GRRRRRRRRR!

GRRRR! GRRRRR! and double GRRRRR!

We are having computer issues..... AGAIN.

I just got off the phone with Answers by Gateway.... AGAIN.

I just had to do a complete system recovery on my dadblame computer..... AGAIN.

Now I will have to reinstall all my dadblame programs.... AGAIN... including my beloved photoshop!

I am hoping the backup worked and I don't lose the several folders of pictures on my computer that already had edited copies in them.... AGAIN. I mean I do (luckily, or there would really be tears) have the pictures on DVD or on my memory card, but I had already eeeeedddditteeeed some of them and I don't waaaaaannnnnaaa have to do it aaaagggggaaaaiiin! AGAIN!

You would really think I'd have learned my lesson and immediately save that stuff to my external hard drive, but seriously, who'd think you would ever have to do a complete destructive system restore on your computer twice in less than six months. It's like being struck by lightning twice. And lightning never strikes twice in the same place, right?

Well, apparently when your computer is a piece of bleeeep like ours is, it can strike multiple times in the same spot. Lesson learned. And please excuse my language, I don't usually curse.

If I had any and I do mean any extra money I would so have a new computer right now. But, I don't. Luckily we did recently get a wireless router so I can use my laptop from school for really important things like blogging.

But, now I have run like a gazillion updates, reinstall my anti-virus stuff, Photoshop, my camera software, my printer software, Evan's games, Microsoft office, my Sony Vegas software, and who knows what else before I can get back to downloading and editing pictures, and working on the kids' video montages.

And really, what good is blogging without pictures? No one likes to read a post without pictures. You don't have to pretend. I know you skip right over all that mushy, gushy junk I write sometimes.

Serious bummer.

As soon as I go back to work and get a paycheck... a new computer is on the list! I don't know when a computer went from a luxury, a want, to a flat-out need. But, it is one for me. It just is. Yes, I'm probably spoiled.

Ok, enough whining. Thanks for commiserating with me. I know you all will understand.

Oh, by the way, when the Answers by Gateway guy told me I had to do a system recovery. I said, "I'd really like to do that as a last option because we just did that in March and it was really a pain." He said, "I understand, let me just see if there is any other way... (typing in the background, literally a 2 second pause)... nope, sorry it is really the only way." I have this feeling he didn't try very hard.

GRRRRR! GRRRR! and Double GRRRR!

Opposites Attract

Chloe went for her one year check up yesterday. Her stats were:

weight: 17 pounds 14 1/2 ounces 5th %
length: 29 3/4 inches 67th%
head: 44.1 cm 20th%

Chloe has been gradually since about 6 months (and we started solid food, hmmm) sliding down the growth curve in weight. The good news is she is growing in length just fine. Her pediatrician is not super concerned about it and he said for us not to worry, but he wants us to come back in a month instead of in 3 months. So, of course, I can't help but worry a little bit.

Especially since she refuses to drink milk. I asked him about that and he basically said to keep trying. I guess we will, but I really don't think any amount of trying is going to help much. He suggested we try pediasure, which we are going to, but that stuff is $10 for 6 bottles and I bet you she won't drink it! GRRR! We also got some Yo Baby smoothies since she likes yogurt. I tried that this morning. It was a no-go. She took a drink and gave us a big smile and then began crying and slapping it away. Sigh.

I'm not really that worried about her. She has a good appetite. She eats well. She eats a wide variety. She seems happy and healthy (she's only been sick once in her life). And she is right on track developmentally. But, of course, it is still hard not to worry a little bit.

