Yes, I realize I didn't update over the weekend. Our weekend was SO busy, I almost looked forward to work yesterday (minus getting up at 5:30)

Carter is 6 months old today! I forgot to get a picture of him earlier, so here is one of him passed out on the living room floor.
He is able to sit up for longer and longer periods when we set him in that position. He is also sleeping in his bed!!!! He still isn't back to sleeping through the night. I have to go upstairs to nurse him during the night, but we are making progress. Carter has his 6 month old well visit tomorrow, so that means shots! We are all getting flu shots on Sunday too. Well, my wimpy husband is getting the mist.

I think that is all that is going on here. I'm too tired to think!

I finally got my video camera hooked up to my new computer. I've added new videos to flickr. Some are of Carter enjoying bath time on 9/13. The others are of him sitting! He can sit for a few seconds and gets very excited when he realizes it.

Carter slept through the night on Sunday and Monday, but we were up at 4:00 this morning. He did go back to sleep after I fed him, but I am always exhausted when this happens.

Last week was a pretty good week. How could I beat 2 days without my 6th grade class?

Carter is also just growing up right before our eyes. On Friday, he rolled across the living room. He had yet to roll from his back to his stomach. That only happened once. I'm sure he will do it again. Yesterday morning, when we put him in his swing so we could get dressed, he decided he wanted to sit up.



Yes, it was rather early. You can tell because it was still dark outside. Carter wants us to be exhausted. He'll fall asleep in the car when we can't nap!

For the most part he has been a happy baby, but he did start waking up again early on Friday morning. I think I fed him at 4:20. He woke up early yesterday morning, and last night felt like we had just gotten home from the hospital. He woke up to eat at 2:00, 4:00, and 7:00. After he ate at 7:00, I couldn't get him back to sleep, so I brought him to the the couch. I think we both ended up falling asleep. He woke up, and I put him in his exersaucer. In an attempt to win an award for worst mother of the year, I went back to sleep while he played.

I started exercising again. On Monday, I survived the spinning class. It was humbling to be the first to have to sit back on my bike. I used the elliptical on Wednesday, and had my personal training session on Thursday. I thought I was just going to get set up on weights....no, no, no. I had a fitness test. How many squats can I do in a minute and a half holding a medicine ball, get a drink of water, oh, do it again. The squats weren't too bad. Then, came the push ups. Now, I know why I have always thought girl push ups were easy...my hands weren't in the right spot. I almost died on those. Then! Then, came the sit ups. HA! I used to be the sit up queen when we did our physical fitness tests in elementary school. Not anymore. I would be embarrassed to admit how many I got in a minute. Then, I had to do them again, but that time, he modified them for me. I did enjoy walking around he track doing arm exercises. I also enjoyed running around it and totally beating the time he set for me until I finished, and I immediately had to do sit ups again. This time, I couldn't get 1! Luckily, he modified them for this out of shape mom. Needless to say, I have been rather sore since Thursday. On Saturday, I went back for the trainer to show me how to use the weight machines, and I also signed up for 6 weeks of training sessions. I think I must enjoy the torture or really don't want to buy new pants for the winter.

We had a good weekend. I just hate it's over already. Since I've had Carter, time flies. It's also good because my weeks fly by. Unfortunately, I started morning duty on Friday. I did get the media center which is better than the gym or the cafeteria. I will have duty for the next two weeks. I am looking forward to Thursday and Friday when my 6th graders will be on a field study. woo-hoo!

This past week was ok. Thursday, I had to write up 2 6th graders. It was amazing to see the change in the class's behavior on Friday. I didn't have to correct anyone! Friday was a half day. We had a 7th grade teacher luncheon when the kids left. After, I went to get Carter because many of my coworkers were asking about him. None of my conferences showed up. I really wasn't expecting any to. Carter spent time being held by various coworkers and spitting up on each of them. I did learn how to maintain our magnet program's webpage. My friend and I have been updating it, but the district made their own version of it. We had one we could make changes to, and another (the one everyone looked at) that we couldn't update. It is much more complicated than using Frontpage, but at least we can make changes. I think some people have nothing better to do than sit around and email about webpages not having the information they want on them. Carter and I left school around 2:45, came home, and crashed.

