Happy Halloween!

Tell me these aren't the cutest kids that you have ever seen? We enjoyed our neighborhood festivities again this year. Payton was a little scared of the big scary teenagers on our block, and Sam wasn't able to keep his eyes open long enough to make it around the block! All the excitement helped the kids to sleep until 8:30 am this morning- what a treat!

Sorry that I have not posted that much in the last few weeks. We've been consumed with work, and have been obtaining estimates to repair the master bedroom shower in order to avoid more

water damage. Things have been a bit crazy for sure!

It's been so nice to have a lazy weekend to stay in and relax. I love this rain! Happy Halloween, everyone!

The Pictures Payton took of the pumpkins at Apple Hill

Busy, Busy

Thank you our loyal blog readers- sorry for my lack of posting in the last week or so. We've been busy, as always. It seems as if life never slows down! Jon and I spent the day last weekend in San Francisco watching the Blue Angels. We went with some of his travelers from a work program, Safari Tours. We were able to have lunch in Saulsalito, and board the San Francisco Belle boat for a lunch buffet and to see the Blue Angels fly directly overhead. It was such a fun day. We also spent the day up in Apple Hill with the kids getting pumpkins, apples, and cider.

We are looking forward to our fun neighborhood festivites for Halloween. I purchased (and hid) our candy this weekend. Payton has selected a bumblebee costume, and Sam will be a dragon. I can't wait to see them all dressed up, and to steal thier candy when they aren't looking!

We did it!

Thanks to all for your encouragement and well wishes- we finished the half marathon! Sunday was a blast... so much more thrilling than we thought that it would be. Seeing 4,000 runners in one place is quite the sight to see. There were lots of people out on the street, cheering the runners on. I actually was running next to a man for a while who was about to complete marathon #100. He had run marathons in 41 of the United States. By my mile 11, the marathoners were running past me at thier mile 24! It was amazing to see them run. Jon finished before I did and saw more of the full marathoners run to the finish line. They are simply machines....

So, will we do it again?? The answer..........YES! We were both so proud of ourselves, even though we are still paying physically for it.

My husband is too proud to say it, but he finished 40 in his age group! He was in the top half of finishers. How cool is that?

Happy Birthday, Lizzy!

Sunday was my best friend from New York, Liz's birthday! In the midst of the craziness of the weekend I forgot to share. We've celebrated 15 years of birthdays together. Even though the last 7 have been in different states, I can never forget her on her special day. Liz, I love you and miss you every day. You are amazing!

Bye Bye September

As October arrives, we are looking forward to a much better month with minimal out of our control expenses. Things have calmed down dramatically, and our house is back to almost normal. With the replacement of the carpet and flooring, we did uncover more water damage coming from our bathroom shower. The damage of this has yet to be determined. We are currently working on getting estimates from general contractors to assess the new damage. We are hoping that the work that needs to be done is minimal.. (meaning not costing too much money!!)

Our race is approaching quickly on Sunday, so please keep your fingers crossed! We are both excited and nervous about making it to the finish line. Our training has been thrown off a bit because of the house, kids being sick, and very busy work schedules these last few weeks, so I am not feeling as prepared as I'd like to be. I think the energy of the crowd and the excitement will push us through!

I love the fact that fall is approaching, and we have lots of fun thing planned. Our race, trip to San Francisco, birthdays, Apple Hill , Halloween and yummy comfort food in the crock pot. This is one of the times of year that I really miss New York.........

YEAH!!!

The flooring people come tomorrow to start fixing up this big mess! Yeah, Yeah, Yeah! I know this will bring us back to feeling like our house is normal again.......

Payton's big girl bed will be here on Friday, just in time for her room to be put back to the way the way it was before. So very exciting...

Today is also my dear friend Kristi's 32nd birthday. Happy Birthday, Kristi! I know that this year will continue to be a wonderful extension of your already amazing year.

Things are looking up, my friends!

