Happy Halloween!!!

I am a hunter's widow this weekend again. Soooooo I got to hog Carson and love and kiss on him without interruptions all day today!! I decided not to pass out candy at our house because I was by myself, so I suited up my little tiger, put the dog in the backseat next to the carseat and drove to my inlaws. Carson was the cutest tiger I've ever seen!!! We had a good time over there and I got to see some of the neighbors and their kiddos too. It was a great first Halloween for Carson!!! If Halloween was this fun the first time around as a momma, I can only imagine what's in store for the next one!! Happy Halloween!

Best Weekend

Oh what a weekend it's been!!! One of my BFFs flew in from Altanta on Friday and stayed with us. She hadn't met Carson as an outside baby yet (although she was here on my due date but Carson refused to be born on time!!!) so it was exciting!

Here is Bethy spoiling my baby.....

And here are the four of us plus our offspring so far.....

I am so THANKFUL and blessed that I have great friends both close and far. It's true what they say about high school friends: your first friends are your best friends!

Here is Niki playing with the peanut.....

Carson has changed so much in the last week. He is now rolling over and smiling and laughing all the time. He reaches out for his bottle and my hair ALL the time. He is kind of holding his bottle by himself, only when it's almost empty though. He is just growing so quickly!

Here he is rolling over!

No sleep for me!

I should be sleeping but if I don't post now I won't for a few days! I survived parent teacher conferences. Now I have a field trip to the orchard tomorrow and then a fun weekend with one of my BFFs visiting from Georgia. I'm so excited thinking about 33opm tomorrow. No more responsibilities other than my own.....Carson!!!

He started playing in the exersaucer this week. He loves it!!!

This is how he sleeps. He has done this since he was just weeks old. Those hands behind his head....so silly! He reminds me of an old man when I peek in on him sleeping and see this. It still makes me smile every single time!

And this picture is just here because his expression is adorable. And the rattle he's wearing...

Now off to sleep, what few hours I'll be getting!

Pooped

Diaper bag to pack, guest room to clean out, laundry to do, papers to grade (smilies & stickers) conferences tomorrow (longest days of the year), dog to wash, bottles to fill, the list is endless, and I've only just begun. Oh yeah, trash to take out including stinky diapers. Oh my I need a nap. One of my BFFs is coming flying in for the weekend to meet Carson and I can't wait! More updates and pictures tomorrow!

Time with baby

This is one of those BEAUTIFUL Michigan days in the fall that just makes you so thankful for everything. Not that we shouldn't be thankful all the time, but it's days like this that just take your breath away at how beautiful things are. Ahhh.....

See what quality time with my baby does to me?? I'm a super sap!

Kenny is up north hunting again this weekend, so it's just babay & me!!! He went with me to the dentist this morning and what soooo good!

We have lots to do today and I am so happy to be doing them with Carson. I even let the dog sleep with me last night, which is rare. Kenny wants her to sleep on our bed every night, but I veto that quickly....but last night, pup lucked out. She stayed on the bed the WHOLE night. I know shs grateful.

I just talked to Kenny while he was getting ready to go back to the woods and he told me he has a surprise for me for Sweetest Day.....what a hallmark holiday, but hey, I'll take the present! He bought me a card yesterday but forgot to leave it here for me...it's in his truck. What a guy. Sweetest Day, what an excuse to buy something!

I have started making my lists for Christmas presents...it's never too early and as one of my friends reminded me, there's only about 5 paydays left until Christmas. No time like the present. I think I'll be buying things online this year, at least the majority of stuff. Anyway I can minimize bringing home the flu germs, I'm going to try. I'm so worried that Carson will get sick.

Off to do some cleaning and organizing with the baby in tow....when the hubby's away, the wife will clean!!!

