Savoring the Last Moments

The clock is ticking to work beginning...well let me rephrase that when the students return.  Teachers work all the time...but you get 2 months off...umm no.  maybe in 1980 people got the whole summer off but most teachers today do a lot during the summer... there is always something to do.

The past few weeks we have tried to squeeze in as much fun as time could allow.  Today was no exception.  I got a nice 7 mile run this morning.  I took Olivia out this morning so Brendon could do some stuff without being bothered.  Olivia and I stopped at the Snellville Farmer's Market to pick up a replacement stein for one of anniversary steins.  Ally ended up making 2 more steins for us.  She is so awesome and she just loved seeing Olivia today! We walked a bit at the market but didn't buy anything.  After the market we went to Target to get some school stuff for Monday and Office Depot for more school stuff. 

We had lunch and then Olivia napped.  I did more school stuff while she napped and tried to take a nap myself.  After nap, snack, and the mens 10,0000 meter run we went out to dinner.  We went to Outback! Yummm!!! Thank you to Rick and Karyn for our birthday gift! It was so yummy.  Olivia did pretty good at the table and ate pretty well while we there and behaved pretty good.  We only had one little outburst and then she was fine.

We came home and did a little street walk and porch exploration.  Then it was bath time and bed time!

We have one more day of fun tomorrow!

Outside looking in

Look at that belly!

Pizza Party

Olivia and her daddy went and did the grocery shopping for me today! Brendon has been so great this week taking care of Olivia and doing some of my chores.  He is such a great husband!!

Olivia and I played for a little bit when I got home from work and then she napped.  After her nap she ate a snack and then played.  We had a pizza party for dinner! While we were camping last week we tried a new recipe.  We took Pita Pockets and stuffed them with pizza stuff and covered them in foil and baked them.  Olivia loved it! I decided to try it for dinner tonight and baked it in the oven.  She loved it again.  She finished her whole plate of pizza and green beans! It was so cute because she kept saying pizza!

After dinner we played in the sandbox for a few minutes since it was looking like it was going to rain. Then we played in her room for a bit.  I tried getting her to show the parts of her body she knows on video but she didn't get all of them...even though she knows eyes and ears! Crazy girl!

Sea Horse!

Water side

Now sand...practicing her scooping

Watching the sand fall out of her hand!

Smart Girl

Olivia is becoming such a smart girl.  Today she found the television remote, turned it on, and changed the channels.  Brendon was pretty impressed.  I don't know if she really knew what she was doing but she knows that when you push a button something will happen. 

We are really working on having Olivia use her words when she wants something.  Tonight at dinner instead of whining and pointing to the fridge, she pointed and said, "milk."  Which I was impressed with! Also she is starting to say, "Up." When she wants to be picked up.  She also knows after her bath that she needs to go up and put on her jammies.  She walks next to her changing table and says, "Up."   I also worked with her on her name tonight and it sounded a bit better.  She actually jumped ahead of me when I was breaking it down in small chunks.  I also taught her where her belly button is.  I had to show her in the mirror for her to get this body part.  She now knows- hair, ears, eyes, toes, tummy, nose, elbow (on a good day), knee, teeth, back, for tongue she will stick it out for you but not say it, and eye brow.  I want to thank author Karen Katz for her awesome books on body parts for helping with this!!

But it is so amazing how quick babies pick up on things! It is crazy.  Today she picked up a picture that I got developed and I asked her to point to her friend Nikki, mommy, and Olivia (I said where are you?) and she pointed to all of them correctly.  I was pretty amazed.  All of this made for a fun afternoon and evening.

I also got to meet my students today! What a cute bunch of 1st graders we have!! I am so excited to start this year with them.

I got it daddy!

Chilling on Jake!

Another busy day

It doesn't help that I got sucked into the women's gymnastics last night and that made me even more tired than I probably was....but it was another busy day.  It was busy from the get go.  Got the hall display done, some things hung up on the wall, figured out the new technology at school, got the room ready to meet the new students, and lesson plans! Well I got the first day figured out...I think...

After work, I zoomed home and played with Olivia for about an hour.  Then Brendon left for work and while Olivia napped I continued working.  I have figured out that I can do things at a rather quick pace.  Give me 10 minutes and I can get more done.... I can glue as fast as lightning and I think I emptied the dishwasher tonight at a world record pace.  I got some things done while Olivia napped but not as much as I wanted. 

