1st day of school

The 1st day of school was a good day. I was glad for that. The morning went well. Everyone remembered their lunches, and book bags and school supplies.

When I picked up the kids from school, Nathan said.......wow....you weren't kidding.....Miss (insert teacher's name) really IS meaner!! All I will say is ......I really hope he has a good year. I know 4th grade is already going to be difficult for him. But.....well.....let's just leave it at that. :/

Maddie is excited for volleyball. This is her 1st year in sports. I think she has looked forward to this time for a couple years now. She had her 1st game Tuesday. For only having 1 practice (let's just not talk about that!!!) they did a good job. They did lose. But they got....experience.

I pray they have a good school year. I am a nervous wreck with Maddie at school without me this year. Her sugar already dropped to 32, thankfully it came up quickly. It was the 2nd day of school. I almost flipped out. Thankfully Uncle Doug was there and her teacher did a good job keeping me in the loop. Excitement really messes with her sugar. With a new schedule and all new things going on around her, it has taken some adjusting to maintain her sugar. If you think of it, say a little prayer as we find a schedule that works well for us to help curb any potential diabetic problems. I pray for wisdom in dealing with this as well. I am also thankful that I work with such great people that if I needed to, I could go take care of her at any given moment.

9 months

I am now 9 months old.

Mommy has gone to work, and some days it seems like she is gone forever. I don't like it that much, but Grandma and Grandpa take good care of me. Nathan was praying on the way to school this week. And while he was praying that I have a good day, he said " and be with Emma. Help her to have a good day at Grandpa's. Help them to know what to do with me.....well, they always know what to do. But help her to have a good day." I could see Mommy smiling. I think she likes to hear Nathan pray.

I am not only crawling, not only pulling myself up on the couch or my crib, but I am cruising along the couch or the coffee table. Mommy just shakes her head and tells me to slow down.

Gone are the days of leaving me on the floor to play for a second, Mommy has to keep her eye on me at all times. I really think that the stairs are a lot of fun. Which kinda gives Mommy a heart attack she says, but they look awful fun. Maddie and Nathan sure can run up and down them fast. Mommy says that she has to get a different gate for the stairs.

Mommy says that I am not a good eater. But. Well. I know what I like. I don't like that mushy stuff that Mommy calls baby food. I like to eat what everyone else is eating. I like to eat peas, potatoes, applesauce and carrots. I really like watermelon, especially when it is cold. Of course, I will only eat when I am in the mood. I really like milk the best. Mommy is just happy that dairy doesn't seem to bother me anymore. She still says that she won't give ME any dairy, but at least Mommy can have pizza again.

Mommy takes me to the park, and I really like it. I especially like sitting in the swing. There is even a swing there that Mommy and I can swing on at the same time. We can swing for a long time together. Mommy says its kinda relaxing. If there are kids playing then I like to watch them. They look like they are having so much fun. (Well....except 1 boy who looked a little older then me.....but could walk..... didn't have shoes on. Mommy couldn't believe how his mother let him run like that. She said I would always have shoes on. Mommy was afraid the boy would get splinters in the mulch.)

I also have learned to really like the stroller. Mommy is so happy bc now she can take me on a walk whenever she wants. She says she can't wait for it to cool down a little! Whenever I am in the stroller, I sit with my legs crossed watching everything. Mommy says I look very relaxed.

Mommy says that I am going to sleep better for her at night and that makes her very very happy. My bed time is 8 o' clock. Usually Mommy has to try and keep me up till then. If I go to bed much earlier then that Mommy says that I am up way to early for her liking in the morning.

The past couple nights I have even almost slept through the night. I got up 1 time. Mommy says that is ok. That she understands that I might be hungry. But she can kinda be grumpy if I get up more then that. I know she tries to not be grumpy. One night my tummy hurt so bad that I just couldn't sleep well. I woke up every 2 hours. Mommy finally realized the next day that my tummy hurt so bad bc I was constipated. She felt bad for me. I finally went poop and then I felt much better.

Mommy is still my favorite. ;) Although Daddy can make me laugh and laugh, especially when he plays peek a boo with me. I really like that game.

