Excellent. Can I Come Into the Out Now?

Throwback Thursday

This throwback isn't very long ago. It's to Tuesday, May 19, 2015. Gideon's birthday! Here's his birth story. 

Gideon's birth story is nothing compared to Lydia's....but they way he was conceived (via IUI) is way more interesting than they way Lydia was conceived. So, basically, my kiddos like to come into this world with a little bit of drama. 

I ate a ton of pineapple the weekend before Gideon's birth. Maybe that helped a little? I also went on several (slow) walks. Monday, the day before he was born, I was in the pool floating around and having the tiniest bit of contractions. I was really hoping and praying he'd come soon - it's hard work being 40 weeks pregnant! That evening I was up pretty late watching TV shows and keeping track of my contractions with a contraction app on my phone. They weren't really strong contractions, but they were really consistent. After awhile, the contractions were continuing but they weren't getting any stronger and stayed about the same distance apart. I gave up and decided to go to bed.

At 1:00 in the morning I woke up to a (what I thought) painful contraction. I started timing them again and they were very consistent. By 2:30, they were really strong and I had woken Brian up and had even started tearing up during contractions. By 3:00, we called my mom to have her come over and stay with Lydia and we started quickly packing my hospital bag (yeah, I hadn't packed it yet...oops...but Gideon's diaper bag was all packed). We left for the hospital around 3:30. My contractions were still really consistent and strong. Remember, I didn't know what contractions felt like as I had never experienced them before (I was induced with Lydia).

We got all signed in at the hospital and I was changed into a gown and laying in a bed in triage. My contractions were at the point where I couldn't talk during them, but I wasn't crying just yet. The doctor on duty came in and checked my dilation - I was just at 3 cm. Yeah! Leah had told me that they admit you at 3 cm. But...this doctor didn't want to do that just yet. Leah says it's because I wasn't in enough pain....ugh. Well, give me about 30 minutes and I was writhing in pain. Contractions hurt like crazy!

Finally my doctor arrived, checked me, and told me he was getting a room ready for me and the epidural was coming! Yeah! It took awhile to get to a room (that was torture) and once we were finally in there, it took awhile for the anesthesiologist to arrive. Also, the nurse who did my IV (I had tested positive for Group B Strep and needed meds) messed up the first IV in my left arm and had to redo it in my right - I hate needles! The epidural doctor finally arrived! Yeah! Man it was hard to sit still during contractions and not to react to the painful needle! But I did it. Brian got really woozy and had to sit down - silly boy.

Once the epidural was in and working I was perfectly happy. My baby would be here soon and I could just relax! We called my mom to check on Lydia and asked if my mom could come join us and bring Brian some food (that boy was hungry). By this time it's close to lunch (I told you they made me wait forever in triage and then it took forever to get a room). And the doctors are ready to deliver my baby. 

Unfortunately, I was progressing pretty slowly, but they couldn't give me pitocin because Gideon's heart rate was constantly dropping and the drug would stress him out. I definitely didn't want a C-section (had miraculously avoided that with Lydia), but also wanted a healthy baby. The nurses kept changing my position until we found that if I laid on my left side, the baby was happy. This, of course, caused my left leg to be extremely numb! Finally, at about 3:20/3:30, I was 10 cm dilated and ready to deliver!

Gideon Amadeus Pfeiffer arrived at 3:58, weighing in at a whopping 8 lbs 9 oz , and was 21.5 inches long! My long awaited miracle baby had arrived!

Because of my super numb left leg, we were stuck in the delivery room for a long while - we had to wait until I could walk by myself before they would move me to recovery. Brian and I enjoyed quiet time with sweet Gideon (even though he pooped on me...twice). He nursed right away and was the perfect, sweetest baby!

We were finally moved into the recovery room and I was ready to eat and relax and hold my precious boy. Brian's parents came down to see their new grandchild, and Lydia came in to meet her new brother! Brian went home with Lydia and his parents, and my mom stayed with me during the night. 

Despite the awful contractions (how do you mommas do it without drugs?!), the birth was pretty straight forward and easy. My recovery was super fast - I went to Lydia's preschool picnic that Friday! I am loving being a Mommy to two precious kiddos!

It Should Hover Much Better Now

What I'm Wearing Wednesday

I'd take a picture, but there is nothing special about what I'm wearing today. Just yoga pants and a t-shirt with my hair in a ponytail. Although I did just have my swimsuit on earlier....and my "work out" clothes even earlier than that. 

