Monday, June 30, 2008

I'm an aunt (again)!

Chase finally has another little boy in the family to play with! My brother (Jeff - pictured here) and his wife Julia are now the proud parents of Alexander (Alex) William. He was 7lbs 11oz and 20" long.

Congratulations, you two! I can't wait to meet the little guy!

Monday, June 23, 2008

We have a house!!!!

We closed on our house today. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....

This feels good.

It wasn't without drama, of course. Friday our bank in Chicago informed us they couldn't do a wire transfer for our downpayment unless it was to a branch of theirs. Since there are no 5th 3rd banks around here that wasn't going to work. So they said they would overnight us a certified check so we would have it for our closing at 2:30 today.

Brian stayed home all morning waiting for the check. It never came. He got ahold of the lady at the bank who was supposed to mail it and she said, "It's sitting right here on my desk. I'll mail it today." Ummmmmm.... That wasn't really going to do us any good! So they found a way to wire it after all. We went to the closing without any money but by the time we left they received the downpayment over the wires. Phew! Of course this stuff is never easy!

ANYWAY, it all worked out in the end and now we have a house! Our movers arrive tomorrow morning (while I'm in class... ugh) and we will be slowly settling in throughout the week, trying to work around our school and work schedules. We will definitely be in there permanently by Saturday. YEE HAW!!!!

Saturday, June 21, 2008

5 Years... and counting

It is our anniversary today. We have been married five years! Can you believe it? We exchanged our gifts this morning. We have been following the traditional anniversary gifts every year and this year we had to give wood, which was challenging for both of us. Brian got me this awesome wooden stool that folds out to become a step stool that I can use for my classroom in the fall. I got him some wood planters and wooden-handled gardening tools since he's so excited to work in a yard after our years in a townhouse.

Unfortunately, that has been the extent of our celebration today. I had to take a test for my Theatre Arts teaching certification requirements this morning, and Brian and Chase are on their way back from the ER as I type. Chase has been sick for a couple days with a runny nose and goopy (how technical!) eyes and today it got much worse. I would have thought it was pink eye but his eyeballs weren't pink. I called a nurse and gave her all of his symptoms and she said we needed to take him to an urgent care or the ER. Since all the urgent cares around here were closed (don't get me started on that!) I asked if I could take him in the morning and was told, "No, ma'am. You need to get him to an ER tonight." So of course I freaked a little bit, like she knew something terrible was wrong with him but wouldn't tell me. Anyway, so Brian took him to the ER while I worked on my MOUND of homework due Monday. After all that they said it looks like he either has allergies (since we're new to the area) or a summer cold. I hope it's not allergies because it is something NASTY to have to deal with on a regular basis.

So.... Happy Anniversary to us! I'm sure we'll do a real celebration after our crazy lives die down a little. We close on our house Monday (!!!!) so next week is moving week! We are SO excited, but it is going to be a CRAZY week for us, trying to move and still deal with work and school and all that. But we are ready to feel settled here. Let the games begin!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

It's a... What?!?

My brother and his wife Julia are expecting a baby girl in about a week. Wait, scratch that. They were expecting a baby girl in about a week. Today they found out they are having a boy... (in about a week).

They literally moved to Idaho from California like 2 weeks ago, if that. My brother is currently job hunting, so this is a really tough time for them financially to find out they have to buy all new stuff! If you have any baby boy clothes, etc. that you can part with, please send them (contact me for an address)!

I cleared out SO much baby boy stuff when we moved (darn it!) and after our moving truck gets here next week I'll have to weed through whatever is left, but anything any of you could do to help would be fabulous! I figured it couldn't hurt to toss it out there. Maybe some of you are saying, "I have to sort through my son's old baby clothes at some point, anyway...." This could be the kick in the pants you need to get it done! I know, wishful thinking.... ;)

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to one of the most amazing fathers I have ever known. He has had a rough week transitioning from a stay-at-home dad to a full-time working dad who doesn't get to see his son all day long anymore. Chase had a rough week adjusting to full-time daycare, too, but I think Brian's may have been rougher. Hang in there, honey! It will get easier....

We spent the day exploring Austin a little bit, mainly driving around areas we've read about, etc. We drove through the University of Texas campus and found a really cool fountain so we stopped (Chase LOVES fountains) and took a few photos. They're in our Photo Album if you're interested (we got some really cute ones)!

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Employed!

I have a job, people! I just accepted a teaching position at a local middle school here and will start teaching Theatre Arts there in the fall. Woo hoo! My first year of teaching is actually considered my school internship so there is a lot of pressure for those of us in the program this summer to find jobs so we can pass that internship and be fully certified next summer. It is a RELIEF to know I have a place to go, and I'm really excited about this school in particular.

It's hard to believe I'll actually be standing in front of my own classroom in the fall. I am SO excited!

NOW.... Because once I start teaching I don't particularly want my students and parents to be able to google me and read all about my personal life I'm trying to figure out a new name for our blog. Any creative ideas out there? Please share!

Sunday, June 8, 2008

4 Days

4 Days. That's how long I had to wait until Brian finally gave in and let me get a pool down here. We tried it out for the first time today. Ahhhhhhh....

OK, so it's a little small. I'll work on the upgrades later (baby steps)!

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Hi, my name is Chubby

I was sifting through my old video clips and found this hilarious video I took last summer when we went to California for my brother (Jeff)'s wedding. I taught my niece Rhianna this joke that Jeff and I used to do all the time when we were kids about a kid named Chubby who takes a motorcycle ride with his dad. Enjoy!

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Kickball!

This post is for Brian, at work while I am at home with Chase (what a weird switch this is!). Just thought you'd be glad to know your wife is teaching your son sports while you're away, honey....

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Tagged.... I'm It!

So, Barb tagged me from A Tale of Two Twinkies to sum up my life in 6 words. The Meme originated over an idea that was prompted by the book written by Larry Smith and Rachel Fershleiser, Not Quite What I was Planning: Six Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure. It's a compilation based on the story that Hemingway once bet ten dollars that he could sum up his life in six words. His words were "For Sale: baby shoes, never worn."

After some thought I have settled on:

Two steps forward, One step back.

I hereby tag:

  1. My parents at 4-Points Photography
  2. Karen & Mark at The Evansons
  3. Liza & Greg at Anderson Adventures
  4. Melissa & Dan at The Bertram Blog
  5. Monica & Kev at This Blog Sucks

Here are the rules:

  1. Write your own six word memoir.
  2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.
  3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere.
  4. Tag five more blogs with links.
  5. Don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

If I didn't tag you and you still want to play.... Well, do it anyway!

Monday, June 2, 2008

OCD Coaster Game

Chase invented a new game with the coasters in our temporary home. I may just have to find out where the owners got them and then buy a set for our new house so he isn't too traumatized when we move out!

I must say, though, that I love his "OCD-ness." Notice how he has to have the cork side of the coasters facing down (even when I flip them over). Like mother like son!

And then it starts all over again....

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