Anyway, some of the other stuff she's doing now:

words:
mama
dada
bye-bye
ba-ba (brother)

has said or imitated a few other words, but doesn't use them consistently:
ba- bath
sish- fish
do- dog
gi- we think this might be granddaddy, we've heard it a few times around him
ee- (calling in Stoney's (the horse's) direction)
ma- says while signing more sometimes or while pointing to what she wants

signs:
milk
more
all done
nods yes
shakes head no
waves hi and bye

gross motor:
crawling
standing
cruising
taking a few steps on her own

fine motor:
feeds herself finger foods
plays pat a cake
plays peek a boo
bangs blocks
stacks blocks
puts objects in and takes them out
tries to take lids off and put them back on
drinks (clear fluids only) from cup, straws, and bottles (like water bottles)
makes marks on paper with crayons or markers

food:
some baby food still
peas
green beans(not her fave)
carrot pieces (not her fave, either)
banana
peaches
pears
peeled grapes
strawberries (loves these)
cheese
yogurt
cheese sandwich
turkey or ham and cheese sandwich
peanut butter sandwich
goldfish
cheerios
Gerber snacks
cereal bars
pizza
macaroni and cheese (one of her faves)
spaghetti
meatloaf
lasagna
mashed potatoes
and lots of other stuff we have for dinner

teeth:
one top
one bottom

other:
pats, rocks, and feeds baby dolls
pretends to eat play food and drink from play cups (with sound effects)
feeds others her food
"sings" songs
"dances" to music
pretends to sing abc's with leap frog thingie
pretends to read books out loud
laughs when others laugh
"talks" on the phone
"types" on the computer
gives kisses
blows kisses
gives hugs and loving
has developed a cheesy, two-toothed grin

The funny thing is that our children seem to be complete opposites! Hopefully they will complete each other, LOL.

Evan was always big for his age, Chloe is small.
Evan will drink nothing but milk, Chloe won't touch milk.
Evan was a great sleeper, Chloe was more difficult.
Evan was very independent, Chloe is very clingy.
Evan was very social, Chloe is much more leery/standoffish.
Chloe loves the water/pool, Evan was afraid.
Evan had to be in his bed at naptime and bedtime or else, Chloe can easily go off schedule with no real problems.
Evan was completely ready to be done nursing by 11-12 months and transitioned easily to whole milk, Chloe... well, we've already covered that.
Evan didn't walk until 15 months, Chloe is almost walking at 12 (I guess that is not that different, though).

Evan was really easy with the toddler stuff... hardly ever threw tantrums, gave up the paci easily, potty trained really easily, transitioned to a big boy bed really easily, learned to feed himself easily, etc. I wonder if this means that all of that will be hard with Chloe.

Maybe it will keep going and Chloe will turn into an easy preschooler. Is there such a thing? I'm not so sure.

Lollipop!

As I'm attempting to get caught up on editing pictures and video so I can hopefully make the kids' birthday video montages for this year (my goal is before I go back to school), you will likely see lots of random posts like this one. I figure this blog may be the closest thing I have for a scrapbook for a while, might as well load it up!

On to More Important Things

I just finished and submitted my "rough draft" of the last two chapters of my research paper (and added them to the first 3 after going through and changing it all to past tense). Hopefully, prayerfully, it should only be minor editing and little changes/corrections from here on out. Unless I really messed up on something. I also took my Comps last night, so it looks like I might really have a Masters degree here in a couple of months.

Now I can get back to more important things.... like taking pictures, editing them, and posting them on here!

By the way, for those just dying to know (I know you are out there, somewhere). My 2x2x2x3 factorial analysis of variance (you know the one I paid 50 bucks for? Grrr! It only took her an hour, thank goodness) found no significant main effects from the instructional method looping on student achievement in reading and no significant interactions between the independent variables gender, socioeconomic status, ability, and instructional method. So, basically I paid 50 bucks for nothing wrote an 87 page paper to say.... I didn't find a darn thing of any importance to anyone!

Oh, well, that is how I suspected it would turn out. I think my students who looped with me actually probably did do better in reading, but the TCAP measures language arts and reading together and so the students I had that did not loop with me had my lovely husband for language arts. And he manages to blow his test scores out of the water every single year. I'm halfway surprised it didn't show that the kids that looped with me did worse. I still don't know how he does it. It's a mystery to me. But, I'm kind of glad that he's now out of the classroom, so I don't have to hear it all the time :).

