When S dropped off Baby M she gave me several warnings. One of them was: "Watch out--he barfs." In fact, when we met last week this was one of the things her kids loved to tell me about. Apparently one of them has already been barfed on and the other doesn't even want to come near him for fear she will be barfed on.
Well, lets just say that about 4am, Baby M decided to show me what it was all about. His feedings was going well and he was almost done. I had already burped him once and would burp him one more time when I was finished. He was just about done when it happened. I'm not talking about a little spit up. I'm talking about an all out-exorcist-style barf. He soaked the front of my shirt and shorts, his own bib, blanket, and sleeper, and a big puddle on the floor. Lovely. Just what everyone wants to happen at 4am. Needless to say, I had to change his clothes and my clothes, get him a new blanket, get him settled in, and then clean the carpet.
Oh the joys of a 3 week old! (Don't feel too bad for me, he's been really good so far--only cries when he's hungry and pretty much sleeps the rest of the time. Here's hoping we can add a barf-free night to that list!)
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
We're having a baby
...stay with us for a little while!
I love a good tease--even if people see right through it...
As Alisha guessed, the news isn't really what I was implying it might be. Our big news is that Bryan and I have decided to do respite care with a local foster agency. We've had connections with Focus on Youth for quite some time. The director attends our congregation along with several other workers. There are also several families at Northeast that are foster parents. Awhile back I went through the training to get certified to babysit and have done that a couple times.
The last time we babysat for our favorite foster family she mentioned another family that might need help. That's where the baby stuff comes in. Turns out that her friend S had a brand new placement, and by brand new I mean he was 3 days old when she got him. Her family had already planned a huge vacation and with the baby being so little, there was no way she could take him. Allison told her about us and the rest is history. Basically, we ran around like crazy this past week to get certified to keep kids in our home overnight and the little guy arrived today. He is now just over 3 weeks old and will be staying with us for 10 days. I won't be posting pictures of him here, but you might hear a story or two. So that's our big news...We're having a baby...stay with us for 10 days.
I love a good tease--even if people see right through it...
As Alisha guessed, the news isn't really what I was implying it might be. Our big news is that Bryan and I have decided to do respite care with a local foster agency. We've had connections with Focus on Youth for quite some time. The director attends our congregation along with several other workers. There are also several families at Northeast that are foster parents. Awhile back I went through the training to get certified to babysit and have done that a couple times.
The last time we babysat for our favorite foster family she mentioned another family that might need help. That's where the baby stuff comes in. Turns out that her friend S had a brand new placement, and by brand new I mean he was 3 days old when she got him. Her family had already planned a huge vacation and with the baby being so little, there was no way she could take him. Allison told her about us and the rest is history. Basically, we ran around like crazy this past week to get certified to keep kids in our home overnight and the little guy arrived today. He is now just over 3 weeks old and will be staying with us for 10 days. I won't be posting pictures of him here, but you might hear a story or two. So that's our big news...We're having a baby...stay with us for 10 days.
Sneak Peek
I'm sure you are all waiting with bated breath for the BIG NEWS. Well, I'm not quite ready to reveal the news, but I will show you a few pictures of items that might be coming in handy...
Hmmmm....wouldn't you like to know?
Hmmmm....wouldn't you like to know?
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Bahama Mama
WARNING: WAY MORE PICTURES THAN YOU REALLY WANT TO SEE...
Our grand, relaxing vacation didn't start out exactly how we planned. In fact, it didn't start our relaxing at all. The good news is that everything worked out just fine. We woke up super early in Atlanta, hopped on a plane for Ft. Lauderdale and then took a shuttle to the port of Miami. We were to the ship by about 11:30am and so our lovely cruise officially began.
We sat in the port of Miami until about 5 pm, but that didn't mean the fun couldn't begin. We started with a fantastic lunch and then just spent some time relaxing/enjoying the view from the room.
And there certainly were some beautiful views...
(I am referring to the sky in this one, not the people--although I do find my husband to be rather attractive)
The second day we stopped at CoCo Cay (the Royal Caribbean private island). We had a para sailing adventure all lined up. As we got on the boat I got extremely nervous.
The ride was absolutely amazing! I was really surprised about how smooth it was up there. It was so peaceful. (and I have to admit I kinda enjoyed the rush each time the wind caught us and we jerked higher). I absolutely LOVED this adventure!
We also had a little time at CoCo Cay to enjoy the ocean and relax on the beach.
Our second stop was Nassau, Bahamas. What a beautiful place!
