Pray...REALLY, REALLY hard!!

It is the time of year again where we check ODE job postings, daily (or hourly ;), looking for teaching jobs to open up.  Thankfully, because I got the job I have been wanting for over last 5 years last Spring, we are only looking for a job for Dan...Social Studies, preferably high school.  For those of you who aren't in education (or Ohio), Social Studies positions are rare.  And when one does open, if it doesn't get filled internally, there are literally 700-1,000 applicants for the position!  Almost 100% of the time they end up choosing someone who is also a coach...Dan is not a coach.  

There hadn't been any openings yet, but in the last few days two have posted!  One at Bexley HS and one at the HS in MY district where we graduated (teaching together in this district is our long-term goal because of the community and ministry opportunities!).  The one in my district was internal until today, but I decided it couldn't hurt if I emailed the HR guy and the HS principal.  I didn't expect to get a response at all and if I did, I expected it to be something like "we will take a look at his resume and call if we are interested".  To my surprise, the HR guy emailed me the same day!  He told me that the list for the position was a 'mile long and growing', but he would be willing to sit down and talk with Dan for a screening interview.  My district is a long shot, especially if the levy doesn't pass in May.  Not to mention, a screening interview doesn't really mean much...but it is more than probably 800 applicants will get... 

So if you could be praying that Dan will really knock their socks off next Tuesday to get a 'real' interview with the principal, that would be AWESOME!  Also, pray that Bexley will call him to set up an interview as well.  I guess, really just for the job search over the next few months in general! 

Unlike before, he has a teaching job currently so if he doesn't get a new one we will survive.  However, a new job means more time in the community, less stress and a pay raise.  Is it possible that I want this more than he does...

A Sprinkle of Pixie Dust...

It's no secret...I'm not a very good party planner.  I can come up with the ideas, but the follow through is just not there.  Even so, Hannah party turn out just fine.  The girls both had a lot of fun and happily ate their way into a sugar coma.  Alyssa was so cute opening helping Hannah open her presents.  She was taking them out of the bags and handing them to her one by one, explaining each of them to her.  Hannah thought it was great - and that the were all from Aly!  With each present she told Aly, 'kank kou'!  Here is a video and a 'few' of pictures I took...I will let them do the rest of the talking:

Hannah's Tinkerbell cake homemade by GG!

No fairy cake is complete without pixie dust, so GG let the girls put on the finishing touches!

Hannah was embarrassed by all the attention and singing...

Opening presents...Alyssa is such a great big sister!

My favorite one of the day...Happy Birthday Hannah!

Happy Birthday Hannah!

I can not believe that is is been 2 years since we saw Hannah's sweet face for the first time!  While I was pregnant with her, I couldn't understand how I could love another baby as much as I love Alyssa...now, I don't know what I would do without her in my life.  She has brought so much joy and laughter to our family.  Her personality is intense and she is as stubborn as they come, yet she is so smart and loves to snuggle.  Completely opposite from Alyssa, but loves her sister more than life!  I wouldn't change a single thing about her.  From her sweet 'I luh you!'s' and rosey checks to her pouty lip and utter silliness...I love every ounce of of this little girl!  

At her doctors appointment today she weighed 26.6 pounds (50%) and was 34 inches tall (75%).  Perfect proportions.  We talked about potty training and having the first aid kit handy for summer...especially for this one!!  By the way, did you know that super glue is the same formula as the Dermabond they use in hospitals for cuts?!?!?!  At $2, it is a fraction of the cost and no ER wait necessary!!  The doctor told me to buy a tube of it to keep handy...of course it is not for the face or knees and elbows, but I never thought I could super glue my daughter back together ;)  Other than that, she is as healthy as can be!

She is a great sleeper right now...not so good of an eater.  She loves her 'nummy' (milk) and anything with sugar in it.  She doesn't like meat at all, but she loves red bell peppers, cucumbers, green beans and most fruits.  I guess that is a good thing.  She loves reading books and doing arts and crafts with Aly.  She loves Caillou, Scooby Doo, Tinkerbell and all things 'Wincess' (princess).  She has a ton of words and adds to it daily.  She likes to be the center of attention...sound like anyone else to you???  She is totally active and is going to be our little athlete.  She can kick a ball with some serious power and accuracy for a two year old!  She loves going to Sunday school and wants to imitate everything Aly does.  This summer is going to be sooooo fun!

