New Year.

Yet another year has completely flown by.
I've been a little MIA lately...this past year has not been much for writing for me. Not that there isn't much to write about, I just haven't made the time. (Tsk, tsk, tsk.)

Monday, the kid and I return to school (and work). These last two weeks have been very enjoyable and also a bit boring at times. I'm actually looking forward to going back to work. You get back into the rhythm of working and then you get time off and it's not what you expect... But I shouldn't complain, I've gotten more than most have. :)

Christmas and New Year's was spent here at home, just the three of us. I love our little family holidays - no drama, no entertaining, no worries.


NYE started with dinner at the Bonefish Grill, thanks in part to my two lovely bosses who handed me a gift card a few weeks ago. I love that restaurant - their food is absolutely delicious! I had the Filet Mignon with a side of White Truffle Mac & Cheese - Oh..My...God! Divine!
We came back home to the Gigi's Cupcakes I had waiting for us and to watch the NYE specials on TV and enjoy some fresh Piña Coladas and Champagne. All in all, a good night bringing in the New Year. A very different and calm night compared to last year in Italy. :)

My Facebook post.

As far as New Year's resolutions go, I never really make them. But I have made a promise to myself and my family: I'm just not going to allow others' negativity, affect me. I am going to continue to live my life, happy. With those that want to be included in our life. And even though I never received the apologies I would have liked, I'm moving past it. I will make an effort to talk to these people and just move forward with all our lives.
As much as I've been hurt, or pushed aside, I will do what is right and just let it all go. Life is short. It's pointless to live with hate or hurt. So if you're still mad at me for whatever reason or if we haven't spoken in years...
It's done.

I thought it was over and then it came
back at 3 in the morning at 102°.

We had a little issue with the kid being sick for most of the first week at home. He ran a fever for the first few days, no other symptoms really. (I learned his 6 year molars were breaking skin when I was helping him floss, so I'm assuming that was the culprit.)
The second day it got a little too high for me so I had to throw him in the tub - he was not happy.
Christmas morning did not start off great but I got his fever down quickly and by the afternoon, he was all better. And then just
like it came on, it was gone.
It's always so strange when the kid gets sick (not sure I can even call this being "sick.") I'm thankful he has a strong immune system because I rarely have to deal with these circumstances.
This is the first time he's had an issue since last April.



For Christmas Eve dinner I made some traditional Pork Carnitas with a side of green beans and spanish rice (of course). We broke out the new dinnerware and the kid used his Snoopy Christmas Plate - as he does every year thanks to my best friend, Koren. :)
We pulled out the sofa bed and watched Christmas movies the rest of the night. <3
Our perfect family Christmas.

There's nothing like spending Christmas at home but like I always do, I miss my family and friends.
I have a new nephew to meet, hopefully one day soon.
Koren and I need to plan another trip or visit.
Mike and Mike need to make appearances as well. ;)
Or I need to make a trip over to them to also visit my favorite Savannah Trio.

2015 looks promising for all of us. Our marriage continues to grow. Our son is happy and healthy.
We look forward to all else God has in store for us.

Birthday Number 6!

Another year, another birthday! This past Sunday, my LiL Man celebrated his 6th year on Earth. :)
We had a great weekend in Atlanta with his Uncle Mike's! I can't thank them enough for driving the 4 hours over to spend a couple of days with us, especially for C.J. They really know how to spoil the kid.
We had a busy Saturday! First at Lego Land, then some shopping and dinner at Medieval Times.
The Hyatt made our stay memorable as well. The concierge was so sweet; he even gave the kid $10 as a birthday gift!

So I asked another round of questions and here are his answers:

20 Questions - Age 6

1. What's your favorite color? Green
2. What's your favorite toy? Cars
3. What's your favorite fruit? Strawberries
4. What's your favorite TV show? Ninja Turtles
5. What do you like to have for lunch? Pizza
6. What is your favorite outfit? PacMan T-shirt
7. What is your favorite game? Mario Bros
8. What is your favorite snack? Fruit Bars
9. What is your favorite animal? Dog
10. What is your favorite song? TMNT Song
11. What is your favorite book? Green Eggs and Ham
12. Who is your best friend? David
13. What is your favorite cereal? Honey Nut Cheerios
14. What do you like to play outside? With my Baseball
15. What is your favorite drink? Juice
16. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween
17. Who do you like to take with you to bed at night? Dave and Angry Bird
18. What do you like to have for breakfast? Eggo's
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Pancakes
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? I don't know.

Slight change from last year but still fun each time. :)

The Happening....

There is so much going on now!

