August 21-Last day of Summer/Last Blog

Well, it is here! My last few hours of Summer and my last blog entry. I am feeling all sorts of different emotions right now.

• Scared-What if the 10 year olds think I am a loser? (I don't super care, but I still want them to like me)
• Excited-I think that I am going to love 4th grade and it is going to be a great professional challenge for me.
• Sad-I am going to miss my "babies".
• Frustrated-Why did I leave 2nd grade? I had it made there!
• Undecided-Will 4th grade be better than 2nd, or 1st, or Kindergarten?
• Guilty- Did I thoroughly enjoy every minute of my 2.5 months off?
• Anxious: Do I have enough planned for tomorrow, and the next day, and the next?
• Exhausted-I have been awake since 4:30... planning!
• Determined-I can be a wonderful Mom, a great teacher and a fabulous JCP receptionist, right?
• Joyful-My new team is so great! We have so much fun together.
• Envious-Why do I have to work so hard and others people get to live in nicer houses and stay at home?
• Indifferent-I enjoy writing in this blog, but I need to spend more time to do school work and spend time with my husband.

My plan is to write a seasonal update about our little family. Although I am sad that summer is over, very soon it will start to be my 2nd favorite season; Fall! Football, pumpkin spice candles, Oktoberfest wine, Apple Cider Donuts, bonfires, and sweatshirt...yippee!!

I am so blessed to have such a "wonderful" and caring husband who supports me with all of my crazy ideas. I am so glad to have a beautiful daughter that makes me laugh each day! I am so happy for a puppy that has done a pretty good job of replacing the loneliness that was left in our house (of course, she has shown to be quite pricey though). .I am so fortunate to have two fabulous families that I know will always be there for us. I am delighted to have so many friends who have been there for us through so many stages of our life (work friends too!). I am so fortunate to have two jobs that I adore and allow me to have a flexible schedule to be with my family (of course, Tony's job too). Overall, it is human nature to want more and better things for my family, but I am blessed for what I have. I am living the dream that I constantly wished fo on my 45 minute drives between U of  I and ISU; "Just Another Day in Paradise".

Reagan had to help Mommy dust! She couldn't stand the dirt anymore!

Molly helping us get our "last" summer ice cream!



8/19- NOT the last day of Summer

Most teachers consider today to be the last day of summer! I am in complete denial about this and that is why the last day of summer is not till Tuesday! Tomorrow and Tuesday are just meetings. When the kids come, then it is over.

A large part of my denial lies in the fact that I have not done everything that I wanted to get finished this summer. Go to the Zoo, go to the pool more(yes, I only went twice with the pool pass, thus it was about $32 each time! DAMN!), paint the sun porch, complete all of the laundry, and clean out the "baby" storage room are all of the things that did not get done. It is pretty sad that most of these jobs are chores that I really have no excuse for not completing, but I am going to pull the "I had 2 babies to take care of this summer" card.

My last day of sleeping in required me to get up at 7am, and I have been moving every since! Reagan and I went to visit Kelsey and her new baby Andie. I can't believe that about a year and a half ago Reagan was that tiny! It does go so fast! Kelsey and I were talking about having 2 babies and I know that we do want to have another one, but it just blows my mind to think that I would have to do it all over again! I just can't imagine...at least right now!

My huge accomplishment for today was that I took out the Crock pot and made dinner. This is a pretty big for me and I am actually pretty proud of myself. We even have lunch for both of us tomorrow! Maybe I will try this technique more often!

Reagan checking out the Guinea Pig at Petsmart! She loves the fish too!

August 18-An ALMOST Hospital visit?

Reagan almost gave me heart failure yesterday! I put her down on the garage step to grab Molly out of the car. Well, she did not realize that she was up there and began walking, and tripped off of the step. She was crying a bit, just like she normally does when she falls. I told her " You are ok". She didn't seem to be whining that much so I gave her a snack and she was smiling and happy. I went to put her down and her ankle buckled. She whined a bit more and tried to take another step but couldn't, and started whining again.

