OK, I have to brag...

So, today I was sent home after a half-day because I'm considered contagious.  The IEP meeting was done, I did some work on my laptop in the library, didn't have to see any kids (and give them my cooties) and I left around 11.  So, what's a girl supposed to do?  I was feeling okay.  Didn't have to be in bed or anything.  Why, shopping, of course!

OK, I am SUCH a bargain hunter.  I pride myself on my good-deal finds.  My Grandmom always said I was her personal shopper, and I could turn one dollar into ten.  It's so true.  I go straight for the clearance racks... I don't know if I've ever paid full price for anything!

So, I ventured to Old Navy, just to browse.  As I pull up, I notice my favorite "30% off clearance" signs out front.  Woohoo!!!  So, I hit up the maternity racks and the baby racks.  I was even more excited to see that all the baby/toddler clearance was an extra 50% off!!! 

Ok, so I spent $29.03 and got 15 items, ranging from $.23 to $6.99:

• 6 t-shirts/tank tops/onesies for Sydney & Taylor
• Maternity khaki pants
• Maternity l/s shirt
• 2 pairs of leggings for the kids
• 2 bathing suits for Taylor
• A pea coat for Sydney
• 2 pairs of shorts for the kids

Nine of the items were under $1.  Each item averaged at $1.94 each.  WOW!!!  So, if you have any kids, I would not walk, but run to your nearest Old Navy and check out the sales.  Amazing!! 

I Will Survive!

I can do it, I can do it!  This has turned into a crazy week, and it's only Tuesday!  This week consists of Stephen being gone all week, 2 doctors' appointments, an IEP meeting, 2 faculty meetings, benchmark tests, driving a rental car, and on top of all that, I find out today that I have strep throat.  Strep throat?  I can't remember ever having strep throat!  I knew I had a sore throat, just didn't know it was that bad.  So, if I can survive this week, I can do it all!  (thankfully Sydney is healthy and thriving, and I will be sadly be giving her fewer kisses until I'm better).  I'm surely looking forward to a week off next week!!!

Sydney's B-Day Party!

We had Sydney's birthday party today!  Since she's only 2, we decided to keep it small... maybe do something bigger next year, when she'd appreciate it more.  It was so nice.  We had some lunch, good family and friends, and Sydney had a blast. 


                                                 Here's the pretty birthday princess:

                                                  She loved her Elmo cake:

She got to hang out with her cool cousins:

She got some cool new toys:

And she got to eat cake:

What more could a girl ask for?  Happy birthday, to my Sweet Sydney!  (and on that note, I am hitting the hay... I'm exhausted!!!)





Week 30!

Here's a recent belly pic... week 30!  Only about 9 to go!  Baby is growing, moving, and shaking... even to the point where some movements hurt!  Besides all the typical 3rd-trimester woes, I'm doing very well. :-)  Just ready for December 1(ish) to be here so I can meet this little girl!

Sydney is Two!!!!

People aren't kidding when they say time flies.  I can't believe my little baby girl is TWO!  She is growing up so fast... you almost want to freeze time and cherish it while she is still little.  Sydney had been sick all week and stayed home Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (and had quality time with both Grandmom and D-Dad).  Luckily, she was feeling better for Thursday (her actual b-day!) so I took her to school.  She wore her "Birthday Girl" shirt.  I made cupcakes, and went to her daycare in time for afternoon snack to help celebrate!

The kids all had cupcakes and sang to Sydney.  She was so cute.  She's been singing "Happy Birthday" so much this month, I think she was confused that this time it was actually for her. :)  Stephen flew in that evening and got to see her on her actual birthday, so she was excited about that. 

My little two-year old!  So grown up!

Happy birthday, Sydney!!!!!



