Some words

Alright, so I posted some pics (goodness knows I haven't had time to take very many this week) and now I will write a little. Back to school is going well. I am back into the routine, but the girls have been a bit more tired that normal at night since they have to get up earlier with me in the morning now. I am liking my new job so far although it is sooooo different from being in the classroom. Thursday (the first day of school) came and no one came to MY classroom which was way weird! Also on the first day of school, a teacher rarely gets to sit down to much of a lunch, but I had plenty of time to do so. I actually spent the first 2 days preparing things and scheduling. Next week and the week after, I will be testing students at different schools in the district along with 15 other reading specialists. I think I will be reciting The Carrot Seed in my sleep and NOT liking it one little bit. I think that in about 3 weeks, I will be into a routine at school that includes working with children consistently and that will be awesome!

At home, I am feeling behind at everything right now because, of course, I am home so much less and don't have a daily nap time to catch up. Thank goodness for a cleaning person every 2 weeks to take that load off, but that still leaving plenty to keep up with. The house just feels cluttered messy and I don't know where to start with getting it in order, so what am I doing? Writing this post! :-)

The rain has FINALLY stopped here and maybe the lake at our back door can begin to dry up now. Oh yeah, and the one in our front yard too! Fortunately, we didn't have water in the basement this time.

I need to go and get something (anything) done around here before the girls wake up and Nate gets home.

They all fall down!

A little game of "Ring around the rosy" Shelby can sing the words (pretty much) and they both love the falling down best of all, of course!

Shoo, Fly!

Yes, with a spoon, but pretend play is good, right? I will have to get her a real fly swatter so she can help us out with all of our "friends."

Food!

One night last week, Nate got home late from work (okay, so that happens a few nights a week) and this is what happened when he went to eat. The girls both climbed up on the couch and started taking the food from his plate! The poor guy didn't stand a chance to the chorus of "More!" he heard after that. Let just say that after they went to bed, he raided the cupboards to finish his dinner.

I promise they ate earlier in the evening. These are not starving children!

Fashionista?

Not so much! Shelby has been asserting herself this week in the what to wear department. On Monday morning she wanted to wear PJ pants but settled for cute capris and then wore them for a day and a half before (thank goodness) spilling water on them which meant she had to take them off. I mean to tell you this girl was NOT taking off these pants, she wore them to bed and everything.

Then she discovered some too small socks in a drawer and insisted on wearing them with her sandals (see pic) on Wednesday. Yuck! I hate socks with sandals!! Nate does it sometimes (I think just to make me crazy) and I can't stand it! However, I have learned there are some battles you just don't pick with an almost 3 year old and what to wear is not a battle I am willing to pick at 6:20 in the morning when I am trying to get the girls out the door.

The sunglasses are just a silly fashion statement, but she always seems to put at least one pair on upside-down (the pink pair is).

More posts this weekend. I have to get ready for work!

Where does it come from?

When I'm not maddened by Shelby's sassy personality, I am usually amazed at the things she comes up with. I just spent tons of time with her this summer and she says things that make me ask myself where she learned it. One day last week we were in the car and a fly had joined us. Shelby does not like flies , so I hear her in the back saying "Go away, fly, go away!" Imagine this loudly through clenched teeth and repeated over and over and you'll have a good idea. She does this over and over for a couple of minutes (the fly was not going away) while I'm laughing to myself in the front seat (she sounded so cute and funny). So then I told her to tell the fly to shoo.

She says "Shoo fly, don't bother me!" Where did she learn that phrase? I have no idea, but the fly listened because it listened and came up by me so we could shoo it out the window.

Just had to share the story, I wish I could have recorded her!

Words

Sarah has been having a mini-language explosion here lately and I wanted to record some of them so as not to forget when I get around to scrapbooking the month of August (if trends continue, I'll be doing that in June, 2008!). She is always jabbering and most of the time I feel as though I am living with a little Chinese girl, since it's such jibberish, but there are some real words emerging.

up
tickle
yeah (not yes, yeah with a head nod)
book
quack (when asked what a duck says)
moo (for a cow)
baby
paci (for the stinkin' pacifier she loves so)
thank you (more like 'tha' but it's a start)

Stuff

What a rainy and nasty weekend! It really can stop raining anytime, really. Our sump pump is working full time AND our ground water in the well is so high that it's leaking out the top outside and coming into the basement through the well box (fortunately into a safe spot where it can go right back out). Fun times! Besides all of that, I am tired of feeling like a duck. We can't remember an August with so much rain.

