Sunday, August 31, 2008

Surprise weekend!

Friday night we went with some of Mike's coworkers to Deva Vu, which is a comedy club/dance club here in town. One of his friends earned an office party, so we were invited to go and see two great comedians! They were hilarious! After the show we headed downstairs to the club part. We had a pretty great night...and of course we ask someone to take a picture of all of us and they leave Mike out! geez! They even kicked off the Mizzou season with some of the band members playing the MU fight song and the Missouri waltz! We had a great night!

Saturday Night Surprise Party: At the Deuce Pub and Pit. I was so nervous all day about this party! I was worried because Mike wasn't feeling so hot all day Saturday and I was worried he wouldn't want to go out that night. Throughout the day I kept telling him about going to dinner at 6:45. Finally he asked, why are we eating at 6:45? I said well, the Mizzou game doesn't start until 7:30 so we can eat beforehand and then just relax and watch the game. Lies...lies....lies! I finally said that we didn't have to go to dinner (and its good that I said that because he figured that there probably wasn't a surprise party then because if people were there and we didn't come that would be bad!). I did end up saying that a few friends were at the Deuce to watch the game and I thought it would be fun if we went there for awhile and said hello. So we get to the place and he sees a coworkers car so he knew something was up! We go inside and there is about 20 or so friends who shout out SURPRISE...Happy Birthday!!!!! It was awesome! Even though he knew, he said he was glad he saw the car because then he could come in with a smile! He was completely overwhelmed and even whispered, "This is so embarrasing" because the attention was all on him and the place was packed because of the MU/Illini game. He even got a little teary eyed! awwww.....We had a great night with some great friends and enjoyed the MUfootball victory!!! I am so glad that it worked and he was completely surprised!!! Happy birthday Mike!

Happy Birthday!

Dear Mike, Happy Birthday! 32 years! :) I am glad that I've spent the last 6 of your birthdays with you and that 6 years ago today you asked me to be your wife. I am glad that I said yes so I could give you the best birthday gift ever! I can't wait to spend the rest of our birthdays together and I am so thankful you are by my side. I am thankful for each moment we've had these last 6 years because it has made us who we are today. I love that you are mine forever.... Happy Birthday! Love, Me

31st

Today is my hubby's birthday and the day we are doing our 1st IUI with Clomid.....that would be the best birthday present ever if we got pregnant today!!!!

6 years ago

Memories of this day 6 years ago.... Click here to see last years post from Mike's birthday and here for our engagement story. 8-31-02 Mike asked me to be his wife. I can't believe it has been that long. Seriously....the time has flown by. 6 years with the love of my life....6 years with my best friend....6 years together and we still have the rest of our lives together. I am so thankful for this man. Happy Birthday Mike!

Saturday, August 30, 2008

I did it!

I pulled off Mike's surprise birthday party tonight! I have lots to post about, but I'm off to bed....I'll tell you how it all went down and share the pictures! :)

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Wed.?

Seriously...how did it get to be Wednesday so fast?! This week is flying by! I am so excited for this weekend. It is Mike's birthday so we'll be celebrating on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday because he is off! woohoo! After 5 days of school, me and my kiddos are finally starting to fall into a rhythm and things are going pretty good. I am excited to get past all the "newness" and get to know you stuff so we can start diving deeper into our curriculum. I hope your week has started off well!

Monday, August 25, 2008

just thinking....

Tomorrow is my last day on clomid and besides some crazy dreams, I don't think I've been too cranky this last few days. I could be wrong, but I want to believe that I wasn't too mean! :) I've been thinking these last few days of the past and the future and here are some of those random thoughts...

  • If we did get pregnant this month, I would have a summer baby.

