Getting Somewhere...

I feel a lot better today! I started my day with an 8 mile run(5ish)/walk(3ish) with Kathy and it really got me energized. I went home, got cleaned up, and headed up to school to get more accomplished. I really feel like I'm close to being ready now. The class lists were final so tonight I can work on all the "tags" that need to be made. Getting that done always makes me feel a lot less stressed for some reason.

Tonight I picked up Callie and Maddie then met Chris and Kristen at Mark's Feed Store for another Kids Eat Free night. It was fun. Chris has jury duty this week so while he couldn't talk about the case he gave us some info on what it feels like to be on the jury. That was pretty cool. I've never been called to jury duty but I think when my time comes I may enjoy it.....well, I guess it all depends on the case though. I don't think I would enjoy sitting on a jury with crimes against kids or anything. Ugh...now that I think about it...never mind. I don't wanna!

Anyway, now I'm home and settled in waiting for my hubby to call. We have a 9:00 phone date every night......Happy Tuesday!

Getting Nowhere...

I spent the entire day at school working in my room. I arrived around 8:20a.m. and left right around 4:00p.m. I have to say that the room doesn't look much different from when I arrived. It's amazing how much time it takes to reorganize and think about what you want to do with everything. Ugh!

I was hoping I would be ready to go after today but it's going to take another day I think. There's just so much to do to get ready for the new year and new group of kids. Getting things organized gives me a feeling of excitement about the new beginning though. It's coming soon....

I'm not the only one looking forward to going back to school. My niece, Callie, has been counting down the days all summer!

Busy Week

This week I picked up Callie and Maddie each day and took them to VBS with me. I ended up working for school on Wednesday and Thursday so that made things pretty busy. I don't know how you full-time working moms do it!! All-in-all it was a very busy, but fun week.

Jonathon got home very late Thursday night but we were able to hang out most of the day on Friday. We didn't really do anything specific but I love having him home. The girls were counting down the days all week until they got to eat pizza with Uncle John. They were excited to see him too. After VBS I came straight home so we could have a "boring Friday night" together. We watched Hannibal. This summer Jonathon has been catching me up on the Silence of the Lambs movies. I had never seen any of them. We have one more to go.

We had our weigh-in this morning. Sulayne was the biggest loser this week with -0.8lbs. Yeah! I had a loss again this week so I'm on track to meet my six-week goal. Although I noticed that Ice Cream Willie's is opening back up on Charlestown Pike. Oh......I will pass by it every day and I'm not sure what that's going to do to my diet!!

Happy Saturday!

Update...

It was such a crazy weekend! Here's the recap...

FRIDAY-Jonathon (and I) have been waiting and waiting for the opening of Batman:The Dark Knight for months! Even though we hadn't really seen each other in two weeks, we wanted to make sure we got to see the movie on opening night. So poor Jonathon got home, changed clothes and we were out the door. It was really good. I have to say I was worried about all the hype but The Joker definitely makes the movie. I do see why everyone is talking about an Oscar for Heath Ledger.

SATURDAY- It started off with our weekly weigh-in. We kicked off our second round and Heather Jackson is joining us now. I'm so excited about that! I'm proud to say that I was the biggest loser last week with -1.6lbs. Oh the pressure to perform well again!

Craig Jackson's 30th Birthday- Saturday afternoon and evening was filled with celebration! Heather pulled out all the stops to celebrate her honey's birthday. It was so much fun!
Check out the water slide they created in the backyard:

The coolest thing was definitely the cake. I had to take close-ups of all the little scenes to show all the details.

SUNDAY- Jonathon was off to work again and I headed to church to watch the babies in the nursery. I really wish I could have heard Brian's sermon. I heard it was a good one!

MONDAY- Day of fun with the Callie and Maddie....Chuck E Cheese, Toys R Us, Walmart, and VBS. Lots of fun!

This week we are having BOOT CAMP for our VBS program at church. I will be picking my nieces up every night and heading over to help out. It should be another crazy week!

The Power Clean

Jonathon will be home this afternoon/evening and so I have switched into Power Clean mode. That's a term I stole from Jami. She says she does a five minute "power clean" before Steve gets home everyday so the house looks good for him. You can imagine what my power clean must look like since Jonathon is gone for a week! Right now I'm about to begin my mad dash of laundry and scrubbing. Wish me luck!

