The Resurrection brings new life

Happy Easter! He is risen!
While thinking about Easter and explaining the true meaning of this celebration to my children, I got to thinking about my life. What is God's purpose for me? Am I doing all I can to fulfill that calling?
I truly believe that God wants me to help this world's children. Most importantly, my own children. Am I doing enough? Am I making them the ultimate priority in my life? The answer is no...
My family IS first in my heart, but not in my actions. Don't get me wrong, I feel I am a good mother. I adore my sweet babies! I love them, care for them, meet their every need and provide the best life I can for them. But....life has become a chore. I go through the motions as a mom ensuring we all get through the day. Lunches are made, kids get to school, everyone gets home, dinner is made, homework is done, noses are wiped, boo boos are kissed, baths are taken, stories are read, and the kids are in bed dreaming sweet dreams. This is the same routine day after day. Notice what's missing?
Adventures, silliness, playtime, creations, celebrations...life.
Again, don't think that none of this ever happens, but it doesn't happen enough. Why? The answer is ME. I am too tired, too distracted, too stressed, too overwhelmed, too consumed by all of life's trials and by things that just don't matter.
The Resurrection brings new life. What joy this brings me right now! My life and my family's lives are renewed. This is the time to make some changes and begin again. And it all starts with me.
It is time for a change. A change in mindset, a change in health, and a change in my priorities. Thank God for this beautiful life He has given me and for guiding me to fulfil my purpose.

Best Three Months of My Life

You hear mothers say that you really don't know how much you can love until you have a child. I always knew they were right and thought I understood. I didn't. Josephine is the most precious thing I have ever known. I look at her and I see a piece of her dad and a piece of myself and it is truly awe inspiring. My life is forever changed and I can't imagine it any other way!!!



The first month was filled with a slew of trial and error. By the time our baby girl turned one month old, we felt like pros (or as much like pros as parents ever feel). We grew to know Josephine's every whimper, cry, fuss, and squeal even if we didn't know quite how to make everything better. We worked through eating issues and sleeping issues. In the blink of an eye Joey was 1 month old...







As Joey grew and became more familiar with her world, she became even more fun to watch and interact with. Her personality was beginning to show. So cute, our little Jo Jo Monkey!







Three months old...my oh my what can change in 12 short weeks. She can now play and laugh. She knows her mommy and daddy and smiles when she sees us. She lifts her head and sits up tall (while mommy holds on tight). We get so excited at each new thing she learns. Just today she grabbed a toy out of my hands and with one fluid movement, took it to her mouth. She knew what she wanted and now knows how to get it! This has truly been the most wonderful three (almost four) months of my life!

Welcome Baby Josephine

Peter and I were ready to spend a nice relaxing weekend hanging around the house and getting a few things done before Josephine came. Friday night, I went to bed and I didn't sleep well. I was having some minor pains all through the night, but it was nothing that I could really put my finger on. I woke up Saturday morning and the pains continued. They were not strong and were not really regular, but they did feel like cramps, so I thought it was possible they were contractions. I began timing them and they were very irregular. They continued all day, gradually getting stronger and more pronounced. I was really staring to think that Josephine was going to make her appearance soon. Sure enough, by about 2:0o Sunday morning, I told Peter that I needed to call the doctor. He told me to go ahead on in to the hospital. Finally after about 6 hours in triage, they admitted me to labor and delivery. The contractions were strong by then but I was only about 1 cm dilated. By about 4:00 in the afternoon, I was ready for my epidural. After the epidural, I felt fine, but Josephine decided to back up out of the birth canal and I stopped dilating. After 20 hours of labor, and progress at a stand still they decided to take me in for a c-section. We welcomed our little girl at 11:20 on Sunday, February 27, 2011. As it turned out, God was watching over us, because Josephine's cord was wrapped tightly around her neck twice and had we attempted to have her vaginally, she could have been in serious danger.

Josephine Ryne Scalia 6lbs. 10 oz. 18 inches.

