Obsess Much???

They say the first step of battling a problem is to admit you have a problem. So, I am publicly announcing:

"My name is Jennifer and I am a blog stalker."

It all started when my friend Ami began her blog. At the time, I was new to Cottonwood and hadn't gotten to know my new co-workers yet. I followed her blog secretly, as I didn't want to seem too stalkerish. We were both due around the same time, although since she was caring triplets her due date would most certainly arrive before mine. After a year at Cottonwood, I was asked to move to the Kindergarten team. I can honestly say that the fabulous ladies that I work with are not only my co-workers, they are some of my best friends!!! Ami convinced me to start my own blog and helped me set it up. Thus, my own blog was conceived.

Some of my close friends also have their own blogs that I check in on regularly, however I also follow some blogs of individuals that I've never met. I guess that is part of what makes technology so great; you become friends with people that life would otherwise not bring you into contact with. You can view just a few of the blogs that I am addicted to by looking on the side bar under "Favorites".

Recently, my addiction has grown. While I was looking for some ideas to go along with a new unit that I would be teaching in my classroom, I stumbled across a few teaching blogs. I visit them regularly now for new teaching ideas and fun give-aways. I'm even trying to start my own teaching blog and would like to develop some things that I can post for sale on Teachers Pay Teachers this summer. Here is the teaching blog that I have designed. There isn't much on it yet, but it is high on my summer "To Do" list!

A few days ago, I stopped by one of my favorite teaching blogs that has regular give-aways and entered to win. Yesterday I visited her site to see this:

Woo Hoo!!! I won a $50 gift certificate to Creative Teaching Press! I can't wait to go shopping! While I might spend valuable time that I could be sleeping at night blog hopping, my obsession has paid off!

Maybe I'm on a lucky streak! :)

I love my life!

After a long day at work, I looked forward to going home, getting out of the heat, listening to my kids laughter and just putting my feet up for a few minutes. I picked up Drew and Sophia on my way home for a play date. All of the kids get along so well and they absolutely love playing together. I am so thankful that my children have found such good friends!!!

Katie and Sophia

Drew and Bobby

The part that really made my day though was Andy taking my hand when I got home, saying "Come mommy!" and leading me into my room. He gave me the TV remote and said "Cars on!". Then, he climbed up on my bed, patted the pillow next to his, gazed up at me with his big brown eyes and said "Peez mommy?". How could I say no to some cuddle time with my little man?

I love my life!!!

To be or not to be...

I'm stealing ideas from my friends due to a lack of ingenuity this evening. Hey, what are friends for? :) Ami and Anabelle both wrote posts recently about having, or not having, more children. So, I thought I would tag in on this subject...

I have 3 beautiful, healthy children. Boy (7), girl (5), boy (2)... Yet people ask me rather frequently if we plan on having any more. I laughingly tell them these days that my husband would be rather upset with me should that happen.

Robby and I both come from "larger" families. We both wanted to have a big family and often talked about having 4 children. We also knew that we wanted them to be close together if possible. After saying our "I Do's" in 2002, we took a couple of years to get settled in to life in Tucson while Robby finished school. In 2004, Bobby joined our family. In 2006, Katie arrived. In 2009, we completed our family when Andy was born.

Although we had originally planned to have 4 children, while I was pregnant with Andy we discussed our future. After a lot of discussion, we both agreed that for numerous reasons we would stop at 3.

I LOVED being pregnant! Once we made the decision to stop at 3, I felt more than a touch of sadness. This would be the last time I felt a little miracle moving inside me. This would be the last time I could lay and watch my unborn child do summersaults in my womb. This would be the last time I stared at the ultrasound screen wondering if there would be any clues that would help me guess the gender of my unborn child. This would be the last time we would anxiously await hearing the words "Congratulations! It is a _____!" I wanted to rewind the clock and document every wonderful moment of being pregnant.

After making the decision to stop populating Cottonwood Elementary, my husband generously took one for the team. So while I CAN still have a baby, I don't think my marriage would survive such an announcement. I would have another baby in a heartbeat...IF I won the lottery! :) I watch Andy with a small tear in my eye. He's growing up so fast and I want these days to last forever.

So, to be or not to be. That is the question. Am I planning on having another baby? I say with a smile:

"My husband would be quite upset with me if I do."

Easter without the Bunny...

For those of you who know me, you know that I am a planner. I plan my kids birthday parties months in advance. I plan their Christmas outfits in September. I am usually done with the majority of my Christmas shopping in July. I love to plan ahead...perhaps in my next life I will be a party planner!

So far this year has felt like a roller coaster ride. School, work, and homework have us on the go from Monday morning at 5:30 until Friday afternoon. Katie's ballet schedule keeps us busy on Saturdays. Add to that Bobby's new baseball schedule, which requires 1 practice and 2 games EACH week! I don't feel like I've had a chance to sit down, let alone thoroughly plan anything since the new year arrived.

We colored eggs the weekend before Easter. Andy loved this activity this year! He would have colored 100 eggs if we had had them. He kept sticking his hands in the dye. Good thing it only takes a week or so for the dye to fade! :)

I had every intention of taking the children to the mall for a photo session with the E.B. 2 weeks ago. I had put off buying Katie an Easter dress, but made sure to pick one up last weekend. Now all of my little ones would be in their "Sunday best" when we visited the E.B..

Then, our Easter plans changed and we decided to head to Rancho Del Lago for Brunch with Bunny. We attended their Breakfast with Santa in December and had a wonderful time, including a photo session with Santa himself. So, we made the assumption that it would be the same type of set-up.

