December Already?!?!

Once again, it's been way too long since I've posted... sorry!

December has been a blur so far. We've been busy shopping, baking, hosting parties, attending parties, decorating, shoveling snow, and on and on. We're looking forward to a few days off over Christmas, but they will be filled with driving... and more driving.

On Saturday, I hosted my first (annual?) Christmas Cookie Exchange Party. We had a wonderful time visiting, eating yummy brunch food, (Josh was dismayed because there was no "man" food, only girly, fruity, frilly things) and, of course, swapping cookies. Everything is absolutely wonderful, and it was a great way to kick off the holiday season.

Dave and Carrie came down for the afternoon and they helped us shoot our Christmas photo. Yes, we're running behind schedule on the annual Christmas letter, but rest easy. Josh has a great letter all ready to print. Now, I am in charge of getting copies made, folding the letter, and getting reprints of our photo. Your letter should be on the way soon. Josh has built quite a reputation for himself with our annual letter. He works well under pressure, though, and this year's edition is sure to please.

For those of you who need a little teaser, here's our Christmas photo. Evan is nine months old (to the day) in this one. He's such a sweetie!



Josh also took out the camera today after church to get a few shots of Evan and me. Here are a couple of my favorites.





Monday morning is coming quickly. I'd better get settled in for the night. Here's wishing you a holly jolly Christmas!

Post Thanksgiving Stress Disorder

Whew!

We had a nice Thanksgiving with our families up North, but we're feeling the effects. We didn't get home until Sunday evening, and by the time we'd gotten everything reorganized and put E. to bed, we were beat. Waking up to work Monday morning was torture. I think we've decided that traveling on the day before work resumes is not an option. Even if we'd left at E's bed time Saturday and driven into the early hours of morning, it would have been better than spending all of Sunday in the car and then having to work Monday morning. Ugh.

On top of the travel-induced grogginess, we're realizing that December is just a busy time. We have decorating to do, parties to host and attend, shopping excursions to take, gifts to wrap, goodies to bake, and on and on and on. This all comes along with another trip up north. I can't wait until the day when we decide it's time to start our own family traditions and we just stay put. (A girl can dream!)

Anyway, in this season of hurrying, I hope you find time to slow down, relax, and enjoy the magic.

Stay warm,
M

Blur

Time sure flies. It's been over a week since my last post, yet it seems like just yesterday. We've been busy around here. I'll hit the major points...
1)Evan is up to six teeth. It was tough going, but he's got a nice set of chompers!
2)Our dishwasher croaked. Lots of dishpan hands for a couple of weeks while we wait for our new one--and a new stove and refrigerator (Sears had a deal!!)
3)Josh and Dave had a great pheasant hunt in Marshall (limits by noon!)
4)Scary student issues at Melissa's school
5)Getting excited about the holidays (and my cookie party)
6)Contemplating Christmas shopping--not much done yet :(
7)Sleeping a bit better at night, Thanks E man!
8)Conferences this week for Josh
9)Awesome Youth Frontiers Courage Retreat for Melissa's students
10)Prepping for Musical Season to start
11) and on, and on, and on...

We're heading up north for the weekend, and I'm a bit nervous about the trip with Evan. He's become so much more active. Six hours on the road may not be very fun. We'll leave early on Thursday, though, so traffic shouldn't be too bad, and we'll make good time over the river and through the woods to Grandma Evelyn's house. We'll head back early Sunday morning so that we can unwind and try to fall back into our routine here. Then, I've got Christmas decorating to do in preparation for my first (annual?) cookie exchange party. Fun! :)

Happy Turkey Day, everyone. Give thanks for all good gifts.

Saturday again...

Wow, what a week! E has given us a new appreciation for his usually happy disposition. Having not dealt with an illness of any type for nearly eight months, Josh and I were ill-prepared (no pun intended) to deal with our sick baby. He morphed into this screaming, writhing, inconsollable child--unless he was at day care. Needless to say, we're tired, but I think we've got this thing licked. We were a bit nervous around mid-week when the daycare mom told us that there were only a few kids left at her house because everyone else started puking. So far, though, E hasn't shown any indication of those flu-like symptoms. Whew!

