Gettin' Ready

Holy crap....we're leaving Tuesday morning EARLY for our honeymoon and I have to pack tomorrow!! I made my lists today of stuff to get and stuff to pack....still so much to remember! I am so excited. The only problem is....Kenny & I both have said how much we are going to miss the puppy. He's been away from her for a week at a time before, I have not. I think the most I've been away from her is 2 nights. She's going to stay with Kenny's parents who absolutely adore her. So she'll be in good hands and very well fed. I'll still miss her though.

It's 10am right now, and by 10pm I have to:

• finish laundry for both Kenny & I (not much left)
• fold the clothes and make piles to figure out what to pack
• actually pack my bag (Kenny's on his own this time)
• get together all the toiletries for both of us somehow (we are kind of high maintenance in that department)
• buy suntan lotion and find my sunblock
• buy beach towels (the old ones belong to Puppy now)
• find the matching Bride & Groom hats I bought to pack
• drop off 7 bags of clothes at goodwill
• take back about 7 bags of pop/beer cans to the grocery store
• visit the bank
• visit BFF and drop off leftover wedding stuff
• water all plants
• feed & water the hamster
• pay any bills that aren't yet paid (not fun)
• charge our cameras
• decide which purses/shoes to take

I know there's more but this list is enough to give me a headache. You would think I waited till the last minute or something.....I'm off to get some things done!!!

Lots Going On

I am so sore. I worked out HARD yesterday and I'm feeling it today. That tells me that I need to keep working out that hard because when you stop feeling it the next day (even a little bit) it's time to increase time/intensity. Drat. Oh well, on with the never ending quest to shed pounds and be healthy!

I did A TON of yardwork yesterday too. I loved every minute of it because I didn't have to stop and get ready to go somewhere, I just worked and took a break and worked some more. That's the best way to do it! Lori inspired me to take a couple pics of my plants, and I wanted to show Mama B (my BFF's mom) how the plants that she gave me were lookin.' Here are the new hostas she gave me after I divided them into several baby plants and dropped them in the ground.



And then here are the lilies of the valley that she also gave me, and I did the same thing by separating them first (the dog just had to be in the picture!!).



This is the little bush I bought to commemorate my last day of school last week. I can't remember the name of it, but it's dark reddish/purple and I wanted something other than green back there.



Of course, the lilies that came with the house, I just dug them up and divided them this spring so I now have 12 clumps of them growing, now with yellow blossoms!



I took a bunch of cute cute pics of the dog playing today. She is just plain cuteness!! Here are a couple but you can go to flickr to see the rest!

We are getting a new patio done in the next couple of days....I will show before and after pics when it's all done. I can't wait!

Home & Snoop Doggy Dog

Whew!! We got back yesterday. Only being gone for 48 hours sure feels like being gone for a week. And of course I packed way too much for both of us, but it's always better to be overly prepared in my opinion. The business trip was just that, business. I had a headache the first day and slept in the hotelroom while the businessmen played their annual golf tournament, and I haev to brag that my hubby and his partner took first place and got the trophy!! I'm so proud! Then we had an awesome dinner at the resort and escaped so we could do some sightseeing while up north, but due to the constant rain and gloom, our sightseeing landed us at a coffee shop and then the hotel pool.

(this is what the entire trip looked like)

It was perfect though. I don't think either of us have relaxed like that in a long time. For once his business phone wasn't with us (who would take it in the pool??) and it was JUST US. Amazing. Then when all the kids left the pool it really was just us!! We had the pool and hottub to ourselves, only for a second though, because there came the second wave of kids, but it was still awesome to just focus on each other. That NEVER happens. I stayed up way later than I should have reading a book I got for Christmas. It's sad that it took me about 6 months to have time to start it, but it's so good I'm almost done with it already. Here's to vacation! We came home yesterday and I'm just hanging out around the house, working outside and playing with the dog. I did drag my sorry butt to the gym this morning, which gives me immediate energy, something I haven't had much of lately. It feel SO GOOD to be on vacation and it's finally starting to feel like it! I am so happy to just be at home!

On a completely unrelated topic, here is a picture that one of my students colored for me about a month ago. It's mostly funny because of the words he added to the top of the page:

Break Front

My parents furnished the house I grew up in mostly from auctions. I have inherited the love and appreciation of older, handsome, history-clad furniture from them. One of my favorite pieces is the breakfront, which is similar to a china cabinet. Glass on the top to see what treasures on the shelves, and drawers and cabinets underneath for whatever you don't want to be seen. When I was little, the top held my parents' "good" dishes, not china, but a particular leaf patterned set that my mom was collecting at antique stores for years. It also held other mismatched dishes that were gifts to Mark and I or to my parents. Underneath my mom kept candles, table linens, trivets, those kinds of things. And it had that certain smell, mostly because of the candles I think, but I'll never forget that smell. It was a good smell!

My mom decided to give Kenny & I the breakfront as a final wedding gift (the woman has just kept on givin'!!). We got it on Saturday, and I can't even tell you how excited I am that this piece of furniture is now in OUR house. I'm so excited!!

We have already planted our treasures in there. Obviously there is the fiestaware serving dishes, wine glasses and glass pitcher, all wedding gifts, our unity & heritage candles in the upper right corner, and cook books too, and then some other various antique things that Kenny threw in there too. I just love that it has our stuff in it!!

As I was placing things in the shelves the other day, Kenny brings out a whole bunch of odds and ends from "his" bedroom (the spare bedroom is his dumping ground) and asks if we can use one of the drawers as a junk drawer. I told him yes, but isn't a junk drawer something that happens by accident, like it's supposed to be used for something but ends up with a bunch of junk in it? Hence the name junk drawer? However it ends up a junk drawer, that's exactly what it already is. At least it's still neat.

Now I have to finish packing....we are going out of town for 2 nights for a convention....well, Kenny will be convention-ing, I will be shopping, or something relaxing!! See you in 2 day!!

A day late...

Happy Father's Day (a day late because I was busy visiting the dads) to my dad!!!

And to my father in law!!!

(on the right)

Thanks for all you do...we are so blessed to have you both as dads!

Wedding Gift

I don't think I ever blogged about Kenny's wedding gift to me, if I did I'm sorry, but I'm going to today (even if it is again)!!

While in the girls' dressing room at the church the day we got married, it was almost time to walk down the isle. Most of the bridesmaids were gone and our parents were coming in to kiss me and wish me luck. Kenny's dad bounds in with this big professionally wrapped package. He hands it to me (I can barely hold onto it, hello people, I was in a huge gown and veil and DON'T MESS WITH THE DRESS!) I forgive him, he is a male. Anyway, I tell him I am going to wait to open it because it's so big and I'm too jittery and nervous at that point. He insists on me opening it. So I do. I think the only other person in the room at that time was the wedding coordinator, but my memory is cloudy of that time. I open it and it's this gorgous jewerly box, made of REAL wood, not particle board (Kenny's huge on real stuff, not "junk" as he calls particle board items). I have been asking for a jewelry box for about 4 years, I have one, but it was my great grandma's and I didn't want to use it all the time, as it is old and might fall apart. This was the PERFECT gift for me from my new husband. Kenny's dad tells me to take it out of the box and open it, and I'm like, HELLO-I'M ABOUT TO WALK DOWN THE ISLE, I DON'T HAVE TIME!! But he makes me open it, and inside the box there is the Jurassic Park 3 DVD. Not a big deal, right? WRONG! That was the first movie we ever saw together int he movie theater. How sweet is that? He remembered that with zero prompting from me or anyone. It was all on his own. Here I am holding the gifts:

I still think about my wedding every single day and how much fun it was planning and living out the most dreamiest day ever. It was really magical, and every day I remember something else that happened that day that I hadn't thought about yet. This crossed my mind last night and I just had to share it. My new hubby is very attentive to detail, and I don't think I give him enough credit for it. He reminds me sometimes about things and I'm usually shocked that he remembers such small details, but they aren't really small to me. That's one of the many reasons I love him!

V A C A T I O N

Now I can say the school year is officially over! Woo-hoo!!

