Hi Everyone,
I'm sure most of you know this by now, but I know I haven't been able to talk to everyone. Carl and I are expecting our third child :) I am almost 3 1/2 months along, and the baby is due May 3rd. Since I know I will be having yet another C-Section, they will probably schedule delivery for the very end of April, since delivery is usually set around 39 weeks.
I'm am excited to be into my second trimester! Although it could have been much worse, I'm glad the all-day nausea, constant hunger, and feeling like I need a nap 24/7 is over!! :)
Everyone is very excited about the idea of another addition to the family. Jocie is excited to by a big sister again, and of course Ella is looking forward to having a "real" baby in the house. We have also decided not to find out the sex of the baby early. So, unfortunately, you won't know until we know on the actual birthday.
Carl and I are also very excited, but also a tad nervous. Three kids seems like a lot more than two.....I know that sounds weird, but to us it makes sense. One of Carl's friends told him having the third child is like going from a man-to-man defense (in basketball) to a zone defense. Because now the kids out number the parents, so you need to know how to cover them all :) We liked this analogy, and now feel that we're up for the challenge!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Annual TC Kid's Marathon
This weekend was the annual Twin Cities Kid's Marathon in St. Paul. Since the first week of school, I have been training some of my fifth grade students to participate in a 5K, 1 mile, or 1/2 mile race. This year, I had 11 kids come down (4 participated in the 5K, 5 in the 1 mile, and 2 in the 1/2 mile). I made sure to get all my runners up to the very front of the pack at the starting line. While at the starting line, we were interview twice! Once by the race official (over the loud speaker!!), and once by Diana Pierce herself (Kare 11 news woman who sponsors the event) All my students did incredibly well in there races (thanks to my training of course)! One of my students actually ran the 1 mile race in 5.48 minutes and got 3rd over-all out of over 1,000 kids participating (WOW)!!
Carl, Jocie, and Ella also participated. Carl and Jocie ran the 1 mile race. I was so proud to see Jocie running super hard through the finish line. She also did an awesome job and finished the race in 7 minutes! Ella participated in the Toddler Trot :) As soon as "go" was heard, she was off like a shot, and looked as if she got 3rd place out of all the 3-year-olds. I always get a kick out of watching how serious some of the parents of the toddlers can be....scary (probably future stage parents...yikes).
We had a beautiful day, with beautiful surroundings of the State Capitol and the St. Paul Cathedral. The day was a lot of fun and a huge PINEWOOD Elementary success!
Carl, Jocie, and Ella also participated. Carl and Jocie ran the 1 mile race. I was so proud to see Jocie running super hard through the finish line. She also did an awesome job and finished the race in 7 minutes! Ella participated in the Toddler Trot :) As soon as "go" was heard, she was off like a shot, and looked as if she got 3rd place out of all the 3-year-olds. I always get a kick out of watching how serious some of the parents of the toddlers can be....scary (probably future stage parents...yikes).
We had a beautiful day, with beautiful surroundings of the State Capitol and the St. Paul Cathedral. The day was a lot of fun and a huge PINEWOOD Elementary success!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
School, School, and umm, School
Sorry to keep you all waiting! I'm sure you've been on pins and needles waiting for this post (yeah, right). As you all know, school has started and we are incredibly busy.
Jocie is loving the 4th grade. She has a great teacher and really likes the friends she has in her classroom. She is studying for her "bones" test on Thursday and is also hoping to be apart of the new Pinewood Newspaper. She is also anticipating her up and coming basketball season. She will be playing on the Monticello 4th grade traveling team (I'm being serious. . . if you ask me there shouldn't be such a thing! I think kids should focus on skills and the basics of the game . . . not traveling the state!) Carl will be her coach, and I'm sure she'll have a blast with her friends.
Ella is having a great time playing at Missy's house with all of her friends. She especially likes playing house with the babies (big shocker).
Carl is keeping (too) busy with school, coaching 9th grade football, working on his masters and trying to squeeze in a few drivers training hours! Last weekend he finally got some "me" time when we were able to go up to Argyle so he could ride horse with Jocie and his dad. Obviously some much needed relaxation time!