I'm hanging out with the little guy at the moment, and Josh is getting a nap in. When he wakes up, I get to shower and the run to Herberger's for their big community day sale. I'm in search of some fun pajamas because tonight is "Ladies Night In." The ladies from our small group are getting together for a slumber party of sorts. We're all supposed to wear our PJs, bring a treat to share, and be ready to watch some sort of sappy movie. Should be fun. I'll have to be a little late because mommy duties supercede girly fun, but I'm looking forward to it nonetheless.

I suppose. E is rounding the corner into the kitchen. I'd better to see what he's getting into.

Happy Saturday! :)

Poor Baby

E and I had a nice visit with Erin in St. Cloud today. We met her at Barnes & Noble right around lunch time, and then we went to The Olive Garden. It was so nice to have some time to catch up and reconnect with such a lovely person. I can't help but smile when I'm around you, Erin. Thanks for a great day!

My little guy was so good during our visit. He did a nice job in the restaurant--even during the 25-30 minute wait for our table. He had a rough night last night, and really wasn't his usual, bubbly self though. When I got home, he felt warm, and still refused to eat well, so we took him in to Urgent Care. Lo and behold, he has a double ear infection. His mom and dad are rookies--he's never had an ear infection before--so we totally didn't catch the symptoms. I felt SO bad about that, until I read that it's a good idea to wait a few days before treating such an infection with antibiotics so as to build future immunities. Anyway, E is now on amoxicillin to clear up the infection with the occasional dose of tylenol to numb the pain. Hopefully he's back to his sweet goofy self before too long!

Tomorrow proves to be busy with church, laundry, company, small group.... I'm glad I had some time today to do something fun. Thanks again, Erin! :)

Photos and Friday Frivolity

I promised photos, and I will deliver! I just had to upload them to the computer from our camera. Our little man is becoming SO independent. I wonder who he gets that from?!?

Life has been a bit crazy this week. We've all been sick--I just started to feel half-human again today--and there is no end to the things we have to do! This weekend won't bring much rest, but it will be fun! Tomorrow, I'm meeting Erin in St. Cloud for some lunch and maybe a little shopping. I'm so glad we're able to make these quick visits! Then, on Sunday, our good friends the Johanssons are joining us for the afternoon. In the evening, we have our small group Bible study, and then we're back into the work week.

Josh is talking about the possibility of going up to Cook for the second weekend of deer season (bring to mind a silly song, anyone??), but I'm not sure I'm up for it. We'll be heading up for Thanksgiving, so I may sit out the deer trip if he does decide to go. Some tranquility would be nice. How does it go on Seinfeld? "Serenity NOW!"

I hope everyone has had a good week! Here are those photos...

Sick, Sick, Sick

Yes, we've all be sick this week. First, E. was in terrible pain while trying to get two more teeth to fill out his smile. They finally came through, and we have a much happier baby. Josh was wiped out early last week, and by Wednesday he was down and out with some major flu-type symptoms. Thursday, I started to have a bit of a twinge in my throat and my voice was faltering. As I type this, I still can't speak very well, and I'm trying to decide how to work tomorrow without talking. Ugh.

We took some great photos of E. on Friday after school. The sun was out, it was a warm afternoon (for October), and we grabbed a pumpkin off the porch to use as a "prop" in the front yard. Of course, E. went right to work examining dead leaves. Upon determining that they were way cool, he decided to taste them. Josh and I were busy taking a photo of "my pheasant" (watch the Christmas letter, the story will show up...) when we heard our little guy gagging behind us. I did a quick sweep of his mouth and cleared out a chunk of leaf. Thinking all was well, we continued playing. E. just kept gagging and sputtering. I wrangled him onto his back so I could open his mouth, and I discovered a piece of leaf plastered onto his tongue. Once we got that out, he was much happier.