Hannah woke up at 6:15 this morning all ready to go.  By 8:30, she had watched "Snow White'", had popcorn for breakfast and asked to go to the mall.  She is two! Then,  I took Hannah to have her birthday pictures taken at Polaris.  She wasn't really cooperating so Aly, being the concerned big sister, jumped in and helped out.  The photographer actually got a great one of them together as well...was not expecting that!  We got lunch, had a quick play on the 'Jungle Germ' before heading to see Dr. Heiny (yes, that is his real name).

Tonight we are going to have a family dinner, chocolate cake with Cotton Candy ice cream from Coldstone and open presents.  We got her a soccer ball with a goal, a Tinkerbell beach towel, Leap Frog Tag Jr. and a giant Tinkerbell coloring book (from Alyssa)!  Now, I hear them waking up from their nap, so off I go...

  

A little reminiscing.  Here is Alyssa kissing Hannah for one of the first times...

 

Some of her shots from today:

 

These last two were my absolute favorites taken today.  The regional director of the portrait studios was there on a visit and agreed...she asked me to sign a photo release to allow them to use these two shots in the studio and in their catalogs for advertising!  Pretty cool!

We love you Hannah baby...attitude and all!!

Where is the Sugar?

Sometimes I forget how observant Alyssa is. She is always listening - even when you don't think she is! And her memory...that is a whole different story.  It is UNBELIEVABLE!

She has been sick lately with a fever, croupy cough and a cold. I took her in about a week and a half ago for an ear infection, but her ears where clear....then 5 days later we were back with a serious infection in her left ear. While we were with the doctor (ours was not in that afternoon so we saw another in the practice), he noticed some other symptoms that caused him a little bit of concern. He decided he wanted to do a urinalysis to rule out any other problems, specifically Diabetes.

As a side note, trying to get a urine sample out of a 4 year old is not exactly cake walk. She was so worried she wasn't going to get it in the cup and didn't want Daddy to watch. I just told her not to worry about it, that I would take care of everything. After several tries and lots of tears, I got a sample they could actually test. My hand was literally in the toilet water...trying not to knock her off the seat...and maintain my balance. Only as a mom...

Thankfully, her test came back PERFECT...no sugar at all in her urine!!  I told Dan and a few friends what the doctor had said, but never Alyssa directly.  Today, my mom told me that her and Alyssa had talked about it and Aly told her that the doctor said "she didn't have any sugar in her ear".  In her EAR!  Thank goodness!  I don't even know what that would've caused!!  I am so very thankful for my healthy, observant children!

Daddy's Turn

This is obviously rare and not often that I post anything.  I don't usually have time and I am not as gifted as Jenn at this.  By the way, side note, she is great at writing and definitely has a gift in case  you didn't notice.  Anyways, I just want the opportunity to let my girls know how much I love them and how incredible they are.  We have been really enjoying our time outside lately since the  snow has melted.  The first day we were out Aly was asleep so it was just Hannah, Jenn and myself.  Hannah was so cute because all she did for 10 minutes was run in circles and back and forth giggling.  Hannah has been so sweet lately.  She is always saying "tank oo" for everything (thank you in Hannah-eese).  I got to take a day off Wednesday and be with the girls so I took them to COSI.  The whole time Hannah would come up to me and say "I luhloo daddy"!  We had so much fun.  Every time I am with them or think of them I think about how good God is and how blessed I am.  I hope they will always know that!

Now to my big news!  Tonight Aly made a huge step toward big girl-hood.  This afternoon she told me I didn't have to sleep with her anymore.  She said she was bigger now and I didn't have to.  A little background info:  Ever since Aly was...well a baby, I have slept in her bed or until she fell asleep and then I leave.  She has always been such a bad sleeper and didn't like sleeping alone, which is fine with me because cuddling with her is so perfect.  I always read her a book and then watch her fall asleep.  Then I leave, only to return at about 2 in the morning when she comes to get me.  I have always loved doing this.  There is nothing like watching your baby girls sleep and getting to cuddle next to them.  Some nights it hard because I have school work to do, but for the other 99.8% of the time I love it.