30 Weeks and Counting

I am now officially into the third trimester of this pregnancy. I have truly enjoyed some parts and have hated others. Josephine is already such a huge part of our lives and she provides us with constant entertainment. She is moving all the time now and Pete loves to feel her move and talk and "play" with her. She really seems to recognize his voice. She moves around a lot more when he is around and talking. Watching him interact with her is more enjoyable for me than I can put into words. It is becoming increasingly difficult to sleep and for those of you who know me well, you know how much I love and need my sleep. Indigestion has been the worst part of pregnancy for me. I get heartburn every day without fail and it does not seem to make a difference what or when I eat. I am finding ways to cope, but it really sucks sometimes. The bigger I get the more uncomfortable I become...I'm not sure why I would have expected anything else.
All in all, I am enjoying the experience, but I can't wait for Josephine to come out and meet us!


This is on Thanksgiving...around 25 weeks.



This is about 27 weeks.



And this is about 28 weeks.

Baby Girl!!

I have been progressing well with the pregnancy. I am beginning to enjoy it (some days more than others). I am now at 22 weeks. I am finally at the point that others can tell for sure that I am pregnant rather than questioning if it is just a fat gut. I wanted to wait for this point until I posted belly pics. We went to the 20 week ultrasound and doctor's appointment about two weeks ago. They told us that the baby is doing well. We heard the heartbeat for the first time. It was truly amazing!
During the ultrasound we found out that we are having a girl!!! We are so excited to welcome her into our little family. We decided on the name Josephine Ryne. It has no family significance, we both just really liked the names! We are now just watching as Joey grows and begins to move around. I can feel her most days, but Pete is still not quite sure if he is feeling her or not. We will just have to wait until she gets a bit bigger.


This was about 8 weeks. She was just a speck.



This was at about 16 weeks. She was getting bigger. More baby like. She was small enough that you can see all of her.



This is one of the better pictures we got at 20 weeks.




About 16 weeks.




Today at 22 weeks.

Baby on the Way

I have been waiting to post this, but I think it is about time. Peter and I are expecting our first child in March. We couldn't be more happy! I am now at 16 weeks which means I am finally feeling good and I am much less tired that I have been in the weeks prior. I am noticing a baby bump beginning to pop out and I am anxiously awaiting getting to feel the baby move. We have our next doctor's appointment on Oct. 7th and we MAY find out the sex on that day. Then again we may have to wait a couple more weeks, but either way we should find out in the next month or so!! Peter is already the best dad! He is more excited than I expected him to be and is playing an extremely active role in preparing for baby's arrival. He has been spending at least 5 hours a day painting a beautiful mural in the baby's room. We decided to go with a Dr. Suess theme in the nursery. He was so excited to paint the room and make it something special for our son or daughter.

This takes up one entire wall and it has taken Peter no less than 48 hours of solid painting. It is truly beautiful!

We are excited to keep everyone updated on the progress of the pregnancy and when baby finally arrives!

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Three Wonderful Years

Peter and I celebrated our three year anniversary this weekend. I can not believe it has been so long. We spent the weekend just relaxing and enjoying each other. Peter took the day off Friday to surprise me with a clean house and roses!

8 pounds and counting

Hurray for me!! We have been doing the biggest loser at school for three weeks now. I weighed in yesterday and found out that I have lost eight pounds so far! That is just amazing to me! I must say that for the first two weeks, I really worked hard. I was going to a fitness bootcamp for two days a week and then I was at the gym for most other days. This past week, I did nothing. I ate poorly, did not work out, and yet I still managed to lose about a pound. That really makes me think of what I could have lost if I had worked hard...that is a crappy feeling. The good news is, I am back to work this week. I spent an hour at the gym today and will do the same tomorrow! I will be going back to bootcamp for two days this week, which I must say, as of right now, I am not looking forward to. That lady really kicks my butt! My goal for this week...5 pounds!! You think I can do it? Wish me luck and keep rooting me on!