It's been a hard week

I have to say- we are down in the dumps a bit. As we were talking about things getting ready this morning, the last two weeks have been a blur. We've both been on edge for the following reasons:

1. The house is still in significant disorder. We finally have the insurance piece ready to go, and Jon signed our contract on Friday to get the ball moving. It will still be another week and half before they can start putting things back in order, and it'll be a few days after that. We are just getting sick of the towels on the floor, the pieces of wall that are randomly everywhere, and the feeling of the concrete everywhere. Our bedrooms are a mess, and I still don't know where anything is.

2. Sam was sick, and so was I. That really stunk, and made this week just about unbearable at some points. Lucky us, we just aren't use to him being grumpy. He had a 104 degree fever through Wednesday, which of course led to both of us missing work at some point this week. No one was sleeping. Thank goodness he started feeling better yesterday.

3. Payton has been testing our patience in the evening. She hates going to bed now. (See Monica, we are paying our dues!). It has turned into such a nasty battle at night, which has caused much anxiety and frustration. She has also been a stinker getting to school on Tuesday's for Jon. crying, tantrums, the whole nine yards.... Our relatively calm evenings have turned into stressful cryfests.

4. We have no groceries in the house. With the craziness of the week, we haven't even had the energy to plan our menu and get to the store. I'm sick of grilled cheese.

It has been a long week, and I haven't had the energy or the time to post much. Please send some positive energy our way- we are needing it now!

Just a few more pictures

We had a real horrible night here, so posting these pictures reminds me of how sweet it is to have kids... right?? Right?

To make me forget about the pictures below

Before disaster struck, we had a great day with the kids at the zoo!

Update

Thanks to all that shared your concern, offered help and support when we needed it the most! We are back in the house, thank goodness. Here are a few pictures of the mini-disaster. It truly made us think about those people that are displaced from their homes for whatever reason, and helped us to remember to be grateful to have a roof over our heads. I know that may sound a bit dramatic, but the flooding turned our lives upside down for a while (mostly because of the kids)... and we are just so happy to be back at home. We are now dealing with the insurance piece of the whole ordeal, and waiting to see what will happen in terms of replacing the flooring. We lost the carpet pads in all three bedrooms and closets, the flooring in the guest bathroom and laundry room, as well as the hallway leading up to the living room. I cannot wait to have everything back in place! Again, we thank you all for your support and kindness.

We're homeless

Our washing machine flooded our room, Payton and Sam's, the laundry room, two bathrooms and the hallway. A company came out yesterday to assess what needed to be done, but the house is pretty much unlivable right now. They hope to have us back in by the end of the week (tomorrow being the earliest), and then we will wait for the process with our insurance to begin. We stayed at the neighbors last night, and have a hotel booked for tonight. This really, really, stinks. We are trying very hard to be positive, but it's been a long two days... and it's Sam's first birthday today, and no one is feeling very celebratory. Please keep us in your thoughts.

I'm so proud!

Payton has just been surprising me this week. She did great on both days of preschool, and has had very few potty training accidents. Every day she seems to grow more witty and sweet, which makes it hard to be frusturated with her during the whiny and needy moments. It's weeks like this, when I look at her, that my heart just about explodes knowing that I helped make her into the little girl she is. And I love that.

S for Stires

You can't see it in this picture, but there is a S on the back of this car. Thanks to Monica, this super (in her words) pimped out car gets to join our family since Sidney and Sophia have outgrown it. How cool is that? Payton is going to be thrilled. Monica, you are the best!

9

Today our long run was 9 miles- Jon went and mapped out our route last night after the party. I think the only thing that I can say about the run is that 9 miles is long in the car (esp. in traffic times around the city in Elk Grove), and it's even longer on foot. But we did it! I walked at the lights, and up part of one large hill and trekked through the rest. Next Sunday, I am running the 8.7 miles to Matt and Kristi's house, where Kristi offered to cook us breakfast and put our sorry behinds into the car and take us back. Don't think I will forget that one! Our upcoming week is two five mile runs, and 9 again on Sunday. Thanks for all of you that continue to keep us motivated! Just over a month to go.........

Sam's First Birthday Party!

Here are just a few pictures from the day yesterday. We had such a great time! Sam held it together very well, even being a bit tired. We were a bit surprised that he didn't enjoy his cake a bit more (thanks, Lani for being our Martha Stewart), but we all were able to eat the leftovers. Thanks to those of you that were able to make it out to celebrate, and for everyone who helped us out with cooking, cleaning and everything in between.

