Thursday, August 29, 2013

Family of four . . . 18 weeks!

Sorry for being so far behind!!!  :(

New things about Natalie:  Natalie has decided that since we are back to work now, she wants to get up any where from 2 - 3 times a night.  She also enjoys waking up at 5 am, and being up for the day.  This past week she even did two 3:30 am I'm up for the day mornings.  Luckily for Tyler, he got up with her Saturday morning when she did this, so at least he had a relaxing day after.  Not so lucky for me, I got up with her when she did this on Thursday morning.  It made for a long morning.  Natalie has finally decided that she likes a pacifier sometimes now too.  She has been rolling like crazy, and is constantly rolling from her back to her tummy.  She can't figure out how to get back over though, so after a few minutes, she is crying, and asking for help to get back onto her back.  She is still sleeping swaddled (shhh, don't tell our doctor, Nicole don't let Jon read that!!)  It's the only way she'll sleep.  Right now, I have put a blanket over her swaddle.  I don't know if she has been too cold, and that is why she was waking up more, but since I started adding the extra blanket we have been back to waking up between 2 and 3 again, instead of this 11:30 non sense.  She is eating any where from 3 - 6 ounces at a time now too!!  I can't wait to see how big she is when we go to the doctor tomorrow!!

In our PJs to celebrate Aunt Chelsea (they have a dragon on them!!)
New things about Brandon:  I can't believe that my little boy is 2!!  Where has the time gone!?!  Brandon has started school in the last few weeks.  He has now had school for four days!!  The first day was a blast.  My dad was able to come pick me up from work, so that way we could drop Brandon off together for his first day of school.  Brandon went right into his room, sat down and started playing.  He did cry when my dad picked him up, but just because he was so confused, and didn't know what was going on.  

Brandon's first day of preschool, August 15
The second day I dropped him off wasn't too bad.

Even got to see daddy in the morning!
Last Thursday now, that was awful!!  :(  When Brandon got up in the morning he wouldn't even go to Wanda when she came over.  He didn't want anything to do with her.  He just wanted mommy to hold him.  Now keep in mind I was also trying to pack his lunch, make his breakfast, and get all of our things together, to try to be out the door by 6:45!!  My poor guy started crying the minute I walked out the door!  It was sooo HARD!!  Luckily one of the teachers in after care is a friend of mine, and she sent me pictures all day that day reassuring me what a great day he was having!!  

So thankful to Mandy that she sent me this picture, that I edited in Instagram on my birthday!
This morning when I went in to drop Brandon off, he didn't want anything to do with it as soon as we got close to the door of the school.  I was able to get him in the room, told him to go play with his dinosaurs, and then he started crying again.  :(  Luckily the same teacher was there, and sent me pictures again today!!  I seriously don't know what I would do without her!  She is amazing!!  Brandon is loving school though, and you can tell that he is learning a lot!!  Almost every day he has come home with a new word, which is amazing!  When we went in for his two year appointment Brandon's doctor told us that we should put him in speech.  I am hoping that he will quickly start to pick it up the more that he is around kids who are talking.  

Anyone see the trend in the pictures yet?!
New things about Tyler:  Tyler started school the same day as Brandon!!  Tyler is very thankful to have another teaching partner this year, but isn't so happy that he is student teaching finally.  This just means extra work for him this fall. Hopefully by Christmas though he will be all done with everything.  That will mean next year he'll have his credential, he'll be a called worker, and he'll get a raise!!  AMEN!!!

New things about Cassandra:  I too have started school, and I have never felt so behind!!  I don't know where the time goes every day.  I am being way too adventurous this year, and I am tackling all new ways to teach almost everything.  I have realized that the only three subjects I am teaching the same as I have in the past are religion, science and social studies.  Even though I say I am teaching science and social studies the same, I still am changing things, as I always go in a different order, and try to find new ideas on Pinterest or TPT to help update what I do! I have a great class though, 26 kids, and I have two awesome aides who are with me every morning.  I have been able to recruit them to do a lot of things that I have always wanted to do, but have never had enough time to do!  I am very blessed to have them, and can't wait to see what my classroom looks like by the end of the year.  Looking at next year's class, hopefully they'll get a few more and we can split the class, or I'll have an aide again next year, which isn't always a bad thing.

