Angel Above

22 years ago marks a day that will forever leave a hole in my heart.  My sister, Taylor, earned her angel wings due to a heart defect called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome.  When I was younger it was always a day that we visited the cemetery and talked about what we thought she would look like now.  She died at such a young age, that we never were able to form a strong relationship with her, maybe a good thing but certainly a sad thing.  

As I get older though, the selfish part of me has a harder and harder time on this day every year.

 Would we be best friends? 

 What would it really be like to have her here?  

My brother is one of my best friends but I wish I was able to have that special sister bond with her.  I wish she was here to stand beside me at my wedding and be a part of all of the planning.

:-(

She is here though, constantly by my side.  This part makes me so glad to have an awesome God. I am lucky to have a guardian angel that I know is always watching over me.  I know she is living happily in Heaven and is rid of her broken body which is a huge relief. I long for the day though in which we are reunited in Heaven and get to do all of those sister things.

Miss you Taylor Lynn and think of you every day baby girl!

Surgery Shenanigans!

 

I can't complain about how my recovery went after surgery.  I could have gone without the re-opening of my incision due to infection but in reality, I felt 10 times better after this was done.  The day that he cut it open, he told me that it would take approximately 8 weeks for it to completely heal.

 

  I had an appointment exactly 4 weeks from him leaving a large hole in my stomach and got completely cleared!  Cleared----never have to come back!  It had completely scabbed over/healed two days prior to my appointment.  Now, his "looking good" and my "looking good" certainly didn't match up but he said it would take a year to fully heal and rest assured, I could have plastic surgery on it after that year was up......I think I'll pass.  (We drove down to Iowa City, sat in the waiting room for 10 minutes, talked to the nurse for 5, and saw him for 5.  Waste of time but oh well....Got the A-Okay to start back at Next Level Extreme Fitness and couldn't have been more excited!)

 

Two weeks after being discharged from the hospital, I was told I could start "walking".  Meaning, I could go to The W and walk around the track.  1 day of this  and I was over it.   I tried out the treadmill and felt really good.  I wasn't supposed to get my heart rate up too much due to there being a large hole in my stomach that could bleed.  Blah, blah, blah. 

 

I couldn't believe how much better I felt when I got back into my groove and into the gym every day.  Now, I had to take a nap immediately after getting home because it wore me out but it was worth it.  My competitive nature had me mad at myself for only making it 20 minutes that first week or so and I had to be reminded that I just had had major surgery.

 

After a few days of walking, I began to test out the jogging.  A couple seconds here and a couple seconds there until I could do a whole minute at a time.  Gavin typically got on my case and told me to stop but I'd get sneaky and take the dogs out and jog around out in the field with them.  I was feeling good!  I actually called my doctor and gave him the low down that he needed to say it was okay for me to run. :-)  (Kind of asked....kind of begged!)  While he wasn't exactly thrilled, he told me I could as long as I wasn't over doing it!  Whoop whoop!  That same week, I went shopping with my mom and had to go home after an hour I was so wiped out.  I'm pretty sure the surgeon took out my energy reserve with my appendix.

 

Fast forward 3 months after surgery and my scar actually looks pretty good, I'm doing well, and am back to everything.  Doesn't mean I like the looks of it and will be totally comfortable rocking the swimming suit, but it is losing its color and releasing from the tissue under it.  I'm starting to have a slight problem though.  SCAR TISSUE!

 

It hurts. It continues to spread. And now some of it is getting really hard and feels like a saw under my skin.  I saw a PT a month or so ago who showed me how to massage it, which I do every morning.  But man or man, that stuff is relentless and continues to grow.  Anyone ever felt marbles under their skin?!  Seems to by my case. 

 

Our/My Morning Routine

Relationships are about compromise, correct?  We're pretty good at it for the most part.  Other than my morning routine, that is.  I don't like when it is changed or gets interrupted.  Gavin on the other hand lives his life with zero routine!  It drives me NUTS!  I think he feels this in return.  My day is run down almost to the minute because of school and I struggle to not do this at home as well.

Morning is my favorite time of the day. Like, I LOVE mornings.  I like being up early and getting things done.  My early is probably considered night time by most of you...  I am excited to get up and get my day  underway, workout, and head off to school.  I am typically up before my alarm and lay there until it goes off.  I will sometimes push snooze and lay there till 4 if there isn't any laundry.  Here is a little run down of our morning routine battle.  Keep in mind that Gavin HATES morning and anything that has to do with it.  Like with all of his life HATES morning.  Let's be honest, he could be a professional sleeper.

3:55--My alarm goes off. Gavin doesn't even hear it.  I get up and fold laundry and get another load started.  Typically do some sort of cleaning.  I hate doing this at night.  When I get home from school or a night work out, I like to eat supper and sit on my rear and do nothing.  I have a case of the "Rottink's" as well because as soon as I sit down I fall asleep.  Watching a movie or any t.v. show is virtually impossible.

4:20--Give Gavin a wake up call from closet.  It's dangerous to wake him up.  Kind of like waking a sleeping bear.  I feel zero love in the morning and I find this whole process kind of funny.

4:25--Laugh at Gavin moaning and groaning about having to be awake.

4:27--Remind him he has to get out of bed and getting ready for the gym.