I have also started my master's program. I have class every Wednesday after school until around 9pm (yuck) and also have some random Saturday mornings (double yuck). It's been an OK experience so far. . . even though I disagree with some of my professor's grading procedures. I'm sure if he could, he would be correcting my blogging ability :)
I hope this message finds you in good spirits and good health. I will try to do a better job keeping up :)
Jocie is loving the 4th grade. She has a great teacher and really likes the friends she has in her classroom. She is studying for her "bones" test on Thursday and is also hoping to be apart of the new Pinewood Newspaper. She is also anticipating her up and coming basketball season. She will be playing on the Monticello 4th grade traveling team (I'm being serious. . . if you ask me there shouldn't be such a thing! I think kids should focus on skills and the basics of the game . . . not traveling the state!) Carl will be her coach, and I'm sure she'll have a blast with her friends.
Ella is having a great time playing at Missy's house with all of her friends. She especially likes playing house with the babies (big shocker).
Carl is keeping (too) busy with school, coaching 9th grade football, working on his masters and trying to squeeze in a few drivers training hours! Last weekend he finally got some "me" time when we were able to go up to Argyle so he could ride horse with Jocie and his dad. Obviously some much needed relaxation time!
I have also started my master's program. I have class every Wednesday after school until around 9pm (yuck) and also have some random Saturday mornings (double yuck). It's been an OK experience so far. . . even though I disagree with some of my professor's grading procedures. I'm sure if he could, he would be correcting my blogging ability :)
I hope this message finds you in good spirits and good health. I will try to do a better job keeping up :)
Friday, August 29, 2008
Teachers' week over = Students coming!
I just finished my teacher's in-service week, which is a relief, but can only mean one thing...the kids are coming!!! On September 2nd, my school will be bursting at the seems with over 1000 students. Some will be smiling, some will be crying, some will be excited, and some will be nervous (sounds like some teachers I know).
I have spent the last two weeks getting ready for the first class to come parading into my gym. I have never thought of myself as an authentic elementary teacher (way too sarcastic and don't enjoy signing in front of my students or at staff meetings), but little by little, I am seeing symptoms of "elementary-itis". For starters, this year I have made many more bulletin boards for my hallways and gym. These bulletin boards are compete with this year's Pinewood theme, "Be an All-Star", and decorated with carefully cut letters and stars, topped off with a colorful boarder. I am pretty surprised and impressed with myself!
Jocie will be starting the 4th grade (holy crap!). Her teacher, Ms. Hagaseth, is an awesome teacher who has lots of experience, is very caring, enthusiastic, and is HILARIOUS!! I just know Jocie is going to love her! Ella is already back at Missy's daycare (because of in-service) and is excited to be back with Missy and all of her daycare friends.
I must admit, I am a little nervous for school to officially start. But as someone once told me; it's good to be nervous because it shows you care about doing a good job. I'm pretty lucky to work in a school with not only great teachers, but great people. I know this year will be a great one!
I have spent the last two weeks getting ready for the first class to come parading into my gym. I have never thought of myself as an authentic elementary teacher (way too sarcastic and don't enjoy signing in front of my students or at staff meetings), but little by little, I am seeing symptoms of "elementary-itis". For starters, this year I have made many more bulletin boards for my hallways and gym. These bulletin boards are compete with this year's Pinewood theme, "Be an All-Star", and decorated with carefully cut letters and stars, topped off with a colorful boarder. I am pretty surprised and impressed with myself!
Jocie will be starting the 4th grade (holy crap!). Her teacher, Ms. Hagaseth, is an awesome teacher who has lots of experience, is very caring, enthusiastic, and is HILARIOUS!! I just know Jocie is going to love her! Ella is already back at Missy's daycare (because of in-service) and is excited to be back with Missy and all of her daycare friends.
I must admit, I am a little nervous for school to officially start. But as someone once told me; it's good to be nervous because it shows you care about doing a good job. I'm pretty lucky to work in a school with not only great teachers, but great people. I know this year will be a great one!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
a girlie getaway
Last week was one of the best weeks of the summer! Jocie, Ella and I packed up the family truckster and headed north to good 'ol Maple Lake. We joined my mom, Jessie, Ali and Daysha for a sun-soaking, female-bonding good time. I did break the rule and brought a male with me; but only because this male can't live without me (Mario - my dog). Poor Carl had to stay behind because football had started and he was booked with driver's training. Although, I don't know if he would've enjoyed it too much anyway (WAY too much estrogen!!). He probably would have planted himself in front of the beer fridge in the garage after a few hours (no shame in that).
