Update

So I thought I would do an update. I am still sick and it seems to be getting worse. I am hanging on to the little bit of hope that during the second trimester (that starts in just two-three hopefully short weeks) things will start to be better! the only upside is that its only a few more days until I get to hear my baby's heartbeat and the ultrasound will show more than a speck! We are very much in the process of moving and I am stressin more and more everyday about the move and getting everything done in time. I stop working December 23rd. Unfortunatly, I work everyday until then at least eight hours. This put my stress at a whole new high. Not only does that cut time short for packing, that means after working an eight hour retail holiday busy shift, I get to go home ad continue to pack up my home until who knows when at night. Boo. On a better note, Mike graduated this last weekend and although I am still tired from staying out late- we had a great time! I am so proud of him and admire him for all of his hard work and ambition. I am glad graduation is over it was definatly a snore and a half but Ms. Paula (my fantastic mother-in-law) fed me peppermint sticks the whole time and we people watched so it was much better than it could've been. I can't wait until its January, because that means all of this stress and work will be behind usand we can get started on our new life!

I Am Sick of Being Sick!

I am so super excited to b e having a baby! BUT I am no longer excited about the naive thought that I would look forward to all of the funny little symptoms that go along with it. To them I say BOO! While I am truly enjoying my beautiful ahem new rack, the joy only lasts a few minutes while getting dressed in the morning because then I realize that I can still smell shampoo and thought of just that smell makes me want to yak! I know it's all worth it in the end, but I want the sickness to stop. I want to be in the "fat, happy pregnant stage" not the "same chunky as I've been perpetually sick phase." Nothing except mac and cheese, oatmeal and cereal taste good and none of that is healthy all the time. The only other thing that sounds good is the Salmon crepes from Double Eagle and I can't even have that! I know, I know, woe is me, millions of women have been through this and more over centuries, but they're not me and I am ready to embarass myself and throw a fit about it if it will stop! Everyone says the second trimester is better and I only have a few weeks until then. I hope it goes by fast!

Thanksgiving Fun..Mostly

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Like always Mike, my mom and I went to Santa Fe to join the Wallers for Thanksgiving. But this year was a little different- I'm pregnant this year. Everyone is so excited and alhtough I felt like I could possibly toss cookies at anytime, the excitement was contagious! Paula bought us the cutest baby outfit! It's gray and white and has a bear on the butt! It also has a hatch in the back! So Cute! We drove down on Tuesday and got up Wednesday morning to find an apartment in Rio Rancho and we did! All before 1pm might I add. It's really cute and not that much more than we are paying now- which is a big feat in Aluquerque! After we found our apartment, we went to lunch with our friend Tricia who will be living all of 10 minutes away and then we went shooping at the best mall- which I might also add is directly across the street from our new apartment...Mike understandibly sees this as more of a problem than something to be excited about!And of course I bought and looked at super cute baby stuff! I got a onesie the says "My Daddy Rocks" Then of course on Thursday we slept late and had turkey at Debbie and Larry's and settled down to look at the sale papers. Because......we got up at 2:30 in the morning to go shopping with Ms. Paula ans Debbie. We only got two hours of sleep. We left the house at 3:00am and by 4:00am we were freezing and standing in line in front of JC Penneys. I know this sounds crazy and it is...but apparetly Paula and Debbie do this every year with great results. After Penney's we went to Sears, Kohls, Wal Mart, Big Lots and Mervyns. I have ever been so tired of shopping by the end I just wanted to go back to bed. But alas, this was not meant to be. Grandma Holly was sent to the Emergency room from the nursing home. She had knee replacement surgery on BOTH knees in September and although is doing pretty well is still having some complications. Poor Paula sat at the emergency room for eight hours with two hours sleep. Grandma Holly ended up with a Baker's cist in one of her legs. Poor thing! Needless to say, we did not end up leaving yesterday as we had planned. We left this morning and went straight to work! I hate when even short vacations end!

November Is Greek for "Life Changing"

This month has totally made up for being the worst year ever! Not only are we getting ready to move- which is stressful and exciting- but I got a new car! This isn't even close to the biggest news- I'm PREGNANT!! I wasn't gonna post it on the blog this soon but my very cute and apparently impatient sister could not keep the secret any longer! It's been hard for me too- but I also know how it is to be an excited aunt! We are so excited an happy to be starting this next great chapter in our lives! I had my first doctor's appointment Wednesday and our baby will be arriving sometime around July 14th which in my opinion is entirely too long to wait! I had an ultra sound and saw that my baby is nothing but a little speck- thus we have dubbed it Speckito Friskito (cuz it blinks at you- courtesy of Mike!) It's also going to be a long time before we find out if the Speckito will turn out to be blue or pink! I don't know how patient I'm going to be able to be!



