Back to work for Jools!

I am really excited about a job that I got for this fall. I will be teaching a small class of 3-year olds at my church. They run a weekday preschool for 2-4 year olds and I have gotten the great opportunity to teach there. Not only do I get to teach there, I get to bring Cole with me and he will be in their two-year-old class for next to nothing per month! I start August 30 with pre-planning then I get students Sept 7. Unfortunately, I can only teach there until December because I will start student teaching in January. I have not heard where I am student teaching at but it will either be Mountain View High School, Mill Creek High School, or Collins Hill High School.

I am very thankful for this opportunity to be able to get some "practice" teaching before going into student teaching. I am sure any teacher out there would agree - it is nerve racking to think about getting up in that class for the first time. Yikes!! So, hopefully this will allow me to get my feet wet before January. Then, in May - I WILL BE DONE! YAY! I have applied for May 2011 graduation. I am taking the GACE in Special Ed this Saturday - so wish me luck! :/

Rut-Row Shaggy...

As you can see Cole-man's hair was a tad long in the front. I realized that. But, I loved it! I like it long in the front. But, I knew that it was starting to bug him. But, I also knew if I tried to trim up the front I would screw it up! Last night as I was getting the kids bath ready I thought to myself, just cut his hair and get it over with. I HAVE NO IDEA WHY I WAS THINKING THAT?!?! A screaming, flailing two year + 1 pair of scissors = Cole looking like he could star in Dumb and Dumber. :(

Here are the pics...starts with before I got a hold of him, then what I did to the poor boy, lastly what the wonderful people at Pigtails and Crew cuts did to fix it.

Ellie's first day of Pre-K

I am so proud of my "baby". Not so much a baby anymore - and I am not sure when that happened. I can remember rocking Ellie in my recliner the day we brought her home thinking "I hope she is this small forever." Well, she did not stay that small. She has grown into a sweet, caring, and mature little girl. She is now going to school from 8:10 am till 3:00pm. It has been a big change for us all I think. A good one, though. Even if its only been 3 days, I find myself having more patience with both of the kids. I guess because just having one during the day is a BREEZE compared to two. I am thankful for the time I get just Cole and I too. Ellie had just mommy for 2 years so to give just mommy is nice.

Ellie loves school!! She is SO tired when she gets home. When we got in the car after the first day I asked her how her first day was. She replied "I had a GREAT day mommy" and in the middle of that short sentence she let out a big yawn. I thought to myself - job well done to her teachers! :)

My little hyper man...

Today, after bootcamp Tim, Ellie, Cole, and I went to home depot to get some things for Cole's room (that STILL did not get finished...I need to stop coming up with ideas :/) Before we went to home depot we stopped at Arby's to grab some lunch. Tim got Sobe energy drink from the fountain machine...and of course - Cole wanted some. I guess without even thinking Tim gave him some. Within 10 minutes Cole was acting like he had been replaced with the Tasmanian Devil. The kid was BOUNCING OFF THE WALLS! He could not stop laughing - which if you are a mom or dad you know once your kids get going...you can't help but join in too. I had tears running down my face from laughing so hard. He was jumping, singing, and laughing...and he was loving it! But, I think we will just try to stay away from the energy drinks next time... :)

PS- Ellie goes to her first day of Pre-K Monday...check back to see the pictures! YIKES!

What's been going on the summer...

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the summer and the stories behind them...in no particular order...

I may be biased, but I have some of the BEST friends. On my birthday, I was at the beach all week. Once I got back home I realized there was nothing going on in the 'hood the next weekend (all of my pals are neighbors too!) So, I decided to host a wine and cheese party for the gals. So, I sent out the invitation for Saturday night once me and my friend, April, got back from seeing Eclipse. Little did I know, that April had asked me to go to the movies as a plan to surprise me for my birthday. So, I hear there was a little bit of scrambling through email b/c they did not want to ruin the surprise by all saying no to my invitation. At 7:30 on the dot (which was the time of the wine and cheese party) my doorbell rang and all of my gal pals were standing at my front door with a cake in hand. I was SO SURPRISED! They had arranged for one of the girl's hubbies to drive us to Big Creek Tavern on Lake Lanier for dinner! I truly appreciate these awesome ladies making me feel so special! That is something I was always remember!

This makes me laugh because if you know once thing about Katie in this picture - I would not even have to explain her expression. Katie is PREGNANT!! She was in this picture too (not feeling in the best of humor)! She is planning to have a c-section Feb 28ish. I really, really hope it is a girl. I want a girl that I can do all my favorite girly things with, but not have to discipline the girl attitude! I would be just as happy with a boy - but if I had a choice...it would for sure be a girl! Katie is not feeling great. Both her and I have terrible all-day sickness. Hers lasted until 18 weeks with Luke so we are hoping for a shorter span of feeling icky.

