Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

22 Weeks!!!!

Well week 22 has arrived!! I promise a picture will be added after boy takes one tonight. I have pictures to add from Christmas as well, but I need to right cord to attach my school camera.

Week 21 had a great milestones for us! On the 26th, Stephen was able to feel Keira move for the first time. I had been thinking that I could feel her with my hand since the 20th, but Stephen wasn't able. I think he just wasn't being patient! :) But as we laid in bed that night, I told him to feel her move and the moment he put his hand on the belly she kicked him! I am so glad that we are at the point where he can feel her when she moves. I think it makes it all more real for him. Now that she is bigger, her movements don't feel the same as they used to. What used to be a tickle is now like a thump.

We attempted to pick up her crib on Sunday. We got to BabiesRUs and once we saw the box, we realized that our car is not big enough! So Stephen is planning on asking the boys at work to pick it up for us after their deliveries one day soon. We wouldn't be able to put it together anyway since the floors are not done yet. I think I have also decided that I don't want to put it together until we have all the stuff for the room... crib, mattress, bedding, and dressers. That way it looks like her room and not just a room with an empty crib in it!

This morning is showing me that week 22 will be an exciting one as well. As I lounged in bed, I felt a new movement. About every three seconds I would feel a bump. They lasted for about a minute and then quit. My guess.... HICCUPS! Yeah, another mommy-to-be experience!

Well thats all for now. Hopefully week 22 will be just as exciting as week 21! I hope you all have a great New Year!

Friday, December 26, 2008

Thanks Santa!!

Well Christmas has come and gone. All the preparations for two days of fun. It always makes me a little sad when its over, but next year will be the best one yet. So I guess that's something to look forward to!

Tuesday night we shared our stockings here at the house. Boy gave me an amazing lotion/face cleaner set. We're talking GOOD stuff! I got him a cute I Love My Daddy bib from Keira, some hand lotion ('cause he really needs it in the winter), some face stuff, and an itunes gift card that he couldn't open until after he opened his other gifts. The dogs got new blankets and a pair of socks ( they think fuzzy socks are toys).

Wednesday, Christmas Eve, we drove down to my parents house in the middle of nowhere. We enjoyed the day with my family and went over to my Nannie and Papa's for a little while in the afternoon. We shared our news with my grandparents and my Nannie was VERY excited. I think she has been praying for this moment for a while. Afterwards, we went back to my parents and enjoyed the usual Christmas Eve smorgasborg and then opened gifts. Santa was good to me this year (as usual). Here's a rundown of my gifts opened on the 24th... a Cricut machine (whoo hoo), new jammies and slippers, my first mommy willowtree, target gift card, and a cute picture frame for Keira's room. Santa gave Stephen an ipod, a Nike+ chip to run with, a pair of Nike + shoes, a wii accessory kit, target gift card, and an xbox game. He has been wanting to get back into running, so hopefully his new gear will help him accomplish that!

Thursday, Christmas Day, we drove to Canyon Lake and spent the day with his mom, Patrick, Steph, and her friend Sev. Unfortunately his dad couldn't join us, but next year he will!! :) We hung out, had some laughs about Debi's road rage, watched the deer, and had a great Christmas Lunch with all the trimmings. Afterwards we shared gifts and Santa was good again! The best gifts were those for Keira. I really enjoy opening things for her!! Debi and Patrick got her some really cute clothes, bibs, socks, hats, and shoes. They also got her a pink bath tub! Whoo hoo! We were also given a digital picture frame, I got a really pretty necklace, and Stephen got several other things. Debi and Patrick also let us know that they are going to be getting us Keira's travel system which includes the car seat and stroller! Yeah! Now we just need to pick between the two we have picked out. I can't wait to get it! It is awesome that all her stuff is already coming together!

All in all, Christmas was great. I am really looking forward to next Christmas where Keira and Sissy Lemley will be the stars of the show back home and Keira will be at Debi's. I can't wait to put her in her Christmas dress!! I'm sure Stephen is cringing at the thought! :) Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas!

Friday, December 19, 2008

Christmas Vacation!!