The week started out a bit slow due to the day and a half of rain. But when it cleared up, it was absolutely beautiful. We spent most of our time on the pontoon and at the sand-bar. Daysha and Jocie had a ton of fun tubing with Casey Anderson (Mandy's husband), and Ella had a lot of fun on the paddle boat.
Had a lot of fun, sun, walks (complete with bats), boating, talking, and cocktail hours. My only wish is that it would've lasted longer!
Pictures to come!!
The week started out a bit slow due to the day and a half of rain. But when it cleared up, it was absolutely beautiful. We spent most of our time on the pontoon and at the sand-bar. Daysha and Jocie had a ton of fun tubing with Casey Anderson (Mandy's husband), and Ella had a lot of fun on the paddle boat.
Had a lot of fun, sun, walks (complete with bats), boating, talking, and cocktail hours. My only wish is that it would've lasted longer!
Pictures to come!!
Thursday, August 7, 2008
The Summer Wrap-up
This summer has been a whirl-wind, and I can't believe my days are numbered. Gone are the days of sleeping in and working on my tan...which is what all teachers do in the summer, right? (wink, wink) Sadly, I still have a raging farmer-tan and am as sleep deprived as ever :)
Early this summer we were busy with Jocelyn's activities. She had two weeks of basketball camp, followed by night games of softball. And let me tell you, 9 year-old girls softball is a thrilling event (liar). Most of the time, I was busy chasing Ella around, trying to contain her in one area. Jocie also just finished VBS (Vacation Bible School) where Carl volunteered as a teacher (better parent then me). Joice played a lot with the neighbor girl Tessa, where they set up many make-believe pet shops with all of their web-kins, which is her newest obsession.
Ella is as "active" as ever. I am amused and astonished by her unending energy. Though she is hard to control at times, she has a great sense of humor and a big heart, so it is really hard to get too mad at her. She LOVES being outside riding her bike, playing in her playhouse, running through the sprinkler (or the "pickle" as she pronounces it), and her favorite of all, playing with her many babies. These babies have great names, thought up completely by Ella herself. Some of her babies include: Donna, Rosie, Kaiya, Leah, and Rock-n-Roll (her newest boy-baby). If you read my previous Blog, you already know that she is now potty-trained (Woo-Hoo)!
Being a mother and a teacher, I absolutely adore my summers!! Being able to go to the beach on a warm-sunny day, go on many bike rides, watch the girls play with our dog Mario in our backyard are all wonderful things. Although, there are some days I feel like Ms. Hannigan (the caregiver at the orphanage in the movie Annie), singing about "little girls". Walking around my house in a daze of motherhood wanting to retire to my bathtub full of gin, or in my case scotch...I am a Youngern you know....right, mom ;). In those cases I make sure to have a couple of beers after bedtime with Carl!!
Carl has had the best summer since we've moved back to MN. He is now a Diver's Ed Instructor (for you East-Siders--think Mr. Stinar but younger and hotter)! He loves having a schedule that makes it easy to go places on the weekends, and spend more time with his girls. I have taken 6 credits of elective grad classes this summer in order to get ready for my master's program that I am starting this fall (yuck). Is teaching the only profession that you have to spend a ton of money to get a raise??? Oh well...can't fight city hall!
Perhaps the high-light of our summer was our road trip to Detroit to visit our dear friends the Giersdorf's!! Justin (Dorf) and Amie opened their doors for us and showed us an incredible time!! We got to watch our beloved Twins play (and BEAT) the Detroit Tigers twice. We had great tickets for both nights. One night we actually sat in the ESPN Suite!!- thanks Amie! I was a huge loser and made "Circle Us Bert" signs and got on MN TV!!
Which brings me to our summer purchase....yes.....we bought a Mini-Van!! I was always one of those mini-van snobs, who said "I'll never drive a mini-van!" But my husband proved me wrong! He finally talked me into it, mostly because of the Detroit trip. He bribed me with it's DVD player, stow-and-go seats, and lower gas mileage than an SUV. If it would've had a beer tap or alcohol dispenser of some kind, it would have been a faster sale (think 12 hours with Ella)! I had to buy myself a tee-shirt that says "mini-van, mega-fun" on it just to make me feel better! I enjoy watching Carl trying new and exciting (for him) ways of configuring which seats should stay up and which ones he should put down. It's like watching a little boy play with his new LEGOS.
