Piece of Cake

This little guy is feeling better and we are so glad. He is 100% boy, 100% cute, and a 100% answer to prayers. :)

Running on Empty

That is how I felt on Saturday. We spend so much time blogging about how "perfect" and hilarious life is, but sometimes I just feel like I am running on empty. Carley had a great first week of school. That has been nice not to worry about her and know she is happy and learning. The hardest part I am having is getting her there in the morning. Unlike most of my friends who are having a hard time getting out the door so early, I am having a hard time getting out the door so late! It is so hard to get there and then get to work. Cody has been a huge help, but man, it has been tough!

Then little Corey got a nasty virus on his throat. It is very similar to strep, but it is viral and not bacterial. He missed Thursday and Friday of school. He has felt awful! It hurts to swallow so he has not had his paci, drank enough, or eaten enough. Therefore he has not slept. OH the nights are awful. Poor guy. Cody and I are exhausted being up literally all night with him.

I am teaching at LCU again on Monday nights and I am loving it. It makes for a busy Monday, but I am glad I am doing it.

Then there are the various other things our family does, church, dance, extra shifts, commitees, committees, committees. :) I just feel spread thin and mostly just due to the missing sleep.

BUT today is a new day. We have a new week. Corey is feeling better. Carley is a pro at Kindergarten. I get to see a great friend this upcoming weekend. Cody is getting his things going, and all is well.

Running on empty is not fun, but those are the times prideful people like me remember that I don't have it all together, I need help, I fail often, and running the race is more important than winning!

1st Day of Kindergarten

And it begins...Public Education! Carley had a great first day of Kindergarten. We dropped Corey off at daycare and then Cody and I took her to Chic-Fil-A for breakfast. She loved the last minute attention. Then we took her to school. It was so odd to me, when I was at breakfast I kept thinking she looked so big and then when I saw her in her seat at school, she looked so small. My big girl is still my little girl. :) No tears this morning on either of our parts. We said good bye and she was fine. Here is Carley's take on her day:
- She loves Kindergarten.
- Mrs. Kauffman is really nice.
- Recess was the best part of the day.
- School has a lot of rules.
- She didn't learn anything new yet.
- There is a boy with chapped lips in her class that bothers her.
- She loves her girl friends in her class.
- She drank all of her Caprisun and lunch so she went through the line and bought some milk. "Buying things in the cafeteria is SO fun. You don't even need money, you just have to know your name". The cafeteria charge account could get expensive for our bottomless pit. :)
- If you get in trouble, your dog on the wall goes in the dog house and we have to call your mom. Then if you get in more trouble you go to the dog pound.


There you have it. The official Kinder low down. I am so thankful my girl is off to a good start. 1 day down, 186 to go!

Meet the Teacher

Sniff......Meet the teacher for my Kindergartner was tonight. Just kidding. Carley is SO excited and SO ready for Kinder that I just can't wait either. It is hard to see my baby growing up, but it is such an exciting feeling seeing her ready and thrilled for the road ahead. Carley got up at 5:30 this morning ready to go to Meet the Teacher!

Carley's teacher is named Mrs. Kauffman and she seems FABULOUS! We have heard great things so that makes us excited. She was very sweet to Carley and Carley loved her. Carley loved finding her desk and was so excited that her school supplies were waiting for her and included headphones for the computer! WHO HOO! She is also super excited that her cubby buddy is one of her best buds Elise. I am excited that when Carley sticks her things in the wrong backpack it will just be over at Jennifer's! We are also really thankful that our wonderful neighbor, Mrs. Carolyn teaches across the hall and will be able to give my girl any extra love or hugs she needs.

Some great pictures that make me smile

Because of Pinterest I have seen some great images lately. Here are a few of my favorites:

And finally.....

Back in the Saddle Again

I started back to work on August 1st. Normally I write this post earlier, but I just couldn't this year. These 2 weeks have been a whirlwind. Lots of Nelson moments and changes have happened during these weeks and I will try to remember most of them.

-My first week at work Cody stayed with both kids on his 4 days off that week and the one day he worked, they stayed with my mom. The kids LOVED 4 days with Daddy and no Mommy. LOVED it. Cody is such a great dad and our kids adore him. The end of the week was sad because Corey got a tummy bug so poor Cody was home with a sick baby and a high energy girl, but he did great.

- Last week Corey went back to our daycare. He has done a great job adjusting. He does cry in the morning at drop off, but it ends quickly. They have been so wonderful with our little guy. He has impressed them all with his verbal skills so they are moving him up a couple of classes where he will be with kids older than him who talk a lot like he does.

- Carley and her dad had 3 days together this week. One day she spent the day running errands with her dad to Home Depot, the fire marshall's office, the bank, and then LFD training while Cody taught a case review. Our little future fire girl loved it. Another day she and her dad had an entire day of dates that ended with them going to the Smurf movie together.

- We have also been blessed my friends who have helped with Carley. She spent Tuesday at her buddy Elise's house and Friday she went to a HS Volleyball tournament with the Hammonds. Friday afternoon she came to my work and enjoyed that a ton. Tomorrow she is spending the day with her buddy Charlie.

- I have had my own set of changes this year. I went from being the Curriculum Technologist at our Middle School after 7 years to being in a new position, Campus Intervention Specialist. I will be the testing coordinator and then do 504, RtI, SSI, and any other benchmark, assessment, data things come along. I am SUPER excited about this and AMAZINGLY humbled and what all I still have to learn. One day at a time though, right??

I have more posts coming this week mostly for my upcoming Kindergardener, but I did want to do a little catch up.

As always, the purpose of this blog is to be printed in a book for my kiddos. So to Carley and Corey, I want you to know the choice your dad and I have made for you to be in a family with 2 working parents is not an easy choice. However, we think it is best for our family. We do not take lightly the schedule it forces on you, the exposure to runny noses, the limited time at home, and all that comes with it. But we do truly believe you thrive in the places we send you and that you are happy and loved there. Good byes are never easy in the morning, but I leave you knowing this is a good plan for our family. Never once question that you are loved to the moon and back by your parents and that you are more important to us than any job. And quite frankly the trip alone in the car to Sonic to get my water on the way to work does some serious destressing and restoring of your mom's soul! I hope it makes me a better mom and our family a happier place. I love you both so much!

CatPack!

ACU has the best marketing department! Carley's CatPack backpack came in the mail the other day with a cute note from the ACU mascot wishing her luck in beginning school and telling her he hoped she came to visit ACU sometime. She loved it and we love our new church bag. I can't believe she is old enough to get this! Time goes too fast!

More Cousin Fun

We had a great week with the O'Rears! One day Mom and I took the kids to the Science Spectrum and they were so happy and hilarious! Once again the kids are ALWAYS matching.Another day we got to go to our sweet friend Ann's house and play with her kids in their awesome backyard water slide! Our kids had a blast.Finally the older girls got matching nightgowns with their dolls. They loved it and were so cute playing together.