Title Me Tuesday

Titles Aweigh, my boys, Titles Aweigh!

Party Girl

Our weekend was just the right mix of family, friends, going out and staying in. We discovered a sweet little park near our neighborhood with the loveliest, shadiest paved path running all round. If I wasn't working, I imagine Violet and I would be strolling there every morning. Then Saturday night, we put on our party clothes and headed to Travis and Wendi's brithday/housewarming party. Violet got all prettied up for the occasion and showed off her charming personality, winning rave reviews from everyone there, including our host Travis.

Getting ready to head out on the town with the peeps. Had to get the full couch shot to give Violet some perspective. Showing off for the camera, as always.

Hanging with the boys at the party. Violet knows where the action is at!

 With my blog friend (and real friend) Natalie.

On Sunday, Matt had another fantasy football draft, so Violet and I picked up and headed South for Peachtree City and visited with the grandparents. We spent a couple hours playing at Grandma's house and then enjoyed lunch and a lovely walk at Mimi's house. All in all, it was a lovely weekend, even if none of us caught up on our sorely lacking sleep.

Playing with Grandpa.

Monday's Child

27 Weeks

We just finished eating dinner on our screened-in porch. The weather this evening is awesome! I wish we had three months of this fall-type weather but alas, I'm sure it will be roasting again tomorrow.

Had a bit of a dramatic morning to kick off this Monday. Without the gory details, let's just say I had to change my outfit thanks to my Friend here, and it was only due to my sweet husband that I left with a packed lunch and hot coffee in hand, moderately on time. Violet seems to be feeling better now, although her runny nose has reappeared. 

I hope you all had a restful and productive weekend (and yes, being lazy is considered productive, as long as it was your ultimate goal!) We had a nice one too, and picture will be forthcoming.

The Weekend Cometh

Ah, another Friday! Do you all have a busy weekend planned? Got any things to scratch off the old to-do list? I'd like to say I'm going to spend a glorious afternoon scrubbing my shower, but alas, I have a feeling that one will remain undone. Can't win 'em all! But we will be heading over to Travis and Wendi's tomorrow afternoon for a little house-warming/birthday partying with the gang.

It's so nice to sneak into Violet's daycare room and watch her happily playing in the afternoons. The mornings tend to be hectic, and sometimes I have to leave her wailing, trusting in the fact that the lovely ladies over there will be swift to sweep her in their arms and comfort her. But by the afternoon she's generally all smiles and I love to take a few seconds and just watch as she interacts with her new friends (I only get a few seconds, though, her Mommy-radar is finely tuned!) Today she and her little rolling pal M. were sitting together on the playmat, both reaching into a bucket of toys. So cute! It's nice to know that regardless of how hectic a morning, Violet genuinely enjoys her time at "school". And speaking of, this week the babies got to make ink footprints! The posters were handing around the room as I came in yesterday, along with photos demonstrating the process of how they were achieved (put it this way, it's definitely a two-person job!) My first thought was, wow, Violet's feet are much bigger than I would have thought! And immediately after that, I realized that this is an activity I never would have thought to do with my Friend. I'm so glad that she's in a place where she is loved and treasured and gets to do crazy fun things like "walk" across a poster with feet covered in ink.

Remember last week when I headed up to Athens to start my final grad school class and I was so pumped to find out that one requirement is to be in a book club (which I already am - check!) Imagine my thrill when I found out this week that instead of writing a final research paper, we can opt to instead write a memoir of our first year in the classroom. Um, hello? Have you met me? I will totally be taking this option!

And before I forget, here's a little shout-out to the newest blog follower, Marilyn! Hey girl! Glad to see you here.

