Erma Bombeck once said the following wise words:
"Cleaning your house while your children are young is like shoveling the walk while it's still snowing." Amen to that.
Lately my days have consisted of following Isaac around and cleaning up all of the destruction he causes during his waking hours. While he naps, I pick up after him. Then he wakes up and tears the house up again. He naps, I clean. He wakes up and destroys. See the pattern?
Isaac's new favorite pastime is pulling our old VHS movies off of the shelf and throwing them on the ground. When he first started doing this, we thought it was kind of cute.
That sentiment didn't take too long to wear off.
Then, I started to take on the attitude of, "Well, if he likes it, it's not that big of a deal for me to pick up after him."
That sentiment didn't take too long to wear off either.
Just last night Ryan said, "I'm finding a new place to put the videos before he tears them off the shelf again." That didn't happen. Yet.
Here's the little destroyer in action.
Leaving after feeling satisfied with the mess he's made.
The good news is Isaac is learning little by little. Here's a video of him taking a major step towards cleaning up after himself.
Sure, he missed a few, but notice, Dad, how he's using his LEFT hand to put the toys in the bucket.
Now, if we could just teach him to put the videos back on the shelf...
Any guesses as to what we learned about our baby at the ultrasound today? We are so excited!! Name suggestions are greatly appreciated but won't necessarily be embraced. :-)
This weekend I found some screamin' deals (thanks to Shannon) at Old Navy, and I am so excited about these purchases that I just have to take a minute and show off everything I bought (all for under $60).
Just in case the picture doesn't do my bargain shopping justice, here's a list of clothes I bought:
Four pairs of pants
Four long-sleeve shirts
2 hats (each with a pair of matching gloves)
A winter coat
7 pairs of pajamas (different sizes to last Isaac until he's three)
A scarf (for myself)
A robe (another gift for myself)
A Halloween costume for Baby Payne #2 (my favorite purchase of the weekend)
There you have it. Isaac is set with winter clothes for next year. And everything was at least 75% off! I love it! A special thanks to Allie, Shannon, and my mom for teaching me the ropes of bargain shopping, and to Erinne for loving Old Navy more than anyone I know.
The costume is a little bit unoriginal for Halloween, but it was only $2.50, and it's not gender specific (which works great because we won't find out those specifics on baby #2 until tomorrow).
Doesn't he look handsome in his new pants? I couldn't resist buying a pair to fit him now.
--sara
I'm officially a "Proud Peacock." That's my new mascot, at least. Isn't that just the greatest? It almost rivals being a dart...almost.
Yesterday I started a new part-time job teaching a class at Upper Iowa University. It's through one of their extension sights, so they cater mostly to working adults. This works great for me because the class I am teaching meets only on Saturdays (which means Ryan can be home with little Ike). It is a curriculum and methods course for teachers who are working on their ESL endorsement. In other words, I teach educators a variety of different strategies that will help them with their students who do not speak English as their primary language.
Yesterday I was both excited and nervous as I headed to work--my first time teaching adults instead of children (other than in church). It turned out great! I absolutely loved it. It reminded me just how much I love being in the classroom. My students seemed willing to learn, and I felt more comfortable than I thought I would. I think it's going to be a great learning opportunity for me, and it will give me some good experience in case I want to teach full-time in a university setting someday (though that seems like a very far away "someday"). For now, no one but my brother is required to address me as "Professor Payne." :)
One of our New Year's resolutions is to eat healthier food and cook healthier meals for our family. The whole childhood obesity epidemic kind of freaks me out. Plus, I just don't think it's a good idea to feed my kids full of some of the garbage they sell in fast food restaurants and elsewhere these days. Don't get me wrong, I'm down for a hamburger and fries once in awhile, and I'm a sucker for desserts of any kind, but eating less junk food is my goal here. Ryan helped me with my resolution by getting me this cook book for Christmas:
I love it! It's all about putting more fruit and vegetables in your food. This macaroni and cheese I made for dinner tonight has cauliflower in it.
Who would have guessed? The cookbook is full of kid-friendly foods (like macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets) that sneak veggies into them. Right now Isaac will pretty much eat anything you put in front of him, but that probably won't last forever. In the meantime, this book is helping Ryan and I eat better. A big shout out to my sister for introducing me to this jem of a text.
Here's the little destroyer in action.
Leaving after feeling satisfied with the mess he's made.
The good news is Isaac is learning little by little. Here's a video of him taking a major step towards cleaning up after himself.
Sure, he missed a few, but notice, Dad, how he's using his LEFT hand to put the toys in the bucket.
Now, if we could just teach him to put the videos back on the shelf...
Just in case the picture doesn't do my bargain shopping justice, here's a list of clothes I bought:
The costume is a little bit unoriginal for Halloween, but it was only $2.50, and it's not gender specific (which works great because we won't find out those specifics on baby #2 until tomorrow).
Doesn't he look handsome in his new pants? I couldn't resist buying a pair to fit him now.
--sara
I'm officially a "Proud Peacock." That's my new mascot, at least. Isn't that just the greatest? It almost rivals being a dart...almost.
Yesterday I started a new part-time job teaching a class at Upper Iowa University. It's through one of their extension sights, so they cater mostly to working adults. This works great for me because the class I am teaching meets only on Saturdays (which means Ryan can be home with little Ike). It is a curriculum and methods course for teachers who are working on their ESL endorsement. In other words, I teach educators a variety of different strategies that will help them with their students who do not speak English as their primary language.
Yesterday I was both excited and nervous as I headed to work--my first time teaching adults instead of children (other than in church). It turned out great! I absolutely loved it. It reminded me just how much I love being in the classroom. My students seemed willing to learn, and I felt more comfortable than I thought I would. I think it's going to be a great learning opportunity for me, and it will give me some good experience in case I want to teach full-time in a university setting someday (though that seems like a very far away "someday"). For now, no one but my brother is required to address me as "Professor Payne." :)
I love it! It's all about putting more fruit and vegetables in your food. This macaroni and cheese I made for dinner tonight has cauliflower in it.
Who would have guessed? The cookbook is full of kid-friendly foods (like macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets) that sneak veggies into them. Right now Isaac will pretty much eat anything you put in front of him, but that probably won't last forever. In the meantime, this book is helping Ryan and I eat better. A big shout out to my sister for introducing me to this jem of a text.
