The Beatty Bunch

Finally...an update!

2009-10-08T23:01:00.003-05:00

I'm going to make this short...I've got to get in bed!

First of all, I'm PREGNANT! We are so excited about the new little blessing that will be coming into our family in June. This one was not as surprising as Caroline so we found out pretty early. I still have 3 weeks to wait until I see the doctor. I've been feeling good so far, no sickness, just pretty tired.

I updated the blog with new pictures. We had pictures made with Sean's family at the end of the summer and though I still very much prefer Alisa's photography, they'll do until I can get to Lubbock again :) Can you believe how big Caroline is getting?

School is, well, going. I don't really like to go into many details about my job on my blog for the obvious reasons, but I'll go ahead and say I'm having a bad year. A really bad year. I've cried more in the last seven weeks than I have in my last 8 years combined. Prayers would be appreciated.

This is random, but I've been so stressed lately that to calm myself down before bed every night I watch old episodes of The Office on DVD. I'm completely addicted to it. Tonight was the first episode of the new season I watched. Was everyone else laughing so hard they could barely breathe? I was dying laughing...it was just what I needed!

I'm looking forward to tomorrow...TGIF! Hope you all have a great weekend!

My first week of school by the numbers...

2009-08-29T21:36:00.003-05:00

12...kids in my class on the first day of school.

16...kids in my class on the second day of school.

6...kindergarten teachers started the week at my school.

4...kindergarten teachers are left. (I'm so thankful I didn't get moved because of low numbers!)

10...firefighters and paramedics sent to deal with a playground "incident" with one of my students. (Luckily, she was completely fine and will have an awesome story to tell when she gets older!)

Whew...it's been a long week! How many more months until June?

30!

2009-08-04T21:57:00.007-05:00

I think I have adult ADD. Does anyone else ever think that? I started this post awhile back, but then I got distracted and I'm just now finishing it up. Happens to me all the time. Anyway, here's the pictures from our Tech friends family vacation to New Braunfels.

I remember when I was in middle school, one of my teachers used to often tell our class that she was so excited that we had college ahead of us, because we would make such great memories and meet the best friends of our lives. She was right! I've been friends with these guys for a decade now, and though we don't get to see each other as much as we would like to, it's just like old times when we get together. We try to plan a vacation every year, and this summer the weekend that worked best happened to be my 30th birthday. I can't imagine a better way to have spent my special day!

We rented a house right off the river and floated the Comal, went to dinner at the Gristmill, visited Schlitterbahn and just had a great time being together! They even threw me a party with decorations and everything! It was just perfect! Can't wait for the next "family vacation!"

Disneyworld-Day3 @ Epcot

2009-07-06T12:25:00.006-05:00

The next day we headed to Epcot. It turned out to be my favorite park out of the 4 we visited! I really enjoyed the Spaceship Earth ride (the one in the big silver sphere)...we went on that one twice! It was also really neat to visit all of the countries in the World Showcase. They even had exchange students from all of the different countries working in those areas!

Caroline loved the Nemo ride. In this picture, she's looking for "Momo" and "Deewee" in the aquarium.

She made a craft...

Sorry this picture is blurry...one reason I liked Epcot is because it was huge and really spread out...the crowds didn't seem so terrible because you actually had room to walk around.

We finished the day off with some sweet treats!

My raspberry smoothie was delicious! That night, we headed back to the hotel to eat and watched the firework show from our swimming pool. It was another great day!

Disneyworld-Days 1 and 2 @ Downtown Disney and Magic Kingdom

2009-07-05T21:37:00.009-05:00

We had a great time on our trip to Disneyworld. It was my first time to go, so I was really excited! We stayed for a week, so we had plenty of time to do just about everything we wanted to. We took over 1,000 pictures, so I'll have to split up these posts so I don't overwhelm myself!

When we checked into our room, they had made the towels into a Mickey Mouse on the bed. So cute!

We stayed at the Polynesian resort, and really enjoyed it. It was very nice and it was easy to catch the monorail or a bus to any of the parks we wanted to go to.

Sean took Caroline on the train at Downtown Disney the first night we were there. She was pretty tired, but I think she still had fun!

Sean, his dad and I went to see the Cirque du Soleil show "La Nouba" that night. It was amazing!

The next morning we headed out to the Magic Kingdom for our first "park day"!

I was not prepared for how many people would be at the park. It was SO crowded! Luckily, we had Fast Passes so we did not have to wait in too many long lines. We let Caroline run around at Pooh's playground before we went on the Winnie the Pooh ride.

We went on the carousel. She did not want to get off when it was over! She kept saying "pony, pony!"
She saw her first 3D show...

and helped Dad shoot a gun at Tom Sawyer's Island!

The whole time we were there, Caroline would wave at random people and say "Hi!" (she's very friendly) Anyway, she was waving and yelling "Hi!" as this boat went past us and all of the people on the boat waved back at her! So funny!

I got a special button since it was my first trip to Disneyworld!

Caroline's hair curled up so cute while we were there...I guess the weather was just right!
Steering the boat...

My father in law and I rode the spinning tea cups...

and he tried to kill me by spinning it as fast as he could the whole time! All I could see was a big blur until it was over!
Me and my sweetie at the end of the day, ready to do it all again tomorrow!

How lucky am I..

2009-05-10T22:05:00.001-05:00

...to have the best Mom in the world AND be a Mom to the sweetest little girl in the world?

Happy Mother's Day!

iLovemyhusband!

2009-04-15T13:10:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, Sean surprised me big time!

I usually call him from work after he picks Caroline up from Sonshine School, just to check in to see how they are doing. I tried to call yesterday, but my phone would not connect. It's not always easy for me to get a signal at school, so I didn't think anything of it. I noticed my phone said "Unregistered SIM card" on it, but my pink RAZR is pretty much the worst phone I've ever had, so again I didn't give it a second thought. I went on with the end of my day, went to the post office and headed home.

When I got home, Sean was awake, which was weird because he usually goes back to sleep while Caroline takes her after school nap. He asked me if I had tried to call him, and I told him my phone wasn't working. He kept questioning me and I thought that it was also weird that he was VERY concerned with my phone not connecting. It's not really an out of the ordinary occurance. Out of the corner of my eye, I see that he has left a note for me on my pillow and has cleaned our room. How sweet, I thought.

Behind the note was THIS:

I was shocked and SO excited! I've been telling Sean for months that the ONLY thing I want for my 30th birthday is an iPhone. My birthday is not for 3 more months, but he surprised me a little early. When he went to buy it, he had them disconnect my old phone...that's why it wasn't working! He totally tricked me!

I'm still trying to get the hang of how to use it, but so far I love it. If you know of any fun apps I should download, let me know! I have the sweetest husband ever. I love you, Sean!

Travel Advice

2009-04-01T13:45:00.003-05:00

I need some help from all you Moms out there. This summer, we are going to be visiting DisneyWorld with Sean's parents and we're taking Caroline along! I'd love any advice y'all have as far as what to pack for a flight and visiting theme parks with a toddler. We got Caroline her own seat on the flight and we're staying at a Disney resort, so that will make things a little easier I'm sure. Anyway, if you have any good ideas (even if I don't "know" you) throw 'em my way! Thanks!

Our Little Helper

2009-03-29T20:57:00.008-05:00

Sean and I don't exactly earn the kind of salaries that afford us the luxury of a maid. We decided it was time for Caroline to start earning her keep. She IS 18 whole months old now! She's been...

putting away the laundry

vacuuming

dust busting

mopping

cooking

raking

and washing the car. What a big girl!

Hi, my name is Tiffany and I used to blog here...

2009-03-29T20:44:00.008-05:00

Sean and I took Caroline out to the field of bluebonnets next to our house for a photo shoot today. Here are some of the ones that turned out cute!

10 Honest Things About Me

2009-01-29T13:07:00.000-06:00

I was tagged by Hilary!

1. 4 years ago I trained for and ran a half marathon after getting a brochure about the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training in the mail. I had been running for fun for a few years at that time, but never competed in anything longer than a 5K. My Dad had lymphoma when I was in college, so raising money for LLS was the push I needed to do a bigger race. I raised over $1000 and I loved it...even the 7:00 AM Saturday practice runs! I'd LOVE to do a full marathon someday!

2. I HATE to be tickled. When someone tickles me, I lose all control of my body and will do ANYTHING to get out of it. I will bite, hit, kick...if you tickle me, you better watch out! I actually kicked one of my ex-boyfriends very hard in the "junk" once accidently because he tickled me. Looking back, he totally deserved it.

3. I haven't had a landline phone in 4 years and I have not missed it once!

4. If I could have any job in the world, I would love to be a musician in a symphony. I obviously do not have the skills for that kind of job, but I was in orchestra for 7 years in school and it was one of the most fun things I ever did.

5. Back in the summer, I got a rare form of psoriasis from strep throat. Anyone who saw it will tell you it was awful looking and the dermatologists told me there wasn't much they could do about it. I had my tonsils removed in August to see if it helped and it did! For the last few months I have been COMPLETELY clear of any spots...you can't even tell I had it. HOORAY!

6. I'm super attached to my Kindergarten class this year. I had actually looked at other job options over the summer, but decided to go back. I'm so glad that I did, it's really been one of my best years! I guess I had a lucky #8 instead of lucky 7.

7. I LOVE naps! Before Caroline was born, I would take a nap every day when I got home from work. I definitely still treat myself to a good nap sometimes while she is sleeping.

8. I'm turning 30 this summer and I really don't want to talk about it. My birthday is 7/11 like the convenience store, lest you forget.

9. I am very obsessive about having all of the doors to my classroom shut at all times. I think the 4 years of teaching open concept PreK did that to me. 300 preschoolers, one room, no doors or walls...that'll send you right over the edge, my friends.

10. I broke my blog. I got the pink stripe off the header, but now all my links are at the bottom. Sigh, I quit.

I tag Marcia, Christa and Ashley!

Help!

2009-01-27T14:56:00.000-06:00

Does anyone know how to get the pink header stripe off of my blog? I mean, I love pink and all...but it doesn't go with my color scheme!

2009-01-26T13:40:00.000-06:00

I'm gonna let Katherine and Marcia blog for me today. Thanks for offering girls, that was SO sweet of you ;)

Stumped

2009-01-23T16:06:00.000-06:00

I teach Kindergarten, so I answer about a million questions every day.

Can I go to the bathroom?

Is it lunch time yet?

What's 10 plus 0?

Is Barack Obama mixed?

Can I go use it?

Is it wake up time yet?

Is cornbread a healthy food?

What does M look like?

Are we going outside for recess?

When is it lunch time?

What does 9 look like?

Do we have to take our coats to PE?

What's for snack?

Is it lunch time yet?

Are we going to centers?

When are we eating lunch?

Well, they did it, the kids finally asked me one I couldn't answer...

Mrs. Beatty, are you going to die if you don't have a Sonic drink?

(crickets chirping)

Thanks Alisa!

2009-01-20T19:39:00.000-06:00

Alisa surprised me with a new header today...yay!

This one's for you, Katherine!

2009-01-19T10:18:00.000-06:00

Last month, Katherine posted some of her finds for the 12 Tacky Days of Christmas. If you'll hop over to her blog, you'll see she came up with some real doozies. I noticed from her last post that it looks like her family is doing some redecorating. As I was perusing Craigslist this morning, I found a little gem that she might want to look into. I lived with her for 2 years in college and I know she likes things clean, so I thought of her when I saw THIS:

Those are some of those vinyl letters you can buy to decorate your walls. Apparently, you can also decorate your toilet...if you're into that sort of thing. You can't make this stuff up.

Scanner Sunday

2009-01-18T16:15:00.000-06:00

Sorry I didn't post last week. I can't even keep up with my own game. Sheesh. Sometime during the day last Sunday, I realized that it was my half birthday. I'm now closer to my 30s than my 20s. I think I spent the rest of the day in mourning.

The picture I chose for this week was actually from this past July. Matt, Paula, Sean and I went to Dallas to see the Alison Krauss and Robert Plant concert, which was unbelievably awesome. We hit up Six Flags one day and had so much fun! It had been at least 10 years since I had been, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out I could still do the rides. The weather was beautiful and there were hardly any crowds. I think the longest we had to wait for a ride was 10 minutes. I can't wait to go back again!