Today is a lazy, do laundry, swim in the pool, try to clean the house type of day. So, nothing special clothes-wise. Usually Wednesdays will be the day I go to work at the Preschool, so I will be wearing something nice, have makeup on, and my hair done. But for the last few weeks of summer, I probably won't be wearing anything nice. And I like it like that.

So instead of writing about clothes, I'll update about our summer so far...I guess a What We Did this Summer (there's a couple of w's in there) post.

Summer officially started for me at the end of April. I had my last preschool music class and my last piano lesson that week. Then I was ready for "maternity leave". And I was so thankful for that! I was so huge and so worn out I could barely get Lydia to preschool on time. I was very thankful for a chance to just relax and enjoy my last few weeks of pregnancy. With Lydia, I worked up until the day she was born (of course she came two weeks early). And then I went back to work a week later! This time around, I was much more relaxed before Gideon's arrival and very relaxed after his arrival. Maybe that's why he's such a chill baby.

Summer started for Brian the day Gideon was born. I went into labor early Tuesday morning and had Gideon by Tuesday afternoon. Brian went into school a couple of times and for the last three days, but was home the rest of the time with us. He had no commitments this summer and has been an awesome help. Lydia was born on the last day of school for Brian. Then, he got a call from the middle school principal asking for an interview. He was hired and then had to go to training most of June. He barely got to enjoy Lydia as a newborn. This time around has been so much better!

Summer started for Lydia on May 22nd - the last day of preschool. Her spring semester of Preschool was really hard on her. She was overly anxious about me going into labor and leaving her to go to the hospital. She never wanted to leave my side - ever. Once I stopped going to work, Lydia had an even harder time at preschool. She cried at every drop off and often during the day. I am so blessed that the teachers are so loving and understanding! Lydia had tummy troubles, got sick, and was constantly worried up until Gideon was born. After his birth and my hospital stay, she was great! No more tummy problems and no more anxiety. Plus, I can leave her for a few hours without any tears! Yeah!

Our vacation this summer was heading up to Wisconsin to visit family. Flying would have been way too expensive for us, so we chose to drive. That's about 24 hours in the car with a 5-year old and a 5-week old! Actually perfect ages for a long drive. Gideon was still sleeping all the time, so he was really good during the drive. Lydia was old enough to understand that we'd be driving for a long while and to just rest and relax. The last 4 hours of our trip were the hardest on the kiddos, though. They were just ready to get out of the car! Brian did an awesome job driving the whole way (except for an hour where I let him sleep).

Our first stop was actually in Minnesota to visit Brian's aunt and uncle. We stayed there three days and Lydia had a blast. We got to walk around Mall of America - which was so cool. Lydia even rode a roller coaster in the mall (she was amazed!). The weather was beautiful and we spent most of our time outside. Then we made the 4 hour drive to Stevens Point, Wisconsin to visit Brian's grandma. The drive went really smoothly and the weather was perfect.

Lydia met Great-Grandma Pfeiffer and Great-Grandpa Pfeiffer back when she was almost 13 months old. She was really excited to see Great-Grandma (or who she sometimes called Uncle-Grandma). We stayed in Grandma's assisted living apartment and had a blast. Brian's whole family (his parents, sisters and brother-in-law) were also visiting at the same time. We stayed there for four days. The weather was perfect for playing outside all day long. We visited a cheese factory, swam in a local creek, and played on the playgrounds a lot. 

We left Wisconsin late Thursday night and made it to Oklahoma City by lunch time. We decided to stay in a hotel this time, as the drive was so long for the kids and Brian. Lydia loved being in a hotel and we swam in the pool all afternoon. We had an early night and woke up early to head out. We were back home by 4:00 Saturday afternoon.

After Wisconsin, we have gone to Six Flags many times. Lydia loves the water park and could spend all day there. This year Lydia is tall enough (a little over 42 inches) to ride the Roadrunner Express and the Tony Hawk roller coasters. And she loves them. She loves the wave pool and the lazy river in the water park. And we went down one of the big slides - so fun!

We also went up to visit Brian's parents for a few days while I had a preschool conference. Gideon tagged along with me in the K'Tan (he did awesome) while Lydia and Daddy hung out at the creek and the pool.

