Thanksgiving

Well another Thanksgiving holiday has come and gone and I wonder where the time has gone. This particular year we had two turkey dinners. One of which on actual Thanksgiving at Aunt Sue's house. When we went there we were able to visit with the normal crowd, Aunt Sue, Uncle Bob, Grammie, Grampie, Aunt Kelli, Kara, Blake, and Kyle. This year we were visited by Aunt Barb and Uncle Dick as well. Sara absolutely loves when we all get together because she becomes the center of attention to everyone....everyone wants to play with her constantly, she can dictate what she wants or does not want, and she always enjoys playing with the dogs.

We also were able to celebrate a smaller turkey, Thanksgiving style dinner at Nancy and Jay's house on Sunday. Thanksgiving is the only holiday I feel that really limits you to only one night for celebrating rather than such like Christmas were you have pretty much the entire month or atleast the night before and the day of Christmas. At Nancy and Jay's Sara was able to see her Grandma, Poppop, Aunt Jill, and Uncle Scott. An additional place in which she is catered to by everyone and the center of the attention, so safe to say that Sara is enjoying her holidays thus far as many children do as well.

This holiday though we will take time to really think about what we have and what we do not have. Recently Dave's grandfather, who we lived with for about five years, has passed away. He was an amazing man who cherished spending time with his family and more specifically his great-granddaughter. He had recently decided to stop wanting to go to dialysis and was struggling with health issues that arise from that decision. He did pass peacefully in his sleep after having visits all day from family members. Dave truly loved his grandfather and took a great deal of care for his grandfather. We did many things within the house to keep an eye on him but Dave also went above and beyond by doing the small and large things for his grandfather without wanting or asking for a thing in return. We will definitely take time this holiday season to remember this wonderful man!

More to come and pictures as well!!

School Year is Off and Running

The school year is off and running and I knew I used to appreciate the work that teachers do but I truly appreciate the teaching position now more than ever. Oh boy is there a moment to breathe in this job! Between my crazy kid at home and my crazy group of kids at school I have my hands full and weighed down for that matter. I do not know what part I am more overwhelmed with...creating the lessons or actually performing them accureately as I envisioned them in my head after all the work of preparing them.

I am working with a brand new teacher to public schools. I am extremely thankful for that because I feel as though I am in the same boat as she is and that we are learning things and solving problems together. It has been a blessing! School has started off on a great note thus far. I am getting to know the kids, completing all necessary paperwork on time, and enjoying working with individuals in the schools. However I did already have a run in with the drama of teaching. Hoenestly I have never seen individuals more driven on drama and complete bs for lack of better terms than the individuals who sit in the teachers lounge and moan and complain. Everyone in that room has a comment about everything and everyone and I thought I was above that as well as avoiding it as much as possible until this past week I was dragged within it.

Basically I was made a mockery of a situation due mostly in part for being a newby and older teachers wanting to try and make me feel the pecking order. But thank goodness for the advice of a few colleagues as well as support from my mentor I survived the situation with my dignity in tack and my head held high. All in all it was a learning experience and a challenge that I had to overcome. I am rather proud of myself after all is said and done.

On a different note Sara is still her crazy self. We are trying really hard to get Sara to become comfortable with the potty. We try putting her on numerous times throughout the day just to get her to use to the process of it all however she is hating every bit of it. She is big now into telling everyone that "Sara no potty, no pee pee." She is trying to prove she is the boss...little does she know her Daddy has definitely different plans for her...hahaha! Updates soon!

Pictures of our Summer Fun

Vacationed Out

So we have made it on our second and final vacation of the summer...and it was a successful trip to say the least!!We headed out to Scottsdale, Arizona!! It is beautiful out there! The main reason we went there initially was because Dave had to attend Coldstone "school" as I refered to it with Sara whenever she cried that Daddy had to leave her. Coldstone as a company requires you to attend these marketing, sales, and basic business classes for those who bought into the business. I know it seems silly to think because Dave has already owned the two Coldstone stores for more than three years now but legally they finally caught up with him once he switched partners to his friend Ray and they realized neither of them have attended yet. Anyways Kelli, Sarah H, Sara, Dave, and I went out there and enjoyed the beautiful scenery and extremely hot hot weather. Kelli, Sara, and I did most of the sight seeing and exploring because the other two had classes all day long.

We went to the Phoenix Zoo, the Railroad Park, hung by the pool and shopped at the local shopping areas. Dave managed to sneak away one afternoon so we could go as just us as a family to the Phoenix hands-on science museum. We had a blast at every single thing we did and overall had a wonderful vacation!! I will definitely post some great and fun pictures as soon as I upload them. But now it is on to focusing on getting back into a routine and a schedule for September and school year!

Made it...First Vacation Leaving Sara home

Well our first vacation, Dave and I, without Sara. Sara stayed home with both sets of her grandparents. Dave and I had a wonderful time on our vacation to Vegas with my sister and her two friends. We went shopping, sight seeing, visited the Hoover Dam, and gambled (thankfully we did not loose our shirts and actually came out as winners) It was definitely difficult for me to leave Sara...don't get me wrong I knew she was well taken care of and was going to have a ton of fun with her grandparents but it was still hard for me to leave her because all I could think of was that she was going to wake up in the middle of the night in a panic and be looking for me and get upset. So a part of me did find it hard to not be a bit more sensitive to situations and comments but I had a wonderful, relaxing time on vacation non the less.

We are now looking forward to our trip to Arizona in a week. This trip Sara will be going on as well as Kelli and Sarah. It is a Coldstone related trip and we look forward to spending some quality time together. I can not wait!!

a little rant

okay so I know that this blog is meant for us as a family and that I hope that one day Sara will read it and realize even more how much her father and I loved and cared for her so I think that is why I am willing to type this next post....this I hope becomes something Sara can learn and not let run her life or break her heart like it has mine or many other girls I have known!!

I hope that Sara learns that she is going to come across some individuals in this world(specifically females) that will think that there lives are the only ones that matter and that they are the only individuals with issues or problems that matter and that Sara's own problems do not matter not do they care about them...I want them to know that those particular individuals who she comes acorss will end up not mattering in her life...they are not going to be life long loving friends and that eventually you will meet a wonderful friend and someone who cares not only about themselves but also you

those are the people that matter and it will be the hardest life test Sara will ever have to endure over and over again...I just hope that she can realize this type of person quickly and not have her feelings hurt over and over again because I have seen these people first hand and they are not people I want Sara to be associated with...she deserves so much better than them!!

Life as a girl and making friendships is much harder than males think and sometimes it is overexaggerated while other times it is an unavoidable heartbreak...I just wish nothing more than Sara to not have to go through that pain...she deserves better and will receive better treatment!!!


okay now I am done on my rant...thank you!

running and running and running

So as you know I have been training for running the half marathon in December in Las Vegas with my Uncle Dick and my two cousins Jaime and Brian. I would have always considered myself an atheltic individual. I mean granted I know I haven't played a sport in the longest times and only go to the gym maybe 3 or 4 days a week but I never realized how out of shape I am. I am following the schedule and plan from my friend Kerry and I am currently on the 3 and 4 mile week. First of all I did not realize actually how far 3 or 4 miles is and not only that but how much I time I have to think about things. It is really unbelievable!

So with all my time to think we have discussed and thought about putting Sara in a daycare program, for a few reasons. Dave is really trying to work more with having a new partner and wanting to reduce the amount of time for the kids (which in turn is our money in our pockets) but also for Sara to actually interact with children of her age group. As of now our friends that have children her age we do not get to see long or we do not know a lot of people her age. This will allow her for a couple of hours to interact with children and learn how to actually play along with kids rather than alongside. I think it is a great idea for Sara and a good opportunity for her however I keep thinking once I put her in school she is then going to be in school for the rest of her life. She will have to continue on in a preschool program and then she will move on to kindergarten. It is kind of scary in that aspect. But the better part of this experience is that with our schedules and the help of our parents we do not have to put her in full time nor do we have to put her in for full days on the days that she is going. She can attend it for just a few hours and gain enough exposure to other children. It will definately be a huge adjustment foor me though leaving her at a place without someone she knows. It is a bit scary!

