Baby Mama..... Erin, not me, to be clear

Over Thanksgiving break I took some maternity pictures of BABY MAMA (aka Erin) at the park.  She is so. stinkin. cute. pregnant!  Carey was also there. Ditto on the so stinkin cute for him too (hi Carey). Here are some of my favorites -- the countdown is on for the arrival of Barrett!

This one made their Christmas card this year!!



Beeeaaauuuu-tiful!



small human ... riiiiggghhhttt over here.

love this little booger already

we got a hot one comin in

Dove

Isn't it shocking how sometimes the most ordinary thing sparks a memory that is so clear, so distinct, so touching, that you feel it with all your senses? This has been happening to me every day for almost 2 months now, and I finally feel an urge to share.

For the past year I've been having trouble with insanely dry skin, so, I have been through every soap on the market trying to get some relief. Two months ago, after a failed attempt at another shower time soap regiment, I picked up a box of Dove soap...and hence my little daily walk down memory lane began...

Every day when I get in the shower I am surrounded by the smell of Dove soap...so simple, so un-newsworthy to most people, but not to me. That smell takes me back to my grandmother's house (Gran), & to so many times with a woman we are sadly losing a little piece of each day to Alzheimer's. My sister & I used to love to spend the night at Gran's house. She had shag carpet that creaked at the seams when you walked on it, a pair of fuzzy house shoes with a slight heel that clonked on the tile she let us wear after our baths, and a vanity dressing area with hundreds of shades of eyeshadows and one of those day/dusk/office lighted make-up mirrors. The bedroom Erin and I slept in had a 4 post bed with a comforter on it that looked like you could fall from 3 stories up and still land softly. She'd always have the heated blanket on when it was cold, and she kept a special night gown for us - an oversized Spud McKenzie dog t-shirt (whatever that was, I guess a big deal in the late 80's) that I was obsessed with wearing. Her bathroom had yellow carpet, an avocado green tub, and yellow and green wallpaper with flowers all over it. We took a bath in there....always with bubbles, and ..... dove soap. Gran always smelled like Dove soap at night, and her hands were so soft I can remember telling her that I hoped my hands felt like hers did when I got really old...lol.

For some reason, all these years later, after a Sunday night Wal-Mart trip for groceries and soap, I have come across such an amazing way to begin/end my day. I think it's a blessing actually, because there's not been a day go by in 2 months that she hasn't crossed my mind. I know one day soon she won't remember me, but it sure is comforting to know there are things I have that help me never forget her house, her touch, her smell, and .... Her.

OMG I MADE PINTEREST!

Okay, so I accidentally hit a tab I had never explored -- the STATS tab, and it took me to the blogs that have viewed....just saw that someone saw my post on the STORYBOOK BABY SHOWER idea and posted me to pinterest -- so cool that I didn't even have to post myself. LOL.... PS - Erin should get total credit for this pin! :) 

Lately....

Let's seeeeeee.....maybe a little list of what's been going on lately will help:

1. Work....a lot   and master's classes....a lot
2. Crafting - you'll see all of it soon!
3. HOG football!  Although we had a pretty embarrassing loss to LSU, I'm still SO proud of the season and have had a blast watching them this year (still hate the BCS system). 
4. Hosted BUNCO at my house.  I cooked pizza and wine and my dress up theme was sweatpants and pjs....not exactly winning hostess of the year, but we still had so much fun! 
5. My 6th graders are doing a "spare change angel tree project" this year....I'll keep you filled in on the details of our quest for spare change and great presents for a child in need.
6. Hunting/Fishing season are upon us yet again...Nate killed a deer, so my freezer cannot hold anything other than deer meat and crappie at the moment.
7. Teacher holiday breaks are AWESOME! I have never had breaks like this....I LOVED my time off during Thanksgiving (a full week), and Christmas 2 week break is around the corner.  What a perk! 

We went to see our  friends John and Liz for the Arkansas vs. Tennessee game, and had a wonderful weekend trip.  It made me really miss Fayetteville, and our amazing friends so much! Friday night we went to the Promenade in Rogers, and I spent a chunk of our life savings in Sephora...I mean, what is a girl supposed to do? Suffer through life without the new Urban Decay Naked eyeshadow pallett? I think not.  Tailgaiting Saturday was a blast -- thanks Abra and Zach for your AWESOME tailgaiting spot!  To top it off, Arkansas won!

miss this 'ole lady!

she likes to kiss my Dad, too....on the lips

Officer Flippo .... solving ALL the world's problems

LOVE this part!

