Well, hello THIRD GRADE!

I write this so humbled and so overwhelmed at the Lord's goodness for our family. I got a call late last night asking me to accept the 3rd grade position at Jones for this next year. I wish I had the time to take you all through this process that began that first day I started student teaching and point out every single way that the Lord was just putting His perfect plan together.

So today I stood, in MY classroom, OUR classroom, and just couldn't believe it. Definitely one of those moments that I had to just stand and soak it in. One of my walls is mostly windows with some shelving on the bottom that opens up to the school's courtyard. It's just such a blank canvas. I cannot wait to get started.

...I got started by moving the desks and other furniture.

On another note, I had to share this adorable picture of my two favorite guys.



Early in the morning, One gets in bed with us and this is where he likes to sleep...



Until next time.

Baking and Blogging.

Well, today has been a surprisingly productive, uneventful (in terms of chasing One around making sure he doesn't destroy anything), and sweet. One had a Puppy Checkup this morning and the vet was just so wonderful. She gave me so many suggestions to help with potty training, behavior, and just overall health. I was so relieved and can already see the results today! No accidents and he let me give him his medicine with no problems.

Anyways, the reason I am sitting here able to blog in the middle of the day is that One is just exhausted and is asleep on his bed. Sooooooo, since he is asleep....



I can make THESE!



I have to share the recipe to these healthy (almost) organic blueberry muffins:

For the muffins:
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat organic pastry flour (I used half gluten free flour)
1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar, divided
1/2 cup organic quick-cooking oats (not instant)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup PLUS 2 tablespoons lowfat buttermilk (don't forget the 2 Tbsp buttermilk...)
1 large organic egg
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups fresh organic blueberries, washed and dried

For the topping:
1/4 cup blueberry all-fruit spread
24 fresh blueberries, washed and dried

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk wet ingredients together well. Toss blueberries with flour mixture. Pour wet ingredients into flour mixture and stir gently. Line a 12-count muffin pan with paper liners. Divide batter evenly and sprinkle with remaining 2 teaspoons sugar. Bake 12-15 minutes or until tops are just set. Remove pan from oven; top each muffin with 1 teaspoon fruit spread and 2 blueberries. Bake 3-5 minutes more or until golden. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and serve.

And as a healthy muffin skeptic, these rocked. Hands down.

One took an extra long nap, so not only did I get to bake these, I got to clean the house (minus vacuuming, of course), and read my Real Simple magazine.

Speaking of Real Simple, you HAVE to check out Route4me.com . They even have an app for your iPhone. Basically you put in your destinations (like if you are running a lot of errands) and it will tell you the best route! I love this. I love efficiency. I mean I write rough drafts of grocery lists and then refine them based on my route in the grocery store. I know some of you are thinking, "gaaagggg". Sorry. THAT'S an app someone needs to jump on and create. I'd love you forever. Colin?

Aaaannnnnddd I got a front row parking space at the grocery store. Score.

Oh, happy day!

Cross My Heart.

Goodness gracious, I am not starting off on the right foot with this blog. There are so many things that cross my mind everyday that I feel would be great to write about here, but they just never seem to get there. Especially with our new little edition. Without further ado, let me introduce our little One.







Yes, his name is One. Stunningly creative, we know, but Colin just came up with it and it stuck. He IS our first. And don't hold your breath for any others anytime soon. Our first child will not be named Two in case you were starting to worry. He is almost 8 weeks old and loves to snuggle, snore loudly, run away from the vacuum, chew on pretty hair, play in the water, and frolic outside. He has definitely kept us on our toes and does bring us sweet joy amidst potty accidents, loud "no, One, NO!"s, constant monitoring, and parallel trails of water that drag through the house from his floppy ears soaking in his water bowl. I'm excited to take more pictures, but asking a 7 week old puppy to sit still and have his picture taken is like holding a Kindergartener back from being calendar helper. I mean, come on. Any potty training tips are welcome. I haven't ever had problems helping to potty train kids at daycare in the summers, but little puppies are apparently something else! I'm definitely practicing my "teacher voice" with this little guy, and am learning a lot about parenting (as silly as that sounds). All of the parents out there are just so great. And patient.

