Official Announcement

I am moving back to WV!

I have been in Grundy for five years. I have had a wonderful teaching experience and met some really great people. GHS students, I want you to know that you have made my first five years of teaching very special and rewarding. I will miss you each so much! To my coworkers, thank you for teaching me so much and taking a new teacher under your wing. I have learned a lot from you. Especially the ones in my department! It will be hard to find such a great group of women to work with. As you all know all of our family is in WV an it's time for us to get back there too! I will be teaching at two elementary schools, I'm nervous and excited for the change and challenge!

I have enjoyed my time here but now it's time for something new. Please keep in touch!

Time to catch up!

It has been quite awhile since I last wrote but I decided I need something to occupy my mind right now so here it goes.

The day after I last wrote we planned to go to the zoo and friends were gonna meet us. Early that morning Amy (sister) said they couldn't come because poor Ava was sick. Then Amy (friend) called and offered us Pirates tickets with them. So we had a great day at the zoo then a fun evening at PNC park. Grayson and Kenton were so good an patient for both events. They are such good babies!
The next day it was finally time to head back to Grundy. My bed!!! The first several nights we were home Kenton slept 10-12 hours at night and took a 3 hour nap in the afternoon. He definitely needed to catch up on sleep. I worked on going through all of my clothes and other things to have a yard sale sometime soon. The first week we really didn't do much just enjoyed being home.
Then came a curve on the plan. We were wanted back in Buckhannon! Josh didn't really wanna go but agreed to it when there were two reasons. Well the main reason ended up falling through so after we were packed we decided not to go. We just hung out at home were lazy but did have some delicious scampi.

This past Monday I had to drive to Buckhannon and back for a meeting. Though I haven't heard official word, it apparently was a waste of time. At least I did get to have lunch with friends and dinner with some family. Tuesday was our third anniversary. I made breakfast and Josh made dinner. It was low key but nice oh yeah I made a chocolate pudding pie too.
Yesterday, Wednesday was a hard day as one of my family members lost someone very important to him! My heart breaks for him! Hence the reason I need to occupy my mind.

Today I am just thankful for everyone in my life and want you all to know that.
Now to decide whether to have a yard sale this weekend or head to WV?!

It's a good day to be a Stump! Mostly.

Thursday evening I got some exciting news! I will share details later, no I'm not pregnant. Friday we had to leave pretty early to head for Pittsburgh. Kenton had an appointment with a specialist, it lasted maybe 15 minutes. Great news there no further appointments or actions necessary!

Since we were through so early we had lunch at TGIFridays then checked in at our hotel. Kenton and I took a nap to rejuvenate from the poor sleep the night before. Unfortunately for Josh he doesn't nap! Once he was up we headed to Ross Park mall and hit up some unusual stores for us. First was Teavana, then Godiva Chocolate, Sephora, and Aldo. E went in Build a Beat nut decided Kenton was still too young to enjoy it. It was an unusual shopping trip but I love the things I bought. It was gettig late when we finished up so we got food from California Pizza Kitchen and some cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory and came back to he room to eat. Kenton was still going full force so we all ended up going to bed at the same time. Here it is 3:30 am and none of us has slept much. Kenton is so congested and it makes him restless and he won't sleep in his crib. I slept some but my poor husband is a sensitive sleeper and really hasn't slept. I will have to keep him and probably myself caffeinated tomorrow.

The boy fell asleep on me and is now next to me so I guess it's time for me to try and sleep too! Good night:)

The bread is for the ducks? I thought it was for me!

To make up for not camping we took Kenton to the VA park to see and feed the ducks. I walked him down closer to the ducks and he was fascinated. I decided to let him throw some bread and what does he do, eat it! Every piece of bread I gave him to give the ducks he ate himself! It was pretty funny because he usually doesn't even like bread.

Other than that our day was pretty calm. Josh grilled hotdogs then Kenton played outside and went to bed early but that didn't last! He went to bed by 9 was up 15 minutes later. He was difficult to get back to sleep then was up again at 12:44. That time he was pretty much restless for the rest of the night. I think he misses his bed as much as we miss ours!

