First week back in the real world

 I can't even tell y'all how proud I am of our little off spring. I had some concerns about school starting back and her return to "Betebez" house. This summer she went to Liz's 3 times and cried every single time, but it's like she just knew it was time to go back because she has been happy as a pig in the sunshine every morning this week.

Or maybe she was tired of me.

No. No, that couldn't have been it.

Last Friday we made a final before-school-starts-back trip to town to stock up on the essential. She got bags and got us some "begebles." Not that she is going to let a vegetable grace the presence of her mouth.

 Somebody has taken her to the fish area before...and it wasn't me. If it poops or needs to be fed, it ain't coming to our house (with the exception of the wee little one on the way. Other than that, momma can't take on any more responsibility.). Oh, but she just stared longingly at those tanks. (P.S.This is mainly for the grandparents- anybody that gives her a fish for her upcoming birthday will be kindly removed from the invitation list next year.)

I have decided that Sunday is the designated ironing day. I know this make me some kind of weirdo, but I actually enjoying cleaning the house. I don't know why. I don't understand it. But ironing??? Not so much. My 2 least favorite chores are folding up clothes and ironing. Which is exactly why Reese and Elynn will inherit those 2 chores the second they are old enough. So Sunday I was ironing a whole stack of clothes (mostly Adam's because did y'all know that I married a man who needs to look at least semi nice at work which requires ironed clothes?)

Allow me to digress and tell a story. One night a long, long time ago when we were wee little college students, BFF Steph and I were sitting around a campfire with Adam and his BFF Adam. Steph and I were discussing how "all these losers guys we had met at school were getting business degrees. Ugh. Who wants to marry a business man? They travel a lot and probably lead whole other lives in these places they travel to." We probably went on and on about how that had happened in some Danielle Steele book we had read and this man had another wife in another town and blah blah blah. Then we said, "so what are y'all majoring in?" In unison both Adams said, "business." Well, sure. 

Fast forward roughly 8 years and here I am spending my Sunday afternoons ironing my business man of a husbands button up shirts and khakis. And let me go on record for saying that I absolutely wouldn't trade it for anything. Well. Except maybe the traveling part. I'm not a fan of the traveling, but it has nothing to do with him leading another life in another town...it's more about my very mature, not-at-all-paranoid belief that somebody is stalking me and going to try to break in and kill me while he is gone. 

Anyway, Reese wanted her own "sqwirter and rubber." All I had was fabric freshener and a meat tenderizer. After she ironed several items she put them all in the dryer "cause they need da be washed." Note to self: teach her the order of laundry before giving that chore over to her. 

After I got home from school Monday and saw all of the posts on Facebook of kids going to kindergarten and all that, I got on my knees and thanked the sweet Lord that my baby has a late birthday and is another 3 years away from real school. I'm convinced that school is when it all changes including their little chubby, dimpled knuckles and elbows. And, oh my heart, I can't bear the thought. (I would also include that school is where they get smart mouths, but she is only 2 and she already has one of those.) (It's a good thing Adam doesn't know how to comment on the blog because right here is where he would say that she got her smart mouth genetically from me. All I can say is there are 2 sides to that story and the other side comes directly from his 50% of her genetic make up.)

Here she was Monday morning on her first day back to "school." 6 o'clock came early for her especially considering she had gotten used to sleeping till 8:30.

And in other news happenings from this week, Uncle G took her for a stroll in her cozy coupe, and she had it just like she liked it- feet propped up telling him to "go fasta."

Last weekend she stood up on her chair and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Fwirst of all..." I can't even imagine where she heard that. 

One night Adam was reading a book to her before bed and he was trying to get her to say the colors on the page and read the words and all that. She huffed loudly and said, "Daddy, go ahead. Wead da book." She could not be bothered with all that knowing her colors business. 

