Time

I thought it would be fun to do a craft to help Zoe understand what "time" it is.  I bought these door hangs at Hobby Lobby and she had so much fun decorating them.

We made one for Reading Time, one for Quiet Time, one for Play Time and one for Bed Time.  On the back of each is a big letter R, Q, P, or B to help her as well....we say "Okay it is Reading Time and Reading starts with a what...." and she finds the R!  She really has loved changing them out every time I say it is time for something.  She woke up this morning and said "It is morning...now it is Play Time!"

Planning Period

I never, ever wanted to be a teacher....but I have always wanted to be a Mommy.  So therefore, I, without realizing it, have always wanted to be a teacher. When we got home this morning, our curriculum was waiting for us on the door step.  I didn't hesitate to get started....I had my first Planning Period!

I looked through the calendar and wanted to see which Letter we would do each week.  Call me crazy, but we are not going in alphabetical order.  I want to do L the week Lent begins, which also happens to be the week the day of Love falls.  I want to do special feast days with certain Letters like E right before Easter and P with St. Patrick's Day.  As my wheels began turning....so many fun things popped into my head and the excitement was beaming!

Here is how our Spring/Summer is looking:

Week 1 - 1/14-1/18 - Letter C

Week 2 - 1/21-1/25 - Letter A

Week 3 - 1/28- 2/1 - Letter W

Week 4 - 2/4 - 2/8 - Letter F

Week 5 - 2/11 - 2/14 - Letter L

Week 6 - 2/18 - 2/22 - Letter U & V

Week 7 - 2/25 - 3/1 - Letter G

Week 8 - 3/4 - 3/8 - Letter K

Week 9 - 3/11 - 3/15 - Letter P

Week 10 - 3/18 - 3/22 - Letter J

Week 11 - 3/25 - 3/29 - Letter E

Week 12 - 4/1 - 4/5 - Letter R

Week 13 - 4/8 - 4/12 - Letter M 

Week 14 - 4/15 - 4/19 - Letter D

Week 15 - 4/22 - 4/26 - Letter O

Week 16 - 4/29 - 5/3 - Letter T

Week 17 - 5/6 - 5/10 - Letter X & Y

Week 18 - 5/13 - 5/17 - Letter S

Week 19 - 5/20 - 5/24 - Letter B

Week 20 - 5/27 - 5/31 - Letter H

Week 21 - 6/3 - 6/7 - Letter I

Week 22 - 6/10 - 6/14 - Letter N

Week 23 - 6/17 - 6/21 - Letter Q

Week 24 - 6/24 - 6/28 - Letter Z

I have quite a few Field Trips in mind when we hit certain weeks: GA Aquarium, Atlanta Zoo, Yellow River Game Ranch, Mayfield Dairy Farms, Southeastern Railway Museum, Washington Farms and Fernbank.  I look forward to all our adventures!  Zoe is at such a fabulous age and every new experience is amazing to witness!

We have also decided that the TV will not be a daily occurrence...unless 100% necessary!  What Zach and I have discussed and we are SO excited about is a Friday Family Movie Night.  The movie night is part of our hopes for Zoe learn responsibility, manners and respect through Positive Reinforcement.  Throughout the week, Zoe will have opportunities to earn Tickets....when she she cleans her room, goes to bed without whining, shares with Evan, uses her Ps and Qs, etc.  To have a movie night, she will need at least 5 tickets.  If she has more, she will be able to use her tickets to purchase popcorn and candy or a special treat.  When we talked to her about this tonight....she was PUMPED!  She earned her first ticket when she cleaned her room tonight and it was like gold.  Together, we found a good place to keep her tickets...her little polka dot purse...and she just squealed and squealed.  

When we put her to bed, we reminded her that she will get chocolate milk in the morning if she stays in bed and doesn't scream during the night.  She added "And 2 tickets!" Smart girl!

I love that there is so much room for flexibility,  but I do love to have things down and set so I can plan mentally and financially!  What our typical week will look like Tuesdays will be Library Day with Story Time and then some computer games and finding books specific to our week.  Thursdays will be more of a craft day and we will be home.  Fridays will start with Ballet Class and end with our Movie Night.  Field Trips will be on whichever day works best that specific week, but my hopes will be Fridays.

A big prayer of mine is to take Zoe to a weekly morning Mass, hopefully Wednesdays.  Weekly Masses are usually shorter and there are a lot less people, so I think these weekly dates could help Zoe learn the best way to act during Mass.

Lots to look forward to!

15?!?!