Thirty, Flirty, and Thriving

Well, folks... I have officially entered a new decade!  You know, I've actually been a little excited about entering my 30s.  So many wise elders have told me that the 30s is an awesome decade to be in.  I believe it.  A time of family, friends, adult-experiences.  I've been over the college-scene for years now, I have a beautiful child and one on the way, a wonderful hubby of 5+ years... so I feel like the 30s might well suit me!

My birthday week started out with a HUGE surprise.  Stephen and about 30 friends surprised me this past Saturday.  I cannot believe I had NO clue!  I'm usually pretty in-tuned when people are trying to be sneaky.  Stephen was planning a party for me the following weekend that I knew about, but was doing behind-the-scenes scheming for a couple of months now to actually surprise me before then.  No one slipped and I was completely caught off guard!  Thanks, everybody!!!

Sweet banner Stephen got for the par-tay.

Completely caught off guard, after spending the day at the mall.

Some dear former co-workers of mine.

On my actual birthday, I didn't get much sleep the night before.  Poor Sydney has been sick (again!) and has had a fever, cough, sneezing attacks, sore throat, runny nose, etc.  So, she didn't sleep well last night, so I slept in the bed with her.  Even though I only got a few hours of sleep, I was glad to be by her to make her feel better.  Stephen left town the afternoon of my birthday, but my mom was with me and we cooked a yummy meal and hung out.

My students were so sweet to me!  One of my inclusion classes had taken time in the morning before I got there to all make me cards and they all surprised me with them at the end of class, along with a serenade of "Happy Birthday".  I got lots of hugs and silly bands.  My other inclusion class also sang to me. 

Some of the well-wishes from my 4th graders.

So, here's to a new decade.  I'm proud of where I am in life, being 30 and having accomplished what I have.  Life is good!!  

Family Pics!

We got the pictures back from the photography session we did a few weeks ago!!  I was soooo excited to get them!  I'm going to post a few of my favorites for you to see.  Check them out!

The nursery!

OK, I must preface this blog with the fact that... my Mom ROCKS!  She came down and spent the night with us last night, and worked today to paint the nursery.  Check out the picture, and compare it to the picture I had found and fell in love with.  (Please note- I did not get an ounce of her artistic ability).

This is Taylor's nursery.

The inspiration.

Isn't that amazing??  I am so happy with how it looks!  We changed some of the colors up a little to match the room better.  And, I think they used 3D flowers, whereas my mom just painted all of the ones in Taylor's room, which I think will be better (nothing to fall off the wall, plus it would be hard to find/make them exactly like I'd want).  Anyways, I am SOOO excited!  Now, I just can't wait for little Taylor to get here!  (Thanks, Mom!)



Baby Mug Shot

Have you ever wondered what a baby mug shot would look like? Perhaps something like this?

Tee hee hee... this was the picture Sydney's daycare took of her for a project they worked all week on. It was a cute project- they could color all over it, they had their hand and footprints on it, their height, weight, etc. Kind of an "All About Me" thing. Anyways, this was the picture on the front cover. I busted out laughing when I saw it, and a mug shot was the first thing that came to my mind. :) Notice the wild hair (I have been trying to give lessons to Stephen on how to fix curly girl hair) and notice the ravioli sauce all over her white t-shirt. Too funny! I love my sweet little mess!

We had a good weekend... a really busy one. Friday night, we got a babysitter and went to Buckhead to celebrate our friend's 30th birthday. Saturday, Sydney and I went to my co-worker's son's 2nd birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese! It was Sydney's first experience there. At first, she didn't know what to think. She wanted me to carry her everywhere. Slowly, she warmed up. Chuck E. Cheese's is a wild place! Sydney had a great time, though, and has talked about Chuck E. since.

Sydney admiring Chuck E.... from a distance.

Sydney enjoyed the little toddler area they had.

Stephen had poker night with the guys last night (he won! woohoo!) and I stayed in to have a "veg" night- rented a movie, got some cookies to make. Too bad I fell asleep at 9 PM before the movie was over and before the cookies were made. Oh well. I slept for 11 hours, so that was definitely needed.

