist forever).  I got it in the color Exposed.  It is really nice!

The only other big thing is that Ryan and I booked our honeymoon cruise and are heading out July 18.  We leave from Miami and make two stops: Key West and Cozumel.  Then, when we return, Ryan and I will be spending an extra day in Miami before we fly home.  We are SO EXCITED. We keep watching youtube movies that other people have shot on our cruise, researching our ports, possible excursions and restaurants.  I am really looking forward to a few days away to travel and relax.  The countdown is on!

Hey there,

So blogging every day in June didn't happen.  I think I need to replace that item on my 101 in 1001 with something else.  Oh well.  Onward!

I have been crazy busy and also just feeling quite tired and run down so I haven't made time to do anything beyond the bare essentials of keeping up day to day life, let alone blog.  Poor Ryan has been wearing sneakers with no socks, so I figured I had better make time to do some laundry and Isaac has been eating cereal for dinner more times than I care to admit.

It was an extra crazy end to the school year.  All of the elementary schools are being renovated, and my particular elementary school is being closed, so absolutely everything had to be packed up.  I am being moved to a new school (again) next year, and teaching a new grade (again), so the last few days were extra hectic and then it seems like summer school started before I knew it.  I do get my own classroom again next year, so although I had to pack and move everything, at least I don't have to worry about sharing with someone.  I also got these beautiful roses from a student.

We are in full on summer vacation mode here.  I am teaching summer school a few hours a day which has been keeping me quite busy.  They have given me about 3 times as many kids as other years and a handful with intense behavior needs.  I feel like this will probably be my last summer I agree to do it.   I am also working about 10-15 hours a week at my mall job.  So far I have resisted using my discount, but  we will see how long it lasts.  It is terribly kind of boring but  it is a nice little bit of extra cash for really not much work, so it works for now at least.

I have been asked to be a Den Leader for Isaac's cub scout troop.  Ryan has been called to be a Cub Master.  I am not at all fluent in Scout language or programming, so I really have no idea what is going on or what I am supposed to do, except apparently Ryan and I are teaching knots on Friday of Cub Scout Camp.  Ryan had expressed interest in participating in the Scouting program with Isaac but he was sort of unfamiliar with the Mormon cultural phenomena of "getting a calling".   He was a little surprised that it is a essentially one way conversation along the lines of , "Yeah, we're just going to need you to go ahead and be Cub Scout Master.  Thanks."

Also, I just discovered that all of the e-mails explaining what I am to be doing have been going to an old defunct e-mail account which explains why I feel so lost.  I finally managed to get into it and am overwhelmed with everything I need to catch up on.  Ryan and I just spent a half an hour simultaneously completing an online Youth Protection training.  Nothing says date night like watching a movie about how child molesters groom potential victims. 

Wednesday was teacher appreciation night at the Fightin' Phillies (minor league baseball team in Reading), so I got us five free tickets.  We took Ryan's girls along.  It is always a fun night to go there.  I am so not a baseball fan, and I usually enjoy myself.  The weather has been beautiful the past week or so, mid 70s and breezy.  It has been nice to have the air off and the windows open. 

 This weekend looks to be a busy one with friends and family.  Happy Friday!

Ten on Tuesday: Six Flags Edition

What a weekend.

1.  I had a craving for enchiladas on Sunday, but I had no tortillas.  I decided to make my own.

They weren't that pretty, but they turned out pretty good.

2. I did some major house cleaning over the weekend.  I finally got my microwave spic and span.  I washed the shower liner.  I put all my winter clothes away and pulled out all my summer ones. 

 

 

3. We had Miss Gabby spend the night with us again on Friday.  We played a mean game of Scrabble Junior and she was the winner. 

4.  In the morning we took her and Isaac to Six Flags Great Adventure.  Ryan was lucky enough to win four season passes in a drawing from work.  I have never been to Six Flags before, and I was surprised by how much there was to do for the younger group.  I always see the commercials advertising the huge coasters.

4. My favorite picture of the day taken on the tea cups.  This so fits their personalities.  They are only two years apart.

 

6. I am putting Les Mis on hold for a while.  It is on my 101 in 1001 and I am still going to read it, but I think I will save it for the summer when I can devote more time to it.  Right now I just need something light and fluffy to pick up for a few minutes before bed. 

 

7. I am currently reading Looking for Alaska by John Green.  I read The Fault is in Our Stars and enjoyed it, so I requested this one in from the library.  So far it is pretty good. 

 

8.  My tax refund came.  Woot, woot!  It wasn't much this year, but it was enough to get excited about.

 

9. I have just discovered The Mindy Project on Hulu.  I am loving it.  I swear, that girl was me a year ago.  Anyone else like it?

 

10.  This just made me laugh.

 

 

Have a great day!

 

 

Linking up with Lin

 



Weekend Update - Spring Finally Arrives!

It's was a warm weekend and we could finally get out of the house and do some things that don't cost money. It's the best feeling in the world!

Friday night we had all three of Ryan's kid's over for dinner and then Gabby stayed the night. When we woke up the weather was warm and bright and felt like spring at last.  We threw open the windows and then decided to get out of the house for a bit. They have FINALLY extended the Schuylkill River Trail up to my house so we decided to invetigate.  We walked a little more than a mile of it.  I was surprised the kids held up so well.

 

From there we went to Manderach Park for a little bit to let the kids run wild.  I ended up getting a pretty decent sunburn.

 

 

The last stop of the day was Five Below for a gift bag for a birthday present.  When these two are together they can keep themselves busy no matter where we end up. 

It was this little guy's second birthday, so Ryan took Gabby home and Isaac along too for a little family birthday party. 

They had so much playing, they ended up staying for almost five hours! 

I don't think the girls usually look much alike, but in this picture their little faces look identical!

In other weekend new I busted out the 5K app once again and made it through day 1.  It starts off so easy, it is confidence building even for someone like me who has done nothing all winter but watch TV and eat ice cream and is huffing and puffing through the "run" intervals. 

 

Our weekend was rounded out with a little bit of conference, a soccer scrimmage (Isaac's team got creamed, but he did score his team's lone goal) and finished another book, Jodi Piccoult's The Plain Truth. Now I have nothing else to read, so I am going to start Les Miserables.  For real.  Tomorrow maybe.

 

Happy Monday!