Big Changes

Well my life went from being fairly simple for the past few months to a complete stress case in a matter of weeks because of a few big changes that are happening right now.

(which is the cause for being awake at 5am even though I've been practically sleep walking through my week because of exhaustion)

Reason #1

Student Teaching

I have finally hit the dreaded wall in my field of study.  This is the semester of do or die and even though I might just die doing it, I am going to do it because if I do...well then, I can graduate in DECEMBER and be done!  Pow!  All finished!  And never have to register for another class in my life UNLESS I want to:)  Which I'm sure I will because I do enjoy school, but student teaching is always a grueling time for prospective teachers. Luckily I have been assigned to a wonderful 3rd grade teacher who I'm happy to work with and who is helpful, calm, organized, and a fantastic example.  I will only be with her for six weeks until I am moved to a jr high to teach math which has yet to be determined where I will be placed. 

Reason #2

We're Moving

Yup, that's right.  We are leaving our little 2 bedroom apartment in the Terrace for a big back yard, more space, cheaper rent, a built in babysitter, AKA my parent's house:)

Since I have now become a full-time working mom with no pay, it is the best thing for our family to do right now.  Half of my house is packed and tucked away at Targhee's parent's house and the other half is waiting to be transferred to my parent's.  What would we do without parents?

Student Teaching does not lend itself to a lot of extra time so trying to pack has been interesting and I will be very glad when it is all done.

Reason #3

This

Apparently it's time for me to make an official announcement since facebook keeps trying to do it for me:)

We are adding another little baby bean to our family.

I will attempt to answer all of your questions right now that way you won't need to ask when you see me.  Aren't I nice:)

We won't find out what it's going to be for another six weeks, so don't ask.

Yes, I have been sick.

Yes, I feel better now.

Yes, I've had weird cravings.

Yes, I've been moody.

Yes, I'm tired.

No, it wasn't an accident.

No, I don't care whether it's a girl or a boy.

No, we don't have a name yet.

Yes, we are very excited.

I am 13 weeks.

My due date is March 5, 2012.

Did I get everything?  Haha!  As you can tell I'm not a big fan of the cliche questions and try to put them off for as long as possible:)  But we really are very excited for this new chapter in our lives.  I've always known that Leilani is going to be a great big sister and am happy that she will have a playmate. 

Right now I'm just very grateful for a supportive and understanding husband and family.  They have been so wonderful and I love them very much.

Unfinished List

I am starting school on Monday.

Tear.

But I wanted to share the list of things I planned to do with Leilani this summer that we didn't get to.

That way all of you can do them with your kids and take pictures and send them to me...k!

• Ivory snow soap flakes and food coloring (found in the detergent aisle).  These are fun to play with in the bathtub
• make puppets and have a puppet show
• finger painting
• make cookies or bread or cake...just bake
• make a photo album of family members and teach them everyone's name (we have done this, but it was never an official activity)
• punch holes in a piece of cardboard in the shape of animals or designs and let them string a piece of yarn through the holes
• Inflate a beach ball 3/4 of the way and let them go at it
• buy the cheap sponges and cut them into fun shapes and let them help you "clean up" while you're cleaning
• colored ice cubes in the bathtub
• dress ups
• make a specific Art Space designated for art activities and creativity
• PBS play online
• hide and seek with toys (we used to do this with my family all the time we would say warm or cold, or sing soft or loud depending on if the child was close to finding the object or not)
• bowl of water and a paint brush and let them paint the rocks or sidewalk
• bean bags and buckets
• washable water color paints
• take a bus ride to the city and explore
• go to the fish farm

Obviously, I didn't get through half of my list.  But we had so much fun this summer and I wouldn't trade it for the world!

Happy Activity-ing

Hooray for new pictures!

I know you guys are probably sick of looking at pictures of my little girl:)  But I never tire of it.

Here are her 18 month pictures

umm...this picture kills me!  I want to blow it up as big as my wall.

 

Thank you so much Sierra!  You do such an amazing job!

If you want to see more of Sierra's pictures click HERE



Lions and Tigers and Bears...Oh my

We went to the Hogle Zoo yesterday.

We had a lot of fun but you can't tell for sure by the pictures.

Leilani had her game face on the whole day.

Reason #1: She's getting four teeth in.  That's never a reason to make kids smile.

Reason #2: The park had moving, growling, water spitting dinosaurs all over.  They scared the bejeebees out of her.  So therefore everything else at the park must be scary too.

At least we went on a train ride and THAT she liked:)

Making the elephant noise

making some african safari music

she was shaking as we took this picture

my favorite

we finally convinced her that this does not move or make noises

Targhee's favorite

this was her face the entire time

we asked her to smile and this is what we got

Leilani's favorite:)

"Choo Choo!"

This is my husband... in a nut turtle shell.

I think that you should be informed that we did not see any lions...or bears...or zebras...or hippos...or aligators...oh my!