Oh Brother!

I am channeling my inner Carrie Bradshaw with this post, although my life is not nearly as interesting and my insight into relationships is fairly limited considering I married my high school sweetheart! But considering relationship complications are surrounding me, it's on the brain, and hence, deserving a spot on the blog. 


Have you ever had someone close to you go through a break-up and you feel like you're in the middle of a break-up too? Maybe I'm the only one, but I will be the first to admit that I am going through post partum brother break-up syndrome, and it has been one crazy roller coaster. 


My brother, B, is 2 years older than me, and growing up we fought...a lot. As you can see in the picture below, I was probably crying because of something mean my brother did. Not that I was an angel either, though!  You could definitely tell that we were brother and sister, and I remember always being called "mini B" by teachers, etc.  

Once I got to middle school, I realized the advantages of having an older brother, or at least one that was a good athlete and pretty popular. I loved going to basketball games with my friends and getting to watch my brother play! Anyone who knows him knows that he has the most amazing 3-point shot! When he started getting interested in girls, that's when I officially was able to begin my role as sister...aka...I was always in his "business." I like being involved in his life because I care about him, want him to be happy, and maybeee a tiny part of me wants a sister-in-law/nieces and nephews...I'm just sayinnnnnn! 

B is a good looking guy and had a couple of girlfriends or flings in high school and college, but never found anything too serious. Just as my mom and I were thinking "when will B ever find someone"...boom...he meets a girl named Kelly over the summer while he was in grad school.  They got serious pretty quickly, and I remember meeting her over labor day weekend on a trip home to the beach with my 2 fav college friends! She was wonderful! Super friendly, super down-to-earth, and adorable. Best of all, though, was that she brought out a really sweet side in my brother that we had never seen much of before!  They dated for over a year (maybe even close to 2...it's all getting fuzzy) and seemed so happy together. I got super close to her and really thought she would be my sister-in-law one day. I even asked her to be a bridesmaid in my wedding. And that's when it all fell apart. She broke up with him the summer after I graduated college, and he was heartbroken. And so was my family. No one saw it coming at all.  It was so hard to see B go through that. And it was also hard to lose a friend myself. It was like we had lost a family member. Flashforward one-and-a-half years to this past November, and B and Kelly decide to give it another chance. B had had mini-relationships with a few girls, Kelly had been in one long relationship, but neither had ever really gotten over each other.  It finally felt like the stars were all in alignment for this to be it...for them to finally work out. And bam! Kelly had to move to Florida in January because that was the only place she could find a nursing job. But things weren't looking too bad at that point. B was considering moving to Florida, they seemed on track to working towards getting back into a relationship.  And then the other bombshell comes.  The saga is so long and intense to get into, but the outcome essentially is that now my brother is on the other side, breaking her heart. And, this side is hard to watch, too. It's hard to watch a person you love be hurt by another person you love. And it's hard to watch a person you love hurt another person you love. But at the end of the day, my brother is still my brother, and he is following his heart, and as his sister, I support him in all that he does...even if I did accidentally cry on the phone with his ex girlfriend...in my defense it had been a really long week AND I can cry at the drop of a hat! 

So, lessons learned from this 3 year long saga:   
1) I cannot think that every girl my brother dates is going to be "the one" for him, therefore I cannot start prematurely getting excited about having a sister or being in another wedding or having cousins for my unborn bambinos! The mature, rational Lu will wait until there is an engagement to start entertaining those thoughts!
2) God's plans for B and all of us are so much bigger and so much greater than we could ever imagine, even if it takes hitting some bumps in the road to get there!

Yeahhhh...that was me on I-40

         I feel like I am one of those people in that special club where the most bizarre things happen to them. You know, the kinds of things that helped spur the saying "That would happen to me." And this past week was just another thing to add to my list.  February seems to be that kind of month for me. I believe it was last February that I discovered after 3 days of thinking I was going insane that the Old Navy people had kindly left one of their walkie talkies in my reusable shopping bag, that so nicely got shoved in the corner of my room with the clothes still piled on top. Yup...so for 3 days, every couple of hours, we'd hear "Shrieksh crakljkajldajdfjl aldkfjalskdfalskdhaldhf eeeekkkkkk" and could not for the life of us figure out where the noise was coming from. We checked every smoke detector. We checked EVERYTHING with a battery. And just as I was about to check myself into a mental institution I finally decided to pull out one of my new tops and there it was. That freakin walkie-talkie! My life. I marched over to that Old Navy and said "You might want this back" and proceeded to share my adventures over the past 3 days. I thought I at least deserved some coupons, if not a gift card or free shirt. Well, I got nothing. Not even one ounce of sympathy. I left in a huffy and roll my eyes every time I see them talking on one of those silly things! 
       Now, my latest "WTH" (I say "heck" because I have to keep it clean as a teacher) moment happened as I was driving home from school . I teach about 15 minutes away and have a really easy route home that mainly involves driving on Highway I-40.  As I was cruising along I noticed that the pick-up truck in front of me was all of a sudden releasing yards and yards of caution tape. It was flying all over my car, really actually pretty dangerously because it was obstructing my view and making me dizzy from flopping all around. I literally think a whole role unraveled because at this point I am like 8 car lengths away from that stupid truck! Well, if it had just unraveled and moved on it's way then it would have been fine...not my problem. But, it just obviously loved my car enough to decide to get stuck on my rear-view window. So now, I am the dumb dumb dragging this enormous length of caution tape down I-40, flapping around in the wind, ticking other drivers off, etc. I literally didn't know what to do! Do I drive, do I stop, what on earth!? There were 4 miles until the next exit, and what do I do...just continue on my merry little way, wishing I could hide my head! I apologize to anyone who was out driving that day. It wasn't my fault!!! I finally pulled over at the exit, and detached it from my mirror. It was SO much daggone tape that I was not even willing to walk the mile it seemed like to gather all of the tape. So I left it. On the side of the road. I believe that makes me Number 1 Litter Bug of the century. 


