S N O W D A Y !!!!!!!!!!!!

Hosted by Krystyn

Today was another snow day!!! Talk about great luck!!! I was oh so happy to wake up this morning and find inches of snow and no school. Like a dream come true. Here's a picture of how we started my snow day. Bad quality, I know, but I just grabbed my phone and took a picture, nothing fancy!! I think Carson enjoys snow days as much as I do.

(Thanks Krystyn for starting this weekly thing!! I need that motivation!!

Backwards

This baby boy won't crawl. I'm not rushing him, and I'm not really excited about him crawling anyway because that means life as we know it will be forever changed!! However, everyone seems to think he "should" be crawling and even though it doesn't bother me that he's not, he kind of is....backwards! It's more of a scoot, actually. He'll be laying on his tummy and want me or some toy that's not directly in front of his little face and then he just scoots back to get it. So cute!! I'm putting toys all around him to entice him to push off and start to crawl, and I know he will when he's ready. But for now, the backwards shuffle is pretty cute. I don't have a video of it, but you get the idea.

Yesterday we celebrated my mom's birthday and here is my baby with my momma...so sweet! Her first grandbaby!!

We also stopped in to see my grandma, however no pics because she was in her nightgown already!!! Carson sat right next to his great-grandma and just smiled and loved on her, so sweet!! We will be back visiting with her in a couple weeks and there will be lots of pictures then.

I'm sad that my week off ends today. I'm never really prepared for the feelings that come with having to leave Carson every day. I hate it. I truly hate leaving him. Any mom that works knows that feeling, and it'll never go away. But I know that by my going to work every day my family is taken care of medically. So I go. With kleenex:( And the up side of it is coming home to the best feeling in the world, my smiling happy-to-see-me baby who can't get his hands on my face fast enough. That makes it worth it!

Day Off

I declared today a day of relaxation around here. The first day of my vacation that I get to do house stuff!!! Kenny is away and working, and Carson and I were slated to be out and about with some friends but that got canceled so we are STAYING HOME!! Woo-hoo!!! When he gets up from his nap we MIGHT go to Michaels, you know I just can't stay away from those craft stores too long. Other than that, we are homebound. I have been looking forward to a day like this for along time!

I booked tickets to visit my bf in Atlanta today. Yay!!!! That's not until spring break, but I'm already excited about it! Carson will be flying for the first time, oh what a little travelor he will be!!

Here's our morning:

Skiing!

Our little ski getaway has been awesome!! Despite missing Carson all the time, Kenny & I have been able to relax, TRULY relax, for the first time in about a year. We arrived home safe and sound and so happy to get that baby back and covered with kisses!

Waking up this morning reminded both of us how important it is to STRETCH before you ski, especially if it's been a few years. And another thing I never envisioned was a creepy feeling on the ski lift. I've skiied PLENTY of times in my life, and never one time was the lift an issue. Not the case this time! I guess it's just because I haven't skiied in a few years, because by the end of the day I was fine. Guess I better do this more often!

A weekend away was the best thing we've done in a while. Very much needed!!!

7 Months!!!

Ahhhh today was a snow day!! What a treat, rating right up there with opening presents on Christmas morning as a kid!! I didn't even have to get out of bed. Even better! Carson and I stayed in our PJs all day and snuggled a whole bunch. I think Kenny was jealous!

Today was my momma's bday and between Kenny & I and my brother, we pooled our $$ and gave her a gift card to Macy's so she could get her fiestaware flatware that she's been wanting for a while. Due to the snow, she didn't drive to my house today so I called her, told her what her gift was (a complete surprise), gave her the numbers on the gift card and WHAM a few hours later she had her flatware was ordered!! And she is one happy Momma!!! Yay!

Seven months old my baby is today....whew! Here he is hamming it up for the camera, which he immediatly tried to grab ahold of and put in his mouth!!! He's close to crawling I think, but I don't think he WANTS to crawl. He would just rather have momma carry him or hand his toys over. He is so much fun, always smiling and drooling and laughing and he's also very close to saying dada. I was hoping his first word would be momma, but he's saying dada, however he isn't meaning Kenny. He is just babbling, but sooner or later he will figure out WHO dada is!!

The next two days are going to be COMPLETE CRAZE at work. They are the last two days before we have a one week midwinter break. Even if today hadn't been a snow day, the week before vacation is rough. However, being that today the kids were at home, tomorrow is count day complete with an in-school dance, and Friday there will be school-wide Valentine's Day celebrations, and to top it all off, both days are free dress, which means students will be in their regular clothing, not uniforms, which always leads to "different" behavior. So I'm crossing my fingers, making sure my lessons are tight and I'm overly prepared with extra work and rewards!! The busier they are the better they are!!

