Teacher Appreciation Week

**UPDATE** I finished these this past weekend. They turned out really well and I REALLY hope the teachers love them!

As we all know, I am one that tends to overdo EVERYTHING.

I recently discovered that Teacher Appreciation week is May 7-11, with May 8th being Teacher Appreciation Day. I quickly turned to Pinterest for some ideas. I decided to throw together a "little" something with a few ideas from several posts.

The Final Product (Which I will be wrapping in cellophane).

Included:

Water Bottle: "Thanks for quenching our thirst for knowledge"

Coffee Cup: "We tip our cup to you"

Pen: "Have a stupendous day"

Highlighter: "You are the highlight of our day"

Extra Gum: "You always go the extra mile"

Lifesavers: "You are a lifesaver"

Mints: "Thanks for all of your encourage-mint"

Dum Dums: "We're no dum-dum, we know who to thank"

Now & Laters: "Your lessons will help us Now & Later"

Hard Candy: "You make life sweeter"

Double Bubble: "Thanks for holding everything together"

Water Flavor Mix-Ins: "For when you feel like mixing it up a bit"

Notepad: "We think you are noteworthy"

I also made bookmarks.

And included a little poem:

Forever in Your Heart

Although you’re not their mother,

You care for them each day

You cuddle, sing, and read to them

And watch them as they play.

You see each new accomplishment

You help them grow and learn

You understand their language

And you listen with concern.

They come to you for comfort

And you kiss away their tears

They proudly show their work to you

You give the loudest cheers!

No, you are not their mother

But your role is just as strong

You nurture them and keep them safe

Though maybe not for long --

You know someday the time will come

When you will have to part

But you know each child you’ve cared for

Is forever in your heart!

I got little baskets to put all the goodies in and attached tags to each item with the saying. I had purchased enough to make 6 baskets, since I thought The Prince had 6 teachers. I spent $25 on all the materials. I later realized he actually has 10 teachers (including those that fill in here and there, who I didn't want to leave out).  So I spent another $15 or so to get the additional material for 4 more baskets.

I can't wait to take them in for the teachers on Teacher Appreciation Day!! 

I also worked on another "project" yesterday, but I'll have to wait until after I send them to our friends before I share with the internets. :)

Oh, Hi there!

Well I did good on the blogging for about 2 weeks. That's a record for me!

Let's see what I can recap here in the last month or so.

We went to Florida. Had a blast. I now have a desire to win the lottery (not that I didn't have that desire before) and purchase a get away home in Orlando. We will be going back, maybe even yearly.

Florida Recap

• Flight scheduled to take off at 6:50pm, actual departure = 10 PM. After following the suggestion of the airline and arriving 2 hours prior to scheduled departure time, we spent SIX HOURS in the airport with a 3 year old. Luckily, The Prince was VERY good and we were able to distract him with computers and food. It wasn't until it started getting dark and he had a huge panic attack thinking planes couldn't fly in the dark, and ours wasn't coming, that things got rough.

• Sea World: LOVED every second. We even left for a nap and came back for a few more hours after.

• Gatorland: Fun but not very exciting after the initial shock of OMG ALL THOSE ALLIGATORS! 3 year old was bored.

• Detroit Tigers Spring Training Game in Lakeland, FL: I enjoyed knowing The King was loving it. It was hot and The Prince got tired/cranky shortly after arriving. We lasted 5 innings before heading back to Orlando.

• Legoland: AMAZING. The Prince LOVED it. Well worth the $$ spent on tickets. 

• Mini-golf: The Prince had a blast and was actually VERY good! Great way to spend our last evening in Orlando.

• No delayed flight home = sad/success.

We all took one extra day "off" to relax (which ended up being grocery shopping, laundry, cleaning) and prepare to head back to work/school. On the way to school the next day The Prince said "I really wish we could just go back to Florida" :) I couldn't have agreed more!

Since returning we had Easter. Same ol' same ol'. (Easter isn't even close to my favorite holiday). The Easter bunny came and left eggs and a basket. We had lunch with family where The Prince acquired 3 more Easter baskets (and lots and lots of candy even tho we'd requested none to be put in the baskets, ugh) and then off to my mom's for yet another basket (no candy there though, my mom knows better). We ended the day with pizza and an exhausted little guy. He passed out on the ride home.

