News to Share

I haven't been posting much because everything seems irrelevant compared to the news I'm allowed to share now :-)

 

On November 3, 2013, Jason and I found out we are expecting a little bundle of joy!  We are due on July 4, 2014.

 I took this test that night and I was used to seeing "Not Pregnant" on them for so long that I was shocked!

 

 For some reassurance, I took a bunch of other kinds too.  This wouldn't surprise you if you knew me ;-)

 

 And then we added in one of the fancy ones that tells you how far along you are.

 

 Since Jason's birthday was a few weeks before, I told him I had one additional present that didn't come until now, so he opened it up.  Here is the video of him opening:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9W6q0NeW1c&feature=youtu.be

With his "Daddy's Little Tiger" onesie.  You wouldn't even believe how hard it is to find a gender neutral Daddy onesie.  This one is orange and white striped with little pants that have a tiger on the butt.

 

I will be updating much more frequently now since the secret it out and I am allowed to share!  We have pictures and videos galore to share as the weeks go on, so stay tuned!!

Merry Christmas!!

Great Gift

I struggle on Jason's birthday to buy him something that he will love, but also is still heartfelt.  This year, of course I bought him the material things like a sweatshirt, zip-up and watch, but I also made him a gift that he's still talking about.

 

I made him "Open When Cards."

 

I had seen the idea on Pinterest, and my students helped me with some of the topics.  I started with a set of cards and enveloped form Target for $10.  I chose a set that didn't have folded cards, but just a flat insert.  I also liked that it had a little gift box that they were already in.

 

Coming up with the Open When topics were the hardest part.  The first 20 were easy.  It wasn't until I got home and had a clear head that I could come up with the other 30. 

 

They are the gift that keeps on giving.  Each one is filled with a situation like:

-Open When: It's Central's MiniThon (that will be in March)

-Open When: You Miss Me

-Open When: You Want To Know How I Knew You Were The One

 

They were so much fun to do, and Jason has them sitting on his nightstand.  It warms my heart to see that he's opened one on his own when he sees that the time fits.

 

Here are the final products: 

 

 

 

If you're looking for an easy but thoughtful gift, this was a great idea!

Crafty- Teacher Toolbox

Over the summer, my friend Ashlee made an awesome organizer for school supplies that is a teacher's dream.  I'm not the most crafty, so I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but every.single.day I get happy when I look at my organizer on my desk and I'm proud of myself :-)

 

Ashlee gave me a link to a site that had awesome templates to print and cut out.  You can find that here.... just kidding about that one.  I seriously have looked for 45 minutes and can't find the site I used.  If I ever come across it again, I promise I'll post it

 

So I sent Jason to Lowes in search of a 22 opening toolbox, and he found the perfect one.  It's blue and has just a little shimmer to it, so that was the icing on the cake.  I spend a July evening perfecting it while Jason was at poker.  This is what I started with:

 

The steps are pretty self explanatory.  Cut, decide where you want to put each of the items and then tape.  Double-sided tape would have been golden, but I only had regular tape so I taped them from the inside.  Optional Kitty Helper is recommended!

 

Here is the final product after many, many re-straightening and taping labels:

 

Chase is so proud of his work that he protected it all night!



If you're a teacher, I would highly recommend making one of these!  It keeps all the supplies that I would ever need in one place and I don't have to go rooting through drawers to find what I want.  Plus, my students think I'm crazy for putting that much time into something, when it really didn't take long at all (other than my OCD straightening of course).

 

Payback

This day has been a long time coming... It's the ultimate payback!!

 

For those of you that know my husband, you know that he can fall asleep absolutely anywhere at anytime.  He likes to play this game at night where he says "watch this" and he's asleep within seconds.  Sometimes I wish I had that capability, but most times not, since it creates the opportunity for some embarrassing pictures.