That's about it for me! Oh, and I must say that I am California dreaming right now... My BFF had her baby on Friday, and he is beautiful! I wish I could hold him right now! Too bad I'm on the wrong side of the country. :( Congrats, Ashley and Mike!!!

Where were you?

I can't believe it's been 9 whole years since the September 11 attack!  I wanted to write and have you ponder (and ponder myself) about where you were and what you were doing.  I remember I had just left my 8 AM class at UGA.  It was some psychology class, and she happened to let us out a little early, around 9.  I had time to run by my advisor's office before my 9:30 class, because I was supposed to meet with her later that morning.

When I went into the advisor's office, the secretaries were talking about how a commuter plane had crashed into the WTC.  I thought that was terrible enough.  I went on to my next class, and the professor was saying that an American Airlines flight had crashed into the WTC.  I was confused... I didn't know what the actual truth was, but I found out too soon.  In the FACS building at UGA, all the students left class and went into the computer lab, where they were projecting the news onto a big screen.  We all stared in disbelief, tears streaming down our faces.  There had to have been close to 100 students packed in this room.  Classes were cancelled the rest of the day, and I remember going back to my apartment and being glued to CNN.  I would even leave the news on throughout the night when I slept, just in case. 

What a horrible, horrible day.  I always think of my good family friend who lost his dad in the WTC on that day.  I can't imagine what these families went through and continue to go through, but I keep them in my thoughts and prayers always.  God Bless America!!!

What can I say?

Whew, we had an exciting weekend!  Lots of visitors, a birthday or two, and plenty to do.  But... let me start from the beginning.

Wham, Bam, Thank You Ma'am!

I must have jinxed myself when I said that August started with a bang.  Because, September literally started with a bang.  My friend, Sara, spent the night with us Thursday and wanted to spend the day with Sydney on Friday to have some adopted-aunt/niece bonding time.  Sydney was excited, we kept talking about her all day on Thursday.  "Shara" was going to play with her on Friday!  Anyways, I'm heading out for work about 6:40 AM on Friday, backing out of the garage like normal, when... BANG!  I smack right into Sara's car.  I mean, geez... I didn't even THINK to look for her car, which was parked in the completely right spot and was completely avoidable, if I had just thought to look.  UGGH.  You don't even know how sick I felt and how MAD I was at myself.  And, of course, while I'm moseying onto work, poor Stephen and Sara are having to deal with the behind-the-scenes planning.  But, they are truly wonderful people, and were so sweet and supportive of me.  I definitely didn't deserve it.  This is the first accident I have ever caused.  I'm about to be 30, and this is how it goes down.  WOW!  Go me!  Everyone's blaming it on the pregnancy, and I'll go with that... it's nice to have some excuse other than the fact that I was just a plain idiot that morning.

I would (and should) have taken pictures, but I, again, was so mad at myself that I wasn't laughing about it then.  Needless to say, it's about $3500 worth of damages to both cars.  And on top of that, poor Sara had to drive all the way to Michigan on Sunday... but, we had it deemed perfectly fine to drive, the poor girl just has to now deal with people up there to fix it for her.  Sorry, Sara.  :(  On the bright side, we can laugh about this for years to come.

Sydney enjoying breakfast with Sara.

Cousins and birthdays!

Stephen's cousin, his wife, his daughter, and her husband came up late Friday to stay the weekend with us!  I had already gone to bed before they got there, and when Sydney woke up Saturday morning, Brandon had already beat me to her room.  All Stephen's cousins love Sydney like she's their own!  We had a great morning, had a big breakfast, and all but Melinda, me, and Sydney headed to the GT game.  Melinda had to study, and Sydney and I ran some errands, napped, etc.  On a side note, for all you Georgians... wasn't the weather amazing this weekend?? 

