Confessions of a Neat Freak

So, I am a self-proclaimed Neat Freak.  I honestly feel like I can't relax in my house unless it is clean and organized.  This past week I have started to notice things that I do and I have questioned, why? 

For example, I have to make my bed EVERY single day.  It really bothers me to walk into our bedroom with an unmade bed, so I will spend the extra few minutes in the morning to make sure the bed is made and that the throw pillows are perfectly positioned.  Why?  Really, I'm sure Ray could care less if the bed is made, especially considering he usually has a pile of close laying next to "his side" of the bed.  This pile drives me insane, but since it is on his side, it is mostly out of my vision so I try to avoid looking at it and pretend it's not there.  It's also the one spot that I kind of let him be messy, and on the days it really drives me nuts, I just throw everything back into his closet. 

Another thing that has been getting to me is the toys.  I can not just leave a pile of toys laying around on the floor. Even when I know Kenley will be up from a nap or playing with them after she eats I have to pick them up before we move on to the next activity.  Everything has to go back into the basket, or toy bin, or any other place I have discovered to sneakily hide toys.  Luckily, Kenley is learning to pick up toys, and now she can help a little bit.  I was actually kind of happy when she grew out of her swing since I never felt like it was in the best spot, and even though I loved the pink polka-dots, it didn't really go with our earth-toned furniture. 

Then, I get obsessed about the little things like the dust that shows up so easily on our dark wood furniture, or dog/cat hair on the couches, dust bunnies in the corners of our hardwood floors, toothpaste spots in the sink, the junk drawer(s) piling up, the clutter of mail and God-knows-what next to the stove, and fingerprints all over the stainless steal appliances.  I'm sweating just thinking about all of this.

Now that the weather is getting nice, I have also started to obsess over the outside of the house, mainly the grass.  It seems like many of our neighbors either have lawn services, or have time to cut their grass twice a week.  We do not.  Over the summer I will normally do most of the grass cutting since I am home and don't mind it too much, but while Ray and I are both working, we always struggle to get it done.  I tried to convince Ray to lower the mower as low as it would go so that our grass would get cut really short and maybe it wouldn't look like it needed to be re-cut 3 days later.  That was pretty much a disaster becuase the grass clumped up, our mower kept dying, and it looked like crap. 

I know that I need to let these things go, and sometimes I do.  Right now, I am planning on boycotting cleaning for a week or two and then using a Groupon that I bought a few months ago for a maid service.  Every Neat Freak deserves a break every now and then, right?  I might even "forget" to make the bed one day this week, well, maybe.

Hi there, it's me! Seems like I haven't had a minute to sit down lately. Or, when I have had time I've chosen sleep over blogging. I can't really even remember all the things we've been doing lately, but I haven't been home before 7:00 the last few days. Now, I realize this probably doesn't seem late to other people, but when you leave your house at 6:30 am and don't really get to sit down until after your child goes to bed, it can make for a very long day.  That, and I am OLD!
Today, we took Kenley to jump zone where they have all these bouncy houses. I had a blast, and I think Kenley liked it too. Luckily here were not a lot of people there so I didn't really care if I was the only adult in there with the kids. I got the best workout too! Ray also surprised me this week with an early Mother's Day gift and I got professional pictures taken with Kenley. They turned out great and Ray jumped in for a few so we were able to get a few family shots. I was also observed at work this week, which went ok, but I put a lot of pressure and stress on myself about it. It was such a busy week!
I am already starting to fill up our calendar for the summer with showers, weddings, graduations,and other parties. I've stated planning other things I want to do too and have a pretty full list.
These are the things I plan to do over the summer:

1. Have a garage sale
2. Take a class
3. Go to orland park pool
4. Go to all the local farmers markets
5. Check out some parks other than the 2 we always go to
6. Go somewhere on vacation

7. Hang out in our yard

8. Re-paint the living room ceiling (I tried touching it up and used a different color white,oops!)
9. Go to a few country concerts

10. Go to a sox game

11. Have some play dates
12. Plant flowers and re-mulch
13. Go to the library
14. Take Kenley to the beach
15. Run a 5k

I could probably keep adding to this, but these are some of my top priorities for the summer. Whenever I start feeling kind of stressed I have been thinking about the nice weather, and all the fun things there are to do over the summer.  I got our city events mailer a few weeks ago and was checking out all of the outdoor events that are so close to home.  I think it's going to be a great summer, I just have to finish these last 4 weeks of school first!

