Recipe and Reminiscing

Today I made a Cream Cheese Clouds (a deliciously, yummy, very healthy -ha!-recipe I got from my friend in college). It made me think about my friend Diana which made me very happy.

It also made me think about my Nanny which made me happy and sad because I miss her soooo much! I remember making these with Nanny one Christmas. Thinking about this reminded me of how much I miss her. Of course I got teary-eyed. I've been thinking about her often. While shopping in Publix the other day I saw someone who had hair that looked like Nanny's. Silly, I know, but I wanted to touch it. She had the softest hair. This too made me teary-eyed. I had to quickly pull myself together so I wouldn't be that person crying in the grocery store! I just wish she were here to see Karaline. She would have been in LOVE with my little sweetie.

Here's thelink to the recipe: http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/cream-cheese-clouds-62254.aspx

Karaline Loves...

Here are a few things Karaline loves:

*The dishwasher... anytime I open it to load or unload it, girlfriend speed crawls from wherever she is to play in it. I try not to do this when her Daddy is around because he has a fit when she puts her mouth on any part of it. Of course I don't want her to eat the dishwasher either, but those of you who know Joey know he can be a bit crazed with that kind of thing. I try not to sweat it.

*The refrigerator...same as the dishwasher...she could play there for hours!

*Other children...we'll be out somewhere and she will spot a kid and get soooo excited! She'll squeal with joy :) She's a little rough when she actually gets to play with them but we're working on being gentle. She gets to play with (torture) kids at her sitter's house.

*Greenbeans and bananas...these are the only 2 foods that I can guarantee that she will eat at this time. The doctor says it's okay so that's what we do.

*Talking...Karaline LOVES to talk! She can't talk enough it seems. I don't know why because both Joey and I are very introverted people. :)

*Her racoon... My mom bought her this racoon that plays a harmonica. She could watch it for hours on end!

*Music...Whether it's a CD or someone playing, Karaline is in awe. Sam's boyfriend, Matt, plays guitar when she's over. He's written her a few songs and let's Karaline play along with him.

These are just a few things that Karaline is loving at the moment. We're having a blast spending lots of time together. Slow down, summer!!!

Motherhood

Being a mom has been the most amazing, shocking experience I have ever had. I always knew that I wanted to be a mommy but had no idea what to expect. Yes, I'm an early childhood teacher and have been around babies but everything changes when you become responsible for the little blessing God has given you.

I'm not the mom I thought I would be. I thought I would be much tougher and more okay with cries but I'm not. I HATE hearing Karaline cry (or even fuss) for that matter. I don't want to raise a spoiled child, but I also want her to know that I will do everything in my power to meet her needs. It's a tough line. I'm getting better at not rushing over with each and every whimper but it is hard! Sometimes I wonder if I would be the same parent if I stayed at home with her. I'm sure these are all "normal mom" worries but there are many things I didn't consider.

I want to spend ALL of my time with her. Obsessive? Maybe...err...probably... but there is no one I would rather be with. Joey is a close second- most of the time - but Karaline definitely takes first :)

I also thought that a baby wouldn't dictate things I do. SILLY ME! example: I haven't traveled to visit family since Easter. For the last few months, Karaline {screams} in the car after the first 5 or so minutes and continues for most of the ride. I always thought that babies cry it out- not her. This is just one of the examples of her being strongwilled (not sure where she gets it!).

My nephew came and visited a few weeks ago. My mom and sister brought him down and then he took the train home. His train left from Winter Haven - about a 30 minute drive- and Karaline successfully screamed and cried the entire time. LJ was thankful he was able to take the train and didn't have to ride 2.5 hours with us. I don't know if she gets car sick or doesn't like being strapped in or not seeing anyone, but it is torture! While I would love to see family more often, it's really tough for me to want to travel with her being miserable. And packing the car- that's a whole other task!

There are many other expectations and ideas I had about being a mom. I'm learning that I have to do what works for our family. I still like hearing what has worked and not worked for my friends but am accepting that I may not be the same mom they are and it's okay!