In other news, right after we found out our fabulous news, we had pictures taken. Mike will be graduating this December hence us moving, so we had Alicia take pictures of him in his grad garb and then our Christmas card pictures. She did a fabulous job! We loved the way they turned out! Here is a sampling of our photo session- Enjoy the formal pictures as well as some of the out takes!

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Ridin' in the Cruiser

So.... after my car completly stopped on another busy street AGAIN... Mike thought it would be wise o get a different car. So after a lot of shopping, which oddly enough is much more boring and stressful then regular shopping, I got a car! I am now the proud owner of a bouncin' 2005 PT Cruiser! I know what you're thinking a PT Cruiser? But yes- I love it! It's way awesome and I feel so good driving it.....pictures are coming soon so stay tuned!

Halloween Party and Wedding?

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This Halloween was a little different from what we usually have. This year we went to a Halloween party the day AFTER Halloween! It was a blast. We went with Alicia, Greg and the girls to one their friends house for a fab party. Their house was amazing! It looked like a house right out of a movie with bay windows, a balcony, and a stone staircase! We had fun eating mini tacos (I don;t kno who thought of that but wow! And they're so cute!) and hanging out! After we left we went to Greg and Alicias to watch Pushing Daisies where I promptly fell asleep- so much for being a party animal - I am getting so old! Mike was hysterical- he went as a redneck-mullet, rotting teeth and all.
The night before- Halloween- we went to a wedding. Strange I know, especially since it was normal wedding, no cotumes nothing. Come to find out the bride scheduled the wedding or that day so her husband would remember their anniversary! Smart girl! It was really beautiful! It was the most fun I had ever had at a wedding- I seem to think I am a dancing queen at weddings! The song Thriller came on and while I don't now the dance, I made it up and apparently everyone thought I knoew what I was doing because they were copying my sweet moves! We had a blast but we are also completly exhausted!

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My Golden Tickets

My wonderful pal Mandy works at one of the hospitals here in Las Cruces. And one day last week she asked if I would be interested in purchasing a raffle ticket benefitting March of Dimes, the prize being......dah duh dah....SHOES! So of course I said yes. But then the best thing possible ever...not just any shoes- oh no- a pair of MANOLO BLAHNIKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I bought two tickets- I wish I could have bought more, but they were ten dollars a peice. So now I am praying and wishing and hoping that my two little tickets will be enough to win me a pair of Manolos. Not only do you win them, you get to pick them out yourself (up to $800). Of course, I already have. I am so anxious waiting for the drawing I could almost piddle! I have to wait a whole month!

Kaci's Birthday

Today Mike and I went to what could possibly be the coolest place to have a birthday party ever - the Mesilla Valley Corn Maze. Obviously there is a huge corn maze, three enourmous slides built into the side of a hill, gardens, pumpkin patches, adult and kid tricycle mazes, face painting, roasted corn, cotto candy, hay rides, rubber duck races, "gem mining", playground and tires to climb all over. It's a kids (and this grown-ups) paradise. We were there all afternoon and had a blast! We even got to go on a hayride to the pumpkin patch and pick out our very own pumpkin! The kids seemed like they had a blast too!

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Ornament Debut

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Just when I thought my Hallmark events are over. As most everyone knows beuase I am moving in December I had to resign from my teaching job. And becuase I still have to pay bills I started subbing and put in a few resumes at different places. One of the places is Coach House where I used to work. There's a new manager that saw it and asked me to come back. This was my first week back and although it was a lot of work because of ornament debut I had a blast! I love the people I work with! Anyway, it was a pretty crazy day. The theme was Hoops and Yoyo two very popular and hilarious orginal characters. That means that we all dressed up in pink and green (they are those colors) and had wacky hair and make-up. Although we got a lot of giggles from people in the wall we had a blast!

In addition to Debut, the president of the ornament club brought me my excusive ornament found only in stores with artist sigining. It's super exclusive and the ladies had to go all the way to Tucson to get the ornaments! I love it! They also got one signed from the artist! I love this ornament! It will be something I can look at and remember all the awesome memories of Hallmark!

Chuck E. Cheese: Fun Family Entertainment or National Security Headquarters?