Thursday night, Carter became restless around 4:00 am. He didn't really wake up, but was very noisy. I put him in bed with us, and he kicked me. When I got up, he stretched out and slept very peacefully. Little booger! The 4:00 am grunting recurred Friday night and last night. I'm hoping this isn't going to become a habit. The past two nights, I fed him just to get him back to sleep.

We had awesome weather yesterday. We started the day by going to Target to buy things for the three birthdays we have this week.

After, we went to the Columbia Greek Festival. I had heard wonderful things about it, especially the food. It was ok. We spent almost all the cash I had. (close to $40!) $10 of that was a super cute garden flag.

Kevin isn't a big fan, but I told him that being the only female in the house, I needed something girly! I really wanted this one,

but they were out of H's.

After buying the flag, we wandered around to buy food. We bought a plate of pastries, a gyro each, and a Greek salad to split. We ate outside and did our fair share of people watching.

When we got home, Carter and I went for a walk.


Don't you like the coolness of the foot propped up?

Today was less eventful. After a frustrating trip to Wal-mart, ( I don't know why I punish myself) we came home, and Carter passed out for a good 3 hours. During his nap, I went to the post office to mail packages and cards. When I got home, I decided to make some pacifier holders for him and figure out how to use my snap putter onner. I would share a picture of one, but that isn't possible right now. One is connected to a sleeping Carter, and in typical Natalie fashion, I can't find the other. Anyway, I just used ribbon, two snaps, and a suspender clip. I can change which one is connected to the clip. They aren't fancy. I was considering finding some cute buttons to attach to the clips. We'll see. I've been meaning to make these since early August and just got to it today because the 2 from Target no longer stayed on. Anyway, I woke Carter up banging the snap with a rubber mallet. Kevin swears he was sleeping too, but I thought he was awake. Instead, here is a picture of a burp cloth I made using a cloth diaper when I first had the idea for the pacifier project:

I have more fabric and ribbon. That one is rather messy, but I just don't have long periods of uninterrupted time to work on them.

After Carter woke up, I fed him, and we headed out for our 2nd set of errands. We joined the Jewish Community Center. Yes, I know we aren't Jewish, but they have a great work out facility. A former student actually showed us around. I even signed up for the 3rd level spinning class tomorrow night. Anyone want to volunteer to come scrape me up off the floor after? Kevin's coworker who usually attends the class is at the beach, and I get winded just walking. I am determined to get back into shape. I don't think I have been in this bad of shape since 9th grade! I also want to fit back into my old clothes, so I don't have to keep buying new stuff in larger sizes.

After , we went to Target to buy what Wal-mart didn't have and to Ulta because shampoo was on sale.

We ended the night with Shrimp and Grits. I have started eating milk products again but have to take Lactaid, or I get sick. I have been SO hungry for Shrimp and Grits and enjoyed every bite. For not being from South Carolina, I do make mean Shrimp and Grits!

This is my first blog using my new computer

Of course, it had to be blue. I had bought my desktop for grad school. It did a great job and got me through grad school and my National Boards. I think I exhausted it. It was starting to take hours to open documents. Yes, seriously, hours if it did so at all.

We have had an uneventful week. (those are always good!) It flew by! I sent home the first interims of the year and actually didn't have too many parents to call.

Yesterday, we took Carter to have his first hair cut. I scheduled it at a kids' salon. It went well. I just wanted to trim the sides that curl up and take some off the top where it's really thick. He was really good, but wanted to move around to see everything that was going on.


Today, we took Carter to have pictures taken. I've been trying to take him once a month. We went to Portrait Innovations. I love that place! We started with pictures of Carter in his white outfit I bought for his baptism and his shoes with him name on them. I didn't think I wanted pictures in this outfit, but they turned out SO well!




We quickly changed him into his "big boy" outfit. (This place doesn't charge for multiple outfits!) Carter was such a ham. He was smiling in almost every picture. The photographer couldn't believe how happy he was. I had brought back up outfits due to his history of spitting up, but he made it thought the whole sitting. As soon as we were done, he spit up all over Kevin and got fussy.