Because we're suckers, we had to buy the cheesy souvenir photo. It was actually a good thing, because I don't think I took any pictures with my camera the whole trip. I apologize for scanning the picture in its frame. True laziness, my friends.

Scanner Sunday

2009-01-04T19:42:00.001-06:00

In honor of the new year, I'm going to start a new little game on my blog-Scanner Sunday. I invite everybody to play along. The only rule is that you post a picture and the picture has to be scanned. Mostly, we're talking old school pics from before digital cameras. It ought to be fun (and funny) to see what I can dig up!

My first Scanner Sunday photo is from the CA Banquet back in 2001. I remember that day I took all three of my ExCET exams-I didn't know you were supposed to space them out and take them one at a time! I took one five-hour test and two 2.5 hour tests. Luckily, I'm a good test taker and passed them all!

Back Blogging

2009-01-03T20:40:00.000-06:00

I'm doing a little bit of back blogging since I've haven't been able to keep up lately!

Lubbock Trip

2009-01-03T19:37:00.000-06:00

At the beginning of December, Sean and I took a long-awaited trip to Lubbock to meet up with some of our college friends. It was a quick and busy trip, but we had a great time!

The girls with Raider Red!

Sean and I at the 50th anniversary of Carol of Lights. It was so cold I had on long johns (pants and top), jeans, two pairs of socks, a button down shirt, a sweater, a coat, a scarf, a hat and gloves. It's been a long time since I've experienced Lubbock winter weather!

Mmm...calzones at One Guy's!

We walked around Tech on Saturday and took pictures. It was a beautiful day!

Thanksgiving

2009-01-03T19:19:00.000-06:00

We enjoyed a fun filled trip to Abilene for Thanksgiving. Dad, Sean, Tara and I ran the Turkey Trot 5K that morning. It was my Dad's 4th time to run it, my 3rd and the first for Sean and Tara. It was pretty fun, but I realized that I'm really out of shape! I really don't have the time to run anymore. I didn't embarass myself too badly because I (a.)wasn't the last person to finish-it's happened to me before and (b.)wasn't beaten by my Dad-also happened before. Actually, I'm sure could have beat me, I think he was just being nice :)

While we were running, Caroline helped Mom bake. I know she had fun and it's obvious from the pictures that she was a big help ;)

New Look

2008-11-25T21:09:00.001-06:00

I gave my blog a facelift for the holidays, hope you like it. I have to give a HUGE special thanks to Alisa for taking the picture. If you're in the Lubbock area, she's fantastic and I HIGHLY recommend her as a photographer. Not only will she walk through dog poo and lay down in the mud to get a great shot of our family, she's super patient with my indecisiveness. I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Things I like Vol. 2

2008-11-23T20:30:00.000-06:00

Sandra Boynton board books

I was first introduced to these when I taught PreK. My classroom came stocked with a collection of them and I instantly fell in love with their hilarious stories. I created my own collection of about 10 from purchases at Ross and TJMaxx. I think I've only bought one from the actual bookstore. I've found some on clearance for as low as 2 dollars! Caroline's been really into reading books lately and these are some of her favorites!

Downy Wrinkle Releaser

I love this stuff! I seriously do not iron anymore, EVER. I always take it on trips in case the clothes in my suitcase get wrinkly. This morning, I sprayed Caroline's corduroy dress for church and it looked good. I mean, it didn't look as great as if my Mom had ironed it, but good is good enough for me!

Suddenly Salad

Wow, that picture is HUGE, but I'm too lazy to change it. (BTW we buy the Classic flavor here at the Beatty house.) Last week, I made a double batch of this. I added a can of diced tomatoes, bringing the total cost of my creation to $3. It fed me three times, Sean once and Caroline got several meals out of it. What a bargain, and it's good! I was telling my Mom about it on the phone the other day and she said "I make that when I don't feel like cooking." Uh...I boiled water, opened a can of tomatoes AND mixed up the dressing. That was cooking, Mom! :)

DQ Banana Split

The Blizzard is now dead to me. I have found a new love. I ordered this last night on a whim and it was FABULOUS! And, it was the perfect way to drown my sorrows while watching my team get beat by OU!

Reasons I am clearly ready for a vacation...

2008-11-17T12:58:00.000-06:00

1. Getting out of bed in the morning is excruciating. I'm so tired! Every day I push the snooze a little bit more.

2. I have forgotten to take my class to the library twice this month. It's not really that huge of a deal, but it's a 30 minute break for me. Who forgets to take their break?

3. I dressed my whole family up in our Texas Tech gear on Saturday, only to find out the game wasn't until this weekend. It didn't even occur to me to check the schedule.

4. Showed up to church last night and remembered that church started an hour earlier this week and we missed it.

5. I just put my sister's birthday card in the mail this morning. Her birthday was November 5th.

6. This weekend we needed a new faucet for the sink and I sent Sean and his Dad to pick it out without me because I was too tired to go. I took a nap with Caroline instead.

7. Went to Target last night for milk and cotton balls. Came back with all kinds of other stuff, but no cotton balls.

Thanksgiving holiday can obviously not come soon enough...6 more work days! WOO HOO!

Happy Fall, Y'all!

2008-11-08T19:11:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the lack of blogging, I've been plagued with bronchitis and a stomach virus over the last few weeks and I'm just now beginning to feel normal again. Here's what we've been up to:

Caroline was a jack-o-lantern for Halloween. The stem was by far my favorite part of the costume...so cute! We went to the Trunk or Treat at church on Sunday and briefly passed out candy at our house on Halloween night.

Caroline's preschool had their fall party. The orange rice krispy treat was a big hit! It was, however, not such a big hit with Dad, who had to change her diaper later.

We took a trip out to the deer lease for the opening day of deer season.

I caught my first fish ever with my pink fishing pole that Sean bought me for my birthday. I was very excited! I actually caught 2 bass while we were there and was having so much fun I didn't want to stop! Please take note that I also touched the fish. It was a great day!

We also enjoyed watching this...and we're hoping to have another win today. Wreck 'em Tech!

6th Folder, 6th Picture

2008-10-29T20:09:00.001-05:00

My picture was taken at Ben and Krissy's wedding in Amarillo in December of 2004. That's Shannon and Marcia matching in the red! It was obviously taken early into the polishing off of the Luna di Luna at the reception. Sean and I had our first kiss that night at Bennigan's. There may or may not have been a dare involved. It was really romantic:) Good times, my friends...can't believe that was FOUR years ago!

"Sure, maybe one that says National Champs on it"

2008-10-25T18:30:00.000-05:00

That was my reply to the TEA auditor at my school this week when he (mocking my new awesome thermal Texas Tech shirt) asked me if I could wear a different shirt next time he saw me.

I hope I still have a job on Monday.

In my defense, he started it.

Caroline and I have been WAY sick this week with colds, and I just haven't had the energy to post, so I'm going to steal one of Alisa's posts. I hope she doesn't mind.

ENJOY!

Go Tech!

2008-10-16T21:42:00.000-05:00

If you click on the link below, you can vote for Texas Tech to be the next college to get a PINK collegiate line at Victoria's Secret. The stuff is so cute, and so far we're in the lead! And for all of my family and friends: when it comes out, I wear a small ;)

VOTE HERE!

I think you can vote as many times as you want, you just have to refresh the page!

Caroline's 1st Birthday!

2008-09-28T20:06:00.000-05:00

We had Caroline's party last Saturday at Sean's parents' house in Waco. Lots of family and friends showed up and we had tons of fun!

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to!

2008-09-26T20:47:00.000-05:00

Just a little teaser...

...hopefully the birthday slideshow will be up by the end of the weekend!

And now, the story that you have all been waiting for...

2008-09-17T20:56:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I promised that I would blog about Caroline's birth story. I never got around to it after she was born because, you know, I was BUSY:) It's so hard to believe that she will be one on Sunday. Everyone told me that it would fly by. They were right. Well, here goes with the "infamous" story!

Some of you who have read my blog for awhile will remember that Sean and I decided that we did not want to do an induction unless Caroline was very overdue. We had just heard some bad things about it and decided we wanted to let her come on her own. My doctor was going to be out of town the week she was due, but I was OK with having the on-call doctor since I hadn't had any complications in my pregnancy. I think after reading this you will see why I am no longer ruling out an induction for my next kiddos.

*This is me not long before she was born, large and in charge. Sean told me the other day "you didn't gain that much weight when you were pregnant." Um...OK. If you think 40 pounds is not a lot...*

Caroline's due date (Friday the 14th) passed and nothing seemed to be happening. On Monday I woke up and noticed some fluid and was having a little bit of cramping. Since the doctor's office wasn't open yet, the on-call nurse told us to go get checked out at the hospital. Sean and I got so excited! I got dressed, put on a little makeup and we took some pictures. We got to the hospital and a nurse named Pat was checking on me. She was very nice. (Remember her, she will come into play later in this story!) I was only dilated to a 1 and my water had not broken. She gave me some juice and hooked me up to the contraction monitor (whatever it's called). After awhile she told me that I was not in labor and though she hated to send me home overdue, they would have to induce if I wanted to have the baby that day. I felt a little embarassed about my "false alarm", but I figured lots of first-time moms do the same thing. Sean and I went home and rested for the day.

*I should have known I was not in labor since I had a smile on my face and posed for a picture. There are no pictures of the other trips to the hospital!*

Throughout the week, I was having fairly painful contractions at night, but they were bearable during the day and I was still able to work. By Thursday, they were getting more painful, even during the work day. I went home and Sean cooked us a big meal of chicken fried steak. Yummy! Sean went to bed that night and I stayed up because the contractions were really hurting. I played on the computer and watched TV. They started getting worse and worse and they were pretty close together. I finally went into the bedroom and told Sean that we needed to go to the hospital because I was in so much pain. When we got to the hospital, they put us in the teeniest tiniest room ever. I had a different nurse who seemed nice enough, but she was no Pat. She hooked me up to the machine and gave me a ton of ice water to drink since I was still only dilated to a 1. When she left the room, Sean was watching the machine and noticed that it wasn't registering my contractions. When the nurse came back in Sean told her about it and she made a comment that the machine was making "valleys" instead of "hills." I'm not sure why that did not tip her off to the fact that maybe the machine was not working properly, but it did not. She called the on-call doctor and the two of them decided that I was not in "active labor." So, they send me home with an Ambien and two Tylenol. It's about 4 in the morning.

I get home and am totally woozy from the Ambien. Sean had to dress me in my pajamas because I could barely stand up. Since I'm not "in labor" I wolf down two Pop Tarts and climb into bed. Sean had a SWAT callout that night, so he headed out to take care of that since he figured that I would be sleeping awhile. Wrong. I was in SO MUCH PAIN. I don't remember much of what happened for the next few hours, but I do remember lots of screaming, getting into the bathtub to see if it would take the edge off, and using the bathroom a bunch of times. I remember being concerned when I went to the bathroom because I could feel that she was very low. Sean comes home a few hours later and finds me in the recliner, screaming, half draped in a bath towel. To say that he was concerned would be an understatement. (Also, I found out later that the entire time this is going on, my husband had gone to the Kettle and WalMart. Seriously.)

*It's hard to know which hospital trip this pic is from, there were so many. I'm fairly sure this was "the real thing." I think I had my epidural by this time because I'm half-smiling.*

He calls the on-call doctor (a different one from earlier in the morning). I am immediately not impressed by him when he tells Sean harshly to "put me on the phone." Um, yeah, I would have called myself if I WASN'T GIVING BIRTH IN MY LIVING ROOM. He finally gives us the OK to go back to the hospital. It's about 11 by this time. We check into the hospital and by the grace of God, my nurse is the glorious Pat. I was so happy. She checks me out and says "Yep, you're in labor!" Ah, the words I've been waiting to hear. She tells me I'm almost at a 3 and calls the doctor. He refuses to let me have an epidural until he checks me out, but OKs the Stadol. She brings in the Stadol and I'm at a 5. In walk my parents. I have no idea how they knew I was in labor, but I find out later that I talked to my Dad on the phone that morning. I have no recollection of that conversation at all. Finally, the doctor OKs the epidural. I start to get worried when Pat tells me that she is trying to flag down the anesthesiologist. Things were progressing so fast and I was super worried that I would not have time for the epidural. Luckily, I got it and it worked perfectly. Whoever invented those is an angel. The doctor comes in and makes some comment about how "It's good we sent you home this morning because blah blah blah...". Obviously I tune this ridiculousness out. I slept for an hour or so and Pat checks me and I'm at a 10. The doctor comes in again and asks me if I want an episiotomy. I tell him to do whatever, he's the expert. I pushed for maybe 10-15 minutes and she was born at 3:45! Yay!