 

So without further ado, I present to you... the many places Jason has fallen sleep:

 

 In my parents basement on the sectional after Thanksgiving dinner

 

 At the cabin on the porch

 

 At Gammy's House

 

 At Grandma's House

 

 Closer Up At Grandma's House

 

 During the Family Ocean City, Maryland beach trip

 

 On Grandma's Porch

 

 Closer Up On Grandma's Porch

 

 Outside Grandma's Porch... man, he must have been tired this day ;-)

 

 At Gammy's House

 

 Easter at Grandma's House

 

 On Grandma's Living Room Chair

 

 During Christmas at My Parent's House

 

 During the family beach trip to Ocean City, New Jersey

 

 Actually on the beach of Ocean City, New Jersey

 

 On the Way to an Eagles Game

 

 Again in Gammy's Living Room

 

 On our living room/foyer floor after a long day of baseball

 

 In the car

 

 On the way back from our honeymoon

 

And finally, on the couch at the beach of OCNJ again

 

I realize that this opens me up for cruel punishment, but that's okay, I'm willing to take the chance.  A special thanks to my sister, Meghan for helping me compile these pictures, and I'm sure all the many pictures just like them to come in the future!!



Top 5 Pictures- Talia

 I have the cutest little cousin, Talia who is full of energy and it has been so much fun watching her grow up!  She is very close in age to my other cousin that I posted about, Keyon, and I decided to use her as the Top 5 Pictures of the day.

 This is from the annual beach trip in June of 2007

 

Making goofy faces at Grandma's house in the summer of 2007 

 Christmas 2008

 

Christmas 2008

 

At the cabin for the Fourth of July, 2010

 

Now she's grown up so much!!  I can't wait to watch her grow up even more and watch her play ice hockey since she can hold her own when playing!!  Love you Talia Ruth!!

 

Friends may come and go, but family is forever!!!

 



Thankful

I have turned into a baby.  It's that simple.  The older I get, the more emotional I seem to be, against what I would prefer in some cases.

 

A few weeks ago, the Kadence Jae Foundation decided that some of us would walk in Kadence's memory in the Four Diamonds walk in Hershey tomorrow.  We set a goal of $500 and members quickly joined our team.  We had no idea how much other people would donate, but we knew we as a foundation wanted to give a generous donation, so we were hopeful to get the rest of the total from donations from our loved ones.

 

The Four Diamonds Fund did SO much for Ryan and Felicia when Kadence was sick from helping with bills to gas cards to meals at the hospital, and we as a foundation figured it's the least we could do to walk to raise money for them.  We hope that by walking and raising money that they can help other families like they did so graciously for ours.

 

I have amazing family and friends!  From a college friend, to a friend from high school, to aunts and cousins, we not only met but surpassed the goal of $500 that we set as a group.

 

I am proud and absolutely blessed to have such great people in my life!  Thank you from the bottom of my heart to my Mom, Emily, Stacey, Aunt Amy, Aunt Beth, and Kate.  I can hardly see through the tears to type my thank yous out, but you will never know how much I appreciate you and am thankful for you. <3

 

Top 5 Pictures- Grandparents

We have been blessed by some awesome grandparents, so I thought I would post about them tonight.  We are lucky that many of our grandparents are still with us, and we get to spend time with them pretty regularly.  We definitely miss our far away grandparents, but have an awesome time when we are together with them. 

 

On my Dad's side, my Gram has supported us through many sporting events and occasions. 

 Here she is with my at my college graduation from Shippensburg in 2010

 

Here we are at our wedding in June of 2011

 

 This is her husband, my Grandpa Barton, who unfortunately passed away when I was little

 

On my Mom's side, we have my Gammy and Pappy.  Pappy also unfortunately passed away last year, but we got to spend lots of awesome memories together.

This was my college graduation party in 2010

 

Here we are at our wedding in June of 2011

 

This is my Mom's Dad, my Grampa, who is also known as The Italian Stallion

 Here The Italian Stallion is during a beach trip with his Stallionettes

 

 Here is a picture from our wedding in 2011

 

 Dancing with Grampa

 

When I married into the Kelly family, I also got to spend time with two great women.  My Father-in-law's mother, Nanny, who unfortunately passed away shortly into our relationship, and my Mother-in-law's mother, Nana.  Nana lives in New York and although we don't get to see her as much as we'd like, we love spending time with her when we are able to!

 Here is Nana with us at our wedding in June 2011

 

Friends may come and go, but family is forever!!