They give a cd-rom of all the pictures they took. Our pictures were ready in 20 minutes, so we did a little shopping at at Bath and Body works to buy Wallflowers. We found this great new scent:


After, we went to Yankee Candle Company to buy a new Fall Festival candle since ours from last year is almost gone. When we got home, I noticed we already had an unused one. I love fall and am enjoying all the fun accessories that go with it. I hope I have time to decorate for the fall this year. I really want to get a nice fall wreath to put over the fireplace.

Anyway, we went to get the pictures, and all 180,000 were ready. (Ok, it did feel like that many when I was cutting them.) We went to Bi-Lo to buy the groceries Wal-Mart didn't have. After, I noticed a few of the pictures were messed up, so we went back to Portrait Innovations. They reprinted them immediately, gave me extras, and profusely apologized. That is far better than the experience I had with Olan Mills. I would have gotten the pictures in 3 weeks, they would have been damaged, and I would have had to wait another 3 weeks to get the reorder. After that, they wouldn't have even apologized and would have treated me like dirt for filing a complaint!

Carter did start a new trick tonight. He can suck on his toes! He is starting to play with toys too. He loves the little plastic links. He can hold on to them, chew on them, and shake them.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. There are a few others on flickr. Hopefully this week will fly by as quickly as last week did.

Last week was not as bad as I thought it would be. It was busy! Kevin had to take Carter to the doctor on Tuesday for a cold. He weighed 18 lbs 11 oz! She told Kevin we could start giving Carter juice and water, so he has started getting pear juice.

Friday night, we took Carter with us to eat hibachi. He enjoyed watching everything. At the end of dinner, I was holding him, and he spit up all over me. I didn't know half the restaurant was watching until they all started laughing at the same time. On the way home, he got fussy, so we pulled over to make a bottle. Carter didn't want the bottle (later, I found out Kevin only put half the formula in for the amount of water I had.) We stopped at Bi-Lo to buy juice and bottle water. Kevin went in, and I stayed in the very scary parking lot. I could see Kevin wandering around the store, so I went in to help him. After, we were cleaning out his milk bottle and feeding him juice in the parking lot....the things we do!

Saturday and Sunday were nice and quiet. We have been enjoying just relaxing during our weekends.

Yesterday, we did get a call from Bank of America fraud services. Apparently, someone had tried to use our credit card at a Wal-Mart twice and a gas station in Columbus, OH on Saturday. Thank goodness it was declined at both places. We canceled the card immediately. The person from the bank told us that our information was probably taken and loaded onto another card. This morning at work, I went to tell my friend what had happened, and she stopped me. The same thing happened to her. Someone used her debit card at two different Wal-Marts and a few gas stations in Columbus, OH on Saturday. They were able to get her money. I hate this happened to someone else, but we were able to narrow down where someone got our information. We figured its one of two restaurants we went to together. Now, we are having everyone else we were with check their credit card info. I think I will start using cash when we go out to dinner and never let my card out of my sight.

Anyway, there are new pictures and videos on flicker. Carter has been a lot of fun and in a great mood despite his cold. We are enjoying him so much!

Carter's first game... too bad it was a disappointment

We have had a quiet weekend. No one in our house has felt well for awhile, so we rested..... a lot. We also stay tuned to CNN as much as possible to watch footage from Louisiana. My parents evacuated, but we were still worried about Lafayette.

Carter has been congested with a cough. I've been running the humidifier at night and cleaning out his nose as much as he will let me. He slept like a champ on Friday night. He woke up around 7:15. He napped a lot except for today and was in a surprisingly good mood. I need to upload the video I tried to get of him laughing. He also rolled over today. I'll admit I am a bad mom and rarely give Carter tummy time. I would do more, but he spits up SO much. He rolled over twice today. He can also sit unassisted for a few seconds. He tries to sit up when he in on his back. I hate that he is growing up, but it is also tons of fun to celebrate these little events.

I'm dreading this week. It's only 4 days, but those always seem very tough. We have our first extended Tuesday tomorrow, I have a dentist appointment on Wednesday, and we have open house on Thursday. All of this while anticipating Hurricane Hannah. I want to be prepared, but I also don't want to look like an idiot. I think we will purchase a generator this week. Kevin has been considering one since he built a generator panel into our house. Even if we don't need it now, we may need in during the winter.