*I had to post a picture with at least part of nurse Pat in it. I wish I'd gotten one of her face. She was such a wonderful nurse and took great care of us!*

*Me and my precious angel. She was so worth it!*

*Sean, Caroline, and the musical balloon that took weeks to deflate. We had 2 of them!*

Caroline was perfectly healthy and oh-so-cute! We spent the night celebrating with family and catching up on sleep. The neonatologist checked her in the morning and said she was healthy and we could go home as soon as we wanted. I was a little bit nervous because she was born so fast after we got to the hospital and I had needed an antibiotic for Group B Strep. Sean and I had planned to stay 2 nights in the hospital, but there was a serious shortage of rooms and I got a "roomate" the next day. As much as I loved hearing her yell on the phone and have her kids repeatedly peek through the curtains at me as I was breastfeeding, we decided to head home 24 hours after Caroline's birth. I could not get out of there fast enough. I was so ready to leave the hospital that I didn't even dress her in her going home outfit or have her "official" hospital picture taken. I got myself ready to go while Sean, Tara and my Dad got Caroline ready. That might explain why she was wearing no socks.

So, that's the story! I'll post some pictures soon of her big 1st birthday party this weekend!

So, this has been keeping me busy...

2008-09-10T21:15:00.000-05:00

You can go ahead and turn the sound DOWN on this one, unless you want to hear Sean's sassy comment about my TV watching habits.

Babies R Us, you are ridiculous...

2008-09-08T20:25:00.000-05:00

So, Caroline's 1st birthday is coming up in a few weeks and Sean and I haven't quite decided what to buy her toy-wise. Tonight I decided to peruse the Babies R Us website to see what they had. They have an option to click on titled "Narrow by Age." I thought that would give me some perfect options for a 1st bday present. Wrong. Let me show you what I found:

This is one of the items that is apparently appropriate for a child 12-24 months old:

A tummy time mat? Seriously? Caroline has this exact same mat and I think she outgrew it at 6 months. Maybe before then. But she DID like it very much when she was teeny. Thanks again, Katherine!

For the 2 year old crowd:

An activity gym. We have one of these, too. Thanks, Kathy! It's been in the attic for months. But, apparently it's age appropriate for a two year old. Maybe I should dig it back out.

I think these were some of my favorites. Please bear in mind that I teach Kindergarten. For the 5-7 year old:

Plush blocks...

...and a pop-up toy.

Yep, those would definitely be met with applause in my classroom. Or apparently, a 1st or 2nd grade classroom.

So, does anyone have any GOOD ideas for a 1st birthday toy? I'm thinking about something like a little slide for the backyard or a car she can ride on/in. Let me know if there's something you really like!

2008-09-06T20:34:00.000-05:00

So, I think I found Caroline's Halloween costume for this year.

Just kidding. Who comes up with things like this?

Anyway, I'd love any suggestions for a cute costume trio for our family. Last year we were Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker and R2D2. It was so fun, I'd like to do it again. Let me know if you have any good ideas!

If you've ever had to sit through a really boring Convocation, you'll appreciate this...

2008-09-04T15:44:00.000-05:00

I'm usually too lazy to watch videos that anyone else posts on their blog, but we watched this today at work and it's awesome! If you are a teacher you will definitely find it entertaining. Make sure to turn up the sound!

A July 4th Photo Shoot: Two Months Late

2008-09-03T21:18:00.001-05:00

A play-by-play

Look how cute I am in my 4th of July outfit!

Ooh! A leaf!

This looks tasty.

Mom said I can't eat it. She's so mean.

Whatever, woman. I'll do what I want. Anyway, Dad says these things are full of fiber.

You can't be mad at me, Mom. I'm PRECIOUS!

Summer 2008

2008-09-02T21:18:00.001-05:00

I convinced Sean to upload all of the summer pictures onto the computer last night. Hooray! I think he said there were about 900 of them!

In June we:

Went to the Red River Family Encampment in New Mexico with the Hendersons and the Carsons. It was a long drive, but so worth it just to be able to wear sweatshirts in the summer! We had a great time enjoying some good preaching and great times with friends!

Of course, on the way home we had to stop in good ol' Lubbock to spend some time with the Nelsons. Again, our visit was way too short! I had forgotten how nice the summer nights are there. I get so sad every time we leave. It still feels like home.

I'll have to post July and August's happenings later!

2008-08-31T21:34:00.000-05:00

I apologize for having no pictures lately. It's shameful how lazy I have been at uploading my summer pictures. I haven't put pictures onto my computer since May!

Things are much better around here since my last post! After I posted, Sean had to take me to the ER because I was so dehydrated. Luckily, he knows all kinds of random people from his job, and he knew someone working in the ER. He took me back immediately and put my chart at the top, so we weren't there too long! I was so grateful for the special treatment! Unfortunately, I was sick to my stomach the whole day when I got home, so the IV fluids were pretty much a big waste of money. It was truly the sickest I have ever been in my life. I probably should have been admitted to the hospital that day, but Sean took care of me and we made it through. I made it through the rest of the week by drinking BOOST. I so wish I had thought to do that earlier, it really helped. I started eating real food about a week ago, which I'm loving!

School is going well. My class this year is much more low maintenance than last year's, for which I am very thankful. I really prayed about it all summer because last year was HARD. Don't get me wrong, I loved my kids last year, but they were definitely the most challenging bunch I've ever had. I truly felt like something had to give, and God answered my prayer!

I wanted to post some funny stories about Caroline and Sean before I forget them. I really live with the two most hilarious people in the world!

*Last weekend, we went to Waco. At church, someone got up to say the communion prayer and said "Shall we pray?" At this point, Caroline (very loudly) shouts "Yeah!" I thought I was going to have to leave the auditorium, I was laughing so hard.

As many of you know, Sean works very long shifts at work. He also cares for Caroline a lot when I'm at work, so most of the time, when it's time for him to go to bed, he's completely exhausted. When he's super tired, sometimes he talks in his sleep and says the funniest things. I'll admit, I egg him on sometimes, because I know he has NO idea what he's saying. Here's a few of my favorites:

*This actually happened this afternoon. I crawled into bed to take a nap and cuddled up to Sean. He says "I have to tinkle really bad, I'm just waiting for my rookie." (He often has recruit officers who work with him, kinda like a student teacher) I quickly assured him that he was not at work anymore, and it was OK for him to go on ahead to the bathroom without his rookie. He did.

*This summer, I laid down to take a nap and heard this LOUD sound above our house from an airplane flying over. I said "What was that noise?" I heard Sean mumble something about Batman, Superman and a pistol. I asked him to clarify and he said "That's the sound Superman makes when he flies over a house." Oh. OK. Thanks for clearing that up.

*This last one is funny to me now, but was not so much then. The night I went into labor, Sean was asleep and I was in the living room having hard contractions. I finally went into the bedroom and told him that I thought we needed to go to the hospital. He mumbled "Can we just go in the morning when we wake up?" Bless his heart. He's lucky he's still alive. He did wake up and take me, which reminds me, I've never blogged about how the hospital sent me back home in labor. That's a special story that definitely needs to be shared with the blog world. Maybe later.

When it rains, it pours...

2008-08-15T11:40:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm still alive. I use the term "alive" very loosely. I was unaware that you could go on living after ingesting only Sonic ice and Tylenol/codeine for 5 days, but apparently you can. The recovery has been just as horrible as everyone told me it would be. The doctor told Sean that by Day 3 I would hate him. He's right. I don't think our friendship can ever be mended at this point. Also, the "ice cream diet" post tonsillectomy is a huge lie. I might as well be eating razor blades. I swear I would not know the difference. If you have a hankering for ice cream, please feel free to come over and help yourself. There's about 57 gallons in my freezer that I'm not eating. I've pretty much eaten absolutely nothing since Monday night. I weigh less today than when Sean and I got married. The other night I drooled at a Denny's commercial on TV, I'm so hungry. I've never been to Denny's, nor do I ever plan to eat there, I'm just that desperate. And today our air conditioner broke. Again. It's been AWESOME.

On the up side, my parents have been here all week and it's been really fun having them around. We've played board games and watched the Olympics and laughed at Caroline and her new walker toy. They've been a huge help around the house. Caroline can definitely tell that things are different around here and she has been all out of sorts. I'm going to be really sad when they have to leave on Sunday, but Sean's Mom will be coming in then so we'll still have help. I have to go back to work on Monday, which I'm not too excited about, obviously. I'm really hoping that I will start to feel better this week because I'm determined to go see The Dark Knight with Sean. I also have a LONG mental list of food I'll be eating as soon as I can! I'll try to catch a few moments if I feel up to it and post about all of our summer travels and adventures. I can't believe it's almost over!

It's so hard to say goodbye

2008-08-06T20:53:00.000-05:00

Next week I'll be parting ways with two old friends.

Adios amigos.

I'm not particularly worried about having surgery, but for some reason I just can't seem to get over the fact that I'm having body parts removed. I keep thinking that one day all of the otolaryngologists of the world are going to get together and say "hey, you DO need your tonsils" and mine will be in the city dump somewhere.

I know, it's ridiculous.

This will come as no surprise to my doctor, because I'm pretty sure he already thinks I'm an idiot.

Here's our conversation:

Me: I think it's so odd that I keep getting strep. I NEVER had it once as a kid. Since I graduated from college I've had it every year.

Dr.: Do you work?

Me: Yes.

Dr.: What do you do?

Me: I'm a teacher.

Dr.: What do you teach?

Me: Kindergarten

And then do you know what he did?

HE LAUGHED AT ME.

Sigh.

You're laughing at me, too. Aren't you?

"I don't really like to talk about my flair"

2008-07-29T23:41:00.001-05:00

Patience

2008-07-17T19:57:00.000-05:00

Thank you for all of your kind words of encouragement and prayers this week. I really needed it. Unfortunately, I got word today that the injections I need will cost $600 a month. It is extremely humbling to have to tell the pharmacist not to fill your prescription because you can't afford it. I haven't ever had to do that before. In the meantime, I am using a very potent steroid spray that is working pretty well. It's just very toxic, so I'm not sure how long I'll be able to use it before it becomes a health risk. I know that God is watching over me and has a plan for this situation, I'm just going to have to learn to be more patient! Please continue to pray!

Please Pray

2008-07-16T21:31:00.000-05:00

I apologize for not updating this recently. It's been crazy around here the last few weeks. This has been a tough week for me as I got some news that was not what I had hoped for. Unfortunately, the rash I came down with earlier this summer has not cleared up and is getting worse. I went to the dermatologist yesterday and he confirmed that I have psoriasis, which is a chronic autoimmune skin disease. I'm so thankful that it is not life threatening, but there is no cure for it so I'll have it for the rest of my life. To treat it, I'll have to give myself injections twice a month to supress my immune system. These treatments work well, but they cost $2400 a month. Obviously, my prayer is that insurance will cover these treatments as I will not be able to afford them otherwise. I will also need to have my tonsils out sometime in the near future since strep throat can trigger a bad outbreak of the psoriasis. It has just been a lot of stressful information all at once. On the bright side, I feel fine (except for the itching which is driving me bananas) and luckily my Dad's cousin is a dermatologist and was able to give me a much-needed second opinion and calmed my fears about the process. Please keep me in your prayers if you don't mind!

What people?