Lydia goes to my parent's back yard pool almost every day. She is an awesome swimmer! She took swim lessons for six days this summer and has started swimming under the water! I huge accomplishment! I love watching her swim and jump in from the side. Daddy and Best Buddy are working on an extension to the pool deck for the kiddos to jump off of.

Leah and I have been walking most mornings during the week. The girls join us on their bikes for the first mile, and then we push the boys in their strollers for two more miles. Since Brian's home, he watches the girls for us. Gideon has recently decided he doesn't like the stroller, so will cry for about a mile before giving up or going to sleep.

There are only a few more weeks until school starts and I am so not ready! I still want to go to Six Flags, the new splash pad, get a pedicure, go school supply shopping, and we have a trip to Guadalupe State Park to make. I'm not ready for summer to end! Only one more day of piano lessons, then Brian's back to work the next week, and then the week after that it's time for school! Crazy how time flies!

How Long Before This Kills Me? I Am Not in Control of My Extremities

Tip Tuesday: Summer Piano Lessons

I just finished updating and emailing my Fall Semester Piano Lesson Policies to all my students. I currently have 25 (possibly 26) students coming in the Fall! Amazing! To think that in the Fall of 2011 I started with about 6 students! My schedule is quite busy for the Fall. I have lessons Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 4:00 to 6:30, plus home-schooled kiddos in the mornings on Thursday and Friday.
I am so thankful for the opportunity to work and stay at home at the same time! I started piano lessons when Lydia was about 15 months old. I usually sent her off to Leah's house during lesson times until Brian came home and picked her up. But, by about 2 1/2 she was able to stay home with me during lessons (usually). She was good at napping for the first hour to two hours of lessons, and then either Brian was home or she would watch a show in her room. She has always been welcome to come out in the front room and be with me, as long as she is quiet. 

This will be a big transition having an infant during piano lessons. Thankfully my sister and mom live really close by so Gideon will be able to head over to their houses for a little bit before Brian gets home from work. Brian has grad school on Mondays, which is why I don't have piano lessons then. He will tutor his student on Wednesdays - another day with no piano lessons. All the other days he will be home by about 5:00. Lydia is home from school at about 3:00, I start piano lessons at 4:00, Brian is home at 5:00 and I am done at 6:30. Somehow we will work in dinner (I will have to get really creative with crockpot meals!).

Anyway, on to Tip Tuesday! This Tuesday I will write about how I plan for Summer Piano Lessons and how I go about teaching during the summer.

Growing up, I rarely took piano lessons in the summer due to us traveling. We were either moving, just arriving, or visiting family during the summer. I'm sure there were a few summers (especially when I was an advanced student) that I took. I do remember one summer in New York when my mom forgot me at lessons! I knew going into piano lessons that my student numbers in the summer would drop drastically than during the school year. I have always had a few students during the summer, which is just some extra money for us.

I have always limited my summer lessons down to ONE DAY a week. This way, I was done with lessons in one day (since I could teach from morning to evening) and could plan other fun activities the rest of the week. I believe my summer lessons have always been on a Monday and usually start around 10:00 in the morning and go until 6:00 in the evening (with a lunch break).

The only problem I ever had with teaching lessons over the summer was the money. For the first 3 years of teaching, I only charged for a lesson if the students came to that lesson. They would pay for each lesson of the month at the first of the month. If they missed a lesson, I would "roll-over" that payment to the next month. This worked out okay during the school year, but was really bad during the summer. Something always came up over the summer - summer camps, vacations, not wanting to come, etc. Last summer I think one month I had so many roll overs I barely made any money!

So, I changed my policies - partly because I was going into my 4th year and needed a change, and partly because of summer lessons. I now charge by the semester. I figure out how many weeks are in the semester, multiply that by the lesson price, and then divide that by the number of months in the semester. There are three semesters in my piano year - Summer, Fall and Spring. That way, I make the same amount of money each month despite holidays and missed lessons. I still do make-up lessons when I can. I have found that families are more committed to lessons when they have already paid for them. This really worked great this summer.

This summer I had eight piano students. Because of the Baby, I decided to set my schedule up with one hour breaks every hour. This ended up being my schedule:

10:30-11:00 (group lesson)

12:30-2:00 (a family of three)

3:00-3:30

5:00-6:00

Plus, I got paid the same amount each month by each student. This really helps with budgeting and knowing what I will be making over the summer. At the end of the Spring Semester, when I emailed about Summer lessons, I emphasized the importance of coming to each lesson and to only commit if they knew they would be there. This helped "weed" out the students who vacationed a lot, or just wanted a break from lessons for the Summer.