I can relax now. Last year I came home and slept for about 12 hours, got up and dinked around, then went back to sleep for many more hours. I was out of it. This year, today, I am tired, but not completely out of it like last year. I do feel funny though, sad, glad, happy, unsettled, just crazy. Don't get me wrong though, I'm still excited to have it over with. It was not a good year in my school. Administration had some changes right before school started and things were not good. People got shifted around and some new were hired into positions that didn't suit them (I'm being very gentle on how I word things here, can you tell?). So outside of the classroom, it was a nightmare. A couple months ago the people in charge got their acts together and made some more changes, but WELCOMED ones this time. I have been through a lot at this school in 6 years. And most of the time the changes were positive ones, working up from the bottom so to speak, and then this year, I feel like the good changes were reversed and the place went back down to where it was when I started teaching there. Now, with new administration in place, and especially before the school year ended, I feel like the school is back on the right track and that is an important detail in ending a crappy school year. Aside from all this, my class was wonderful and so were my students' parents and families. I seem to always have the best communication with parents and that makes a HUGE difference in how the school year goes for my students. I am looking forward to the new school year and the positive changes. But I'm also THRILLED that it's vacation right now. Ahhhh.

But I think I'm still going to be as busy as ever. Tomorrow I have a drs appointment, then I'm dropping off leftover wedding items for Niki to use in her wedding next year, then I'll be working on landscaping all day. The weekend will be filled with Father's Day events and then Monday-Wednesday we will be out of town for a convention that Kenny has to attend. Friday I'm having a little party at my house and then on the 24th we're leaving for our honeymoon. So I'm already booked up for the next few weeks!! Life just wouldn't be normal for me if I wasn't busy all the time, but I always find time to relax.

Summer vacation, here I come!!!


Here's a meme that is going around this week...

The rules are as follows:
1. Post the rules!
2. Answer the questions about yourself
3. At the end of the post, list 5-6 people you would like to tag and leave a comment on their blog letting them know.
4. Let the person who tagged you know that you posted your answers.


1. What were you doing 10 years ago?
I was in college living in the dorms, no major yet, having a good time EVERY DAY!

2. What are 5 things on your to-do list today? Sort through wedding stuff to give away, weed, plant new plants, fast (ugh, for the drs appointment tomorrow...yuck), and watch senseless TV

3. What are some snacks you enjoy? tostitos & cheese, moonpies, yogurt, strawberries, pb & j

4. What would you do if you were a billionaire? Secure retirement, pay off debts & mom, pay off the house, save most of it, and go on some fabulous vacations

5. What are three of your bad habits? Getting nervous over stupid stuff, thinking I know everything, and leaving the TV on when I leave for work in the morning

6. What are 5 places you have lived? My dinky hometown for 18 years, college for 5 years, my grandparents for 2 months, another apartment for 4 years, and my current house!!

7. What are 5 jobs you have had? Dishrat, babysitter/nanny, hostess, house cleaner, teacher

8. What is currently playing on your IPOD? Don't have one, no need or desire to have one either!!

9. What are the last 5-6 books you have read? All of them were kids books in class, pathetic, I know. The last time I read a book for me was last summer, and I can't even remember what it was....so sad:(

10. Who do you want to tag? Anyone who hasn't already done it!

24-48 Hours Left!!

One more day! With kiddos that is. Tomorrow is field day and then Thursday I have to be at work for a short time and then I'M DONE!!! The kids are excited, and a little sad I think. I've had 7 of them for 2 years, so they are saying that they will miss me. But they are only moving next door, so I will be able to check up on them daily. That makes moving on easier for both of us.

I took pictures of them today and printed them and tomorrow their gifts from me will be those fun foam door hangers, and they can glue their pictures on them and decorate it with glitter glue, my personal favorite! One last art project.....sigh....

All kidding aside, I will miss them, but I'm sooo ready for vacation to begin. This will be my first summer vacation as a wife!! A year ago I wasn't even engaged and here I am married!

Kenny is asking me to come and sit with him and watch the news.....I will do that as long as he doesn't mess with me. Aka-tickle me. I hate that, and that's probably what he has in store for me. Good thing I'm quicker than he is in getting up from the couch.

One more real day of work! YAY!!!

Ahhhhh it's Saturday. Thank goodness. Yesterday was SO HOT AND HUMID and I'm sure I've mentioned that we don't have air conditioning at work and it's miserable. Especially because the kids always complain to me that they are too hot to do anything, and I am too. Ugh. So anyone who works in AC when it's humid outside, I'm very jealous. Think of me melting in a nasty sweating room with 17 sweating kids. Paints a pretty picture doesn't it?? Thank GOD it's only a couple weeks out of the year that it's like this, but still, we get NOTHING accomplished during those days. Nothing. The kids can't concentrate and neither can I. And we're all irritable. So I'm SO thankful for the AC in my car when I get to it at the end of the day and when I get home too. Being in those conditions all day takes all your energy. I slept for 2 hours when I got home yesterday. What a treat that was.

We saw the new Indiana Jones movie last night!! My brother and I grew up watching the other 3 Indy movies and loved them, I bet we watched them all at least a hundred times a piece. The new one was good, but VERY Hollywooded out. Harrison Ford is still as handsom and fun to watch as ever. He sure looks damn good for his age!!

Monday we are going to the zoo with the kids, Tuesday we'll be cleaning the classroom and packing up the kids' stuff to take home, and Wednesday is our last day and we'll be outside all day for field day. I do have to go in Thursday, but only for a couple quick meetings (boring) and then I'm done!! This year has been crazy. It started out crazy, and has ended the same way. We have new administrators again for this new year coming up, but the difference between last fall and this fall is that the new people are already in there working WITH us, not against us (teachers) and they are already dealing with school issues, parents, behaviors, field trips, whatever, they are there. So I am feeling good about the ending of this year, and about the new year in the fall. Even though that's so far away, it'll come quickly, and YES, I think ahead about things like that!! I'm just glad this year will be over with in a couple days. Whew!

I have the house to myself today. If it doesn't rain later, I'll work in the backyard, but I think it will rain, so I'll be inside cleaning and doing normal weekend stuff. I love doing it all in my PJs!!!

Happy Saturday!

SUNNNNNDAY

Oh how I love Sunday evenings. Kenny grilled hamburgers, minimum clean up involved, even the puppy enjoy a burger, and now we're going to the park to let the dog play out in the open, ourside of our fenced in yard. The weather is perfect! It doesn't have to get any hotter than this, but I know it will, and the humidity will follow soon too.

I spent the majority of the day at Tasha's house helping her make some things for the baby's room. It was fun and relaxing. Her family is awesome...the girls are funny and even though she doesn't always think so, they are EXTREMELY well behaved kiddos. Her hubby is funny too! I hadn't even met him until today, and he is exactly the way she portrays him in her blog. They are the cutest family!!

I have 8 days left with my students. 5 this week and 3 the following week. It's ending so quickly!! Usually the last couple of weeks just drag by because the end is in sight and it feels like forever until we get there. But I think it's actually going to go VERY fast this time. Tomorrow I am spoiling my class with 2 movies and some treats, with an extended recess in there too. They were SO GOOD both days I wasn't in the classroom last week, and since I didn't want to be gone the 2nd time, and they whined and some even cried a little, I felt extra bad. So they are getting triple rewarded tomorrow. They will still be working all day, they will just have review work while the movies are on. At this point, it's pretty much all review anyway!

I have one other important piece of info to share....

SEX & THE CITY, THE MOVIE....

I'm a huge fan, always have been, and Niki and I went to see it yesterday and it was FANTASTIC!!!!!!!! I was so SAD when it was over because I'm feeling homesick for the characters and their lives. When I say it was so good, I really mean it was. The writing, the emotion, the girls, the city, everything was perfect. I already want to see it again!! It wasn't like a movie at all, it was like 4 or 5 episodes in a row. Go see it!!!

A Crap Day

That's right, the title says it all. And it was THAT BAD. I wasn't at work yesterday (appointment) and so this morning I go into my room to find that the sub had used EVERY SINGLE SOCIAL STUDIES ACTIVITY FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR PLUS OTHERS IN ONE DAY. HELLO??????????????? THAT WAS A LOT OF MY PAPER AND TIME SPENT PREPARING THOSE LESSONS AND THEY WERE MEANT TO BE SPREAD OUT OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS AND NOW I HAVE NOTHING. NOTHING AT ALL. I was so mad. I'm still so mad. Hence the cap locks. That's not all she did, but I'll just stop there with her, because who knows what could happen if I continue to recap what else she did. So my morning was shot, and it was only 730. Today was the last day to pay for our zoo field trip, so of course it was crazy with all the last minute payments and chaperones expecting to be able to go too when they wait till the last minute, yada yada yada. At 820, I am asked to go on a field trip with the other multi-age class (third, fourth, and fifth graders) because their teacher is still on crutches and can't make the trip. I was already gone yesterday, my kids are a mess because it threw off their schedule, they were so happy to see me this morning, I'm so happy to be with them at this point, and I'm still mad about the sub. And I'm expected to take someone else's class on a trip I'm not prepared for?? And for the record, this trip required the chaperones and teachers to be formally trained for about 4 hours, so it wasn't like I was just crowd control. I was expected to do stuff and explain stuff. So I had no choice but to go, and of course my students (some of them) were crying when I left, you know they are just babies after all. And when they are not prepared ahead of time for me not being there, it's hard. Anyway, I was completely embarrassed by some of the fifth graders' behaviors on the trip and wanted to get the heck out of there and I will never do that again. EVER. It wasn't even the kids who were in the class I was in charge of...it was other classes. The day just dragged on and on and on. Ugh. I'm finally home, finally safe from madness, and you know what?? I miss my students. I really do. I told them before I left that they would have movies and popcorn and treats on Monday for being so good while I was gone for two days, and they will get every minute of that.

THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY. I don't know what I would do if it wasn't.

Holy Tired

Wowzaaas am I pooped. Since yesterday morning I have worked nonstop around the house, except for an hour nap yesterday on the couch and going to bed by 10pm last night. I was up this morning working on our scary laundry problem....too many clothes, and the fact that we have been SERIOUSLY BEHIND on laundry since our wedding. So I spent almost 4 hours working on it. And I can proudly say IT'S DONE. Thank GOD. Cause if I see another sock or t-shirt that needs to be put away, or if I see another piece of clothing to iron, I'm all done. I did ALL THE LAUNDRY FOR THE ENTIRE WEEK TODAY. Plus all the back up stuff, several sets of sheets (since we have so many thanks to Bed Bath & Beyond's gift registry!!!!!), towels up the ying-yang. I can't believe I'm still talking about laundry. But come on, you all know what I'm talking about, the stuff that you set to the side and think you'll catch up on it later. Yup. Even that stuff is done. I rock.

We invited the inlaws (I just love saying that, and I love THEM!!) over for burgers on the grill, so Kenny is manning the outside stuff and I'm about to get the other stuff in the kitchen ready. I DO NOT want to go to work tomorrow, it's extra hard to go back after a 3-day weekend, but I', sure everyone feels that way too!! Happy Memorial Day!!!

Blonde

Yesterday I worked with Kenny all day, for about 12 hours. It was fun and exhausting. When I work with him, I'm concentrating and working with numbers constantly. I didn't get a break for 5 hours, which happens, but it does a number on the mind when it's all over with. When we were done, one of his colleages was talking to me about something and I had to ask him several times to clarify what he was saying. I was thinking one thing, he was saying another, and my mind was fried, rightfully so. I know he walked away from the conversation thinking I was a complete moron, an airhead, a ditz, whatever, and I assure I WAS NOT. It bothers me so much still that he is thinking this. So I talked to him about it before we came home, and I still think he thinks I am. I was explaining why I was thinking what I was thinking based on a previous situation, and he said he understood, but I know he was all, "The boss' wife is a dumb blonde." I just know it. And it is still bothering me, even after we came home, even after sleeping, it's still driving me nuts!!! Kenny sometimes does this to me to, where he'll say or ask me something without much information, and I need him to tell me something more before I can answer or help him, and when I ask for more info, it's like I'm an airhead. I SWEAR I'M NOT. SERIOUSLY. I keep it together 8 hours a day with wild smart children who don't belong to me. An airhead could not do that. No way. I keep this house together and I planned a beautiful wedding where everything went off without a hitch and an airhead couldn't do that. I was on the Dean's List in college and had several honors, an airhead couldn't do that. I'm just trying to make myself feel better by stating all these things, but the bottom line is, I really do have my shit together, and that guy, as awesome as a colleage that he is to Kenny, made me feel like a dumbass. Ugh.

(okay, now I'm off my soapbox...and I'm going outside to work in the gorgous weather!!)

OOOPS

You know it's going to be a good day when you get to work and realize you are wearing the same pants as you had on yesterday at work. All I can say is oooops.

I did a whole bunch of laundry late last night, and I was trying to get ahead of the game and iron clothes and put them on hangers so when I get ready for work in the morning, there's no fumbling with things in the dryer or having to iron things. I can just grab it and go. Well, I washed the pants I wore to work yesterday, ironed them, hung them up, and put them back on this morning. I'm just laughing at myself. I doubt anyone even notices, because to be honest, I don't think teachers pay much attention to what other teachers wear most of the time, unless there are flashy dressers, and in those casese EVERYONE notices. But I am not a flashy dresser, most of my clothes are shades of blacks, grays, beiges, and reds, easy to match and apparently easy to wear twice in a row. All my dress clothes look the same, what can I say??

I am counting the days until school is out. We have 15 after today. The count keeps changing because I'm not even sure when our last day is. We might have to make up one snow day, but I really hope not because parents won't send their kids in the last day just to be there, attendance will be under 75%, and the day won't count anyway, so why bother?? I think I should be principal.

I legally changed my name now, on everything. So those of you who were wondering if I took Kenny's name, YES I did, and my maiden name is still in there too, not hyphenated, but it's all there. I have four names now. Cute, eh?? I couldn't drop my maiden name, just couldn't do it. The kids are trying to call me by my married name but it sounds wierd to all of us so I told them to call me either name, whatever they like. I'm cool with being called whatever, even after this year. I still love my original name:)

My mom is coming out tonight....I love it when she stays with us! That means maybe I'll get a homemade breakfast in the morning.

I am looking forward to a fun Memorial Day weekend. Saturday will be a very busy day and I'll be slaving away with Kenny all day. But Sunday and Monday I hope to be in the backyard working or maybe going the lake house. Our new patio will be poured in 2-3 weeks, so I still have some work in the backyard, but I enjoy doing it, so either way, this weekend will be a good one. I can't wait.

Beautiful

This morning is was beautiful outside. We were supposed to get a whole bunch of rain and nasty weather, but, staying true to Michigan weather, it only rained 3 times yesterday, and all 3 times lasted 5 minutes and the sun still shined. Today the sun is out, it's chilly, but I love that kind of weather. I am actually going to work with Kenny today, but if you read yesterday's post, I promise it's not THAT kind of work where I have to dress up and be fake. This work is manual labor, just the 2 of us, no fake-ness involved, I don't even have to talk proper. Bonus. And Puppy comes with us too. Plus, the physical labor will cancel out my trip to the gym this afternoon. Even better!! The house is clean (most of it) and I feel tons better than I did yesterday. So things are looking up. I have exactly 16 more days with kids, 17 for us teachers, until vacation starts. Can't wait. Neither can my head!!

I thought this morning I had lost my marriage certificate. It wouldn't have been the worst thing, at least to Kenny, who didn't stand in line FOR HER ENTIRE ONE HOUR PREP AND GIVE UP HER 20 MINUTE LUNCH TIME TO GO TO THE CITY COUNTY BUILDING WHERE THE MOST INCOMPETANT PEOPLE WORK, EXCUSE ME, THE MOST INCOMPETENT PEOPLE ARE ON BREAK ALL THE TIME WITH A LINE OF 15+ PEOPLE STANDING IN IT ARE. I panicked, then realized I had tucked it away with my school bag for safe keeping because Kenny often loses things. Like on a daily basis. Anyway, I found it, and had I not have found it, I would have been furious because the way this county works, I couldn't deposit MOST of our wedding checks because they were made to Kenny AND Lindsey, where we both had to sign and my name had to be legally changed on my drivers license, which couldn't be done until the city county building called me to tell me my official marriage certificate was done. I called on Monday, they didn't know. I called on Tuesday, it wasn't ready. I waited until Thursday to call again because I was still mad about Monday and Tuesday's phone conversations, both of which the person on the other end was probably on break too. Ugh. Anyway, I JUST legally changed my name at the secretary of state on Friday after that big huge ordeal, so if you happened to send me a check for our wedding, and it hasn't been cashed yet, I'm so sorry, it will be done on Monday!!

Now I'm beginning the process of calling my credit card, car loan place, and all the other places, plus social security and all that good stuff. What an ordeal. What does a guy have to do?? Nothing. Oh yeah, silly me. Even my gym requires me to bring in my marriage certificate saying we are now officially married so my name on our membership can change...oh the drama of a name change!!

Pooped

I am so mentally drained. And I don't have my own kids, but I can't even imagine what I would feel like if I did.