2008-07-01T14:38:00.000-05:00

To all of my loyal fans: I know that you can't really start your summer without a picture of me in an eyeliner beard, so here you go. This year for VBS we did "The Good Samaritan." I liked that I didn't have to learn any annoying...I mean, awesome...songs.

Caroline gave 10 riveting performances as the farmer's daughter. Now she knows how to wave bye-bye. I'm pretty sure Kathy taught her how to do that.

There's so much more to blog about, but I just can't seem to keep up. I'll try to get back on here later!

2008-06-29T20:53:00.000-05:00

SHE DID IT AGAIN!

I know you're curious...click here!

I guess I should apologize to Jergens now...

2008-06-19T20:50:00.000-05:00

because their tanning lotion didn't cause my rash. It made sense to me, because it is everywhere that I put the lotion. In fact, what caused my rash is even more random than the tanning lotion. I got a rash from strep throat. I had a BAD case of strep over Memorial Day weekend (Sean had to take 2 days off of work to watch Caroline, because I was worthless.) Apparently, strep can cause guttate psoriasis in some people. I think it is pretty rare. I feel really elderly. I mean, doesn't psoriasis make you think nursing home? I think my favorite thing that happened was when I asked the dermatologist how long it would take to clear up with medication. He said "Anywhere from 2 weeks to never." AWE.SOME. The good news is, the steroid cream seems to be working just fine. And it's giving me big muscles.

Lots Going On

2008-06-17T22:57:00.000-05:00

Extreme Home Makeover

When Sean and I were buying a house, we agreed that we liked homes that were a little "older" and didn't look like every other house on the block. Unfortunately, that meant that there were going to be some not-so-modern things on the inside. For example, wood paneling. We love our house (it was built in the 80s), but the wood paneling in the living room was a little bit dark and cave-like. I suggested painting it, but Sean wasn't crazy about the idea. He finally warmed up to it, and we took advantage of having my parents in town this weekend to paint!

Before:
This is not our stuff, this is a picture the previous owners took. The wood paneling went all the way around the room.

After:
I'll try to take a better one when the living room is cleaned up, but I think you can get the idea, it's so much brighter in there!

We decided that while we were at it, we'd do the dining room, too. The pale yellow/toile scheme they had going on wasn't too bad, but wasn't our style. We decided to paint it the same red as our entry way.

Before:

After:

We had some home improvement drama today. Remember in my last post where I showed you the awesome framed picture that Alisa took? I could not wait to get it up on my wall. Yesterday, I hung it up behind our loveseat, but it didn't really take up enough room on that wall. Today I switched it to another wall in the living room and then started to clean things up around the room. I heard a noise and looked up just in time to see my beloved portrait fall to the ground and shatter. I cannot even describe to you my feelings at that moment. Sheer panic. I was freaking out because glass was everywhere and Caroline and I had not been sitting very far from where it fell. We were luckily not hurt at all. I was also hysterical because as I mentioned before, the framing and stuff cost a ton. The frame was a little banged up and the picture was scratched. I woke Sean up to show him what happened and he was so nice and calm about the whole thing as I was freaking out. I was feeling so bad that I let that happen to our nice picture. I turned it over and discovered that the wire was no longer attached to the hook. I then noticed that the other side of the wire was attached firmly to the space where the two ends of the hook meet. The framers attached the wire pretty much to a hole in the hook.
So, I was grateful for two things today-1. that God took care of Caroline and I and we were not hurt-the glass was razor sharp and I was so upset thinking what could have happened 2. that it was not my fault and Michael's is going to be paying to have it replaced, not me!

My best friend Ashley recently listed some of her favorite items for summer. I'm going to go in a little bit of a different direction and list one of my least favorite items for the summer. Here it is:

Sorry, that picture is HUGE!

Now, if you know me, it's no secret that I DON'T TAN. I have red hair and fair skin and I only burn. There is no in between. It's white or red. Those are my choices. So, anyway, a few weeks ago I picked up a bottle of this sunless tanning lotion at the local Target. A tan in a bottle? Sign me up! Firming? I just had a baby, heck yes! The $10 price tag was a little on the steep side, but you gotta do what you gotta do, right? So, I slather it on and it gives me just the right amount of color with one application. It smells a little funny at first, but I can take a bath or shower later, right? So, I use this a few times over the next month or two, still liking it pretty well. That all changed last week. I'm not going to go into boring details and I don't have a picture of myself to show you what it did to me, but imagine this:

This is a kid with chicken pox. That was the closest picture I could get to describe what my rash looks like. It's EVERYWHERE...on my back, my legs, my stomach, my chest, my arms. Thank goodness I didn't put the lotion on my face. Today I had to call around town to find a dermatologist who could see me before August. Luckily, I got an appointment for tomorrow, so hopefully I will be able to wear shorts and sleeveless shirts again (thank goodness, it's a jillion degrees here now).

I'll leave you with some sweet pictures of my girl! She had her first sickness last week...a stomach bug. She had it for 5 days and was kind enough to share it with me...blech! Luckily, she's on the mend now!

"Get that spaghetti with meat sauce away from me, woman!"

I was so excited to dress her in this cute outfit...that she promptly ralphed in. She's pulling up on everything now!

Sean and Caroline on Father's Day. Caroline has such a wonderful daddy! We are both so lucky!

She was watching her Daddy mow the lawn outside her bedroom window. So cute!

2008-06-07T15:15:00.001-05:00

Wow...it has been awhile since I've blogged. I just really haven't been in the mood. I just got off of the phone with my grandmother and she commented that she and her cousin were checking my blog, so I thought I'd update it for them. Who am I to deny her pictures of her favorite (and only) great-grandchild?

This one's for Alisa! The picture we ordered from her turned out beautifully, though the framing cost a fortune. I actually think Alisa tried to warn me about that, but I didn't listen. That's what I get for being dumb. We are going to paint the living room next weekend and then hang it up. I am also going to order a few more prints now that I have money again!

Caroline got ahold of her peach puffs while I was on the phone with Sean the other day. The next thing I knew, they were all on the floor and she was shoving them into her mouth with both hands. Luckily, I had just vacuumed the floor a few hours earlier, so I just put them back in the jar!

I dressed her in this outfit for church the other night and I thought it was so cute!

Mmm...cornbread! I think a teeny bit of it actually made it into her mouth. I think if you enlarge the picture you can see her first tooth that popped up last week!

We went to Waco to visit Sean's family and, of course, had to get in the pool. Caroline liked it pretty well and thought the crab floaty her Grams bought her was pretty cool!

Snacks in both hands...that's my girl!

We thought this big diaper box looked fun to play in. My dad also made a wagon for me out of a diaper box when I was her age!

This is from Baby Blessing day at church. Notice anyone missing? Sean got called out for the SWAT team that morning. I told him to make sure and let the criminal know that he was ruining my day with his bad choices. It was still pretty special, though!

My parents came into town for baby day. This is Nana and Caroline!

Bubble hat!

This one is from Mother's Day. Sean and Caroline got me a gift set of Juicy Couture perfume. It smells wonderful and I wear it every day!

In reference to one of my recent posts, this week I got a letter saying that Caroline's doctor's bill was taken care of. I have to say I'm proud of my persistence! Well, she's getting tired of watching Karen Henley, so I better go!

NOW I feel appreciated!

2008-05-21T14:15:00.000-05:00

I got really excited today when I found this while doing some online window shopping. It's my FAVORITE place to buy clothes! Check it out if you're a teacher!

A Video!!

2008-04-22T13:09:00.000-05:00

A big "I'm sorry" to all of you who tried to view this earlier when it didn't work. Maybe I should take that "How to use a Mac" class they are offering this summer. :)
Oh well, I'm back on my PC now and everything is right with the world. Enjoy!

I haven't attempted to put any of our videos on the computer yet, but Caroline's babysitter sent this one to me today via e-mail so I thought I'd share! She's such a funny little girl!

Happy Birthday to ME!

2008-04-19T10:24:00.000-05:00

We're taking a little trip to the big D for my birthday!

We're going to THIS concert.

Feel free to be very jealous.

Cranberry Chicken

2008-04-17T18:52:00.000-05:00

Here's an easy, tasty recipe that my Mom gave me! It sounds weird, but I promise it's delicious. Have I ever lied to you before?

Ingredients:

1 bottle of Catalina salad dressing
1 can of whole berry cranberry sauce
1 packet of onion soup mix
chicken breasts (as many as you want to cook-we made 8 the other day...cut them in half if they're not frozen!)

Put the ingredients into a crock pot and cook them.

Enjoy!

(I thought about adding pictures, but I'm too lazy!)

Grandparents!

2008-04-13T20:45:00.000-05:00

We've had lots of fun seeing all of Caroline's grandparents over the last week or so. Last weekend, we went to Waco to spend time with Sean's parents. Sean got to go fishing and we got out for two dates (bowling and a Baylor baseball game)! We had a great time and I know that Sean's parents enjoyed spending time with (and spoiling) our little girl!

My parents came into town this weekend, and we also had a great time. We did some shopping and went to the park. Again, we were all very spoiled! Sean and I were able to get out of the house for a quick adults-only trip to Barnes and Noble last night. My mom and I attempted to get some bluebonnet pictures of Caroline this afternoon. She was very interested in picking the flowers, so they didn't turn out that great, but they weren't awful either.

Caroline's babysitter was out of town this week, so Aunt Tara came in from Austin for a day to help out. I think they both had a good time and it was nice to see her!

She and I are so much alike that we could be twins. Or not. :)

In other news:

I chopped my hair off!

I love it!

Funny/Not Funny

2008-04-10T15:24:00.000-05:00

FUNNY:

A few weeks ago, I bought a case of pudding cups to snack on. That night, I sat down to dig into my creamy, chocolatey goodness and realized that something didn't taste quite right. I checked the box and realized that I had bought NO SUGAR ADDED pudding on accident. YUCK! It only took me a few seconds to decide what I was going to do with a whole case of pudding I was definitely NOT going to eat...I would feed it to my class! I took the case to school the next day, but had to wait until a bunch of them were gone (I only had 11 cups left). Well, this afternoon, after having one move out of town, a few stay home sick and sending one home not feeling well, my numbers had dwindled to 11 after lunchtime. So, who got to bribe their class to behave for the rest of the day with snacks that were once doomed for the trash? ME! It was a pleasantly peaceful afternoon, and they thought that the "YUCKY" pudding was the best treat ever!

NOT FUNNY:

Yesterday, Sean stayed home with Caroline. He had worked the night before so he was going on 30 hours with no sleep. He decided to go to bed at 9:00 and I followed quickly behind at about 9:30. We were both fast asleep when we heard his cell phone beep with a text message at 11:30. This happens from time to time, so I didn't think anything of it. Sean checked the message and it said "Barricaded suspect, shots fired. Meet at PD ASAP." Sean is on the SWAT team, so he automatically got VERY excited. He LOVES being on the SWAT team. I, however, was not excited for obvious reasons. Normally, they use his SWAT pager for that sort of thing, but again we didn't think anything of it. While he was getting ready to go, I was trying to figure out what my plan would be for the next day, as my child's caretaker was suddenly going to be tied up on that call. I was dreading having to get up super early and leave sub plans so I could call in sick (and be docked a day's pay). Sean decided at this point to call his friend who sent him the text and check out what was going on. I quickly realized from Sean's side of their conversation that his friend had just pulled a prank on him. As he crawled back into bed he said "If I had thought about it, I knew the other SWAT guys were in Houston at a conference." It took me awhile to fall back asleep after that. I think Sean fared a little better though, because he woke me up in the middle of the night (no kidding) and said "Les Paul and Martin both make the new guitar I want. It costs $3000." He MUST have been dreaming ;)

2008-03-30T21:52:00.000-05:00

Actually, now that you mention it...maybe she does look more like Sean.

Things I like

2008-03-29T20:41:00.000-05:00

Goody Ouchless clear elastic hair bands

I hate to break it to you, but scrunchees are out of style. These are great for a quick ponytail and obviously match every hair color. You can reuse them, but they're clear so they get lost a lot. That is why they come in a package of a jillion. I'm fairly certain that one day Caroline will find one on the floor and try to eat it. I'm not too worried because I ate a penny when I was her age and lived. You can ask my Mom about it.

