{out & about}

Because the weather has been so gorgeous outside lately, we have been taking as much advantage of it as we possibly can! That means getting out and about! Ayden and I love to go on little adventure together. Often times it involves going someplace with water! I have countless pictures of my child throwing things into the water, looking at the water, playing in the water, at the end of the water... etc... and these pictures aren't any different. Well, technically they are different, but you get the point, haha!

The sun was shining and my new camera was screaming to be used outside and I couldn't say no. So, instead of sitting down to work on capstone stuff Sunday afternoon before heading to a Pampered Chef party, Ayden and I ventured to Iverson Park for some fun. Me, camera in hand, him, boots on and ready to go! We didn't get to spend as much time there as we both would have liked, but I did get lots of pictures and Ayden played in the water! It was fun! It was a typical mom and Ayden outing. Loved it!

We have instituted a new reading routine at our house. We try to read with Ayden at least 20 minutes a night. Some nights go better than others. If it has been a long day for him, he gets antsy and doesn't try as hard at it as I would like him to. Then we both get frustrated and nothing gets accomplished. This past weekend, I thought maybe it was time for Ayden to start reading silently to himself for a little while. His reading teacher at school says that Ayden's reading comprehension is very good. We gave it a try on Saturday and Ayden read to himself for 10 minutes. Afterwards, I asked him some questions about the story to see if he was actually reading or just pretending to read. He was reading, that's for sure. He did great explaining what he had read to him.

I then decided that we would read together for 10 minutes each night and then separately for 10 minutes each night. The last two nights we've only read 15 minutes and it was silent reading. Ayden and I cuddled in my bed together and we each read our own books. It was so precious! Plus, it gives me an excuse to just relax and read a little bit each day. I could think of nothing better than reading next to Ayden. Fifteen minutes was pushing it a little bit last night as I could tell that Ayden was getting a little antsy towards the end. But, just like the first time, we both asked each other questions about our books and Ayden did a great job summarizing what he read to me. I love that he is comprehending what he is reading and that he is enjoying reading silently with me. I think it is going to be something that works well for him and I when Jay leaves.

Speaking of Jay leaving... d-day has been decided. Haha, I talk about him leaving like it is something major. His work start date is set for March 26th... a week and a half from now. It is two weeks sooner than what we had originally thought, but I suppose that it will work. We are planning on going home that weekend anyways, so Jay will just stay home I guess. I knew this nice weather would have him start working sooner than he wanted. It just means it will be more time for him to be in town to find a place for us to live. Keep your fingers crossed on that! I called on two places yesterday. One was a house and one was termed a condo. The house ended up being too expensive and the condo was really an apartment that I had already been to (a friend of mine used to live there) and although nice, they would not work for us. We have too much stuff, there is no garage, and I just really don't want to live in those apartments. We'll just keep looking!

The week is young and I am hoping to get a lot accomplished this week and next week with it being spring break. Ayden and I are going to see The Lorax on Friday with his second grade class and then it's spring break time! I took off work on Monday and Friday of next week so I can fully enjoy some time off and hopefully be productive with my capstone information and some assignments that will be coming due. I have made a to-do list of stuff that needs to get done for school before the end of the semester and although it isn't super long and hopefully won't be the source of much stress for me, it is a good visual for me to keep in mind what needs to be completed. I am a list person. I know that in just a few weeks I am sure I will be making list after list of what needs to be done regarding our move as well. So much more complicated when you are moving across the state. I've already even started thinking about babysitters for Ayden for the summer... a necessity actually. I am fairly certain we have the majority of the summer covered, but the logistics of it all need to be figured out yet. Alas, one more thing to add to the list and to not worry about for right now.

My mantra right now... ONE.DAY.AT.A.TIME!!!

CIAO! LOVE ME!