I have been drained for weeks now. Probably lots has to do with just getting married, and the craziness being overwith immediatly, but I'm so loving having my life back at this point. But working all day and coming home is just about all the mental challenges I can handle. Kenny likes for me to be included (submersed) in his business and one day, honestly, I will not teach and work with him. But not for at least 4 or 5 years, except maybe sooner when kids get here, but that's all up in the air for now. My point is eventually I will be working with him mostly from home, but not for a while. It's too much right now for me to process. And I feel bad when I say that I'm too tired or don't feel like going with him places, and sometimes I fake it and go because I don't want him to be diappointed or just want to be with him because we are rarely home together during the week, but other times, I just can't do it. I'm not sure he understands, but I do tell him when I'm drained, and sometimes he's cool with it, and other times he complains.

Today, which this is the point of my post, I promise, I woke up and told him I was going to the gym and then to a friend's house to drop off a birthday gift. I did all of that and came home and cried. He had cleaned the livingroom (I DEEP clean the house every weekend and when I left this morning I had asked him to pick up his stuff and put it away to make my cleaning easier, something I NEVER ask him to do, ever) and vacuumed, put some things away, was understanding about me wanting to stay home tonight and not accompany him on his job (thank GOD), grilled a burger for me on the new grill, and is mowing the lawn right now. I think he is finally REALLY getting it. I'm drained. And he's picking up the slack. I love this man so much.

So Kenny, when you read this, and I know you will, I love you for doing things like this to make me feel better. You are already a wonderful husband!

Boys and their toys

With a couple Christmas gift cards, we decided to buy a new grill. Correction, A grill, cause we never had one before now. So a shopping we went, and FINALLY made the purchase at homedepot. And what a grill it is too! Our neighbor is ALWAYS outside using his grill while he works on the yard, I'm not even kidding, every single day. He really truly uses it daily. So we've been smelling his grill now for over a year, and I think that's what really pushed us to finally get one. I have to admit, Kenny wanted it much more than I did, but like our big TV, once it was home, I loved it. Tonight I got to watch Kenny in action on the grill. It was hilarious. He was loving every minute of it, as was I watching him. Then it hit me....he was grilling to get the neighbor to notice. Not to show off to me or to show off in general, but to get the neighbor's attention so he could see that Kenny can "do it too." I just watched him work on the burgers, he was grinning and smiling and chatting with me, and every once in a while he would glance toward the neighbor's direction, checking to see if he was out watching us. It was so cute. Kenny's burgers rocked, he calls them his Texas Burgers. I don't really know what that means exactly, maybe Lindsay can elaborate on that, but anyway, he did a darn good job with them, and I was so proud of my boy with his new toy:)

Moms

Happy Mother's Day

to the three mother's in my life....

My mom...

My step-mom...

And my new mother-in-law!!!

Randomness on Friday

This week has kicked my butt. But (hahaha) there is hope at work. I met some new admins that seem to be wanting to head us in the right direction. I would love to go into detail about it here, but you know how that goes....that's all I'll say but I'm feeling better now about my work.

We had a stump ground and removed in our backyard this week, the tree was cut down years ago before we bought the house, and I never imagined how much DIRT is leftover. It will take me at least a week to get the pile moved. I'm not even kidding, it was HUGE. Like too much work if you ask me, but whatcha gonna do?? I would love to be around tomorrow to work on it, cause I just love doing yard stuff, but I'll be traveling across the state to visit, grandparents & parents for mother's day. My first stop is my grandparents' retirement village, then my grandma's house, then my dad & step-mom's house, and then my mom's house for the rest of the day. I hope to be at her house by 3pm and stay as long as I can. I'm flying solo, hubby will be home working. It's easier that way anyway, because he's so antsy all the time and can't just relax, especially when he doesn't have any of his "toys" to play with. I can't just go visit one set of family, gas prices are TOO HIGH to drive all the way out there and not make the most of the day, ya know?? Gas here is almost $4 a gallon. Talk about sickening to the stomach. Ugh. It will be $5 by the time summer is over. Talk about depressing!!

We have 5 weeks of school left. I can't believe it!! Today I did the craziest thing with my kids. They lost Fun Friday privileges because they wouldn't shut up all morning, so they were reluctantly working through their Fun Friday time with extra thick math assignments (hehehehe) and I stopped them in the middle and said, "Put your pencils down RIGHT NOW, push your chairs in and line up IMMEDIATLY." They didn't know what the heck was going on, so they did just as I asked, and I practically ran down the hallway with them following me, not knowing what was happening, and I ran right through the lobby and out the doors to the playground....they stopped at the door and looked at me with these crazy expressions..."what are we doing?" I told them, "GO PLAY!!!" I have never seen such happy kids. I got 17 hugs and was told over and over how much they love me....that'll only last until the next time I yell at them for talking when I'm talking. But at least they got the play, and my excuse to them was (besides the fast that I needed a break) that their brains will work out the math problems easier with some fresh air, sunshine, and exercise, which is true, but it was just an excuse to go outside. For me:)

Thank goodness it's Friday. I'm pooped!!!

Cinco de Mayo!!

Today was one of my student's birthdays, so we had cupcakes and did some mexican celebrating!! My students were back to normal today, their sweet selves (for the most part) again. There are always a couple stinkers in the mix. We discussed the fact that there are only 25 school days left, they were as excited as I was!!! Our last day is June 11th, and it can't get here fast enough!! I still have a lot of ground to cover between now and then, but I'll get it all in, I always do!!

I got this strange burst of energy when I got home from work today....so I just started cleaning. Usually I do that stuff on the weekends but I was busy yesterday outside and doing other things, so it got put off. I have been cleaning like a mad woman!! Kenny won't know what happened when he comes home.

I was cleaning the spare bedroom a little while ago and my crenolin slip and veil are still sprawled on the guest bed, still there from the when we came home the day after our wedding. It made me sad, actually, a LOT sad. So much so that my stomach hurt. I can't believe it's over!! Don't get me wrong, the best part is just beginning, our brand new marriage which is the most exciting thing EVER, but I can't help but get that twinge of sadness. It was the PERFECT day:)

Work Work Work

Going back to work on May 1st was hard! It was just tough to get back to the daily grind after such a whirlwind 9 days!! But I did, and the kids were happy to see me. They were pretty good for the sub when I was gone, however, they were rotten on Thursday and Friday for me. ROTTEN to highest power. I think it's the combination of me just returning and also we only have 6 weeks of school left too. So from here on out, they are going to be cute little monsters.

I have been working in the backyard since Friday night. Last summer we completely made over the front landscaping, and this summer, I'm going to do the backyard. We actually started in February by ripping off the nasty old deck that was there. On some of my days off before I went back to work, I did some transplanting and planting new plants, and then this weekend I cut down a tree (all by myself!!!) and replanted some baby ones in its place, along with more hostas. I bought a forsythia tree and planted it right outside the kitchen window. Where the deck was is covered in large stones, so I scooped them (this took HOURS) and placed them around the forsythia and then prepared the rest of them to be moved in buckets before we have a small cement patio poured. I'm not sure when that will happen, as soon as I can get some quotes and then bargain them down. Soon I hope!! Our lawn is so long, but the lawnmower blade has to be sharpened so that will have to wait!! It's like the amazon out there!! So that's what I've been doing.

So far married life isn't any different than life was before!! Kenny is suffering from a siatic (sp??) nerve injury so he's working, but not lifting. He did a little in the yard to help, like help me with the new mulch we laid down in the front yard yesterday, but he really has to take it easy, so I'm doing most of this stuff. I don't mind, especially when I can sit right down in the dirt and get my hands in it.....love it!! I come in the back door, strip down right there, throw my clothes down the stairs and hop in the shower immediatly!! So there's no mess!! The puppy is in heaven while I'm in the backyard, and I'm afraid she might dig, so I have to bring her in with me until the fresh dirt is covered with mulch in the backyard. She is not to be trusted!!

I am out of physical labor energy for the day so I'm going to retire to the couch for a while!! Isn't that what Sunday afternoons are for?

Details!!

Here's how my wedding day went.....