Slim Fast Optima Meal-on-the-Go bars in Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough flavor

I eat one of these for breakfast just about every weekday. I NEVER wake up early enough to eat breakfast in the morning, so this is the perfect quick snack once I get to work. I don't really eat them to lose weight, but I guess it couldn't hurt since I just had a baby and all. But, beware: only the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough is good, do not waste your time with the other flavors. I already tried them for you and they are awful.

Redken All Soft shampoo and conditioner

Once upon a time, I picked my hair care products based on what was cheap and smelled good. Sean introduced this product to me after we got married and I've never looked back. We both use it, so we buy it by the liter at Trade Secret. It's not cheap, but it's totally worth every penny!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T21:54:00.000-05:00

This ladybug followed us in from our photo shoot. I thought this picture was cute!

This duck is Caroline's favorite toy from her Easter basket. It makes a quacking sound and she smiles every time she hears it.

Caroline has been under the weather this weekend with a cough and runny nose. We were lucky to catch some pictures while she was in a happy mood and just moments before she projectile vomited about half a bottle of Similac all over my Easter dress. That's going to be a special treat for the dry cleaner on Monday.

Spring Break 2008

2008-03-20T22:12:00.000-05:00

We headed out on Saturday morning for the first leg of our "Tour of Texas" trip. We stopped and had lunch with Sean's parents in Waco at Schmaltz's (if you're in Waco, you MUST get a sandwich from there) and spent the night in Abilene with my parents. We tried out Lytle Land and Cattle for the first time for dinner. I thought it was really overpriced for so-so food and awful service, but we had a nice time with my family.

Sunday morning we woke up bright and early (minus one hour of sleep because of Daylight Savings) to head to LUBBOCK! (I have to put it in all caps because I love it so much!) We went to church and met up with Ashley and her precious daughter Carley. After a quick lunch at One Guy from Italy we headed to Ashley's house where we played and talked for awhile. After a quick trip to the South Plains Mall to pick up some Red Raider gear, it was time to meet Cody for dinner at Lujan's.
I had not seen Ashley and Cody in over a year (and even then it was just a quick dinner in Austin) and I hadn't seen Carley since she was a newborn. We stayed up WAY too late talking. It was wonderful! I miss hanging out with them so much and I'm counting the minutes until we can get together again!

On Monday, Alisa took Caroline's 6-month pictures for us at the church. Sean and I met there so it was really special. She did a wonderful job and I can't wait to have her take more pictures of our little family in the future! After the photo shoot, we headed over to see my old co-workers at Head Start. I worked with some awesome people at that school and I was so excited to see them! We left town at lunch time and stopped at Holly's Drive-In in Post for burgers and onion rings (another place you MUST try).

We tried our hardest to make it all the way home to College Station, but we were just too tired. We spent the night in Waco at Sean's parent's house instead. It ended up being nice because we just relaxed on Tuesday and visited his grandmother. We had lunch at Italian Garden in China Spring (super yummy!) and Caroline and I took a LONG nap on the couch together. On Tuesday night we made the drive to College Station with Sean's mother. She offered to babysit Caroline while we left for our anniversary trip.

Wednesday morning Sean and I set out for Austin. Our first stop was Garden Ridge where we finally purchased a park bench for our porch. After checking into the hotel (we stayed at the round-looking Holiday Inn on I-35...looked shady from the outside, but the room was SO nice!) we headed to Waterloo for Sean and Anthropologie for me. After some quick showers and primping at the hotel, it was off to Ruth's Chris downtown. Definitely a splurge, but so yummy!

On Thursday we woke up and met my sister at Kerbey Lane for brunch. She is a nanny and she brought the cute little 3 year old boy that she watches. He was a total ham! We then visited the Bob Bullock museum downtown and walked around the capitol building for awhile. After that we decided that we could not stand to be away from our sweet baby for one more minute, so we headed home. (With one pit stop here for dinner!)

Needless to say, we were exhausted by this point from all the traveling. The rest of our Spring Break was spent resting and relaxing. This week we had even more fun with some visitors from Houston. You can read about it on Marcia's blog!

2008-03-12T00:25:00.000-05:00

We've been busy taking the tour of Texas this Spring Break and we're off again tomorrow, so I only have a minute to blog. If you want to know a little of what we've been up to so far, check Ashley N.'s blog and Alisa's blog. I'll try to update when we get back from our next destination!

7 Fun Food Facts by Tiffany

2008-02-26T10:21:00.000-06:00

Stole this from Marcia!

1. I know I've mentioned this before, but when I was pregnant I got this strange aversion to CHICKEN TENDERS. I still get grossed out thinking about eating at Chicken Express, Bush's or Cane's. I think it's really weird. Sean knows he has to go to eat there with the guys at work because I won't go with him.

2. I love CANDY. Pretty much any kind (except Skittles)...I unfortunately eat WAY too much of it! Some faves include Fun Dip, cherry cordial Hershey's Kisses, Sweetarts Chicks and Bunnies and Sugar Daddies.

3. My favorite drink is a SONIC DIET DR. PEPPER WITH VANILLA...the bigger the better! I try to hit Happy Hour from 2-4 on the weekdays because it's half price. I don't get to go as often as I like right now because I'm trying to watch the caffeine since I'm nursing Caroline.

4. One of the most exciting days at work is when the ladies in our cafeteria make TACO SALAD for the teachers. It only comes around every few weeks, but it is delicious!

5. My favorite fruit is PEACH and I love pretty much anything flavored peach. Peach cobbler, peach crisp, peach Jolly Ranchers, Chris C.'s peach ice cream....it's all so good! Fresh peaches are the best!

6. I love JULIO'S salsa (mild). I love to melt Mexican cheese between two tortillas and dip it into the Julio's. I had my parents bring it to me from Abilene in a cooler when I was pregnant. I recently found that HEB here sells it, but they are sold out a lot of the time :(.

7. My favorite dessert is my Mom's APPLE PIE. She's been making it forever, so she's pretty much an expert by now. She makes the crust from scratch and puts tons of apples in it for the filling. The best part is the homemade whipped cream which she sweetens with just enough powdered sugar. Yum!

8. (Cause I wanted to put in an extra) I really like TACO BELL BEAN BURRITOS. I order them without onions and add lots of mild sauce. Sean hates Taco Bell, so my trips there are always solo. When my sister and I lived together in Lubbock, they had them for 49 cents on Wednesdays and we would go pretty much every week. What a cheap meal!

Rice Cereal

2008-02-24T17:40:00.000-06:00

Caroline started eating rice cereal this week and I think she likes it! I've been struggling to find the right consistency for it, but I'm pretty sure I've figured it out now. And I did get the good sense to put her in a bib the next time!

Today at lunch I was eating a vanilla yogurt cup and I think Caroline thought I was eating her cereal. She started jumping up and down in her ExerSaucer and fussing. It was too funny!

Happy Valentine's Day (9 days late)!

2008-02-23T20:17:00.000-06:00

2008-02-18T15:21:00.000-06:00

Sorry I've been out of the loop. We've been in Abilene the past week for my Papa's funeral. I'll try to post some Valentine pictures when I get a chance!

Here's his obituary....he was a wonderful man and I miss him a lot!

http://www.hamilfamilyfuneralhome.com/content/obituaries/view.jsp?OID=34329

You'd think by now I'd have learned how to use this Mac and make links clickable...but, no.

And for Shannon and Marcia, who apparently let their imaginations run wild with my Wes Welker picture...the picture was taken several years ago (as evidenced by the fact that I'm many pounds lighter in said photo) when I worked in Lubbock and he was playing for Tech. The husband of one of the teachers I worked with was a football team trainer and got a few of the guys to read to our kids. It was pajama day. Sorry, no big juicy story there...though I'm sure Shannon made a good one up!

Fun Times...

2008-02-05T16:40:00.000-06:00

Here's some FUN things going on at the Beatty house:

*Caroline learned how to squeal and she LOVES to hear herself. All weekend I've heard nothing but EEK EEK EEK! It's a good thing she's adorable because otherwise it would be really annoying!

*I got a drive-in flu shot yesterday. It was hilarious! I literally drove up in my car and stuck my arm out the window. Definitely a first for me!

*We had a pajama party with Wes Welker. He was sad about not winning the Super Bowl, so we thought we'd cheer him up since he wasn't going to Disneyworld.

What's FUN in your world right now?

50 Things

2008-02-02T21:51:00.000-06:00

1. Do you wear a name tag at work?
yes, on a lanyard with two keys, instructions for evacuation and a teeny bottle of hand sanitizer

2. What kind of car do you drive?
a black Honda Pilot

3. What do you order when you go to Taco Bell?
Always a bean burrito with no onions, usually a soft taco to go with it and I insist that they give me lots of mild sauce

4. Have you ever had a garage sale?
not recently

5. What color is your iPod?
silver

6. What kind of dog do you have?
No dogs

7. What's for dinner tonight?
A bowl of Golden Grahams

8. What is the last alcoholic beverage you had?
it's been awhile, but I'm pretty sure it was wine

9. Stupidest thing you ever did with your cell phone?
nothing major, probably leaving it at home or work

10. Last time you were sick?
I felt pretty icky last Saturday

11. How long is your hair?
almost to my shoulder blades

12. Are you happy right now?
yep

13. What did you say last?
Night Night to Caroline

14. Who came over last?
Sean's parents

16. Have your brothers or sisters ever told you that you were adopted?
I'm sure

17. What is your favorite key chain on your keys?
the Texas Tech one Sean gave me

18. What was the last movie you watched at home?
I'm not sure because I'm not good at watching movies at home...I get too distracted

19. What is in your pocket?
I'm wearing PJ pants, so no pockets

20. Who introduced you to your crush?
I think he introduced himself to me

21. Where do you hurt?
nowhere currently

22. Has someone ever made you a Build-A-Bear?
No, but I can't wait to take Caroline when she gets a little older

23. What DVD is in your DVD player?
I think The Cosby Show Season 6

24. What's something fun you did today?
played and read with Caroline

25. Who was the principal of your high school?
Mr. Curtis

26. Has your house ever been TPd?
No

27. What do you think of when you hear the word 'meow'?
Cats

28. What are you listening to right now?
"The Wedding Planner" is on in another room, I can barely hear it

29. Drinkin?
nothing

30. What is your favorite aisle at Wal-Mart?
I don't really go to Wal-Mart ever, but if I did I guess the baby aisle

31. When is your birthday?
7-11

32. What's the area code for your cell phone?
979

33. Where did you buy the shirt you're wearing now?
I got it when I worked in Lubbock

34. Is there anything hanging from your rear view mirror?
Nope

35. How many states in the US have you been to?
Hmmm...Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, Arkansas, Virginia...I think that's it

37. What are you going to do after this?
go to bed pretty soon

38. Who was the last person you went shopping with?
Caroline

40. What about your favorite dessert?
Mom's apple pie with real whipped cream

41. What is something you need to go shopping for?
birthday cards and presents for my dad and Sean's mom

42. Do you have the same name as one of your relatives?
Caroline and I have the same middle name

43. What kind of car do your siblings drive?
Tara has a white Chevy Malibu

44. Do you like pickles?
yes

45. What about olives?
No thank you

47. What is your favorite kind of juice?
orange

48. Do you have any tan lines?
are you kidding?

49. What hospital were you born in?
Hendrick Hospital in Abilene

50. Do you remember the name of your kindergarten teacher?
Ms. Phillips

I'm a winner!

2008-01-30T13:10:00.000-06:00

I entered a photography contest this week and just found out today that I won an honorable mention. I entered 3 pictures and actually won a prize with the only one I took with my OLD point and shoot camera. It was a picture I snapped a few months ago of Sean and Caroline before he left for work. I literally took the picture from my perch on the recliner. Anyway, it looks like I won a free 5X7, so I'm pumped. Check out Lindsey Cotton's site if you live in Abilene and need a photographer (or if you just want to gawk at my photographic expertise...ha!) Her pictures are really great!

www.cottonphoto.blogspot.com

I tried to be good....

2008-01-26T21:56:00.000-06:00

...but I didn't buy the diapers like I said I was going to. In fact, I'm afraid I spent Sean's whole raise in one day.

