One Week Down...

...too many to go! Well, the first week of school is done. This week was marked with meetings (not so much fun), classroom and lesson prep, and a new green screen (and some excellent anchoring by Mindi and Sarah). Leaving Lily the first day was really hard. I kept thinking about what I would be missing while I was at work, what she was doing, how cute she was looking ;-) As the week went on, it got a little easier, but not much. I am hoping that as weeks go on and a routine is established things will get easier. I do have to say, coming home from work to my little Bean is my favorite part of the day. She is babbling and cooing so much! She is also giving some excellent smiles.

This school year will definitely be hard. Each year presents its own challenges...planning a wedding, being pregnant, balancing teaching and coaching and being an advisor and having a life...so really, this year's challenge is learning how to be a mom and a teacher. I know I am going to need to adjust when I plan and grade because I will want my home time to be Lily time, not OM time. I think learning how to do that will be the biggest change for me because I am so used to grading at home and planning rather last minute. Not the most effective way to function as a teacher, but it always worked for me. Once I figure out this new balance, I think things will just kind of fall into place. Until then, I am working on a learning curve and taking things one day at a time.

2 Months!

Today, my little Lily Bean is 2 months old. I can't believe she is already 2 months, times flies when you are having fun (and when you are up at least once a night). We took the monthly picture of her cute little self this morning, though she really didn't want to smile (I did get one good smile, though). She is off at grandma and grandpa R's house today, so Tom and I could spend some time together before school begins. This also meant a mass cleaning of the house because Lord know when it will get a good cleaning again!

Earlier this month Lily met Ben, her future husband. Ben is Kara's son (Kara is my and Tom's co-worker and friend). Kara and I were pregnant together at school and always joked that Ben and Lily would be the product of an arranged marriage. We got some cute pics of the kids together. Lily (and I) look forward to future play dates!

3 nights of sleeping for 7 hours!

So for the past three nights Lily has successfully slept for 7 hours through the night! Two of those nights were 11p-6a and one was 10:30p-5:30a. Either way, that is some good sleeping. It has definitely been nice getting more sleep and having her on something of a sleeping schedule. I keep waiting for this schedule to change, though, so I try not to get too excited...

This week Lily joined us at school to get my room started and go over HSA materials. During the HSA meeting she was a perfect angel...mostly looking at Becky and making her laugh (which, is kind of humorous when Becky is saying "How can we focus on getting FARMS students' scores higher?...Hi Bean! Anyone have ideas?". She did a pretty good job for it being a longer day at school, she even felt comfortable enough to poop through her diaper, onesie, and pants. That was a fun diaper change for mommy.

I will miss my Bean terribly when school starts, but I know she is in capable hands at my parents' house and then at daycare. I have mixed feelings about going back to school; I am enjoying these days with my wonderful co-workers, but I know once school starts the stress will begin. I truly love what I do, but with high stakes testing the schoolhouse has become a kid factory, pumping out graduates. It makes me sad to see learning so focused on one test. I would rather freely do what I thought I was hired to do-- enrich students' lives through literature. I look at Lily and wonder what her education will be like. I feel grateful that she was born into a family who values education. I hope that she can develop the love for learning that I had, and still have. I want school to be a sanctuary for her, not a factory like it seems to be now.

Of course...

...without fail I will sit down to pump and Lily will start screaming. She will be sound asleep, I will put her in her swing (a swing that she normally loves), and as soon as I am "hooked up" WAHHHHHH begins. No amount of cooing, talking, reasoning (ok, maybe not reasoning), will help her to calm down. Unlike Lily, Fred snoozes through everything, so he is on the couch asleep. If one can be jealous of a dog, I am.

Onto a more exciting topic...my brother comes home from China this weekend! He left June 12, just 8 days before Lily made her entrance into the world, so he has never met her. He has seen her pictures and we have sent updates, but I am just so excited for him to meet her. He will also be her godfather, so that is super special! After 2 months abroad, I am pretty sure Tim is ready for some American food. He has strongly conveyed his dislike of Chinese food, especially the soup. I suppose we should have a big, juicy burger with fries waiting for him when he gets off the plane. Oh, and, interesting fact...he will get 2 Sundays this week...a Chinese one and an American one!

Finally, we have set a date for Lily's baptism-- October 8. My uncle Dan, who is a deacon, will perform the baptism. I am oddly excited. Maybe it has something to do with my devout adoration of Mary (this dates back to four-year-old me pretending to be Mary at Christmas) or the idea that Lily's baptism will be the first big event in her life. Despite some of the problems within the Catholic Church, I am glad that Lily will have some form of religion in her life. I believe that the morals that a person gains through religion, or any form of belief system, is invaluable. Plus, a little bit of good old fashioned Catholic guilt never hurt anyone. (Sarah and I also came up with some catchy slogans for a baptism-- our best, in my opinion-- "How do you get defeat the devil? I do it with a little holy water and cooking oil!" Ok, so it's not cooking oil, it's holy oil, and this slogan may get us excommunicated, but we think it is pretty catchy!