WREATHS

I got inspired by Pinterest (shout - out Krystal Harris for showing me this very addictive site a few months ago) and made some wreaths for gifts -- L.O.V.E.!



Christmas wreath for my mom







Bunco gift



rAnDoM.... random picture, I know, but we went to our friends Amber and Holland's birthday parties at Northridge a few weeks ago. Somehow the only picture I came out of there with was one with Haley Rae - my oldest friend in the world!

No Worries, I'm Alive

Do not fear. I am alive, just horrible at keeping up with this blog since school started.  Here's a re-cap with a few pictures I've managed to take:

School Has Taken Over My Life.  I'm not kidding. Between going to school to get my master's and teaching school, I feel as if I might be the smartest I've ever been in my entire 29 years.  I know it will pay off (or that's what I keep telling all my friends who think I've fallen off the map) that I'm putting in this much time my first year....next year will be SOOO much easier....if I say it enough it starts to be more believable.

My 6th Graders Are Legit.  I feel like I've hit the jackpot when it comes to getting great students.  The 100+ little gems I have this year are SOOO good and I'm really enjoying them (disclaimer: most days)!

Lunch before 11am Should be Illegal.  One of the biggest adjustments of teaching young kids is our schedule.  We eat lunch at 10:45am.  I mean, really?  10:45am?  I'm barely hungry for breakfast by 10.

I'm In A Bunco Group. And I'm finally awesome at it.  I won a swwwweeeeetttt wallet last month for rolling 6 buncos in one night. Unheard of. I'm like a dice rolling phenomenon. Don't ever bet against a girl who won $2,100 playing craps her first time to a casino.  Just sayin.

Still <3 the Hogs.  Nothing new here, except that college football season has started and I'm in heaven.  I am so excited for the Hogs this year, still hate the ranking system, and get overly mad if we lose.  Basically, the same news as last year around this time.

Arkansas vs. A&M.   Now I can say been there, done that. Went to watch the Hogs beat A&M (ugly, but got the job done I guess) at Cowboys Stadium.  Let me just say, WOW that place is amazing. Had a great weekend with friends, and a LOT of pregnant people!  I also made a few of us gals some HOGS shirts to wear...pics below

and here we are wearing these little doozies at the Arkansas vs. A&M game

LOVE this rug I made John and Liz as a little surprise

Friday night pre-game outing to Amelia and Mason's

We Have Pep-Rallies. And boy do 6th graders love a good 'ole yelling screaming dressing crazy pep rally.  Of course, there is a theme every week and I stepped out for NERD DAY with my awesome mentor teacher Julie.

Countdown To Baby Antoon:  Just an update, the official due date is January 10, 2012.  Erin is doing great, but it's starting to look like Mitzi is going to have to take a second job as a greeter at Wal-Mart during odd hours to make ends meet after all the shopping for this baby is said and done. 

I Still Have Cute Dogs.  "Obvi"  This is my new favorite saying via Snooki, who probably isn't smart enough to know the entire word "obviously," so she shortened it.  I'm digging it. Obvi.  Here are the aforementioned cute dogs.



   











exhaustion has set in & it's only tuesday

Helllo exhaustion, I knew you'd be paying me a visit around this time.  It's that time of year -- the beginning of school -- and I need to get teacher conditioned.  I feel like my feet are about to dislocate at the ankles.  It's okay though because I can't feel them anyway. 

It's been quite a busy couple of days!  These sweet little 6th graders are venturing into the land of middle school, and boyyyyy are they a nervous wreck.  Remember those days?!?! They're actually adjusting quickly, and I'm spending my days being part teacher and part mamma, at least until they figure out what the heck an "A" day vs. a "B" day is. Another new thing comes along with teaching 6th grade -- brunch.  They officially call it lunch, but when they serve it at 10:45am I have a hard time getting on board with a turkey sandwich and putting my feet up. 

Anyway, I've got a GREAT group of students, and I'm counting my little blessings everyday...even the days I want to go to bed at 7:15pm.

football season, please hurry up

A fellow HOG fan at the middle school sent me this.... makes me sooooooo excited.