I am officially on Vacation!!! Whoo hoo!! This week has been so long, and I am sure that the next two will fly by. We had our Polar Express Day Thursday at school and man were the kids crazy! If I could drink I would have had a bottle of wine last night. Today was our Christmas party. My room moms did a great job and went way out of their way to give me some awesome gifts! Let me tell you that Christmas at Elm Grove is WAY different than Christmas at Houston. I was given a Target gift card, Starbucks card, Babies R Us card, a bag full of super cute Carter's clothes that I was dying to buy, and several other things. My kiddos' parents are awesome!

Now, I plan on spending the next two weeks sleeping! :)

Halfway through!


Here's the belly at 20 weeks! Some days it is way bigger than others, and maybe its just certain shirts! I should be hitting a big growth spurt soon which has me excited and nervous! Hopefully I can remember to take a picture every week so I can look back at this time.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Ignore My Last Post....

'Cause I was wrong! We went to the doctor yesterday and found out that we are having a little girl! At first the tech didn't know if she would be able to tell since small fry was not in the "goods showing" position. So why looked at other areas while we waited for her to move around. I had drank some OJ about and hour before our appointment in hopes that it would make her move around. Apparently she was not happy that her secret would be out today because at one point, the tech zoomed in on her face to show us she was frowning! Poor thing! But finally, after some measurements were taken of her LONG legs, she flipped around and showed the world that she is indeed a she! We finished up looking at her arms, heart, brain, spine, kidneys, etc. All look to be in great condition and no sign of anything wrong!! Towards the end, the tech was trying to get some good profile shots and she stretched her arms and her legs out as far as they would go. It was very cute. If she keeps that up, Stephen will be feeling her kick in no time. At one point it looked like she kicked and punched all at the same time! Her heartbeat was 148, lower than what it had been, but still great. The doctor says my weight gain is perfect, even though I still am not showing a whole lot. Halfway through and already at 15 pounds. Eeek! Its all for a good cause though right??

Here are some pictures of her!!


Profile shot as she kicked me!










Another profile stretched out. Its good to know she can get comfy in there!







Look at those long legs! And they aren't even completely straight!









Her hands crossed in front of her face. Better get all that arm crossing out of the way now!








Feet!





We stopped by Babies R Us on our way home from my Uncle Frank's funeral on Wednesday to begin registering. We still are not 100% sure of any of the big stuff, but we'll make the decision eventually! We did however find out that the crib we both loved was on sale! So, we bought it! We don't have it yet, but we will by the middle of next week. We can't put it together until we get the floors done up there. But hopefully Stephen can knock that out soon.

Other than that, not a whole lot going on. I have one more week of school before Christmas Break. Thank goodness for the vacation! I am so tired. My kiddos are sweet and I will miss them over the holiday, but I am ready to sleep in! We will be going to my Mom and Dads Christmas Eve and then to his Moms on Christmas Day. Sometime while I am off, Stephen is planning on taking a few days off so we can spend some time together. That will be really nice. I enjoy our days where we don't HAVE to do anything but lounge around. One of my best Christmas breaks was actually the one where he was in between jobs and we spent every day together, plus it iced over right before we went back to school so we had extra days together!

We thats it. I am going to get boy to take a picture soon. I have to get better at taking them!!!

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Wow!

Okay, so this child has to be a boy! Why you ask? Because it has seemed to find how to drive me nuts! It is going to be a little Stephen I just know it! :) I have been feeling it move a lot lately and it seems like once it starts moving it doesn't stop. Right now it feels like a tickle, but it is getting stronger. I can't wait for Stephen to be able to feel it kick so he knows its in there moving around! As I type it is moving around!

I love it the most in the early morning when I am lying down in bed. When I put my hands on the belly I can feel exactly where the baby is. It surprised Stephen to feel how hard it is where the baby is. I still get comments on how I don't look 18 1/2 weeks pregnant, so I guess that is why I can feel where it is so easily!

We go to the doctor this Thursday to find out what it is. I am looking forward to going shopping afterwards for some gender specific clothes! I know I am very anxious to find out, and I assume Stephen is just as excited. I just wish he'd show it more! Keep your fingers crossed for healthy!!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

18 Weeks Down!

Wow! 18 Weeks! Seems like just yesterday I was excited to be at 10! Now we are almost halfway through! Let the stress begin! Ha! Here's a rundown of recent events!

