Promotions

Things had already been busy before, but in October Josh and I both got promotions within the same week of each other! Josh's had been in the works for a bit but finally became official that particular week after months of work. He is more of a manager overseeing other engineers. It has been a much better year in terms of less travel for him so I hope it stays that way.

I got a promotion with the magazine I write for, making me more of the right hand of the publisher. I write more, take pictures and also help organize our monthly event (as well as take pictures at other events and also for our sister publication). I'm also in charge of both publication's social media. It is exciting but also just comes at a hectic time of year to be learning/getting used to new job duties while also having accelerated deadlines with the holidays. I actually feel like in January it might almost seem easy when I get the 10ish additional days back to complete all my work. It has been a new balancing act I'm getting used to, since I primarily try to streamline everything, minimizing the amount I do outside of being at home. 

I'm also hoping by year's end to have another promotion with my other job - sleep consulting. Since I finished the coursework in May, I have been working towards becoming certified since that point. It has been a much longer process than I anticipated. Having to complete so many clients, has taken quite a bit more time. My clients have only counted if they go all the way with completing support of the assessment/plan we recommend. I should hit the number I need to be certified in December I believe - but it is ultimately up to my mentor to decide if I still need more practice than that or not. I hope to begin the New Year as a certified sleep consultant! 

Considering all of this, I plan to drop being with the Mom's Blog early next year. I also just informed school PTO about my intentions of not coming back next year. It is time for me to let go of some things as I start to get busier. I have been on PTO since Nate started school full time, so I'm looking forward to being a typical Jane Smith parent next year. 

November

Full steam ahead continues for this crew! The boys began the month going to a NASCAR race. This was Aaron's first time getting to go - I thought he might not like all the noise and would have trouble sitting  for the duration, but he did well and enjoyed his day. Tickets already to go in the Spring!

It was another busy month for school. They have what is called Fine Dining (but what I considered a Friendsgiving). The kids dress up, act like they are dining in a formal restaurant, student council serves a Thanksgiving type lunch, there is classical music playing...it was a unique event to witness. They are strict to how many volunteers can come, but thankfully I was picked to help with Nate's class.

Nate also had his first band concert! His 5th grade band played three songs in which he changed percussion instruments. Per tradition growing up with my family, we went out for dessert after the concert. 

This month Nate also had the opportunity to camp out with the Boys Scouts- this helped him get an idea of it being something he wants to continue with. The Boy Scouts are much more independent. Nate had to cook, setup his own tent, sleep with other campers. It was a different experience but he had a fun weekend. Josh went along as one of the chaperones.

 

Lastly, just over Thanksgiving weekend I traveled to Vegas on my own with my family. Just a short, 50 hour trip. We weren't terribly busy outside of eating :) but that was great by me. It was nice to relax and I'm sure as I've said before anytime I'm away from the kiddos, enjoy the simple things-like being able to sit, ha! 

Ok, so I also enjoy eating fancy meals out without my kiddos every now and then too! It was a little recharge on top of busy times. That is to be explained in another post ;) 

Fall Fun

So Halloween was a good month ago... ;) The seasons are really spinning fast. This year I dressed up with the boys as some of the Star Wars crew. This was the first year that Preston got to Trick or Treat a little bit. He took to task pretty good! Now is when it starts to get neat when you can see he is starting to appreciate and realize the things happening around him.

At the boy's school they have a fun tradition of a Family Carving Day, where we bring a pumpkin and the family is invited to come and partake in the carving/decorating of it to feature at the school's Fall Festival. We hadn't done anything related to Halloween at our other school so this was neat.

And oh yes this happened-- Nate now has glasses! 

We've always heard what a good festival our school has in the Fall from other friends who have been - it indeed does! However, being on the PTO preparing side of it was rough. I've generally found PTO at our new school to be a lot more work intensive than past years - while it is awesome for our school, it's a bit much for this mama with a kiddo yet at home to dedicate so much time and effort. At least despite all our planning, time, work...the Festival was a gigantic hit!

There was so much : vendors, bounce houses, games, a magician, face painters, donut dangle, dinosaurs walking around, DJ, food trucks... 

As per typical October I took the boys to a farm and they enjoyed Fall Break from school. 

Preston at 2

Officially, truly, in the toddler years. *sigh* Preston is raining teeth, saying new words/starting to say small sentences (like, "here you go mom"). Entering more of the Terrible Two/Tantrum stages. Appetite is coming and going. He's excited  to play more outside now that our weather is cooling down. He loves Baby Einstein movies. He likes to "read" his books. Enjoys bath time. Is absorbing the world like a sponge. 

Is starting to phase out, slowly of naps....I felt like it was by 2.5 when my boys really had a hard time napping. Thankfully though has still yet to try and crawl out of his crib! So, we plan to let him stay in there for as long as possible. Age 16 sounds good. 

As you can tell, he is a pretty tall boy! In fact at his well visit, the doctor said he is  almost 90 percentile for his age.I think his weight was up there too. No interest in potty training. I know from experience that's something I'm not pushing until he actually shows interest, whenever that is! A lot of moms say this but he's such a good and sweet boy. It would be easy to tell if something was off - he's still my usual smiley, happy, go with the flow guy. He just has his days where you know he's two :) 

"Taco TWOsday " Birthday Party!

As soon as we realized Preston's actual birthday fell on a Tuesday, and he was turning two, naturally came the idea to have a special Taco TWOsday birthday! We decided on a small get together with just family for a little bit that evening.

Before that, we started Preston's day with breakfast out. We took him to a new play place called Giggles for a few hours - he really enjoyed it!

We spent the rest of nap and the afternoon getting ready for his evening party.

Between the guacamole, churros and cactus juice (punch), those were Preston's favorite things! We catered some Mexican fare and had an enjoyable evening.

Student of The Month

Since the start of school two months ago, both the boys have been thriving! They have made friends and are doing so well. It makes me happy the longer we have been there the more they seem to settle. We are running into a few hiccups with the administration, but hopefully those kinks will get worked out following our now Fall Break.

Our school just had their first Terrific Toro assembly where kids are recognized for their hard work and good behavior- BOTH boys were chosen as Students of the Month for their classes! Given all the changes it makes me super proud of them.

Aaron's grade gave a really cute patriotic performance on September 11.

Aaron also not too long ago lost his first tooth!