It's Thursday!

Woo-hoo!


(totally unrelated photo-mums are blooming!)

Thursday means the week is almost over! Today is another long day for me at school and Michael at daycare, but tomorrow we just have a half day and I have some fun things planned for our morning together! I'm hoping next week will go smoother as all the students will have one lesson under their belt and I won't have to tell them things like how to open their instrument case. It's all about the little things! :o)

This subbing gig is really giving me lots of perspective on lots of things in my life like how much my husband works all day and how much I appreciate it that he lets me stay home part time. It's tough! I don't know how full time working mom's do it all the time-they are superwomen, hands down! It is also forcing me to be thankful for the time I had (and will have!) at home with Michael, something that I complain about sometimes and taken for granted.

I've been feeling the need to decompress after school and last night I took a little walk after Michael went to bed. The cool evenings feel so good- I just wish they would last longer!! Fall seems like such a fleeting thing.

Homecoming

This past weekend was Homecoming weekend for my alma mater. Of course, being the exceptional alumnus I am, I returned for the game. Okay well...I was really just there to see my sister do her thing. It always feels so strange to go back to things like high school football games and parades- almost surreal to think that was me who used to do things like that.

Michael and I arrived in time to catch the homecoming parade down Main Street. It was pretty gray out but it only sprinkled a tiny bit.



Denise and her cheerleaders on their "float", minus their cheerleading uniforms.

I took a few photos around the farm. I wish I would have taken more, but it was muddy and this city gal did not bring her workin' boots!

After a delicious dinner (thanks, mom!) we headed to the football game. It was a beautiful evening and an entertaining game. I was happy to have something to take pictures of besides Michael -thanks, Denise! :o) Speaking of Michael, he stayed home with my brother Sam. Michael slept the whole time-what a good baby!

It was a great little trip home and I enjoyed seeing Denise do her thing! Happy Homecoming!

Day 1 Down

Well, I survived my first day as a long term sub. It was a big surprise this morning to hear the news that the lady I am subbing for went into labor two weeks early. I was so not ready to start my week this way!

All in all, it went fine. I had a lot of really great students and for a day jam packed of first lessons, everything went really smoothly. It is so funny to think back my time in college when I had to write out a 20 page lesson plan about how to do a first lesson on an instrument and now I can just whip them out like it is no big deal. I even taught a horn lesson today which I hardly ever do. I played along with the kid and I was pretty impressed with myself.

Time and experience are funny things, aren't they?

Only 11 weeks and 4 days to go! :o)

How Big is Michael?

Sooo big!

Michael has been such a goofball lately. He has really started to do more things with his hands and arms, like imitating whatever we do. It is so cute when he raises his arms up in the air like, "What?"

He also had two teeny tiny teeth on the bottom and they are just so adorable. I haven't been able to catch them in very many shots yet, but you can see them in these two photos!

My little boy is growing up so fast!!

I'm having a hard time accepting the fact that summer is over. I am loving the cool temperatures and the changing fields but I just can't help feeling like I am running out of time.

Less than a month until Michael's birthday.
Snow in a few months (or less!).
A few weeks until I start working every day.




I feel like I should be doing more on my days at home like taking Michael to library time and going for walks. It is hard when there is so much catch up to do around the house after being out of town for three days. It is hard when I have things at school hanging over my head and not enough time or resources to get them done.

Yesterday during Michael's nap I walked around our yard and took these pictures, so I guess I'm not really being very proactive, am I?

I guess I am just trying to make time stand still, even if it is just for a little bit.

Chicago Weekend

Our girls weekend started out with what else-shopping!



We stayed in Lombard and we were just down the road from the awesome shopping center in Oak Brook. Hands down my favorite store was Crate and Barrel. I loved everything in that store! My second favorite store was Land of Nod which had so many cute kid's things like sock kitties! How adorable are they?

Why didn't I buy one??



After our day of traveling and shopping we had a great dinner at a brewery complete with some nice brews. We had a super awesome waiter whose nick name on the sales receipt was "Chadillac". I was having a really good time because when he asked if I wanted another drink I said no, but he misunderstood it as "yes" so...it was a good time! :o)

YUM.

Me, Kelly, and Kelli (all the way from AZ)

Ashley, Jodi and Emily- great gals! Jodi coordinated the whole trip for us and forced us to come. :o)

After dinner we had some wine, did our nails, ate M&M's, and relaxed in the hot tub. Ahh...heaven.

Sunday morning we slept in, had a nice breakfast at the hotel and then caught the train into the city. It was my first time taking the metra and while I was nervous about the lines/logistics of it all, it was a very easy way to travel into the city. There was a Cubs game so it was fun to see everyone in their Cubs gear. I would love to go to a game!





Our first stop was the Chicago Jazz Festival where we relaxed for a bit, ate lunch, and saw some funky groups. Jazz harp, anyone?

After the Jazz Fest, we stopped at the bean and then headed down Michigan Ave. for some shopping and sight seeing. It was super super busy so we changed routes and headed to Navy Pier instead, which was also super busy. Lots of people!

Of course, what is a trip to the big city without a Starbucks stop?

I thought everything in the store looked so beautiful in the afternoon light, but I tried to refrain from looking like too big of a dork and just took a couple of photos. Scott was worried about my taking my new camera with me, but I saw lots of very nice cameras around people's necks the whole weekend. I also got a new bag that also has room for my wallet so that made it easier to carry with me. Anyway, back to the trip:

The whole group (minus me)!

After catching a cab back to the station it felt good to relax on the train ride home. We had a great dinner at Weber Grill complete with more brews, awesome pretzel rolls and quite possibly the best meatloaf I have ever had. I think the best part of the trip was eating good food and relaxing away from the husband and kid. Priceless!

It was a great weekend, and I can't wait for girls weekend next year! :o)

Back from Chicago!

I'm back from Chicago! It was an awesome weekend spent with girls only...no husbands or kids! Glorious! :o)

I will update with more photos/commentary tomorrow but I was really excited about my bean pictures so I thought I would post them quick. Visiting the bean was definitely a highlight of the trip! Who would guess so many people would get so excited about it?