Spring Break 2013

      Today is the last day of a 10-day-long break from school. I am sad to see it go. It has definitely had it's ups and downs. Our last week of school before break was a short week, but it was action packed. Rylee was having some issues and I had to leave school at 10 am on Tuesday to go get her and take her to the doctor to get things checked out. Then we had to go home and get ready for her school Easter party on Wednesday. She had a pretty good day Wednesday, ten we went out to dinner to celebrate Aunt Liz's birthday. We all had a good time. Then Rylee woke up at 3 am with yet another stomach virus. This makes 3 in 3 months. Since I had missed school Tuesday, Ryan had to call in to work Thursday to stay home with her. By the time I got home Thursday afternoon to start my Spring break, all I wanted to do was sleep! I had been up since 3 on top of us having Easter festivities at school and 18 hyped up 6/7-year-olds ready for Spring Break. This mommy/teacher was worn out!

      Friday, Rylee and I slept in a little bit, then I went ahead and dropped Rylee off at school, so that Liz and I could have a much needed shopping day. I got Rylee's summer wardrobe done, got myself some cute maternity clothes, and got Ryan a few things for his birthday, but most of all we got some much need retail therapy. There is nothing like a shopping day with my sister! :) After Friday, we spent a quiet Saturday at home. We just relaxed and had family time. Sunday we went to church, then Sunday night Ryan and I had a date night. Even though we've been married almost 4 years, I still absolutely LOVE going out on dates with my hubby!

     Monday, we spent the evening over at Nonna and Granddaddy's to celebrate Ryan's birthday with them since they were heading out of town and were going to miss it. We had a lot of fun. They treated us to a delicious steak dinner, lots of family time and laughs, and Ryan got a nice outfit and some spending money. Best of all, there were birthday brownies! Can you tell this preggo chick, had a blast feasting Monday night? haha!

     Unfortunately, a lot of my other Spring break plans were cancelled due to what happened next. Tuesday morning, I woke up around 6 with a deep pain in my belly and I knew what was coming, I had gotten a hold of Rylee's stomach virus...ick! I was sick all day Tuesday, until about midnight when I finally fell asleep and started to get a little better. I was still a little sick and VERY weak Wednesday, so both of those days, Rylee and I spent the days with indoor fun. Well, she had fun; I did not.

     Thursday was a gorgeous day, so we headed to the park and played a bit, then we headed to Mary's house for our weekly cousin play date. Lately there have been some big changes in Rylee's life with her starting preschool and Mary and Bailey moving out, and her behavior has been pretty unpredictable. She has been having wild tantrums and fits over the strangest things. It has been very trying and both Ryan and I have been trying to be understanding with her, but it has been getting worse and worse and it has started to affect her socially, so Friday, we decided to stay home and work on some different coping strategies and try to help her improve. We still had a fun time as a family at home, we just tried to help her feel secure in communicating her feelings with us without screaming, crying, kicking, hitting, etc. Oh, the joys of parenthood! :)

       Saturday, was Ryan's birthday, so Rylee woke him up with breakfast in bed and we spent a quiet morning as a family. Since Sunday was Easter, we had plans to spend the afternoon with Liz, Brandon, Kade, Mary, and Bailey to do and Easter egg hunt and then a birthday dinner for Ryan. It was all a blast. Te kids loved uhnting for eggs and then checking out the goodies inside their eggs. We also and a good time eating good food at El Patio.

     Rylee got some good stuff for Easter. She got an Easter basket from us, Nonna, and Granny. She;s a spoiled girl! After church today, we had an Easter feast over at Granny and Paw paw's and then we had a small Easter egg hunt for Rylee and Jenna. It was a lot of fun. Those sweet girls just keep growing and it gets more and more fun to watch them get into different holidays and events. We just wish their other little cousin, Austin could ave been there. Then it would have been perfect!

     This Spring Break has had it's ups and downs, but my main focus was family. Having Mary and Bailey move in wit us was wonderful, it was a great part of God's plan and I am grateful for tat time, but now that they're gone, I've realized that I missed having intimate family time, and that some things in that aspect have suffered. My family is the most important thing to me on this earth, so I want to spend every moment I can working on building a strong foundation for our family to continue to grow. I am blessed beyond measure with my wonderful husband and sweet Rylee-Love. I can't wait to see what our family becomes as it grows from 3 to 4.