A New Friend

Yesterday I took Karaline out for a walk around our cul-de-sac. We do this several times a day and she gets equally as excited each time we walk to the door. On the way back Karaline noticed her shadow and began squealing with joy. She started clapping, smiling, and waving. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen!!! She was soooo excited! Of course I took a few pictures :)

4th of July Festivities

This year we had a very laid back 4th of July. We celebrated on Sunday with our friends, Matt and Sam. Joey grilled chicken that was yummy! Sam brought a watermelon over and we let Karaline try it. She LOVED it! {See pic below} They also brought some fireworks so after dinner we did a few. Karaline really enjoyed them. I wondered if she would like them or not, but as usual she handled the noise like a pro. She stared in awe at them. She even did her first baby sign for firework. I do not know the sign for it, but Matt was making a hand sign while saying fireworks and she copyed him! :) Love it!!! I hate that it gets dark around 9 because it's hard to stretch Karaline that long so she couldn't see the big ones. That just leaves next year though :)

In other news, her first tooth is breaking through. I wondered if it would ever come. She's been "teething" for well over 4 months. She's handling it pretty well, too. The only symptons have been a few whiney times for unknown reasons, less eating, and more sleeping.

Enjoying watermelon :)

Clapping for the fireworks

Look at that face!

Signing fireworks

Time Flies

Here it is another month has gone by and I've not updated, but as the saying goes, "Time flies!" I think as a parent you begin to truly understand this statement. School is out for summer-yippee!- and I have been super busy trying to keep up with Karaline. She is a busy girl. She is crawling EVERYWHERE and getting into EVERYTHING!!! It's crazy how quickly she went from immobile to fully mobile. She can also stand up on just about anything and is beginning to "cruise" by holding on to something and walk.

Probably my favorite thing that she can do is wave. It is the cutest thing. Joey went away for the weekend and when he came home he woke her up. When she saw him, her face lit up and she began to wave. Sweetest thing ever!

Karaline loves other kids. She has kids at her sitter's house and she just talks and talks to them. She desperately wants to get down and play with them, too. On Saturday we had a get together with our church group and Karaline attacked two of the kids. She gets excited and grabs with full force whatever she can get a hold of - unfortunately, both times it was their hair! She then tries to pull them in for a kiss. The little boy was a champ and didn't complain at all...in fact, I think he liked it. The little girl, however, instantly began to cry. Sooo sad :( She didn't want to play with Karaline after that either.

So, Joey and I are taking the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University Class. The other day while I was cleaning, Karaline pulled the box out and began to move it on her journeys around the house. I took this picture of her and said that I'll send it to Dave when we can say, "We are debt free!" :) I think he'd like that.

I'm loving being home with Karaline and am enjoying being able to be a stay at home mom for the summer. August will be tough!

Busy, Busy, Busy

I cannot believe it's been a month and a half since my last post. Things have been very busy around here! The end of the school year is always rushed and at home we've been super busy, too. Karaline is doing fabulously. Day after day, month after month, we are loving watching her grow, develop, and change.
Brief recap of her milestones since last month:
*Karaline is now eating food - peas (she hates), green beans (she likes), and carrots. We're going to go through the veggies before moving on to fruits.
*Karaline is crawling...for a few crawls. Then she'll fall on her belly and army scoot. She is getting around well and enjoys playing on the floor.
*She loves to play and walk in her walker. When we first bought it her feet did not touch the floor; amazing what 2 weeks will do...now both feet can touch and she can move. She has one at her sitter's that she loves, too. Lynda said Karaline will chase the other kids :)
*She gives kisses when asked :)
*Daddy taught her how to give zerberts or raspberries. She gives them to me often but also will give one to her stuffed animals, toys, spoon, and tub.

I hope to post more frequently when school gets out. My last day is June 10. Hooray for summer!

5 Months Old

I cannot believe Karaline is 5 months old already! I say this in each post, but time really does fly. She is becoming such a "person" each day. Her personality is developing and shining through. We are having too much fun!

