36 things.

I turned 36 yesterday. And I'm pretty okay with that. (Even though I am closer to 40 than I am to 30.)
It was a happy day.
Dr. Pepper, PlaneJane, cookies, Olive Garden, Target, daisies and kids staying the night at grandma and grandpa's. What's not to love? =)

There are things I miss about our last home every single day. Things and people.
But there are things here that I am happy about and grateful for. Things and people.
So I took a few minutes last night (on the way to meet with the Pella window guy!) to make a list.
(Shocking, right?! Me? Making a list?)

So... here are 36 things.
18 things I miss about our old home.
And 18 things I like about our new home.

1. Danielle and Gina. I think I miss them more than anything. I'm so grateful for technology and texting and email and all the little ways that we have to still stay connected. I think our hearts will always be connected. Several other special friends, too. Too many to name. 

2. Danielle and Gina's kids. Ezra and Abi were such great best friends for my kids. And they still are. I'm so grateful for that. I miss being able to send my kids to a friend's house and not worry about what they will be seeing or hearing or whether or not things are safe or appropriate. Luke, Claire, Tessa, Gracie... I miss them and their parents, too.

3. Jessi. Oh, how I wish you could see and hear Gretchen now. She's so funny. And she says the most grown-up things sometimes. I know she would make you smile so big. She still calls you "My Jessi." =)

4. SC teachers. We had such a nice staff. And we worked so well together. I miss collaborating with other 1st grade teachers in the district, too. One first grade teacher, in particular. Collaborating in person, not via iChat.

5. Leah and Abby. I miss teaching with you two so much. I loved being able to open our door and stick my head in your room, Leah. Or being able to call you and ask you a quick question, Abby. We were such a good team. One of my favorite teams I had ever worked with.

6. My classroom. The size, the cubbies, the cabinets and shelves. And all the storage in the hallway. So. much. storage.

7. Our little house. I loved our little house. So happy and colorful and welcoming. (I hope, anyways. That was my goal.)

8. All the storage we had in our little house. I like storage.

9. Wal-Mart. 4 minutes away.

10. Dillons. 3 minutes away.

11. Wichita. 20 minutes away.

12. Our driveway. All that cement was so awesome for bike riding, bouncing balls, roller skating and sidewalk chalk. Our kids spent hours in the driveway.

13. Our backyard. We had an awesome backyard. And a big backyard. The trampoline, the basketball goal, the tree house, so much room to run. Our kids spent hours in the backyard, too. And since it was all fenced, Gretchen would have been able to be out there now, too.

14. Corey worked 2 minutes away. If Sophie was throwing up at 5:00 am (like she was on Thursday) he could just come home. Actually, he would still be home, because he wouldn't be leaving for work at 4:30 in the morning like he is now.

15. Wearing jeans whenever I felt like it to school. (Not a lot, but I probably wore them 6 or 8 days each month.) If it was a snowy, rainy or yucky day or a day that I just didn't feel like dressing up. Definitely on an inservice day. Now, I wear jeans on Fridays and Fridays only.

16. Wearing Old Navy flip flops to school. =)

17. M2M at church. (Mom to Mom)

18. Our neighbors. Some more than others. =) (Pretty soon, I won't have neighbors. Only cows.)


Enough missing things and being sad, now let's think positive. In no particular order...

1. My mom and dad are 4 blocks away. I love how much we see them. The kids love it, too.

2. Grandma Jones is close by. The kids have spent so much more time with her since we moved here. I love that, too.

3. The Meneley's are right next door. They are my new favorite neighbors. And even when we move to the farm, I'm not worried about them leaving me anymore. =)

4. Our church here. I like so many things about it, but I think Jason is my favorite.

5. My new school staff. I enjoy the other teachers so much. There are only 10 of us classroom teachers. (6 grades (K-5), music, PE, reading and special ed.) We all get along and make each other laugh every day. If I could choose any building in the district (there are 4 elementary schools), this is the one I would choose to be at.

6. Miss Amy, a wonderful para that I have almost full-time in my classroom. We get along wonderfully and she does sweet things like bring me cookies and Dr. Pepper on my birthday. She takes care of so many, many things every single day: grading papers, helping kids, stuffing folders. She is fabulous.

7. Our school has just over 100 kids enrolled. And my kids know every single kid. Most of them by first and last name.

8. Our new farmhouse. I really am excited about this. Overwhelmed a bit, and I'm sure I'll be 100% tired of making decisions by the time we're done, but I really am excited. A bit worried about whether or not it is all going to turn out like I'm imagining... but still excited.

9. Randy... the man building our house. We really like him. He's the perfect builder for us.

10. Not having to drive home over an hour after a family get-together. Our short drive now is so nice.

11. Thursday night dinners with my mom and dad. It's like we're the Gilmore Girls. =) Nearly every single Thursday, my parents pick up the kids from school. I get to stay later and work alone and then get to show up at 6:30 for a yummy supper I didn't have to make. (I do wash the dishes, though. That's our routine.)

12. New local restaurants that are yummy. We have a couple favorites. There's also some yummy fried chicken up this way. And an Olive Garden recently open 30 minutes away. Yay for salad and breadsticks!

