This Moment & Nuggets

((this moment))

A Friday ritual. A single moment - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember.

~SouleMama~

Nuggets :: November 28

Nugget :: Work was a treat this week, being that I only went in for three days. The kids were rambunctious, but the end of the week was never more than a couple of days away. We had some hectic times, with all of the Thanksgiving projects to be had. On Wednesday, we made Stone Soup and shared all of the reasons to be thankful. I'm amazed at how brilliant five- and six-year-olds are.

Nugget :: Family time. We spent the holiday with my dad's side of the family. A small gathering, but an intimate one. Football played in the background, my niece ran a beauty salon and gave everyone haircuts. Kid enjoyed the attention from the big dogs and the big boys (my cousins). He was quick to show off his dancing moves and his love for football. He recently learned to yell "touch down!"

Nugget :: Kid has been difficult. I know it's his age, and it's developmentally appropriate. I've worked with early childhood for 9 years now. I keep trying to tell myself all of the things I told toddler parents when we held conferences. It's hard. It's hard when Kid is a gem with everyone. Everyone but his mother. He slaps my hand at the store because he's mad. He kicks at my boots when we have to go inside. He wants me to give in, break down, let him get what he wants. I can't back down. No, I won't back down. He's learning. Every time out I give him. Every time I say "no." He's learning. He's testing his boundaries. He's worse for me because I'm there. I'm his rock. His mama. But that doesn't mean that I didn't break down in tears last night after he was in bed. It doesn't mean it's easy. And it sure as hell isn't fun when he's testing those limits. But then, he finally figures out how to say the K sound at the end of "milk" and learns to climb down from his learning tower, and finally throws the ball for Finn instead of at him. And then it's all worth it. A hundred times over.

\\Thankful Thursday: Vol. 12//

Thanksgiving is here, and I felt the need to bring Thankful Thursday back. There's so much to be thankful for, and Thanksgiving is a fabulous time to reflect.

1. As always, I'm thankful for my family. My parents watch Kid two days a week and he is so loved by them. My mom always has words of wisdom for when I complain about my body, my job, my cranky kid. Dad gives the best dad-hugs and sometimes you just need a dad-hug. My sister and brother are the best - always there for me. Especially when I need fashion advice. Sister always has fabulous tips for me. Brother has perfected Kid's wardrobe (we all have him to thank for Kid's adorable Christmas outfit).

2. My job. It's been really busy this year, but I'm loving it. I'm feeling like a new teacher again, in that there is always something to do, but I am sick of doing the same thing year after year. It was definitely time for some change! The kids I work with are delightful, and my coworkers make going to work even more fun. While I will complain from time to time, I do look forward to going to work.

3. A teacher's schedule. I love my schedule. Yes, I bring work home every night. Not correcting, but stuff to prep - cut, staple, draw, etc. I don't get to it until after Kid goes to bed and it takes a long time. But, I have a teacher's schedule. I have a break in the fall, a break for Thanksgiving. A winter break, a spring break. While we can't afford for my to stay home (my real dream job), I get the best of both worlds. I go to a job that I love during the school year. On breaks and during the summer, I get to be a stay at home mom. It's wonderful.

4. Cash Money. Don't get me wrong. We aren't rolling in dough. Even a little bit. We live on a tight budget. But, we are comfortable. We have breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We have clothes on our backs. I can afford to fill my gas tank each week. Do I wish we had more money? Honestly, who doesn't? But, we are good. We are lucky.

5. Fertility. There are many families out there that struggle with fertility issues, and my heart breaks for them. I am ever so thankful every day for our fertility.

Scarf Swap!

I decided to join Jessica's scarf swap this year and am SO pleased with the results! First of all, I met an amazing blogger. Second of all, I got a scarf. In the mail. For FREE.

I've always been horrible at picking accessories out for myself. I just don't know how to do it. I have a semi-healthy collection of scarves, but they're all solid colored. Nothing fancy, nothing fun. It was time for a change. So, when I read about the scarf swap over at Jessica Lynn Writes I knew I had to join in!

I signed right up and soon was paired with Sierra, over at Tervo Times. What a wonderful partner to have! She is great and I highly suggest you pop over to her blog and check her out! She is an Air Force wife and mama to two living in Texas. I have enjoyed getting to know her through emails and her blog!