I definitely recommend a set price for each month during the semesters, with no roll-over lessons. This really makes parents and students commit and see me as a professional with an actual job/business (not just a hobby). I also recommend limiting the number of days during the summer. When I tell the parents I am only available on Mondays, that limits the spots. Why let them pick and choose the days they want over the summer? I don't want to have two students one day, one the next and three another. That would be annoying with planning outings and activities with family.

You Has Me for Companion on the Ship

It's been awhile. I stopped blogging for a number of reasons. But now I want to start again - mainly because I enjoyed looking back to see what life was like with Lydia. Now I have another little baby to blog about and keep up with. It's fun going back and think about how things used to be. All the things that I was worried about or excited about. And, I always liked blogging and reading other people's blogs. So here we go...again.

Meal Planning Monday

We started out the summer going to HEB on Tuesdays. Then it changed to Mondays. And then it changed to Sundays. And now we're back to Tuesdays. But, when the school year starts, I will most likely change it back to Mondays. So, Meal Planning Mondays will begin. 

I did my meal plan yesterday, as I thought we'd have time to go to HEB today, despite piano lessons. But, Brian had an early morning training until 9:30 (and he got home at 10:15) and piano lessons started at 10:30. And it takes Brian a long (long, long) time to shop at HEB, so he wouldn't have had time to go in between lesson times. So, no HEB. It's a good thing we have three meals that roll-over to this week from last week. There were several times last week we either went out to eat (like on my birthday) or ate at my mom's house.

When I plan meals, I usually only plan five. I will plan more if there is a special occasion or someone is coming to visit.  We almost always eat out on Thursday nights, as that is Grandkid Night at my parent's house. And more than likely we will eat out on Sundays and there will be left overs for another meal. It has worked well this way for a long, long time.

Here are the five meals for the week - in no particular order: (they will be linked to their recipes)

1. Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

This will be paired with some fruit. We had this recipe two weeks ago and Brian loved it. It really is quite delicious. I didn't include the quinoa, as that's really expensive and not particularly my favorite thing. We've been trying "healthy" meals, and this was very good. Instead of using a tortilla to wrap it up, you use a lettuce leaf. This was not a favorite of Lydia - she didn't even want to try it. I didn't make her eat the chicken as the buffalo sauce was a little spicy.

2. Sour Cream Enchiladas

This will be paired with brown rice, a salad and some fruit. We haven't tried this recipe yet, but it looks pretty tasty. I am always a fan of enchiladas. And hopefully Lydia will like them, too.

3. Skinny Chicken BaCado Casserole

This will be paired with salad and a fruit. We actually had this recipe tonight. It was pretty good. Because it's "healthy" there really wasn't a sauce (and I am a big fan of sauces). It was really easy to put together and pretty tasty. Brian didn't pick up any turkey bacon, so there was no bacon in the casserole (which is fine by me). The avocado was kind of weird on top of the casserole, but other than that it was pretty good. I added cheese to mine, but Brian didn't like that (don't know why). Lydia loved the chicken in it, but not the pasta so much (she's not a huge fan of wheat pasta). I will definitely make this again, though.

4. Something to Grill

Brian doesn't know what he wants to grill yet, but he wants to grill. This may cause a problem when it's me who is going to HEB tomorrow....hmmm...will have to get him to go back to get something that he wants. He knows he wants to pair it with corn on the cob and beans.

5. Teriyaki Chicken with Vegetables

Paired with brown rice and fruit. We had this recipe two weeks ago (one of my first "healthy" recipes). It was really good! Brian loved it. Lydia liked the chicken, of course. I ended up buying already made teriyaki sauce, as that was easier (and cheaper). Very yummy!

Now it's time for Music Monday! 

I will post music videos of songs that (1) mean something to me, (2) I'm really into this week, (3) are funny or cute. I love music and always try to listen to it whenever I can. I love listening to Pandora stations while cleaning the house or working on the computer. I love listening to AirOne (or is it Air1?) on the radio in the car (when I'm allowed to - most of the time we listen to the Frozen soundtrack or Lydia's made up songs). I'm always singing a song (my go-to song of choice is Do You Hear the People Sing? from Les Miz) to my kids or to myself. And I love that that has rubbed off on Lydia. She will make up songs and sing while swinging or sitting in the car. She will even perform them for us! Love it!