  • Thanksgiving Break was a much needed event. I love my kiddos at school, but I am tired! I have hit that point where I want to just sleep all day! I am down to 18 kids now and the change was a blessing. There truly is someone looking out for people! Without discussing, the change was made and now I feel like my kiddos can have the environment they need to learn. I only hope the best for the rugrat that left and its new teacher! But, aside from that, I am LOVING my kiddos. They are a super sweet, smart, caring group.
  • Stephen recevied a promotion at work and I can officially talk about it! He has been promoted to Store Manager and I couldn't be more proud of him. He had been pulling more than his weight for awhile and I am really glad that it didn't go unnoticed. Good work boy! I am very proud of you and thankful for the sacrifices you make for our family. (The dogs are too!)
  • Thanksgiving went off nicely. We stayed here and my sister and her family came down. It was very peaceful; which is the way every Thanksgiving needs to be! We will, however, be making the trek down south for Christmas... mmm stress for Christmas. Can't wait!
  • Stephen's Mom and Step-Dad are selling their house in Canyon Lake. They are building a house here in our subdivision. The move has its good and bad points. I really love his mom right now, adn would hate for anything to ruin our relationship. It will be nice for the kids to grow up near their Grandma though.
  • We are working on decorating the house for Christmas. The tree is up and so are the other decorations inside. The rope lights are put out outside, but Stephen will still need to put the lights on the house. One of the first things we thought when we bought this house was that it would be beautiful with Christmas lights, and it is!
  • Finally, Jelly Bean. He/She has been a lot more active. I still have days when I don't feel it moving, but more often than not it is squirming around. Is that a good or bad thing?! I still don't really think that I look like I am almost halfway through a pregnancy and some people have a hard time believing that I am as far along as I am. I guarantee though... I have gained weight! I see it every morning! We go to the doctor on the 11th for our big ultrasound and we are VERY excited! I cannot wait to buy gender specific clothes and call it by its name itstead of its nicknames! We have the crib choices down to two and will hopefully we making a decision soon. I am already getting excited about registering and having baby showers! Plus, I get to plan another baby shower for a very close friend of mine and it'll be all pink and girly!! :)

Well I guess that sums it up for now. I'll see if I can get the boy to take a belly picture tonight! I only have that one from week 10! So much for having a week-by-week scrapbook. Maybe we can be more diligent in the last half!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Getting Ready for Turkey Day!

Well my FAVORITE holiday is right around the corner. I have spent the last two weekends cleaning the house. This is really not necessary since it will only be us, skister and her family and clay, but i still feel the need. I must say I love our house when it is really clean. If only we could keep it this way!

Thanksgiving truly is my favorite holiday. There is just something wonderful about spending the day with your closest family and friends and enjoying a nice relaxing delicious meal. Oh and browsing the Black Friday ads of course! This year will be tough to do without my glass of wine though!!

My last day of work is Tuesday and then I will be off until December 1st. Boy will be off Wednesday and Thursday so that will be nice. We rarely get to spend days off together. And what makes it even better is that you can start decorating for Christmas the next day!! Ha!

Tuesday marks 17 weeks for us. Seems like it has flown by, and we are getting so close to finding out pink or blue. A very close friend of mine found out that she is having a girl just last week. I am so happy for her and her family, and it makes me want to know what mine is even more! :)

Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!! Gobble gobble!

Monday, November 17, 2008

Maternity Clothes are MAGNIFICENT!

Who knew that elastic could be SO amazing! Delana took me shopping this weekend and I found some great new clothes that fit!! Whoo hoo!! I felt amazing today at work not having to squish into my jeans. Thank you so much for going with me Skister. You are amazing in more ways than you will ever know. I am so glad that I got to experience this and all the other fun stuff with your help and guidance! Love you!! :)

Tomorrow marks week 16. Seems longer than that, but then seems like we just found out yesterday! Crazy how it all works. I went to the doctor last Friday for a normal check up and everything is still going great. The doctor said that my weight gain is perfect, which is good because I was afraid I had gained too much. She explained all the aches and pains and of course listened to the heartbeat. It is still in the 150s, which is what it has been all along. I also set the date for our big appointment.... the one where we find out pink or blue!! The big date is December 11 at 3:30. I am very excited and I hope that the time goes quickly!! I can't wait to call this child by its name instead of Jelly Bean or Kit Kat or The Baby!

