I finally went to see a movie, and it was a good one!

Crystal and I went to see "Juno" on Saturday, and it was one of the better movies that I have seen in awhile. It is fresh and witty, with lots of good one-liners--but also pretty deep at the same time. It was nice to see a movie focus on the decision to KEEP a baby, and I found it interesting to watch the adoption couple in the movie now that I have Carson. I definitely know how it feels to really want a baby. Anyway, we had a great time!
My other project this weekend has been to figure out how ITunes works now that I have my spiffy 80 gb Ipod. ITunes is a little suspect to me because it tries to take over ALL my music--even the tracks that I don't want to add...so I am trying to take back control and store my music on the external drive instead. I WILL beat the "Man" (ITunes)!!! It's a New Year's Resolution.

So I was copying about 4000 songs to my external drive which takes some time. It had been working for about 2 hours when I took Carson in to check on things and had him sitting on my lap. He reached over in what seemed to be a lightning-fast move and unplugged my Ipod...which disconnected the copying. It was amazing how he found the ONLY thing that would have to make Mommy start all over again!! He was just holding the usb cord with a smile on his face. I've got a little McGyver on my hands. :)

Ahhhh...the memories.

Cowboy Day in U.S. History

This week in U.S. History we have been talking about the wild west--both about expansion and the demise of the Native Americans. Earlier this week my classes decided that Friday would be "Cowboy Dress-up Day" in class, and who am I to say no?? My favorite is definitely Cody, who actually MADE chaps to complete the look he was going for. The girls look good too, but those cowboy hats look more like Bret Michael (80's rock band--Poison). ha ha ha
Howdy Partner!

This picture does not do justice to Chelsea's belt buckle, unfortunately...

Teaching is going great--I am getting into a routine finally. I am up at 5:30 to feed Carson and pump some "lunch" for him later. Once I put him back to sleep, I shower and get ready for school. He gets up again at 6:45-7:00 a.m., and I get everything loaded up in the car and off we go. Carson spends Monday through Wednesday at Grandma & Grandpa Bedwell's house, so I take Carson with me to school on these days, and my Mom picks him up there. On Thursday and Friday, Grandma & Grandpa Lowe come over to our house and watch Carson. I have come home to FOLDED LAUNDRY that miraculously got done when I was gone!!

The only other difference in my routine is that I am still breastfeeding, so I pump at school during my lunch hour which was weird at first...but I'm over it.

Seriously--we realize how blessed we are to have such a great situation now that I have gone back to work. It is just hard for me to be away from my baby, so working part-time is going to be the BEST option next year.

Carson is already showing signs of advanced motor coordination after spending more time with Grandma Bedwell (not a surprise), and he just laughs and laughs when I get home after spending time with Grandma & Grandpa Lowe.

Hooray for the 3 day weekend!!! :)

Kids grow up fast--Carson is already driving!

Ha ha, but seriously--he loves this bouncy car with all the bells and whistles that sound at his command. :)
He is one happy kid!

I survived my first week back, and to be honest things got a lot better once I actually started teaching classes again. I really do like teaching high school students. If I could teach PART TIME it would be perfect!!

We are enjoying a lazy weekend. Mike is doing his physical therapy and doing better each day. He still has a few weeks before his knee will feel good enough that he actually is GLAD he did the surgery, but slowly and surely he is improving.

I took a wonderful nap today. I can tell that sleep will become even more valuable now that I am working!

Tomorrow--I am tackling my closet to try and figure out where all my clothes went when I got pregnant. I am having a "I have no clothes" moment, and I know that can't possibly be true. We'll find out tomorrow, I guess!

Back to School

I'm back at school, and it has been really fun to reconnect with my friends and colleagues. It is really hard to leave Carson, though. I am definitely going to look into going part-time next year.
I won't lie--I cried when I drove to work the first day. The good news is that I only FELT like crying today but didn't...

Carson is in heaven with his Grandparents, and I have to work. Not fair! :)

I teach 3 U.S. History classes, and 1 Psychology class. Tomorrow is the first day with students, so I'm sure it will be great to see everyone and hopefully it will make me feel better!

Carson's eyes are bigger than his stomach--literally

Well, the feeding adventure has slowed down a bit, as Carson's digestive system wasn't real thrilled with rice cereal. He LOVES to eat, but then feels really horrible. Most likely this means that his little tummy just isn't ready for solids just yet, so we put away the high chair for a week or two and will re-visit solid foods at a later date.

On a different note, I go back to work tomorrow. I will really miss being with Carson all day, but I'm sure I will get into a routine at some point that is manageable.

More will come on my return to school...

Look out World--Carson is eating SOLID FOOD!

On New Years Eve, Carson tried his first meal of rice cereal and let's just say that he definitely has a "knack" for eating in any capacity! He took to it right away, and actually had a sort-of rabid look of "feed me faster" combined with pure exhilaration. This kid is easy to please. :)
We aren't the most efficient team yet--it is a pretty messy experience. However, things are improving quite steadily, as he is having a breakfast and dinner of rice cereal that will graduate to baby food veggies this weekend.

Sometimes he is so excited for the impending spoon coming towards him, that he twitches at the last minute and I totally miss his mouth. Ah, the good times...

Could this kid be any cuter????

Concentrate...concentrate...

Got it! :)

Good times, and a big milestone to hit right before I go back to work next week.

We are so blessed to have this little guy in our family!!

New Years Resolutions

Happy New Year! Here is a list of things I would like to work on during the next year:

1) I want to lose 15 pounds. I have a short term goal of March, since Mike and I will be traveling to Jamaica for Chad and Crystal's wedding that month. We are both in the wedding, so it would be great if I could lose this last little bit of baby weight. You know, bathing suits and a bridesmaid dress...

2) Mike and I are going to be on the lookout all year long for jackets and winter apparel that we can buy for decent prices. We really want to bring a lot of jackets to the Denver Rescue Mission next Christmas for the homeless people that freeze outside. We have a goal of at least 25 jackets.

3) Create a playroom for Carson. This space could be in one of two places. We are thinking about turning the study into a playroom and moving the computer to the basement. We have started to finish the basement, so the playroom can either go there or in the study.

4) Figure out my work schedule so I can work part time next year. I want to spend as much time as I can with Carson, so I want to work less. :)

5) Organize the closets in this house! And more importantly have them STAY that way for more than a month!!

This is a do-able list, yes?? Let's get started!