4:29--Not so nicely urge him to get up and get moving.

4:30--Start making the bed with him in or out of it.

4:35--Head downstairs to get my workout bag, fill our water bottles, and get in the truck.  Pray that Gavin didn't go back to bed.  Typically do some Facebook creeping at this point as I wait.

4:40--Hopefully we are on the road to the gym.

5:00-6:00--Workout.  Watch as Gavin trickles in late.  We come in the same car but he is still moving real slow at this point and never makes it in for the stretching.

6:10--Get the truck and pull up to pick Gavin up at the door.

6:20-7:15--Get ready for school, feed the dogs, eat breakfast, pack my lunch, and head for school.  In that order, always!

By the time I get to school, I typically feel like I have run a marathon already but struggle if it is any other way!

Last Decisions

This whole wedding planning thing has been pretty easy actually.  I'm all about simple.  If I find something I like I go with it and don't stress about it.  Everything is pretty well done and I haven't spent a lot of time on it since a week or so after Gavin proposed. 

I did drag Gavin to the bridal store this weekend though to get tuxes picked out.  And to the jewelry store to pick out his ring.  If you asked him how much fun he had, he may tell you he would have rather been anywhere else in the world......  It didn't help that the bridal store was CRAWLING with people!

One of the last (big things) that I need to get decided is what we are going to do with flowers.  I really just want to do Baby's Breath...simple.  Maybe throw in some carnations here and there.  I don't want to spend a lot of money on them though either.  They die.  And typically rather quickly.  So the past couple of days, I have spent some time looking in to whether or not I could grow it myself, with a little help from my family.  I think that is the route we are going to go. 

 If we have dead flowers at our wedding, sorry!!  Just laugh about it and know that the thought did cross my mind and I chose to go with it anyways!!! There are no promises that things will turn out right.

I am always thankful for helpful hints as well! :-)

I'm Over It!!

Winter.  I'm over it.  Unless it is going to dump a foot of snow on the ground, it isn't welcome.  (I am a little kid when it comes to snow storms.  I love the thought of being snowed in and deep snow to actually play in.)  I am ready to be done with the freezing cold temperatures. Ready to be done with winter coats, stinky snow pants, snow boot liners, lost mittens, stolen hats, inside recess.....

 Ugh. Inside recess.  Kids need fresh air. Teachers need a break.  We all need to see something other than the four walls of our room.  There have been times when I hear the inside recess announcement and want to so badly tell my kids to get dressed and run to the trees at the edge of the playground and back as quickly as they can.  Just to get some fresh air.  But then I think about how painful the process of everyone getting dressed is...  Some of my little ones spend most of their time messing around in the hall and spend relatively little time outside.  I am pretty sure I could put $500 at the end of the hall and it wouldn't make them move any faster.  There was a day last week when they finally got to go outside and I challenged them to run around the whole recess.  Please oh please get some of those wiggles out but please oh please avoid getting your snow pants soaking wet because I do not want to stick my arm down them to get them right side out!

End of rant!  I really do love my job!  But would really appreciate some nice weather and so would my kids! 

We have been plugging away in our out-of-routine weeks that are speckled with snow days and late starts.  It has been awesome to see some of my kids taking off in their learning and showing so much growth.  I finally feel like I am getting back into the full swing of things and have my feet back running on the ground.  Bring on the report cards and conferences, its about time to feel overwhelmed again..

Oh.my.word! The Common Core (the standards that our students are supposed to have mastered by the end of the year) is stressful and requires ALOT of work!  On top of trying to assess my students and record all of the data, I am currently taking the last of the classes I need for my Masters.  They aren't difficult but require time....and well, there aren't enough hours in the day.  

Hope you have a great week!  Attempt to stay warm and cross your fingers that Spring is near!  I am off to do some posting for my class and waiting to see if the wind chill is going to leave us with another, routine wrecking late start!

We're Getting Married!

You read that right! Gavin proposed!!

It's been just over a month ago, that Mr. Wonderful dropped to one knee and asked me to marry him, and I couldn't be more excited!  This past month has been spent not only getting back into the swing of things from being down for the count but also doing LOTS of wedding planning.  I can honestly say I have most of the planning done.  I hate making decisions so if I found something that I liked, I just went with it!

Got a date.
Got a church.
Got a reception venue.
Got my dress.
Decided on lots of little details!

August 30th, 2014 with be the day we say I do!  Mark your calendars, we're throwing a party!  Our ceremony will be held at Orchard Hill Church in Cedar Falls and our reception will be at The Centre in Waverly.  As for my dress, you'll just have to wait and see!

