The Next Big Thing Vol 3

Anyone who has spent more than 10 minutes with me knows that I think big. Big plans, big ideas. I'm changing the world from reorganizing the pantry to developing a state wide curriculum for teenage drivers- all inside of my head. It isn't uncommon for me to try and get John to agree to our next vacation destination during takeoff of our current trip. I like big projects and changing things up. There is always at least one or two "Next Big Things" on the horizon at our house. The list of things to do always is longer than the time we actually have to accomplish things. Which is why John is such a perfect fit for me. I am the crazy one who wanted to install a bathroom in our unfinished basement. I was ready to turn off the water and start busting up the concrete when the voice of reason came through. In his quiet way, John recommended researching (gasp!) and not cutting pipes until we had a better plan in place. With my pushing to accomplish and his pushing for perfection it makes for a interesting tug-o-war dynamic at our house from time to time.

This isn't one of those times. John and I have talked through the remaining pieces of the basement finishing and hope to be done by the end of January 2009. With one project coming to a close, how could I resist the temptation to look towards the future? And, we have agreed upon what the next project will be. But, I'm not going to tell you what it is quite yet. I am going to take some pictures over the next week or so and see if you can guess what we are going to do next! Here is your first two clues:

Clue #1: See the Prego Sauce hiding in there?
Clue #2: Don't you see the bun in the oven? You can't see the one in my uterus yet either...

The Next Big Thing Vol 2

I've been quiet this week. There is a lot going on, but it isn't really anything new. This is a post that has brewing for quite some time, only I wasn't sure how to tackle it because it is so big. This was the first week of school here in Missouri and it is hard on me to not go back. This is only the second year that I haven't gone "back to school" since I was 5 years old. Old habits die hard. I miss the kids, I miss my coworkers, I miss the smell of the freshly waxed floors in the hallway, I miss the books and the crazy questions eighth graders think to ask. Earlier this year, I had a post called The Next Big Thing. The Next Big Thing is sort of a family joke around our house. But, that was an important day because that was the day that I resigned my teaching contract with the school district. It was a very difficult decision for me and for us as a family. I didn't write about the specifics that day because I was feeling pretty fragile about my decision and I wasn't sure where I was going next. I haven't even really discussed it with anyone in person either unless they specifically asked about it.

I've been waiting to write about it until I was feeling more comfortable- but I haven't. I had even decided that I wasn't going to write about it here at all. But, this poignant first week of school and the accompanying writer's block have forced the issue. So, I'm not going to say much more. I do have big plans and ideas about what I want to do next. Some things are in the works and many things haven't worked out. I may talk about it here, I may not. We'll have to see how things go.

Now, with that out of the way, I can maybe get out several of the other posts brewing around in my head.

More swimming, zoo

I have swimming pictures and some zoo pictures to share from this weekend. But, I have a new book that I am almost done reading and I'm tired. Check back later...\

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Well, it is later, much later. This week I have been hard pressed to pull myself away from the couch anytime that William is sleeping or stay up past 11pm. I finally figured that I need to get caught up because we close to a week behind and I'm not feeling any more energetic (trying to go without the a/c for a few days will do that to a girl. All I want is to lay on the couch and sweat). Photos from Thursday's swimming lesson with daddy (I figured I need to get these up before tomorrow's lesson! Ack! A week behind!)

At the beginning of the lesson, the kids all have a free play time to splash and play in the water with toys. William spends most of this time trying to empty the entire bucket of toys into the water or taking toys away from kids who are much much younger than him.

Then it is time to practice kicking. We do laps on our bellies and on our backs.

So far, William hasn't been interested in the kicking part much. That was until he figured out how much fun to was to splash his daddy.Jumping off the wall to daddy

Swimming with a smile on
Sliding off the big water slide to daddy
Look how happy the boys are together!
Amazing clouds - look to the right of the stoplight. Half of the entire sky is clouded over.
Cutie carrying around all of his cars
With summer coming to a close, we had to push in a trip to the St Louis Zoo this last weekend. We got there early (totally recommend that) so it wasn't crowded or too hot yet.

The penguin exhibit is amazing - they are so close. William loved watching them and would have stayed in the enclosure for a long time if it wasn't kept so cold in there! Here he is making his "Oooooh!!" face

Mesmerized by the splashing birds
We enjoyed some swimming seals here with Daddy

We caught peeks at a few other animals (seals, birds, monkeys, fish, etc). William also liked watching the other kids a lot!
Walking up the big hill
Watching the monkeys play with daddy

In all, we had a great trip to the zoo and I think we may even try it again before it gets to be cold around here. We even figured out the children's zoo thing (free! before 9am!) for next time. William was WAY better than I thought he would be about being strapped into his stroller and even tried out a few new words: "Look" and "C'mon". Very cute, very fun!

Swimming Time!

My list of things I wanted to do this summer wasn't long.