The rest of the weekend consisted of cleaning, laundry, baking cookies for the church "Jack-o-Lanter Jubilee," going to small group, and trying to keep E. from tumbling down stairs, or otherwise harming himself as he discovers his world. He is so agile and so curious... we'll be on our toes for years to come!

Hope everyone has a good Monday. :)

PS--I'll post some of those pictures later. They are currently on the home laptop, and Josh is busy using it. I LOVE having a computer from work that I can bring home. :)

It's Been Some Time...

I know I've been lagging on my blogging. Sorry. I've just been busy. Last weekend was MEA break, and it was a much needed respite from the demands of school. The three days prior to MEA were conferences at my school, so I was at school for thirteen hours each of those days. Aside from the constant "game face" I had to wear for students and parents, I didn't get to see Evan or Josh for more than an hour each day. It was exhausting and not much fun at all.

Over MEA, Josh and his dad went hunting in Crosby, ND. Sandi came to our house and stayed with me for the weekend. At first, I had planned to just have a quiet weekend with Evan, but as I thought about how tired I would be after conferences, I realized that I just wouldn't make it on my own. It was great to have her around! We hung out, did a couple of projects around the house, and she got plenty of grandma time in.

Evan is getting his top two teeth, but they are giving him lots of trouble. His little gums are totally swollen and puffy. I hope the teeth break through soon--it's hard to see him in such pain! He's getting to be such a bit boy, though. He has learned to wave, and he can go from his tummy to sitting up all by himself. I can't believe he'll be eight months old in just a week or so.

Anyway, I need to turn in. I'm trying to catch up from conferences yet, and Evan wasn't exactly a great sleeper when Josh was gone. I hope everyone is having a good week. :)

Time

It never stops, and I never seem to have enough. I've been crazy busy again, and I still can't seem to get all the things that I want to accomplish done. Perhaps I have expectations that are too high.

E has been sick again, so that makes it hard to get things taken care of. He's been up late the last two nights. I think the medicine he's taking makes him a little hyper, so bed times have been stretched out. He's so stuffy that he has trouble eating and sleeping, so we've been a bit exhausted around here.

In spite of being sick, our guy is still pretty sweet. Here are some pictures from our trip up north last month, and a couple from just the past week. I can't believe he's already seven months old!

Catching Up

Whew! What a whirlwind life has been this last week or so. We went up north to visit our parents, and that was nice. It was a really quick visit--we took Friday off--but it was good to see everyone if only for a day. Getting out of town was a bit tricky as the day we were supposed to leave right after school, I ended up being stuck at school until around 5:30 under a tornado warning. All the busses were called back to the nearest school building, and staff and students had to stay in interior rooms until the all clear was given. Then, staff had to stay until all the students were home safely. Ugh.

My first batch of essays was handed in a week ago. I'm just now getting around to grading them. The kids are also handing in daily assignments, so I'm struggling to keep up with correcting and entering grades. I've been up WAY too late every night this week, and I'm feeling a bit exhausted now.

This morning, I was shocked to hear on the radio that my school is closed today. Apparently there was a small fire in the laundry room overnight. So, I got to sleep in today, and E and I are having some quality time. I called and asked if I could go in to work for a couple of hours to get caught up on things, but they said no way, no how. I think that I'll go in and at least try to pick up the rest of my essays later this afternoon. I should probably have just gone in without calling. Better to ask forgivness than permission sometimes, right?

In E news, he has his first tooth. It's not all the way out yet, but it's definately there. My baby is growing up so fast!

Speaking of my baby, I'm going to play with him. I hope everyone is having a good day. Friday is almost here!! :)

Rainy Days

There's something about a good, hard rain that makes me feel peaceful. Add in some thunder and lightning like we had last night, and I think I'm as close to heaven as I can be on earth. I LOVE thunderstorms and rain showers, and since last night, we've had plenty of both.