You know what happens when you assume right??? Our reservation was at 11:30. We arrived at 11:25 to find out that we had missed the egg hunt, the fun spring activities, AND the E.B. Apparently, the bunny arrived at 10:30 to kick off the egg hunt and said his goodbyes 10 minutes before we arrived. There wasn't anything we could do about it, so we quickly ate our brunch and headed home for our 2nd egg hunt of the day.

I think I am more disappointed than my kids about not seeing the E.B.. I have their annual pictures, including the mandatory holiday pictures that commemorate each passing year. I'm a little bummed that we will be missing a 2011 picture with the bunny. BUT, if I have learned anything in the past 2 years, it is to roll with the punches. I got to wake up and watch my children's faces fill with joy and wonder. The E.B. had not failed to make a quick stop at our house. The children all enjoyed waking to explore their baskets, spending time with their family, and searching for eggs. Life doesn't get much better than this!!!

Easter without the bunny...that's how we rolled this year! :)

Mother of the Year Award

Bobby is in love with baseball! He loves everything about the game. He plays it on Wii, he plays it in the backyard, he plays it inside (gasp!)...you get the idea. He's now at the wonderful age where he doesn't just want to play the game, but he wants to understand the game. I love listening to him ask his daddy questions about the game...followed by another question...and another question...and another question. (Remember the dentist post a few months back regarding Bobby's questioning disorder???)

Opening Day 2011

I am number 3's #1 fan!

Trying his hand at catching...

So, you might ask where I am going with this?

Maybe, just maybe, this mother of the year award winner completely forgot that Bobby had a baseball game yesterday. Yep! Bobby was not too happy with his mommy today...but thankfully, after a heart to heart all is forgiven. Guess I was too busy blogging last night! :)

Nothing Terrible about this Two!!!

My baby turned 2 on Friday. My BABY turned 2 on Friday...

How did this happen? Where has the time gone? It seems like it was just yesterday that I was teaching 2nd grade next to Apryl, sharing my exciting baby news with her and concocting a plan together to play a colossal joke on the school prankster.

Fast forward to April 29, 2009... We were once again at Northwest Hospital Medical Center and I was being induced. My mom, Rob's mom, and Rob's sisters were keeping us company as we patiently awaited your arrival. I checked in with Apryl regularly throughout the day, however much to the disappointment of my students did not deliver before the end of the Cottonwood school day. (According to A.P., I just needed to push harder! :) Shortly before dinner time, we welcomed Andrew Scott Lofgren into our family.

Andy has been such an easy baby. He settled into a regular sleep routine pretty quickly, has always been a good eater, and lets you know when he wants or needs something. The first year went by so quickly!

Coming home from the hospital

1st Birthday Celebration

Fast forward to April 29, 2011... Andy is a complex little man. Just when I begin to think I know what he is going to do, he surprises me. He loves to explore and investigate. Andy is my little trouble maker. His smile melts my heart. I love that when I walk in the door every day, he is there to greet me shouting "Mama!" and waiting not so patiently to be picked up. Andy is the best eater ever! He will try anything once, eats solidly at dinner, and truly enjoys his food. (His favorite place to eat is Chipotle! He loves the lime rice and black beans!!!) Not only does he love eating food, he also loves to help me cook. He often demands "Up peez" and has to taste test dinner. I know it meets his seal of approval when he says "Moer mama". Andy loves being the little brother! He loves to engage with his brother and sister, often watching them for guidance. This will probably lead to more bad than good! Andy can be demanding at times, stubbornly refusing to use his words. Instead he opts for the pushing or pulling method to show you what he wants. Andy is definitely the youngest child and will always be the "baby". He loves being catered too...which everyone is guilty of!

Here are some of the memorable moments from this year:

You learned how to walk!

You went to the circus for the first time!

You paint a picture EVERY SINGLE DAY when you drop off your big sister at school...you can't wait to be in Ms. Debbie's class too!

You fell in love with the Disney movie Cars!

You visited Granny and Grampa's for the first time! You rode your very first horse. Buddy was your best friend for a day!

Your Nana and Boppa celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary!

You learned how to play hide and go seek! (Except sometimes you are the only one hiding!)

You saw your first snow in Tucson!

You met all of your great-grandparents!

Happy Birthday, little man! Mommy and Daddy love you SO much!!!

There is nothing terrible about this two year old!!!

Blog-a-Day in May!!!

Happy May Day! We kicked off May with Andy's birthday celebration. Thank you to all of our wonderful friends who joined us today! Andy had a great time and has been playing non-stop with all of his new Cars toys!!!

I've been neglecting my blog the past few months and have been feeling VERY guilty about it. So, I teamed up with my friends Ami and Anabelle to do a blogging marathon in May. If you have also been a little neglectful of your blog, we would love to have you join us for Blog-A-Day in May! Plus, I love reading everyone's blog and can't wait to hear about your daily adventures!!!

National Blog Posting Month

I decided to steal Ami's idea for Day 1 and use the Nablopomo theme for my blog. (I'm too tired to download and upload pictures today.) This month's theme is Maybe...

Here are my "May"be's for this month:

Maybe I'll paint my kitchen blue...maybe not...

Maybe my little toe will feel better...

Maybe Andy will learn how to be a better sharer...

Maybe Katie will sleep the ENTIRE night in her own bed...

Maybe Bobby will learn how to tie his shoes all by himself...

Maybe I'll get to go on a date with my husband...

Maybe things will slow down...maybe not...

I must be crazy! Crazy in love with my life!!! Despite the chaos that is my life these days, I have officially committed to a blog-a-day in May!