Time Doesn't Slow Down

With such  a busy schedule this month I'm trying to figure out where all the time went.  My Assistant Principal emailed me to set up a time to meet for my summative before I leave.  As I'm looking at my calendar I'm realizing I have something going on almost every single day after work (having to go see 2 doctors every week is very inconvenient).

Today Max's G/T class had a showcase at the high school.  I wasn't sure what to expect and I signed Max up to be there at the earliest time because I knew I wouldn't last long.  So basically what it was was all the schools in the Smithson Valley cluster had their G/T kids show off the projects they've been working on this year.  Since the kinder class just started in March there wasn't much to show, but I'm glad we went to show support for Max.

                                         Max was showing us a coding program they work on.

                       Max and his friend using coding to get the Lego Man through the Lego maze.

Once Max showed us his projects we left.  My back was killing me and my boys were hungry for dinner.  So finally after dinner, laundry, and putting Max to bed I can finally sit down and relax. I'm not going to lie, I'm not sitting down to relax I'm going to sleep. I'm hoping for a decent nights sleep with no burning throat (fire breathing). Hahaha

G'night!

17 Days and Counting

Pregnancy...the joy and the misery.  The miracle that God has blessed my family with but also the not-so-glamorous side that so many don't talk about.  When I am carrying a baby I feel any complaining is looked down upon.  I hear "What a miracle" and "a true gift from God"  which I absolutely agree with, but there are times when even such a wonderful blessing can be a challenge.

So being 17 days away from giving birth is absolute misery.  I know it doesn't help that I'm still working and trying to get 22 6-year-olds to listen and complete their work is absolutely exhausting in itself.  So add an 8+ lb baby in your stomach to the mix and it is just pretty much miserable. By noon I'm ready for a nap...which needless to say I don't get.

In fact getting any kind of sleep would be great. Now, this is not my first rodeo.  I know that I will not be getting more sleep when my little one comes but I am looking forward to the day where laying down will be comfortable and relaxing.  Right now it is a whole dog and pony show just to roll over in bed.

Something else I miss is eating without acid pouring into my throat.  It does not matter what I eat, cereal, chicken, breakfast tacos (my favorite) within an hour my throat feels like it's on fire.  I literally feel like a dragon that could blow fire out of my mouth.  Sometimes a Pepcid will work but not all the time.  Along with the wonderful burning feeling in my throat I also burp non-stop.  Sorry, I know, not polite, not lady like, but seriously people this is the truth of it.

Now after all that venting (hey I am 37 weeks pregnant!!!) I will say having a supportive hubby makes a huge difference.  He has really picked up where I have slacked off.  He's so good about listening to all my complaining and just letting me cry on his shoulder when I don't think I can handle anymore.  And even Max is great.  He will help me pick things up (because we all know I'm not bending over at any point), he helps empty the dryer and of course is great at keeping everyone's spirit up.  Pregnancy certainly doesn't just affect "mommy"  it affects everyone in the family, and luckily I have a great family who are loving and supportive.

This baby is a blessing, he is already loved more than he will ever know.  We can't wait for these last 17 days to go by so we can see, hold, play and love on our baby.

                                                  Max is ready to be a big brother!

Catching Up

Oh my!!  It's been a while, like 10 months and sooo much has happened.  I will say that my lack of posting can be blamed on the fact that I teach pre-k and I have a 2 year old at home so by the end of the day my energy level is on low.  I'll try to do a "quick" recap of the past 10 months.

So in August I started back to school and this year I am teaching pre-k.  I absolutely love it and it takes a lot of energy to keep 16 4-year-old kiddos entertained.   JR started a new job in January.  He is now a pool designer.  He gets to use his awesome computer skills along with being creative. It really is the perfect job for him. He is still doing window drawings with a friend of his, and  is still running Marinelli Motorsports and selling car parts online.  He is one busy boy!!

Max has been growing up way too fast.  Christmas was definitely more fun this year.  He understood the concept of presents and that he got to open a lot of them.  He is a very lucky little boy who has a lot of family that likes to spoil him.  We went to Christmas Eve service with Erin and Mom and then they spent the night so they could celebrate Christmas morning with us.  You might see a theme of cars with most of Max's gifts.  He certainly does have a slight obessesion with cars.

 

After opening presents at our house we went up to Dad's house to celebrate with Dad, Jill, Amanda, and Erin (again).  Max was able to get a little nap in on the car ride up to Dad's house.

Aww!!  Kisses for Papa :-)

Grammy showing Max pictures of himself opening presents!

 Max didn't want to stop playing with toys to take pictures, but it is a pretty good picture of my sisters and me!!

Erin photobomb.

 

After Dad's house we went to Gaga's.  Once again Max got his nap in the car ride to Gaga's house.  It was very crazy at Gaga's.  All of Max's cousins and Aunts and Uncles were there and I didn't take any pics on my camera (I have a couple on my phone but haven't loaded those onto the computer yet.)

 

 

Now skipping a few months ahead...