Anyway, I'm pretty sure he messed up my entire research. Threw my data all out of whack. It's all his fault.

As he would say, "Of course it is his fault, isn't everything?"

It doesn't really matter, anyway, I didn't have to find anything significant to graduate, just had to write the stinkin' paper. And the stinkin' paper is done! (well, almost, fingers crossed)

WHEW!

Got Milk?

Chloe I am.
I am Chloe.
I do not like Milk....
...except from my mommy!

I will not drink it in a cup
I will not drink it with a pup.

I will not drink it from a bottle
I will not drink it while I waddle.

Not warm,
not cold,
not chocolate or strawberry

I do not like it. It makes me unmerry.

I will not drink it with a straw
I will not drink it, that is law.

I will only nurse from my mommy.
Is that a problem? ...Not a problem to me!

As you might be able to tell, weaning is not going well. She HATES milk. She adamantly refuses it any way I have tried. I have no idea what to do! She is now nursing morning and night and eating lots of cheese and yogurt (and ice cream) in between, but I'm ready to wean completely soon. I would prefer not to be nursing her when she starts kindergarten.

If you know any tricks, let us know! She drinks water and juice just fine out of cups or straws. We've tried cold milk, warm milk, different cups, a bottle, straws, chocolate milk, strawberry milk, formula (hoping if she would take it we could start mixing milk in), and breast milk. All of them are met with the same response.... gagging followed by crying followed by slapping the cup away or throwing it on the floor followed by more crying followed by signing for "milk."

Sigh.

In His Own Image

...When God created man he made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created he called them "man". Genesis 5:1-2

Evan: I wish I knew what God looked like. Do you know what God looks like?

Me: No, no one knows for sure what God looks like, but the Bible says that God created us in His image so He must look a little bit like us.

Evan: You mean God's hair sticks up, too?!

Look Who's Walking!

I just watched my daughter walk across the room!

At first, I didn't even react because it took me a minute for it to sink in that she just took her first real steps! She just let go of the couch and took off. It seemed so natural, that at first I just sat there and watched her.

Then, all of a sudden, I squealed, "CHLOE! You're WALKING!" at which point I promptly scared her out of her pants and she sat down and started crying!

Of course, then I grabbed the video camera and she wasn't much into walking anymore. I got a few steps on camera, though. Now Evan can say "SHE'S WALKING!" instead of "SHE'S STANDING UP!" every five minutes, LOL.

(Oh, and don't forget to scroll down to the bottom of the page and pause the music player if you want to hear it, but it's really just a bunch of cheering, so it might not be that important :)

Pay no attention to the scary spider in the floor in this video. It's harmless, I promise.

Happy Father's Day!

Thank you for being such a wonderful father and husband, Matthew. I appreciate all that you do and provide for our family more than you know. Evan and Chloe love you so much and they are lucky to have such a wonderful father.


P.S. Sorry you spent Father's Day weekend staining the deck.

Happy Father's Day to Daddies everywhere!

A special Happy Father's Day to my daddy. Thank you for always believing in me and encouraging me to be more than I thought I could be.

To George. Thank you for being a wonderful father-in-law and for raising a wonderful man.

To my Granddaddy. Thank you for being the best example of the Christian leader of the home and for loving me unconditionally.

And to Lynn. Thank you for always being there for us, ready to solve whatever problem arises, and standing by to support us in whatever we do.

Here are some pictures of Lynn's waterfall. He created it. I took these pictures over a month ago and I know he's been waiting to see them. Happy Father's Day!

A Breakthrough

We have had a breakthrough in our house in the last week. Chloe is a toothless wonder no more! She cut her first two teeth last week (one on top and one on bottom) simultaneously at 12 months of age! She has some more on their way as well. This is a big relief as we were beginning to wonder if she would ever have teeth! Now if she could just get some hair...

Sorry for the pitiful pictures, it's the best time to actually be able to see her new chompers!