I stayed up until 1am Saturday morning because I was struggling with what to put together for Kenny's gift....I wrote him a letter and printed it with a picture and framed it. I put together a little bag for him of goodies too. I barely slept at all, it was a very restless sleep when I did. It was just my mom and I here, so it was very quiet and peaceful. When I woke up for good I got in the shower and then starting thinking.......of all the things I could have done, all the things I needed to do, and then I started getting nervous and jittery!!! My mom got up and we packed her van with my dress and accessories, programs, and anything else needed, and she dropped me into the arms of 5 of my bridesmaids at the hair salon. One of them prompty asked me if I had eaten, which I had, but I mentioned coffee and 10 minutes later I had a large double double from Starbucks in my hand. Now that's service!! I started getting my hair done and I was still a ball of nerves, but as the hairspray was layered on, my nerves were calmed. My aunt and cousin showed up, the flower girls, and some more ladies and that made it all better, along with some of the bridesmaids, and it was a really fun, relaxing, bonding time!!! Kenny called 3 or 4 times, but I wouldn't talk to him for fear that he would need me to find something that he lost or needed and I'm sorry, but I wasn't about to do that on our wedding day!! He had him momma to do that for him on that morning!! So one of the girls manned my phone!! I had my makeup done too, and I looked AND FELT like a rockstar!! We got to the church and things started to happen....the girls got dressed, then with their help and my momma's help they got me dressed, and Bethy gave me my something blue. Kay put the garters (Kenny wanted me to wear 8 of them but he settled for 3....it's a long story) on while the photographer snapped pics. The videographer suggested that since there were coke and diet coke cans in the room, and they matched the red dresses, that we do a coke toast on video, so we did and it was awesome!! I held the diet coke can and everyone else held the regular coke cans and we all sang and did a little toast!! The photographer took me by myself to a pretty place in the church to take pictures with just me and my flowers, and then he brought me back to the room for pics with the girls while the wedding planner made sure the groom was hidden! Then we ate Pot Belly sandwiches and relaxed and soon it was time!! My dad came in and so did Kenny's parents, and Kenny's dad brought his gift in. He gave me a beautiful jewelry box (Tasha, he must have been thinking the same thing Chris was!!!) with a Jurassic Park DVD in it because that was the first movie we saw together.....ahhhh. Then everyone left the room and I was alone for 7 minutes. 7 whole minutes. I stood in front of the mirror and couldn't even believe it was happening!! It was for real!! Then my dad stood in the doorway and gave me the play-by-play of what was happening because I had to stay hidden. The wedding planner motioned for us and then we stood in the door of the sanctuary and then I was walking down the isle!! I kept my eyes on Kenny the ENTIRE walk down the isle. I stood there with my dad for what felt like forever, and I kept thinking, don't lock the knees, don't trip on the dress, don't cry. I never cried, neither did Kenny!!! The whole ceremony took about 35 minutes, and I honestly don't remember much of it, thank goodness we had it taped!! Kenny kissed me for a L O N G time when we were declared husband and wife, that part I do remember!!! The reverand said over and over during the ceremony that I was Kenny's gift from God, and that as he holds my hands in his, he had to look at my hands and recognize that they are his gift from God. Everyone commented that that was the most meaningful part of the ceremony, and I think it was too. We laughed a little during the ceremony, which took the edge off. The reverand commented a couple times on Kenny's rotten jokes and EVERYONE laughed. It was pretty funny. I have to say that seeing all my bridesmaids up there in that beautiful red choked me up a little. I love those girls, I've been in most of their weddings or involved in their lives for forever, and they rock. All 10 of them, plus the junior bridesmaid my cousin and the 2 flower girls. Love them all!! After the ceremony we walked back down the isle (I forgot my flowers!!! the matron of honor was still holding them!!!) and then we dismissed each isle, which was nice because we actually got to talk to everyone! Then we signed the marriage certificate and did pictures for forever!! The photographer took some awesome shots, the last one at the church was called "Marilyn Monroe and James Dean" and I won't tell you what it is, I'll just post it when we get it back, but I can asure you IT ROCKS!!! We left the church in Kenny's brothers RED Thunderbird with the top down and followed the best man and his wife to a nearby sports bar for a quick drink before the reception. When we got there THE ENTIRE WEDDING PARTY had a room in the back reserved and we had no idea!! It was amazing!!! We were only there for about 30 minutes, then on to the reception!! When we got there the wedding planner and DJ came out to greet us and then they lined us up for our big entrance, which lead right into the cake cutting (or SMASHING as I fondly recall it). Then the best man, a groomsman, and my matron of honor gave their speeches, we did the toast and the blessing, and ate dinner. If you can believe it, I had zero appetite. I was just thirsty, but drank water, no alcohol for the bride!!!! The rest of the evening was a blur, I remember it all, but not in the order it happened....we did our first dance, which had a unique spin to it. About 2 minutes into our song, the DJ stopped it and put on a number that we had prearranged that included snippets from about 15 songs that we had a dance routine to. So we did our little surprise dance, and then ended it with the ending of the first original song (I'll post the video when I get it back, it's PRICELESS....) and then we danced to our REAL song, by Aerosmith of course:) We danced with our parents, and instead of the dollar dance, Kenny auctioned me to the audience....the best man paid $220 to dance with me!! Woo-hoo!!! I threw my flowers and 2 girls rolled on the floor to get them!!! Kenny went up my leg to get the garters and came out with a thong, an empty bottle of Captain Morgan, a strapless bra, and some other crazy stuff the best mad was handing him under the chair I was sitting in...that was hilarious!! Then he threw the 2 garters and things got all crazy from there. We danced and talked and had a blast the rest of the evening. Our photographer was awesome, our videographer was awesome, the night was the best wedding I've ever been to! We left at 1230 (there was no cleanup for us at all, how's that for a great ending????) and went with 2 other couples to Denny's where I had to sit in a chair across the table from everyone else because my dress wouldn't fit in the booth!!! We stayed in a hotel room because there were so many people staying in our house. It feels silly to stay in a hotel room just miles from your own home!! Anyway, Kenny was VERY tipsy when we went to sleep so ya know, we slept. Hehehehe. Sunday morning we woke up at 9am and both of us felt funny, and sad. It was all over!!! But seriously, it was the best day ever. I married my best friend. I vowed my life to him, and I would do it all over again and again and again. He has now named himself "Chubby Hubby." What's not to love??? I'm sure I'll remember bits and pieces of the big day as time goes on and I'll share them whenever I do, but basically, that's our wedding day!!

Dazed

Still in a daze here........

I received more pics today from my father-in-law, so check them out here. I am still so tired and very THANKFUL that I'm not back to work until Thursday. Is it normal to be emotional after the wedding?? I didn't cry at all!! Not until my maid of honor gave her speech at the reception and then I cried like a baby. But I shed tears the morning after and even a few times during the day and even tonight. Please tell me that is normal:) Anyway, I'm taking my sleepy butt to bed (in our new 800 thread count sheets...I can never go back to 250 count....I'm totally ruined and spoiled now). Kenny never understood why I wanted expensive sheets. Now he gets it. I really want to tell lots of details of the wedding day but it will have to wait a little while longer....but there's more pictures now!! I promise the details are coming!! Off to that wonderful sleepland.....

Quick Pics

Holy crap I'm a Mrs!!

Yesterday our wedding day was perfect. Absolutetly the best day ever!! I only have a couple pics so far, but there will be more ASAP!! These will have to do for now:

Getting my something blue from Bethy.....

Almost ready.....

Pics with ma ladies.....

Me and my flowers......

Cake in my face.....

Kenny is making up for the smearing of the cake on my face by doing 95% of the work for the thank-yous. I will write more about the day when I am more awake!!! Thanks for all the sweet words and emails wishing us luck on our day...it worked because the weather was beautiful and we had an amazing time!!

Going to the Chapel!!

I'm showered, in my pink bathrobe, drinking some coffee, about to go get my hair and make-up done. This day is finally here!! Look, the ticker says 0 days!!! In 10 hours I'll be married!!!! See you soon!!


PS-I didn't sleep much...tossed and turned mostly, but oh so happy!!

Calm

I am so calm right now. I cannot sleep, but I'm just eerily calm. Our rehersal and dinner was awesome, it was so fun chatting and hanging out! It makes me so excited for tomorrow!! It's just my mom and I tonight, and she's already in bed. So it's me, the computer, and my stuff for tomorrow. I haven't been this calm in months!! It's so what I need. It's hard to describe all the things I feel right now, but the most prominent emotion is happiness. I just can't wait to be walking down the isle looking at Kenny and knowing we are going to be together forever. Seeing all my girls and the groomsmen up there with us, my little flower girls and the ring bearer, everyone, our parents, family, friends, it's all so cool. It's almost like a dream coming true. I WISH I had my camera back already, but no such luck, so I'll have to wait to post some pics from the rehersal later when everyone gets them to me. Now this bride is going to sleep, or so I hope!!!!

2 days!!