Last night I went on my very first trip to Chuck E. Cheese's for Kaci's fourth birthday. Both Mike and I had a great time! I think when we get bored from now on, that's where we're going. The games are awesome! We were there for like three hours and it only seemed like 30 minutes! We think it's like Vegas becuase the windows are tinted and there are no clocks! We walked out and it was dark! After all the fun we were having it was time to leave....the birthday girl and her sister were getting tired so we turned in our tickets. While we were waiting for tickets, Mike and I were watching Alicia's dad use the last few tokens in one of those machines where you shoot the tokens onto a shelf and make them drop into the bottom to get tickets. There were some right on the edge and my darling obnoxious husband said we should bump it some and they'll fall. We were all laughing and messing around so I bumped it with my hip ever so gently to joke around ( I was seriously not trying to cheat) and guess what happens when you do that? An alarm goes off for the whole place to hear and an employee comes over to check things out. I am not a person who is easily embarrassed and I felt the burning redness start at my toes and move quickly up to my forehead. I was mortified! Who would have thought that behind the veneer of this family place and the scary man in a mouse suit there is a high security system? We can't find Osama bin Laden but don't worry the token machine at Chuck E.Cheese is heavily guarded! Maybe we should open a Chuck E. Cheese in the middle East and when Osama tries to cheat the games we'll know where to find him!

Govenors, Presidents, fanciness and.....smelly?

Okay, so tonight we were to go to the Dean of the College of Business' house for a recption with a big independent Insurance firm- we went.....but it was not what I expected. Come to find out the Dean is not just a guy with a doctorate running a college (although that is impressive) oh no this one is a former governor of New Mexico. Garrey Curruthers. There are pictures of him with presidents in the white house, royalty all kinds of stuff! Their house is amazing (the pool house is like two of our apartment) and they are wonderfully nice people. So for an hour we did feel pretty darn important- UNTIL dum, dum, dum we got home. As we drove up to our quaint apartment, I saw what looked like a cat. But no it was not. It was an enourmous skunk. I'm talking this thing is the size of both my dogs put together and it was running toward us!! So we ran in and I called animal control. Now we are waiting for them so we can take our poor doggies out before they piddle on the floor! Pray for us that nobody gets skunked!

Happy Third Anniversary To Us

My very cute husband took me to dinner at an adorable Italian Bistro here in town and got me the most beautiful opal and pink topaz ring! It's soooo beautiful! It has one big opal in the middlewith the pink stones on each side. Three stones, one for each year we've been married. He's soooo cute! Our anniversary is actually tommorrow, but we were invited to the Dean (for the College of Business) home for dinner...that's right we're high rollers now. ;) Just kidding but it was a nice thing to be invited to. The boy even has his outfit all picked out! If I saw him now three years ago I don't know that I would recognize him!

You Learn Somethin New Everyday!

Soooo...yeah. I went to my very cute and pregnant friends Emily's house today and she has the same very cute polka dot chair I have. We both love our chair- it's awesome. It's the first piece of furniture that Mike and I have ever purchased. I wanted it for so long and this last Valentines Day Mike made sure I got it. The chair is armless and squatty but not as squatty as you would think. I saw Emily's chair today and hers has legs....hhmmm. They were purchased at the same store and are the exact same chair, but mine was an amputee apparently. Upon further inspection, we discovered that when you unzip the zipper on the bottom there are little legs inside! Who woulda thunk it?! So a few minutes later my chair is HEALED!!

Let's Go Aggies...Oh Never Mind...

Well, another football season, another football game Aggies vs. Lobos- The Battle of I-25. This was the first rivalry game I have been able to go to because I wasn't working (only took me graduating almost a year later) and the Aggies lose. We thought it was going to go so well- they made a touchdown on the first play. But the last four minutes of the game they might as well of handed the ball to the Lobos everytime! Although we lost it was fun to finally get to go a football game...the only other thing that stinks about going now, is that I have to pay!

An Update

Well update for this week...still no job, the count of pregnant friends has gone from six to eight.......and I am still not included. House still a mess...car and air conditioner both broken........weight: 4,000 pounds.

I Hate 2008!