  • In the past I've felt alone in this struggle. Wondering why me? But all along, I've had my husband by my side struggling through this too. I know he wants a child so badly and I DO know that this will happen for us one day! Also, throughout the ups and downs of our struggle, we've always had GREAT friends and family members. These amazing and supportive friends and family are always there for us; saying prayers for us, sending emails, and "I'm thinking of you" notes. I am very appreciative of our friends and family. :)

  • Even though our babies won't be on "our" timeline; they will be on God's timeline and for this I am thankful. I know I don't see the bigger picture now, but one day I will and we'll look back and be so thankful for God's goodness.

So....

Mike's at work again. :( I am sitting outside on the back deck bored out of my mind. You can only throw Jack the ball fifteen million times before it gets boring! Yesterday Mike was off and it was a great day. We went to church and watched a movie and just were together. We even went out for a birthday week celebration dinner (his is on the 31st of Aug.) Today, I went back to school and having to come home to an empty house is not fun. Its lonely. Having to cook dinner for one....not so much. I think I am going to hopefully try to go meet him tonight and see if he'll go on foot patrol for awhile since its beautiful out. At least we'll be together walking even if he still is working. I'm off to go meet him. I hope your Monday is not so lonely!!! ;)

  • Updated: Met...walked for 5 minutes together then he had to leave to go to a call. total bummer....

Who am I?

Because I am tired and it's easy to do this without thinking, I decided to find out which Twilight character I am. I got this from Amy and found out that I am Esme..... (who is the "mom" out of the group) Who are you??? And if you haven't read these books yet, you are missing out! " You are thoughtful and care very deeply for your family. A loving home is of great importance to you and you always try to make people feel welcome. Although you have a great capacity to love, you also have a great capacity to hurt, so at times you can be sensitive. You're firm when you need to be, but people trust your judgment and appreciate the kind way you always handle things. "

Saturday, August 23, 2008

boring update...

  • I am so glad it is the weekend. I'm wiped out and since I have a couple of thoughts running through my head that I wanted to share, I am going to go bullet style today.

  • My two days of school went really well. I am down to 25 students and have had 2 students that haven't showed up yet. They are going to be a pretty good group, so I am excited. We have a full week next week and I'm excited to actually get started on teaching curriculum.

  • Heather posted about a fear of dogs on her post....and after reading that I had a crazy dream last night. I was out walking with either Amanda or Kelli and we were worried because there were a few "wild" dogs in the neighborhood. We each picked up a couple of rocks and were getting ready to throw them at the dogs, but then these 3 guys came up to us to ask us if we needed help. All of a sudden, the guys started attacking us and in my dream I was yelling NO and getting ready to kick the guy in his family jewels. I wake up and realize that my leg is in the air and I come down hard on Mike's shin with my leg. I seriously can't believe that I kicked Mike in the leg! Geez.... Thanks Heather for that dream! ha! :)

  • I started Clomid on Friday and last night had some really crazy dreams besides the dog dream and getting attacked. I had another dream where I was with my sister and mom and we were in movie set of some sort. I remember people attacking the three of us and I got shot in the head. As I lay there, blood is pouring out of my head, but my mom and sister can't do anything because it is in the middle of this action scene. SO strange! I also could not sleep last night. I was up at 1, 3, 5 and then around 7. I don't know if it is from the Clomid or just because, but either way, I didn't like not getting a full nights rest!

  • Mike is back at work again today. I feel like I haven't seen him much because of our opposite schedules. I think the last time we really saw each other and hung out was last Tuesday. He's had to work alot since the students are coming back and unpacking and moving in, but at least he is getting some overtime, which is good! The good thing is that I can always go see him and we can eat dinner together during the weekends. :)

  • I went to my ELL orientation this morning and the first thing we had to do when we got into the room was take a 50 question pre-test. Not the kind of morning I want to have! The good news is that it is not for a grade and is just a pretest, but still. I have an assignment of reading 100 pages from a book and answering questions already and I hope I can keep up with everything! I am a little nervous about all of that, but I'm sure it won't be too bad.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Whew...

