8 Month Catch-Up Post

I love reading blogs of other stay at home moms. It's fun to see their kiddos grow and especially exciting when someone announces they're pregnant. I like to read birthing stories of people I don't even know. Colby gives me a hard time about "blog stalking," but everybody's got to have a hobby and I guess that's one of mine.

I was planning on making this blog like the "mommy blogs" I stalk, and I think some posts will be like that. But right now I keep a journal for Dylan that records what happens in his life and I have a baby photo album for him too. So by the time I get to blogging, I feel like it would be redundant to just state what we have done. Since I don't keep a personal journal, I think this blog will become that for me. I will share not just what Dylan is doing, but what I'm thinking about/going through too. Hope that is okay for whoever reads this. :)

Well since I last posted, I had a baby (no big deal....). He is pretty much the best thing that has ever happened to me! Colby and I were happy before we had Dylan, but he has just brought so much more joy into our lives, it has been incredible!!!!!!!! We now laugh everyday, literally! He just makes us so happy! He is a cuddly boy who loves to laugh and LOVES to play with my hair. He can be crying and be so upset, but once I let him have my hair all of the tears disappear!

Transitioning from being a full-time student to a full-time mom was a little bit of a struggle. I loved the newborn stage, but really struggled with breastfeeding. I think part of that was the fact that we traveled A LOT in the first two months of Dylan's life.

When Dylan was about 3 months old, my anxiety kicked into high gear and I was a bit of a nut-case. Looking back, I can see how my anxiety increased throughout the pregnancy and postpartum, but it was so gradual that I didn't even recognize it. When we first brought Dylan home, I hated being awake by myself at night to feed Dylan even though Colby was right there in the same room with me (fyi: Colby is the most patient man in the entire world). When we moved Dylan down the hall to his own room, I was a bit nervous to go get him when he woke at night. One night while feeding him (he was on formula at 3 months), my left arm felt tingly and a few minutes later I had Colby up and we were driving to the emergency room. Yeah, let me just say that it's kind of awkward to be in a hospital bed and be told that you are 100% healthy, you just had a panic attack. I didn't believe them and convinced the female nurse to do a blood and urine test (she was an angel compared to the male doctors. I am so grateful for all the women in the medical field- I don't think most men truly understand us women) . I was so relieved to hear that my potassium was super low and she said "That will definitely make you feel like crap." So I left with my happy, yellow potassium pills and took it easy the next few days. :)

Colby decided to take my picture in the ER for posterity's sake. 

After some counseling, one more panic attack (at the gym... awkward.... but I didn't go to the emergency room! I was so proud of myself), Venlafaxine, a month with family, and good support from friends, I am feeling GREAT! I've gone back to the gym and have started running again. It's been so great! Back in November when I tried running, it was so hard and I felt so anxious going above 3 mph. I had to listen to hymns and church talks just to help me not dash back to my car. But last week I finally picked the pace up to 5.5 mph for a few minutes and I felt like I was flying!

I didn't have a picture of me running, but I figured this would work. :) This was taken on Oct. 6.

As I was going through it, I didn't realize how bad it was and how my behavior was not "normal." I'm so grateful for Colby and how patient he is. The poor guy even with to a counseling session with me just so he could know how to better support me. I'm a lucky girl.

So now that I am feeling better, I must admit I LOVE being a stay-at-home mom!!!!!!!! No one could offer me enough money to work for them. Since we got home in January, Dylan and I have actually almost gotten into a routine. We get up, go to the gym, he naps, I shower, we play/eat, he naps, I work on projects, dinner, play with Colby, bath, Dylan goes to bed, and I do whatever I want! Sometimes I do feel bad for being home all day, like I'm not contributing to anything. But then I look at Dylan and remember I blessed the world with the most handsome baby boy in the world, and I feel better. :) A friend was feeling the same as me, so we decided to volunteer in Cobb County schools as tutors once a week. So I watch her daughter when she tutors and she watches Dylan when I tutor. I will be tutoring at Osborne High School, where I did my student teaching. I think that will help me feel like I am somehow contributing to something bigger than just my family and I think it will be fun too.

Dylan at 2 weeks!

Going through security when Dylan was around 6 weeks.

Me and Dylan in October. I love napping with Dylan, he's so cuddly!

At the ward Trunk-or-Treat

He is such a happy boy! I can just hear his laugh when I look at this picture!!

I love how massive he has become, and this was taken over 2 months ago.

I am going to Utah in a couple weeks to stay with my parents. My mom is having open heart surgery on Tuesday and I want to be able to stay with her when she's home. I'm a little worried, even though I know she has had a similar surgery before. The recovery was difficult for her from what I heard and what I remember. She's a tough cookie and I'm sure she'll be okay, but I've been praying for her like crazy anyway. I hope that seeing Dylan will boost her spirits, but it will be hard on her too because she won't be able to hold him. But hopefully with a few visits from her friends and family, some Diet Coke and a few good seasons of M*A*S*H, we will get her through this.