We went to the Lakeland Women's Show last Saturday with Sam and my friend Kristen from my Sunday School class. Kristen and I wanted to see Coupon Queeny and Aunt Sam wanted to hang out with Karaline (and me...I think - just kidding :). Of course everyone oooohed and ahhhhed over Karaline. I mean, who wouldn't? She looked especially cute this day though. She had a cute little outfit and super cute jelly shoes Aunt Nikki gave her.

After the Women's Show, we went to the Lakeland Tigers baseball game. Joey volunteered to help someone from our church who was hosting the game. We had a nice time but we didn't stay the entire time because it was a little hot.

I cannot wait for summer! The weather has been very nice lately and I am more than looking forward to spending the days with Karaline.

Life as a Preschool Teacher

As a PreK teacher, I hear lots of interesting things. Yesterday was one of those days.
While eating lunch, one of my students looked over at me and said, "Ummm, excuse you, Miss Kelly."
Me: "Excuse me what?"
Student: "Ummm, I heard that little toot you did."
Me: "Well, you didn't hear the toot from me because if you did you would have heard me say excuse me."
Another student: "Yeah, S, teachers don't do that anyway."

Ha! How great. I always think about someone who is not an educator (or one of small children) coming in and hearing the things I say to explain to students. So funny!

Chapped Lips

So I've had chapped lips for well over 3 weeks. I've tried all of my usual solutions - Burts Bees, Medicated Chapstick, even Neosporin, but nothing has helped! I even tried the Mary Kay lip solution that exfoliates. Again, nothing happened. Anyhow, I finally figured out the problem: I kiss Karaline far too much!!!

I simply cannot resist her cheeks!!!

AHHHHH, April

Yay! I am so excited to see April arrive. Not only do I love springtime, but it also means that I'm one more month closer to summer break!!! We've had some beautiful weather the last two days but Thursday was a very rough day here. We had several tornadoes in the area that did quite a bit of damage. One of our neighbors' roof was damaged by a tree. Our road was blocked by a large fallen tree, but someone cut it so we have a one lane road. On my way to Karaline's sitter and work I saw lots of other houses with trees down, too.

We actually had to go into "duck and cover" mode at school. This was quite an event seeing as though we just learned about various kinds of weather last week and the kids were fascinated with the tornado. I guess we were having a true "teachable moment!" Overall they handled it well. Of course most were frightened, but they relaxed after a little bit. I read them a story and then brought the CD player out and played our favorite CD. We were out there for at least 30 minutes. I was worried about Karaline and couldn't get through to her sitter, Lynda. I was able to get through to Sam's Gram who called Lynda and all was well. She did have some damage to her yard and fence, but they were fine!

As my good friend, Meg, said, "March went out like a lion!"

Spring Break

This past week was my spring break. It was WONDERFUL! Monday is going to be a sad, sad day in the Oglialoro house. It's going to be like January and returning to work all over again. Karaline and I have had lots of fun doing nothing much. Each day we ran errands and went out and about, but overall we just hung out. I could definitely get used this life!

In other news, Joey went on our church's Men's Retreat this weekend so my mom and LJ are coming down for the weekend. I'm really looking forward to seeing them (and them seeing Karaline!). I hate the distance between us...it's difficult for me to travel now and hard for them because of my dad's health.

Please keep us in your prayers as we have some big decisions that are in the works. We want to make sure that we are doing what is in God's plans.

Potato Soup Recipe

I really appreciate it when people I blog stalk post an easy, yummy recipe, so I decided to return the favor :) One of my colleagues passed this recipe to me, and it is sooooo easy and delicious!

Panera's Potato Soup:
4 cups peeled and cubed potatoes (I use red potatoes, but it doesn't call for a specific kind)
4 cups chicken broth
8 oz cream cheese ( I use the kind w/ chives and omit the onions)
small chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon of red pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Boil the potatoes in the broth with the seasoning. Once the potatoes are cooked, smash a few. This will release starches and help to thicken the soup.
Turn heat down.
Add cream cheese in and stir. Continue stirring periodically until cream cheese is mixed through.