Making raspberries at his puppy!

Helping mama with the laundry!

Trying to get dad's hat....

Got the hat and in the mouth it goes!!!

Cloudy Sunday

Last night Kenny & I went to see Edge of Darkness. We were trying to figure out the last time we had been to see a movie.....we came up with A YEAR AGO. Holy crap!! Just to commemorate that LONG pause of movie going, we snuck in to see a few minutes of Avatar. The audience looked ridiculus with the glasses on!!!! Just like a picture taken in 1960!! We didn't stay more than a few minutes, just long enough to see the 3D effects, and wow was it cool!!



Carson has changed so much in the last few weeks. He's starting to show signs of crawling, but not quite there yet. I've been giving him some phase 2 of the baby food, mostly the mixed fruits which he LOVES!!! He's still not hip on the green veges yet, but we're getting there. He is still laughing and giggling and continuing to keep smiles on our faces every single day. Love that little guy!!!

He still LOVES his jumperoo, and spends lots of time in it every day, as well as the pack and play. He just wants to play all the time, and put anything and everything in his mouth. We have started making lists of what to do to babyproof the house....any advice would be appreciated!! We have inherited a baby gate, so we can check that off the list. But the rest of what we need to buy/do, let me know!

Today after I've cleaned and done some of the laundry, I plan on SITTING down and not doing anything else except enjoy my family. That's my perfect Sunday!!

Sleepy

Oh this week has been a hard one. After a 3 day weekend my students seem to be so much more squirrelly than they were the first week back after the new year. Something about that extra day without school structure.....OMG it's been rough. And I didn't even go to work today! I heard my class was pretty good until dismissal and then they lost it. Sounds about right!

Haven't made it to the gym yet this week, not good for my weight loss goal, however I have still been doing southbeach pretty well (phase 1 and 2 combined) so it hasn't been a complete wash without working out. I will say sacrificing the exercise for extra hours of sleep has been much needed. So I'm not going to feel guilty. I PROMISE I'll make up for it this weekend:)

Carson has started to want to stay up later and later at night. Since he was about 6 weeks old, he has slept through the night, from 8pm to 8am, if not later. Lately, he has not wanted to go to bed on his own at 8pm. I do the bath, bottle, bed routine starting around 730 and by 8pm he's knocked out. But now he won't go to sleep when the bottle is gone and instead starts laughing and playing and not wanting to sleep. CRAZY BABY!!!!

TGIF!!!!

Happy Tuesday

My baby is 6 months old!!! Holy smokes how did that happen! We had some professional pictures taken last week and here they are:

Ahhhh I'm so bad not posting for SO long! Back to work after vacation was rough and it still is, so I guess that's my excuse:)

Here are his stats for his check up last week:

Height: 27 inches (I think!!!)

Weight: 18 lbs (he gained 2 lbs since his 4 month checkup)

Percentiles: height & weight 75%, head 90%

He's all brains, just like momma!!!

Carson is doing awesome. He is completely sitting up on his own now and even though he won't crawl yet, he has the strength. I just think he likes it better when we move him. I give him tons of time on his stomach and he'll play and play and move on his tummy in different directions, he'll kick his legs and then when he gets tired of being on his tummy he starts to complain. One of these days he'll just crawl I hope!!! He is eating stage 1 foods and many different kinds of cereal, still drinking bottles also. I started giving him food when he reached for Kenny's burito about a month ago....I figured he was ready!!!

I'm also learning that so many people give me advice on what to feed him, how to feed him, how MUCH to feed him, and so on. We've learned to do what we think is best, which is how I decided to give him food in the first place. Our pediatrician told us at 4 months to give him food, but I just didn't feel like he was ready, so we waited. And then all of a sudden (the burrito incident!!!) I knew he was ready. That was a good lesson for us in doing what we think is best!!

I could yack all day long about how wonderful he is. He's truly a great baby. Carson will play and play for long periods of time with and without interaction from us. Of course I end up playing with him most of the time because he's so much fun!! It's such a joy to see him with Kenny and the two of them laughing and loving on each other. That's what it's all about!

