Friday Funnies - 5.3.13

So apparently living in Iowa means that April showers brings MAY SNOW AND RAIN STORMS!!! Whatever pissed off Mother Nature, I wish she would get over it and bring on the Spring weather all ready! Just a few days ago it was the high 80's and now the past two days, I have been wearing my winter coat! I can't handle all of these abrupt changes in the weather! Today since it was so rainy and gloomy out, it made for the perfect napping weather...so after working my half-day of four hours at the hospital, I came home to lounge with Jordan, snuggle with Paisley and get a nap in. Which then lasted for four hours but it was fantastic! That's my kind of perfect 8-hour work day! The rest of the weekend looks like it's supposed to be gloomy and rainy so that should help be motivation to study and get to work on my last few projects for the school year. So happy to almost be done for the semester...for good! Can't wait for all the fun festivities we have planned coming up this summer so I just want the nice weather that goes along with it all! Have a good weekend and make the most of it!

image via Google
This is the battle between Jordan and Paisley....every night.
And it makes me laugh so hard....every night.

Need work on your car? Call this guy!

shift it shift in forward! shift it shift it in reverse!

Friday Funnies - 3.8.13

Another week down and another weekend coming up...so thankful it is Friday! And the weather forecast doesn't have any snow for the next few days except maybe some late Sunday/early Monday so hopefully that doesn't actually happen. It's supposed to be mid-40s so I'm not even sure how snow would happen and I'm hoping it doesn't at all! I am just sooo ready for spring! I want to be wearing some ballet flats and my Sperry's, not my big Uggs and boots and knee length down-feather coat anymore! Tonight Jordan is going to Poker Night with the guys and I have a crochet project that I want to finish and also a paper I need to finish and submit for class! Friday night or not, I am just glad it is the weekend even if I do work on some school stuff! And daylight savings in this weekend, yes! I don't care about losing an hour of sleep considering I've been sleeping 10-13 hours A DAY the past three weeks anyway! I am more excited for there to be sunlight in the mornings when I wake up AND still sunlight when I come home from work/class late in the afternoon by 5pm! And who doesn't enjoy some sunlight?! It just makes everything better! I'll take some sunlight along with some funny and sneaky kids and that makes for a great day! Happy Friday everyone! Enjoy your weekend!

image via Pinterest
Well I'm sorry fridge magnets but it's a little hard to when I know there's Snickers Ice Cream bars in there!!
for those who are born to create drama...I don't know what's funnier between the girls comment or the cop's reaction! I need to make sure that our kids never see this video in the future... 

Boyce Avenue and blogging....

I have spent the past few days since my last post on the couch, in bed and in the bathroom. That's it. I have had a wicked fever that keeps bouncing between 99.5 and 103.0 along with several other flu symptoms that I will spare you the details of. I've watched Pitch Perfect (twice!) along with every Disney movie I own.... I haven't done a lick of homework, reading or studying because it wears me out just trying to eat and get dressed. This flu bug is the worst. I have also spent many hours blog-hopping while jamming out to Boyce Avenue. That. Is. The. Life. I loooove me some Boyce Avenue and if you don't know who he is or any of his music, you are most definitely missing out! Here, take a listen:

Boyce Avenue with David Guetta - Titanium

Boyce Avenue - God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You

Oh. My. God. Old school N*Sync has met their match!!!!

Ah he is sooo good. And so dreamy. And this is why I could listen to his voice and singing all day long....it just sucks you in. Take a listen and youtube him for many other awesome songs as well! These are my favorite kind of days: blogging and Boyce. Not to mention, lounging in bed and cuddling with Paisley while Jordan takes care of me is a good deal too but I would very much like to stop feeling like this. Four days is enough! Let's go hot water with lemon and honey, start working your magic on my stomach and insides! In the meantime, enjoy the new jams and I hope you all stay healthy!

