Fall

So I'm not too good at keeping up with this site :( There are so many things I want to be doing right now. I love putting my creativity, however, when life gets crazy, there's no room/time for creative juices to flow. I guess I will have to wait until New Years to make this a resolution. Right now the most I can do is work on my Christmas cards. No envelopes this year, too stressful!!

On another note, here's a pic of Colin's latest endeavor. He was eating an apple the other day and when he found a seed inside he decided to plant an apple tree. He is eager for it's arrival. I had to tell him he might have to wait awhile!! (I'll keep youupdated on the progress!!

Back to school

This is my first year teaching! I am so excited/nervous about the challenges ahead of me. I cannot wait to get know each one of my students, and hopefully make some sort of impact on their lives. I will be teaching first grade at Sunnybrae Elementary. I love working there and am so excited because I just found out I have been moved up in my status toward a permanent teaching position in the district....woohoo!!

Summer's coming to an end...

I slept in until 11 am today. I think my body is rebelling against the idea of going back to work next week! I'm not sure I've slept that ate since I was in college! We've had an awesome summer though. Having Jeff and I both teach makes summer's extra special for the three of us! Here's some shots of our summer adventures!

June Already

I can't believe it is already JUNE!! We are so booked up this month, but I am SO excited.  Hopefully I will be able to update my blog with pix of Liz's graduation from Seattle Pacific, Claire's wedding in Texas and my brother's wedding in CT/MA! But here's the most recent pic of my little man!

Happy Birthday Bear!

So Colin turned 3 today! I cannot believe how time flies.  I can remember so much of the last three years and nine months so vividly, it's unreal.  I cannot say it has all been easy thus far, but there is nothing more rewarding in life mommyhood! 

My parents and my oldest brother Brandon are here from the east coast to help celebrate Colin's third year with us.  Tonight we went to Colin's Auntie Nanny's house for a party.  It was so much fun, and there were so many presents for our little bear.  Perhaps a bit overwhelming :) He had a blast, I will have to post some pics tomorrow when I am not so tired!

I survived my first week of kindergarten!

So I have officially completed one week of teaching kindergarten. My kids are really cute, but the prep work is gonna kill me! Before I started this job I swore I would never teach kindergarten. After week one I love it and can see myself doing it for awhile! Isn't life funny?!

So I must document my "funny Colin incident of the week!" The other day I ordered pizza for dinner and when the pizza delivery man knocked on the door Colin's ear perked up and he says, "The PIZZA MAN!!!" and when I opened the door he says, "I love you!" The pizza man didn't know what to do but laugh :)

My little kindergartener...

So Colin is really into reading books when he gets home, about 5 at a time, which as teachers, mommy and daddy love! He is making it clear to us though, that just because he is reading books, he does not want to go to bed! We always read books before he goes to bed so this idea of reading any other time throws him off.  He just wants me to know that it is not bedtime yet! 

In kindergarten, one of the CA state standards is that children can recognize the front and back covers and the author and illustrator.  I know he will not be testing for kindergarten for another two years, but I just like to keep him sharp, you know?! So I always tell him, "Colin, the author of this book is [insert author's name], that means he/she wrote the book." So yesterday while I was reading him I Promise I'll Find You (one of my new faves!!) I said this is the author, and he replied nonchalantly, "that means they wrote the book." What a proud mommy moment!!

Counting down the days!

As of next week I will be taking on a long term substituting position in a kindergarten class.  I am very excited but twice as nervous! I think this will be a great experience not to mention a big foot in the door of education! Do you remember your kindergarten days? They are some pretty wild times :)

How come my team always loses?!

Okay, first you have the undefeated Patriots going to the Superbowl, no big surprise. The surprise only comes when they lose to the underdog! Next I go the Warriors to see them get slaughtered by the Celtics, once again I am disappointed. For someone who has never truly cared about professional sports, I am starting to get really bummed about my winningest teams losing, but only when I'm actually watching (what does that say to you!!??) Oh well, there's still a better chance of the Celtics going to the playoffs than the Warriors!