Proposal details....
Gavin had originally planned on proposing while we were deer hunting during a hunt on my family's land.  I ruined his plans by getting sick and having major surgery!  He then switched his plans and was going to do it the same day he had planned but in the hospital instead but explain his original plan.  I ruined his plan one more time and got discharged a day early.  He ended up hunting with my dad that day instead while I hung out slept on my parent's couch all day.  Whoops.... He then planned on Christmas Eve and began driving to my parent's house to ask my dad a few hours before we were going to be heading there.  His plan was to call my dad and have him meet him at my grandpa's for help with a Christmas present.  When he called though, my brother answered the phone and let Gavin know that my dad had just changed out the water in his wood burner (that was treated with chemicals so the pipes wouldn't rust) and the cats had unfortunately drank it and died.  Anyone that knows my dad knows that he LOVES animals and was pretty upset about this!  Sooo, Gavin turned around and came back home.  That's three of his plans that went down the drain.  He had planned to propose before we went out to my parents but it didn't happen.  We went out before church and took dinner to my Grandpa.  When we got back, Gavin was finally able to grab my dad as they pulled vehicles into the shop and asked for his blessing.  We went to church for Christmas Eve service and before opening presents at my parent's house, he dropped to one knee and asked me to marry him.  We were in my bedroom at my parent's so it was just the two of us!  It didn't work out quite like he had planned but it was perfect none the less!  We were able to spend the night with my family and the next day with his.

So God Made a Farmer

Over the past 13 years, we have thanked God for more time on earth with my Grandpa.  In 2000, he had a major stroke that caused him to lose mobility to the right side of his body.  While he was able to walk, just enough to get himself from point A to point B, he struggled to talk and never moved his right arm again.

This past week, my Grandpa gained his angel wings.  I know he flies free of his body and is strong again.  The week was hard but we were also able to breathe a sigh of relief--Grandpa is no longer a prisoner of his own body.  

My family spent the week looking back at family pictures, telling stories about Grandpa, and looking at some of his Navy memorabilia that we have never seen before.  We found pictures that reminded of us of his vibrant smile before his stroke and lots of pictures that showed just how hard of a worker he was.    Maybe even some awesome RAGBRAI ones in which he typically sported cut off jeans and a button up shirt.  How that was comfortable--we will never know!

We gathered on Saturday at the country church just down the road from my parents house to celebrate his life and say our goodbyes.  While we know that Grandpa is in a much better place, it was certainly a tough couple of days.  His funeral was filled with his favorite flowers, music, and stories of how he loved animals and his gardens.  My dad got up and spoke which was a surprise to all of us.  No one can prepare you to see your dad hurting like that.  He did a great job though at reading Paul Harvey's So God Made a Farmer and creating an awesome picture of Grandpa in heaven.  It was a perfect description of my grandpa and one that I know my dad wanted to read in honor of his dad. 

We know that Grandpa is working in the gardens of heaven and raising some of the most beautiful petunias anyone has seen!  We smile knowing his right arm is strong again and that he is spending quality time with my sister and cousin!

As we left the church and headed to the cemetery, we drove Grandpa through his yard one last time.  One last time by his bird feeders, the grain bins, and cattle set up.  As we were doing this, there was a hawk that circled over head and we all smiled knowing that Grandpa was watching over us.  It was breathtaking!  One of his favorite things in the past few years was to watch the birds!

While we will miss seeing him on his Dixon mower by his gardens, reading the paper with him, and his   tootsie roll candy dish, we are relieved that he is in a much better place and with our Savior, Jesus Christ!

I'll leave you with the words that describe how I will always remember my Grandpa Rottink!

And on the 8th day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, "I need a caretaker." So God made a farmer.

God said, "I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, milk cows, work all day in the fields, milk cows again, eat supper and then go to town and stay past midnight at a meeting of the school board." So God made a farmer.

"I need somebody with arms strong enough to rustle a calf and yet gentle enough to deliver his own grandchild. Somebody to call hogs, tame cantankerous machinery, come home hungry, have to wait lunch until his wife's done feeding visiting ladies and tell the ladies to be sure and come back real soon -- and mean it." So God made a farmer.

God said, "I need somebody willing to sit up all night with a newborn colt. And watch it die. Then dry his eyes and say, 'Maybe next year.' I need somebody who can shape an ax handle from a persimmon sprout, shoe a horse with a hunk of car tire, who can make harness out of haywire, feed sacks and shoe scraps. And who, planting time and harvest season, will finish his forty-hour week by Tuesday noon, then, pain'n from 'tractor back,' put in another seventy-two hours." So God made a farmer.

God had to have somebody willing to ride the ruts at double speed to get the hay in ahead of the rain clouds and yet stop in mid-field and race to help when he sees the first smoke from a neighbor's place. So God made a farmer.

God said, "I need somebody strong enough to clear trees and heave bails, yet gentle enough to tame lambs and wean pigs and tend the pink-combed pullets, who will stop his mower for an hour to splint the broken leg of a meadow lark. It had to be somebody who'd plow deep and straight and not cut corners. Somebody to seed, weed, feed, breed and rake and disc and plow and plant and tie the fleece and strain the milk and replenish the self-feeder and finish a hard week's work with a five-mile drive to church.

"Somebody who'd bale a family together with the soft strong bonds of sharing, who would laugh and then sigh, and then reply, with smiling eyes, when his son says he wants to spend his life 'doing what dad does.'" So God made a farmer.

~Paul Harvey, 1978

Baby Bias

We may be a little bias but we think we have the cutest niece around!  She's always full of smiles and quite possibly the happiest baby I've ever seen!

Man Trip

Prior to being engaged (that story will come at some point) I had attempted to pull out all of the stops to possibly make it happen sooner rather than later.  Many of you may know that my patience were being tested just a tad!  One of the things I may have thrown out on the table was that he could go on "man trips" and I wouldn't complain about them!  Bahaha  Well, he takes full advantage of man trips during the winter season and is gone to Wyoming snowmobiling.