Friday Funnies - 1.25.13

It's been quite the week around here and I'm happy it is Friday! School started for me and ended for Jordan along with celebrating the birthday of my Dad and welcoming a new niece to the world....it has been quite the week! I had an internship interview as well (so now I'm crossing my fingers for a second one!) and just received a call from another hospital to set up an interview! I hope things fall into place like I am picturing they will.... Today my cousin Cody is coming over so Jordan and I get to help him celebrate his 29th birthday as well. Nothing like some Mario Kart, Disney PowerHour and cousin shots to ring in a birthday! Other than that, we have a quiet weekend lined up and that's just how I like it! Happy weekend everyone...enjoy some relaxation, lounging and laughing! In honor of baby Lucie, this week's Friday Funnies is dedicated to some cute and entertaining babies!


image via Google
Yeah, dude! It's Friday so cheer up and party on!

Charlie bit me!

That hurted and it's stillllllll hurting!

LAST first day of school!

Today marks my official LAST first day of school!!!! And after six years of college, that is definitely something worth celebrating! Not to mention, yesterday was Jordan's LAST day of taking class....ever! The next time he is in class, he will be the teacher and have his own students! Ah! I'm so excited for him to start teaching and can't wait to see him become an awesome teacher and change the lives of his students. Ready or not, it's time to rock this spring semester!

40 hours is for the birds.

Four weeks ago, I offered to fill in for several shifts this week and next week at work. Enough shifts in fact that they all added up to 40 hours this week and 40 hours next week. Today I have worked 8 of those hours which leaves me with 32 left on the week. And I am already exhausted. This working 40 hours a week thing is definitely for the birds and not for me! If I could at least sleep in until like 7:30 or 8:00am, that would make my whole day so much better. Waking up when it is still dark?! Not ok. Jordan even admitted that while he likes chocolate chip waffles, he never wants to eat them because he knows how much I like them and he doesn't want me to be even more mad in the morning! Haha! So I guess I'm not a friendly morning person... At least I have a loving husband who saves the waffles for me and does dog duty in the mornings so I have that much more time to mope around while getting ready and making my lunch! To all of you who work 40+ hours a week, I commend you because that is not easy to do! I NEED school to start again because I miss that routine and am not cut out to be working so much right now! At least I know I will have a pretty nice paycheck at the end of these two weeks and that's motivation enough for me to stick it out. Ready or not, Tuesday will be here before I know it and it will be time to hit the grind again! Happy work week everybody!

and may the odds be ever in my favor....

Well, here they are. All of my hard work and countless hours poured into my internship applications all sealed up and ready to go. The top picture is what my life has looked like for the past two weeks trying to get everything completely finalized and organized. I had a very systematic way of doing each application packet and I triple checked each envelope to make sure I had included everything. It was a great sigh of relief today as I mailed them off but now a whole other set of panic and anxiety has set in....there is SO much riding on the line for these internship applications. I have applied to 12 and all it takes is 1 offer. Just ONE! That is all I need and want! As of right now, this trumps any wedding stress and worries I ever went through because I knew the wedding was still going to happen no matter what. This is a whole other playing field! Well all I can do now is wait until I hear from each hospital and hope for the best and an interview to start with! I will be sleeping with all my fingers and toes crossed for the next four weeks and trying to keep my attitude positive about the next step of the internship process! Now it is definitely time for a drink and to relax for awhile...poor Jordan and Paisley have been getting the brunt of my stress and completely ignored for the past 48 hours as I was on edge and trying to finalize everything. Thankfully Jordan knew it wasn't anything personal and just the stress and nerves talking....I'm lucky he is so patient! Time to get a cold one and enjoy some snuggling to a movie as we enjoy this lazy weekend together!

It's go time!

Alright, it is officially finals week! Which means it is officially honeymoon week as well, whoop whoop!!! I have one take-home exam that is due today at 5pm and then one final at 7:30am tomorrow morning. AND THAT IS IT!!! Then I am home free for the week and will be running errands, finalizing a few things and packing before we take off for our trip! Yipee, I absolutely can't wait....this has got to be the best finals week ever! 

one week until paradise!

One week from this morning and we will be flying high and heading down south!! Ahh we are so excited it is already making me lose sleep! I still have quite a few things I need to get done between now and next Thursday but it is hard for me to not wander to my closet and start looking at what all I will pack! Hopefully the next few days will be productive so then after Tuesday when my finals are done, I am able to sit back, relax and start getting geared up for vacation! Jordan presents his portfolio tomorrow and then only has three days left of student teaching so we have a lot to celebrate coming up in the next week and are beyond ready to celebrate it in style with 9 days of vacation together!!

