Lately...Again...

Wow.  So I have completely sucked at blogging lately!  Minus Patrick's little 15 month update, it's been over a week again since I blogged!  I'm sorry, things have been very busy around the Mooney household, with the primary reason being I've started back at school!  Yes, Tuesday this week I started my new job as an Educational Technology Specialist at Ursuline Academy.  The kiddos--shoot, I can't call them that!  They're high school girls!!  Ahhh!  That's gonna take a while to break--the LADIES don't come back until the 18th, but I have some tech stuff and new hire stuff to do before then.

I am very excited about this new position: I truly feel like it's my calling and exactly what I'm meant to do!  And it's really the best of both worlds: I still get to teach a few classes, and then I get to work with teachers too about using technology in their classroom.  Stay tuned for more updates on my new job and adventure throughout this school year!

Patrick turned 15 months old last Saturday...head on over to this post to read all about what he's been up to at 15 months old.

Last weekend we had my sister-in-law Erin's bridal shower and bachelorette party.  It was such a fun weekend!  First off, Patrick modeled his tuxedo I scored for a mere $27 brand new for the wedding--he's gonna be the dapper little ring bearer.  He will have a cornflower blue bow tie and cummerbund instead of the black tie and vest, but still, I DIE.  How freaking cute is he?!!

So for Erin's bachelorette party we hit up the new Ballpark Village and then the Cardinals game.  It was a ton of fun--a great came (Cardinals win!) and great company!  Most of the girls elected to hit the bars afterwards, but my other sister-in-law Katie and I elected to be lame mamas and go home instead.  Haha.  But Patrick got to spend the night with Grandma and Gramps, and I got a'many (that I loved!) Patrick and Walter pics that night/morning.  So awesome.

I also got some really cool shots (taken just with my iPhone, edited in my favorite editing app Snapseed) of the sun setting behind Busch Stadium.  Debating blowing these up to put in our Cardinals' themed guest room!

I had my last Thursday of watching Lizzy this past week--I sure am going to miss watching her every week and seeing her grow and interact with Patrick!  That was definitely a highlight of my summer was getting to spend time with her--I guess we'll just have to "drop by" her house more often so I can still get my Lizzy snuggles and squeezes in!  And Patrick sure loves his cousin--I love how he has to "inspect" her every time she comes over.  Hilarious.

Mike made the news AGAIN (he's the one squatting down).  This is really old habit for him; he seems to be on all the time.  And honestly, I'm the only person who probably notices, "Hey!  That's my hubby!"--cause it's not like they plaster his name on the news report--but still, I think it's pretty cool.  I love my cop so much!  Wait, crime scene investigator!

Scooter's been up to a lot lately: riding tandem with Patrick...

Taking Patrick on a'many walks...

Clipping coupons for more Beggin' treats...

Hanging out with Patrick...

And showing his deep love for the Cardinals, which, by the way, this picture was snagged off of his Instagram account (probably because I tagged the @Cardinals and #CardsFanGram) and put on the jumbotron at the Cardinals game a few nights ago!  I had 2 different people text me saying they saw him on the screen!  How awesome is that?!!

I've still be absolutely smitten with my new camera lens.  I.FREAKING.LOVE.IT.  I try and take it out with us whenever we're playing in the yard or going for a walk and steal some action shots of Patrick and Scoots.  Obviously not all of them are "good" pics, but I just love the way some of them turn out.  

I still enjoy a good mom spying session.  I've actually gotten a bit cocky, tossing Scooter in for some recent pics too.  Gosh, I sure hope this doesn't backfire on me one day.  I'm sure it will.

These mama-Patrick selfies from a recent walk just made me giggle.  I sure love this kid.

Patrick got a sweet new camper complete with giant "little people" to keep at Grandma Pep's.  It's so darn awesome, I can't stand it!  He sure loved playing with it when we were over there recently--I'm sure that'll be the first thing he goes for next time he's there.

We went down to my Aunt Kate's Lake earlier this week to visit Goose (and my uncle Johnny, who was there for a visit from Florida) and hit up the pool for a swim.  Like I've said all summer, this kid LOVES the pool and water!  We couldn't get him out of it!  They have the most perfect baby pool there for him to play in--I think he would have stayed all afternoon if we'd had let him!

All of these pics were taken with my Aunt Kate's GoPro camera.  I think they turned out really well!  Greatttt, now I want one!  Haha!

And lastly, I'll end with my new favorite toy I got from my mom and dad as an early birthday present for me: it's a new Polaroid camera!  I just love it!  Obviously since as soon as you hit the button the picture takes AND PRINTS, you have to be super careful as to not accidentally take a pic and really get the shot you want, because it's like $1 a print.  Yikes.  But still awesome, and I just love playing with it!  Mike kept laughing after I got it; he said it was like taking a "step back" for me, since it's almost "anti-technology" compared to what I usually use!  And maybe that's why I like it--it's different from what I usually use and I like the novelty of that!  Either way, I'm loving my new little purple Polaroid!

Well that's about all I've got for now!  I am really REALLY going to try and get back to blogging more regularly!  As much as I don't mind doing these "lately" catch-up type posts, I kind of like blogging about events as they happen instead of lopping them all together into one.  Oh well, whatever I do actually get down as a post is better than nothing, right?!!  Right.  Happy {almost} weekend friends!