Three Busy People

I was so busy last week that I wasn't able to blog...so here is a quick update.

Last Friday (9/17): My friend Kathy hosted our monthly Keno party at our house. The theme was jewelry and she made ham, green bean casserole and mashed potatoes. It was delicious and a wonderful time...but I didn't win anything. While we were playing keno, Matt bought, hauled and installed sod in our backyard. It was very brown when he put it in but since we have had so much rain, it has really turned a beautiful green!

Sunday (9/19): We had a semi lazy day but were lucky enough to have Wayne, Allison and Emily over for lasagna. I got to hold Emily while her parents ate...she is so adorable.

Tuesday (9/21): We give our students tests called checkpoints. The districts makes these assessments to see how the students are doing. Since it is district wide, we get together with other schools in the district and create the tests to make them equal for everyone. I was lucky enough to be on the checkpoint committee for the fourth year in a row. Fortunately, the lady I was working with had done this before too so we got done by 2 in the afternoon. I stayed for a bit longer to help other grade levels and then I was able to leave early! Which means, I got to go visit with my family in Alvarado, pick up my niece and nephew from preschool and then we all went to dinner....except Matt...he went to the Stars game with Tanner and Landon. Tanner had an extra ticket and invited Matt. This would be equivalent to one of my friends getting a Corn Husker ticket and me going without Matt. They all had a really nice time...even if I was green with envy.

Wednesday (9/22): After school on Wednesday, we had a faculty meeting alerting us that our school district is broke. If the voters to do not vote to bring in TRE, there will be mass lay offs. I am not very excited about this but I am also trying not to worry. It is a shame that people and our government do not understand that it takes funds to run a school district and when we are 6 million dollars in the hole, programs like band, choir, KINDERGARDEN and art classes will be taken out. We will also lose valuable teachers and administrators, our class sizes can increase to 40+ students and then all hell will break loose! So...before you vote, please take a look and see how your school district is doing.

Thursday (9/23): Thursday, I went for my 16 week check up. Matt had to work but my mom was free to go with me. It was a pretty quick and easy appointment. I got to tinkle in a cup, got blood drawn and of course, we got to hear the baby's heartbeat! Everything looks good and our next appointment will be October 20th...and if our baby cooperates, we will get to know if he is a he or if she is a she!

Friday (9/24): Matt got free tickets to the drag races in Ennis. He invited his friend Rodney from work. So after work, they headed over to the races until about 8:30. I was kinda bummed that Matt was going to be gone on a Friday night but once I got home, I watched all of my Thursday night shows and was pretty close to being asleep before Matt got home. I also tried a new recipe called Bubble Pizza...it was super yummy!

Saturday (9/25): Happy Birthday Mom! My mom, Dennise, the kids and I woke up early and headed to Dallas for the Half Price Book Warehouse sale. Half Price allows teachers to go to a specific location and get free books every Saturday! (We got most of the books for the wedding from their sales.) We had a lovely time except for the rain!

While we were gone, Matt cleaned the master bathroom. It looks so pretty now. He did a wonderful job.

My friend Mary Lou's Birthday was also Saturday and her husband arranged for a bunch of us to surprise her at the Cheesecake Factory. We left Dallas a bit late and all of the rain made us even more late so my sister dropped me off at the Cheesecake Factory and Matt met me there. We had a lovely time with Mary Lou and all of her friends and family. Matt and I shopped a bit after that and then headed to my parent's house to celebrate my mom's birthday.

Sunday (9/26): Matt and I woke up and headed to church with our friends Zack and Ashley. The Avenue Church is a Baptist church in Waxahachie. I was a bit skeptical going back to attending a Baptist church but everything turned out really well. Matt and I think we may go back. We will see if he actually does.

After church we all went to eat at Ta Molly's. It is so close to the church that we just walked over. (Zack is the manager at Ta Molly's and normally works on Sundays but is lucky enough to be able to walk over for the service from 11 - 12.) After lunch, Matt and I went to Lowe's to shop a bit and then headed home to finish watching the Cowboys.