Vegas

Our weekend in Las Vegas was good. The first 24 hours I missed Carson, but not the kind of missing that leaves you crippled. The second day, however, I missed him so badly. Our plane ride home was delayed so it made it even worse. We went to Vegas for my hub's BFF's wedding. We bought tickets before the baby was born thinking it would be a nice time to take a "break" and we'd enjoy the time away from the baby. Stupid new parent thinking!! I SOOOO didn't want to leave him. And neither did Kenny, although he didn't whine about it like I did. But our friends flew to MI for our wedding and again this summer around the time Carson was born, so we just had to be there when they got married. It wasn't a Vegas strip wedding, it was at a beauitful country club, outside, perfect weather, gorgeous mountains in the background. It was truly breathtaking! We did have a good time dancing and drinking, and yes I even took part in the drinking!! That felt GREEAAAAAAAAT! Anyway, here are a couple pictures:

And on to the really fun stuff....Carson is three months old! Time is flying and he is growing! What a stud!

(Kenny was playing his hunting game while holding the baby....now that's talent!!)

Work? I'm still adjusting. I am not excited about going to work every day, but once I get there, it's not horrible. I feel like I've been teaching for 20 years already and it's only my 8th year. I don't see myself teaching for a whole career, at least not the way I feel about it now. I still love teaching, but I can feel burnout coming on soon, maybe another year or so. I don't have any other options right now, so I'll just keep on. I am thankful to have a job and health insurance and retirement, so really, no complaints here.

Things with our nanny seem to be working out well. She is flexible and so are we, so far so good! Carson is usually smiling when I get home on her two days a week, which is all I'm concerned with! If he's happy, then I'm happy!

I "think" Kenny is going hunting this weekend which means Carson and I will have lots of relaxation time together. I love that!! I'd rather Kenny be home with us, but I can get lots of stuff done and lots of relaxing in too when he's gone. Maybe this time he'll bring home the winter supply of food!!!

Leaving on a jet plane

Holy cow. BUSY has just been taken to a new level. How do working moms get things done? Whew. Anyway, we are going to Vegas this weekend for a wedding. I was hoping to do a real post before we left, but that's not going to happen. I'm at work sneaking this is and I don't have any pictures or anything here....

Have a great weekend and I'm sure I'll be back on Monday with some stories!

Relaxing...

My first week back in the classroom is over. That, I am thankful for. I survived! So did Kenny. So did Carson, and even the dog did too. It wasn't easy, and I'm not looking forward to next week, however, I have never taken so much pleasure in a weekend as I am right now.

Kenny is up north hunting (he says, "Going to get us some winter food!") Hahaha. I spent the morning helping him pack and then I took the baby to get his 3 month professional pics taken. I even got a shot or two with his Halloween costume on....pricesless!

After the photo shoot session my BFF and I went shopping and had dinner with her hubs. Now I'm home chillaxin with Carson and catching up on the shows I've missed on our DVR. This has been a WONDERFUL Saturday. The only thing missing is Kenny! But I know he is doing what he loves...sitting in a tree listening to nature and breathing fresh air!!!

First Autumn Walk

It's been a rough few days to say the least. I dreaded going back to work every day that it drew closer, but I never imagined how hard it would be when it really happened. I'll spare you the teary details, but I'll just say that it's not fair. And yes, I know life isn't fair. But I can still feel this way. And that's that.

Yesterday was a GORGEOUS autumn day in Michigan, the kind that makes you think about the furnace but you're not quite ready for it. A nice fleece blanket will make it all better. The sun was shining, the air was chilly but smelled so good, like fall!! Ooooh! My favorite time of year. I bundled up the baby and we went for a 2 mile stroll. It was awesome, and here he is all warm and toasty in his stroller as I walked.

The Other Side

I'm going back to work on Monday. Not prepared mentally or physically (LONG days with 1st/2nd graders!!!) to work again not to mention facing the fact of not being with Carson all day. But the fact that I have to face is that I AM going to work and that's just all there is to it. So, who is going to be with my baby?? Grandma O, Grandma L, and we hired a nanny. She will be here 2 days a week for 6 hours.


