LIfe is Crazy!

Even though I'm not an avid blogger, I feel like it's been ages since I've posted and I almost feel guilty about it! If I had time, I'd probably write every day!

This school year has been absolutely insane for me...more work than ever and a lot more stress. I've been loaded up with 260 students (and growing) and literally teach sessions all day long. I have to prepare for three different English courses per day, including one high school level course in another program than the usual middle school platform I was used to using. I could go on forever about how crazy it really is, but I'm trying not to devote any further personal time worrying over it. It's a job and that is that is what I have to say to myself to reprogram my mindset each day. I've never been the type to view jobs like that, but it's come to that.

Our basement flooded in the recent hurricanes and other heavy rains, so we've been an entire play area short for the past month or so. That has caused unwanted clutter in my view throughout the rest of the house. (All toys). We are still in the process of trying to fix that issue. We were about to have the carpet re-stapled down this Friday, but now we are supposed to get these crazy heavy rains again and another possible hurricane, so we figure we better wait and make sure the issue is fixed. Greg was a not a fan of shop-vaccing water out of the basement for a week. Poor guy.

Aside from crappy work and a flooded basement (and depressing economy...won't even go there), we've been good. The girls are loving their new routine for the school year. Brielle goes to preschool four days per week and Camryn goes to our neighbor's house for the mornings. It's a great set-up for us because Holly is our friend and she has a 3 year-old girl that Camryn adores. Holly does little things with the girls every day and Camryn cannot wait to go there each morning. I hate leaving my kids, but it sure is a lot easier when they are excited to go where we leave them!

Brielle has made leaps and bounds over the past few months. She is now in advanced beginner swim class which is for 5 to 7 year olds. She is a young 4 year old, but that is not why I am so proud. In the beginning of the summer, when she began lessons, she was the kid who screamed her head off the ENTIRE lesson. The owner of this "safe-zone swim" program assured me she would get over it eventually and to just keep bringing her. When I say screamed the whole time, please take that literally. The other parents would stare at me because it was my child! It was horrible, but it really only lasted about 3 or 4 lessons. One day though, something clicked in her and suddenly she loved going. She went from being terrified of the water to now doing the freestyle, back stroke, jumps in, dives down to retrieve toys, etc. She can fully swim now and is doing amazing! She takes lessons at the country club we belong to and the classes are very small and over the summer, she even scored a few private lessons, which probably helped a lot! We were going to stop lessons at the end of the summer, but we decided to keep her in for now. Around November, we are going to make the switch to ballet for the winter.

Camryn is doing her own version of excelling with soccer, spelling her name out loud and counting to twenty! The spelling of the name is probably the most interesting because she is two. She has her big sister to help her out with stuff like that though. They are an amazing support for one another and almost daily, they bring tears to my eyes by how well they get along and encourage one another. So sweet!!!

Baby Bayly 3 seems to be doing just fine down in that cozy womb, too! I'm 19 weeks today and we have our ultrasound next week. We are not finding out the sex. I think I really want to find out this time, but Greg is so against doing any such thing. I have felt this baby moving since the beginning of my 16th week, which is crazy!! With Brielle, I felt her move around week 21.....with Camryn I was 17 weeks and now 16 with this one. Does this mean I am just that much more in tune with it third time around, or are my babies just getting bigger and bigger? yikes!! Regardless, I LOVE being pregnant and wish time would slow down!!!

Something else that has been significant in our lives is following a cancer battle of a local little 5 year old girl. We don't know the family directly, but have a couple friends and relatives that know them, so we were immediately involved. The father of the little girl wrote in a blog and it has changed both Greg and me. Gabby was just a normal five year old girl and nothing was wrong until this past Memorial Day when she was admitted to CHOP for dizziness and feeling off-balance. By the next day she was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. It was some rare, agressive type that takes the lives of children within nine months 90-95% of the time. This one took Gabby in four short months as she passed last week on 9-11-11. I think about Gabby every day and it definitely makes you stop and hug your kids a lot more than usual. And we hug our kids a lot, so I wonder if they wonder why we are constantly hugging and kissing them all day long now! The final blog concluded with the father's regrets. He has regrets of not spending more time with his family and working so much over the past five years. He talks about the things that really matter in life. Now, I really do consider myself someone who counts their blessings. Greg and I do reflect often about how blessed we are, but it doesn't mean I don't become a little greedy sometimes. I can't help but to long for a bigger house, more money...maybe the opporunity to not have to work.....but this story has really helped me put life in perspective. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is the people you love and the relationships you have. I think about Gabby's family...her two older sisters...her mother...her father everyday. I cannot even imagine going through something like that. Greg said he wasn't going to read the final blog because he just couldn't handle it anymore, then he caved and read it today at work (of all places!) and he said he was sobbing at his desk. I'm not at all surprised by this, but I was surprised by his decision to read it at work! Regardless, we aren't really talking about it anymore, but I get the sense that we are both thinking about it as we gravitate to one another and the girls more than ever. Every moment counts, every moment matters and we really do have so much to be thankful for.

Well, that is just about everything that's been on my mind lately and everything that is going on with us! Greg and I celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary this Saturday!! Still loving him up just like I did over ten years ago when we started out! You all know that though ;)