My Husband the Hottie!

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Still Cold Outside

Who would've thought 30 degrees would be a "heat wave" from heaven? Today was windy but the 7-day looks promising.

Merry Christmas To All.....

From my family to yours we wish you a great holiday season with a happy and healthy 2008! We just finished icing some sugar cookies to leave for Santa. The anticipation is growing as we wait until tomorrow morning.

Stay safe this week!

Migraine

Thanksgiving week I had a whopper of a headache. Now tonight Jamie has one. I feel his pain. I have loaded him up with Tylenol, Advil, Mt. Dew, and a dark bedroom without a toddler making noise. Hopefully that will do the trick. I wish there were a migraine med that worked instantaneously and was available over the counter!

Back to the Grind

Three weeks of working with holiday-excited 8 year-olds, then the sweet reward of winter break.... Aaahhhhh. I can't wait. The past four days have been wonderful. Teegan is getting older and a wee bit more self-sufficient. Being home with him for 24 solid hours alone isn't the chore that it used to be.

This weekend we finally took down the crib and put together his toddler bed and his twin bed. He has chosen to sleep on the toddler bed. (Keeping my fingers crossed...) He has done really well the past two nights. He just goes in and falls asleep without any issues. Nap time is a little more difficult, but we managed today alone without Jamie. He is growing like a weed!

We put up all the Christmas stuff this weekend as well. This year we even started doing some lights outside, as well as inflatable snowmen. Burl Ives is next to our front door telling all of our visitors to have a "Holly Jolly Christmas." Teegan is still testing the waters with our Hawaiian tree. He says "No Touch!" when he comes into the room, but today I saw him touching it with his foot. Apparently that doesn't fall into his "No Touch" regulations.

Ug, well back to lesson plans.

Thanksgiving

I am so thankful for so many things this year. Here are my top 10 examples, not in any particular order:

1. Family- Loving husband, super son, wonderful parents...the list could go on and on.

2. Career- I love my new assignment, coworkers, kids, boss, and the security of education in this economy.

3. Friends- God bless them! They know all about me and still want to hang out and be a part of my life. ;-)

4. Sesame Street- Elmo's World provides so many 20 minute sessions of silence in our house to get all the needed things done like cooking, lesson plans, laundry, cleaning, blogging, facebooking, etc. Plus it is really flourishing Tee's vocabulary!

5. House- When I think of our old house I can't imagine that we even lived there! I can't even think of where we would keep all of Teegan's stuff. Our new house is so cozy. I also like walking to work!

6. Health- This year I started feeling normal again for the first time in two years thanks to a new supplement and diet program. I am back to a normal weight and feeling good. I am also thankful that my mom survived her heart attack even though she still doesn't exercise. The rest of the family have had great health too which is a huge bonus. I pray constantly that we all continue to have good health!

7. Jamie- I know he falls under the "family" but Jamie deserves one all to himself. There has been a time in my life where I never believed that a miracle like Jamie could happen. In 2002 he miraculously appeared into my life and I thank God daily for such a gift. He really, really takes care of me. He is a wonderful father as well. I find myself in awe of his love for Teegan and his motivation to help him learn all he needs to know.

8. Decision Making- I am thankful that I resigned my position on the fire department and will be relinquishing my paramedic status in March. It was a very hard decision to contemplate. In fact, I spent almost a year thinking it over. There are so many reasons why my decision has been such a great one. I am seeing them more and more each day. I am still connected to it through Jamie, but I am glad that he is with it and I am not. I served the state's citizens for 11 years and that is currently about a 1/3 of my life so far. I think I have done my good deeds in that area.

9. Technology- This ever-changing world provides us with so many advances to enjoy!

10. America- Things aren't very upbeat anymore with our economy, but I am confident that we will turn this problem around. We have a lot of things that need to change and hopefully we can make those changes as a country. I am still proud to be an American and wouldn't trade that for anything.

Yay Mustangs!!!

Good job Southern Cal boys and your Class A state title. The game was terrific and I wish I could've been there! This was not the first time that we have been to the dome, but this was certainly one of the best football games I have watched on TV in a very, very long time.

It's A Boy!