Snorkeling with the sting rays was on the agenda for this day. (Don't worry, the sting rays were de-barbed and didn't have any teeth.) We don't have many pictures because they were taken with the underwater camera and we haven't developed them yet. This was also a super cool adventure. We were able to see, touch, and even feed the sting rays. Amazing!
After our day in the Bahamas, it was time to climb back aboard the Majesty of the Seas and head back towards Miami. 
We started getting off the ship about 8:15am and we were settled into our hotel by 9:30am. Quick, easy and painless. (and a huge thanks to the lovely Holiday Inn Express for letting us check in super early!) We rested for most of the day, met some friends for dinner, and then hit the sack since a 4:15 wake up call was waiting for us the next morning. The flight back was uneventful and now we are back to normal life again (whatever that means!)
p.s. Stayed tuned for some BIG NEWS in the near future...
Friday, June 19, 2009
I bet you weren't expecting to hear news of our trip so soon. I also bet you also assumed you'd be seeing pictures of us relaxing on the beautiful beaches. You'd be wrong.
Boy have we had an adventure so far. We left Cincinnati with PLENTY of time to make it to Dayton. We ran into a little traffic, but nothing major. We still made it to the airport about 2 hours before our flight was supposed to leave. (Notice that pesky phrase "supposed to") Apparently bad weather had caused delays which meant we were going to miss our connection in Atlanta.
After spending a full hour with the ticket agent we were basically told that there was nothing he could do for us. There was no way for us to get to Miami in time to make it on the cruise ship. He offered a refund of our tickets--the only problem was we used vouchers--so no refund was available. He said he couldn't even give us vouchers to replace the vouchers we didn't get to use. We would just be walking away empty-handed and couldn't get any money back on the cruise. Let's just say I was not a happy camper. I did what every woman who realizes she may miss a cruise to the Bahamas would do--I cried.
At this point the super nice supervisor came over to save us from the super rude ticket agent (who by this time had started helping the next customer even though we had not finished deciding what we wanted to do). The nice guy was very calm and even called to see if they would hold the plane for us (apparently we aren't important enough because they said no, but it was a nice try). Eventually he gave us our best offer--a flight to Atlanta tonight with a flight out in the morning. Only problem is, the flight is not to Miami, it's to Ft Lauderdale.
We got online and found a shuttle that will take us from Ft. Lauderdale to port of Miami. So now our fingers are crossed that we won't have any flight problems tomorrow and that we will still make it to the ship on time. For tonight, we are staying in a hotel in Atlanta. I knew it was an ok place when the first guy I saw in the lobby had on an A&M shirt (of course I had on an A&M shirt too, so we had to stand and talk about the Glory Land).
p.s. I knew I was a "true blogger" when I whipped out my camera on the plane and took a picture of the woman in front of me (with the flash off of course, sorry for the bad quality). She may look like she was just adjusting the air conditioner, but in fact she was drying her fingernails which she had just painted ON THE PLANE! I really couldn't believe it!
Here's hoping that the next post is truly full of pictures of cruise ships and relaxing beaches.
Boy have we had an adventure so far. We left Cincinnati with PLENTY of time to make it to Dayton. We ran into a little traffic, but nothing major. We still made it to the airport about 2 hours before our flight was supposed to leave. (Notice that pesky phrase "supposed to") Apparently bad weather had caused delays which meant we were going to miss our connection in Atlanta.
After spending a full hour with the ticket agent we were basically told that there was nothing he could do for us. There was no way for us to get to Miami in time to make it on the cruise ship. He offered a refund of our tickets--the only problem was we used vouchers--so no refund was available. He said he couldn't even give us vouchers to replace the vouchers we didn't get to use. We would just be walking away empty-handed and couldn't get any money back on the cruise. Let's just say I was not a happy camper. I did what every woman who realizes she may miss a cruise to the Bahamas would do--I cried.
At this point the super nice supervisor came over to save us from the super rude ticket agent (who by this time had started helping the next customer even though we had not finished deciding what we wanted to do). The nice guy was very calm and even called to see if they would hold the plane for us (apparently we aren't important enough because they said no, but it was a nice try). Eventually he gave us our best offer--a flight to Atlanta tonight with a flight out in the morning. Only problem is, the flight is not to Miami, it's to Ft Lauderdale.
We got online and found a shuttle that will take us from Ft. Lauderdale to port of Miami. So now our fingers are crossed that we won't have any flight problems tomorrow and that we will still make it to the ship on time. For tonight, we are staying in a hotel in Atlanta. I knew it was an ok place when the first guy I saw in the lobby had on an A&M shirt (of course I had on an A&M shirt too, so we had to stand and talk about the Glory Land).
p.s. I knew I was a "true blogger" when I whipped out my camera on the plane and took a picture of the woman in front of me (with the flash off of course, sorry for the bad quality). She may look like she was just adjusting the air conditioner, but in fact she was drying her fingernails which she had just painted ON THE PLANE! I really couldn't believe it!