Poor Zoe...she is so confused!  I grew up watching only one team when it came to College Football...The Fighting Irish.  My Elementary School's fight song was even to the same tune as Notre Dame's.  I could still sing it for you in it's entirety if you would like.  Ruby was one of my first football movies...I remember the first time watching it.  If you are Catholic....you are a Notre Dame fan...by association.  It is just how it is.

Then I attended The University of Alabama for undergrad, where football literally is a religion, and found a new favorite, a favorite team of my very own!  Love me some Alabama Football!  Roll Tide Roll!

So needless to say...throughout the season...we cheer for both teams....Zach was so excited when he became Catholic because he said now he can cheer for the Catholic team...haha.  Never did we think that both our teams would make it to the National Championship!  Poor Little Zoe is so confused....I can cheer for the Irish...only sometimes?

Tonight we cheer for BAMA!  Roll Tide Roll!  B...A...M...A Bama all the way!

26 Letters to Heaven

I put my foot down...I have been saying it for the last 2 years...but my foot has officially hit the pavement and we will BE DEBT FREE!

Being the one who does our finances, pays the bills and what not, I have struggled way too much with worry and anxiety over money this year and majority of it is due to the fact that Zach and I live financially in the past.  The present money is going towards past purchases and I am DONE!  And finally Zach is understanding the toll this issue has taken on me and is 100% on board!

When I ran all the numbers, it looked like we would be crossing the finish line of debt in September.  We were pumped.  But after Christmas gifts and some extra money in our pockets, we will be at the end much, much sooner....like right when we receive our tax check!  Giddy doesn't describe my emotional state.

But in order to become debt free...sacrifices had to be made...and these small changes in our day to day lives is what has kept us from achieving our goals to begin with.  We want but don't have the money for it....or we have the money but don't need to be putting it towards what we want.

Praying has been unceasing in this issue for me.  Praying for my heart and my head to be in the same place.  So many prayers.  And through prayer...you don't always get what you want!

It has been unbelievably heavy on my heart to keep Zoe home and no longer send her to preschool.  Like I said...

The first time this idea popped in my head...immediate shut down.  But it kept occurring ..for weeks.  So I started praying into the idea instead of smothering it and now...I could not be happier with our decision.  Many tears were shed but totally worth it.

So the initial reason was financial.  The $800ish spent to send her to school could go so much further in getting us debt free in my opinion and Zach agreed...that whole spending for what you want but don't have thing...ya not a fan.  But, since I have been open to the idea of teaching Zoe at home...God has led me to so many different resources that have made me ECSTATIC at the thought.

If you follow me on Pinterest, this may be no surprise, but starting this week, I will begin homeschooling my Zoe Zoo.  Now, Preschool isn't really a huge deal....I mean colors, numbers, letters...you know the drill.  But I want Zoe to have fun and that takes some planning.  Zoe loved school and that is what made it hard when we decided to stop sending her....but why can't I create that same fun in our home or at our library or with our friends.  I can and will!

I purchased this curriculum to help me get organized!  I am to excited about this fabulous guide.  It includes activities for each letter.  It gives a Saint of the Week (with coloring pages), virtue or scripture verse, crafts and activity list, picture book list and recipes for each letter as well.  I can't wait!

So my thoughts are that we will have some structure but not to the point of breaking Zoe's spirit.  My hopes is that she will embrace the learning and fun, as she always has, but I am not shoving anything down anyone's throat!  Looking at some of our local activities, it seems like we will be following the same Tuesday/Thursday regime.  Our local library has story time for preschoolers on Tuesday mornings and my thoughts were to stay at the library and collect our books for the week in relation to the letter.  But the beauty of this is flexibility!  The only other thing I am setting in stone is ballet!  Ya for my ballerina being reborn!  And this will be Friday mornings!

So please keep me in your prayers.  I have such high hopes and enthusiasm and truly feel confident this is the path we should be following.  Any tips from all you Mommies are more than welcome as well!!!!

Nothing for Granted

It is Midnight....I may have had 2 3 glasses of wine while catching up on the last two episodes of Parenthood {if you don't watch, you should}....and I have swollen eyes and a snotty sweater .  Gosh, I love that show.  I love it for the realness it portrays of the family.  I love that it has 100% made me love my family with all I have.

I feel very guilty in the fact that I take my family for granted...my immediate family and my in laws.  The phrase "You don't know what you have until its gone"....well I don't want that to be the case for me.  I don't want to look back and think of every regret...every wrong move...every time I should have loved and didn't. Life is precious and too short and it should be filled with love and more love and endless love.

I want to take nothing for granted.

I cried a lot tonight.  I cried over fake characters, in a fake life on a tv show.  And yet...the tears were so real.