*Joey wants me to add hamburger next time. I'll let you know how that turns out :)
*We also added bacon bits and cheese on top. YUM :)

Lent

This year for Lent, I decided to give up Facebook. This was an easy decision for me to make seeing as though I often get sucked in to all of the gossip it holds. I will miss posting pictures of my sweet Karaline for friends and family to see, but I will update more on here. The time that I used to spend on Facebook will allow me to do something more productive.

Joey gave up his debit card. He has a habit of stopping each and every work day at a 7-11 on the way home. He's gotten better at what he buys (now only a drink refill), but it still adds up. He's been talking about giving me his card, but instead, yesterday he cut it up! For those of you who don't know him, my husband is the MOST EXTREME person you will ever meet. This is just one example of this.

In other news, Karaline is now 4 months old... time goes so quickly!

Daddy's Girl

Karaline is definitely going to be a Daddy's Girl. Anytime Joey enters the room, Karaline instantly smiles, laughs, and coos. It melts my heart to see them together. The other night while Karaline was fighting her sleep (a trait she got from her Dad) and Joey was sitting on the porch, I opened the blinds to show him that we were still awake. When Karaline saw him, she began to laugh and smile. I'm LOVING this time in her life!

We went to the doctor yesterday for her 4 month check up. She weighs 16.7 lbs, is 24 3/4 inches long, and can start eating foods! CRAZY!!! The shots of course break my heart, but as always, she was a gracious baby.

Milestones we've reached:
*rolling from tummy to back
*putting paci in mouth
*scooting around on play mat
*reaching and grabbing for toys
*attempting to roll from back to stomach - getting caught by shoulder.
*gives kisses and LOVES getting them!

I'll leave you with a new picture of my beautiful baby.

Rolling Already!

Saturday we went to see Nikki's volleyball team play in Orlando. It wasn't the original plan, but with traffic and bad planning on my part, it's what happened. :) The tournament was pretty amazing...there were 25 volleyball games going simultaneously. Karaline was on stimulation overload!

Karaline got to see Aunt Nikki again and finally got to meet Nana Robyn, too! I'm soooo happy we were able to see them :) Here's a picture of her with the team.

Once we made it home, we put Karaline on her playmat on her tummy. We've been doing tummy time for a while now, but on Saturday, she propped herself up on her arms just like we would. I was already amazed by that but then she had to go and out do herself by rolling over!!! It wasn't a mistake either...she really rolled from her tummy to her back so gracefully. It's completely bittersweet....she's growing far too fast for me! She rolled again today, too! I keep telling her to slow down but she's not listening :)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Lots of Love and Alligators

Sam came over on Friday to take some Valentine pictures of Karaline. I absolutely LOVE them. Basically, Karaline is the most beautiful baby ever!!! It really makes me want to get a good camera. I'm going to start saving for it now :)


Here are a few:
In other news, the Alligator Man visited our school on Friday. He brought lots of critters with him~ an alligator, a weird lizard, a scorpion, a tarantula, and a huge snake. A few of my kids freaked out when he brought out the alligator. One was crying so hard that he had to go inside and sit with our director. I held part of the huge snake and alligator. I am not a fan of these things, however, I had to show my kids that I was brave and that these animals were not going to hurt them. Here's two pictures from the visit:

Catching Up

So, it's been a while since I've last updated. I am steadily learning my new daily routine. Thankfully, the days seem to go by quickly. Sadly, the evenings do too. That's the part of the day that I'd love to pause for a while. Most afternoons, Karaline takes a pretty long nap. It's nice because I'm able to get everything ready for the next day, but when we get home, I just want to cuddle with her.

She's growing so fast. We went to the doctor today and she weighs 15 lbs., 11 oz. Last night we bought her some new outfits (all 6 months) and one pair of the 6 month pants are too little!!!!