Here's hoping that the next post is truly full of pictures of cruise ships and relaxing beaches.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Family Reunion '09
A couple years ago my dad's side of the family decided to start getting together for family reunions. The first couple I missed because I was in Africa or something, but this year I was finally able to attend. It was good for so many of us to be in one place at the same time because we really don't get to see each other enough.
I had every intention of taking TONS of pictures of all the family and having this awesome blog post, but upon uploading my pictures from this past weekend, I realized I hardly took any pictures, and they are almost all of Emmy and Amiya--go figure. So this might be more of a post about the girls than our actual family reunion.
We started our trek to Tennessee on Friday morning. Bryan and I decided to be brave and take the Miata. This meant we had to pack pretty light, but it was worth it. It took us about 6 hours to get to the hotel and somehow we got there the same time as a lot of the other family. After visiting at the hotel for awhile, the whole family went to Uncle Mike (and Karen's) house for pizza and hanging out. There are 4 girl cousins that are very close in age. They jumped right in and played together great the whole weekend (even though they haven't seen each other in a long time).
Saturday we rented a pavilion at a local state park and grilled out. We sat around and talked some more and then ended up at the pool. We all enjoyed splashing around and cooling off. We stayed there until the pool closed. Emmy LOVES the water.
We decided to go back to Mike and Karen's to eat leftovers for dinner and spend more time talking and playing. The girls had a blast collecting fireflies, jumping on the trampoline, and swimming one more time.
I'm pretty sure Emmy had a fun time just playing at the hotel as well. She found new interesting uses for the dresser drawers
and caught up on her reading
She also LOVED the fountain out front (but we didn't get any pictures of her there because we were just trying to keep her from climbing in)
Amiya on the other hand, just enjoyed riding around in style. She even took time to practice her Miss America wave while riding around in the Miata. (Secretly I think Bryan enjoyed having someone LOVE the Miata as much as he does)
Amber and Sally enjoyed swapping "war stories" about their 3rd pregnancy. They have been pregnant at the same time with each pregnancy and both say that this is the last (of course they also both said that the previous one was the last)
I am so glad that I was able to attend the family get together this time. It was great to see everyone again and catch up on a few years (or 10+ years in some cases). Hopefully we'll be able to see each other more often in the future!
p.s. There is no point to this picture, but for some reason I find it hilarious, so I had to include it.
I had every intention of taking TONS of pictures of all the family and having this awesome blog post, but upon uploading my pictures from this past weekend, I realized I hardly took any pictures, and they are almost all of Emmy and Amiya--go figure. So this might be more of a post about the girls than our actual family reunion.
We started our trek to Tennessee on Friday morning. Bryan and I decided to be brave and take the Miata. This meant we had to pack pretty light, but it was worth it. It took us about 6 hours to get to the hotel and somehow we got there the same time as a lot of the other family. After visiting at the hotel for awhile, the whole family went to Uncle Mike (and Karen's) house for pizza and hanging out. There are 4 girl cousins that are very close in age. They jumped right in and played together great the whole weekend (even though they haven't seen each other in a long time).
Saturday we rented a pavilion at a local state park and grilled out. We sat around and talked some more and then ended up at the pool. We all enjoyed splashing around and cooling off. We stayed there until the pool closed. Emmy LOVES the water.
We decided to go back to Mike and Karen's to eat leftovers for dinner and spend more time talking and playing. The girls had a blast collecting fireflies, jumping on the trampoline, and swimming one more time.
I'm pretty sure Emmy had a fun time just playing at the hotel as well. She found new interesting uses for the dresser drawers
and caught up on her reading
She also LOVED the fountain out front (but we didn't get any pictures of her there because we were just trying to keep her from climbing in)
Amiya on the other hand, just enjoyed riding around in style. She even took time to practice her Miss America wave while riding around in the Miata. (Secretly I think Bryan enjoyed having someone LOVE the Miata as much as he does)
Amber and Sally enjoyed swapping "war stories" about their 3rd pregnancy. They have been pregnant at the same time with each pregnancy and both say that this is the last (of course they also both said that the previous one was the last)
I am so glad that I was able to attend the family get together this time. It was great to see everyone again and catch up on a few years (or 10+ years in some cases). Hopefully we'll be able to see each other more often in the future!
p.s. There is no point to this picture, but for some reason I find it hilarious, so I had to include it.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
A Guessing Game--revealed
By the large volume of comments, I can tell you are all sitting on the edge of your seat waiting to hear the results of the guessing game. (or maybe not...) Maybe it's like my dear sister pointed out that I kinda stink at guessing games because if you click on the pictures they are named exactly what they are, so it kinda gives it away. Oh well. Just in case...
