{another proud mommy moment}

If it seems like I am having quite a few proud mommy moments lately it is because I am! Who is going to complain about that?! NOT ME!

We had Ayden's second parent teacher conference of the year last night and it went AMAZING! I cannot remember if I mentioned the math timed tests that he has been having to do in school and at home for homework. He is a math master and so he wasn't having any trouble with them. Apparently they had to do a 100 problem timed test in school and the goal was to complete it in 10 minutes... my math master of a son completed it in... SIX minutes! Awesome!

Both Jay and I attend his parent teacher conferences when we can. We've been lucky enough to be able to schedule them during time that work with both of our schedules. I know it will most likely not always be that way and at some point they probably won't be as important to me. But given that Ayden currently receives services for reading and speech therapy, I find it very important for us to go to these conferences. There are normally two conferences throughout the year and many times the second one is optional. His teacher did note that we didn't need to meet for the second conference because Ayden was doing so well, but I wanted to in order to see the progress that he's made.

I love the fact that both his reading teacher and his speech teacher (along with the student clinician who is working at his school) both made it a point to come to the conference without me even having to request it. I really love his school and am sad that we will be leaving at the end of the school year and we got the guilt trip from his speech teacher about leaving too because she loves him so much. AWWW! Apparently Ayden is a little ham at school because his current speech teacher will be leaving for maternity leave towards the end of the school year and the long term sub will actually be the speech teacher he had when he was in kindergarten at his other school and she specifically asked if he was still in speech because she wanted to see him. Leaving lasting impressions on women already, haha! I think we might have our hands full!

The report from all of his teachers was amazing! He has made many strides in reading since he has started working with his reading teacher in October. He is still having some fluency issues where his reading isn't super fluent, but he is enjoying reading SO much more and everyone can see it. His confidence has increased and it is just awesome! I am in awe! His reading teacher said that if he continues to make the progress that he has that he will be right on track for reading when he starts third grade.

His speech teacher stated that he has met two more of his speech goals for his current IEP which is awesome! He has a few more sounds that he needs to work on, but they are the later developing sounds and as of right now, as long as he is continuing to make progress I could care less that he is in speech therapy. Actually, I really never cared that he was being pulled out for it. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that almost my entire undergraduate course work centered around speech therapy and so I understand a lot of it and what they are working on and I never thought of it as something that woud classify my child as slow or behind. I do know that for awhile I did feel really bad about his reading being so behind his other classmates and worried that he might have to repeat the second grade over and what not and I know that I shouldn't have, but as a parent you want the best for your child and I couldn't help feeling that maybe I had let him down just a little bit in that area.

Anyways, Ayden will likely need speech therapy throughout the third grade as well, but that is okay. I am okay with that.

Overall academically his regular teacher says that he is doing great! Like I've mentioned, his reading has come along, his math skills are great, he is doing better and better with his writing and penmanship, and he is SO social! His teacher joked that she doesn't know why we ever said that he was shy because sometimes he is  just a little chatterbox in school. It made my heart swell to hear that! I think he will adjust just fine when we move to a new school!

My only current concern is learning to write in cursive. We asked his teacher when they start cursive in Stevens Point and it is not until the third grade. We had asked Jay's mom (who works as one of the administrative assistants at the elementary school where we might be moving to) to ask one of the teachers there when they start cursive and apparently it is in the second grade. Well, I know that some kids who transfer in might need some catch up time with those already in that school district, but because Ayden already will be in speech therapy and might still need some reading help (fingers crossed that he doesn't), I don't want him to feel more behind if he doesn't know any cursive and his new classmates already do. So... we might start some cursive this summer or before if he wants to learn how to write in it. It kind of depends on his interest in it. I don't want to push him too much right now when we still want to concentrate on reading and his articulation.

Wow, have I bored you do tears with all of my wonderful Ayden talk. Sorry... any parents that are reading this know what it feels like to be so proud of your child and to know that at least some of the stuff you are doing is right. I'm not a perfect parent by any means. I lose my temper and get irritated with Ayden sometimes. But I also try my hardest to make sure that he knows I love him more than anything that I will always be there for him. I don't want him to ever be afraid to come to me about anything! God bless me when this child hits his teenage years, haha!