Meet my new baby!

We actually weren't planning to buy a car today at all, but we ended up getting such a good deal that it all just happened really quickly (by really quickly I mean we were there all afternoon...good thing the grandparents were here to watch Caroline)! Sean and I had talked about trading in the old Altima (sniffle, sniffle) since we were quickly finding out that the "family" car I thought I bought several years ago was just not cutting it size-wise. Any time we traveled, we had to put our luggage in the front seat, and Caroline's stroller was getting torn up from being shoved in the trunk. It was also next to impossible to change her diaper in the back seat because it was at a kind of slant, and it was only going to get worse as she grew.

I knew I really wanted a Honda Pilot (because I ALWAYS have to buy the same thing as Ashley...and Sean said NO to a minivan), so we decided to go to the used car lot today just for fun. We found one we liked and ended up talking them down about 20% from what they quoted us the first time. We went back and forth for a while negotiating and were about to leave (I was totally going to come back Monday and buy it...hehe) when they chased us in the parking lot and gave us OUR price! The salesman actually told us "good job" when we left. I think that means we got a good deal!

Sweet Niblets!!

2008-01-25T14:14:00.000-06:00

This is an actual account of a conversation that happened at our house this week.

Sean (talking to his mother on the phone about a test he has to take on Wednesday to get a promotion at work): "Yeah, if I pass I get a $_____ raise.

Me (from a completely different room in the house, mind you): "Oh no, it's at least two or three times that much!"

Sean: "How in the world do YOU know that?"

Me: "I looked it up on the Internet."

Sean: "You did what? Where?"

Me: "On the police department website. I can show you if you want."

Sean: "Uh, OK."

I click through the police dept. website to the page appropriately named "Know About Police Salaries".

Sean: "Well, I'll be.."

I guess it makes sense that I know more about his salary than he does...I AM the one who spends most of it:)

P.S. He passed the test! YAY! We're going to celebrate tonight by going out to dinner and buying...I don't know...diapers probably!

P.S.S. No, I don't know what "Sweet Niblets!" means, but one of the little girls in my class keeps saying it and it makes me laugh. I hope it doesn't mean something inappropriate!

Vote!!

2008-01-20T21:44:00.000-06:00

Since three people this weekend have told me Caroline looks like Sean, I thought I'd add a poll to my blog to see what everyone else thinks! Take a minute to cast your vote!

2008-01-19T21:59:00.000-06:00

Sean started a new schedule this year where he works 12 hour shifts. He gets every other weekend off, but on the other weekends he works every day and is sleeping when he's home.

I really like this schedule because it allows us to only send Caroline to child care very part time, but we do sacrifice some together time in order to keep our full time jobs. This has been the first weekend he's working and it's been interesting. Caroline got her 4 month shots yesterday so she's been a little irritable. It's always hard to keep her quiet and entertained while Sean is trying to sleep. Luckily, today the weather was nice enough to get out, so I did what I always do when I get bored. We went shopping!

We hit up TJMaxx, Old Navy, Target and JoAnn. We didn't need anything, we mostly just walked around. I did make a few purchases, though ;) Let me tell you, TJMaxx is definitely one of my favorite stores. Sean hates to go there, so Caroline and I usually go alone, but I've really been finding some treasures there lately. I got two dresses for myself for fourty dollars each (they were both normally over a hundred each) and two Ralph Lauren ones for Caroline on clearance (fourty dollars each for twelve dollars apiece)! I LOVE a good bargain!

I'm happy to report that Caroline has hopefully fallen asleep for the night, so I think I'll curl up in the recliner with my new issues of People and Good Housekeeping (yeah, I'm a nerd, but the subscription was FREE) and find something on TV. It's slim pickins on the TV this weekend, as I've already watched such greatness as the Barrett-Jackson auto auction (I don't understand spending half a million dollars for a car you won't even drive) and the West Texas Rehab Telethon (it reminded me of home).

I haven't loaded any new pictures onto the computer, but here's some pretty recent ones of Caroline. She learned how to roll over this week and we are so proud of her. She's growing up so fast!

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE my new camera? I LOVE IT!

2008-01-10T22:51:00.000-06:00

For Christmas, Sean and I splurged and bought a digital SLR camera. My parents got us the zoom lens, so we've been having lots of fun taking almost 1000 pictures on it. Here are some of the best shots!

Caroline and Santa

2007-12-20T20:12:00.001-06:00

For the Ashleys...PICTURES!!!

2007-12-14T20:22:00.000-06:00

I went back to work a month ago, so I haven't had much time to blog. I've been very busy! When I get home, all I want to do is hang out with Caroline, so no blogging. Here's a few things we've been up to this past month and a half.

*Caroline and I went to Sean's deer lease to hang out. The guys cooked for us and we got to fish and ride around in the Jeep. Caroline rode in my lap and there were no doors on it. Just call me Britney. Just kidding...we were only going about 2 MPH! It was a beautiful day and we had so much fun!

*We went to Abilene for my 10 year high school reunion. I know, I'm old. We took Caroline to her first HS football game. She also got to meet her great grandparents and great uncle. She and my grandmother have the same birthday!

*We visited Abilene and Waco for Thanksgiving. It snowed in Abilene, which was really nice! We had lots of fun visiting our families and it went by way too fast.

*Our friends from college came to visit for baby Mallory's shower. We had a blast catching up with everyone. It's always a good time when we all get together!

*My Mom (Nanna) has been here this week to babysit for Caroline. She's been cooking and baking and cleaning...I wish she lived closer! We are all getting extremely spoiled!

Only one more week till Christmas vacation...maybe I'll try to post again soon!

HELP!

2007-11-18T17:25:00.000-06:00

Does anyone know of a good photographer in my area? I've GOT to get pictures taken of Caroline. We took her to Sears yesterday and to put it simply it did not go well. I really didn't like it there and don't want to go back. I'm willing to pay a decent amount for good pictures, just nothing too outrageous! Let me know if you have any reccomendations!

This picture cracks me up....

2007-11-04T12:56:00.000-06:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

2007-10-30T23:23:00.001-05:00

Nursery

2007-10-27T22:07:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to make a slide show of Caroline's first month (it's more like 6 weeks now!) but it's taking awhile so I thought I'd post some pictures of her nursery. My family surprised me and had it all decorated when we came home from the hospital with Caroline. It was a disaster before then. Coming home to a finished room was the best surprise ever! We hardly had to spend any money on it, because almost all of the stuff was made by someone in my family or we already had it. We're so thrifty! My Mom made all of the bedding and the curtain...she's great at sewing. The crib was mine when I was a baby and was built by my grandfather. The changing table and quilt rack were garage sale purchases my Dad made. He's great at finding treasures. The rocking chair used to be in my Mom's office. I was trying to think of one thing in her room that Sean and I actually bought with our money and all I could think of was the rug. It only cost $26 at Target (on sale, of course)!

More Caroline Pictures!!

2007-10-01T18:03:00.000-05:00

We've been busy around here...

First walk around the neighborhood

First trip to church

Her favorite guy...

Getting some lovin' from Mommy!

Her first bath...not her favorite time!

She likes to ride in the car!

Going home from the hospital

Caroline Lea Beatty

2007-09-23T10:53:00.000-05:00

September 21, 2007 3:44 PM
7 pounds, 4 ounces
20 inches long

She's here! We are home now and are all doing great! We are COMPLETELY in love with our little miracle!

2007-09-19T10:09:00.000-05:00

"Anybody can teach Kindergarten 9 months pregnant, but it takes talent to teach Kindergarten 10 months pregnant!"

Yep, I'm still pregnant. I am actually starting to have signs that SOMETHING is happening now, at least. I think I'm in early labor. HOORAY for that! I've been having pretty painful contractions at night and some other symptoms. I even spent a few hours at the hospital on Monday morning getting checked out (everything's fine, I'm just not ready to have the baby quite yet!) The doctor told me yesterday that I'm not dilating yet, but my cervix is starting to soften. It's hard not knowing how long this might take! I'm not exactly pumped about this going on much longer, because it's hard to sleep at night with the contractions, and I need to work as much as I can now to save my days for after her birth! God has smiled on me though, and I've really not been fatigued during the day, even though I'm only sleeping about 4 or 5 hours! I'm really hoping that everything will still happen naturally because I don't want to be induced next week. It just makes me uneasy, but I'm sure everything will be fine no matter what! I'll try to keep you updated and I'll search for someone to update the blog after she comes!

Update on CLB

2007-09-13T13:16:00.000-05:00

Marcia pointed out that I haven't posted in over a week, and with the upcoming arrival of Caroline, that's unacceptable! Well, I wish I had more exciting news to share with you, but I don't! AGAIN, my checkup showed that not much is happening. My cervix is still tight (doesn't that sound gross?) and that's about all I know. My doctor will be out of town next week and I'll see the on call doctor Tuesday. The NEXT week I will see my doctor again and will be induced on the 26th if she hasn't arrived yet. Her heartbeat and everything was good, I guess she's just having fun in there! I hope she doesn't come out HUGE! The clothes I have packed for her in my bag are for 5-8 pound babies. I may have to reconsider and wash and pack some alternatives.

I can't believe that we will have our baby in the next two weeks! It's so exciting and I really haven't had the chance to get too nervous with the beginning of school keeping me busy. I still feel pretty good and have plenty of energy. I've been blessed to stay so healthy throughout this whole pregnancy!

2007-09-05T21:33:00.001-05:00

Just in case you were worried I was wasting away to nothing, here's proof that I am, in fact, NOT! (And this was taken a few weeks ago, so I'm bigger now!) Also, enjoy a partial view of our entry way (for all of you who haven't seen our new house yet!)

I've been staying busy with school and I find myself still nesting. I've been organizing and cleaning here and there, trying to make things ready for Caroline! I've actually had a pretty good amount of energy, so that has been nice. Sean and I have both been sick this week with our allergies. It's making it hard for me to sleep when I can't breathe well, so I will admit I have taken a few naps this week!

We went to the doctor on Tuesday and still not much is happening. Caroline must be cozy in there! We sure are ready to meet her!

Random as ever

2007-08-31T20:37:00.000-05:00

-Monday was the first day of school. It absolutely kicked my behind. By the end of the day, my entire body was SO sore that I had to go home and take a nap. I wasn't even really sleepy, I just HURT! Luckily, the rest of the week was better and I've been feeling great ever since!

-I actually had enough energy on Thursday night to go to the movies with Sean (on a SCHOOL night!) He took me to see The Nanny Diaries because he knew I had been wanting to see it and our time is running out for doing stuff like that together for awhile. We had fun even if the movie wasn't all that spectacular!

-I bought the movie Blades of Glory as an "I survived the first week of school nine months pregnant" treat. It's SO dumb, but I needed some mindless humor!

-I just finished my baby shower gift thank yous...woohoo!

-I went to the doctor on Tuesday and he told me that everything looks great, but I'm not dilated or anything yet...so the waiting continues! I wasn't too surprised because I haven't had any contractions yet.

I'll try to be more interesting later....

100 Facts About Me

2007-08-25T23:01:00.000-05:00

This seriously took me about 3 weeks to complete!