We all went to our favorite local pizza place to celebrate Stephen's birthday, which was Saturday!  Happy birthday, Stephen!!!  He's the big 3-1.  I have to rub in the fact that I am 2 years younger than him right now.  When I ask Sydney how old her daddy is, she says, "Verrrrry old."  When I ask her how old I am, she says, "young!"  That's my girl! 

Me, Sydney, Stephen, Brandi, and Tim.

Anyways, we had a fun night at the restaurant and went to Dick's Sporting Goods, came home, watched football, and played board games.  Apples to Apples, anyone?  I love that game.  We also broke out Outburst, but, sadly, my team lost.  It's okay, we'll get them next time.  Sunday, we had another big breakfast, went to Bass Pro Shop & Discover Mills to shop, had leftovers from dinner the night before, and watched a movie.  Sydney rode the "choo choo" train at the mall.  She was so excited.  She walked around the mall, saying, "choo choo!  choo choo!"

Sydney riding the train.

Today, everyone had left by this morning and we were pretty lazy.  Well, Stephen is never lazy so I guess I shouldn't say that about him.  (He had gone to both the gym and Walmart by 10 AM).  Me, on the other hand, cleaned, napped, did lesson plans, etc.  We went for a walk down to the lake tonight, and grilled steaks for dinner.  What a great weekend!  P.S. Happy birthday to my sister-in-law, Jenn, whose birthday was on Sunday!  (Did I mention we have a lot of family birthdays in September?  6 in my immediate family, more if you include aunts/uncles/cousins.)

On our walk.

mmmmm... corn.

That's all, folks...

That is pretty much all I have in me right now.  I have been so stinkin' tired/exhausted all the time, and I still have about 2-1/2 months to go!  I don't remember being this bad with Sydney, but Stephen says I was.  Maybe it's because when I was pregnant with Sydney, I could just lay down and nap whenever I wanted to.  Now, with a toddler running around to take care of, no can do.  But, it's all good.  I want to give a shout-out to my BFF in California who is due one week from today!!!!  I'm starting to have dreams about her having her baby, so maybe it's coming soon. :) 

Have a great week, everybody!

Sydney's first pedicure!

Since I'm having trouble bending over to paint my own toenails, I thought it would be fun to take Sydney with me to the nail salon and get our toes painted!  We didn't do the full-out pedicure, we just got both of our toes painted.  It was fun.  I picked out a reddish color, and Sydney settled for a light pink.  Well, I take that back.  Sydney picked up a neon-green and a pearlish-blue color, but I nudged the pink in her direction and she took the hint. 

All the women in the salon were ooing and awwing over Sydney.  It was cute.  I take it they don't see a lot of 23-month olds in a nail salon!

So, the lady painted Sydney's toes first.  She sat really still for about a minute, and then slid her foot down and kicked my jeans (accidentily), so now I have three little toe prints on the side of my jeans.  Oops!  So, the lady had to re-do them.  The second time, it was good! 

Anyways, Sydney loves her pink toes.  She'll raise her foot in the air when I ask her about them.  It was a fun experience!

Oh, and here's the latest belly self-portrait, 27th week.

See ya, August!

Well, August surely did begin and end with a bang.  August 1, we were at the emergency room with Sydney because she couldn't keep anything down, had a high fever, and a bad rash.  August 31, I get a call at work from daycare, saying she has almost a 103 fever and is looking really pathetic.  The doctor said she has 2 ear infections and a "horrible looking" throat (the first strep test came back negative, but they're sending the culture off for more testing).  Then, last night, she threw up a lot.  Poor thing.  August just wasn't her month in regards to her health.  So, Sydney and I have had an enjoyable day home together today, while Stephen is in Dallas.  Grandmom and D-Dad are going to join us for dinner, and Grandmom will be watching Sydney tomorrow!

So, bye, bye, August!!  Hello, September!  Hello to a month full of family birthdays (Happy birthday today, Dad!!), football, parties, friends, and, hopefully, cooler weather!  And even more hopefully, good health!