My amazing birthday presents!
I have fallen off the bandwagon of working out though.  As soon as school started it got harder to work out in the morning, and be ready to leave by 6.  I have to be ready to leave by 6, because as soon as Tyler leaves, I have to be ready in case one of the kids get up.  If I get the kids up before I am ready to leave, then I know I will never make it in time.  Most days I don't leave for work until 6:50ish, thanks to my awesome ride Ellen, but it makes it harder to justify getting up earlier than 5, when I know I won't be leaving until around 7.  If only I could go to work smelly, then I would totally have enough time in the morning.  Hopefully as it starts to get nicer I'll be able to work out in the afternoons, and then I'll just push Brandon in his stroller, or Natalie.  I know that this is just an excuse for now, but it is one that I have to live with for now.  I did hold on strong, and I made it to the 15th, I just haven't done so well since then.  I haven't been back on the scale since I lost 3 pounds in the firs week either.  I don't want to know how much I've put back on already.  I have stayed away from the soda, but I have had the coffee, and smoothies to make up for it.  I have had a lot of carbs this past week too.  :(

I found this on Pinterest or Instagram, I don't remember which one right now
September will bring new changes again, and I look forward to eating healthy, and staying fit!!  I am going to try and find a system to make sure that I am updating the blog frequently too!  I may not get all four posts in every week, so I will try and come up with new catchy names so you know when I'm going to post!!

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Wordless Wednesday

Can't wait to baptize our little girl!!

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Thoughtful Tuesday

Pacifiers . . .

It took four months, but Natalie takes a pacifier sometimes now. She hasn't been huge into them, unlike Brandon who loved his! We took his away on his second birthday. It wasn't too bad, and he only asked for it a few times. He doesn't ask for it very often any more, and he doesn't steal Natalie's very often either.


Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Thoughtful Tuesday

I am so thankful for everyone who came over to help us celebrate Brandon's birthday this past weekend!!  It was a blast, and I know that he enjoyed himself.  We are so lucky to have so many friends who not only love us, but also love our kids!!  These are just pictures from my phone, I promise to soon upload the pictures from the camera as well.

Brandon loves his new table from grandma and grandpa Hathaway


His new water bottle for school!

Cheese!!


Our drink station

Cars decor

Awesome banner made by my mom

Brandon's friends who love him more than I could ask for!!

Friday, August 9, 2013

Friday Five

1.  I can't believe we have a 2 year old!!!


2.  My aunt is in town for the next week to help us celebrate Brandon's birthday!  My grandma also comes into town today to help us celebrate for the weekend!

3.  Today was my last day getting ready for my new class on Monday!!  I can't believe I will have a class of 26 students starting Monday.  Where did the summer go!?

4.  I started a new book, Gone Girl, since we are going to be doing it for our Messy House Book Club.  I haven't really gotten into it yet, I have been on a dry spell since I finished all of those Karen Kingsbury novels.  I heard it was great though, so I really need to find time to read.

5.  I am super excited for Brandon's party tomorrow!  Stay tuned for pictures!!

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Family of four. . . 15 weeks

New things about Brandon: Today is his last day as a one year old!!!  I can't believe that when I write this next week I am going to be writing about my TWO year old!  Where have the past two years gone!?


New things about Natalie: She doesn't believe in sleep any more.  She is now rolling from side to side, and is doing great.  She can't figure out how to roll from her stomach back to her back yet though, so we are still working on that!


New things about Tyler:  Tyler has been working hard, and is looking forward to getting his classroom all set up.  He is almost done!

New things about Cassandra:  Today I get to meet all of my kiddos for the new school year.  They are coming in to drop off their school supplies.  I am not quite ready for this school year to start, but I am getting close!