This weeks song is Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) by Hillsong United. Here is a brief story of why I came to love this song:

Brian and I tried for two years to get pregnant with our second child. After about 6 months of trying, I started getting upset every month when I learned I wasn't pregnant. We started using Ovulation Prediction Kits (OPKs), I started keeping track of all my "symptoms" on a get-pregnant-fast app on my phone. We went to see my doctor after a year of trying. He recommended Brian getting tested and then me. Brian's first semen analysis didn't look too good, so he had a second and it looked great. I had an HSG (where they look at my ovaries to make sure no tubes are blocked) and everything looked good. I had tons of blood work. It came back that my TSH level was too high (not good for getting pregnant) and indicated that I may eventually have Hypothyroidism. One of the main symptoms of Hypothyroidism is infertility. That, plus Brian's irregular semen quality and my irregular ovulation equals a very, very hard time at getting pregnant. So, we decided to start fertility treatment, and got into a medical study where we got a free IUI. And voila (praise God), we were pregnant! After two years of trying.

All this to say, music really helped me through my journey of infertility. The weeks and months were hard. I would be mad, then sad, then apathetic. This was one of the songs that helped me through. I started hearing it on the radio all the time. It made me cry. It made me hopeful. It made me trust God.

Here's an awesome story about why this song really touched my heart and life. I went to a preschool conference last year in Austin. The verse for that conference was Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Wow. That verse alone spoke to me. God had plans for me! Not plans to harm me (not give me a child), but plans to give me hope. I needed to hear that verse...and I heard it almost the moment I walked through the door. See, my period had come super early (like 15-20 days early)....and I had gotten it the morning I woke up to go to this conference. God knew I needed that verse that morning. He also knew I needed this song. And this was one of the first songs the awesome singers sang at opening worship. It took all that was in me to not cry in front of everyone. Wow! This song will always be special to me. When I listen to it now, I am filled with faith and hope and love. I know that God led me through a tough time and I made it through. I came out stronger (I hope) and braver and wiser and more faith-filled.

I have two miracle children and I will never, ever, ever, stop thanking God for them.

Some standout lyrics:

My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior

You Dress A Lot Better, That's For Sure

(Lydia's been watching High School Musical 2 over and over and over...had to quote it this month.)

Day 9: What's In Your Bag/Wallet

-old silver wallet that doesn't really hold much except for my car insurance...
-preschool work badge
-a flyer for a Noonday Collection Lunch (back in October....)
-small red wallet that holds everything
-car insurance
-small notebook with a pig on it
-recipe for 8 Can Taco Soup
-tissues
-checkbook
-notes from the last Mentoring Moms meeting about disciplining your children
-compact mirror
-receipt for preschool registration
-a brown marker
-a comb
-Lydia's mittens
-snacks for Lydia
-random pieces of paper

We've been pretty busy this past week or so. Lydia had her Valentine's Day Party at Bibleland on Tuesday and had a good time with the Monkey class. Leah and my Giraffe class also had a lot of fun - even though I forgot to bring the cute pictures we had made for the parents! Thursday, Leah had a gathering of several mommies and babies at her house, which was a lot of fun, if a little crazy. Friday, Lydia had her Valentine's Day Party at Preschool, which was a lot of fun. I also finally cleaned the entire house that morning.

Friday  night we were going to go out to Olive Garden with Lydia (her first "fancy" restaurant"). She picked out her dress and wore her new Cinderella heels (and took her baby), but the wait time was over an hour. We decided to go to Red Robin instead. It was an early night for us, as we were all tired that evening. Good thing too, as Lydia woke us up at 1:00, having thrown up in bed!

I slept on her floor all night, waking up again at 3:00 when she thew up again. I also woke up to all of her little noises, ready to clean up or rush her to the bathroom. She did wake up around 5:30, but it was because her throat was hurting. Despite hardly sleeping, Lydia still woke up by 7:30 this morning! We had a birthday party to go to in New Braunfels, but cancelled as Lydia wasn't feeling well. I went back to bed after giving Lydia the iPad and she let us sleep until about 9:45, thankfully!

