Baby Boy, Books, Bring on the School Year.....

Whew! This summer is all wrapped up and tomorrow is the day I meet my kiddos! We do a "get to know you" day with their parents for 1st grade before a real teaching day begins and I kind of love that idea. For 1st graders, the cafeteria, being at school allllll day, and the big playground can be oh so overwhelming...it'll be nice to ease them into it. We've had a lot going on lately (hence the blog absence), but we are grateful for a beautiful summer and looking forward to fall fun ahead. Yes, my sweet cinnamon pumpkin candle has been lit (I couldn't wait until September, sue me!).

Our biggest and most exciting news is that we found out that are having a BOY! AHHHHH! We are so excited to meet our little guy (we have the name chosen, too!) and while I had no clue what the gender could be going into the ultrasound, I'm used to girl stuff, so my heart stopped for a second when the tech said, "It's a boy!" Then I cried and got excited and we just feel so fortunate. Hadley's nursery is still left as it was. I think I'll have AJ pack away the girly stuff (that might just hurt my momma heart too much) and we're going to get going here soon on the new nursery. I'll share the theme because I am so excited about it: Lumberjack! Buffalo plaid, bears, and natural wood, oh my! I'm currently 20 weeks pregnant this week and hitting the halfway point has been a big milestone. I still worry, I still get nervous, but truly, a day at a time is the way to go. I'll do a "bumpdate"  post here soon and fill you in on what's the same and what's different this time around. We are so thankful to share our journey with our family and friends. Their support, well wishes, and prayers have meant so much.

That stain on my belly is from the ultrasound goo! 

I've been getting in as much reading as I can before school begins and I fall into bed an exhausted heap at 9:30. I finished Hollywood Daughter last week (cute historical fiction about the Red Scare in Hollywood), as well as The Couple Next Door (very suspenseful, I couldn't put it down!) and am about halfway through with Class Mom. I love a story told through emails/letters and this one is no exception. It's fluffy but fun and couldn't we all use that at the end of August?

This past weekend we were on the go with errands, my Back to School mani, a BBQ with friends, and we had AJ's mom and dad in town for a bit. It was fun to see them and hang out. We are slowly but surely getting back into meal prep and getting into the groove of school life. Lunch packing! Early alarms! Unending trips to Target and Dollar Tree! I am enjoying my new school so far and am happy to say, after weeks and weeks, my classroom is officially done and yesterday I had my first early morning in the classroom plus latte plus Mumford and Sons Pandora plus time in the teacher plan book and it felt good to do that again.

new year, new lunch box

Bump and I at school 

trying something new for a reward: a VIP table with fun pencils, erasers, scented hand sanitizer. I hope it's fun for the kids

Crayon Nails thanks to the fabulous Dainty Digits

 In other news, anyone else pumped for Fall TV? Let's give that DVR a workout! I am currently watching: Teen Mom 2, Bachelor in Paradise, Scientology with Leah Remini, The Laci Peterson murder docu-series, Outdaughtered, Rattled, and as always Dateline. I'm looking forward to the return of This is Us, Superstore, Will & Grace (Fun Fact: in 8th grade I loved Will & Grace so much that I wrote to the show and they sent me back an autographed picture. It's hanging in my closet right now!). I'm hoping to add a new drama to the mix, too. I keep seeing commercials for that show The Good Doctor and it looks good.

AJ and I are participating in the Walk for Compassion in a few weeks! The Walk for Compassion is a fundraising event to raise money for children living in poverty. Want to know more? Check out our pages for more info and to donate. AJ's Compassion Page and My Compassion Page

I'll leave you with two wonderful things: This pasta dish I made last week and this worship song I cannot stop listening to. Have a beautiful week whether you're going back to school as a student, a teacher, a parent, or just embracing the inevitable change of the season coming up.

Bacon Tomato Linguine

Savor Your Sparkle,
Leslie