My evil twin

Wow, was my Spring Break really only just a little over a week ago? Seems like it is the distant past right about now. I had such a great week off that no matter how work was going I probably would have complained. But, it has bee One Of Those Weeks. I know it prbably seems like I complain about work a lot, and I am starting to realize that I don't like who I am at work. I'm the person in the meeting that I hate. I swear, sometimes it seems like I walk into the building and some other form, a much crabbier, angrier, meaner version of myself. Maybe it is just end of the year spring fever like my students get. all I know is that I will be jumping for joy on June 1st. Needless to say, I haven't gotten any calls for some of the other jobs I have applied for recently, but I did fill out a few more applications. A new "banana cafe"just opened right down the block from our house and I saw they had a person dressed up as a banana dancing around in front. I couldn't help but wonder....
Anyway, the past 2 weeks Ray and I have been trying to implement family walks right after work. It has been a fun way for us to de-stress and spend some fun family time together during the week. I'm also proud of myself for running several times the past few weeks, finally! I need to sign up for a 5k soon. Kenley had been such a chatterbox and learns new words every week. My favorite thing she says is in response to, "what's your favorite color," and she says, "pink!" It is so cute, and I will admit that there may have been some brainwashing on my part for that one. She also likes to say, "up-e-bop" while raising her arms, which is her way of saying "up and down" when we sing the wheels on the bus. I'm pretty sure she is a genius :) So, all of these things have put a smile on my face this week.
 Also, I just realized today is one year of blogging! I'm proud of myself for keeping up with it. Thanks to anyone who has ever read my blog!

Memories

I dug out my baby doll from when I was a kid, Sherry, and Kenley has been playing with her.  I am not really a sentimental person with many things, but my baby doll is one toy that I am so glad my mom stored away for me.  There is something really cool about watching Kenley play with the toy that I loved so much back in the days where I "played mommy".  I was thinking back to when I brought the doll with to our birthing class.  I'm glad Kenley seems to have an interest in babies both real and pretend.  I think she's going to be a great big cousin to my sister's baby, and hopefully a great big sister one day.

The other day, Ray asked me if Kenley would remember our little weekend trip.  I told him probably not, and he said, "well, I guess that's why you always take a million pictures of everything."  I try to keep my camera on me most of the time, and I hope Kenley will enjoy looking back at all the pictures of her childhood.  Plus, she's just so dang cute, I think every picuture of her is frame-worthy!

I am soaking up every second of this week. I have accomplished most of my goals for my Spring Break so far.  Monday I met up with Ashlee and her kids in Oakbrook and randomly found the best spot to hang out.  It had a park, a pond where you could feed the ducks, and a little indoor nature center with animals and a "bat cave" that the kids loved.  It was so fun to see our 3 children play together.  We've come a long way from our college days!  I'm so glad we finally got some time together, and in between running around the park, pushing swings, and bathroom breaks we got to catch up on everything.  Can't wait to plan more play dates this summer!

I also did a LOT of stuff around the house and spent over 4 HOURS just on Kenley's room. It was insane.  You would think we have 5 girls, not one.  This child has more clothes than Ray and I combined, and that is just from the last 6 months!  I organized every single drawer, closet hanger, and toy bin. The next day, I got a well-deserved massage and savored every second of those 60 minutes.  I even made Ray a steak dinner one night.  I am sad that my week is coming to an end, but I am so thankful I have had this week off.  As soon as Kenley wakes up we are off to the park!

And this picture doesn't even do it justice!

Our Easter Weekend

We went to Grizzly Jack's Resort in Utica this weekend, and it was great!  We had a really nice villa with room to spread out.  Kenley got her own room, and Ray and I had an amazing Master Bedroom with a fireplace and a whirlpool tub.  I was a little nervous about this getaway, since the last time we tried to go away Kenley got sick.  But, we made up for that trip, and it was exactly what we (I)  needed.  We went to the water park on Friday and for a little bit on Saturday, went to the park,  played at the arcade and amusement park, and got some relaxing family time.  It was a nice little trip, so close to home, but really felt like a little vacation. 

                

Kenley had a blast at the waterpark.  She got her own little tube to float around the lazy river with us and I think she could have stayed in there for hours.  She also went down a little waterslide with me, and had fun in the wave pool.  In the amusement park, she was too little for most of the rides, but was able to go in the bouncy house.  One little boy was so sweet to her, and she had a blast sitting and being bounced from his jumping.  She was able to go on one ride all by herself, and I was surprised she wasn't afraid.  She was by far the youngest on it, surrounded by all 3-4 year olds.  The lady running the ride said she would stop it if Kenley was afraid, but she seemed like she had a good time spinning around in her little cart.  All in all, it was a great trip, and I think we will try to go back again someday.