Brian went to HEB for me while I folded laundry and kept Lydia company. She did throw up a bit again sometimes before noon, but hasn't since then. She has been complaining that her throat hurts, though. I hear the sickness may be going around - a 24-hour stomach bug thing. Brian took some Peptobismol, which will hopefully prevent him from getting sick. I'm pretty good at staying healthy (knock on wood).

The weather has finally gotten warm and will stay that way for awhile now! Yeah! When Lydia gets up from her nap I will try taking her out on a walk to get her some fresh air. Maybe tomorrow, if everyone is feeling good, we can do something fun together as a family.

This Just Got A Lot More Complicated

So, I'm not good at blogging everyday...but I am good at typing! Leah sent me a typing test and I scored 121 wpm with only 3 mistakes my very first time! Boo-ya! The average is 30 wpm and "professional" is 50-80 wpm. Yeah, I'm way beyond that. Of course, the next few times I did it, I got just a little over 100 or just under...beginners luck.

Today I slept in too long (I was up late watching Out of Time - so good!) and got to HEB late. After (finally) getting out of bed, I got Lydia breakfast and put on a show while I cleaned the front of the house. Then I made the grocery list, looked through coupons, and got Lydia dressed. We didn't head off for HEB until 11:00 - when I usually like to go between 9:30 and 10:00! After HEB we headed over to Leah's house to decorate cookies with Adah. Leah found a simple icing recipe (with grape Jello) that the girls used brushes (as in paint brushes - cleaned, of course) to put on the cookies - very cool! And they enjoyed doing it! When we have our mom and kid's Valentine's Party, we will have the kids "paint" cookies!

Lydia went down for a nap around 2:00, but woke up before 4:00...ugh. I had piano lessons from 3:00 to 6:00 and then we sent Lydia down to my parent's house for her weekly dinner and play with them. Brian and I headed out to Olive Garden (we had gift cards) and enjoyed a simple date night for my half birthday! That's right - I'm 27 1/2 now! Wow!

I have a lot of catching up to do - 3 days worth!

Day 6: What Are You Afraid Of

More like, what am I not afraid of?! I have always had a mild fear of clowns - ugh, they're just so creepy looking! I don't like walking around in the dark - I always turn on lights as I go, or carry my phone as a flash light. I don't like the deep end of pools or swimming in water where I can't see the bottom (i.e. the ocean). I'm afraid of big bugs, snakes, big dogs, anything that may bite me, etc. I am mostly afraid of actual things that could hurt me...no real phobias, though. 

I really, really don't like have my head under a pillow. The other week when I was suffering from a bad migraine, Brian thought to put a pillow over my head to block out the light. That totally freaked me out! My oldest brother, Jay, used to do that to me when I was little - and hold the pillow over my head for a long time. Still freaks me out to this day!

Day 7: Your 5 Favorite Songs

Hmm...let's see if I can think of five...

1. Let it Go from Frozen - totally stuck in my head and I like playing it on the piano

2. Worn by Tenth Avenue North

3. I Can See the Light from Tangled

4. Amazing Grace, the original hymn (especially sung by Charlotte Church)

5. Colored Kisses by Danny Kaye - because that is Lydia's favorite song (she calls it Daddy's Kisses) and I love singing it to her at night

Day 8: 5 Current Goals

1. To get pregnant soon and give Lydia a sibling

2. Loose some weight...hard to do when I don't like to exercise

3. Keep the house decently clean

4. Finish a whole load of laundry in one day - takes a lot of effort for me

5. Read x many books this year (haven't decided on how many, but I want to read a lot this year)

I'm Guessing You Don't Have Much Experience With Heat

Today was an "easy" piano day. Two of my morning students were unable to make it, so Lydia and I got to hang out together. She loves to pretend that she is the piano teacher and I'm the student. I've recently started trying to teach her a few things about the piano, but she is not too keen on being a student - she just wants to be the teacher, so I think that will have to wait. After she helped me put away laundry and put some laundry in the washer (she really likes doing this...maybe she'll be the laundry-doer soon), I decided to do a messy activity with her.

I put some water into four different containers and then made each container a different color. I put a towel down under Lydia's little table and then laid out several bowls and pans and spoons. Then I let Lydia play with the water. She loved scooping the water out of the containers and mixing the colors. She pretended to make pies and just had fun moving the water from one container to another. Thankfully, Lydia is pretty neat when it comes to "messy" activities - she doesn't try to spread the water everywhere and I when told her to keep the water over the table and towel, she obeyed. This kept her busy for quite some time.