So do y'all remember how much I hate needles? I talked way more than was necessary about it when I was pregnant with Reese. Since then I have gotten better. Not accepting of it, but better. This week I had to get the Rhogam shot. Reese went with me and has told everybody what a big girl I was when I got a shot. Now lays before me the final mountain in the pregnancy journey...the epidural. I did not have a pleasant experience the first time around, and I'm even more worried about it this time. What bothers me even more is that it is only 11 to 12 weeks away. That barely gives me enough time to worry myself into hysterics about it. 

She got a name and furniture all in one day.

 Let me go ahead and get this out there- we picked a name. Elynn Rae. Pronounced like Elin (I just didn't love spelling it that way- enunciate the E. Not like Ellen.) Seriously people, there was a moment or two I thought for sure we would divorce before the kid got a name. Then on Friday I saw the name Elin, brought it before (the-always-difficult-in-the-naming-department) husband, and right there in the McDonald's drive through the decision was made. I'm so glad that we were in such a prestigious location when our baby got a name. Now, of course, Big Daddy said he would continue to call her Peanut because he couldn't pronounce it. Saturday I made her a few things. Ray is my daddy's first name and also my middle name, so there is where that came from. And now that that is finalized, I feel like I can rest.

The furniture came in Thursday and my parents were kind enough to swing by and pick it up since they were in the Birmingham area. Which, really, was an all around blessing because Adam had to work which was going to leave me driving PeePaw's F250 in Birmingham. I think we can all agree that it probably wouldn't have ended well. (And after my sister filled it up with gasoline as opposed to the required diesel, I'm not sure how much more F250 trauma my daddy can stand.)(I just almost typed, "yeah, but we all know they are like a rock" then I came back to my senses and remembered that is Chevrolet, not Ford. I worry myself sometimes.)

Uncle G came by to help with the required heavy lifting. 

Reese could not wait for me to get the mattress in so place so she could play. 

She said, "Ma-ie, make my picture. I sweepin' in baby sisors bed."

Y'all, I made the last weekend of my summer a productive one. I even sorted through all of Reese's baby clothes and got them in the closet.

Reese's rekindled her love for her Nap Nanny. It's going to be an uphill battle keeping her off the baby products.

And then Sunday night I got back stage passes to meet these 2 live in person. It was a duet that I only wish I would have recorded. She always throws her head back when she sings. 

Then there was this....

That's a picture of my almost 3 year old doing homework. Yes, homework. Why you ask? Well because she declared at daycare that she didn't want to color her color sheet, so she had to do it at home. After she got a spanking last week at my parents house I told my mother, "you have no idea." And she said, "Oh, yes I do. I raised her mother." Point taken, MeeMaw. I was telling one of my co-workers about it today, and she very politely told me I was overreacting to the whole situation: "She's 2. If she doesn't want to color, don't make her color." Then I felt bad because I gave her this big lecture this morning and how she would be punished if she couldn't mind. And she will be punished, but really? She was right. She's 2. She didn't want to color. End of story. It doesn't put her on any toddler criminal list which was how I was starting to feel.

As of yesterday I am back at it. Meaning working. And when I say back at it, I mean that loosely because the internet was down yesterday and the copy machines didn't work. Welcome back to the world of public education. But let me say- this is going to be a much better year for me. I don't think I ever went into it here on the blog, but last year was terrible. Every teacher knows you have good years and bad years. I had 4 straight good years, so I was due a bad one. Nothing particularly happened that made it bad, it was a combination of teaching something I didn't love and having all standard diploma classes that took a tole on me. This year I am back in Career Tech and teaching a Financial Literacy class, and nothing makes my heart go pitter patter like teaching kids the dangers of a credit card and living beyond their means. So for the 3rd year in a row I have changed classrooms, but I'm happy to say that this is where I hope to stay. Plus I'm taking November through the end of January off for maternity leave, so that helps my feelings a lot.

