Random thoughts...

Well, since I'm pretty sure I'm the only who still reads this, here are some random thoughts I've been having lately.  Most of them are not interrelated (hence the term random).

1) Maternity clothes are frustrating.  They are over priced, not that cute, and when you only need them for a month because your "big girl" pants fit again, you don't really want them, but the are REALLY comfortable.  I'm hoping that I'll be able to make the next month with the 4 pairs of pants I had from Lil' D and the 3 shirts.  Luckily my sister gifted me with a TON of clothes before she moved and several of the sweaters were over sized...

2) Politics and politicians and all of the newscasters (both mainstream and other) bug me.  I don't understand their lack of understanding.  I am confused by the vote of the American people in November.  I'm not really talking about the President either.  Congress had single digit approval ratings, hasn't been able to pass a budget or accomplish 1 good thing in the last 24 months, and MOST of them got re-elected?  How is that even possible?  Why don't people understand that even more so than the president that congress is responsible for laws?  No budget? - a congressional problem.  A thousand page bill passed before anyone actually read it?  - a congressional problem.  The list could go on forever, but I will not bore you with my frustrations - except this:

Why can we not civilly break apart problems we have and tackle them one by one?  Why does everything have to be included into these super-bills that on the surface start out as reasonable, but then get so out of control NO ONE can vote for them in good conscience?  Take, for example, the health care bill that will be the LARGEST tax increase on ALL Americans (so saith the supreme court - not the spin doctors - a fact that was ignored in the election, for which I don't understand...).  In it there are some great parts that I fully support - especially the room for nursing/pumping mothers at work.  After Lil' D was born, I had to pump in the most embarrassing places.  No privacy, no locks on doors, it was no fun.  So, instead of packaging this up with a TON of other nonsense (I'm still very irrate that I have to pay for EVERYONE'S contraceptives at a hunderd percent next year - yup my premiums and copays all went up and according to our health company it's because of having to cover contraceptives and other new services at 100% - I had to pay for mine with a copay for YEARS! - give me a break!) we either say it's all or nothing.  Wouldn't it have made more sense to break apart this 1000 page bill (that no one read) and vote issue by issue on things?

Lest you say that I am totally naive and don't understand the way the system works, I highly disagree.  Even with being on a media strike for the last 18 months (which I will probably continue until I'm not so frustrated with the lack of real news being reported), I have watched and participated in the political system for almost 20 years.  I know how congress can and should be run.  I'm the junky that used to watch C-SPAN so I knew what was going on and the faces of our leaders.  I just think that we are all so biased and brainwashed that we can't admit that other people might have good ideas and that we should take things little by little.  Sheesh.  Enough of that...

3) I love being a stay-at-home Mom.  Several times over the last couple months Lil' D and I have been doing something completely benign and I've thought to myself "I'd be missing this if I were at work."  I love extra snuggle time, stories, making a crossing arm go up and down for 30 minutes just because we could, laughing at new words, talking about everything, and singing.  Would I still have some of these experiences if I were still in the library or classroom?  Probably.  Would I be able to give the TIME needed to them?  Probably not.  After my experience this spring I have realized more than ever that I, personally, cannot be a good teacher and a good mother (not to mention a half-way decent wife or homemaker) at the same time.  Small people demand and deserve attention and your time.  When' I'm focused on one, I can't focus on the other the way I know I should.  My ability to focus on work suffered significantly after Lil' D was born.  The year I worked after was the most difficult thing I've ever done because I knew I wasn't doing justice to any of my rolls.  Many moms can juggle both, I've decided that right now, I'm just not one of them.  I also think society has perpetuated this lie that women can and should have "it all".  Is it really having it all when you are constantly feeling like you're torn in 800 million pieces?  I think women can "have it all", just not at the same time.  I'm starting to learn that times and seasons are not a bad thing.  I'm extremely grateful that John's job allows me to stay home and that I have a great job on Friday's when John is home that covers our needs and even some of our wants. 