Work is work. I am busy as always there but since conferences are over, I am NOT bringing anything home with me. I refuse!!! In fact, the only time this year I have brought things home to work on is for conferences or occasionally the ridiculus un-usable lesson plans I'm required to turn in. That's it!!! And even with that it's hard to bring things home to do. Kenny is super busy with work which is a blessing. His business is thriving right now, it has been for a few years so we are so grateful for that. He renewed his lease with new truck in December and we thought about getting a bigger car for me at the same time, however, I'm enjoying NO CAR PAYMENTS right now so why rock the boat and get greedy?? I love not writing a check every month for a car! My vehicle has been paid off for 5 months and we are lovin it. Plenty of other things to pay on!

I know one of my resolutions was to post more (3 times a week I think) and I've already failed that, but I'm still going to try. I love blogging, I just can't get to it as much as I want, but I'm making it a priority. Here's my 6 month pic of my little man. He's hilarious! Happy Tuesday!

The Wrap Up

Carson's first Christmas was.........hectic. And fun, and snowy (then it rained) and all in all, the kid made out like a bandit. So did the dog!! She actually got just as much as Carson. Funny how that works. Kenny and I have both been blessed with wonderful families who give too much if that is possible. We are both VERY thankful.

Today we are going to our last Christmas party. This one is my mom's extended family, where we just buy for the kiddies and bring a white elephant gift and play a game with the presents. It's fun and low key, nothing formal. A very nice way to wrap up the season!

I have to be honest....I'm all Christmased out. I shopped early to avoid this feeling, and it still hit me. Is it bad to want all the Christmas stuff put away already? I love the lights and the tree and all the pretty stuff, but I'm over it already. Usually this feeling doesn't hit until New Years. Maybe I have it early this year because Christmas with a baby is more hectic, but in a good way. I don't know, but in any case, I'm ready for some REAL down time. In which I don't leave the house OR my PJs all day long and just play with my baby and bug Kenny while he's working in the basement. I have a few projects to accomplish on this week off, but all in all, I want to remain in those pajamas as long as I can and do as little as I can.

And next year on Christmas, I want to stay home. REALLY stay home. Carson will be 1 1/2 and he'll be able to open presents and get excited. I doubt he'll know what Santa is or the true meaning of Christmas yet, but I want that magical feeling that I had as a kid on Christmas Day, and I think that means staying home. Anyone can come and visit, all day long, but I do not want to get into a car AT ALL!!! We didn't travel too much this year, but it was hectic and we did leave on Christmas Day for 1/2 the day. Do you think I can make this wish come true next year?? Here's to hoping!

I promise we had a great Christmas.....we really truly did. I'm not complaining at all. I just am exhausted! I will post pictures later of the baby in all his Christmas glory. He was the star!!! Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas!!

Love,

Kenny, Lindsey, Carson & Bidder


XOXOXOXO

Doing NOTHING and Lovin' It!!

Oh what an amazing day I've had so far. It's one of those days you always dream about before the holidays but never quite happens. Today, it happened. I have stayed home ALL day and the only time I'm going to leave the house is to deliver the neighborhood treats and cards on foot. I have been in my comfy sweats (yes, I DID indeed shower) and my hair is in a ponytail and I have been cleaning, doing laundry, and playing with the baby all day. I made some yummy xmas treats too, but nothing strenuous. I have also had the heating pad on my shoulder several times throughout the day which gives me an excuse to SIT DOWN which I often need! Anyway, my point through all this rambling is that I have accomplished the day I have been looking forward to for several weeks. To just be home and relaxing. Kenny is out still shopping....hehehe procrastinator!!!

5 Months & My Resolution

Five Months!!

A little late, but nonetheless, Carson is five months old!

We are getting ready for Christmas. The house is decorated, and has been for weeks. I skipped cookie making and did chocolate covered sprinkles instead. SO MUCH easier!! Nothing to decorate either. I'm done shopping, Kenny, on the other hand, not so much. He's out and about as week speak and I'm sure he won't be finished when he gets home. Our first Christmas celebration is on the 24th, so he can't actually shop on that day, which has thrown a wrench in his shopping habits. Hehehee....I did mostly online shopping so I've been done except for some gift cards.

I have stuggled with posting on this blog since Carson was born and I'm going to make a New Years resolution early. My resolution is to post 3 times a week. I've barely been posting once a week lately, since October actually, and that's not OK with me! I really miss posting and catching up on others' blogs and I really honestly do think about my blogging buddies and miss you! So I promise to go for that 3 times a week goal.

It is absolute heaven for me to wake up to my little man's coos every morning now that I'm on vacation. Music to my ears. I heart vacation!!

I am looking forward to spending our first Christmas with the baby. What joy!!!!

