Leaving the Ranch

(I wrote this on my last day of school but couldn't post it until my resignation was official. Today it became official. More tears.)

Since the day Jonathan was born, I have struggled with the desire to stay home with him. Part of me wanted to be with him every second of the day, but part of me still wanted to be able to work and get out of the house. Once Matthew was born, my desire turned more in the direction of wanting to stay home. I hated leaving my children in the care of somebody else, while I helped raise somebody else's children. It didn't make sense. So I started praying that God would provide a way for me to be with them.

And He did.

In March, somebody suggested that I look into teaching preschool part time. It would give me the chance to get out of the house a little, but the boys would come with me. I loved it! And to say that God's hand was in this situation would be an understatement. I contacted an old friend of Zack's who works in the Children's ministry at a local church and told him to keep me in mind if they had any preschool openings come up. He emailed back within 20 minutes and said "Katy, I'm so glad you emailed. Along with the addition of the infant class I decided to add another 4yr old class. I have been interviewing this week with little success. We are really looking for sound christian women who can lead our classes academically and spiritually as well as reach our families for Christ."

Are you kidding me? I couldn't believe how perfect this sounded. There was a possibility of a job, a class for Jonathan AND a class for Matthew. And ya'll....it worked out. Within a few weeks, I accepted an offer to teach a 3 year old class for the 2012-2013 school year. There has been a whole lot of drama deciding when to resign with KISD, when to tell friends and bosses, when to let go of Jonathan's spot in his amazing day care....But suffice it to say, it has all worked out. God is good.

And so that leads me to today. Leaving Morton Ranch Junior High. The only word that comes to mind is "bittersweet." I know I am moving on to a situation that is so absolutely perfect for my family.....but I did not want to leave. I cried all afternoon. I would be crying right now if I allowed myself the chance. I have been at MRJH for the past 6 1/2 years. I have taught with the most amazing language arts team, the most fun, silly and wonderful 8th grade team, and have had some great bosses. My MRJH family has been there with me throughout a move, 2 babies, unexpected bedrest, some really trying students and a whole lot of other life experiences. They have been supportive, loving, kind and so, so fun.

I spent the day today walking around the building with good friends, visiting with people in their classrooms, organizing my files and supplies that have carried me through the past 6 1/2 years and transferring important documents to my teammates so that they will not go to waste. I spent the entire day with one of my most favorite people, Kristin, and as soon as we started crying (which was early in the day) we would laugh at ourselves. Then we would cry. Then we would laugh. We were a hot mess.

And as I walked out of The Ranch for the last time, I walked out knowing that I was leaving a pretty special place. I knew I had made friends that would last the rest of my life and I was positive that my life would be forever changed. I am blessed to have spent my early teaching years in this place. It was crazy, super stressful, hilarious and wonderful and I am blessed beyond belief to say I am a Maverick.



My wonderful 8th grade language arts team! I will miss them more than they will ever know!

And now.....on to 3 year olds :)

Finally some family time!

Anybody that knows anything about my family knows that Zack works the most absurd hours imaginable. It is not uncommon for him to work until 1:00 and then wake up at 6:00 to go back to work. He even talks about accounting in his sleep. It's pretty ridiculous. So when he told me he had a few days off this week, I took it with a grain of salt. In the past, "time off" meant working all day in the living room instead of the office. But you know what? He really did have time off this time! We have had such a fun few days spending time as a family. It sure makes me wish we could do it more often, but I will take what I can get these days.

Here are some of the highlights :)

 The boys spent lots of time playing around the house

My Pinterest addiction finally paid off. We made cloud dough! It was really fun and they both enjoyed playing with it. My only advice would be to do it outside. It is messy and the baby oil leaves a film on pretty much everything.

We laid around and relaxed a lot (ignore the mess behind us....that's what happens when you sit around the house too long!)

 Matthew perfected his rolly polly skills! (he actually rolled under the bouncer by himself and then laughed at how awesome he is!)

 We spent the whole day Thursday at the zoo and Hermann Park! Jonathan loved riding the train and walking around the fountain, despite what his face may say. I think this picture is hilarious. So typical. If you are looking for a good deal on family activities, a membership to the zoo only costs about $100 a year for 4 people. We have gone twice now and our membership has almost paid for itself. A little cost upfront, but I am positive we will make our money back very quickly!

And after many days of family fun, the boys were beat! I love the way babies sleep in such crazy positions :)

The awesome news is that Zack actually has a few more days off around the 4th of July! So we have planned a few more fun activities. I can't wait!