Oh, one last thing, think pink Thursday!! :)

Monday, November 3, 2008

Test result are in!

Forgot to mention that I heard from my doctor last Friday about the results from the First Trimester Screening for Downs! She said that everything looks normal! Measurements and blood work all looks good. We were never worried, but it is a relief to know that the baby is healthy! Thank god! 14 week picture coming soon!

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Halloween



Our last Halloween as just us and the dogs has come and gone. I am really looking forward to dressing up the baby next year. Maybe then Peanut will get a break! Yeah right... we already have plans for her to be a rooster! Here are some pictures of her and Stephen. The penguin is still going strong in year 4. I was a witch because I knew I could fit into a black skirt and shirt! Hope you all had a great Halloween.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

12 weeks and counting!

Time for a new update! Weeks 10-12 have been pretty much the same as before... nausea, headache, hungry, tired, repeat. At the end of week 10, I started getting a really bad headache that would not go away. I was taking the 8 tylenol that I am allowed in a day and it wasn't doing anything. I got to week 12 and only knowing that I would be seeing my doctor on the 24th got me through!

We went to the doctor on the 22nd for the first trimester screening for Downs. They take a measurement of the nuchal fold on the baby's neck and they also do a blood test, so yehaw I got stuck AGAIN. Second time of many. One of the main reasons we decided to do the test is so that we would see the baby again! Since I am just a normal pregnancy with no issues (thank god), we don't get to see the baby at every appointment like my sister. I would take my boat over her boat any day though! (Love you Skister and your critter!) It is amazing how much the baby has changed! We could see its little toes and fingers, nose, backbone, throat, and tummy! The tech said that since we could see the nose bone,it was a good sign. Apparently babies with Downs do not have pronounced nose bones. The baby was moving around so much! The tech even made the comment "as soon as it stops moving I can take the measurement". Definitely Stephen's child! Here are the latest pictures of our little candy bar. It is a little bigger than your pinky right now, so we are having a hard time finding a candy to relate it to! The last one is of its face, still a little alien-ish, but you can see the eye sockets and nose bone.









On Friday, I went back to my doctor for a routine checkup. Everything sounded good (heartbeat at 158) and she gave me some meds for the headache. I also got a flu shot which was worse than I thought it would be. The needle itself.... cake, the serum.... painful. My arm still hurts two days later. I got home that night and took one of the pills for the headache and then slept for 16 hours. Woke up, headache gone! Thank goodness! This week we will be entering the second trimester! Hopefully all these fantastic pregnancy symptoms will start to go away!

On the home front, Stephen has almost finished the floors downstairs. I am about two feet away from having a toilet downstairs again and not having to climb upstairs nine times a night to pee! :) On the 15th, Stephen's father came in with a truck load of trees and shrubs for the house. He and Stephen spent the day planting! It's like living in a new place! Here are some pictures of the new plants!

The first is a magnolia, then a red bud, then 8 crepe myrtles along the fence, and finally a dogwood. All of these are in the front yard.





The dogwood is small, but
hopefully it will make
it!









These are in the backyard. There is a red oak, a Cleveland pear, and Bradford pear, and eight oleanders. The oleanders are very established and some are blooming! They are going to be beautiful next spring!





















Thats all for now. Hopefully this week I can get Stephen to take a new picture of my expanding stomach! Until then.....

Saturday, October 11, 2008

10 Week Picture

Here's me at 10 weeks. I think Stephen took like 20 pictures.



This week at work was tough. I was really nauseous every day but Friday. Here's hoping this ends soon! It is neat that I am finally starting to show though! Too bad I just feel fat! Ha! I am really looking forward to seeing my family again so they can see the changes!

Stephen has been really helpful this week though. He really understands that there isn't much he can do to make me feel better, but he tries so hard! Love you Stephen!

We go to the doctor again on October 22nd and the 24th. The 22nd will be the first trimester screening, and the 24th is just a normal appointment. I'm looking forward to the appointment AFTER this one because hopefully at that one we will find out if it is a girl or a boy! I am getting very impatient!

Thats all for now. I'll post a new pic next week.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

An update.. with Pictures!

I guess it's time for an update!