1. My favorite color is pink. Light pink, not hot pink.

2. I'm sure my husband is overwhelmed by the amount of pink in our home lately.

3. I have gained 30 pounds this year so far.

4. That did not stop me from eating Taco Bell for lunch today.

5. The lady in the drive thru asked me if I was eating for 2 or 3.

6. I have one younger sister and no brothers.

7. I am the only person in my family with red hair.

8. I have a fake tooth.

9. It's from a root canal a few years ago.

10. That experience was the most painful of my life so far.

11. I do not like cilantro. I hate the taste of it.

12. I ran a half marathon two years ago.

13. I really want to run a full marathon someday.

14. I was a cheerleader in high school.

15. My favorite chore is washing laundry. I really don't mind it too much.

16. I'm very particular about how my clothes are washed. I usually won't let anyone else do it.

17. I cannot put my face under the water while swimming without holding my nose.

18. I don't know how to drive a standard.

19. I need to learn soon so I can drive our Jeep.

20. I don't really like to use lotion because I don't like the way it feels.

21. I LOVE to play board games.

22. I really want to see Celine Dion in concert in Vegas.

23. I also really want to see The Phantom of the Opera.

24. I played the viola for 7 years.

25. I lived in the same house from the time I was born until I went to college.

26. My parents' house is one block from ACU.

27. I went to Texas Tech, though.

28. I have lived in 10 different houses and apartments in the last 10 years.

29. My husband and I just bought our first house.

30. I am about to start my 7th year as a teacher.

31. My husband and I went on our first date in December 2000.

32. We went to Logan's Roadhouse and to look at Christmas lights in Ransom Canyon.

33. We didn't start officially dating until 4 years later.

34. We lived 7 hours away from each other during the first months we dated.

35. We were engaged about 6 months after we started dating.

36. We got married 6 months after that.

37. I found out I was pregnant after we were married for 9 months.

38. It's been an eventful 2 years!

39. My right index fingernail broke almost all the way off when I was in high school and it won't grow back correctly.

40. I cannot remember how it happened.

41. I'm allergic to cats, dogs, grass and some trees.

42. I'm not a big fan of pets.

43. One food that I don't like is celery.

44. I always sleep on the right side of our bed.

45. I love to read my People magazine every Friday. I get excited to see it in the mailbox.

46. My birthday is on 7-11 like the convenience store.

47. I've only gotten one ticket, for speeding in 1998.

48. I've never had a wreck that was my fault.

49. My husband still thinks I'm a bad driver.

50. I'm pretty good at spelling.

51. I HATE science. It just does not make sense in my brain.

52. I always have to be doing something else at the same time when I watch a movie at home.

53. Most of the time I fall asleep during the movie.

54. I rarely fall asleep during movies at the theater.

55. I love anything peach. It's my favorite fruit.

56. My favorite type of food is Italian.

57. My second favorite is Mexican.

58. My husband and I agreed on Caroline's name before we were even married.

59. I thought it up while listening to a Ryan Adams song.

60. I cannot stand for my toenails or fingernails to get long. It grosses me out.

61. I love picking out and buying presents for people.

62. My favorite dessert is my Mom's apple pie and homemade whipped cream.

63. My favorite place to shop is Target. I get excited every time I go there.

64. I'm allergic to penicillin, but only since a few years ago.

65. It made me break out in hives over my whole body.

66. The only food I've really craved while pregnant is fruit.

67. The only food I've had an aversion to is chicken tenders.

68. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to eat Chicken Express, Layne's or Cane's again.

69. I love finding old friends on MySpace.

70. I'd rather mess around on the Internet than watch TV any day.

71. My favorite place to shop for clothes is Ann Taylor Loft.

72. I think I have very cute toes.

73. When I was 2 years old, I stuck a raisin so far up my nose that I had to go to the doctor to have it removed.

74. I'm not good about brushing my teeth before I go to bed.

75. I rarely eat breakfast during the school year, but during the summer I eat it almost everyday.

76. I don't like apple juice.

77. I love mustard.

78. Mayonnaise totally grosses me out. Sean also hates it so we never keep it in the house.

79. I caught mono during my last year of college.

80. I student taught in a bilingual second grade class and I know almost no Spanish.

81. Another food I do not like is snow cones. I just tried one a few hours ago to make sure, but I still don't like them.

82. One year in college, my two roommates and I lived in an apartment with another girl that none of us had ever met.

83. I just saw Footloose for the first time a few weeks ago.

84. I drive a Nissan Altima.

85. I collect children's picture books. I have tons of them.

86. When I was growing up, my Mom worked for an adoption agency and we got to keep the newborn babies at our house until they were adopted.

87. My favorite shoes are my Rainbow flip flops.

88. I have never broken a bone.

89. When I was a baby, I swallowed a penny. My Mom had to "find" it later.

90. I am using my old baby bed in Caroline's room.

91. She is coming home from the hospital in the same dress I came home in.

92. My husband is a better cook than I am.

93. My first job was as an usher for a minor league baseball team.

94. "Outtie" belly buttons gross me out. I'm really glad mine has not popped out while I've been pregnant.

95. I haven't been able to wear my wedding rings for a month because my fingers started swelling.

96. My feet started swelling this week, but my left one is definitely bigger.

97. Brushing my teeth still makes me gag. I hope it stops when the baby comes!

98. I love my husband. He's the best!

99. I want to visit New York City at Christmas time.

100. I have a great smile. (I'm not vain, Sean told me to put that one!) :)

Nesting

2007-08-17T18:44:00.000-05:00

It seems like every day it hits me more and more that I could go into labor any day! I've been trying to make sure that I have things semi-organized and ready, but if you know me, you are aware this is not my forte. I have washed some of Caroline's clothes and personal items so she has a little bit of stuff ready (I already lost one of her mittens...I think the washer or dryer ate it). Sean and I assembled the Pack N Play and put it in our room for her bassinet. Today we tackled the stroller and car seat. I was starting to get worried her stuff would not arrive in time, so it was a relief that we got it all in this week (we had to order it from Target.com...they were speedy)! I had actually not seen any of it in person, and luckily it turned out to be super cute!

Sometime this week, Sean is going to have one of his friends at work install the car seat base. Did you know that most police departments have people certified to do this for you? I think fire departments also have people who can do it. They have to go through a pretty intense training to be certified (it's at least a week long, I think). Anywho, that tells me that I'm WAY underqualified to do it myself. I'm glad I have the hook ups so I don't have to even attempt it.

I've started to go to the doctor every week now and on Thursday he's going to start checking to see how far along I am. Sean and I have pretty much decided that we're not going to do the scheduled early induction after all unless there is a medical reason I need it. I haven't heard great things about induction and I'm not really bothered by having the on-call doctor since I haven't had any complications. We're hoping everything will just progress naturally! I did find out this week that I tested positive for Group B Strep. I'm not too nervous about it, but since I'm allergic to penicillin I'm going to try to get to the hospital in plenty of time for my antibiotic to kick in. It seems that nothing works quite as quickly as penicillin!

Last weekend was so fun with a visit from my parents and Sean's parents. We had a baby shower thrown by my friends from work on Saturday and our church shower was on Sunday. Again, we were blessed with an abundance of nice gifts from truly generous friends and family!

I had training for school 2 days this week and Monday is my first official day back for this school year. It's really hard to believe that I'm about to start my 7th year of teaching. It seems like only yesterday Ashley and I were walking around Higginbotham Park talking about how nice it would be to have the first year done. Time flies. I'm hoping I can get some more things ready in my classroom before Caroline makes her arrival. I'd hate to leave a sub with chaos!

Blast From the Past

2007-08-09T02:19:00.000-05:00

For today's blog post, I invite you all to take a ride in my time machine. We're going to be traveling back to December 2001. Buckle your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

Earlier this summer, my computer got fried during one of the storms and I freaked out thinking I had lost all of the pictures on my hard drive. Luckily, the hard drive was fine, but it inspired me to start backing up my pictures. I found this gem the other day. This picture compels me to make a few comments:

1. Shannon-nice bangs....I'm so proud of you for growing them out...do you still have the "prizes" Mindy gave you for doing it?"
2. Sean-nice surfer hair...thank goodness I threw all that SunIn out when we got married!
3. Tiffany-there is only one word for those overalls, and that is awesome!

I've been trying for 2 days to do that 100 Facts About Me post, but I can only seem to get to 75. I guess if I can't think of 100 interesting things about myself, no one else will find it interesting enough to read!

Fun Weekend!

2007-08-06T23:35:00.000-05:00

This weekend my friends from college gave me a wonderful baby shower in Ft. Worth. It was so nice to see and catch up with friends I hadn't seen in awhile. Some of them came from as far as Kansas and Oklahoma. They blessed Caroline with some very nice things! I was so sad to leave...I didn't want the fun to end!

Old friends having a great time!

This quilt was a gift from my mother. It's one of many that she is making for Caroline. She just can't stop sewing! Isn't it beautiful?

All of the ladies giving Caroline some lovin'!

Armadillo by Morning

2007-08-03T12:36:00.000-05:00

I have come to the conclusion that most people don't actually read my blog posts unless they have a picture to go along with them. I figured this out by noticing how many people guessed in the baby pool that my baby would be born after my due date. They obviously had not read my last post, where I revealed that my induction date is going to be on September 11th. So, in light of this, I promise pictures in this post!

This week we had some fun visitors...of all varieties! Sean's sister and brother in law came into town on Wednesday night and stayed with us until Thursday. We enjoyed some delicious meals at Abuelo's and Blue Baker (and a Blizzard from DQ) and did some shopping. It was so fun! We were able to offer them some additional entertainment yesterday with this story....

Yesterday morning, Sean was leaving for work at about 8:45 and noticed that lots of things in our garage were messed up. His golf bags and fishing poles were knocked down and 3 bags of fertilizer were totally demolished and strewn about. We had left the garage open the night before for about an hour, and figured the pesky neighborhood cat had gotten in and gone to town. It was a DISASTER in there!

When Sean got back from work, he was showing us the bags of fertilizer and Ryan kicked one of them. IT MOVED! At this point I started screaming and ran in the house. I'm not a lover of the animals. They started poking around in the bag and found an ARMADILLO! It was huge! They finally let it go free in the yard and the last place we saw it was our neighbor's flower bed. It was a crazy afternoon!

Mindy took all of these pictures (again, they are foggy because of the humid weather!) My job during this time was to scream "Don't touch it! You'll get rabies!" and "AAARGGHHH!!!" I was very good at my job.

Guess what day Caroline will make her big arrival!

2007-07-28T23:11:00.001-05:00

This and that...

2007-07-23T15:31:00.000-05:00

I have been a blogging fool the past few days! I think this makes 3 posts in 2 days. This partly has to do with my latest insomnia. I didn't feel very well all weekend and I finally figured out that it's because I haven't been sleeping well at all. Caroline's favorite time to play is in the middle of the night, so it makes it very hard to fall asleep. Saturday night she was moving SO MUCH I was sure she was trying to be born right then and there. I think she was practicing for the Olympics. I then started panicking because we don't have a carseat! And her room looks like an atomic bomb of crap went off in it! (We haven't even started fixing it up!) And most importantly, she's not due for 6 weeks, she barely weighs 4 pounds.

Today when I went to the doctor, he assured me it is normal to be having some contractions right now, so that made me feel a lot better! He also told me that he is going to be out of town the week I am due, so he's going to try and schedule an induction for the week before! It really hit me how close it is! He checked the calendar and told me September 4th. No problem, not like I've scheduled anything else exciting for the month of September. As I'm checking out of the office, he comes back and tells me he looked at the calendar wrong and I'll be delivering the next week instead. I know you can see where this is going. Yes, my dear baby girl will very likely be born on September 11th. At least no one will forget her birthday!

After my appointment, I was proud of myself for being very productive. I got my oil changed, went to Sonic for a drink and ordered a replacement part for my car at the Nissan dealership. I needed to stop at Motherhood Maternity before I headed home because I needed some new bras. (I've decided that since I've posted pictures of my bare belly on here, I can talk about my underwear, too!) One of my friends told me to start buying nursing bras when I needed a bigger size, so that's what I've been doing. I'll admit, I'm very cheap and had been trying to squish myself into my old ones for WAY TOO LONG. Ladies, do not do this. If you know me, you are well aware that I've been mostly flat chested my whole life. I have to buy all of my bras at Victoria's Secret because lots of stores don't carry the extremely strange and small size I wear. I start trying some on at the maternity store and can't quite decide what fits. I ask the sales lady to measure me just to make sure. So she does and comes back with this size....32F!!! Now just let that sink in for a minute. It's obscene, I know. I almost fell on the floor laughing! Before I was pregnant, I wore a 32B. That means I've grown 4 cup sizes! Good grief, I did not sign up for this! Anyway, I left the store empty handed because they of course don't carry that size or anything even close to it. I'm apparently going to have to do some Internet shopping!

Well, that's my day so far. Sean and I are having dinner with some friends and playing some SETTLERS OF CATAN! I'm so excited! For now, I think I'll try to squeeze in a quick nap...