Okay, enough about Ayden (even though he's pretty much the center of my life). Life has been going pretty good otherwise. I had clinic today and it snowed pretty much the entire day. The roads were okay driving in and I am hoping they are better than okay on my way home. I am still at clinic (yummy lunch time) and it is STILL snowing, but it is a wet snow. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

I have a bit of a cold going on and it started Sunday night. Sunday afternoon Ayden and I ventured to Jordan Park (I have yet to upload my pictures from the adventure, but I'll be sure to share some in a different post) and had a great time. We did see one other person there and maybe it is just me being paranoid, but the guy kind of freaked me out. He was alone and probably in his late 40s and in sweats and I had no reason to be afraid of him or think he meant us any harm, but it was just a little weird. Maybe it was the fact that I didn't hear him coming up behind us until he was almost there. He was really friendly to talk to for a bit, but it wasn't long after we talked that I told Ayden it was time to go. You want to think the best of people these days, but you just never know. Sorry dude for thinking you might be a crazy person! Anyways, after we got home from the park, I laid down for a while because I felt a headache coming on. Even though I felt like crap, I made myself get up and workout Sunday night. Last night of Week 1 of Ripped in 30 with Jillian and I rocked it out. I woke up yesterday with a runny/stuffy nose and felt like crap pretty much all day and I REALLY didn't want to work out last night either, but I knew that I was probably going to use my 'off' day on Saturday, I made my sick self get up and start Week 2 of the program. I felt pretty good while working out. I can feel myself getting a little stronger. I know I'm not losing as much weight as I would like as fast as I would like, but I'm trying not to concentrate on that (or weigh myself everyday either because that is just depressing). I will probaby forgo going to Cub Scouts again tonight so I can workout instead. And then go to bed early because getting up at 5:45am SUCKS! I don't know how I am going to do that on a daily basis when we move. I'm thinking my day will probably start around 8am, which means getting there probably by 7:45am... which means leaving by 6:45am and getting up by 5:45am. Ugh, too early!!! I just can't think about that right now, haha!

CIAO! LOVE ME!

{you know that point}

That point when you realize things HAVE to change. I've gotten to that point in multiple facets of my life recently and it feels kind of liberating. Insert smilely face here, hehe!

Six days ago I stepped on the scale and it read 119.4. Ugh! After all of my hard work over the course of the last nineish months to get to a weight that I wanted it sucked to see it creep back up. At first I just put up with it. I was no longer working out. I started eating like crap again. Puke! But I refused to let the scale read out 120... so I knew something had to change. Because I had tried to start working out over the last two and a half months a few times with my Turbo Fire program and hadn't succeeded in getting past working out two days in a row I knew that I needed to try something different. This time I decided to work back up to the Turbo Fire program and before jumping back into that I would go through Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30 program again. I had done this before and liked it well enough and thought I could pull of working out 20 minutes each day for a month... work back into working out. I won't lie and say that I wasn't tempted into getting Jillian Michael's new 90 day program that she just launched because it looks pretty neat (you know how easy it is to fall into the trap of wanting to try every new workout program you see), but I didn't. I already have a few of her DVD's and the Turbo Fire program. I am proud to say that I worked out Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and today this week. I did not work out yesterday, despite the fact that I sort of wanted to. I workout best at night (getting up earlier than I need to in the morning is hard for me, I like my sleep too much) and Ayden and I went to a movie last night and didn't get home until almost 9pm. No excuse, I know, but it is suggested that you not workout EVERY day of the week. So, Friday was my day 'off'. Despite the fact that the scale only read 119.0 this morning, I am still proud of myself for making it past day two! My goal weight is still 115 and at some point I will get there, but I am not really dieting this time around. I really restricted myself when I lost the weight the first time around and it wasn't any fun. This time I am watching more of what I eat, but chocolate is not off limits. I haven't had soda in a while and am trying to drink more water. I AM measuring out my cereal in the morning and usually having a Lean Cuisine and an apple for lunch during the week so I sort of know my calorie count for the first half of my day and then trying to moderate my portion at supper time as to not over eat. The number on the scale is important to me, I can't lie and say that it isn't, but being healthy is more important and even working out for 20 minutes a day this week has made for a happier me. Anyone can do anything for 20 minutes, right?! I know I've written again and again about working out, so sue me, but it's my blog, I write what is on my mind at any give moment and tonight this is on my mind.

