Back to Reality

Things I miss about being home:

Spending as much time as I want to with Alexa

Daily walks with Wilson

Waking up slowly with a cup of coffee and the Nate Berkus show

Being able to stay in my pjs all day if I wanted

Grocery shopping on a weekday

A clean house

Clean clothes

Oprah at 4:00

Tuesday playdates with Rachel and Teunis

Having time to do things like read leisurely, craft, blog, rearrange, decorate, shop

Having energy to do things like read leisurely, craft, blog, ....

Staying up late

Seeing mom and sisters on Thursdays and Friday

Having all chores done by the weekend so you don't spend the whole weekend doing them

Bible Study

Things that Make Me Happy about being back to work:

the drive is quiet and gives me time to think and reflect

socializing with work friends

teaching and working with kids

using my brain again

really value every minute with baby girl

new wardrobe

lost some gut fat due to stress, no time to eat, running around chasing 26 second graders around!

Almost 6 Months

It seems like I haven't posted in quite some bit. I really enjoyed the last month of my maternity leave as Alexa was growing and doing more and more each day! Nearing the end of November, she will be 6 months old already! I can't believe that by the end of my school year she will turn 1. Time is flying by. Lately Alexa really loves her baths. She is in a bath seat and loves to splash in the water and grab every single toy that she can and put it in her mouth. We call her greedy (see photo) because she will pile all her toys in her seat. In fact, most everything goes in her mouth or she willfully attempts to put it in her mouth. She will chew her spoon between bites of oatmeal, suck on a washcloth, bite her toys, and even pull and grab at Wilson in hopes that he could fit somehow into her mouth. She squeals with joy in her jumperoo and when we read books to her. She is very curious or nosy- and needs to look around to see what is happening. I have had to take her in a quiet place just to get her to take her bottle sometimes. She still doesn't have any teeth, but at the rate she is gnawing on everything it could be any day. She is wearing 6-9 month clothes. I had a cute church outfit I was waiting to have her wear. Last week I had her try it on and I couldn't get the sleeves over her chubby arms... :( She has been doing well at daycare and really likes to be entertained by the other kids. She is still working on getting on a "schedule," but it will come.

Work has been interesting, I will just leave it at that. It is nice to get back into teaching because I do love my job; however, it has been a HUGE adjustment getting up and ready to get out the door in time. We are up at 5:45 to take care of Willie and Alexa. I have to get used to setting a time to leave at the end of the day to get Alexa in time. Before, I could stay at school as long as needed and go in on the weekends too. Those days are gone. I will have to get better at prioritizing my time and taking things home. Alexa has been sick this week with a terrible cold and fever. She is so congested and there isn't much we can do to help. Our nights have been filled with Vick's Vapor Rub, refilling the humidifier, Tylenol, saline drops, and the dreaded blue bulb syringe. Alexa is smart. Now she will flip and arch her back as soon as she sees it. It reminds me a lot of myself when I needed to be pinned down to get teeth pulled...YIKES! She sure is strong willed.