Wow, post number 3 for today. (Beat that, Alana! Remember my old blog I never used?) I feel like an important blogger. (I'm going to hurry up. Our electricity just started doing really weird things.) When we were in Louisiana, we had a sitting with a couple of photographers. Alana won the sitting, so we finally got the whole family together for pictures. Here are a few of them Stacy Landry posted on her blog. I can't wait to receive the rest of them.

I'll be the first to admit, I am not perfect. I can never think of words I want to use, I make tons of typos, but I am a grammar snob. This goes back a very long way. At least back to 6th grade. I had Mrs. Ashworth. She taught grammar. She gave us a HUGE grammar test that only 3 of us passed. (Yes, I remember making an A on this.) This was a big test. She had built it up and was shocked when almost everyone failed. We were able to sit outside and read books for a week while she retaught grammar to the rest of our classmates. My classmates even decided I should be the editor of our little class magazine for Louisiana History. (Oh, that was an AWFUL class where Mr. Morris would lean back in his chair and pick his nose.) Ok, that's not the worst of the nerdiness. I don't even know if I should admit what I am about to discuss. Beth laughed her butt off when I finally admitted this many years later....Ok, here goes. I loved diagramming sentences. I really did. We bought our textbooks and could sell them back each year. Well, I decided to keep my grammar book, so I could diagram sentences for fun once I was done with that class. Ok, please stop laughing at me. I guess I like grammar because it is the one part of English I was good at. It is logical and straight forward. There are definite rules. I didn't have to read something and think of wonderful new scholarly ideas to put into writing. It didn't force me to make sense of all the wonderful (ok, not really) British poets. Wordsworth....he just wasn't for me.

Maybe, I shouldn't admit this because I am sure I have made some mistakes in my blog. (If you notice any, please email me, so I can fix them).

I love this website. I guess it's just the nerd in me. Anyway, today an English teacher sent out a mass email stating, "To whom did I give the locker notebook to?" Ok, if you are going to be fancy and use "whom" correctly, at least finish the sentence correctly.

Here are some of the common mistakes that drive me nuts:
lose v. loose It seems most people want to use loose. I have seen it so often that I started second guessing myself on the correct usage.

myself Oh, this is a big one and really gets to me. Please don't ever start a sentence with myself or use it as a subject of your sentence. Please! You don't sound smarter.

Beaucoup: Being from southern Louisiana and having learned French, I understand that "beaucoup" means many. It is not a noun, and it is not pronounced "boocoos."

One that isn't on the website is mines. You know, "that's mines." My social studies colleagues would like to remind you mines blow things up.

I'll admit, it has taken me years to learn the difference between bring and take. I was probably 23 before I even knew there was a difference. I still mess up when speaking, but I am learning to catch myself (did I use it correctly?)

Another one that gets me is where to put the punctuation with parentheses. I like parentheses (in case you didn't notice). If this had to be APA style with parenthetical documentation, I could punctuate like a champ. It's just my little asides that get me.

Ok, I will stop my rant. Hopefully, I didn't make too many errors or make myself (there it is again) sound like too much of an ass.

Thank goodness the week is over. It has been rough!!!!! I started with a bad sore throat on Friday. I gave in and went to the doctor on Monday. She gave me a Z-pack. I lost my voice on Tuesday. It's always fun trying to teach without a voice when your lesson plans were relying on class discussion. By Wednesday, I was able to get a microphone system to use, so the kids could hear me a little better. I woke up yesterday feeling A.W.F.U.L. Apparently, I hadn't eaten enough with my antibiotics on Wednesday. My stomach felt horrible, so I had a wonderfully nutritious breakfast of gingerale and jello. I went to work thinking I could make it, but half way through first period, I thought I was going to die. The wonderful attendance secretary got me a sub in less than an hour! I somehow managed to make it to Publix to buy some soup and more jello before getting home. I laid on the couch and had to force myself to get up. I was sicker than I have been in ages. I even ran a fever. I NEVER have fever. By dinner time, I was able to force myself to eat some soup and started feeling better. I felt like a new person today. I even have half my voice back. It's really useful to make 6th graders understand they should not talk during a quiz. I'm going to get myself in trouble with that 6th grade class. I don't know how to deal with them. They seem to not fear me or take me seriously when I ask them to sit down and listen. I don't know if it is just immaturity or a bad group. I am now down to only 15 of them though. One was moved from my class today because her parents wanted her to have the other science teacher....oh well. One less paper I have to grade.