After her nap we ran to Publix to get some milk and since it was Michelle's birthday we stopped over her house.  I knew I was stopping there but then she asked if we wanted dinner...dinner...yes please! I know it was her birthday but it was a treat for both of us...for her- company on her birthday for me- a little stress relief.  I don't get any work done while Olivia is awake...I tried before... that was an epic fail.  Maybe when she is older and can help me do stuff that will be great! So I got her a small red velvet cake, a sunflower plant, a balloon, and a card! It was a great dinner and the girls played really nice together!

Alright time to get busy....

Olivia getting all of her toys out from the plastic tub....

Back to normal?!?

Today I got to work a bit later since there was a late meeting that I had to attend.  I went for a quick run in the rain...it wasn't bad at all and was quite refreshing.  On the way home I stopped to vote.  Olivia slept in today which Brendon was excited about.  He took her to Gymboree today and tried the next level class.  He said Olivia did good. 

I came home in the pouring rain and then Brendon zoomed off to work! Olivia and I had a pretty good night together.  While I was paying some bills at the coffee table she decided that my leg was just enough of a boost and boosted herself up on the coffee table.  She was so proud of herself! I was NOT! We played outside for a bit and saw Karyn and Rick and finally tonight she went to bed without the fuss of a 1/2 hour + of crying! YAY! Hopefully we are back to normal and finally have adjusted from coming back from vacation!

Very proud of sitting on the coffee table!

Back to Work

Today was my first day back to work.  At the end of the school year last year I was able to transfer back to the school I was at for 4 years.  I feel so blessed to be back! The best part about this year is that I am job sharing with my friend Malissa.  It is so great to share our own children growing up together but also a classroom and students.  We literally are busting our butts to get our room ready for our 1st grade students and it is coming along.  We have a good majority of our stuff put away and can actually see the tables and floors! It was a busy day today and we got a lot done.  I was so sad to leave Brendon and Olivia this morning especially when Olivia started crying when I said bye.  Nothing tugs on your heartstrings to be walking out the door to your child crying.  I know it will get better. I just feel pressed for time and trying to find that balance between mom, school, and still find time to be me. 

But it was all better by the time I got home and was greeted with this sweet little face!

Olivia has become a Post it note fanatic! So Brendon stuck one on her back yesterday that said Kiss Me!

Back to Reality

Well coming back from vacation to reality is not so fun.  We have had a few odd things happen.

Remember when I thought Jake peed on my bathing suits before Ryan's Birthday Party...not the case.  Our air conditioner was leaking! Ahhh....thank goodness we didn't have the air on when we were gone.  But we had water dripping through the ceiling....!!! Brendon is so handy that he fixed it...well we hope.  Now we we need to wait for the ceiling to dry so we can repaint it. 

Next, Brendon went to start his truck and the battery was dead.  He jumped it and it worked but then had to jump it again yesterday.  He went to Auto Zone today to have it tested....we hope it is just a bad battery.

The biggest issue has been Olivia.  She is having a hard time getting back into routine.  There has been a lot of fuss going on especially at nap time and bedtime! It is almost like she is afraid to sleep alone.  It is taking a good 10- 15 minutes to get her down for a nap and 30-45 minutes for bed! It is driving me a bit bananas! Friday was the worst....she cried so hard she threw up all over me...super yuck! I hope this gets under control soon because I go back to work tomorrow!

The last thing that happened today was a good thing.  I took Olivia to Office Max to get some school stuff.  The store was not open yet so we had some time to waste at The Dollar Tree.  We spent a long time checking out all the aisles.  Olivia spotted some Elmo books so I said she could get them.  When I went to go pay, other people got in line behind me.  A guy with a bunch of coloring books was behind me.  As I went to go get my wallet her handed the cashier a $20 bill and said that he was paying for my items.  I was shocked and didn't expect that to happen.  I really didn't know what to do.  I felt awful if I said no, and I felt weird saying yes.  So eventually I said yes and thanked him a whole bunch.  It is not often that people pay it forward like that.  So thank you to the man at The Dollar Tree who paid for Olivia's Elmo books!

Now here is a super cute video from our trip....