4 Weeks = Telling our Families

We decided to tell our immediate families right away since, God forbid, if anything were to happen they would be able to help us through it. Anyway, we picked up a few gifts from Target and went on our merry way.

We ended up calling Danielle to tell her since she lives in Kansas. Brian asked her if they were coming up for Christmas this year and she said she wasn't sure and then he asked if they were coming up in January and while she was trying to think about it Brian said, "Because that is when your niece or nephew will be here." He is SOOO cute!! She was so happy and excited for us and said she would definitely be here!

It was really hard for me NOT to spill the beans to my mom! We talk pretty often and I had a Stampin' Up event to go to with her on Friday the 24th, but we wanted to tell Mom and Dad together on the 25th so I had to wait. :( It was worth it though! We went over to Mom and Dad's house on the 25th for lunch and we brought them a present guised as a Mother's Day present that Mom could use when we went scrapbooking on the 25th. We had Dad open the card and Mom open the present at the same time but Mom wanted to wait until Dad opened the card but Dad read the first few words, "To the Grandparents-To-Be" and threw it in the air and we were all waiting for Mom to open the present. She carefully opened it and saw that it was a photo album with a spot for a picture on the front where I placed a photo of the positive test and underneath the picture there was a tag that said, "Grandkids!" She saw it and started to cry - that is where I get it - and we all hugged! It was GREAT!!

To tell Angie and Maria I made little newborn onesies that read, "Auntie Angie Loves Me!" or "Auntie Maria Loves Me" and we got them bibs that said, "I Love Auntie." I told Angie when she came to visit us (Mom and me) at Archiver's and she said, "Really?!" and started to cry and hug us. And we told Maria while she was at work. She thought she was going to see the puppies but we were there instead!

We gave Brian's parents the same card we gave mine. Bruce opened it, smiled and gave us hugs. He said congratulations and that he was so happy for us! Sharon was excited too and looked like she had ants in her pants she was jumping around so much!!

We are slowly telling more people but we don't want to tell too early as we JUST found out!

We'll keep you updated here though!


Baby V is growing:
He is about the size of a poppy seed. His eyes, organs, ears, arms and legs are just starting to form! Only 252 days left!

Teresa is Pregnant!

That's right, on April 23rd I took two home pregnancy tests and both came back positive! The first one came back with a definite line and a really faint line and the second (after school) came back with "yes+" because it was a digital test. I was beside myself and couldn't really concentrate at my last after school class of the year!

After the first test on my way to school I called my doctor to schedule a blood test for today (Friday, the 24th). When I got there around 11:20, the nurse who took my blood said that she would get the results around 2pm because even though the test takes an hour or so, the lab closes for an hour for lunch. During mine at 1:05 I was fidgety and anxious but I got a call at 1:15 saying that it was positive! I called Brian right away and started crying!!

We are so blessed!

Ice Fishing = A LOT of Fun!!

Last night Brian and Bruce took me ice fishing for the very first time in my life!I had never wanted to: 1)be out on a frozen lake, 2)drill holes into the lake or 3)drive onto said frozen lake with a vehicle that someone uses everyday! But, this is something that Brian really enjoys and I want to at least try those things instead of shutting them out. So, yesterday we bundled up and got over to Bruce's around 3pm. We piled into the truck and headed for Prior Lake. We got there and Bruce and Brian took off their seat belts - a precaution - which, even though Brian had told me about it, really freaked me out. Another thing that would have really freaked me out, had it actually happened, would have been the creaking of the ice. I think it did, but I didn't hear it because it was covered with snow. We unloaded the truck, drilled the holes, set up the house and zipped ourselves inside. (When I say "we unloaded" I really mean "they unloaded" and I just did whatever they asked me to do!)


We only caught about 5 fish, but it was a lot of fun! I caught 2 fish and it was really neat to see my little spring bob when something was biting! I told Brian that I wouldn't mind going out again, as long as he didn't mind me asking him to help me put the minnows on or take the fish off. I am able to do it after a few times, but it still is really gross to me!

Who would have thought that I would actually go ice fishing... and like it!?

Weekend Getaway

Last weekend Brian and I went to visit our beautiful niece Isabelle and her family. They live in Kansas so we got up early on Friday and drove down. Everyone kept saying that Iowa is boring, but I found it relaxing. There's not much to it, but I was amazed at how many windmills we saw! When we first crossed over into Iowa, there were a ton of them! Then as it became less flat (and more hilly) we didn't see any.

While we looked at the scenery in Iowa, we looked at the houses in Missouri. There are some beautiful and HUGE houses on the way to Kansas - who knew?! We kept saying, "Oh my, look at that house!" Unfortunately, we didn't stop to take pictures of these houses because we either wanted to get to Mike and Danielle's house, or to ours!

It was a relief (to me) once we made it to their house because we encountered rain, sleet, and snow on our journey. We got to the house, unpacked, and Isabelle was just waking up from her nap. Perfect timing!

Over the next 3 days we got to read, play, sing, eat, and talk with Isabelle and Danielle - it was wonderful! We went to Union Station in Kansas City (Missouri), saw the Kansas Speedway, and visited the Leavenworth Army post where Mike works. The whole trip was wonderful and relaxing! We were sad to leave, but I am sure they were all happy to get back into their own routines.