Well, tonight she didn't want me to stay in there.  She said I could read her a book, pray and then leave so she could go to sleep by herself.  So I asked her why, mainly because I love to listen to her rationale and listening to her speak.  Her voice is so cute and she is smarter than I usually realize.  Her response was the best.  I asked her why she didn't want me to stay till she fell asleep and she said, "I figured it out".  I asked her what she figured out and she said, "That I am a bigger now".   She is so smart and so sweet.  I will miss those days, but knowing her they aren't over just yet...at least I hope.  However, she did fall asleep with out me tonight. I can't believe I get to be apart of these 2 amazing little girls lives.  Ok, I'm done for now.  Love you girls (for when you read this someday).  

Daddy

P.S. Hopefully she 'figures out' how to go potty in the middle of the night instead of a pull-up...

Craft-a-Palooza

This morning I decided I was going to go to JoAnn's to get some material for a few projects I wanted to do over spring break.  I had no intention of doing them today.  When I told Aly where I was going, she got so excited and said, "They have crafts there!!"  Of course, she wanted to go with me to pick one out.  Hannah stayed home and took a nap with Daddy and  we spent the afternoon running errands...which may or may not have included a stop at Starbucks for a Mocha Frappiccino and a juice box!  She brought her little purse and baby into every store we went into and told me how she was becoming a 'big girl'.  She is right, she is such little lady.  It is amazing how mature she is becoming!  We had a great time together today - just the two of us.  I know I am weird, but my best friends are 2 and 4 years old!!  

When we got home, we got to work.  The girls and I had a craft party while Dan watched the game with some friends.  They painted some fairies and a princess piggy bank (she started a 'Disney World' fund) and I made a slipcover for my camera strap and a pillow for each of the girls.  It was  a lot of fun.  I am so glad that they love to do crafty things!  We are going to have craft WEEKENDS when they are older!!  Here are some pictures:

Here is one of the frogs Aly painted...it is an abstract interpritation.

Here is the slip cover I made for my camera.  I am going to make a different one and add padding, now that I know what I am doing...hopefully the lens cap pocket will turn out a little better too.  I think it needs a button to keep it closed.  I will post pictures of their pillows and the story behind them when I get them done!!

 

I am sooooo glad I have two fun little girls to share my hobbies with!!

You're in Time Out!

This happened a few months ago, but I never wrote about it on here because we were so busy with the move.  Something reminded me of it yesterday so I had to share.  

The girls and I were playing down stairs and I went upstairs to get them clothes for the day.  When I came down, Hannah was sitting on the step crying and Aly had a visible attitude.  Here is how the conversation played out:

Me:  "What is wrong with Hannah?  Why is she crying?"

Alyssa:  "I put her in time out!"

Me [holding back a laughter AND tears]:  "Why...what did she do?"

Alyssa:  "She took my toy.  I am going to go talk to her now."

The funny thing is not that she put Hannah in time out...because that is not funny.  Alyssa and I had a little talk about who is in charge and who is allowed to discipline.  I told her only Mommy, Daddy and Grandma were allowed to punish them.   The funny thing is that Hannah went to the step and STAYED in time out!!!  These girls have some serious personalities!  The tween and teenage years should be really fun.

Aly has not put Hannah in a time out since.

100% Girl

You can't tell me there is no such thing as gender differences with young children!  Boys know how to 'be boys' and girls know how to 'be girls'. Period.  

After dinner we went on a walk (in the beautiful sunshine) and guess what...Alyssa and Hannah both insisted on wearing sparkly shoes and stylish sunglasses.  Not to mention they would NOT leave without each taking their baby doll and purse.  Aly's purse had her baby's bottle in it, but Hannah's was completely empty.  She didn't care.  She just knew she was supposed to bring it with her.  Oh how I wish I had taken a picture...   

She'll make a GREAT mommy someday...

This is one of those moments I was talking about here!

What Make Spirituality Christian?

I started this blog for the girls.  As much as I love to scrapbook, I just simply do not have the time right now.  I didn't want to miss out recording important milestones and memories in the girls' lives, so this blog was born.  I am in the process of editing the print copy of it for last year and as I am going through it, it is making me think a lot about our blog and what the girls will take from it when they are grown.  Someday they will be wives and mothers...in the exact same place I am now.  Then I thought, "How can I use this blog now to relate to them, encourage them and help them through what they will probably be doing 20-30 years from now?"

