Big Sister

Korbyn is slowly adjusting to another child being in the house.  Right after Evan was home Korbyn went through a phase of where she didn't want to do anything we asked her to do.  She would flat out tell us "no" which is not like her at all.  Thankfully we're reaching the end of that and if that's all she's going to dish out, we'll take it!

 The poor thing has had so much change in her little life here lately.  We had a discussion one evening after they were asleep that we both felt sorry for her because of all the changes and she probably doesn't really understand what's going on.  We talked about how we feel bad when we have to get on to her about anything now because it just seems like it hurts her feelings.  But it's very important to us that we still explain things to her and don't turn around and baby her just because we feel bad.

 She is definitely in love with her little sister!  This morning Evan was sitting in her bouncer and Korbyn went over to give her a hug and was talking to her and Evan started smiling so big at Korbyn for the longest time.  Korbyn was SO excited!  I think she'll get more excited about her the more she grows and is able to interact with her.

Korbyn is very good with her, but I can't really brag on her too much for wanting to help me with her.  There's times when she wants to help and times when Evan can be sitting right next to her screaming because her paci fell out and is laying right by her head and Korbyn will tell me, without even moving, that she can't help because she can't find her paci.

She always asks to hold her and is constantly giving her kisses and hugs, especially when we're around other people.  It reminds me of a dog marking it's territory a little bit!

I can't wait to see Evan and Korbyn interact and really play with each other...it will be interesting that's for sure.

Happy 3rd Birthday Korbyn!

Since Evan's birth was so close to Korbyn's birthday, we decided we couldn't do the costume party this year.  We had a small party at memaw Loranne's house with family only and it couldn't have turned out any better! 

We loaded up the bounce house and the kids had a blast.  The weather was a little cooler so it made it so nice to be outside.

 I know I've said it before but I will say it again, Colton and I are SO blessed to have the mothers that we do.  They are excellent mothers first of all, always willing to help out any way they can.  And are exceptional memaws on top of that.  They both worked together to put this party on for Korbyn and I can't thank them enough for making this day so special for my little girl!

 Korbyn, you are the smartest, kindest, funniest little girl I know.  You make your entire family so proud of you every day.  It's hard to believe that you are already three years old, but these have been the best three years of our lives!  We're looking forward to watch you grow baby girl.  Happy Birthday!  Love mommy, daddy, and Evan.

Welcome Baby Evan!

 She's finally here and she's absolutely perfect!  This delivery was much different than Korbyn's, thankfully Colton and I wrote everything down the day we got home so we could remember.

 We arrived at 8 p.m. on Wednesday.  By the time we got in our room, got settled, I got hooked up to the monitors and got my IV started it was 9:30 p.m. by the time they checked me and I was at 2 cm.  We watched TV, talked, and at 11:30 p.m. the nurse came and checked me again.  I was still at 2 cm but she said since I've been hooked up my contractions have been 3-5 minutes apart for two hours straight.  She asked if I've felt any and I told her no.  The exact same thing happened with Korbyn.  She said normally this is when they start the pill that softens my cervix but she can't give it to me because my contractions have to be less than three within 10 minutes.  She called my doctor and they decided to push fluids to possibly help space them out so they could start the induction.  At 1 a.m. she checked my contractions and they weren't slowing down at all, so they decided to start a low dose of the pitocin.  Colton and I got NO sleep.  The IV pump was obnoxiously loud, the monitors were so bright it was like a spotlight in the room, I had to get up and pee every 30 minutes which meant I needed Colton's help.  I only asked him a few times, because I was going so much I started to feel sorry for him if I knew he had dozed off for a few seconds.  Around 4 a.m. the storm hit and the nurse kept coming in to check on my monitors and call button to make sure they were working because the entire hospital was running off of the generators because the storm had knocked everything out.  When I say no sleep, I mean no sleep.

At 7:45 a.m. my doctor comes in and checks me and says that I'm at 4 cm.  She decides that since I'm progressing without even needing the other medicine they're going to break my water and then get the anesthesiologist in for my epidural.  Well I guess they thought that it would take a while for everything to get going, we were wrong!  At 8 a.m. they break my water, Colton steps into the bathroom to take a shower and by the time he comes out I'm in tears because my contractions are so strong and about 1-2 minutes apart. They had two anesthesiologists in my room and Colton said he overheard them talking that they were afraid they "missed" when they put it in because they couldn't get it to numb anything.  At this point I'm kind of starting to worry that the same thing is happening that happened with Korbyn, the epidural won't work. 

