Christmas Blessings

I am enjoying my two week vacation at home with my family. This has been a great Christmas holiday and I have loved every minute of it. Today with the weather being cold and rainy, I decided to keep myself and the kiddos in pj's all day long.
Since I am enjoying some down time, I finally have time to update yall with a post. Sorry it's been so long. I promise one of my new year's resolutions will be to post more often!

Anyways...

Christmas eve was spent at my Granddaddy's house. This will be our last Christmas with him. He has cancer and has been progressively going down for the past few months. My mom has moved in with him to help in his last weeks. After we spent time with him, we went to my inlaw's for presents!

Harper with my mom

my little pirate.

Christmas morning we got up and opened Santa's presents with the kids. Well mostly Landon.. Harper isn't at that stage yet. It was one of my top two Christmas mornings!! Then we headed over to my Grandmother's house for brunch and then dinner at my Mother-in-law's  house.
I feel very blessed for such an amazing family and how fortunate we are to have a nice Christmas.

I hope you had a very merry Christmas too!

Catch UP

I know it's been a long time since I have written, but I have been trying to get adjusted to having two children under the age of two.. while also loving on the while I was on my SHORT maternity leave. I am back at work now, having only taken 4 weeks off.
Tomorrow my sweet baby girl will be 6 weeks. She is beautiful and continues to change every day.
I am struggling with juggling keeping up with the cooking, cleaning, teaching, and mommy-ing. And still somewhere in there getting sleep, showers, and time with my husband. It's been a whirl wind and I am still not standing on two feet yet. So if you actually still check this blog. THank you.. and I'm sorry I can't write more often. I DO still check everyone else's blogs, I just can't update mine.

Thanks for understanding.
Here's some picture updates :)

sleeping baby

 In her Thanksgiving shirt made by Nana

 Landon in his Thanksgiving shirt

 Baby Harper and her cousin 

 The trouble makers :)

 I could just eat him up! haha

 Has mommy's heart! 

oh his mischievous looks!!

She's Here!

Harper Grace was born 10/25/11 at 2:09pm. She was 8.2 lbs and 20 inches long. We are doing great resting at home. More updates to come!!

The 10 day countdown

Here we are at the 10 day countdown. I am dying with anticipation of when this little girl is going to make her arrival and what she is going to be like! I can't wait. Every day my husband wakes up and asks me, "am I going to meet my little girl today?" He's so sweet. He has been so helpful these past few weeks, I know he is as ready as I am.
To get ready for own new addition, I decided to change the blog title, as you may have noticed. We will no longer be a family of three, but a family of four. So I thought it was time to freshen it up. I think this one will stick this time! What do you think of the new name?
The nursery is finally ready.. the car is packed.. and I am in nesting mode. This morning alone before 9:00 I had already made a batch of brownies, fed Landon breakfast, done a load of laundry, and picked up the living room! haha maybe all of the moving around will kick start some labor! :)

I will keep you updated as things change. Next doctors appointment is tomorrow afternoon!

3 1/2 weeks to go

Still at home resting with my little man.. waiting for missy mae to make her arrival!! I have 3.5 weeks left in this pregnancy... and I am ready when she is!!! I hate being away from my classroom of children, but I must admit.. I love being at home with my other baby. Being a stay at home mommy would be lovely, if only we could afford it..
This past weekend I had both of my baby showers. One on Saturday throw by the sweet girls that I work with, and the other was throw by my mom, grandmother, and mother-in-law. Both were lovely and I can't wait to set everything up in the nursery. We have ordered the furniture, but it has yet to arrive. I expect to it start coming in the end of this week. Then I just have to get everything out of the room that is in there now like our guest bed and office desk. Where I am going to put that stuff.. I do not know! But I think her room is going to be awesome when its all done!!
Today I am working on laundry, nursery, grading papers, and thinking about making a baked potato soup for dinner. The hubs doesn't get home from work until almost 10 tonight. At that time me and lil'man will prob. be asleep, but since both of my boys have been feeling a cold coming on.. i figured soup would be a great dinner idea. I just hope that I don't catch their funk too!!

Happy Tuesday everyone! My favorite shows come on tonight!!