We went to our first appointment on September 25th and everything is looking good! The baby is measuring right on schedule for May 5, 2009. Stephen was really excited to see the baby and hear the heartbeat. The doctor said "Look at your little peanut" and we quickly told her that we already have a Peanut at home and that this little one would need a different nickname. So we came up with Jelly Bean. We are going to try to stick with candy nicknames until it is too big to be a candy anymore. Week nine it became The Whopper. :) We will go back on October 22nd for the first trimester screening and then I will go back on October 24th for my second appointment with our doctor.


We let the secret out to my parents that weekend and then we were of to Dallas for the cowboy's game. We had a great weekend and the baby got to go to its first professional sporting event! Stephen really enjoyed the champagne that was arranged to be delivered to our room, and I sat back and wished I could have some! I did however enjoy the chocolate covered strawberries!

Lucky for me, the weekend was uneventful in the morning sickness, well all-day-sickness actually. It was really nice to not feel on the verge of loosing my cookies for two days! And to make things better, we got to have some Braum's ice cream... twice!

Monday morning, it was back to normal. Bring on the crackers! I am so ready for this FANTASTIC part of being pregnant to be over so that I can enjoy this experience!

This weekend I attacked the baby room. Currently it is a guest room and is filled with all of our games and my scrapbooking stuff. We are planning to rip out the carpet and replace it with the same flooring that we have downstairs now. So I cleaned up the room and emptied the closet! I didn't think I would get as much accomplished as I did, but it is ready to have the bed moved out and the carpet ripped up! One step at a time though! I did put the few things that we have bought for The Whopper in the closet. It is so hard not to just sit in there and stare at those tiny onesies!

We haven't taken any belly pictures yet, but we will start this week as we enter week 10. Hopefully I can remember to take a picture each Tuesday. I wish I would have started once we found out since I have already seen some "enhancements". And as Stephen says, they'll never be the same again! Ha!

Well that's all for now! Hopefully I will remember to update in a few days!!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

And baby makes three!!

Stephen and I are expecting our first child!! We are so excited! We are due May 5, 2009, but are hoping to be a little late! I don't want a Cinco de Mayo child! But of course as long as everyone is healthy, I'll take anytime.

We found out August 27th, and go to our first appointment September 25th at 4:00, so keep us in your thoughts!

Oh, my parents don't know yet. So if you know them, DON'T spill the beans! :)

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Two Weeks Done

Well week two of school involved one new child on Tuesday, who I might add is a screaming/crier/spoiled/ (and this is so bad) annoying child. I only hope she changes and one day her mother makes her do things for herself. Week two also added the promise of another new student on Monday that will most likely be my nemisis. Another repeat offender with issues! God knows I love them and want them ALL in my room. Apparently the administration doesn't look at the issues already in a class before they add more. They only look at numbers. But hey, they did make me teacher of the week. The teacher who got it last week was the one who was moved from 1st grade to 5th grade. Looks like if you want Teacher of the Week you have to be shit on.

Thank goodness I have my fantastic sister to vent to almost daily. She listens and doesn't judge and throws in her amazing advice every once in awhile! Dee, expect more phone calls!

Other than that, I am really starting to get attached to most of my kiddos. We are working on sight words, kid writing, letter sounds, and grouping. And they have been so flexible with everything that went down this week.

Two weeks down, 34 to go. Well actually only 30 for me! Ha!

Saturday, August 30, 2008

One Week Down....

35 to go!!!

My first week of school is officially over! And thank God its a three day weekend! I need the sleep; I am exhausted. My body just could not handle the energy required to complete this week.

The week was good in several ways:
1. No criers!
2. So far it seems I have a bright bunch.
3. The parents are SUPER nice and only want to help their kids.
4. Learning the school procedures wasn't too bad.
5. Every kid got home safe; this was my first time actually doing a dismissal that involves a way to get home other than by car!
6. Parent Orientation didn't kill me!
8. Francine the Frog was found safe and sound. :) (She's our class mascot in stuffed form)
7. Oh, and I turned 25! On the first day of school to boot!


Hopefully it gets better from here on out! Week two involves starting Phonics, the letter L, the word LIKE, starting computer time, pre-assessments.... the list goes on! What a change from Houston Elementary!