Let's start with the kid.
Since our move, there's been so many changes it needs to stop. Seriously. LOL
He has his first loose tooth which immediately made me super emotional! It is the front left center tooth. He is so excited! Everyday he says it's moving more and more. :)
I had to go through his clothes again and remove all the stuff that is too small. He still had 5t clothes in his dresser and closet. hahaha Everything has to be size 6 now and his shoes are size 12. WOW!
And lastly he has outgrown his convertible carseat and is now only in a booster. He is about 45 pounds now and 3.75 feet.
Stop growing!!!

Then yesterday, I was able to complete a life dream of mine, for him anyway. I've always wanted to be able to place C.J. in a private school and yesterday I was able to complete registration. I even got him his uniforms already. I am so excited for him and am thankful that God has opened this door for us. I think this is going to be a great path.

Now the reason I was able to do this for him is that I got a job!
I will be the Health Room Assistant/Receptionist at St. Anne Pacelli Catholic School. I am so excited for this opportunity. I begin work on the 11th.
Everyone seems super nice. I've met a lot of employees this week when I went in to finish up my paperwork. I even met a coworkers' daughter whom I may use as a babysitter for C.J. !
Not only is this going to be great for me, but it works out perfectly with the kids school schedule cause I will only be at work while he is in class.
We will have the same days off which will make it even easier on Erick and I since we don't have to pay for after school care.

This is the job I've been waiting for.
God has blessed us.

Things are going so well for us, I pray they continue this way.

Erick's job is going well. He's moving forward in his position and hopefully by the start of next year will move up in tiers. (Pays and positions have 3 tiers each.)

Our only main concern right now is making friends. My poor kid has been asking to see his best friend David, who lives 4 hours away. :(
I feel so bad for him.
But thankfully the school year begins in a couple of weeks and hopefully he will make some friends quickly.

I'm bad at goodbyes.

So this past Friday was my last day at my job. And although it started out like any day, it didn't end that way.

You see in the 9 months I was there, I became very close to a few people, but one family in particular.  I began work, as their son, William was only 2 months old and had recently come in as well. I quickly began a texting and notification liaison between Megan and Justin for anything William related. :)
In the months to follow, William quickly became known as "my" baby. We truly bonded.
He would laugh and crawl to me (or walk, as he learned to do in my last month) as soon as I would walk in the door.
I would send texts and photos daily to Megan and Justin whenever possible just so they would know how our "Bub's" day was going. If he was in a good mood, feeling ill, or just needed extra cuddles, I would let them know.
It's been like this every day for 9 months.
And then Friday came around...

Bub usually didn't come in Fridays, so it was a nice surprise to see both Justin and Megan dropping off William.
I could tell Megan had been crying but I forced myself to keep it together.
They said, they wanted to drop William off with me for a few hours since it was my last day and then they handed me a gift. I gave them both hugs and told them how much I was going to miss them, especially William.
I opened their gift as they left and immediately began to cry. It was perfect! And their card - so very sweet.
I was left wishing I had said more. I immediately sent them a message to thank them.
After that, my tears would come and go throughout the day. The floodgates had been opened...

William was able to stay with me 'til about 2 in the afternoon when Megan returned for him. I could feel the knot in my throat start to form as I began to gather his things. I gave both him and Megan another big hug and thanked her again for the gift. And watched them leave for my last time.

I'm not socially awkward, I never have been, but I'm terrible at goodbyes. I never say what I truly mean to. I never get what I want to known, across. I'm always left with, "I should've said this..."

So for Megan and Justin and Bub:

Being able to care for William these last nine months has been a pleasure! I've seen him grow for only a short time and am truly saddened I will miss out on more. We've laughed and played so much together; I will not forget the time we've spent.

Being able to connect with someone so tiny can be difficult at times but he chose me from the start and I am honored. He made all my bad days, fun. He always put a smile on my face. And I sincerely missed him every Friday and weekend.
I will truly miss not seeing you all daily... You have become my family. And this is exactly how I feel, like I am leaving my family.

I'm thankful for social media, for text messages, and photos so I know we can keep in touch, although it won't be entirely the same.

I'm grateful for our friendship.

I know we will see each other again. So until then, I love you all.

xoxo - L

Let's play Catch Up!

So here's the skinny.... (Does anyone even say that anymore?)

Today's been a day of packing and cleaning - So much fun. And Sex and the City episodes.
Last night was spent cleaning my oven; My weekends are amazing guys! LOL

We have our new apartment in Columbus, GA. Erick came home Memorial weekend to pack a few things to take with him. We move officially, at the end of the month.
Yes, it is annoying to have to move, AGAIN, but I'm hoping this one will be it for a while. :) (Unless Italy calls)

My last day of work is the 20th. All of my babies have moved up and we've had 4 new ones enter. I'm just left with my bub, William and my squishy, Ava. I'm really going to miss them but I'm so thankful I've gained a friendship with their parents. I can keep in touch with all of them.

