Most people's kids

Most peoples kids go to the grocery store and scream for candy. . .



. . . mine screamed for AP-POOL

Most people's kids wait until they're out of the store to eat their treat . . .



. . . mine fussed at the check out lady the entire time she weighed the slightly eaten ap-pool

Most people's kids come in when Mom goes in the house . . .



. . .mine stood at the door and laughed at me


Most people's kids . . .



. . . aren't my Gracie!! :)

Updates

It seems time is flying by . . . Noah has been in school for 2 months, I just finished fall conferences and Gracie continues to grow like a weed. I have foolishly set myself up to have an in home party on Nov. 21st - in a home that is currently unoccupied! I plan to pack like a wild woman this weekend but I'm afraid that I may have bitten off more than I can chew. Jon is still in the field with a LONG way to go because of the rain & he is certain I am CRAZY to think we'll be in the house by Nov. 21st. Anyone out in blogger land that wants to help me prove him wrong and get my family moved with or without him let me know. I offer free fun for kiddies and free booze for adults :)

On another front - my whole hair bows extravaganza has been put on the back burner - i tried today to make a fleece hat for Gracie - it looks so easy but needless to say I need more practice. I'm still very excited about these side projects but it seems that so much has been goig on lately that I haven't found a moment to devote to it . . . that's what Christmas break is for right?!?

Workin' For A Livin'

The school year is officially in full swing. My kids are (for the most part) AWESOME this year - I only have a couple stinkers. I just finished lesson plans for Tuesday and would do Wednesday as well but I'm not sure what time our early out is and I don't want to (am too lazy) to figure it out. This school year is going so much smoother for a number of reasons:
1. I feel like I have a clue about what should be happening at the beginning of a 2nd grade year.
2. My class this year is TOTALLY different from last years endurance test.
3. My big goal this year is to be more organized and on top of everything at school.
4. My grade level team has a year together now and things are moving along wonderfully.
5. We are NO LONGER Reading First so the Literacy Mafia is no longer watching us as closely. WHEW!
I'm sure there are many more reasons but these are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. So as of right now I don't mind being a teacher again. I don't see myself in the classroom in 5-7 years but that's another post for another day. :-)

first day jitters

As you may or may not know last year was a rough one in Mrs. Taylor's 2nd grade for a number of reasons. So needless to say I was anxious to begin this year; worrying that it would be a repeat of last year. I am happy to say that not only is this year shaping up to be different but I am actually happy to be a teache again! I had to stop for a moment as I was reading on my second day with my new class because I was completely overcome with gratitude to these little 7 and 8 year olds for the peopel they are. I sounds corny I know but it's the truth!

On another note, Noah started school again on Monday and is LOVING it. He has been having super days and his teacher and SLP are so impressed with his language growth that we are bumping up his IEP review as he is ready for new goals. Now, Jon and I (and anyone else who's been around him much) have seen him growing in leaps and bounds so we weren't as surprised as the school staff. I did get to have a small smug told ya so moment as I was reading what they had to say. WAY TO GO BUDDY! Keep learning and growing - Mommy & Daddy are so proud of you!!

Where has the time gone??

This is my last full week of summer vacation and I'm wondering . . . where did the time go? The kids and I have lazed away most of the summer with a few notable exceptions:
1. We went on our yearly family vacation to Okoboji
2. Noah worked on becoming potty trained and I'm proud to say is ~100% pee pee potty trained and maybe 80% poop potty trained. Way to go big boy!!!
3. The kids and I went to NE to see Grandpa Raskey and crew.
4. I endured 6 hours at the IA State Fair and the kids had a blast! The fair is much better when you see it making the people you love most so happy.
5. Mommy had 4 clsses this summer, including a trip to Atlanta, GA for work.
6. Oh yeah, and we're doing a few home improvements before we move to the farm. :)

When you look at it that way it doesn't look like we lazed much but TRUST ME that was the majority of our summer and I LOVED IT!!

My new love

I am newly in love . . . Jon understands and is ok with my decision . . . my loves name is . . . POTTY CHAIR! Noah is doing so so so well with the potty chair. He is peeing and pooping in it. I jerry rigged it this morning b/c the pee guard still wasn't quite high enough and now it is PERFECT!

Noah is starting to recognize that he needs to go b/c I see him stopping, looking around, and going over to sit on the chair. Sometimes he'll do this 2 or 3 times before he actually pees or poops which tells me that he's feeling the "potty feeling" and knows what it means. He is so proud of himself after he goes, he slams the lid down and shouts 'ALL DONE!' Then he has to be the one to pour the "ackies" into the potty all the while saying 'bye bye ackies'. He is also very into washing his hands, he gets his stool, and his soap and goes to town.

I am incredibily proud of him! We will probably be naked most of the summer when we aren't out and about then start reintroducing undies a week or two before we go back to grandma's house & I go back to work.

I know we still have a way to go and he'll have accidents but every kid has accidents and that doesn't really stress me out.

HOORAY for Noah!!!!

PT Update

For those of you that could give a rip about the ongoing potty training saga at my house you may want to stop reading now . . . if you're still here then here's the scoop. I was SUPER frustrated with PTing and gave it a break but started back today. I had dinner with some girlfriends last night and they suggested I take the potty chair back out -- a WONDERFUl idea!

This morning I put all my eggs in one basket and went for undies - Noah did great until lunchtime. No accidents and even sat on the potty chair and peed! (Of course it went all over the carpet b/c the "splash guard" leaves much to be desired so it's now sitting on a shower curtain) At lunch he peed in his undies but sat on the potty and peed a tiny bit more. He stayed dry for a couple hours and played HARD with his friend Brody. As I was rocking Grace to sleep I saw him run past and not come back - I immediately knew what he was doing and sure enough a GIANT clump of poop in his underwear. We put it in the toilet and he sat but here's the thing that is REALLY REALLY REALLY frustrating me . . . he doesn't like having poop on his bottom but before I can help him clean off he starts digging with his hands and getting poop all over himself, his shirt, everything in general. I have to admit that while logically I know he is trying to do a good thing and get himself clean it makes me see red when he does it. EVERY time I tell him NO, NO, NO touch ackies. Ackies go in the potty,okay. Tell is a misnomer, yell is more accurate. He always cries and says sorry momma, alright momma. I always feel like an a**hole but every time it hits my Mommy goes totally APESHIT button.

My goal is to not flip out the next time it happens (I have no illusions - I know it will happen). I am staking a lot on nakedness + potty chair = Noah gettig the potty basics down.

Ayone who has some words of wisdom about the poop situation please pass them along. It truley is a time when I really need to walk away b/c I get so mad so fast . . . but I can't b/c he's covering in crap (literally).