She did it!

Not only did Payton have a sucessful first visit to the dentist (she even let them clean her teeth!), she had fun at her first day of preschool. She cried a little bit in the beginning, but then settled down after a while. It was certainly helpful that we were allowed to stay the first day, saving the first day for flying solo until Thursday. There are 20 kids in the class- 12 boys and 8 girls. (That was the automatic teacher response in me, to note how the class was split up). I think she will end up enjoying herself, after the initial change wears off. We just can't believe that she's going to preschool!

Progress

We are making some more headway with the kitchen, much to the relief of both of us. Jon did an awesome job getting some more of our cupboards sanded and ready to paint. We still have a ton of touch up to do, but just knowing we have the cupboard situation somewhat in order makes us both feel a lot better.

Again, we are faced with another busy work week! I am about to get a small taste of what my world will be like in the next two weeks when I have all four of my school back on track. Friday found me driving to all four sites, as well as our district office... it went by so fast, but was very chaotic. Thank goodness I am good at time management, otherwise this job would be a disaster!

Today we had a victorious day in our house- Payton used the potty 13 times. With much bribery and fanfare and lots of setting of the timer, she did it. She had one accident at the end of the day, which we felt was pretty excellent! We'll see how the next few days go... especially since she has her first dentist appointment tomorrow, and her first day at the new preschool on Tuesday. If anyone out there has more potty training ideas, we'd love to hear them! We'll be broke if we have to keep paying for diapers for two!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

4:38 am

We are both up. Because we are crazy. Jon just left for his run, and I am next. It took me three tries to log on the right way. Did I mention that we are crazy?

It's been a long week

Between another very busy work week, painting the kitchen (and redoing the cupboards) at night after the kids go to bed, and along with our marathon runs... we are spent. That's really all I can say.

My work week has been completley consumed with managing my para-educators (a.k.a instructional assistants). There has been some crazy drama that surfaced this week, and two have been released from thier contracts. What a process! If it is not the kids, it the parents... if it isn't the parents, it is STAFF!! I still am enjoying the new challenge, but going with the learning curve.....

Luckily, we have some fun things ahead to break up the craziness. Jon and I just bought tickets for the Dave Matthews Concert at Raley Field on August 25th. We haven't been to a concert together in a few years, so this will be fun for us. I am going to an event sponsored by my Mama BootCamp Master at Arco Arena... we get to do a workout in the arena to raise money for girls to go to the Sacramento Monarchs games. Sam's first birthday is almost here, so we will get to plan that as well. We love the birthday parties!

Keep your eyes open for new pictures of the kitchen!

This week

I am not quite sure where the week went, but it is over! It flew by- both of us were crazy busy at work. I am just starting to settle into the new position, and have been really enjoying myself and learning a lot of new things. Jon has yet another park day today, and was not looking forward to going this morning.

The bright spot of our week was getting the recessed lighting put in the kitchen! We are so excited about this. Next stop- BRIGHT GREEN PAINT (Blarney stone?!). It looks a little questionable on the can, so we will have to try it out and see. Jon spent the day sanding the cabinets as we are going to paint those white as well. It will be so neat when we are all done!

I'll post some pictures of the "new" kitchen soon. Happy Weekend!

Sam's First Haircut and Popsicle

Let's just say that he loved the popsicle, hated the haircut! He lost a little bit of his "baby" look with the haircut... still getting over that one! Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Someone call CPS!

This morning, the french toast stick falls on the ground. I did not see this happen, but figured out that it did when Payton yelled this........

"10 Second Rule!" and promptly picked it up, put it back on her plate and began eating again.

Yikes- we've totally lowered our standards. It used to be the 3 second rule, and now look what we've become........

Truth Be Told

I gave the little miss a big hug after her nap this afternoon. As I was squeezing her, I told her how much I loved her.... to which she responded:

"OUCH, Mom! Love hurts!"

Good grief, if she only knew....

We did it!

We survived the 7 mile run! Let's just say Jon did it well under an hour... we could hardly believe it! Neither of us had to stop, which was a huge accomplishment. Next weekend is 7 miles again, the following week we will be up to 8 miles. Yikes! (Matt, I know you are reading this... we still can't talk you into it?)

