Married LIfe

Jonathon and I are approaching our first anniversary on April 19. I can't believe it's almost been a year! In some ways it seems like just yesterday that we met and sometimes I can't remember what life was like without him.

I love coming home every night and fixing dinner to eat together. I love that Jonathon will not go to bed at night until I'm ready. I love that he is so patient with me through ALL of my ADD moments. I love that he works out with me. I love that we each have our own couch to sit on but he lets me come over to his from time to time. I love that he watches silly shows like The Bachelor and Dancing with the Stars with me. I love that he is such a gentleman to me and everyone around us. I love my life with him and I can't believe that we're still just beginning!!

Bitersweet Back to School Day...

I have to say that today was filled with so many ups and downs. ...

I woke up late this morning BUT when I got to school I found that my new Smart Board, projector, and document camera had been installed in my room over Spring Break. (Think IUS classroom technology where everything can be displayed on a big interactive screen.)

I got very excited about my new technology BUT realized I now had to rearrange the entire room to make it work with the way I teach.

The kids came in excited too BUT they were so excited it was hard to calm them down.

I was stressed out all day long because I got a late start this morning BUT the day ended up being so much fun with the kids.

I stayed at school until after 6:00 trying to figure out what to do with my room and still didn't get ahead on my planning which stresses me out even more BUT I got to come home to hang out with my husband.

I'm home now BUT I have to go work out. :(

I'm going to go to bed early tonight so my ups will outweigh my downs tomorrow.....

Great Neighbors

I have best neighbors! I guess it doesn't hurt that they are also some of my best friends though. While we were in Florida, Jami picked up our mail every day so our mailbox wouldn't be overloaded. Craig pulled our trash can out to the road so that was taken care of. Thanks guys!! I love having my friends as my neighbors!!

Florida Fun

We had a great time in Florida with some of our friends. Here's a recap of the week....

Friday: The drive begins. Jonathon and I loaded up the Tacoma and we were on the road at 8:30p.m. I hadn't been on a drive this long since college and I was afraid it was going to be awful but it went by pretty quickly.


Saturday: We arrived in Venice, Florida around 1:30. We joined up with the Dohertys and Gillespies on the front lawn of our vacation rental for a yard picnic. We couldn't enter until 3:00p.m. We were excited to get in there and get settled. After everyone else arrived we chose our bedroom assignments, unpacked, and ordered pizza. We roomed with the Ledbetters.


Sunday: We hit the beach and enjoyed the 80 degree weather. I used a spray sunscreen for the first time and totally created a zigzag design on Jonathon's back. Poor thing. He had a very unique sunburn. I'm still feeling bad about that. We never got a picture so I'll have to wait and see if anyone else did but it was pretty funny. That night we hit a local fish place called Pop's for dinner. We were able to catch the end of the UofL game too.



Monday: We all got up, got dressed and headed out to Sarasota for a lunch cruise. It was nice and relaxing but the food was just okay. It was neat to see some of the beautiful houses along the bay. It's hard to believe that some of those homes are just "summer" homes for those people. I can't imagine what the wealth is like. Jonathon and I walked along a shopping strip back in Venice later that afternoon. We found an Olive Oil company and bought a fancy bottle for when Jonathon makes Italian food. I promised him I would sneak the good stuff into my cooking. I bought a Venice Beach hoodie sweatshirt and we found an "old time" ice cream place called, The Soda Fountain. The soda jerks were dressed in aprons and jersey hats. They made everything there and I've never seen someone take so much pride in crafting a banana split. We came home that night and headed back to the beach to watch the sunset. Beautiful...

Tuesday: We decided to leave our private beach and head up to a public beach to scout out some shark's teeth. After being there for thirty minutes we all said, "What were we thinking?" and headed back to our private beach near the rental house. We didn't realize how lucky we were to have access to that beach! That night we all bought food and had a cookout. I love brats!! Jonathon and I were no on the p90x diet this week although we did get up and workout almost every day so we had a balance. After dinner, we all headed back tot he beach to watch the sunset again. Then we went to see a movie with Jesse and BD. BD is almost as big of a movie buff as Jonathon.