Oh, and for those who know me well, Stephen and I found out some awesome news this week too! More on that later though!

Here's to week 2 of 36!!

Saturday, August 16, 2008

And the verdict is....

NO SURGERY!!!

Thank God! I couldn't handle that right now! The doctor put him in an air cast, which was expensive... so don't ever plan on buying one. He is still hobbling around in quite a bit of pain, but he has pain meds. I call his boot the robo-boot. :)

No progress on the floor. He said he would work on them this week, but that did not happen. I'd almost rather him wait til he actually felt that he could do them with minimal pain. I really don't want him messing up his foot more than it already is.

I officially went back to work this week. My last summer child free (hopefully) is over. Kind of depressing, but its a good depressing. I hadn't really been too stressed out about work until yesterday when it hit me that I have two full pages of to-dos on my to-do list. Yeah I was stressed about the furniture, or lack there of, but that all came into place thanks in part to my awesome sister. But now as back to school night approaches, I AM STRESSED!! There is so much I still need to do. So today I will be out and about hopefully making all the purchases I need to make... driving way up to IKEA in Delana's neck of the woods, then over to 290 so that I can hit Target and Teacher Heaven, then over to 35 and Slaughter so that I can go to Hobby Lobby and Target again if the first one doesn't have what I want! Then it'll be off to the school til 7:00, and I need to be productive!! At least thats what I'm telling myself.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Broken Foot Anyone??

I am the clutz in this relationship. This we have both known since day one. But low and behold, I am not the one with the broken foot. On Wednsday night, my super human husband broke his foot. He stepped weird, thats what we're saying. It swelled and bruised, but he thought maybe just a bad sprain. The next day we decided to float the river one last time before I went back to work. Stephen did not enjoy himself at all. So Friday we made the great trek to the doctor, after finally finding one that would fit him in. X-rays were made and indeed it was broken. I was a little happy in the fact that I didn't over-react for once. He was told to get a post op shoe (which he hasn't) and to stay off of it (which he hasn't). Then we needed to go see a Podiatrist to see if surgery will be needed or just a cast.

Stephen goes to the Podiatrist today at 3:00 to hear the verdict. Cross your fingers that pins are not in his near future.

All the while.... my floors are still not finished. My dishwasher is in the dining room, the stove inthe middle of the kitchen, no toilet in the downstairs bathroom, TV is upstairs and the couches are all shoved up against the wall. Hopefully Stephen will get the ok to be a little active again and will feel up to working onthe floors again soon. I just hope they are done by my birthday... which is 14 days away just incase you wanted to know.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

New Floors

Well, on a trip to home depot to get supplies to tile the upstairs bathrooms and laundry room we ran into laminate that we both loved; which was also on sale. We stared at it for a while and decided to bring a box home to see how it looked in the house. We layed it out and both thought it looked good. So the next day we decided to go buy it... enough for the entire downstairs.

After making the BIG purchase, we came home and began ripping up the current floors. Now five days in we are still not finished. We have the entire living room, half the dining, and half the entry finished. Pictures to come.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

The boy's gift!

So I've working on Stephen's birthday present, and I think I am almost finished. He has absolutely no clue what it is. He has asked if he can get it on his birthday, which would be tricky if it was big because we will be in Las Vegas on his birthday. I told him yes, he would get it on his birthday. Hopefully I can keep it from him for that long! I will need to sneak it into my luggage of course.

The AMAZING gift that I bought him for his 27th birthday is this... two tickets to the Dallas Cowboys v. Washington Redskins and a night in a really great suite. The hotel is giving us a free bottle of champagne, chocolate covered strawberries, breakfast for two, and late check out. Whoo hoo! Stephen has been a huge Cowboys fan for forever and he has never been to a game. What makes this even better is this is the last season in Texas Stadium! He's gonna love it! The game is September 28th. All that I need to get still is a parking pass and to make reservations for dinner once we get a little closer to the date. I am gonna buy a cheap-o Cowboys shirt and lay this under it in a shirt box. He'll think he's just getting a t-shirt!

Of course I turned the surprise into a scrap project, and with some creative advice from my fantastic sister, it turned out like this!

It has a pocket! So cute! I love it and it was super easy to make.


These are my fake tickets. The real ones won't get here until August.