Both of us have had heavy days at work these last few days, so we are hanging in there. More updates about the job to come this week- I am loving it! Thank you to all of you out there who have been supporting me and sending encouragement.

Tomorrow

Is our long run for week 7 of our marathon training... 7 miles. Keep your fingers crossed that we survive, and want to keep going with this craziness....

Congrats are in order!!!

Our dear camp friend Dee Dee is now engaged to Geoff! Since they are in Europe, we are sending our congrats over email. So happy for you two!

It's Friday!

Thank Goodness-it's been quite a week! I've been so busy and consumed with the new position, and worrying about Payton's transition to day care that I haven't even had time to think.

In a nutshell, Payton had a breakdown the first day we dropped her off. I didn't expect that, given her very positive experience last week during our "trial" run. It was awful. Screaming, crying, clinging... it looked like something that you would see on Super Nanny. (Kristi, I just kept keeping your Abe story about his transition into new day care in my head). Not the best way to start off your second day of work. Today, however, was much better. No tears, no fussing.. in fact, she was walking around like she owned the place. Sam was just all smiles as usual. When I picked her up today, she was "studying" things with a magnifying glass and didn't want to leave. Hmm.....

The rest of my week was busy and fun. I was a part of interviewing for Instructional Assistants, and got my little cubicle set up yesterday at our main district office. Today I went to my old school to work with the person who took over my place, went to one of my first schools and had lunch with the team and headed off to my second school where I have another tiny office. I really enjoyed the variety of today, and getting a feel for the different climate of the schools... they are VERY different. I think I am going to like it!

Happy Friday, everyone!

The light at the end of the tunnel

All I can say is that the little miss has finally stopped throwing up. Our life has been turned upside down since Sunday......... and thank goodness it is over. I think that is all I can say about that. Anyone who has kids that have ever had a stomach bug know what I am talking about, and anyone else who has ever had a stomach bug can picture the awfulness.

I started my new job today, and I am really excited! I think that it is a position that I am going to really enjoy. I sat in on a training that my supervisor did today for instructional assistants, went back to our "office" and was able to meet a lot of different staff members. We attended another math training, filled out lots of forms, and started making contact with our school sites. Tomorrow we will hold instructional assistant interviews, and then I will head over to my old school site to help train the new person who assumed my position. I can't wait to get into the schools and start meeting the teachers and students next week. That is when the hard work begins!

I am also doing some home/hospital teaching, and am heading over there now. Hope everyone is having a stomach-bug free week!

Friends and Yogurt

Just got back from having a chat and the best frozen yogurt with my friend Kristi. (Now I will be to sugared up to sleep!) I am so grateful to know someone like her. We met back in our Special Education Master's program at Sac State in 2002... and many milestones and changes later, I still truly enjoy and appreciate hanging out with her! She is one amazing woman. Thanks for the nice night, Kristi!

Can I just share that Jon loves banana frozen yogurt with gummi bears and gummi worms? I brought it home for him tonight, and I just can't handle the two of them together....

No Drama!

I took Payton and Sam to our new day care provider's house yesterday for the day to get them a bit used to her before next week when I head back to work. I did not sleep well the night before, preparing myself for tears, clinging, etc. She was excited the day before- we had gone and picked out a bunch of swim toys to take over (Jen has a pool) and we packed her backpack with things she wanted to show the kids over there.

I ASSUMED the worst, and figured that the initial excitement would wear off by the time we would have to leave yesterday. When Jon put her in her car seat right before we were going to leave, she said "I am scared to go to Jen's house, Daddy" and "Will you call me later, Daddy?". She's never articulated the word "scared" before in that context... I was so surprised, and it about broke both of our hearts.

Long story short, we got there and there were NO tears. A little clinging but NOTHING ELSE. I about died. Both of them had great days! They have two little dogs which Payton adored, and they got to go swimming. Jon called Payton as promised, and she wouldn't even talk to him... she just kept laughing and running away from the phone.

I guess I can save the rest of my anxiety for starting my new job; T-minus one week!

We are back!