That's it for now!  I'd love to here what other people think about any of the above randomness. I'm still trying to get pictures up from our the rest of our summer and fall.  I may just call it a wash - we'll see!  AHHH!

May and June - Phew!

Okay - I know that I'm REALLY behind on posting, but my goal before Christmas is to have the rest of the year updated.  Also, beware that I've had a lot of randomness going on in my head so there might be less cute pictures of Lil' D in the next few post and more crazy thoughts from yours truly dealing with motherhood and America - the two things that are keeping me up at night. 

The end of May was crazy with work and then a whirlwind trip to PA.  It was amazing to be a part of one of my favorite teacher's celebrations and was MUCH better than a class reunion would have been.   I'm so grateful that the Hopkins let us stay with them and that I got to spend so much time with Heather (which is NEVER enough)! 

Getting to spend a day with Ron and Jen and their family was icing on the cake! 

This book highlights the rest of our May and June! 

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AcMWrhq0ct2FO

Grandpa's 90th Birthday!

My grandpa turned 90 on June 2nd of this year.  In May, we arranged an almost surprise birthday celebration for him.  The extended family traveled literally from all over the country (Washington State, Utah, Idaho, Virginia, Kentucky, and New Jersey) to get to Manitowoc, WI.  Most of us were there for less than 48 hours, but we had a blast! 

On our way up - John and I stopped in Chicago with Lil' D and went to the cemetery where John's grandparents were buried.  We also were able to stay over night and catch up with our dear friends the Mladineos! 

Instead of posting a million pictures of the event - check out the Shutterfly book I about the event! 

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AcMWrhq0ct2E5

It was a WONDERFUL time.  My grandpa has long been one of my favorite people and I'm so glad we were able to celebrate and have a party for him!  He's already been asking what we're planning for his 100th! 

GRADUATION! Hooray!

After two years of constantly taking 2 or more classes per semester, on May 5, 2010 John officially graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a Bachelor of Arts in Business and Technology. We couldn't be more proud of him!  The last two semesters were annoying and I'm bursting with pride to say that John stuck it through, got good grades, and ended on a high note! 

John waving to us from the graduate seats as we were up in the nose bleeds - luckily James has a REALLY good lens!

As a side note - I didn't even know you could bedazzle the cap - I wish I had!  I would have added something really crazy to John's.  Any suggestions?   

On campus with the famous Daniel Boone statue

John and Lil' D

All three of us

Lil' D wearing the Happy Graduation Hat

Grandma Dee, James, Mom, Dad, Lil' D, and I all got to go to the graduation ceremony at EKU.  It was memorable enough that when we drive past the Colosseum  Lil' D goes "Daddy - Happy Graduation!".  He also likes to wear the "Happy Graduation Hat!" and play with the tassel.  All in all, graduation went well and John is taking a well deserved and well needed break from school for a while! 

As a bonus, we went to Orange Leaf and ate delicious frozen yougurt as a special treat AND we got to keep the cap and gown!  :) 

Bloomington Bound

The last weekend in April we traveled to Bloomington, Indiana to see my sister (Jen) and her husband (Dan) before Dan graduated from IU and the headed to Utah for Dan's job the second week of May.  The weekend was a lot of fun, but WAY TOO SHORT! We got some great Chinese food our first night there, help Jen and Dan pack the next morning, walked around IU's beautiful campus and went in the art museum, and then helped Jen get somethings packed up from her classroom.  Mom and Dad showed up and we did a little more packing, ate dinner at this fancy-but-tasty burger joint, played games, went to church the next morning, and then came home.  It was a busy weekend, but one I'm glad we got!  Who knows when we'll get to see them again! We were really busy, so there aren't a ton of pictures.

On another note, Uncle Dan and Aunt Jen taught Lil' D the Stormtrooper's March (now he's really ready for BYU football games) and he's still singing it 4 months later!  

Clock on Campus

One of the statues on campus

Lil' D figuring out how the revolving door works - his favorite part of the Art Museum

Beautiful IU Campus!