Big Purse

So this week I bought a big purse. I've noticed the fashion trend has been the bigger the better for a while now but I've always been a small purse kind of girl. In college, I carried everything I needed on a key chain that had a folded pocket on it. It was just enough room to hold my license and debit card. After college I moved to very small sizes that were just big enough to hold a wallet and my cell phone.

Recently, I've been in situations where I wish I had more room to hold my stuff: small picture book, pocket calendar, checkbook, and coupon organizer (yes, being married is fun). Well, this weekend while out and about in Chicago, I noticed that Carrie and Nora were able to fit anything and everything in their purses......or bags I should say. So, I bought a big purse. Now, it may be considered more of a mid-size given the ginormous sizes of purses these days but it's definitely a lot bigger than any other purse I've ever carried. I also stuck with basic black....or boring black as some would say. I may get hooked and venture out into matching bags for every outfit. Who knows?!?!?

When I bought it I couldn't wait to get home and organize it. I have room for all the things I listed above that I couldn't fit in my other purse. I even put some grooming items in a little Vera Bradley bag that I can use to freshen up as I run from school to meeting to dinner plans to basketball game.....as my life usually runs like that through the school year. I've carried it for two days now and I gotta say....I'm hooked! I love being able to throw everything in my bag. The only downside is I've lost my keys in the thing at least five times!!

The "side view" per Nora's request...

Chicago

Happy 30th Birthday Chicago Celebration for Nora.....

Friday- We all arrived in our condo. It was so nice! Then we went to a nice place for dinner. I can't remember the name of it but it was a Tapas Bar. I had never been to a "small plate" restaurant. It was VERY good. Each person orders a dish of something then you get small plates and sample everything. I knew Jonathon would love it. I'm going to see if he wants to try the Tapas Bar in Louisville. Anyway.... After dinner we came back to the condo and hung out. We were all tired.

Our Condo:

Saturday-Carrie and I started our day with a run along Lake Michigan. There was so much to see! We spent just about the whole day in and around the Michigan Avenue area. Whew...it was a tiring day. This was the day that Craig, a friend from college, met up with us and we hung out the entire day. It's very hard for me to say what was my favorite thing because everything was so much fun. I greatly enjoyed seeing Craig. I hadn't seen him in five years...not since Nora's wedding. It was so much fun catching up with him!

The scene on Michigan Avenue:

They sang "Happy Birthday" to Nora at the Hershey store: View from the Hancock building of the Navy Pier and downtown:
Nora and I washed some windows...
Craig and me...
The whole Chicago crew: Me, Craig, Carrie, Jen, Nora, and Lisa ...

Sunday-A run with Carrie to Millennium Park, Brunch at cute little place named Toast, more shopping in Lincoln Park, a visit to Wrigley-ville, chips and salsa at a Mexican restaurant, and meeting a comedian on the way to get a burger. It was another tiring day! By the time we had done all the walking around, we were tired and just ready to hang out at the condo by 8:00. Nora, Carrie, and I decided to walk a couple blocks to get a hot dog or something and on the way we met a comedian guy at the 7 Eleven. Warning: This story is going to sound crazy! He was hilarious! He ended up hanging out with us for a while. (Nora and I were hoping sparks would fly with Carrie!) When he left he gave us his card with his website on it. You never know if people are telling you the truth when you first meet them, but he's legit. It was all so random. Looking back we think maybe he was soaking up the experience for his "material." Crazy times!

Worst part of Sunday: I chipped one of my teeth on a tortilla chip....gotta visit the dentist on Wednesday to get it fixed. Bummer!!

The view of Wrigleyville from the train station: Madness!

A final picture of Nora, Carrie, and me. I love these weekends together!!

Monday- I said my good-byes this morning and flew back home. Jami was nice enough to pick me up from the airport and we stopped for lunch. Another good time!

Early Weigh-In

I'm leaving for Chicago this afternoon so we had our weekly weigh-in this morning. Drum Roll Please......

Aimee was our Biggest Loser at -8 lbs. over six weeks. Congrats, Aimee!!