Everyday she is doing something new and different. I cannot begin to express the amount of joy she brings to our lives. Her sweet coos and smiles melt my heart. Before having her, I was that person who would make comments about parents. I never understood why parents did or didn't do specific things. I am beginning to completely understand and am kicking myself for being judgmental. In fact, one of my friends on Facebook has the perfect status and suggestion: "Before you have kids, you should make a list of things you'll "never do" as a parent. It'll be good for a laugh later on."

I'll try and be better about posting, but with working and trying to do the "to dos" at home, I haven't had much time that I feel like blogging!

Survival

I survived my first week without Karaline and back at work. Monday was a difficult day but I made it through with lots of prayers, encouraging calls and texts from family and friends, and hugs.

Linda, Karaline's sitter, loves her. This is a huge blessing to me. Not that I thought anyone could not love Karaline, but I'm her mom...Karaline has done wonderfully with her bottle and is on a pretty good routine with eating and napping. PRAISE THE LORD!!!

I'm thankful to have the job that I have. It's been an adjustment being back- not just being away from Karaline but actually being back at work since I've been out since September. My kids were very excited to see me. I've loved seeing how much they've learned and how much they've changed since I've been gone. I'm still working on getting back into all of the everyday routines but so far we're making it.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. I feel lots of comfort so I know the prayers are working. God is so good.

Too Soon

The day has come waaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy too soon...I go back to work tomorrow and Karaline goes to her sitter's. We are very fortunate to have a lady, Linda, who has kept kids for over 25 years at her house to watch Karaline. She's got 2 other kids who are 2 and 3 {I think...}. I know Karaline will get lots of love from both Linda and the kids. Even though I know this, this past week has been horrible for me~lots of crying at random times, very emotional, and tons of mood swings. I've had plenty that I should do to prepare but the only thing that I've wanted to do is hold my sweet baby-so that's just what I did.

Not only have I had the sickest feeling ever about leaving her, but we've been struggling with Karaline taking her bottle. Back in early December, Karaline took a bottle wonderfully. I was relieved because I've heard of babies who do not do well with this transition. Joey and I decided that we'd try and put her on the baby sitter schedule 2 weeks before I go back. Well, 2 weeks ago, I tried feeding her during the day as planned and it was horrific...traumatic for both me and Karaline. She cried the entire time. I read on the La Leche League website that some breast fed babies will not take a bottle from their mom. So I decided that I would pump for Joey. It was a little struggle, but she ended up taking it from him with minimal fussing. Unfortunately, this did not last. These last 3 days have been major fights...this has only added to my stress. However, the most amazing thing happened. During one of our crying bottle feedings, I decided to say a prayer aloud. Immediately after I said, "amen," Karaline took the bottle like a pro. Of course I believe in the power of prayer, but I have never seen the immediate result.

The Lord has surely heard my prayers. Today after church I went to Target by myself to kind of prepare myself for tomorrow. When I got home, Joey was feeding Karaline a bottle without a fight. ~YAY~ AND, the best part is that she took the bottle from me without a fight, too. Thank you Lord for hearing and answering prayers. It makes me feel a million times better knowing that she will eat. I know she will not starve...believe me, I'm not blind, and I know that my child who is now in the 99 percentile of weight for her age {13 lb. 9oz} will not allow herself to be hungry for long; but I worry about her being a stress on Linda.

A side note about my chunky monkey...Yesterday, we went to Lakeside Village for an outing. While walking through the Belk shoe department, I walked past an older lady who of course looks in the stroller and compliments/insults my sweet baby. Here's what she said, "Oh, what a beautiful baby. She's precious. Looks like she's about to bust. " HA~ Seriously? I said, "She keeps growing." I just love her cheeks, chins, and fat rolls...each and every one.

Well, since I'm going back to school, I can't promise that I'll be blogging as often. I hope to take the time, but we'll just have to see. It has been a loooooooooonnnnnnnnnnggggg time since I've worked...remember bed rest in September? PHEW...what an adjustment. I'm excited to get reacquainted with my kids and other teachers.