Weight:  138 pounds!!  I dropped three pounds this past week!  The workouts are paying off!

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Thoughtful Tuesday

Today was my second day back to work.  At this point I think that I have been way too busy to realize how much I miss the kids.  I know once school starts, on Monday, that I will be missing them more and more.  Right now I am in such a frantic mode to try and get everything done by Thursday morning that it hasn't really set in yet.  I wish that I knew a magic way that I could stay home with my kids, but it really isn't possible for us.  I know people say all the time that we should be able to do it, but with our expenses, we really can't.  Besides if someone was going to stay home, at this point in the game it wouldn't make sense for me to stay home, since I make more than Tyler. Who knows what could happen next year, lets see how things go this year, but I would love to be able to be the one to raise my kids, instead of having my parents and in-laws do it.  I am very thankful that it is them, and that B and Natalie don't have to go to a day care facility, but I would love to be home with them.



Friday, August 2, 2013

Friday Five

1.  Natalie rolled over today!!  Of course she waited to do it until I had gone into work, but she rolled over!  We were able to see her do it tonight over at the Krieger's house too.  My baby girl is growing up way too fast!

2.  Today was my last day of summer, "officially."  My mom stayed with us last night so I could go into work today for a few hours though.  I was able to get up all of my bulletin boards, but my room is no where near ready for parents to walk into next Thursday.  I think I may have to go in this weekend, or just live there Monday - Wednesday.

3.  I am so thankful that my bible study has picked up again!  We are reading the Cup of Life.  I can't wait to start reading it, and to meet with my lovely ladies again!!



4.  We have Natalie's baptism date set!!  I can't wait to see Jon and Nicole, and meet little Kinley Sue!!


5.  I can't believe that when I do my Friday Five next week my baby boy will be 2!!!  Where has the time gone!?!


Thursday, August 1, 2013

Family of four . . . 14 weeks

New things about Brandon:  Brandon was able to go play at the splash pad again this week with our buddy Hans!  It is such a blast.  This week was much warmer than last week though, so we were only able to stay for a week.  Brandon learned a new animal sound this week thanks to our friend Susan too!  Now he can "baaa" like a sheep!  We have started to get things ready for Brandon's first day of school too.  We already received our first emails from his teacher, and we can't wait to meet her next week!


Drinking from the cup like a big boy at Matt's Big Breakfast
New things about Natalie:  Natalie is growing my leaps and bounds.  She is now consistently eating between 3 - 5 ounces at a time!  Where has my little girl gone!?!  She is starting to sit in the bumbo too!  At first she didn't really like it, but yesterday Brandon was running in circles with Derrik and Natalie was just smiling and watching them.  She also fell asleep on her play mat yesterday while Tyler, Brandon and I were having a dance party!  That is the first time she has fallen asleep on her back, without being swaddled!  We were pretty impressed!

Hanging out in the bumbo
New things about Tyler:  Yesterday was officially Tyler's last day of summer.  He reports back to work this morning, and now it is time for him to start getting into the groove of his school year.  He is excited about the upcoming year, and has a new teaching partner that he gets to start working with.

Dance party
New things about Cassandra:  I am excited to not officially start back to work until Monday.  I am headed into work today and tomorrow to get going though, as my room needs to be totally ready to go by next Thursday!  I have also launched a new teacher blog, which I am super excited about!  I disconnected it from my personal blog, in case it does take off, I don't want them linked.  That way this blog stays more personal, and I know only a few of you read it.  :)

mrs3rdgrade07.blogspot.com
I know I have kept saying I was going to work out, I was going to work out.  Well, today begins that journey.  I am ready to go!  I did my first workout this morning.  Natalie decided that 4:15 would be a great time to get up this morning, even though Tyler's alarm wasn't going off until 4:45.  So I finished feeding her, and then decided I had to get up and go out, or I would keep putting it off!  So I did!!

Current weight:  141 pounds



My workouts courtesy of Pinterest