We're on the mend in our house. E's weekend was rough, but he's much better now. After a rough Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night, he slept so soundly both Sunday night and last night. His breathing is much better, and his nose runs less during the day. Whew! I think that by the time we head up north on Thursday night, he'll be alright. The big challenge then will be keeping him awake in the truck until bedtime. I've got the roll of backseat entertainer, so hopefully I can keep him from sleeping too much and totally destroying his bedtime routine. By the way, I'm not sure how medically sound the Vicks on the feet theory is, but it sure felt nice and cozy in my socks!

We're looking forward to seeing family this weekend, and I KNOW they are looking forward to seeing E. We finally took the camera out the other night. Here are the results of a six-month snapshot shoot:


There are actually many more photos (I love my digital camera), but these are some of the best ones. E also got his "official" six-month photos taken a couple of weeks ago at JC Penney in St. Cloud. They are super cute, and it was actually really affordable. We'll head up there again I'm sure! Before we know it, we'll be taking his one year pictures. YIKES!

Anyway, I should stop putting off some work... grr.

Wow...

Where did that week go? I can't believe it's already Friday night. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad, but it seems like I was just posting about dreading Monday morning. I hope all of my school weeks go that fast! As Josh told his mom and dad today, "Another week down, 34 to go!"

E and I have both come down with the obligatory beginning of the school year cold. It seems that several kids at daycare are sick, so E was bound to get it. There have also been many students sniffling and sneezing around the building as well as some teachers who have come down with this nasty bug. Hopefully it makes its way through our house quickly. I think I'll try to do a deep cleaning/disinfecting this weekend, though that might be unrealistic considering a trip to St. Cloud tomorrow and baptism for Scott and Solveig's little one Sunday. We'll see.

Tonight we were at a 30th birthday party for our friend Jenny. If you read our old blog, you'll remember that she battled breast cancer five years ago, had a baby this past May, and has since been rediagnosed with cancer. For most, it would be a bleak story. Jen, however, is a picture of joy. We cannot help but smile when we are around her, and we're amazed at her faith. God is working in her life and on her body. The cancer has been responding to the treatments, and we continue to pray for a complete healing. Miracles can happen! Anyway, it was inspiring to be in her presence this evening.

Next weekend we'll make a very quick trip up north to visit E's grandmas and grandpas. They are pretty excited about that, and we're hoping that it doesn't throw our newly developed routine totally out of whack. Though, this cold is doing a great job of that already.

I suppose, I'm going to put some Vicks on my feet (Thanks, Erin, for that tip a while back) and get some rest.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

Sunday Blues

Weekends are always too short, especially when the weather is gorgeous and all you do is play instead of getting things done that really should get done.

I'm currently procrastinating some lesson planning while E and Josh are out for a walk. I should really get something done before they get back, but I just can't make myself do it. I know I'll pay for it later... oh well.

It's been a glorious weekend! The weather is perfect for fall. We've had two campfires, and we're just basking in the September sun and loving the scents that float on the fall breeze. Ah, fall really is my favorite season. At the grocery store yesterday(my one task accomplished this weekend) I was giddy as I chose several different kinds of apples to bring home. I smiled in anticipation this morning as I thought of bringing E to a pumpkin patch for some photos and Josh and I were both speculating what we would dress our little guy up as for his first round of trick-or-treats... good times.

I really do need to get my head out of the clouds, though, and get something done. I hope this finds everyone out there enjoying life just as much as we have this weekend. If you haven't yet, step outside and let September put a smile on your face. :)

TGIF!

This weekend couldn't have arrived at a better time. Josh and I are both totally wiped out. E hasn't been helping us out at night--he wakes up several times every evening. We're tired, but we've both had a good first week back. E has been great at daycare, and now we're all just enjoying an awesome September evening to kick off the weekend.