As for photos, my camera has been lacking action this week, but you know how I hate to post without at least one visual aid, so here's something from last week:

By the way, this is just random but someone's facebook comment reminded me... She made a joke about how I must keep Violet chained to the pink boppy (because so many pictures feature, yes, the pink boppy). But here's the deal, folks. I love my Boppy Bare Naked Expandable Miracle Middle Pillow. It might possibly the greatest invention ever for the nursing mother (with the exception of the breast pump). But the older Violet gets, the more I'm realizing... it's not just for propping her up for maximum boob access. It also makes a perfect back rest when she sits on the floor. Virtually any direction she tumbles, she'll have a cushion. So smart. Props to the boppy.

Girl Talk

6 Months Stats

Violet had her six month well-check Tuesday and per usual, the visit went great. She is in the 75th percentile for everything, weighing in at 17 pounds 3 ounces and measuring 26 and a half inches long. We're really getting really close to needing to switch her into a new car seat but I'm going to try and hold out as long as possible.

One new feature of this visit was the vision test Violet took. And of all the times not to have my camera with me! They hooked three electrodes to her head and put an eye patch on her. Then my little pirate frankenstein got plopped in front of a computer screen that flashed pictures and black and white bars. A rudimentary Baby Einstein show, if you will. Well, if there's one thing Violet loves, it's watching tv. So she passed the test with flying colors.

Believe it or not, Violet should be eating more food than she is already! So today we started the new feeding regime at daycare - cereal in the morning, veggies at lunch with her bottle, and then she'll get veggies and cereal at dinner. It seems like so much! But she's a growing girl, so it looks like I'll be making a baby food run to Target this week. (My sources say they have the best prices. Plus, I have coupons. Is it bad that my kid eats whatever brand baby food is on sale?)

That's it. Sorry this post is a little boring. Hopefully the picture below will make up for it. One of these days I'll have more time...

Oh, one more thing! Remember Violet's homework assignment? I had to bring in photos of baby girl doing interesting things (eating, sleeping, reading, playing with friends...) Well, her teachers turned it into the most beautiful photo collage for the room! And we got compliments on how many wonderful pictures we sent in (including the Swedish Chef photo from last week). All told, I translated it into an A-plus for Violet on her first assignment! What a little over-achiever! (Like mama, like daughter!)

You Missed a Spot

Once again, you never fail to crack me up with your photo captions. There were a number of good ones again this week (and cheers to keeping the tradition going for a solid three weeks now!) but the one that literally had me laughing out loud was...

"What? Do I have something on my face?"    

- Emily

Yes, yes you do, Violet. Carrots, in fact. Although it beats the green beans she had in her eyebrows the other day. And while we're on the subject of gross, let me just warn all the new and soon-to-be parents out there. Your baby's first poopie (poopy? hmm, and I'm supposed to be a teacher, too...) diaper is going to scare the crap out of you. And once the breastmilk really gets going, well those diapers are pretty intense as well. But nothing... nothing... can compare to what you'll find in there once your child starts eating real food. Talk about life in technicolor. I'm just warning you. It's a surprise every time we change her now. Fun times.

Title Me Tuesday

You write the caption!

So far,  you guys have cracked me up with your witty titles. Now it's time to get your creative hat on again and come up with a caption in the comments below. Winner announced tomorrow - good luck!

Monday's Child

26 Weeks

I snapped this photo a little late today because we just finished cleaning up dinner. It's official, I have mastered the famous Fortunato spaghetti and meatballs. I have a feeling it will be in heavy rotation on the neighborhood supper club menu. Everyone came over today and we had a great time, as always. It's so nice to linger around a table after a good meal, talking, listening to the wild young boys shrieking in the living room, forcing each other to finish the last meatball because the poor thing looks lonely... The best part is, I don't have to cook or even think about what to make the next two nights in a row. Hell, I won't even have dishes to do! It's not a bad system. All I need is a few more dishes under my belt that I can confidently whip up and we'll be set to go.