I used to BE the nanny. When I was in high school I babysat for extra money and in college I did too. Then after I graduated I was a substitute teacher and a nanny for a while. I loved it. The baby I took care of was Carson's age right now, and it was the perfect job for me. Well now I'm on the other side of things, I'm HIRING the nanny. It's such a strange feeling, telling someone how to prepare bottles (she actually already knows because she is extremely experienced with kids/babies) but I told her anyway because it made me feel better! I'm super grateful that my mom and my MIL are also going to be watching Carson on other days when I'm at work and Kenny is downstairs in his office working. That's another thing that I'm thankful for...the fact that Kenny is going to be working at home while our moms and the nanny are here....We really have so much to be thankful for here, and I don't mean to sound whiney or bratty about going back to work. I don't mind working, I would just rather do it from home like my hubby or get to see my baby throughout the day. I would GLADLY trade places with Kenny if I could.

The whole time our nanny was here today listening to me ramble on and on about Carson's day and what his needs are, I know what she was thinking...she was silently rolling her eyes and not really listening to me, just pretending to. She already knows how to take care of babies (as I did at her age) and she could probably figure out where the extra diapers were (as I could have when I was a nanny) and so on. But now, I know why the mom I used to work for spent so much time telling me where things were and explaining baby-related things to me: because she didn't want to leave her baby and go to work and it was her way of keeping one foot in the door when she wasn't there with her baby. It's like this...if I give her instructions, then things will probably get done the way I do them with Carson (and if they don't, no bog deal, but at least let me think they are so I don't feel left out of his happenings every day) and I'll still feel like I'm part of his life when I'm not there.

I know that I'm his momma and that no one can take that away from me. I know that I'm one of millions of moms that has to work outside the house. All this I know. It doesn't change the fact that come Monday morning, when I kiss his cheeks goodbye as he sleeps in his crib, it might just be the hardest thing I've ever had to do. And there is nothing in any baby book that prepares me for being on the other side.

11 Weeks

We've been busy. I have probably said it before, but I think I have tendencies to be more busy when I'm not going to work every day versus when I am working. And speaking of work, I go back in a week. Not happy about it. Not sleeping over it. Just not taking it well in general, and that's all I say about it.

Carson is 11 weeks old today! Happy 11 weeks baby! What a joy these 11 weeks have been. Crazy to think how something so little brings so much happiness to your life. Not that we had a shortage before he was born, but he just makes everything that much sweeter.

I spent about 8 hours away from Carson on Saturday working with Kenny and that was the longest I've been away from him. It was hard to concentrate at times, and the 50 minute drive how was excruciating. Then I scooped him from my mom's arms and just loved on him. Working is going to suck:(

Kenny has been super busy with work lately, which is good because it will be an awesome winter because of it! Can you believe I started Christmas shopping? Nutty, eh? I guess it's not so crazy, it's almost October. Kenny and I said we wouldn't buy Carson toys for birthdays and Christmas because we're sure people will be buying those items all the time for him. So far, that's worked. I've bought tons of books, but no toys. Until last week. I was grocery shopping at wallyworld and just happened to "accidentally" stumble upon the Christmas toyland they have going there already. Ooops. I bought some bath toys and a leapfrog brand toy that teaches letter sounds. It's not "really" a toy because there's learning involved. Would you expect less than that from a teacher? Heh. I'll get him books too. And yes, I know he won't know what Christmas is and that he wouldn't even be able to open presents (probably, not really sure though!) so it's a waste, but these are things I would buy for him anyway, I'll just wrap them up and put them under the tree. I'm sure all you moms out there did the same thing on your baby's first Christmas!

