Finally!

This past weekend a miracle happened.  I finally graduated with my Master's degree in Special Education.  I say finally because it felt like it took a long time but in reality it was just 1 year and 7 months.  I can't say that I'm super excited about having the degree itself, but I am ecstatic to be done.  I don't believe it was terribly difficult to get my master's degree, but it was insanely time consuming when you throw in a full-time job, raising kids, and being pregnant for the past 8 months.  So needless to say, I feel as though a huge weight has been lifted off of me and I can finally relax a little bit.  

I did walk in the graduation ceremony, mostly because I believe its important to celebrate accomplishments but also because I thought it would be a good experience for the kids (not the sitting in boredom for 2.5 hours part but the gaining a better understanding of what graduating from college means part).  My dad and step-mom came down for the occasion so I graduated and we had a small celebration.  

Here are the pictures...

 Waiting for the ceremony to start

 Patiently waiting for me to walk

 Headed to the stage

 Walking across

 With my dad and step-mom

 With the kids

 The family

Me and my big belly :)

Now, what to do with all this free time I have...

Proud Mom and Wife

It's only April 9th and I have so much to be excited about.  March ended with a huge success for McKayla.  She is now in 3rd grade and it has certainly taken it's toll on her.  This is the first year she has struggled in school and when I look back, I remember 3rd grade being difficult for me as well. Math and reading comprehension assignments and tests have proved to be a challenge for her.  We've worked hard with her and she is really starting to understand and appreciate the value of hard work.  In the last week of March she got her first A on a math test and she got an A on a big project she did on Rosa Parks.  Naturally, we were through the roof for her so we celebrated in a big way.  We went out to dinner to celebrate and after the opening day actitivities for t-ball, she and I went and got mani/pedis as a treat for her hard work.

 Drinking a Shirley Temple while getting her nails done

(Face paint courtesy of Opening Day at Tom Brown Park)

Happy Girl

That same weekend, Justin arranged for Seth's t-ball team to take the field with the FSU baseball team. Unfortunately, it started raining soon after the pictures below were taken so we didn't stay long.  It was still worth it to see those boys so excited to be on the field with "real" baseball players. 

Last week the kids got their report cards and Seth got straight E's (these are like A's in kindergarten) on his report card for the third time this year.  One more time and that will be straight E's for the whole school year.  He's working towards a pretty big prize.  McKayla also did well on her report card.  As I mentioned before, she's been struggling this year.  Her grades aren't quite where we would like them to be just yet but she does continue to work hard and improve all the time.  I am so proud of them. 

This year I decided that the kids needed nice easter baskets that they could keep forever.  I searched online and in the stores but I couldn't find something I really liked.  I decided that making them myself was the only way to go.  I went to Hobby Lobby and bought baskets, fabric, ribbon, and thread.  My mom got me a sewing machine for Christmas so I got it out and here's what I came up with. 

 I hand embroidered the names too.  I do not recommend this, it's a pain in the butt!!!

 After the Easter Bunny came!  The Easter Bunny filled Seth's too but my pregnant brain somehow forgot to take a picture. 

The title of my post says, "proud mom and wife" so now that I have bragged on the kids, I'm going to take a minute and brag on my husband. Here's just a few things that have happened recently that make my husband the great catch he is. 

1. After having three weeks with the kids it had been awhile since we had had a date night.  Not only did he take me to dinner and a movie, but he brought me flowers too! 

2. As you can probably imagine, being pregnant has given me some pretty serious aching feet and a back full of tight and knotted up muscles.  He gladly massages my feet and back whenever I request it and I should mention that these requests are coming pretty frequently now. 

3. He volunteers his free time to coach Seth's team and he's really good at it.  Each week he spends 2-5 hours at practices and games for the kids and another 1-2 hours planning for practices and coming up with new drills. 

4. No matter the hour or what else he has to get done, he always plays with the kids.  He spends countless hours shooting baskets with the kids, playing catch with Seth, watching them do tricks on their scooters, playing soccer in the yard, playing board games, and reading books.  He really and truly always grants requests for these kinds of activities with the kids.  I am amazed by his energy to keep up with them daily.