This MIGHT be my last post until I'm a Mrs. I'm not sure, no promises, you never know. Tomorrow my mom and I and a couple bridesmaids are going to get our nails done around noon and then relax (I really hope to anyway) until 5pm. The rehersal begins at 7pm but I have to be there early to go over whatever needs to be done. Saturday I will be up and out of here by 9am, so it's going to be nutty from here on out!!

My mom and MIL took all the goods to the reception site today and PAID IN FULL for the reception. That was a huge load off, not to mention how much extra room I have in my basement today!!

I escaped the craziness later by going to the gym alone (as always) without my phone. On purpose. No calls. No needs. Just me and the radio and GOD. It was awesome. So was the gym. And I came two hours later completely refreshed.

I'm going to take a bubble bath now that everyone is gone except my momma and the puppy. It might be the last moment I have to do that!!! I am truly enjoying every moment, I promise! This is such a magical time, and I can't even imagine how awesome the wedding day is going to be!!!

Emotions!!

It's getting so close!!

I got to sleep in this morning. What a refreshing feeling. Kenny woke me up by saying, "Good morning Bride!!!" It was adorable!! He loves it when I am home instead of at work. I do too:) That was the first and last time I saw him today. He's still busy working, and right now he's picking up his long lost BFF at the airport that he hasn't seen in 10 years!! I haven't met him, but I have talked to him numerous times on the phone. His name is Ken too. Scary that there are two of them!!! Anyway, I'm sure they have lots of catching up to do, so before they arrive, I am going to make myself scarce by going to the basement and organizing all the items I have to take to the reception site tomorrow when my momma gets here. I have a list going so I don't forget anything. I could be down there awhile!!

I picked up my dress today....it's so pretty it takes my breath away. Ahhhhh, I can't wait to have it on!! And, the bra situation is taken care of. No more worrying and freaking out about the boobies, they will be well tied down and in tact!!

Everyone told me I would be on cloud nine this week and I really am!!

I received a card today from my grandma. My grandpa passed away in '02 and I still think about him daily. I'm sure she does too, they were married 62 years when he passed away. Anyway, her note was filled with little bits of advice about marriage and she also wrote that if grandpa were here he would be so happy and excited for me and hug me and make me laugh. And then she write that this card was from my "grandparents" even though grandpa wasn't here (insert the fattest tears you have ever seen) and that they both love me so much. I expected a card or conversation like this from my grandma but I didn't expect her to make it from them both even though grandpa isn't here. Talk about pulling on heart strings. Is that beautiful or what?? I just reread it and I'm crying again. I miss my grandpa so much, even now, and I know that he is with us right now. He'll be there on Saturday too. Oh the emotions are running thick around here!!!

Alright, to the basement I go!!!

The Bra Story (not that funny but entertaining)

The Bra Story

The day my mom bought me my wedding dress, I didn't really think about the bra contraption thing that goes underneath it. Then later on I got one, no biggie. When I took my dress in for the first fitting, I decided I didn't like the one I had, so my mom bought me one from the bridal store. I didn't really like it at all, but it was a corsette with those bone things that give me shape and slim down the torso, so I was okay with it. Plus, it fit and was comfortable. Then at the second fitting I didn't like it, so then I was on a mission to find one that I really did like. And it didn't go so well. I got my dress at David's Bridal and I went back there to try on bras but they are crazy there. It's one mass productionline of girls, no specializing in fitting or trying to please the ladies, nothing but "get them in, get them out" attitiude. Love their prices, hate their customer service. It stinks. Anyway, the bottom line is I'm going into the bridal shop tomorrow to pick up my dress, all fitted and pressed and ready to wear and I'm going to try on the corsette once and for all and make a decision. What a pain I am. What a pain. If only I was skinny it wouldn't be an issue!! Kidding!! I am not ripping on myself, but seriously, it would be easier. Oh well. That's the bra story. It's not that exciting, more like complaining.

Here's one more tidbit of dirt that happened tonight. I was assembling programs for the reception with Niki and my phone rings, it's a girl from work. I have known her for 6 years, but she is not invited to the wedding because I do not socialize with her outside of work. I did at one time, but that was about 4 years ago. She POINT BLANK asked me why I didn't invite her to the wedding. And then, as if in high school still, another teacher I work with (these two happen to be best friends) is trying to get our phone conversation on 3-way (again, high school) and I realized before I can even answer the question that this is ridiculus. And I SWEAR I didn't hang up on them, but my phone cut out. I SWEAR it wasn't me hanging up. My phone sometimes cuts out when I'm at the computer and I must say it was good timing. But I didn't want these two to think I was hanging up on them and I was ready to explain the situation (like an adult) even though they didn't deserve one, but my phone was no cooperating. So I went outside and called her back, and then it just kept cutting out. I think it was a sign. I took that sign and ignored her as she called back THREE MORE TIMES. Can you believe it???? THREE MORE TIMES. And the last time it came up on the caller ID as PRIVATE. The nerve. The wedding is in four days, as if I have time or patience to deal with that. The very reason that she has to ask about why they aren't invited is explanation enough as to why they are not. So I was mad for about 30 minutes and I'm just about over it now. The nerve. Ugh. And to take it even farther, one of them has been married two times...she should know what it's like to have to stick to a guest list, let alone only invite people you enjoy being around. I'm proud of myself for sluffing it off so quickly. Normally, I let things like this really bother me. But not right now, not today, not tomorrow! By the time I go back to work on May 1st, I'm not even going to care!!!

I'm just rambling today!

Wow am I tired! Mentally tired. One more day of work. I am crazy for being there 2 days this week, but for those of you who are not teachers, it is so hard to be gone when days at work are as structured as a classroom. It just is hell coming back, so I took off Wed, Thurs, Fri this week and then Mon, Tues, Wed next week. The days are broken up because I know the kids are going to go crazy. And I also know that they will get over it and life there will go on without me. One more day to get through before I can sleep a little bit! I have scheduled AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE for Wed, Thurs, Fri, but even that is still a lot. Picking up my dress and dealing with the bra issue (I'll save that story for after the wedding....) on Wed, grocery shopping for out of town guests (poor souls have no idea we are basically grocery-less in the last month), making a pick-up at the airport, then Thursday packing my mom's van with the decor and everything for the reception and taking it there. Thank GOD the wedding planner there is decorating and getting things ready for me, I don't have to do A THING there except get the stuff to her. I know we're paying for that service, but I'm so RELIEVED that we are because I don't have to coordinate anything for the reception on Fri or on Saturday!! Then Thursday night it's back to the airport for one more pick-up. Friday I'm SLEEPING IN....DID YOU HEAR THAT WORLD??? I'M SLEEPING IN and then going with my mom and any available bridesmaids to get our nails done, and the rehersal is at 7pm Friday evening and then dinner/drinking afterwards. Whew. Trust me when I say I will get down time. I know how to do that very easily now....I go to the gym. No one is there asking me questions, no phones, nothing but me! I woke up this morning with jitters...but the good kind. I am so excited and in disbelief that my wedding day is so close!! Holy Crap!

6 days left!

Our Discussion This Morning....

GROOM: The money I make today will pay for....do you know what it will buy Honey?

BRIDE: What?

GROOM: Your wedding present!! (said with lots of enthusiasm)

BRIDE: Don't buy me something crazy, this wedding has already cost way too much. DO NOT get me something crazy, got, it????

GROOM: Don't worry, everything I get you that costs lots of money has a double meaning.

BRIDE: What are you talking about?

GROOM: I mean I give it to you but it's really for me too.

BRIDE: If you don't get away from me right this second I am going to pinch the crap out of you.

So he took off. He's hungover and tired from his bachelor party last night. Serves him right. He tortured the crap out of me when I was hungover last weekend. Whatever he plans on buying me for our wedding is probably ONLY for him.....what a dork. But I love him. Holy crap, 6 days till Wedding Day!!

The Story of the Pearls (and rantings)

Today I got to sleep in. That was important. I was operating on 4 hours of sleep every night this past week because I was up so late working on wedding stuff. Man am I busy. My mom came out yesterday to get our last dress fittings and then to get a few last miunte things for both her and I. I think my last minute things will keep going until the big day. Isn't that the way it is?? Sure feels like it will be that way. Kenny's bachelor party is all day today, so he's gone, and my mom just left. I have some just me, down time that I so badly need and crave. Niki will be here later on to help with some things and then shop for other items that are still needed, and just be here for me! I am so excited, so busy, so happy, so tired, and just plain OVERJOYED that I'm so sleepy!! The weather is beautiful today, and I'm just full of every emotion there is, except the bad ones.

