First Day of MDO/Preschool

Jon started Mother's Day Out/Preschool yesterday! I only cried a little bit as I walked out of the building. The director was standing out there greeting parents, and she assured me that Jon would be okay and I could call later in the day if I needed to. I told her I wasn't worried about him, I knew he would have fun. It's just another one of those steps closer to growing up. Jonathan reminds me that Jon will leave one day, and I try to tell him that I'm not going to bar the door or anything. I don't want to be one of those parents who never wants her kids to be out on their own, but I do think it's okay to get a little sad about your baby getting bigger.

He - of course - had a great time, ate all his lunch (the teachers wrote in bold, underlined script that I need to pack more for him to eat), got very dirty (why did I send him in a white shirt?), took his nap, and didn't hit/bite/push anyone (yay!).

And I think I got a great picture for his senior yearbook : ) (...sniff, sniff)

Last month of summer

While it feels like we had a pretty laid back summer, the past few weeks have been busy! We were trying to fit in lots of stuff before Jonathan went back to work and Jon started preschool, and there were also fun events to attend. Here is a brief look at what's been up with us!


G-Ma & Papa D Visit:
Jonathan's parents came in town for a long weekend, and we had tons of fun! We played in the river, went to the outlets (yes, it is a tourist attraction here!), visited Gruene (a cute village with Hill Country antique stores), visited Austin, ate lots of good Central Texas food, and played around our apartment. We miss you, and can't wait to see you in November!

Walking to our favorite Mexican restaurant for some tacos!

Looking at the fish and turtles at Aquarena Springs with G-Ma. When Jon is older we'll go out onto Spring Lake in the glass-bottom boats to see the water coming up out of the aquifer.

Had to make a burger stop at Centerpoint Station!
They make homemade potato chips, and Jon got his first taste.

First ER visit:

Right after church one Sunday, Jon was running around and face-planted on the tile floor. We thought he was okay, but after brushing his bangs back, we saw a huge goose-egg! So, newbie parents that we are, we took him to the ER to make sure he was okay. He was fine - no concussion - and he did amazingly well while waiting for the doctor. (With the help of Sesame Street on Jonathan's iPhone)

Time for a 'big boy' bed?
We've introduced a pillow at naptime and bedtime. Jon seems to like it. Since he is sleeping on a nap mat at preschool, we are considering converting his crib to a toddler bed and seeing how he does...


Trip to Cedar Hill/Denton for Scott's graduation:
My brother graduated from the University of North Texas this month, and Jon and I were able to make it to the celebration! Since Jonathan had to work, he stayed in San Marcos with the car, and Jon and I took the train.

Waiting for the train in San Marcos

Enjoying the view - doesn't he look so big!!

Playing on the hammock at Grammie & Gramps' house.
He is signing "more" for Gramps to keep pushing him.

At the graduation ceremony
(Gramps/Dad in background, Aunt Katie holding Jon, Aunt Peajay in front)

Playing 9-ball pool (or whatever it is called) after the ceremony. My dad and grandparents went home with Jon, while Scott, Peajay, Katie, Navy Scott (Both my brother and brother-in-law are named Scott), my mom, and Peajay's mom went out to a bar to celebrate and play pool. I don't know that the rules of 9-ball pool are very fair. I won two games when I did significantly worse than my opponent...I just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

The day after graduation, my parents hosted a party for Scott. It was fun to see a lot of old friends and meet some of Scott & Peajay's new friends! Here are my grandparents enjoying the unseasonably cool August day on the back porch.

Waiting for the train in Dallas on Sunday.

Enjoying the view from the observation car. We saw lots of cows : )

Finally napping!

That was our whirlwind end of the summer! The fall is going to be pretty busy as well, with school, a wedding in Memphis over Labor Day weekend, Jonathan's sister's wedding in November, and everything in between : )

My toddler's taste in music

I must admit, I don't play a lot of music for Jon. We mostly have NPR and podcasts going during the day, because I need to hear other adults talking ; ) I have learned that he likes classical music and opera. Yes, he likes opera music. He will stop and look in awe at my iPhone when opera comes on.

I learned today he's not a fan of rock, or I suppose alternative rock. I was listening to "All Songs Considered," NPR's music podcast. The songs featured had a rock feel, and Jon kept going over to my iPhone, docked on the kitchen counter, and would hit the 'next' button on my playlist. He did it twice, and now is playing happily while we listen to the news.

Maybe he'll come around to rock music one day : )

Stress, Disappointment, Anger and Sadness

I thought I would be completely honest in the title of this blog so that those who don't want to read about it don't have to!

Stress: Looking at houses is stressful! I realize this is a 'buyers market,' but I have lost more sleep over this whole house buying thing than I have for anything. But the stress is short lived, because...

Disappointment: What we thought was going to be a long term (and I mean long term...we considered the possibility of sending Jon to this school when he reaches 7th grade) job for Jonathan at a private school here in San Marcos looks like it will only be for one year, because...

Anger: The school board of old, white men has decided that men with long hair are unfit to teach Jr. High and Sr. High students. And yes, they just expected Jonathan to cut his hair because they told him to. (He isn't). Which leads me to...

Sadness: My husband is the sweetest guy I know, and he has worked soooooo hard to be a good teacher, and I feel like he just keeps hitting ridiculous road blocks. I am just sad that he now has to start the job search process all over again, for the third time in three years.

If I didn't have faith that God has what is best for us in his plan, I would be taking this much worse than I am right now. I recognize that I am so upset because life is not going according to my plan - the way I want things to be. Yes, I want a house for the stability, equity, creativity, and vanity that comes with owning my own home. Yes, I want my husband to have a long term, stable job where he can teach kids mathematics. Yes, I want my son to follow directions (I know that has nothing to do with this post, but the 'terrible twos' have come early to our home). Jonathan reminded me today that there are no perfect houses, perfect jobs, or perfect children! I suppose this lesson in faith and contentment is one I still need to learn.

Back in the game!

I ran a 5k this morning in North Austin to support a local foster care/adoption agency (www.familylinkkids.com)! Since it was an hour away and at 8 a.m., Jonathan and Jon stayed at home in bed and I headed out at 6:30 by myself. It was a mid-sized race with a lot of very energetic supporters. I actually recognized a guy from San Marcos there - he is one of the elite runners sponsored by our local running store, so I don't actually know him, but I recognized him from the group runs. I didn't stick around for the race results, but my guess is that he placed. My goal for the race was to finish it without walking and to enjoy myself! I haven't actually run 3 miles straight since sometime in early May because I am a complete pansy when it comes to running in the heat!! I took a few mini breaks to grab water at the water stations, and overall I was pleased with myself. Not my best, but not my worst 5k. I ran the first two miles at the same pace, and was looking forward to finishing the last mile a little faster, but as I rounded the turn that took us into mile 3, I saw a long, steady, ridiculous incline ahead of me. Pretty much the last mile was uphill...and I kind of bonked. Someone in a walker probably could have passed me at how slow I was jogging up that hill. In the back of my head, I told myself, "Just keep running, just keep running, just keep running" a la Dory in Finding Nemo. When I finished, I dumped a bottle of water over my head, and it was the most glorious feeling in the world!

Now I need to motivate myself to get up at 6 a.m. three times a week to run in my neighborhood and build my base back up for Fall half marathon training. I think I might be able to do it, since the past few months have been full of motivating myself to do things: do the dishes every night, help Jon pick up his toys before nap and before dinner ever day, generally keep my apartment in better shape, go to the gym four times a week, and eat more reasonable food. About six weeks ago after talking with a friend on the phone, I realized that I needed to quit talking about all of the stuff I wished I was better at, and just do it. Just take responsibility and do it. Since that mentality has helped me in other areas of my life, I think it should work with running too.

Mom/Grammie visit

My mom (known to Jon as Grammie) came in for a quick visit from Thursday through Saturday. We had a great, relaxing time, although I did not take ANY pictures!! Jonathan caught one of Jon playing in Grammie's 'floaty' while I was getting ready to go down to the river.

Note that our idea of 'childproofing' is covering things Jon shouldn't get into with various sheets!

We had a lot of fun at the river - Jon was much more adventurous, and wanted to go into the parts that are too deep for him. That's where Grammie's floaty came in very handy! She and Jon also played a game of 'up/down,' which Jon loves because he can say "up" and "down." We left when cloud cover and a bit of a breeze were making us chilly and turning Jon's bottom lip blue. Who knew that could happen when it was 100 degrees outside?

Thursday afternoon, we just chilled while Jon napped, and then Mom and I went to a friend's house for sangria and hang-out time with new friends. Thankfully my mom didn't mind hanging out with a bunch of 30 somethings who talked about their toddlers!

On Friday, we brought out the sewing machine for a bit of a tutorial and a project.

I sewed a bit when I was little - making doll clothes and helping my mom make stuff for me. The last project I attempted was quilted pillows in college, and I failed miserably. I begged my mother for a sewing machine a few years ago when I switched jobs and thought I would have more time on my hands. Hah! At Youth Villages, you never have time on your hands : ) Then when I became a stay-at-home-mom, I was too afraid of the machine to try it out on my own. But with my mom here to guide me, I successfully made the world's simplest seersucker romper for Jon. Seriously, it took a combined total of about 3 hours to make - world's most simple romper. My mom brought a pattern straight from the 70s that she had used for my sister, brother and me. Below is Jon modeling his new outfit.







He wore it with a simple white onesie to church today, and I thought he looked great : ) It is also nice and cool, and very easy to move around in. Maybe I'll try to be brave and make a couple more in different colors.

Thanks, Mom, for the fun visit and helping me overcome my fear of my sewing machine!

Cooling off

Last week when the walls were closing in of our little (but air conditioned) apartment, we slathered on sunscreen, changed into swimsuits, grabbed Jon's life jacket, and headed to the river. The San Marcos River begins on the Texas State campus as a spring, so it is very clean, very clear water. Due to our drought, there are sections of the river shallow enough for Jon to walk around in, with the water hitting at about his waist. Although I, along with all of Central Texas, would really love some rain, it was really fun to let Jon run around in the river. There were a lot of other families with little kids at the river, and a few dogs, so we had a lot of fun! My mom is coming for a visit this week, and we're planning a trip down to the river again on Thursday.

We had a picnic in the park by the river on Saturday, and watched all of the toobers going by. The weekend is not a good time to actually get in the river, because all of the 'out of towners' are here en mass, taking up precious water real estate, but pumping funds into our local economy : ) Tubing and outlet shopping: that's what people come to San Marcos for!