This is the Weekend Itinerary. Inside has a run-down of the things planned for the weekend.
I really hope he loves it. I always feel like I let him down with gifts, but hopefully this one will be hard to beat!

Monday, June 23, 2008

The Lake

Ah, the lake. This is mom and dads week to be at the condo, so I went up there Saturday morning to hang out. I love being there. We've been going as a family to the same condo, the same week just about every year for over 20 years now. Once I got there, it felt like I was completely relaxed. It just felt like all these memories flooded back, and it hit me! Just about all of my really early childhood memories are from that place! Wow.

Well I got there Saturday morning and it was Mom and Dad, Delana, Aaron, and Nathan. We hung out and played Wii. Nathan took a nap and we played dominoes. We eventually went to the pool and let Nathan run wild. After boyboy went to sleep the five of us stayed up late turning Mexican Train Dominoes into a drinking game. It was fantastic! Sunday we did just about the same thing, but were joined by Kevin around 4:00.

I left around 6:45 so that I could get home to my boy who had the house to himself. I was sad to leave my family; I feel like I don't see them enough. Stephen and I will be going back later in the week.

To my family.... love you bunches. Can't wait til next year.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Things Hapening Recently

Time for another update!

Miller has taken his last dose of pain meds. He is doing SO much better. He is still a little cautious about umping on the bed, but all in all almost bak to our good old Miller.

Stephen's dad came up yesterday and we floated to San Marcos River. Happy to report that neither Stephen or I got sunburned. It was a very relaxing afternoon. Afterwards we all came back to our house and grilled some steaks. David stayed the night and left to go back to Katy this morning.

My family will be at their lake condo this week. My parents, sister, brother in law, and nephew will be going there tonight through Monday. I will most likely go there tomorrow and spend the night. My brother and his friend will be going there Sunday through Wednesday. I have huge plans of playing dominoes and drinking "sippies" with my sister! Oh and play their new Wii!! Whoo hoo!!

Saturday, June 14, 2008

pictures

Peanut and her Miller. This has been them since yesterday.

Miller all doped up.

Peanut is there for support.



My hair! Its short and I'm sunburned!


Miller Update and New Tile and a Haircut

Here's an update on the Mill Pill...

He survived yesterday. He slept pretty much the entire afternoon end evening. We all fell asleep on the couch around 10:15-ish after the Astros game was over. (They lost for those wondering, 2-1) Stephen got home around 2:45 and were able to let the dos eat a little of Peanut's birthday cake. They loved it! Then Miller was dosed up with another round of pain meds. My non-thinking husband allowed Miller to go upstairs on his own and jump into the bed. Good that he could actually do those things, but he really shouldn't be until he's feeling MUCH better. She slept really well throughout the night, but I can tell he is still really hurting this morning. I think I will be splitting up his pain meds so that he is pain free all day. I'll give him one around noon and the other probably around 8 tonight. He gets them twice a day, so that should help a bit. Right now he is laying on his big pillow on the couch with a heating pad on his back! Poor Pills! Peanut has been a great little sister, she has been cuddling with him and giving him his space when he needs it.

Forgot to mention in my last post that we got tile at Lowe's yesterday morning. It was on sale and we liked the color. So we got enough to tile the master bathroom, guest bathroom, and laundry room. I'm sure we will be borrowing David's tile saw. Hopefully this project will be done by the end of the summer. Stephen has tiled before and maybe we can have David come up and help make it go faster. He re-tiled his living/dining/hallway and it looks great. This will be the first major re-do to the house and a big step towards new floors downstairs. We have been looking at hardwoods, but haven't found the dark color we want yet for a reasonable price. The search continues.

And a haircut. Boy always said that I never cut it short like I wanted to, so I surprised him. I made a secret appointment after I went to the doctor last wednesday and chopped it off! It's short, chin length and choppy. Really cute. I'll post a picture when its straightened!