We are taking a trip in June
We got vouchers (or at least thought we got vouchers) last summer when we flew AirTran because we were probably going to miss our connecting flight (for me to get back in time for the first week of school--disaster!) Turns out we didn't really get these vouchers because we sprinted through the airport and made our connecting flight, but we didn't know that until we called to book our flight. The nice lady at AirTran gave it to us anyway--thank you nice lady!
We will land in Miami and spend a day there...
before getting on a Cruise ship...
to head to the Bahamas!!
While there, we plan to go parasailing
and also snorkeling with the sting rays.
I am SUPER excited about our trip! We just started planning this week, so I don't have long to wait. We have a busy summer planned and are starting it off with a bang!
We are taking a trip in June
We got vouchers (or at least thought we got vouchers) last summer when we flew AirTran because we were probably going to miss our connecting flight (for me to get back in time for the first week of school--disaster!) Turns out we didn't really get these vouchers because we sprinted through the airport and made our connecting flight, but we didn't know that until we called to book our flight. The nice lady at AirTran gave it to us anyway--thank you nice lady!
We will land in Miami and spend a day there...
before getting on a Cruise ship...
to head to the Bahamas!!
While there, we plan to go parasailing
and also snorkeling with the sting rays.
I am SUPER excited about our trip! We just started planning this week, so I don't have long to wait. We have a busy summer planned and are starting it off with a bang!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Miracle Worker
One of the great things about moving into this area is that one of my friends from school lives in the same neighborhood. That makes it pretty easy to get together for things like cookouts, walks, and a day at the pool. That's exactly what we decided to do yesterday--our first trip to the pool. Perhaps I should have put on sunscreen a little sooner and perhaps I should have put it on more than just my shoulders and face. When I came home I was a little red, but not too bad. I fell asleep on the couch and when I woke up I was on fire. My legs, back, shoulders and chest are fried. I was in so much pain, but didn't really feel like I could make it to the store to get some relief. I decided to do a little Internet research to see what I could do. This is what I found:
Vinegar, really? It kinda made me laugh because it seems like every time I look for a homemade remedy for something it includes vinegar (for getting odors out, etc) The article said to start by taking a luke-warm shower without any sort of soap or anything--basically just rinsing off the pool water, lotion, etc. Then put some distilled vinegar in a spray bottle and go to town spraying all the areas that are burned. Last, let it air dry (or gently pat dry after awhile). This should take the sting away pretty quickly and it lasts for about 4 hours or so. Then you can reapply the vinegar. Each time it should get a little better. Once the sting is completely gone, use something like banana boat after sun lotion. I have done 2 treatments and my sunburn feels much better. I have no idea how/why it works, but all I care about it that it works! (disclaimer: the article mentioned several times that this treatment had not been used on kids). Next time I definitely plan on being a little more thorough with the sunscreen, but in the meantime, it sure was nice to find something to give relief.
Vinegar, really? It kinda made me laugh because it seems like every time I look for a homemade remedy for something it includes vinegar (for getting odors out, etc) The article said to start by taking a luke-warm shower without any sort of soap or anything--basically just rinsing off the pool water, lotion, etc. Then put some distilled vinegar in a spray bottle and go to town spraying all the areas that are burned. Last, let it air dry (or gently pat dry after awhile). This should take the sting away pretty quickly and it lasts for about 4 hours or so. Then you can reapply the vinegar. Each time it should get a little better. Once the sting is completely gone, use something like banana boat after sun lotion. I have done 2 treatments and my sunburn feels much better. I have no idea how/why it works, but all I care about it that it works! (disclaimer: the article mentioned several times that this treatment had not been used on kids). Next time I definitely plan on being a little more thorough with the sunscreen, but in the meantime, it sure was nice to find something to give relief.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Summer Fun
As school comes to a close I am always excited about all the extra time I will have to get extra projects done over the summer. Surprisingly, my students are not always as excited to have the extra time. You see, during the school year they know they will get at least 2 meals a day, have friends to play with, and someone looking out for them--these aren't guarantees during the summer. Obviously, I can't fix all of these problems, but I do like to at least offer them a little entertainment for the summer.
Each year I put together a little "summer fun" pack for my students. It includes things like coloring books, crayons, glue, craft paper, books, dvds, etc. Most of the items are from Crayons 2 Computers --a store that is free for teachers in low income schools. I collect items all throughout the year just for this purpose.