As I said, Ayden and I went to see a movie last night. We saw Journey 2: The Mysterious Island in 3D and it was really cute. I really liked the first movie, Journey to the Center of the Earth and knew this one would probably be cute too. It is definitely a good family movie to go to. It's been a fun mommy and me weekend so far. We had a mostly lazy day today which was nice. I've been pretty productive this week with regards to school so I knew that I could afford to do a bunch of nothing today. The weather was so nice though that at some point this afternoon I suggested that Ayden and I go for a walk and walk we did. We walked for about a mile and a half and it felt great. It was a little cold on our way back since we were walking into the little breeze there was, but it was a really great time for me and Ayden. As we were walking along and I was watching him scooter ahead of me through the puddles I realized just how grown up he has become in the last few years. My little man has grown up right before my eyes... seven and a half years old and I cannot believe it! He has the most amazing things to say sometimes and it always starts with 'hey momma'. Sometimes I sit and wonder just where the time has gone and what the future holds for my amazing little guy. What will he be like a few years from now? Will he still want to cuddle with his mommy on the couch? My absolute favorite thing to do with Ayden right now is read. We just started The Diary of a Wimpy Kid and he is doing so great with his reading. I couldn't be more proud! And out of the blue he will just come up to me and give me a hug or want to cuddle with me on the couch. Makes a momma melt EVERY time! Makes a momma realize what is important in life and what isn't. Make a momma revel in the fact that no matter how bad her day is going, one smile can make everything better! Best part of my long days at clinic... coming home and getting a hug the second I walk in the door! (I remember waiting for my mom to get home from work after a long day and greeting her.)

Time is fleeting and I'm moving forward, no longer backward! Best days yet to come!

CIAO! LOVE ME!

{blink}

…and their childhood is gone!

My sweet little four year old went from this……to this……to this……to this…… to this…all with what seems like one blink of an eye!

I’m afraid to blink anymore because before I know it, he’ll be 18 and moving out of the house!

He captures my entire heart with one little smile, hug, smooch, ‘hey momma’, his entire being! I cannot imagine life without him and my heart swells just a little more each and every day!

(It’s just been one of those days where I’ve really taken a step back and relished in all of the glory that my life is! Good and bad and everything in between! I am immeasurably blessed!)

CIAO! LOVE ME!

{a great valentine’s day}

I wish I could say that lots of fun and exciting things have been going on and I could blog about those, but no such thing! At any rate, despite that, I am having a much better week than last and it is only Tuesday so that is probably a good sign, right?! Let's just say yes!

Jay finally got home last night after supper and we spent the rest of the night as a family chilling in front of the TV. It was nice to see him again after a few days. Heck, who am I kidding, missed him like crazy! Ayden and I got his homework and Valentine's done earlier in the night so we could just chill later on. Jay brought home some good news. He had met up with a potential employer in the area where we will be moving to and without trying to jinx it, things are looking very good. He is hoping to hear something by the end of the week for sure. Keep your fingers crossed for us because this would be a great job for him and a great fit for our family!

We also exchanged Valentine's gifts with each other last night (even though I had wanted to wait until today). Jay was pretty adamant about it last night so I let him and then I was too excited to wait to give him and Ayden their gifts so I caved too. Jay got me this beautiful necklace. He's got a pretty good track record when it comes to picking out jewelry for me if I don't say so myself! He also picked up the Breaking Dawn DVD for me on my way home, but that was more because I knew he was stopping at Wal-Mart and I had asked him to pick it up for me.

I had made two things for him. One was a picture album of me in it from a photo shoot I had done with a friend a while back and finally got edited and printed and the other one was 52 Things I Love about him. He's also getting a bigger crock pot (per his request), but we still need to go and look at one later this week when my Kohl's coupon starts. 30% off this time and crock pots on sale for $20! Heck yeah!

I had gotten Ayden two Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and a new beyblade. He was pretty excited about the beyblade... I don't know about the books, haha! But I know that he will enjoy reading them with me or Jay.

Here is a funny story for today. This morning while I was getting ready in the bathroom Ayden was out in the living room watching some morning cartoons. All of a sudden he marches up to the bathroom door and says that I called him crazy. I hadn't said anything to him up to that point so I told him that I didn't call him anything. Then he holds up the 52 reasons thing I made for Jay and told me that it said 'you put up with my crazy family' and that since Ayden was my family I was calling him crazy! Too funny! I thought it was cute that he put the connections together, even though I wasn't referring to him, and then I thought it was even cuter when he went to go sit back down on the couch and he continued to read the rest of the things I had put on the cards. To see him reading something on his own accord was great since it is something we try so hard on at home. I just smiled. It made my morning. (Well, that, and the fact that I didn't have to be to clinic until 9:30am because that was when our first patient was, although the rest of the day made up for the later start time because we were busy all day.) Side note... hugs from grateful patients are the best! :)

Hope everyone reading had a great Valentine’s Day as well!

