SHOCK...I'm baaack!!

So, I was cruising Facebook today and came across the recent blogpost of a friend. I checked it out and got curious about my own bloggerness...or lack thereof! I amazingly remembered my login and took a gander. And, holy cow!! Has it really been over a year since my last blog post?!? I couldn't believe it! I was shocked and embarrassed. I had vowed to keep it current, kind of a way to document even the most mundane of life's happenings. EPIC FAILURE!

With that said, I am re-vowing my commitment to become a regular blogger. I was severely distracted by all of the gadgets, etc. that had taken over my page...so I've cleared, deleted, dusted off the cobwebs, and ready to post away! If there's anyone out there who cares...I'm back!

Happy New Year!

Ha! I'm only 18 days late and I cannot believe it's been since August when I last posted! Ridiculous!

Life has been crazy busy. New teaching job...twice! I started the school as a 5th grade teacher at one school and was transferred, due to needs within the school system, to a completely different school and a completely different grade. I am now teaching 3rd grade and loving it!

Cailyn is growing up so, so fast. We celebrated her 1st birthday on January 1st. She celebrated by taking her first independent steps and we haven't been able to slow her down since. She is walking beautifully, using all sippy cup (all day), eating everything that we do, and has about 10-12 teeth. I haven't been able to really check as well as I like because she usually ends up biting the heck out of me. She also has quite the growing vocabulary. She can say dada, mama, cat, dog, bubbles, uh-oh, and she can say "more" in sign language. I guess that is enough for now. I will leave you with some more recent pictures with the promise of more to come.

Hollywood Here I Come!

I am so excited! We are leaving bright and early Thursday morning for the great state of California for a family thang...and we are definitely going to take advantage of the time for a mini-family vacay! Friday we'll be headed to LA/Hollywood and plan on checking out any famous sites and sounds, including the Hollywood Walk of Fame (I think that's what it is called...for some reason it just doesn't sound right to me). How neat would it be to see someone really, really famous? I am prepared to be all touristy; snapping pics of everything and everyone...no shame in my game, fo sho!

On Sunday...it's GAME ON! Checking out the baseball game between the LA Dodgers and Atlanta Braves at Dodgers Stadium. Josh's Father's Day present from Cailyn. The Dodgers (ugh) are Josh's team...I will, of course, be cheering on my "local" team...GO BRAVES!!!! No worries, still a devoted Red Sox fan, but gotta show my love!

Back home late Monday night and off to work in my classroom with the help of my stepmom on Tuesday! Ahh, I guess all good things must come to an end!

I will definitely be updating with pics and any breaking news of the stars (LOL) when I get back!

SIDE NOTE: Way to go, Bill! Bill Clinton, that is! Never thought that would ever be something to cross my mind, but how cool is it that he made the trip to Korea?!? Watching now the plane just landed with the 2 American journalists who were pardoned by the N. Korean govt. yesterday. How wonderful that these young women will be reunited with their families today!

That's all for now...I'll catch ya on the flipside!

August?!? Already?!?

I cannot believe it is August already...where has the time gone? I've found myself asking that question a lot since becoming a parent. Holy heck time flies!!!

August is gonna be quite a month...

* Cailyn turned 7 months old (OMG) on the 1st!
* first trip on an airplane for Cailyn...that ought to be fun!
* Cailyn starts daycare...ugh! and our checkbook literally enters an entirely new dimension of RED!!
* I go back to work for the first time in almost 2 years!
* gotta set a bedtime and learn how to wake up to a real alarm clock instead of a baby cooing or screaming!
* gonna have to learn a brand new family routine! (double ugh!)

No more flying by the seat of my pants...I'm really going to have to revamp some things! Good times, I guess! Such is life!

Change is never easy, but I know we'll make it through. Of course, I completely expect some bumps along the way and we'll just deal with 'em as they come our way.

On an entirely different not, there have been some completely random observations that have come to fruition for me this weekend...

First...some neighbors just SUCK! We live on a great street with great people, but there are a select few (okay just one, really) that have just blown my mind lately.

Second...I think I really loathe cats. I have 2 and have had them for about 3 or 4 years now. I rescued them from a shelter and have admittedly tolerated them. I've never really been a cat person, so I really don't know what I was thinking when I brought them home. What's different now? Maybe I have started to feel bad for them. I never pet them, I never love on them, I'm always bitching about cat hair, cat throw-up (some call them hairballs, but let's just call it for what it really is...PUKE!) and how they get under my feet whenever I walk. And I know if I gave 'em some attention they'd leave me be, but I really have no desire. Bottom line...I'm afraid they will have to go soon...anyone want some free cats??

Next, I read in a post by a fellow blogger that Billy Mayes' commercials were already being shown again, but with a woman's voice-over. Never paid attention...that is, until today. The Oxi-clean commericials are just NOT the same!

Finally, I LOVE The Food Network. Watchin' The Next Food Network Star as we speak...however, I just saw a commercial for a new show called What Would Brian Boitano Make?...really, Brian Boitano? Wasn't he a figure skater or something? I'm thinking that show will not be on my list of must-see programs this Fall!

As a side note...I think I may be a little exclamation point and ellipsis (...) happy. I just counted 19 exclamation points in this post alone and, well, you can see each of my ellipsi (sp?). I must just be a very emotional writer, huh?

