Football Season is Upon Us

I love Fall for so many reasons: the start of a new school year, the leaves changing colors, getting out sweaters and sweatshirts to wear in the chilly weather, fall decorations (especially Halloween decorations), Halloween, Thanksgiving, my birthday, my son's birthday, my husband's birthday, my best friend's birthday, and FOOTBALL SEASON! Growing up, I was definitely not a football fan. One of the reasons was that on Sundays my dad took over the kitchen while he watched the Bears game on the TV with the volume turned down and listened to the game on the radio so he could enjoy commentary by his favorite announcers. My dad loved (and many times hated) the Bears so much that he was very passionate (to put it nicely) while watching the game...I'm sure I could have heard him yelling at the TV even from outside the house. My dad has definitely calmed down over the years, but he continues to love (and hate) the Bears. The other reason I never really liked football was because I just didn't get it. I think it is a very complicated game and I still struggle to follow the game at times. It wasn't until I started attending games and watching them on TV with Jesse that I finally understood the game. Jesse has taught me many things about the game and I've grown to love it. This will be the third year that we have season football tickets at the University of Illinois. I do enjoy the games, but my favorite part about going to the games is tailgating....good food, drinks, games and conversation with friends huddled together under our orange Illini tent is always a good time. Jesse and I hope to continue this tradition long after our children are old enough to join in the fun.

This past weekend we introduced Logan to Fighting Illini football and Memorial Stadium in Champaign. We stood in line outside the stadium for about 20 minutes as we waited to be admitted to the Fan Appreciation event. The entire team (I'm guessing about 50 football players) sat in a long line and we just went on down the line as they each signed our poster and Logan's book (Let's go Illini-a children's book about the Illini football team). Logan even posed for a few pictures with a couple of the star players (too bad he isn't looking at the camera). It was a great start to what we hope to be a great season! GO ILLINI!!!

Logan and Jesse in front of Memorial Stadium

Logan with Juice Williams, Illini starting quarterback and future NFL star?
Logan with Regis Benn, Jesse's favorite Illini wide receiver

Back to School and My Heroes

Another school year is here and it is a bittersweet time for me. On one hand, I love the freshness of a new year. On the other hand, I have to go back to work after having almost three months off. Even though it is bittersweet, there are definitely more good things than bad things about the beginning of a new school year. Here are some things I love about a new school year:

1. Teachers sharing all the new things they learned over the summer.

2. Kids showing up to school on the first day with new clothes and shoes.

3. Fifth graders showing up on the first school day with such confidence.

4. Kindergartners showing up on the first day of school filled with innocence.

5. Shiny clean floors in the hallways.

6. New name tags on student desks.

7. Putting all the holidays and breaks when there is no school on my calendar.

8. Seeing all my colleagues and hearing about their eventful summers.

9. Feeling optimism about how I'm going to reach all the goals I set for myself for the upcoming year.

10. Meeting my new students and seeing students that I've worked with in the past.

Before I went back to school, I was fortunate enough to visit with my brother, Dane, and my sister-in-law, Kate. This visit was so special because they have just returned home from their two-year experience in the Peace Corps. They spent the past two years living in the town of Sandy Bay on the island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean. They endured some things that I know I couldn't endure (i.e., no cable in their home!!!). During their experience, they touched many lives and helped many people make their lives better. It is an experience that they will never forget and always treasure. They are my heroes!

Logan with his aunt, Kate

Logan with his Grandpa Myers

Logan will only get to sit on the Harley until he's at least 20

Cranky Baby=Cranky Mom

It is very obvious to me that Logan is teething: he is cranky, he is not taking good naps, he is cranky, he doesn't eat well, he drools everywhere and did I mention that he is cranky? Most of the time, my mood is related to his mood: when he is unhappy, I'm unhappy...when he is happy, I'm happy. I love him more than anything and I just want him to be happy! Well, he has not been happy for the past few days, in fact he has been a bear. I finally reached my breaking point this morning. I put him in his high-chair with a bottle and walked over to the couch to take out my anger on a couch cushion. Pounding the couch cushion on the couch released a lot of anger and made me feel much better, but...what really made me feel better was when Logan stopped drinking his bottle to watch me. Instead of being horrified he thought it was quite funny. He busted out into the best sounding giggle I've ever heard. I hit the couch a few more times just to get some more laughs from him and then I said a prayer and thanked God for brightening my dreary day! GOD IS GOOD!

Crawling for Grandpa

My dad has requested pictures or video of Logan crawling, so here it is:

Next step is walking, uh oh....