I will admit that it was my idea to start this and I was the smallest loser at a GAIN of .2 lbs. Yes, that's right I gained weight. It's okay though because this first six weeks did keep me from stopping by Dairy Queen every time I passed one like I have done in summers of the past. I'm proud that I haven't had a major gain! I was the only one who gained over six weeks so now I've got to get busy!

We are going to start a new round next Saturday for anyone who would like to join in. For your info....we don not actually shout out how much we weigh, but we weigh in the same room, do the math and shout out our loss or gain for the week. Let me know and I'll make a progress sheet for you. We meet at 7:30 on Saturday mornings. I know it's early but usually someone has something they have to get ready for on a Saturday!

Each week has also served as a play date for Kimberlyn and Cooper. How cute are they?

Kimberlyn insisted on crawling up to the camera for a close-up...

So that's it for this week. I'll be sure to post lots of pictures from the Chicago trip when I return. I'm sure Jonathon will be making some blog updates this weekend. He has an entire weekend to work in the garage uninterrupted by the wife. ;)

Have a great weekend!

Another Day of Summer Down...

School went well again today. NO...the poster did not stay on the wall. It was a crumbled mess on the floor when I got there this morning. I don't know what I'll do with it.

Anyway, I spent the afternoon just getting some things done. Then I spent some time talking with Nora. It's her 30th birthday tomorrow and five of us are headed to Chicago to celebrate this weekend. We gabbed about all the fun places we are going to go. I'm so excited about this trip.

Jesse came over and we ran tonight. MUCH BETTER at 9:00 than 3:00 in the afternoon. We talked non-stop tonight and I honestly felt like it was over in no time. Yeah!

Random thought-90210 is coming back on. Is anyone else out there as excited as I am?!?!?!?

Happy Wednesday

Today

Another packed day....

I started with Summer School which is turning out to be really fun. Today we worked on writing stories and they are doing so well. I'm working with second graders this week and it's been a couple years since I taught writing to second graders. I forgot how cute their stories are and how they soak up everything you tell them. With fifth graders you see progress but it's much more gradual. It's amazing the difference you can see in one 45 minute lesson with the younger ones!

After school, I went to lunch with my friend Kristie to catch up a little bit. (Megan, I REALLY fell off the wagon today with the food eating.) After lunch, we both went back to our classrooms and worked a little bit. I bought a new sign that says "Welcome to My Classroom~Mrs. Wesely~" and it looks so good hanging over my door. I just hope it's not on the ground when I go back tomorrow. Sometimes the tape doesn't work and it's so stinking aggravating!

I met Kathy around 3:00 to run 4 miles. Yeah.......let's just say that we were both not feeling well in the heat. Man, it was hard! We did the mileage but it was a run/walk combo. Last week we ran four miles a couple times without much trouble. It's amazing how much the weather changes things.


Tonight, I met Shannon, Jen, and Rachel for dinner. We were celebrating Shannon's passing of the CPA exam. She has been studying her tail off for so long and it has finally paid off. CONGRATS to her!


Okay, it's almost time for my nightly phone call with Jonathon. I hope everyone had a great Tuesday.


P.S. Happy Birthday Jenny! (Jonathon's sister)

Sunday-Closing the Holidy Weekend

Jonathon and I had a whirlwind weekend going from place to place over the holiday. Sunday was just as packed with plans. We headed off to Sunday School because we thought our "newlyweds" class was going to begin. When we got there, we found out that it doesn't start for three weeks. We probably should have stayed for any of the other classes but we actually saw it as a blessing. We were planning on leaving before the main service to go to Northside because Heather's uncle, Scott Ham, was going to be speaking on a live remote from Iraq. That helped us not to rush around so much. So....we drove back home just to throw in some laundry and headed to Northside.

The sermon was about Daniel and listening to God when he is telling you to do something. The message was good.....one I needed to hear. It was neat to see the live feed from Iraq as well. I've met Scott on several occasions and I can honestly say he is one of the nicest people I've ever met and from everything Heather tells me he seems to be a genuine hero.

After church we ran back to the house to pick up our contribution to the family cookout and went to Jonathon's parents' house for lunch/dinner. We hadn't been together as a whole family since Mother's Day. We decided that's too long to go in between meetings so we are going to get better at it.