Tut tut...looks like rain!

So much for our beautiful blue skies, grey is the color of the day.  At least the gloom waited until the long weekend was over! Colin is back at daycare this week and I am subbing these next two weeks until I start my long term sub position in kindergarten! I am very excited, but a little more nervous than anything! Well, I'm off to pick up Colin! Rain rain go away, come back another day!!!

Another beautiful day!

One might think spring has come early here in the bay area, but I am not fooled, I know we are not out off the cold just yet! But I will enjoy it as long as it's here! Today Colin & I went to the park with our friend Molli and her mommy Lisa (I was Molli's Gymboree teacher!).  We had a great time, such a great time that the play date continued on to our house for lunch.  We really enjoy our outings with Molli and Lisa and we can't wait until the sun stays out longer so we can go to the park on Wednesday nights again!

Just another day in the bay!

Today we went on an "adventure!" Jeff has been known to take his little family on weekend excursions, and we like to tell Colin that we are going on an adventure. Our travels took us into Golden Gate Park. We finally made it into the conservatory to see the beautiful flowers. It was really awesome. Afterwards we explored the park which took us to an art fair, a huge children's park, and Pluto's, one of our favorite restaurants. Colin barely made it home awake but when we got home he refused to sleep! Finally, after about an hour of pleading he finally succumbed to slumber!

Happy Valentines Day!!!

Colin was excited to open his Valentines gifts from Grandma Colusa! He didn't even throw the clothes this time. Each article he opened he held up and said, "Oh, cute!" He even held up his socks, "Oh, SOCKS!" In case you cannot read it, his shirts says: I enjoy ice cream, insightful cartoons and long walks in the playground.

Oh how I have missed scrapbooking!!

So I finally got back to scrapbooking today. 

Daddy took Colin to play outside at his 

cousins house for awhile, giving me time to

indulge in my favorite hobby! Unfortunately 

I made a HUGE mess and it took me almost three 

hours to complete!!

Here comes the sun!!

Finally the sun has returned.  Colin and I made it out of the house before noon today, quite the accomplishment! Today we went to see the new Veggie Tales movie.  It was super cute but Colin said it was too scary! Believe it or not, he loves pirates.  Afterwards we grabbed a bite to eat and came home.  Once home I recommended that Colin take a nap (which he rarely does for me!) but after a story and snuggling he fell asleep, snoring and all!

Rainy Day # 6...

...and that's just since we got back on Saturday! Not to mention last week! Colin and I made the best of it with train building, hiding under the covers, and watching cartoons. I have decided that I need to enjoy these days because they are few and far between, but most of all, so precious! Sometimes I just get so overwhelmed at how much I love my son. We play a game where I yell, "I love you!" and he yells it back and then we say, "I love you more," which he replies, even louder, "No, I love YOU more!!" My other favorite thing he said today, I said, "Your my best boy," and told me, "your my best girl." Those are the moments that melt your heart and remind you that there's no better job in the world than being a mommy.

Getting rid of the rainy day blues

Colin and I have been going a little crazy the past three days, feeling couped up in the rain. As a grown up I can enjoy a day inside, drinking hot cocoa, and curling up with a good book or watching a movie, but not COLIN! He needs the thrill of adventure, not easily found in our little apartment.
Today I finally decided to face the rainy day blues with a trip to our local indoor play place, SafariRun. This is a great place to go for indoor fun (and he's actually taking a nap today after playing there!!) especially when the bigger kids are still in school.
After a good hard work of me chasing Colin around the entire play structure, up ladders, down slides, and through narrow openings we decided to feed our hunger with an ever so nutritious lunch from McDonalds! So much for the calories burned!

My First BLOG

Okay, so first of all I know nothing about blogging!! But I just thought this looked like fun and I would like to be able to post pictures of the craziness that is our life! This way I don't feel nearly as responsible for sending out mass loads of Colin pictures around the country! So here goes! Happy reading!

PS Colin doesn't actually have three chins!