My Letter To Santa

Dear Santa,

I am not asking for presents this year. Instead, I just want to keep the things I already have. And with that, please include my sanity. You see, I still have the rest of today (it's not even 10am yet) and tomorrow to get through with my students. And they are not acting very nicely. They are off the hook, actually. Please deliver large amounts of coal to their stockings on Christmas Eve because they are not so deserving of presents this year. In the last month, I have had to make 15 phone calls because of negative behavior. I have had to constantly remind them to BE NICE TO EACH OTHER. It goes WAY beyond not talking and folding their arms in the hallway. They are just plain mean to each other. I'm not sure if they don't care or if it's because they are the "smart" class and think they can get away with it. But I really want them to know that they can't. My head is pounding, allergies are in full swing, temper is SHORT, and I am just running out of niceness. Could you PLEASE wrap up a bottle of sanity (or maybe just a mudslide) and put it under my tree a little early? Like maybe TODAY? That's all I'm asking for.

Thanks and Merry Christmas.

Love,
Lindsey

5 Months Old

First time eating cereal.............what a face I know!!

Dear Carson,

You are now 5 months old. I blinked and I was pregnant, I blinked and I was in the hospital with my newborn, and I blinked again you are almost half a year old. Daddy and I cannot even imagine our lives without you. Every smile, drool, spit, giggle, laugh, cry, whine, jump, kick, roll, coo, every EVERYTHING you do we love. Even the poopy diapers. Well, OK Daddy doesn't love them, and I don't love them either, but I love taking care of you. You have given us glasses to see the world in a different way. Even though you are too young to know what Christmas is all about, this holiday season has renewed the giddy feeling we once had as kids. I look back to last Christmas and I was so sick with morning sickness (all day) and super tired and even though we were already thankful for our little blessing from GOD, we had no idea how much we would love being parents. We love you more than it's possible to put into words.

Love,

Momma

Back to Reality

Not that a 4 day vacation is long or anything, but these last 4 days have been non-working bliss. I have been busy busy busy as usual with Kenny and Carson and the dog and family and driving and visiting plus normal things like cleaning, laundry (neverending) and Christmas decorating. But it's been a fairly peaceful 4 days, unlike the next 4. Nothing at work is peaceful. Ever. No moments to compose my thinking or to process anything, no time to "take 5" or even eat lunch without getting up from my desk. That's what I have such a hard time with when I'm at work. I need a break, just 10 minutes here and there, and when I don't get that little mental break, I become system overload, which is how I am living Monday through Fridays now. It's been like this for a while, it's just that this year, it's worse. Amidst all my students who are vibrant and smart, I just need to come up for air sometimes. 4 days off helped me refocus what's important (go to work, earn a paycheck, spend every spare moment making my boys smile) and think about things in better light, however, I would still like a mental break every day. Do you think Santa will bring me that all wrapped up in a nice little package under the tree this year?? I would also be satisfied with a winning lottery ticket.

On to cuter subjects....the baby. Oh yes, I can't write an entire blog post without mentioning him!! He is just the light of our lives. Carson's first Christmas pictures ever:

Black Friday

Carson's first Thanksgiving was fun. We arrived at my inlaws 20 minutes before eating and I didn't have to bring a thing. Don't think I didn't ask, because I did several times, and I was told to just bring the baby. So we did. Today we are going to my mom's for dinner and then to my dad's to visit. Enough eating already!! Put that food away!!

While we had dinner yesterday Carson hung out in the exersaucer right at the table with us. It was adorable! Kenny and I had a nice relaxing night last night putting up the tree and watching TV and just being us. What a great day. And so MUCH to be thankful for.

I'm listening to the sounds of Kenny faintly snoring, Carson talking and cooing to himself, BabyEinstein on the TV and the dryer. I smell coffee and the dog is sleeping at my feet. Ah to be at home in the mornings. My favorite part of the day!! When I leave for work every morning my heart is heavy and I have to fight the urge to call in sick and stay home with my boys, EVERY SINGLE DAY. I would give anything to be here with them. And then I have to remember that I'm providing my family with things even though I am not home, and I also have to remember to be thankful that I have a job with good health benefits and a retirement plan and Aflac and all that stuff. That's what keeps me from turning around every morning, and believe me, I'm SO thankful for all that. But nothing beats the sounds and smells of my house in the morning. That is heaven!

Oh yeah, and you won't find me anywhere near a shopping plaza today!!!!! NOOOOO WAY!!!

Short Week:)

Can you tell he's the happiest baby ever?? I just eat those smiles and giggles and laugh attacks up!! He is so precious!!

He WAS 4 months, now it's more like 4 3/4 I think. I'm slacking on this blog, I know it, but I have full intentions of getting back to a more regular posting schedule. And I have SO MUCH blog reading to catch up on too. Over this short vacation I will be doing just that!

