family pictures...yay!

read here for an explanation of how they came about.

thanks, jenny!

another day of soccer

we've made a little progress. he really tried to get out there and kick the ball this time. he even fell down a couple of times with no tears!

and you know i had to have pictures of casen too. must be fair. :)

jacob's first soccer game

i think he may have soccer confused with track. all he did was run around the entire time. i don't think he even kicked the ball once. :)

it probably doesn't help that he's the smallest guy out there.

uh...jacob, the ball's the other way. :)

good game, baby!

random boy pics

grandma & papa's house...john deere-boys.

crazy-haired, drool chest-boy.

woke up with a mohawk-boy.

just plain cute-boy.

powdered donut-boy.

why are you pointing that thing at me-boy

new hair cut-boys

oreo face-boy.

play time pics

i needed something other than "no doubt" on this thing! so here's some park pics from a couple of weeks ago.

no doubt

i'm sitting at my desk in my classroom. yes, school is already in session. it's 1st period. i do not have a first period. or a second period. or even an advisory for that matter (for this week, anyway). so what am i choosing to do with my first conference of the year? blog.

every summer, i have always expressed dread about going back to school and being away from my babies. if i were to be completely honest, that dread was never actually a true thing...until this year. i've always secretly been ready to return. to get out of the monotanous days of diapers, feedings, random naps, etc. i know, that sounds horrible. but i just didn't feel that i was called to stay home.

until now.

last night, as i tucked my babies into bed, i secretly cried. i cried because, for the first time, i truly did not want to return. i want to be home with my babies. i want to spend time with jacob before he begins his school career. i want to be with my crazy casen, even though his ultimate goal is to mess with jacob. i just want to be there with them.

so i cried. and i cried. i just laid in bed, and at that moment i knew, without a doubt, that where i belong is at home. not for this year, of course. i'm obviously at school and starting a brand new year. but honestly, i'm at peace with that. there was no dread this morning. there were no regrets that i didn't do enough this summer. there was only a positive attitude and a smile on my face.

it wasn't only the crying that sealed my knowing of where i should be. before getting into bed, as i was putting casen in his bed, i just held him. the child never sits still. but at that moment, he just laid on my shoulder, as if to say "i love you". i cried then too. and as i was tucking jacob in, i said "i love you, baby". his response was, "momma, you have to start calling me jacob". i cried then too.

and then at 3 o'clock this morning, jacob, who was sleeping on the floor beside my bed, woke up to tell me he needed to throw up. i took him to the bathroom, fully expecting him to be dramatic and nothing happen. i was wrong. my poor baby did throw up. he just stood there, so calm and brave, as his stomach was so upset. it broke my heart.

and then when i went to put on my dress for the day (yes, a dress.), a dress that i have only worn once, two buttons popped off. there was no way i was going to go through the stress of finding something else to where. so i just sewed the button back on with a smile.

and then, when i arrived at school and entered my room, my computer has sent me a message that said, "hard drive error: back up data immediately. call help desk immediately." so i called them with a smile.

it's now nearing the end of 1st period. it will be another hour and a half before i even have a student in my room. something else is sure to go wrong. but i'm focusing my attitude on "everything to His glory". that is what i want to show today. through whatever may go wrong, i want to reflect Him. i want my students to know that there's something different about mrs. ramirez. and not just that i have a casting crowns cd playing, but that i am truly different...from the inside out.

monday

on monday, my summer will officially be over. i will no longer get to spend my days with these two precious boys.

i'm always a little ready to start back to school as the summer nears end. mainly because the boys start getting more comfortable (testy) with me. this summer, casen was old enough to start tormenting jacob...and it occurred most every day. but now that i've been working for nearly 3 weeks now, i miss them! i just miss them.

i will never have another summer like this. as we near the end of next summer, we will be getting jacob ready for kindergarten. kindergarten! that makes me so sad. on the other hand, i will be spending most of my days with casen. my sweet, rebellious, adorable, bratty, chubby, so-not-jacob, baby boy. i can't wait for that.

but that's a whole year away. for now, i will be spending most of my days with 120ish 7th graders...sweet, rebellious, adorable, bratty 7th graders. not exactly my ideal situation, but i'll take it.

for now.

oh my goodness...

most of you know that jenny and i photograph weddings together. well, we had one this past saturday that was absolutely beautiful!

this post is so not about the wedding or about the photography.

it is solely about this salad.

i know, weird.

but if you had tasted the thing, you'd know what i'm talking about.