I really could care less that he goes on these trips but I dislike hate staying at home by myself. Our dogs know when he is gone somehow and become super protective.  The bark at the wind. Semis. The cat. Really anything and I instantly think that there is boogie man there to get me.  Therefore, I sleep terribly whenever he is gone (and stress about the guys dying in an avalanche.)  This isn't something that just started either.  I don't think I ever stayed at home alone at my parents house.  Now, I can do it and have done it but would rather not.

Jenny Dunkin saved the day when she asked me to stay with their kids for a couple of days since they would be out of town! Chaa ching!  These couple of days miraculously coincided with the days that Gavin was going to be gone.  I successfully got three kids up and out the door to the bus on time and myself to school in time!  They also were fully clothed, had their backpacks, and had completed their homework. :-)  Lets be real!  They are the most responsible kids ever and did it all on their own.  I was just there for moral support.  (They are even going to have dinner in the oven and almost done when I get there tonight!)

For those of you worried about the dogs, they have an indoor and outdoor kennel and the guys are there during the day so they are being shown some love as well!  As for the cat, she's creepy and just roams the shop.

The Whirlwind of December!

While some of you may know or read some of the details in yesterdays post, here is a little run down of my life in December.  Be prepared that this is really long and I didn't go back through and proof read!!

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, I ended up in the Waverly ER with terrible stomach aches.  After a couple of unsuccessful cat scans, the surgeon and doctor decided to admit me to the hospital to try and figure out what was going on.  The stuff that you drink before a cat scan wasn't going through me so they thought I had an obstructed bowel or twisted intestines, neither of which were good situations.  I had the pain a couple of times before and it all worked itself out so they thought maybe if I got relaxed enough, things would untwist or work themselves out.  This was not the case!  My pain continued to be uncontrolled and continued to escalate.  I finally was given another pain medicine that knocked me out at least so I could get some sleep.  Whoever says morphine is a wonder drug, I strongly disagree!

I spent Saturday night, all day Sunday, and Monday morning in Waverly.  Monday morning Xrays showed that nothing had moved through my GI tract and the doctors finally decided to transfer me to Iowa City for at least some more observation and the possibility that they could figure something out.  Before I went, I had to have a nose tube put in.  To say the least, this isn't a very pleasant procedure!

I was transferred to the Iowa City Hospitals via ambulance, which may be the roughest ride ever---right up there with Gavin's truck.  Upon arrival, we (the ambulance guys and myself weren't exactly sure where I was supposed to be).  My papers said the pediatric unit, which they thought was wrong considering I am 23.  I tried to explain to them that I am typically followed by pediatrics due to my birth defect.  Ya, birth defect.  I have a condition in which all of my organs are backwards.  It is called Total Situs Inversus.  Yes, my heart is on the opposite side of my body and no I do not do the Pledge of Allegiance any differently than you. :-)  Typically, if you have any issues with this, it is while your are a baby, meaning the pediatricians know more about it and why they follow me.  Once in my room, in the pediatric unit, I was hooked up to all sorts of monitors and greeted by a team of residents.  Have you ever seen the show House where like 6 doctors come in and surround your bed.  This is what it was like in my room every time they came in.  I wasn't exactly happy to see them, as they all wanted a chance to push on my stomach which caused me to want to punch them.  Each time they came in, they would do their thing, go directly outside of my room and meet with Dr. Pitcher, my surgeon, and then they would all come back in and Dr. Pitcher would talk to me.

His first conversation with me was a little scary!  He let me know that he had seem my scans before I had got there and he was worried about several things he saw.  He was pretty sure that my intestines were twisted but he also thought that there were some things that were not where they belonged.  Remember when I said most issues were when you were a baby.....not with me.  Up until this point in my life, the doctors have thought I would live completely normal and were under the understanding that all of my organs had totally rotated.  He also informed me that he had called for emergency surgery and it was going to be classified Class A, meaning I would be the next one in the operation room.  At this point I went into a little bit of freak out mode as my parents nor Gavin were at the hospital.  I wasn't even sure if they were on their way yet.  After a couple of calls, I learned that my parents were in the building but Gavin had just left Waverly.  Total bummer!  Dr. Pitcher continued to inform me about the surgery and his news continued to get worse.  After reviewing my scans again he didn't feel that he could do surgery through a scope and was going to have to do an abdominal incision.  I immediately argued this point and begged for the scope.  Come on! I wear a swimming suit the entire summer.  A scar was not what I wanted.  Evidently keeping me alive meant a little more than me not wanting a scar and my parents told the doctor to do what he needed to do.  This led to a small argument with my dad, right in front of the surgeon----he was taken a little off guard but promised to try the scope first.  With all the drugs, I didn't realize at this point how serious my condition was.  The nurses quickly prepped me and ran me and my bed through the halls. This was seriously the most hectic thing ever!!!

Once in the operating room, I realized the surgeons were pretty excited about what was going on.  Excited in a way that this was the first time they had seen this, which meant I had LOTS of residents and surgeons looking on.  In fact, I was in the observation room which had a window with more people looking on.   Slightly overwhelming.....just took some large deep breaths in through the mask and I was out!