C.J. will be attending North Columbus Elementary in the fall. I can't believe we've hit the elementary years...
We've missed deadlines for private school, so we're thinking kinder at the public school for this year and then private next.

I'm planning on making a trip to Columbus on the 24th to spend a couple days before our big move, and get to see the city beforehand. So far I hear good things from Erick.

Don't have much else going on...same ol', same ol'. It's work, home, dishes, laundry, cleaning, and packing. :) It's glamorous, I know.

Hello!

Wow! I hadn't realized how long it's been since I was last on here!
Things have been pretty non-stop..
Between work, C.J. and Erick, my day is jam-packed. :)
I'm at home today because unfortunately I came down with the flu earlier this week. I'm doing much better, on my last 2 days of Tamiflu. Only dealing with a cough and some congestion.

My toe is there….
I had an appointment yesterday for another check up and now I need an MRI. Doc still doesn't like the way my toe is healing. There is still a lot of bruising and I cannot step on it without having pain.
The one good thing is that it is mobile again.
Still can't go run (which I am really not happy about) but maybe in a few weeks.
I had a couple other check ups yesterday but I'll get into those another day.

Work is work. Things have been a little upside down since my injury and other work related issues. But hopefully come Tuesday (we're off on Monday - YAY!) things will start to be in order again.
My babies are getting so big!! They are ALL mobile now.
I have walkers, crawlers, and rollers :) There is never a boring day.

My boys are great! C.J. is still growing and being his silly self. :)
He's been participating in gymnastics for the last month and is having a ball! He loves the tumbling and the trampolines.
We start soccer again at the end of the month as well. We're all excited!

Erick is helping out so much at home - thank God for him. I don't know how we could've gone through these last few weeks without him.
He's waiting to hear back from some jobs too but he's been great at home! Fixing our old stuff and getting new things together. <3
The 3 of us are spending all our time together which makes me super happy.
Life is the same :) for the most part, and I'm loving it.

My Job

I love my job! I really do. Granted I'm only going on two months of employment, but still, it's a nice feeling to actually enjoy where you head off to in the morning.
I've met some great people, and some not so much. (I try not to let those get to me.) But of course, what job doesn't come with it's downs…

My favorite part is that I get to see my kid throughout the day as well. Every once in a while, even for just a second, I see him. I know this is going to be extremely difficult come next fall, but for now I'm enjoying the heck out of it. ;)
I so love that all the kids know me as "C.J.'s Mom." And yell to me, every single one, every time they see me, "Hi, C.J.'s Mom!" It makes me laugh. They are slowly, coming around to Mrs. Laura.

C.J.'s best friend is David and he gives me kisses every time he sees me too. (He sees that I give C.J. kisses all the time so he thought he should get them too.) He also calls me Mama. <3
His parents are the nicest people too and we've even exchanged information to get the boys together on the weekends.

Things are going well. I'm exhausted, but I take that as a good sign.
I take an hour break Monday, Wednesday and Friday and 30 minutes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I run on my hour breaks, (I have a free gym membership so I take advantage) and make quick errands on the other days. Sometimes, I just head into the office and sit and chat with my directors, Candace and Sarah. It's a nice change from the room and good company.

My days tend to go by pretty quickly. I'm in by 8:30am and out by 4:30pm on most days.
My coworker, Britney, is the lead teacher, she arrives at 7am and there is usually one or two babies and their parents waiting.  By the time I arrive, there are 5. By 9am, all 10 babies have made their way.
Our schedules are pretty hectic, between feeding schedules, diaper changes (as needed or every 2 hours), unscheduled naps, stroller walks, park play, and lesson plans - our day is nonstop! We try to have as much fun as possible. We have rough days, after all we are dealing with infants, but for the most part things go well.

All our teachers our CDA certified and some have their Bachelor's in Early Childhood Education. C.J.'s Lead Teacher, Mrs. Sherri was a Kindergarten teacher at a private school a few years ago. We love her!! She is amazing and C.J. adores her.

Both of the centers directors are also wonderful leaders. They have an open-door policy and keep in constant contact. They were wonderful enough to accept C.J. into their school and even more generous to give me a job. They understand how important our home lives and our families are, and accommodate all of us as well as possible.

Since I am now the assistant, I am working on all my trainings online to meet state requirements. :)
Things are going well and I couldn't be happier.
This is definitely something great that is helping me get back into the workforce.