Wednesday: Jonathon and I went kayaking in Sarasota. It was so much fun. The mangrove tunnels we paddled through were so narrow and low that we had to duck to get through them. It was so neat and I can definitely see us doing that again if we return to the area. We stopped for Cold Stone Creamery on the way back home. Oh how we love some ice cream! When we got home we said goodbye to Jesse and BD. They were heading back home that night. I got hit with tiredness so bad that I fell asleep super early. I don't even remember Jonathon coming to bed that night.

Thursday: The day of sickness. I noticed some sun poisoning spots on my arms the day before and I think that made me start running a fever on this day. At the same time, Jonathon must have gotten hit with some kind of stomach bug because he was sick all day. All the other couples headed to the beach or to do some shopping. We stayed in and slept all day long. Ugh... I started feeling better by late afternoon and decided to tag along to the Reds training game with the other couples. Jonathon stayed behind and continued to recover.

Friday/Saturday: We woke up, packed up, and hit the road. The trip home seemed way longer than the trip down there. I think it's because we drove during the day this time. We finally made it home at six in the morning on Saturday and ran straight to the bed. Oh how I missed my own bed. We've been laying around all day long.....still not feeling 100% great....We need a vacation to recover from our vacation!

All-in-all we had a great time. I'm so glad we were able to take a vacation. Jonathon's "busy season" begins on April 1 and lasts until September 30. He won't be able to take any time off in all that time so the next few days will be the calm before his storm....

Leaving Soon....

Jonathon and I are putting the finishing touches on our packing then we are hitting the road to Florida. I love Spring Break! I'm hoping to come back tanned and refreshed. We'll be praying for travel mercies as well as the temptation not to spend too much money. I just want to relax and do nothing!!!!!

Date Night

On Saturday, Jonathon and I had dinner at the RiVue restaurant at The Galt House. We felt like rich people! I was given a gift certificate last year around this time and it was going to expire soon. So we took the opportunity to eat at the fance revolving restaurant. It was so nice. The food was excellent and the dessert was even better. (We took a break from the p90x diet for the night....it's gourmet...what else were we supposed to do?)

At the end of the dinner they gave each of us a to-go box of courtesy gourmet chocolates. It was a yummy once in a lifetime dinner. I loved every bite of it but we aren't the kind to spend that much on dinner.

Connor Update

Kristen is a the hospital with Connor again. His blood work showed another drop today so they are moving forward with the blood transfusion. Please pray that this brings his health where it needs to be. They have taken a sample of his blood and sent it to the Mayo Clinic to test for our family's blood disorder. Usually they can't diagnose it until around 9 months but they want to see if this is a side effect of the blood disorder or if they need to look for something else. Thanks for the prayers!

We Hurt...

Jonathon and I started the p90x workout this week. We are trying to combine it with some runs since we are running the spring races. It is kicking our tails into shape....

Monday-Took our "before" pictures. I'm not sure I'll ever show it anyone. I had no idea what I looked like from behind. If that's not motivation I don't know what is!! We also took the fit test to compare results after the 90 days.
Tuesday- Our first 5am workout: Back, chest, and abs. We were so tired that night that we went to bed at 9:30. The first workout was a shock to the body!
Wednesday- Plyometrics, running
Thursday- Shoulders and arms
Friday- Legs, back, and abs
Saturday- 90 minutes of Yoga, running

I hurt everywhere, but it's the good hurt. I lost one pound this week. Woo-hoo!

Super Fun

Last night, Jonathon and I went to the Communities in Schools Trivia Night with a table of JJ teachers/husbands. It was a blast! You played as a table team and there were seven rounds of ten questions. We got some right, some wrong, but in the end we came in fifth place. That's not bad!! I knew it would be something fun to do while helping raise money for an organization that really does nice things for our schools. I wasn't expecting it to be a blast though. They have one in the fall too. We are so excited about the next round!

Somebody Got Another Prayer Through..

Those are the words to one of my favorite gospel songs. Thanks to all the prayers going out for Connor this morning. His fever broke and his hemoglobin level raised just enough to let him go home. They have to test him on Saturday to make sure it keeps raising back up, but it was good news for them to be able to leave the hospital. We are so thankful!