Jill moved. She moved! She packed all of their stuff and went to NC! Ha Ha - I love giving her a hard time. I am really happy for them though...this is a dream and they are fortunate enough to live it out. Joe is the perfect match for a coach - smart, athletic, and has a good heart - so we are expecting big things (no pressure)! We miss Jill - well not really...I only talk to her 2 hours a day now!! We chat on webcam for hours throughout the day. We sit at our own houses with our computers and fold our laundry, clean the kitchen, make dinner, etc and just chat. So, I think we talk more now than before!
My favorite loves. Nobody could have ever warned me about the love I feel for these three people. Until you have kids - you don't even REALLY know how your own parents feel about you. My dad always says the best part about his kids having kids is that we understand the love that our parents have for us. It is pretty cool. We had such a good time at the beach this year. They get more and more fun each year! Cole-man could sit in the sand and drive his trains and cars all day! Ellie was really into the "wabes (waves)" this year.

In the middle of July, my Dad had a partial knee replacement done on his left knee. We are so excited that he finally had it done. He never complained about the pain - but he didn't have to...it was written all over his face. He has had knee problems since playing college football. This was his 4th knee surgery and hopefully his last! We knew he was in GREAT hands with our friend, Dr. Gary Levengood. Dad is still rehabing now - but he walks on it better than he did before the surgery. Mom has been a wonderful nurse to my dad. She has been with him pretty much non-stop since his surgery. I think we were all a little nervous about the surgery - but now that it is over we are all so happy for Dad! His ultimate goal is to play me in tennis - but he has a bionic knee...so if he beats me that is why!! ;)
If you know one thing about me - it is my choice in music. I LOVE country music. I always have. A lot of people put my choice in music down and tell me it is not good. But, frankly I really could care less. So, some of my lovely semi-country fan friends went with me to the Rascal Flatts concert. It was so much fun! I could sit there and listen to that type of music all day. It really is good for the soul! Mine...at least!

Love. I don't know what it is about this picture...but I LOVE it! There is nothing better than seeing your child have fun with a big smile on their face. My mom always said when I was growing up "if you're happy...I'm happy." Now I get it. To see that smile on his face makes me literally sit here and smile.

I think this is the same as the picture above. It captures the essence of summer and that beautiful smile!

Well, that was about the main points from this summer. Hopefully I will be posting more than I have been :/

Jill and Joe are moving...WHAT!?!

That is right...they are moving! Can you believe it? None of the "Elliott's" have ever lived further than 1 hour away from each other! But, Joe got an EXCELLENT opportunity with Wake Forest to be a Graduate Assistant with their football team. We are so excited for them both! Joe leaves in 2 weeks and Jill will have to stay behind and work out her contract. Until then, they have put their house on the market (anyone interested?!?! :) ) I know Joe will be a fabulous coach and Jill will adapt well. We will miss them though!

What's been going on...

Hello! I thought I would catch up on what has been going on the past month! I cannot believe it has been that long since I posted last!

Everything is going well around here...relatively speaking. Yesterday, I had a little 12 hr stomach bug which knocked me out for the day. Luckily, Tim stepped in and totally took over! For the past week or so Ellie has been "talking" to her ears. Yes, a little strange, I know! But, at first I just brushed it off. She would say stuff like "ears, be quiet!" and "ears, shhhhh..." Finally, I really started to keep track of it and she was doing it a lot. Then, Sunday when she was yawning in the back seat I looked back and her tonsils were HUGE, and RED. So, I decided it was time for the doc! Tim took both the kids yesterday so I could rest (thank you Tim!) and turns out she has a double ear infection and strep! Poor thing! I felt so bad. It is so hard to know when kids are really sick and when they are trying to get attention. I am glad I finally took note! oopss...

Cole-Man is doing GREAT! He said his first sentence the other day. He said "I want more juice" I just cannot believe he will be 2 this June! It seems like yesterday when I told my mom and sister that two weeks (until my due date) was FOREVER away...now he is almost two! Crazy! Cole is such a lovey...I don't know if it is just because he is a boy or what...but Ellie never cuddled like my Cole-Man does! I am TRYING to not make him a momma's boy...but it is not looking good ;)

Ellie has a big birthday coming up! She will be 4 on March 26th! That is nuts too! She is having a princess party at my parents house. Cinderella is making a SURPRISE appearance! She will be so excited!

Tim and I are taking a little R and R down at the beach house in early March. It will be nice to get away. We have never been away by ourselves...we did not even take a honeymoon since we did not know our employment situation and wanted to save all the money we could. So, we are really excited about going and being able to go to dinner, lunch, play tennis, lay on the beach, without having to worry about the kids. Thanks for Grammie and Pop Pop for keeping them!

We are also going on lots of other family and friend vacations too this Spring/Summer. We are going to the beach with the fam over spring break, then Tim's brother is getting married in Charleston at the end of April, then we go to NY in May, beach for another wedding at the end of May, friends beach trip in June, and then our annual family beach trip over the 4th! I am so excited about getting the kids to the beach. This year will be the first year where they can ALL enjoy it. Last year, they were ok but the boys were still a little young. I cannot wait to take them and see how much fun they have!

Speaking of the beach house...mom and dad added a room to the house this winter. We have grown a little in size since 2000 and we just plain needed more room. Well, as they were making other repairs (water damage) to the house the worker's discovered that the main beam in the garage was almost GONE! Yes, rodents and water damage had left the house a mess. They are fixing it as we speak so hopefully the house will be all fixed up for all of our trips! What a mess!

Oh - good news!! I passed all of my education exams and am certified to teach...I should graduate with my Master's in December...now my mission is a job for the fall! Lets just hope Gwinnett Co starts hiring soon! :)

That is all for now...