Bumps, bruises and other stuff :)

CRACK ATTACK!! Jack has gotten into a habit of pushing his diaper down, and trying his best to get it off. This is what he looks like most of the time when he's just in a diaper!


Nothing more soothing than the sound of your 18 month old banging on pots and pans!!


Not sure what he was doing in this picture, but that's quite a face :)

Jack has started sleeping with Jagger a lot. He loves Jagger's bed. When I went to get them up the other morning, this is what I saw!

For the past 2 weeks, we've had the "back to school germs" at our house. Both boys have had strep throat, and both boys have had a stomach virus! It has not been fun, but it's been very eventful at our house! This picture looks adorable, but really, I had to stick him in the kitchen sink because he threw up all over me and the entire kitchen!! You'd never know by looking at him here, would you?! Thank goodness (and knock on wood), they're all better now!

Jack is our wild boy (how many times have I said that?!). He's only 18 months old, and he decided that he's tired of his crib. In fact, he decided he was NOT going to stay in the crib, and was so adamant about it that he FLIPPED OUT one night when I was trying the "tough love" thing. That's what I get for letting him cry. As a result, we've already changed his crib into a "big boy bed". Well, he's not real happy about that either! He'd rather sleep with his "Gagger".

That's Jack for ya! Rotten!

Can you see his skinned up nose from falling out of his crib? He also had carpet burn on his forehead! Poor little guy.

Another one of Jack's latest things is trying on shoes...his shoes, Jagger's shoes, my shoes, Jonathan's shoes...any body's shoes! On this particular day, he wanted his little church shoes!! Actually they were Jagger's, and they're still a little bit big for Jack, but we laughed our heads off at him in these big black shoes...and a diaper!!!

Hilarious! The laughter continued until he tripped going from our TV room to the sun room (there's a step there)...and got a big goose egg on his forehead. It actually scared me, but I kept telling myself, "Ashlee, he's a boy. Boys get goose eggs. Calm down, he's fine!!" Well, he was fine, but he had a good knot to show for it.


Do you see his green bruise on his head?

Boys boys boys...I'm in for it!!!

Why I love what I do :)

We're back to school...we survived the first full week, and I am EXHAUSTED!!! Isn't that ridiculous?! Listen, when you've been out of the routine for 2 months, it's a little hard to get used to "working" again! We teachers are spoiled, I know. I was a little grumpy about giving up my summer break and starting school again. Well, I'm that way every August...but, I realized this week - once again - why I do what I do.

I get hugs every morning from precious children. I get to listen to stories from 5 year olds...some that make completely no sense at all, might I add! But...they love sharing, and I love listening to them tell me big tales :) I love the grammatically incorrect phrases that they say. I love their little speech impediments at that age. I love that some of the children feel their safest and most secure at school. There are children in foster care, children living in conditions that wouldn't be appropriate for animals, children dealing with fighting in the home, children that are hungry, dirty, neglected and abused.

What I love about teaching is that it's REAL. It's dealing with real people, real issues, and real accomplishments. It's seeing a child have pride in themselves for the first time. It's celebrating even the smallest accomplishments like learning a new color, a new letter, tying their shoes, writing their name, and even going to the potty by themselves. Every day, I realize something that I take for granted. The children teach me as much about life as I teach them...and sometimes more.

Of course, I get tired and I get frustrated at times. The paperwork gets overwhelming. The demands, changes and expectations get overwhelming. But...I love the children, and that's why I teach. It's worth it. I thank God that for my job, for the wonderful people I work with, and for the opportunities I have to make a wonderful difference in the lives of children.