Prayers for Connor

Kristen called me yesterday afternoon upset. She was on her way to Kosair with my baby nephew, Connor. He's been having some fevers that won't break. After some blood work they found that his hemoglobin is too low. They admitted him last night and when I last spoke to her around 11:00p.m. they were talking about a blood transfusion. Please say some prayers for him.

A GREAT Weekend...

Friday-I came home and relaxed Friday night which was very nice. Jonathon didn't get home from work until late and by the time he did get home we were both ready for bed. We love to sleep! He had to be in Frankfort at 7:30 on Saturday morning and I had to get up to run a race.

Saturday- I got up early and met Jesse and Adrienne to run the Anthem 5K. I finished and went straight to the Panera tent. It's so worth it to get that Cinnamon Crunch Bagel at the finish line!

After the race I came home, showered, and headed off to pick up Chelli. We had to meet our cheerleaders at JJ at noon. From there things took a crazy turn. We were short a girl due to the flu....which we knew about the night before but we were hoping she may feel well enough...We were running close on time and got a little bit lost on the way there. We made it to the facility just in time to get to warm-up and then performed. We were so proud of our girls who had to step up and change things to cover for the missing girl. Our performance was very solid...just a few bobbles with the changes....so we didn't know what to expect. We were competing against New Washington. I really don't like to compete against them because I have much love for the coaches involved with their program as well as Tabby and Desiree! In the end we pulled out a first place, Grand Champs of the elementary session, and we were awarded a free bid to the U.S. Finals!! Chelli and I have been competing for seven years and this will be our first trip to a national level event. We are beyond excited and proud of our JJ girls!

After the competition it was off to Kristen's for a dinner party. Our friend Sarah announced that she is 17 weeks pregnant. Just when I didn't think the day could get better! She has had some troubles in the baby making/miscarrying department so they were waiting well into the pregnancy to tell people. We are so happy for her!! Another icing for the cake is that I got to check out my sister's shiny new ring. She and Chris have had a wild ride over the past eight years. I don't want to rehash the bad because things are SO GREAT with them. I'm so proud of how they have worked things out and I couldn't be happier for them. I love them! They have decided to renew their vows and she has a shiny new ring. It's so pretty. He did a great job picking it out!!

Could I have had a better Saturday or what????

Sunday- I worked the new information center at church and it was pretty fun. I love talking to everyone so that job will be a good fit for me when it's my turn each month. I came home and got ready for my Discovery Toy party which was so fun. I got to catch up with a handful of my close friends while playing with toys and eating pizza. FUN!

I went to church and heard Becca Drake tell about her recent mission trip. I'm so proud of her for taking on such brave trip as a Freshman. It also made me long for our trip coming up.

Jonathon and I are now home and gearing up for our new project. We purchased the fitness program p90x and it begins tomorrow. We have to take our "before" pictures, take a fitness test, and get our diet plan set. I'm hoping we have enough success in the next 90 days that I won't be embarrassed, but proud to post our before and after pictures. Wish us luck!

Discovery Toys

My friend Emily just started selling Discovery Toys. To help her out, I am hosting a toy party on Sunday at 2:0p.m. These toys are great for kids of all ages. They have great developmental toys for babies as well as educational toys for toddlers through school aged kids. I was really just wanting to help her out but once I checked out the toys, I have a huge wish list for own classroom! Think Usborne for toys...

I'm going to be serving a pizza bar at the toy party so if you are interested in just seeing them and grabbing a snack, come on over. Anyone is welcome. Email me if you need directions... kmhooser@msn.com

Thanks!

Monday

Highlights from my Monday:

-School was crazy. ISTEP began today and I watched my students attempt the hardest math questions I've ever seen for 5th grade. You would not believe what they expect these kids to do. I've already spoken to teachers from other schools in the area (Utica, Sellersburg) and they all agree. Ugh!!

-Dropped off my administration license paperwork. I'm just an envelope away from having my license and really putting that to rest. I love marking things off the to-list....especially when the item has been on there for a while!

-I ran into a friend I haven't seen in a while. It was great to catch up with Terra!!

-I worked out with Jonathon at the gym and then returned home to order a pizza. (Don't say a thing.)

-The Bachelor finale is on!!!!!