Big Weekend

We had a BIG weekend!! Big in so many ways. The whole family was in town...we had the SIU softball reunion...AND Tyler was Baptized!! Probably, the most special part to me :) Not, that every other part of the weekend wasn't an ABSOLUTE. BLAST!!! It was just such a perfect ending to a perfect weekend.

Here is a picture of Tyler and mommy cuddling up at the front of the church. He had JUST woken up...
With Pastor Gray, saying a welcome prayer...
With his awesome Godparents, Dane and Adie...
The whole clan...Tyler's Godparents and the rest of the family...
A quick shot with my mom and dad (minus Ella because she was DONE taking pics)...
Tyler with Mimo...
The girls posing for a quick pic...
Jimmy's family with Tyler...
Then an after party TRAMPOLINE time with Ella...
She was bouncing all over and smiling so big...with her cute teeth and tongue...
I hope you all had as Blessed a weekend as we did!

EGG TIME!!!!

One of my FAVORITE part of Easter...Getting to dye the Easter Eggs!! I always loved it growing up...and it seems like Ella had as much fun as I did!!!

Here we are getting set up...
Sticking her tongue out at the camera...
This is how Tyler helped...just being GOOD for mommy since Dad wasn't here to help :(
Grandma K came over to help. She also brought princess stickers with her...
The end product...some STELLAR looking eggs...
The stickers and the GLITTER eggs were my absolute favorite!!
Ella with her work completed...
So proud of her eggs...
Hope you all have a great Easter. :) Squeeze those kiddos tight. Can't wait to see pictures of the EGG HUNTS next!!!!

Spring Fun

Spring is in the air and that means A LOT of outside time for the family. But, first I had to throw in a cute "comparison photo" of the kiddos again.
This is Ella standing in her crib at 9 months...
And here is Tyler standing in his crib at 9 months...
A few more crib shots...
He is obsessed with standing. I think he will be walking very soon...
So proud of his standing!!!
And now some FLOWER pics. Ella and I went out this morning and picked some flowers from the yard. She wanted to "model" with them. The PINK flowers are actually from our magnolia trees in the yard!
Ella and mommy...Girl time while Tyler naps :)
Ella cheesin it up!
The dress she is wearing was made with the LilBlueBoo Sienna Dress Pattern. SO CUTE!!
The picture ABOVE is my absolute FAVORITE...she looks so adorable! And Ella peeking out the window at the other flowers!!
At the park across the street...
Ella is OBSESSED with the swings!
Tyler waiting SO patiently in the stroller...And a few more SPRING YARD pics as promised. The star magnolias are in FULL bloom. The one in front of our house is my favorite!!!
But the ones by the street are also nice...
As you can see they are already losing SO many petals...but worth every second. They are MUCH more beautiful in person! And the kids by the driveway...
We loved our nice stroller ride to the park!! I hope you all are enjoying Spring as much as we are. We are doing our Easter Eggs tonight!!! YAY!

SPRING...

Oh welcome back Spring...how we've missed you so!!! Finally some CONSISTENCY in this miserable and rainy weather we've had. Temps above 50!!! Don't go away PLEASE!

Another reason I love Spring is because of how our yard transforms. Here are some of the first few shots of our front and back yard of beautiful flowers to come. These are the first to bloom...
The Star Magnolia trees...You will notice that EVERYTHING ELSE is blah still...but these get me ready for the fun stuff in our back yard!!
Another beauty by our back patio...
Beautiful trees everywhere in our back yard. I will keep posting pictures as our backyard changes. It is really unbelievable how these trees go from NOTHING to HUGE flowers. I tried to get some before and after pics of these trees...but it wouldn't stop raining last week to get a good shot!! Oh well...maybe next year!!!

Stay tuned...and enjoy your spring weather.

A BUTTON :)

LOOK OUT...Thanks to Beth I officially have a button. I am so clueless about BLOG land I had never figured out how to use it :) I am starting to get the hang of this. Ha Ha. Grab one if you'd like!!!

SCARED...

