Selling Myself....

Can you tell when I get busy?  Probably because my blogging pretty much stops.  I have great intentions of sitting down and writing, but I haven't been able to make it to the computer for fun stuff.

I have been super busy getting ready for something that makes me so excited, yet nervous enough to make me want to yack!  I completed my student teaching at my current school 6 1/2 years ago and was hired on the spot.  I have made quite a comfy home at my current school, and I tend to leave well enough alone.  BUT...I drive about 40 minutes each way everyday and pass about 10 schools on my way to work.  I have been talking about moving over to Cherokee County for years, but since the economy has been so rough there has been no chance of moving schools yet alone counties in quite a few years.  Although I don't think it's great, I do think that if I want to try to make a move, now is my time. 
So, I have been spending the last two weeks, working on resumes, cover letters, printing and addressing envelopes, and filling out the application packet. 

I am happy to announce...everything is officially in the mail and on its way to 21 principals' desks.  So, I took a little break tonight, but starting tomorrow, I am working on a short introductory video to email with my resume to the principals in the next week or two, just to make sure I stay fresh on their mind.  :)

So, if I'm away from the blog a little more than normal, just know that I'm probably picking out a new interview outfit, pulling teaching artifacts to show off my teaching styles or standing in front of the mirror practicing how to "sell myself"! 

Please say a little prayer for me.  I can't even imagine the idea of being able to work so close to home!  What if I had an extra hour to spend with my little man everyday?  Oh that is magical just thinking about it! 

No Shame In My Game

So, I don't know if I'm posting this to show you that I am really strapped for time or just to show off my resourcefulness.  I found a great pair of pants on sale several months ago at Loft and brought them home knowing I would have to get them altered.  They have been sitting on the floor of my closet for months, in the "Oh, I'll take those next week" pile.  I found myself saying that over and over again.  I finally decided this morning, they were too cute to just be dust collectors, so I tried them on, and once I was down stairs with my heals on, I realized I needed stilts to wear them. 
I suddenly had a brilliant idea....Duck Tape...I mean what problem can't you solve with Duck Tape, (right, Dad?) 

So, I present to you....Hemming with Duck Tape:

I wonder what other projects I've been putting off could be solved with Duck Tape?  Hmmm....

Birthday Book

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Oh Twoodles!

If you don't count the fact that my son was totally traumatized during the lighting of the candle and his cake time, I'd say the party was a huge success!  I had been working for weeks getting everything ready and planned to the very last detail.  So throwing it all together Saturday morning was pretty easy.  The only hiccup is that I thought for some dumb reason, I could make cupcakes that looked bakery style...um, not even close.  I made the cupcakes, made delicious homemade butter cream frosting, and then went to pipe the frosting on to the cupcakes and that is when I learned the hard truth....I will never be a pastry chef.  People make it look so easy, and I guess all that time I spent on YouTube watching frosting tutorials didn't pay off.  I think my hands are too shaky.  Anyways, sprinkles were a Godsend and covered up the ugliness of my frosting fiasco.

Logan is so lucky to have so many wonderful people in his life who love him and care for him.  It made me so proud to know that so many people came to support and love on our little Mickey Mouse!

Here are a few pictures of the decorations! 

*Remember what I said about being a pastry chef!  Don't look too closely!

Coloring Fun!

Cupcakes and drinks!  The Fruity punch was a hit, especially with the Mickey Mouse ice cubes!

The Mickey Tree

My baby boy each month of his 2nd year of life.  How he has changed! 

A few presents from Mommy and Daddy

The awesome banner from Heather!

Subway Art!

Want to see more?  Here are the pictures of the torture that occurred with the birthday cake.  These pictures make me giggle and get sad all at the same time.

He was not a fan of the ears

Wait for it....Wait for it....

Poor Baby!  He totally flipped when everyone crowded around and sang to him.  I don't think the scary flame helped.  :(

Logan was so lucky to get to party with his friends and got some very cool things for his b-day. 

Mimi and Pop got Logan a buggy, which he loves!  My little domesticated man!  He's going to make a fine husband one day! 

Trying to hide in the Match car storage case.

G.G. gave Logan two new pillow cases and The Angry Ladybug book to go with his new quilt.

Look at this beautiful picture my friend Megan Dempsey made for us.  My favorite picture of Logan and all of his favorite things!  I will treasure this forever! 

Logan's favorite book in a puzzle!!  The Very Hungry Caterpillar! 