Trip to Vinceness, Indiana

The second week in April, John, Lil' D and I went to Indiana.  John's mom (Grandma Dee) and grandma and multiple generations back are from Vinceness.  When John's grandma (Grandma Shouse) died last summer, she wanted to be buried along with Grandpa Shouse at a time when the most people could make it for the burial.  The burial was held in conjunction with her high school class reunion.  It would have been their class's 75 reunion.  The entire Schlesser clan and the entire Cochran clan (John's cousins) were able to be there for both the burial and the reunion.  Lil' D LOVED being around his aunt and uncles and around family.  It was a quick trip, but a good one for the family.  I finally got to meet John's cousins! 

The extended family: John, me, Andre, Becky, Dorival, Grandma Dee, Lil' D, Fatima, James, Nancy, Jeffery, Renee, Aunt Joey, Nancy's son

Grandma and Grandpa Shouse's burial was very interesting for me.  They were part to the Masons and Order of the Morning Star, and Grandpa was part of the army.  Grandma Dee, Becky, Andre, and James were in full military regalia.  Becky and John played Taps and Grandma Dee, Andre, and James were 3 of the 4 flag bearers. 

Trying on Uncle Andre's hat

Adorable!

Uncle James' is TOO BIG!

 John's Dad is also buried in the family cemetery.  Lil' D was fasinated by the headstone because it he recognized the last name and the letters.  You can see him pointed them out to Uncle Jim (who he never let get far away from him the entire day).

 Lil' D also enjoyed playing Aunt Becky's trumpet.  We all enjoyed seeing Aunt Joey! 

Mama and Aunt Joey

Easter 2012

We had a great time this Easter.  Lil D' was at an age where he really understood what was going on.  There were two Easter Egg Hunts, one that our neighbor threw on the Saturday before Easter and then the small one we had around the house Easter morning.  He loved finding the eggs and opening them up.  We also dyed eggs for first time (no pictures - sorry).

Finding eggs at our neighbors

So happy to find another egg!

Finding one of the eggs we dyed the night before. 

 

We got a book from the library Here Comes Peter Cottontail and read it ALL MONTH!  Lil' D thinks every bunny rabbit is Peter Cottontail and will sing the song for you if asked.  The Easter Bunny did visit our house this year and he went really simple on the Easter Basket.  He included some finger paint ("paint the library?"), some eggs with goldfish and raisins, and a couple of very tiny toys.  I think I am going to continue to encourage the Easter Bunny to bring a similar type basket each year.  I really don't like the big commercial baskets that I've seen around (some of them are more expensive than everything we spent on Christmas.).  As Lil' D gets older, I'd also like to encourage to have the Easter Bunny bring something that relates to the Savior and the true meaning of Easter.  Lil' D loves the word resurrection and understand that Jesus was resurrected and that we will all get resurrected (Mommy resurrected?  Daddy resurrected?  Grandma Dee resurrected?).

 

Lil' D with both of his Easter Baskets - one the Easter Bunny left and one for gathering eggs. 

Our silly boy!

Trip to Berea

In the beginning of April, our crew took a trip to Berea, Kentucky.  Berea is a quaint little town about 25 minutes south of us.  It host an amazing little college where all the students WORK the entire time they are at school in exchange for tuition.  X had been considering going there (no longer, unless as a backup) and we enjoyed walking around the beautiful town, the campus, and the parks.  The town also hosts a bunch of shops and artisan boutiques.  There was a great toy store that we all enjoyed! It was a great morning!

Lil' D laughing with C!

"In the gazebo... running in the gazebo"  Lil D' also learned how to blow a dandelion.

First signs of spring!

One of the pretty buildings on campus.

Saint Patrick's Day!

This year we had a special treat for St. Patrick's Day - a trip to my dad's hometown: Tennessee Ridge, Tennessee.  For the past 50 years the county (Erin County) has a huge parade to honor the predominately Irish heritage in the area.  I haven't been for AGES and John and Lil' D have never met my dad's extended family, so it seemed like a great time to go!  We also took the new van on it's first long road trip!

Going to catch up....