Do you know that we have this big black hairy thing that has 4 legs??? Mommy calls her Bella and seems to always be yelling at her. Well. I LOVE Bella. Bella can make me laugh, and she will play with me all the time!!! She really like it when I pull her hair. Mommy tells me all the time that I have to be gentle with Bella. Bella likes to give me kisses. And for some reason, whenever I am eating, Bella is sitting right next to me. She likes it when I drop my food.

We also have a little black thing with 4 legs. Mommy calls her Cupcake. But Cupcake always runs away when I try to play with her. I don't think she likes me.

I have 3 teeth now. 2 on bottom and I just got my 3rd one yesterday. Mommy says that I am just growing up way way way to fast. She said that she will turn around and I will be graduating high school. She tells me to slow down.

The day before school.....

Little Emma has taken a liken to playing with things she shouldn't. She likes to turn on and off the xbox bc the button lights up and makes a dinging noise. Silly Baby.

This was what was for breakfast this morning. It was my "last day before school starts" celebration breakfast. Well.....I am celebrating anyway. ;)

We had a great weekend at home. I got the house clean, laundry taken care of and groceries bought. Clothes are laid out. Lunches are partly packed.  School supplies ready by the door. Camera ready for the 1st day of school pictures. We are ready for school.

On a side note.....it feels weird to not be working at school. It's a good weird. Just a.....weird. I am not stressed about the next day lunch, I am not worried if I will have enough food. I am not wondering if I have forgotten an ingredient. I am not planning a Walmart stop in the morning for 1 more item. I am not.......planning. It feels good. I can continue to enjoy being a mother and not being consumed by my work. I am really thankful for the time that I had at school. I grew in the years that I worked there, but I am thankful that God has opened another door for me. It has allowed me to put my family before my job, and for that I am so thankful.

A date with the dishes

This is how Maddie did the dishes a couple Sunday's ago. I thought it was pretty comical.

 

She was all into also. She was putting on a show for us. Complete with singing and dancing. We enjoyed it.

 

I should have taken a video of it.

 

She is such a card. She must take after her Father. ;)

Speaking of her Father. He was playing peek a boo with Emma. She kinda liked it

 

She kept turning away and then she would peek at him seeing if he would do it again.

 

And then she would squeal.

 

So cute.

 

Well, I have a roast in the oven and I am going to make some sugar cookies while Emma is supposed to be napping. I hear the little stinker fussing.

Happy Wednesday.

Jeremy and I celebrated 14 years last week....... Sigh......

We went out on a date. Beef a Roo and a movie. Classic us. That's what we did when we dated.

Thanks to Joy and Luke for babysitting the kids. I am sorry that Emma was fussy for you. If it makes you feel better she was up every 2 hrs that night. She got be back for sure! The next day at work was a little rough. I felt like a zombie. I am so glad that I know that it won't last forever and that eventually she will sleep through the night on a regular basis. Eventually. Until then.....if I am a little tired, or a little crabby, or a little emotional.......just bear with me. Eventually.....I will get back to "normal" as well. ;)

Happy 14 by shack em up mate. Looking forward to many more years to come. Love you more now then I did back then.

A trip to the zoo

Last week, Maddie had her doctor's appointment in Madison. So we decided to go as a family and then make a day of it.

After the appointment, we ate some lunch, and then went to the zoo. Emma was very impressed of her first time at the zoo. (Actually what she wanted was to just go to sleep.)

Her 1st carousel ride was a hit.

The carousel is my kind of ride!!

I love this picture of Maddie.

We had to get our traditional picture of the kids on the lion.

Emma was to tired to get her picture taken. :(

Yep, sure looks like 2 monkeys to me!!

(can you tell how thrilled Maddie was??)

After the zoo, we stopped at the mall and got the kids some new school shoes. (I still can't believe how expensive it is to get kids ready for school.)

 

These were the only ones I could find.  I know I have other pictures of the kids at the zoo. Look how little they were!!

 

Oh....and Maddie's appointment could have gone better. Her A1C is 10.1!! She hasn't been putting her blood sugar # into the pump when she should be and it has thrown her numbers out of whack. The dr gave her a new blood sugar machine that will link her pump to her meter, but the insurance won't cover the strips for that meter!! stupid insurance.