The Big Announcement & Dr. Update

     Last Friday, we had the big doctor's appointment. We had our first ultrasound of the new baby and we also went through a screening for some birth defects. Everything looked great and right on track! We were waiting for this appointment before we announced this pregnancy, because we wanted to make sure everything was okay with the baby before we shared our news with the world. We made announcement cards to send out to all of our family. We put them in the mail as soon as we got home from the doctor so that they could be sent out, and our news could finally be shared! 

     It was such an amazing experience to see our little booger on the ultrasound. At only 11 weeks and 4 days, our baby seems so developed. We have 2 arms, 2 legs, hands and feet, an abdomen, and a cute little head with a sweet little face. I couldn't believe how much he/she was moving around in there. The baby kicked, waved, and wiggled throughout the entire 10 minute ultrasound. It was such an awesome experience.

    This is my belly at 12 weeks. It's definitely time to announce this pregnancy before the baby does the announcing for itself. My belly is growing more quickly this time than it did with Rylee, probably because I had more belly to start with-haha! But luckily, I haven't gained any weight just yet; I've actually lost 3 lbs in the last 12 weeks. :) I'm sure I'll start gaining soon, it's only natural, but hopefully not too much. Because we've been keeping this a secret, we haven't been talking much about it, so I haven't really "felt" pregnant yet. After seeing our little miracle on the ultrasound, it is all so real. I can't wait to meet the newest addition to the Massengill family. We are beyond blessed!

A New "Toy"

     This year we decided to put our income tax refund to good use: we got Rylee a swing and climber set so that she has something to play on outside at home. She was so excited. It was delivered this morning just before her nap time which was perfect because Ryan needed a few hours to assemble it. He worked hard and it was together before she woke up. When, she got up he took her out to see it and she was in awe. She couldn't believe that she got such a big surprise. She played and played and played on it. I have a feeling it is going to get some good use!

      So far, her favorite part is the slide. She just runs in circles climbing up, sliding down, then again. I like that this set is not too short, but not so tall that it is intimidating or dangerous. This play set is the perfect size for young children. The age on the box said 3-8, I have a feeling she will be using it throughout that age range. The only thing is the slide is a bit slender, so I think the slide is best for ages 2-5/6 depending on the size of the child, but that still gives us several years of good use! :)

     Today was an absolutely gorgeous day to surprise her with this gift. It was breezy and 70 outside today. We are so excited that Spring is on it's way! The only thing that could've made this day better is if I wasn't sick. I have a sinus infection and bronchitis and I have been miserable all week, but seeing her smile and laugh has definitely been good medicine! I love this sweet girl so!

Mary and Bailey's Big Move

      Yesterday, we helped move Mary and Bailey into their new home: a cute little duplex about 5-10 minutes from where we live now. It was very bittersweet. I am so very proud of Mary and all the things she's accomplished since she made the hardest decision of her life last May, but I am going to miss having her and Bailey here with us. Our lives completely turned around when they moved in, we had to make adjustments and so did they, but it was a lot of fun having them with us for the last 7 months.

      When we went over to start unloading things at the new place, the girls had a blast playing in all the empty space. First they had a dance party in the living room, and then a tea party in a closet. They are so silly together. They usually behave like sisters, they love each other, but they fight over everything, but the last few days they knew something was coming and they have been absolute angels when it comes to playing together nicely. It was too sweet.

     The most exciting thing about Mary and Bailey getting a new place is that Bailey now has her own room with a big girl bed! Bailey had to help Uncle Ryan put it together. She was so excited about her new room. When Ryan got the bed together, the girls had to try it out. They snuggled in it, then of course they had to jump on it!

     I met Mary at noon to help her buy things she would need for her new place. While we were shopping Brandon (superman) moved all the big furniture that she had to the new place, luckily she didn't have much and it only took him one load. Around 3 we dropped all the stuff off at her new place, just as Brandon was finishing up. He headed home and we headed back to the house to get the rest of her smaller stuff and bring it over. We loaded up my car, Ryan's car, and Mary's car, but got it all in one trip! Then we had to put everything together. Since she didn't have much furniture, she had to buy a lot and it all needed to be assembled. Just after 9, we finally finished with assembly. At that point Rylee was passed out on the couch and Bailey was asleep in her bed. It had been a long day. The move almost didn't happen. Kade got the flu this week (poor baby!), so Liz wasn't able to come help. I got the stomach flu Friday night, and was all better, but still feeling wimpy all day yesterday while we moved, and it was snowing all day Friday and Saturday, luckily it was too warm to accumulate. Now they are all moved out and this house seems awfully quiet....

A Rough Start

This was Rylee's first week of school. Monday was Presidents Day and today is a sick day, so she only went 3 days. Her first day was fantastic, but the other 2 days were less than perfect. Wednesday, Ryan had to drop Rylee off because I had early duty. She got a little more upset than she did on Tuesday, but she calmed quickly. However, when Liz came to pick Kade up and I hadn't come yet, she lost it. When I arrived, less than 5 minutes later, Rylee was crying hysterically in a ball in the corner of the room. It made me sad that she was so scared that I wasn't coming back. Because Wednesday ended so badly, it was a chore to even get her there on Thursday. She didn't want to go to school at all, and she became hysterical after I left. Apparently she got so upset that she hyperventilated and spit up all over her outfit and had to be changed. But the rest of the day, she was fine. She played and ate and was as happy as could be when I picks her up.
I was hoping since yesterday ended well today would be fine. But she woke up at 12:30 last night getting sick. She got sick several times between then and 8 am, and she and I got very little sleep. She can't go to school after she's been sick which I think is a good policy to keep kids healthy, so she and I are home today for a sick day. I have a feeling other parents haven't followed the sick rules, though because a lot of kids at her school have had the stomach virus. I'm glad it's Friday so she'll have all weekend to recuperate.
Hopefully next week will be great, because right now I'm wishing I was a stay at home mommy and she never had to go to daycare, but she'd have to start school eventually so that'd only help for so long... But I hate when SAHM complain about their job, they have no idea how good they have it! I love my breaks when I get to take care of my love all day everyday!

Rylee's First Day of "School"

      Today was Rylee's first day at New Life Learning Center. She's starting in the 2-year-old pre-k room. Yesterday was Ryan's first day at Unilever, but I was off school for President's day, so Mary and I and our girls had a girls day out. It was the perfect way to spend Rylee's last day before going to school for the next 15 years, plus at least 4 years of college. Ha! We took the girls to Chik-fil-a for lunch, playtime, and ice cream. Then we headed to the Dyersburg mall for some shopping fun! It was a great day!

      Rylee does not like to be waken up, so this morning had a little bit of a rough start, but she quickly got excited about going to school. She ate her breakfast, a chocolate pop tart and vanilla almond milk, on the way to school and laugh and talked excitedly the whole way. When we got out of the car, she was so excited to be at school. I could tell she was a little nervous because she brought Pinky the bear with her, and he's a security item for her, but she was smiling and laughing and really excited.

      When we got in the door, I had to drop off some paperwork, and she was excited and anxious to go in and see the other kids. However, when we got in there, 2 children were crying and that scared her. She got upset and Ms. Cindy quickly came to the rescue and snuggled her until she cheered up which only took a second, because Aunt Liz and Kade came walking through the door. She was so excited to see a familiar face! She was happy by the time I left her, which made going to work a lot easier for me. :)

    When I picked her up, she was playing her heart out with another little girl, and she was as happy as can be. This face is because she didn't want to go home! She told Ms. Krista, "See you tomorrow!" and we headed on our way home. She talked about her day the whole way home. She was so excited. Ms. Krista said she played all day like she'd been going there forever. She ate her lunch like a big girl, napped well (after she got used to the idea of sleeping on a cot on the floor), and she didn't have any accidents (something I was worried about in a new situation). She kept Pinky the bear and her silky nearby all day, but When I got there, she had them in a pile on the rug while she was playing, so I'm glad she felt secure enough to put them down. I am so proud of my big girl! I can't believe she goes to school!!

Valentine's Day 2013

           Today is Valentine's Day, and it has been a good one! I started out by leaving little surprises for Mary and Ryan, and they both were thrilled at a little sweet treat to start their days. Then I headed to school to celebrate with my kiddos. We had a blast at our class party, and my sweet kids gave me lots of sweet things. Then I came home to celebrate with my Valentine's. Rylee got spoiled rotten, as usual. She got a box of chocolates, a bag of mini chips ahoy, a stuffed owl with a stuffed heart, chocolate hearts, and a Chuggington game for her Mobigo2. I got spoiled as well with flowers, a box of chocolates, a card, a cake, and the 5th season of Big Bang Theory on DVD! :)

     I feel beyond blessed to have the best 2 Valentine's anyone could ever ask for. I am so in love with my husband, more so every single day! And my Rylee Love just amazes me beyond words. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I love my little family so much! Happy Valentine's Day!

Miss Bailey is 3!

      Saturday. we had a birthday party to celebrate Bailey's 3rd birthday. It was so much fun! Bailey wanted a princess party, and I would say she was the prettiest birthday princess I've ever seen. I just love this silly girl to death, and I have so enjoyed having her and Mary live with us these past 6 months.

     Every one's favorite part of the party was the pinata! Rylee refused to try to hit it, but all the other kiddos had a blast beating it, until finally Mary broke it so all the candy would rain down! :) After that, bailey opened presents. She got absolutely spoiled! And then came time for snacks and cake! There almost wasn't a cake at this party thanks to Rylee! While we were taking pictures of Bailey just before the party started, we walked in to find Rylee getting into the cake! Luckily, she only got a little bit of the icing and it was easily repaired. My crazy girl!

     Sunday was Bailey's actual birthday, so we went to Incredible Pizza to celebrate. We were so glad the my parents got to join us. Bailey loved having her Grandma and Grandpa at her birthday! First we enjoyed their yummy pizza buffet. Rylee ate 5 pieces of cheese pizza and a whole flavored applesauce cup!!! Then we headed to play some games.

    The kids had a blast playing game after game after game. They have grown so much and every time we go to a place like this, they seem to enjoy it more and more. I love these sweet babies, but I can't believe one of them is now 3! Goodness! Rylee's next! I don't even want to think about it yet!

Just Another Day in Paradise

It is only Tuesday, but this week has already got me WORN OUT! It doesn't help that Rylee and I are both fighting chest colds and I haven't been sleeping well due to coughing. But I feel like work has been crazy too. My kiddos have been off the walls and we have a ton of tests right now: ESA, Star Reading, and Aimsweb all in a 2 week period. Ick! Plus we have to do Instructional Reading Level benchmarking this week, too. My kids are worn out, I am worn out, and we all hate being so off routine. But such is life. Rylee had to come to school at 3:15 today because Ryan had to get stuff done for his new job (Yay! Yay! Yay!) and she made it a bit difficult to get work done. She told every teacher on my wing that she wanted to go to the park, so around 4:30 I gave in and took her to the park. It was much needed fun! Maybe the rest of this week will be easy on me. I have a half day for a drs appointment on Friday, so maybe that'll help.

An Easy Week

     This week has been great! Due to icy conditions, we were out of school the second half of the day on Tuesday and all day on Wednesday. Rylee was so excited when I came home early on Tuesday. I got to play with her for a little bit and then it was her nap time. I worked on school work to make sure I stayed caught up even though we were missing school, but then I got the call that we were going to be staying home on Wednesday, too. Luckily, I had thought ahead and brought home anything that needed to be done before Thursday, so I stayed caught up.

      Wednesday, we enjoyed a lazy morning at home. By noon, all of the ice had melted, so we headed to run a few errands, and then we went out to lunch. It was a lot of fun. I love family time! When we got home, Rylee took a nap and I took a bubble bath. Thursday we were back to school and my kiddos and I worked very hard, but we learned everything that we needed to, so this week definitely didn't go to waste. While I was working hard at school, Ryan had a job interview at a local factory, we should hear back in the next few days, so prayers would be appreciated!

     Because of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we had a 3-day weekend this weekend: even more family time! :) Saturday we went to the park with Mary, Bailey, Liz, and Kade. Yes, it was icy on Tuesday and Wednesday, but it was sunny and in the mid-fifties on Saturday, so we got to spend some much needed outdoor playtime. We stayed at the park for about 2 hours while the kids played and played and played.

      Yesterday, we went to church in the morning and then came home so the kiddos could nap. After nap time, we headed to Liz and Brandon's to watch the NFL playoff games. The kids had a blast playing together while the adults talked, laughed, ate deep fried junk food, and enjoyed the games. Today, we are simply being lazy. I will have to do some more school work in a little bit, but not much, and after that I'm thinking it may be the perfect time for a bubble bath! Ha!

A New Adventure

      Sometimes, it seems like this was just yesterday, but sometimes it seems like a lifetime ago. I can't even remember what life was like before becoming a mommy. I love my Rylee-bug so very much! She has grown so much. Because she has gotten to be so mature, Ryan and I decided that our family might be ready to grow. We talked about it a lot. Even without him working, we are so much more financially stable than we were when we got pregnant with Rylee, and we have faith he will get a great job soon. I have good medical insurance. We have plenty of room in this house, whether Mary and Bailey decide to stay or go, we have plenty of space. Everything just seemed right. Plus our hearts were just ready for another sweet baby. We didn't want to do the whole "trying to conceive" thing and try to plan something as magical as a new life, we just thought that we would stop trying to not have a baby, and when the time was right it would happen. We liked how Rylee was a wonderful surprise, and we wanted the same experience for our next child.

      I guess the time was right right away because we are going to be parents again! It is almost more terrifying this time than last time because now 3 people's lives are going to be changed forever, not just 2. Like I said, we wanted this baby to be a surprise, but he/she had other plans. At week 3 (which is a full week before it is recommended to take a pregnancy test) I already had pregnancy symptoms including intense heartburn. I got suspicious and on 1/16/13, bought a test, and sure enough, we're on our way to being parents of 2! The line is faint because I took it early, but I took another a few days later and it was much darker. It is still surreal to me right now. We are going to wait until we go to the doctor and hear a heartbeat and make sure everything is okay before we announce it. I'm sure the secret will get harder to keep over the next few weeks, but right now it feels kind of intimate just keeping this little miracle between the two of us. From what I have researched I am due around September 30, 2013. This will be just before Fall break next school year, so the timing should be pretty good.

     I can't believe my baby is going to be a big sister! She's going to be great at it though. She is so easy-going and independent. She's going to love helping take care of her new baby brother or sister. She already kisses my belly and says, "Hi, baby sister!" That's what she insists is in there. We tried to tel her it could be a brother or a sister, but she's set on sister. She doesn't really understand what's going on because she was too young to remember when Mel was pregnant with Austin, but she will understand more once my belly starts growing. :)

Back to the Grind

 

     Well, I've made it through the first week back at school after Christmas break. I must say, I am worn out, but I have actually enjoyed being back. I missed my kids while I was on break. I don't know what I'm going to do when May comes, and they are gone for good! I am halfway through my first year teaching, and I already feel like I have learned more in this half a year than I did in all 4 years of college combined, and I am so thankful for this experience. I love my job, I love my kids. It is HARD work, and things don't always go how I would like them to go, but I have come to the conclusion that I am exactly where I am supposed to be right now. 



     I have worked late everyday this week. We technically get off at 3:15, but no one actually leaves then, I usually leave around 3:45 or 4, but this week I have been staying until closer to 5. There's just so much work to be done! That has made it hard on Rylee, though, so I have been making sure that when I am at home, she has my attention at all times. She's acted out a little this week, but she will get used to me working soon.

           I sure am glad it's the weekend, though! I have missed this baby girl. She is so full of life, she just fills me with joy. I love her more every single day! I have kissed her and hugged her about a million times today. That's what I like about being a working mom. I never take my time with her for granted, even when I have breaks, I know they will end and I will go back to work, so I never take my time with her for granted. She is growing up way too fast as it is, I can't waste a single minute that I have to make memories with her! :)