My students have impressed me so far this year. They are interesting, energetic, respectful, compassionate, and I think we're going to have a lot of fun learning with and from each other this year. We start off our first "major" assignment next week as I've got them all ready to tackle their first five-paragraph essay while setting three goals for the school year. We'll see. The first essay has traditionally been a little rough. I remember crying through my grading my first year. Ugh.

Our school has adopted a team approach this year, and I was selected as the leader for my team. I'm learning about that role as I go, but I think it will be alright. Our principal is super eager to see us succeed, and he's been great to work for. He's always going about a million miles an hour, but his energy is good for the school. Many of the "old guard" have been quite resistant to this big change, but I think we'll make it.

My boys just got back from a stroller ride, so I'm signing off. :)

Exhaustion

I used to think I knew what being tired felt like. Then, I had a baby. I've had six months to readjust, and I thought I was all set. Starting school today, however, has proven that once you think you have things figured out, you might as well think again. I am feeling a level of exhaustion tonight that I did not know existed. My six-month hiatus from the classroom was pure bliss, and today shocked my system back into reality.

Aside from sticky 90 degree heat and floors that have no mercy on unconditioned feet and legs, I did alright. I put my "game face" on this morning, and I managed to fly through all eight periods of my day. It's a good thing E was tired this evening, though. He and I crashed at around 6:45. I woke up at 8:45 to feed him and get him into his crib, and now I'm just shaking away the cobwebs in order to get organized for tomorrow. Ugh. At least there's only one first day! I'm sure each day from here on out will get easier, but perhaps that's my exhausted delirium talking...

Seriously, the day went alright, my seventh graders were appropriately oblivious on this, their first day at the Junior High, and I was appropriately helpful, energetic, and downright inspiring. Well, that last part may be a bit of a stretch, but I brought my "A" game today. :) Only 186 days left until summer's return!

I'm tired. I have to sleep. Hopefully all you other teachers out there had a great beginning today and get restful sleep tonight!

All Good Things...

...Must come to an end. Really? Do they have to? Why? Are you sure?

Today is our last day of summer vacation. It's gorgeous outside, and we're in mourning. Mourning the loss of our no-schedule, laid back, do what we want lifestyle. Greiving time that we won't get to spend together replaced by spending hour after hour with other people's kids. Ugh.

In an effort to maximize my time, this post will be short. We are going to enjoy every second of this glorious day because we know that tomorrow everything changes. I feel a bit like Cinderella might have at 11:55 pm.

Enjoy the day!

Running Around

A few weeks back, we purchased the a new car seat for E. He's growing so quickly, he'll be out of his infant seat before too long. Josh and I were in Rochester visiting my parents during a recent round of Mayo clinic appointments, and I had been to Babies R Us, the "Menards of baby stores," and saw the seat. I wanted Josh's opinion, so I got him to go there the following day. We ended up buying this particular car seat because it promised to be, "The only car seat you'll ever need." Now, we should have known. It just isn't logical that a product could work for a child from five to one hundred pounds. However, we were in a hurry. We made the purchase and arranged for my parents to pick up the car seat with their Explorer as we just didn't have room in our car with our suitcases, etc.

Mom and dad got the seat later that day, and brought it to their house. For those of you who don't know, that would be about three hundred miles from our house. Luckily, we would be seeing Josh's folks a couple weeks later, and they graciously ferried the seat to us at that time. After all that, I was anxious to get the seat installed so that we could start using it. I cleaned out the car, took out the nearly too small infant seat base, and began my attempt to understand the owner's manual for installing the new seat, right down to the included cup-holders. I was getting nowhere, so my lovely husband stepped in to try and rescue me. We got to the part where we put the baby in the seat to get everything adjusted. This is where things got ugly. He was too big. Or, I should say, his thighs were too big. The buckle on the seat was at it's largest setting, but our guy was just too big to be buckled in without being squeezed in a very uncomfortable way. So... after a frustrating day, we decided that the seat had to be returned.