College Ethics and Brotherly Pride

Does anyone else think it seems slightly unethical that I pay nearly $1600 in tuition (including fees) for one class which is a class in which I am supposed to complete chapters 4 & 5 of my research paper which includes the data (presentation, analysis, discussion, etc) of my research and then I get an e-mail that says, "Hello, I'm your instructor. Please submit a rough draft of your paper on June 29 and the final draft is due July 24. If you have concerns about running the statistics on your data you can contact Professor C at this number and for $50 per hour she will assist you with your data." ? Anyone?

Does anyone think that is the worst run-on sentence you've ever seen? Me, too, but I have no energy to fix it this morning.

I find this unethical. It seems that if I pay for a class, then the college should have some sort of responsibility to teach me how to complete my paper or at the very least provide assistance at no cost to me, not direct me to a different professor that I can pay to run my data!

But, since I have no idea how to do it myself and the rough draft is due in less than a week and a half, I felt I had no choice. Anyone want to bet on how many hours (she claims) it takes her to run my data?

_____________________________________

Ok, new topic. Evan's amazement at Chloe's accomplishments cracks me up. For weeks now, everytime she stands, he screams, "She's STANDING UP!". He seems genuinely amazed every single time, LOL.

This morning they were playing with the magnets on the fridge while I made breakfast and he said, "Mommy, she said da-da-ba-da in OUR LANGUAGE!" LOL. Then he said, "SHE'S PUTTING THE MAGNETS ON THE REFRIGERATOR! Isn't that amazing, mom? A baby putting the magnets on the refrigerator!"

Give It Up for Evan!

Evan had his four year old check- up today. His stats were:

Height: 43 1/2" (97%)
Weight: 41 1/2 pounds (86%)

Evan looked great and is very healthy. He talked Dr. Blevins ear off, of course. He was very grateful to me when I said we would just wait and have all of his kindergarten shots next year at once instead of splitting them up and taking some today. He had to have blood counts taken, but he was extremely brave and didn't cry at all.

The highlight of the check-up for Evan was getting to pee-pee in a cup! Boys!

We have been practicing his address, phone number, parents' names, jobs, and where we work, his full name, birthday, siblings, names, etc for karate class. He has to pass a test over this to get a belt. Anyway, on the way home from the dr I started quizzing him.

I said "What is your full name?"

Evan: I can't tell you right now. I'm feeling "fusstrated", a little upset, and "sweepy" because I didn't get enough "sweep" earlier (he had fallen asleep on the way to the dr and I had to wake him up when we got there).

I paused for a minute and then said, "What is your sister's name?"

Evan: Just give it up! I told you, I can't think when I'm tired!

The Mommy Wars

I have a confession to make. I've come to a realization over the last year that I really didn't think I would ever arrive at. I actually do not enjoy being a stay at home mom. GASP! Sacrilege!

I've been thinking about doing a post on this topic for a while now, and then I came across this post. And it linked to this post. And whew! Moms sure do get stirred up about this topic! And it reminded me of a book I read a couple of years back called Mommy Wars.

I bought that book at a time when I was really struggling with my necessity to work. I read the book and don't really remember that much about it, to be honest. But, now, after four years of being every kind of working mom there is, I think I have officially come to peace with what is best for me and my family and I thought I would share that four year journey here.

Let's start with a little vocabulary, it will make my life (and yours) easier later:
SAHM- Stay at home mom (SAH- stay at home)
WAHM- Work at home mom (WAH- work at home)
WOHM- Work outside the home mom (WOH...... come on, you know it... Yes! That's right, work outside the home)

And just for the sake of being politically correct, yes, I know dads can also serve in all of these rolls, but we will just stick with the term "mom" to refer to the parent in the roll.

And there will be a vocabulary quiz at the end of this lesson, so pay attention, ok?

A-hem!