Around 8:30 a.m. they finally get my epidural to kick in.  They said because I was progressing so fast, the epidural literally couldn't keep up.  Colton said they injected me with about five syringes one after the other and then they even gave me some kind of stronger medicine than normal.  While they're trying to get the epidural in, I'm still contracting very hard.  So the nurse's hand became my squeeze toy, I felt really sorry for her.  I had to sit up over the edge of the bed for them to get it in and I was leaning on the nurse.  I could see that every time I contracted my water would come gushing out (sorry if this is too much info!) and the nurse's scrubs were completely soaked by the time we were finished.  When they were done putting it in, I quickly pointed to her pants and said "oh my gosh, I'm so sorry."  She didn't even notice!  She looked down and said "oh...that's ok...I'll just go change scrubs."  She was super nice about it but could tell she was grossed out.  We all had a little laugh and Colton said "at least it didn't get on your tennis shoes,"  she looked down and said "well...it did."  Bleh! 

The nurse checks me and I'm at 7 cm already.  She says "wow!  Ok, I'm going to call the doctor because it looks like a baby will be here VERY soon!"  I start telling them that I need to push and that I feel a lot of pressure.  She checks me again a little before 9 a.m. and said "oh honey, you're at a 10 already!  You ready to have a baby?"  I start pushing at 9 a.m. and miss Evan arrived at 9:25 a.m.  SO different than Korbyn's birth.  This one happened so fast!

 We're absolutely in love!

Baby update

I had an appointment last Thursday and we discussed that if I didn't have the baby on my own, we would be induced on the 31st.  I'm praying that my body will go into labor before then!  I DO NOT want to be induced again.  Yes, it's convenient and that's really the only reason we're scheduling a possible induction date.  With my new job I really need to be able to give them a date as close as possible so they can plan.  With Colton working so much down south lately, I don't want him to have to rush for four hours if I happen to go into labor and there being a possibility of him missing it all together.  With Korbyn having a birthday so close to this one, I really don't want them to have the same birthday and it's just cutting it too close.  So there are a lot of reasons why we want it scheduled.  I don't know why, but it makes me sad thinking I'll be induced again.  It's just so unnatural.  The vice principal was asking me if I felt like my body was getting close, kind of weird talking to HIM about it, but he's a dad so he can relate.  I honestly don't know if my body is getting close to labor because I've never experienced it coming on it's own, and I very much want to.

At my appointment I was dilated 1 1/2 cm and my cervix had thinned since the last time.  So there's progress being made but we're not too close yet.  I only have one more appointment coming up this Thursday and she said we'll see what kind of progress I've made to determine if we'll go in the night before on the 30th like last time or if we can just come in early on the 31st.  I'll be praying that I go into labor before then, but either way our little one will be here by Halloween!

School

 Finally!  Pictures of my classroom.  It took a lot of work and it still needs a lot of work, but it's coming along.

I had no idea how stressed and probably depressed I was at the daycare.  I know that sounds awful, and it's not that the daycare was the problem I just couldn't do what the job required of me anymore.  I now come home with no stress, I go to bed with no stress, I wake up with no stress (even my doctor continues to tell me what a difference she sees).  I have even been sleeping at night!  Normally when I would have to get up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, it would literally take me hours to fall back asleep because I was constantly thinking about the daycare.  Do I miss being with my sweet girl all day?  Absolutely.  But when I look at how happy I am when I come home compared to what a monster I was, it's worth it.  I also cherish the time that I do get to spend with her now.  Not that I didn't enjoy my time with her before, but now that I'm away from her all day I just can't wait to get my hands on her!

So many people have asked me how I like it...I LOVE it.  Everyone that I work with, my grade level and the entire school, is so nice and caring.  And it just feels so comfortable being there.  It's not an easy job, but it's already so fun and rewarding.  It's hard, especially now, to be on my feet all day long.  I only get about 20 minutes to eat either a lunch that I packed or a lunch from the cafeteria in the break room.  But the good thing is, is that those 20 minutes are spent with other teachers and we usually just laugh and laugh.  Then it's back to recess duty.