We have been dealing with some issues at school. Nothing huge, just the fact that our child throws ridiculous fits. The teacher even video recorded him to prove how ridiculous they are. He throws fits over the littlest things. Most recently a 30 minute fit over not wanting to wash his hands! UGH! The joys of parenthood!

We're now preparing for The Prince's 4th birthday, coming up the first week of May. We're having two separate parties this year. One for the kids and another for the family. He has chosen Lego City (which is ALL we've heard about since Legoland) as the theme. 

The Prince's 4th birthday also marks The King and my 2nd wedding anniversary. So far we have nothing planned but I have already purchased a gift for him and am super excited to give it to him! Just in case he stumbles upon this somehow, I'll wait until after to share with the blog world!

Ok, I've rambled enough. That is all. 

Life Before Facebook

Life before Facebook? Aah the good ol' days. Who am I kidding?? I am obsessed with FB. I learn the latest news events, stay in touch with friends and family, share pictures and events. I'm connected on my phone 24/7 and on the computer during my work day. I'm usually one of the first to like or comment on a status.

This is all great, but I do have to say that I genuinely prefer to communicate with people outside of Facebook. Now don't call me, I hate talking on the phone, but texting is a whole different story. I don't know why but I find texting to be so much more personal than posting something on Facebook. I want to be able to tell someone I miss them or congratulate them on a life event (new baby, marriage, etc) and not have all of our Facebook friends see it. Even a quick "Hey, how are ya?" is so much more personal via text.

One of my biggest pet peeves is finding something out on Facebook that is a pretty big deal. I don't expect every person to text or call me to inform me of life events, but I do expect my close friends and family to. There's nothing worse than logging into Facebook to see "In the ER with (Insert child's name)". Luckily, my close friends are pretty good about this and usually contact me prior to updating Facebook.

One reason I bring this up is because I am always nervous that I haven't reached out enough to people. That I should be trying to communicate more. I've lost two friends in the last two years that I sooo wish I had communicated more with. For that reason, I try to make the time to send a quick "Hey how are ya?" text. The guilt I feel for not having done that more with the two friends I've lost eats at me daily. I know we've all grown up and have busy lives, but I hope people realize how important it is to let people know you think of them and care. You can never have enough love :)

PS If you're someone who doesn't have my number and you'd like to express your thoughts outside of Facebook, feel free to let me know and I'll be sure to get it to you!!!

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

I'm not sure how I got so lucky but I was able to enjoy TWO girl's nights this past weekend! TWO!!

I absolutely LOVE my family. I love all the time I get with them, but there's just something about going out with the girls that is so refreshing.

Dinner, Drinks, and a movie (The Vow SOO GOOD!! <3 Channing Tatum) on Friday. Great conversation. All in all a great night. I got home way past my bedtime and crashed.

Saturday, now Saturday was a different story. Saturday rocked my world. There's nothing better than spending a day/night/morning with your best friend. We had an awful dinner (Thanks Applebees), relaxed a bit, and then indulged in a great amount of alcohol at a little pub with a live band. I use the term band lightly, two guys, guitars, and dreadlocks. It was so much fun though. We are going to have to make that happen way more often.

Sunday morning, eek. Pretty sure I was still drunk when I woke up. Felt like crap all day, but wouldn't have changed a thing.

I used to have girls nights pretty much every night. When I lived in Columbus, my girls were my life. I miss those days. I wouldn't change the way things are now, but I just need more girl's nights!:)

P.S. FLORIDA IN EIGHT DAYS! I'M SO READY!!!!!!!!!

Letting Go

"Letting go doesn’t mean giving up, but rather accepting that there are things that cannot be." -Anon



This seems fitting for my life lately. We all have times when letting go is the best decision, however it also may be the hardest. Whether it's letting go of items, people, feelings, or grudges. Letting go is definitely a hard task.

There have been times in my life when I resisted letting go. I was holding on and holding on tight. I would do anything possible to try and make things change. Until recently, I was known for letting people walk all over me. My very best friend once called me a pushover. It wasn't until recently that I realized how right she had been.

I'd like to think that I've gotten better in this area. I think that having a family has helped. I now have something so much more important to deal with than selfish, inconsiderate people. I no longer feel friendships that I have to beg and plead for are worth having. I no longer feel as if I need to be the one to make any and all effort in relationships. If people don't have the time for me, their loss. If people don't want to accept invitations to things, their loss. If people don't want to join in the awesomeness that is my life, THEIR LOSS.