We don't have any plans for the long weekend. My mom randomly sent me some money as a nice surprise. I think I may use it to invest in some clothes. I'm down to about 6 outfits to wear to work. I was resisting buying too much because I was determined to be back in my old clothes. I will blame the surgery and now feeling bad for not exercising like I planned.

I can't believe how grown up Carter is. He has been such a sweet baby. Today, he came home shrieking just for fun and cooing up a storm. He is trying to sit up and loves to be held so he is standing. Last night, when I fed him, he would talk if to me and pull up on the tray of his high chair if I didn't feed him fast enough. I don't want to forget any of these moments. We have tons of little 30 second videos just to remember the little things.

I am not getting much work done when I get home in the evenings. I want to spend time with Carter and have lots to do for him. I am trying to use my planning periods wisely, so I don't need to take work home. Of course, I haven't had papers I need to grade yet.

I got my pathology report on Friday. I am fine. The doctor said the nodule was benign, but it was weird that I only had one. I'm hoping I don't ever have to have the other side removed.

I have added new pictures and videos on flickr.

Today, Carter started talking with his spit. I bought a new mirror, so I can see him while I am driving. On the way to day care, I could only see the top of his head. I adjusted it, and on the way home, I could only see his feet. We will try again tomorrow. He did like the angle this afternoon. He talked to himself the whole way home.

Last night, Kevin fed Carter. My too clean husband was fussing at the poor baby because, he had food all over the place. I told Kevin he probably did the same thing to his mom. He insisted he had never been messy. (My husband earned a D in auto shop because he refused to get his hands dirty!) At this point, I decided to call his mom and ask her. She did say that he had gotten food all over both of them when he was baby. That was a major victory for me! We joked that we would just start sending his food to daycare, so they could deal with the mess. Well, when I picked him up this afternoon, his teacher asked me if I had been feeding him any food. She wanted me to send some, so she could feed him. Now, I just need to decide if I will feed him again in the evenings. He has only been getting food once a day. I really loaded him up tonight. Carter woke up to eat at 1:00 this morning, so I decided I would fix him. He got green beans mixed with oatmeal, and a 7 oz bottle (one more ounce than usual). I'm hoping this will hold him over until the alarm goes off at 5:30 (or 5:45 if I can convince Kevin to sleep that late.) It will be my last morning of getting to sleep that late. Ok, I know 5:30 isn't late, but I am anticipating needed to get up at 5:00 to get to school on time. I will try that on Thursday and see how much time I have. I'm hoping I can get up a little later and still make it to school to get a little done before the kids get there. School starts at 7:25. In years past, I arrived around 6:30. I hope to get there by 7:00 or a little before. When I have morning duty, I must be there by 7:00. I have worked it out with a friend that she will do a few of my rotations at the beginning of the year until I see how mornings go. I will pay her back at the end of the year. I'm sure I will regret the swap then, but I want to keep my sanity right now.

Going back to work has proven to be overwhelming. The week leading up to the first day of school has always been the most stressful. Now, I am just not extremely interested in going back and having everything done to go back. I used to stay at school and have Kevin bring dinner while I was setting up my classroom. Now, the AC shuts off at 3:00 on the dot. Who wants to stay and suffocate? We also have very little time in our rooms before school starts. Thursday was a swap day, so we didn't have to be at school. The only other time set aside in Wednesday afternoon. I really need to get myself motivated.

As for Carter, he is doing well. We are continuing to feed him baby food every evening. Last night, we started with peas. I was afraid he wasn't going to like them just by their smell, but he didn't mind one bit.

I've learned that I can put him in his Bumbo seat while we eat or if I need to get something done. He has started grabbing things. This makes feeding time especially fun when he grabs his bib and smears against his face. He also likes to suck on his fingers while I am feeding him.

He is continuing to grow like crazy. Many of his 3 month outfits are becoming too small. I even ordered a convertible car seat for my car. He is about to outgrow his infant one. Too bad I wanted the one that could be used up to 30 pounds. I think he will outgrow it by 20.

This is going to be a busy week. School starts on Thursday!

