Spring Break Can't Come Soon Enough!

Thank goodness Spring Break starts tomorrow at 2:35pm. I am not sure I would have made it another week. We have awesome kids at Clays Mill but I am worn out. The break will be extra nice because Ryan and I don't have a lot planned. When the school year began we were planning on going on a cruise but LIFE HAPPENS therefore no cruise. So, now we are planning on staying in Lexington for several days and then heading to Ohio for several days to visit with Ryan's mom and dad. We haven't seen them since Ryan's mom had knee replacement surgery and they have never met Bella, so it will be a fabulous trip! I also plan on reading LOTS of books. I haven't had time to read a book of my personal choosing in quite a while so I will be relaxing with books for several days.

Some exciting things have happened since the last time I blogged (like a month ago...sorry). Ryan and I are really going to buy a house. We went with our realator to look at several homes this week. We saw several we liked but one really stuck out to us in Masterson Station. We will probably look at a couple more however we have a date with the bank next week.

Also, I will once again be a college student! I will be starting my master's degree at Georgetown College over the summer. In the state of Kentucky teachers have to start their master's within the first 5 years of teaching and finish within 10 years. I plan on having mine complete before we have children (life is already stressful enough). I am going to get my endorsement in Reading and Writing. I am hoping that one day I can be a reading curriculum specialist for a district.

I have some pictures to post of Easter but they are going to have to wait until I remember to bring my camera home from school!

Endless List

Do you ever have one of those days where everything just catches up with you? Today has kind of been that way with me. Now I am a pretty organized person. I love to make list and then check things off one by one as I get them done. Lately I have been making list but for some reason things just aren't getting checked off. Part of me thinks I have just gotten lazy. The other part thinks I have realized that life is NOT about grading papers ALL the time. I have to wonder how mom's get everything done. I can't imagine trying to raise a child and doing all the other things that come up in life. I have friends that must be related to superwoman. I am not sure how they get it all done.

Most likely I am just going through a lazy season but I am tired of it! Things just come so fast and I can't get caught up let alone ahead. I am sure many of us feel this way but I NEED A VACATION!!!! I guess I need to make a new list and start checking it off again. Hopefully I can get everything done by spring break.

Haircut

I got my hair cut this past weekend. I only cried for a couple minutes because I thought I looked like a mushroom head! I am getting used to it now but it took a day. These aren't the best pictures of me but hopefully you can see the new cut!
Ryan said that I look like Allie in this picture. Does anyone else see it?
Next time I'll open my eyes more!

Birthday Celebration

So, I had the most amazing birthday last Friday! I turned the big 6 years old. Yes, it is true. 6 years old. I am one of those priviledged people in the world who have the joy of having a February 29th birthday. I actually love it!!! This year was the first time I have had a birthday while teaching. Everyone at school made it fantastic. My classroom was decorated by some awesome teaching friends and I had a wonderful ice cream cake at lunch thanks to Sarabeth. To top it off my homeroom mom brought in the delicious cake seen above along with a gift card to Outback Steakhouse!!!
My husband planned a wonderful party for me. All my friends came to celebrate my big day with me. We went to Bella Notte and then bowling at Southland Lanes. I am a blessed YOUNG lady with so many wonderful friends!
This is just some of the group getting our bowl on! (Gayla, Grant, John, and Sarabeth)
This group was better prepared for the picture! (Andy, Abby, Jenn, Chris, and Eryn) There were others there too but they must have eluded the camera (Lauren, Ryan, Courtney, Chris, and Me).
Oh, and lets not forget Alyssa! The BEST bowler around. She is giving lesson if you are interested. She really does have skill on the bowling lane. If only we could all be like Alyssa (sigh...)

Bryce Aaron Blanford

This could be my favorite picture of this little man. He has not been posed here! This is just his new thing. He rolls over, props his foot up, and puts his arm behind him. Doesn't he look like a little model! He is getting so big. I wish Ryan and I could be there every week to see how he is growing and changing.
When Ryan and I head to Henderson I will totally admit that I hog this little man. Can't you just tell he loves his favorite Aunt Maria!!!!
Just a cutie.

Our Bella Is GROWING!!!

Ryan and I are blessed to have such a wonderful puppy. She has grown so much over the last four weeks. Ryan took her to the vet on Saturday and we found out that she weighs 16.5 lbs. She has doubled her weight since we have had her! The picture above is of Bella's first bath! She was pretty good however she did jump out of the tub 2 or 3 times. Since then we have come up with a system for bath time. One holds-One washes!
This is Bella after the bath. I wrapped her in the towel and she drifted off to sleep. She is just precious!
We were able to take Bella with us to Henderson. My grandparents (both sets) were wonderful and let Bella inside the house. She enjoyed being able to run without a leash on at Memaw and Papaw's, however she didn't really enjoy "dumb dog" (This is the name given to my grandfather's dog. Yes, everyone really calls the dog "dumb dog".). The picture above is of Bella and Addie (my cousin). They enjoyed each other the entire weekend!
Just a cute sleeping picture of our little girl. Does it get more precious than this? She stayed like this for about an hour.
In this picture you can kind of see that Bella is changing colors. She is still mostly black however her sides have completely turned gray. We now think that she is part Huskie.