 

It's Max's 2nd birthday!!!  I can't believe how fast time flies by.  My little baby boy is 2 years old.  He doesn't walk anywhere, he is always running.  He has his own opinions and likes to boss people around now.  He will tell you exactly what he wants all the time! The first few pictures are from his actual birthday and the rest are from his birthday party.

 Max's helping make his birthday cake!  He was so excited to help :-)

 Made a stop on our way to lunch so he would look so handsome for his birthday lunch.

 We had lunch at Longhorn Cafe with Aunt Erin (who brought some special balloons), Meemaw (who brought a yummy cookie cake), and even Daddy could meet us!

 This is PARTY DAY!!

  Erin's boyfriend Andy made this car cutout for Max. 

 Cars themed party--this is Filmore's Organic Fuel

 Present's Table

 Flo's V8 Cafe

 Sarge's Sweet Treats

 Max's birthday cake

 Max driving Erin around

 Max's cousins hanging out, eating

Max enjoying his birthday cake!!

 

So now I am at least somewhat caught up.  Still have lots share though, but I think this is enough for today!   I'll try not to wait another 10 months to write again!!



Remembering Buddy

I have been putting off writing this because I know it's going to make me sad.  Last Thursday morning, my cousin, Buddy, was jogging before work and was struck by a truck and killed.  It was a hit and run which made me very angry.  I don't understand how someone could just leave after hitting a person with their truck.  I found out yesterday the person who hit Buddy took his own life.  Very sad...that family also is need of prayers.

Buddy was such a wonderful person.  He was a great friend and a fantastic dad.  He had 4 kids ranging from 5-13 years old.  It pains me to think that these kids will no longer have Buddy in their life.  I can only hope that they will remember what a great man he was by looking at pictures and hearing stories about him. 

Within the past few years Buddy and his family moved to Texas and I was able to see them more often.  We went to Sea World together and Morgan's Wonderland was one of their favorite places.  We also got to spend Thanksgiving with them.  So I am thankful for the time we spent together.

Needless to say this past week has been very emotional.  We went to Ft. Worth for the service and also to support Heather (Buddy's wife) and the kids.  Buddy's company flew in Buddy and Heather's families from AZ, paid for hotels, catered a lunch after the memorial service and so much more.  They definately proved to be more than just a business. The people in Buddy's community have also been wonderful helping out and doing whatever needed to be done. It was amazing to see all the people at the memorial service, there were hundreds of people.  That in itself shows what an impact Buddy had on people. 

One positive thing that came out of our trip to Ft. Worth is that I got to see family that I haven't seen in about 10 years.  Also Max got to play with cousins (2nd or 3rd cousins not really sure how that works) that he otherwise wouldn't have met for maybe another 5 or 10 years.

 This was a lesson in not taking family for granted.  You never know when something like this might happen.  I think there have been talks going on in planning the next family reunion.

Love you Buddy!  We miss you already.

Father's Day Weekend

Any holiday with us turns into a whole weekend of celebrating, sometimes with holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas the celebration can last almost a week since we are blessed to have so much family so close.

On Saturday JR wanted to see Rock of Ages.  So we dropped Max off with Gaga (JR's mom) and went to see it.  It was an okay movie, the story line could've been better, but I loved the music!

 After the movie we picked up Max and went over to Grandpa and Grandma Jill's house. As soon as we got there Max was ready to get into the pool.  So we got into our swimsuits and cooled off.

Mommy and Max

Flying through the air!

Max made grandpa do this many times.

Swimming with grandpa.

After all that swimming I'm ready for a snack!

After we ate dinner Max was ready for his next favorite thing...driving his truck!

                                                Blowing kisses bye bye as he drives away.



After a busy, fun-filled day Max was out before we got home.

On Sunday Max, JR, and I went to breakfast at Magnolia Pancake Haus.  It was delicious!  Max loved the pancakes.  I don't understand how my child is underweight he's a VERY good eater.  It must be all the running around he does...Anyways, after breakfast we ran a couple of errands and relaxed at home per daddy's request. 

Overall, it was a great weekend!!

Doctor Visit

Today was Max's 15 month check-up.  Since he was getting shots, grandma met us there for support.  The visit started off happy while we were in the waiting room watching the fish swim in the aquarium.  Once we were called back the tears started flowing...

Who likes being weighed anyway??  Max came in at 22.8 lbs and 30.5 in.

Taking his temperature. 

Poor baby knows what's coming...I didn't get any pictures of him getting shots, as you can imagine it was a little crazy at that point.  But afterward he did get a special treat to help calm him down.

Doctor visits are never fun when you have to get shots, but we survived!

New Beginnings

So I've jumped on the bandwagon, I've started a blog.  I figured the summer would be the best time to start one since I'm not working and have a little extra time to do "fun stuff".  So yesterday was the first river trip of the summer.  Max, mom, and I met some friends at Landa Park.  We found this cool little swimming hole that was perfect for Max.  It was freezing cold, but Max didn't seem to mind the chill.  Max was intrigued by another little boy who was jumping off of the edge.  After a few minutes of studying the little boy Max decided he was ready to try it on his own!  I will say he is a quick learner and now has a new trick to do at the river or swimming pool.

Here's Max enjoying some watermelon after a fun afternoon of swimming.