I am refusing to give up on summer yet! Next week the girls and I will be heading up to NW Minnesota's Maple Lake to spend the better part of the week at my mom's awesome lake cabin! If there is one thing I love, it is hanging out at a lake!!! So much fun to be had and sun to soak up. Carl is busy putting up a tent in the back yard for some "camping" with the girls tonight, I'd better run.
Thanks for reading...Cheers!
Early this summer we were busy with Jocelyn's activities. She had two weeks of basketball camp, followed by night games of softball. And let me tell you, 9 year-old girls softball is a thrilling event (liar). Most of the time, I was busy chasing Ella around, trying to contain her in one area. Jocie also just finished VBS (Vacation Bible School) where Carl volunteered as a teacher (better parent then me). Joice played a lot with the neighbor girl Tessa, where they set up many make-believe pet shops with all of their web-kins, which is her newest obsession.
Ella is as "active" as ever. I am amused and astonished by her unending energy. Though she is hard to control at times, she has a great sense of humor and a big heart, so it is really hard to get too mad at her. She LOVES being outside riding her bike, playing in her playhouse, running through the sprinkler (or the "pickle" as she pronounces it), and her favorite of all, playing with her many babies. These babies have great names, thought up completely by Ella herself. Some of her babies include: Donna, Rosie, Kaiya, Leah, and Rock-n-Roll (her newest boy-baby). If you read my previous Blog, you already know that she is now potty-trained (Woo-Hoo)!
Being a mother and a teacher, I absolutely adore my summers!! Being able to go to the beach on a warm-sunny day, go on many bike rides, watch the girls play with our dog Mario in our backyard are all wonderful things. Although, there are some days I feel like Ms. Hannigan (the caregiver at the orphanage in the movie Annie), singing about "little girls". Walking around my house in a daze of motherhood wanting to retire to my bathtub full of gin, or in my case scotch...I am a Youngern you know....right, mom ;). In those cases I make sure to have a couple of beers after bedtime with Carl!!
Carl has had the best summer since we've moved back to MN. He is now a Diver's Ed Instructor (for you East-Siders--think Mr. Stinar but younger and hotter)! He loves having a schedule that makes it easy to go places on the weekends, and spend more time with his girls. I have taken 6 credits of elective grad classes this summer in order to get ready for my master's program that I am starting this fall (yuck). Is teaching the only profession that you have to spend a ton of money to get a raise??? Oh well...can't fight city hall!
Perhaps the high-light of our summer was our road trip to Detroit to visit our dear friends the Giersdorf's!! Justin (Dorf) and Amie opened their doors for us and showed us an incredible time!! We got to watch our beloved Twins play (and BEAT) the Detroit Tigers twice. We had great tickets for both nights. One night we actually sat in the ESPN Suite!!- thanks Amie! I was a huge loser and made "Circle Us Bert" signs and got on MN TV!!
Which brings me to our summer purchase....yes.....we bought a Mini-Van!! I was always one of those mini-van snobs, who said "I'll never drive a mini-van!" But my husband proved me wrong! He finally talked me into it, mostly because of the Detroit trip. He bribed me with it's DVD player, stow-and-go seats, and lower gas mileage than an SUV. If it would've had a beer tap or alcohol dispenser of some kind, it would have been a faster sale (think 12 hours with Ella)! I had to buy myself a tee-shirt that says "mini-van, mega-fun" on it just to make me feel better! I enjoy watching Carl trying new and exciting (for him) ways of configuring which seats should stay up and which ones he should put down. It's like watching a little boy play with his new LEGOS.
I am refusing to give up on summer yet! Next week the girls and I will be heading up to NW Minnesota's Maple Lake to spend the better part of the week at my mom's awesome lake cabin! If there is one thing I love, it is hanging out at a lake!!! So much fun to be had and sun to soak up. Carl is busy putting up a tent in the back yard for some "camping" with the girls tonight, I'd better run.
Thanks for reading...Cheers!
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About Me
- Anne
- ...proud mother of Jocelyn, Ella, Claire and Carter, wife of Carl, daughter of Mike and Nancy, sister of Ali, John, and Jessie, Physical Education teacher to over 500 students, and friend to....many :)