Sorry for hijacking the post that way. You really tuned in to see Violet in all her 26-week glory. She had green beans for the first time today. She liked them. Of course. Any guesses on what she'll weigh in at tomorrow? I'm a little nervous about taking her for shots and then having to drop her off at daycare. Especially since I have a grade level meeting in the afternoon and will be picking her up almost an hour late. Dad is on stand-by in case she needs to come home early but I'm hoping that she breezes through the day with style.

And speaking of style, check out the eyelashes...

Six Months

Six Months!

Six months today! That's half a year, ya'll! These past few weeks have been awesome. I feel like Violet has just blossomed (pun pun). She can sit up so well, roll over, entertain herself, she's eating all sorts of veggies and loving them, she laughs and smiles and seems to just love every minute of life. It is amazing how far we've all come. I can't say enough about how wonderful our little family is.

Speaking of family, the grandmothers came over the river and through the woods to entertain Violet while I was in Athens yesterday for class. (By the way, longest day ever. I left at 10 a.m. and didn't walk back in the door until 7 p.m. Sheesh! More exhausting than going to work every day! But more about class in a minute.) From the looks of it, they all had a pretty good time and didn't miss me one bit!

Violet holds court with two of her favorite people.

I got rave reviews (albeit biased one) about how charming Violet was, how happy and well she behaved. She showed off her rolling skills and stunned everyone by refusing to take a nap while her two favorite people were present. And who can blame her! I think the grandmas are pretty awesome too, I'm a little jealous I couldn't hang around! From the sounds of it, it might have been the best visit ever. Good thing too, since I have four more classes to go!

Speaking of class, the requirements don't sound too bad. There's a research project/paper, plus my exit letter (basically my argument to the graduation committee on why I deserve my master's degree). So two assignments. But get this. Since we are only meeting once a month, we're required to make up another class period's worth of time on our own by... being in a book club! Cha-ching! Existing book clubs count, and it doesn't matter what we read as long as we are furthering our own literacy pursuit. So I got the chance to brag about the world's best book club (of which I am the co-president and founder) and everyone was instantly jealous and begged to join. Sadly, I had to explain we're an exclusive club by-invitation-only, but I promised to send out our list of books/movies so that "you, too!" can start your very own group. Seriously though, how cool is it that something I'm already doing and loving is going to count towards my class?

Who needs mom when the grandmas are in town!

And speaking of book club, we had our meeting today and watched The Blind Side. It was excellent, and stayed very true to the book. (But still read the book, it is fabulous.) Matt joined us and enjoyed himself, and even Violet seemed rather engrossed (but then, she loves tv of all forms). Jen, our long-distance member, called in to say hi and submit next month's pick, The Boy In the Striped Pajamas (Movie Tie-in Edition) (Random House Movie Tie-In Books). (Wow, long title.) Should be another good (although hopefully not too depressing) pick.

All in all, it was an exciting, tiring weekend and I should probably be packing it in and going to bed early. This week promises to be nuts. We have picture day, I'm doing some new assessment I need to figure out so I don't screw up all the scores, and Tuesday I'll be going in late because Miss Violet has her six month well-check. Apparently this appointment includes some type of vision screening, which should be interesting! Wednesday is an early release/staff development day, which promises to screw up the daily schedule royally. Plus we are hosting the neighborhood supper club tomorrow (spaghetti sauce and meatballs were made today in anticipation). Good grief, I am in need of another weekend already! At least (cross your fingers) all us Loughmans seem to finally be feeling better, so there's that at least.

Rolling into the Weekend

So we made it to the close of another week. This one has been a doozy. After battling a crazy sore throat runny nose combo last week, I was hit with some kind of 24 hour stomach bug to kick things off this week. I'll spare you the gory details, but suffice to say, as I lay writhing in pain on the floor Monday night, I decided I would much rather go through the pain of labor again than ever suffer the stomach cramps I had. I came thisclose to calling in on Tuesday, but I sucked it up. Unfortunately, Matt came down with a fever Thursday night, so we've been sharing the load and limping through the week.

