Reintroductions

Happy Thursday! We're coming off of what seems like weeks of snow days here in Alabama (all for precisely one inch of actual snow... welcome to The South!). I'm happy to get back into our routine again. Yesterday I told Max I felt like I didn't have anything to tether myself, and I just felt lost and aimless - we were pretty much stuck at home with much (and at times, all) of the city closed.

My Junior League meetings were cancelled, I didn't gave Pure Barre or Pilates, schools were closed, the things that normally give us structure were all gone! And while it's fun for a bit, with the MLK holiday it ended up being six days of this. The one bonus (I guess?) is that Parker was sick at the beginning (and then I caught it from him), and you don't feel like you're missing out on as much if you're ill on what's already a snow day. So. Welcome Thursday, and welcome back routine! I'm linking up for the first Girl Chat of the year: Reintroductions. If you've been reading here for awhile, you're sure to already know most (or all!) of this history below. If you're new, welcome!

I'm Amanda, a former elementary school teacher (with an M.Ed. from UC Santa Barbara), and now a stay-at-home mama! I'm wifey to super scientist Max. He's hands down the smartest person I know, and I feel like I learn something new every single day just being around him. I'm also #boymom to four-year-old Parker Campbell. He's simply the light of our lives, and I love busting out my teacher skills and pretending he's my class of one. Klein dot Co is where I blog about our adventures as a young family of three navigating our way in the Deep South - adventures, food, crafts, books, and everything in-between. Here's a look back on a bit of our history...

Max and I met on a semi-blind (match.com!) date in Campbell, California on November 14th of 2007. At the time, I was teaching 4th grade in California's Bay Area and he was working on his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at Stanford. It didn't take long before both of us were smitten 😊 Max proposed in 2008, exactly one year from the day we met - one of the happiest days of my life! Read more about the proposal here :)

2009 was a busy year for us with our wedding...

Max's graduation from Stanford...

Our dream honeymoon to Bora Bora...

...and our move to Arizona for Max's new job. After renting for a year, we bought our first home (in North Scottsdale) in 2010. We spent the next few years doing home improvements and traveling! Max was promoted at work, and I was lucky to teach a kindergarten class, two first grade classes, and one year of Music to grades K-2. Teaching was more than just my job - it was my hobby, my calling and my joy all in one! 

Summer of 2012 we announced that our family would be growing. 

We decided to wait until baby was born to find out the gender. Nothing will ever compare to the moment I gave birth and Max got to tell me that we had a son! Parker Campbell Klein joined our family on March 18th, 2013 - the new happiest day of my life. My "California Hippie" came out a bit during pregnancy; I refused to paint my nails or so much as take a Tylenol, and I delivered naturally without an epidural. Read all about Parker's Birth Story here. 

After five years in Scottsdale, Max was offered a job opportunity in Alabama! By late 2014, we were all set up in our new house in The South. I penned my thoughts about our move in 2014 here and followed up with Seasons Change, So Do Cities. 

We are now in our fourth year of making Alabama our Sweet Home. We've settled in quite well - Max loves his position as CTO and logs in enough business travel each year to secure Platinum status on American Airlines (which gives us all tons of perks when we fly as a family!). Parker has loved playing tee-ball, taking piano lessons, and attending pre-school. He'll begin kindergarten later this year (seriously, where does the time go?). As for me, I feel so lucky to get to spend my days being a housewife! Taking care of our home (and my boys!) is just the best thing ever. I also fit in lots of Pure Barre, Pilates, Junior League Volunteering, experimenting with new recipes, and of course, blogging! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

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