Potty training and other equally annoying stuff.

Greetings from the flip side of potty training hell.

Okay, maybe that is a little dramatic.....or maybe not. The last week has been rough. But I am proud to say that I think we are on the upswing now. Jonathan has gone 4 days with no accidents and is totally out of diapers except at night and nap time. I honestly can not believe how well he is doing. I am so proud of my little guy!

I originally wrote out this super long explanation about how we did it (because I was convinced you are all as obsessed with potty training as I have been lately....) but I deleted it because it was boring and a little gross. You are welcome. In case you actually are interested, let me know and we can talk :)

In other annoying, yet necessary news....I have decided it is way past time for me to get back in shape. After Jonathan was born, it was very easy for me to lose the weight and get back in shape. This time around......not so much. I lost the weight pretty easily, but getting in shape has proven to be much more difficult. My biggest issue is logistics. First of all, Matthew hates anything to do with his carseat or stroller, so long walks/runs are out of the question for now. Second of all, I have no time to go to the gym. And even if I did, I canceled my membership to save money. So now, I am stuck trying to work out in our garage or to a video in the living room. This presents problem #3....motivation. The only time I can do these things is during nap time or after the kids go to bed. And y'all....I am freaking tired. Any Mom out there knows that nap time is sacred time. Especially if both kids are asleep at the same time. And after they go to bed? Yeah right. That is laundry, dishes, sweep/mop, bath, read, bed. Duh.

So let me present this question to my loyal readers....when do you work out? How do you have the energy to do anything active when the littles are asleep? Do you go to a gym? Do you take them with you? Do you suck it up and say "I will sleep when I am dead" and work out like a madwoman until midnight? What works for you? I am tired of looking like Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Just kidding, I know I don't really look like this guy :) I don't have a sailor suit.

Please help me raise my kids

First of all, I haven't been around much because...well...I don't have anything to say. Nothing big is going on, no hilarious "holy crap" stories to share, no major rants about crazy Pinterest people...just boring old life. That being said, I am here today with a few questions for you guys!

1. I have recently become obsessed with the fear that Matthew's head is getting too flat. I mean, in all honesty, it is pretty flat, but I am not sure if it is something I need to freak out about or not. I asked my doctor about it last week and her words were "I see what you are talking about, but I am not worried at all." So there's that...anyway, my question is, have you guys found anything that has really helped? I am trying to keep him on his belly, in a seat, sitting up with me, off his head as much as possible. I go in at night and nap time and rotate his little head etc...I just want to make sure I am doing what I can to help it even out! Any tips?

2. Matthew HATES the car. Like, starts crying the second we get in the car until he cries himself to sleep. It's awful. I recently switched him from his infant seat to a convertible seat (a Britax Roundabout) hoping that the different angle, higher viewpoint and bigger space would help. Nope. Same crying fits. I make sure he has his pacifier, a blankie or a toy before we start off. I have stopped on the side of the highway to try and calm him down....nothing. Anybody have something that has worked for them?

3. Jonathan starts potty training tomorrow! Any last minute tips that worked great for you guys? Especially for little boys? He has shown interest in the toilet, will pee in it when I ask him to go try, he picked out some killer Diego underwear....I think he is ready!

Okay, that's it for now! Why do I feel like I am the only person who ever asks everybody she knows for help with her kids? Should I take that as a hint that normal people just figure things out themselves??

My kids are just fine, thank you.

Lately I have been noticing that I am too hard on my kids and myself as a Mommy when we are out in public. I am very quick to say "Ugh, we are just out of control!" or "Man, this is why we never go anywhere!" when things get a little hairy. I feel like as soon as Matthew starts fussing or Jonathan throws a piece of food (or any other small and annoyingly difficult thing to clean up...) every Mom in the room starts to watch and judge. In my head, they go home and tell their friends how Katy Ley can't control her kids. They tell their husbands how they hate hanging out with us because we are so chaotic and out of control. Our friends that come to our house must leave with a headache and thank the Lord on their way home for giving them the perfect kids. I find myself constantly apologizing for my boys when we are out to eat or at a friend's house. Even when my friend Sara and I go walking, I feel the need to say I am sorry all the time because Matthew is crying (oh how I wish he would learn to love his carseat/stroller.)

But you know what? My kids are amazing.

And I need to chill the crap out.

Yes, Matthew cries. Yes, Jonathan sometimes throws food. 99% of the time, I forgot something important and have to scramble to figure out what I will do. I am usually late. I usually smell like baby spit up. Jonathan usually has something on his face. At some point during our outing, one of them will most likely bust out of their diaper.

