Dommie's New School!!

So I JUST realized that I never posted about Dom's first day of school!! OOPS!

So here's a recap. Dom's been in his school for exactly one month. And he loves it. He's already making a lot of friends and he's learning to spell and read already! He has homework every night which is an adjustment but in a good way. He also has a very set schedule which is different from his last school but I think that's good for him too.

Here are some pictures from his first day:

I seriously can't believe he's so big! But I love the school and I think this is a great place for him!

Routines

It's taking us awhile but I think we're finally getting into our routines. All of us. Life is a little crazy around this house most of the time but in a good way.

Dominick is in his new school and doing very well. It will be one month tomorrow. I'm so happy for him and love that he's learning so many things every day. I don't even mind doing homework with him because it means he's learning. He has friends and it seems like he's adjusting extremely well. My big boy is SO big!!

Annabelle has been in her school for about a month and a half. She's doing great too. When I drop her off now, she gives me a hug, then a kiss, then another kiss, then she waves goodbye and she's off. Breaks my heart a little but she's happy and that's all that matters. Her speech has improved but definitely still has room to improve so we're keeping an eye on it. We'll probably go to a place and get another evaluation done but I'm happy for her and happy that I'm understanding more every day.

Gretchen is ONE now!?! Holy cow this past year has flown. She's doing so many things. She can take about 3-4 steps at a time and I'm so proud of that big girl too! She's babbling all the time and for the most part a happy baby. She is definitely a mama's girl. More so than any of the other kids. If she can see me, and I'm not holding her, she's screaming for me. If she can't see me, she's fine. But I better not be in the same room. She goes to a sitter 1-2 days a week and to my mom's maybe one day a week and the rest of the time she's home with me. We're learning how to get things accomplished and still have fun at home. It's a work in progress.

Nick is pretty settled in at his new job. I think he's doing well. He's putting in a lot of time and effort so I hope he's doing well! He's been pretty stressed trying to make sure everything is perfect but I think he's settling in.

I am done with orientation!! I am officially an RN on my own! Yay!!! I go to work tonight and get to do everything on my own and I'm thrilled! I love what I do and I especially love getting to do it without a shadow, no offense to my preceptors!!

Nick's mom is helping us in our routine. When I work at night, I don't get home until 8 am the next day. Nick leaves for work at 6:20 so we have an hour and forty minute gap with no child care. She's been coming over in the morning and helping out. It's been amazing. I hope she doesn't get too tired of it!! Because we need her and love her and appreciate it a TON.

All in all, we are getting there. Just in time for fall. My second favorite time of year (after March madness, of course!).

Oh fall. That's another post all by itself.

But we're getting there. On another note, now that we're getting into a routine, I only have 4 more months on my 30 x 30...better get to work! :)

Happy Wednesday!!

Crock Pot Steak Dinner?? Not so much...

It was ok I guess, but nothing like what I was expecting. It kind of became a soupy mess...

I think I'll stick with soups and pot roasts in the crock pot.

Steak Dinner!

I found this on facebook...

"Use a thick 3/4 inch steak
Pour a 1/2 cup A1 or Heinz 57 sauce over meat
cover with a layer of foil
add foil wrapped potatoes
and foil wrapped frozen corn cobs
cook on low for 6 hours
Full steak dinner any night of the week! This can also be done with thick pork chops or chicken breasts and BBQ sauce. The whole meal cooks in the slow cooker."

I'm trying this out tonight! I'm really excited. We're using the "Tucker's Place" Steak Sauce, because it's awesome and then I'm going to do a rub on the fresh corn (not frozen). I'm hoping it turns out fantastic!! I'll keep you posted...

Fall Cleaning/Fixing up

Nick and I have been talking for awhile about our house... We love it. Absolutely LOVE the neighborhood and the neighbors but we're always thinking about moving. It's always on the back burner. However, we haven't done anything about this. Our house is full of half finished projects and a lot to do to get on the market. The one thing going for us is that our house hasn't lost value. It's actually increased according to Zillow and all the other websites telling you the "market value" of houses. So we just need to start working on things.

So we have.

We went and looked at a house yesterday in the same neighborhood that we used to live in. I loved the house. LOVED it. And it made me really sad that there's practically nothing we can do about it right now. I could picture us living there. I could picture all the space we'd have and it's a price we could afford. If we didn't have our house. So now, here's our plan.

We've (I've) made a list of things we have to do to get our house on the market. A lot of it is really easy things. Touch up paint. Organize. Clean stuff out. That kind of thing. Some of it is bigger. Fix the deck. Replace the upstairs toilet. Patch a few walls. But it's all doable.


So we're doing it. We're picking out a few things to do each week and then if the right house comes along, we'll be ready. Not stuck dreaming about what could have been. I've already starting selling some of the toys our kids have outgrown (that's a win-win. Stuff goes out and I make some money!). And the house we saw, is still on the market right now (the last two we've wanted to look at - sold before we could even get in to see them!) and they aren't moving until October so there is some wiggle room. Maybe we'll get lucky and be ready by then and it will still be on the market.

A girl can dream right?!

Time to clean up and fix it up!

Annabelle's First Day of School

TEAR!

I can't believe Annabelle is starting school! It's such a bittersweet moment. I'm thrilled to get to just have Gretchen at home. Being the youngest of three and the youngest by only 18 months, she doesn't get a lot of one on one time. So this is nice. But it's sad that my Belle-Belle is already in school.

This morning was her first day and she's joining in the middle of "spirit week". Today was pajama day. So her first day of school picture is pretty funny. She and Dom are in their PJ's and she looks so happy. Normally she doesn't want to leave in the morning, but this morning she was pulling me to the front store saying, "Go! Go! GO GO GO!".

When we got to school, Dom and I (and Gretchen) brought her to her room before going upstairs to Dom's classroom. She ran right in and made herself at home with the pretend house toys. She grabbed a baby and a highchair and literally couldn't have cared less that I was leaving. I tried to get a few kisses and I got NOTHING. But that's a good thing.

I then took Dom upstairs with one more glance at Annabelle and she was playing with another kid and having so much fun. I hope everyday goes this well.

Nick asked that I wait for him to pick her up today so he can come along so hopefully he doesn't work too late tonight (home past 7 two of the last 3 nights).

What a big girl I have. :)

Third Weigh In

Not a great number but it's still going down.

Lost .6 lbs this week. Not a good week but like I said, anything going DOWN is good. So I'll jump back on the wagon and try to do better next week.

Yuck, this is a long process. But it's worth it! Just 20.8 lbs to go! :)