Best Friends

Best friends are so very special! Most of you probably have someone you call your best friend...someone who loves you no matter what...someone who will do anything for you...someone who knows all your secrets...someone who will drive for three hours with their 9-month old baby in the car just to visit you. My best friend, Tabitha, did just that and it was so nice to spend some time together. Tabitha had a baby girl about 3 weeks after Logan was born and the two babies also got to spend some quality time together: Logan drooled all over Emily and stole toys from her, but she didn't seem to mind. I don't know if they will be best friends when they grow up, but I know they will definitely be friends someday.

Some of my favorite memories with Tabitha:

1. Vegas baby! I don't think I would have had so much fun in Vegas with anybody else. We shopped and saw shows and walked and walked and walked up and down the strip.

2. Pregnant girls day out! When we were both 6 months pregnant we went out for a day of shopping, pedicures, dinner and a movie...fun, fun, fun!

3. Sandwich artists together! Slicing vegetables, filling the Retarder, making cookies and polishing the stainless steel was so much fun when we were on the schedule together.

4. Carhops together! Taking orders, making change and filling baggies with chicken nuggets was so much fun when we were on the schedule together.

5. Cruising the streets of Lena! I never knew driving down Main Street, driving by a certain boy's house 50 times in one night and listening to bad music could be so much fun.

6. Musicals! Wicked...Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat...Mama
Mia!...all so great and even greater with Tabitha by my side.

7. I Do! I was so honored to be a bridesmaid in her wedding and so happy that she was my matron of honor. She was a terrific matron of honor...she made sure it was all about me, wish I could say the same for me at her wedding :(

8. Talking up a storm! Just sitting around talking with Tabitha is fun and therapeutic. She is so insightful and funny and a great listener.

9. The future! I know that Tabitha and I will be friends for a long time and I look forward to all the fun we'll have and all the fun our children will have together!

Summer Reading List

I've had some requests for my reading list, and basically there are series of books that I like and authors that I like and I just go to the library and check out whatever is available:

1. Anything by JoAnne Fluke
2. Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich
3. Alex Cross novels by James Patterson
4. The Woman's Murder Club novels by James Patterson
5. The latest Jennifer Weiner book (I can't think of the title)
6. The Choice by Nicholas Sparks
7. Anything by Jodi Picoult
8. The Time Traveler's Wife (after seeing the movie trailer for this, I want to read the book)
9. Anything by Sophie Kinsella
10. Anything by Jane Greene
11. Anything by Mary Higgins Clark
12. The Alex Delaware novels by Jonathon Kellerman

Summer "To Do" List

Summer officially begins the end of June and ends the end of September, but my summer begins the last day of school and ends the first day of school. At the beginning of every summer, I always have a long list of projects I want to complete ("To Do" list) and books I want to read during my free time. I usually end up doing all the reading at the beginning of the summer and all the projects at the end of the summer (I'm a procrastinator). This summer started out like all the rest: with a short "To Do" list and a lengthy reading list. I'm proud to say that so far I've completed almost everything on my "To Do List":

1. Begin Logan's baby book (I don't intend to finish this until he is 1 year old, so it is an ongoing project).
2. Spend valuable time with my son, my husband, my family and my friends (see previous blog entries).
3. Read books on summer reading list.

So, enjoy this entry because there won't be any more blog entries for the next couple weeks...I have to spend every spare minute reading :)

Summer Fun with Family and Friends

So, I only have a couple weeks of "summer" left. It flew by, of course, but that's probably because we were having so much fun, right? The last few weeks were no exception. On July 24th, Jesse's parents and my dad and his girlfriend came to Bloomington to see Jesse's band perform at a biker rally. That same weekend many of Jesse's extended family members arrived in Bloomington for a mini-reunion and a class reunion. On Sunday afternoon we had the whole gang over to our house for a cookout. Jesse's extended family stayed in town for three more days after the cookout and it was so nice to visit with everyone. During that time Logan and I also made a trip to Decatur to visit Jesse’s mom’s side of the family and go swimming. After the Bowman clan dispersed, we decided to head up to the Chicago area to visit family and friends. We spent a total of 13 hours in the car "making the tour" throughout the Chicago area. We enjoyed seeing friends we haven't seen in months and spending time with Jesse's sister and her family. The next couple of weekends will continue to be busy with friends and family visiting and we will enjoy every minute of it.

The Blurklezurps performing at The Sons of Thunder event

Logan enjoyed seeing his daddy play the drums, but he mostly enjoyed playing with his daddy during the break!

Peggy, Dad, Logan and Art enjoying the music

Logan did some drumming of his own

The Bowman cookout

Swimming at Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa's house

Logan, playing with his Great-Grandma Sims

The Bowmans "invaded" a Mexican restaurant and the youngsters entertained each other

Logan and his cousin, Ryder taking their first bath together (I'm sure there will be plenty more)

Logan with my good friend, Amy (By the way, congratulations to Amy and her husband...they are expecting a baby girl, their second child, in October)

Logan and Monique (another good friend)