I woke up in the recovery room 2 hours later and was in so much pain that they put me right back under.  My second time waking up was a little better and after a chat with the nurse, she wheeled me up to my room.  I was met there by Gavin, my parents, and my aunt and uncle.  Bless there souls, because I was a little bit of a mess.  They let me know right away that the scope wasn't a success and my incision was a little bit larger than even what they though it was going to be.  Bigger...meaning like 8 inches of them cutting through 7 layers of tissue.  Before bed, pain management was the goal.  My parents had gotten a hotel so left when things calmed down a little.  Gavin had planned to stay but we learned that "boyfriends" are not welcome overnight on the pediatric floor.  To say he was a little wound up is an understatement.  Even when you're 23 & 29, they treat you like a ped.

Through surgery, we learned that my small intestine has grown inside a pocket of my large intestine my entire life--a complication of my organs being reversed.  I was feeling so much pain because the hole they fell into was contracting/closing and cutting off blood supply to my intestines causing them to twist.  Apparently this isn't something to mess around with and I am lucky to be alive.  Dr. Pitcher also found that I have some veins and arteries running over organs instead of under them, which could be dangerous if anyone else would ever cut into me.  This little detail wound me up with a medical bracelet....yipee.  He also removed my appendix during surgery so that I wouldn't ever have to be opened for complications with it.

The night was rough but Tuesday rolled around and my room filled with flowers.  My stomach ache was gone but the pain from surgery and my incision was intense.  My morphine button became my friend and I waited for it to light up every 15 minutes.  I typically hate, refuse, and don't even consider medicine and try and tough it out but that wasn't an option.  For the next couple of days, things continued to get better.  I wasn't allowed any food or even a drink of water until Wednesday night.  For those of you that think I have looked a little thin, this is why!  Getting that darn nose tube out was the best thing ever!!!  I've never been so happy to just get a swig of water.

Because my small intestine was compromised in four different locations, the true sign if those spots survived was to see if my GI tract got up and running again.  Yes, this means that in order to see if I was okay, I had to have a bowel movement.  I have never had so many people ask me this question in my life.  As soon as it happened though, I was out the door.  The ride home was a little less than desirable to say the least.

The next week led to lots of laying around and attempting to not over do it.  Wednesday I noticed that the top part of my incision looked infected, hurt, and was kind of red.  Gavin and I made a trip to Iowa City to have it looked at and the doctor stuck a needle in my incision (since it had just been cut, it was painless) to see what was in there.  He extracted 10cc of pus meaning that it was infected.  His hope was to put me on an antibiotic and it would do the trick.  I woke up Thursday morning though to it being twice as big and really red.  My grandparents drove me back down to Iowa City that morning and he ended up having to open it up.  It didn't exactly feel good and seeing a large hole in your stomach is a little gut wrenching.  He had to open more than he was expecting and I ended up with a hole 4 inches long, an inch deep, and an inch wide.  The moment that they had the pus drained though, I was pain free.  I didn't realize how much pain I was in because of the infection, not because of surgery.  I felt soooo much better after this was done.  I learned how to pack it with gauze and we headed home.  For the first week, it took about a yard of gauze to fill my wound and had to be done twice a day.  After about two weeks though, it finally started to show some growth and the swelling and infection were gone.  When I was cleared to walk/jog, it really started to close. 

 I can finally say,  4 weeks and two days after getting cut back open, it is closed and I am fully cleared!  I made my last trip to Iowa City yesterday and my doctor released me and told me I can do whatever I want.  I have been running at The W but this morning I completed my first Next Level Extreme Fitness class and felt great!  This is four weeks sooner than what they initially told me and I couldn't be more excited.

Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers over these past two months.  All in all, I missed 15 days at school and it was just as painful to be away from my kids for that long.  It certainly was unexpected but I am back to my normal routine and feeling great!  I wouldn't have been able to do it with out you all!

2013 as I Know It

Holy Moly!  I know I haven't been on here since August.  Life just went and happened and well blogging didn't exactly run across my mind.  To say I wasn't busy, overwhelmed at times, or just simply enjoying life is an understatement!  I do think this is going to take a more personal level with some teacher stories as we have some rather exciting things taking place this year.  

Here goes a recap of August-September.  Several events are going to take completely different posts.  And I am planning to regularly blog to keep track of this year so keep an eye out for some new ones.  I seem to have lots of ideas.

August:

I began my dream job at Waverly-Shell Rock as a 1st grade teacher at Carey Elementary.  Call me a home body but I love this town, the people in it, and the small town atmosphere it has to offer.  The 7 minute drive compared to the 40 minute one to Sumner has been awesome. I truly miss Sumner and the great people I worked with!  22 innocent minds greet me each morning and bring something new to each day.  I can honestly say I continue to love my job!

September:

Gavin and I traveled to Colorado again this year to another Davis wedding.  If Gavin's company wasn't rooted in the Cedar Valley, I would beg on a daily basis to move to Fort Collins.  It is beautiful, full of fit and active people, and the mountains just make my heart melt.  I love that place!  The wedding was amazing and we witnessed Greek traditions that were so much fun.  Bill and Haley looked stunning and we wish we were closer to them all!

October:

Hawkeye Football may not have always been real great but we certainly had fun going to the games with some stellar friends.  We traveled to Iowa City and Minnesota to watch the Hawks.  The first game was one of the hottest days of my life and the Minnesota game was just about the opposite.  To say I am a fair weather fan may be an understatement.