I made it through 2 days of school! Whew.... ;) I will have some thoughts to post about but I'm tired and off to bed! Will try to get to that tomorrow!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Women's Olympic Soccer; USA 1; Brazil 0

I want to say Congrats to the United States Women's Soccer Team. They beat Brazil 1-0 in the finals, in overtime, to win the gold medal! If you want, you can read about it here. I am so excited that they won! Lori Chalupny is from St. Louis and played on the younger JB Marine soccer club team and I am so happy that she won a gold medal! Their trainer, GiGi Garcia, was also my soccer trainer at Florida International and I am so proud that she was there to experience the Olympics as well! Here are a few pictures I got off of Yahoo.

USA 1, Brazil 0 in overtime!! Go USA!!!!

GiGi is the one on the left in the blue sweatshirt. Love that girl!

Lori is third from the left... This picture is TOO Cute! I love that she is kissing the GOLD medal! Pure happiness!!! USA!!!! USA!!!!! USA!!!!

Clomid Round 2

Tomorrow I will start round 2 of clomid. Hopefully I won't be too cranky towards my husband this time! ha!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

You know...

You know its the beginning of school when you already book your spring break trip! Guess where we are going???
Acapulco!!!
We will be staying at the Grand Mayan Acapulco! I am so excited!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

99%

I am 99% finished with my classroom. I love getting it ready and starting fresh for the year. All I have left to do is put contact paper over the name tags on their desks and get 1 more desk for my 27th kiddo. :) Kids come Thursday, which is kind of nice only having them for 2 days and then we (kids and us) have a break. I've always liked the first week or so because it all about getting to know you activities, expectations, and me letting them know who is in charge! ha! Here are the long awaited pictures of my class. ;)
Love these 2 signs! "You turn in homework, you get better grades" and "Excuse Limit Zero"

Monday, August 18, 2008

Pics

I know you are all anxiously awaiting pictures of my classroom. :) I forgot. again. So...I will try to remember tomorrow! :)

1st day

Today was the first day back to school. And guess what decided to show up today? Yep...32 days long (which is about 4 days later than usual)....what a great first day back. not. We'll try again next month! God is whispering for us to continue to be patient and we will listen....

1st day

1st day back for meetings... 1. I am tired. 2. Having Meet the Teacher Night after the first day of meetings...not a good idea! 3. I am tired. 4. I have 27 students. way too many.... 5. I'm tired. See a trend?

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Note to self

Reminder to myself:
Never go to Target or Walmart on the Sunday before move in day for the college students. There were so many parents and college students buying out the stores for their dorm rooms that the aisles were full of people and carts and the check out lines were huge. Never again....never again!

Saturday, August 16, 2008

One last hurrah!

  • This was the last weekend before school starts and I went out with a bang! :) I was very busy with friends and family and the only downside of the entire weekend was Mike had to work, so I didn't see him too much. :(
  • Thursday I got my hair cut and highlighted and then Mike and I went over to the Powell's house and we celebrated Laura's 30th birthday with her family. We had a fantastic time while Geoffrey bar-be-qued some burgers and hotdogs and we played with the kiddos and had some good conversation. Laura got some great gifts and funny 30th bday cards.

  • Friday I went to St. Louis to see my family and hang out with the Morrison family and also with the Malones. Us girls had such a great time chatting and catching up, while the boys did their fantasy football draft.

  • Saturday I went with my grandma and mom to a wedding shower for my grandma and dad's side of the family. I hardly ever see this side of the family and it was great getting to know some relatives and figuring out who everyone was. I got some really good information about our family tree and even realized that my great grandma was named Nellie and she had 11 kids!!! :) It was fun to be able to hang out with my mom and grandma on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon. After driving back to Columbia, I went over to my friend Kayla's house and she had a few friends over for a Mexican buffet. It was very yummy!!!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Three for Thurs.