Most of you already know this, but in October of 2005, my 42-year-old aunt passed away after battling cancer for 10 years. I was VERY affected by this because she was my youngest aunt and I was very close to her my whole life. She died peacefully at home with hospice over the course of six months, and when it was down to just days, she was in that state of hallucintating, but she still knew who everyone was. I would sit with her and she would talk about things that happened when I was a kid and then something that was happening right now...her mind was just racing, kind of like when they say before you die you life flashed before your eyes....it was kind of like she was reliving moments of her life with me quickly. Anyway, I'm getting off track here, when she was in this state, she told me that she wanted me to have her pearl earrings. I didn't think anything of it, figuring my other aunts (her sisters) would have her jewelery and I never thought anything else of it until about a week after she died. My uncle (her husband) called me and said I needed to come over so he could give me something that she wanted me to have. It ended up being the pearl earrings, and he told me that she had specifically told him that after she was gone, to take her earrings out and give them to me (she died with them in her ears). Of course I was crying at this point. So he handed me the pearls in their beautiful box and told me the story of the pearls. When they got married (1990) she wanted to ear pearls but didn't have any. So she borrowed someone's pearl necklace and earrings, and then later after their wedding he decided to buy her a set because she liked them so much. The first thing he got her were the earrings for her birthday. Then for Christmas came the necklace, then their anniversary it was a bracelet, and I think that was the complete set. The earrings were the first gift he bought her after they were married, and it was important that I know that story. (tears are streaming as I write this) So I am wearing them when I get married next week. I made my necklace and bracelet with pearls (fake ones but they are still so pretty) so that they will match the earrings and I just really can't wait to include my aunt in my wedding day. Her husband (my uncle, not really even by marriage anymore, but he'll always be my uncle) has remarried since and so I will get to meet his new wife. My family is very happy for him because he married a lady that went through the same thing as my uncle did, caring for her dying husband. They have a lot of life to live still and I'm so happy that they can do that together. Anyway, that's the story of my pearl earrings. I opened the case they were in the other day just to peak at them and it brought the tears again, but they are good tears.

Okay, enough sap for Saturday. On with wedding stuff. At this time next week I'll be walking down the isle!!! Holy #&#^!!!!!!!!!!!!!

50 Push Ups

This week is going by way too fast. At least, the evenings are. I can't seem to get enough things done for the wedding after work. It's just not happening. I've been going to the gym every evening too, more for stress relief at this point than anything else. It's the only place I can relax and not be bothered with the phone, requests, or even responsibilities. It's a safe haven right now!! Tonight I was swamped with thank yous, guest counts, and forgetting to get a new ink cartridge. I have to print some pictures, get some matte, do laundry, clean a little because my mom will be here this weekend, the list just keeps going. I feel like I haven't even SEEN Kenny since Saturday morning, although I have, but not for long. He must have felt it too because he came to my classroom today. The secretary called me and said, "Your fiance is here in the office." And I said, "Oh God." She laughed and told me that wasn't a good response, and I said, "Dismissal is in 20 minutes....the kids are going to go crazy!!! But send him down." I don't think she gets it....the crazy kids part, but she laughed and sent him down. OF COURSE the last 20 minutes were completely crazy, and the kids just love him. He hasn't been in the classroom as much this year as he has in past years, so they are just so curious to see him. One of them always says that we look like brother and sister. I just roll my eyes. We are both white, short, and slightly round. To young black kids, that's probably true, we probably do look alike!! A couple years back Kenny was in my room and he had the kids doing exercises, and he had them specifically doing push-ups. They nicknamed him 50 Pushups. Every year since I have told my classed that story, so when he came in today, they all yelled, "Hi 50 Pushups!!!!" So that's his nickname to them. And it's so cute!!! One of the kids asked, "Are you really gonna marry 50 Pushups?" Oh, they are so cute. I can't believe I'm leaving them for 5 days!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here is an AWESOME contest hosted by Lindsay......go check it out if you or a buddy needs a blog make-over. The woman is amazing at what she does AND you'll be helping out a great organization!!!

Couple Meme

I borrowed this from Vader's Mom....

Kenny & I

How long have you been together?
Five and a half years

How long did you date?

When we get married we will have dated EXACTLY 5 1/2 years to the day!

How old is he?

I can't say. He'll get mad. But he's 6 years older than me:)

Who said ‘I love you’ first?

He said it first!!!

Who is taller?

He is, but not by much.

Who is smarter?

Of course we have our strengths...he's smarter on the business end, I'm the book smart chic.

Who does the laundry?

Me, I can't stand it when he does it. I can't find anything and something is always ruined.

Who does the dishes?

60% me

40% Kenny

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?

He does!

Who pays the bills?

We both do!

Who mows the lawn?

We take turns. When he's inspired, I let him have the job, but I really kind of like doing it.

Who cooks dinner?

I do, but not that often, that's a tricky question.

Who is more stubborn?

He is WAY more stubborn than me. He's been spoiled so he is FOR SURE more stubborn.

Who kissed who first?

I think we did it at the same time!

Who proposed?

Kenny proposed to me!

Who is more sensitive?

That's a tie too. He'll say I am, but really, he is too!

------------------------------------------

I have been struggling with programs for our wedding for days now. They are done but I'm out of ink tonight. Figures. I wanted to print them at work tomorrow and OF COURSE my computer is being an ass tonight...I mean the printer is. How dare it run out of ink. I'm starting to feel the stress. I was SOOOO loving not feeling it at all. I just want to NOT be working and just get this stuff done. Only a few more days of work for me. I also need a maid right now. Big time. What happened to that clean house on Saturday? Where in the world did it go?? I am going to the gym for stress relief now. It's all I can do!

-------------------------------------------

Here is an AWESOME contest hosted by Lindsay......go check it out if you or a buddy needs a blog make-over. The woman is amazing at what she does AND you'll be helping out a great organization!!!

Party Time!

My bachelorette party was on Saturday night and it R O C K E D!!!!

It started with dinner at an awesome restaraunt, which included cake from Tasha's brother's bakery, which is the yummiest ever. I opened some fun gifts and I will be busy using them all!! Hehehe.

Then we moved the party a few miles away at a bar and there was a live band and tons of dancing. My white fluffy boa was the hit of the party, I left my mark everywhere, and by that I mean that there were feather floating all over the stage, the air, and littering the floor. It was great! I got a shout out from the lead singer wishing me luck, had an endless supply of drinks (if you look on flickr it's pretty obvious) and had the best time ever.

The girls had me all diva-ed up and I just cannot tell you how much fun it was!! The hostesses with the mostesses did a fantastic job planning the party!!! I woke up today to Kenny tickling me because he knew I felt like crap from drinking last night. I can't wait until next weekend when he has his little bachelor party. Paybacks are worse!! It's almost 11pm, and I'm still hurting from last night, but it was sooo worth it!! 13 days to go!! Ahhhhh!

Poop, Gas, & Friday

Funny funnies today in my classroom.


We are working on current event projects, and I asked students to bring in newspaper articles from home to use. The first couple of kids brought in the newspapers and set them down on my desk. One young lady, a smart mouth mind you, picked up her newspaper and imitated her grandfather reading it while on the toilet. I asked her what in the world she was doing and she blatently told me that's what her grandpa does while taking a dump. What a way to start the day!! The other young lady who was standing there heard this and said that her dad does the same thing while going poop...he loves to take the paper in the bathroom and stays in there forever with it. Those were her exact words. I was cracking up and it wasn't even 8am yet!!!


During our writing time, I gave the kids two writing prompts to choose from. They could either write about what it would be like if cows gave rootbeer instead of milk OR write about what it would be like if streets were rivers. I have a kindergartener in my classroom for language arts in the morning because she is VERY advanced, and the first sentence on her paper was this: If cows gave rootbeer instead of milk, everyone would have gas. It's times like these that I absolutely LOVE my job. I get to laugh about poop and gas. It doesn't get any better!!

After getting my hair highlighted after work, the girl who always does my hair put the veil and sparkly tiara on my head and we decided how my hair would be done for wedding day. I love it!! Can't wait!! I wish I could post pics but Kenny will peak. He's so bad:)

This weekend is going to rock. My bachelorette party is tomorrow. Can't wait!!!!!