Friday Funnies - 11.30

Today is the last day of November. I have so many blessings in my life and I am thankful for each and every one of them. I'm thankful for my family and friends, Jordan and Paisley, my education, the roof over my head and food in our cupboards, my job and my car, and all of the awesome families and kiddos I get to meet and interact with each week. Just to name a few things.... To sum it up, I have a wonderful life and am truly lucky for everyone and everything that I have in it. Now let's celebrate the fact that it is Friday and time to relax for the weekend!! Also, today is officially my one year blog-iversary!!! Can I get a hell yeah for sticking with it for one year and sharing all of our highs and lows with you all?! I can't wait to see what the next year will bring us but I am sure it will be entertaining either way! Be sure to unwind and laugh a little this weekend even if you have to work!

image via Google
Oh so the Thin Mints aren't a diet plan?
Could have fooled me!

yeah? yeah? covered it with what?

Paisley loses her mind just thinking of being tricked like this...

It's so close it hurts!

Two weeks! Two weeks from today and we will be sailing away enjoying paradise on our honeymoon trip!!! AHHHH!!!! You can do anything for two weeks, right?!! These next two weeks are going to be chaos for both me and Jordan but we have no choice but to power through it all. And the reward that we have waiting for us at the end of the two weeks is totally worth it all! Jordan has his final two weeks of student teaching, yipeee!!! And then has to present his teaching portfolio and get everything lined up for his teaching position in the spring. I have to write two papers, grade projects and then take my final exams.....and get all of my internship stuff finalized and ready to be mailed. It is all consuming me and I am trying to not become a stressed-out-crazy-emotional-person but it is hard! The whole process is a huge time and money commitment and it makes me paranoid...there is so much riding on the line to not get an internship let alone an interview! BUT! Today, I am not going to worry about that! Because, like I said, it is two weeks away from our honeymoon and we absolutely cannot wait! Cheers to that!

Give Kids The World

For the first time in my entire college career, I was able to tell my work supervisor that I am unavailable for Spring Break and can't work. And this is because I am finally going on my first ever Spring Break trip and I could NOT be more excited about it!!!! I got asked to go on the "Child Life Alternative Spring Break Workshop: Give Kids The World Trip" and am so pumped! They only take ten students, TEN students, each spring so I feel honored and lucky to be part of the group of ten. We will be traveling to the Give Kids The World Village which is located about 20 minutes away from DisneyWorld in Florida! GKTW is a home-away-from-home village that is ran entirely by volunteers and it is a place where kids with a life-threatening illness and their families can stay and visit for a week....entirely COST FREE! They get a week of vacation in a fantasy land and get to visit the Disney parks for free. Seriously, this place is like a dream land! If you have seen the movie, Letters To God, then you have seen a glimpse of the village. There is a mailbox there, from the movie, where kids and families can mail letters each day and many times they are prayers, hopes and dreams written by the kids, siblings and parents. There is soft-serve ice-cream served around the clock so kids can have ice-cream for breakfast if they want! I will spend the week volunteering with the group by helping to serve meals, hang out with the families and play with the kiddos and advocating for Child Life while learning different ways to incorporate where Child Life services could be provided. We each will get a diagnosis of a child staying at the village, learn about them and their diagnosis then do a presentation on it at the end of the week. Then to top it off, our group gets to spend a day at SeaWorld and Downtown Disney--possibly a trip to one of the parks is in the works as well!!! Yipee!!! Talk about the best spring break trip ever!!!!!!!!! And it is all entirely covered by Iowa (for me at least!) since I am a teaching assistant so it is covered as part of my tuition...double yipee! I have never felt luckier to be asked to join this amazing group of people going on the trip and I feel like it is a once in a lifetime opportunity for me! It warms my heart and I am so, soooo excited for it! It may have taken me six years of school to go on a spring break trip, but I would say this one is well worth the wait and definitely well deserved! 

Well one week later....