On another note, I am so happy that I married my very best friend. Time with him is so sweet to me and I just pray that all of the girls in my life - sisters, best friends, and family would find someone that loves them like I am loved. Colin is such a leader for our family and is so dedicated and driven in everything he does. I am so proud of him and constantly humbled that I am spending the rest of my life with this incredible man. I never dreamed of the sense of humor that I have discovered in Colin. The things he says and does makes me "belly laugh"...you know, those laughs that you are supposed to have at least once a week? Like the time during Dinosaur Camp he jumped on the bed pretending to be a Velociraptor and busted my lip. Or shouting from the other room "Babe, the toilet water is BLUE (I had just cleaned it).....wait, no, NOW it's GREEN!" Like who comes up with that?

Oh, and I guess I can't complete the blog without a kitchen update. We are still experiencing the joys of grilling inside and have learned to do without a microwave, disposal, dishwasher, and storage space. A picture of our creativity will come later. Props to my engineering husband. (Still not over saying "husband" yet, sorry!) Let's just say a strict regimin of Draino is a substitute for our kitchen disposal. No shame.

On another more serious note, I feel the need let y'all know about what has been on in my heart. It is definitely a pride issue for me to bring it up now: I'd rather stay in my comfort zone and tell everyone the good news if it goes "my way", or let as few people know if it doesn't work out. Drumroll pleaseeee.......Anyways, I have an interview on Friday at my school that I student taught at! As many of you know, the kids at Jones simply captured my heart. Not just my Kindergarteners, but all of them. And I found out I was good at teaching them. Really good. My doubts and insecurities about teaching these sweet kids were erased and I really felt that I was right where the Lord wanted me. What a sweet place that is. After finding out Bryan ISD was in a hiring freeze and my school had no positions, and was in fact cutting back, I was discouraged and was confused what the Lord was teaching me. I really felt like He had a strong calling on my life to be in this school while Colin was in graduate school, but was left speechless at what seemed like a closed, locked, deadbolt-locked front door. In a tearful discussion with the principal two weeks ago week about what has been on my heart and how I felt my place was at Jones with my kids, the Lord began to unlock that dead-bolted door and I found out two days ago that Bryan ISD has allowed Jones to hire 1 new 3rd grade teacher. I got the incredible news from the principal and found out I have an interview Friday afternoon. The Lord is SO good.

Obviously I have apprehensions about teaching 3rd grade, but the Lord has softened my heart to the idea of it and has put books, people, and websites in my life that have just affirmed my ability to teach the curriculum. And I think I am going to love it. Furthermore, I trust Him to provide above all of my needs. He has indeed given me this passion and love for these kids in the first place. I trust Him. And, of course, Colin is more supportive and encouraging than I could have ever asked of him. Is it Friday yet?

So, here I promise, cross my heart, to share the news about the job interview. And to blog more often.

Promises, promises.

Well, I left the last post with a few interesting topics to get excited about, and they will all be discussed in this post - as promised. My mind works in "list" form most days, so don't be surprised when blogs are structured like that. Before you read any further, you must know how thankful Colin and I are to be in this house. It is so perfect for us and I never want to seem ungrateful. If I do, tell me, and I'll stop with the stories. This really is a sweet time for us and we are thankful to be in such a wonderful house that is just allowing us to make so many memories together. Happy Thursday!

Numero uno: Dinosaur Camp. The camp this week has really been great. It is just in the mornings and I have 16 kids, so things get busy, but it is so great and has really helped me get adjusted to the school. Colin has been getting practice being a "teacher's husband" and has been so wonderful helping me with things for camp (i.e. making 16 paper mache dinosaur eggs which are not small), making stone dough for fossil digging, getting dino videos offline for me, dealing with technology hook-ups at the school, and just being an all-around fabulous husband. Thanks love. The camp ends tomorrow, and I am already going to miss these kids.