Back on the Wagon

Well...needless to say, the summer was not good for me in the weight loss department. I had way too much fun with friends and family, and did not do much to think about losing weight. Let's be honest, I didn't even do much to think about not gaining weight. I am truly embarrassed to say that I gained all the weight back that I lost in the spring and even put on a few extra pounds just for good measure. When I say embarrassed, I mean it. My friends were all pretty shocked that I would post my weight on a blog where the whole world could see and I would always say, "well...what is there for me to do? I am losing the weight, and I know that it is bad, so who cares who sees that I am trying to make a change." I am now so embarrassed that I do not want to post my weight. If you remember what I weighed in the beginning, you should be able to figure out the number pretty close. Just keep in mind that I am once again doing something about it and THIS TIME I MEAN IT!!! I guess I really didn't realize how easy the whole yo-yo thing is to do. I always thought, once you have lost a bunch of weight, why on earth would you put the weight back on. How stupid do you have to be? Pretty stupid I guess, but it is just so easy to do!!!
The biggest loser started back up at school, so some of my motivation is back. The first week, I lost 4.4 lbs. That is preety darn good I'd say!!!! A friend also invited me to start going to a bootcamp with her. I have gone twice now, and I LOVE IT!!! It truly kicks my butt and makes me work so much harder than I would on my own. By five minutes into the class, I want to die...literally. By the end, I feel as though I have truly accomplished something. My good friend and work out partner moved schools. She is now an assistant principal, so I can't really blame her for the move. I am, however, without my partner at school. We kept eachother on track and in line. Now it is just up to me...either that or I will be emailing her A LOT!! She is still my workout partner though, so that is the good news. We will still be meeting at the gym on a regular basis.
Here we go again...
Keep rooting me on!

Oh the Thinks You can Think

I walked in the door after a long day at summer school and what did I find...Peter had made me a reading tub for my classroom. When I was a kid one of my teachers had a claw foot bath tub in our classroom that we would read in. It seemed magical to me at the time. Ever since I have known I was going to be a teacher, I have wanted to have a reading tub in my classroom. Peter made it a reality by taking an old tub for an outdoor pond that was left in our yard when we moved into our house and painted it to make a special place for my kidos to read. He decorated it with hand drawn pictures of some of our favorite children's book characters and some cute quotes from Dr. Suess. As you can see, he really outdid himself. It took him a really long time and I wanted to show off his work! Plus the fact that I went to a lot of trouble getting that thing to school (thanks again Belinda) and I think it is amazing. My summer school kids LOVED it and all they want to do now is read. I can't complain about that!


In the bottom of the tub are some "book buddies". These are stuffed characters from some children's books. I have had these for awhile and my kids love to read to them! So cute!

Elmer!!

Summer Has Arrived!

It is now officially summer time for the Scalias! The school year for our students ended last Tuesday and for us poor teachers, our year ended Thursday. It was a long and difficult year, but I must say it was NO WHERE NEAR as tough as last year. 07-08 will forever be the class that I compare all others to. 08-09 had some real sweeties. I will surely miss them!
Pete's first year of teaching went well. He had all of the ups and downs that come along with year one of being a teacher. He will be back at JHop next year!
Just as one adventure came to and end, we begin new ones. I will be teaching summer school for the month of June. We started today and I am miraculously excited about it. I will truly enjoy only having 5-10 students all at the same level and no behavior problems! How pathetic am I that I actually am happy about working over the summer?!? Peter will be taking some trainings that will fill his June. Then starting in July, we have some visitors coming to enjoy sunny Florida with us!
Will you just look at that picture! I am really starting to notice a difference in the way I look and how I fit into my clothes! It's fantastic. I wore a shirt the other night on a fancy date with my husband that has not really fit in...well...ever. It has always been super tight on my arms and now it just slips right on! Are you ready for the official scale number? I now weigh............184.6!! That's right! Can you believe it? That's about 13 pounds since I started! WooHoo! I'm just disappearing! ;) I wish I had more of you around to celebrate with! Just wait until after this summer! I will keep you all posted on a more regular basis so keep checking in on me. That's what keeps me honest!