Then we had lunch and I let Lydia pick out a movie before nap time to calm down. She chose The Sound of Music...and I promise you, she sat there and watched it! She even asked questions about what was going on or made comments about what she saw. She told me, "I like to watch your movies." Yeah! A fellow old-musical-movie-lover!

This afternoon I only had one piano student, so Lydia and I had more time together. It was too cold to go outside, so we snuggled on the couch and watched more of The Sound of Music. Tomorrow it's supposed to be cold and rainy...don't know if we'll be working at Bibleland or not. Brian is hoping to just have a delayed start - if he has another "snow day", he won't get Memorial Day off!

Day 5: Your Proudest Moment

I have had several "proudest moments" in my 27 years. The first would be making a speech at my high school graduation as the salutatorian. There may have only been 33 students in my graduating class, but at least I was number 2! Graduating from college was a pretty proud moment - I didn't go to my graduation, but I still got the diploma in the mail! And of course, the best moment of my life that I'm pretty proud of is when I became a Mommy and got to hold Lydia in my arms for the first time. It's a pretty great achievement!

The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway

(I cannot get the song "Let it Go" from Frozen out of my head! Unfortunately, I don't know all the words...but the words I do know, I sing very loudly around the house...at random times throughout the day.)

Already failed in my 30 Day Challenge...oh well. Yesterday, Leah and I went to Kid to Kid (a kid's consignment store) right when it opened at 9:00 in the morning to shop for cowboy boots! On day a year, the store puts all their boots out for everyone to buy up...since it's almost Rodeo time in San Antonio! Leah and I wanted to get the girls a new pair of boots. Adah wears Lydia's old pink boots from two years ago everywhere...Lydia doesn't have any cowboy boots, but loves the boots that she does have (a black pair and a purple pair).

It wasn't too crowded when we got there, but there didn't seem to be very many boots out. We quickly realized that the other customers had just grabbed as many boots as they could and were sitting around the store getting their kids to try them on. The longer we walked around, the more boots appeared back on the shelves. Just when we were giving up in finding the right sizes (8s for Adah and 9s for Lydia), we found an undiscovered shelf of boots! I found the perfect pair for Lydia and Leah managed to grab a good pair for Adah. Yeah! And I found a super cute button up cowgirl shirt for Lydia to wear to Rodeo Day at Preschool! She is all set for Rodeo Day and Fiesta!

Saturday night we had the Carabajals and Katie over for some chicken pot pie (that was delicious) and Rock Band! Lydia loves playing Rock Band but wasn't too keen on sharing the microphone or the drums. We let the girls stay up until past 10! Lydia still managed to wake up around 7:00 this morning, but we convinced her to go back to sleep until 8:00.

Today was a very lazy day, unfortunately, since it was beautiful outside - 70 degrees! We slept in, had breakfast and lazed around then finally got ready and headed out for a walk to the Corner Store (the Family Dollar). I found Lydia a pair of pink slip on shoes for only $5, plus finally picked up a dish holder to dry dishes on our counter, as we are no longer using our dishwasher. After the walk, all three of us took naps until almost 5:00! It was a nice three day weekend (snow day on Friday) and I'm not ready to head back to work yet tomorrow.

Day 3: Your Favorite Quote

My favorite quote for along time has come from one of my favorite books, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. It is when Jane is young and sad (of course) and doesn't think that anyone likes her. But, the maid, Bessie, is out walking with her and wants a kiss from Jane because she does, in fact, like Jane. And it ends with Jane saying, "Even for me life had its gleams of sunshine."

and I'll do Day 4: Your Dream Job

My dream job has always been to be a stay at home mommy with nothing to do but stay home and take care of the my children and the house. And to volunteer at BSF, like my mom, go on play dates with friends, and manage to keep the house as clean as I would like it. One day, that dream will come true.

But, despite that being my dream, I really, really do love what I do now. I have managed to make working a couple of part time jobs work for our family - most of my week is spent with Lydia. I teach piano three days a week (Lydia's home with me), teach at Bibleland once a week (Lydia goes with me), and teach at Preschool once a week (Lydia goes with me). We are rarely apart, which I love. I am her main source of love and education and attention. Just like I wanted it to be.

One day I'll be able to stay home and just enjoy my children (and hopefully keep my house clean), but it doesn't have to be one day soon.