This last year, I have seen so much struggle.  Struggle with my friends and their mothers, struggles of loss of a father, struggles of a best friend, struggles of job loss, struggles of husbands at war, struggles of miscarriages and oh so much more and I look at my year and realized there was really no struggle.

I don't want to take that for granted.

God has blessed me and my family abundantly!  On the outside, from someone else's view point, it may not seem abundant....but let me reassure you!  We are BLESSED!  We may have a small home, older cars and a small income...but you better believe...we are full!  Full of so much love and that, my friends, is all that truly matters.

This year, I am determined to live in content!

Resolutions are great...I love them!  I resolve to take nothing for granted...to live in thanksgiving.  To be humble and satisfied!  I resolve to love fully and genuinely!

I RESOLVE TO TAKE NOTHING FOR GRANTED!

A Glimpse at 2012

For the most part...we had a very relaxed year.  For the first time since we got married in 2008, I was not pregnant for the entire year.  Not sure we will be able to claim that in 2013 but it added to us having a very clam year.  This year, as a whole, was one that has taught me to be content...to live in the moment.  When you are pregnant, you are always looking to the next appointment or to the 3rd trimester or counting down to your due date!  Not having countdowns this year, allowed me to really live in the moment.

January began with the National Championship where Bama brought home their 14th Title!  Roll Tide Roll....is #15 right around the corner?  We will see!  It continued on with a big loss for a family dear to my heart.  Death is really hard when it is unexpected!  My parents also bought A Daisy A Day in January!  We also decided to do more hands on activities at home with Zoe, attend more StoryTimes at the library and lots of playdates with friends.

February, we had so much fun celebrating!  We celebrated Anna Riley's Birthday in Alabama, Evan's 1/2 Birthday, Valentine's Day at home with a fun party with all our friends and we celebrated Daddy's 27th birthday with a night out with friends and a couple's night at Mission District!  The Lenten season also began in February and I gave up sweets for 40 days leading to Easter and I also did a daily devotional.  Evan mastered rolling over this month, too!

March continued keeping Zoe active by joining Buford School of Ballet's Noah's Angels class.  We ran/walked a 5k for Prince of Peace's Respect Life Ministry in Flowery Branch with The Stafford's.  I also ran the Publix 1/2 Marathon in Atlanta with Alyshia, Danielle and Michelle and decided very soon after that I would never be doing that again.  At the end of the month, Zoe, Evan and I headed to Berry for Ian and Tucker's birthday celebration and Easter celebration with Zach's family.  The same weekend, Zach headed to Covecrest for the Life Teen Men's Retreat.  I also hosted a night of fellowship at my house where my sister, Kaitlin, spoke to us all!  We also changed parishes from SJN to Prince of Peace...such a blessed move!

April brought some big changes to our work lives.  I joined Tupperware and started partying and Zach started his own lawn and landscaping business.  We celebrated Easter with a beautiful Mass at IHM with my family and a yummy brunch to follow.  We also had lots of fun Easter Egg hunts in the beginning of the month.  We had a fun day at the Zoo with KK and ZZ.  My mom and I worked really hard repainting A Daisy A Day's little home in Snellville.  At the end of the month, I attended Life Teen's Women's Retreat which was an amazing weekend with some of my closest friends!  As the weather started to warm up, the kids and I had lots of fun playing outside, splashing at Suwanee Fountains, and playing at all our local parks!

May was my first time getting to really work at A Daisy A Day for Mother's Day...so much fun!  We also got to celebrate Mother's Day with Kimberly and Cory and Rickey and Zelda...we all went to lunch in Cumming!  Evan turned 9 months aand Zoe turned 2 1/2.  At our checkup, the doctor heard a murmur in Zoe's heart so we visited a cardiologist and everything was great.  Evan also was referred to Babies Can't Wait to get him moving and hitting some very important milestones.

June started with Zoe's end of the year recital at BSB.  All of June, my sister and her girls were in town so we had lots of fun with family at the pool or park or having craft days.  We also started building our deck for some much loved outdoor space!  June was the official month Potty Training began for Miss Zoe...she did amazing and we never looked back.  We also had Evan's 1st Therapy Session and it was unbelievably helpful.  Oh and we celebrate my 27th birthday with a fun family gathering!

July was so hot and Zach was so busy with both his jobs.  Evan started to pull up in his crib and sit up from laying down on his own!  Zoe had a really fun spend the night party at Grammy's with her cousins!  I got a much need weekend away with my girlfriends to Fairhope.  Zoe got her first BIG haircut!  We also got to have Kayley at our house for part of a week!