That is my new motto. It ryhmes and its true. Just when I couldn't get any lower, the other shoe drops. It's not enough all things I've been through, most of my family being truly horrid and crazy, not having a job, being treated like garbage, not being able to get pregnant...oh no that wasn't enough. Why should it be? Everything seems to work out for everyone. Most everyone has things just handed to them. They don't even realize how blessed they are. I try to be a good person, responsible and I've always done what everyone has expected me to. But it's all for nothing. I worked for 5 1/2 years in college so that I could be financially secure and now I don't have a job because of what should be a great oppurtunity. I know that Albuquerque is, but I can't see that right now. All I can think about is moving and packing and finding a place to live for Mike and I and my mom. I don't know what's going to happen with my mom. It's going to be hard. I don't even know that my car will make it. It broke down yesterday at school and I had to tow it home. I don't even know what's wrong with it. But we're pretty sure it will cost an arma dn a leg, two things that I will have to sell because I have no job. It's a peice of junk and I don't want to put any more money into it, but I can't afford another car. I don't know tha I will ever be able to. I lost an earring yesterday..one of my favorite pairs and I whacked my hand so hard it's a little swollen. If I hear one other person say that everyone goes through times like this I could scream. Yes, some people do- others don't and they're still not happy. I have several friends and family that are handed everything. I'm not just talking material things, I'm talking in life. They're irresponsible sometimes selfish people and they get what they want. What do I have to do? When do I get what I've worked for? I'm not talking a million dollars or things I don't deserve or didn't earn. I'm talking about what I have otherwise why bother? I know people who have worked hard and been a genuily good person their entire life and they have lived the hardest life- with very few good things. Am I destined to be that kind of person? When does it work out? Will it work out? I know I'm on a huge pity party, but I don't know how much more I can handle. It hasn't been just this year it's been my whole life. The only thing right now that motivates me to get out of bed right is my husband and the few people who truly love and care about me. I don't know what kind of person I would be without them. I guess I'm done now. It's time for me to suck it up and go find a job today.

2008 continues to STINK!

The emotional rollercoaster that is my life this year has just made another loop-to-loop. I tried to be professional and tell my principal early that I would be moving.I made the mistake of saying that the end date as something we could decide on and I would support anything that was for the good of my students. WRONG. Now I am out of a job. No lie when I was first told, I was thinking it would be a relief and I could focus on moving....but now, I dunno. This district is way messed up and I have been waiting to be put on the list to sub, but apparently there's problems with that. More than that, I didn't realize how hard it would be to leave my class. I tried not to cry all day, but the last hour was just too much. More than that I wasn't able to really tell my kids goodbye because of an assembly and then I had to be at the an interview (I'm on the committee) at 2:15- school ends at 2:30. Great right. Then Mike came and helped me clean out my room. All that work, days and days, and we took it down in 3 hours. If this wasn't bad enough, I still have to do report cards, update my grade book, and grade the last two weeks worth of work by Monday. This has been a whirl wind week. I know the oppurtunities in Albuquerque are great and that's what I'm trying to focus on. Please pray for us- for a job for me (now), and moving two households.

The Dog Days of Summer

My poor puppies. It's hard having a dogs life. As many might know its been raining like crazy here and the mosquitos are horrid. So I thought it would be a good idea to take my dogs to the vet to make sure they don't get heartworm. This of course means that they have to have blood drawn and while Squeaker could care less if you stick her, because you're at least paying attention to her, it was a tragically horrible day for Ellie. When they stuck her she jumped which caused bleeding that had to be bandaged. So when she left the vet it looked like se had broken a leg and to look at the fear in her eyes,you would think she almost died. But luckily she was happy to see me today because I wasn't the mean person who took her to the vet! It's been hours, and she's still angry with him! She's a typical girl holdin' a grudge against a guy who did her wrong!

The Fights...GRRRR

So I was supposed to go to the dirt track races on Saturday- something I have been looking forward to ALL week, but on Friday my little hubby calls me and tells me there is a change of plans. Apparently his boss bought ring side tickets to the fight and invited us. We thought it was boxing. Although I am not a huge fan of this sport, I thought it would be okay. When we got there, we found out it was cage fighting. For those of you who don't know, it's a mix of martial arts, wrestling and boxing. GGREEAAATT right? Uh, yeah. Not my favorite. But my husband is very good to me and I thought I can sit through this for him and I did. The only thing I did enjoy was seeing my good friend Tiffany who I never get to see but wow- that's a few hours I'm never gettin' back. I'm all for violent sports but watching big bloody, sweatin, guys hit each other and roll around the floor in their underwear does not a fun evening make for this girly girl. Well, at least it was free- it was very generous of Mike's boss too. P.S. Don't worry either sports fans. Soon to come will be the photos I took with my phone so you won't miss a thing!