 Nothing spoils Violet's appetite! (And I swear we're not alcoholics, the beer boxes were for packing purposes. I SWEAR.)

Tomorrow I head back to Athens for the first of my last grad school class sessions. On the plus side, we meet once a month. But it means each class lasts five hours, and when you factor in commuting time, I'll putting in another eight hour day tomorrow. Matt will be pulling baby duty while I'm gone, but never fear. Not one but both grandmas are coming up to offer reinforcement. Since neither of them have seen Violet for awhile, they were eager to volunteer their services. Let's see if they feel as generous next month!

In developmental milestone news... Violet rolled over today! She rolled from her back to her belly all by herself. It happened for the first time at daycare and her sweet teacher was so excited she made a point to write down the exact time so she could tell me. It's a skill they've really worked on with Violet - it's the first thing she does every morning after I drop her off. There's another little girl in the room, Violet's same age, Violet's same degree of spoiled-rottenness. So they get their floor time together (and then get to wail it out together at the indignity of being placed on the floor when what they really want is to be held in someone's arms). But wouldn't you know it, they both rolled for the first time today. Aw, do I sense BFF status in their future? Anyway, I've been waiting for this milestone because all the books say something sinister along the lines of "if your kid can't do this by six months, see a pediatrician". Well, we have two days to spare! Whew! Good thing I think all that milestone stuff is crap anyway (mostly).

Well, that's it. I'm tired, full from pizza night with the neighbors, and should probably find a notebook or something productive to take to class with me tomorrow. So here's a little something to send you into the weekend with a smile...

It's naked time!

A Drinking Problem

Not merely satisfied with conquering the spoon, Violet moves on to her newest endeavor.

The Swedish Chef

A big round of applause to everyone who participated in this week's silly little game. You guys crack me up! This was a tough one... I loved Emily's comment (you know I can't resist a good pun), but I have to give it to Marla for her excellent rendition of the Swedish Chef (one of my favorite Muppets seeing as I am also Swedish). Congrats Marla! Bork bork!

And now...my impression of the Swedish Chef! Boor schnee schnee, boor schnee schnee, boor schnee bork bork! De flim is okie dokie!    -Marla Lou

Let the Great World Spin

So I recently finished reading a new book, Let the Great World Spin: A Novel. It won the National Book Award, for those of you who care about things like that. It seemed to make everyone's top ten list as well last year. I got it for Christmas and the poor thing sat abandoned on my bookshelf until just a few weeks ago. I was very excited to finally pick it up.

Set during the time when Phillippe Petit made his famous tightrope walk between the Twin Towers, the books follows the lives of several strangers in a serious of separate stories that eventually become intertwined. I was hooked by the fourth paragraph, when the author describes the New York scene as the city pauses to collectively look up in awe at the tiny figure walking on air far above them:

"Around the watchers, the city still made its everyday noises... A flying chocolate wrapper touched against a fire hydrant. Taxi doors slammed. Bits of trash sparred in the darkest reaches of the alleyways. Sneakers found their sweetspots. The leather of briefcases rubbed against trouserlegs. A few umbrella tips clinked against the pavement. Revolving doors pushed quarters of conversation out into the street."

"Revolving doors pushed quarters of conversation out into the street." Sigh. One of my new favorite lines. Sometimes writing like this seems as unattainable to me as walking a thin line 110 stories up. But it's good to have something to reach for, don't you think?

Title Me Tuesday

Write your caption in the comments - winner to be posted tomorrow!

Monday's Child

25 Weeks!

 Watch out world, this girl is comin' at'cha!

We had a nice, relaxing weekend to celebrate the first week of school. I shopped (mildly successfully) for some new work clothes. I also decided our Avenue is pretty much a bust. I like DSW and The Loft, but those are about the only stores I care for. Although I did score a pair of work-appropriate sandals at New York & Co for a mere five bucks, so I guess I can't complain too much.