Rest, Rest, Rest

Per Doctor's orders.. With 6 weeks to go, my body just couldn't take the push and push and push I was making it go through each and every day. So here I am on bed rest. It all started around 3am Wednesday morning. I woke up to use the bathroom, like I do 4 times a night, but this time was a little different. When I laid back down my back froze up and I got stuck in a position I could not get out of. I mean literally COULD NOT MOVE. I started crying and woke up Brod in a panic. I could not lay flat on my back, I could not get in a sitting position, I could not stand up. We didn't know what to do. I have never been in that kind of pain before. Brodie wanted to call an ambulance to come get me, but I refused. After an hour working myself up to it from that same position in bed, I finally rolled over and made it to the floor. I crawled on my hands and knees to the front door, while the husband got the baby ready. Once the baby was in the car, he wheeled me out to the car on the computer chair.
Finally at the hospital they admit me into Labor and Delivery. I didn't know if I was having back labor or what, but we were definitely panicking. After monitoring the baby, and giving me some pain medicine, which knocked me out. They decided that even though I was having contractions, and was 1cm dilated, they would release me and send me home with the prescription to be on bed rest. So here I am... day one... hoping it will get better. They said my severe back pain could have been from a bad UTI that I have. (sorry for the TMI).. so hopefully with some antibiotics and a few days rest, I will start to feel like myself again.
Thanks to my wonderful mother in law, she watched the baby while we were in the hospital, and is watching him this afternoon while the hubs is at work, so that I can rest!

Let's hope that we can keep this baby in the cooker for a little while longer and I can keep my sanity!

Success

My classroom is finally put together and ready for Monday. Me on the other hand.. is a different story. I still have all of my lesson plans to do, which I am sure will take up most of my Sunday afternoon. I am mentally not ready either. Last night we had open house and I was able to meet about half of my students and their parents. Some I am looking forward to having in my class.. some others (parents) are a little overbearing.. I hope they aren't too in my face all of the time! I will update you all with some pictures sometime next week of my adorable room. I really like the way that it turned out!

Today (Saturday) I am going to stay away from the school work.. and enjoy myself a little. That's not to say I still don't have house work to do! haha. I hope to get some laundry and dishes done before this afternoon's festivities. We have a pool party to go to, as long as it doesn't rain.

Hubby treated me to an amazing home cooked meal last night! I didn't have to do a thing!! He made lobster, salmon, asparagus, mashed potatoes, salad, AND baked apple pie. (With flowers and candles) It was awesome. What a great way to end a stressful week. LOVE HIM!!
Hope everyone has a great weekend.. I have to go stop Landon from tearing up the house! haha.

Last day of Summer

Yesterday was our anniversary, and we had a very nice day! We went shopping, out to lunch with the hubby's family who was visiting in town, then we came home for naps, and finally last night we went out to dinner. It was great!

Tomorrow I go back to school.. or rather work at school. We have a teacher work week before the kids come back to get things ready. I have an endless list of things I am trying to accomplish before they walk in my door next Monday morning. Well really by Friday for open house. Hopefully I can get it all done!

As this is my last day, I don't have amazing plans to end my summer with a boom.. I have plans to clean, clean, and clean my house. There is so much to do.. and I have NO energy or motivation to do it! That is all thanks to my 15 month old. I love him to death, but he kept us up again last night and boy am I tired today. This will be the second time now that he has woken up in the middle of the night and cried and cried and cried. My guess is he had a bad dream because nothing else seemed wrong with him. After trying to let him "cry it out" my husband told me to get him and bring him into bed with us. We really don't want to make this into a habbit, but we felt so bad for the poor little guy we couldn't take it anymore.. We were up with him for another hour in bed with us before we all finally fell asleep. Of course he took up most of my pillow wanting to snuggle up to his mommy :) while I had a little in my stomach kicking me because I wasn't in the right position for her to be comfortable (I guess) so mommy got very little sleep.
What we are going to do now about this little situation is beyond me. Like I said we don't want to make this into a habbit where he comes in bed with us, but I also can't stand the thought of him upset and screaming all night long in his crib. Any suggestions?

Countdown

The countdown is in full swing... I start school on MONDAY!!! Where did this summer go? I feel like it just slipped through my fingers. I have enjoyed spending all my time with my little man and watching him grow. He has definitely gotten a lot closer to me in this time too. You could call him a "mommy's boy" :) I know that it will be tough to go back to work full time, but I am sure I will get use to it again.