Our dog has taken to the baby so well! She loves him, looks for him in the house, and then usually snipes a lick on his face before I can intercept her tongue. That's the only thing that I don't like about her with the baby, the licking! Ew! But guess if Carson doesn't cry, it's okay. I usually take a baby wipe to his face when the dog licks her, but in all honesty, those germs are just going to be there, so oh well. The dog is permanent fixture in this family! She's our "first" baby! I feel like I haven't given her enough attention on the blog lately, so here's some cute pics of her on the boat a couple weekends ago, with her favorite uncle, Al.

I'm off to pick up some things for my grandma, take a walk with the neighbor and our babies in strollers, and then tonight a family dinner to see my cousin who is here visiting. Fun! Have a great week! Here are a few more boat pics.....

S L E E P

I'm getting it. A lot of it. Not bragging, just saying, I'm sleeping over 8 hours a night. I don't know how long this phase will last but I'm not questioning it, just enjoying! Carson started sleeping through the night almost 2 weeks ago. I moved him from the bassinett to the crib and he stopped waking up for a nighttime bottle. Just like that. So he usually falls asleep between 730 and 9pm every night, and wakes up between 7 and 8am. I'm SO loving that!! He's 10 weeks old today (not even a newborn anymore.....OMG!!!) and I have no idea if sleeping through the night is normal for that age or not, but it's happening and I love it! When I start back to work, I hope the phase isn't really a phase, that it's the real thing. I'm assuming my sleep bubble will burst here at some point, but it's nice while it lasts!

Shots & Planners

We survived the two month shots! Carson is in the 70th percentile for height and weight, and he weighs 12 pounds and is 23 1/2 inches long. The pediatrician says he's the strongest baby she's ever seen and is very impressed that he's holding his head up and so active already. Yay! Here he is napping in the boppy, sleeping FINALLY after crying and crying until his tears ran dry after the shots....I gave him a little baby tylenol and it seemed to make him feel better. See his battle wounds?? The yellow bandaids....

I bought a planner today. A PLANNER. I have never really needed one, but seeing as though I am going back to work at the end of the month and Kenny is SUPER busy every single day and even on the weekends, plus appointments and everything else, I broke down and bought a planner. I work with Kenny on the weekends (along with my BFF) so keeping everything straight in my head hasn't been working lately. I forget so much. And Kenny took over my calendar....that's why I forgot to give the dog her heart worm pill....bad mommy! I just can't remember everything!

Here are a couple shots I took recently. I was playing around with the windows vista editing tools and here's what I came up with!

Bye Bye Summer

Summer is always over for teachers when we go back to work a week or so before the students. In my case this year, I'm not going back to work until the end of the month (maternity leave) so summer should technically still be happening for me. Even though I'm still home, it's over. Gone. Done. When we came back from the lake house last night, I felt it. I'm sad because it was a great summer, not in the "went on lots of vacations and relaxed" sense, but the fact that we had Carson and all this time with him has made it one of the best summers ever. He is just the best gift we could have ever received from God! Anyway, I'm thankful for the summer but sad that it's over. I'm sadly counting down the days until I'll have to go back to work. But I'm sure every working momma goes through that. If only it weren't needing that health insurance...but it's the way it has to be!

Carson is 2 months old! Here he is in all his baby glory. Just so cute!

We had our garage sale on Friday and Saturday and moved a TON of Kenny's stuff out. I mean A TON. I'm so proud of him for deciding to get rid of stuff. Even though I hate clutter and don't keep many things that I don't need, I NEVER harp on him or complain about his "stuff." It comes with the territory if you know what I mean and I knew what I was getting into when we bought our house. I had years to adjust to it before we got married, therefore, I never complain about his stuff, I just move it around or try to work around it when I need to. It's part of his job and that's just the way it is. One day, in the future, when we find our dream house, he will have a separate pole barn or garage or just an "out" building to call his own, and that will house all his stuff. But for now, I am just very proud of his attempt and uncluttering and throwing out. He feels like he didn't move much stuff out, but looking at it from my point of view with no attatchment to the stuff, he did an OUTSTANDING job! There is room to breath in the garage now! He kept saying that we needed to make room for the baby's toys for next summer, music to my ears! I am enjoying every single minute of this baby's babiness, but I am also excited thinking about Carson running around the backyard and playing next year. Oh the goosebumps! Love it! Back to the garage sale.....we made a good $750 and we're putting that towards a new digital camcorder. We have been using our digital cameras to take videos of Carson so far, and they have worked just fine, but we're on to bigger and better things now! If any of you have a digital camcorder or any advice about which ones to get or not get, pass it on!