I had a bit of a revelation Saturday. Matt was off to help Travis transport a grill (that's what happens when you're the friends with the truck) so I had Violet all to myself for a good four hours. Thirty minutes in, I was exhausted! I forgot what it's like to have her on my own for such an extended period of time! And to think, just a few weeks ago, that was my every day! I gotta say... I was a little bored. Apparently I am meant to be a working mom. And since I am a working mom, it was a nice discovery to make. Matt will be getting a little taste of the stay-at-home life this Saturday, when I head to Athens for my last grad school class for a good eight hours. I have a feeling he'll be calling in the reinforcements.

What else? Oh yes, Violet had peas for the first time on Sunday. Loved them! Next up, the sippy cup! Also, we dressed her as a boy Saturday night (can't let perfectly good hand-me-downs go to waste). Besides, we're not all blue-is-for-boys, pink-is-for-girls gender stereotypists. Freedom in America, as my mom says.

Still pretty! This week is shaping up nicely. Dinner with one neighbor Tuesday, we're hosting dinner Wednesday, off to the other neighbor's for Thursday dinner, and then pizza night on Friday. Not too shabby! And with that, we're back to the grind.

PS Here's a shout-out to my two newest followers! Welcome to the club,  y'all!

TGIF

Happy Friday! Can you believe we've survived a whole week? There's something to be said for working... you certainly do appreciate your weekends, especially when Friday kicks off with jeans day at work. This week, I managed to catch, suffer from and ultimately kick the ass of a cold. Violet ate carrots. I cooked my very first eggplant. Fact: eggplants are slimy when cooked. And they have tons of little seeds. I did not know. I'm not sure I'm wild about it.

Violet has a new-found fascination with thighs. Other people's thighs. She spent a good five minute lovingly stroking Emily's leg the other day. She was even able to multitask - reach for a toy with one hand, rub Emily's leg with the other. Fortunately Emily didn't mind too much. I've decided that Emily is going to be Violet's Fairy Godmother. She can stand in while Violet's for-real Godmother is off in Chile. As a bonus, Emily's first act as Fairy Godmother was to bring my child a stack of clothes off the clearance rack at Target. Love!

So my classroom is slowly perking up. I went with red and black as my color scheme, for obvious reasons (the fact that the bulletin boards were already covered in red fabric was a nice incentive).

Word Wall... Can you spell U-G-A?

 The other bulletin board: Loughman's Ladybugs!

Violet came to the school's ice cream social on Tuesday and got to meet many of the first grade teachers. She wowed them, naturally, and was pronounced "a doll" by everyone. I also just discovered that five out of the nine of us have January birthdays, one even shares my date. I find that quite odd.

So I hope everyone has a nice weekend. We have nothing planned. Zero. I can't wait! I might sleep in until 7:30 am! (How did this become my life?) I am also in desperate need of some clothes that actually fit me. So perhaps there will be shopping. And sleeping. Seriously, how did this become my life? Still, I'm kinda loving it.

And the Winner Is...

"Insert food here..." -Joanna

Title Me Tuesday

My bloggyfriend Rachel has a brilliant blog tradition she calls Wordless Wednesday, which, obviously, is a post with no words, just an awesome picture for us to drink in. And while I can't promise to post every Wednesday, nor am I so good about posting without talking your ear off, it's too good of an idea to let pass me by.

So now, in the words of Jon Stewart, here is your (wordless) moment of zen:

Okay, hold the phone, HOLD THE PHONE. I have an even better idea! Since the wordless thing is clearly not going to work for me, how about... write your own caption?! I'll call it "Title Me Tuesday" and you guys have to come up with a title to match the photo! I love it! (Hopefully I won't be the only one who things this plan is brilliant... and hopefully this won't be the only Tuesday I manage to come up with a worthy picture or this will be a short-lived tradition indeed.) Perhaps I'll even post the winning caption (assuming anyone participates in my little game) and maybe one day there will ever be prizes! Anyway, have at!