I made chili (because we had it at my parents and it sounded so good...plus the weather has finally cooled a bit and it just felt like chili eatin' weather) and we invited the Boshers to come eat with us. Again, I got to hold Emily while her parent ate.

We have another busy week ahead of us but the weather is supposed to stay in the 70s and 80s this week so, I am really looking forward to a nice cool yet busy week! Y'all have a great week too!

Horned Frogs and Huskers

After Matt and I had our second doctor's appointment and were convinced that the pregnancy was going along well, I finally decided to buy our child his/her first outfit. It is the cutest thing ever so we had to send pictures to everyone...including his family. Here is a picture.

I made sure to get 6-9 months so he/she will be able to wear it just in time for football season!

Of course, this led his parents to start thinking about the Huskers. Yesterday we got a package in the mail. Matt waited all day for me to come home so he could open it! Any guesses on what was inside?

Adorable! Go Huskers! This is a onesie!

I think this is my favorite. There was another one that is white and I'm not sure where the picture went but I'm sure you'll see it on our little Husker fan next year!

Husker Bib Sippy Cups!

This is my favorite! It is a picture frame for the sonogram! It says, "It is truly amazing how someone so small could inspire a love to grand!"

It seems that we are now prepared for next year's football season! Thank You Kleemans! It is a darn good thing that TCU and Nebraska don't play each other anymore. I don't know what we'd do!

Y'all have a super week!

The Crib

Matt had a meeting last night after work and ended up getting home around 7ish. We had a little dinner and then he decided to put the crib together. I thought documenting this occasion would be fun.

This is the crib box and all the tiny parts.

These are the big pieces. After I took this picture, I went back in the living room for about 10 minutes.

This is Matt explaining what he did during the ten minutes since I was gone...because it looked like he had not done anything. Can you tell what he did? :)

Aww, he is going to be such a great dad! At one point he said, "Hey, remind me to go back and tighten those screws!" Oh My! I reminded him...don't worry. Here is the final product. It is really sturdy and solid!

Unfortunately, while Matt was putting everything together, I was reading the warning label. Yes, it says that the minimum age of the user cannot be less than 15 months old. So, we have bought and built a crib that our child cannot use for another 2 years. I will be calling the company to see what that is all about.

I think that if we slowly do things here and there, then in six months we will totally be prepared for the baby! Our next projects will include figuring out how to place the letters, building the changing table and finding a dresser!

Y'all have a great week!

Emily, TCU, The Nursery

Emily is finally here! Our neighbors across the street, Wayne and Allison, had their first child on Thursday evening! Matt and I are so excited that Emily is here. Right now, our baby is due 6 months from Emily's birthday. We are already planning their marriage...well if we have a boy. We are so blessed to have Wayne and Allison (and now Emily) as neighbors and friends. Congratulations y'all, she is perfect!

I wont give any more information on Emily, except that she is beautiful.

Thankfully, Dennise is back at TCU again this year (she thinks this is her 11th year!) to count money for the football ticket sales. That means we get to go to the games for free! Unfortunately, TCU is coming into the 20th century and making all tickets electronic...even the free ones that we get. This doesn't sound bad except that now instead of sitting behind Andy Dalton's family near the 50 yard line, we have to sit with the commoners in the end zone. :( It really wasn't so bad, it was just really hot....and we got a bit of a crick in our neck from trying to watch the game. :) Hey, they are free tickets, we will only complain a little bit every time we go.

TCU 62 Tennessee Tech 7

Go Frogs!

Matt and I used the entire day on Sunday to begin work on the nursery. I just wanted to have it clear and clean so I could paint a little each day. I thought if I could do all of the trim during the week, then Matt could come behind me and roll really fast. However, when Matt and I get an idea in our head, we go for it. So, we painted the entire nursery yesterday and then Matt shampooed the carpets. We are now ready to build furniture. Are we jumping the gun?