If my mind is working in full mode already at only 3 to 4 miles I can only imagine when I reach the week of running 8 miles. Oh boy!! Keep you updated on the training! I will not give up though because everyone thinks I can not do this so I am going to make it my mission to do it!

Fourth of July Festivities

You know what they say....

Well it is exactly like they say...an idea sounds really great...they make it seem easy enough to contribute to and to keep up with yet they do not take into consideration how hectic and how busy one's life might be or become. So to all my loyal followers out there I apologize for my lack of updates and filling you in our latest craziness but time definately got away from me and I definitely put this on my back burner.

Here is the most recent update on everyone and everything:

Dave:
Dave is busy these days with adjusting to life with a new partner at Coldstone and with handling everything that comes with being a business owner, especially one of two different locations. Dave worked all winter long and when he wasn't doing that he was busy being the most amazing stay at home father to Sara. Thank goodness for being a business owner because his schedule became very flexible for us and was able to be home to watch Sara whenever we needed sitters. The two of them became very close and they spent many afternoons going on day trips to visit friends as well as learning the details of being a toddler. It was a learning experience for both Sara and her daddy!
Summer began and Dave is falling into his usual grind. He went on his local bowling trip with the guys to bowl in the large tournament. He thoroughly enjoys that trip with the guys and luckily this year he bowled rather well so he was able to make it a more worthwhile trip for himself. Dave is a bit upset with himself this summer over the lack of golf outings he has had but he realizes that being a daddy, running two stores, and the unpredictable weather we were having since June did not allow for many opportunities. I do believe though that Dave is enjoying his summer just the same even if he isn't golfing as much as he expected. Dave is currently looking into his next adventure next year with the bowling guys and booking that trip. He also is looking forward to August when he, Kelli, her two friends, and I go to Vegas for four days.

Sara:
I never knew a kid quite like Sara. She is rather advanced for her age physically since the beginning such as when she began sitting up, crawling, walking, climbing on to and out of things (specifically her crib) and she continues to be this summer with her swimming capabilities. This year she is wearing a swimming vest that resembles a full on bathing suit and she puts that on and never thinks twice about jumping into the water on her own, swimming from one end of the pool to the other or just being a fish out of water. She has so much energy that it is always beneficial for us to bring her to the beach or to her Grandma and Pop-pop's pool because she exhausts herself there.
We never thought of Sara as a rather larger child her age but recently my cousin Brian and Tara came with their kids. Their youngest daughter Kamry puts Sara to shame. Sara must out weigh Kamry (who is about 4 months older than Sara) by atleast 8 or 9 pounds. Sara is just solid rock! It is almost better that way because for instance as I type this she is trying to climb on top of the entertainment center to be closer to Woody and Buzz on the TV.
More updates with Sara include that we are looking into a daycare or a preschool type situation for her next year for like two days a week. This way our feeling was that she can interact with more children her own age. It has been awersome that she has been fortunate enough to not have to be in daycare at a few months of age and has gotten the time to spend with her grandparents and her father but we do not have many friends with children her age and she needs to start playing more in that social aspect. Hopefully it will all work itself out.

Lindsay:
Well I got a full time teaching position for the upcoming school year. I will be teaching fourth grade at Ocean Avenue Elementary in Middletown. I have never been so excited and so nervouse for something in a long time. I was hired into the position with another brand new teacher and a transfer from a different school. So there will be a group of us new teachers that are going to have the opportunity to work together but I am still nervous because now it is my time to prove I know what I am doing and have deserved this job for the longest time. I do look forward to this summer getting in the classroom and rearranging my room to how I see it working and to setting up units and work to fit how I want to teach.

Because I was so fortunate to find out about receiving this job before the end of the summer I have had the opportunity to enjoy this summer fully with Sara. We are making up for the limited time we spent together over the winter and spending every moment together. We have gone to the beach many times so far this summer. We went swimming in the pool and visiting with friends at playdates. I have also tried to schedule day trips for us to visit zoos or see different places. We have thoroughly enjoyed every part of it thus far. Don't get me wrong though I do still enjoy going to work at Outback for a couple hours because I can interact with adults and see how adults are living :)

All in all everyone is having a wonderful summer thus far! I will be updating pictures tomorrow of our time plus to show how much older Sara looks already.