Okay - my 2 month hiatus as a 2nd grade teacher has ended and now I'm able to catch up on my blog.  Plan on seeing all about our various trips and life over the last couple of months! 

Explorium Fun

On Saturday C and I took Lil' D to the Lexington Explorium for a morning of fun and exploring!  The museum is a hands on children's museum and has been a favorite of X's and C's forever. 

Below are some pictures of our fun morning! 

Lil' D playing with the bubbles.

C and Lil' D "on the moon".

Going to space

Playing the piano

They actually BOTH got dizzy!  Unheard of!

We spent almost 20 minutes at the gravity well

Playing with the water table.

Trying to stand in the middle of the bubble!

It worked!

Giant Legos!

The Cute Things Lil' D says!

Lately our youngest has been saying some adorable things.  Since he had his tongue clipped in January, he's been talking more and more and we've been able to understand his jabbering!  I wanted to record some of these things for posterity.

• "Bump, bump on the railroad tracks" - This is what Lil' D says anytime he hears a train, anytime we're going into town, or when he wants to tell someone about the fact that we went somewhere.  It's adorable
• "Take Money to the Bank?" - 
• "Pick Daddy Up"
• "Issues"
•  "(His Name) turn?"  This is said repeatedly no matter what someone else is doing.
• "Music notes - Mommy play piano"
• "Ocarina - X, Trumpet - Aunt Becky, Tuba - Daddy, Guitar - Unca Ron/Unca Andre" this is what Lil' D says as we look through his music book from the library.  
• "Uuuuppppp the driveway, ddoooown the driveway" This is what we hear anytime something is moving up or moving down on anything.  Love it!
• "Open door" "Close door" - this is what we hear anything gets opened or closed or anytime he wants something to be opened or closed.  
• "Mustache"  said in a growly voice.  

All in all, we love the talking, opinion giving (yup, he's my child), and cuteness that he is bringing into our lives everyday!  :)

Catching Up...

Alright.  This was my worry about starting a blog - that life would get crazy, and then I'd be one of those people that didn't ever update my blog.  So, here is my repentant blog post - an update on the last month.


Lil' D had surgery on his tongue on January 12th.  The surgery went well and he is able to now lick his lips (top and bottom) and we are working on moving it from side to side.  He also has BLOSSOMED with his language.  We're all of a sudden hearing full songs, sentences, books being read aloud, etc.  It's amazing.  I tried to get a picture of him sticking his tongue out, but no luck.

I started teaching group piano lessons to 2 classes of 4 and 5 year olds at one of the local preschools.  It is a challenge, but SOOOOO much fun!  I'm gone for about 3 hours on Tuesdays and one of the sisters from our ward comes and plays with Lil' D.  Everyone has a good time!


The end of January brought in yuck and sickness.  I had a sinus infection, then Lil' D got a sinus infection, then I got strep throat, then John got strep throat.  John and I missed the Stake Valentine's Day Concert, and pretty much slept on Valentine's Day because we felt horrible.  It was not fun, and not what we had planned.  Now, almost 3 1/2 weeks later, I think everyone is finally healthy.  YEAH!  

All the Valentine's Lil' D made for family members

I tried to be cute and have Lil' D take pictures with the beautiful Valentine's he made for all of his aunts, uncles, and grandparents, but - this is the only one he smiled with when he held it.

Saying "Happy Valentine's Day!"

This past weekend, John and I traveled up to Eastern KY to see C (our now 15 year old) in her final dance team performance for the season.  She was great!  X (our 16 year old) was participating in a band clinic at Morehead State University, so after C's performance, we went back to our house with just C in tow. 

C with her "little sister" at the basketball game

 On Saturday, we celebrated C's 15th birthday as she requested - with Grandma, Uncle Jim, Grandma, Grandpa, Dad, me, and Lil' D.  We had an appetizer filled dinner, with potato skins made by John and C, wings, 7-layer dip, taquitos, and meatballs. 

 After dinner C opened presents, with Lil' D helping her pull her presents out of the bags. He loved playing with the bags and ALWAYS loves it when big sister is home!