I'm such a nerd!

Yes, I admit it!

In my last post I mentioned that I had been reading the Twilight saga by Stephanie Meyer. I'm on the last book (Breaking Dawn) and I have become absolutely ADDICTED! My BFF, Kristi, started reading the books, too, and bought a Team Edward t-shirt at Walmart a few months back. I wasn't about to go that far...but...I saw the movie (admittedly not the best) for the first time last week and decided I just couldn't be left out. And, of course, I gotta keep up with my bestie!

So, thanks to cafepress.com, I am now the proud owner of my very own Team Edward t-shirt. I will be perfectly outfitted for opening night of New Moon on November 20th. YES! Kristi and I have saved the date and for someone who doesn't know what she's gonna do next week, let alone 3+ months from now, I'd say we're golden! So excited! (I warned ya I was a nerd!)

Happenings!

So much going on! I've managed to find the time to change my blog layout, but haven't taken the time to update it...until now!

We've had so much happening this month! Summer is flying by and especially so for me now that I have been offered (and accepted, of course) a J-O-B!!! I will be teaching 5th grade starting this fall! The first day back for new teachers is August 24th and school will officially begin after Labor Day, on September 8th. I am so excited, but nervous. Not only will this be my first year teaching and that alone will have enough stresses of its own, but Miss Cailyn will be starting daycare for the first time...YIKES! We have her registered at Primrose School, a new preschool in the area. I cannot believe how expensive it is...$265/week!! I may, however, have an in-home daycare option with a lady right around the corner from our house. She has been licensed for 15+ years and is MUCH cheaper. I may be checking it out soon...especially since we want Cailyn to start the week before I go back to work, so we can ease our way into it!

Speaking of Cailyn, she's still growing up at lightening speed! She hasn't really started crawling yet, but has mastered the army crawl with her arms and knees. It is so funny watching her scoot across the floor and she is quite quick! She also now pulls herself up to standing and she is getting better everyday! She is eating well and we have started giving her a wider range of soft finger foods like bananas. She also likes to "play" more. We are so blessed to have such a happy, easy-going baby!

My garden has produced a TON of tomatoes. To date I have frozen 18 cups and my freezer is overflowing...we should be set for winter. Not to mention I have many more 'maters still needing to be harvested! Didn't have much luck with my green beans or peppers, but we're still working on it!

I have finished Book 3 in the Twilight saga...Eclipse. I cannot believe how engrossed I have become in this love story. It has been SO, so long since I have found a collection of books that I have truly enjoyed reading and I keep wanting more! Too long! I am very sad that it's almost over and I really cannot wait for the movies...sigh! Twilight, the movie, was not that great...but, I am optimistic for New Moon. My bestie and next door neighbor, Kristi, and I have already made a "date" for November 20th...we'll be there proudly donning our Team Edward t-shirts (yes, we have t-shirts...well, I'm waiting for mine I ordered it last night...I can just see hubby rolling is eyes in disgust!!)...probably being the oldest folks there...but, we cannot wait!

On an even more positive note, Kristi's hubby (and Josh's BFF) comes home on Thursday from being on deployment aboard the USS Eisenhower for the past 6 months. Everyone in our neighborhood is so excited to be welcoming him home and I know Josh can't wait to join him in their garage for the first Welcome Home coldie from the keg-a-rator (sp?)!

Well, that's enough news for now! I will leave you (or try) with a video of Cailyn that I shot this week. She thinks its funny to play the copycat game while she's sitting in her highchair...too funny!

So little time...

Well, well, well...lookie here who's bloggin' again! Surprised? I know! It's been well over a month since I posted last and that's because there has just been SO much going on and so little time! Summer has arrived and we've been soaking up every minute with Cailyn! She's experienced so many firsts in the past month:

(1) 1st camping trip

(2) 1st dip in the swimming pool

(3) 1st "real" food (she's now had oatmeal, green beans, peas, sweet potatoes, carrots, bananas, avocados, butternut squash, and apples)

(4) 1st time at the beach...in the sand and in the ocean!

(5) 1st tooth AND 2nd tooth...both within one day of each other!

(6) CRAWLING...or, rather, scooting really well (she "crawls" sometimes)

(7) 1st trip to the zoo (pics posted soon!)

Gosh, I feel like I'm missing something, but I'll update if I've forgotten! We've also had family visiting the past two weeks. My sis brought my nephews for their annual summer beach trip...Cailyn LOVES her cousins and they loved playing together. Cole and Chase LOVE Cailyn, too, and they really enjoy spending time with her. Cole takes such good care of her and making sure she has what she needs! My parents and little brother visited the following week. OK, I guess my brother is not so little anymore...he turns 16 on July 4th! We took Cailyn to the zoo for the first time and I think she really liked it!

Our garden is doing really well and we've already gotten a few tomaters, squash, green beans, and I have a few cukes almost ready! I've had 2 job interviews so far...one went well, the other? Not so well, but I have another today and I'm keeping my fingers crossed! So, I guess you could say we're living large and really enjoying our summertime together as a family. That's enough jibber jabber from me. For now, I'll just leave you with some recent pics (above) with a promise of more to come!