Big, Big Day!

This week is a week of firsts for all of us.  Big things are happening in our lives right now.  For starters, I GOT A JOB!  I am going to be a kindergarten teacher at Oil City Magnet School!  Whoop :)

 

   OIL CITY MAGNET: "THE DIFFERENCE IS WORTH THE DISTANCE!"  

This is especially appropriate considering the distance I will be driving to work every day!  Oil City is about 25 minutes north of Shreveport, which means it's about an hour from our house.

Since I am going back to work, that means........day care!  I am not excited at all about leaving Mia, at all.  On the other hand, Austyn could not be more excited!  She is so ready to go back to school and play with her friends!

I love how she is holding on to Austyn, as if to say, "Please don't leave me!!"

As I picked them up from school, I was excited to hear that Austyn had a great day.  Her teacher has been anxiously awaiting her return to school (she was Gannon's teacher, also).

Mia, however, did not have so great of a day.  They called me this morning because she was refusing her bottles and she was very cranky and upset.  Poor little thing :(  This is a huge transition for her, and it is going to take some getting used to.  When I got to her classroom, she laughed and lunged at me!  When I picked her up, she just kept rubbing my face and giving me kisses.  Chere little heart!  Mommy missed you, too!!

In other news, another big first for Mia-Bug!

She couldn't quite reach the toy she wanted in the bucket, so she just pulled herself on up!!  Big girl!

Gannon is officially a bus rider, now.  He has chosen to ride from time to time, but I pick him up most days.  From now on, he will ride the bus both to and from school everyday.  His adjustment is going to be getting up early.  The bus passes at 6:30!!  That seems awfully early to me, but he likes it.  He says it allows him to nap on the way to school.  Ha!  What a good sport :)

Wish us luck on our new routines!  And please say a little prayer for Mia that she adjusts quickly :)

Let's Get Pinning: Summer Fashion

It is Wednesday again, which means....Oh, How Pinteresting! with Michelle over at The Vintage Apple.

Does anyone else wish Pinterest had a store with all of their outfit ideas put together and ready to purchase?  Even better--it should all be arranged by size!  Oh, yeah, wait.....it would also be nice if some of it just happened to be in my price range!  Oh, well.  A girl can dream, right?  Here are some of my "Would love to haves" for summer this year.

Happy pinning, everyone!  See yall next Wednesday!



Celebrating Baby M

We had a very busy and exciting weekend.  We traveled to Lake Charles to celebrate our sweet Baby M.  I can't express enough how thankful I am for the love and support we have been given by our family and friends.  It means so much to Bryan and me to see how much our little "caboose" is loved, and it isn't even here, yet!


We started the weekend with a diaper party for Baby M.  We have decided to continue to use cloth diapers on Baby M (we have been using them on Austyn for a year), so a traditional diaper party wasn't a good option for us.  There is a local store, eLeMeNO-Pee, that sells cloth diapers and cloth diaper accessories.  I spoke with the owner about doing a cloth diaper party.  She was so excited!  She filled a tub with different types of cloth diapers (yes, there are different types--lots!) in all gender neutral colors and prints, and brought it to the party.  Instead of the guests bringing a package of disposable diapers, they just bought a diaper at the party.  It was so great to give our family the chance to learn about modern cloth, and to see just how easy it really is.  Everyone was impressed and on board with us!

Cloth diapers are no longer associated with diaper pins and "jiffy" pants (or those nasty plastic pants).  Modern cloth is great!  Just look at how cute they are!

The shower was absolutely perfect!  Instead of a traditional guest book, everyone signed a children's book for Baby M.  Everyone left the sweetest messages for Baby M, and I can't wait to share them :)

There were also cards with "Wishes for Baby M" printed on them.  Each guest took a card and filled out different wishes they have for the baby.  I had so much fun reading these!!

We had cupcakes by the fabulous Cupcake Crazy!  They were delish!  And yes, my friends love me so much, they got me two King Cakes, too!!

The cloth diaper representative explained a little bit about modern cloth diapers and how they work.  While she did this, the guests were able to pass around the diapers and then ask questions.  This part was hilarious!

After the Q & A, it was time to shop :)

Here are some of the party guests!

And here is the big sister with the greats!

I am so upset with myself for forgetting to take a picture with my hostesses.  I can't believe I did that!  I don't even have a picture of two of them or of myself.  I know, shame, shame.

After the party, Bryan and I were off to take maternity photos with the ever-so-talented, Ashley Wood.  Seriously, she is ah-maz-ing!!!  Those of you who know Bryan, know how much he hates taking pictures!  And what does he hate more than taking pictures?  Kissing in pictures ;)  I can't say how proud I am that he didn't complain at all.  Not once!  And we shot photos for two hours!  He loves me :)

These are just a few "sneek peaks" from the photo shoot.  Ashley did such a great job!  I love them all, and I can't wait to see the rest!!

I'll be sure to post the rest in a few weeks when they are ready!

While this weekend was great, it was very bittersweet.  We had so much fun with our family and friends, but it is going to be our last trip to Lake Charles until May.  This will by far be the longest we have ever gone without making a trip home.  We have decided that it is best for me not to travel anymore.  Austyn just came so fast, we feel that a four-hour drive (mostly though nowhere with no cell phone service) is just too risky.  I don't want to have this baby on the side of the road!  Ha ;)  We also don't plan to travel with a brand new baby.  We want to wait about a month or so. 

Those of you in Lake Charles, just remember--The road that brings us home will also take you here!  We would love to have visitors over the next couple of months!

I will continue to update everyone here, though, so stay tuned!



The "Old People" Come to Texas

So, Mom and Dad call us to say they want to come for a visit.  Mom asked if we would mind some "old people" tagging along, ha.  Of course not!  They brought along Nonnie and Mawmaw!  We don't tell the kids when we are expecting company because, being that they are two and four, they aren't the best at waiting.  They were surprised to see Mimi and Pappy at the front door Friday night, and even more surprised to see Mawmaw and Nonnie follow them in.  They weren't really sure what to do...Very funny.  I am pretty disappointed in myself for not taking more pictures, but I got caught up in the company and er, uh, I for.got :/

Take a look at Gannon's new accessory.  This was not even an attempt to show off.  He was playing outside and we peeked out to see this.

"Look Mimi!!  No diaper!!"  Is this green?



Austyn sang "Yummy, yummy, yummy, I got love in my tummy" All. Morning. Long.  Mimi tried to escape, but A sang to her under the door :)

This is how my very animated little princess tells a story.

Sunday, we grilled burgers for lunch.  Mimi and the munchkins decided to eat outside.  It was yuuummmmyyyy!!

These two women, my Nonnie and my Mawmaw, have inspired me more than they will ever know. I am so blessed to have them in my life, and I am also incredibly grateful for the relationship my kids have with their "Greats".

 

 

New Job!

Well, I guess it's time I make this news blog-official.  I got a new job!  I am beyond excited.  My last day at the high school is this Friday, and I start the new one on Monday. 

So I guess I should share details.  Well, it is really a long story, but I will try to shorten it up.  I am going to be a private tutor to a special needs five-year-old.  He and his family just moved to Longview from Austin.  He has an older brother who is dyslexic, and therefore, also needs extra help.  They based their entire move on a school here for special needs children.  When they got here, though, they hated it.  So she has pulled them out of school and hired private tutors.  I have been lucky enough to stumble into this, and I will be working with the five-year-old. 

My new schedule is Monday-Thursday from 8:30-12:30.  This leaves plenty of time for laundry, cooking, house-cleaning, etc. BEFORE I pick up the babies from school.  That means when they get home...we PLAY!!  Oh how I love this!