Monday's Child

24 Weeks

 

 

Violet is showing off her serious, contemplative side. Or maybe it's her "I have a cold" side, because after only four days of daycare, the girl is sick. It was actually worse yesterday, with full blown sneezes and runny nose. Today seems a little better, possibly because she has generously transferred her germs to me. Yep, I don't even get to enjoy a full day of school before coming down with the worst sore throat, runny nose, stuffed head I've had in a while. Please pray for me that I bounce back from this pronto. I can't afford to be sick right now!

Other than that, my first day of school went well. Daddy got to drop Violet off at daycare for the first time and they both survived. Plus, not that you guys are interested (okay, my mom asked, but she isn't a good measure of what the rest of you care about)... Violet finally pooped. It only took three days. It's my fault for giving her bananas... I have since repented and bought for-realz baby food. In the jar. We'll start off slow, I guess!

Okay, I'm going to go be miserable some more. My alarm is set far too early tomorrow.

Something in a Name

You know it's official when there's a banner in the hallway with your name on it! I was ridiculously excited to see this before preplanning ended. It feels very... real. Too real, I'm afraid, come tomorrow.  My classroom still needs some work, but at least it shouldn't frighten any of the kids away. This will be a week of running assessments with all the kids new to the school to establish their baselines. I'm not sure how long it will take, but hopefully soon I can get into a regular routine of rotating between the eight first grade teachers by next week. I also have some exciting ideas I'm thinking about when it comes times for my pull-out groups. Talking with my mom this weekend really helped - she has been teaching for years and still is so inspired. It has been easy to get overwhelmed these last couple weeks, but she helped me remember why I started down this path to begin with. Plus, she took me garage-saling yesterday and I scored some cute doo-dads to liven up my new space so I'm feeling good.

Violet in her "big girl" outfit. It's something about the pants. They just look so grown up to me! Maybe it's because she's actually wearing pants instead of just running around flashing her thighs in a onesie. Now that she goes to daycare every day, I'm trying to dress her more appropriately.

This has been a good last weekend before school (and my new life) starts. Violet got to try some bananas on Saturday. (We might be paying for it now... she hasn't pooped since Friday morning.) We hung out in Peachtree City and got our dentist appointments out of the way, got to see the fam and some friends, Violet got a new exersaucer, there was homemade pizza and lots of coffee... Is it sad that I'm already looking forward to next weekend?! We are just so busy these days and I'm feeling it all the more since I'm back in the working world. (Aside: I PROMISE I'll quit talking about how my life is changing, going back to work, blah blah blah. I know zillions of you are juggling work and home life just fine and can't wait for me to quit my whining. All in due time, my friends. All in due time.)

Anyway, that's all for now. Since I've decided to stop being a drama queen about my life, I have suddenly run out of things to say!

Violet's Favorite Snack

Yum!!!

Hi folks! Just finishing up a few last minute details (ie: dentist appt) before school starts. My mom thought the last post was a little sad, so let me assure you that all is well. I think once school gets underway and we're back to a routine, things will be easier. Every day when I pick Violet up from daycare, she is happier and happier. She got her first taste of ice cream last night after open house (I know, we're supposed to start veggies first. Oh well!) I might try bananas this weekend and see how things go. Hopefully I'll be able to keep all the balls in the air as life picks up pace a bit, but if the blog bogs down for a while, hang in there. I have plenty to say, just not enough time to say it! In the meantime, have a great weekend, everyone!

4.5 Hours

So today, from when I picked Violet up to when she fell asleep, we spent four and a half hours together. And those hours were spent running up to the Schoolbox store to buy bulletin board decorations, idling in traffic on the way home, making a Target trip for kleenex (having a classroom, but no assigned kids means I don't get to assign school supplies, so I guess I'll be covering some of the basics myself), eating dinner while Violet shrieked (in a happy, girlie way) in the exersaucer, giving her a bath, reading with her for a few minutes, getting her ready for bed and then passing her off to Matt for her bottle. I also spent a good deal of that time on the phone with various teacher friends, lost in my head trying to keep the information overload from short-circuiting my brain, and talking to Matt about everything going on. I still have dishes to do, laundry to put away, I have to pump, and of course, I'm sitting here writing this.