The waterpark

Last week, we took the kids to one of the last days that our local water park was open. "Santa" had gotten the kids season passes for Christmas last year. I think it might have been one of the best gifts I have Santa has ever gotten.

The kids commented so many times during the summer how glad they were to be able to go. We would pack a lunch and head out. (I only made the mistake of buying lunch at the park 1 time.....I will NEVER do that again. 2 slices of pizza, a corn dog, 3 drinks, and a funnel cake cost $28. Ridiculous.)

  Some days I would take Emma, and some days she would spend some time with Grandpa S. She did pretty good, but some days I just knew that she either needed a nap or that it was just way to hot to take her. I am very thankful that Grandpa was willing to watch her.

( The 1 draw back from having such a gap in age in the kids is that the older kids want to go go go and don't always understand the needs of a baby. )

I am thankful for the good summer. I am sad that these are the only pictures I was able to get this summer at the water park. I just didn't want to leave my camera unattended while we were off having fun. :(

I can feel the seasons shifting, and I am now very much looking forward to fall. It has been cooler the past couple days. Very perfect if you ask me. But this weekend it is supposed to get hot again. :( Like I said, I am ready for fall.

My weekend with Erica

I stole these pictures from Erica's facebook page. She recently got a new camera. A beautiful camera. ( I am only slightly jealous )

My friend Erica is moving from Central IL where we grew up to Maryland where her husband has a new job.

I didn't think that I would be able to see her again before she left but everything just seemed to work out, so Emma and I headed south.

With Emma not loving her car seat, I was a little nervous about how she would do. On the way down she did ok. She fussed a little here and there and at about 3 hrs into it she had had enough. Thankfully we were close.

Needless to say she was very happy to get out and crawl around.

I think Erica was so very excited to meet little Emma. To be honest, I think she fell in love with her.

But.....who doesn't when they meet her?? ;)

For dinner we went to my favorite restaurant. Monicals.

And yes, I did eat pizza.

And yes.

 it. was. amazing.

Truth be told, I think I could have eaten for snack Friday night and for breakfast Sat. morning.

I think Emma was impressed.

Erica's boys had plans to spend the night with their Grandma and Grandpa at a local church camp for "cousins camp."

I love this picture. Kyler kept giving Emma a funny look b/c she kept trying to grab his hat.

Back at Erica's we had 1 tired baby on our hands.

We gave her a little snack

 and let her play, and then she almost happily laid down.

Erica and I stayed up late, watching a movie (which was REALLY good) and just talking. We finally headed to bed around 1:30. Which ironically was the time Emma wanted to get up for a snack. Thankfully she went right back to sleep.

But was up at 6 for the day. Yikes!!

The next morning, we went to the local cafe for some coffee and donuts.

Emma couldn't decide which one she wanted. But she finally decided upon a raspberry filled donut. Wise choice little one. Wise choice. ;)

(btw, I think this is my favorite picture of Emma)

After the donut shop we went to the park. There was a cancer walk going on and 1 of Erica's friends had a booth promoting her photography. (which she is really good at)

After the park, we went to Erica's parents house.

Erica's nephew Chase was there. I don't think he was to sure about Emma.

Erica's Mom took the kids on a wagon ride.

And I do mean a wagon ride!!! :)

I had such a nice weekend. I was so nice to catch up with each others lives.

Maddie and Nathan were mad at me that I didn't take them with me. But this wasn't the trip for kids. (Emma doesn't count. )

On the way home, Emma was so exhausted that she slept almost the whole way home. She woke up about 45min from our house. That was 1 quiet ride!

 I LOVED it.

I don't get to see Erica all that often, maybe once a year at best. But I so enjoy her friendship. She is full of energy and fun loving. She is kind and thoughtful. I don't really have memories of her ever being mean to anyone. I miss Erica, and I miss her friendship. I miss the lifetime of memories that I have with her. I m so thankful that we have kept our friendship current and alive. I look forward to many more memories to make.

(I am also thankful for my hubby who let me sleep in on Sunday morning. He got up with her when she woke up early for the day. #it's the little things.)