The last couple of weeks have been difficult at work. I can't remember if I mentioned it before or not that 15 teachers were let go due to budget problems. It stinks for those teachers and it stinks for the teachers who are left to clean up the mess, as in expand class sizes to large numbers. Not fun. And those poor kids who come to school one day and find out their teacher is gone. It was hard to explain to my new students where their old teachers were and of course there were many tears and I just wanted to join in. All in all it was a crappy time, probably the worst I've even been through in my almost-8 years of teaching. If you are thinking about going into teaching, THINK AGAIN. Not a good time for it. I'll leave it at that!

Kenny has talked me into putting up the tree today, when I get home from work. How I'm going to do that with Mr. Carson?? Not sure yet, we'll figure it out. Usually I make Kenny wait until after Thanksgiving to put up and decorate the tree. He claims that since he is going hunting Friday, he wants to do it now. Whatever. Gets it out of the way for me!! Our biggest challenge is figuring out what to do with all the baby contraptions in the livingroom with the tree in here too. It's going to be tight.

Kenny has been hunting a lot in the last few weeks. He's actually already got 2 deer and we are going to have summer sausage and beef jerky very soon!! He wants to go for one more (sorry to all the non-hunters) so our freezer will be stocked all winter. He always says as he's leaving for huntin' camp, "I'm off to get our winter food!" What a crack up he is!

I'm off to work now. It's my last day with students this week and then a PD day tomorrow. I'm so happy and THANKFUL this is a short week!

Oh I'm so behind in blogging. I have so much to write too. Good stuff. Fun stuff. Maybe tomorrow. Until then.................

H1N1 Vaccine Update

If you read my post yesterday, you know I went in to get the nasal mist....ended up getting the actual shot and the only side effect was extreme fatigue. I usually react badly to flu shots, I get a slight fever and body aches, head aches, that kind of thing. This shot hurt worse to get it than the regular flu shot, however, my arm never once was sore and still isn't 24 hours later. There was nothing to it. I hope this helps someone in their decision making as to get the shot or not if you have it available. I feel relief. I am a carrier of sicknesses to my house because I'm a teacher. I'm constantly washing hands and when I get home I actually strip my clothes and shoes (kids' bathrooms....nasty!!!) and wash my hands before I even enter the room where Kenny or Carson is. I just can't take those risks with either of my boys, Carson being 4 months old and Kenny a severe asthmatic. I'm sure it's new mommy syndrome being so worried, but I'd rather be safe than sorry!!

Busy

Oh the business around here. I haven't been able to sit down and do my normal weekly post with pics until now because Kenny didn't go hunting this weekend. I know it sounds crazy, but I actually can get MORE on weekends when it's just Carson and I. When Kenny's here, he pulls me in every direction possible and we end up being gone all day or something...I think he's more high maintenance than the baby!! But I love it, I admit!

Since next weekend is opening gun season, Kenny will be gone, so we took advantage of him being here yesterday and went shopping together. We left Carson with Grandma and spent 3 hours together, just us. I'm still so torn about doing that because I'm at work every day and when I come home, it's all Carson time. The weekends are the same way. I SOO look forward to and enjoy every single uninterrupted moment with him on the weekends, so getting me to leave without him was hard. But we needed it for ourselves, so we went. We had a blast and Kenny bought all his new essential hunting gear!! Of course we bought Carson some baby camo stuff. As if he doesn't have enough already, but it's just so cute we couldn't resist!

I'm going to get the H1N1 vaccination today, the mist. I'm not elligible ANYWHERE at the locations in my county to get the shot, so this is what I've decided to do. Believe me, I've researched and read and talked to dozens of people about this. Because the baby is so young, it would be so dangerous if he got the flu, and since I work with kids and will most likely come into contact with it there, I'm the most likely person to pass it to the baby or Kenny. So after researching all my options, I decided to get it today. I'm curious what other people are doing, so could you leave a comment and let me know?

I have completed about half my Christmas shopping....I'm so PROUD of myself for that!! I have done lots of online shopping, and I think a couple more shopping sprees and I'll be finished. That makes me feel like I'm ahead of the game, but I'm sure many of you are already FINISHED at this point! We decided not to buy Carson much because we know everyone else will be buying him things and it's not like he knows what Christmas is this year. But of course, I've snuck in some toys here and there....how can I not?? It's so much fun to shop for him!!

I just realized that Carson is NOT smiling in any of these pictures....I promise he smiles all the time!! He was just being a serious baby!!