After indulging in an ungodly amount of calories over the past five days, enduring too many belly laughs to count, and working the cramps out of my face from smiling....we are in fact, alive and survived Thanksgiving and Christmas with the Cross Family. And I am so sad that it is all over. The time definitely went by way, way too fast. My parents got to Iowa last Monday night and we all enjoyed some pizza and beers along with some laughs and good conversations. They headed up to Wisconsin on Tuesday while Jordan and I had one last day of work/school for the week. We packed up all of our stuff and hit the road first thing Wednesday morning and didn't stop going until we made it back home yesterday afternoon!!

Thursday was Thanksgiving obviously but more importantly, it was Teagan's 5th birthday! Holy smokes, where does the time go?! I can't believe that she is five now.... She is growing up into such a smart and sassy, hilarious and beautiful little girl! It is so fun watching her grow up and I'm lucky that I have gotten to play such an active role in her life. It would make me sad being so far away from her and Kemper that they don't know me when I come around! Anyway, we celebrated T's birthday after Thanksgiving dinner. She was spoiled with gifts, had a blast beating up on a pinata and then topped it off with cake....which I made! Yummm homemade chocolate cake with peanut butter icing! We capped the night off by having a bon fire once the kids went to bed....

We then quickly shifted gears and went right into Christmas mode on Friday! We watched the Hawks lose, again, first thing which was a total bummer. Not only did they lose to Nebraska which gives them a share at the Big 10 title but it also confirmed they are for sure not going to a bowl game.  Extra sucky. We got over it quickly with a few drinks that we had during the game at least. Then after successfully stuffing our faces again with the Thanksgiving leftovers, we let the Christmas festivities begin! My mom had planned a "fashion show" for all of us...she made all of us tons of awesome projects and crafts! It included some crochet infinity scarves and gloves, fleece hats and jackets and lots of new Iowa gear. Score! My mom just keeps blowing all of our minds with how crafty she is and it rocks! Presents were a big hit with the kids and watching their eye light up with each gift they opened was enough to keep all of us happy. They are so cute and were so thrilled with everything they got...very heart warming to watch! After the kiddos went to bed and so did our parents, things got real crazy. Us adult "kids" played a new game that Scott and Kat got that is called "Cards Against Humanity." Basically, it is like a very very inappropriate version of Apples To Apples. But ridiculously hilarious and awesome. I'm not sure if we have ever laughed that hard before while playing a game before.....it will definitely be played again at our next reunion!

Saturday morning however, came way toooo early! We all hit the road to Charles City and made it to Grandma's! Just when I was thinking I couldn't possibly eat any more food, I managed to stuff myself completely. Again. There's just something about Grandma's home cooking that is irresistible. We all played several rounds of cards together and Jordan finally won two games! Third year of being at the Cross Christmas was the charm and he hit the jackpot twice! Which made me happy because then I didn't have to pay in anything, mwahahaha! 

And just like that, our four days together came to an end once we all woke up on Sunday morning. We were all avoiding saying good-bye to one another because we knew what it meant. That our parents would be driving back to Texas and that meant that none of us know the next time we will see them. And that sucks. Just leaves a giant pit in my stomach. As if I wasn't trying hard enough to fight back the tears, hugging my Dad goodbye after he just said goodbye to his own mom and sister with tears in his eyes and his noticeably choked up voice, was really tough. My dad can always put on a smile though and gave one last bear hug before getting in the car. Let's just say I was a hot mess of emotions on the first thirty minutes of our drive back home....

I'm thankful beyond thankful for the family I have in my life and these past four days just weren't enough. But I am so grateful for the time we did get to have together, the laughs we shared, the hugs and love we exchanged and the memories with each other that we made. I love how much Jordan fits in with my family and how we can all have so much fun with each other without having to do much. I can't wait until we are all together again and am already looking forward to that. I hope the day comes when we all live within a few hours of each other again because this whole living in Texas thing sucks for all of us! Wahh real life! Well I hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving and the time spent with family and some delicious food! I know we definitely did and now I'm dreading the pile-up of school and work stuff that I have been ignoring...well, happy Monday!