Remember what I said about a teacher's husband? We were walking to the end of our street to go for a run and found this huge bug/killing/stinging machine. It was helpless on its back but still moving, so we went back to get our camera (Colin) and a plastic container to put in our science center (Christina).



Grilling indoors. Unfortunately, that is exactly what it sounds like. We got this incredible grill pan from Colin's grandparents that fits over 2 burners on our stove and have used it pretty much every night we cook. No exaggeration. I would pretty much eat anything cooked by my husband on this pan. Again, no exaggeration. Colin mostly handles this grilling process while I am his sous chef - chopping, plating, and dealing with side dishes. We pretty much have our own version of Iron Chef America going on in our house. And while they are grilling "indoors" on that show, their kitchen literally amasses the entire square footage of our house (times 2). Which presents a problem for us. If someone were to walking in amidst the "indoor grilling" they would call the fire department stat. And don't even thinking about opening the door. There are so many bugs, we would have to fumigate. After about 5 minutes of this, I excuse myself and allow my husband to be subjected to the billowing smokey interior of our kitchen while I prepare the coffee table for dinner (we don't have kitchen chairs yet). I know that when the smoke invades the living area, the food is just about done. Thankfully. However, the food always comes out perfectly. My husband is so great.

Our kitchen really is precious, it is just not equipped with cabinet space (I find myself using the washing machine as a preparation surface, yes, washing machine), a ventilation system, a microwave, or dishwasher. Yeah, no dishwasher. I have really learned a lot just from not having a dishwasher and am so much more thankful for when we do eat out once a week. I feel like I am calling my Grandmother a lot for advice. This house is kind of her time period. No shower, no dishwasher, no microwave, no doors, tiny washer/dryer, you get the picture. Apparently it brings her back to the "good old days", Can I just go back to the days we are supposed to be in? There was a day last week when my desperation translated into Scrabble magnets moving on the fridge and my husband saw my cry for help. Bluebaker cooked and did the dishes for us.



El bano. Before I try and explain it, I think I am just going to try and let the picture do itself justice because, unfortunately, it does.



I know what you are thinking. And yes, you CAN wash your hands while sitting on the toilet. We are all about efficiency in this house. Going green people.

Moving on to the tub. While the natural response is "how cute", and in fact, this was a selling point on the house for me, looks can be utterly deceiving. I mean, hello...romantic? Negative. I can hardly fit myself in this tub. Colin is constantly finding new methods of bathing and eagerly emerging from the bathroom to explain it to me. I, myself, have to modify his methods, because, well, I have about 74 times more hair on my head, have to shave my legs, and have some other bathing routines I don't like to give up.

I have thought to myself of duct taping the shower head thing to the wall above us. I mean, I left my heart with my kids in Bryan, I'm not above the uses of duct tape for home improvement. However brilliant this idea may seem, what you cannot see in the picture is that the water pressure we have is that of a cheap hotel or campsite. It would literally have to be right above the tub, therefore negating my stroke of brilliance in the first place. I often crawl out of this bathtub to find I have left my towel on the door across the room, that there is a large spot of leftover conditioner in my hair (4/5 times I have to get back in after drying off), and a husband saying, "uhhh, love, you have soap on your neck." Wonderful. Thanks dear.

Since I am an optimistic person and don't give up on adverse situations easily, I find myself left with 3 options:

1. Joining a gym to use their showering amenities.
2. Cutting my hair.
3. Becoming BFFs with a hairstylist willing to wash my hair daily.

And then I remember that I am married to a man who typically takes three showers (or in this case, baths) daily. I hate competition.

Oh, I almost forgot...my husband came home with this new hairdo yesterday. He just can't NOT be handsome.