I'd say the hardest thing about it is I received 19 five year olds that were pulled from six different classes.  Which means I am trying to retrain 19 children that were just getting the hang of classroom procedures, rules, and routines.  And for some, and you can DEFINITELY tell, this is the first time they've ever been in a structured setting.  I had a crier the first day and felt awful that she wanted her mommy, but now realize that this little girl cries at about everything.  The teachers did not get to pick at all who they were going to lose from their classes.  In fact, they found out in the exact same meeting that I did.  The principal let all the kindergarten parents know that there would be a new class and if they would be willing to move their child.  So the principal only had those kids to work with.  Now, think about which parents would want their kids to move.  Kids that have been great and had no bad teacher reports or conferences?  Nope.  Basically all the parents that have already received some type of notice that their kid is not on grade level or has behavior issues ended up in my class because they thought that it was the previous teacher's fault that they were getting these reports.  Well, some of them have quickly realized that it's their kid and not the teacher when I'm having to give them the exact same reports.  Needless to say, I've got a pretty tough group, I've heard this from about all the teachers so far.  I have nine wonderful little girls and ten...boys.  Somehow, I ended up with all the girls that the teachers hated to see leave.  They're very well behaved, smart, and do what they're told.  And I ended up with all the boys that the other teachers were basically pushing out their door into my classroom (not really).  All but three of my boys are out of control!  Literally!  I think some of them still need naps throughout the day or they're not getting enough sleep at home.  It's going to be an interesting year that's for sure.

What's crazy is that this only gets me more excited for next year.  If I can make it with this group of kindergartners, coming in after six weeks of school already in session, leaving for maternity leave and then coming back...I think I can do anything.  It's a great feeling when you can't wait for Monday morning!

Changes

 Holy cow there has been some changes in our lives within a week!  I'm now a kindergarten teacher, Korbyn has changed daycare, the company where Colton is operations manager may have tripled their work down south, and I have no clue who will be taking care of this baby when it arrives.

It all started two weeks ago.  Pam (the second director at the Martin Luther) and I had had one of the worst days imaginable at the daycare, enough that she actually gave me her notice that she would be leaving.  That of course didn't help out my stress level considering I would be having to be finding a replacement within a matter of weeks before I went on maternity leave.  I don't blame her though, it is an extremely tough job where all you do is deal with negative day in and day out.  We were the people that everyone went to for complaints, or employees calling in etc.  We didn't get to spend time with the kids, the happy side of daycare.  So it definitely wears on you.  That evening when I got home, and I couldn't tell you why, I pulled up the GISD website and noticed they had one job posting open, a kindergarten teacher.  I thought to myself, "that's weird.  School already started a few weeks ago, why would they now have an opening?"  I let a couple of days go by, but couldn't shake this feeling.  I finally called the school to see if this posting was still open or if it was accidentally left on the website.  Sure enough it was open.  Colton and I talked about it before I sent my application in.  We decided that I would apply and if I got it great, this is what I went back to school for and is a big step in my long-term goal of wanting to be a school counselor, and if I didn't then oh well, it wasn't meant to be. 

The principal called me on Saturday to schedule an interview on Monday the 16th, at 11:30 a.m.  I was beyond nervous.  I think because I wanted it so badly.  In the interview they (principal, two kindergarten teachers, and literacy specialist) told me that this would be a brand new kindergarten class.  They currently have seven rooms with about 23 kindergartners in each and want to open an eighth room to help lower class size.  They said they were going to finish up interviews that week and then decide by that Friday...and oh by the way, they want the classroom up and running by the 30th.  That same day I got a call about 4 p.m. from the principal, they wanted to offer me the job!  On the phone I said "you do remember I'm the pregnant one right?"  She laughed and said that they had discussed that in length but they feel that although I lack classroom experience, I would be able to bring so many different types of experiences to a kindergarten classroom and they really wanted me.  When I hung up the phone I literally jumped in the air and started screaming.  Korbyn just stared at me and said "mommy what are you doing?"  I told her that mommy was just really excited.  I didn't want to go into details with her until things were more finalized. 