Last thing: when referring to her swimming suit Reese says "swimmin' poot" and when talking about her thumb she says "fung." I'll be sad to see the day when she learns how to properly pronounce all her words. On second thought, if she has an ounce of her Big Daddy's DNA, she may never learn how to correctly pronounce words.

Wrapping up summertime

 Here is a random list of things I feel the need to share with the class.

1. The absolute only thing that makes going back to school okay is that football season/fall is right around the corner. 

2. It has been a delightful summer- 20 inches of above average rain fall or not. If I wasn't pregnant I would probably have a different attitude about the whole rain-every-single-day thing, but you will never EVER hear a pregnant lady complain about below average temperatures and a few rain showers. The summer I was pregnant with Reese was the hottest of all time, and I had a lot of concerns about it being that hot and Reese forcing me to play outside 16 hours a day this time around. Thanks to Mother Nature, I have survived my second summer of pregnancy. 

3. Nothing delights me more than to tell y'all that my daughter has declared that she wants a Peppa Pig birthday party. Not a princess party. Not Minnie Mouse. Peppa Peg. For those of you unfamiliar allow me...

  

And really it's nothing against Peppa and her little brother George, it's just that I was hoping we were still a few years away from character parties. This is what I've learned about having a daughter: it ain't all sugar and spice, and princesses. Sometimes it's big trucks, trains, and pigs. 

4. Just when I was all like, "awww she is about to turn 3" she looked at me while we were at the Chick Fil A playground and said, "Ma-ie, you makin' me nervous." Sweet goodness, have mercy on my soul. 

5. She learned how to swim a few weeks ago.  I was so proud (and obviously delusional) that I uploaded the video of her swimming on Facebook and people, I'm in a swimsuit...and very pregnant. My love for her has made me question the person I have become. I would upload it here, but you know our internet situation. 

6. I am in love with this picture. 

7. After vacuuming for 2.5 seconds she declared, "this is a hard day." Yep, all that "hard day" cleaning is needed because of you, little princess. 

8. PeePaw took her to her first cow sale. She loved it. (P.S. Those of you who know him need not worry- my mother was also with them. The last time he babysat alone, she ate some dog food.) 

9. PeePaw brought her home that afternoon and she brought in MeeMaw's lipstick and did this. 

10. Since the whole swimming thing, she never wants to wear her float so that should tell y'all who is making who nervous. I'm more than a little on edge at the pool.

11. There is still no baby name. We are further from picking a name than we ever have been. The ones we were considering have been thrown out for one reason or another. 

And I'll end with this little true story...

12. A few weeks ago we ate at Olive Garden. While waiting for our table I took Reese to the restroom. When I came back and sat down out front to wait, a sweet lady came over and whispered in my ear that my dress was in my underwear. Sigh. I'm still embarrassed. All I could do was laugh. Adam said, "Well you showed your butt tonight. Literally." 

Almost 3

When it comes to having kids I've often heard the saying that the days are long, but the years are short. I'm sure I won't get the full impact of that statement until after she has moved out and has a life of her own, but she will be 3 in a few months and I can hardly believe it. Some days (like Monday night for instance) I can't wait for bedtime because she has worn me out- all the neediness and demands of a 2 year old!! Then it hits me that she is almost 3 and I can't believe that is possible. 

 She ALMOST spent the night at her DD's last night, but by 9:45 she was back home. I can't say that I was sad that she didn't stay. I like for all my people to be under the same roof;)

Baby with no name update and some Reese-isms

It's funny how little time you have on your hands with your second pregnancy. Uncle G is always giving DD a hard time about how there aren't any pictures of him etc. I now know why. The woman was busy with her first born, but more importantly she was tired. I can't even imagine how you people feel who have 2 or more children and then are pregnant again. I really wish I would have relaxed a little more while I was pregnant with her and took a nap EVERY SINGLE DAY!