1. This is my last weekend before meetings and school start next week. I'm almost 100% finished with my classroom, so next week I can concentrate on curriculum and getting things planned. I always get a little nervous before school starts again....meeting the new students and parents, making sure I am doing the best job I can, and helping these young learners grow in their academic journey and teach them great things. I'll post some pics of my classroom tomorrow....I forgot my camera today!

2. I am excited to head to St. Louis Friday and Saturday. I am going to hang out with the Morrisons and Malones Friday night, while the guys have their football fantasy draft. Unfortunately Mike has to work the entire weekend, but is hopefully going to take his dinner break right around the draft time, so he can participate in the draft too. :) I am excited to see Heather and Erin and the kiddos. Saturday I'll be hanging out with my family and I'm bringing Jack with me. This will be the last trip for awhile since I am starting my masters classes at MU on Saturdays and will be busy with teaching school and my own classes. Hopefully that means we'll have a lot more visitors come our way! :)

3. I am going to let you in on a little secret. Something I've been keeping from you for awhile now (and no...we're not pregnant). I needed a place for me to write me thoughts, feelings, emotions about our fertility stuff going on, so I started another blog. Be nice!!!! I am not the most eloquent writer and I often have a hard time putting my thoughts into actual sentences that make sense, so please be kind. It is called Midwest Infertility....

We'll find out soon...

We'll find out this week if the Clomid worked. I am feeling a little anxious, but I am trying not to think about it too much. I am trying to have a positive thoughts and continue saying to myself that God is in control. The thing is, after years of trying to start a family, unsuccessful fertility treatments, month after month of disappointment, you start to think that maybe it isn't your destiny to have children, maybe you aren't meant to be a parent, you can just always be the fun aunt. But you press on, desperately trying to make something happen, in hopes that your dream of having a family will finally come true. And I do know that one day it will come true. We'll find out soon enought...stay tuned. :)

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Kicks...

My college roomie and soccer teammate, Heather, just found out they are having their 1st boy!!! They have a little girl, Sage, who is going to be a big sister! I bought this cute little outfit for him....and look at how cute those little shoes are!!!! I love it!

Whew....

Mike and I had a very productive day today and we aren't done yet! Awhile back we decided to put a lot of things into storage when our house was on the market...well, that didn't work out so well. We were determined today to get almost all of it out and we did. We have one more small load to get in the morning. We went through box after box.....and the thing we learned is next time you put stuff in storage, instead of using boxes, use rubbermaid containers! We had a few little bugs, but not too many. Thank goodness! We took over 5 full boxes of stuff to Goodwill (over 30 of my shoes!) and took about 200 pounds of trash (boxes, old school things, old notebooks, etc) to the dump. I am so proud of how much stuff we got done today. Since we turned my scrapbook room into a guest room, Mike and I went out to get a cute rug to put in the other part of the laundry room to set up my scrapbook stuff. I am so excited! It is not 100% done yet. I still have a few boxes to go through that are in the garage and I am going to get a cute shower curtain to hang behind the desk so it's not so plain. I also love the lights!!!!! I'll have to post some after pics once everything gets done! :) Now...off to watch the Olympics!! Go USA!

Monday, August 11, 2008

Friends

Last week we headed over to Laura and Geoffrey's house. Some of you might remember that we were interested in buying their house because they were moving to their grandma's log cabin. (if you don't remember, check out here and here). We ended up taking our house off the market so they could put theirs on because ours wasn't selling or even getting any good offers. SO....they put theirs on and 1 person came to look at it and bought it. While we are so thankful that someone did buy their house, we were a little sad at that time. So our house has been off the market for awhile and we are okay with that. :) Anyway, we went to go see their log cabin that her grandpa had built and it is amazing! It was great to be able to see them livin' in the country! Here are a few photos...remember they've been slowly unpacking boxes with two little girls running around, so it isn't 100% unpacked and finished yet.
Mike showing off the outside... Living room with Laura and Maddy The kitchen with the barrel island that her grandpa made