Let me begin by saying, the reason the confession in the first paragraph is so shocking (well, besides the societal pressure for all moms to at least want to stay at home with their children and to at least profess to hate the job that they must work which keeps them away from their children) is because I have always wanted to be a stay at home mom. No, seriously, even from a young age... if I had been honest what with you about what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would have said, "A stay at home mom to lots of children". Now, it's not that I lack ambition or wanted the "easy" (laugh, snort!) way out or anything like that. I was actually a geek in disguise in school. I loved school, loved learning, loved to challenge myself by taking the hardest classes I could, loved to do well in those classes, and was competitive about my academic performance. A classic perfectionist, over-achiever when it came to academics. In fact, I would venture to say that even if I had indeed become a full-time stay at home mom, I would probably still be furthering my education. I am that much of a geek (in disguise of course). And I made good grades.

And so, people (like my parents, guidance counselors, high school teachers) naturally steered me toward what they thought of as more challenging and successful careers. Like becoming a doctor. And in all fairness, I probably got their hopes up when I used to say I wanted to be a doctor for a great deal of my childhood (a pediatrician, of course). But, by the time I got to high school I had realized two things... 1. I did not particularly like hospitals or things relating to the medical field (like needles) and 2. I really did not want to see sick and suffering children. And as I envisioned my ideal life (remember, I'm a planner) I also did not envision being in school until I was thirty and waiting until then to get married and start a family. Nor did I envision working long hours caring for other people's sick kids while mine were cared for by someone else.

And yes, I understand, that it might be a bit unusual for a high school freshman to be thinking long term like that, but its just who I am. Seriously.

Nope, when I envisioned my ideal life, I imagined myself married to a highly successful man and I would be the perfect doting wife and mother. You know, keep the house perfectly clean and tidy, prepare delicious homemade meals three times a day, care for and teach five perfectly groomed and dressed children, hostess dinner parties for my husband's clients and boss, make lovely clothing for my children, etc, etc (I venture to say that my highschool Home Ec teacher could have predicted how this would turn out)... You get the idea, I'd be June Cleaver, or whatever. I've said many times I was born into the wrong era. I've often longed to live in an era where women just didn't work. It wasn't a question. So, I knew I would go to college and I needed to choose a career (you know, just in case the highly successful man didn't work out) and so I settled on teaching. It was a natural career choice. I loved children. I'd been baby-sitting since I was 10! I loved school and learning! And best of all, if I had to work I'd have the exact same schedule as my five (names already chosen, of course) children and would have lots of time off to spend with them. And I was really into the idealistic view of making a difference in the life of a child, too.

So, off to college I went. And I fell in love with another teacher. And so we both knew that unless we wanted to live like paupers for the rest of our lives we would need both of our incomes to live off of. And that was fine, at the time. We thought of all the time off we'd have together and how great that would be. And I had worked in daycare for years and I actually believed daycare was good for kids. I watched the kids in my care grow and thrive and learn and make friends. All was good with the world. And then my child came along. And when I thought of leaving my child in daycare and returning to work, suddenly things didn't look so good to me anymore.

When I had my first son, we planned for him to be born toward the end of the school year and saved up so that I could take the whole first half of the next school year off so that he would be 7 months old before I returned to work. As the weeks of my leave ticked by, I got more and more anxious and depressed about leaving him. Really, as the time grew closer, I kind of almost had the mindset that once I went back to work I would never see him again. I loved being home with him. I loved doing all the mommy duties and kind of keeping the house up (even then, not really my strongsuit). I lunched with friends when they had days off. We went to Target frequently. It was great! I began to realize that I did not in any way want to return to work. So, I thought of things I could do to stay at home. I figured out exactly what we would need to get by and I began selling Pampered Chef, hoping to make it. But, I couldn't make that much selling Pampered Chef and so I returned to work and I was miserable!

