Pumpkin Decorating 2008

Part time Teacher, Part time Nanny, FULL TIME Momma!

Last year I was working almost 55 hours a week and taking Cooper along with me, so I have felt a little lazy only working 12 hours a week. So what did I do? I've decided that in addition to planning two days of preschool curriculum, taking Cooper to soccer, cleaning, cooking, shopping, and just general keeping up with my house and a 2 years old, that I also need to be a nanny again!!!!!

I will have a little infant named David and Cooper will come with me. It's only about 10 hours a week, but I think it'll be a good experience. All this talk about the economy and me making A LOT LESS than I was last year had me nervous. I've lost all of my cleaning clients, so this little extra income will help.

Just my random update on my little corner of life.

Michael's job is the same. Please keep praying for him and his students. We are headed "home" to New York in December and I think it will be a good family reunion for everyone.

cowboy coop

we unpacked the box with last years halloween costume and Cooper decided to get "buddy" his stick horse and ride around the house. Ever since his pony ride this summer he's decided he wants to be a cowboy....well at least when he's not being a "mean big boy pirate" like he is going to be for halloween.

Home Sweet Home!

Our offer was accepted and everything went well with the inspection. We close July 30th and move in that weekend. Michael has a Special Education conference all that next week in San Marcos, so Cooper and I will be home alone to unpack and organize. I can't wait to get in and order furniture and decorate the house the way we want. We'll set up the 3rd bedroom with a queen bed, so we all hope you'll come for a visit sometime!

WE MADE AN OFFER!!!

The house buying process has hit a new milestone for us...we found a house we love and placed an offer. We are waiting to here from the seller's agent, but this is a holiday weekend so we may have to wait till next week! It's in a neighborhood called Castlegate. http://www.castlegatecommunities.com/

It is beige brick with stone accents and has a beautiful oak and glass front door with a glass Texas star in the center. It's a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom on a cul-de-sac and the walk in closet in the master bedroom is the size of our old apartment in NY...well not that big...but plenty of room for me and Michael for sure!

There is a "jack and jill" passthrough bathroom between the two guest bedrooms and the kitchen is just off the living room and is an eat in Kitchen with plenty of room for a 6-8 person table. We'll have plenty of yard to entertain and run around...and lots of space for visiting guests. We will close by the end of July if all goes well.

We'll update as the process moves along

A Job and House hunting....what a crazy week it's been.

Michael got offered a job at the new middle school in Bryan. He'll be teaching Special Ed. Adaptive Behavior. I know it'll be super challenging (the students all have emotional issues), but if anyone can do it, he can!

We've look at what seems like 100 houses....but maybe more like 30 in actuality! We thought we found a home we loved. It was 5 years old and had a big 1/2 acre yard.....but in the end we decided it just wasn't our "home". Then we looked into older homes and decided we didn't want to put the time/money into fixing anything up. Now we are leaning towards building a house in a nice subdivision about 4 miles down the road from mom and dad. It has a great neighborhood pool (with 2 more in the works), a nice covered playground, basketball court, and walking and biking trails. It is "out in the country", but only really 3 miles from the main Highway in town.

We are excited to get a place of our own, but won't rush the process. We want to take our time and do the right thing. This is the biggest investment so far....so we'd like to do it right.

WISH US LUCK!

Dead Head

My mom's garden is full of daylillys and ever day you have to go out and "dead head" that mornings bloom. Cooper loves to help out and always has to bring a few inside. Look at that handsome boy......we love him.

Summer Fun!

Cooper is having such a great summer. Most of our time is spent outside where he loves to run around and play in the water. The last picture of the lizard is the type we've been trying to catch all summer. They are so fast and they like to hide...maybe we'll get one soon. He calls them all "George" and tell us "find wizard"...."see him"! Ice cream is always a fun messy treat and we just hose him off when he's done making a mess!

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY COOP!

We had a bowling party with our family and friends to celebrate our big boy turning 2. Everyone had a great time and the kids loved to bowl and eat pizza and chicken fingers! We only have about 5 weeks till we move so this was a nice way to get everyone together for one last party. We'll miss our NY friends and family and have been so blessed to be able to share our lives with them. Cooper had his "best friend" Brynn there to help him blow out his candles. Brynn is my friend Libby's daughter. Libby and I have known each other for 13 years and it's so special to see our children become friends.

SPRING HAS SPRUNG

It's started to get a little warmer here and we are so happy to be able to play outside again. Cooper would stay out all day if we let him! We took this picture over at G.G and Papoolie's house. Cooper was "helping" with the spring cleaning.

Bathtime Fun

Enjoy this latest video from bathtime. It sounds like he inherited his mommy's laugh.

The Artist Formerly Known as Cooper

Cooper decided the best way to express the turmoil of almost being two was to get a non washable black marker and draw on his hands! I always said I would do the best job of keeping pens and markers "up high" and my kid would NOT be the one writing on walls and furniture. HaHa!!!! Guess the lack of sleep is catching up to me......NO HE STILL IS NOT SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!

Kindergym

Cooper at his Tuesday Kindergym class we took at Youth Services where Michael works!