In the past, I have just put all the items in a gift bag, but this year I did something a little different. It all started when I wanted to make a couple drawstring bags for some of the games in my classroom. I came across a tutorial for drawstring backpacks and just knew that I had to try them out. I thought about documenting the procedure and putting up a tutorial, but then I realized that was a lot of work and someone else had already done a good job of it. Here are a few of my cuties modeling their new bags.
Overall the project wasn't bad at all. There were only a few moments that I wondered what in the world I had gotten myself into. I did them assembly line style and it really didn't take too long. I bought the fabric on sale for $2.99 a yard (that was enough to make 3 bags) and my sister had an ingenious idea to use clothesline instead of cording (although I did have to dip the ends in glue to keep them from fraying) which ended up costing about 50 cents per kid. I'd say for $1.50 and the few hours it took to make them, it was well worth it!
Each year I put together a little "summer fun" pack for my students. It includes things like coloring books, crayons, glue, craft paper, books, dvds, etc. Most of the items are from Crayons 2 Computers --a store that is free for teachers in low income schools. I collect items all throughout the year just for this purpose.
In the past, I have just put all the items in a gift bag, but this year I did something a little different. It all started when I wanted to make a couple drawstring bags for some of the games in my classroom. I came across a tutorial for drawstring backpacks and just knew that I had to try them out. I thought about documenting the procedure and putting up a tutorial, but then I realized that was a lot of work and someone else had already done a good job of it. Here are a few of my cuties modeling their new bags.
Overall the project wasn't bad at all. There were only a few moments that I wondered what in the world I had gotten myself into. I did them assembly line style and it really didn't take too long. I bought the fabric on sale for $2.99 a yard (that was enough to make 3 bags) and my sister had an ingenious idea to use clothesline instead of cording (although I did have to dip the ends in glue to keep them from fraying) which ended up costing about 50 cents per kid. I'd say for $1.50 and the few hours it took to make them, it was well worth it!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Schoooool's Out...for sum-mer!
The countdown is over. Summer is here. Now what to do? Well actually, I'm not quite done yet. There is still cleaning and organizing to do today, but I actually kinda like that part.
Yesterday was our last day with the kiddos, so why not go out with a bang?
Let me explain....a few weeks ago the PTO had a fundraiser. The kids brought quarters to "vote" for which teachers they wanted to see get a pie in their face (of course the teacher had to volunteer or it could have gotten pretty ugly) I was the only 2nd grade teacher that volunteered, so I was pretty sure I didn't have a chance of escaping the pie. I wondered whether the kids would pick people that they didn't like (for revenge) or people they did like because they think it would be funny. Here's to hoping they picked people they like since I was the 2nd highest vote getter! Here is the whole crew "pre pie":
Another twist--each quarter you put in the jar meant one raffle ticket in the jar. Then they drew a name and that was the person who got to throw the pie. Meet sweet C one of my darling 2nd grade students.
She's a funny girl and loves a good joke. We have spent the year teasing back and forth about things. I wasn't at school on the day they announced which teachers were getting pied, but the first time I saw her the next day she pretended to hit me in the face with a pie and said "in your face Mrs. Wyatt" This continued over the next few weeks until the big day. She was so excited.
She got me good!
But at least it looks like I enjoyed it...
p.s. Stay tuned for a look at my "end of the year project" I made for my kids
Yesterday was our last day with the kiddos, so why not go out with a bang?
Let me explain....a few weeks ago the PTO had a fundraiser. The kids brought quarters to "vote" for which teachers they wanted to see get a pie in their face (of course the teacher had to volunteer or it could have gotten pretty ugly) I was the only 2nd grade teacher that volunteered, so I was pretty sure I didn't have a chance of escaping the pie. I wondered whether the kids would pick people that they didn't like (for revenge) or people they did like because they think it would be funny. Here's to hoping they picked people they like since I was the 2nd highest vote getter! Here is the whole crew "pre pie":
Another twist--each quarter you put in the jar meant one raffle ticket in the jar. Then they drew a name and that was the person who got to throw the pie. Meet sweet C one of my darling 2nd grade students.
Sorry for the ridiculous editing. I didn't want to show her face and I didn't feel like taking the time to really edit the photo either!
She's a funny girl and loves a good joke. We have spent the year teasing back and forth about things. I wasn't at school on the day they announced which teachers were getting pied, but the first time I saw her the next day she pretended to hit me in the face with a pie and said "in your face Mrs. Wyatt" This continued over the next few weeks until the big day. She was so excited.
She got me good!
But at least it looks like I enjoyed it...
p.s. Stay tuned for a look at my "end of the year project" I made for my kids
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