Lastly, and sadly, our 2 cars died, yes, at the same time.  John's VW Golf was finally diagnosed, and is dead in the water, and my little white Grand AM finally bit the dust this week as well.  Being car-less was not in our plans, but with a little help with my dad going out of town and letting us borrowing a car for a week and renting a car for a week gave us time to do research on new-to-us cars.  After test driving MANY different cars, we actually liked the Dodge Grand Caravan the best.  Unbelievable as it may seem that speed-demon-me and diesel-loving John bought a mini-van, it's true!  Introducing the newest member of our family:

Our new car is a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan, 63,400 miles.  We love the space in this car!  We especially love the Stow-N-Go seating, which is one of the reasons we picked this car over other 6 and 7 seaters that are a little sportier like the Dodge Journey or Mazda 5.

All in all, it's been a pretty eventful month!  I will be better about posting - my goal is to update our life once a week.  :)

The Random Blatherings of Me

Okay, I haven't thought of a fun catchy way to post what's going on in my head.  I love "Ten on Tuesday" that my cousin does and someone does "Seven on Sunday" or "Random Wednesday" etc.  If anyone can think of a cute way to share the randomness of my life that would keep me consistently blogging (i.e. journal-ing - that I'm terrible at), please let me know.

First - check out the adorable pictures of Lil' D from his Sears photo shoot last week.

http://www.SearsPhotos.com/ViewSharedAlbum.aspx?ShareID=72bdb23b-629d-4bac-bf12-1b227d90abe8
We love Sears Photos.  I joined their Super-Saver club right after Lil D' was born and have saved the $15.00 for the membership many, many times over.  You can't beat a free 8x10 anytime you go in, BOGO on everything else, great coupons and great sales.  We love it!

Second - I am very opinionated (alright, stop laughing and saying that's an understatement). I have purposefully avoided getting heavily involved in politics over the last few years because of how irritated I am with everyone.  I've been on a news strike (with the exception of what John tells me and a little bit of NPR to balance what John tells me) since May.  I did watch the Republican Debates (and played a very fun game while doing it).  But, this week, as the Republican primary continues on its roller coaster, SOPA was almost passed, and several other things that just annoyed me (along with a new bill in the KY senate tying teacher salary to standardize test scores) I feel that I need to become vocal again.  I am still debating what this will mean.  Probably, it will mean that in the future I will post about my ideal candidate and why I feel the way I do.  Just once, I'd like to vote FOR someone, instead of having to pick the lesser of two evils or voting AGAINST someone.

Third - John and I are constantly blessed by the generosity of family, friends, and strangers.  Just this week, John's mom watched Lil' D so I could work on Friday, my mom and dad let me crash at their place so John could get school work done, a friend gave us 2 huge bags of toys, one of John's co-workers gave him a ride home twice this week, my sister cleaned out her closet (I love it when she does this) and I got new jeans, skirts, and tops!  Add to that the generosity of strangers - someone took my cart back when I was grocery shopping so I didn't have to leave Lil' D in the car by himself, numerous people that help with doors, others that smile and tell me that Lil' D's so cute and I am richly blessed.

Fourth - I love TEACHING - this is different from MANAGING which, over the last couple of years has taken a lot of the joy out of TEACHING.  Yesterday, I had the opportunity to sub and I had a great time because I felt like I was able to TEACH and the students were able to LEARN.  It was great!

Fifth - Lil' D is at such a fun stage right now.  He's been singing along with every song he knows, inventing games, counting to play hide n' go seek, dancing, playing with Play Dough, asking for what he wants, reading books independently (he knows the words and will "read' the book), and still being my cuddly little one.  I love being at home with him and although it's challenging, and I miss TEACHING (see above, I don't miss the other half), I wouldn't trade being home with him right now for any amount of money or "personal fulfillment" in the world!

Sixth - I think I'm going to try my hand at gardening on a small scale.  I've borrowed the book Gardening By the Square Foot and I'm going to read it and probably try it.  We'll see.

I think that wraps up the randomness in my head for the evening. 
I think that's about all for right now.