finally 100%

100%. Today I am finally feeling 100% better and I'm so thankful for that. I can smell, breathe, taste, and hear all completely normal again! And I've never been happier...it's the small things in life, like our senses, that we tend to take for granted until we don't have them. Nothing like sleepless nights from a stuffy nose and no appetite from not being able to smell anything. So thankful the gunk is gone and the rumble in my stomach has disappeared. What a relief. No seriously, what a relief. And another huge relief is that I found out I got 93% on my research paper that was due last week. Booyah! That's close enough to 100% and a heck of a lot better than I thought I was going to get and gave myself credit for! Just all in a day's work.....  

my fingers hurt

I have spent the past four days typing up a 20-page research paper on the clinical framework of pediatric palliative care and the implications it has in the field of child life. Needless to say, my fingers hurt. I'm not sure I have ever done so much typing like that before!! But, I'm am so thankful to be done with it!!! And it made me really appreciate that fact that I have the opportunity to be getting the higher education that I am getting. I know not everyone can because of financial reasons or where they live and the point they are at in their lives. So while I complain about it some days and how that paper was brutal to write, it made me feel very proud and thankful to be at this position in my life. I think it's awesome seeing the numbers of women my age that choose higher education for themselves first and foremost but then to also give their current, or future, families a better life. And no matter what, no one can take away your education and that is something you can always fall back on and have to help you get back on your feet. I'm thankful to be a big time nerd but also pretty pumped to be done with classes in the spring!!!!

Sunday Snuggles

snug as a bug.

It's been a cold and drizzly day here all day long so that calls for some Sunday Snuggles! I actually had to work this afternoon at the hospital so I made the most of the morning and got a good snuggle session in with Paisley. I spent the afternoon at work checking on some kiddos and making sure that they have enough activities and games to keep them busy for the day. Then I hung out with the sweetest and sassiest 7 year old I know! She is a recent relapse but her spirit, sense of humor and big bear hugs would definitely make you think different. It's hard to complain about an afternoon at work when I get to spend it being inspired by such amazing kids.

Once I got back home though, it was right back to the sweats and hoody to enjoy the rest of this lazy Sunday! The afternoon NFL games were still on so I got to catch the second half of the Vikings game....as well as Jordan freaking out excitedly one minute and ranting the next. Always hate to see the Vikes lose but at least our Hawkeyes won and pulled off a huge upset over Michigan State! And since it's so cold and crappy out, I opted for some go-to comfort food tonight and we had the rest of my homemade beef stew. Yummmy! I whipped it up after making a pot roast last week then with the left overs, I added a packet of dry onion soup mix and a can of beef broth....just like my Grandma does and it was just as delicious! Now it's time to settle in, snuggle up and enjoy some of our favorite Sunday night shows, Dexter and Homeland! Hope everyone had a good weekend, enjoyed some R&R and are geared up to start another week!

One week down...not too many to go!

Well,  one week down of the fall semester and so I guess that means only 15 more to go! And then another 16 for spring semester, holy smokes! Whoop whoop! I think this semester will be pretty easy but really interesting with the classes I'm taking. The names of them are "Death and Dying" and "Parent-Child Relationships"....hmm I'm really actually looking forward to all that I will learn in class this semester from both classes because for once I know it is all real life stuff that I can use and take with me after class is over. Bonus! That makes school so much better! Jordan has been student teaching now already for two weeks as well....so crazy he's now Mr. Easton! He's going to make such a great teacher because he's so patient, understanding, good with kids and loves to teach. Which sounds silly, but he does. I swear he's always trying to teach me something even if it is only about sports or something science related that I don't understand. I'm so proud of him for going for his dream and now getting so close to finishing his goal of receiving his teaching certificate. It's so weird to think that two years ago when we both graduated, we had nooo idea what we wanted to do with our lives and our degrees for that matter. We both leaned on each other to find the strength and courage to be brave enough to really go after what we wanted, even if that meant more time and money spent on school. I couldn't be happier that we got each other through it all and to where we are today. We're just a hop, skip and jump away from the finish line...and to that, we're celebrating with some drinks tonight! 