We enjoyed our trip to Grandpa and Mary's house in Nevada- we were able to swim, visit with Andrew (and Jim, Lindy, Craig) who is the kiddo's official third cousin and check out the golf-course view out the backyard. Here are some pictures from the weekend, as well as some from the 4th! For those of you who know our "Stepford Wives" court, we enjoyed celebrating with our neighbors via lots of pool-hopping, snacks and a fireworks display. Sam fell asleep before the "show" and Payton did NOT make it. She thought it was too loud, and spent the rest of the evening holding her ears!

Off To Grandpa's We Go!

We are leaving tomorrow to visit Grandpa and Mary up in Nevada... the smoke seems to be a bit less pronounced up there, or so they say. The weather has been absolutely crazy this week because of all the fires....

Hopefully our mini-trip will knock the whining bug that seems to be eating Payton alive these past three days out. I don't know what it is, but she seems to not be able to speak without whining. Or being dramatic. Or crying. I thought she may be getting sick, but that theory doesn't seem to be correct. Who the heck knows?

We will only stay for a few days as I need to be home and pack up my classroom before they clean the carpets, and there is A LOT of stuff that needs to be sorted through. Hopefully, this will give me the opportunity to get rid of some things. I love purging stuff!

Have a great weekend!

New job!

I took a new position for next year! Everything happened so quickly that I still haven't had time to process all of it. Our special education transfers finally came out about a week ago (due to budget reasons, things just moved so slow this year... usually this process is completed in the spring) and there were openings in Inclusion, another part of our special education department. I've been talking about a change on and off this school year, as I've been working in my present type of position for 8 years now. I've been at three different schools, but doing the same kind of thing. So... I did an interview (thinking it didn't go that well) and ended up getting one of the positions that were free, as did Michele, a good friend of mine. With some anxiety and a lot of excitement, I decided to take the job.

This is certainly proving to be a year of change, as Jon and I had discussed when the opportunity to transfer came about. Our improved overall health/fitness, new day care, Payton starting preschool-- everything is changing, so why not add another egg to the basket?

I'll be an itinerant special education teacher, working at different sites (elementary, middle and high school) to supervise and evaluate instructional assistants working with students with moderate/ severe disabilities (Autism, Down Syndrome, etc.), working with site teams to modify curriculum and support students, and be a resource to teachers and parents. I've been told how hard the first year is- there will be lots of difficult parents and teachers, but hopefully I will be able to not take it to personally. I'm excited about the flexibility, the change of pace and adding to my professional growth... but scared as well!

Wish me luck! It's hard to believe we'll be starting on July 15!

OCD

I've been told that three year olds are an obsessive bunch. That these little obsessive tendencies are a means of control and making their own choices. I gotta tell you, Jon and I sometimes wonder about our dear little three year old girl....

Payton's top"obsessions" lately include the following:
1. She is constantly asking "What name is it?" She must have names attached to every object... flies, strangers, characters in books, etc. Inevitably, the next question is "Where did you get this book?" We tell her everything comes from Target.
2. Payton must know if something is big or a baby/little. Things that are "babies" are less scary. Is it a baby bee or a big bee? Is it a big fly or a baby fly?
3. I don't even have the energy to explain the bedtime ritual.....
4. She always needs a "big" milk or a "big" icy water. Big implies a full cup that is COLD.
5. On the way to wherever we are going, she must ask where we are going about 50 times.

I know most of you probably think these things do not seem annoying, maybe even cute. Sometimes they are incredibly endearing. Most times, they make both of us want to scream! Or collapse on the couch at 8:18 pm, trying to justify going to bed when there is still light outside....

Highlights from the weekend

Pretty uneventful weekend... much needed after a very long work week. The downsizing process and switching teachers at our school has caused a lot of drama (guess that is what happens when you work with mostly very passionate women!) and it was just enough to make me go crazy. Sam and Payton spent a lot of time sleeping in the past few days, making up from a busy week for them as well.

Jon and I made it through our first "long run" of our half-marathon training this morning... five miles! We both felt pretty good about that, but certainly felt the distance by the end of the run.