It's about time

We had a great time at Disney this weekend with Pete's Parents. We went to celebrate Mother's Day at the greatest place on Earth. This trip just happened to be filled with a lot of Disney firsts for me. I didn't think that there were many of these left, but it seems that every time we go, we end up doing the same things over and over.
I had never ridden the carousel. Don't Pete's parents look adorable! Pete's dad look so funny riding on the smallest horse! ;)




I had never tried to pull the sword from the stone.
As it turns out, Pete is not going to become king, but that's okay, he is my prince charming! ;)










We went on Buzz Lightyear twice without waiting in any line. The second time through, the ride broke down. We were stuck in the same spot for about 10 minutes. It was great...I finally got to become a Galactic Hero!!









I had never been to Magic Kingdom early enough to see them open the park. It was soooo cool! I actually cried...I know, it is ridiculous! I just love Disney that much! It was so magical. I felt like a little kid who had never been to Disney World before.








This was on out way to Magic Kingdom on the Monorail. I sat down and one of the balloon decals on the window just happened to be in the perfect spot. Pete snapped this cute picture. Look closely!

We had a great time as we always do at Disney!
























Last weekend, we went to the Rays game. They were playing the Red Sox and they just happened to win that day. We had a really good time hanging out with Pete's parents. I had been a long time since we had seen them. My favorite part was the peanuts...is that a problem for the whole weight loss thing?!?








I have been avoiding posting recently. My weight loss journey has not been going all that well. The first week of the newest Biggest Loser competition went well. I lost 5 pounds. Before you congratulate me, that brought me back to the weight I ended on the last time...around 186 lbs. That is pretty much where I have stayed for the last few weeks. Up and down a little based on the day. I have had some small successes , but for the most part, it is about time that I get back to work. I say that as I have a pizza on the way to my house right now...Oh goodness, I guess I will be back on track starting tomorrow.

These pants are ones that I have not been able to fit in since I moved to Florida. I was so excited when I put them on and they actually buttoned up. They even had a little room. This picture kinda makes my upper body look fat, but oh well.

This was me on my way to my friend Jen's baby shower. I may not have looked all that skinny, but I felt skinny that day!
Okay, so I won't wait so long to post next time. I guess I need the support and potential for judgment more than I thought. Sharing with all of you kept me honest and on track! Thanks for your support!!

My loves

I have been feeling very reflective in the past few days. I was thinking about all the wonderful people I have in my life and how blessed I am to have them. My life is filled with people who care about me and who I adore. My mom and brother who live so far away, but are still so close, all of my in laws, my nieces, my amazing husband, my closest friend Alyssa who I could not live without, my dear Becca who is going to give me another little surrogate niece of nephew, and even the people I work with. What would I do without you all? Thank you for loving me and supporting me!

My sister in law just had her second child, which means I am an aunt again. I am absolutely in love with these precious girls. Cara is now about a year and a half and Kiley is about two weeks.


Cara said "Hi Choley!" yesterday on the phone. Cassy (my sister in law) calls me Nicholey (pronouncing the ch). I about died. She has said "Hi Pete!" to Peter on the phone a couple of times and I have been so incredibly jealous.

Cara is such a good big sister! She kisses Kiley and rubs her gently. She likes to tell us about her baby when we talk on the phone!

What would I do without this man? He is the silliest, funniest, most caring and loving person in the entire world. He tells me everyday that he loves me and shows me how much he cares. He is my best friend and the love of my life....Okay, enough of the sappy stuff.


And while he is not a person, I truly do love this fluff. Goose...yes Goose...don't judge...is so precious. Peter says I am turning into the crazy cat lady. I can't help it. You would too if you met this guy. Goose decided to make our tray into his own personal lounging spot. He so runs this house!