I love my mom!!

Student Teaching and Graduation

My last year of college was the hardest and busiest of all my years in school, but it was also my favorite. I was able to be a part of the Urban Education option at Kennesaw State University. Fall 2011 I observed an AP Calculus class at Osborne High School for 20 hours or so and also team taught a lesson on the Product Rule with another intern. 

Spring 2012 I did 20 special education observation hours at Smitha Middle School. My favorite part of these observation hours was going to P.E. with the students with disabilities. They cranked up the music, walked/ran laps, and played games. At one point, a girl who I think had autism, grabbed the microphone and said "This one is for all the ladies!" 

Fall 2012 I was in an 11th grade math class. This was my hardest semester ever. I didn't sleep much, especially during the 2 week unit that I taught. But this semester was great preparation for student teaching. 

Spring 2013 was my official student teaching semester. I worked with Ms. Vinson. She co-teaches 10th grade math with Mr. Voyles, who is the special education teacher. They were the best team I'd ever seen. We had so much fun together! They LOVE their students and are both passionate about what they do. They really do want to make a difference for good in the lives of their students. We laughed a lot together and I really loved working with both of them! 

I also loved the students this semester. I felt like I really got to know some of them and my relationships with the students was what motivated me when I was stressed or tired. There were 3 girls in one block who were so excited for me and the baby. They always made comments about how big my belly was getting and how they "loved pregnant women!" There was another student who is considered to have a learning disability. He worked harder than any other student in any other class! He would come to class everyday and would just eat up whatever I was teaching. And everyday he would say "Oh man, I don't know if I can do this Ms. Rampton. This is so hard!" But then when we'd review, he would be like "Oh yeah, I remember this, this is easy." At one point, he got the highest grade on a unit test. He's one of those people that you look at and you can just see how good they are. That they are more pure or more innocent than most other people. I can't really explain it, but every teacher I talked to who had taught him had a soft place in their heart for him. 

I can go on and on about the students I taught, but in short, I am so glad I did student teaching!! I came really close to pulling out when we ran into some bumps in the road in December. But Colby and my mom were my cheerleaders and we were able to get through it. Dr. Guillory, a professor I will never forget and will always admire, was also my advocate and inspired me to keep going. I feel more confident in my ability to teach now that I have gone through student teaching. 

Ms. Vinson, me and Mr. Voyles

At the end of the student teaching semester, each Urban Education intern had to do a capstone presentation. Basically a 30 minute presentation where we show evidence that we met the requirements of the program. I was very nervous and stressed about it, but it went better than I had hoped. Colby came and brought donuts for everyone, which was awesome! And most of the other interns came and watched my presentation as well, which made me feel good. As I shared what I learned from my experiences, I was very honest and felt good about what I said. During the 15 minutes of questions/comments after my presentation, I felt amazing! My professors and the teachers at Osborne pointed out how much I had grown and the strengths that I had as a teacher. They mentioned how painfully honest I am, which is a trait I am beginning to be proud of. They also mentioned that it would be good for me to look for a teaching position of some sort because of my qualifications. Basically that they didn't want me to waste all that I learned as they knew I am going to do the stay at home mom thing. I was flattered. I don't consider staying home with my baby (who will be highlighted in the next post) a waste though. Now that he is here, there is no one I'd rather spend my days with. At some point, I may look into a part time online teaching position. But mostly it's just nice to know that I have a bachelor degree and a teaching certificate/license. It's a big confidence booster for me. 

If you want to see the website I made for my capstone presentation, you can view it at tammyrampton.weebly.com.

Graduation day was an amazing feeling! I was pretty pregnant at the time, which probably contributed to my strong emotions and that I wanted to cry throughout the ceremony, but it felt good to know that I did it. With about 6 and half years worth of college classes on my college transcript, I finally have a degree!!!! Sweet!!!!

Me and Ashley before graduation. I carpooled with her and the other Ashley during the student teaching semester and it was awesome! We'd vent and laugh and sometimes cry together on our way to school and home each day. I LOVED carpooling with the Ashley's!! 

Colby's name should be on my diploma as well because he did so much to help me through the past 3 years.
He's amazing!

Me and the interns before the Urban Education graduation ceremony

All of us interns! We're like a family! I'm going to miss them so much!! We were together for
two years through the program.

Jason let Colby have his camera for a few minutes and, of course, this is what Colby did. :)

Trip to Savannah with Mom and Dad Finn

My mom and dad came out for graduation and spent a week just to play with us! I was afraid they might get bored spending an entire week, but we had a great time!! 

They flew in on a Thursday night and we went to Savannah, GA Friday afternoon. We walked around by the river that night and checked out a few of the shops. There were lots of people out and it was a fun atmosphere. My parents bought a lunch box for Tory filled with candy for around $30. :) He's a lucky little boy! 