Today was Easter, and we woke up to hearing a thud followed by some crying to realize that Kenley had managed to crawl out of her crib.  So, immediately Ray lowered it to the lowest setting.  Then, we were off for a family egg hunt in the yard.  We had a fun day seeing both sides of the family. I don't know exactly how it happened, but when we got home our car was filled with candy, bubbles, clothes, chalk, balls, toys, and pretty much everything else you could find in the Easter aisles. Kenley was spoiled by all of her family members, as usual.  She was very good today, and while it took her a little while to warm up to having everyone around, she was the life of the party. 

I am officially on Spring Break this week!  My plans include meeting up with my friend Ashlee and her kids, who I haven't seen since Christmas, doing some major Spring Cleaning, attempt to go running at least 3 times, get a massage, go shopping, and most importantly spend some quality time with Kenley.  I want to enjoy every day, and I hope that this week goes by slowly!

SO big!

Another week gone!  This month has gone by so fast!  I think it might have had something to do with being sick for almost 2 weeks of it and sleeping as much as possible those weeks.  But, this week is the start of April! I hope this weather stays this nice.  My Spring Break starts in two weeks, and I am praying to have some nice days to take Kenley out.  I am so anxious for my Spring Break to get here, not only because I have the whole week off, but because I know when it is over I only have about 6 more weeks left of school!  Ray and I are hoping to take Kenley somewhere for a night or two, to make-up from our unfortunate time at Keylime Cove a few weeks ago.

 Ray and I got some quality family time in with the little one this weekend and took her to the zoo.  What a change from her first zoo trip when she was only 6 months old!  She absolutely loved it!  It was fun to watch her point at all the animals.  She loved the aquarium, the giraffes, and the dolphin show the best.  I was a little nervous at the start of the dolphin show about if she would make it through the whole thing since we had already been there for several hours, but as soon as those dolphins started jumping and doing tricks, she sat straight up and didn't move through the whole thing.

Here is her picture by the Kangaroo that we took when she was 6 months old, and here is one of her now at almost 16 months old. SOOO big!  I'm hoping to get one here every time we go.

Here are some other pictures that we took too:

Weekend Re-cap

What an amazing weekend!  I can not believe it has been in the high 70's for over a week, and I love it!  I spent as much time as possible outside. Ray and Greg were on a golf trip, so Katie and I had some "girls" time.  We took Kenley out shopping and out to lunch on Saturday, and we got to eat outside.  Then, this morning I took Kenley out for a walk, hung out in the yard, and then went out with my family for my Grandma's birthday.  We got to meet our newest family member, Kyle, my cousin's son for the first time.  It was so cute seeing Kenely with him.  She kept saying, "baby!" and rocking him in his car seat.  And later, she got in his car seat and tried to rock herself!  I loved seeing her with him and how sweet and gentle she was with him.  It was funny watching Kyle sit quietly/sleep at the resturaunt while I chased Kenley around half of the time.  Oh, how times have changed!

As nice as it has been to sprawl out in bed and be a cover hog, I am missing Ray.  I am looking forward to having him home tomorrow so we can spend some time together this weekend.  With both of us being sick last weekend, we barley got to see each other the week before he left.  On a side note, I am still not completely over this sickness.  I don't know what is wrong with me, but I still just do not feel completely good.  I can't eat much, feel nauseous sometimes, and am so tired!  NO, I am not pregnant, as everyone has been asking me :) Thursday night, before Ray left I was in bed at 6:15 and Friday and Saturday night I didn't stay up much past Kenley's bedtime.  So, I am really hoping that whatever has been getting me down goes away soon so that I can get my energy back. 

Here are a few pictures I took this weekend:

Back in the real world!