Sick baby = change of plans

Today we were supposed to go camping with my father in law but Kenton woke up in the middle of the night with a diaper rash worse than ever. Pair that with a fever that lasted a couple days, being grumpy, slobbery, and, snotty, we decided to cancel the trip!

He has been grumpy today and needy. I hope he's teething and this all ends soon. I hate when he is sick because it wears on us all and I feel terrible when he cries and there is nothing o can do! He hasn't eaten well since Saturday so that adds even more stress.

Needless to say with a sick baby, sleepless nights, and other stress from unknowns we have been a fairly grumpy crew the last 24 hours. Currently I'm trying to get Kenton to bed and he is dancing/head banging on my lap. Looks like another long night!

Happy 4th of July!!

It's a good thing we started celebrating the 4th on Friday because today Kenton has not felt well all day! On Friday we had a cookout with some family. Saturday we came to Buckhannon and had dinner with my family, Amy and I walked, we took the kids to the pool for a few minutes then watched some fireworks. Sunday we had a cookout with my family and had some fireworks that Kenton really enjoyed! Today he woke up at 8 and went back to sleep til almost 11. We had about an hour of happy time and since then he has been fussy, clingy, and fevered! Poor baby. I don't know if he's teething or getting sick but right now his fever is down so hopefully it stays that way.

We've really enjoyed our time in WV so far. I had lunch with some friends, had an important meeting (which I'm still waiting to hear back from--hopefully tomorrow), had dinner with Josh's grandparents, shopped at Sam's with my mom, sister, niece, and cousin. We even spent an afternoon at the pool with Kenton's Papaw.

This week has even more fun things to come before heading back to Grundy. I sure do miss my bed and cats!

Father's Day and a week in WV

Father's Day weekend was a great weekend of just our little family. Friday I made egg salad for Josh, Saturday I made dinner-ribs, sauerkraut, potatoes, and asparagus, on Sunday I made cocoa wheats for breakfast then we went out for Chinese that evening. Kenton got his daddy an awesome GPS watch and a thermos which came in handy Monday morning.

Monday we got up super early for Josh to head to DC and Kenton and I to come to WV. On Monday I ran some errands and we hung out with my Dad. Tuesday we went to Bridgeport to visit Papaw and Uncle Nick. Wednesday we hung out with my parents and sister and Ava! We went to the riverwalk and swimming in the big pool. Both the kids loved it. Thursday Kenton and I went to Wheeling with Amy and Grayson to visit Laura. We had a good time having lunch at the olive garden and looking at the animals at Cabela's. However, I think Kenton's favorite part was getting ice cream at Coldstone. Friday we went to the game farm and I had lunch with some friends at the Hillbilly Grill, good food and great company.

Tomorrow we head back to Grundy and we are both excited to see Daddy! A few days at home then it's back to WV. It's gonna be a busy traveling summer!

Last day of work and a tumble

Yesterday was my last day of work this school year! That means all IEPs are finished, all grades are averaged and recorded on transcripts, my classroom is mostly clean, and now I can enjoy my summer with Kenton. Josh just has a week left then its family time. I love that we both have summers off!

It was a cool evening so we went outside to play and Kenton's favorite place to go is the steps on the porch, of course. He climbed up and down, up and down, up and down, and eventually he feel and hit his chin on the stair. His mouth bled, his chin has a big scrap. I feel so bad but it makes me realize how many tumbles he will have over the next few years. We can do everything in our power to keep him safe but there is no way we can prevent all injuries. Luckily he is pretty tough and seems to be fine today with the exception of being grumpy because he didnt sleep last night!

Happy Summer!

My Birthday and Kenton's first steps!

Saturday was my birthday and we celebrated with a yummy dinner of shrimp and my husband made a tres leches cake, YUM!! Josh got me a hat to wear when we are out in the sun. He even thought to get me a white one so it will match everything. Kenton's birthday present to me was his first steps! We have been trying to get him to walk for awhile now and everyone thought he would be walking earlier because he could stand on his own for so long. I guess it turned out that he just wanted to save those first steps for my birthday!