It is really difficult to get a picture that actually looks like the color but this is pretty close. We had 60 watt bulbs in the ceiling light but they were too bright so we put 25 watt bulbs in and they were too dim...these are 40 watt and I think they are just right.

It is so clean and tidy, I just wanna hang out in there.

Matt and I also bought a few different types of letters for the alphabet that we would like to use as a border but we cannot decide which one to use. I guess we still have some time. I'll try to take some pictures and post so y'all can help us decide. (I forgot them in my parents' car so once I get them back, I'll post pictures.)

I hope everyone had a super fun weekend and that y'all have a great week!

Summer, School, Fall and The Nursery

I know it has been forever since I have blogged so...let me see if I can get everyone up to date! Now that I am back in school and have internet access, I'll be updating more often.

July-Matt and I had the chance to go visit his family in Iowa during the first week in July. We had a great time spending the 4th with his relatives, seeing the parade and shooting fireworks. We took a few days with his parents and visited the black hills. It was beautiful! We saw The Bad Lands, Mt. Rushmore, Deadwood, Wall Drug, and so much more! It was amazing to be up in the mountains. It actually snowed on us one evening!

The rest of July was filled with hanging around the house, swimming and trying not to think about going back to school. Poor Matt....he has to get up and leave while I am still in bed! Maybe he'll come to the dark side one of these days!

August-I started back to school at the beginning of August. (Boo!) Matt came up and helped me organize my room one day but for the most part I am pretty set since this is my fourth year in this room. The kids did not start back until August 24th which was nice. I am really looking forward to this year. I get to co-teach with an excellent teacher, Mary Buchholz. We share four out of my five classes. My class sizes are fairly small and my schedule is really nice. We also have standardized dress this year and I think it has really improved behavior!

September-We finally started to get some cooler weather....but I don't know how long it will last. The last few days it has been in the 80s and 90s and has been wonderful! Today is a rainy day but it is keeping the weather cool so I am just fine with it!

The Nursery-For those of you who have not heard, Matt and I are expecting! We are due March 9th and we could not be happier. We have had two sonograms and things are going along very well. Matt talks to my belly regularly (most of the time he yells but I think I may have broken him of that habit) and has been taking care of me very well. Many of you have asked how I am feeling...and the only thing I can say is that I feel sick most of the time. I am either starving or feel sick because I just ate. I can't and will not complain! I feel like the luckiest person in the world to be able to be a mom! ...and the side effects are totally worth it...are you kidding?...I get to be a mom! I am 14 weeks today so maybe I am on the downward slope of feeling icky.

This weekend we were able to get a lot accomplished with the nursery. When Matt and I decided to start trying for a baby, we cleared out the spare room and the office and combined them into one room. The front room is now the spare room and the nursery will be over by the garage. This weekend we finished clearing out the nursery so we could begin painting and setting up furniture.

We found a great set of furniture at Babies R Us but when we went to order it the "free shipping" ended up being $145! However, Target was having a great sale. If you bought a crib...you got a changing table for free. We headed to Target and we both really liked the crib so we bought it. I feel a bit silly for buying things so soon, but it was such a good deal. We would really like to have a dresser in the babies room, so we will be on the look out for good dresser deals!

I had a few pictures of the crib but they are not downloading so this is whatcha get for now!

While we were at Babies R Us (looking at cribs) we looked at baby bedding and found one that Matt and I both liked a lot. I knew that I wanted an animal (most likely jungle animal) theme with deep and rich colors. Plus, I felt like it would be gender nutral so we could start painting before knowing if our baby is a boy or a girl.

We really like the deep colors and the ABC/123.

It is never to early to start teaching! :)

Since we ended up finding bedding and furniture this weekend, we decided to buy paint as well. We are doing a deep yellow called Golden Moon with five accent colors, Heirloom Red, Deep Walnut, Deep Sea Diving (blue), Boughs of Pine (green) and Orange Maple. We are hoping to get big wooden letters and paint them with the accent colors and use it as a type of border around the wall near the ceiling.

I better get to work! I will post more soon! I hope y'all have a great week!