I have so much on my mind trying to get my classroom student ready again. There is soo much to prepare for and I just feel like I don't know where to begin. I am also dealing with the fact that I am one week away from my 30 week mark in my pregnancy and that huge milestone of becoming a mommy again is hitting me hard too. I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going by. It has definitely been a lot different this time around than the first one. In fact I just went to the doctor today, and he informed me that because of this pregnancy it is not good for me to wear my contacts anymore until after the baby is born. BOO!! So it looks like I am wearing my glasses for the next few months.

Saturday is a big day that I am looking forward too... It will be our one year anniversary! I am so excited to see what the hubby has in store. Heck, with as tired as I am, I would be happy spending it in bed just relaxing. :) It has been a great first year, and I am looking forward to spending every year growing closer to him and making amazing memories with our children. CHILDREN.. I can't believe I have to say that! haha two kids in such a short time does make for some interesting days of no sleep and chasing around, but I am looking forward to this chapter in my life.

Gearing up

With only one week of summer left before I start back at school, I am getting into "teacher" mode and trying to get my stuff together. I have found some amazing second grade teacher blogs that are giving me great ideas that I hope to implement into my room this year. I want to freshen things up and create new and exciting plans. I also have found some awesome things on Pinterest.. which by the way.. is my new obsession!!
Also trying to plan for our 1 year anniversary. It is next week and I am super excited. I want to plan something fun for us to do, and I need a gift idea. Any suggestions? I know that the first year is suppose to be paper.. but who wants paper really?
Yesterday I had a baby doctor appt. that went well! I am 28 weeks and moving along great! She is measuring a week ahead, which means another big baby! Hopefully this labor will be faster and easier!!

Ready to spend a great weekend with the family!- Enjoy yours!

Agenda for the day.

I am excited to have my first day off all week. Today we have a busy schedule, but one that I am looking forward to. I am dropping Landon off at my mom's so that I can go get my hair cut!
 I am ready for some "me" time pampering. After I am done, I am picking up my Grandmother to go shopping. We are going out to look at stuff for the new nursery, and other random pieces for the house. We found this at pier one and really think it would be a great addition to our living room. I need more storage!!

For the nursery...  I am having a hard time finding something online that I really like in bedding. I feel like it all looks the same, and I have not been drawn to something yet. I am finding more boy stuff I like, (imagine that!) so we are going to go to a fabric store and pick up some swatches. We are debating on just getting it custom made with the fabric that I like together. I also need some window treatments for Landon's room. I want to get some blackout curtains so that he can really sleep for his naps and such. I am excited to start transforming his room into a toddler room and out of his nursery stage. I have some fun ideas in mind for his room. We just have to piece it all together!
Well I am off to get ready for the fun day! Only two more days to get ready for our family coming in town.. That means tomorrow is cleaning ALL  day!!

"What are you doing?"

That is my favorite new saying by my lil' man has me cracking up. Although I know that is not exactly what he is saying.. he makes it sound like it, and I love talking to him!
These days we are surviving the summer heat. Staying inside as much as possible.. this preggo mama can't handle the heat that well.. but we are still enjoying our time together. School time is fast approching, so I am trying to get as much mommy and baby time as possible. He has deffinitely become a momma's boy since I have been able to be with him all of the time. This weekend we have family coming to stay with us for a week which I am very excited for! That also means a lot of cleaning and organizing for me this week to prepare for their arrival. I am also looking forward to getting my hair done this week. It's been a few months and I just need it shaped up. But it's nice to have a little bit of "me" time to myself. My mom is going to watch Landon for me so I can get a little pampered! Yay!
How's the rest of the week looking for you?

Big News..

We found out in February that we were expecting again. At first we were surprised, and a little nervous about having two children that were 18 months apart, but now we are super excited and ready to take on the challenge. I think that it will be great to have the kids close together. They will enjoy so much and we couldn't be more thrilled at this addition to our family.
This pregnacy has been different and a lot harder on me than the first one. It of course is different when you are chasing around a one year old and not able to lounge around on the couch all day long. But I have also experienced more morning sickness, more MAJOR back pains and pains in my hips, and of course TIREDNESS!! Oh boy it's going to be a long ride!
When it comes to the sex of the baby we of course would like a girl, because we already have one amazing boy, but we were going to be happy either way.. we went for our anatomy scan in the beginning of June and found out that we are....

Now we just have to decide on a name. This has turned out to be a really hard job. We didn't have a problem with Landon. That was the only name that we both agreed on. But with baby #2, we have about 3 names that we both really like and we keep going back and forth between. I feel like it is such a big decision that this little girl will have all of her life. It has to be good.. so we are going to continue to think about it. We have 4 months left to decide!

Now on to getting a nursey ready. I would like to start getting the guest room turned into nursery before I go back to school because I know once that starts, I am going to be super busy. I also want to update Landon's room and make it more "big boy" fun, instead of his old nursery stuff.

Hopefully some friends and family will help with the painting process :)  (hint... hint)

Can't wait to continue filling you in on this awesome journey of our little family!

Jersey at the beach

My inlaws and Mr. C's other siblings from New Jersey came to visit us over spring break. It was wonderful to have them all here. They had not seen us since Landon was only a month old. We got to do all of the fun "touristy" stuff that we don't normally do living at the beach all of the time. It was a great vacation! We are looking forward to seeing them again in July!

these are his younger siblings that live in Jersey.. Love them!!

family pic at the Aquarium

First Birthday Party

 The end of April was L's 1st birthday!
We did a rubber duck theme for the party, because that is what he was obsessed with. Literally one of his first words was duck! We cooked out in the backyard, got an inflatable for the kids, and had some friends and family over to celebrate. It was a perfect day!
                                                  Here are some photos of his special day!

Goodbye March, Hello April

Well, sorry to say I was MIA during the whole month of March. School and family had me extremely busy not to mention.. exhausted.. so blogging was put on the back burner..

But April is here and I am back and ready to celebrate with you some exciting news... I'm pregnant again!! Expecting baby #2 in October! We couldn't be more excited. L is the greatest gift that God has given us, and to think that we will be blessed again is too much for words. I am finally starting to not feel sick anymore, so I can start to enjoy the feeling of being pregnant again. It's funny to see how things are different this time around.
but speaking of my 1st amazing child... His 1st BIRTHDAY is at the end of this month!!
I can't believe how fast time has gone by. He is growing up so fast. I am in the midst of planning his spectacular party, with which I will share all of the juicy details with you after the party of course. I don't want to spoil the surprises for anyone who might be reading this and attending the celebration.

How is your spring going so far?

February baby!!

I am excited to say that it is my birthday month!! I can't believe it is already here. I feel like we just celebrated Christmas!
We are finally settled in our house.. and it is WONDERFUL. I wish I never had to leave it every day! haha
Now we are getting into the groove of having to drive a little farther to get to places, because from where we lived before.. we are a little more out in the distance, but I like it that way. It is really peaceful in our neighbor with lots of good neighbors. It seems like a great family community. I can't wait for the weather to warm up so that I can take Lil' L on walks in his stroller.

This past week my family got some devastating news. My granddaddy has been diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer that has spread throughout his body. They have given him only a few months to live. My mom and I have particually taken this the hardest. We are continuing to pray and ask that you do also. I know that God has a plan for him, I just hope that he doesn't suffer.

Looking forward to my birthday week! ( my actual birthday is on Sunday!) Hope you all have a fantastic rest of your work week..

Moving..

I am sorry to say that I have not had a chance to catch you up becuase my computer still isn't hooked up yet. We are trying to move into our new house.. and the process is taking longer than I thought. We moved out of our apartment, and moved our belongings into the garage of our house.. but we are staying with my sister-in-law for a few days until we close! SO.... that means that I am writing you on my work computer during my planning period.
I will come back and get fun again with pics and updates as soon as I can.. Please bare with me!!


Happy Friday Ya'll!

Christmas Break is over.

Today was my first day back at school. I have had an amazing two weeks off from teaching and it's been great, but I have missed my kiddos! I was looking forward to getting back in the classroom. To end the break with a bang, my husband and I had a wonderful date night last night!
My mom babysat L while we went to dinner and a movie. We saw "Due Date," which was great and then we went and had dinner at Rioz. YUMMY!

Dinner....

& a movie..

My husband knows the way to my heart :)

Happy Monday ya'll, hope your week goes great!

Healthy living

In keeping with my New Year's resolutions.. I am starting on this first day of January with a new and improved diet. My husband is very healthy and in shape. I have asked him to help me get back to a good figure, hopefully even better before the baby!
So here is my question for you.. what are some good blogs/websites for fun and easy recipes? I want to enjoy cooking and keep it fresh.. thanks loves!!