Other news in our house: Payton decided to use the potty a handful of times in exchange for gum, Sam learned how to drink out of a sippy cup (his sister's princess one, nonetheless), and Zoey decided to kidnap a leftover pork chop and go tearing out of the kitchen with it in hopes that we wouldn't get her. Nice, huh?

It's my last week of work! That is what will get me through the next couple of days. Hope everyone has a great week.

Weekend Pics

Here's a few pictures from the weekend: View from our hotel, Ferry Ride into San Fran, Jon on the ferry....

Father's Day Gifts

I ordered these shirts for the kids... "My Dad Is My Best Buddy" to take pictures of them together as a Father's Day gift. Here are some of the best ones! (Thanks, Sandy!)

Part Two

I seem to be doing this post in several different stages whenever I have a free moment. What I didn't get to say yesterday was Happy Father's Day to all those dads/daddies out there! This year was Jon's first Father's Day with two kids. Lucky for him, we were in one of the prettiest spots for the first part of the day. It's been amazing to watch Jon grow into being a Daddy. He puts me to shame some days. Payton has turned into such a Daddy's girl- wherever he is, she wants to be. I've come to the conclusion that the kids and I love Daddy so much because of these top reasons:
1. Jon never, ever refuses to play.
2. He can make them smile just by making silly noises.
3. He knows how to give the best piggyback and airplane rides, and shoulder lifts.
4. He knows how to sing. And dance.
5. Daddy gives the best hugs, reads the best stories, and likes to go to the park.

As my husband, Jon's an amazing father because:
1. He changes just as many dirty diapers, gives as many bottles, wipes up spit-up the same amount (if not more!) as me.
2. Jon's not afraid to make mistakes, or to question parenting techniques. Jon always wants to be better, to do more.
3. He's there for every doctor's appointment, every illness, EVERYTHING.
4. He gives me time to myself without any questions.
5. Every day, he makes me laugh and makes this very tough job much easier.

Happy Father's Day! I love you, husband!

Sausalito!!!

What a wonderful, wonderful, weekend. I am so sad that it is over that I don't even want to write about how fun it was. A brief look into the weekend: Palace of Fine Arts/Exploratorium, Sausalito, Ferry into San Francisco.......... one of the most amazing hotels in Sausalito.....

Just wonderful. More pictures later, but had to satisfy the curiosity of all of you out there who wondered where we went!

To Comment

I forgot to say this in the previous post, but I think I adjusted the settings on the blog so that people can make comments about the postings. For those of you that have tried and were not able to do so, I think I may have fixed it... so, please try again and let me know!

Insomnia

I can't sleep. For the last three nights, I have been exhausted but cannot get any interrupted sleep! I don't know if I am just wound up being the end of the year, or if Sam talking away at 3 am has been the cause.... I just know that I sure could use one night of straight sleep! When you have kids, sleep is one of life's most precious gifts. It starts from the moment they are born; all that you can think about is how long they will sleep, and when you can get some sleep. I am done feeling bad about the thought of ever sleeping past 7 am, but when I can't sleep at night (after serving my up every two hour rounds with the two kiddos) it's just not fun.

It's Friday, and one more day until our mystery trip! I am so excited that I can't even stand it. Jon asked me the other night if I just wanted him to tell me where we were going, and I stood very strong and said no (even though I was dying to know!).

Happy Friday, everyone! Stay Cool!

Is it Saturday yet?

Countdown to our secret, overnight trip on Saturday....... to a place I don't know, for our belated anniversary celebration!!! Someone out there give me some clues because the man is not bending!

I forgot!

Jon made me the most amazing photo DVD of the last ten years as a gift, which made us both cry. I've posted some of the pictures that he included..... Lani, thanks for scanning all of those pictures!

Anniversary Weekend

What a nice weekend- thank you to those of you that sent
well wishes! We were able to have a fun dinner, toast each other
with our glasses from five years ago, eat a whole angel food cake,
and watch our wedding video (yes, it is on a tape. We weren't
even sure if we'd be able to get the VCR to work). I was also able to take the kids to Jon's event on Saturday, which both of them enjoyed. We spent today playing with Grandpa and trying to stay cool. Currently, I am trying to figure out how I am going to last three more weeks with my darling students! It can't possibly be Sunday night already....