Alex Photos

Here are a couple of Alex photos that I had not posted yet.

Alex can drink out of a cup without a lid, but it is a messy process. He likes to play with the milk, so we still use a sippy cup often.
Photo taken 12/21/10.

Alex is trying to take over my computer! I often find my desktop folders renamed with random letters and symbols. (I need to remember to log out of the computer when it is not in use.) Alex really likes to the look at the photo screen saver, which shows random photos from my iPhoto. It turns out that most of the photos are of him... surprise! (Photo taken 1/15/11).

More Artwork

Alex transitioned to a new toddler room earlier this month, so we just received more of his artwork. It sounds like he will be in this room until he moves to a preschool room at age 3. I hope that his younger friends from his last room get transitioned into this room too. Later in this room, we will face the joys of potty training...

Zumba

My mom and I started going to a Zumba class for faculty and staff last semester one evening a week after work. That class is not offered this semester, so we decided to try a general Zumba class today after work at Campus Rec. The room was packed with students when we arrived, but we did recognize one other staff member from our previous class. She left part-way through the class, but my mom and I made it the entire time.

The class was fun, but I did feel a little old. Most of these students were born between 1988-1992. When we danced to Michael Jackson's Beat It, I could not help but think about how none of them were born when this song came out...

The reality of working with college students (especially freshmen) is that they will all be around 18, but I will keep getting older. I realized in a conversation today that I am no longer one of the "young" advisors. But, the good news is that I don't really feel my age.

Blog Design Giveaway

My blog got a little TLC tonight. (Playing with Blogger is definitely more fun than cleaning my bathroom!) I grabbed a free Blogger background from Visual Serendipity. The site also provides great tutorials and information. Lynne offers a variety of blog design services, and you can enter to win free a blog design package through January 31, 2011. Best Wishes to Lynne on her new endeavors! (Yep, I am also using this blog post to enter the contest:)

Happiness Project: January Update

Here is what I am working on for my January Happiness Project:
1. Try to go to sleep earlier
2. Exercise
3. Toss, restore, organize
4. Tackle a nagging task

I inevitably modified the author's exact goals from the book, but that is good. Gretchen wants us to make the project our own. (I'll just refer to her like we are friends...)

I am still staying up too late during the week, but I am more aware of it. I really enjoy my free time in the evenings and am sad to end it. I am better about recognizing when I am tired and not pushing my self to stay up.

My mom and I are back to exercising together once a week. We are trying a new Zumba class this week. I also try to do some walking or an exercise DVD. I am still thinking about adding in some running... (I do love my running shoes even though they log more miles doing other tasks!)

We have moved around some furniture in our house, including moving bookshelves to the third bedroom. I really like how we are better utilizing the guest/computer/storage/Grandma room.

We started tackling 2 nagging tasks today (not just 1 but 2)! It is good to cross things off the to-do list.

I had a happy 3-day weekend and am looking forward to discussing this book with my book club at the end of the month.

one weekend 2 shots (January 15-16)

We are wrapping up a three day weekend here. It is so nice to have an extra day off!

Moo Baa La La La! has become one of Alex's favorite books. He likes to make the animal noises in the book. It is a library book, so we will max out our renewals on it. (It may be worth adding to our book collection.) He really enjoyed reading his books this weekend!

We have moved from baby-proofing on to toddler-proofing. Alex can now open door knobs and reach our counter tops. Alex can open the front door, so it needs to be locked all the time now. Yesterday Alex opened the door to the cleaning closet, which is where I keep all the cleaning products that I don't want him to get. It was time to bring out the door knob covers. The adults around the house are learning to use them, and hopefully Alex will not learn how to use them anytime soon...

Sometimes It is Good Just to be Home

Tuesday was a busy day at work and mentally exhausting. With the start of the spring semester, students were still sorting out their schedules and various issues. I picked up Alex from daycare and found out that he had a rough day in his new room. It was only his second day there, and he was sad and dealing with diaper rash. It was the first time in over eighteen months of daycare that a teacher told me that he did not have a good day. (Note to self: do not take the good days for granted.)

I was looking forward to Stamp Club that evening after work. Some creative time sounded good even though I was tired. John had to work late and Alex needed a bath to help with the diaper rash. (Dr. Smith's Ointment has worked the best for Alex.) I had undressed Alex and was running a luke warm bath for him when it began. He had to pee - A LOT. It was all over the corner of the bathroom, including the rug and on my pants. I was shocked and did not know how to respond at first.

We got everything cleaned up and Alex went to bed. I did a load of laundry, and John gave the bathroom a really good cleaning when her came home. (Thank you Honey!) By that time, I knew that it was best just to stay home that evening. I put on my pajamas early and enjoyed some quiet time. I have realized the key to making all of this work (two full-time jobs, a toddler, a house, and two dogs) is to NOT try to do everything. Sometimes it is ok to stay home.

Contest Entries

On Tuesday Stampin' Up! announced the winners of their My Digital Studio contest. You can view the winning entries here. Even though I did not win, I thought I'd share my entries, which were 2 scrapbook pages and a card.

This was the first time I entered a big scrapbooking contest. It can be challenging to meet the contest rules and still create the things that you want to create. The good thing was that it motivated me to create more pages with some of my favorite photos. I do not know if I will enter any more scrapbooking or card contests. It is important to me to just keep my scrapbooking and card making for FUN.