A Surprise Visit

Due to my hard week last week, I didn't have much planned for the weekend. Basically, the plan was to rest, spend time with Bryan, catch up on school work, and work on Amiya's quilt. Saturday rolled around and I heard a knock at the door. This is pretty unusual at our apartment. Normally we know if someone is going to stop by, so I just assumed it must be the UPS lady or something. I was busy sewing, so Bryan got up to answer the door (with a bit of a smirk on his face). This is what (or rather who) I found on my doorstep.

Of course she didn't come alone. Turns out that my mom, sister, and both of my nieces conspired with Bryan and planned a surprise visit for my birthday. I didn't have any idea that they were coming. If you know Bryan, that is quite a feat.

Even though everyone was sick, it was still a great weekend. I absolutely love any time I can spend with them (sick or not). I am quite spoiled to being able to be around them for special occasions, so it was an amazing surprise to get to continue that.

I'm not sure, but the snow might have been the highlight for Amiya. Unfortunately, it was too icy to make a snowman, but it was still fun to slip and slide around for a bit.

I just had to prove that Amiya was not the only kid around. I had full intentions of taking lots of pictures of Emmy on Sunday, but she was sleeping most of the time I was around her (and I certainly was not going to risk waking up a sick baby!)

Oh yeah, Mom and Amber were around too. Somehow I didn't get any pictures of them. I guess that's what happens once kids are involved. Check out Amber's side of the story--she has proof they were on the trip!

I had a wonderful weekend! Thanks for the fantastic surprise!

The Christmas Quilt

Way back many months ago a group of us girls got together for girls night and tackled a sewing project. The plan was to make rag quilts. I was told how simple and easy they are, so I bought into the hype. After looking at fabric and seeing some little girly prints that were too cute to pass up, I decided to make a quilt for Amiya for Christmas. Well, its now close to the end of February and the quilt just got finished. So much for Christmas.

This was my first attempt at anything like this. You will be able to tell from the pics. I learned a lot and it is by no means perfect (or even all that good) but at least it's finished!

First I had to make "quilt sandwiches." This meant cutting out 48 squares for the front, 48 squares for the back, and 48 pieces of batting for the middle. Then each one was "quilted" together with a simple X pattern (because I'm not brave enough to try and be fancy yet) This was the longest part of the process. Here are the 3 different fabrics I used for the front.

Next I laid out the quilt sandwiches to make the design i wanted. The one purple square at the top is just upside down, it doesn't stay that way.

Then, I sewed all the pieces together with the seams on the "right side" (backwards to how you would normally sew) Make sure you iron the seams flat. In this picture the purple is from the back of the quilt.

The last sewing part is to sew a 1 inch seam around the entire outside of the blanket. Now comes the fun part. Put on a good movie, get some spring loaded scissors and go to town. Cut slits about 1/4 inch apart on ALL the seams (being careful to not cut through the seams). Then wash and dry to make the seams fray. You may want to take it to a laundromat because you will get a ton of lint in your washer and dryer...and it might even be a fire hazard. TA-DUH--the finished product.

The best part--seeing the one you love, all snuggled up with the quilt. Makes it all worth it! (which will lead to my next post...stay tuned)

Life as a Teacher

It's a tough job, but someone has to do it. After all, if no one became a teacher, people wouldn't be able to learn to become anything else either (deep, I know). Anyone who has been around me much in the past few months has heard about my lovely class this year. They are quite...what's a good word for it....challenging Don't get me wrong, I love them to death, it's just that sometime's I think they may drive me to an early death myself.

This week the true horror of being a teacher has presented itself. First, I was forced to not work on my birthday because of President's Day. Tough, I know. As one of my students said "Wow, that's so sad. We won't be here to help you celebrate your birthday." Sad, very sad. Luckily, I made it through that obstacle. We came back Tuesday and had a "regular" day. Then I wake up on Wednesday and I am surprised by the amount of snow I see outside. I then go to all the trouble of looking to see if we will have school and find out that once again, I am forced to stay home and not work. Can't you see how rough this is for me? Thursday looked promising. I get up and head out for what is sure to be a long day. I have conferences scheduled through 8pm, so I'm in it for the long haul. We make it through the morning and then as we sit at lunch we hear an announcement come over the speaker. Snow Storm...headed our way...early dismissal...chaos. Amazingly enough all the kids get picked up on time and I was headed home by 3:30 instead of my original 8:00 plan. Lastly, as I'm watching tv on Thursday evening I see that evil little ticker at the bottom of the screen say Princeton City Schools--closed and I know that it is inevitable...I will have to stay up late and sleep in on friday because they will not allow me to work. As you can see from this very long story, I'm all broken up about it. It's really hard to be told that you can only work for 2 days a week. Really it is. Now I'm going to go run and hide before my husband or someone else throws something at me.

The Best Husband Ever!

Ladies, try not to get too jealous...

Not only is he adorable, he is thoughtful and takes such good care of me! He showed this quite nicely last week when I was so sick and he took care of me (even though he was sick too). I got feeling better just in time for my birthday--this is where the story get really good!

I had the day off today for President's Day today and Bry decided to take the day off as well. He went and picked up Chick-fil-a for breakfast (my favorite!) The rest of the morning we just bummed around. Then after lunch the real excitement began.

Bryan arranged for a half day of beauty at a local salon and spa. That translating into an hour long massage--which was uh-mazing. I definitely need a little rest and relaxation after a stressful few weeks at school and being sick. Here I am after my massage. Lookin' a little rough, but oh so happy.