21 things not to say to a pregnant woman...

2007-07-23T04:04:00.000-05:00

1)	I slept like a rock.
2)	Sally looks fantastic, don't you think? It's hard to believe she's had three kids.
3)	You sure you wanna eat that cookie?
4)	My sister had a nine-pounder. We can beat that.
5)	Will those stretch marks go away?
6)	Wow, it's hard to believe something as big as a baby can actually come out of you.
7)	Can you get the phone? We're fourth and one.
8)	Of course I don't care about the weight gain, but you're kidding yourself if you think it's only 20.
9)	I'm trying to sleep. Can you be still?
10)	Don't be so emotional.
11)	I finished the ice cream.
12)	If I didn't know better I'd bet on triplets.
13)	I didn't know your ankles would look pregnant.
14)	You want me to dust off the exercise bike for after the baby?
15)	Brian's wife was in labor for 42 hours.
16)	I think we should have another one right away so that the kids will be close.
17)	Steve's wife walked out of the hospital wearing the same jeans that she wore before she got pregnant.
18)	I just found out what an episiotomy is do you want me to tell you?
19)	I told my mom she could live with us for a month after the baby is born.
20)	Can you try to have the baby after playoffs?
21)	I couldn't find a pair of gym shorts, so I'm wearing some of yours. I found this on the JCPenney website...it totally cracked me up. I restrained myself from highlighting the ones that my husband has actually said to me!

Ah, the joys of home ownership....

2007-07-21T02:36:00.000-05:00

Sean and I have been in our new house for a whole month now! This has given us (actually, just Sean) time to work on a few home improvement projects. This is our first time as non-renters and it's a little bit scary to know that we are now in charge of anything that goes wrong. Here's a sampling of things that have happened in the last month...luckily, these are all small problems...nothing major yet!

1. Our microwave oven is possessed by the devil. If you put anything in it for too long, it shuts off completely. Not just stops cooking off, like not working off. It's obviously BRAND NEW so Sean and I are suspecting that it is not vented appropriately and is overheating. Haven't figured out how to fix that yet.

2. One night I was in the kitchen and Sean was in the living room when we hear a loud crash from our bedroom. I went in to check it out and noticed the soap dish in our bathroom was completely on the opposite side of the room. Before I started freaking out that a ghost threw the soap dish across the room, I decided to be brave and assess the situation. Our entire HUGE mirror over the sink had fallen down. Luckily it fell straight down and didn't break at all. The people who owned the house before us had GLUED it to the wall. This mirror is super heavy, and I'm sure the steam from the shower just loosened the glue all up. Haven't figured out how to fix this one either.

3. The pull chain for the light in our bedroom keeps getting stuck and no one in town sells a replacement part. Sean was going to blog about his trip to Home Depot to buy the part because it was hilarious, but he chickened out. You'll have to ask him in person. It's funnier when he does the voices anyway. Status: not fixed!

4. Last week I walked into our guest bathroom and noticed the contour rug around the toilet was soaked. Sean hates for the bathroom floor to get wet, so I thought it was weird that he stepped on that rug after his shower and got it so wet. When I asked him about it, he told me he didn't do it. That's when we noticed water leaking out of the bottom of the toilet. We call the plumber and he can't come for a few days. No problem, we have two bathrooms, right? Wrong. Friday night after Sean goes to work, I use our bathroom and when I flush, water starts gushing out of the tank. I call Sean at work and he says "I'll look at it when I get home." He obviously was not aware of the fact that I am 8 months pregnant and have to use the bathroom about 900 times a day. I almost had a nervous breakdown. I was so brave and held it until he came home (many hours later), but believe me he was greeted at the door with the words "I gotta pee!" He even decided to play plumber and fixed BOTH toilets by himself (saving us about 100 bucks in the process). Unfortunately, he would not allow me to take pictures. I don't know why. His crack wasn't showing or anything!

If you know Sean, you know that his favorite handyman projects are in the yard. He LOVES to fix up the lawn and he is very particular about it. It's looking great outside at our house (with a little help from the abundant rain!) I'll have to take some pictures and post them soon!

In other news, I just found these on sale at Old Navy and ordered them for the hospital! I called Sean at work to tell him the exciting news of my purchase, but apparently he was busy breaking up a skirmish at the bar and was not quite as pumped as I was.

I thought I might need some nursing pajamas and now I have some to match baby Caroline! I think I might try to look for a bathrobe also. Both of the ones I have now are WAY TOO WARM! Any advice on what else to take to the hospital when the baby is born?

Happy Birthday to ME!!

2007-07-13T00:07:00.000-05:00

We've been having lots of fun around here because it's my birthday week! Because I am a princess, I expect Sean to pamper me a full 7 days before and after my actual birthday day. And he laughs at me because I am ridiculous. My parents were in town all weekend, which was very fun. They helped us with some home improvement projects and bought me all kinds of treats! We enjoyed a very tasty birthday dinner (one of several, haha) at Abuelo's.

On Wednesday, my actual birthday (7-11 like the convenience store) we started the morning off with a trip to the baby doctor. Everything still looks great! It's hard to believe I only have 2 months left, but at the same time it feels like forever. I'm getting more uncomfortable by the day. I now have to sleep on the couch at night to get comfortable, and I'm pretty sure Caroline has one of her legs stuck in my ribs. After the doctor's appointment, I headed home and rested for the afternoon while Sean went shopping for my presents. I thought I was a procrastinator! That night we went to church and to a quick dinner at Cheddar's! Sean bought me some great presents. So far my favorite thing is my Cosby Show DVDs. That's hours of entertainment!

This afternoon we went to see the new Harry Potter movie. I thought it was pretty good. We went for my nice bday dinner at Cenare, an Italian restaurant. We weren't overly impressed by it, but we still had a great time! Tonight we managed to pretty much clean up the living room so it is livable. Maybe we can have actual guests over soon!

This is a picture of me before we went out for my bday dinner...I'm 31 weeks pregnant!

I thought that all my friends in West Texas would find this funny...it was so humid outside today that the camera lens fogged up when Sean tried to take this picture! YUCK!!

Marcia tagged me...

2007-06-27T22:04:00.000-05:00

First memory - I have no idea on this one.

First real kiss - Sam Dominguez, in ninth grade in the AHS music hall...how romantic

First love -Sean, no one else even compares.

First thing you think in the morning - during the school year: "how much longer can I sleep" during the summer: I don't really wake up in the actual morning...it's usually afternoonish

First pet - a dog named Charlie

First question you'll ask in heaven - Again, no idea.

First thing you think of when you hear the word vacation - I can't wait!

First best friend - Alison C., we don't really keep in touch much but I saw her last time I was in Abilene and she has the cutest kids!

Last time you dressed up -since Marcia says that church doesn't count, I'm gonna say our anniversary dinner in March...if we're talking formal, it was Mindy and Ryan's wedding in November

Last thing you ate -pasta with tomato sauce

Last CD you bought - Rascal Flatts...Sean was very ashamed.

Last good book you read - I'm reading Bergdorf Blondes now and it's pretty good...I'm almost done with it. I'm also enjoying What to Expect When You're Expecting and Your Pregnancy Week by Week.

Last time you cried - I don't remember, though I'm sure it was recently. I'm pregnant.

Last time you told someone you loved them -right before Sean left for work tonight

Last really funny thing you did - Everyone seemed to think that my performance as Joseph's brother Dan was pretty funny. I mean, I did have an eyeliner mustache.

Last thing you watched on TV -Sean and I watched a little bit of Jurassic Park before he left for work.

I tag...Ashley N., Irma W. and Paula H.

I'm BA-ACK!!

2007-06-25T20:21:00.000-05:00

Did you miss me? Sean and I have been busy closing on our new house and moving since Friday. Last week was spent packing and stressing about closing details, but we are finally in our new house and loving it! We still have a few odds and ends at the other place and have boxes EVERYWHERE, but it's slowly becoming home. Today we picked up some blinds for the living room and bought shutters for the exterior. I feel so grown up doing home improvement projects. I promise I'll post pictures, but probably not until it's cleaner in here!

For now, enjoy a picture from last week's VBS. Somehow, Sean and I were tricked (OK, we weren't tricked, we agreed to it) into joining the cast of "Jacob and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat". Yes, I had to sing. Yes, I had to pretend to be a man. Yes, in the play I was one of Sean's brothers. It's a little disturbing, but was a lot of fun. Sometime this week I'm hoping to get all of the songs out of my head.

Busy, Busy, Busy...

2007-06-20T00:11:00.000-05:00

This summer has already been off to a busy start. So far, I've traveled to see my parents in Abilene for 5 days, spent 4 days on vacation in San Antonio, have been helping with VBS this week and now we're busy packing up our things to move into our new house. This will probably be the last post until we're moved in, so I'll leave you with lots of pictures!

Sean on his first Father's Day! Caroline and I bought him a Transformers T-shirt and a boxed set of James Bond movies. He received his best gift earlier in the week when he felt her move for the first time. He was so excited!

Heading into the third trimester!

At the Riverwalk...

At SeaWorld...is that Shamu? Oh wait, no, it's a 6 months pregnant Tiffany!

At the alamo...

Sean and I on Sunday morning after church a few weeks ago! Please notice how my legs and feet now stick out to the sides like a penguin. I waddle, too!

Just a sampling of the items purchased for Miss Caroline Lea, who will be here in September...this is just a drop in the bucket!

More house pics

2007-06-06T13:37:00.001-05:00

Just because I'm so good at posting them...here's some more! The furnishings in the house belong to the old owners...we won't move in until the end of the month, but we are super excited! There's not much that we need to do to repair it, it's pretty move in ready. We do plan to paint the yellow in the dining room and possibly paint the wood paneling in the living room and put in new countertops in the kitchen at some point, but I think those things will wait! One of the guest rooms is already pink, so it's perfect for the baby!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

2007-06-06T13:23:00.000-05:00

First, I'd like to ask my college friends to tell me exactly who that title quote reminds them of.

Second, I'd like to apologize for my lack of posting. See, here's what happened...We've been very busy lately...we found out the sex of our baby...HOORAY! The next day we bought a house...HOORAY! School got out for summer...HOORAY! Then a few days after that my computer broke during one of the thunderstorms...NOT HOORAY! Luckily, we have two computers (no, I don't know why) and were going to get rid of one anyway. I've been working on Sean's computer since then and it took me SEVERAL days to remember my blogger username and password. I just could not figure it out. I know, I'm dumb. Anywho, I'm not sure how to use all of the scanner and camera stuff with this computer, so the pictures will have to wait. Just know that the sonogram pictures of our child are adorable. I would not lie to you.

I'm going to try to post some pics of our new house off of the internet. Wish me luck with this technological endeavor.

Oh look! There they are! At the top of the page. Whatever.

IT'S A....

2007-05-24T19:32:00.000-05:00

GIRL!!

We found out today that we are having a precious baby girl! Sean's parents and my mom were able to join us at the doctor when we found out, and we've been busy celebrating ever since! I apologize to all of the people who have texted/called me...I promise to get back to you ASAP! This has been a crazy busy week and even though tomorrow is the last day of school, I'll be there LATE! At least I don't have to go back till August. HOORAY FOR SUMMER!!

Picture Post

2007-05-21T16:23:00.000-05:00

Only 4 more days until I am FREE for at least 2 months. This is sure to be a crazy week, so I am counting down the minutes until it is over and my summer vacation begins!

Finally, a picture of our house! Unfortunately, we will be moving this summer. Sean and I are going with our realtor to look at houses to buy all day tomorrow. This is definitely not a convenient week for me to take a day off of work, but it had to be done ASAP. I'm actually kind of thankful for a break from the stress of school. We're even going to the movies tonight...on a school night! Wish us luck that we find somewhere to live!

Look what my sweet husband bought me for my first Mother's Day! We've had fun going on bike rides, and I know my body appreciates the exercise. I've not been working very hard to keep in shape since I've been pregnant, but hopefully that will change now!

He also bought me some beautiful roses...pink, my favorite!

And he washed my car! I have the best husband in the world! I'm not sure how I'm going to top all of that for Father's Day next month. Suggestions are welcome.