Happy "Back to School" to any of you who are now back to teaching or learning this week!

Getting ready for a garage sale

SCARY is how my backyard is to be described right now. Kenny decided to "clean out the garage" on Sunday and he's still not done. Funny thing is, he started Sunday midday (I was against this from the start because he RARELY FINISHES ANYTHING) and when he "took a break" Sunday evening, he never finished. And yes, most of the crap in the backyard and driveway is going to be in the garage sale we're having this weekend, and if it doesn't sell, it's going to the curb, but I have had to look at this INSANE mess all week and it's anxiety causing, let me tell you. Our sale is starting Friday and I can't wait to get it all set up tomorrow and have it GONE! AHHHHHHHHHHHH! Keep your fingers crossed for me that Kenny will really allow things to be thrown out afterwards. I need this!

Today is day 4 on Phase 2 of Southbeach. I skipped Phase 1. It's just too hard to go from normal eating to Phase 1. So I am on Phase 2 which is basically carb free except for some crackers and fruit, which are good carbs. I need to jump start this weight loss or I'll get frustrated!!! I've also been walking with my neighbor who had a c-section 7 weeks before I did. She also had a boy, so we stroll with our babes feel the burn! I think we're up to over 2 miles, and it feels so great to be back to exercising. Today I went to the gym and did a modified version of my old routine. Treadmill for 30 minutes (used to be about 45) and several weight training machines, a couple on upper body and a couple on lower. I didn't do many reps on each, and I won't until I work up my endurance again. Although when I jogged today I lasted more than I thought possible. The true test will be how I feel tonight and in the morning. I decided to blog about getting back into shape and use it as motivation to keep going....if I don't write about it for a while, ask me about it so I have to answer to someone! I WANT and NEED to be held accountable. I lost 30 pounds doing Southbeach in 2006 and I've kept it off with exercise, and my goal is to lose another 30 pounds once I'm back to pre-baby weight. So that's the deal on eating/working out, I can't believe I wrote so much about it, now I HAVE to make it happen else!!

For two days now Carson has taken a nap in the morning, a longer nap in the afternoon, and fell asleep at 830pm on his own. He has always taken naps, but yesterday and today they were the same times each day, and that has never happened! So maybe he's starting to put himself on a schedule? He's 8 weeks old, and I've heard that by three months lots of babies are on some kind of self-made schedule. Maybe this is the beginning of that???

Some unrelated pictures....


About to cry in the bumbo......



Enjoying a bath!

Hangin' in the bumbo NOT crying....he looks sad but he really was happy, I promise!

Rainy Day

Saturday morning brought rain, and this is what was going on in our house....

Because it was rainy, we weighed our options and thought about where we would rather spend a rainy day....at home, or the lake house....so we went to the lake. Why stay home when the view at the lake is better, even with the rain?? So we went. And it was chilly, but a few hours there is always good to recharge. Here is one of the ONLY pictures of all three of us. I'm going to change that soon, and get some more pics of all of us....especially since Carson is smiling so often now!

While Kenny dinked around outside preparing to go fishing, Carson and I snuggled inside and he cooed away and I got some cute pictures of course! He's so animated and happy all the time so his personality is easy to capture. He's so loveable!