Leaving Evan at daycare that first day was probably one of the very worst days of my entire life. For one thing, there were issues with the daycare center. They had changed everything around since when I had visited it and I didn't like his new room or his teachers. And he was not happy. And when I picked him up, he had not slept all day long. He crashed out in the car on the way home and for weeks we had to feed him and put him straight to bed as soon as we got home because he was so tired. And he was sick all the time. He would go to daycare Monday and Tuesday of a week and then have to miss the rest of the week. And when he got sick, he was really sick. High fevers, rashes, multiple ear infections, the Rota virus. It was horrible. When I returned to work I had exactly five sick days and I blew through those in the first month, seriously. Pretty soon we were paying for daycare when he was never there and I was having to take time off work without pay because I didn't have any sick days. And my once always happy baby was a nonstop sick, cranky mess. I was trying to pump during my 30 minute lunch break at work and I was not getting enough milk for Evan and at the same time, the daycare was feeding him when he was not hungry and then pouring the rest of the bottle of breastmilk down the drain! It was horrible. It was so horrible that I resigned my job. I resigned my job knowing that we could not make ends meet. Matthew would have to work two jobs. And I began to explore options for things I could do from home to make more money. I decided I would go from a WOHM to a WAHM.

I looked into a few different "mommy" franchises such as Stroller Strides and Kindermusic (which is really funny, since I cannot sing a lick!). I thought about going back to Pampered Chef in addition to something else. I signed up to score tests online with ETS for a little extra cash along with whatever I decided on. I considered tutoring out of my home. I thought about working with Sylvan Learning Center at night and on weekends. I even considered just a regular minimum wage type part-time job or waiting tables (shudder) again. And I seriously considered doing daycare out of my home. In fact, that was pretty much the option I settled on. But the thing was with every option I explored, I found that each one required me to work more hours than I did teaching while earning less. And each option sounded stressful for our family. Imagine, Matthew working two jobs to come home to me with 5 daycare kids in the house or to come home to care for Evan by himself while I went to a part-time job. But, at least he wouldn't be in daycare.

Very fortunately for our family, my parents decided to retire that year and very graciously offered to keep Evan for us. I shudder to think where our family would be if we had tried to make it like we were thinking about. But, even as I went back to work I wasn't very happy. I just felt like I was missing so much. It broke my heart. And as I began having miscarriages and I became more and more depressed the feeling only intensified. I began to feel like Evan would be my only child and his childhood was just slipping through my fingers and I was missing it all! I was constantly trying to look for ways that I could stay at home. But, again, every option I looked at really would end up with me working more (with more time away or at least distracted from Evan) and earning so much less that I knew we would still really be struggling. Interestingly enough, when I turned my situation over to God and my depression began to lift, I also began to gain a new perspective on my job. And I began to see how really blessed our family was for us to both be teachers and therefore have so much time off together as a family and how the financial stability provided by my income allowed us to enjoy that time off so much more fully.

When I had Chloe, I knew she would likely (maybe) be my last and I wanted that time with both her and Evan. I wanted a year to pretend to be a SAHM. I wanted to experience that. So, we saved up and I took the entire school year off work and pulled my son out of preschool to have him at home with me. And I nearly lost my mind. Seriously. That is hard for me to admit, but it is true.

I was so overwhelmed with the house (which is NEVER, EVER clean), caring for my daughter while at the same time entertaining and teaching my son, and trying to do graduate school work. I could not seem to manage my time, at all. And believe it or not, I felt guilty. I felt guilty because I felt like Evan was bored to tears with me at home. I felt like he needed to be around his friends and learning to share and play and just learning in general. I felt like I (a teacher) was unable to teach him what he needed. I felt guilty because Matthew came home to a messy house every day. But, if I tried to do something about it, I felt guilty because it meant my children were plopped in front of the TV. But the worst part about it for me was that I was SO lonely. So lonely. I felt like a part of myself was just gone. Matthew was coaching football and there were (many) days when I literally did not talk to another human being over the age of 3 all day long. I had dreamed of playdates and hanging out with mommy friends, but I suddenly didn't have any. They were all working or had moved away or they already had their own mommy groups or just plain busy. I took Evan to the library for storytime and I went to MOPS for a while and we did free kindermusic at Borders and it helped me keep a little of my sanity. But, still there were many days that I was so lonely that I would spend the kids' entire naptimes on online message boards and blogs just so I could talk to someone. I even began looking forward to my online discussions for my classes because it meant a little adult conversation and even some "education talk" which I was actually missing.

And I'll just be honest here, I do not like cleaning house. It is so boring to me! And the dirtier it is, the more overwhelmed I feel and the less I feel like attempting to do anything about it. And you know the argument that WOHM's have to cook and clean and care for children and WOH, too, so their job is harder, so there (sticking your tongue out here is optional)!? Now, nothing against WOHM (I am one, remember?). I know there is a whole set of unique stresses that go along with that. In fact that used to be my number one argument as to why I thought SAH would be easier. But, there's just one little thing. When you are WOH, your children are (usually, unless you have a nanny) not in your home. And that makes a big difference. Seriously. When your children are in your home 24/7, your house is never, ever clean. At least mine is not. Maybe yours is.

Now, don't get me wrong. I have loved being off with my children this year. I would not change it. I would probably have worked it out to where Evan went to preschool at least a couple of mornings a week, but other than that I would not change it. I would not give that time I had with Chloe up for anything in the world. And I have had a ball spending so much time with Evan. There have been days when I have been over the moon with happiness because everything is just so perfect. (And of course there have been other days as well). And I am so glad I did not have to return to work with a pump in tow this time. And I'm so thankful that in her first year Chloe has had exactly two minor colds and one ear infection. All the playtime, all the silly time, all the fun... it has been wonderful!

And I am so very thankful that I had the experience.

All the same, when this parttime job fell into my lap in January, I jumped on it! I needed to go back to work to have time to get my school work done! Of course, my mom watches my children, so that makes a huge difference. This experience has taught me something very valuable though... I like being a teacher. I like working. I need the interaction with adults and the mental challenge of working. And teaching is the perfect job for me.... still lots and lots of time off to play SAHM.

Now, when all of my other WOH friends tell me that "teaching is not a real job" or that "I don't understand the stress of their real job" or that I'm "paid pretty well for only working 200 days a year", instead of getting upset I actually kind of agree with them. I'm not saying that teaching is the easiest job in the world. Trust me, it can be stressful. There's stress, and paperwork, and deadlines, and accountability, just like any other job. And I still think we are underpaid given the education that is expected of us and the fact that we do not get any assistance to pay for further education. And I think it is unfair that you do not get rewarded monetarily for doing your job well. But, seriously, it is rewarding and you just can't beat all that time off! So, believe it or not, I am excited about getting back to my "real" job in the fall. And now I know.

I just don't completely enjoy being a full-time SAHM. And I admit it.

And the best thing about being a WOHM? I can afford a cleaning lady.

All this to say, you have to do what is right for you and your family. There is no one right answer that fits all here. But, regardless of your choice, know that as long as you make the best choice for your family... you are a GOOD mom and I can guarantee you that whether you SAH, WAH, or WOH, or any combination of the three... you are working HARD!

The moral of the story: Don't keep looking for greener grass... find the greenest grass in your own pasture and settle down there and eat til you're silly!

More Dollywood

We've been making the rounds at Dollywood some more! We went this past weekend with Grandmother and Granddaddy for our first trip during Kidsfest 2009. Kidsfest is great!

The kids LOVED the Llama Llama Red Pajama show. Evan has both of the "llama" books from Imagination Library and he loves to read Llama Llama, Mad at Mama. But, for some reason Llama, Llama Red Pajama scares him! I don't know. Maybe I used a little too much excitement when I first read it to him. Anyway, the play is a combination of both stories and of course he loved the Mad at Mama part and he climbed on Matthew's lap and Matthew said his heart was pounding during the other part, LOL. Chloe was glued to the stage the entire time. She loved it!

Grandmother and Granddaddy with the kids on the carousel.

We had a great day! Evan rode the Slidewinder for the first time with Mommy and Daddy. He was fine, didn't make a sound the whole way down, but Mommy was squealing! I had forgotten how high on the sides that thing goes! I kept thinking we were going to flip at any second.

And way back over Memorial Day weekend I became brave and took the kids to Dollywood by myself with my dear friends and their son (who shall remain nameless because I know they are not as enthusiastic about posting family information all over the world wide web as I am;).

We had a great time that day! It was so fun to see friends. And Evan and his friend talked it up like they were lifelong buds, (which of course they are, but they only see each other a few times a year). As soon as we got out of the car and started through the parking lot they started chatting it up, telling each other all their imaginary stories and listening intently to each other.

Their conversation went something like this:

E: My brothers, Donnie, Raph, Michael Angelo, and Leo are on their way here. They will be here in a minute.

B:Really?

E: Yeah, and Casey will be here too.

B: Yeah. Well, guess what happened to my little buddy, A? He got bitten by a snake! (I can't remember this exact story, but it involved his buddy and a snake)

E: Really?

B: Yeah

E: (Laughing) I don't want to get bit by a snake! I'll tell my brothers to watch out for those snakes!

Stroller talk. It was hilarious!

Evan actually rode the River Battle with his bud's dad for the first time (usually he just stands on the shore and shoots at the people on the boat) and he had a blast!

Around the House (unedited)

I have become obsessed with editing my pictures lately, which takes a lot of time (especially because I'm still not great at taking pictures right out of the camera), and that puts me very behind on sharing pictures.

So, I thought I'd take some pictures from the last couple of months from around the house and give you an unedited look at what goes on around here occasionally on a daily basis.

Our house occasionally gets messy and every once in a while, it might just stay that way for days before the toys are picked up. I mean, that could possibly happen. Maybe it's happened once or twice. And if it were to happen, I have to have a safe place that can contain Chloe so that I know she is not eating Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle weapons, thus the playyard. I'm just saying, that might be why we have the playyard.

But, there are also plenty of days, when I keep the floor somewhat picked up. At least enough for it to be safe for her have free reign of the entire family room.

She loves to put things in a box and take them back out. Doesn't matter how fun the toy is, putting them in and taking them out is more fun.

We also ooccasionally spend the entire day in our pajamas (and sometimes even go back to bed in those same pjs).

I have to admit that we are tv watchers around here. I know its bad, but Matthew and I love tv and there is usually (more than) one on at all times in our house. But, when the kids look like this, I will occasionally turn it off and take a little break.

Every once in a while, I let Evan skip his nap and he ends up crashing out on the couch later.

Occasionally, unexplained things occur at our house. Like when "the kitty" pulled the napkin rings off all of the napkins on the dining room table and stacked all the napkins up. Bad kitty!

I don't know where this photo came from because I would never a) let Chloe wear a snake around her neck, b)let her play on the brick hearth, or c) let Evan eat marshmallows right out of the full bag. Or maybe occasionally those things might happen in our house.

Chloe the Snake Hunter

Although we do sometimes stay in our pj's all day, most of the time we try to make sure that we get dressed and do our hair for the day.

I try to teach my children to independent from an early age. I can't do it all!

And, honestly? I'm not even sure what to say about this. I think she was trying to put her bathing suit on, but I'm not sure.

And every once in a while, we have some tears around our house. What can I say? It happens.

But, most of the time, we have a great time in our pj's playing in our messy house, not getting any housework done. Like today, when we had a concert before nap. I played the harmonica and tried to play the songs in the song book Evan gave me (I can read music, but I believe I was in the wrong key on most of them), Evan sang in the microphone, and Chloe played the maracas. Evan's song went something like this:

"Ohhhh, you're so preeeettttyy! The preeeeeetttttiiiiiiest thing I've ever seen. Even in the raaaaaaiiiiiiinnnn! You're sooooo pretty and this iiiiiiiiissss a beeaaauuuutiful day!"

And I agree, a beautiful day!