Tony was a work, so I called my Mom who came over to look at it. We didn't see any bruising or swelling. I called the doctor anyways! I finally got a hold of Tony, who said to take her to the hospital, REALLY?. I waited for the doctor to call back to hear his opinion first. After a "boo boo" Popsicle, she seemed OK, but was still afraid to walk on it! The doctor called back and said to "try" to keep her off of it, keep icing it, and if it was still bad, to bring her back in the morning. We were suppose to go to a friends house for dinner, so I sent Tony, and I did my best to keep Reagan entertained while sitting. Since it was only 5:30, we played toys on the couch, played with the iPad, ate dinner, colored, had a bath, read books and played with Silly Putty.

I was scared to death that she would wake up the morning and it would still be weak, and I hardly slept worrying about it! (Yes, I am a huge, worry wart.) She started squeaking around 7:15 and when I walked into her room she was standing in the crib. I put her down on the ground and she was already cruising for the bookshelf and it didn't even seem like she was phased by it! I was so relieved! Thank goodness! What would we do if it had been broken or sprained? How do you tell a toddler to keep their feet up? Hello, their names are Toddlers for a reason! (If it it not one baby it is the other!)

Gotta have the bow!

So thankfully, a crisis was averted and we got to go upon our day as normal! I had JCP today (which by the way, I am getting mighty sick of Mom's, ) and we were going to our final Summer event, the Arlington Million. My Dad had bought Tony's Dad, Step mom (and Kaylee) and us tickets, so it was nice being with them. Last year, it rained so it was not that busy, but this year it was PACKED! I have not seen so many drunk people since the DMB concert a few years ago. Our big mistake was that we brought Reagan. She was all over the place! She wanted to climb the bench, go up and down the hill and be constantly moving. I love that she gets to experience new things and different people (event if they are drunk), but next year, I think that she will stay with Grandma! Then Mommy and Daddy can have a break!

The glasses were a hit too!

 

Poor Molly had to be in her cone all day! I am going to feel bad for her next week!

Molly's new cousin, Penny!

August 16-Chores

My husband is going to be getting a reality check very soon! Yesterday, I mentioned to him that I think that I do more chores than him.

Tanya's Jobs:

• Sort, wash, and fold all laundry
• Clean Bathroom
• Change sheets on beds
• Vacuum
• Sweep 
• Mop
• Wash counters
• Windex (everything)
• Dog Poop
• Reagan's Breakfast

Tony's Jobs

• Mow Lawn
• Shovel snow
• Fix stuff

Now let me tell you, since we had ONE winter snowfall, a summer drought and we have been too broke this year to fix stuff, I am pretty much getting screwed! I brought this up to him and do you know what he said? "You know, you use to clean the house every Friday, what happened to that??  Then I started to feel all guilty, cause I use to clean the house from top to bottom each Friday cause it was so nice to have it all clean for the weekend. Since we had Reagan, I have changed my cleaning to "spot" cleaning; just cleaning what needed it. I really hate doing that, because then I am constantly cleaning instead of cleaning in one big swoop. I just don't have enough time to clean for 2 hours like I use to! After my guilt set in, I realized that that little Bastard made me feel bad, when I was trying to tell him to do more cleaning! So next week, my plan is to not clean at all..."cause I am too busy"! I am sure that our house will go to hell, but maybe it will drive him crazy enough that he will at least pick up one job! 

I told Tony that I was not going to drive the hour there and back to Naperville to take Molly to the vet to check on her swollen incision since I too I drove their twice last week to take her and pick her up. So he did (maybe he felt guilty about not cleaning?). The Doctor did not think that it was infected, but did give us a cone for her to wear when we are not home and some anti-inflammatory medicine (she is already on the antibiotics for her UTI). Molly HATES the cone. She just stood there like a stick and didn't move till Tony finally laid her down. I feel bad for her, but we can't have her licking it! I personally think that it got inflamed by all of her jumping and "crazy eye" time. (How do you make a puppy, not have energy?)