The me of 3-4 years ago would have gotten all worked up. The me of 3-4 years ago would have dwelled on things for months. I'm letting go of that "me". I will no longer ask people more than once if they want to do something. I will no longer continue to invite people to things when they never accept. I will no longer feel upset when I don't get responses. Especially because I know there are at least 4 other people I could call/text/fb that will respond immediately or as soon as they've finished working, changing diapers, dealing with idiot coworkers,etc.

I know I've said this a thousand times, but I seriously do have the greatest friends. I may not see them as often as I like, considering the really good ones all live at least an hour away (MOVE TO TOLEDO PEOPLE), but I know those select few are there for me whenever I need them. I do not need to be upset and get hurt by people who really aren't great friends. I have a family that is there for me 100% and friends that are just the same. And you know what? That's so awesome.

Speaking of which, GIRLS NIGHT SATURDAY and I could not be more stoked! Hotel, drinks, snacks, treats, Netflix, and my best friend in the whole world. We may even be girly! We both sooo need this!

I Hate Waiting

The worst part about planning a vacation is having to wait for it to get here!

I am so excited that in 19 days we'll be heading to Florida, but I seriously have everything done that needs to be done and I'm just ready to go!

I have to admit that I'm anal and an over-planner. I already have the directions to and from every place we're going to, I have our bags set aside to pack (carry-ons, personal bag, and luggage), I have lists made of what we need to pack. We purchased a Leapfrog Leappad Tablet for The Prince to help entertain him during the ride. I hated to spend that much on a "no reason" gift but he absolutely loves it and has been using it to practice writing his letter, so it's a win/win.I've been checking the weather daily.

 These next 19 days are going to feel like a lifetime!

The Prince is now excited about going. He talks about it daily. Today he's most excited to go to Legoland, even though that changes every few days. We saw a Sea World commercial on TV and he flipped. We've been talking about flying on an airplane and he's decided he wants to sit by the window.

The King suggested we do some shopping before going. I don't really need anything but if he insists :) We are going to get an outfit or two each. Other than that the only thing I need to get is the Gate Check bag for the carseat, we decided to take our own since I was having a hard time trusting renting one from the car rental place.

So how do I go about making March 21st arrive quicker?

M-I-C-K-E-Y? Nope. S-E-A World...

I have absolutely no idea where it came from but The Prince started talking about going to Sea World about a month ago. It was a daily conversation.

The Prince: "I can't wait to go to Sea World"
Me: "Honey, we're not going to Sea World"
The Prince: *Pouty Face* "But I'd realllly like to go to Sea World."

And then it turned into "I can't wait to go to Sea World next week"

He even had his teachers at school convinced we were going.

Well once The King heard this talk his first reaction was to look into it. Whatever The Prince wants, The Prince gets!

I started doing some research and found that we could take a 6 night, 5 day trip for a pretty decent price. Flight, Hotel, Car Rental, Tickets to attractions, etc. We went back and forth before deciding we'd go ahead and use our small tax refund towards a trip.

It's official. As of Friday, we booked our trip to Orlando, Florida. We are not doing the Disney thing just yet. We talked about it and decided we'd wait until The Prince is a little older and we can save up some money and go again.

This will be the first real trip I've taken with The King and our first family vacation.We've tried explaining to The Prince what was happening but he doesn't seem to get it. I think it'll take arriving at the airport before he understands.

We will be taking off from our hometown (which means no traveling an hour to the next closest airport) on a Wednesday evening, arriving around 10PM in Orlando. We will spend the next few days enjoying Sea World, Legoland, a Detroit Tigers spring training game (which was a selling point for The King), and meeting up with a very old friend for dinner. We may do two days at Sea World, depending on how the first goes, and if not we may venture to Gatorland, as The Prince has recently been enjoying the shows on TV which focus on gators. We will then return to the local airport Monday evening.

Yes, I'm excited for the time away with my family.
Yes, I'm excited to go to Florida.
Yes, I'm excited for some warm weather (I hope).
Yes, I'm excited to see all the attractions.
But I'm most excited to see my little (and big) guy's face when he's flying on an airplane, seeing Shamu, and enjoying the sites of Florida.