A brief catch up

I have been Busy with a capital B. The crazy thing about being a mom who works outside of the home is that my at-home work has remained the same, but my time to get things done has severely decreased. Therefore I am stressed and worn thin 24/7.
Not to mention the fact that my sweet baby who has been down to one feeding a night for months has suddenly decided that he needs to scream at the top of his lungs like he's in pain around 2 every night until I feed him.

But there are good things too.

The highlights of my day today was:
1. Watching Xander's personality emerging. Just this past weekend he has really started becoming a person instead of just a baby. He is becoming this goof-ball little kid who lives to make people laugh. He makes funny faces, funny noises, bounces everywhere, and absolutely loves to jump. He's also a huge flirt. As soon as he spots a cute girl he gets this silly grin on his face, and stares at her until she looks at him and smiles. He was ridiculous flirting with every girl on the train to Philly this weekend.

2. Ryleigh praying: "Dear Jesus, I vank (thank) you for we got to go outside today and play with the beautiful weather". It took a lot of self control not to laugh while she was praying.

Giggles by Ryleigh

Today since church was canceled we spent the whole morning at home getting a bunch of stuff done. It was mostly small stuff that we kept meaning to do, but never actually getting around to it.
Ryleigh loved getting to "help" daddy do everything. She definitely enjoys helping him use all his tools.

At one point Ryan said he needed a washer, like those small metal things you put on screws. Ryleigh ran into the bathroom, then comes back with her hands kinda wet and said, "Here's a washer daddy". She washed her hands then gave them to him thinking that is what a washer was. Haha. She's so cute sometimes

Major Life Change

I am about to begin a major life change. The end of my "career" as a stay at home mom. It's been a great 2 1/2 years! I'm so sad to see it end, but at the same time, excited about a new chapter in my life.

I recently accepted a position as a preschool teacher. The job is part time, at a Christian preschool, and I get to bring my kids with me. And best of all, I will be the infant room teacher, so I get to be in the same room as Xander. How awesome is that? I get to work, but still be with my baby all day. And it's pretty much my dream job. I get paid to take care of babies all day <3

I left it all in God's hands and figured if He wanted me to go back to work then he would open the doors for it to happen. And I decided that when the perfect job lands right in your lap it would be stupid to turn it down. Right?

Yes I am sad that I won't have the freedom to do what I want each day as a stay at home mom. But I definitely know that a more structured environment would really benefit Ryleigh. And I also know I am really looking forward to being "me" again.
As much as I've loved being a SAHM I've struggled to keep my identity. I've missed having a roll outside of the home. I'm looking forward to having co-workers to build relationships with, and interacting with new people other than my usual fellow SAHMs crowd. I'm looking forward to branching out a little more into the world.

Plus I'm super excited about the money. I'm not going to lie. Ryan does a great job of providing for us. He makes more than enough to pay our bills, keep a roof over our heads, and food on our table. So my paycheck will just be "fun money". We can plan a trip to Tennessee to visit my sister. We can finally go shopping for new furniture and stuff for the house. We can go out to eat more often. We'll actually have "extra" money, something we haven't had since we've been married.

So even though I will be an emotional wreck for the next few weeks there will be some excitement behind my tears as I adjust to this new chapter in my life....

Do Everything

I heard this song on the radio, and I can definitely relate to the first verse, so I decided to share:
Steven Curtis Chapman- Do Everything

You’re picking up toys on the living room floor
for the 15th time today
Matching up socks and sweeping up lost
Cheerios that got away
You put a baby on your hip and color on your lips
and head out the door
And while I may not know you I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes does it matter at all
We’ll let me remind you it all matters just as long as you

Do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you to do
Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And every little thing you do

Potty Training!

Seriously, how are you supposed to potty train a kid when it's something you've never trained anyone to do before, and you yourself learned like 27 years ago?!

I know everyone has hints, and suggestions, but since no 2 kids are alike none of the hints and suggestions are always going to work.

Ryleigh no longer likes having a wet diaper, and will take hers off if it is wet. But she does not want big girl underwear on. She has no problems peeing or pooping in the potty when we stick her on it, but she won't tell us she needs to go until after the fact. No amount of M&M's or stickers have seemed to help.

I'm pretty sure my kid will still be in diapers at her high school graduation. (Okay, not really. I just like to exaggerate :-)