My Birthday

Okay, okay, I know the older you become the more birthdays don't matter. BUT they should be more fun. The day of my actual birthday was not so much fun. But the weekends before and after were pretty great! The weekend before Stacey came back into town from Corpus Christi so we went singin and dancin. Then the weekend after Mike took me to dinner with Leslie and Jared- we had a blast and we found an alias for Jared- Ed Lobste. It's a long story but please refer to the picture. And Mike was the best! ?He got me the first two seasons of Friends, a $50 gift certificate to the teacher store and he brought me lunch. Not only that, but he spread out the gifts and cards so that my birthday stretched out all day! My husband and friends are great! Alicia, My Sissy and Mike's family are awesome too! They made sure that since they couldn't be here- they gave me fabulous gifts! I am so blessed!

My Classroom

I have been trying to post pictures of m classroom now for awhile. Needless to say I have been a little busy. Although I am excited to show these photos- I worked really hard on my classroom and I did it all be myself- I don't get to enjoy it much longer. Since Mike got a job with State Farm starting in January, my time with my class is limited. I will miss my kids, but I am so excited to get out of Las Cruces and get on with the rest of our lives! This is going to be a great adenture and as hard as it will be to leave the wonderful people we have become friends with, I think this will be a great transistion and oppurtunity for us. God has blessed us so much and I think that this will be a wonderful thing for us. I'm so excite only 4 months to go!

YAY!!!!

As you all know I got a job teaching first grade- but now in light of Mike's internship, State Farm Insurance offered him a job today upon graduation. He doesn't know what he's doing yet exactly, but they made room for him and want him! He just finished his internship this last Friday so this is a big deal for us! Please continue to keep thinking about us- there's a lot to work out. I am so very proud of him!!

Update

For the last two weeks I have been teaching First Grade at Booker T. Washington Elementary, in Las Cruces. It is one of the two schools that goes year round. It has been okay. I have 15 students in my class. It is definately not an easy class. However, my friend/cooperating teacher keeps telling me I will be fine and I am a very strong teacher. My Sister is also being precious and encouraging me everyday. They are my heros!!!! Well, at this point that is all for me. Hopefully, I will have some pictures to post soon.

Mike is still working hard in Albuquerque as a State Farm intern. Even though I am truly proud of him, I am ready for him to be home. However, I do have to say that moving into a classroom and new apartment by myself is no fun and will never do it again. (Hint, hint to Mike)

Things Are Lookin' Up

I got a job! I got a job! Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! That's my song and that's how excited I am! I got a job in the big LC teaching first grade. I'm thrilled except I have to start in just one week! aaack!

Susan and I being a little naughty!

The Big D

I went to the Big D and I do mean Dallas! Well, Fort Worth anyway. I went to see my not so little nephew anymore graduate from high school. We're so proud of him! I had a blast not only at his graduation but also the week after. I played with my partners in crime (David, Susan and "Ellen" wink wink) and caused just a little trouble. Then I changed my plane reservation so I could stay just to lay out in the pool with my awesome sisters all week. Life is great when you don't have to go to work for a week and a half. Too bad it can't always be like that! I had a great time and I can't wait to go back!

Boy's Birthday!

As many know, Mike's birthday was Tuesday. He is officially a quarter of a century old! WOW! Anywho, I wanted to do something special for him, especially since we've been working our booties off moving and all. So I called a ton of friends and we surprised him with a dinner and cake! Around 15 people showed up and we had a blast! He also was surprised with a new golf bag, putter, tees and Tiger Woods Gatorade!

Leavin' Las Cruces

Yay!! As you all know I was super sad and upset that Mike would be leaving me for 3 months, however, now I am going with him!! After the roughest two weeks of my life, something exctig! Although I hate to move, Mike and I are almost professionals by this point. I can't wait for the day when we buy a house and never have to move again (at least not for a long long time)!

STRESSED

I am so stressed! I don;t think I will have a job this fall. The district is doinf major staff cuts and there's a waiting line from what I understand! Please pray for me... I've graduated and I do't want to work at the mall!!!

All In A Day Of Playin' The 'Ol Paintball

Here's another hobby that will not only potentially hurt my ol boy but WILL hurt him. The above photos are giant hickey like welts received from paintballs shot at him. He also sprained his ankle from running away from said paintball shooters. He maintains that he loves to do this anyway! For awhile I was throwing a fit to go with him but after seeing the giant bruises and sudo hickies I will no longer ask to go. I will let it be a boys game only. I'm way to pretty to have bruises all over me like that.....I am also a whiny girl when things hurt. So no thank you very much for me!