Day 7: Manic Monday

It's Monday. It's the last week of class for Jordan and final's week for me. It is manic and crazy around here to say the least. I'm running on about 3 1/2 hours of sleep so I'm going to keep this short and sweet. Today was Day 7 and since I knew Jordan would have a hectic week finishing up stuff for class and getting ready to leave for the weekend, I planted some Mountain Dew in the fridge for him to find this morning! The note said, "I hope this gives you the energy boost you need to make it through the week. Almost free for the summer!" I am 70+ days of being pop free and I know Jordan is trying to not drink as much pop but hey, everyone needs whatever it takes to get them through studying and the night. And well in that case, I'm going to enjoy this delicious glass of wine and call it a night. I picked up a bottle of "Strawberry Blonde" wine and it's from a local Iowa winery, mmm it's so good! I might have to make it two glasses! I hope no one had a case of the Monday's and that Tuesday is a better day...

more school because I'm no fool!

It's official. I will be done with classes next May, take my comps, and hopefully be interning in the summer and/or fall of 2013. Ahhhh!!! The past few days have been very stressful to say the least. I found out that my assistantship and scholarship does in fact NOT pay for summer classes so I was stuck in a bind. Take the summer classes anyway and get a loan for them so I can be done next May? Or extend my time at Iowa so I don't have to pay for one summer semester, which would add another full fall and spring semester? Hmmmm well, let's see. I'm already going to grad school for free and so really, paying for one summer semester isn't going to be the end of the world. I mean, $4,500 is all I'll pay for my Master's Degree?! I'll take it. It seems very overwhelming seeing it all on paper what I will be doing this summer, fall and next spring but I know I can do it. Thankfully I have a very supportive family and fiance that I know will keep me encouraged and motivated to push through. It might be brutal at times but I know being done next May will be a heck of a lot better than adding an extra year to school!! It's such a relief that things are falling into place so nicely with school AND wedding stuff, finally! Now if only finding a future full-time job and a place to settle down and start a family will go just as smooth....I could only dream and hope it will! But in the mean time, I'm not going to stress about it because I'm too excited that Jordan and I will both be entirely done with school in a year from now, booyah!

hump day blues

Usually, I love Wednesday's. It's the middle of the week which means only two work days left until the weekend. And it means that I've already survived half of the week. But on this week, ughhhhhhhhhhhh. I woke up thinking, "it's ONLY Wednesday?!!!" I hate weeks like this that just drag on and on and on and on.... Maybe it's because Spring Break was last week so I'm just not back in the mood for school and work. My sleep schedule is still so messed up and I've been dragging some serious ass this week. Or maybe it's because we've had so many consecutive days of 70-80 degree weather in a row that it's damn near impossible to sit down and study or do some stats homework when all I want to do is day drink, play bags and be outside enjoying the warmth and fresh smells that come with Spring. Or possibly and most likely it's because I'm just really, realllllllly starting to feel burned out with things. "Things" being working 30 hours a week between two jobs, TAing for an undergrad class and dealing with some whimpy punks, keeping up with my own class work, training Paisley, and wedding planning while trying to keep myself sane, Jordan happy and trying to squeeze in some chill time for just the two of us.

To say I'm feeling burned out is an understatement. My mind just NEVER stops and I've been feeling like a real crazy person lately. In the past week and days, I can't tell you how many times Jordan has caught me just spacing out or staring off and asks me, "whatchya thinking about??" And all that I can ever reply is, "I don't know." And I'm not even being one of those girls who just says that to get him to pry and ask me more to figure out what's going on. But I just literally DON'T KNOW. There's constantly things racing through my mind of what I need to be doing, what I can do, different wedding ideas or thoughts, school stuff, work, when Paisley needs to eat and go on a walk, how I need to start working out again....I could go on forever but I'll spare you all. My point is, I think I may have overloaded my plate a bit and am now trying to sort out the madness. Which is why, as much as I loooove crafting, I just can't do any this weekend. This is strictly a "catch up on school" and lounge weekend with J man and Paisley. Probably more lounging than catching up but you know, that's what the weekends are for. And it's about damn time we start enjoying them together. This will be the first weekend in March that Jordan and I will both be home together for the WHOLE weekend. So enjoy it we will and we're starting it off early by going to the midnight showing of The Hunger Games tomorrow night. SO freaking exciting!!!!!! Happy Hump Day everyone, keep pushing on til Friday!