Work

My classroom is finally put together. I threw away SO MUCH stuff away and I had the mind set that less was better, and I think it's the best classroom setup I've ever done. This will be my 8th year of teaching and every year I don't change my room around too much, however this year, I just minimized. And it looks and feels great! I took Carson with me on Tuesday and struggled with accomplishing the setup, so Wednesday I left him with my MIL and went in for a full day and got it all done. I HATED leaving the baby in the morning but I know he was in good hands and I thought about him continuously for about 3 hours. And then I focused on work and all was good. His cute little face kept popping up in my head and I would count down the hours to go home and kiss his face. Before I knew it I was home and holding him! So I guess I survived a work day away from him, so when I do go back to work, I should be able to handle it. Boohoo:(

I have a DVR confession....the latest obsession I have and MUST watch on a daily basis.....

Little House on the Prairie!

This has been going on for about a month now. I get 2 new episodes a day to watch and I can't wait to sink into my chair every night and enjoy!

My new favorite picture:

Chili Recipe

The chili I made the other day R O C K E D !!!!!!!! I've never made chili before and Kenny said I hit a homerun the first time! Yay! The recipe I followed comes from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook....

Serves: 6 to 8
Advance Prep Time: 30 minutes
Slow Cooker Time: 6-7 hours on low, 4-5 hours on high

2 tablespoons
vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped medium
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped medium
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt
6 garlic cloves (I used garlic powder instead)
2 pounds ground beef (85% lean) (I used 93% and it worked just fine)
1 can tomato puree (28 ounces)
1 can diced tomatoes (28 ounces)
2 cans red kidney beans (15.5 ounces)
Pepper

1. Heat oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add onions, bell pepper, chili powder, cumin, cayenne and salt. Cook for about 5 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Stir in garlic and cook for about 15 seconds.

2. Add the beef and increase the heat to medium high. Cook while breaking up the beef until no longer pink for about 10 minutes.

3. Stir in the tomato puree and diced tomatoes with their juice, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to a simmer, then pour into the slow cooker.

4. Cover and cook, on either low or high, until the meat is tender, 6 to 7 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high. Stir in the beans during the last hour of cooking. Before serving, season with salt and pepper to taste.

My tips.....we always use the 93/7 lean meat, and it worked just fine. I HATE garlic, which is why I refused to put chopped garlic in it and used a TEENY bit of garlic powder. I used the crock pot on high and it was ready in about 3 hours, obviously that will depend on your crock pot! One more thing, we didn't use cayenne pepper because I couldn't find it in the store, so we used regular pepper instead. I know cayenne is hotter than regular, and neither of us like hot stuff, but if you do, use the cayenne! It was seriously the BEST chili ever!!! Oh yeah, I took american cheese slices and layed on the top of the bowl of chili was it was still piping hot before we ate it and YUM YUM YUM!!!! Next time I will double the recipe so it lasts longer:)

Grrrr

Lori was right, I didn't get much done in my classroom yesterday. I had Carson with me and even though there were other people around occupying him, I still didn't get half of what I had expected to finish done. The other reason was because everything in my cupboards and shelves was pulled out and stacked all over the furniture in attempt to "clean" the shelves. Who does that???? I don't need my storage shelves cleaned!! They are completely covered so there's no place for dust or anything! That basically set me back a good 8 hours on top of the baby being with me. So next week instead of taking him with me both days, I'm leaving him with Grandma for one day so I can get that room back in shape. I purposely didn't take much down in June so I wouldn't have so much to do now and then my room gets ripped apart.....grrrrrr. Not happy!

I tried a new recipe for chili today in the crock pot. Let me correct myself, I TRIED A RECIPE. I can't say I tried a new one when I've never tried one before...ever! It's cooking as we speak, so we'll see how it turns out in about 4-6 hours. It was super easy except for the fact that as soon as I slice open the onion my eyes poured out tears and burned so badly I had to continue chopping onions on the patio, no joke, it was that bad. Other than that, we'll see how it turns out. If it's good, I'll post the recipe. That will make me feel like I've contributed to womanhood!

Now for the the important stuff, baby pictures: