My "First" Field Trip

      Today we took my first full field trip as a teacher, and it was crazy! We went on a field trip while I was a student teacher, and that was a lot of work, but it wasn't nearly as much work as today was. Let's just say, these sweet babies wore me out! I am so thankful for my 3 parent volunteers, or I would have really been out by now! It is 4:30 in the afternoon, and I could so get into bed!

     We travelled to Donnell Century Farms in Jackson. We had a lot of fun. It was a little bit hectic because it doesn't seem like there was any schedule or anything, but the kids got to do a lot of fund things. There was a play rotation of 3 stations and an educational rotation of 3 stations. The play rotation consisted of a playground made from hay and farm equipment, including a tire pit (but my kids didn't get a chance to play on the tire part), a hayride that included a story trail, and a giant "pumpkin pillow", basically a bouncy house without the house. The kids had a lot of fun. After the play rotation, we had a picnic lunch, then we quickly headed to the educational rotation.

     During the educational rotation the kids went through a series of buildings that taught them about different aspects of the farm like where produce comes from, where we get beef, and where we get milk. Then there was a soybean station here the kids got to plant soybean in a water gel so hopefully they will sprout and they can have a plant at home, then there was an animal feeding station. We were very rushed through the educational station, and still ended up back on the bus 15 minutes late! It was very, very, very hectic, but the kids all seemed to enjoy it, and that's all that matters. I can't believe I only have 3 more weeks with these babies. They are my first group of "my kids." I am going to miss them, but I have to say I am looking forward to summer vacation. This teacher is tired!

Busy, Busy, Busy!!

     Since last Saturday, I feel like we have been running full throttle, and I am a bit worn out today! Saturday, we went to go get a lawnmower and weed eater because Spring is here in full force and this is our first Spring/Summer having a yard to take care of. The whole process took a lot longer than expected, so we ended up going all day to get it and by the time we got home, it was time for dinner, then Rylee's bath time and bedtime.

     Last Sunday, we made the 3.5-4 hour drive up to my parents' house to visit with them and my grandmother and half-sister. It was good to have family time, but because Ryan works third shift now, he wasn't able to come and I missed him. Plus Rylee was a bit of a handful the whole time because she doesn't do well in unfamiliar situations, so it wore me out a bit more having to deal with her on my own. We didn't make it home until nearly 9, then it was bedtime to prepare for the long week ahead of us.

   Because we had such a busy weekend, I tried to spend family time and relax a bit after work each day this week, but it was a tough week. We have our big SAT 10 test coming up this week, so last week we were reviewing and practicing, and it was just tiring. My kiddos were worn out, and I was definitely worn out. 

     Yesterday was a bit busy as well, I got up with Rylee at 7 and I instantly started to clean the house because it hadn't been cleaned in over 2 weeks due to us going-going-going. It needed it badly! Then I played with Rylee for a little bit, and spent about an hour of quality time with Ryan and Ryles. After that, I got ready to go to a dear friend's bridal shower. I enjoyed the shower, and it was fun to watch her get so many nice things to start her new life as a wife. After the shower, I headed home for a bit, then Rylee and I headed to Katie's 8th birthday party, we picked up Mary and Bailey along the way, and off the luau we went. We had a lot of fun at the party, but we didn't get home until almost 9, and by then, Rylee and I were both tired.

      This morning, we slept in until 8:30 (woo!), then we got up and got ready to go to church. We had an amazing service. I really love our new pastor, Brother Josh. He is so passionate about everything he preaches. His messages always have a way of hitting home and making you want to act on what you've heard. After church, Bailey and Rylee "found" a kitty in the parking lot (it was the pastor's kitty from next door). They had a blast chasing it and trying to catch it. Ryan picked it up for them to let them pet it, but they had more fun when it was down so they could chase it. Poor thing! Then we headed to lunch with Nonna, Granddaddy, Mary, and Bailey at Pizza Hut.

    Since we got home, we have been relaxing. Rylee and Ryan both laid down for naps. Ryan has to start his work week at 10 tonight, but he still has a few more hours of weekend left. While they napped, I laid out in the sun and listened to music. It was great to just be still for an hour. Since Rylee has been up, she has been playing and playing outside. She loves being outdoors, and I love seeing how happy she is out there. Our plans for the rest of today include grilling out dinner, and just enjoying each other's company. It sounds absolutely perfect to me! :)

16 Week Baby Update

     Yesterday, we went to the doctor for Baby Massengill's 16 week check-up. He/she is doing great! Heart rate was 140 beats per minute, and all the screening results for chromosomal birth defects came back normal. So far, so good! We scheduled our gender ultrasound for May 10. I cannot wait to find out what gender our precious little baby is. I've been hoping for another little girl from the start. I love being the mommy of a little princess, so having another would be twice the fun. Plus, I don't think there is any greater blessing in life than a sister. My sisters are my best friends, and I would love for Rylee to have that experience. But of course, we would love a little brother just the same. Ryan and his family are all hoping for boy. I guess it's an ego thing for men to want a little legacy. Either way, I feel that this little addition will complete our family. If we are not completely done growing our family, we are at least done for a while.

     This little sweetie is going to be an amazing big sister. I can't wait to see her in action. I have no illusions that she won't be jealous at first, but she is such an independent little girl, that even if she becomes more needy, I feel like it won't be a problem to give her some extra attention and take care of the new baby, too. Luckily, the due date is during the school year, so she will be going to preschool during the day, so I have bonding time  (and nap time!) with the new baby, but when she gets home, we will have lots of family time, too. I couldn't be more excited, and I can't wait to meet our newest love, but for now, I'm focusing on Rylee and making sure she is as prepared as possible for the changes to come.

Sesame Street Live

     Yesterday, we took the kids to Memphis to see Sesame Street Live at the Fed Ex Forum. At first, I think the Moms were more excited than the kids, but as we told them about it over this week, they got more and more and excited. By the time yesterday rolled around, Rylee was so excited she could barely sleep; I had to bribe her to get her to get a nap in before the 5:30 show. 

    First we headed to the gift shop. Kade and Bailey both opted for Sesame Street binoculars, but Rylee wanted a plush Zoe doll. She is a stuffed animal type of girl. She has tons, but she could never have enough in her mind. She has carried that doll around since the moment she got it. When we got in our seats, the kids all waited anxiously for the characters to come out.

     From the minute the curtain went up, Rylee was in awe of the show. She sang along, laughed, danced, clapped, and just watched in wonder. She loved it all, except when the characters came into the crowd. She said, "I want to see them. I don't want them to get me." I love her little mind. When we got home, her only complaint was that she wasn't able to go on the stage and "play in Elmo's World." I'm assuming she only wanted to play in it after the characters were gone.

     This week has been busy trying to get back into the routine of going to work and Rylee going to school. She cried Monday and Tuesday, but the rest of the week she was happy to go, and today she even asked if she could go to school. I'm glad she likes where she goes. I hope she always loves school, it sure makes it a lot easier to send her there, when I know she's happy. :)

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....