Half Day

I went to sleep last night with a pounding headache and woke up this morning with the same headache....I called in for the morning and went back to sleep. Then got up and was at work by noon. I probably should have stayed home the whole day, but I feel guilty that I'll be off 6 days when I get married, and I know my kids are not that great when there's a sub, so I just had to go in. And I was right. They were rotten while I was gone this morning. So we had a big classroom discussion. My classroom is different. The students are very advanced, and at all different levels, that is the beauty of the advanced class. I have 6, 7, and 8 year olds, which are all 1st and 2nd graders, and they are EXTREMELY smart and intelligent. You can not pull fast ones on them, and bribery seldom works. So I have been talking to them for weeks now about their behavior when I'm gone. I laid into them today about how disappointed I was that they were rotten for the sub this morning. I took their recess away, their art project, whatever I could take I did. My two smartest children go to the 3rd, 4th, 5th grade advanced class next door to me for math and language arts, and these girls are just amazing. They are too smart for me. They are the kids that are constantly correcting me and pointing things out that I forget (about a dozen things a day now!!). They are bad for subs because they are constantly doing the same thing to the sub that they do to me, and the subs can't handle it. So I asked the other multiage teacher if the girls could spend the 6 days that I'm gone in his class. He said it was fine, thank goodness. That will make leaving a little bit easier. The rest of the kids, I'm not sure, there will be hefty consequences, both good and bad, for their behaviors. I am already worried about it. Oh well. I still have 2 weeks to drill good behavior into their heads.

We met with the reverand who is marrying us last night to go over the ceremony and the program. I feel good knowing what's going to happen now. He suggested we use a heritage candle. I never heard of that so he explained that it's a candle that is lit at the beginning of the wedding ceremony by members of the family to signify the family members that have passed away. Then when our mommas go up to light the two small candles on either side of the unity candle, they light their candles from the heritage candle. I love the idea, and since Kenny doesn't have any living grandparents and only an aunt and uncle, we asked them to light it. Of course they will so it, were delighted that we asked. Then it dawned on me that I won't get to see ANY of this part of the ceremony!!!!!!!!!!! We are having everything professionally taped, but still, all this planning and I don't even get to see the live deal before I walk down the isle!! Oh well. I'm not really mad:)

Tomorrow is Thursday. My favorite day of the week:)

TESTING!

Every year at this time the kids get tested. At the young grades that I teach, most of the test has to be read to the kids. That's a lot of reading outloud and WAITING for the kids to finish. These tests involve reading comprehension, vocabulary, math skills, science, social studies, and sources of information. Since I have multi-age with two grades, there's no way I can read two sets of tests every day!! I would have no wind left in my sails. So I farm out the first graders to the straight first grade rooms and I give the second grade test. My kids this year rock. It has only taken them 3 days and they are DONE!! Usually the tests take at least five days with makeups, but not this year!! I'm so proud of them.

Every day so many people at work ask me how I'm feeling...am I nervous, scared, happy, excited....the list goes on. I'm all of them, well not scared, but all of the other emotions. But mostly I'm just happy:) The kids are so excited for me to. They spend most of their morning circle time asking me questions about the wedding, my dress, my hair, the same questions over and over again. We hired a videographer for our wedding so I can bring the DVD into school and show the kids, but the bummer is it might not be ready in time for them to see it before school ends. I'm keeping my fingers crossed though. I know they would LOVE to see it! They are also a little upset at the sub that will be in my room when I'm gone. They're already complaining every day about it. They had the same sub for gym today and when I went to pick them up, half the class was crying. Great. That should be a fun time for them!! I keep talking about all the fun things and lessons I'm leaving for the sub, and I'm trying to bribe them with treats from me when I get back if they are good. We'll see how it goes. Keep your fingers crossed for me:)

We are meeting with the reverand who's marrying us for the last time tomorrow to go over the entire ceremony in entirety, and then I can finish and print the programs, and that's one more thing crossed off the list of things to do. Whew! There are a MILLION and half little things that are creeping up right now that I didn't think about, and I'm really trying to tackle them now instead of waiting till the last minute, which, by the way, is Kenny's style. Hehehehe.

There are about 10 loads of laundry to fold downstairs with my name all over it. Kenny "did" laundry for me yesterday, which means it goes in the washer, the dryer, and on the floor. I get to fold it. At least he washes and dries it now. So here I go to fold my evening away!!!!

So close!

20 days....20 days......T W E N T Y D A Y S !!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe it. In three weeks I will wake up as a wife!

I am so excited I can barely stand it!

Too bad I have to go to work...there are so many other things I could be doing!!

Kenny and I had an awesome evening with our friends last night (the best man and his wife and 2 kids, one is a newborn). I got to hold the newborn a ton, and he is just the cutest thing. He smells so good, the baby smell that all moms talk about. It's addicting. I see why you want more babies after the first one. Yummy! It was so nice to have friends come to our house, where we are the ones that mostly have to do all the driving and traveling. When the evening was over, we didn't have to go anywhere. What a treat. This morning I woke up after getting to sleep in, a rarity, and the sun is shining, and it's just a beautiful day. Kenny asked me if I wanted to clean the garage (hello....YES!!!!!!!) and I of course jumped on that task. I've been thinking of ways to get that going for months now, but the weather has not permitted it, so today is the day! I think it might take more than one day (Kenny is the worst pack rat ever) but he did promise not to allow his adult ADD get in the way and he promised to stay on task and not get caught up in what treasures he finds. I'm telling you this garage is packed wall to wall and I'm not exaggerating AT ALL. It's ridiculous. I'm embarrassed. The motivation behind the clean-out, other than spring does this to everyone, is that the garage door is broken and we can't fix it ourselves, so we will hire someone to do it for us, and they will have to see the garage and its contents. EMBARRASSING!!! Even for Kenny. So that's where I'll be today. I hope it goes smoothly. I'm so thankful for the nice weather. I don't think anything could really get me down at this point. I'm so happy!!

PS-Check out the blinkies in the sidebar....they are from Tee!! You rock girl!!

FRIDAY!!!

What a week!!! It ended the best way possible....with a field trip!! But the catch was that it wasn't my class that I took on the trip. It was the 3-4-5 multi-age classroom next door to mine that I took because their teacher in on crutches and the field trip consisted of hands on science stuff for about 5 hours. So that teacher was in my classroom today and I got to go on the trip, and I didn't even have to plan ANYTHING!! And I got to wear jeans. You can't ask for a better trip than that! Must be that time of year for science field trips because Lori went on one too!

I have worked out tonight and I'm finally past the 2 mile mark. It's taken a while but I finally got there. I even went grocery shopping too! It's almost 11pm and I still feel like cleaning. What is wrong with me?? I better get a move on before I lose my motivation.

Craigs List

Have you heard of it?? Craigs list is like ebay (it's now actually OWNED by ebay) but you only look at local stuff, there's no shipping because you pick it up yourself, and there's no promise to buy. You can look at the stuff and not buy it, and as we like to do, bargain with the seller. That's the fun part in Kenny's opinion. Anyway, Sunday night our dryer took a big poop. It's old, it came with the house, time for a new one. We looked at new ones (my first choice of course) but with a wedding and all sorts of expensizes, we thought about a used one for now, and when the washer goes (it's just as old) we'll get a matching set new. Sounds like a good plan to me, so we looked on Craigs List and Monday evening found a good one. It was only a year old, $150, and only about a half hour away on the freeway. We hopped in the truck and drove out there. First let me say the house was trashed, in every aspect. It was pretty nasty to say the least. We looked at the dryer, which looked great, and the girl even ran it for us so we knew it worked. Kenny hammered her on the price and we bought it for $100. She shuts off the gas switch and Kenny starts to unscrew the line and out comes the gas. All over the teeny room we're standing in. Now if you have even had carbon monoxide in your body before, you know what can happen and how it feels, and Kenny and I have BOTH had incidences with it on a houseboat trip (we will NEVER EVER EVER GO ON ONE AGAIN!!!!) so we got the heck out of the house. The girl obviously came with us out the back door where it was POURING RAIN. By this time it's 9pm, dark, raining, cold, and now there's this huge gas leak. So the girl calls the gas company and they tell her it will be within an hour when someone can get there!! Can you believe that?? An hour?? WTF??? So we just call 911 and they send not one, not two, not three, but FOUR firetrucks. FOUR!!! I sat in the truck across the street, safe away from the gas, watching the whole thing go down. The gas company drove up about 20 minutes later and NEVER STOPPED!! Can you believe that one?? They just kept driving around the block and never stopped!! The nerve!! So the problem was that the switch that the girl switched off was faulty, and there was truly no way of knowing that ahead of time. The fire department took care of the problem, made sure the girl knew she did the right thing by calling them and then we loaded the dryer (STILL raining at this point) into the truck and got out of there. It was crazy. I still can't believe the fire trucks. So this is my Craigs List story. Can anyone beat this one???