Congratulations goes out to Marcy and Eric on their newest little addition to the family. Noah came into the world on Thursday. On Friday Jamie and I went to see the happy family. Everyone was doing well and Mr. Noah is quite the little peanut. He is absolutely adorable and we couldn't be more happy for them. Marcy's prayers and life long goal to become pregnant and give birth have come true. She will continue to be a fabulous mother. Noah and Joshua are very fortunate little boys.

I think that Noah's birth has also given the Iowa Hawkeye football team an added good luck charm as well. Thanks Noah!

At the end of the rainbow....

Is a great home! Since we have all been up since 4:30 this morning we were able to catch this picture. I love rainbows and have since I can remember.

Well the election didn't go as we had hoped. I think both candidates had good potential, however I was very fearful for both running mates. I am not a Palin or a Biden supporter. I hope now that Barack can serve his four years safely so that we don't end up with Biden in the driver's seat. I am not a supporter of Hilary Clinton what-so-ever, but she would've made a better running mate. (I can't believe I just said that.) I also hope that we don't just pull out of Iraq and leave a bigger mess behind. Things are improving greatly there, after all this time, and it would be bad not to finish the job.... whether it was needed or not in your eyes.

I also hope that Barack indeed looks at the government programs that are not working and fixes them. I certainly hope he starts with the welfare system of this country. It has been broken for decades and needs to be revised. Welfare should not be a way of life.... it should be a stepping stone to a better life. Our government doesn't owe anyone, anything. Helping is one thing, enabling is something totally different.

So, lets sit back and let the "change" begin.

Stressed OUT!

Worrying really sucks.

Halloween is Coming Boys and Ghouls!!!

Moooohhhhaaahhhaaahhhaa! Enjoy this video. I don't recommend viewing it at your workplace. Although there is nothing bad in it, you just might not want to watch it there.

I am at a tech conference this week and it is wonderful. I have so many new things to share with everyone. I am even considering starting a small private business. I will teach others technology, create photo enlargement prints, books, movies, and such for others, or help people create their own projects. I need a name for my little company. If you have any ideas let me know. I also need to come up with a brochure and pricing. More info to come in the coming weeks!

Fall Is Upon Us

I love fall.... HATE winter... but love fall. The past few days have been chilly too! Pretty soon all of the pretty leaves will be lawn mulch. ;-(

Tee has been sick this week. Fevers, vomiting, feet peeling, yeah its been a fun week. Jamie and I are praying not to get it and taking our vitamins. Hopefully we can make it west this weekend but no promises.

You may have noticed that I added two new videos. One is for my Jamie. This is his new hero and mentor in his work world. The second video describes my work world. I have had to listen to many cat stories this week. Jamie and I about pissed ourselves when we found this video. Please, by all means, ENJOY!

I hope you have a good weekend.

The Above Videos Say It All

At least SNL can fault the Democratic Party for some of the mortgage issues since they can't seem to take any blame themselves. I don't consider myself Democrat or Republican. I rarely, rarely, rarely EVER express my political thoughts. This however is a shame. Which candidate has less corruption potential.... your guess is as good as mine. They both suck and once again our country is going down the crapper year by year, president by president. Obama supporters need to see that he is not a "Knight in Shining Armor" like he is made to look in the eyes of the media. He wants change and that is great. But I ask you.... at what cost? I feel a Clinton corruption term heating up.

Family Day

Yesterday was a monumental anniversary. A year ago we went to the SF Airport a married couple and returned home a family. Tee has been with us for a year and a day now. Time is flying by so quickly. Before his arrival it felt like every single day was 2 and a half. There was tension, stress, tears, fears, illness, etc. Now that he is here there are still a few of those... ;-) .... but we are absolutely blessed beyond measure.

Yesterday Jamie and I just looked at him for a long period of time and had the same thought at the exact same time... We couldn't have gotten a better blessing from above. Tears just came into my eyes out of no where. God works in mysterious ways. We spent 5 years being very angry at our turn of events. We questioned God's will and plan. After all, we were good people, did many things for others, tried to live the best Christian life that we could. All we ever wanted was to have children that we could raise to be good kids, and more importantly, have that sense of family that 3 Golden Retrievers just didn't fulfill. We were confused, beaten, and emotionally crippled at the face of infertility. If we could only go back and give God the trust and faith that we so selfishly took away from Him.... we would.

No, I didn't give birth to this child. If I could've I would've. I will say this about that though....

***When you get that call for referral you instantly go into a 3 month uncomfortable labor until the next phone call which is when they tell you your child is ready to come over. That call would totally mark the breaking of the water. I was in a wedding during that phase of my delivery last year. I can't believe I held it together at all. Sorry Karen.

***THEN... you go into the delivery phase when you wait until that plane lands safely and out walks the Korean escort with your beautiful baby...who you, NEVER believed fully, would EVER be placed in your arms.

***The tears of joy and relief are so overwhelming, you forget who you are and the struggles that you had encountered.

(Doesn't that sound like a real birth to you???) It may be the closest thing that I ever come to an actual childbirth.... and I am completely satisfied with that.

When I look at Teegan and get that "motherly" warm and fuzzy feeling inside, I only have God to thank for that..... and a courageous woman who, had it not been for her ultimate sacrifice, I would not be a mother today.

So, I guess, the lesson of the day kids is this.... Sometimes we are dealt things that we can't handle or think we can't deal with. In the grand scheme of things there is a plan. We are not "all knowing" for most of the duration of said plan. This makes said plan a mystery and sometimes, in the words of Red Foreman when talking to his son about infidelity issues, VERY UNPLEASANT! (That episode was on this week.) That is why we need to have faith in ourselves, our family, friends, and most importantly our futures....no matter how tough it may get. Don't lose your 6th, 7th and 8th senses.... FAITH~HOPE~LOVE

Jamie's in 7th Heaven

Yes, it is that time.... Amy Grant is here. And guess who was lined up to meet her during her sound check today.....JAMIE! He is like a kid in a candy store. Since he is an official "friend" of Amy Grant, he got to spend an hour with her today before the concert tonight. Doesn't he have the glassy-eyed look, aka. deer in headlights? It's like he is concentrating on keeping his eyes open for this once in a lifetime opportunity. He knew this would be the one and only time in his life that he would get to take a picture with her and he needed it to count. Perhaps I am over-dramatizing it a bit, but funny nonetheless.

So, tonight it will be Jeff and Jamie going to the concert. I am staying home and babysitting the T'ster. I will enjoy my Tivo. Thank you Jeff, for enduring this show for me. I don't think I can ever go to another one after the last Christmas one I went to. Jeff is taking one for the Sauter team tonight.

This morning we went to an organic farm which had an orchard, a pumpkin patch, and a beekeeping area. Teegan got to pick out a pumpkin and we had a carmeled apple. Though, not anywhere near the Pokie's quality, it was tasty to say the least. (Carroll people understand that no carmeled apple will ever compare to Pokie's)

If you want to see pics of the patch email me. I will send you an invite to the Picasa album.

"Go Away IKE! TINA Ain't HERE!"

I was browsing hurricane Ike photos on YAHOO! News and found a picture of a small house all boarded up. On the front picture window covered in plywood there was something spray painted. It said, "GO AWAY IKE! TINA AIN"T HERE!" I about pissed myself. How funny. I mean, hurricane's aren't funny, but at least the residents can find some humor in it.

Happy Hump Day!

One inservice down, several to go, but at least one is over! Wow, I swear I get bored way too easy. I think I was a child that was cheated out of an ADD diagnosis in the 80's. However, in my defense talking about the statistics of reading instruction, blah, blah, blah, could bore anyone I guess.

Not much going on this week. Tomorrow night is Kindermusik and Jeff's birthday extravaganza. We are splitting up to cover both. I am going to the birthday party and the boys are going to music class.

Friday is homecoming. I am not sure if we are going to go to the game or not. I think Teegan might like to see it at least. Even if we are there for 20 minutes I think it would be fun for him. Time will tell.

Let's look forward to Friday!!!!!!

I'm Back!

Sorry that I fell off the Bloggin' train the past couple weeks. It has taken me that long to get things going with school and home. I'm always amazed at the transition between summer and fall. You would think it would be old hat to me after all these years, but not so. Every year is an adjustment.

Not much is new with us. Tee is talking more and more. He likes to repeat what you say. I am stepping up my efforts not to swear out loud. He is also an Elmo fanatic, which doesn't please either of us. You can only listen to so much Elmo in one day. Tee brings us the remote and says, "Elmo! Elmo!" I can tell you that 70% of the time we tell him that Elmo is sleeping. I can't stand Elmo's voice! I have to read, clean, or listen to my iPod when it is on. Tee's other new fad is chicken nuggets. Good bye mac-n-cheese, hello Happy Meals. He also likes it when I make nuggets and tater tots in our oven at home.

We went to a wedding last night. It was a fabulous venue. It was nice to have an outing by ourselves. I can't begin tell you how much I have missed that. Having a child certainly changes your marital dynamic. I feel like we meet in passing and talk about toddler stuff all the time. We skipped out on the ceremony last night and just sat in the hotel lounge to hang out until the reception started. It was just nice to say the least to relax like that with the person you love and not have to worry about anything.

Well, have a fantastic week. I will try to find more things to blog about sooner. I hope everyone's September is off and running at a good pace. I can't wait until the 20th. PAYDAY!!!

T.G.I.F.F.

(and you know what the extra "F" stands for!) What a week. I feel like my wheels have been spinning since last week at this time. I am tired, exhausted, melancholy, etc. Thank God Jamie is home tonight and tomorrow night. It would be sweeter yet if he were home on Saturday, but I will take Sunday I guess.

Tonight we had Kindermusik class. My son showed some definite toddler ADHD tonight. (I like to call it TADHD) He really likes the music but he doesn't want to move on to the next activity or sit with us and actually do the movements. Last spring when we visited a class he did much better. I am hoping that he will get better with practice. We have a book and activities that we need to do with him each week for homework. Jamie and I are also going to have to start singing the songs to him too. That should sound pretty. We won't be demonstrating for you if you visit either.

Saturday I get to take Glory to the pool for the annual Doggie Dive. We go every year and let BooBoo swim. Too bad Jamie has to work. Hopefully I can get a sitter for the T'ster. We don't take Libby anymore due to her seizures and her hatred for the water and people.

Okay, before I go, let me recap my thoughts on the Olympics this week;

1. Shawn Johnson- Thank God the judges got the last one right. I guess they are going to formally investigate the alleged gymnast from China who they believe to be 14. If they find that she was too young they will strip her of her medal. To me they should strip China of the team medal too and give it to the US.

2. I was watching the track team tonight and not only did the men drop the baton in the 4x100 but the women did too. It reminded me of LoLo hitting the hurdle the other night. Mistakes that hurt 100 times worse during the Olympics. I hope they can let go of their mistakes and move on.

3. Softball- I still can't believe that they are dropping the sport. That is a shame. I think the team sports make the Olympics what they are. They are a team effort to accomplish the goal of gold. I am saddened that BMX biking has entered the games. Like equestrian I feel that they should be dropped. A gold medal should come solely from the human body, not a horse or a bike. Hell, why not put NASCAR in it?!?!

Well, I need to get going. We are watching Elmo right now. MAN, I hate his voice and laugh. Tee just loves watching the last 15 minutes of Sesame Street. Elmo's World is a daily event anymore. Teegan can even say Cookie Monster and Oscar now. I think I am going to start listening to my iPod during Elmo time everyday.

Happy Friday!

Angels Sent From Above

Don't know if any of you have caught this on the news or not but there was a NYC traffic officer who got hit at a busy intersection a few days ago. She ended up getting trapped underneath a school bus. She was 7 months pregnant. A bunch of onlookers came to her aid. 20 of them lifted the bus off of her so she could be rushed to the hospital. She died due the accident but the doctors were able to save her two month premature baby.

The man who caused the accident had his license suspended several times and was driving that day without one. They have arrested him and charged him with homicide.

This story really moved me today. For all the crap that is going on in the world there are still people who know how to do the right thing. My hat goes off to all those good samaritans who saved that baby's life. I feel sad for that officer and her family, but at least they still have a piece of her left here on earth. I am sure that it was no small miracle sent from above. That little boy has angels watching him!

The link for the CNN video is to the right on top of the column. Please watch it. You will be moved. Also, please pray for that little baby and for his family as they deal with two of the strongest human emotions simultaneously.... Death and Birth.