Birthday Celebration...just a little late

Once again I am posting something about a week later than I wanted. For some reason I just can't find time to blog. However summer is a comin'! Then I should have more time to blog and hopefully sew. My wonderful father-in-law helped me thread my machine so maybe now I will be able to see some things.

Anyway what I was going to write about is Kenton's 1st birthday party! On Friday we welcomed family throughout the evening. The real party started Saturday! We had a quick breakfast, did last minute decorating, and even applied Suess like nail decorations. We had lunch followed by cupcakes and cake. Kenton was less than impressed with his oversized cupcake. He played in it a little bit didn't seem to like being sticky. Once we cleaned him up he had a lot of interest in our cake so he sat with Josh and I and had some cake. Next he opened presents, more like I opened presents. Kenton took the tissue paper out of some of the bags but I had to open most of them. He got a wagon, a chair, toys galore, books, and clothes. He is a very loved little boy. Make sure you check out the party pics on my Facebook.

On Sunday we enjoyed playing with his new toys! He and Ava had the best time being pulled around in his wagon kenton liked it so much he even took a nap in it. They played in his little pool for a while too. They are sooo cute together. It was a great weekend that we hated to see end.

An Adventerous Day

I had a great weekend in Buckhanon visiting friends and family and enjoying Strawberry festivities. On Sunday we celebrated my niece's first birthday. Her birthday party was a lot of fun but the best part was watching her take a bath using all of her new toys and seat that we got her.

The real adventure started Monday. We woke up, had breakfast, then as soon as Kenton acted sleepy we packed up to head home. I was driving along and right around Weston Kenton's car seat tipped completely over! Apparently during all of the traffic in and out of my backseat the seatbelt button was pushed and it slowly unthreaded itself. It was so scary but I remained calm and sat his seat back up then stopped at Sheetz to hook it back in. Kenton was fast asleep but quickly woke up when this happened. I feared for the rest if my trip but once got him calmed down he went back to sleep and sleep for about 4 hours!!
We finally made it home to find the cats had messed up the couch even more. So when Josh got home from work we went and got a new couch and loveseat. Hopefully the cats don't like this material like they did the last.

There is probably something else I was going to write about but being that I started this on Monday and it is now Thursday I don't remember what else I was going to write. Please forgive my typos. I'm on my phone typing mostly one handed.

The Es of my last couple of weeks

Since my last post we headed to WV to celebrate Easter with our families and as normal Kenton made out like a bandit. I will post a pic at the end if I can figure out how. We came home from Easter with an extremely full car and an enormous pile of laundry!

After a short week at work and a couple of comments I have decided to start exercising and eating better. I'm on day three and so far so good. I suggest checking out myfitnesspal.com if you are interested in keeping track of your food to lose a couple pounds.

My last E is ecstatic to be an American. I think we should all just be thankful that Bin Laden is dead. It's pretty clear Obama didn't kill him!

A couple more Es, since Easter Kenton has been playing with Easter eggs hard core. He loves to roll them and shake them! Also for you teachers, especially special education teachers, it's that time of year for me. Yup, IEPs...

I'm off to enjoy some time playing with Easter eggs with Kenton!

Easter, Birthday Supplies, and a Picnic

I really wanted to post last night but Kenton decided to stay up until we went to bed and he slept with us!

I ordered Kenton's birthday supplies and a present a week or so ago and it came yesterday. I love it all!! It's going to be a Dr. Seuss themed party so he had to have a little Dr. Seuss chair with an ottoman, it is perfect!

Since we are going to WV for Easter this weekend we celebrated Easter a little early here. Kenton got some cool  bath toys and teething sticks. (http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM2378827702P?sid=IDx20101019x00001a&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=SPM2378827702)  He seems to like them! He has gotten his third tooth and working on his fourth so I think these will come in handy!

Those of you cloth diapering mamas, I tried my first BSRB (Bagshot Row Bamboo) diaper yesterday and I am so in love!! Its super soft, absorbent and the fit is perfect for my boy.

Today has been another busy day. We enjoyed some time at home then went to a Kiwanis picnic. Kenton loves to be outside and always puts on a good show for the crowd! We came home with a tired baby so we quickly bathed him and I tried to put him to bed with no success. He fought going to sleep so we let him stay up then he started showing sleepy signs again, he resisted going to beg AGAIN. He is currently asleep on my arm so I have typed all of this one handed, haha.