Caught licking the rainwater off of the slide! Gross! 

Unfortunately, Molly's leaking is not stopping. I am personally starting to think that she still doesn't realize that she has to go. If I see any drips on the floor, I immediately take her out and stay out there till she pees. After that, no more leaking! From my "Mommy" research, I have found that if she has this major issue is a birth defect, then she would be constantly leaking, and a lot more than a few drops. It still royally ticks me off though! 

Listen here DOG!

Molly has entered what the book calls the "Teenage Stage". Her newest feat is to lay on the couch, she even jumped on the bed today! Now, I let her lay on the couch when I am on there (I know, but I always check for leaking first!), but I do not want her on there by herself yet till we get this figured out. She is not yet getting this, cause we spent about 15 minutes of her jumping on and off either couch, getting all curled up (and super cute, btw), just to have me kick her off, so she can jump on the other couch. Finally, I got her a blanket to lay on the floor, she seemed cool with that as long as I sit on the floor too...little hoe! 

That is what I thought! 

August 15-The Drive-In

I feel a little better about my classroom! I was so thankful to get a large chunk of time in there to work and even had some helpers to get some of the small stuff out of the way! I am pretty thankful that I am not going to San Fran tomorrow cause I still feel that I need to be in my classroom some more over the next few days.

I had my first home visits today! I was so glad that I am doing them. I made it very informal and just asked about their summers and asked the parents more about their student's goals.  They did go longer than the 15 minutes, but it was so fun to get to meet them for the first time in their own environments. They went very well, and I still have 2 more on Sunday and I hope to schedule at least 2 more before they start school.

When I got home Tony mentioned that he noticed that Molly's spaying incision seemed a little red. I took a peek and it defiantly looks a little pink and irritated. So I called the vet and they said to bring her in. So, I persuaded Tony to take the hour long drive out to Naperville to have them look at her. I really wish that we would have just taken her to our vet, it is so much closer! So hopefully, they can figure it out, cause there is defiantly some discharge oozing too! BOOOOO!!!!!! (Why can't we just have some normalcy with our dogs?)

At the Drive-In

So because Molly was irritated, we decided to leave her at home while we went to the Drive-In (Fabulous Groupon deal for $10)  I kind of wanted to just stay home after that ordeal, but Tony persuaded me with the fact that we really won't have any other night to go before school starts. So we managed to give Reagan a 5pm-6:30 nap and got her in the car by 7:15. She was so excited to be there! We were hoping for a little excitement in the beginning and then for her to fall asleep. Not our baby! She was moving from the time we got her out of the car seat till the time that we strapped her back in at 10:00!. She watched the hour and a half movie for a total of 5 minutes. She was more interested in her folding chair, the rocks on the ground, eating popcorn, going up and down the ramp by the concession stand and washing her hands in the bathroom.  However, this is the reason that I wanted her to experience her first movie at the Drive-In, cause she could do all of those things and not bother too many other people. I was just glad that we did not have Molly too! At least Tony got a chance to enjoy Ice Age 4!

All of the rocks that Reagan put on her chair?????

Ready for the movies!

August 14-JCP

Reagan's new charming action is whenever she goes into the bathroom, she points to her toothbrush and says "sh", which means brush. It is so cute that she wants to brush her teeth! I even bragged about her to the dentist today.

Reagan did have to go to the Babysitters today, so that made me sad cause I much rather be with her than in JCP hell! I was trying to be nice and volunteered to work two 8 hour days in a row and I am highly regretting it right now! Volunteering two days in a row during Free Kids Cuts for August was INSANE of me!

To top it off, today in the Salon we had a HUGE corporate visit, when I say huge, I mean each and every "boss" above me that is possible besides the actual JCPenney President was in attendance! A whole bunch of these people from "Dallas" decided to make a visit to our tiny salon during the biggest event in Salon history. My poor boss was running ragged making everything look perfect! All day yesterday was spent with me answering phones, confirming appointments and troubleshooting all other problems, so that she can line up products and other silly details that "they" analyze for. I felt so bad for her!