I took the first pic while Nate was lounging with the girls on Sunday morning. Generally, Sarah loves the camera and says "cheese" whenever it comes out. Shelby isn't such a big fan, but as least she isn't running away.
This one is just another messing around pic. Sarah's eyes are little closed here, but in the other one I got she was making an almost crying face because she didn't want to sit still any longer.

Maybe she was tired from all of the book carrying. Nate had the brilliant idea to rearrange the living room furniture last night. He gets that way every few months (mostly when he's bored) and there's no stopping him from doing it. Well, after he finished with the furniture, every book on my LARGE bookshelf was lying in a pile on the floor, so the girls thought it would be fun to help me carry them to the shelf in it's new location. It really was helpful and they giggled and laughed the whole time. Goes to show how a really simple activity can be really fun to a couple of toddlers.

We are going to enjoy one last day of summer vacation today. Tomorrow I am back full time for 2 days and then the students come on Thursday. Wish me luck all!

Jinxed

I was just telling someone (alright bragging a little) that Shelby takes these great naps and STILL goes to sleep well at night.

So much for that!

All of a sudden she is still taking these great naps (2 1/2 - 3 hours) but not so much with the going to bed at night thing. We are putting her down at about 8:15 and being lucky if she sleeps by 9:15. In the meantime, we hear stomping on the floor, banging feet against the wall by her bed and yelling to us through the monitor (I just love when she figured out that by talking into that thing, I can hear her). She shouts "Potty" whether or not she really has to go, or "I need my____". Fill in with whatever stuffed animal or toy she just shoved between the bed and wall. Fun times! So that leaves me wondering...do I start getting her up from her nap earlier so she has a chance to get more tired at night? I am thinking of trying that approach because bed time has to get easier than this!

Note to self: don't brag about your kid's GREAT sleep habit (or any other habits for that matter) . They will hear you and then change the behavior completely!

Transitions

We are slowly transitioning back into working mom mode around here. I have been at work 2 days and I 've gotten lots accomplished. I unpacked and got my office ready (it used to take me 2 days + to decorate my classroom, the office took 2 hours) and now I am marking and bagging all of our reading books for check-out this year. Last year, being a new school there was no check-out system and lots of books got lost. If I never see another zip-loc bag again, it will be too soon. I think I've gone through about 300 and, oh yeah, I have to go and buy more before I go to school today!

And then there's Shelby and Sarah...The girls are tired from not being able to sleep in this week. I can't believe what a difference a 1/2 hour makes. They are only waking up 30 minutes before they would normally on their own, but Sarah is tired at my aunts house and then came home last night and was ready to sleep by 7:00 (7:30 is normal for her). Shelby is a whole other story. She is having a harder time with my going back to work than she ever has. She is teary (not quite crying) when I leave her, tells me she misses me a lot, and is more clingy than normal. The transition back has never been this hard for her. I am thinking it has to do with her knowledge of feelings and how to express them now. I get lots of "I feel sad" and "I miss you." What's this, she's learned guilt before the age of 3?!?

I know, it will all seem normal in a couple of weeks...

thoughts

This is it...today I go back to work. Granted it's only 3 days this week and I can come and go as I please, but it officially marks the end of my summer. Next week its for real. Hmmm...this gives me mixed emotions every year (and I don't think that will change as long as the girls are at home). On one hand I really enjoy my job, it challenges me and I feel that I am really helping lots of kids. On the other hand, I really miss the girls and feel like I can't see enough of them. I make up for it by trying to spend really quality time with them when we are together, but sometimes that doesn't feel like enough. The dilemma of the working mom... Just thought I would share my thoughts on this rainy morning. As Shelby says, I have to go make some moneys (so I can buy her more donuts) :-) !

a new 'do

Well, I took the plunge and got Sarah's hair cut last night. It's the same style we did for Shelby at around the same age. It's hard having a girl...do you cut the hair or not? I had told myself no, but poor Sarah's hair grows in a million different directions and it was a mess if not pulled up like Pebbles Flintstone at all times. I know this is best because now her hair can thicken up and then we can let it grow. At least it worked well for Shelby that way. It is a big shock to see Sarah looking so different. The whole way home from town last night, Shelby kept saying, "Look at Sarah's hair, it's different!" She went to Nana and Papa H's while we got the hair cut. Yes Shelby, it is very different. By the way, yes that is Shelby going potty in the background. Feel blessed, she wanted me to take a pic of just her on the potty, but I spared you (and her when she's a teenager looking back at pictures) that sight!