Tomorrow a coworker and I are taking a group of juniors to visit Emory & Henry College so it will be a very long day. Thursday, however, will be a short day of work then we are heading to WV! I can't wait to see everyone.

BLONDE

Why do blondes wear shoulder pads?
(With a rocking of the head from side to side) Well, like...I dunno!

This evening I went back to being a blonde. It's a huge change but I really like it. I will post a pic on Facebook soon. I wasn't sure if Kenton would recognize me it's such a change but of course he recognized his mama!

I'm off to enjoy a little lazy time before bed. Tomorrow is Friday but that really means nothing because I have to work on Saturday, boo!!

Busy Times

This time of year gets so busy! This past weekend flew by and this week has been so busy it has gone by just as fast. Monday was a normal day of work and an excellent mail day! I came home to a new diaper, inserts, and a Target gift card that I got for getting an insurance quote from a certain company! Tuesday was a super long day with a meeting after work I didn't get home til about 8:30 which sure didn't give me much time with Kenton. Today was a rush to get grades and some other school work completed! Tomorrow should be a little calmer and I'm getting my hair done so that makes the day better!

This weekend we are having an Autism Awareness walk so we have been busy selling puzzle pieces and bracelets. It's going really well! The next couple days we will be doing final planning and we sure are hoping for nice weather and a good turn out on! If ou are in the area come out and support the cause!

What a weekend!....and it's only Saturday!

The day started off with a pedicure followed by a manicure then eyebrow waxing! It was a wonderful start to the day. After that I came home and we headed to Richlands. On our way we saw a llama in someones front yard, no not the drama llama, a real llama! We continued our journey to Verizon where I showed my school ID and received a 15% discount. Too bad I didn't start taking advantage of that a long time ago! Josh needed new running shoes which was a great reason to stop at Hibbett and get Kenton some new shoes too. We bought him his first pair of Nike Shox, they are super cute! Watch my Facebook page for a picture of them. After all that we finally made it to Wal Mart and made a bee line to the bathroom to change a wet diaper. On our way Josh lost our list so we ended up just getting what we remembered but added a sewing machine to the list. That's right I got my very first sewing machine today! I'm so excited to try it out but have no clue where to even start. Thank goodness for Facebook! I've been added to a beginners sewing group so I'm sure that will be helpful! As we were leaving Wal Mart I looked over at the car parked next to me and the driver was drinking a beer wearing no more than a wife beater! Oh today's society. We tried to be good civilians and report him but apparently breaking the law is ok on weekends because nobody answered our calls! On our way home it rained so hard I couldn't see luckily weed it home safe and sound. Once this was all over t was about five o clock. We have stayed on the house since then! Tomorrows plans are to grocery shop and buy and plant flowers. Hopefully the weather cooperates!

I'm a newb!

My son is now 10 months old and I have been saying that I was going to start a blog since the day he was born. Better late than never, right?!


A lot of things happen in this world and even in our own small towns, that make me remember how thankful I am for everyone, family and friends, that I have in my life. Because of these thoughts this post (from Amy) meant a lot!

My Baby Boy and Me

It's three AM, they're all asleep,
and no-one's here to see.
As we rock slowly back and forth,
My baby boy and me.

His little hand is feather light
Tucked up against my chin.
I hold his tiny hand in mine,
and stroke his baby skin.
The house about us creaks and groans,
The clock hands creep around.
He snuggles closer to me still,
And makes his baby sounds.
I love these quiet hours so much,
And cherish every one.
Store memories up inside my heart
For lonely nights to come.
All too soon he'll be grown up,
His need for mama gone.
But until then I still have time
For kisses and for song.
Time for quiet hours like this
With him cuddled in my arms,
Where I wish he'd always stay
Protected, safe and warm.
And yet I know the day will come
When his tiny little hand,
will be bigger than my own.
He'll grow to be a man.
But until then he's mine to love
With no one here to see.
As we rock slowly back and forth,
My baby boy and me.
...Author Unknown

Stay tuned for more rAMbles!