Friday, June 13, 2008

what a crappy day!

a day that should have been so much fun... ends up being crap. well for everyone but stephen. maybe i'm still a little irritated!

today is peanut's 4th birthday. we had big plans for waking up early, taking the dogs on a lowes trip, going to petsmart so peas could pick out her birthday toy and then going to 5 mile dam so the dogs could play in the water. then we'd come home, have some dog birthday cake and the dogs would nap. we would go to houston to see the astros/yankees game... first time ever that they've played each other. and take a slice of b-day cake to BayBay.

well things went well til petsmart where miller the idiot dog apparently screwed up his back jumping into the envoy. we get home ans he is yelping every time you touch him, can't jump onto the couch, walk up the stairs, or squat to do his business. after 20 or so yelps, i give up and make a vet appointment only to find out that the only time available would be at 2:00; an hour after we needed to leave to go to houston. so, being the wife of a man who has an astros tattoo, i knew i needed to step up and tell him to go to the game without me. i'd take miller to the vet.

all the while.... peanut is having the shittiest birthday ever.

so i take mills to the vet and of course they are packed; like 12 other dogs. the wait isn't very long, but poor mills can't sit on the hard floor so he stands... yelping. they think he just pulled something in his back and sent me home with two types of pain meds for him. poor guy. very frustrating for me having to deal with him and other dogs, but we made it through.

so we head home only to have to stop and sell a kidney, AKA buy gas, and then get stuck on I35 because they are putting up a new sign!! stopped i tell you, 0 mph. we make it home and i dosed up mills with peanut butter/pain pills. and he is still sleeping them off 4 hours later. yes he's alive i've checked.

all the while peanuts birthday still sucks.

i feel terrible for her, but i promised her cake when daddy gets home. at 2:30 in the morning. it won't even be her birthday anymore.

hope he enjoys the game. oh, and he owes me... BIG TIME.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

An Update...

Did I mention that I LOVE summer vacation?? What is better than being paid to sleep in and working around the house? I have officially been on vacation since the 5th! Whoo Hoo!!

It was good and sad to leave J. Houston this year. This was my last year as a teacher there. Thanks to an amazing colleague and previous professor, I finally got my foot into Hays CISD! Next year I will be the newest Kindergarten teacher at Elm Grove Elementary. It is a fantastic school with awesome scores. And to boot, there's a day care in the school that our kids will be able to go to. I am so excited about this new adventure; and I don't think Stephen realizes what we've gotten into. This school will be so much different than Houston was. Parental involvement, school programs, functions, etc. It will be a lot more demanding, but its what I've always wanted.

So for the last 2 weeks I have been sorting and packing up all of my school stuff and to my surprise I have collected an enormous amount of stuff!! Our garage is full and Stephen is beyond irritated by the "smell of my classroom". But the other Kinder teachers let me know that the Kinder wing is the first to be cleaned and re-opened, so hopefully my stuff will only be invading for a month or so. Needless to say I am EXCITED!!!

Coming up for us....

June 20-27 Mom and Dad at the Lake House
June 27 Astros v. Red Sox in Houston
July 13-19 Las Vegas Vacation!!!
July 17 Stephen's 27th B-day (Woo Hoo we'll be in Vegas!)

Thats all for now... laundry is calling!!

~Heather

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Things lately...

I love to teach, I love my students.... but I REALLY love to sleep late! I have twelve work days left until my second paid summer vacation and I cannot wait! I will definitely miss this class; they were so much better than last years. They keep me on my toes and keep me laughing. I would love to move up with them, but who knows what kind of class I'd miss out on next year!

As for the boy, things are still going great at work. They offered our close friend Clay a position there as well so that is good. It'll be nice ot have him around again. He keeps things interesting.

We are still working on things here at the house. Stephen found some great, cheap barstools from Pottery Barn. We upholstered them and now they are ready to go! I think its a record for us; bought and finished within 24 hours and no major arguments! We also got an ottoman for the end of the bed. I guess thats our stimulus check! Here's a picture of the new barstools. There are four total.

Stephen has also been working really hard on getting the yard up to his standards and I am patiently waiting the arrival of new bulbs for the flower bed!

Well that's about it for now! But I'm sure something new will be going on soon!

~Heather

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Post Number One!

Well, after becoming addicted to checking some blogs over the last few months I decided it was time to start one of my own. As for now I think it'll just be about the boy and me. You know, a re-cap of us and the things we've done and we are doing. So if you are or might be interested in what the Redburns are up to, this is the place to find out!

Hopefully by the end of the year it can be more about the start of our family. :)