BOO!!

I realize that Halloween was about a month ago, so this post is really late.  But, I just now decided to upload the very few pictures I took this Halloween onto my computer.  The five pictures taken were all of Claire, because she really was the only thing worth getting a picture of on Halloween.  Maybe I should have gotten one of Adelina too, because she really took the mom role to heart and wore an awesome pumpkin headband.  I love my sister, and all the things that make her uniquely her.

Claire was a ghost for Halloween, the cutest ghost you've ever seen.  I can be biased; Claire is adorable, and I made her costume.  My love for her is shown by making her costumes that result in glitter being all over me, and none left on the tulle for her skirt.

Hope you had a safe Halloween!

Cuter than Casper.

Celebrating Gabriela and Scarlett

I love babies, and I love that so many important people in my life have recently had or will have babies in the near future.

This past weekend, my sisters and I hosted a baby shower for my cousin Gabriela, along with her sister, Carissa, and her sister-in-law, Tila.  It was wonderful to celebrate Gabriela and Scarlett, her baby girl set to make her appearance in November!

Gabriela... she's very cute pregnant!

Cousins

 Gabriela and Adelina are only a couple of months apart in age, and their little girls will only be a few months apart as well.  That is something that I love!  Adelina and Gabriela are not only cousins, but close friends.  I can't wait to see their little girls grow up as close as they did.

Adelina and Gabriela

Saturday morning, Adelina, Monica, Claire, my mom, and I loaded up and headed to San Antonio.  We stopped first at Gabriela and Dean's house so we could see Scarlett's nursery.  It is adorable, with wonderful personal touches.  It's just how I would picture it.

The shower was Sunday morning, and it was so much fun!  There was such a variety of food, and all of it tasted wonderful!  A diaper wreath welcomed guests, and a well wishing tree allowed guests to write sweet messages to Gabriela, Dean and Scarlett.

Monica made this adorable well wishing tree.

This diaper wreath was so easy and fun to make!  Plus, it makes a really cute door decoration at the hospital!

 Guests were asked to bring a book in place of a card, so Scarlett's library is off to a great start!  Gabriela received so many wonderful gifts.  Scarlett is set when she arrives!  I can't wait to meet you, Scarlett!

First Day...

Today was the first day of school.  It is such an exciting and exhausting day, and I love every minute of it.  The kids always come in so excited to be upstairs with the big kids.  Third grade really is a big deal.  The kids mature and grow so much during the year.  The first day is always such an eye opener for me.  Because the kids grow up so much in 9 short months, I forget what they are like on the first day.  There is always a little bit of panic when I think to myself, "How am I going to get them to where they need to be?? They're so young!"  But then, I remember that I was able to do it the year before, and that before too long, they will have changed so much.  They go from seeming so young and dependent, to quickly becoming responsible and owning their actions.

I have such a sweet bunch of kids this year, and I can't wait to get to know all of their personalities.  What a fun year ahead of me.  I can't believe this is already my fifth year!

14 Weeks and 19 Pounds

That's how much weight I've lost in that amount of time.  It is insane to me.  Who knew that I could lose weight so quickly??  Maybe I should have tried this earlier.  I'm 9 pounds behind where I really wanted to be at this point.  I started with a goal to lose 2 pounds a week.  I've hit a few plateaus along the way, and I've really had to figure out what I can and can't eat and what time I should really stop eating after.  I've also been spending a lot of time at the gym this summer, and I've had to learn not to do the same thing every time, because it quickly becomes completely ineffective.

I'm 14 weeks into my journey, and I still have a ways to go.  I have 31 more pounds before I reach my goal.  I've had some really discouraging days, where I felt like no matter what I did, no more weight was going to come off.  I started this journey weighing myself every morning.  I needed to do that in order to figure out how my choices from the day before affected me.  But, then I wanted to know how working out affected me, or what my weight was at the end of the day.  I had to take a step back and realize that weighing myself three times a day wasn't going to change what the scale was going to say in the morning.

I've also had some really encouraging days along the way.  I started on May 4, and by August 4, I had lost 18 pounds.  At this point, I'm averaging 6 pounds a month.  That is such a good feeling.  Even though I am not at the 28 pounds I really was hoping for, I remind myself that I am 19 pounds from where I was.  My wedding dress, which I wore only a year ago, is TOO BIG for me now.  I've had to buy clothes because all my old clothes don't fit.  Up until this week, I didn't have pants to wear to work.  This is such a good feeling.  I have found a love for the gym, and a love for drinking water.  I've had probably 5 Dr. Peppers in the last 3 months.  I without a doubt used to have more than 5 Dr. Peppers in a week.

19 pounds down, and 31 more to go.  What a good feeling.

August Means Work

The end of the summer is approaching quickly, and I guess there's nothing I can do to stop it.  This week I have been at school, preparing the hallway and my classroom.  I was thankful that we scaled down the extent to which we decorate our hall, so it was done in 3 hours.  Last year we made several trips to school without air conditioning to get it done.  It took forever.

This time of year is always a little bittersweet for me.  I love summer.  I love having a break, because mentally I need it.  I love sleeping in (which means I sleep until 8 instead of 5:30).  I love not setting an alarm.  I love getting to choose what to do each day, and what time to eat lunch!  This summer, I have loved going to the gym or taking Lily on a walk.  But, by this point in the summer, I usually miss the interaction I have with my teammates and friends at work.  I work with some pretty amazing women, and I simply don't see them enough in the summer.  Maybe next summer I'll work on that.

However, August means work for me.  So, back to work I go.  I'll officially be back at work on August 12, and I'll have students on August 22.  I'm excited that I'm changing my classroom around this year.  It has looked the same for 4 years, so it was time for a change.  I'm excited about this new group of students, and honestly, I'm excited to find out which students are in my class.  They're always so excited to be upstairs, and so eager to be with the big kids.  I'm not excited about my 5:30 alarm.  I'm easing myself into it.  This week, I've woken up at 6:30.  I'm not excited about sitting outside during recess in this heat.  Hopefully, it won't stay this hot too much longer. (I can dream, right?!)


So my countdown begins, just under three weeks until school starts.

Happy BIRTH Day Claire!

Claire has made her arrival!  She was born yesterday, August 3, at 1:34 in the afternoon.  Adelina and Claire are doing great!  Adelina went to the hospital around 10 Tuesday night, and we anxiously awaited more news.  The family went to the hospital around 11 yesterday morning.  Reed's mom, Mary Ann, drove in from El Campo late Tuesday night/incredibly early Wednesday morning.  She left around 2:30, and she was in Dallas by 8.  Reed's dad, Donnie, drove to Dallas yesterday afternoon. 

Claire is 6 pounds, 8 ounces and is 19 and 1/2 inches long.  She has a some hair, just the right amount!  Everything about her is perfect!  I have very much enjoyed spending time holding her last night and today.  Adelina and Claire will go home tomorrow, and I am so thankful that I still have a week before I have to be back at work, so I get a little more time to just love on Claire!

Break from Construction?

Aaron bought our house in November 2009.  The first thing we did was knock down a wall.  We ripped wallpaper down in the kitchen and both bathrooms, then had those walls textured.  Every room in the house was painted.  Carpet was torn out of the entry way, family room, dining room, living room, and hallway.  Aaron, Sammy, and my dad put wood floors down in all those rooms.  We stained the cabinets in our bathroom and took off all the pulls.  Our bathroom was pretty much completely gutted.  Aaron and Reed attempted to put new tiles around the tub. When it didn't work, we hired some guys to do it for us.  Every room that has new flooring also has new 6 inch baseboards.  Basically, we've been living in construction, and we haven't even had the house for 2 years.  Our house looks great, and it has come a long way from day 1.  I was so excited that we were going to take a break from construction, at least for a little while.  We knew our next project would be new carpets in the 3 bedrooms.  But, we were happy to put it off for some time.  We just wanted to live in our house without working on something.  I have a list for the things I want to do in each room of our house, but I'm good with letting it sit for now.  Then, our front door kept sticking.  The guest bathroom door would not shut all the way.  If you were lucky enough to get it to close all the way, I couldn't guarantee that it was going to open back up.  The front door no longer opens.  I just tell people to walk around to the back.  We have foundation problems.  So, back to construction we go!  At least this time I don't have to do the work, especially in this heat.  I'll update on when our foundation has been repaired with some pictures.