Staying cool

How do you beat the heat with no air conditioning? You enjoy the pool and snack on freezer pops (real fruit ones, even). I had to clip the bottom of Sarah's with a clothespin to she could eat it by HERSELF! It worked well. Cool thoughts to you all!

Determined

I had to share this...Sarah is becoming more and more independent when it comes to eating, so I knew the time would come when she would refuse my help, and I think we are there. Last week I could feed her the mac and cheese, but yesterday she HAD to do it herself. She hasn't mastered the spoon yet, so she mostly just banged it into the bowl, but she DID eat the whole bowl on her own. It only took her an hour!

Thank you!

Shelby is proudly showing off her new "castle." Nana and Papa Hansen brought it out as a surprise onThursday night, and I took some pics of Shelby playing in it over the weekend. Despite the heat, she asked to go out and play in it as much as possible all weekend long. Sarah enjoys it too, but isn't quite as tolerant of the heat as her big sis.

Our fair adventures

We took the girls to the fair last night. What fun! Shelby LOVED the rides. She rode the carousel, a little roller coaster she called a train, and the ferris wheel. She was all smiles the entire time!

Sarah on the other hand loved the animals best. While her big sis was jumping away from the petting zoo animals and then crying that a sheep "bit" her head (he really just touched it) Sarah was walking right up to them, touching them, giving the animals food and laughing the whole time. I didn't bring my camera into the petting zoo and I really wish I had to capture Sarah's fun.

Of course Nate and I had to sample the yummy if unhealthy fair foods. I got my usual baked potato and brought home donuts while Nate had corn, polish sausage and and elephant ear. He and I are going back tonight to see Josh Turner, but that was probably all for the girls for this year.

Cutting the grass

Shelby helped Nate mow the lawn on Wednesday night (for the first time). She was a very happy and proud little helper!

Jumping

The girls had a GREAT time jumping in this airwalk thing at the car show on Saturday. We went to see my parents. The hardest part was getting them to leave! Imagine Sarah crying her little eyes out and Shelby yelling "No mommy, no!" at me. Fun times!!

It's HOT, a birthday, and other summer fun

Shelby made this lovely necklace during Sarah's morning nap one day and then gave me this lovely face when I pulled out the camera.

It is sooooo very HOT here! I am feeling crabby on a daily basis because I am so very uncomfortable! Yuck!! Why didn't I insist that Nate put in that window air conditioner in the living room? Where can we go that has air? These are the questions that are now running through my head on a daily basis. I think this week, we will be doing some visiting, using the pool (thank goodness for that bit of relief), and hiding out in Sarah's nice big bedroom. Of course, it is fair week so we will have to suffer to enjoy that.

Last Thursday was my birthday (yipee?). I say this with little excitement because 31 is so not fun. The fun left my b-days last year when I turned 30 (frown). I never thought that getting older would bug me, but it kind of does. Shelby spent 4 days telling me Happy Birthday and giving me a hug and kiss everytime she thought of it after Nate told her it was my "Happy Birthday" until Sunday when I finally explained to her that mommy's happy birthday was all done. Nate and I went to dinner and a movie on Saturday night while Nana and Papa H. watched the girls. I night out without little ones is always nice.

This week I am on a mission to finish up everything I didn't already finish on my summer to-do list because I am working 3 days next week to get things ready at school and the following week, it's go time at school, who can believe that?

Sorry for the lack of cute pics, but the blogger website keeps telling me it can't post some of my pics (scowl) I am not sure why but I am going to mess around with putting them on a website to see if that helps. Hopefully I will have some good ones soon because my mom got some cute ones over the weekend of the girls on one of those huge inflateable giraffes at a car show on Saturday.

Well, this old lady is off to get something else done on this early Monday morning.