After the cookout we came home and relaxed and then went to bed early. We had an exhausting weekend!!

Busy 5th of July

Our 5th of July Celebration included good times with friends and a lot of party hopping. We were going to go to four places but ended up only making it to three....



2:00...Thunder Over Otisco....



This year Thunder Over Otisco included a jumping/rock wall playground, shooting at clay pigeons, and a dart game. Luke's Jambalaya was also a special treat. We left around 6:45 and the festivities were really just beginning. The Bertram's know how to throw a party!

Some of the girls hanging out in front of the jumpy thing...

Amy and Lily playing some darts. Amy is a multi-tasking mama!

The Jackson's arrived a few minutes before we had to leave. I was so bummed. We will have to do a date night or something soon... I LOVE the carrier thing Alex is in.

7:00 Party at The Kaelins...Sulayne had lots of people over. It had fun things for the kids, cornhole, and some fun times in the camping chairs chatting away.

Cindy was telling a story...

I won't lie...This thing made me wish I was a kid again... More cornhole! I actually threw the bag in the hole like three times. It was an improvement over Friday night!

9:30 Block Party in Windy Pines...We went to Adam and Aimee's just in time to watch the fireworks. It was pretty good. The finale was excellent! It was a great ending to a very fun day.

The Drive-In

We went to the drive-in in Georgetown last night to celebrate BD's birthday. It was a lot of fun. We played cornhole and ate pizza before the movies began. All the guys were in the concession stand at one point playing on the old X-Men video game too. They all came walking back to the vehicles trying to stretch out their wrists and sweating like they had just worked out. Ha! It was a pretty fun night.

Jesse, Aimee, Kimberlyn, and Lisa watching the big game...

BD and Adam playing cornhole...

Jonathon and Todd playing...

JT and Kristin were tossing the football in the back too...

I tried to play and failed miserably. Poor Jonathon had to endure being my partner for two games. BD can play! He hits on the board every time. I did get the bag to go in the hole but only once...


The weigh-in this morning wasn't pretty. We missed you, Sulayne! Our biggest loser lost .6lbs. Three of us gained...it's been a bad food week and the weekend isn't going to get any better. All in all, we've all lost or maintained so far and that's what our goal was! I ran twice with Kathy this week so if I keep that up we'll see what happens....

Have a great Saturday!

Ahhh....

It feels good to be finished doesn't it? When I finish anything I get a relaxing feeling. Yesterday turned out much differently than I had planned. First of all, when I went to work in my classroom I found the building closed and locked up. It looks like I'll be going in VERY early on Monday to get ready for the summer school week. That pretty much cancelled my working and lunch plans I had.

So, I headed back home to work on something else. I sat myself down and completely finished up my educational leadership portfolios....yes, there were two of them. I have my "exit interview" scheduled for Monday. I'll be finished!!! Oh it feels so good!! Putting everything together has pretty much been a thorn in my side but as always when one finishes a project, I looked back at the final product and thought, "Hey, look what I did!"

I was kind of glad that my school working plans changed. My afternoon plans also changed. Jonathon sent me a message that his best man was in town so I cancelled my workout plans and we met up with Gayle and Andy for dinner (Rocky's) and a movie (Wall-e). We had good times! Poor Jonathon only had enough time to hop in the shower when he got home and then we were out the door. That's pretty much how this entire weekend will be. We are so blessed to have lots of amazing people in our life and it seems like they have all invited us over this weekend. I'll be updating on the busy (AND FUN) 4th of July weekend as it goes on.....

Happy Birthday America!

Another Day with "KK"

I had the girls again yesterday and we went to see Beauty and the Beast. They were dressed in little sun dresses for the theatre. It was so cute. Callie loves musical plays. She clapped wildly and smiled so big at the end of each song. Madison enjoyed it but towards the end she kept asking when it was going to be over. Kristen and I were talking about how we forget she's only four years old because she's so much taller and she acts older a lot. Well, her four year old attention span was kicking in during the play, but she was really good and waited it out.

Today should be pretty packed. I'm going into school to do a couple hours worth of work in my classroom. I have lunch plans with my teacher friend Kristie too. I'm meeting Jesse at the gym later and then it will be home to wait for Jonathon to get back from his work week. I can't wait to see him. Happy Thursday!