November:

The holidays crept up on use quickly and we prepped for Thanksgiving and the onslaught of Christmases that were just around the corner.  I can't recall anything major that happened this month....that is until the very last stinking day...that I could go without.

The first week of December.  Warning: this will probably turn into a novel!

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, I got a stomachache shortly before dinner.  Gavin and I were planning on walking over to Nate and Ker's to watch a basketball game and lay low for the night.  Shortly after dinner, I found myself curled into a ball on the couch with terrible pain.  I had this pain earlier in the week and thought it would go away in a couple of hours like it did last time.  Long story short, at 2am after pacing around our house, laying on every piece of furniture we have swearing it would feel better, I crawled to the bed and asked Gavin to take me to the Waverly E.R.  After drinking three disgusting glasses of stuff (I never remember what its called) and two cat scans later, the radiologist and ER doctor knew something didn't look right and admitted me to the hospital for further observation. 

On Sunday, I continued to have uncontrolled pain and don't remember that day at all other than swearing the morphine wasn't doing a thing.  I called my principal to let her know I wouldn't be there Monday but I'd be back on Tuesday.  Joke was on me!  Monday morning's X-ray showed that my intestines were possibly twisted and I was going to be transferred to Iowa City as soon as possible.

Before I got to Iowa City, the surgeon had looked at my scans and saw some things he really didn't like and called for emergency surgery.  This whole story will become another post in the near future as it is a novel in itself.  In a nutshell, I ended up having major abdominal surgery Monday afternoon.  Landed myself an awesome 8 inch incision down the middle of my stomach and learned some things about my body that we never knew about.  Things weren't where they should have been and have been there my whole life.  The doctors informed me that leaving them that way much longer could have been grim and I am lucky to be alive!

I had surgery on Monday and was release on Friday.  The drive home was the worst ride I have ever been apart of and I seriously wondered why I was excited to go home.  

I missed out on deer hunting.  Total bummer...cry fest...  Gavin went with my dad and I hung out with my mom for the day.  We had Christmas at our house on Sunday, where I hid out upstairs to hide from any germs that may make me sneeze, cough, or puke.  Those things made me want to claw my own eyes out they hurt so bad.

Later that week, my incision got infected and ended up having to be reopened.  I'll fill you in on all of those details later as well.  Having a 4 inch hole in the middle of your stomach takes some getting used to it.  Packing it with gauze was a learning experience.  And hearing the doctor say it was going to take 2 months to close was disturbing.  My fear of a brutal scar also led to some serious sob fests.  Mr. Wonderful attempted to reassure me I could rock the scar.  I still doubt him.

Christmas rolled around in a fury!  I began to feel better the week of Christmas and was feeling up to getting out of the house finally.  I got cleared to walk that week as well and just being in the gym made me feel better.  Christmas is my favorite time of the year and will not forever hold a special place in my heart.

The love of my life proposed after Christmas Eve service at my parents house.  You just read that right. We are finally engaged!!  After almost five years of dating and countless pep talks, Gavin got down on one knee and asked me to marry him!  I couldn't be more excited to spend the rest of my life with my best friend and am so excited to see where life takes us.

August 30, 2014 will officially begin our journey as Mr. and Mrs. Steege!  (That is going to take some serious getting used to!  But I think I can handle it ;-)

I will leave you with that for now and will be back soon for detailed surgery and engagement/wedding details! 

Sun---> Good for the Soul!!

Several times throughout the summer, I have had all five of my babysitting kids. Most definitely a little chaotic at times--like lunch and any errands that I have to run. But to be honest, its actually a bit easier for most of the day. They play and entertain each other and I only see them when there are issues or they are hungry.  (Side note: The four older ones are old enough that I don't have to keep my eye on them every second of the day!)  Lyvia and I kind of do our own thing or play right along with the big kids.  To say the least, they always have a lot of fun.  I snapped some pictures of our last week of summer.

 Anything can be done in your suit!

 Is the sandbox supposed to be filled with water?! :-)

 Snack time!

 The sprinkler under the trampoline makes for a grand time!

 Everyone jump and say, "We love summer!!"

 Take 2!

 Do they come any cuter?!?!

 2 kids in the tub, rub-a-dub-dub!

 How many of us can fit in this tub?!

 Pretty full with 4 kiddos!

Cami!  We think you can fit too!!

 Thats right!  All five kids in the tub!

 Everyone yell, "We love Kylie!!!"

 How about, "Kylie is AWESOME!"

 How many pictures does it take to get them all looking?

--Never got one--

Back to the tramp to do some flips!

I love summer and everything it entails, including all of my munchkins!!

A Little One on One

As the summer neared the final weeks, I thought it would be fun to do something one-on-one with my babysitting kiddos. I let each of them pick out something they wanted to do and just the two of us went.

Jace loves anything to do with motors or engines or cars or tractors.  You name it and he probably knows the make and model and quite possibly the year!  Lucky for him, the Bremer County fair was going on and that means red neck entertainment at its finest.  I absolutely love county fairs and grew up attending them and showing cattle at them.  The grandstand events are rare and often hard to find anywhere else. Jace chose to go to the combine derbies and I was all in!!  He had a blast. I had a blast. And we saw some combines crash and smash and hit until they didn't run!