Eating Cereal

Eating Cereal

Carter likes his new glow worm from Gammy

Eating green beans

Carter is growing up too quickly. He seems to have suddenly matured and grown in the past week. When we got home from Louisiana, he seemed bigger and able to do more things. Before we left, I had to show him the toys on his exersaucer, and now, he grabs them. He is starting to hold on to things, burp cloths, necklaces, glasses, and he even tried to hold his bottle. He is also taken and interest in watching TV. Sometimes when I am feeding him, he will flip over and watch TV instead, so I have to turn it off to get him to resume eating.

We bought him a high chair on Friday (when I should have been at home recovering). He had cereal on Friday and a little green beans tonight. He still has his tongue thrusting reflex, so it makes eating hard.

Carter has been rather cranky. I don't know if it is the extra attention he got while my parents were here, or if it is teething. I think it is the latter. I can slightly feel two little bumps on his bottom gum.

My recovery is slowing a bit. I felt great on Thursday and Friday. Yesterday and today have been a little rough. The doctor gave me percocet, but I hate to take it. It gives me nightmares. I would have thought I was crazy, but one of Kevin's coworkers had the same experience. My neck and my throat are very sore, and I feel lightheaded at times. I tried to convince Kevin to let me ride in the shopping cart at Wal-mart today, but he wouldn't go for it. Tomorrow is my last day off. I should take it easy, but I have some craft ideas I want to try out.

We have been busy around here. On Friday, we flew to Louisiana. Carter was SO good on the airplane. After we landed, the lady behind us said she was upset there was going to be a baby in front of her, but he was really good and didn't bother them.

Carter and Kevin on the plane

We flew into New Orleans and ate at Five Happiness, a yummy Chinese restaurant. After, we drove around to show Kevin areas affected by Katrina. It seems that much of it has been cleaned up and restored. We got to Lafayette around 10:00, and my sister's family arrived shortly after.

Saturday, we had an appointment with a photographer to take pictures of the kids. My sister won a session with Stacey Landry. She and her husband work together and were great with the kids. We took pictures at the UL Alumni center. Their grounds are beautiful. We can't wait to see the pictures. Saturday afternoon, we went to get good ol' Louisiana snow cones. I was able to get a yellow cake flavored one. YUM! We had some close family friends for dinner on Saturday and enjoyed seeing them.

Zachary enjoyed being the "big cousin" and was great with Carter.

Carter's christening was on Sunday. We went to mass before and sat in the cry room. What a miserable experience!!! The christening went well even if the deacon seemed to get lost a few times.


After the christening, we had a small gathering of 23 people at my parents house. Many of them had never met Zoe, and none of them had met Carter. It was great to see relatives, former neighbors, and family friends. My sister's family left on Sunday afternoon.

Zach performing

We flew out of New Orleans on Monday. My parents came with us to help out this week. We got home late on Monday.

Carter had his 4 month check up on Tuesday. He got 4 shots! He weighs 17 lbs 7.5 oz. and is 26 inches long. He is in the 95th percentile for weight and 97th for height. The doctor said he perfectly proportioned, but just a big boy. He was rather grumpy for the rest of the day after his shots and needed to be cuddled.

Kevin and I left for the hospital around 5:45 yesterday morning for my surgery. I was more nervous about this surgery than others I have had. They gave me too much information about the anesthesia and the breathing tube. I freaked out when they told me they would wake me up before removing the breathing tube, but they guaranteed I wouldn't remember it. I was miserable when I woke up in the recovery room. I was in pain and burning up. They usually don't let visitors back there, but they let Kevin come sit with me until he nearly passed out for the 2nd time that day. (We almost lost him when they started my IV...seems to be a pattern with him). My mom came and sat with me after that. I finally got to a room around 10:00 or 11:00 and napped for most of the day. Of course, it is hard to get rest in a hospital. Kevin brought Carter to visit me. My mom spent the night with me. The doctor came in around 10:00. He said the nodule looked benign, but I will get the official results at my follow up appointment on the 22nd. I got home around noon today. I feel great. I have a sore throat and my neck is stiff, but it's nothing a little percocet can't help. The doctor didn't give me any restrictions. He told me I could do anything I could tolerate. I am glad that it's all over.

My pretty scar.