Not the most quality time with my baby. And in just the two days since this all started, that's the biggest change I've noticed. That even when I come home, the time with Violet isn't the same. Now maybe I'm just running on adrenaline because it's the first week. Maybe things will get easier. I'll become more efficient, be able to juggle more at once. But for now, this is the way it is. And it kinda sucks. Even when I'm with Violet, I haven't been able to make her the priority like I used to. Before, she was basically all I had going on, along with figuring out dinner and keeping the house clean. Now I have a bazillion other things to think about and get done with only an eighth of the time I used to have. And I don't feel like I even have time to properly lament the change. I'm trying to stay four steps ahead of myself and Violet just has to get in line like everything else. It makes me sad.

Violet shows off her sitting up and reading skills. Just a few seconds later, she attempted to eat the book, so she's still grappling with her concepts of print. (How's that for a fancy teacher term!)

Today Violet studied snuggling in daycare. I'm sure she aced it! Oh, and a quick hello to a new blogfriend Rachel. We met at last weekend's dinner party and I dominated the night with way too much baby advice. See, Rachel and her dear hubby are expecting and be still my heart, they aren't finding out the gender in advance! I could never hold out. Although it is one of life's last great mysteries, so good for them.

Monday's Child

23 Weeks!

This week's picture perfectly shows off Violet's two most recent achievements - sitting up and discovering her feet! I took this picture once we got home today (me from school, Violet from daycare) and as you can see from her expression, the little plop seems to have survived her first day. I was okay dropping her off; she was all smiles for her teacher. But I snuck a peek in the door before walking out and the screams had commenced. So naturally, I cried too. The owner Mrs. T saw me and gave me a huge hug. I checked on Violet twice during the day - once she was doing great, once not so much. And when I walked in to get her, she was crying but stopped as soon as she spotted me. All in all, the day went as I expected it. We got the log of her day and she ate well, napped decently, and according to today's "curriculum" the babies worked on sitting up (um, she's a master!) and hugging! If they give grades for hugging, you know any child of mine is going to pass with flying colors.

As for me, my first day went pretty well. I was so busy I couldn't dwell on the lack of baby attached to my hip. Halfway through the day I found out I get my own room!

I know. Not much to look at. No one was expecting it. I have the next couple days to get it looking remotely appealing. My schedule still isn't set. While the first grade team is thrilled to have me, they haven't quite figured out the best way to use me. I might be pulling kids into this room for an hour a day, or up to four hours. Either way, I'm hoping it's not quite so hospital room meets thrift store random blahness by Monday morning. 

Anyway, I'm exhausted and just glad this first day is over. I imagine it will get harder and more overwhelming before it starts getting easier, but I'm still very exciting. This school is amazing. The teachers, the administrators, the building, everything is so different from the last school I was in, I hardly know what to think. Hopefully this is just the beginning of a long stay here.

Goodbye Summer

We were blessed with a wonderful weekend - a great send-off to a good summer. Ever since I got my job, I joked that Violet knew the jig was up. She was fussy and cranky and super aware every moment I left the room. But come the weekend, she totally chilled out and we enjoyed a few last days of summer sun.

Chillin' with the boys on Saturday night at the Natalie-James dinner party. Violet was the star of the show and loved every minute of the evening. We were ready to go before she was!

S

 Super Daddy just minutes after rescuing Violet from her crib after she slept in Sunday morning.

 Hanging with Mimi before heading off to book club with the girls.

Tomorrow is a big day for us! But until then... goodnight moon, goodnight summer, goodnight Violet.