 Sat by our buddy Ty!

 Had to be pulled off of the course!

 Crash!

 They couldn't get enough and LOVED when the combines took a run for it!

All smiles! AND we caught a hat that the fair board was throwing out--winner!

Macy went a completely different route and wanted to get her nails done. What girl doesn't like a little pampering?!  I was excited about this choice as well! Two good picks by these kiddos. She had only been to a salon one other time so she was pretty excited.  She paints her nails, my nails, and anyone else that is willing on a weekly basis so it was a treat for her to get them done.

They even had a little chair for her!

One more day and back to reality for me.....
Good thing I'm ready!!

Books for Charley Drop Off #1

I was so excited to be apart of this year's Books for Charley book drive!  In late April, I contacted Kristin, Charley's mom, and asked if I could join in on this great cause.  It was my mission to pay-it-forward to other kiddos that are in the hospital for any reason.

A little background:

Much like my sister Taylor, Charley earned her angel wings much too early because of a similar congenital heart defect.  They both were supposed to go through the same 3 surgeries and live as normal little girlies but God had other plans although they are hard to understand.  Her family and story hold a place near and dear to my heart although I have never met them nor actually talked to them.  I like to call myself a blog creeper!  :-)  If you want to learn more about Charley's story and her little brother, Harrison, blog hop right over to littlemissritchie.blogspot.com.

During the month of May, I collected as many books and donations as I could from people near and far.    Click here if you want to read how I got it all started off.  The turn out was amazing!!  I am excited to be donating 213 books!!  I dropped half of them off at the Sumner Hospital yesterday and will be dropping off the other half at the Waverly hospital in the next couple of days!

Hopefully, these books will give lots of kids a reason to smile when they aren't feeling the best!

Wedding Bells!

My best friend got married this past weekend and boy-oh-boy did we have a good time!  The weekend was filled with nail appointments, rehearsal, dinner, last night as a Willson, hair appointments, food, a chilly outdoor weeding, and one heck of a party!

Leslie and Justin tied the knot on the Upper Iowa lawn fairy field :-) in weather that we wouldn't have guessed would have been possible on July 27th!  Mother Nature?!?!  Where did that 60 degree, windy, misty weather come from?!  Other than that, everything went perfectly!  Leslie looked absolutely stunning and Justin didn't look bad either I suppose.

The reception was a blast!  We all had ourselves a grand time and danced until the clock rang midnight!    The photo booth may have been my all time favorite thing as I made several trips through there.  Did I mention I caught the bouquet?!  That means I should be getting married next, right Gav?  Oh so patiently waiting....

Les has changed her name on Facebook and I'm not sure I will ever get used to that! Leslie Marchant, who is that?!!?

Congrats Leslie and Justin! I love you both and wish you a life time of happiness and love!

Everything Chevron

Last year, I went with a Jungle Themed classroom.  I had just about everything monkey or jungle related.  I was looking to switch it up a little bit and decided to go with everything chevron and bright colored!  

I normally go teacherspayteacher.com crazy and just search for and buy whatever it is I am looking for. I have decided to try out my own creativity genes though and make some of my own things to sell.  So here you have it...

Hop on over to my TPT store to buy these if you are looking to decorate your own classroom with a little chevron!

The CAFE

   

The Daily 5

 and Beanie Baby Reading Strategies!

(sorry--no cool picture to include!)

I am in the process of making schedule cards and classroom helpers to match!

One Door Closes and Another One Opens!

I have been waiting to hit publish on this post for a couple of weeks to wait for a School Board Meeting  to take place but I do have some rather bittersweet and all at the same time exciting news to share! {I'm sure most of you know anyways--but I wanted it to be official!}

At the beginning of June, I said bittersweet goodbyes to my fellow coworkers in Sumner and gratefully accepted a 1st grade position in the Waverly-Shell Rock District.  I will forever cherish the year I spent at Sumner, the students that I had, and the teachers and mentors that I worked with.  It was such a good experience and couldn't be more thankful for the opportunity that they gave me as a first year teacher.   I want to give a special "shout out" to my mentor, Kathleen, for everything that she did for me.  She was unbelievably helpful each and every day and my first year would have been awful without her.  The SF Cougars will forever hold a special place in my heart!

I couldn't be more excited to be a Go Hawk again, though!  Because Mr. Wonderful is planted in Waverly or the fact that I can't be away from home and love Waverly (okay---so maybe both), it was my long term goal to get back to town.  I'm not sure I will appreciate the 5 minute drive compared to my 45 minute drive to Sumner until the school year begins but I am certainly looking forward to it.  I am looking forward to a whole other list of things as well and can't wait for this upcoming year. 

Now to organizing my classroom--eekkk! #overwhelmed

Which Hats Do I Wear Today?

Being a teacher doesn't mean that I am going to get to go to school to teach and only teach.  There is a whole other list of jobs that I must take on during the day for my kids to be happy, safe, and successful.

**Mom or Grandma--They call me this by mistake but more often than not, they need motherly reassurance, a caring hug, and someone that they know truly cares about them.