Yay! I was finally a functioning member of society today! Whatever flu/bug/illness hit our house got us BAD. Luckily, Kenley seemed to be he least affected with just a little fever for a few hours on Friday. I was stuck in bed with a fever for a good 24 hours, which I then passed on to Ray. Now we both have colds, caught, and stuffy noses. I am so sad that we were cooped up in the house on the most beautiful weekend in months. At least, after work today, I played with Kenley outside for a while.
Which leads me to say that today I officially accepted the fact that I have a toddler, not a baby, which makes me somewhat sad. When I got Kenley out of the car after work, she could hear the little boy across the street playing, and she practically dragged me over there. They ran around and played for a while, Kenley said,"bye-bye" and then held my hand and walked down the sidewalk with me saying, "dada" because she knew daddy was waiting for us at home. Then, she sat by Ray for a few minutes and watched her favorite Elmo/Jason Mraz episode. When did my baby girl go from sitting in her bouncy chair with a bottle to initiating her own play dates and having shows?
I can't believe what a big girl she is becoming and she is learning so much every day. She can point out most of the major body parts hair, teeth, hands, feet, ear, eye,etc. The past few days she has also discovered her belly bottom and got frustrated when I asked her where it was and she couldn't pull her onesie up to show me. She also has her own version of the Barney song that she sings, loves to say "Jakey,Jakey,Jakey," (our dog) and says "hi" to pretty much everyone who looks her way. She cracks me up, and I can only imagine how much more she will be talking in the next few months. Can't wait to have many more days of nice weather to come!

Re-model, Tow, and Baby News

The last few days around here have been pretty busy!  Ray and I decided on a whim on Sunday morning that we would re-model our bathroom.  We have been talking about what to do with this bathroom since we moved in.  After several considerations and some motivation, we decided to do it ourselves.  By that, I mean that I helped paint and move the heavy stuff, and Ray pretty much did the rest.  But, we got it all done in 2 days!  We are really happy with the end result, and if we would have known how good it would have turned out we probably would have done it months ago. I think we are finally done remodeling the house!

Today, right after I dropped Kenley off at the babysitter's house, I stopped to get gas on my way to work.  I went to start my car, and it wouldn't start. I had  to get a tow truck, leave my car, and basically hitch a ride to school.  It was a very crazy start to the day, but luckily everything is fixed, and it was covered under warranty.

Last, but NOT least we found out that Katie and Greg are having a GIRL!  We could not be more excited!  I am so happy for them, and I am so happy for Kenley to have a girl cousin that will be so close in age.  I know they will be great friends.  Greg and Katie stopped by after finding out, and it was the first time I was able to notice "the baby bump."  I am very excited to start planning the baby shower!

Help Wanted?

For several years now, I have been considering what other possibilities there might be for my career.  There are so many days where I just don't know if I will be able to teach until the day I retire. Even since my first year of teaching, I don't think that I could ever say it was my passion.  There are so many days where I don't even know if I'm a good/decent teacher. It has also gotten harder being away from Kenley every day and going somewhere that I really don't want to be. So, the last several months I have been thinking of where to go from here. 

I know that EVERY job has it's ups and downs.  I'm not saying any of these jobs are easier or better than mine, but just considering the possibilities. Here are some of the alternatives I've been thinking about that I have listed in 3 categories:

1. Options that might actually be possible: becoming a Literacy Cach, teaching younger children, teaching college, Counseling/Social Work, doing in-home daycare, becoming a librarian, training teachers for educational programs, and subbing.  I have applied for a few jobs this year in other areas of education, but nothing has worked out yet.  Maybe I need to get a little more aggressive.  Some of the others I would need to go back to school for, but I really don't want to take out another loan right now.

2.  Other jobs I would be good at/have interest: Anything that involves organizing or decorating, opening a second-hand store, running estate/garage sales, housekeeping, designing home layouts. Last year, I thought I would try to start my own buisness, and I even went as far as making buisness cards. (I will give you one if you're interested!)  Although I don't have any professional experience, I love to organize, decorate, and design. All of my family and friends laughed at me, but I still haven't given up hope on this idea.  Summer Project?  I am also interested in a carreer as a writer,  I have applied for a few small journalism jobs, but since I don't have a degree in journalism, haven't had any success. Since I have taken up blogging, I am also very interested in how to become a professional blogger.  I guess I would need to get more people reading my blog to get sponsors, but don't really know where I would start.  I have also thought about trying to write a book, but haven't attempted one-yet.

3.  Other Random Jobs that are probably unrealistic :   working in a pet shop, being a stand-up comedian, being a mascot or other character, children's photographer, lifeguard, secretary, designing children's clothes, being a wedding planner, designing jewelry, working on a cruise ship, working in a salon, opening an amusement park, and the list goes on and on.  There are many days where I think, what would it be like to have this job?  Then, I usually tell Ray about it and he makes fun of me.  Especially, whenever we drive by Game Stop and I always mention how I would make a great mascot/character.

So, for know, I'm going to keep dreaming, sending out resumes, and filling out applications.  Who knows if I will ever get another job, or if I will stay in the same position that I am in now until I retire. Let me know if you're hiring :)