That same Friday was my first day at the school and this is what I walked into...

 I was SO overwhelmed!  The lead custodian handed me a sticky pad and said to mark all the things I wanted to keep, and by Monday they were going to move everything else out.  This was the last vacant room on the entire elementary campus and had been used for storage for the past couple of years, it was a mess.

I'll be posting pictures soon of what it looks like when it's all finished.  At this point I don't even know who is going to be in my class.  I'm hoping by Friday I'll get a list so I can finish up last minute planning and Monday morning I'll get my very first class!!!!!  I feel like someone needs to pinch me, I'm so excited and still can't believe that this is finally happening.

I found out Monday evening that I got the job, Tuesday evening we had open house at the daycare, and Wednesday I let the board president know that Friday was going to have to be my last day.  The conversation didn't go over very well.  I was actually really shocked at how she talked to me and some of the things she said.  After I got off the phone I told Colton about our conversation and he told me not to even show up anymore and not answer any phone calls from them, he wasn't very happy.  I couldn't just not show up, I still had to let the teachers and the parents know.  I felt, and still feel, awful for the short notice that I had to give.  But what was I supposed to do?  Turn down the teaching job because I wasn't able to properly give two weeks?  Sorry, no.  Of course I've been answering texts and phone calls non stop from the daycare asking how to do things ever since.  I don't mind helping them because I did have to leave in a hurry and I still want the best for that place.

Colton and I always talked about that if I were to ever leave Martin Luther, we would put Korbyn in at Immanuel ECC.  The reason being is because we want her to attend school there her first couple of years and they have a pecking order to get into their one kindergarten class.  If she is already in the ECC her chances of getting a spot in kinder there is much higher.  Now, normally they do not have any immediate openings at the ECC.  People put their kids on the waiting list basically when they're born and they don't start accepting until age two.  I called the director immediately after I hung up with the principal that Monday and asked if by chance there was a spot in the two year old class and if not to add our name to the list.  She said "Abby, you're not going to believe this.  I had a little girl have to leave a few days ago and I just haven't had time to call the next family on the list yet, do you want the spot?"  I had to pick my jaw up off the floor.  I could not believe what she was telling me.  Everything happens for a reason!

So I've basically had the weekend and this week to work on my room getting it ready.  Doesn't sound too bad but number one, I'm very pregnant and can't move anything and as soon as I try to someone stops by and scolds me for it.  Number two, I've been trying to spend class time actually IN class observing.  These kids are already set in routines and I need to see how their day progresses so the only time I get is after 3 p.m.  Number three, my husband/mover/babysitter/helper has been out of town and will be the rest of the week.  Thankfully I have a wonderful mother and father-in-law who are always willing to watch Korbyn at the drop of a hat.  And of course my own mother who has already helped me SO much.  I was thanking her last night when we were walking out of my classroom at 7:30 p.m. and she hugged me and said "it's ok, I owe you for all the times you helped me in my classroom."  Which is true, I probably spent more time at my school in my mom's classroom than at home.  But, it's paying off now!  I'm familiar with setting up a classroom and following procedures even though I've never had any formal training in it.

Korbyn seems to like her new daycare.  I personally am not impressed yet.  When I drop her off and pick her up the class has been sitting on the rug watching a movie and the teacher sitting behind a desk telling them to sit down and be quiet.  Now I know during opening and closing that is usually the easiest thing to do so teachers can combine and clean etc.  But I don't want to pay for my kid to watch TV.  Her teacher is there from 7-3 everyday and then an assistant comes in from 3-6.  At Martin Luther the kids received a paper telling the parents how their day went, potty, eating, nap, mood, etc. in case the parents missed talking to the teacher.  At Immanuel I've asked every day how her day was and all I get is "I don't know, I just got here at 3." and there is no paper. Grrrr....that to me is the most frustrating thing in the world!  I don't get to see my kid all day, I want to at least know how her day was!  Colton and I talked (on the phone of course) about it and he doesn't like her being that "unstructured" at daycare either.  And trust me, we're not those parents that don't want their kids to watch TV.  BUT, when I'm paying for my child to learn and socialize, I don't want her to spend the majority of the day watching movies.  Like I said, so far I'm not impressed and honestly don't see why so many people are dying to get their kids in there.  I had a mom stop me this morning when I was dropping off Korbyn that has a little girl that used to be in her class at ML.  She took her out in June to bring her to Immanuel.  She said she didn't know I left the daycare and was actually going to call me today to see if she could bring her back to ML.  She said that her daughter has been crying every day since June for Mrs. Ashley (the two year old teacher at ML) but now that Korbyn is in her class here, she seems to be doing better because she thinks she recognizes someone, so she's going to wait it out and see.  I hope I start getting some better communication.  Colton said I should say/suggest something to the director, but being a previous director I don't want her to think I'm telling her how to do her job, I just want the best for my baby :(