That would happen to me.

I wish my bloggy break had been due to vacation...

Holy Cannoli it's been a long time since I've posted! Can I just comment on how sad it is that it takes me being home sick to finally be able to blog. Sigh....life of a teacher! And can I also just say, where the heck did January go? Hold up 2011, you're going by a little too fast for me. I'd like to enjoy my last year before my age technically rounds up to 30 if you follow the little rule I teach my 3rd graders (5 or more raise the score...which means 25 officially rounds to 30...ohmiword!)


I did have to put my self on a little "bloggy break" or else I never would've completed my grad school application, and let's just say that break was a little extended due to busyness...and tiredness...and sickness...yuck!


But I'm glad to be back, and excited to share what I've been up to over the last month or so for the sake of preserving my memories! 


Let's start with a visit to good ol' Randleman, NC to visit my favorite baby girl, Miss Addison, and her fabulous parents Kathleen & Eric! Oh, and I must give a birthday shout out to my beautiful cousin, Kathleen! Kyle and I were so excited to get to share a precious afternoon with them! We ate some yummy Buffalo Wild Wings, played games, and spent some great time with Addison, who continues to steal everyone's heart! She is just too cute! The happy parents seemed to be doing so well and handling everything like champs! It is amazing how a baby just brings everything back into focus and how family is such a huge priority. I loved how Kathleen and Addison rode with Eric over to the high school so he could take care of some business over there just to be with him! That is what it's all about peeps!

                                                      Me with Kathleen and baby Addison!

                                                  Kyle and me and baby Addison!


January has really been a good month for Kyle and me in making some lifestyle changes in order to be healthier! It was music to my ears when Kyle told me he'd like to join the gym I go to because now we can go to the gym together! Nothing was more unmotivating than coming home from school and leaving your hubby to go to the gym when you already go to bed so early...that would cut our time together down to an hour some days, and that's not okay with me! We have had so much fun with our gym dates! I even started going to Zumba class, which was terrifying but the most awesome time I've ever had while exercising! I didn't even feel like I was exercising! The music was amazing, and there were so many people there that it wasn't totally obvious when you messed up, which I totally did like 300 10 times! 

                                                    Me, super nervous before my first Zumba!


February has lived up to it's name as the month of LOVE! I got a fabulous call on Saturday, February, 5, from my college bff, Beebs that she and her wonderful boyfriend, Brian, had gotten engaged! I had been thinking it was going to happen sometime soon, and Beebs and I had prepared a signal so I would know that her phone call was "the call." I told her that if I didn't pick up the first time to call back immediately, so I would know! Of course I was at the gym when she called, and I was leaving and saw that I had 3 missed calls from her! At first, I didn't put the pieces together, and I called back and left the generic "so sorry I missed your call, call me back" message, but just as I hung up, she rang back in, and that's when it hit me!!!! I was standing out in the cold, rain by the gym door when I heard the fabulous words, "We're engageddddddddd!" I was SO incredibly happy for them. Beebs has just been the best of friends to me, has taught me so much, and I love her more than words could ever say! To hear her so happy literally brought tears to my eyes! I'm sure that the people passing by me thought I was crazy! It has been so exciting watching their journey together! Kyle and I were with them on their first date to McCallisters while we were freshman in college and really got to see their love grow! I am so excited to celebrate their big day with them!

                                                    Brian and Brittany...beautiful couple!

                                                                          Lu & Beebs...freshman year!!!


Kyle and I also had a little pre-valentines day love fest! He surprised me the day before Valentines day with this little set-up when I came home from a coffee date. We had said we weren't really going to do big valentines presents this year, so I was really touched and excited by what he got me! First of all, he knows me so well because everything he bought was pink! And, he was totally being supportive of my fitness kick with a gym bag, a new water bottle, pink towels, and a little pedometer! I seriously have the best hubby! But, I woke up on Valentines day to the best gift of all, which was a letter from Kyle. We used to write letters to each other for every month we were together. Eventually we dropped that because when you're together for 7 years, that's a lot of months! But his letter touched my heart and made my day, and was the best gift I could have asked for! 

                                                                                 Heart Day Presents!!!


We also had quite a little heart day celebration at school! It's so funny because my little 3rd graders are starting their little romances! One day one of my little girls dropped her pencil, and the boy sitting next to her picked it up, and she looks at her friend, and mouths "He hearts me" while making a heart with her 2 hands! So adorable! So, yes, our room was buzzing Monday morning as the kiddos passed out their valentines! My TA and I felt the love with all the valentines and chocolate we got! We read cute valentines stories, did a math coordinate grids activity with the sweet heart candies, and made valentines for a nursing home! I absolutely LOVE holidays!

                                                                 Yeah, my TA and I wore matching outfits!


Unfortunately, I came home from that day feeling awful.  Just when I start to think I have a really good immune system...BAM! I get sick! We've had a strep/flu outbreak in our class and almost everyone has been home sick at least once. I guess it's my turn now :(   We had to cancel our dinner reservation and settle for Chargrill on the couch. But it was still the perfect first Vday as a married couple! And can I just say that I still find it absolutely adorable that Kyle calls it "Valentimes" day! Love that boy!