And! She did such a wonderful job of filling a Scarf Swap box for me. Plus, who doesn't like getting snail mail, right? I mean, a letter is one thing. But an entire package!? Filled with goodies? Just for me? That I didn't buy on Amazon... Awesomeness.

First and foremost, the scarf.

Isn't it a beauty?! I was telling Sierra that it wasn't something I would normally choose for myself, which is why I love it so much! I love the details of the overlay and the two colors. Beautiful.

In addition to the scarf, there were goodies! Yummy toffees, a Starbucks card (yes!), and a small Christmastime activity to complete with Kid. Okay, so I didn't take a picture of the Starbucks card, because it went straight to my purse!

Sierra, again, a big giant thank you to you!

Everyone else, be sure to join in on the scarf swap next year!

Gender Reveal

If you follow me on Instagram, I'm sure you're thinking: Hey! She already told us!

If you don't follow me on Instagram, you should.

I have already announced the sex of our sweet peanut, even made it Facebook official. Because Facebook, of course, makes it real and true.

I had scoured Pinterest (follow me there, too!) for gender reveal ideas. I didn't want to do a full on party because my pregnant sister-in-law had done that just a few weeks earlier. I also didn't want to spend a ton of money because I'd rather spend my money on cute baby clothes and stuff. Plus, Christmas. It's close and it's an expensive time of year!

1. I Can Teach My Child | 2. The Devoted Wife | 3. Our Homegrown Spud

My first decision was color. I knew that I didn't want to do the pink and blue theme. For one, I really don't like pale pink. For two, sister-in-law did that. And for three, who hasn't done pink and blue for a gender reveal?!

Ultimately, I decided upon some gender neutral-ish colors. Teal/turquoise and yellow. Teal for boy, yellow for girl. And everything turned out beautifully. Truth be told, I didn't go "all out" with decorations, or anything for that matter. We used our regular plates and silverware, I didn't make or buy specialty treats (remember...Christmas is close!). I decided that our money would be spent on an Old Wives' Tales poster and the supplies for revealing the sex of the baby.

Photo/Poster from A Cloth Life

Our 20 week ultrasound was planned for a Sunday, so we also decided to have our party the same day, when our beloved (but horribly horrible) Vikings played, and lost (really, no surprise there).

I'm not here to give a recap of the party. I'm here to show you how we revealed the gender, and to show off my super awesome Old Wives' Tales poster.

Here is what I came up with:

I made my gender reveal poster on PicMonkey and had it printed at Costco (super cheap, and super fast!). If you don't use PicMonkey, you should. I'm giving y'all quite a few tips today -- following me on Instagram and Pinterest (you may as well follow me on Twitter, too), and to use PicMonkey. Trust me. These are all very wise decisions.

I used this tutorial from Our Homegrown Spud for the gender reveal scratch off cards. When I was first looking at scratch off tutorials, I found plenty. But with some practice, I had learned that they weren't that great -- the scratching took too long, and took off some of the image underneath as well. I started to think I'd have to do more experimenting, but then! I happened across Our Homegrown Spud and millions of minutes were saved. Make it a sticker! If you ever have any need (or want) for a custom scratch-off, please, please use her tutorial. The contact paper is magical.

Well, if you haven't figured it out by now, we're having a girl and she's set to arrive in April!

A Little Bit of Life

It's been awhile, and there has been a lot going on! We have a new program for teaching language arts at work, and it is eating up all of my free time. It's a great program, there is just a lot to it. Especially for kindergarteners.

To top it all off, I've been feeling rather cruddy lately -- lots of heartburn, and the exhaustion is unreal. Couple exhaustion with a lot of work, and a rambunctious toddler ... yep, my ideal bedtime is 8:45.

Speaking of heartburn ... and exhaustion ... and getting up to pee at all hours of the night ...

...

Do you need some more time to guess?

...

Well, you're right! Baby number dos is on his or her way. The little munchkin is set to arrive on (or around, or six weeks before) April 5th, and the time has been flying by. It is hard to believe that our 20 week ultrasound is on Sunday! I've also begun to feel the little munchkin in the last couple of days.

Yes, we will be finding out the sex of the baby (on Sunday). And, yes, I will share with all of you.

At this point, my guess is that we will have another boy. I only say this because we already have our girl name picked out. We've got nothing for a boy name. Nada.

I am currently planning a reveal party ... but I am struggling with what I want to do for the big reveal. Cupcakes? Balloons? Color changing play dough? Scratch offs? Silly string? I just don't know. Any thoughts?