I had such a wonderful time getting ready for this party and aside from the cake trauma, I think Logan had a really good time! 

We tried the cupcake a few more times throughout the day, but Logan had made up his mind that he was NOT going to touch that.  Instead, like an normal toddler, he gave up sweet, sugary cake and choose to have a bowl of oatmeal! 

And after all of that parting....He finally gave up!

2 years!

2 years...730 days, really?  Are you sure?  I can't believe my baby boy is already 2!  It seems like yesterday we were pacing the floor on January 13. 2010 waiting for 5:30 am so we could leave for the hospital to meet our precious baby.  On the other hand it seems like Logan has been in our lives forever.  It's hard to remember life before him.  What did we do with our time? What did we talk about?  :) 

We are blessed beyond belief and I can't wait to know what the future holds for our family!  Watching Logan grow and learn everyday is more than I can describe in words.  I am so lucky to be his mommy and I pray each day that I am the best mommy I can be for him.

We celebrated Logan's birthday yesterday and had his Mickey Mouse party!  I can't wait to post the pictures and tell you all about his fun day.  (Hopefully, I can get to that tonight.)

2 year stats:

Weight: 29 lbs 5 oz (75th percentile)

Height: 34.5 inches (50th percentile)

Eating:  Logan got the okay to move to 2% milk from the doctor at his checkup.  He defiantly loves his milk.  He points to the microwave to let you know that he would like it heated sometimes.  He also has been a little spoiled with Pop by having "coffee milk".  Pop puts a little bit of decaf coffee in Logan's milk.  He told me when Logan gets to the house in the morning, the very first thing he does is walk in and point to the coffee pot and do his "uh, uh, uh".  That's Logan's way of saying, "Coffee Milk...Now!"

Logan is still an eating machine.  He pretty much loves anything.  The only things he doesn't seem to want to eat are sandwiches and pizza.  I also just thought about it, he has never had a hamburger from a fast food place.  Not that I really want him to, but just something he hasn't had.  He loves oatmeal and asks to eat it for breakfast and even dinner sometimes.  He also loves gummies and chips.  We have to hide these from him, so he won't find them as he is "shopping" in the pantry.

Physical Development: Our little man is on the go!  He can run, march, kick, climb, pretty much get over or around any obstacle.  He loves to march in a circle and then have me say, "freeze.  hands on your head."  He likes to make other people, like Mimi and Pop, join in on his marching, when they are around.  Logan climbs chairs, tables, couches, but THANK GOD he has not figured out how to climb out of his crib yet.  I am DREADING moving him into a big boy bed.  I have a feeling it's going to mean either one of us sleeping with him until he falls asleep or hours upon hours of "crying it out".  Ughh...I can't even think about it.

Language Development: As you probably know, we went last Wednesday for Logan's speech evaluation.  It went great and the team was so nice.  They played on the floor with Logan and me for about 30 minutes.  They asked a lot of questions and had me ask Logan to do certain things.  They were very impressed with Logan's ability to follow directions and his ability to understand what we were asking.  He was able to point to anything we asked and do a few things I didn't even know he could do.  One thing in particular she asked was if he would feed a baby.  Since we don't have any baby dolls (which I am actually on the hunt for a boyish baby, if you have seen any) I didn't think he would know what to do.  After a few seconds, he picked up the spoon and feed the baby and then gave the baby a few drinks from the cup.  It was very sweet! 

After they scored their evaluations, they said he was very boarder line in expressive language, which is the same things we keep saying.  In order to qualify for services, he has to be 2 standard deviations away, and he was there by the skin of his teeth.  They asked me if I wanted him to have services and how I felt about it.  I explained that if I just needed to wait it out, I was fine with that, but if he qualified and there was something we could do to help him, of course I was interested.  So, we signed a few papers and the speech therapist is supposed to call me this week to set up the first visit.  They did explain that speech therapy is not just 30 minutes once or twice a week, their goal is to come out to the house and offer ways to help and encourage the child.  They were very clear that they didn't think Logan would require services very long, just long enough to "catch up" and then he probably wouldn't need any more.  I'm excited to see what the therapist has to say and will keep you posted.