The nearest Babies R Us is two hours away. However, St. Cloud has a Toys R Us, and since the credit card statement actually read Toys R Us, we figured we could return it there. Wrong. We went to St. Cloud yesterday to return the seat and get E's six-month pictures taken. (The photos turned out great, btw.) We were promptly informed that this was not a product they carried at Toys R Us. They wouldn't take the seat--even though they had the same product in a different fabric on the shelf. So, not wanting to haul this car seat around any longer, and needing a bigger seat rather soon, we hopped on I-94 and headed to Maple Grove. The folks at Babies R Us gladly took the too small seat off our hands. We went back to the car seat section and proceeded to "try several on for size." It didn't take long before our usually happy baby was done. He had had it. Fortunately, we did find a seat in which he looked comfortable. It actually even fit in our car. Unfortunately, they were out of stock, and they will take up to a month to arrive back on the store shelf. Grr.

So, back home we went. Empty handed. Fortunately, the Internet is full of places to buy baby gear, and I believe we've managed to find a place with free shipping. Hopefully E doesn't grow too fast and the new seat is on our doorstep before long.

I am glad we have resolved the issue, however I am sorry to have spent my dear husband's 28th birthday driving around dealing with a car seat. Hopefully it wasn't too frustrating a day for him. Lesson learned: try everything on for size... before leaving the store. Even a car seat.

Testing...1, 2, 3...

So, we went out and bought a great video camera before E was born. It's super. It doesn't use tapes or DVDs... it's got a hard drive all of its own. Cutting edge. Too bad our crappy laptop doesn't have enough memory to upload and edit the video.

I've wondered if I could just upload raw clips to the blog and/or Facebook. I'll try it!

...Thirty minutes later... I have had no luck. I'll try again later.

Whirlwind...

Whew! It seems like all summer I didn't post because there was really nothing going on. Now, I haven't posted because there is TOO much going on, and I just can't find the time.

I've been busy, busy, busy for the past few weeks. It seems that when one has six months off, it takes quite a bit of motivation (and some determination) to get oneself ready for a new school year. Add to that the fact that I have become quite attached to my little man, a classroom that had been totally packed up, emptied out, remodeled, and refilled haphazardly, and I'm one tired teacher returning from six months of bliss away from the educational world.

Since March, I have been enjoying "playing house." Of course, it's not June Cleaver's house... not even close. I've been way too preoccupied with the little man to cook much, clean at all, or do anything even remotely task oriented. Alas, I had to snap back into reality and head to work. That meant doing something I have dreaded for six months... dropping E-man off at daycare.


Who could leave this face?!?


His first day was alright. Of course, I cried the whole time I got ready for work, all the way to town, and all the way from daycare to school. I collected myself and forged ahead, only to fall to pieces when my co-worker and fellow mom, Gretchen, asked, "So, how are you?" Of course, she was there with a hug and wise words of experience. She promised it would get better, told me I was normal, and said that I could cry in her room all day if I needed to. She's wonderful. Today, E had his second day, and it went much better for both of us. He's still having some trouble taking a bottle at daycare, but he'll get it.

I had open house this evening, and it's always a mixed bag for me. On one hand, I enjoy meeting my new students, but on the other, I'd rather be home hanging out with my boys. Oh well. It's over for another year. I have one more day of workshops tomorrow, and then it's on to our last summer weekend. Good bye sleeping in, lounging in my jammies, playing with E all day, and generally being a summer bum. Hello new pencils, nervous students, and good friends at work. It will be alright. I'll miss my summer lifestyle, but it will be back!

I'll try to be better about blogging... but you know me! ; )

A New Approach

We have been using MSN spaces for our blog, but perhaps I'll switch... maybe that will spur me on to write more often.... maybe.

For now, visit wallestad.spaces.live.com to find out what we've been up to. Actually, you'll find out what we WERE up to whenever I last posted. I'm bad.