CIAO! LOVE ME!

{woe is me}

Disclaimer: This post is going to contain more whining than anything and if you’d prefer to not read it, I’d stop now. I’ll be the first to admit I have nothing to complain about in the overall grand scheme of my life, but everyone is allowed to have a bad day (or week) and vent about it.

I have to say that the culmination of my downer week was probably the weekend. I had wanted my weekend to turn my overall craptastic mood from this week around, but I think it only made things worse.

Don’t get me wrong, my weekend was not all bad. I did have a great time bowling with my bestie from high school and her son Saturday afternoon. It was great to be able to spend a bit of time together and I think both of our little guys had a great time together. It was a bummer that she had to go to work, but neither of us had control over that and I’m glad that we still decided to get together when she found out she had to work instead of rescheduling. I really needed those few hours!

Saturday night was relaxing too. Ayden and I spent it at my mom’s house chilling out and watching TV. Ayden had a great time with Uncle Casey and I spent the majority of my time non stop talking with my mom. I think she probably thinks I never shut up, ha! We even watched the movie The Hangover and I have to say that it was a lot funnier than I thought it was going to be and not quite as stupid as I had anticipated it was.

Today I was supposed to get together with three of my friends from graduate school and that plan kind of fell through. The plan was to meet at the mall at 11am. Turns out one person was sick and another one needed to stay home with her son. That left me and one other friend. I was ready to just reschedule, but we decided against it and were still going to meet. Fine and dandy, however this particular person does not know how to run on time and as much as I try not to let it bother me, 11am does not mean 1pm! Honestly, it just pissed me off. Um, its not like I don’t have my own life and other plans and can just push everything back by two hours because you don’t find it necessary to be on time. Okay, so maybe I’m going a little over board and I'm just letting my previously bad mood make things seem worse than what they really were. I don’t know, it just irritated me.

We got together for a quick lunch and that was really it. Truthfully, given my mood by that point in time, it was a waste of a day for me. After lunch I ran over to the mall because I wanted to find something for Ayden for Valentine’s Day and find some boots for myself. I found a pair of boots that I really liked, but the price was… $170! Really?!?! $170?!?! Um, I think not! I found something for Ayden and was happy with that and was going to leave, but on my way out of the mall, I happened past the Maurices store. I had been to the Maurices near us last week and didn’t find anything I wanted/liked enough to buy. This Maurices had a lot more selection to chose from and on a whim I decided to see if they had any boots I liked. Turned out they did and even though they were $60, I wanted them bad enough that I was willing to pay that much for them. I also happened upon the coat that I had seen at our Maurices but couldn’t justify buying because it too cost $60. Today I just said screw it and needed something to make me feel better. What is better than a little retail shopping?! Whatever I thought, I was going to charge it! Ha!

Time for the surprise of the day… the boots were on sale for $10 and the lady at the cashier gave me 20% off my final price even though I didn’t have my coupon with me so my total for the boots and coat was just over $60! SCORE! That literally made my day SO worth it… because believe me, the boots and coat are SUPER cute!

To top off my crappy weekend, I was ‘home’ and so was Jay but do you want to know how much time we actually saw each other… NOT A MINUTE!!!!!! You cannot count the time we spent in bed together because I went to bed before him Friday night and he went to bed before me on Saturday night. Wonderful, right?! Just made my weekend even better. (I told you, whiny, didn’t I? You were forewarned.)

I did get most of my required homework done. I just need to format the document before I submit it and it isn’t due until Tuesday morning so I have tomorrow to do that. Won’t take but maybe 15 minutes.

Best part of the weekend, hugs and smooches from my favorite little guy! He keeps me going no matter how down I am feeling. He can put a smile on my face during any moment of the day and that is all that matters right now. He’s just so silly and cute! Life wouldn’t be complete without him!

And with that, I will quit complaining about what is a seemingly perfectly great and normal life and say that tomorrow is a new day and I WILL make it better!

CIAO! LOVE ME!