**Nurse--Scrapes, cuts, bruise, bloody noses, vomit, accidents, tummy aches, and the list goes on.  You name it--a teacher deals with it.  My desk drawers a loaded with band-aids, although my kids are often mad at me because I don't give them out very easily.  I often encourage them to be tough.  My first year of teaching has led me to deal with flu ridden kiddos, be vomited on, clean up vomit, and have a vomit smelling classroom.

**Actress--If I think some thing is a big deal, I most certainly have 17 kids that think something is a big deal.  If I am excited about something, they are most likely excited about something.  If I act like I am excited about something, they are excited about something.  I can be pretty dramatic as well when I read, my kiddos get a kick out of it---lightens the mood a bit!

**Lawyer--Documentation, documentation, documentation!  I've never wrote down the silliest things before in my life, but I have learned that it is very important just to cover my own behind.  

**Hairstylist

**Secret Keeper

**Professional Shoe Tier--Huge pet peeve!!  In the middle of the year, I began telling them to all find a friend if they didn't know how because I was spending so much time doing it for them.  Instead, they just walked on their laces.  I now am a double knotting queen and they often can't get them untied but I figured parents would probably appreciate their child's laces not being destroyed.

**Police Officer--Rules, Rules, Shmules!

**Snack Provider

**Pants buttoner, zipperer, and tightener (Those elastic tighteners in kids' jeans are life savers!)

**Problem Solver/Mediator

**Oh!  Did I mention that I like to teach as well!!

All in all, teaching wouldn't be teaching if I didn't get the oppurtunity to do all of these different things throughout the day.  Working with kids is what led me to the teaching in the first place and I couldn't be more excited that I am doing what I love!

Birds Galore

Holy Moly! Where do I even begin!? 

When the kids got to school Friday morning, I noticed that two of the eggs had cracked. I didn't share the news since I knew they would be overly excited. By the time pour first recess rolled around, 5 of them had little crack and by the end of the day there were ten with cracks.   I let them know and let them look before their first recess.  Now, while this was pretty exciting, I didn't realize ducks would take soooo long.  With our chickens growing up, it was a relatively quick process.  Friday during school, they were cracked but we couldn't see anything.

                                       

I had gymnastics practice after school so I rushed the eggs to Tatroe's, who wanted to see them hatch so they took them home. I don't think they were prepared for the stink involved with hatching eggs. :-) The first duckling hatched Friday night, one more Saturday morning, and three more Saturday afternoon at their house.  I picked up this stink box and took it home and had one hatch shortly after. Man-o-man did the incubator need cleaned.

Due to a broken air conditioner and me being a worry wart, I witnessed three more hatch in the middle of the night/Sunday morning.  At this point I concocted a divider and put four of the ducklings on the heating pad with the chickens. They don't exactly get along so they have to be separated.  Long story short, I got the incubator cleaned at like 3:30 Sunday morning.

                                      

I got another heating pad and slowly moved the ducks out of the incubator as they dried.  The last three eggs hatch Sunday morning.  Did you read that?!? All 12 eggs successfully hatched!!!!! I was pretty sure they were all dead at one point and time.

                                    

Oh! Did I mention that I bought baby chicks?! I didn't hatch them but rather they came in the mail. Yes, in the mail...in a box. I think the ladies at the post office were rather annoyed when I got there to pick them up.  They were about 24 hours old when I got them and I hope in a few months they'll be laying my breakfast!!  I have planned on getting them for a while but with having the ducks I thought no better time.  Just so happened that they are about exactly the same age.  It was a rather chaotic weekend to say the least.  My plan was to have them in the same pen and raise them together but, ugh, the chicks are mean to my baby ducks!!!

                                  

With Jamison's graduation and birthday parties, I didn't have time to get two pens set up in the coop so my feather headed friends were living in my kitchen and it was growing rather smelly!!  As of last night, my kitchen is put back together, smelling much better, and the birds are outside.  My 31 fur balls got moved and have a little more room to wander about. Man did they run around/spaz when I first put them down. 

...and then it stormed! I was a little stressed about them being out there for like 30 minutes before it torrentially down poured and thunderstormed. Gavin and my dad reassured me that they'd be okay. (Yes, I was raised on a farm and raised chickens but I've always worried about my animals like this.). Shockingly, this morning when I went out to check on them, they were fine and were all snoozing!

Now to keep them alive....

Quick Update!

I don't exactly have Earth shattering news but it's exciting nonetheless.  Our duck eggs are a'rockin!  While this could last a couple of days before they hatch, it means we are getting close and that they haven't died in their shells.  (I was getting a little nervous to say the least.)

I haven't been able to get a kid actually see it because they can't stand there and be patient without bumping the incubator and practically screaming that they haven't seen anything.  Patience is a virtue and it's very limited in first grade!

I could stand and look in the little windows all day.  The first time that I saw one move I had a huge adrenaline rush.  Dork, I know but I was so excited!

I'm still slightly nervous because everything I read about duck eggs is that they are hard to hatch. Eeekkk.  Sounds like they often require help, which is a no-no in the world of hatching as it can cause the animal to bleed to death.  I have also read that it can take up to 18 hours for them to hatch or that they can dry out and die before they get out of their shell.  Do a little extra praying for my ducks please that they make it out on their own!  Last thing I want to do is explain to my first graders why they are all dying on us!