if you can't tell, it is made up of spinach leaves, watermelon, cantaloupe, some version of dark sesame seeds, and some kind of vinaigrette dressing.

it was so good that jenny and i both had two of them. we sat at a table alone and there were extras. don't judge. we didn't want it to waste.

anyway, i'm so in love with it that i bought stuff yesterday to recreate it. although i couldn't find the sesame seeds, i don't think they contributed anything to the taste anyway...just made it look pretty.

here's my version: baby spinach leaves, cantaloupe, watermelon, and regular italian dressing.

it wasn't exactly it due to the dressing, but man, it was still good! there's something about the juice from the watermelon mixing with the dressing that just makes it. and i'm pretty sure there's a set way to make it. i'm convinced that you must put the dressing on the bottom of the dish and then layer with the spinach leaves, cantaloupe, and watermelon. if you let it sit a little while, the juice from the fruit will seep down into that dressing. then, glorious!

try it!

(okay, this is probably one of the more bizarre posts i've ever done, but it's that good! even jerry ate it.)

four

my baby is four today.

i'm still in awe.

at four years old, he:

• counts to 49 all by himself
• counts to 100 with a little help
• does a 100-piece puzzle in no time
• writes his name all by himself
• asks questions like nobody's business
• LOVES transformers
• is terrified of tornadoes
• loves the weather channel
• would spend every waking minute outside, if i'd let him
• weighs only 30 pounds and is almost 38 inches tall
• likes to wear his hair in a "mohawk"
• makes his brother smile like no one else
• steals my heart with just one look

my sweet boy, i love you so much. i can't believe how much you have changed my life. i look forward to you waking up everyday and giving me that sweet, sly smile. i can't wait to see the look of joy on your face when you get something you want. and i love the way you can make everything else seems so miniscule just by giving me a hug. i miss you, baby. and i love you.

happy birthday!

back to school spirit

i'm really trying to psyche myself up for back to school. for me, it's only two and half weeks away! where did summer go?! anyway, i was hoping these would motivate me.
(and they're grainy on purpose. :))

j-a-c-o-b

jacob has known how to spell his name on his own for a long time. but lately, we've been working on actually writing it. we write all kinds of things. he does pretty well with me instructing him on each letter. for instance, to make an "m" for momma, i tell him to start with a straight line, and then go down, up, and down. he does wonderful.

yesterday, jerry's dad came over. i told jacob to show him how he could write his name. this time jacob instructed me that he could do it on his own. and in about 10 seconds, he did!

i don't know if this is something extraordinary for an almost four year old, but i'm definitely impressed. my little baby is growing up. i couldn't be prouder of him.

i heart red.

i keep thinking my house decor is complete, but then i always find something that just fits. here's the latest.

a little pop of red in the living room. i love it!
of course, it still needs a few things to adorn the shelves, but you get the picture.

here's a lamp i already had, a $3 whatever-that-is from hobby lobby, and that little box has a collection of photos in it from the past year.

half-price wall art, again from hobby lobby.

and i actually bought this lamp to go on the table, but it was too tall. turns out, it works perfectly with my copper-toned office decor, so i just switched them out.

cutie pies

these are two of my nieces...jaycee and lexi. how cute are they?!

my parents came down this weekend to pick up their new camper. as always, i got to take a few pictures of these girls.

and this is why i don't need a girl!

the latest

so casen has been learning quite a few new things lately.

he knows what a puppy says. he knows what a snake says.

he says momma, dada, jacob, trash, kiss, crackers, cookies, juice, thank you, bye bye, car, grass.

those are all great things. unfortunately, he's also learned some not so great things.

he learned how to stand on a toy to climb onto the couch.

and apparently he learned this...

his new favorite spot.

and in case you're wondering where i've suddenly found all the time to post...seeing as how i've posted more in the past week than in the past year...i've mastered the art of getting both boys down for a nap at the same time. i should receive a patch or something. :)

new additions

we've added some new things to our house lately. here are a few.

we rearranged casen's room a bit. we put the changing table and dresser together and added his name on the wall. like?
here's casen's new "reading corner". he loves it!

and jerry decided to sell our couches, so we had to get a new one.

it's hard to tell. it's kind of a brownish-red color. so comfy!! perfect napping couch. :)

and i finally ordered pictures from our family session with jenny. these are now in the office. casen looks so different already! it's the hair. oh well.

there are other minor things, but not worthy of posting. jerry keeps making the comment, "i think our house is pretty much decorated, right?" i think he's tired of hanging things. :)