Uh.. where does the time go?

 Hard to believe that my last blog was about a month ago! Yikes where has all this time gone. After we got back from our first family trip, everything seemed to go on hyperspeed and hasn't slown down at all, but thankfully, it is all for good reasons.


Family Trip
We took our first trip as a family toward the end of July. It was just a four day road trip to San Antonio to visit with family.  We headed down in the early afternoon on Thursday. Grayson did awesome most of the trip down, and he was surprisingly awake most of trip and not whining about being in his seat. We made a pit stop to visit with Brett's uncle and had a delicious lunch at the restaurant he works at called the Magnolia. We made it to my great aunt's house in the early evening. It was great to see Gray play with toys that I had once played with as a child.

Right before the trip, Gray had start walking. We had tubes put into his ears at the beginning of July, and the change was automatic. Once he figured out how to balance himself (he had been bending back a bit to gain balance), he was off. He had tons of fun moving around my great aunts. Her house is a big circle, so he could make the rounds and always find something new.

This is actually an annual trip for my grandma and I; last year was the first year we didn't go. Brett was joining us for the first time. The whole point of the trip other than visiting with family is to make a day trip to Fredericksburg to pick peaches at Marburger Orchard. Picking peaches is an interesting experience, and I can't say enough wonderful things about the family that runs this farmer and their business. If you are in the area at the right part of the year, you should definitely check it out. Make sure to check their website for updates though. Unfortunately, the funky Texas weather hadn't been too kind to the Texas peach crop, and while they had peaches for sale, we weren't able to pick peaches at all. We did get to pick green beans and purchase some wonderful produce. We then headed into Fredericksburg to grab lunch at a dinner that we always eat-can't find the name for some reason. Then we hung out at the Wildflower Farm before heading back to San Antonio.

Before we heading back to Dallas, Brett and I got a chance to hang with Gray's godmother who lives in Round Rock/Austin. We meet half way in downtown San Marcos. The original restaurant stop serving lunch by the time we arrives, but we managed to find a place on the backside of the square. Then we headed to the outlet mall in San Marcos. It is so big now that I wouldn't suggest going. The one in Round Rock has many of the same stores, and it a lot more manageable.

As easy as the trip down was, the trip back home was horrible. We hit terrible traffic on the way back due to accidents and constructions. If you plan to be heading down, make sure to build this into your time on the way back. A drive that normally takes about 3 hours or so too more like 8 due to all the traffic. Luckily, my parents' house is on the way home, and we were able to stop to feed Gray and take a break. We finally got home about 10 that night. This would have been fine if we had had more time to rest from our vacation, but....

New Job
....I had to start my new job! I had been trying most of the spring and early summer to find a new teaching job. I wasn't happy with the school I was in, and it was a toxic environment that was leading to issues at home. I hadn't had much luck. I had had only three interviews. The first I pretty much got an offer, but I was hesitant to take it since it was a several thousand dollar paycut and a charter. I did get an interview with what I thought was my dream high school. The interview went well, and I felt really good about it. Then I didn't hear anything. I kept reaching out and crossing my fingers, and then I decided to extend my reach to include middle schools as well. I got an interview with a middle school that I had been interested in before. Once again, I had a great interview, but nothing came of it. I pretty much gave up hope that I was going to be stuck again this year.

Then I got word from one of the top charter companies in the area about a school I had wanted to work for back before I went to work for the ISD was working for. I passed the phone interview and the simulator fairly easily, and I got an interview with the actual school. I almost thought I was sunk because my email confirmation for the interview time and date never went through. I had a so-so feeling about interview so I didn't really expect to hear back in a positive way. Thus, I was a bit on the surprised side to get a call from the middle school director. I had interview for a world history position, and I hadn't interviewed with this person. However, I made enough of an impression on the upper school director that she told him I would be perfect for the 8th grade ELAR position. After some thought, we decided for me to go with it, and I accepted the offer not realizing that I would be going back into training right away.

On the Monday following the trip, we had to take care of my old classroom and getting me all squared away with my old district. Then I started the two weeks professional development, and then school start on the 6th! Needlessly, I have been on fast speed ever since, but it has been totally worth it! I had gotten to a point that I dreaded going to work, but this change has really revitalized my love of teaching. I realized that part of my being burned out had to do with lack of inspiration and challenges. I have been pushed more this year, and it is definitely making me a better teacher. I am hoping now it will be a little bit more manageable.

Life with a Toddler
Everyone tells you that life is different with a toddler and that the twos are stressful, but nobody bothers to tell you that it happens this soon! Gray as a baby and as a toddler are night and day. His personality is really starting to take hold, and he is becoming an amazing, independent little fellow. It is great for him and super entertaining, but it does make things a bit of struggle for us. We have had a few struggles with food (a whole other post)! He also got three more teeth all at once with the fourth coming in right away. So, now my toothless wonder has 8 whole teeth, and we are looking at some molars coming in now. Since the tubes, he has been slowly increasing in verbal ability, and he chatters now stop. He is a maniac when it comes to walking, and I am sure he will be running in no time. He has also picked up a habit of climbing on everything. His favorite spot now is to climb onto his block table and sit while playing with the blocks. He is definitely total boy and a handful. I went to orientation at his school last week for his move to the toddler room :( I wanted to shed a few tears. Seems like only yesterday, we were just starting to drop him off. We are hoping to start dance or gymnastics soon because he so love to move around. He is definitely all boy. I could go on and on, but I will need material for another blog.

I am crossing my fingers that I can get back into the groove of things and put more down here. It makes me a bit sad that I haven't had a chance to cover more of his new era of life. At least have the next two post ideas lined up-weaning/feeding and first college visit and football game. Here's hoping to a more regular schedule to tune into. Until next time, enjoy a few pictures from our trip-uh... just kidding about the pictures since the Blogger is being a bit of a pain. Next blog will be pictures only I guess :/