More Zoo and Garden pics

We took another trip last weekend to the zoo - it was HOT! Chase really enjoyed the animals this time but the merry-go-round not so much!

Tega Cay Concert

We had our last concert for the summer and the boys had a blast! They even lasted until just after sunset!

My Life is a Meter

I have divided my life into four categories - Mom, Teacher, Wife, and Runner. If I give too much to any category, I take from the other. After all we are dealing with percents here and if I only have one hundred, I can't make (although I wish I could) any more. So, the weeks that I slack on one, the others get better. This week it was the latter that suffered. But at least I have the weekend to catch up on that.

Oh Me! Oh My! I think I saw a mouse!

On Thursday morning upon arriving at school, my students began filing into my classroom getting their school bags put away and were starting in on their morning work. When all of a sudden I hear "RAT! Mrs. Roemer, we have a RAT! The moment I heard the word rat, I of course spun around and within one second, painted the most gruesome picture of a rat in my mind. I was expecting to find a fat-bellied, gray beast with a long, wiry tail, pointed snout, and beady eyes staring up at me while sniffing around my room for leftovers.

Instead, I found a small little creature that resembled more a mouse, huddled in the corner of my room. At first, it kept running into the dark bathroom (located in my classroom) but then it kept coming back out. It was acting as if it was trying to get our attention! In fact, one of my students said that he "was so cute!" I tagged one of my students to be the "mouse watcher" while the others continued with their work until a custodian came into the room. But that didn't last long as it ran across my room, under desks, and began climbing into one of my students book bags! The boy yanked his bag from the mouse, and to my surprise yet again, the mouse did not scurry. Instead, it sat right there, next to the cold, metal leg of the desk. And myself, trying to be calm under pressure, quickly grabbed a plastic cup, placed/shoved it over the top of the mouse and caught it! I assigned the same boy to keep his finger on the top of the cup as the tail wiggled about outside of it until backup finally arrived!

Tega Cay 5k

We entered another race - we had to - it was in our community! Andy placed 5th overall and 1st in his age group and I was first female overall! The boys came to watch too and Landon was telling people "That is my daddy!" as he crossed over the line!

Broken?

After running in to use the bathroom right after Landon... he asks me, "What happened to your penis mommy? Is it broken?"

Holy Cow!

My day has become a string of "things to do" but I am actually liking my tight schedule - it really makes me look forward to the weekends! And I don't stress over where I should take the kids so that they are intellectually challenged each day.
Instead, I now wake up at 5:45 - I roll out of bed (literally) and talk myself into how much going back to work is worth it and blurry eyed, I make it to the shower. I usually have make up/hair dried before kids get up. I throw laundry in... get the coffee ready... one child is usually up by now. I get them up and try to get them excited about the day. As I am getting the first milk, then I hear the second one. Andy is getting ready for his run. He gets number 2 up and brings him downstairs. Breakfast is getting made - usually frozen waffles with choice of fruit. I am making my lunch. And in between trying to down my coffee, unloading/loading the dishwasher, double checking the diaper bag, making sure clothes are laid out so they go to daycare without having the "my dad dressed me" look, and most of all trying to squeeze in some quality time with my little cherubs before I leave at 7 a.m.

Panthers Game!

Andy scored great seats at the pre-season Panthers vs. Colts game - it was amazing to be that close to the field!

Back to Work...

I am officially back to work as of today. I have to say... so far it feels great to have a bit of separation between home and school. I love the boys - god I love them! But it makes our time that much more special when I pick them up at 3:15 and we have all afternoon/evening to play and catch up. And it also helps that they just love where they are. Yesterday they brought home an All About Me poster (even Chase too!) and under the "My favorite thing to do" category Landon told her to write "Drink some juice". I guess that at age 3 it's all about the simple things in life!

Anonymity? Not so much.

I was running the other morning without having to push an extra hundred pounds in kids and a stroller and as I was turning the corner, a woman says very nicely, "No kids today?"

Letchworth State Park

While in NY, we also visited Letchworth State Park and actually camped out in a cabin nestled in the woods (thanks to grandma Sandy!) The park is great for viewing what they call the "Grand Canyon of the East". It was so beautiful - there are many great hiking trails and incredible views!

Perspective

Chase was playing with a little house that has two doors that swing open and he can put his little people and animals in. He put his monkey inside and closed the door. Then opened the door, took monkey out, and began putting his foot inside of the little house. He quickly realized that wasn't going to work but then tried different angles to try to get his body inside that teeny, tiny house. After several attempts, he finally gave up.

New pj's = happy boys?

The boys received new pajamas from their Aunt, Uncle, and cousin who live in Texas and they were very happy and dancing up a storm in them! Thank you Texas Roemers!

Homesick or just missing vacation?

So Andy is officially back to work today and I am getting caught up on laundry and just general cleaning. Landon is talking nonstop about going back to (both) grandma's house - he doesn't quite grasp the concept of distance and time - the dreadful car ride seems forgotten. And today I find myself missing home (or what I called home for 18 years) and am wondering how we ended up in South Carolina. But then I realize we are here because I hate the snow, I love being only 3 hours from amazing beaches, and of course our jobs, which happen to be most important right now. So for now, we will act as birds do - going north in the summer and then coming back here for the rest of the year - not such a bad plan after all. Stay tuned for more NY pics - they are coming when I have a free moment again.
I write this as Chase is taking out every single placemat from the bottom drawer, placing them all over the kitchen floor, sitting on each, and trying to find a way to cover himself up with them. Ah well... at least he is occupied and safe.

Our day trip to Buffalo, NY

Niagara-on-the-Lake (Canada)

Andy and I had an afternoon getaway in this cute little town just across the border going into Canada. We had a great time touring the little shops, checking out the views of Lake Ontario, and enjoying time without kids in tow!

Grandma and Grandpa Schmidbauer

We began our trip in Middleport staying with my parents. The boys had so much fun running around the property and Landon especially loved driving the lawn mower with my dad - he was even really driving it... not sure if my dad knew that the blade was down... there was quite a path through the grass when they were done!

Girls night

I was able to catch up with my high school girlfriends for an amazing dinner at the Melting Pot. It's amazing that no matter how much time has gone by... you can always pick up where you left off.

Home Sweet Home

I don't know where to begin... our trip to WNY was such a blast! It was activity-packed, yet at the same time relaxing. I am going to do my best to re-capture our amazing vacation with pics. Thank you both grandma's and grandpa for making our trip the best! The boys are already missing you (and we are too!)

Farewell to Paci?

Sorry for my lack of writing... I have been in WNY for the past week and have been busy, busy, busy! But a fun busy - treating Buffalo as I would if I were a first time visitor. Today we ventured down to the Buffalo Waterfront and checked out the new section they just added on as their first step towards the downtown revitilization efforts. With kids in tow, we made sure that we had packed drinks, snacks, strollers, blankies, and of course Chase's paci as we NEVER leave home without it! Both kids were walking and excited to see the water. Chase as always was waddling behind with his paci in his mouth. We stopped for a moment to look at the sailboats in the harbor and also were intrigued with the floating seagull (I never knew seagulls actually swam!). Chase was at the railing, both arms through one opening and his hands are waving excitedly at the seagull and just as he decides he wants to say a few words (or to us - sounds), he opens his mouth and his paci drops, in slow motion, 15 feet to the water and just sits there bobbing away as a little fish swam up quickly to nibble at it. Chase raised his hand in the air, palm facing up, as if saying, "What happened?" And as I took a huge gulp thinking about our ride home with no paci, Landon reassured him by saying that if we got on the submarine we could get it for him. And for a brief moment, paci was forgotten.