Logan is still enjoying preschool and we just signed him up for next year.  Right now, he goes 2 mornings a week and we just registered him for the fall and moved him to 3 mornings a week.  I love the church setting, the small class size, the opportunity to have him around other kids and adults, and we especially love his teachers.  I am a little sad he will have new teachers next year, but I'm sure they will be just as great!  His teachers keep commenting on how much they love Logan and his facial expressions.  They tell me they giggle all day at the faces he makes.  I think he gets that from his daddy.  :)

hmm".  It's so neat to see him thinking and comparing the differences in the two. 

He still has his nightly routine of reading 4 books, but luckily we added a new book into the mix, "Bunny My Honey".  He really only likes one part of the book right now. It where the little bunny gets lost and calls for his mommy, and then he hears he mommy calling for him.  He turns to the book to this page every time and smiles at me once they are reunited!  My sweet bunny! :)

I could go on forever!  Can you tell I'm proud of him?  :) 

Happy Birthday, Logan!  We love you!



Shhh....The Sneak Peek!

I am so excited about Logan's 2nd birthday and so thankful I have had the break to get ready for it.  I knew a few months ago, it had to be a Mickey party, since my little man is still obsessed with that cute little mouse!

I began my party planning a few months ago and stumbled across this website and knew this was exactly what I was dreaming of.  After stalking, I mean, thoroughly reading her blog and profile, I found out this sweet lady lives right where I grew up and even went to the same high school I did.   I went out on a limb and emailed her to ask her a few questions about a few of her items.  Not only did she email me back, but she offered me a few of the things she had been hanging on to.  She gave me a beautiful banner her mother made, an awesome topiary, the super cute birthday hat, and the ears sign.  If you start looking through her blog, be careful, you will spend a few hours, you will see so many of the other beautiful parties and creative tricks up her sleeve.  Thanks again Heather!

Here are a few pictures of a few things I've been working on.  I can't wait to share the final pictures from the party!

The Invitation: (Thanks Megan Dempsey)

I'm so excited for his party!  I wish we had more room so we could invite the world to come party with us!  I'm not so excited that my sweet little baby is already turning 2!  Where did the time go?  This seems like yesterday to me. 

I miss that little baby stage, but look at what a handsome hunk he has grown into!

Jumping on the Train

I keep seeing other bloggers with their lists of New Years Resolutions, and I guess it's time to jump on board.  I normally don't formally create New Years resolutions, but I thought it might be neat to post them here and hopefully, I will remember to come back to this post throughout the year to see how I'm progressing.  Maybe this is more like a To Do List for the year.  Here's what I have come up with so far (no particular order):

1. Lose some weight....blah, blah, blah....I know this is on almost every one's list.  I really do need to.  I've had great success with Weight Watchers in the past... maybe it's time to start it again.

2. Revamp my resume and begin the search for a school much closer to home.  Not only for the sake of the cost of gas, but I would love to have the time I spend in the car with my son at home.  

3. Try at least 2 new recipes each month.  Doesn't sound hard does it? 

4. Read at least 6 new books (for pleasure).  Again, doesn't sound like a lot, but let's be honest when do I have time to read for pleasure?

5. Go on a few more dates with my husband.  Do you know we have only been on 2 dates since Logan was born.  Yes, I said 2.  Yes, I'm serious!  My family must agree with me on this one, since we received numerous dinner and movie gift cards for Christmas.

6. Get over my fear of leaving Logan in church nursery and go to church every Sunday.  We haven't been going because the few times we've tried to leave Logan he FLIPS out!

7.  Continue my couponing and other money saving techniques for my family.  Although couponing takes a ton on time, I am very proud of the amount of money I save on groceries that I am able to spend on other things. 

8. Try to get Logan to forget that his mom has 2 magical balls underneath her shirt!  I swear, I'm going to have a 5 year old sticking his hands down my shirt as we walk into his kindergarten class!  Aside from wrapping myself in ducktape everyday, I don't know what to do to make him forget they are there or realize it's not cool to pull your mom's shirt down in public or grab a handful while talking to the nice man at the UPS store.  Yeesh!


I'm sure I could come up with more, but I think that fills my plate up!  I better get off this computer and start getting some stuff done! 

Big Boy Sips and Copy Cats

Logan is very proud of himself for learning to drink out of his "big boy cup".  I love how he tilts it up and opens his mouth so big getting ready for the sip!  My baby is getting so big!

Logan really loves his two big cousins and has really started being a copy cat of what he sees them do.  We were in the car getting ready for Mackenzie's 3rd birthday party and I heard Logan being silly like Kenzie and grabbed my phone to record their giggle session.  They are so silly!