5. Justin got me an Easter present.  I was so focused on the kids stuff that I didn't even think to get my sweet husband anything.   Sunday morning he surprised me with a card and a book by one of my favorite authors.  He is always so thoughtful.

6. Huck's room is amazing and it's mostly thanks to Justin.  He has created 3 different projects for his room that involved lots of time drawing and painting.  I don't want to give away too much just yet, but he is truly talented in the art department.

7. Justin has a new job.  I mentioned awhile ago that Justin took a trip to Chicago to get a special certification.  He became a certified exit planning advisor and he is the only one in the North Florida area.  This week he starts his new job as Director of Blackthorne Group, a company started by his father that provides several different services to private capital markets such as exit planning strategies and business valuations. 



I'm sure I could come up with more but I'll stop for now.  I'm one lucky lady and I'm so grateful for my amazing family.  



Spring Break 2012

One of the things I love about being a teacher is that I still get a Spring Break.  That being said, it makes for a great opportunity for a family vacation.  Justin and I decided a few months ago that this year we would do a Disney vacation.  As you can imagine, the kids were thrilled by this. 

We started our Spring Break with the parade and celebration in downtown Tallhassee for St. Patricks Day on Saturday.  

 
On Sunday Seth was acting a bit sickly and we didn't want to risk a full blown illness before our trip so we laid low, gave him some extra vitamins, and put them to bed early so we could get up early and drive down to Disney. Well, it worked because this was him at 6:00 AM Monday morning...

and McKayla too.

We were hoping they would sleep on the way to Magic Kingdom but no such luck.  As Seth put it, "Going to Disney gets me fired up!".

I'll let the pictures tell the story of our day at Magic Kingdom.

 On the ferry to Magic Kingdom

 Our first ride, Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride

 Splash Mountain

We left the park at around 5:30 and headed to our hotel to check in.  We stayed at the Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort at Bonnet Creek and it was within a mile or two of all the parks.  It had 5 pools including, 2 lazy rivers, and 5 or 6 hot tubs.  It was super nice and we got it for a great price.  I cannot recommend it enough.  After checking in we grabbed some dinner and headed back to the park.  It was dark at that point so we didn't take anymore pictures.

8:00 AM came very early the next morning but we got up, had breakfast, and headed downstairs to get on the shuttle bus to Hollywood Studios.

 Waiting on the shuttle

We got in a bit earlier that night but we were still exhausted.  After dinner and baths we were all out within a few minutes and up and ready to go again the next day.  On our third day in Orlando we headed to Animal Kingdom (the favorite for all four of us).

This is a picture of Justin and McKayla on Everest.  They are near the back.  Justin has on a yellow shirt and is holding up his hat.  They rode this ride four times throughout the day.  Seth got in line with them three of those times but chickened out every time.  Oh well, maybe next time.

On our fourth and last day in Orlando we decided to relax a bit and boy were my pregnant feet thankful.  We spent all day jumping from one pool, hot tub, or lazy river to the next.  That evening we headed to Downtown Disney to shop, look around, and eat at Rainforest Cafe.  If you haven't eaten at one, make sure you do next time you get the opportunity.  The atmosphere is fabulous and the food is great. 

Friday morning we packed up and headed even further south to Port St. Lucie to visit with my mom, step-dad, grandma, and my brother and his family.  All the kids had a great time together and Christa, my sister-in-law took maternity and family portraits for us at the beach (I'll make a seperate post about that when I get them).  We also got the chance to spend almost an entire day with my Uncle Sergio (I call him Tio) and my Aunt Nieves.  The kids and Justin had never met him and I'm so glad we got the opportunity to spend time with them.  When they left the kids kept asking about Tio and when they'd see them again.  Hopefully it won't be as long next time.

Sunday we drove back to Tallahassee and life went back to normal.  The kids and I are back at school and Justin is back at work.  Luckily, we have lots of exciting things to look forward to.  Seth starts his t-ball games in the next couple weeks, the baby shower is in two weeks, my grad school graduation is in four weeks, the kids and Justin are headed to Boston for a long weekend trip including a Red Sox game, and in about nine weeks or so we'll be meeting baby Huck.  Oh yeah, and summer break starts in nine weeks too!!!

Looks like I'll have lots to blog about in the coming weeks.  Can't wait!