School, Babies, and Life in General

I just felt like writing tonight, so if you are reading this, please bear with my random blabbering because it's quite possible it will be all over the place! Don't say I didn't warn you! :)

Everything has been going well in the Steffen/Heavin household, just busy, busy! I believe I mentioned in one of my last posts that Mason was going to be taking the paraprofessional praxis. Well, we found out that he passed it according to Missouri standards! So, we were definitely very excited about that! That means he can apply to be a paraprofessional this fall, so we're hopeful that a position will open up that will be a good fit for him. He has also been busy this semester with classes, especially since he is working full time as well. The last couple semesters he was able to have class on just Tuesday and Thursday nights, but this one he has class Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Though I miss him when he's gone, I can catch up on some other important stuff...like The Bachelor, Biggest Loser, and Grey's Anatomy. : )

School has been going well for me as well. I've never referred to "school" as "work." Even though teaching is definitely challenging at times, I've never really looked at it as a job. I just really enjoy going and getting to work with my students (most of the time). : ) I'm really fortunate this year because our team has a pretty good group of kids, and I have a great team to work with. So even on those tough teaching days, it's refreshing to know that during 7th hour, we can all chat and I have that support system available.

On another note, Mason and I had an enjoyable weekend. His mom Shelly and step-dad Eric came down from St. Joseph for Tabitha's baby shower. It's crazy to think that she will be having a baby in mid-April. We're definitely looking forward to meeting Baby Carson, and are excited to be getting a new nephew! Tabitha's baby shower was given by her in-laws up in Owensville, and it was a great day aside from the yucky weather. Everything looked super cute, and Tabitha seemed to have a wonderful time which is the most important thing. Let me just say, that is going to be one stylish kid! I don't think I've ever seen so many baby clothes! Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but he does have a lot of super cute clothes!

This is a picture of Tabitha and her husband Greg, along with Carson of course! :)

Speaking of babies, I think there must be something in the water because A LOT of people I know are expecting, in addition to Tabitha. My Uncle Joe and Aunt Renee are due in August (if I remember correctly), my good friend Cara who is stationed in Georgia with her husband are having TWINS in August, Mason's Aunt Avery is due in May, my cousin Jess is due in June I believe, plus there are a couple ladies at school who are expecting this summer. Sorry if I forgot anyone... It's super exciting, and it will be fun to meet all these tiny humans!

In other news, Mason and I are REALLY excited for spring break because JJ (my brother), his girlfriend Bailey, and possibly our friend Adam are coming down for a visit. I'm not really sure what we are going to do, other than visit the Tater Patch, but I'm sure it will be a good time. It will definitely be great to see some familiar faces from my Iowa home since I probably won't be up there again until May. That will make almost 5 months since I've been home or seen anyone from up that way, so it will be great!

Other than that, we haven't been up to too much. We've just been hanging out and getting ready for the big day. Only 123 days left....CRAZY!! I'm so ready for it to be here, along with our trip to Cozumel, Mexico! :) Well, it's almost time for this girl to head to bed, so I hope all is well with everyone, and have a great night!

Snow Day #3

Hello Everyone! As you can see from the title of this post, I am working on snow day #3, of this week alone. And, I just found out that we will be having another snow day tomorrow. I think it's safe to say that I can kiss most of my spring break goodbye, which definitely stinks because JJ and Bailey (my brother and his girlfriend) were planning on coming down. We have kind of made it our yearly tradition, but I guess we'll have to play it by ear now!  Despite the fact that I may not have spring break, we (Mason, Gus, and I) have enjoyed our time together, as you can see from the picture below. Gus is pretty spoiled! :)

Most of the time during snow days, I am completely unproductive, but I have to say that this time around I am pretty impressed with the progress I've made, with the exception of cleaning. I've decided that cleaning doesn't count though, because that's supposed to happen even if there's not a snow day. I spent a lot of time Tuesday working on our wedding programs. Now, I realize that's still pretty early, but at least all I'll have to do is put in the information I need and print them off. I also got the wording figured out for our invitations. I made a very strong attempt to print them off, but for some reason I just couldn't get the settings right on our printer, so it was decided that we would take them to this printing place in Rolla and save us the trouble! The RSVP wording is also ready, along with the maps to include in the invitations. It's just a matter of getting them all printed off and put together, so that makes me feel better. We are under 150 days until the big day, which is crazy! Don't get me wrong, I'm incredibly excited, but I'll be happy when the day is here and we can just enjoy it along with our family and friends.

I also got my taxes done and filled out the paper work to get my student loans consolidated. Talk about depressing. Not so much the whole taxes thing, because I'm looking forward to getting my return, but realizing just how much I owe on my student loans is definitely not fun. Oh well! I suppose it'll be worth it in the long run! :)

Mason and I did get outside a little bit the past couple days. We played outside for awhile yesterday with Gus, and found a fun hill back in the woods behind the house. We don't have a sled but it was steep enough that we were able to slide down on our behinds! It was nice to get out of the house for awhile. Today we ventured out for a little while too. We went to Rolla and visited with Mike for awhile at his shop while I got my oil changed and Mason got his front tires changed. I went to Wal-Mart too, and of course spent too much. That darn store gets me everytime! Ha! But, I did find some stuff for the wedding and a few cute things that I had to pick up for Carson. Mason's sister, Tabitha (and husband Greg), is due with Baby Carson in April so we are excited to have a nephew. It's coming up quick, and we are definitely looking forward to it!

Above are a couple of pictures from the last couple of days. Other than that, not too much is going on. I'm going to head to Springfield tomorrow with a friend of mine because I need to pick up Mason's ring from the jewelry store, and to shop of course! :) But that means I need to go through some of Mason's clothes today so I know exactly what he has before I buy him anything else. So, I guess I should probably go for now. I'm trying my hand at ham and beans, so I need to keep an eye on that as well! For those of you blocked in by the snow, enjoy your day(s) off! TTFN, ta ta for now! :)