After the massage, it was time for a manicure and boy could I use one. I'm not one much for color, but she shaped them up nicely and most importantly cleaned up my cuticles. The hand massage at the end...also incredible!

Last, but certainly not least a haircut!! Anyone who knows me very well, knows that I have loyally been going to Jeff for my haircuts for the past 10 or so years. It was a little scary to put my trust in someone else, but I knew the day would have to come (it should have come A LONG time ago, in fact) because obviously I can't fly back to Texas everytime I need a haircut. I think she did a wonderful job if I do say so myself. My hair feels so much healthier and I was really ready for something different.

After a wonderful afternoon at the spa I had worked up quite an appetite. I rushed home and changed real quickly because I had reservations at my favorite Italian restaurant waiting on me. YUM!

What a wonderful birthday! I couldn't ask for anything more. Thank you Bryan for making my day a birthday I won't forget! I love you the most :)

Everything is Better in Texas

Moving to Ohio was a big step for me. I am a Texas girl born and bred. I never really had even thought it a possibility that I would live outside of Texas. My question was, why would anyone NOT want to live in Texas? I wondered if everyone felt this way about the state they were born in. Then I was walking through JC Penny in Ohio and came across this shirt:

Seems to me that even in Ohio people are obsessed with Texas. I dont remember ever seeing shirts about Ohio in Texas. Case closed--Texas must be where its at!

Disclaimer: No Mom, this post does not mean I am unhappy in Ohio. I love many things about Ohio and I am being very well taken care of. There is no reason to worry. I simply wanted to prove that Texas is the best!

SNOW DAY!

After many months of winter in Cincinnati, I finally got my first snow day today! It actually worked out quite nicely for me. I am still sick and was going to have to take another day off, but I worried about being gone two days in a row (I know, I know. This world can function without me and I need to get over it.) I went ahead and typed up some sub plans last night just in case, but it was nice to not have to use them. Hopefully I'll be well enough to head back to school tomorrow.

Here are a few pics of our wonderful winter weather.

The Diagnosis

Well, after 3 days of fever and sickness, I came to the decision that I would have to break down and head to the doctor. Basically the doctor told me that I have "everything." Ear infection with fluid on the eardrums, red/irritated throat with drainage, and a serious cough. Three problems, 3 prescriptions and $100 later I was good to go. All three medicines are said to cause dizziness and drowiness so it should be a fun few days.

I had to take a picture of my updated survival kit--complete with a doctor's note to get me out of work!

Unfortunately I have one of those fun jobs that if I am going to be out I have to prepare for someone else to do my job, so I spent 2 hours this afternoon making sub plans and getting things ready. But it sure will be nice to sleep in tomorrow (I might even go into hibernation with all this sleepy medicine!)

Learning to Share

When I set out to teach my second graders the importance of sharing, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind. It was bound to happen...I took one too many sneezes to the face and I'm officially SICK!

I felt fine when I went to school yesterday. I was coughing, but didn't feel bad at all. We had an easy day with no students, only meetings. The morning passed by uneventful and then we took a little lunch break. Things quickly went downhill after that. By the time I left at 4, I felt awful. I came straight home, put on my pj's, checked my temperature (fever just as I had suspected) and got in bed. I fell asleep about 4:30 and didn't get up until 9 this morning. The extent of my activity today has been moving from the bed to the couch.

Lucky for me, I have the BEST husband in the whole wide world. He has waited on me hand and foot today--getting me breakfast, lunch, and cooking dinner. In between he's supplied drinks and meds to keep me comfortable. He's also taken on all the weekend household responsibilities--cleaning the bathroom and kitchen, doing dishes, laundry, etc. And if that wasn't enough, he went out to the store tonight and brought home this "get well emergency kit"

Nothing helps you heal like a little dayquil/nyquil/ice cream combo! Thanks babe, you're the best!

Friday Night Fun

Friday night. A time to go out, relax, and just clear your head of the struggles of the work week right? Well, not when you are a teacher. When you are a teacher, your Friday evenings may just involve spending time with an 8 year old and their family...

Last night was a special night for one of my students. Months ago the high school basketball coach had a vision of his players giving back to the community by mentoring students at the elementary school. We were all shocked halfway through the season when Coach Brewer passed away unexpectedly. The players knew that they wanted to complete his vision by finishing out the mentoring program and especially to create the special evening Coach Brewer had dreamed of. Last night was this night. All of the elementary boys met to have a pizza party and then head over to the game together. Before they game they were given a tour of the locker room and met up with their mentor.

They were announced on the court.

And even got in on the pre-game huddle.

Our boys were mesmorized! The high school players might as well have been pro basketball players to them. It was so much fun to watch our little guys look up to their mentor and also to see the big boys take the time to make our kids feel special. It was well worth my Friday evening to be able to see one of my kiddos so happy!

Better Late Than Never

Our young adults group at church made big plans to have a progressive dinner in mid-December to celebrate Christmas. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate and we ended up having to postpone the party because of snow. The party was moved to mid-January, but I'm just now getting pictures from it, so Merry Belated Christmas to ya!

All the ladiesThe silly gifts begin

The infamous Judah--our first baby in the group

And then baby Aubrey came along (babies are never in their parent's arms around here)

Looks like the babies had all they could handle (and the rest of us weren't far behind them)