We then drove to our hotel on Hilton Head Island. We were all hungry and the guy at the hotel desk recommended a place where we could get ribs and wings. It was a small bar and it was pretty busy, so we figured the food would be alright. Well let's just say when they brought out the wings, I thought they looked like little lumps of poop. No joke, they didn't look good. And we ordered BBQ wings, but these had a mustard sauce on them. I can't believe I didn't take a picture! Well they tasted about as good as they looked. For the first time in the history of wings, the celery sticks were eaten first. 

Saturday morning we ate breakfast at the hotel. Mom and Dad dropped Colby and I off at a high school so Colby could run and they went to check stuff out. Colby had a great run, but he also had an allergic reaction which wasn't cool. Thankfully his throat didn't swell enough to make him stop breathing, so we were able to continue with our trip as planned. 

We spent the afternoon at the beach after an exciting adventure of trying to find a place to park. The weather was perfect and the ocean was nice!! I wore my workout capris and a t-shirt to swim in since I'm too cheap to buy a swimsuit that would cover my basketball belly. I felt kind of like a freak, but had fun anyway. 

Beach Beauties

 On our walk back to the car, we found this awesome tree!!!

For the first time in Colby's life, he loves his quads more than his biceps. 

Saturday night we went to a good restaurant. Dad got ribs, Colby got salmon, and mom and I got tilapia. It was good and we finished it off with cheesecake and pie. We topped off the night by looking at the fancy boats in the harbor and playing an intense game of Uno.

Sunday morning we checked out of our hotel and drove to the other side of the island. We walked on a beach that was covered in broken shells!

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Mom's Mother's Day present

We finished the day in the Historic District of Savannah. We ate dinner, went on a horse carriage tour of some of the squares, and then hit the road.

Look closely and you'll see that Colby is spitting water like the statues. 

Throughout the weekend we also enjoyed finding good places for my mom to get a Coke, fighting over who would pay for what, and hunting for a bathroom regularly for my mom and me. It was a really fun and relaxing weekend!

Utah Trip April 2013

Colby is the cutest! He had the great idea of flying me out to Utah during Spring break in April so that I could have a baby shower with my family. I was sad to go without him, but with me being so stressed with school and dealing with my pregnant-woman mood swings, I think he might have been a bit relieved to have me on the other side of the country for a couple of days. 

My first day in Utah, I made pancakes for Tory and Sophie for breakfast and we took Tory to school. Then my mom, Sophie and I visited Shalise, my best friend from high school. Shalise recently had a baby girl, so we were excited to see her. 

Despite the look on Sophie's face, I think she enjoyed holding the baby. :) 

That afternoon Tory, Sophie and I went to the park. They picked dandelions for Tia! Tory also handed two dandelions to me and said "One is for you and one is for the baby!" They had fun flying their mini kites, running around the grass, playing on the hill, and swinging!

I love hanging out with these kiddos!!!!

These were the dandelions they picked for Tia. 

After the park, Tiffany, my mom, Tory, Sophie and I went shopping for the shower. I didn't get any pictures of that, but it was fun. Well, it's kind of a lot of work shopping with Tory and Sophie, but all things considered they did good. That night we had Cafe Rio for dinner! That night I also went and saw Tory ride his scooter at the skate park. He's a brave little guy! But it was dark so I didn't get any pictures. :(

Troy and Tory enjoying some Cafe Rio!!! Yeah buddy!

While I was eating Cafe Rio in Utah, Colby was eating chips and queso in Georgia. 

Sophie just being her cute self!

Friday night was the shower and it was so cute! Tiffany and my mom did an amazing job with the decorations and food and everything! It was beyond any expectations that I had, it was great! Colby's aunt Shelley and Grandma Rampton came and it was fun to have them there! I think they had a good time. And I was so surprised when I looked out the window and saw Alene walking up the driveway! I had no idea she was coming and was so excited to see her!!!!! Cathy, Michele, Bonita, Grandma, Jessica, Tiffany, Mom, Dad, Troy, and Tyler were there as well. I thought it was cool that the guys hung around for parts of the night. I wish I would have gotten more pictures of the people, but I was having so much fun being with everyone that I didn't think about my camera. Colby was on google hang out during the shower, so he was able to kind of participate in the party. He ended up entertaining Tory and Sophie for a good chunk of the night. :)

Below are pictures Colby took from his view on Google hang out.

Tory as a pirate

Alene as a pirate

Troy as a pirate

Jessica, Tyler's girl friend, as a pirate

Me as a pirate

Saturday morning came too quickly and it was time for me to go back to Georgia. I was excited to be back with Colby, but even after living away from family for over 4 years, I cry every time I leave. We'll blame this time on the pregnancy...

But before we headed to the airport, Troy and Tory had me laughing: