Madeline's Christmas

Yesterday, I saw my second show at Stages Theater in Hopkins, MN. This is a children's theater, so it may seem strange since I do not have children of my own yet. The first show I went to last spring with Laur, Jill, Cher, Jon, Mindy and the 2 kiddos Harvey and Natalie.

This time it was Amy, Mindy and I along with Harvey, Natalie and Megan. We had a blast! We drove up together and had a delicious lunch at Big 10 right across the street from the theater. Harvey started sneaking my fries because he said they were bigger than his, but that's ok. I could probably spare a few extra fries to a cute kiddo like that!

Then we enjoyed the show. Meg and Natalie were whispering throughout the show to point out various things happening on stage. Precious!

Here's Meg and Natalie on the way to the theater. They are so cute together!

After the show, you can get autographs from everyone on stage. All 3 kids took their playbills and got them signed. Here's Harvey and one of the little girls. 

Megan and Madeline. 

and Natalie with the only male character in the show. 

It was such a fun day! This next season doesn't look as much fun, but maybe in a few years I'll be back with my own child!

Turkey Day

This year, I had the priveledge of eating 2 very delicious Thanksgiving's Day meals. The first was at my aunt Marybeth's in Iowa. It was a collaborative meal, but MB made the main course. Here are some highlights from our time together.

Connor got a new book from his favorite series, so he was busy reading!

Meg really wanted the turkey leg!

Here's the kid's table. Somehow Connor got moved up this year and Amy got moved back...

Here are the cousins and Grandpa that were in attendance. Look at all those beautiful granddaughters and one handsome grandson!

Iowa girls and Bert. 

Connor sure loves his Grandpa Arnie!

Laura and I were comparing food bellies. I think I won!

Michelle made all of the desserts this year. This is what I had. Some sort of pumpkin cake mix bar. Delicious!

I have no photos from Knutson's Thanksgiving, but it was delicious food and wonderful visiting! We don't get to see Rand very often, so we really enjoyed chatting with him as well as Laur, Jill, Grandma Jayne, Grandpa Bob, Alan and Cher. I even got some snuggling with Simon and Sprout!

Festival of the Trees

It has been a longtime tradition that Aunt Elinor and I go to Festival of the Trees on 'Black Friday'. A few years ago, my mom started coming along. Our favorite tree is the Rochester Woodcarver's tree. Elinor is a member, but she hasn't made ornaments for a while now for the festival. The theme this year was Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes.

Here is the back view

and a close up of Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater

The full tree

Jack and Jill and Humpty Dumpty

Front view

This was on another tree. I like the sheet music as garland. I just might do that!

I thought this was cute! There was also one wrapped up like Santa. 

Another year of beautiful trees!

Insta Update

Here's an update of my Instagram photos for the week!

My empty desk. I had my last official day teaching on Friday. This next week I tour around the district, and then I'm a real live teacher. Yikes.

Wednesday, I took Kaylee, Nathan, Connor and Meg to "Rise of the Guardians".

The boys sat in the highest row. 

The girls did not. 

After the movie, Meg and I had a girls lunch date. 

Then we had a hair party. 

Tony took us to Whiskey Creek before church Wednesday night. 

Here was my Thanksgiving shirt.

The only picture I took at Knutson Thanksgiving. Grandpa Bob and Sprout

Happy Black Friday! I hope that you're remembering the reason for the season is more than just clearance prices!

Gobble Gobble

Yesterday I was having too much fun with my cousins to do a thankful blog post, but let me tell you, I had a thankful heart all day. I am so thankful for my wonderful cousins. I only saw 4 of them yesterday, but I'm thankful for all 14 of them!!

Here's all of them minus Michael and Autumn. The lighting was horrible, but it's the most recent one I could find...

Today I am thankful for Thanksgivings past. I have wonderful Thanksgiving memories from my childhood. We celebrated Grandma Lucy's birthday several years, had delicious food at either Grandma Barbs or Grandma Jeannette's or both, I went to the Rez and now I get to make more memories with my new Knutson family as well. Here are a few photos from Thanksgivings past.

This was our last Thanksgiving with Grandma Jeannette. I'm so glad we got this photo!

Last year, Laura and I trekked out to Rosebud, SD to spend the holiday with Jake and some other prominent historical figures. 

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

20 already?!

Today I am thankful for my cooperating teacher Dan. Actually, I've been thankful for him every day since the first day of school. He is a phenomenal teacher, and he has really given me some great tips and techniques to use when running an EBD classroom. I feel very privileged to have worked in his classroom the last 3 months. Today was my last official day with him, and I have to say, I'm a little sad.

Sol's Ornaments

Luna never paid much attention to Christmas decorations last year; Sol is a totally different story. The ornaments aren't even on the tree yet, and she's trying to catch them!

Registered!

Tony and I worked on our baby registry at Babies R Us over the weekend. That sure is challenging when it's your first baby. We have just a basic idea of what we'll want or need. Anyways, some people have been asking about it; so yes, we're registered!

Inta-what?

I'm copying Mindy by having a day dedicated to my Instragram photos. I use that so much more than my real camera since it's so easy and always with me. Here you go!

Cletus and I spent some quality cousin time together Friday night and early Saturday morning. He gets so sad and lonely when the Myhrvolds are out of town. We walked and walked, threw balls and I sat there while he gobbled up his food.

Tony has been reading in bed every night, and usually I'm asleep instantly, but I turned over the other night and saw this! HA, is it time for bifocals?

I spent the majority of my weekend decorating for Christmas. This is my first Christmas pinterest project. I tied tulle to a long string of lights. It looks very pretty. 

I bought myself a little Christmas present. I love the big block words.

Luna had a long day of helping me decorate. Here she is snoozing away

I got very frustrated trying to put lights on the tree for downstairs living room, so Tony took it over. 

DAY 18: Yesterday I was very thankful that InBetween was so well received at church. My dad came and watched, and he said that even the older people were getting into it. They LOVED "Build Your Kingdom Here". We'll have to do that one again!

DAY 19: I am thankful for short weeks. We only have school today and tomorrow! Woohoo!

16, 17...

I completely forgot to come on here yesterday to give my thanks for the day. Oops!

Yesterday I was very thankful for eggs. I've never been a breakfast person let alone an egg person, but lately, eggs are my favorite! I've switched from pb (Brian-peanut butter) and honey toast to a fried egg and toast for breakfast. Boy is that delicious!

Today I am thankful for my parents. Today is their 28th wedding anniversary. I'm thankful that they've always shown me what marriage is truly about. Yes, they have their times, but they've shown me that you work through it and continue to love each other no matter what.

Here they are outside St. John's on their wedding day. That's one of my Grandpa's Model As that they drove away in.

15!

(I will be posting a picture of the finished paint job in Baby K's room soon, it's on our other camera...)

We're halfway through the month already! Yikes! Time is sure flying...

Today I am very thankful for the wonderful ministry of Jason Gray. Tony and I joined Brian and Kate last night for a benefit concert by Jason Gray at the Plainview Church of Christ. It was an excellent concert! I am still digesting the words he spoke and the lyrics he sang.

14

Today I am thankful for my mother-in-law Cher and her love of painting! Baby K's room looks phenomenal! We are both so grateful that she offered to paint for us. If she hadn't, it would've stayed white...

Thanks again Cher!

Update

I figured I should update you all on my last observation: it was phenomenal!

The students were excellent, no one got sent out of class, everyone received full participation points, and I received some very meaningful essays at the end of the hour.

Observations are DONE! Only 4 more teaching days and 5 days of observing other EBD/LD classrooms in the district!

Lucky 13

Today I am most thankful that it is my last official observation of my teaching by Augsburg College! Woo hoo! My adviser is coming for my trickiest class, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve to use too...Hopefully those 7th grade boys give me a little cooperation. Last time she observed me with this class I had 2 chairs thrown, 1 kid punched and 2 kids in the office. No I did not throw chairs or punches...

Cats and More

When I take pictures with my phone, I forget to blog about the events. So, here's a little update of what's been going on in our lives.

I helped at Meg's friend birthday party. My cousin Michelle and I painted nails and did hair. After that, Amy needed a little break from kids, so Meg and I went back to our house to play with the kitties. Meg let me style her hair, but only because I said Amanda would like it...

Saturday, Will and Amanda invited us over for a delicious supper. I was served real live food that my brother cooked....all by himself...and it wasn't frozen pizza! Let's just say I was amazed! It was quite tasty too. Amy and Meg joined us for dinner; so Meg and Amanda had some bonding time. They spent at least an hour playing with Amanda's old American Girl dolls. Meg was in 7th heaven! Now that Amanda asked Meg to be a bell ringer (flower girl without the flowers) in their wedding, Meg only talks about Amanda and the wedding! It's pretty cute :)

Sunday was a day of rest for the kitties and me. I built my very first fire all by myself. It was so cold and rainy, so after church I decided a fire was a must. Cher came by to start prepping Baby K's room for painting.

The kitties enjoyed laying by the fire all day, but boy were they hungry when they woke up!

 Here's a before picture of Baby K's room. The ceiling was painted today by Cher, and tomorrow the walls get some color.

Cher took off the registers to clean them up and paint them. We tried covering up the openings with screens, but Sol found a way inside...She is one tricky kitty! The door to Baby K's room will just have to stay closed until the registers are back.

And that's what we've been up to!

10 more days of student teaching...

Day 12

Today I'm thankful for my alarm. I was having the strangest, intense  dream, and the alarm saved the day. In the last part of my dream, we had a little baby girl; when they brought her to me she was all decked out in Vikings gear from head to toe! Laur and Jill must be messing with my dreams...

Veteran's Day

On the 11th day of the 11th month at the 11th hour, WWI ended in 1918. Ever since President Wilson declared this Armistice Day, we have been honoring and remembering those men and women who have served our country; some gave the greatest sacrifice of all. It is only right that I am thankful for those veteran's who have served in the US military. I especially remember my close family members who I have witnessed serving their country.

Grandpa Clarence-US Army WWII

Uncle John and Aunt Amy-US Navy active duty but never had to actively engage in war. Uncle John retired after serving a full 20 years of active duty.

Uncle Rob-US Army/ROTC

Matthew-US Army Operation Iraqi Freedom

10th of November

Today I am most thankful for Tony. He probably should have been closer to the top of the list, but I really haven't spent much time with him this month. He had been on a few evening rotations lately. Last night, he helped me by dragging tote after heavy tote downstairs to the deep dark basement. We're prepping Baby K's room to be painted, so we had to empty out all of our stuff. I wouldn't have been able to haul that stuff without him.

Thanks Tony!

On the 9th day

Today I'm thankful for modern medicine. Tony and I were reading up on what are little Baby K is up to this week in the Mayo Clinic book. It said that at 23 weeks, with intense neonatal care, our baby could survive. Obviously, it would be a very long haul, but it's comforting to know that we've crossed a line where if, heaven forbid, something happened, modern medicine could help save our baby.

A Must See!

You HAVE to watch this entire post! It is priceless! I hope my children will be like the last kiddos on the video.

Day 8

Today I'm thankful for music. My "happy thoughts" playlist really wakes me up in the morning and puts me in the right mood! This morning's wake-up tunes: "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" Beatles, "Beautiful Things" Gungor, "Party in the USA" Miley Cyrus and "Strange and Beautiful" Aqualung. A strange eclectic mix to start the day off!

First Furniture Purchase

Tony and I have been so blessed to inherit a lot of pre-loved furniture for our home. Our bedroom set was our only needed purchase thus far. However, I was thinking we should probably get a comfy chair to have in Baby K's room for all those late night feedings. We headed to Hom Furniture and both fell in love with the same chair. Yesterday, we picked it up!

The fabric we chose is super soft! When we're done needing it in the nursery, it will fit right in with the rest of our house. It'll stay in our living room until Cher is finished painting Baby K's room. The best part of this purchase, it has a big long warranty for ANYthing happening to it. So, if we have a little accident with Baby K on it, they will either professionally clean it or replace it! 

It's going to be big!

Today we had our 22 week appointment for Baby K. We have now switched to midwife only care because my scoliosis will not play any negative role in my pregnancy where a Dr. would be needed! Woo hoo!

Some stats:

My weight went up 8 lbs since our last appointment!!! WHAT? That's 2 lbs per week. I'd have to say, I followed the midwife's orders quite well.

My blood pressure is 90/60. This is in the low/normal range; so that is better than the too low range. (I'm giving credit to the large amounts of pb I've been consuming)

Baby K is growing very well. So well, that he/she is measuring 1.5 weeks bigger than normal! I'm growing one big baby. (fundal height 23.5cm)

Baby K's heartbeat was 140 bpm. Perfectly healthy.

My next appointment will involve the yummy glucose test, blood tests, and a meeting with the anesthesiologist.  We're doing the anesthesia appointment early (8 weeks early) because we can then prepare for other pain management techniques if my spinal fusion is blocking access for an epidural. My midwife suggested hypnosis, but I'm a little leery on that one.

We celebrated our good visit with a trip to Olive Garden. The new dinner tonight and dinner tomorrow option seemed great for us! We both enjoyed a delicious meal of ravioli , and we have a delicious meal awaiting us for tomorrow night! It's a really good deal, and the portions weren't any smaller than normal.

We picked up the new chair for Baby K's room, but I'll post pictures tomorrow. The camera is all the way upstairs, and I just don't have the energy after the brisk walk Tony and I just went on.

Happy Thursday (oh wait, it's Wednesday to the average person). Tomorrow is my Friday since there's no school on Friday for us! YAH!

Day 7

Today I am most thankful for peanut butter. Ever since I started having low blood pressure issues, I switched to eating a more substantial breakfast and fixing the same thing for lunch every day. For breakfast, toast/peanut butter/honey and for lunch the same in sandwich form. I have yet to get sick of it, and my blood pressure has seemed to stabilize! I can't forget my tasty peanut butter filled pretzels for my delicious snacks too!

Thanks peanut butter!

Election Day!

Today I feel it is only right that I am thankful for my right to vote! I arrived at the polls this morning bright and early and was voter #23 for the City of Stewartville!

Day 5

Today I am most thankful for Daylight Savings Time. Yes, it was frustrating when I was wide awake yesterday at 5am, but it sure was helpful this morning. I was up and ready for school way before I needed to be, so I actually got a lot done before I walked out the door. I feel like my day really started on a good fresh note!

On the 4th day...

Today I would like to reflect on how thankful I am for my kitties. They bring me SO much joy it's unreal. I never have been a cat person, so I'm just so shocked at how much I love these little kitties. They're always so excited when I get home, and they have to be in the same room as me. They keep me company when Tony works evenings, and they keep my feet warm while I sleep!

Luna and Sol love to sleep with us. This is what I woke up to this morning. How can you not love these kitties?!