October/November Update!

Oh goodness, where shall I start this time?

Leading with the obvious, teaching is still going well, all things considered. I think it's normal for teachers to feel a little cynical/worn out by this time of year, which is convenient because that's essentially where I am. Overall, I'm settling into a pretty good pattern of balancing work things with, oh, I don't know, maybe actually having a life?! I'm starting to learn how to set boundaries with work and home. The biggest break-through I've had to date has been making the decision that, unless I have VERY good reason to, to leave work by 5 PM. Technically, we only have to be there until 3:30, but if you know anything about teachers, you know that most of them almost never leave "on time". Maybe this seems obvious to some, but I've found that that time of afternoon is when I'm at my most productive and when I'm the most awake, so I can generally accomplish quite a bit! If I leave then, I'm able to do good work and still have enough mental fuel left to come home and do a few things (i.e. cooking, dishes, laundry, relaxing...but not blogging...obviously). Planning for three different math classes is a bit of a stretch at times, but I'm making it work as well as I can.

Overall, I feel like working at my school has taught me quite a bit about how to be more self-reliant, especially when I'm the only full-time HS math teacher in the building. However, being the only full-time member of my department is a double-edged sword. Sometimes I find myself wanting more people who really get what I do who can give me more feedback. Other times, I enjoy not having to worry about stepping on other math teachers' toes with my methods. Give and take, I suppose. Maybe teaching isn't all that I thought it'd be, but it's still a good, fulfilling career.

Obviously, I haven't just been teaching over the last month or so...I do have a real life, I promise! One of the better things I've been able to do is attend a few OSU football games with Thomas and my St. John's friends!! By sheer luck, I was able to attend both the homecoming game (vs. KU) and the incredible TCU game a couple weeks ago. The TCU game was the most fun I've had in quite some time! The fact that we showed up and played so well in a high-stakes game made it lots of fun! I'm really looking forward to attending the Baylor game this coming weekend...now if the weather will cooperate and not be completely icky, that'll make everything even better! (Well, besides us winning...that'd DEFINITELY make things better!!!)

Homecoming game vs. KU

OSU vs. TCU!

Thomas's parents came up for the TCU game, so we were able to spend a good part of Saturday with them. We started early by going to Diana's (Thomas's mom) cousin's daughter's apartment in town for breakfast. This cousin also has a son who is a center on the football team, so it was fun for me to see that connection much better! (No, he didn't join us for breakfast...he had more important tasks at hand!) After breakfast, we meandered over to the St. John's tailgate lunch. Steve and Diana sat separately from Thomas and me during the game, but we reunited post game so we could go to supper. Because everything lined up so well, the four of us were able to meet my parents for dinner at El Vaquero (the BEST Mexican restaurant in Stilly). Mom had been wanting to go for almost a year, so we finally made that dream come true! Everyone had a GREAT time together, with lots of stories and laughter shared by all. Thomas and I both loved having our parents together with us...the fact that everyone meshed so well made it even better! What a blessing it is to have both sets of parents get along so well!

Me, Thomas, Diana, and Steve

Speaking of Thomas, he is currently in the thick of interviews and wrapping up his next-to-last semester of college. He is ready to graduate and be done, but I know it'll be here before he realizes it! His bigger job interviews are coming over the course of the next week, so please keep him in your prayers!!! :) I'm so proud of him and all the great work he's done this semester/throughout college, so I know he'll find a wonderful job! He definitely deserves it!!! Otherwise, we're edging up on one year of us dating, which is pretty surreal!! If you would've told me a year ago that I'd end up dating him, of all people, and being so deeply in love with him, I wouldn't have believed it. Yet, here I am, continually amazed by how wonderful he is and how great of a fit he is for me! God has blessed me SO MUCH! I can't wait to see what lies ahead of us, even with all of the challenges that life will throw at us. I'm certain that there's no one in the world I'd rather face those challenges with than Thomas!!!

In the midst of all of this, Jakub turned two...yes, we officially have another two-year-old on our hands, and he is very much in the thick of the Terrible Twos. But he's also really cute and funny, so that makes up for a lot of the frustration Jake can cause! :)

I love this crazy, sassy, sweet two-year-old!

This past weekend was fairly eventful in and of itself. I spent the bulk of Saturday at my old high school serving as a judge for a quiz bowl tournament. This was something that I did mostly because I love quiz bowl, but I realized how big of an honor it is to be asked back as a former player to judge. I had a blast, even in the couple of dicey moments! Even better, I was able to see my students play during both of their games! (I like to think they enjoyed seeing me there, too!) On Sunday, we gathered the whole family up to do something we've NEVER done since Gina and Emily have been married or had children--we had professional full-family pictures taken. The impetus for this was the fact that almost 4-year-old Cole noticed that there are literally no family pictures in existence that include him. Gina also realized that the same was true for Jakub. (#youngestkidprobs #storyofmylife) Thus, we called upon Gina's babysitter who is breaking into photography. We were a little nervous that the weather wouldn't hold out for us, as there was rain in the forecast, but we were fortunate that everything went well! Our picture location was in the midst of some trees around a creek near our houses, so we were also sheltered from most of the piercing winds! (As a fringe benefit, the boys were able to run around amid the trees and sticks...they were in heaven!) Afterwards, we loaded the memory card on Thomas's computer to get a sneak peek...the pictures were AWESOME!!!! I can't wait to have actual prints of them in a few weeks!!!

The best news I have now is that four school days are all that is separating me from a week-long Thanksgiving break!!! Hallelujah and happy day! I don't have any major plans for my break besides conquering some lesson planning (boring, I know) and resting a little bit. Christmas break (3-ish weeks after break) is looking a bit more exciting, as I have already purchased train tickets to go visit Dallas for a few days before Christmas! I think Thomas will be coming up around New Year's Eve, so we won't have a month apart like we did last year during the break! Here's hoping the weather will hold up all around so that these plans can come to pass!

I'm starting to fade quickly, so I'll cut it off here! Hope all is well wherever you may be!