But who cares? I know, deep in my heart, that my friends sure don't care. My friends do not walk away from us shaking their heads in disbelief. Most likely, they are dealing with the EXACT.SAME.THING. And the only thing that my apologizing does, is make me look silly. So my goal this summer, while I am out and about with the boys a whole lot more, is to chill out. To enjoy the moments and not be embarassed by them. To be calm and collected when things go awry and not create a whole mess of chaos because of my attitude. And most importantly, to look at my boys and appreciate them for who they are and the crazy things they do.

(And for those that do want to judge me....go ahead. But know that I think you are a jerk face and I don't want my crazy kids hanging out with your perfect kids anyway. So there.)

Unspoken rules of the playground

My best friend and I were recently hanging out at the indoor playground at Memorial City Mall. In all honesty, this is one of the better indoor playgrounds because it is clean, monitored and totally gated off. So unless my kids are kidnapped and taken out screaming, they are decently safe. As we were sitting there, I noticed many of the parents breaking some of the"unspoken rules" that all parents naturally know and follow. In case you are living under a rock missed them, let me recap.

1. If your kid is walking around screaming and being generally annoying just for fun, stop them. I know kids scream sometimes, but we have all been around the kids who scream just to be loud and annoying. These are the kids that scream and then look around to see who they have annoyed. Interestingly enough, I get to deal with these kids when they grow up and hit middle school and let me tell you, it is just as annoying in a school hallway as a playground. So please try to take care of the issue now. K, thanks.

2. If your kid is walking around and hugging/hanging on random adults, deal with the situation. Hello...stranger danger anyone?

3. If you walk behind your kid handing them snacks every time they slow down for a second, stop it. We all know they can't eat in there. Don't take it a step further and follow them around feeding them. You know what happens when crumbs and chunks of food get stuck in the little crevices of a playground? Roaches. And rats.

4. If you watch your kid go tearing through the playground and then plow some little kid over, take care of it. This should be obvious.

5. If you intend to take your child to the playground and leave, don't. At one point, I walked out the gate to get something (my friend was still in there) and the guard actually had to stop me and ask "where are your kids? You know you can't leave them here alone right?" Uh....yes, I am fully aware that this is not a free babysitting service. Obviously there have been enough parents who didn't realize that because he felt the need to say it. Yikes.

And I promise that I observed every one of these on Monday. All of them. In one trip. Come on parents, get with the program please. If we work together here, we can all enjoy the indoor playground this summer while the outdoor playground rivals the surface of the sun.

A whole lot of nothing.

I apologize for my lack of posting this week. I could insert some sort of cliche blog line like, "I've been busy living life!" or "while I have been away, life has been happening!" but don't you guys already assume that just because I am not posting, my life hasn't stopped? That's what I figured.

Anyway, I don't have my computer cable for my camera and since I am living back in 1990 with my ghetto flip phone and don't use instagram or any other equally cool program, I have no pictures for you today :( So I will just do a quick update and promise to post later in the week.

1. School is finishing up nicely. And by nicely, I mean that I haven't gone crazy and my kids have not revolted. It's a win-win for everybody.

2. We took the boys to the zoo on Saturday for the first time. They loved it! Jonathan was a little skittish at first, but quickly warmed up to all the animals. His favorite was the baby elephant. And let's be honest, it was our favorite too. Seriously....can it get any more cute than a baby elephant?

3. I have come to realize that as much as I look forward to family and friends coming to visit so that we can hang out and catch up, I look forward to the extra set of hands even more. My sister-in-law, Katie, was here this week and man, did I put her to work! We ran errands, I cooked dinner, she helped with baths and bedtimes....it was awesome!! Is that what it feels like to have a live in nanny? How do I go about getting one of those?

4. We introduced Jonathan to his new potty today. I have to say it was a big success! He loves that it looks like a frog and even told me he wanted to go tee-tee in the toilet. First of all, where did he learn to say toilet? And second, since his vocabulary is clearly higher than mine, I guess I should stop saying "pee-pee in the potty" My boy is advanced.

And that's about it. I am pretty excited that tomorrow begins the last week of school. I am very ready to be home with my boys (and not have my alarm go off at 5:00am....) and I have lots of fun things planned thanks to Pinterest. Things that I will buy a bunch of crap for, set up and then roll my eyes as Jonathan chunks my awesome sensory tub across the room. You know, that kind of stuff :)