1. Plant vegetables in our garden (completed) and eat them fresh (still waiting)
2. Sign up William for baby swimming lessons (in progress)
3. Take William to the outdoor swimming pool with kid play area.
4. Take William to the St Louis Zoo
5.Go on a family trip together (completed x2)

Two weeks ago I realized the summer was more than half way over and we needed to get with the program if I wanted to get done the few things left on the list. So, we signed William up for the swimming classes and Tuesday was our first session. The goal of the sessions we signed up for are to get kids comfortable in the water and have a good time. We have struggled on and off with some water issues and I thought this would be a great way to have fun together and hopefully increase his confidence/comfort in the water. So, here are the pictures!

Mama got in the water for the first session. Dada was the photographer - they are going to be taking turns. Dada is getting in on Thursday. Here we are practicing our kicking - I'm supposed to be hanging on to the board and kicking my feet. I was more interested in trying to drink the water and making boat noises. Mama is doing all the work of holding me up.

More kicking time.

Then they had us sit on the edge of the pool and jump in the water to our Mamas and Dadas. Mama was sure I wouldn't do it because as recently as July, I wouldn't willingly jump into the water for any reason. Imagine her surprise when I did it right away! Splash!

I am the only one in my class of 3 that was brave enough to do it (I'm also the oldest in the class by about 6 months)!I got so brave, I didn't even need to look and see where Mama was - I just jumped right in! Look how hard I am laughing!

Here is our little group. We're singing the "Wheels on the Bus" song together and splashing in the water. After singing, we got to go down the yellow slide (about 3 feet of it or less) with the help of our teacher. I loved it and wanted to do it over and over and over again. Mama kept on saying things like "It's not your turn....give the other kids a chance." I wasn't having any of it. I wiggled and squirmed in her arms until I got what I wanted.

In the background you can see the super fun kids play area for little ones. It sprays water (it is turned off during class time) and has a slide to play on. We went last week to play on the slide so I would be comfortable with the pool. Maybe too comfortable though....as soon as we walked into the play area, I would not sit still because I wanted to get in the water. I did not want to wait!

Swimming with Mama is fun! I'm sure next week we'll be covering the big stuff like diving and the backstroke. They just don't want to scare off the babies during the first lesson! Watch for pictures of me and dada this weekend!

Just Keeping Up

This eighteen month stuff is exhausting. We are going going going going going at a rate faster than the speed of.....well, a seventeen month old. However, it is also delightful and funny and exciting and amazing to be a part of it. Here is a taste of what we've been up to:

Experimenting with playdoh for the first time. He likes to roll small balls of it around on the table. What he likes more is to attempt to put it into his mouth and watch my reaction.
Mama playing with camera. William intensely studying playdoh.
Cuteness
Mashing it up
Mama's sculpting talent. Clockwise we have (obviously!) a chicken, a bunny and a fish. I definitely missed my calling...
Squishin'
Investigating
Testing
All done! So far, our playdoh sessions (2 so far) have lasted longer than 15 minutes each. That is AMAZING!
Last week we had our yearly visit with our vet for both of our cats. William got a kick out of the cat carrier. We finally had to put it away so he would leave it alone. The report from the vet was good. Both cats are healthy and have lost weight again (each about half of a pound) this year. I wonder why? The vet actually asked us what we thought the cause was behind the weight loss. Both John and I just pointed at William (he came with to the appointment, not in the carrier). Now that he is mobile, the cats have a lot more physical work to do to avoid him.
A big shout out to our favorite neighbor, Amy who handed William down this Elmo shirt. We had a hard time getting it off of him at bedtime!
In and out. In and out. In and out. The cat carrier was worth at least half of an hour of entertainment.

How to Charm Thy Mother

1. Flip through the current issue of People magazine. Stop on a page with a makeup advertisement featuring a young woman with flawless skin and amazing hair. She is of course fantastically beautiful. Point to the picture of the woman and look at your mama. Wait until she looks and then ask "Mama?"

2. Pull a book out of the stack in the living room. Wriggle your way onto your mama's lap and thrust the book into her hands. Politely demand "More!". After she reads you the book, demand "Again!". Repeat 32948239478269 times.

So, What did you do with all your time?

While we were away, John was busy working away both at work and on our house. It is difficult for us to find chunks of time throughout the day to do biggest projects like painting a room or installing ceramic tile when William is helping us out. The basement still isn't safe enough for his to be wandering around without being closely supervised. So, John took full advantage of this huge amount of time to accomplish some things around the house. He had a list the length of my arm and was also working overtime at work. Here are some pictures of what he got done:

Crown molding installed, baseboard installed! This project is DONE!
Baseboard for the basement is painted, ready to be put up.
Our new elliptical machine is set up, ready to go!
Bathroom counter top is installed. Faucet and drain are both installed (but not working yet!). Toilet seat/cover are installed.
The bedroom closet is sanded and primed - ready for paint!
Started hanging shelves in the basement to try and organize some of our mess.
Like this
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After I got home, I installed all the trim for the recessed lighting. That was a lot of trimming!
We also painted the downstairs bedroom together last weekend - progress is being made all the time! On the agenda for this weekend: Attempt #2 at tiling the entry way and fixing the drain in the bathroom. If all goes well, we start installing baseboads (but don't count on it).