So finally today they came in at 1pm and sure enough they looked at the lined up shelves and all of the other silly details. They talked to the receptionist a bit and asked how it was going, and I wanted to say "Which one of you was responsible for this ridiculousness?" but I was respectful and put on my PC answers. I was baffled to hear their PC answers back and it made me realize what I could never work for a corporation, as a full time employee, cause I just can't buy into the "fake" of it all! I would rather be a teacher and tell parents the honest truth about their students (but in the nicest way possible).

The one thing that blew me away the most was when one of the visitors, a 50 year old man, came up to me and the other receptionist and put his hand up to "High 5" us. Then he said " You guys are doing such a wonderful job"! Number 1: How do you know what kind of job we are doing? You have been here for 5 minutes. Number 2: I am a 30 year old woman not a 17 year old. Next time, treat me with some respect, and shake my hand. This is not a 5 year old t-ball game.

Anyways, tomorrow I am excited to have Kaylee and Dalton (Sister and Brother in law) come into my classroom to help with getting it ready. Tony and Reagan are going to come and meet us for lunch, so that I can spend a little time with my sweetie! I am hoping to convince Tony to go the Drive in tomorrow, cause I got a great Groupon deal!

Reagan licking the rain water off of the slide. (Do you see her?)

Molly licking the rain water off of the chair!

August 12-Waffles

When Tony woke me up at 5:30 to go to work,  I had a little smile on my face. I knew that  if I laid a blanket on the couch (yep...she's still leaking?) that Molly would crawl up there and sleep for about another hour or two. I was exactly correct! She slept all the way till 8am when Reagan woke up. It was wonderful! I sort of feel bad, cause Molly is such a wonderful cuddle bunny and I have refused to let Tony have her on the couch. Boy is he missing out! Cuddling with Ellie was his favorite past time and I know that he is dying to have that same coziness with Molly (its just not the same on the floor). Hopefully, the UTI will clear up soon and we can get this figured out and get her onto the couch!

Molly checking out the Kitty!

Today, we had breakfast at Grandma and Grandpa's house. When we were younger, my Dad would make homemade waffles almost every Sunday. (That's probably where my chunkiness came from!) Over the years, he usually only makes them for special guests or holidays. (Well, at least that it what they tell us, Bret probably gets Breakfast every Sunday.) Today, he made Waffles at Casey's request and because Reagan had been present for other Waffle occasions, but was not old enough to enjoy!  Let me assure you that she loved them and when my Mom gave her a little puff of whipped cream in her palm, she was already signing for "please" which means give me more! She liked the waffles but she loved the whipped cream! I guess it is a good thing that we hardly every buy that stuff, cause I am sure that she would constantly be signing to the refrigerator!

Reagan's first homemade Waffle

After breakfast, we went to go check out Casey's wedding site. It is a beautiful location with lots of windows and a great big bar! I am so excited for her and I don't want to wait another year! I am so glad that she decided to wait to do the family/wedding party photo's till after the ceremony, even thought it doesn't make sense in a saving time. I just feel that it takes away from the Groom and Bride seeing each other for the first time in front of all of their family and friends. That moment just seems so magical (this from me who is not sappy). I know that my wedding is over, but Tony and I did not sleep in the same bed or see each other till the moment that I walked in. I started crying right away, just because it was such a "fun" anticipation! I am glad that Casey can experience that too!

This week is officially my last week of Summer! I think it is going to go so fast. Normally by this time in the summer, I am dying to go back, but for some reason, I am just not feeling it! Maybe it is because I am a little nervous about 4th grade and also a little sad about being away from my Babies.  I know that Reagan loves being with Karen and all of the kids there. We are looking into getting Molly into Doggie Daycare once a week, although it seems a little pricey, but it will be worth it to get her energy out on our long Monday's.