August brought Evan's 1st Birthday celebration with a Nautical Themed party at the Pool!  We were so blessed to get to spend this with all our families and friends.  We attended our 1st Baseball game of 2012 at the Gwinnett Braves to see our friend Lauren sing the National Anthem.  At Evan's 12 month checkup, we were referred to an orthopedist for his feet.  The doctor was not concerned with Evan at all.  He did really start crawling around this month!  I attended my first Jubilee with Tupperware in Orlando.  And at the end of the moth, we attended Zoe's preschool orientation at Prince of Peace.

September is always a big month of celebration for our family too.  We got to celebrate our 4th Wedding Anniversary at Top Sail, NC.  We attended my dear friend, Cristina's wedding, and then stayed the rest of the weekend for some relaxation!  We celebrated Oliver's 2nd Birthday in Heaven!  Evan saw a ENT doctor for some crazy wax buildup.  Zoe started school, but missed her 2nd day because she was sick.  September was when Evan really started to Cruise around.  We finished out the month with a Princess Party to celebrate Kendall's 4th birthday!

October we got to go on a long weekend getaway with Zach's family to Pigeon Forge.  We went to a Drive Thru Zoo and to Dollywood!  At school, Zoe had a really fun Halloween Carnival and Grandma got to come, too!  We had fun Trick or Treating in Grammy and Papa's neighborhood this year!

November we celebrated Zoe's 3rd Toy Story birthday at Chick fil a!  We also had her Thanksgiving Feast at school.  Evan started to walk but didn't really walk full time until the end of the month.  I started to attended a Women's Bible Study with women from varying Parishes and ages...such a blessing!  We celebrated Thanksgiving with Zach's family the weekend before the actual holiday.  Unfortunately, this year our family was pretty sick during Thanksgiving so we didn't really have a feast!  But we always have fun watching the Iron Bowl and watching Bama kicked Auburn's bootay!

December started with the Advent Season!  And we watched Bama roll over the Georgia Bulldawgs in the SEC Championship!  I got a night out with the ladies to see The Story Tour at the Gwinnett Arena.  We had lots of family nights and had our first fire!  We celebrated St. Nick and put our Christmas Tree up and decorated.  Zoe had her Christmas Program at school!  We had fun days with our cousins...a Ginch and Polar Express Day.  Zach and I got to go to a great Christmas party with our closest friends.  We celebrated Christmas with Zach's family first and then spent Christmas day at our home and then at Grammy and Papa's!  We saw the Nights of Lights at Lake Lanier again and closed out the year with a nice family dinner and off to bed early before the ball even dropped!

Christmas Continued...

We spent the remainder of Christmas Day with my side of the family at Grammy and Papa's.  We did things a little bit different this year since our little family spent Christmas Morning at home instead of spending the night on Christmas Eve....Zach and I aren't sure how we felt about not being there the night before.  I think as years progress and the kids get older...we will enjoy Christmas Morning being just our family more and more.

We started the afternoon off with our traditional Stair Pictures.

Come on Mom...not another picture!

 Time for presents!

 The kids got these adorable winter hoodies from Aunt Laura...they all looked so cute in them!  I first unwrapped the tiger hoodie...that was trader real quick....sorry Rylee!

Evan got his Chair!  Once our tree comes down....both the kids chair will come into the living room for them to sit in!  

 The Doc is In!  Zoe was so excited to get a doctor's kit and scrubs!

 And everyone received a check up the rest of the day....whether they wanted one or not.

We got all the girls adorable shirts and earlier in the week I took them to see a 3D movie, out to lunch and a little dessert!

 I got Chrysti and Kaitlin these adorable jars that are etched....they can use them for yummy snacks or cookies...but I thought they would make really great Gratitude Jars!

Christmas Evening, we had my Uncle and his friend, Kane, over and Brad and Susan for dinner....this year we decided to veer from the norm of Ham and sides and did a big Italian Family Style dinner.  It was perfect and so yummy!  Don, Brenda, Garrett, Carrie and Taylor joined us for dessert, gifts and games.  I love The Stryszko's and they are such an amazing addition to our family!  I don't have one Christmas Memory that doesn't involve them!  Once things started to die down....the question of what game we were going to play came up.  We have a large crowd and it usually ends up the women playing and the men sleeping.  I wanted something for everyone this year....whether the men wanted to partake or NOT!  The game of choice this Christmas was good ole fashion Charades...and it was a total hit!  We all had so much fun and it really made the evening so enjoyable!

A truly Blessed Christmas celebration!  Happy Birthday, Jesus!