So, I have decided to put myself, as a mom...and not just the narrator, into this blog every once in a while.  Just some stuff I am learning and how I am trying to become a balanced wife, mom, teacher, daughter, friend and follower of Jesus.   If you don't care or don't want to hear my ramblings...sorry, I'm going to do it anyway ;)  And maybe some other people can relate with me along the way... 

With that being said, here is what I have been learning lately.  We haven't been able to go to church for the last two weekends because of the YL 40th Anniversary Celebration and the girls being sick, but our senior pastor's (Rich Nathan) last sermon has really stuck with me.  He was addressing the fact that not all spirituality is Christian and what marks a spiritually Christian person.  He made two points that have really spoke to me:

• We are Cross-Shaped People-  
• We continually try to 'pay off' what was already 'paid in full' by Jesus with the cross.
• The way we deal with our children (giving in, over-indulging,  lack of discipline, etc.) is a result of the lack of confidence we have from unhealed guilt.  OMG!  That is so me...I always tend to give in or do things I wouldn't normally do because I feel guilty about being a working mom!!  He went on to say that the guilt must be taken to the cross in order to gain confidence.  I am still working on this one...
•  We are Carried People-
• He told the story of Charles Blondin, a famous tightrope walker who did several stunts on a tightrope over Niagara Falls.  His greatest stunt was carrying a man across the Falls on his back. On a tightrope. Are you serious?!?!?  Rich then asked, "What would've happened if the man stopped him halfway across and said, 'Thanks, but I will take it from here'?" Yikes! Then he went on to say we, as Christians, do this all the time.  We want to take control.  The problem is that we don't know what we are doing....

No wonder I am so stressed out all of the time!  I am in the middle of a tightrope...by myself and completely UN-balanced.  I am not a tightrope walker.  Not to mention I am terrified of heights!  Thankfully, by the grace of God, Jesus is a tightrope walker and he wants to carry me across.  Sometimes I let him, but - more often than not - I decide I can do it better or faster and jump out of his arms. There is my struggle...learning to let myself be carried by the One who knows how to make it across.  I am still, and probably always will be, working on this one too...

'Lil Picasso

Alyssa told us she learned how to draw people in school last week.  She has been drawing portraits of everyone we know.  She drew a picture of our family that was really cute, but it was in yellow colored pencil so it would scan.  However, this is her drawing of Snow White... 

Pretty good for almost 4!  Looks like I need to finish that 'Art Gallery" in their playroom asap!

Lip 'Surgery'

You know that little piece of skin that connects your upper lip to your gums??  For most people, it connects to the upper part of your gums...for Hannah in connected right between her front teeth. It was forcing her teeth apart and I think part of the reason for her lisp.  I have heard other people talk about their children having a 'surgery' to 'snip' that and I was going to talk to Dr. Heiny about it at her two-year appointment...turns out I won't have to.  Hannah took care of it herself.  She was at my mom's and all I gathered is something about the pantry and a can of Spaghetti-O's.  I don't know the whole story, but I think she tripped with the can...problem solved. 

There was a lot of blood and she had a fat lip, but my mom said she didn't cry for very long.   It is a good thing I wasn't there...it makes my stomach turn just thinking about it.  Doesn't really surprise me though...of course it happened to Hannah!! At least it will be healed in time for her birthday pictures...

What's New Scooby Doo??

I don't really like Scooby Doo...at all.  But, ever since the girls saw him at COSI on New Year's Day they have been obsessed with the show.  Hannah in particular.  I don't really understand why, because she can not possibly understand the complex story line unfolding in each episode.  Never the less, she is constantly asking for 'sooby'!  

Both of them are utterly ridiculous about it.  I am NOT exaggerating!  I will have to get a video of it...they have the theme song memorized.  It's pathetic. I know.  It is kind of catchy though.  I would much rather be watching Blue's Clues or Dora (not Caillou though - Dan and I really don't like him)!  At least those shows have a little educational value.. 

I already miss the days of Higglytown and Nick Jr...and we will probably even miss the days of 'sooby' [someday].  But right now, if I have to 'solve that mystery' one more time - I might scream!