So, we find out this afternoon whether or not we have jobs for next year. I never thought that being a teacher could be this stressful at this time of year. It's stressful around report card time...or parent teacher conference time. It's stressful at the beginning of the year trying to get organized...and at the end of the year when the kids are BOUNCING off the walls waiting for Summer.
But, now...in March/April it is usually carefree and fun. Since I am a P.E. teacher, this is usually my favorite time of year. We get to go back outside after being trapped indoors for most of the Winter...BARF. I hate being inside. So, this news was SHOCKING to us. At our last board meeting they told us that they didn't think any cuts were going to be made...I think the words they used were, "we are most certain."

REALLY????? Most certain? Now there are 17 of us from 4 schools that have to meet. We are the "newest" teachers...so that is of course expected. I have been teaching for 5 years...2 in the district I am in now. But, it still hurts. The UNKNOWN is the worst. NOT knowing if I am going to have a job next year.

We are pretty sure today is mostly to hand out the R.I.Fs (Reduction in Force). This is basically a "we are not hiring you back next year AS OF RIGHT NOW) Many of the teachers will be hired back...on a very strict list of who has been here the longest and what field you are in. I am one of the lucky ones because I am Physical Education. Most people are not certified to teach P.E. But, there may be a teacher out there in our district that is older that has that certification that they could FORCE to teach P.E. if it saves them money. SO. ANNOYING.

So, the other good thing for me is that a teacher in our district (That is a woman) is retiring after this year at the Middle School. They will have to fill her position with a woman (someone to go into the locker room while they change and so on). And I am the ONLY other female P.E. teacher in the district. So, with her spot open...and I guess technically "mine" would be opening up...It is doubtful that they would have 2 people with secret P.E. degrees out there in our district...let's hope anyway!

So, I am hopeful that things in my area work out...and to all those in our district that are going through this too, I feel for you all. I will keep you posted!!!!!

SHOW US YOUR SHOES PARTY!!!!

I am excited about this post...probably because I know that NO ONE else could possibly have the same gym shoe obsession that I have!!!!! Ha Ha! I am a P.E. Teacher...so I know that plays a SMALL :) part of it. I wear tennis shoes like others wear adorable pumps or other nice shoes to work in every day...so that is my excuse :)

However...the downfall is that I almost NEVER buy "normal" shoes...so when it comes time to go somewhere nice...I usually have to call up one of my sisters to help me out :) Thank GOD for sisters!!!!

So lets start the shoe tour...

First picture is just a shot of my MANY tennis shoes. This bottom of this closet is ONLY for my gym shoes (which are all stored in the guest bedroom closet downstairs). We live in a very old house...and very old houses = NO CLOSET SPACE...so we had to add on some closets in the guest bedroom. This is why all MY shoes are stored with my hubby's sweaters :)
I had to take some of the stacks out and place them in front so we could see them :) Can you say OUT of control???
There is literally a RAINBOW of colors...hardest color to find YELLOW and MAROON!! Believe me...I've done the legwork! ha ha
As you can see I prefer Nike Shox...but also have Nike Air Max (for my Nike +!!!!!) and one pair of New Balance!!
These are my Valentine's Day shoes from hubby. Hard to see, but the silver has little mini white hearts!
These are my favorites!!!!!!!! I wear them almost every day right now. They are my Nike + running shoes...along with the orange ones right in front of them...but they are broken in perfectly and that is why they are so beat up...they have a lot of mileage :)
These are my MEN's nike shox because they don't make any women's Shox in MAROON. We live near SIU Carbondale and their colors are maroon and white...so I was sick of wearing red shoes to the sporting events...so we broke down and got MAROON ones...these were my Xmas present from hubby :)
Now...I don't ONLY own tennis shoes...so I added a few favorites. My new Uggs that hubby picked out for Xmas. L.O.V.E them!!!!!! So comfy and worn all around the house and Grocery Shopping! My fav!
These are brand new for my birthday...They are cute slip on wedge flip flops from Victoria's Secret! I can't wait for it to get a BIT warmer and I can bust them out!!!!
And finally my SAVIOR...my black boots which I have worn ALL. WINTER. LONG!!! I wear them with leggings, skinny jeans, regular jeans...I have put some serious mileage in on these shoes too...just not RUNNING miles :)

I hope you enjoyed my shoe post...please take the time to show us your shoes...and thank you to The Stories from A to Z for the idea!!!