Oh, and something a little odd... on our way to the Curley house we came upon an incredibly beautiful building - I am talking really beautiful! As we kept driving we realized it was... the Federal Prison!! I couldn't even believe it! I wonder if they offer visits, it would be interesting to see if the inside is as beautiful as the outside.

We'll work on getting pictures up soon, and maybe even a video or two as well!

My Favorite Time of Year

Christmas time is my favorite time of year for a lot of reasons. 1) I like getting all bundled up and cuddling with Brian. 2) Certain cookies are only made at this time of year - yum! 3) Families and friends make time to travel to see each other. 4) Snow! 5) Carols and other fun songs. 6) Decorating the tree and the house. The list could go on, but I will stop here.

This year we were able to celebrate with our beautiful God Daughter Isabelle, our immediate families, and Dolores (Brian's Grandma). It was so wonderful to see Isabelle enjoy this time of year! She loved the ornaments on the tree - but didn't rip them off) and she love the ribbons on her presents! The love of the actual presents will come later on I think.


My sister gave me the greatest gift for Christmas and my birthday - she took me to see Wicked when it was in town!! It was INCREDIBLE and I can't thank her enough!!! We had amazing seats, the actors were awesome and it has stayed so vividly in my mind that I can't believe it. We went to the Orpheum for the show, which is beautiful inside. There wasn't a whole lot of room between our seats and the seats in front of us but we made do - hello, it was Wicked! Here is a picture Ang took from our seats after the performance. I wouldn't take it because I didn't want to get in trouble in case we weren't allowed to take them. No one ended up saying anything but I didn't have her take any more. If you liked the Wizard of Oz and have wondered about the early days - before Dorothy and Toto, then I suggest reading the book and seeing the performance!

Cookie Fest 2008!

So for the last few years, my family has had a Cooke Fest before Christmas to make cookies. We get to my mom's house and start baking early in the morning and continue to bake and talk throughout the day. It is really fun and I look forward to it every year!

This year was a blast - we made Brian's favorite cookie (which I had never made before and even had to call Sharon to make sure I understood the recipe), peanut butter blossoms (my favorites), Swiss Treats, Pizzelles, Rolo Delights, Date Balls, and Caramels. Like I said, it was a blast and I am already looking forward to next year!



It was kinda sad though because my sister Angie couldn't make it until after 5 and Brian wasn't there because he was hunting. We still had fun with out them, and Maria even felt so bad she burned her finger on hot caramel in remembrance of when Ang burned herself (though she was talking on the phone while making bacon).

When it was time to go home, the rain we had in the morning had frozen my doors shut and driving back to Brian was slow and a little scary as the ice was now covered in a little snow. Oh well, I made it safe and sound AND we are still enjoying the goodness that is homemade Christmas cookies!

Halloween

There is a part of me that really loves Halloween...

I love seeing all of the kids dressed up, and I love their reactions to seeing my parents' puppies in their own costumes. I would love it if I were able to see all of my students in their costumes, but I have students from all over St. Paul so that is sadly, not possible.

Another thing I love about Halloween is chili! When I was little my mom made chili for Halloween. This is a tradition that she has continued and we (the girlies) always look forward to our bowl every year. She also makes her own pumpkin seeds that are delicious! We always meet over at Mom and Dad's house, walk the puppies around the block, then have a bowl of chili and wait for the adorable kids from around the area.

Then there is a part of me that really doesn't like Halloween...

This year there were a lot of older kids trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. There were some dressed as ninjas and sumo wrestlers, but there were also a lot of girls in VERY revealing costumes. When did it become THE purpose of Halloween to wear as little as possible? That is the part of Halloween I don't like!

Sheesh!

Hunting

No, I am not hunting, Brian is. He makes a trip to Colorado each October to hunt for elk with his Dad and his Uncle. This year his Cousin was able to join him - so they should be having a blast. He asked me if I wanted to go and I said, "Are there flushable toilets around?" Needless to say, he was sad but hasn't asked me again. So while he is off in search of elk and beautiful landscape pictures I am at home... cleaning!

I have straightened up, finished the dishes, did the laundry, cleaned the rug downstairs (though you can't really tell - well I can't), and tonight I am going to tackle the bathrooms and the second bedroom closet from the August post (I haven't gotten to that or Danielle's pizza). I am so excited I can't even stand it!

OH!! Today, Sharon has agreed to sew more chair pockets for my classroom! For those of you who don't know a teacher - we are ALWAYS looking for storage solutions. Chair pockets are fabric pockets that fit over the back of a chair to store supplies in. Since I have tables in my room I really wanted them to cut down on transition times, but they were selling in the store for $10 -$14 ($8 on sale)! I thought that I could make them cheaper and when I asked Sharon how she would do it - she said that she would help. Well, we made 30 last year and this year I have 34 students so we are making more today! Again - I am SO excited I can't even stand it!!

I should get going now - I have some cleaning to do before I go to Sharon's house! :)