 This is the view standing in my doorway of my classroom out into the hallway.  They have two different playgrounds and the smaller one is thankfully RIGHT outside my room.  Sunday another teacher was there and had her two kids along and they were playing outside.  I told Korbyn she could go play and she loved it!  I loved it because I can look up and check on her and it's closed in with the school, so there's no outside people/kids that can get to this one

.

We took this and sent it to daddy.  I've had allergies and it was early in the morning, I look like I'm still asleep.  Our first day at our new schools!  It's definitely been a roller coaster ride and I don't think we'll be getting off anytime soon.  It's probably (definitely) going to get crazier in a few weeks when this little one debuts :)

Pixie

 I'm already tearing up and I haven't even started writing.  Last week we lost Pixie.  After shampooing carpets and cleaning the house very thoroughly and cleaning up mainly dog hair in the process, I vowed that we will no longer have any pets living in our house.  So since mid June Rocky and Pixie have been living outside.

  I would always get nervous the first couple of nights because where we live there is an abundance of coyotes that our neighbors have seen, they've even seen them walking in our back yard. But Rocky is a pretty good guard dog, so I didn't think anything of it. 

 During the day they may wander around our house but even after talking to our neighbors they said they never saw Rocky or Pixie venture into their yards, they always stayed close to the house.  One of our neighbors have several smaller dogs and I know Pixie tended to hang out with them more while Rocky laid out on our front porch.  There had been several times where I would come home at lunch or at the end of the day and she would come running up to the house from the brush.

 One day after coming home from lunch I noticed that Pixie didn't come running up to my car to greet me, which she always does.  When we didn't see her by that evening we knew something probably happened, but honestly I think I was in denial.  Rocky did the exact same thing one time.  He was missing for an entire day and then just showed back up at the house covered in mud.  I just find it strange that something happened to her in the middle of the day.  I saw her that morning but that was it. 

 After a few days had gone by Korbyn started asking questions.  I would tell her that Pixie is no longer here, that she's with Jesus in heaven.  Her response was "No!  I don't want her with Jesus, I want her here with me!"  The other night I teared up because we were feeding Rocky and she asked why we weren't putting food out for Pixie and again, I told her that Pixie isn't with us anymore.  She said "dat's ok mommy, I'll put my hand over my mouf and call real loud and then she'll hear me and she'll come home."  And then proceeded to stand on our front porch and yell her name.  Another time she asked if we could get in the car and go look for her because that's what memaw and papaw Doug do when Doc wanders down the street.

 I think the hardest part about the whole thing is not knowing what happened to her, she just disappeared.  Honestly, my hope would be that someone picked her up because she was so darn loveable and she's being taken care of...but I know that's probably wishful thinking.

 I didn't grow up with dogs or cats, all I had was a goldfish that lived for like nine years!  Pixie was my very first dog.  I bought her with my own money (actually made payments to my cousin because I was broke right out of college) and she was all mine.  She even slept in the bed with Colton and I after we got married, she was our first baby.  And I have to brag on her, because for a Yorkie she was very well-behaved and house trained so easily.  She was so lovey and always loved attention and affection but wouldn't bother you if you didn't give it to her when she wanted it.  She was also so good with Korbyn, from the minute we brought her home.  Pixie actually became more of Korbyn's protector than Rocky.

 I never knew that losing a pet could be that hard, but I guess when you live with something for almost five years they tend to grow on you. 

 We love you Pixie!