 It looks like preggo picture updates are going to be a once a trimester event as opposed to the weekly picture I did with Reese. I tried to get her to hold the chalkboard for me, but she said, "no I teach you how to cheese." She stood with her daddy while he took the picture and bossed me around told me how to "say cheeeeeseeee."

There is still no name. One reason is Reese requires 100% of our attention and we rarely get to it discuss names. It is frustrating me because all my valuable monogramming time this summer is slipping away from me, and I haven't made her one cute outfit like I had wanted to. Maybe soon though. 

Moving right along to some of the things Reese is saying. 

Adam and I would like some time alone with whoever made up the game duck duck goose. At least twice a day she wants to know, "want to pway duck duck goose? Want to?" Mine and Adam's eyes practically roll out of our heads when she ask us this because no. No, we do not want to play a ridiculous game of getting onto to the floor then quickly getting up and running. There should be a law that no one over 8 has to play that game. 

Saturday night we were driving down the road and Adam and I were singing in obnoxious voices and Reese kept telling us to "hush down!" 

She loves to "go to the white store and push the little tiny buggy." That means going to the Pig and her filling the little kid buggy all the way up with junk. 

When looking for us she will yell, "where you are?"  

I just got a text on my phone and she said, "Ma-ie you phone just say somepin."

Over the last few weeks I have become "Mom." Mostly she calls me mom when I don't answer her in a timely fashion. In other words, if she has to call for me more than once she turns into a 13 year old and calls "Mooooom" in a really annoying voice. 

If she thinks we say something not nice (like Jolie just said "stink pot") she will say, "gon't say dat word." 

"Want to trace?" means she wants to trade popsicles with you. 

"It's a as-ident" when she spill something and thinks she is in trouble she assures us it was an accident. 

You know who isn't complaining about all the rain this summer? Me. I'm "hurge" (huge) as Reese would say, and the heat is no friend to a pregnant lady. But all the rain has kept us indoors a lot and me frantically searching for things to entertain her. 

This was when I let her play with dry rice inside. I'm still finding rice in all corners of the house. 

She helped clean it up for about 2 seconds then it was left to me. 

She has been helping with yard work. 

She LOVES glue. She stacks it up really high on her paint brushes. 

And this is what is currently happening in my kitchen and it is precisely what makes me love summertime so much.  

July 4th and some random other things

Let me tell y'all just how fun we are: we shot fireworks before it even got dark. Yep, before dark. Reese told me she was "sweepy" while she made a beeline for her bed, so we had to hurry with our fireworks show. She either covered her eyes or her ears the whole time. 

 

We shot some more then next night...again it was before dark and she already had on her jammies. Since Adam still has to get up and go to work like normal, our schedule hasn't really changed that much this summer. We still go to bed early, but Reese has slept till 9:30 AM on a few occasions. She doesn't take a nap most days, and some nights I have to threaten her to make her go to bed at 9 PM. She has an endless amount of energy. 

 And these are some other randoms that were on my camera.

 This has to be my favorite Reese and Addie picture of all time. I'm sure they will hate me one day for showing this picture, but really? It is so cute. Addie had to potty and her little "mother" (who is a mere 8 months older than her) tried to help her onto the potty before giving up and telling Addie "you too heavy."

Baby #2 furniture

Since she still doesn't have a name (and it's still not looking good that she is going to get one before we leave the hospital with her) I will be reduced to referring to her as "baby #2." Or I could go with Reese's "Peanut" title. Either way, a couple of weekends ago Adam and I went to Birmingham to order her furniture. Of course, the one we picked out was back ordered and won't be here for 10 weeks. I hate that the picture looks so boyish, but these are the pieces we got (except the hutch over the changing table). I love the hutch, but it really wasn't a necessity for me plus we really don't have room for it. 

Speaking of not having room...baby #2 will be residing in our only extra room which is also known as our current play room/ sewing room. So I'm strategically planning ways to make random toys disappear without Reese realizing it. Keep me in your prayers because if she catches on...oh...there will be repercussions.