13. A school-issued Mac laptop and iPad. That's definitely been a fun little perk to get to bring those home every day.

14. Our new school colors are green and white. I don't have too much trouble finding green in my wardrobe. And it's definitely a prettier combination than the orange and brown that I grew up with.

15. PlaneJane Designs is just a few blocks away. Probably not good for my wallet, but I've definitely added some fun, happy things to my collection! (Pretty much all of my new staff has their own PJD jewelry now, too!)

16. No trains. =) I think I've been stopped at a train 2 times since we moved here. That's a huge perk.

17. Snow days. (Although my old district had several this winter, too. It's been awhile since that happened!) Pretty sure it's a yearly thing here, though. I should always be able to count on 1 or 2.

18. Our school playground is right outside my classroom window. Sophie and Lawson can go play outside, some of their friends come and play with them, and I feel good knowing they are outside playing and having fun, but still in eyesight. (Plus, it's a lot better than having them in my classroom with my while I'm trying to work!)


I think it's pretty safe to say the happy outweighs the sad. Most of what I miss are people, not things. At least when I think about what I miss the most. But the good thing is... I still have those people. And I hope I'll always have a relationship with those people. (Thank you, Facebook!)

Funny... I just realized I've made lists on my birthday for the past 3 years.
I told you I like lists. =)
35 things 
34 things (#34 made me smile.)

basement.

There's been some exciting stuff happening out at the farm these past two weeks... 

The kids are all standing in their rooms...

Above this storage room is going to be my future mudroom... (aka: my future favorite room in the house)

Front porch is on the left...

And tomorrow evening we're meeting with the window guy.
Happy birthday to me. =)

birthday.

This little man has had something on his wish list for quite some time... 

"Real" boots. (not the cheap-o ones we've gotten him from Wal-Mart. The ones that he wore the soles off of. The ones that are currently duct taped together. The ones that he still wears, despite the classy duct tape.)

These two had fun trying on boots, too...

He also had some pretty specific ideas on how he wanted his birthday cake decorated. Grandma did the requested angel food cake with blue frosting. I decided the best way for him to get just what he wanted was for him to do it himself...

{The spiky mohawk ROCKS! Thanks, Meneley's!}

He had wanted to eat at a Mexican restaurant here in town... only because he heard that they put whipped cream in your face for your birthday. We decided we could just do it ourselves at home. =)

Apparently he didn't think his sister did a good enough job...

So much fun celebrating our newest 8 year old!

eight.

Happy Birthday, Lawson! 

* For 8 years... you have been making me smile.
* For 8 years... you have been making me laugh.

* You are such a good big brother. You and Gretchen are pretty tight.
* You're less awesome at being a little brother... you love to annoy your big sister. And you're good at it, too.

* You're loving all this farm stuff. You'll be in heaven once we finally get out there.

* You're still a big fan of cows... although you like them better this size. And behind bars or fences.

* You still turn rather chicken-like when the bigger cows are involved. Especially in Grandpa's jeep without doors. (Although I agree... this can be a bit intimidating.)

* It took you awhile, but you've made some good friends this year. Ornery friends, but good friends. I'm so grateful for that. I'm pretty sure everyone at our new school likes you. Teachers, included. You're just a good kid.

* You and Ezra are still best friends, though. And I'm so happy about that. I hope you always will be. (Even if it means you end up going to KU someday.) =)

Happy 8th birthday to YOU! 

You're my favorite little man! 

spring break.

 "The Wonder Pets" is her current fave...

Cool color by numbers... {thank you, Pinterest! You can find them here.}

She doesn't follow the numbers, she's just cute...

Baking... {"Why does everyone judge my baking?!" now-famous quote from Sophie}

The mudroom is going to be my favorite room in the farmhouse. I just know it. {but not because of the laundry...}

Library visits with Grandma... {the book says if you're the smartest guy in the class, you'll have no trouble getting girls. Hoping Lawson follows that advice. =) }

Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel game...

So much painting...  {always makes me think of you, Beth! I know it would make you smile!}

My super healthy lunch one day... {that's a mozzarella cheese dip in the bowl and a Dr. Pepper. I obviously didn't start on the whole exercise/eat healthy thing over spring break.}

Playing "new" (borrowed) Wii games... {I love the pop bead bracelet, babe! It goes perfectly with your dressy jeans!} =)

So much play-do...

Using my laminator for the first time! {Just having it makes me happy!} Sophie traced cute little girls on to tracing paper, then taped them to heavier paper. She's thrilled with her little paper dolls.

Building towers...

Olive Garden, Target, and spending the night in a hotel with two of my most favorite friends. We've decided to make it a regular birthday tradition! {We didn't drink any wine... just took a picture.} =)

More shopping the next day... {rainbow flip flops make me happy!}

And, we end spring break with snow. Blah. This was just the start of it outside my school window {I spent 4 hours up there yesterday and could have easily spent 4 more.} We woke up to a couple inches this morning (which is better than the 6-8 inches they predicted!) 

So ready for the 78* weather Mother Nature teased us with last week!
Stupid groundhog.